#and yes he did not sleep and watched that entire broadcast

[doctorbrown]

DOCTOBER '23 ⸺ 「 21 / 31 * IMPROVEMENT 」

July 24, 1969

I have been beside myself with excitement over the broadcast of the moon landing and found myself glued to my television set those few days ago, eagerly watching every moment of the footage. I imagine the rest of America has been doing the same. This is a historic, unprecedented moment in human history and I have been anticipating this day ever since President Kennedy's announcement of a national goal back in '61.

That Armstrong should reference Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon made me inexplicably happy; at least the scientists and astronauts at NASA are well-read. To think that even a hundred years later, his works would still be relevant and inspiring!

Ever since the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik back in '57, it was clear that we as a species were entering a new global age of scientific discovery and advancement. The final frontier posed the greatest challenge of all, the unknown, and the desire to understand it, in addition to the recognition and glory such a feat would undoubtedly bestow upon the first to achieve placing a man on the moon, would lead to breakthroughs in the sciences that were previously unthinkable.

From Gagarin's monumental spaceflight around the earth to a man on the moon in only eight short years...

Despite the mounting tensions between the two countries over the years, it was the drive that pushed us well beyond our boundaries, and such scientific advancements would only aid me in my endeavours. I have enjoyed reading the news that has been available to the scientific community, and I was perhaps more fortunate than most.

There is still much work to be done on the time machine, as I have yet to find a suitable automobile to build the circuitry into. There may be some inspiration I can draw from the Apollo 11 mission and the brave men who have pioneered this new age for the world to make further improvements in my own mission.

As my previous attempts with other cars have been less than ideal, I will have to either redouble my efforts into improving these cars or search for a suitable alternative.

There is no time to waste.

[iheart-alastor]

Hazbin characters dating you Head cannons!

Tried my best on this hope you enjoy!

𝐍𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫!

Warning:mention of abuse but 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴 of fluff

Characters: Alastor, Angel dust, Husk, Lucifer, Sir pentious,Vox

Alastor

When Alastor first realised he had feelings for you it was mainly shocking for him

Definitely starts to keep a close eye on you either with his shadow or just watching you from afar

Would probably never admit his feelings for you

Probably steals something of yours because it smells like you

If he did ever admit his feelings for you his whole persona would change he would be clingy maybe let's you touch his ears

When you do start going out with him he will be more possessive and make sure each sinner who dares to glare at you in disgust or any rude way is next heard on his broadcast

He would start calling you his doe, my fawn, Mon cherè basically cute nicknames meaning deer or literally dear

He will probably start 'sleeping' in the same bed as you a couple months in but the only reason he does it so he has an excuse to watch you sleep

If you don't eat demon meat or venison or any type of meat sorry but he's gonna try sneak some in food he makes for you

Probably let's you cook food with him

Bound to learn his mothers jambalaya recipe form him

He probably doesn't bake that much so he'd be glad if you taught him some new foods

He deffo talks about the other overlords apart from rosie

Vox

Vox cant stand having a crush at first knowing how addicted to watching alastor he is he definitely begins to watch you too

Buys you gifts but they never say who off

Asks you out on a date to a restaurant and talks about alastor the entire time

He likes when you give him shoulder massages after dealing with val or another argument with alastor

Loves to bake goods with you, you cannot tell me this man hates to bake

Doesn't like cooking but will cook some stuff with you depending on how much you enjoy it

Clingy and doesn't let val near you whatsoever why would he want his baby near a pornstar who abuses his co-workers

Likes when you kiss and praise him

Angel dust

When he first found out he liked you he began flirting with you very bold too he does not hold back like how he does with husker

If he asked you out expect him to be full of joy if you say yes

Definitely wants a sleepover with matching pajamas

Likes talking shit about val to you after a tough day at work

And please when he comes back looking beaten up shower him in kisses and cuddles man will forget val even existed

When around you he liked being sober and not coked up

My man would love if you could bake because bro would love If you baked him some cookies or pastries

Bro don't know how to cook so if you do please teach him

Loves when you and cherri bomb get along

Definitely has a picture of you him and fat nuggets on his door

Husker

He probably found out he liked you if you began sitting at the bar with him having normal conversations and not trying to flirt with him

He starts to be at ease when around you

Would probably talk shit about alastor

Teaches you how to make different cocktails

After a while it's probably you who asks him out but he says yes

Would probably sleep in the same bed as you and you how cats knead something would probably do that to something you own

He so loves when you groom his fur (it almost makes his wings flap)

He starts to lay of the booze when around you so he doesn't look like a complete alcoholic

Liked talking about you to angel dust

Sir pentious

Gets easily flustered around you and he makes it obvious!

So obvious angel helps him to ask you out

If you say yes he hugs you so hard and all the little egg Bois in the background begin cheering

He likes seeing you babysit the eggbois when he can't or they get to playfull

He wraps his tail around you when your asleep so he knows your there

Is such a bottom spoon my guys hugging your hiding his head in the crook of your neck while the egg Bois sleep on you or besides the 2 of you

My guy is the best Baker we even saw it on episode 5

Only you am aloud to eat the food he makes how dare anyone else think they're aloud the cookies he made for you?

Probably watches a movie with you and cries when something bad happens to his favorite character

Lucifer

When Lucifer realised he liked you a lot went through his head by he first made a duck of you now he needed to find out how to handle his crush

He first told Charlie who was in awe and in tears when she saw the duck of you now he had his daughter helping him plan a way to ask you out

He came knocking at your door with flowers and chocolate in the shapes of ducks with the duck he made of you sitting on the chocolate box ofc you had to go out with him!

He probably takes you to a restaurant before going home and watching a movie with you in matching duck pj's and a duck blanket while cuddling

Definitely dreams off you all the time

Love sick in the best way possible as you cured his depression

Likes baking with you and probably throws flour on you before you both start play fighting

Likes when you play with his wings and call him cute nicknames

Charlie would probably think of you as her mother at some point

Gets you duck pajamas to wear with him

Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed the headconnons! Lmk if I should make more in the future I honestly loved making this

More alastor tiktoks because this man's cute as fuck (๑•ᴗ•๑)♡

[jahnavisurenda-21]

Hazbin Hotel||Alastor X Reader||When You Are Under the Weather||Sickness Comfort

It's a pure torture to be unable to do your usual chores or take care of yourself the tiredness is overwhelming. So, take it Easy. Though, I know the illness would recover if Alastor was there in your room.

You didn't ever feel the need to be worried about your body needing extra sleep, because the tiredness was overwhelming, or your body failed to perform the chores it usually did.

The Early October season, your father would run to the supermarket, to pick out medicine, and get fresh herbs to feed you green tea every evening, or if it got too bad you would drink them two times a day.

It was like he expected you to catch the virus. Well, that much hasn't changed, how nostalgic. But you really wished after in hell, your body would develop the immunity after being in a place that is clearly not for comfort.

You had gotten really lucky on that note also, really grateful for that. Alastor, ever the charmer.

He took really good care of you, it would sometimes strike worry that he is a sinner demon those red eyes, his sclera, irises are a proof of how many souls work under him.

But you had never found such a safe place than in his arms, although he isn't always for physical assurance.

"No, I'm not going anywhere today My dear, my schedule is all cleared up, maybe later in the evening to treat the sinners to a broadcast, but other than that I'm all yours." Alastor, changed the cloth on your forehead, "It's such a lovely thing the age-old napkin dipped in cold water to ease the heat!" He commented,

"Alastor?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"I'm a little hungry..."

"Say no more My dear, although you did worry me when you refused to eat my well-cooked dish this morning."

You heaved a sigh of relief, he was astonishingly patient, it made your heart feel like a swarm of butterflies danced there, it also made your stomach sink a little when you felt like you were bothering him too much."

"My dear, sit up now." He instructed,

You pushed yourself, still feeling your head pound bullets, you received the cream soup with a grateful smile which made Alastor push your hair behind your ear,

"I'm really sorry for bother--"

"Nonsense my dear, it doesn't feel too good seeing you in such a weak state." He honestly replied.

The day passed, by watching some movies despite, Alastor's Proclaims of not wanting to indulge, "In Noisy picture box activities." He did, for you, I told you he was a total sweetheart.

He prepared a bath for you, and changed the sheets so you could sleep better.

The entire gesture made your eyes well up in tears, only for Alastor to shush, and as the last step brought you a little closer to him, yes, you were ridiculously short.

"No one had ever taken care of me, like this... except at.. m-my home... It's so... I miss this, so much" You sobbed,

"Come now my dear, I'll take care of you as long as you need. I'll cancel my broadcast if that's what you need."

"But I want another audio."

"Shall it be a little different?" Alastor asked, brushing your hair, to distract you for a while.

"Different?"

"Since, you like my voice which is very flattering I think you can add this to your again very flattering collection."

The movie finished at 1am, before you fell asleep, and a few minutes later Alastor just lightly opened the door to check on you, filled your water bottle before closing the door.

[j0elmill3r]

The End Of All Things

Pairing - Joel Miller x  Young!Daughter!Reader

Summary - The one where Joel loses fucking everything - including his youngest daughter.

Warnings - Child death, angst, character death, sad Joel, emotional trauma?

A/N - Is this thing on? Yes, I'm back, maybe not as much as I once was but im back! Stay tuned for updates!

Word count - 2.2k words of pure, unadulterated angst.

Joel Miller was not a god-fearing man.

And given the current circumstances, he feared he may now be facing the consequences of it. Living in a post-apocalyptic world, having lost his daughter. Well, his oldest daughter. He still had you, his last bit of sunshine in the dark world that the survivors of the cordyceps infection now found themselves living in. You were only 3 years old at the beginning of the outbreak, meaning you weren't quite old enough to remember your older sister, Sarah, but Joel was thankful that you weren't old enough to remember her death - it did, however, break his heart that you would never remember how much she loved you. You were lucky enough to not understand the severity of what had happened the night of the outbreak, just that in the days following you sat squashed between a backpack and your dad's back. It was fortunate that you had found an abandoned farmhouse in a secluded area that Joel had deemed safe enough for you to lay low in for a while - the 'a while' in this case is the past 4 years. You liked to play outside, but only where Joel or your Uncle Tommy could see you - Joel especially needed the closure of knowing where you were at all times, he couldn't lose you, especially after losing your sister, who your memories off had slowly faded, her face one you couldn't make out anymore.

Joel liked to tell you stories about Sarah, about how at first she wasn't entirely thrilled about no longer having all of her dad's attention, but how quickly she'd grown to love you; About how she used to help you build a fort in your room to read you stories in, often ending up in both of you falling asleep in it, leaving Joel to find and put you both to bed. The stories your dad told you always brought a sombre smile to his face and a glaze of tears in his eyes, which he tried to hide from you. As Joel finished up his telling of sleeping beauty to you, you fell into a coughing fit.

"Woah, it's okay baby," Joel assured you, sitting you up and rubbing your back. What was coming never crossed his mind. "Here," He handed you the glass of water that was sitting on the nightstand of the room you slept in, watching as you gulped down half of the glass. "That better?" He asked you, pushing your hair back from your face as you lay back down.

"Yeah, thanks daddy," Your speech sounded a bit slurred to Joel, but he put it down to you being tired. Your dad kissed the top of your head as he tucked you in.

"Goodnight baby girl, I love you," Joel told you quietly, noticing that you had already started drifting off to sleep. As he left your room, he duly noted your symptoms, a pit opening up in his stomach as he started thinking through all of the symptoms of the Cordyceps infection that had been broadcast by FEDRA. He managed to somehow gaslight himself into thinking that children your age were immune to the infection.

The next morning, however, confirmed Joel's worst fears.

You were infected.

Your mood change was the biggest indicator. You were agitable and grumpy, something that Joel could confidently say you never were. He tried not to get angry or upset with you during the course of the day, he hoped you were unaware of the infection that was attacking your brain and body,  and ultimately be the cause of your death. Tommy, while upset at the expectant loss of his last living niece, had agreed to let Joel spend your last day with him and only him. He'd go on a run to try and find a strong enough sedative for you. Joel, had somehow managed to source some paint and paper.

"Y/N, come here," He said gently, trying not to upset you, since you had thrown a tantrum over the way he had spoken to you previously. You tentatively took his hand and let him lead you out to the porch, where he had set up a rolling tray he'd found in the attic and filled with paint.

"What are we doing?" Your speech had gotten more slurred since last night, further confirming your infection. Joel sat down behind you and sat you between his legs, your back to his chest as he pulled the tray forward.

"We're gonna make your handprints, baby," He said, the same tone as before, carefully dipping your hands in the paint tray and then onto the paper. He quietly sighed as you tried to resist, but he was quickly able to overpower you.

"Why?" You asked, your tone irritated. Joel couldn't tell you the real reason why. That you were doing this so he could keep a piece you with him all the time because you were dying, but you didn't need to know that.

"Because..." Joel scrambled for an excuse, he realistically knew anything would do, due to the fact that your brain probably didn't have much function left before you became like the runners. "I want to remember you being this little." Because you won't get to be any bigger than this. The thought made Joel tear up even more. The small blue handprints brought a small smile to his face, although it didn't last long, as you looked up at him, he could tell by the absent stare in your eyes that you didn't have much long left before you became nothing more than the victim of the infection running rampant in your body.

"Okay?" You asked in reference to your handprints, lethargically running your hands down your dads shirt, marking it a royal blue, a bright contrast against the black material of his shirt. He sniffled and nodded, picking you and your handprints up and bringing you indoors.

"They're perfect, baby girl," He put them on the table to dry and went over to the dusty sofa, he didn't care much for the dust on the sofa, just wanting to hold you close for a while until Tommy came back. As much as Joel knew this was the right thing to do, to keep his memories of you as his happy baby, he didn't want Tommy to come back with the drugs that would aid in killing you - but he also knew that it wouldn't be fair to let you become one of those...things. You didn't deserve that, at least this way, you would go peacefully, being held by your dad. The sound of Tommy pulling into the driveway didn't even alert you in the slightest, but to your now severely under-functioning brain, you were just happy to be with your dad. Tommy came in, a box in one hand and a solemn look on his face as he looked over at his older brother, who sat holding his daughter. He went upstairs to retrieve the half empty glass of water in your room, crushing up the sedative pills and mixing them into the water, tears springing to his eyes at what's about to happen. If he felt like this, he couldn't imagine how Joel was feeling. He grabbed your teddy before going downstairs, handing the glass to Joel, and your teddy to you. "Y/N?" It took you a minute before you hummed in response. "You know I love you so much, don't you?"

"Yeah daddy," You slurred out. Joel didn't know if he could do this. He didn't want to think of all the lasts with you. That last night was the last time he'd ever put you to bed and tuck you in, that those stories he told you of Sarah would be the last stories you would ever hear. But the more he thought of the thing you would become if he didn't do this, the more he knew it was the right thing. He handed you the glass and watched as you gulped the rest down, unaware of why the water was so cloudy, or why it tasted so bitter. You gave the glass back to your dad, who then handed it back to his brother. Joel put both arms around you, so that you knew he was there, if your brain could still function enough to recognise him. The rising and falling of your chest became less rhythmic, until it just stopped completely. The dam building behind Joel's eyes finally burst, the realisation that you were gone now fully hitting him; He hugged your lifeless body as he sobbed, fully realising that both of his baby girls were gone.

-16 years later-

Joel had changed, a lot. After all, the deaths of both his daughters would do that to a person. He hadn't seen Tommy in months, and had now somehow adopted a stray cat of a girl who was immune to the infection - Oddly enough, she reminded him of you, but painfully of your death. You would be alive if you were immune, you'd be 23 years old now, but instead, you've been gone longer than you ever got to live for. If the whole thing hadn't ever happened, Sarah would be 34, Joel often thought about you both, how you'd get along, if either of you would have had kids, how you would have looked; if you would have outgrown your baby face.

But that's all they were, they were only what if's.

He kicked a log over to pose as a bench for himself and Ellie to sit on, huffing as he sat down, his entire body aching from the days toil. Forgetting about the girl beside him, he pulled out a worn piece of paper, the quarter lines prominent where the shapes of small, blue handprints could be made out - Ellie noted that the shade of blue matched that of the stains marking Joel's shirt.

"What's that?" She asked Joel, peering over his shoulder to get a peek at what he was holding. He gave a glare, more fatherly than anything, and she backed off to give him space. He let out a sigh and looked at the paper, deep in thought.

"My daughter's handprints," He said quietly, unable to face Ellie. She was confused, Joel said that Sarah had died when she was 14, and those were pretty small hands for a 14 year old, although she couldn't say much, she hadn't really met any other 14 year olds.

"But you said-" "I know. They're not Sarah's," Joel cut Ellie off, taking a few deep breaths to compose himself. "They're my youngest daughter, Y/N's. She died when she was 7," He told Ellie, who fiddled with her hands nervously, unsure of what to say next, Joel, sensing the unease from the girl, continued, "It was about 4 years into this whole thing, we'd found a farmhouse in the countryside where we laid low for a bit, but I didn't know you were more likely to catch it out in those areas, so I let her play outside all the time, I noticed she was sick the night before she died, but I didn't think she was infected." Joel finished, his voice breaking. Ellie pretended that she hadn't heard it, instead opting for a probably worse alternative.

"So...she became like...them?" She asked. It sent Joel down a hole. Thinking of what would have happened to you if he didn't do what he did. Some say that the infected person is still in there, like a prisoner in their own body. He couldn't bear the thought of you like that, he'd seen how those people end up, blinded, scarred faces, nightmare fuel. He shook his head with a sniffle, still unable to face looking at the girl.

"No, I spent her last day with her while my brother went and got heavy sedatives, I wouldn't have let her end up like that. So I have these handprints I made with her," He said, gently tracing over the handprints of his youngest child, so gentle that you would think that the slightest gust of wind would turn the paper to ash. Ellie noticed the shakiness of Joel's hand, unsure of what to do, she put her hand on his back. "What are you doing?" He asked her, thinking she'd upset him, she took her hand away.

"Sorry, I was trying to make you feel better," She said sheepishly, unable to meet his hard stare. Ellie reminded him so much of Sarah - and of you. He might not have you both with him anymore, but he has small parts of you, parts of you he sees in Ellie.

[picklerocket]

Happy 3rd Anniversary Little Nightmares 2!!

I have not finished my pointillism piece for the celebration, so it will have to be belated. Instead, I will share a disjointed rant about how I think Thin Man and the Signal Tower function!

In my mind, the Signal Tower from Little Nightmares 2 (pictured on the right) is a Lovecraftian Shoggoth (pictured on the left), and it crashed to the earth thousands- perhaps even millions of years before we see the game take place. This is a theory I have personally had since the game came out, but I know there is a theory video floating around somewhere about this same theory, and a few of my fellow fans also share it.

(If you have not played/watched LN played or listened to the podcast, and do not want it spoiled, be warned! Spoilers ahoy!)

I will attempt to explain how I see Thin Man and the Signal Tower having a sort of symbiotic relationship, and what exactly Thin Man is and where Mono comes from.

In "The Sound of Nightmares", we learn that children almost always get to the Nowhere in their sleep, with a few possibly having been born there (i.e. the Pretender). However, Mono seems different, and not just from Six. His abilities of walking through tv screens, and whatever other powers he possesses as he grows into Thin Man, seem to be completely natural to him- to the point that he must cover his face with a bag to keep them at bay.

I am going to take this a step further and say that Mono was not only born in the Little Nightmares universe, but he wasn't even born on their version of the earth!

This is where my theories begin to seem a bit far-fetched, so stay with me.

I have decided to call what Mono/Thin Man is, a "Broadcaster" (a name which was assigned to Thin Man by fans when he first appeared in the secret ending of the Residence DLC), and has been a populr name for him in fanfiction, as well as fanart and comics as well.

Well, now I want to take a closer look at Thin Man's powers- and how they are comprised of electromagnetic fields and frequencies of light. So why can Thin Man manipulate these things in his environment to the point where he can pretty much control reality?

Because he is part of a species- a "Broadcaster". An alien. He has these superhuman abilities because he isn't a human at all!

You may have noticed that I said "a" Broadcaster. Implying there are more- which I believe there are, somewhere, out in the universe. I personally think that they are ageless beings similar in life cycle to the fabled pheonix; Growing old and being reborn again new each time.

But where do these Broadcasters come from?

The way I think, the only way any being could manipulate the laws of matter and light could be to have it composing their bodies as well. Yes, I am indeed implying that Thin Man is a solid projection of light (yes, like a gem from Steven Universe lol). All this to say, I believe they are born amongst stars forming in nebulas. They are made of/powered by stars! Made of light!

I mean, think about it! Whenever he's seen in-game, he looks black and white and staticy just like he's on tv! Like he's made of fizzling and flickering light. But what about Mono? Mono is solid, and he can even die!

Well, we can explain Mono being more physical and vulnerable as him being a tiny baby of course! I don't think he's just trapped in a time loop by the Signal Tower- I believe the Broadcaster life cycle for Thin Man starts over when we see Mono wake up in front of the TV in the forest at the beginning of the game.

"But why is Mono 'born' as a 10/11 year old?"

That, my friend, is because the Shoggoth that composes this particular Signal Tower is garbage at approximating human anatomy! It's never seen a human baby, and therefore can only replicate what it has seen- children.

"But Pickle, what do you mean the Tower made him look human?? What???"

Well, if you were a giant behemoth that consumes entire populations, you'd need something to lure them in. Like an anglerfish! And what did I pose is made of light? Broadcasters. That's what I think so far. The Shoggoth rips through nebulas searching for a Broadcaster, and once it traps one it its body, it takes it to a planet and uses the Broadcaster's abilities to consume the populace. Make him look like them and plaster him all over their communications and entertainment.

So there you have it! My current Thin Man/Mono theories and headcanons. I may elaborate on this further, and draw up some broadcaster life cycle examples. Let me know what you think! 👁️✨

Again, Happy Anniversary Little Nightmares 2!! 🎉🎊🎁

[alittlextrathatway]

Line: "There's nothing I hate more than what I can't have." Location: hotel room

Part 2 of my HGTV AU

You can find part 1 here.

***

Their season premiere is set for next Monday and they've had this round of daytime talk show interviews scheduled for months. Matt knew he'd be sharing a hotel room with Sylvie and had plenty of time to prepare. It would go the way it always did. He would insist she take the bed, despite all of her determination not to, and then find himself somewhere else to sleep.

Luckily, this time they were in New York for a full week and the network had sprung for a suite with a pull out couch. In the early days of their show, he'd had to pile up extra pillows in a bathtub more than a few times. A pull out couch wasn't great but it was better than a porcelain tub.

He had emotionally prepped himself for being allowed to be physically close to her during the day while being apart from her at night. In the interest of maintaining his standing as a courteous and considerate person, that distance was important. Sylvie's comfort always came first.

But what he hadn't prepared himself for was watching the cohost of 'Great Morning USA' blatantly flirt with Sylvie during the commercial breaks of the live broadcast. The man, Greg Grainger, flirted like he knew the truth of their relationship -- like it was obvious she and Matt weren't really a couple. He knows that can't be. The network would've been on their asses if that were so. No, it must be that Greg is a moron and an asshole.

Matt hates him before the first interview question is even asked. On camera, he manages to be perfectly pleasant, but once the cameras are off all of his carefully crafted filters fail him. It's true. Matt can't have Sylvie, but as long as they're pretending to be engaged Grainger can't either. Not only that, but he's not really with Sylvie. He has no reason to be jealous. And yet...

He's snappish and curt and generally hostile toward the Greg Grainger all morning. To his shame, Sylvie witnesses all of it while pointing more than a few scolding glares his way. It doesn't stop him from treating Grainger like the gum he stepped on the sidewalk outside the airport yesterday. It should. What Sylvie thinks of Matt means everything to him -- has from almost the moment they met -- but today he has no energy to adjust his behavior. It is what it is.

She huffs from her side of the hotel elevator. There's a gulf of space between them since she's pushed herself into the furthest corner, arms folded over her chest with a cross look on her face. The silence that's grown between them is oppressive. He doesn't know what to say to explain himself and even if he did...it doesn't seem like Sylvie wants to hear it.

When the doors open she stomps ahead of him, busying herself with pulling their hotel room keycard out of her purse. He should say something. At least try to apologize. Even though he's not entirely positive he's sorry. For all Grainger knew, he was flirted with an unavailable woman.

But that's beside the point at the moment.

"Sylvie, I--"

"Nope, save it for inside. We do not need anyone else overhearing the fight that's about to happen."

Fight? Ah, shit. He's really stepped in it this time. He presses his lips together and nods, head bobbing as the door finally opens. She holds the door open and motions him ahead of her. Once they're both inside she closes the door and turns the lock. He gulps anxiously.

Looks like they're in for a cage match.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

"What the hell was that?" She asks, throwing her purse down on the couch. "You were antagonistic with Greg the entire morning."

"Oh, it's Greg, is it? You guys are best buddies now?" He regrets the words the second they leave his lips. Why can't he keep his mouth shut today?

"I see. This is about him flirting with me?"

Matt glances away from her, shamefully staring at his shoes.

"Did you notice how I didn't flirt back?"

Yes, he did. He wondered about that. She could have -- off camera anyway. "Didn't stop him from trying."

She rolls her eyes at him and heaves a weary breath. "You know, lots of women flirt with you every damn day and I never act like this. I don't turn childish and petty. Ever."

Yeah, well, the difference between them as far as that goes should be obvious. He's in love with her. She isn't in love with him. All because her ex-fiance is a cheating asshole who let her former best friend steal all of Sylvie's clients. These days, she's too spooked to mix business and pleasure. At first, he agreed with her. Gabby left him with a mess to clean up and if Sylvie hadn't come along he's not sure he would've made it through. But over the years, he began to wish he never agreed with her on the "Business vs. Pleasure" pact. It completely backfired. He's head over heels in love with a woman and he can't do a damn thing about it.

"I don't think we can compare the two," he mutters, grabbing a beer out of the minibar. If they're gonna have one of their once a year fights then he's gonna need a drink.

"Oh no? And why's that?" she asks, taking the unopened beer bottle out of his hands. Finding the bottle opener, she pops the top and then takes a big swig before handing it back to him. "Because 'boys will be boys'? Because men have made dick-measuring contests socially acceptable displays of aggression?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Matt asks, face pinching in disgust and confusion. "When have I ever used the justification of 'boys will be boys'? You know that's not me."

"That seemed to be you today."

"No, it wasn't."

"Then what was it? Because it sure seemed like you were pissed off at the appearance of him trying to take something that everyone thinks is yours. Your manly pride couldn't take the blow. Nevermind that our romantic relationship has always been for show."

"Oh for fucks sake," Matt exclaims with a bitter chuckle. "My attitude toward Greg had nothing to do with my manly pride and everything to do with you."

"Me?" She asks, brow furrowing and voice raising in outrage. "What did I do?"

"Nothing! You did nothing except sit there and be the gorgeous, charming and effortlessly generous woman I've been in love with for over two damn years! It was all me, okay? All me and my stupid insecurities because I know you don't love me and you would probably be happier if we'd never decided to play along with this stupid fake engagement. But we did and now I'm sitting next to you ruining everything for you and I've put off trying to fix it because I'm a selfish asshole who didn't want you to leave."

He's panting by the time his outburst is over. There wasn't a whole lot of breathing happening during his rant and he's feeling it now. Also...what the ever loving fuck did he just do? It almost feels like he lost consciousness while he was yelling. He remembers it but none of it is clear. There's a panicked haze covering his awareness.

Shit! Shit, shit, shit. Shit!

Did he just blow up his entire lift before taking even one sip of his beer? Yep, seems likely.

"You...you love me?" Sylvie asks, eyes wider than he's ever seen them.

He could take it back. It wouldn't look great, but he could do it. There's a moment where he debates whether or not he should, but while it might save him a small amount of face it would be a lie. He's never lied to Sylvie and he doesn't want to start now. "I realize my timing is screwed up and you'd rather not mix our personal and professional lives. I'm not expecting you to--"

She cuts off his attempt at letting her off the hook. "Matt, stop. Just answer me."

He swallows thickly and nods, meeting her big curious eyes. "Yeah--yes. I do. I love you. I have for a long time."

Sylvie's eyes water and her hands cover her mouth. Just when he thinks he's destroyed everything they've built over the last three years, she laughs. No, not laughs -- giggles. It's a wild, disbelieving, high pitched giggle. The last time he heard it, she was drunk off her ass. She's a lightweight sure, but one sip of beer isn't going to get her drunk. That can't be what caused it this time.

When her hands fall from her face, she's beaming at him so hard and wide that her eyes look like little half moons. It's honestly fitting considering she's glowing as if she's the only star in the middle of a long and dark night. Jesus, he loves her so much she makes his chest ache for no real reason at all.

"I love you too."

He goes still, unable to process the words that left her lips. "What?"

"I love you too," she repeats, taking the beer bottle out of his hand a second time. This time setting it down on a coaster. "I have for a long time."

It's the mimicking of his own words that finally does it. Everything clicks into place. He breeches the small space between them and yanks her forward by the pockets on her well pressed black blazer. She laughs and lets herself fall into him, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. "You love me," he states, needing her to confirm it one last time.

She nods. "And you love me."

"I do. I truly do."

"Good," she states, releasing a slow, relieved breath. "You should probably kiss me now."

"Oh, so the cage match is over?" He asks, teasingly.

She grins wickedly, leaning forward until her nose bumps against his. "Yep, and I won."

"I'd argue the point," he begins. "But I'd really like to stay out of the doghouse."

"Matt, shut up and kiss me."

"Yes, ma'am. Copy that."

When his lips find hers, every muscle in his body relaxes. The holes in his heart, leftover from years of neglect, fill in and start to heal as her lips part for him. This kiss is better than any he's had before. Sylvie's giving it everything she's got, grasping the hair on the nape of his neck and pushing herself flush against him. Tongues tangle and taste, hands wander, blazers and jackets are dropped to the floor. He guides her down to the couch, pressing her back into the cushions while he stretches over her.

They still have a lot to figure out -- like how are they going to proceed with the network, what do their feelings mean for their professional relationship, and does he still have to sleep on the pull out?

But all of that can wait for a while. Right now, he wants to enjoy this moment with her and revel in the possibilities. They love each other, and that's all that matters. They'll figure out the rest later -- the way they always have.

Together.

[smolwritingchick]

The Bangtan Gal Chapter 59- ISAC 2015 Chuseok Special

Chapter Summary: Jen shows off her studio and gets noticed by her celeb crush. BTS plays Smash. Volleyball becomes a new competition for the ladies at ISAC as Jen finds it to be her calling while the guys dominate in running. Jen does a V-Live

Words: 14,000+

Author's Note: Again, not sure if they are still active on Tumblr but also @darlings-illustrated created Jen’s V-Live outfit for this chapter. <3 credit to them! :)

----------

After her outing, Jen spent the rest of the day relaxing in her room, in good spirits. She was grateful for Sam Okyere and his kindness. She was looking forward to seeing him again and even assisting him with his future charity projects.

While she chilled in her room, she felt bored and didn’t feel like doing anything until an idea popped into her head.

Why not broadcast a V-Live? 

Grabbing her phone, she signed in, naming the broadcast, ‘Jammin’ With Smartie’, setting the camera in front of her as she sat on the bed. She made sure the camera showed her entire body while she sat pretzel style.

Immediately viewers began popping in at a rapid rate, surprising her. Guess they really wanted to see her. 

It made her feel good.

“Hey, hey!” she spoke in English, waving as the comments started flowing in

‘JENNIEEEEEEEEE’

‘Ennie! Miss youuuu’

‘Hope you come back to America! We miss you!’

‘Come to London!’

‘QUEEN!’

‘MOM! Finally, we get a V-Live with you!’

Jen started laughing when she read comments from ARMY calling her mom. 

“Mom? That’s new. Ahahaha.”

‘Hi Jennie!’

'Can you speak in Korean?'

"Yeah, I'll go back and forth," she replied in Korean before going back to English.

‘Jen get some rest, it’s late!’

“It’s not that late. I’ll sleep soon. I wanted to see how you all were doing.”

‘Come to Brazil! Brazil loves you!’

“I would love to come to Brazil. It will happen one day!” she guaranteed. “I want to travel more and see more ARMY around the world. Hopefully, we can have a big world tour one day. I definitely want to go to Europe. I always think about Europe when it comes to tours.”

‘Those curls are poppin!’

‘So cuteeeee’

‘I love youuuuu’

“Where are you??’

“Where am I? I’m in my room~!” she responded as she continued to read the various comments. “I was bored so decided to do this and spend some time with y’all.”

‘How are you?’

‘I hope you’re eating well!’

She checked out the number of viewers. “That’s a lot. Over 60,000 already? Sweet. I hope you guys aren’t watching this late at night. Get some shut-eye, it’s good for the soul. And don’t worry, I will be sleeping soon. Yes, I am eating. I’m eating a lot actually. I was kind of stress eating a little bit but I’m fine, now.”

‘Please take care of yourself’

‘Don’t stress!’

‘What did you do today?’

“I’m trying my best. Idol life can be hectic. What did I do today? I hung out with Sam Okyere! I had such a great time with him! He’s mad cool. We ate African food. I never tried it before since I grew up eating Soul Food in my household in America. It’s so good! I'm definitely telling my family to start making African food."

‘Excited for ISAC?’

“Hell yeah, I am. Getting to wrestle and play volleyball? I’m a bit worried about the volleyball. I haven’t played volleyball before so it’ll be interesting to see how I do. But I’ve been practicing and watching YouTube videos for advice. But the wrestling, I’m confident about that.”

‘Can you play the guitar?’

“You want me to play something for you? Sure. For a while now I have been working on a Shawn Mendes song. He’s bae, of course.” she laughed. "I admire Shawn so much. I would love to sing with him one day. Even make a song together. Ah...okay. Let's see...ah, I know. I'll play Stitches for you!" she grabbed her guitar. 

‘Yay!’

‘I love when she spoils us’

'Awwww her bright smile when she spoke about Shawn. I hope they meet!'

‘Yes!’

“I’ve been practicing the song for a while, making sure I get the notes down. I wanted to focus more on the emotion of the song to have a greater impact while singing,” she spoke as she made sure the guitar was tuned up.

As soon as she began the first notes of the song, ARMY noticed a change in her demeanor as she continued to play. They noticed how focused and happy she was when she played the guitar and it looked wholesome to watch.

“I thought that I’ve been hurt before. But no one’s ever left me quite this sore.” she sang softly, strumming along lightly.

‘Her voiceeeee &lt;;3’

‘So, can I ship her with Shawn now?’

‘Getting goosebumps already.’

“Your words cut deeper than a knife. Now I need someone to breathe me back to life.” she continued to sing while her strumming got stronger as she sang out with her voice getting a little louder.

“Got a feeling that I’m going under. But I know that I’ll make it out alive. If I quit calling you my lover. Move on~"

‘Loveeeeee’

‘Stop being my bias wrecker!’

“You watch me bleed until I can’t breathe, shaking. Falling onto my knees. And now that I’m without your kisses. I’ll be needing stitches. Tripping over myself, aching. Begging you to come help. And now that I’m without your kisses. I’ll be needing stitches.”

ARMY noticed that her breath control had improved as she produced a consistent tone while singing smoothly and warmly.

“Needle and the thread gotta get you out of my head. Needle and the thread, gonna wind up dead. Needle and the thread, gotta get you out of my head, get you out of my head. You watch me~!” She stopped strumming and held that note for a few seconds before strumming again, “Bleed until I can’t breathe! I’m shaking falling onto my knees. And now that I’m without your kisses I’ll be needing stitches. I’m tripping over myself. I’m aching begging you to come help. And now that I’m without your kisses, I’ll be needing stitches. And now that I’m without your kisses, I’ll be needing stitches. And now that I’m without your kisses, I’ll be needing stitches.”

She strummed softly for the final note and exhaled. 

“That was fun.” she chuckled lightly and set her guitar down. “How’d I do?” she checked the comments

‘Come thruuuuu sis!’

‘Yassss boo!’

‘Honestly, I’ll be the first to say that I wouldn’t mind Jennie singing me to sleep because her voice is so soothing.’

‘Shawn Mendes needs to see this ASAP!’

‘You did so well!’

‘You make us so proud!’

‘Represent Jennie!’

“Ah...thanks, everyone,” she replied and looked up when she noticed Hobi sticking his head out of her door with a bright smile. “Oh, hey Hobi! Did I wake you?”

“Yeah, I was awakened by a sweet voice. At first, I thought it was Jungkook singing like he usually does in his room but as I walked down the hall, I noticed it was coming from your room. That was you? With the guitar?”

“Uh, yes?” She smiled shyly.

“Whaaaaaa, munchkin, you’re improving.”

“You make me so happy. Thank you.” She pretended to cry, touched by his words.

After her V-Live, she went to sleep while ARMY made various videos of her cover and tried to get Shawn Mendes’ attention on Instagram and Twitter so he could watch her video. 

They knew how much it would mean the world to her if she was able to get noticed by him.

For the past few days, ARMY had tried to get his attention, asking him to watch her cover and to check out her Instagram. They would speak highly of the Bangtan Girl and how much she admired him as an artist.

After remaining persistent and dedicated for Shawn to notice Jennie, they finally reached their goal and began to tag BTS in Shawn’s recent tweet and also tagged Jennie in Shawn’s recent Instagram post.

On Instagram, Shawn reposted a 15-second video of her playing stitches with the caption, ‘Wow, she is amazing! I love this! Who is this girl with the guitar?’

ARMY was quick to flood his comment section, freaking out that he noticed Jennie.

‘Finally you noticed her!’

'AHHHHHHHHHHHH JJennie_JW HE NOTICED YOU!'

'Jennie is about to lose her shit'

'SOMEBODY TAG JENNIE! JJennie_JW'

‘OMG! JJennie_JW look at this!’

‘That’s Jennie! She’s an African American member of the Korean Pop group, BTS. Check them out, they’re great!’

‘Jennie from BTS! She is a former member of Amity! She’s amazing, I’m so happy you noticed her! Her profile is JJennie_JW’

‘I love when my favs recognize each other. This is just made my morning!’

#GirlWithTheGuitar began to trend on Twitter while Shawn’s fans began to also be intrigued by who she was because they were confused as to why ARMY kept commenting about someone named ‘Jennie’ and ‘Miss Bangtan’ on his page.

Meanwhile, with Jennie, she was in Yoongi’s studio with Taehyung. She sat on one of the chairs, spinning around on it.

“Ah, you have a small pimple on your cheek.” Taehyung pointed out and giggled.

“Stop.” She tried to cover it.

“Hehehehe, it’s cute.”

“Stop talking about it.” She groaned.

“Ah, it’s just saying hi.”

“Oh my God, stop talking to it.” She laughed with him.

“I watched your V-Live this morning!”

“Oh, you did? What did you think? Too much? Too little?”

Taehyung smiled. “I loved it! You really like Shawn Mendes, don’t you? You always gush over that guy. Someone has a crush?”

“Ahaha, nah it’s not like that. I just really admire him.”

“So a big crush.”

“No!” she exclaimed as Yoongi walked in and set his bag down.

“Get out Taehyung, we’re about to work.” He called out. 

“Hey! Don’t be so mean.” Jennie scolded the Daegu rapper while Tae frowned. “Tae, don’t make that face. Ugh, see what you do, Yoongi?”

“He’ll live.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll hang with you later, Tae. And don’t worry, I will find a way to get you into Cypher.”

Taehyung grinned at her statement, ignoring Yoongi’s protests. After he left, Yoongi and Jen prepared their rap lessons and after a couple of hours, they took a break.

“Smartie, you may want to take a look on Twitter,” he responded, looking up at his phone.

“Something wrong?” she asked, confused, and took out her phone. 

Their notifications were blowing up like usual but something about Shawn Mendes made her stomach drop.

What about Shawn Mendes?

Was he hurt?

Was he coming out with new music?

On BTS’ profile, she realized that one of the members had retweeted his tweet, ‘Jennie, I think your fav noticed you~~ hehehe #V’

Shawn had tweeted a screenshot of her V-Live on the app, ‘BTS_twt This was so good! Wow! Thank you for covering my song &lt;;3’

She let out a scream of excitement and immediately got up from the chair, while Yoongi began laughing at her.

“Holy shi-“ she continued to look at the various screenshots that ARMY had been tagging her in and she realized that he was following her back on Instagram. 

She dropped her phone and ran out that door excitedly as the Daegu rapper’s laughter increased in volume.

His phone buzzed and he looked down to see Namjoon texting him.

Namjoon: I assume Nie Nie realized that Shawn Mendes noticed her and started screaming, running around the building?

Yoongi: As expected

A few minutes later, Jennie ran back into his studio. 

“Got it all out of your system?” she heard the rapper ask with amusement in his voice.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to pull herself together as she picked up her phone. 

“Not all of it!” She responded. “Like you have no idea how big this is! This is crazy!”

She tweeted Shawn back, ‘ShawnMendes OMFG THANK UUUU! I LOVE YOU! You have no idea how much this means to me #Jen’

On her Instagram, she began to film herself for a 15-second video, “G-guys, guys, Shawn Mendes just noticed your girl. He noticed your girl, JW! Miss Bangtan! Jennie! I am on cloud nine~! Come throuuuuuugh! Thank you so much ARMY!”

She posted the video with the caption, ‘IM CRYING! Shawn really just noticed your girl! #Blessed #ThankYouARMY’

“What a kid.” Yoongi chuckled and left to go to the bathroom.

After calming down, she scrolled on Instagram to some of her fan pages that she was happily following and came across a video of The8 from Seventeen talking about her.

He had expressed his interest in meeting her when asked which idols he would like to get closer to. He also mentioned that the other members of Seventeen think she seems like an easygoing person to hang out with, eager to see her at ISAC. 

She has kept her eye on Seventeen for a while, enjoying their music. She’s heard of The8 especially and was aware that Chinese is his first language. She wanted to learn a little more Chinese to be able to speak to him.

Sure, she did not look like anyone’s ideal type around here in Korea with their beauty standards but her personality was more than enough to make her admirable with her kindness and outgoing nature. She always appreciated when other idols spoke highly of her and mentioned that she was doing well in the industry.

Once she liked the video, fans noticed quickly, commenting that she liked the post and hoped that they would meet each other.

“Smartie.”

Jennie looked up to see Yoongi walking in with a familiar face behind him. She widened her eyes and opened her mouth once she caught who was with him.

There stood her sister, Vienna, with an awkward smile on her face. 

“Hey.” she waved.

Standing up, Jennie ran up to her, wrapping her arms around her tightly. “’Enna! What are you doing here!?”

“Rap Monster let me in the building when I reached out,” she responded, pulling away while Yoongi left to give them some privacy. “I uh, came to see you and apologize. And to thank you for what you did for my tuition.”

“The hell? You couldn’t have called?”

She really flew across the country to say Sorry?

“I wanted to see you. Damn, I’m so jetlagged,” the college student exhaled and sat down. “So this is what you go through? Plane after plane? Country after country? City after city? Just to perform? And participate in other activities? Waking up early on top of that? This is...so tiring. Being on that plane for almost a day. Ugh, my acting can’t even compare. I don’t know how you do it, JW.”

Jen let out a chuckle and sat with her. “Tell me about it. My body took months to get used to living in Korea and traveling from place to place for events. I can’t even describe how exhausted my body was when I first started in BTS.”

“I see. Well, you’re still here,” Vienna smiled softly. “Look, I-I’m sorry. For everything. For all those things I said. I was just so frustrated. But there will be plenty of opportunities for me as an actress. Broadway will be in my future real soon. I just know it,"

“Hey, it’s fine. I forgive you. I'm sorry too. I love you. Even if we butt heads at times, nothing will ever change that,”

“Even after all that hurtful stuff, I said?”

“I know you didn’t mean it. Just like I didn't mean the hurtful things I said to you. We're fine."

“I’m lucky to have a little sister like you. I’m really proud of you.”

“And I'm lucky to have a big sister like you. I'm proud of you, too,” she gave her a tight hug and they stayed like that for a while. Pulling away, she asked, “So, shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Shouldn’t you mind your business?” Vienna teased as Jennie rolled her eyes

“So, how long you staying for?”

“Wow, you want to kick me out, already?”

“Well, you really should be in class.”

“You’re joking right?” Vienna stared at her in disbelief.

Jen paused before laughing. “Yeah, I’m joking! Let’s have some fun while you’re here!”

“That’s the Jennie I know.”

“So, does Alani, mom, or dad know about this? That you’re here?”

“Um...not yet.”

“As expected.”

--------

Back at the dorm, the members agreed to have a video game night of playing Super Mario Smash Bros on the Wii U. Jennie sat on the couch with Vienna, Jimin, Taehyung, and Hobi while the rest of the members sat in chairs or on the floor. Jen and Namjoon would occasionally translate to Vienna on what was going on, and the college student was eager to watch the chaos.

Creating a Twitter video, Jen spoke in her Native tongue, “ARMY, we bout to play smash bros. BTS may not be a group anymore after this. Wish us luck because friendships will be lost.”

“Let’s do this thang!” Jimin shouted in English, causing her to laugh as she stopped the video and tweeted, ‘Friendships will be lost...no hard feelings, mkay? #Jen’

For the first match, it was Jennie vs Jimin vs Namjoon vs Jin. They went to the character select menu as the epic video game music continued to play.

“Let me guess, Rosalina & Luma?” Jungkook declared.

“Damn right,” Jen replied and selected them. “I’m at my best when I use them.”

“Ahahaha, for future reference, we may have to kick some people out of Bangtan due to frustrations in this game so let’s try to have a clean and fair fight, all right?” Jin announced.

“We’re choosing the Norfair stage.” Jimin picked.

“NO!” Jen yelled.

“YES!” Namjoon yelled back

“I hate that stage! We just started playing, can we choose a more sane and civilized stage?” Miss Bangtan pleaded

“Nope! Suffer.” Namjoon laughed evilly.

Jennie shook her head in disbelief. “This is so uncharacteristic of you. I am appalled.”

3!

2!

1!

GO!

“Wait! Wait! I wasn’t ready!” Jin yelled as his character, Luigi, began to get punched around by Jimin who giggled hysterically.

Jennie decided to go on a defensive route and stay away from all the fighting until she found an opening, watching the character’s movements.

“No defensive this time, Jen Drop.” Namjoon’s character, Sonic, went right after hers as they began fighting around.

As the game went on, Jimin started laughing when his character, Yoshi, accidentally fell off the map.

“How?!” Taehyung laughed at him with Jungkook.

“It was an accident!” Jimin exclaimed

Meanwhile, Jennie managed to kick Jin off the map to eliminate him until he could respawn again.

Jin frowned. “Why, Jennie? Why would you do this? And stop taunting me, Jimin!” The oldest member yelled over their laughter.

Before they knew it, the giant lava wave began to come up to the screen while Jennie managed to kick Namjoon out of one of the safe areas so she wouldn’t get hit. But suddenly he paused the game

“Hey! We are not doing this, you can’t do that!” she shouted.

“What are you talking about!?” Namjoon shouted back, trying to look innocent.

“Stop pausing the game!” 

“I accidentally pressed pause!”

“Stop lying!”

Namjoon unpaused the game and managed to get into the safe area with her while the lava wave came through. Unfortunately for Jin, he spawned just in time for his character to get hit again, knocking him out of the match again as everyone laughed at him.

“This is how you treat the oldest?” Jin asked.

Near the end of the round, Jennie and Namjoon were the final ones in the match, with Namjoon occasionally trying to find slick ways to cheat by messing with her controller and pausing the game constantly to distract her. The lava wave in the game came once again and he managed to make her character face its wrath, to win the match.

‘GAME! The winner is! Sonic!’

“Looks like I won!” He happily announced

“What is you talkin’ about!?” Jennie yelled. “Friggin cheater!”

Next was Yoongi vs Jungkook vs Taehyung vs Namjoon, who battled each other in the Final Destination stage. After giving her controller to Taehyung, Jen watched as Jungkook used Mario to trash his opponents.

“Can you at least go easy on me!?” Namjoon exclaimed.

“I don’t think that’s happening,” Yoongi replied.

With no surprise, the Golden Maknae won the match and proceeded to take on Hobi, Taehyung, and Jimin this time. Before Jen knew it, it was her turn to play again. She ended up groaning when she watched Jungkook select Ganondorf as his character.

“Why?” She complained. “Why would you do this? I hate playing against him, he’s so damn hard!”

“Exactly why I picked him.” The Golden Maknae smirked, still proud of his winning streak. 

He had won four games straight.

She rolled her eyes and selected the Wuhu Island. As the match began, the players continued to fight around the platforms that were moving occasionally.

“Stop trying to take me out, Kook!” She attempted to evade his attacks before he could take her off the map. “I hate you, he got me struggling over here with this character.”

Unluckily for her, her character fell into the water and sank down, getting taken out as she rolled her eyes.

Hobi, playing as Ryu from Street Fighter, begins to shout, “Hadoken! Hadoken! Hadoken! Hadoken! Hadoken! Ha-“

“Shut up!” Yoongi shouted, causing him to squeal in surprise.

As the match went on, Jungkook caught Jennie with his final smash as she angrily handed the controller to Namjoon. 

“Fuck outta here!” She snapped while Jungkook laughed hysterically.

It was down to Jungkook and Hobi. The members mainly cheered on Hobi because they wanted to see Jungkook lose.

“Did he get him?! He did!” Jimin yelled when Hobi hit Jungkook with the final smash, beating him as everyone cheered.

“You sure you don’t want to play?” Jen asked Vienna.

“Why not?” She took Jungkook’s controller after Jen told him to give it to her. ”I don’t know how to play, though.”

After Jen told her the basic moves, Vienna chose Kirby to go up against Yoongi, Hobi, and Taehyung. They battled at Hyrule Castle 64 as the main theme of The Legend of Zelda played.

“W-wait stop falling off the edge of the map. Jump up! ” Jen laughed and tried to coach her sister. 

After a few moments, she continued to get the hang of it, taking out Yoongi’s Pikachu character.

“What? That connected?” Vienna asked, bewildered.

“You knocked him out of the map but the battle isn’t over yet, keep fighting.” Jen encouraged.

“That’s some disrespect, right there,” Vienna complained when her character was taken out the map by Taehyung.

“Ah, fuck this game!” Yoongi rage quit and handed the controller to Jin instead so he could take over. He got frustrated when he kept getting beaten down by everyone.

“Really, hyung?” Jimin giggled.

“He’s just a little upset.” Namjoon teased.

When Vienna suddenly realized that she won the game, beating Taehyung, she responded in shock, “Wait, I won?!”

“Good job!” Taehyung happily said, placing his hand out for her to high five him, while the rest of the members applauded her efforts.

“Thank you! Good game!” She beamed and turned to Jennie. “That was fun! You’re in good hands here. I like their vibe, up close and personal. It’s like you’re not away from family.”

Jen returned her smile and nodded. “Thanks, Vee. I agree.”

“All right, let’s play teams now,” Jimin announced.

“I call Jungkook.” Jennie declared, high fiving the Golden Maknae.

“NO!” Namjoon and Jimin shout.

“Noooooooooo~!” Taehyung and Hobi complained

“Absolutely not.” Jin shook his head

“Hell no,” Yoongi added.

“And why not?” Jungkook asked with irritation while Jennie scowled at the members’ disapproval of her choice of partner.

“No JenKook for this because you always win together. Change it up.” Namjoon demanded which caused the 97 Liners to look displeased by their demands.

“I call Jennie!” Taehyung shouted and clung to her.

“What...?” Jungkook frowned, narrowing his eyes at the 95 Liner. “How come he gets to-“

“And I call Jungkook~!” Jimin hugged him as Jungkook let out an exasperated sigh. 

Jen shot Jungkook an apologetic smile and prepared to play.

Jennie and Taehyung battle against Jin and Namjoon, easily getting a win when Jen took out both of her opponents with Rosalina & Luma’s final smash.

“No! No!” Jin complained

“OP! That is OP! So overpowered!” Namjoon shouted.

Miss Bangtan danced in victory with Tae, ignoring their protests, “Hey! Hey! Hey!”

As an hour went by, Jimin spoke, “I want to see Jungkook and Jennie battle each other.” 

His idea made the 97 Liners' interest rise as they glanced at each other.

“I’m down, are you?” Jen asked.

“Bring it on.” The Golden Maknae responded.

Jennie chose the same character while Jungkook chose Shulk. For their first battle, they chose the Gaur Plain stage as the theme played.

3!

2!

1!

GO!

As soon as the fight began, Jennie and Jungkook clashed, trying to get as many hits as possible while avoiding falling off the map. Jungkook managed to juggle Jennie up in the air with perfectly timed strikes before blasting her off the map. A confident smirk came across his lips as he waited for her character to respawn.

Jennie kept calm, making sure to keep a cool head while fighting back. Her heart began to race faster as they continued to play, aiming to win. The members watched them game keenly, with no words spoken as they watched them back and forth.

Jungkook managed to knock her off the map to win the game as she roughly ran a hand over her face.

Frustration was clear on her face for a moment before she got calm again. They played again, picking the same stage. Jen glanced at the top of the screen to see and hear, Mechanical Rhythm, playing in the background for the stage, setting the mood for a more aggressive gameplay

“And she’s getting mad.” Jungkook teased, trying to get under her skin.

Jennie decided to ignore him and remained focused. 

All that was heard was the rapid button mashing and battle cries of their characters. Once she began to continuously strike his character off the map, the Golden Maknae began to become vigilant of the direction of the battle.

'She got this,' Vienna thought as she watched her sister focus.

"See ya!" Jen lightly said once she swiftly got behind his character and kicked him straight to the sky for a finishing blow.

"Shit!" Jungkook shouted.

‘GAME!’

“YES!” she shouted, standing up and fist pumped.

“AHHHHHHHHH!” the members yelled, jumping up and down while Vienna grinned and applauded.

The winner is, Rosalina & Luma!

The Golden Maknae was visibly disappointed by his loss, remaining silent while everyone celebrated her victory.

“Final round! Who will win?” Jin laughed

“That was just luck. I let you win.” Jungkook responded.

“We’ll see about that in the final round,” Jen replied.

For the final round, they fought furiously, both equally matched. Once they saw the smash ball spawn, they aimed to hit it. She managed to destroy the smash ball just before him and caught him in Rosalina’s final smash. She watched as Luma expanded bigger and started to repeatedly attack Jungkook’s character, boosting up his percentage rate and then he was blasted out of the map

GAME!

“WOO!” She jumped up.

“OH MAH GOD!” Jimin yelled while the rest of the members started yelling and jumping up and down with her

“She beat Jungkook!” Jin celebrated

Jungkook placed his controller down and huffed, displeased at his loss while some of the members teased him by shaking him while laughing at him. 

Jennie took a seat right next to him on the carpet with her phone in her hand. She took a victory selfie with a bright smile on her face with an annoyed Jungkook in the background. 

She tweeted, ‘#Bodied’

Standing up, Jungkook grabbed a pillow and tossed it across the room before going straight to his room while everyone continued laughing

“Ahahahahaha! Yooooooo! He tossed the pillow!” Vienna cackled. “He’s so mad.”

After another hour of gaming, everyone decided to head off to bed. Jennie let Vienna sleep in her bed while she took a visit to Jungkook’s room, wondering if he was still upset that he lost. She’d be feeling the same way since they both enjoy winning.

Who doesn’t like to win?

Shutting his door after walking inside, she saw him sulking while playing on his phone. He was still feeling bitter about the loss.

“So, we not friends, now?” she teased and took a seat on his bed. 

Instead of replying, he ignored her and placed the covers over himself.

“I hope you know that won’t get rid of me.” she grabbed his covers and got in the bed with him, facing his back. He sighed and tried to move away but she moved against him, hugging him from behind. “We still not friends?”

Ignored again.

She suddenly pressed her soft lips to his cheek, taking him by surprise. 

“How about now?” she asked but didn't get a response. 

The Golden Maknae felt his cheeks warm up but he continued to be stubborn while pondering if she’d kiss him, again. Seconds later, he felt those lips against his cheek repeatedly.

“Now?” She asked again.

Kiss.

“Now?”

Kiss.

“How about now?”

Kiss.

“Now?”

Kiss.

“Now?”

Kiss.

“What about now?”

Kiss.

“How about now?”

Kiss.

“Now?”

It was getting harder to ignore her as he was greeted by her kisses all over his face. He was losing the battle in fighting the big grin appearing on his face.

“I see that smile! Now answer, we still friends?” she spoke and he tried to ignore her again. “I’ll stay here all night if I have to. I guess I have to be the big spoon, so be it. So, we still not friends? I know you hear me.”

She laughed, snuggling up against him tightly as he started forgetting about his anger from losing the game.

Jungkook sighed and turned around, wrapping an arm around her to bring her to his chest. 

“I can’t stay mad at you...” He grumbled.

“Good. Now good night.” She snuggled against him.

“Y-you’re staying?”

“And having to deal with Vienna’s wild sleeping? I think not. Besides I like sleeping with you. You’re so warm and comfortable. Like a friggin human heater. Unless you want me to leave-“

“Stay, please,”

The next morning, Jungkook woke up with Jennie sleeping on his chest. He briefly watched her sleep and smiled. He pondered what it’d be like to wake up to this every day if they were a couple. Good morning kisses were guaranteed as well as him trying to make her stay in bed with him.

Gently moving her, he got out of bed and placed the covers on her. Stretching his arms, he headed out of the room, noticing that Jin already made breakfast because of the smell of food. Saying their good mornings, Jungkook grabbed a plate and took it back to his room, placing it on his nightstand for Jen to eat.

When he went back into the kitchen, he noticed Vienna sitting by the table, eating with Jin while trying to speak English with him.

Vienna noticed Jungkook and smiled warmly. 

“Hey. Morning.” she greeted while Jin went to make plates for the members when they woke up.

“Good morning!” Jungkook greeted while smiling shyly.

She typed something in her phone and slid it to him. He looked at it and it read, ‘Sorry for the language barrier. I don’t know Korean but found this app to help translate. I’ll cut right to the chase. There’s been a question I’ve been wanting to ask you since I met you. You like my sister, don’t you?’

He looked up, surprised, and averted his eyes, looking shy. 

That immediately gave her an answer.

She chuckled and typed something else on her phone before sliding it back to him.

‘I’m not angry. I’m happy. I love my sister and I would do anything for her. And watching you...I see that your feelings are genuine and that you deeply care for her. You’ll make a cute couple. You have my full support. :)’

He read and looked up, nodding. “Th-thank you.” He responded softly.

“You’re welcome,” she replied and went back to eating.

After breakfast, Jennie and Vienna hang out in Seoul to bond. When they were shopping at a local store, Jen had found an emoji head and tried it on. 

Vienna thought it was funny and took a photo, posting it on her Instagram with the caption, ‘My heart &lt;;3’

Not long after, Alani facetimed Vienna. “Oh gosh, I guess she saw the post.” Vienna laughed and accepted the call. 

The screen revealed Alani shaking her head while Jennie popped up next to Vienna, waving.

“Yo, I hate y’all...skipping class, Vienna? Leaving ME to present our project!?” Alani yelled. “Ima kill you when you come back! Are you kidding me!?”

“Wait you left Alani with your project?” Jen exclaimed

“Well...I mean...I did my part.” Vienna grinned sheepishly

“Yes, this girl left me to present alone!” Alani yelled angrily.

“It’s good practice for what you want to do.” Vienna shrugged. “Don’t be a snitch and tell mom or dad. I’ll be home soon.”

“I cannot believe you! I could’ve gone with you!”

Jen was surprised by her statement while Vienna laughed. “That wasn’t what I was expecting.” 

"Hey! I can be rebellious, too!" Alani exclaimed. 

------

Later that day, an African American female college student hung around Dunkin Donuts, filming a vlog for her YouTube channel. She was with two of her American friends, a guy and another girl, who sipped on their coffee, eating breakfast sandwiches.

“Hey guys, we are back with another video. It is day 3 of us being in Seoul, and we’re here eating Dunkin Donuts. Say hi!” she panned the camera to her friends and they rambled about their excitement for their upcoming semester of studying abroad.

While her friends were talking, she turned to do more people watching but froze when she noticed Jennie.

“Wait a minute is that-oh my God, guys, I think that’s Jennie from BTS.,” she said quickly with a whisper. She panned her camera to Miss Bangtan and Vienna who were waiting for their order. “What the heck is she doing here!?”

Her two friends widened their eyes and covered their mouths. 

“Holy sh-no way is that really her?” her female friend exclaimed as their hearts started racing.

“Guys, we are in the same building as Miss Bangtan, how great is this?” her guy friend responded.

“Should we say hi?” the Youtuber pondered.

“No! We should be respectful.” Her female friend disapproved.

“And miss an opportunity to say hey to our favorite K-pop idol? Hell no, I want to say hi. We’re not screaming in her face or anything.” her male friend said.

“I dunno...should we?” the Youtuber wondered.

“We should do it.”

“Won’t it be rude?”

“Yelling and screaming in excitement in her face is. But as long as we’re not too crazy, I honestly don’t see what the problem is with approaching your favorite idol.”

“Jennie looks so mad though, should we approach her?” the female friend added.

“Remember that Jen always says that she has a resting bitch face?” the Youtuber brought up.

“True...”

The Youtuber handed her friends the camera and she got out of her seat, making her way to Jennie. Butterflies were in her stomach as she inched closer to her idol. She even went over what she planned to say in her head.

When the Youtuber watched Jennie and Vienna turn around, she froze as she locked eyes with Miss Bangtan. 

“Um-I uh, annyeongh-hello-haseyo-um-i uh-hi.” She stuttered, trying to say hello.

“Hi.” Jennie let out a chuckle. “You good, girl?”

“I can’t even speak, right now. If I can’t even speak in my own language, what makes me think I can speak in Korean?” the fan sighed. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to say hi, I can’t believe you are in front of me. I’m trying to create a Vlog for YouTube and then you showed up, throwing me off guard with your beauty and I’m just embarrassing myself in front of you.”

“Awww thank you! You don’t have to be so nervous. You’re fine! I encourage fans to say hi!” Jen reassured while the girl’s two friends appeared next to her, nervously saying hi. “How are you guys? You eat this morning?”

“Yes, we did. We’re college students. Studying abroad.”

“Wow, really? When did you come to Korea?” 

“A few days before to know our surroundings until it’s time for the Fall semester to start.”

“Wow, enjoy it to the fullest. I always hear that some people want to get closer to their favorite K-Pop idols and all while being here but still take time to learn the culture and go sightseeing. Learn the history and even more of the language. It’s a beautiful place and South Korea isn’t just about K-Pop, you feel me?”

“Definitely. You inspired me to study abroad here. I was always nervous to step out of my comfort zone and go to another country. But when you did it, especially at a young age, away from family, it motivated me. This is my second time studying abroad. I went to Spain last summer. I’m glad I did it, I’m learning a lot about myself and trying new things. Now I’m a senior in college, here in Seoul.”

“Wow, that means so much to me. It’s good to get out there, you will learn a lot. I always think it’s fascinating to learn about other cultures. Especially the food, that’s always a plus. Do you know some Korean?”

“Only the basics.” the YouTuber’s female friend responded while their guy friend agreed.

“I’m at an intermediate level but I’m so nervous to be in front of you, I couldn’t show you my Korean skills or even speak in proper English.” the Youtuber responded which made Jennie laugh at the way she said her statement.

“We managed to grab seats for ISAC, too!” the male friend beamed

“No way, for real? That’s dope. Make sure you cheer on Bangtan.”

After she took photos with the three students and did a quick shoutout when being filmed for the vlog, Jennie offered them some of her munchkins and wrote encouraging messages on their notebooks with an autograph.

‘Don’t stay in your dorm during your semester. Go out, take the train and travel around South Korea!’

‘This is a great experience to learn more about yourself and another country’s culture. Enjoy every second of it and have a blast.‘

‘Cherish the people you meet along your journey here in Seoul. Learn something new while you are here.’

-----

Just before the ISAC event, Big Hit released a Bangtan Bomb called, ‘Training Smartie for ISAC 2015’

The video contained multiple clips of the members overexaggerating and eagerly yelling words of encouragement while training her.

As she lifted weights, the members would yell encouraging words such as, “Let’s go smartie!”, “Let’s go! Feel the power!”, “Believe in the power!” and she managed not to laugh at their yells as they jumped up and down.

For a bonus clip, Jennie was seated at the table with Suga and Jungkook next to her. She began eating a big plate of Lamb Skewers while Suga and Jungkook cheered her on.

“Eat!”

“You got this! You got this!”

“Chew it well!”

“You must eat well for wrestling!”

--------

On the day of the event, Bangtan arrived, already in their assigned outfits while Vienna walked with Jennie.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on. What are they saying? And why do they keep staring? It’s starting to piss me off-excuse me don’t touch my hair!” Vienna exclaimed.

Jennie cringed and pulled her away. She turned to one of the staff members and bowed slightly. 

“Please don’t touch our hair without our permission. It’s rude, all right?” she responded in Korean.

“Is that your real hair?” the staff member asked.

“Yes. It is our natural, real hair,” she responded as they looked amazed and confused.

As the two sisters walked away, Vienna mentioned, “I don’t want no one looking at me cross-eyed. It’s rude to stare.”

“I mean...you’ll get used to it. It can be annoying,"

Around 300 idols made of ten teams were participating today and it was packed with various fandoms supporting their favorite groups. Once Jennie escorted Vienna to sit with the Big Hit staff on the seats, she waited for the event to start.

She stood with Bangtan backstage, waiting for their team to be called out so they could walk out.

“Now the players are entering.” The commentators announced.

“Team Female-vengers: Kara, Rainbow, Dal shabet, EXID, Minx, GFriend.” was the second team announced.

“Ah, Hayoon~.” Jennie beamed when she saw her happily walk out with G-Friend.

“How you feeling?” Rapmon stood next to her.

“Nervous but excited too. I really hope I do well in these two games. Wrestling and volleyball? I trained as hard as I could for this. I have a great feeling about this ISAC.”

“You’ll make Bangtan proud no matter what happens. Just keep a cool head and remember what we told you.”

“Ditto.”

“Team Who’s your boss: Noel, Wonder Girls, Jeong Jinwoon, Changmin, Lee Hyun, MissA, Baek A-yeon, BTS, Bestie, GOT7.” was announced next as they walked out. 

BTS walked out with big smiles on their faces, while Jennie looked on amazed at how many people showed up this time.

On the electronic display, it showed various idols. When it showed Jennie, who wasn’t aware that she was shown at first, ARMY screamed loud and proud. Jin nudged her and pointed up at the screen. She looked up and widened her eyes, chuckling before waving.

The fact that she was on the same team as Wonder Girls was astounding and she was even on a volleyball team with two of the members. It’ll be a great experience.

After saying the oath, the event started with Women’s Ssireum. There were teams consisting of three members and they played the best out of three. The time of play is one minute and 30 seconds. Jennie was teamed up with Baek A-Yeon and Haeryung from Bestie. They were stretching together and talking strategy.

For the preliminaries, Kyoungri from Nine Muses went up against Hyerin from EXID for the first match. Jennie was standing around with Bangtan, focused as she watched them closely.

“Breathe,” Namjoon said encouragingly behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t be discouraged. They’re not ready for Miss Bangtan.”

“Thanks.” she smiled and they took a seat.

Jungkook sat next to her as they watched closely at the two wrestling. Hyerin had attacked by effortlessly using her feet to trip Kyoungri down in 2.06 seconds.

“You see how she goes for the legs?” Jungkook pointed out. “She aims to trip her opponents. Watch your feet if you go up against her.”

“All right,” she responded.

“Do all that you can to stay on your feet. When you see an opening go for the takedown,”

Throughout the entire round of Nine Muses and EXID, Jungkook pointed some stuff out to pay attention to, mentioning strategies on how to take on the girls. Fansites that attended ISAC, filmed the BTS members and updated their Twitter accounts on what was going on. Once they snapped a photo of JenKook watching closely, with Jungkook whispering strategy in her ear, they tweeted the photos with the caption, ‘Mentor and student. JenKook look focused!’

Fans would immediately tweet,

‘97Liners, I ship!'

'If he whispered in my ear, I would’ve DIED! How can she just sit there so calm?'

'Jungkook is such a great mentor!'

'There is no way she was that calm when you have the golden Maknae whispering in your ear’

'He was probably giving her advice on the wrestling. Y'all thirsty! It ain’t that deep!’

Matches such as Girl's Day vs AOA, Apink vs Red Velvet, Tara vs Secret, and Mamamoo vs Sistar occurred until it was time for Jen’s team to go up against G-Friend. AOA, APink, T-ara, Nine Muses and Mamamoo all advanced to the semi round and it was down to either G-Friend or Bestie/Baek A-Yeon & Jennie. Umji, Eunha, and Yerin represented G-Friend in this match.

“First we have the plucky Miss Bangtan representing BTS and is teaming up with Baek A-Yeon and Haeryung. Last year, she had a running relay and fell down.” the commentators recapped, showing her falling on the screen.

The sight of her falling, caused Jen to roll her eyes, seeming irritated at the sight. They were doing her dirty because she fell. It was over and done with. 

“They really bringing up this crap again?” she grumbled under her breath, shaking her head.

She stepped up on the platform while Yerin waited for her with a bright smile since they were great friends. The two winked at each other before giggling.

“Go, Jennie! Go, Yerin!” Hayoon, along with the other G-Friend members cheered. 

Jen exhaled and glanced at Jungkook who gave her a reassuring smile.

“You got this. Remember what I told you,” he mouthed and she responded with a curt nod and turned back to Yerin.

The two of them bowed to each other and positioned themselves while kneeling.

“JENNNIEEEEEEEEEEE~!” Jimin yelled with Taehyung, applauding.

“Munchkin! Munchkin! Munchkin!” Hobi chanted while Rapmon and Suga laughed with one another, feeling second-hand embarrassment.

“Miss Bangtan has quite the fanboys, it seems. Who will win? Jennie or Yerin?” the announcers wondered.

Once the whistle blew, Jennie immediately used her strength to lift Yerin high in the air and slammed her down on the mat. 

Jungkook slapped his hands together and stood up with a big grin on his face, fist pumping.

“Yes!” he yelled.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!” Bangtan jumped up, applauding her victory while ARMY and the rest of Bangtan supporters began screaming for her.

Yerin started laughing, covering her face while Jennie helped her up. 

“You all right, sis?” she hugged her.

“Yes, I’m fine. You’re so strong.” Yerin giggled.

“Wow! That power!” the commentators exclaimed as they went to a slow-motion replay. “The strength of Miss Bangtan should not be underestimated!”

“Winner! BTS’ Jennie!” was announced as male idols watched the performance, surprised and mesmerized. 

Some were whispering to themselves about her and smirking in approval.

“Atta girl!” Zico from Block B, shouted, cheering her on with the rest of the Block B members.

GOT7 also became her cheerleaders as Bam Bam stared at her with heart eyes, placing a hand over her heart. 

“I think I’m in love,” Bam Bam mentioned to Jackson, who cackled at him, slapping his arm.

As the fansites filmed videos and posted it on their social media, as fans commented,

‘Some of the boys look pleased’

'So who is gonna be the next idol to speak on how much they admire Jen? Cause some of them are staring hard af and I'm here for it'

‘Hahaha some of the guys look like they wanna marry her’

‘Bam Bam watching with that pleased look on his face, ahahah.’

‘Sexy, beautiful and powerful! Go gurl!

‘She FLEW HER DOWN! DAMN’

‘The girls’ faces hahaha they look so scared to face her now’

‘Look at her face in the beginning! She looked like, “Oh shit, I’m dead.’

‘I’m ready to see Jennie at Wrestlemania now.’

‘She took that so seriously ahaha.’

‘Can Jennie throw me like that too!?’

‘Force to be reckoned with! She didn’t come to play! She definitely redeemed herself from last time.’

‘How did she get so strong!? OMG Jungkook what have you been teaching her!?’

‘Flipped her like pancakes. Didn’t even last two seconds!’

‘She-she just picked her up and slammed her down in 2.0 seconds!’

‘I blinked and Yerin was on the mat. What happened!?’

‘I love how the guys are smiling so hard.’

‘That Captain America strength right there! Miss Bangtan 100%! Represent us!’

Jennie was smiling brightly at the cheers and applauds for her efforts as she bowed and waved. 

After leaving the mat, Hayoon ran up to her to hug her. “That was amazing!” she said and started giving her repeated kisses on her cheek.

After speaking with G-Friend, Jennie went back to Bangtan who had given her high fives and compliments such as, “Well done.” And “You’ve worked hard.”

“You did it!” Jungkook high fived her and pulled her to his chest for a warm hug.

“We did it.” she corrected him as she wrapped her arms around his back. The rest of the members joined in for a group hug before sitting back down to watch the rest of her team wrestle.

She cheered on Baek A-Yeon as she went up against Umji and managed to slam her down on the mat to make her team advance to the semi-round. 

“Yeah!” Jennie jumped up and ran up to Baek A-Yeon with Haeryung to celebrate their advancement.

As the last round started, Jennie sat back down with Taehyung wrapping his arms around her from behind, sitting behind her. Jimin sat in front of her, laying his back between her legs while Jungkook hugged Taehyung from behind.

They watched as Baek A-Yeon went up against Sung-a from Nine Muses and lost the match when she was slammed down. 

Jennie stood up and walked to the mat, preparing to wrestle Sojin. They bowed to each other and got in position.

As soon as the whistle blew, Sojin tried to catch her off guard by going after her legs but Jennie stood her ground and lifted her up to slam her down within five seconds.

“Sorry.” Jennie grinned and helped her up while Sojin reassured her that she was fine.

The fansites had filmed Jungkook smiling proudly and in the end, Jen’s team had won a Bronze medal for their efforts when Haeryung fell short against her opponent. After they received their bronze medals, Haeryung began to cry. 

“Wait, why are you crying?” Jennie went to console her with Baek A-Yeon.

“I let the team down. I’m sorry,” she responded, sadly.

“Hey, you did not let us down. We tried our best and we had fun. Thank you for your hard work. You’ve done well, girl. Don't even worry about it.” she reassured her, wiping her tears as the fansites filmed their conversation.

The three ladies join in for a group hug, thanking each other for a job well done for wrestling.

When the interaction was posted on Twitter, people praised Jennie's kindness and sportsmanship.

While soccer began, Jennie chilled with Bangtan, taking out her bun. Before she prepared to fix it, Taehyung grabbed her hair tie and got behind her, fixing her bun for her. She was surprised at how delicate he was to not hurt her. He placed her hair in a high bun and got in front of her to place a strand of curls on each side. Once he was done, he patted her head and smiled.

She took out her phone and checked it out. “This looks really good, Tae.”

Wandering around after catching up with some idol friends, Jennie decided to finally approach The8, greeting him in Chinese. 

“I only know a little bit of Chinese but I will try to learn more so there can be less of a language barrier between us.” her Chinese was broken but he smiled at her efforts and managed to understand her clearly.

‘Wow...handsome.” he responded in English which caused her to chuckle

“Beautiful.” she corrected.

“Sorry, sorry.” he bowed, feeling embarrassed.

“It’s all right. Can you recommend me some Chinese dishes I should try? I love Chinese food.” 

“Yes, of course!” he started naming some of his favorite dishes. 

As they spoke, Joshua approached them and greeted them.

“Hey! Great job on the wrestling.” Joshua said in English.

“Oh, thank you! I had a blast. You’re Joshua, right?”

“Yeah, it’s nice to finally meet Miss Bangtan. I’m actually from Los Angeles.”

“Ah, west coast. I’m from the east. East side is better just so you know.” she teased and they shared a laugh. “The both of you two are so cute.” she pointed at the both of them.

“You’re cute, too. The8 is really fond of you. He always talks about how kind and hardworking you are.” he gestured while The8 was looking at them back and forth, confused since they were speaking in English.

“I saw the video. It always gives me a giddy feeling when people tell me that. It makes me feel really good. Hey, can I have your Kakao Talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” he took out his phone

“I want your Kakao Talk too, The8.” she gestured to him and he took out his phone. 

After getting each other's Kakao Talk, Jennie continued to bring The8 into their conversation.

“Joshua also plays the guitar. We saw your V-Live. You were great.” The8 smiled.

“Really? Thank you! Oh gosh, I feel so embarrassed, I didn’t think some idols would watch it too.” she responded.

As she continued to wander around, she even met Yeeun from CLC, remembering that Yeeun was eager to meet her. They compared their classes for the upcoming school year and noticed that they’ll be sharing a few classes together. They will definitely have more time to hang out and get to know each other.

Throughout the event, Hayoon would cling to Jennie, hugging her from behind, while she laughed.

“Why are you affectionate, today? You must want something.” she assumed, since last time she wanted some of her smarties.

“No, I’m just happy to see you. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Hayoon replied.

While she was being hugged, Jennie would look around at the crowd and noticed fans wearing USA clothing and waving American flags to represent her. She smiled and pointed them out, feeling even more good about herself. She even spotted Vienna in the crowd and waved, blowing kisses.

“LOVE YOU!” Vienna shouted from her seat. The college student noticed some ARMY trying to get her attention. “I don’t speak Korean but it looks like you want to take a selfie, so sure.” she gestured for them to give her their phones.

Jennie and Jimin migrated to the basketball court to support Suga who was currently warming up for the basketball finals match. Jimin and Jennie were standing where the staff seats were while she took photos on her phone.

“Suga got this in the bag. He should be fine.” Jennie said.

“Yes!” Jimin praised when they watched Suga make a shot in the basket while practicing.

When the game started, Jennie and Jimin became cheerleaders for the Daegu rapper.

“MIN YOONGI~!” Jimin shouted. “Lee Changmin! Jung Jinwoon! Lee Hyun-hyungnim!”

“WOO HOOOOOOOOO! YEAH!” Jennie shouted. “YOU GOT THIS FAM! I SEE YOU BOO, I SEE YOU!”

Suga had put his head down, while his teammates started laughing at their enthusiasm for their groupmate.

Due to their heated cheers, Jimin and Jennie sat on the sidelines to watch the game. Every time Suga’s team made a shot, Jimin and Jennie would jump up from their seats and cheer.

“That’s my Suga!” Jennie shouted proudly, happily applauding. “I am a proud little sister!”

“Yoon! Gi! Yoon! Gi! Yoon! Gi! Yoon! Gi!” Jennie and Jimin chanted as the game progressed.

Yoongi’s team ended up winning and earning gold medals.

Before Jennie knew it, it was time for Volleyball as she stood backstage with the stylists, preparing her outfit. She wore a long sleeve shirt and black shorts with knee pads. When Jennie put on the shorts, she noticed they were a bit too small.

“Ah...I told you to get a bigger size. My ass is bigger than you Korean women. And I have wider hips.” she exclaimed while the stylists giggled.

“We came prepared, don’t worry.” 

They brought in a backup pair which fit much better. She checked out her outfit in the mirror and turned around to look at her behind. 

“All right, it’s covering up everything. Ah, I’m freaking out.” Jennie rambled.

When she was all dressed up, she walked to the gym, where the volleyball court was already put up. She gathered around the members as they helped prepare her.

“Ready, sweetie?” Jin smiled.

“A little nervous.”

“You’ll be just fine.” Yoongi patted her on the back

Taehyung gave her water while Jimin began massaging her shoulders to help her relax.

“I have the tape.” Namjoon brought up and grabbed one of her hands while Hobi grabbed her other hand to start taping her fingers.

“Remember, be careful, spike some balls and win.” Jungkook reminded her. “Use your golden defense skills.”

“I’ll be sure to do that and more.” she nodded.

Hobi cupped her face, pressing his lips to her forehead. He smiled softly, “You got this, Jennie! Show those ladies why Bangtan is great!”

She nodded and started to grin, high fiving each member before walking up to the court to meet with her teammates.

Representing Team Who’s The Boss, Jennie teamed with Baek A-Yeon, Hyelim & Yubin from Wonder Girls and Min and Suzy from Miss A. Their opponents were from Team the Return of The King which consisted of Hyuna & Gayoon from 4Minute, Yeeun & Seunghee from CLC, and Hayoung and Naeyun from APink.

“Here we are! This is the first time we are having a volleyball event at ISAC. Miss Bangtan will be starting to serve, representing Team Who’s the Boss.” The commentators mentioned over the roaring cheers of the audience.

Jennie exhaled sharply, as her heart raced while having the ball in her hands. 

‘I can do this...’ she gave herself words of encouragement. 

Just before she could serve, she heard loud screaming.

“JENNNNNNNNNNIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE~! You Got this!! Goooooooo

Jennnnnnnniiiieeeeeeeee~!”

The screaming caught her by surprise and she turned around sharply to see Jimin, J-Hope, and Yoongi hollering for her. Rap Monster had facepalmed, shaking his head while Jin and Jungkook were giggling, clapping to themselves.

Her teammates began giggling at her enthusiastic group members and thought it was cute that they were cheering her on. 

Jennie had let out a loud laugh and blew some kisses at Bangtan before turning back to her opponents.

“GO JENNIE!” another scream caught her by surprise but this time it was actually from Hayoon who was standing on the sidelines with the rest of GFriend, cheering her on. 

She had shyly looked down after screaming so loudly but Jennie had appreciated her cheers.

‘Okay...let’s do this.’ she began bouncing the volleyball by slapping it with her palm as it hit the ground then back to her palm, numerous times. 

The loud sound began to intimidate her opponents as they tried to get ready.

Raising the ball in the air, she jumped up high for a powerful spike. The ball ended up hitting the ground on the other side before the opposing team could hit it and Jennie earned a point for her team. Loud screams from ARMY were heard around the arena while some watched, stunned at the spike.

“YES! That is my child! I raised her! That is my beautiful little girl!” Jin yelled happily.

“WOOOOOOO! ATTA GIRL!” Namjoon shouted. 

A proud smile came across Jungkook’s lips as he nodded in approval, applauding her efforts. 'That's my Jennie,' he thought proudly.

“Whaaaaaaa, what a powerful strike from Jennie of BTS! Wow!” the commentators went on.

She was surprised as her teammates went to hug her. “I can’t believe I got that.” she started laughing while Yubin and Hyelim smiled sweetly, patting her on the back.

The game progressed with Bangtan watching closely as they saw the concentration in her eyes. They admired her efforts because she truly had worked hard. Jen soared with her defensive skills as she effortlessly blocked the ball, which caused some of her opponents to get annoyed that they couldn’t get a point.

“Ah, Jennie, stop blocking my spikes!” Hyuna whined.

“Not sorry.” Jennie replied with a grin.

“Are you seeing this!? Are you seeing this!?” Taehyung grabbed onto Jimin and started shaking him. “She keeps blocking the ball! They’re gonna win!”

“WOOOOO! Go, Jen!” Jackson, Bam Bam and Mark became some of her hypemen throughout the match.

Jen’s forearms began to sting from the constant hitting of the ball as the game went on. Her team was well in the lead, thanks to Yubin and Suzy soaring in setting the ball for their teammates to spike, Hyelim being great at passing the ball to her teammates and Baek A-Yeon specializing in spiking with Min. Jennie had made sure to jump up and throw her hands up to block the ball whenever she could with her teammates, which helped tremendously in the game.

"Miss Bangtan's defense is dangerous," the commentators pointed out at how effortless she made blocking for her team.

Once Hayoung served the ball, Hyelim managed to hit the ball, passing it to Suzy who managed to hit the ball over the net. Yeeun dove down, hitting the ball as she connected with the floor while Gayoon passed the ball to Naeyun. Naeyun spiked the ball and Min hit the ball back. Yubin and Baek A-Yeon watched it fly near them and Baek A-Yeon managed to set the ball. 

“All yours, Jennie!” she gestured as Miss Bangtan jumped up and spiked the ball across the court.

Once they saw that the ball hit the floor before their opponents could hit it, they happily yelled in excitement.

“YES!” Jen screamed and fist pumped over the loud cheers and screams from the crowd. 

She started jumping up and down while her teammates threw themselves at her, and they all fell to the floor while hugging. When they got back on their feet, they celebrated all around the arena while Jen did aerial cartwheels around the arena in celebration.

Bangtan started laughing wholeheartedly that she still had the energy to jump and cartwheel around. They immediately ran down to the volleyball court to celebrate with her. J-Hope picked her up over his shoulders and ran around with Bangtan as they all cheered and celebrated. 

"Jennie! Jennie! Jennie!" The boys chanted.

The volleyball team received gold medals for their efforts. When the team was interviewed, Jennie thanked her teammates for working so hard to be victorious and praised them for their hard work. She had a blast with them and hopes volleyball continues to be an event in ISAC.

Meanwhile, Bam Bam had been watching her, smitten by her athleticism in the volleyball game. After some pep talk from Jackson, he finally decided to approach her, bringing a water and towel for her to wipe her sweaty face.

“Have you played volleyball, before?” he asked.

“I kid you not, this was my first actual game.”

“Wow, well you need to teach me some time because you were amazing out there.”

With the Maknae Line, Jimin was on alert when he noticed that Bam Bam was starting to flirt with her as she had covered her mouth while giggling and shyly averting her eyes. Once he nudged Taehyung and Jungkook to point out what was going on, Jungkook shot Bam Bam a sharp stare.

“All right, relax, he still has a dating ban so we should be okay,” Taehyung reassured.

“I hope so,” Jungkook grumbled.

Going backstage, Jen had Namjoon snap a photo of herself with her arms outstretched and a proud smile on her face. 

She tweets, ‘I came, I slayed, I conquered. Getting 1st place at ISAC feels so good. We winning! Yay us! #BlackGirlMagic #DidntTripThisTime #JEN’

For the final event, which was the final of Men's 400m relay, Jennie approached Jungkook from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder while smiling. “You ready?”

“I hope so. I really want to win.” he tilted his head to the side.

“You’ll do well. I’ll be waiting for you at the finish line, Golden Maknae,” she reassured him.

Those words motivated him to do well. Running and passing the finish line, to see her there, cheering him on. It brought a smile to his face.

Seventeen, B1A4, Teen Top, and BTS were the teams going up against each other. Jennie stood on the sidelines with GFriend and Yeeun.

“Let’s go Jimin!” Jennie shouted, clapping as her heart began to race. 

Once the idols started running, the arena started screaming. Jimin passed his stick to Taehyung as he dashed in his line tailing behind Sandeul from B1A4. 

“You got this Tae!” she began jumping up and down with GFriend and Yeeun.

Once Tae passed the stick to Hobi, he ran behind Jinyeong, before passing it to the last runner, which was Jungkook.

Soon as Jungkook zoomed past, everyone, he created a big gap as he aimed for the finish line. 

“Yes!” she happily yelled, continuing to watch him run. 

She started to migrate near the finish line, waiting for him to finish. ARMY began screaming as soon as Jungkook ran through the finish line. 

“The last runner from BTS is so amazing!” the commentators exclaimed while Rapmon and Jimin ran after him.

Jungkook kept running until he saw Jennie happily running towards him. He ran up to her and embraced her, rejoicing in his victory

“Ahhhh I’m so proud of you!” she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

They both felt a collision when Jimin, Rapmon, and Tae ran over, joining in the hug and they ended up tumbling onto the floor as the rest of the members joined in, laughing.

Yeeun ended up giggling with GFriend. “Ah, Jungkook and Jennie are so cute~!”

“I know! He looks so happy, too.” Eunha added with a smile.

“I haven’t told Jennie but I really ship her with Jungkook. Don’t you agree?” Hayoon asked.

“I know me too. I bet we’re not the only ones” SinB mentioned as they all agreed.

--------

A few days later, Jennie sat in her little studio at Big Hit with her camera videotaping her live for another V-Live. She sat in her chair, spinning around, while the views continued to multiply. She always had her V-Lives in English, enjoying speaking her primary language. But also tended to accommodate those who wanted to hear some Korean and Japanese. Some even asked for Chinese although she was still learning and needed work on it.

After a few moments and checked out the screen and waved. “What up, what up??” she smiled.

‘BABE!’

‘Hiiiiii’

‘ahhh I love you so much!’

‘Love u JW!’

“Welcome to the Smartie Factory!” she presented. “My own little studio, haha. Just like Suga, J-Hope, and Rapmon. This is where I create my covers and work on my music. Let me give you a tour.” she took the camera and showed off the computer. “So, this is where I have all my music on. I recently transferred my stuff from my laptop. I had this studio for a few months now and finally have the chance to show it off. Remember all the stuffed animals I received on White Day? Ahahaha, they’re all happily here to cheer me on while I work.” 

After showing everything, she set it back down on the desk while she sat and faced the camera.

“Sadly, there are no Smarties, right now, I ate them all. I’m so upset, I just had some yesterday. Sometimes I think the guys steal some of my smarties because there is just no way in the world I don’t have any left.”

‘How was ISAC?’

‘I saw videos of you at ISAC! You did great!’

‘You killed it at ISAC!’

“Yes, ISAC was sooooo fun! Mad fun! I had a great time, a better time than last year. At least I didn’t fall! I was so annoyed when they kept bringing up me falling last year. Just let it go, you know?” She continued to read the comments.

“Hahaha you say that some guys were looking at me? Who? Let me know the tea.” she spoke eagerly with amusement. “And yeah, I did meet more people! I finally got to meet some Seventeen members. They’re mad cool. The8 is very kind and cute. He accidentally called me handsome when he meant to say beautiful. I am trying to learn more Chinese so I can speak with him more and also to speak with more of our Chinese ARMY. I want to be able to communicate with you all without much of a language barrier. So please bear with me. I’ll be learning. You know, I get a kick out of my friends getting so confused when I speak English. And even Korean. It’s funny to see their reaction. I feel that way too when I’m not familiar with a language.”

‘The black community is so proud of you’

‘I love your self-determination’

“Well, I’m very proud that I’m representing the black community up here.” she beamed while reading the comments.

‘Did you see a lot of ARMY at ISAC?’

“Yeah, I did see a lot of ARMY at ISAC. I even saw some of you wear some USA merch. That was really cool of you to do that. I ran into some lucky ARMY after the show. Please don’t be so nervous to talk to me. I’m just a normal person just like you, just more known for her talents, that’s all. Like say hey, I’ll say hey back. While on Tumblr, I read that our supporters would probably die or pass out or wouldn’t be able to talk in front of their favorite idols. But I don’t want to miss an opportunity to meet my passionate supporters, so please don’t feel that way. I’m human, let’s have a brief conversation and chill.”

“Oh! For a while now, I was making some of my own music,” she added. “But lately I kind of got a little discouraged. I won’t scrap it, I’ll just leave it on my computer until I find the motivation to work on it again. My goals are to create music for myself one day and release it for you.”

‘Release it!’

‘Please release it!’

‘Don’t tease us like that’

‘Do I need to fly to Korea? Release it!’

She smiled softly. “One day I’ll release it. I want to rerecord everything though. My vocals are improving, so that’s good. I had this notebook and...” she trailed off

She remembered her young self, back in Amity, constantly writing a couple of songs in her notebook. Back when the other members were getting called out to work on their solo songs. Excited and eager she was, patiently waiting for her time to share a song that she wrote. She kept the notebook to herself and didn’t tell anyone.

When Hailey found out, she wanted to use Jen’s written songs for Amity’s next album but Jen refused because she couldn’t just give songs so personal away like that. It caused more of a rift in her relationship with the group.

But before Jen knew it, she had lost the notebook right before she left the group and hadn’t seen it ever since. But then recently, with Amity’s new album out to help promote their world tour, Jen noticed that some of those songs on their album were the songs she had written in her notebook. Crazy enough, some songs were tweaked for a more sexual tone and sadly, defeated the purpose of the written songs that she spent weeks working on because she wasn’t a professional songwriter and just wrote what came to mind.

Jennie shouldn’t have been surprised but soon as she heard those familiar words, she teared up and cried in her room. It discouraged and hurt her that they would do something that. They weren’t going to let her or Angelina live it down that they wanted to leave, huh? She couldn’t do anything about it but move on. She had spoken with Namjoon about it and vented to him. Yoongi was in the studio with them and she remembered the Daegu rapper suggesting to create a diss track. But her rap skills weren’t up to par just yet to go that way. And Amity, well, they just weren’t worth it and Namjoon agreed with her reasons.

Throughout this year, Amity would constantly poke shots at her and Angelina on social media because they’ve been winning awards like the Grammys. But Jennie and Angelina wanted quality music, not quantity.

Jen wanted to sing songs that were meaningful to her. She was glad she was here because Big Hit gave her more musical freedom, unlike SongStress Entertainment. It would be a while before she could begin writing songs again. The wound had not healed yet.

She sighed and shook the negative thoughts out of her head. “I had written a couple of songs but lost the notebook to it,” she responded. “Someone that I thought I could trust, now is singing those songs that I had written. But it’s okay. I hope to make better songs. So, bear with me.”

“Why do you stay in BTS when there’s some so-called “ARMY” that won’t support you but will support the other members?” she read a question. “Well, because I love what I do. And I refuse to let someone have that power over me to stop doing what I want to do in my life. It’s crazy, people always are there to see you fall but don’t say much when they see you do your own thing and succeed. But all these antis and haters, they can take a seat and watch me thrive. I ain’t going nowhere. Oh, so I was on Tumblr, right?” 

‘Uh oh...’

‘Oh nooooo’

‘What did you see!?’

‘Hide your fanfics!’

“You guys come up with some interesting fan blog names of me. Let’s see...um...what were they? Oh yeah, Jenniesyummythighs was one. MunchkinsBooty was another.” she laughed. “Uh, IAmJenniesBoobies was another I came across. HireJennieForNike is one I really like, they really should hire me. I’d be a great model for them. I’m so enthusiastic about their product.”

‘Lmaoooooo omg’

‘Hahahahahah’

‘LOL can you blame us?’

“So, ARMY, I have a question to ask you. I’m curious. So whenever I’m on Tumblr, I usually like to check the BTS tag, right? So, um...what is this about a Sub Jennie, I’m seeing lately? Should I be concerned?” she deadpanned, looking serious with a genuine voice.

‘DEAD’

‘OH SHIZ’

‘DELETE YOUR BLOGS’

‘SHE CALLED US OUT’

‘UM’

“Uh huh. That’s what I thought. But who said I was a sub?” she asked curiously but ended up laughing at how she asserted her question, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. I meant literally, who said I was a sub? Where did that even start? Ugh, I think I accidentally just gave you story ideas. Let me be quiet. My statement came out dirtier than I intended.”

‘OMG which one are you?’

“Ah, I should keep it PG. I’m not about that life.”

‘Do you read them?’

“No, I don’t read your fanfics. That seems like taboo territory for me. I don’t want to feel some type of way around anyone you write me with but you do you guys. I like the mood boards that you make and also the fan art. I came across this Hunger Games AU mood board and I thought it was so good. I love the Hunger Games and I enjoy mood boards so make more of those, please.”

“I saved some of my favorites on my phone. I like some of these users on Instagram and follow them. Here." she pointed out some famous K-Pop fanart pages on her phone. “I will try my best to see all your stuff. If you make the hashtag #JWFanart then I’ll always check that tag on Instagram and Tumblr. I’ll like the stuff on Instagram when I can.”

“Oh, and by the way, all of your MLTs of me that I randomly came across, seem to be all wrong," she pointed out. "I remember seeing this one statement that said who is most likely to kiss first. Y’all put me allllll the way at the bottom. I highly recommend that you reconsider that. I'm not afraid to kiss somebody,"

“Another thing, why y’all think I’ll be a crazy ass girlfriend? Like jeez, I’m mad chill, I promise you. Is it because of the I Need U music video with the cheating scene? I was just acting! And who is most likely to cheat? Why did y’all put me at the TOP of the list!? Bruh! Who do you think I am?” she called them out. "Like, no! Absolutely not, you wildin’, don’t play like that!”

She laughed again. “All right, I’m done teasing. Y'all enjoy whatever your imagination takes you,"

With Jungkook, he was in the Big Hit building, in a dance studio with Jimin and Taehyung, watching her V-Live on his phone.

“What kind of girlfriend do I think I’ll be?” he watched her read a comment in Korean. “I feel like I’ll be so cheesy, to be honest. I’d like to do some nice things for my future significant other, to show how much I appreciate them. I’m not sure what yet. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. Gosh but the thought of dating someone, I’m like, you really want to put up with me? Me? Of all people?”

“Absolutely.” the Golden Maknae spoke, answering her statement.

“I’m so weird, are you sure?”

“That makes two of us.” he continued.

“I’ll admit, sometimes I have my fears. I try not to overthink it but some days I’m like, man I hope the person I date won’t get bored of me after a while.”

“I’d never get bored of you.” He guaranteed.

“I’m pretty sure a lot of people get those thoughts and overthink things. I feel like I'm a terrible kisser and need to get better at it. I apologize in advance to my future lover.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured under his breath with a smile.

"I guess when I do date, I'll get better at kissing. So I hope my future significant other doesn't mind me kissing them a lot,"

"I'd love that," Jungkook added

Jimin and Taehyung saw Jungkook immersed on his phone with a smitten smile on his face and they decided to see what he was up to. 

“I bet he’s watching Jennie’s V-Live.” Taehyung teased.

“I know. Look at him, trying so hard not to smile.” Jimin giggled.

Jungkook glanced up and narrowed his eyes. “Shut up!” He tried to get away from them as they tried to watch what was going on.

Back to Jennie, a comment popped up and she read, “When you start dating, you’ll improve your kissing skills. You can kiss your boyfriend whenever you want.”

Jen let out a soft laugh and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. And for those out there, don’t change yourself for anyone. It’s their loss if they can’t appreciate you for you. There will be someone out there for you, so don’t sweat it if you don’t think you won't find someone special. Be patient. It’ll be worth it.”

‘Can you please sing for us?’

“You want me to sing? It’ll cost you. How much?” She teased and took out her phone. “I’ll put my music on shuffle and see what pops up.”

The first song to come on is a rock song. “I’m a little bit of a rock and metalhead. But let’s choose another song. You know one day I would like to create some type of alternative or rock song while playing my guitar. That would be so cool. Or maybe collab with a rock band, one day. K-Rock or not, it’ll be fun. Maybe, we’ll see what the future holds. I want to be more active with my guitar. I enjoy that style of music because the guitar just sounds so good with it.”

She pressed shuffle again and Love by Keyshia Cole came on. “Ah, this song! How come all these throwbacks are popping up on my phone, huh Spotify? Really?”

She pressed shuffle again and Pon de Replay played. “Ahhhh 2005 Rihanna. This was my song!”

She started moving her shoulders, bumping to the beat. “I love Rihanna’s evolution as an artist. I hope I can have the same type of evolution as her, music and appearance wise. I want to be an amazing artist just like her! The way she thrives in so many genres of music! Nicki Minaj too! So versatile! I hope to be just like them in music. Rock Star is one of my favorites from Rihanna! I want to be a rockstar! Black women in rock are amazing! It'll be a dream to work with them! I don't care what it is. Modeling, music, anything! I adore them!"

She pressed shuffle again as Ridin by Chamillionaire popped on. “Ooh! This song too!”

She started bouncing up and down on her seat to the beat while ARMY started laughing at her enthusiasm. “They see me rollin’, they hatin’, Patrollin’ and tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. My music’s so loud, I’m swangin’. They hopin’ that they gonna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty. Tryna catch me ridin’ dirty.”

She pressed shuffle again and Right Thurr by Chingy came on. “Oh~ another throwback! I haven’t heard this in a minute! Okay, Okay, let me get back on track and stop fooling around. Let’s find a song to sing for you.”

Unconditional by Kehlani came on.

“Ah, okay, I’ll sing this. I highly recommend her music.” she looked at the camera and laughed shyly “You guys are gonna make me nervous.” she pressed her hands against her cheeks

Back to the Golden Maknae, he couldn’t contain his smile as he watched her sing sweetly to Kehlani’s song.

“Whipped!” Taehyung teased.

“Shut up!” he yelled and smacked him on the arm as he continued to try to watch her V-Live.

With Miss Bangtan, she sang, “Sometimes I come home and I’m sweaty from the day. And my hair’s all in a messy bun cause I had to get it out my face.” She pointed to her messy bun. “And I rather lace my sneakers up cause high heels ain’t my thing.” she showed off her Nike sneakers on her feet as she wiggled her eyebrows goofily which caused some ARMY to type in various comments indicating that they were laughing and amused at her movements.

“And I don’t see a flaw in that, I never want to change. So if you love~ me like you say~! You’ll be a man, grab my hand, take me as I am~!” she got out of her seat to dance and sing around.

I wanna l-l-l-l-l-l-l-love unconditional

I wanna l-l-l-l-l-l-l-love unconditional

‘IM CRYINGGGG’

‘Protect this child’

‘Why is she so adorable!?’

‘Ahhhhh I love this girl!’

After the song, she got back to her seat to check out the comments. “Protect me? Ahahaha! I guess I have some issues, don’t I? All jokes aside, I’ve been so excited to show you how much my singing has improved that I’ve been working on a number of covers to share with you on SoundCloud, probably near the holiday season as an early Christmas gift. Okay, let’s check out what’s next on the shuffle.” she pressed the next button.

Ain’t It Fun by Paramore came on and she started jamming. “Ooh, yes!” she jumped out of her seat to grab one of the biggest teddy bears from her White Day stuffed animal stash, and began to dance with it.

‘And I thought Jungkook was the weirdest, AHAHAH’

‘This is the true personality of Miss Bangtan. LOL'

Back with Jungkook, he started laughing hysterically. This was too adorable.

Instagram Models by Charlie Puth came on next when she changed the song, sitting back down.

“Oh! This song! Make sure y’all stay away from these Instagram models! Men and women! They will get you! Stay away from these people, man! Don’t give them clout, brah! Do not! Give them! CLOUT!” she yelled and spun around in her chair.

As the Maknae Line was leaving the dance studio, they began to walk near Jen’s studio. 

“Hey, Jungkookie, you should see Jennie and join her,” Jimin suggested with a mischievous glint.

“Ah, I shouldn’t.” The Golden Maknae shook his head, taking out his earbuds.

“I think you should.” He opened up the door and quickly shoved him in.

“Hyung!” he whispered in a hiss while the door closed silently.

Jennie, unaware that Jungkook was in her studio, continued Lil Wayne’s rap. 

“Uh, she just wanted to be popular. Uh, she just want ten thousand followers.” she pulled up her Instagram page, showing it on the screen. Setting her phone down, she shook her head and gestured with her hands, “Lord, she posted, she posted, she posted. They like it, they like it, repost it. She party promoting, she hosting. She posing, legs open, provoking. It got my head smoking. I tried to act like I don’t notice. Emotions, emotions, emotions, Lord!” 

She dramatically fell out of her seat as ARMY typed in LOL and laughing emojis while the chorus came back on

‘I am cryinggggg XD’

‘hahahahahahhaha’

‘Omg, she must be on a sugar high from those smarties.’

‘I'm high key happy that she is so comfortable with us like this. She used to be so reserved. She’s so goofy now ahaha’

Meanwhile, Jungkook silently started laughing and wondered when she’d notice him as ARMY noticed him in the background.

She got back to her seat to continue the next verse and she pretended like she was about to cry as she dramatically lip synced, “I had to leave that ho alone and get my mind right. I had to go talk to my friends, I had to find Christ.” She placed a hand over her heart and the other high up in the air, reaching the sky.

Once she saw a comment about Jungkook being in the room, she quickly turned around and widened her eyes. 

“How long have you been there!?” she exclaimed while he started cackling. She quickly paused the song while he grabbed a seat to sit next to her.

“Long enough.” he teased.

“Wow. Well, Jungkook make sure you stay away from these Instagram Models, mkay?’

“Duly noted.”

“I’m serious. They nothing but trouble.”

“I’m aware from what I just saw.”

“Hahah.” she turned to the camera. “ARMY! Look who stopped by, the Golden Maknae after he just watched me act goofy. Say hello to ARMY.”

“Hello!” he waved. “ARMY, Jennie is weird, isn’t she?”

“And you’re not?” she turned her head to meet his gaze as a big smile came across his face.

‘OMG, the way he’s looking at her! I ship it!’

‘I love their friendship so much. They are friendship goals.’

‘Aw, the way Jungkook is smiling, I want him to smile like that more often.’

“ARMY! Thank you so much for getting Shawn Mendes’ attention. I’m still stunned he noticed the cover. ARMY, you are truly one of a kind. Thank you so much for this.”

‘You are welcome!’

‘You deserve it!’

‘We ship you and Shawn!’

“You ship us? Hahaha. I do have a little crush on him. Hopefully, I’ll meet him one day and attend one of his concerts.”

“You like him?” Jungkook brought up.

“Not as much as you like IU.” she teased, causing him to smile shyly. “So when are you going to talk to IU?”

“When you are going to talk to Ailee?” he countered

“L-let’s not get into that. I’m not prepared.” She responded, making him chuckle.

‘Who would you date out of all the members of BTS’

“Who would I date? Shawn Mendes,” she answered with a grin

‘Who would you want to collaborate with?’

“Shawn Mendes.”

‘Who would you like to meet?’

“Shawn Mendes.” She answered again, causing Jungkook to poke the inside of his cheek as she continued to talk about Shawn.

‘Hahahah Jungkook looks a little jealous!’ he noticed a fan comment.

Did he really make it that obvious? 

He had hoped Jen didn’t see the comment. 

He needed to work on having a poker face and keep his jealousy in check.

“I’m gonna go. I’ll see you back at the dorm. I’m going to get something to eat first, did you want anything?” Jungkook got up from his seat.

“Lamb Skewers.”

“I’m glad our minds think alike.” he happily accepted her request and said goodbye to ARMY, exiting the room.

“As the year will be ending soon, I’m hoping that soon we can have some fan meets in America like there are in Korea and Japan. I want to be able to connect one on one with our American supporters just like we do here. So I’ll see what I can do.” She mentioned.

“I have also been writing out some more goals. I want to work more on my breath control when singing. I'm getting better at it. I’m currently working on trying to inhale a good amount of oxygen that flows out my lungs smoothly while I sing my verses to songs with ease. I've getting some vocal lessons to help with that, so I hope you look forward to my improvements as the years go by. I am striving hard to improve and reinvent myself. Especially with my live singing.”

Before she could speak again, she heard a loud yell from outside the room and watched Jimin and Taehyung run into her studio, locking the door.

She sat there, bewildered, and questioned them, “What the heck? Can’t you see I’m trying to talk to ARMY?”

She was cut off by their giggling. “We pranked Suga and Rapmon. We made it seem like we put water on their computers.” Jimin mentioned.

“Oh no, you didn’t.” she looked at them in horror.

‘Oh shitttt, Jen’s face says it all’

‘RIP Jimin and Taehyung’

“Can we please hide in here?” Taehyung asked,

“I hurt my finger, can you get me a band-aid?” Jimin asked.

“I wish I could band-aid your mouth.” Jen retorted, earning giggles from the 95 Liners. She turned to the computer when she heard hard knocking on her door. “U-um, ARMY, our time will be cut short. I need to fix the mess that these two goofballs created. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Love you, bye!” she turned off the V-Live and got up from her seat.

She smacked Jimin and Tae upside their heads, causing them to yelp.

"That's for bringing the drama to my studio!" she scolded.

“Smartie!” Yoongi yelled on the other side of the door.

“Yeah!?” She called out loudly.

“I know they’re in there! Open the door! Why is it locked!?”

“Because I was having a VLive with ARMY!”

“Bullshit, where are those two!? I'm trying to work on this damn album, and they spilled water on my fucking computer!“

Jennie rubbed her temples while Jimin and Tae panicked, and scrambled around to find hiding spots.

Yoongi was not in a pleasant mood.

“SMARTIE!” he banged on the door, causing her to flinch.

“Look what you got me into!” She whispered harshly to them.

Somehow, Namjoon managed to work on opening up her door, which caused Jennie to push the door shut with Taehyung and Jimin. Loud screams and curses were heard as the rappers tried to push the door open after they unlocked it.

“Not the door! NOT THE DOOR! My door!” she yelled when Namjoon accidentally dented her door, barging in to go after the poor 95 Liners. “Take this outside! Take this outside, right now! I just cleaned this studio up!”

[bellaxgiornata]

Life Worth Living [Chapter Five]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Original Female Character

[You can find the full summary and chapter list for this series here]

Warnings/tags: 18+ for this series; contains fluff, angst, violence, PTSD, smut (Contains our beloved Defenders and lots of plot twists)

Word Count: 9.7k

a/n: This is a very long chapter and will forever be one of my favorite early chapters in this series. I love flirty Matty in this one and you should know that if I can work Matt and flirting over pool into a fic, I'm going to. You also finally get a bit of a glimpse at what Olivia can do... Anyway, feedback is always appreciated!

It was Saturday night, two nights after I’d run into Jessica and Trish. Jessica had texted me over the past couple of days, keeping me up to date on Hope’s case and her struggle to find witnesses. She'd also told me about the apology Trish had broadcast on Trish Talk yesterday morning, the day after challenging Kilgrave on air and he'd called in. 

I remember listening to the show, hearing his voice over the radio for the first time in years. I hadn't been able to fall asleep for more than an hour at a time the past few nights since. I'd barely eaten, too, having lost my appetite with his reappearance in my life. And because I'd been spiraling, I hadn't left my apartment in the past two days either, unconsciously avoiding Matt, Foggy, and Karen. Matt hadn't had any other night time check-ins; since I was barely sleeping I wasn't having nightmares. 

Currently I was sprawled out on my couch, staring at some awful sitcom, not exactly watching it. My eyes were burning and slightly bloodshot from the lack of sleep over the entire week. There was a half eaten slice of toast I had long since abandoned on a plate in the middle of my coffee table, which was a mess with dishes that had piled up. 

A rapid succession of hard knocks at my front door caused me to stiffen on the couch. My fingers gripped the cushions roughly as I held my breath. 

Did he find me already?

“Olivia! Where the hell have you disappeared the last few days!” Foggy’s boisterous voice called from the other side of my front door.

The tension slowly eased out of my muscles as I carefully sat up on the couch. I glanced down at the sweatpants and oversized black tee-shirt I was wearing and frowned. I looked a mess, but I didn’t have time to dress to answer the door for Foggy. With a huff I made my way to the front door where Foggy had taken up banging again.

I swung the door open to be greeted by Foggy’s beaming face–which immediately fell when he actually took in the sight of me.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” he breathed out, eyes wide.

Karen suddenly appeared next to Foggy, Matt being pulled along beside her. Her eyes grew wide as well when she began scanning me up and down, her mouth parting a little in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Matt asked quickly, voice full of concern.

“Jesus–you’ve got a bandage on your forehead and…shit, are those bruises on your neck?” Foggy gasped. “Did someone choke you?”

Matt’s jaw snapped shut instantly. From my place at the door I could see the muscles twitching as he ground his teeth. Karen eyed me with a sorrowful gaze, her focus lingering on my bruised neck for a few moments. I let out a sigh, rubbing a hand across my face. 

“I’m fine, just had a terrible past few days,” I assured them.

“But were you attacked?” Foggy pressed.

“Yes, but it was a…misunderstanding,” I explained.

Foggy’s eyes narrowed at my words; Karen raised a brow at me questioningly. Matt still remained clenching his jaw, his hands gripping his cane so hard his knuckles were turning as white as the object itself.

“How does someone attacking you turn out to be a misunderstanding?” Foggy shot at me.

I waved a dismissive hand quickly, as if I could wave away their worry. “Look, don’t worry about it. I’m fine, I’m handling it.”

“That certainly makes me feel better,” Foggy said sarcastically. “Did you go to the police?”

I raised a hand, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m trying to. When I…can.”

“Why can’t you now?” he pried.

I took a deep breath, fighting back the frustration. I didn’t want to drag the three of them into this. They didn’t need to be on Kilgrave’s radar.

“Because the problem…requires evidence, which I imagine you can understand, being lawyers,” I told him. “And until I have that, I’m…dealing with it.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Matt said, his tone dark. “Whatever you’re doing, it doesn’t sound safe. You shouldn’t be dealing with it, especially not alone.”

“I’m not…I’m not alone,” I said slowly. “I have help. And I’m…” my voice trailed off, searching for the words. “I’m sort of the only one able to deal with this.”

“What does that even mean?” Foggy pushed. "You're being cryptic and it's scaring me."

I exhaled slowly, opting for a bit of the truth. 

"Some P.I. was looking for someone, someone I…used to know. They thought I might’ve had information, but I didn’t," I explained. "Now I'm sort of helping them. That's all."

Karen looked skeptical but remained quiet at my explanation. Matt’s jaw muscles had stopped ticking, but his head was tilted to the side and I could tell he was intensely focused on me behind his dark glasses when I felt that telltale prickle along my skin. It was Foggy who continued on.

"But the bruises?" 

"I was on a run, had my earbuds in. They grabbed me to talk, I freaked out and attacked them first," I explained with a shrug. "They were just trying to defend themselves too. Like I said–just a misunderstanding."

"Alright…" Foggy said slowly, not looking entirely convinced. 

"So uh…" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Why is it that you're banging on my door after nine?"

"We were going to go to Josie's," Karen told me. "We thought you might want to come out."

"Planning to stay out until the sunrise?" I questioned them cautiously. 

"No," Karen said with a laugh. "I don't think Foggy could handle that again."

"Hey!" Foggy exclaimed, affronted. "I did just fine that night, thank you!"

I grinned at the pair before my eyes slid back and landed on Matt behind them. He was smiling but it almost looked forced. I hadn't spoken to him since the night he'd come over and then disappeared on me before I'd woken up. 

"Would you like to join us?" Matt asked slowly, one of his brows raising.

I glanced down to what I was wearing, a frown covering my face before I looked up, taking note of their clothes. Matt and Foggy were wearing button down shirts, ties, and dress pants with nice winter coats covering them. Karen was in yet another nice dress with a black pea coat, her face made up and her hair neatly pulled back in a bun. Meanwhile, I was pretty sure there was a smear of peanut butter somewhere on my shirt, a hole forming at the left ankle of my sweatpants, and my hair was a tousled mess.

"I'm sort of a mess right now…" I answered, voice trailing off.

Karen smiled wide, catching my eye. "We can wait, if you want to change."

"Yeah, we'd love for you to come out with us," Foggy assured me. “Josie’s is just a dive bar, you don’t need to get dressed up. We just had some office work for a new case we worked on today so,” he said, waving a hand at their attire, “we haven’t really changed.”

Clearing my throat, I stepped aside from the doorway. "I'll just change quick, if you want to wait inside?"

Foggy quickly rushed past; I could feel him surveying the state of my apartment without even seeing him. Karen slipped in past me, guiding Matt inside. His hand briefly brushed against my arm as he stepped past me and I wondered if it was intentional or not. Closing the door behind them, I followed Karen and Matt down the entry hall into the living room.

I shifted awkwardly as Foggy and Karen eyed the coffee table littered with empty water glasses and coffee mugs; the piece of lone peanut butter toast forgotten on the table. I quickly grabbed the plate, biting my lip awkwardly.

“Sorry, wasn’t planning on company,” I muttered as I rushed to empty the toast in the trash before tossing the dish in the sink. As I made my way through the living room, I briefly mumbled out, “I’ll just be a minute,” before darting down the hall and towards the bedroom.

Sliding the door closed behind me, I made my way to the dresser, grabbing the brush atop it and quickly combing through my long, blonde hair. It was a tangled disaster and I frowned as I tried to tame it, giving up when the waves wouldn’t straighten out. I made my way to my closet, opening the door and quickly selecting a pair of dark denim skinny jeans and an oversized, cream colored sweater. I slipped out of my sweatpants and tee-shirt, pulling up the jeans before slipping the sweater on. Stepping back towards my closet, I grabbed a black leather jacket and tugged my arms into it. Making my way back to my dresser, I quickly applied some mascara, a bit of concealer to cover the dark circles under my tired eyes, and a faint bit of perfume–for some reason I felt like I could still smell the traces of peanut butter which must’ve gotten into my hair.

I paused, placing the spray onto the dresser and eyeing my reflection. I didn’t look nearly as put together as Karen but definitely better than I had before. My eyes traveled down to my neck, the angry bruising looking a little bit lighter today. I lifted a hand, my fingertips gently tracing the bruises with a frown. I had no way to cover those and I refused to use my abilities to heal them–not that I could now anyway, considering I'd have to explain why they'd disappeared. With a sigh, I pulled some hair forward and tugged my jacket tighter around me. It was the best I could do. 

Exiting my room, I heard the sound of muffled voices. The three of them suddenly quieted when I appeared in the living room. 

“Maybe you should convince Matt to get a dog and you can share it,” Foggy said as he rose from the couch. 

My eyes narrowed playfully at Foggy as Karen giggled behind a hand.

“Are you implying I’m lonely, Nelson?” I asked him.

“Of course not…” Foggy answered, his tone not quite believable. "It certainly doesn't look like you've been in your apartment, alone, for days on end or anything…"

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how service dogs work, for starters,” I told him. “And also–I’m pretty sure I already said I’m partial to cats.”

“Then maybe you should get a cat,” Foggy urged. 

“Thinking I should get a head start on being the lonely cat lady already?” I teased him, leading the group towards the front door.

“Oh, well, no–that’s not what I meant,” Foggy fumbled.

I laughed lightly, opening the front door and stepping aside so the three could exit. This time Foggy was leading Matt instead of Karen, who muttered a ‘thank you’ as she passed by.

“I’m just teasing, relax,” I told Foggy, locking the door behind me as I exited. “Besides, I’ve already considered getting a cat. Just haven’t exactly gotten around to it.”

“Maybe you should,” he continued. “I hear they lower stress levels.”

I rolled my eyes, jamming my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket as we stopped in front of the elevator doors.

“Alright, I’m feeling personally attacked now,” I joked. “Can we focus the topic of discussion to something other than me? You said you guys had a new client?”

“Oh! Right, yeah, that guy who came in that morning you were at the office,” Foggy said, perking up. “Can’t really go into details because, you know, client confidentiality and all. But we got a case! A paying one.”

I smiled, watching as the elevator doors flew open and stepping inside behind the group. I found myself suddenly beside Matt, who had dropped Foggy’s arm now.

“That’s great, really,” I told them.

“That reminds me, Karen,” Foggy said, turning his attention to her. “I wanted to ask you about that file from earlier.”

My gaze darted down to my feet as Foggy started discussing some case-related files with Karen. For a moment I wondered if going out to a bar with them was really the best idea, but then I quickly scolded myself. I couldn’t stay inside my apartment hiding forever. Besides, I wouldn’t be alone and tonight should hopefully be fun. And, if I was being honest with myself, I missed all three of them.

A hand gently squeezed my shoulder and I jumped, eyes darting upwards. Matt was looking in my direction, his brows raised just above his dark glasses. I noticed the elevator had reached the lobby, Karen and Foggy holding the doors as they continued their deep discussion.

“You alright?” Matt asked me quietly.

“Yeah, I uhm…yeah,” I said, shaking my head. “Just spaced out for a moment.” 

The left side of Matt’s lip curled up at me, his brows lowering. “You mind if I walk with you? I think those two are in the middle of some very boring office talk, and I’ve sort of had enough of that for one Saturday.”

Nervously I shoved a few strands of hair behind my ear, nodding. Immediately realizing he couldn’t see the gesture, I smiled sheepishly and answered, “Yes.”

His warm hand slid from off my shoulder, slipping underneath my arm until he could firmly hold onto my bicep. I fought the shiver that ran down my spine, chewing my lip anxiously as I led him out of the elevator, his cane tapping along the floor as we moved. 

“How far is the bar?” I asked curiously, trying to combat the silence as we made our way through the lobby behind Foggy and Karen.

“About a block and a half,” Matt told me. “Not far.”

When we stepped outside, the cold chill of the night immediately bit at my face and I unconsciously leant into Matt. 

“Cold?” Matt asked me.

My heart sped up at the sudden closeness of his lips to my ear, his warm breath brushing against my skin. I swallowed hard.

“Yeah, just a little,” I answered. 

Without hesitation, he removed his hand from its place around my bicep, instead wrapping it around my waist and pulling me in towards him as we walked. I could feel the hard muscles of his chest against my side now; the warmth of his body seeping through my leather jacket. I could smell the scent of cedar and clove again, something I hadn’t realized I’d missed until just this moment. The feeling that often arose in my stomach around Matt suddenly reared its head, causing my breath to catch briefly on my next inhale.

Matt’s nose brushed against my temple, his lips lightly grazing my ear as he leant in beside me, whispering, “Is this okay?”

I blinked hard, clenching my hands tightly into fists in my jacket pockets. For the briefest moment, I almost stopped on the sidewalk, overcome with a strong urge to grab him by the coat and pull his lips to my own. Immediately I pushed the thought away.

“Yes, but,” I answered, voice weak. I tried to calm down before continuing. “Isn’t this harder for me to help guide you?”

A very light chuckle warmed the side of my face from his breath. His mouth was back near my ear again, lightly skimming his lips against the sensitive part of it as he spoke.

“I know these streets very well,” he assured me. His voice was deep, almost a whisper; a conversation just between us as Karen and Foggy were forgotten ahead of us on the sidewalk. “I’ll be fine.” 

There was a beat of silence between us, my mind entirely focused on the feel of Matt’s nose lightly brushing against the top of my head.

“You smell nice,” Matt muttered.

A snort escaped me at his compliment before I shot him a look. He was smiling in my direction, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I very badly wanted to rip those glasses off of his face to see him better.

“What?” he asked curiously, a smile lingering.

“I’m pretty sure there’s peanut butter somewhere in my hair,” I said with a chuckle, my cheeks burning in slight embarrassment.

Matt’s nose nuzzled against the top of my hair for a moment again. My eyes fluttered closed at the gesture; it wasn’t one I’d experienced before–something so sweet and affectionate–and neither were the butterflies that suddenly broke loose in my stomach.

“There’s definitely peanut butter in your hair,” he agreed, his tone teasing.

I laughed lightly along with him, rolling my eyes. “Great. Well, I’m glad you enjoy it. Is it making you hungry?”

“Maybe…” he said, his voice barely audible.

Something about the way he said the word caused a warmth to suddenly erupt low inside of me. I stiffened as I felt Matt’s hand suddenly tighten against my waist. He cleared his throat before speaking again, but I noticed a slight waver in his tone as he did.

“You smell like coffee though,” he murmured. “And a mix of something citrus and floral. Mandarin?” he questioned lightly, brushing his nose against the top of my head again. “And…hibiscus?”

I expelled a breathy laugh, feeling a little lightheaded from this conversation. “You’re good,” I whispered back. “Clearly you know your scents.”

Matt hummed in response, a slight grin permanently fixed on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by Foggy.

“Welcome to Josie’s!” he exclaimed, gesturing dramatically at the entrance to the bar.

Breaking out of the private bubble Matt and I had been in, I glanced up. There was a red neon sign on the front window, displaying the name of the bar. The sound of old rock music was drifting out onto the sidewalk. 

Foggy held the door open for Karen to pass through, and then gestured for Matt and myself. Matt’s hand slid from around my waist and back up to my bicep, his warm hand curling around it as I led him inside. I followed behind Karen to the bar, Foggy coming in behind us. 

The bar was indeed a dive bar; it was dimly lit with neon signs and a few strings of lights around the ceiling. The walls were a dark wood paneling reminiscent of the seventies and there were a few old gambling game machines placed precariously about. A lone pool table sat vacant near the front window with the neon sign. I was surprised to see there were a handful of people here; it wasn’t crowded but it certainly wasn’t empty. 

I rested my arms against the bar top beside Karen, feeling a pang of sadness as Matt released his grip on my arm. Foggy was gaining the attention of Josie behind the bar to order drinks as I continued to survey the room. 

The three immediately ordered beers when Josie finally appeared. As she started placing the bottles on the bar, the older woman now stared at me expectantly.

“Oh, uh, water please,” I ordered.

“No!” Foggy and Matt both shouted in unison.

I jumped at their unexpected reaction, my eyes widening. Karen only giggled beside me, shaking her head.

“You do not drink the water at Josie’s,” Foggy warned me dramatically. “There’s something wrong with the pipes. You can… see the bacteria and rust in it.”

“That’s why we always order our drinks neat,” Matt added.

“Alright then…”I said slowly, turning back to the expectant Josie as she rested both hands on the bar. “Just a coke, then.”

“No ice!” Foggy tacked on.

I shook my head, laughing, as we threw some cash on the sticky bar counter.

“Not drinking tonight?” Karen asked me curiously as we waited for my coke.

“I don’t drink,” I admitted. “I prefer to be in full control of my…mental faculties.”

"Not a problem!" Foggy exclaimed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. 

I thanked Josie as she placed my drink on the counter a moment later. My eyes wandered up to the television behind the bar. Despite the muted voices I could see they were talking about the man in the mask, an enlarged, grainy cellphone image of him on the screen. Karen followed my gaze, her eyes landing on the news.

"What’s your take on him?" she asked me curiously.

I shrugged in response, watching as she took a pull from the beer she'd ordered. She shot me a look, shaking her head.

"No, you've been here for a couple weeks now," she pushed. "You've had to have heard about him. Seen the news. Form some sort of an opinion."

"The mysterious Devil of Hell's Kitchen," Foggy said, whispering the vigilante's name. "Now I'm of the opinion we shouldn't let people go around punching criminals–that's illegal and all. But Karen thinks he's a hero."

I glanced at Karen, watching as she pushed some hair behind her ear and stared down at the beer bottle in her hands. Her fingers were peeling the label on the bottle absently.

"He did save my life once," she told me. "And he's been going after only criminals. Not killing anyone." She shrugged. "I think he's doing good."

My attention turned to Matt who was quietly taking a drink from his bottle, his eyes shielded by his glasses. He was leaning against the bar towards us, but he was facing the rest of the bar and the patrons in it. Foggy followed my gaze and threw his arm around Matt, causing his attention to return to our group.

"Matt here claims to not pay attention enough to form an opinion," Foggy told me, shaking Matt a little by the shoulders.

I quirked a brow at him curiously as I took a sip of my drink. "You've lived here longer than me, and you want me to believe you don't have an opinion?" I asked him curiously.

Matt sent me a charming smile as he said, "As a lawyer, I don't condone criminal acts. But he also saved one of our friends, so," he shrugged. "I don't have an answer."

"So what about you?" Karen asked, nudging me curiously. "What's your take?"

My eyes focused on my glass on the bar in front of me. "Honestly, I haven't given it much thought, but," I admitted, noticing the way Matt leaned forward in interest as I spoke, tongue darting out to wet his lips, "I've seen some of the footage they've shared of him on the news. You can't exactly deny that he's…skilled." I winced as Kilgrave’s face came to mind. "There's definitely worse things he could be doing instead of helping the people of Hell's Kitchen."

"So you approve of what he's doing?" Karen pushed.

I shrugged slowly before taking a drink of my coke. "Sure, I guess. At least he's not hurting innocent people."

"You know what? The pool table is open," Foggy said, pointing his beer bottle at the table. "Let's go play a game. We can do teams." He turned to me with a smile and a wink. "I'll be nice and take pity on you and give you Matt."

My brow rose questioningly at his words and the way Karen hid a laugh behind her hand. " Give me Matt?" I asked him.

Matt scoffed, a faux look of offense crossing his face. "I'm a human being, Foggy, you can't just give me away to people."

Foggy grabbed Matt by the arm, leading him toward the pool table. I pushed off the bar beside Karen, eyeing her curiously. She leant in beside me and whispered, "Matt is actually really good at pool."

"Buddy, I'm giving you an in to play with the girl you clearly like," Foggy pointed out matter-of-factly.

My cheeks flamed at his words and I ducked my head, biting my lip. Karen bumped my arm, catching my gaze. She sent me a questioning look, eyebrows raised. She tilted her head towards Matt and then back at me, an expectant look on her face. I chewed the lip caught between my teeth, eyes slightly wide at her silent question. Very slowly I shrugged in answer, shooting her a sheepish look. Her mouth twisted slowly into a knowing smile. Matt and Foggy carried on, entirely unaware of the exchange that just took place.

"Well when you put it like that," Matt countered with a low chuckle. 

"Plus I figure Olivia could use the help," he added. A smirk crossed his face as the pair reached the pool table. "Though I suppose that means you can't pretend you need so much help as you usually would."

Matt’s lip curled into a mischievous smile as he turned towards Karen and I. "I still need help finding the cue ball," he pointed out.

I set my drink on the table next to the pool table; Karen shrugged out of her coat and I followed suit. My brow furrowed as a thought hit me and I turned towards Foggy who was helping Matt out of his coat before taking off his own. 

"Wait, you think I'm bad at pool?" I asked him. 

Foggy hesitated before he placed the coats at the table Karen and I had claimed. A frown crossed his face as he eyed me curiously. 

"You're…not?" he asked tentatively.

I smirked at him before shaking my head, heading towards the rack of pool cues and grabbing two.

"I lived in Anchorage for a few years," I explained, turning back to face our little group. "The main social activity was going to bars–to play pool and throw darts." I waved a hand at the bar around us. "This is my element, Nelson."

"Aww, damn it!" Foggy whined.

I laughed, crossing over to Matt and swapping out his beer for the pool cue.

"You're going down, Nelson," I threatened playfully. 

"Go easy on me, I'm just a poor lawyer," Foggy joked.

"Consider it payback for the comment about me being lonely and needing a pet," I teased back. 

"Ohhh," Karen said, rubbing her hands together as she headed towards the cue rack, "Maybe we should make a bet."

Foggy grunted, rounding on Karen. "Did you not just hear the poor lawyer part?"

"What's your bet, Karen?" Matt asked her, ignoring Foggy.

She chewed her lip and let out a thoughtful hum before a large grin appeared on her face, her eyes landing mischievously on me. My eyes immediately narrowed in response. 

"Losers buy the next round," Karen answered slowly, her eyes still reflecting a playful glint as they continued to match my guarded ones, "and winners…kiss."

My mouth dropped as I gaped at Karen. She just giggled in response, feigning innocence. Foggy offered Karen a high five, which she enthusiastically returned.

"Those sound like good terms," Matt responded with a grin. "I accept."

I held up a hand quickly. "Okay, explain to me why there's a stipulation on the winners?"

She shrugged casually, grabbing her beer from off the table and bringing the bottle to her lips. "To make things more interesting," she answered innocently before taking a drink.

Foggy stepped forward, holding his hand out towards me. "Do you accept the terms?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as I reached out and shook his hand. "Fine," I muttered.

"Let the record state Olivia shook on it!" Foggy declared to the bar as Karen laughed. His attention returned to me as he released my hand. "Now you either win and kiss my handsome friend there, or intentionally try to lose and wound him deeply, madam." 

I laughed awkwardly, unable to hide my amusement and nervousness at Foggy’s playful bluntness. 

"And I would be so deeply wounded," Matt agreed beside me, his face serious as I glanced at him. But then slowly his mouth tugged up at the corner, a devilish smirk took its place on his face. I couldn’t help but stare at his lips as he whispered, "I promise I won't bite." He reached up, sliding his dark glasses slightly down his nose just enough to shoot me a wink before he slid them back up.

I swallowed hard, glancing away and avoiding whatever look Karen was surely shooting my way. 

"How about you and Karen break," I offered, trying to keep my voice steady. "Give you both a fighting chance."

Foggy racked up, adjusting the balls in their appropriate places before sliding them to center and removing the rack. He waved a hand towards Karen suavely, bowing his head a little as he did.

"Ladies first," he said.

Karen bowed good-naturedly in response. "Thank you, sir," she responded before making her way to the front of the pool table.

Holding my cue between both hands, I watched as Karen lined up her shot as she bent over the pool table. Carefully, she slid the cue back before quickly snapping it forward. The cue ball barreled forward and knocked into the balls with a crack , sending the balls scattering around the table. The solid purple four sunk in the back corner pocket as she righted. 

Matt leaned close to me, whispering, "Was it a good break? I heard something go in."

Keeping my eyes on Karen as she moved around the table, looking to take her next shot, I answered, "Pretty decent break. She pocketed one; we're stripes."

"That's good," he whispered back. "Stripes are lucky for me."

I watched as Karen almost got another ball in the pocket, just missing by an inch. Turning my attention on Matt, I asked, "Why does that feel like it's just a line?"

He only grinned back.

"Alright love birds," Foggy teased. "You're up."

I huffed at his comment, rolling my eyes as Matt let out a breathy chuckle. He cocked his head and gestured towards the table.

"Ladies first, right?" he asked smoothly.

"If you insist."

I left his side, making my way around the pool table and pausing in front of the white cue ball. Lightly tapping a finger against the cue in my hands, I surveyed my options for a moment. Eventually I leaned over the table, lining up my shot and finding the right angle to hit the ball. I sucked in a breath as I pulled the cue back between my fingers, releasing it at the same time I released the cue. The white ball flew across the table and knocked into the solid Karen had just knocked near the side pocket, pushing it further away now. The cue ball bounced back against the bumper before flying across to the other side of the table, slapping into the solid green six which in turn sunk the striped blue ten into the pocket.

As I strolled across the side of the table to take my next shot, I caught Foggy’s wide mouthed stare and Karen's surprise.

"How'd she do?" Matt asked his friends.

"I think it's safe to say she knows what she's doing," Karen responded. 

I smirked as I leant over the table again, aiming the cue ball and knocking it easily into another striped. It slid right into the pocket as I sauntered over to the cue ball again.

"You guys are going to annihilate us," Foggy groaned. "How much time did you spend playing pool at the bars in Anchorage?" he called over to me.

I hit the cue ball, watching as it rolled its way across the table and sunk another stripe before I glanced up at Foggy with a smug smile.

"Well I don't drink, so… a lot?" I mused aloud. "But I'll show some mercy," I joked as I took another shot, intentionally leaving the cue ball in an awkward position for Foggy.

“Thank God for small mercies,” he mumbled sarcastically as we passed by each other.

I grinned, grabbing my coke from off of the table and finishing it. Foggy took his time lining up his shots, managing to land a tricky shot and sinking a ball, but missing on his next turn. 

“Your turn buddy,” Foggy told Matt as he took his place beside Karen.

I stepped away from the table, crossing the two short strides to stand beside Matt. Gingerly I grabbed his forearm as I told him that the cue ball was on the opposite side of the table. As we passed by Karen and Foggy, I swore I heard Foggy lean in to Matt and whisper a “you’re welcome” as Karen giggled.

I stopped in front of the end of the table, Matt pausing beside me. “So,” I told him, sliding my hand down his forearm to catch the back of his free hand in mine, gently guiding it forward onto the table towards the white ball, “the cue ball is right here.” I paused as I held his hand against the ball, noticing how his head tilted close to me, his brows furrowing in thought as he paid close attention to my voice. “It’s about six inches to the left of the back middle pocket; about a foot from the back bumper. You’ve got a pretty clear shot at your ten o’clock to sink the eleven in the middle left pocket.” My eyes darted around the table, taking in other options.

“Or?” he asked softly, slowly leaning over the table and readying his cue.

Tentatively, I guided him along the table, one hand on his with the cue, the other on his waist as I turned him just a fraction. 

“Or,” I told him, not entirely sure how good he was at pool, “If you hit the cue ball to your four o’clock, hard enough to bounce the bumper, there’s another striped perfectly lined up with the back left corner pocket near us.”

“Hmm,” Matt hummed in thought. “Thank you.”

My hands slowly slid off of him and I took a couple of steps back, crossing my arms across my chest and studying him curiously. His head tilted in a few different directions around the table for a moment before he leaned further over lining up his shot. It was at that moment I realized I had the perfect view of his ass and I tried–I really tried–not to check him out but my eyes dipped down for one appreciative moment. When I glanced up, I saw Karen smirking at me from across the pool table. I raised a hand, trying to cover the silent laugh that escaped me. The movement caught Foggy’s attention and he momentarily sent me a questioning look, to which I shook my head in response to. Karen bit her lip, trying to fight back her own laugh. The sound of Matt hitting the ball broke the moment and I glanced down at the table, watching as the balls scattered. He’d chosen the more complicated shot and succeeded. 

“Good shot,” I praised him, slightly impressed as I made my way back beside him.

He turned his face towards me, grinning wide. “Maybe I just really want to win.”

“Flirt,” I teased him back as I guided him by his forearm towards the cue ball again. 

“Is it working?” he asked me curiously.

I grabbed the back of his hand again, guiding it towards the cue ball as I reminded him, “I don’t date flirts. Cue ball is here, just in front of the back left pocket.” His hand touched the ball as I leaned in just over his shoulder, eyeing the potential shots. “You’ve got a good shot at another stripe, directly across the table in the corner right pocket. The ball is about…” I paused, gauging the distance, “four inches to the left of the pocket.”

“Easy,” Matt mumbled.

Again, I let go of him and stepped back, watching once again as he appeared to take in the table despite his lack of sight. Then he lined up his shot for a moment and sunk the ball. Matt stood up, smiling.

“Did that go in, Foggy?” Matt joked. “I couldn’t see.”

I giggled as Foggy exasperatedly rolled his eyes at his friend. “Yes, Matt,” Foggy answered in a deadpan. “You know it damn well did.”

I led Matt all the way to the other side of the table where the cue ball now sat, once again guiding his hand to the ball and directing him to where the last stripe sat and the obstacles in his way before I left him to take his shot. Honestly, I didn’t expect that he’d be able to make it–that shot would be tricky even to me. But my mouth dropped in shock when I watched him hit the ball and it jumped over a solid, smacked into a bumper, and then rolled into the final stripe, pocketing it.

“Should we get drink orders ready?” Foggy joked. “Seems like we lost already.”

Karen laughed, playfully swatting Foggy’s arm. Matt turned towards me, a wide grin still spread across his handsome face.

“What do you think, should I give them a chance?” Matt teased.

I snickered at his question, stepping towards him to guide him yet again to the cue ball.

“That’s on you,” I answered simply.

I lined him up and directed him to where the eight ball now sat on the table. It wasn’t a remotely difficult shot at all. When I laid out the table for him, he paused for a moment in thought as I stepped back.

“Eight ball, right corner pocket,” Matt called out.

I saw Foggy roll his eyes as Karen sent me a quick wink, downing the rest of her beer. I blushed, focusing back on the game. Matt hit the ball and it easily rolled across the table, knocking the eight ball into the right corner pocket. 

“Alright!” Foggy exclaimed, clapping his hands as Matt turned around from the table. “Another beer for you and another coke for the lady?” 

“Sure,” Matt agreed, his focus in my general direction now.

I swallowed hard, glancing at Foggy and nodding quietly. Karen waggled her brows at me before linking her arm around Foggy’s.

“We’ll be at the bar, grabbing the next round,” Karen told us, tugging on Foggy’s arm.

As they began walking away, Foggy called back, “Remind me to never put you two on a team together!”

I chuckled as I watched them retreat to the bar, sliding past a few patrons as they went. 

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Matt said, appearing in front of me now, “but we did just win, correct?”

I smiled, eyes darting up to the bar ceiling. 

“Yes.”

“And the bet was that the losers had to buy the next round, correct?” he asked next.

My eyes slid down towards my hands, which were now playing with the hem of my sweater. 

“Yes.”

“So Foggy and Karen are off fulfilling their end of the bet, but–correct me if I’m wrong here,” he said again, holding up a hand and looking very serious, “but wasn’t there another part of that bet? For the winners?”

Slowly my gaze shifted up towards Matt, his serious expression fighting to remain on his face. 

“...yes.”

He raised a hand to his chin, rubbing against the stubble there as if deep in thought.

“Something about…” he made a face as if trying to remember, “the winners kissing?”

I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to fight the grin on my face anymore. 

“Yes.”

His lips twisted into a matching grin, his tongue darting out against them for a moment. My eyes followed the movement.

“And you did agree to it, right?” he teased.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

“Yes, Matt.”

He took a step closer towards me, leaning in and whispering, “I just wanted to check.”

His hand rose, his fingertips grazing my jaw before he slid it further up, cupping my cheek lightly. My breath caught in my throat as he leaned closer, using his hand to tilt my face up towards him as his other hand suddenly gripped my waist, drawing me closer. Instinctively my hands flew up, resting against his solid chest to brace myself at the movement. The rough pad of his thumb briefly swiped over my cheekbone, caressing it a few times as I swallowed hard, eyes slowly drifting closed. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was almost positive Matt could hear it with how close he was to me.

It was another moment before his lips brushed lightly against mine for the briefest second and I unconsciously found my own tilting up to chase after his. A single huff of amusement left him at the gesture before he closed the distance, bringing his mouth to mine. His lips were warm and surprisingly soft against my own, which stood in contrast to the pleasurable rasp of his stubble against my skin. The hand on my cheek carefully made its way down, gingerly sliding down my chin and towards the back of my neck as he drew me in closer, our lips still working against each other slow and sweet. With a mind of its own, my right hand slid the rest of its way up his chest to wrap against the back of his neck, fingernails lightly raking against the bare skin there. The hand at my waist gripped tight in response, his fingers pushing into the fabric of my sweater. 

After another moment he pulled away, leaning his forehead lightly against mine. I struggled to even my breathing, a heat igniting within me at the absence of his lips. I wanted more; more of his mouth, more of his skin, more of his body against mine. It was an ache I’d never felt before. But as my eyes fluttered open and were met with my own reflection in his dark glasses–which I so desperately wanted to rip off of his face yet again–I recalled where we were and why we’d kissed in the first place.

My hands immediately released the grip they’d had on him as I anxiously stepped back. In turn, Matt’s hands slid from their place against my waist and my neck, our foreheads pulling apart at the distance. I swallowed hard a few times, trying to collect myself as I blinked rapidly. When I glanced up at Matt, his breathing was a bit uneven as well but I noticed him shoot me a small, almost sad, smile. The expression confused me, causing my brows to crease together, but before I could say anything, we were interrupted by Foggy and Karen returning.

“Alright, so this round,” Foggy said as he handed Matt a fresh beer, “it’s guys against gals.”

Matt’s expression quickly recovered at the sound of Foggy’s voice, and he raised the beer to his lips before saying, “Sounds like it’d be a bit more fair.”

I found myself staring curiously after Matt for another moment, trying to decipher the look on his face, before Karen appeared beside me, holding out a full coke with a soft smile on her face. I shook my head, snapping out of my thoughts and shooting her a smile.

“Thanks,” I told her, accepting the drink. “Wanna wipe the cocky smiles off their faces?”

“ Always ,” Karen answered with a grin.

The next game began with many taunts and playful name-calling before we’d eased into other topics of conversation. It was unexpected when I was taking my shot that Karen brought up a new topic.

“Did any of you listen to the last few episodes of Trish Talk?” 

I paused, my body freezing as I was trying to line up a shot.

“Yes,” Foggy answered immediately.

Matt shook his head. “No, I don’t generally take an interest in that show,” he admitted.

Foggy quickly cleared his throat. “Yeah, I mean. I was just listening in to that case she was talking about on there the other day. It was interesting, you know, from a lawyer’s perspective.”

“What case?” Matt asked curiously.

I had been lining up my shot again when Karen answered.

“Hope Shlottman? The girl who claims some guy named…Kilgrave? Mind controlled her to kill her parents,” she told him.

My hand slipped as I took the shot, his name causing my hands to immediately slick over with sweat. The cue ball barely rolled along the table not hitting a single ball. I swore I saw Matt’s head turn towards the pool table at my fumble.

“I can’t believe Hogarth took on that case,” Foggy said. “It still baffles me.”

“Why?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious as I made my way back over towards the group.

“Because she only takes winners,” Matt answered. “Cases that are a guaranteed win. Ones to make her firm look good.”

“And this one,” Foggy continued, “is…just strange. There’s video footage of her… committing the crime ,” he said, unable to say the word ‘murder.’ “And then she wants to…what, maybe plead insanity? I guess? Because she can’t really be intending to argue some man mind-controlled her to do it.”

I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual. “How would one even go about doing that, assuming, you know, someone did do that?”

Foggy sent me a weird look as Matt’s brows rose behind his dark glasses. I cleared my throat again, awkwardly this time, as the weight of their expressions lingered on me.

“I mean, hypothetically, of course,” I continued quickly. “I’m just curious. Since you guys are, you know, lawyers.”

“Well…” Foggy started, pausing as he thought, staring down at the beer in his hands. The pool game was long forgotten now. “I suppose witness testimonies would help. But like… a lot of them. Better if they were from reputable people.”

“What about…a recording? Of the man using his ability?” I asked.

Matt’s brows furrowed at my question as his head tilted further towards me, but he remained silent as Foggy answered. I could practically feel his intense focus on me, the hairs prickling along the back of my neck.

“You’d probably need reputable witnesses at the taping. The more the merrier,” he told me, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Because someone could always doctor a tape to make it look like he could mind control people. So you’d need to make it credible. Hypothetically, of course.”

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing thickly. “Hypothetically.”

“But it was a weird episode,” Foggy continued. “Trish doesn’t usually talk about that sort of stuff, and she sounded like she believed it. Especially when she apologized the following day on her show to the man. As if he actually exists.” “That’s what I thought was weird,” Karen agreed. "Why would she apologize? Unless he…does exist. Maybe threatened her…"

I downed the rest of my coke swiftly, setting the glass on the table beside me. My hands were shaking and I tried to still the movement by gripping the soft fabric of my sweater.

"You feeling alright, Olivia?" Matt asked me curiously.

My head spun towards Matt, wiping my sweating palms against my jeans now. I forced a smile on my face though I was sure Foggy and Karen could see how tense it was.

"Yeah," I answered him quickly, voice a little high. I cleared my throat before adding on, "I'm just going to find the restroom."

"I'll come with you," Karen offered abruptly, setting her drink onto the table. She grabbed my arm and led me forward. "I'll show you where it's at."

Karen led us through the bar towards the back, where there was a sign for the bathrooms. We entered the women's restroom and I bolted for an empty stall. I used the bathroom, lingering for a moment to compose myself, before heading out and washing my hands. I could feel Karen’s eyes on me as she dried off her hands on a paper towel.

"How was it?" she finally asked me.

I glanced up at her, our eyes meeting through the dirty mirror. My breath caught in my throat–did she know?

"How was what?" I asked her.

She rolled her eyes, ripping off a sheet of paper towel and crossing the bathroom towards me, holding it out to me. 

"The kiss?" she prompted.

I grabbed the paper towel from her, drying my hands off. I released a breath, my shoulders relaxing. A flush crept over my cheeks as I remembered the way his hand had cupped my cheek, his thumb gently caressing my skin; the strength of his chest underneath my hands, all hard muscle. I could still remember the feel of his soft lips moving so slowly against my own, the faint taste of him that had lingered for a brief moment after. My jaw clenched as I recalled the warmth of the bare skin on his neck under my fingers and the way his grip tightened on my waist when my nails had lightly dragged across the back of his neck.

"That good, huh?" Karen asked when I didn't answer.

I laughed nervously, her voice pulling me back to the present. Tossing the paper towel into the garbage can, I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"It was…" I paused, exhaling slowly. "Yeah, it was good," I confessed. "Especially considering it wasn't, you know, an actual kiss."

Karen’s brows raised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's because it was part of the bet," I told her. "For the game. Not like…it was supposed to mean something. I'm sure he does that all the time."

She frowned instantly, shaking her head with a sigh. "Foggy must have gotten into your head," Karen said. "I know I haven't known them for too long, but Matt has mentioned you a few times. I know he's asked Foggy about you, too, because he's told me. Matt's definitely interested, but he thinks you're not."

Crossing my arms across my chest, I glanced away, my mind racing back to the other night when Matt had come to check on me. The way he'd seemed so upset about me thinking he was the type of guy who slept around. Then I remembered the sad smile I'd seen on his face after he'd kissed me and frowned.

"I'm not good with relationships," I admitted hesitantly. "I've only had one and it was…bad, real bad. I don't exactly know how to do the whole relationship thing. And I'm not too interested in trying again at the moment." Under my breath I muttered, "Certainly not with someone who seems to easily flirt with every woman he's attracted to."

Karen mimicked my posture, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think Matt is like that," she said slowly. "He's sweet. A good guy. If he wasn't genuinely interested he wouldn't be pursuing you. And Foggy said he's not seeing anyone else. He told me, and I quote, 'the guy is smitten'." She leaned forward, a large smile on her face as she emphasized again, " Smitten. Matt Murdock is smitten with you."

A small smile crossed my lips, but it vanished quickly when I remembered that not only did Matt not really know me, but I was also actively trying to help Jessica and Trish prove that my ex was in fact capable of mind control. And not only that, but he was someone who had forced Jessica and Hope to commit murder, along with so many others who had done equally horrible things because of him. The guilt of that weighed heavily on me, but when Kilgrave found out I was in Hell's Kitchen–because he would soon–I knew those around me wouldn't be safe. I couldn’t willingly put Matt in further danger, it would be terribly reckless.

"It…it can't happen," I said firmly. "Not right now, at least."

Her blue eyes narrowed at me suspiciously.

"So you do like him?" she questioned.

"I mean…I don't know him too well," I told her slowly. "But he's sweet. And funny…and so incredibly, unfairly attractive that it's painful."

Karen giggled, pointing an accusatory finger at me. "I saw you checking out his ass while we were playing pool!"

I laughed with her, holding a finger to my lips and shushing her between laughs. "That's our secret!"

Karen grinned, raising a hand and making a cross over her heart before pretending to seal her lips.

"He likes you though," she said when the laughter died down. "Maybe give it some thought before you completely say no."

I opened my mouth to answer but the buzzing of my phone cut me off. Sliding a hand into my pocket, I grabbed my phone and fished it out. The name on the screen read 'Jessica.' I frowned before taking a step back from Karen.

"I have to take this, I'll be out in a minute," I assured her.

She nodded before turning to leave. I waited until she was out of the bathroom before I answered. 

"Jessica?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Not more than usual," she greeted quickly. "Look, I managed to get my hands on the Sufentanil tonight. Don't ask me how, it's not important."

"Why do I feel like you stole from a hospital?" I muttered.

"Because I did, not the point," she continued on. "Can you meet us tomorrow? Trish and I have a plan to capture him. I can explain it all tomorrow, but…" she hesitated, sounding vulnerable suddenly. "I could really use your help. If you can really do what you say you can, we could really use you if this goes south."

"Whatever it takes, right?" I reiterated. "I'll be wherever you need me."

"Great," Jessica said, the word coming out like a sigh of relief. "My apartment tomorrow morning at 8? You remember where it is?"

"Yeah, I can be there," I assured her.

There was a pause, a beat of silence over the line.

"What?" I asked her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me, I told you that," I reminded her, guilt roiling in my gut. "I should have done something sooner, I'm fixing it now. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I hung up, sliding the phone back into my pocket. Pausing for a moment, I took a calming breath before exiting the bathroom. I maneuvered my way through the crowd, spotting Karen sitting with Matt and Foggy over by the pool table where I'd left them. As I began passing the bar, something caught me by the arm and I stumbled to a stop. I swore I saw Matt stiffen at the table across the room before I turned to see who'd grabbed me.

"You could do a lot better, baby," the man holding my arm said in a low rumble. "You and that blonde." His head gestured towards Karen and I felt my fists clench at my sides, his hand still wrapped around my wrist. "A nerd and a blind guy…" He shook his head, eyes traveling down to rest on my chest as he bit his lip.

I wrenched my wrist free of his grip, glaring at the large, slightly inebriated man on the bar stool. I snapped my fingers up by my face twice. 

"Eyes up here, asshole," I snapped at him.

His eyes slid back up to my face, a dark expression forming on it. 

"Mouthy," he growled, rising from the barstool and towering over me. "Should teach you a better use for that mouth of yours."

"Sit your ass back in your chair," I snarled, voice lowering dangerously, "before I teach you a better use for yours."

With a sneer, the man balled his meaty hand into a fist and swung it backwards. A collective gasp sounded around us as he aimed a punch at me, but I caught his hand instinctively the moment it flew forward, snatching it the second it was mere inches from my face. The man froze, brow furrowing. 

"No fighting in my bar!" Josie's voice boomed from behind the counter.

I clamped my hand tighter around the man's fist, eyes narrowing. I could feel a tingling sensation starting from my temples and behind my eyes before vibrating down towards the hand gripping the man's fist. I ducked my head, letting my hair fall forward to cover my face a little as I spoke.

"You should sit down," I ordered in a harsh whisper, my voice coming out with a faint vibration through the air, "apologize, and return to your drink. You don’t want to cause a scene."

The man gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, dumbfounded. His fist suddenly lowered, hand dropping to his side as he sat into his chair again.

"I'm sorry about that," he muttered, brows furrowed as he spun back around in his chair, his attention back on his drink as he scratched his head.

I stood still for a moment, waiting for the telltale vibration to dissipate before I glanced past him, spotting Josie watching me curiously from behind the bar. The people standing directly beside us were also staring now. I cleared my throat and shrugged casually. 

"Guess he didn't want to make a scene," I explained simply before turning and walking away. 

Foggy interrogated me the moment I neared the table. 

"What the hell was that?" he questioned immediately.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked with a voice as tight as his grip on the table.

"I'm fine," I assured Matt before facing a flabbergasted Foggy and a very pensive Karen. "Just a drunk guy who realized it wasn't worth starting a fight and getting kicked out." I waved a hand, trying to downplay the situation.

"What an asshole," Foggy grumbled, glaring at the guy at the bar. "I'm sorry, Olivia. But hey," he said, shooting me an apologetic smile, "Matt and I would have kicked his ass for you. I don't know how well, mind you."

I laughed, mentally noting the way Karen was staring at me with a calculated gaze. "I appreciate it but I can handle myself."

"Obviously," Karen said as she pointed towards the bruises on my neck, "since you survived whatever that was."

I forced the smile to remain on my lips as my eyes darted to my coat. 

"I should probably get back home, it's getting late," I announced, making my way towards the jacket. "Thanks for inviting me out though, it was good to get out for a bit."

Matt abruptly rose from his chair, a charming smile on his face. "Let me walk you home."

"Oh you don't have to–"

"I insist," Matt cut me off. "Besides, we're going the same way."

[eepy-pleepy]

It’s Not Everest (No Vacancy)

The neon “NO” is hidden behind an overgrown shrub, so Dean pulls the Impala into the motel parking lot before they can see that it is, in fact, lit.

“Awesome.” Dean says in a tone that clearly doesn’t think so, and whips the car around to pull back onto the dark road. They immediately hit a pothole and Sam’s head bumps the ceiling.

“Ow, wait, Dean, we didn't go check with the office, maybe they just left the sign lit because they can’t freaking see it–”

“No, Sam, every goddamn motel in this godless town is full up and I don’t particularly feel like walking into another musty fucking office just to have them tell me I need to learn how to read. It’s too damn late, I’m too damn tired, I’m just gonna find a pull-off where the cops won’t feel the need to be our 5AM wake-up call and we’re sleeping in Baby. Fuck it.” He emphasizes the last sentence by throwing the car into park, all seventeen feet of shiny black metal successfully hidden behind a bank of tall, scraggly shrubs off the shoulder of the road. Dean kills the engine and the early summer evening rises to fill the silence with the musical stylings of several hundred crickets.

“Dean.”

“We’ve done it before, Sam.”

“I know we have. What about Cas?”

Dean looks over at the passenger’s side. Sitting shotgun, Cas looks back at him, his eyes just a dark glint in the moonlight.

“I can just... keep watch outside.” He says.

“Bad fucking idea.” Dean snaps. “I wake up in the middle of the night and see you out there lurking, I might shoot you between the eyes. You’re staying in the damn car.”

“Dean, there’s not enough roo–”

“Look, Sammy, passing out is passing out, sitting or lying down. This is a molehill, not Everest. I just need my four hours, damn.”

Dean crams up against the driver’s side door, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning his bent knees against the back of the seat between himself and Cas. He’ll worry about bootprints on the leather upholstery when he isn’t so fucking exhausted.

“Jerk.” Sam mutters from the backseat, almost inaudible.

“Goodnight, bitch.”

“Goodnight, Dean. Sam.” Cas murmurs.

“Don’t make it weird, Cas.”

"Goodnight, Cas."

"Thank you, Sam."

Dean gives a little huff through his nose. Cas folds his hands in his lap and turns his head forward to watch the fireflies.

Dean doesn’t like it when Cas watches him sleep. Cas knows this.

But if he doesn't want eyes on him, he shouldn’t be drawing so much attention to himself. This is the fourth time inside of an hour that he’s shifted around, clearly uncomfortable with his sleeping arrangement, six feet of full-grown man trying to figure out how to make three feet work for him.

It's clearly not working out.

Dean's head has fallen against Castiel’s arm. He’s snoring gently, Cas can feel his breath warm through the sleeve of his trench coat.

He shuts his eyes. Pulls his focus down to just this, the upper lefthand side of his body. Feels the weight of Dean's head, the unyielding shape of his skull, the softness of his cheek. Cas turns his head towards him, just to better assess the situation. Not at all to feel the soft tickle of Dean’s hair against his nose and lips. That’s just an... accidental consequence.

Cas feels too big for his own skin. It’s something a multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent should be entirely familiar with, but this isn't the feeling of cramming a Chrysler building into a 5-foot-11-inch frame.

This is bigger than that.

The slump of Dean’s body across the seat means that his head is the only thing supported, and it has his neck at a bad angle. If Dean's an angry sleeper, he's even worse with a crick in his neck and Cas doesn't love the idea of being stuck in a car with that tomorrow. He can't pull Dean more flush against his side without the risk of waking him and sending him into a conniption of bruised heterosexuality, so instead, he carefully lifts his arm. It works perfectly: Dean slides forward, falling to lying down with his head in Cas' lap.

The effect is immediate. The uncomfortable pinch between Dean's brows smooths away and he takes a deep, slow breath, settling against his new pillow and sinking into an easier sleep.

Cas hasn't realized he's smiling, yet. It's a tiny, soft thing, the one he gets when he's looking at something precious.

He is.

The moonlight catches the sweep of Dean's eyelashes, the top of his cheek, the shell of his ear, gilding them silver. His lips are parted, plush and dark in the contrast of the pale light. He's slightly curled up on the bench seat and Cas knows it's to fit the small space but that doesn't mean it's not the most fucking endearing thing he's ever seen.

The short hair over Dean's ear is mussed from the way he was slumped like a grumpy turtle past the collars of his shirt and jacket. Delicate, Cas brushes it right again.

Dean shifts, pressing up into his ghost of a touch. Cas draws back, afraid he's been caught doing something definitely not on Dean's approved list of Things Just Friends Do, but Dean doesn't wake. Cas' hand hovers.

He shouldn't. He should return to looking out of the front windshield and prepare the diffusion for when Dean wakes up to find himself sleeping in Cas' lap. That's what he should do.

The trouble is, nothing short of a fucking catastrophe could pull his eyes away from this. Dean is so beautiful, so calm and easy in his slumber, and he's right here, safe and close and warm. Literally right in his lap.

Cas pets Dean's hair, feeling that dangerous constriction again, something so huge and profound it might very well burst him. Dean sleeps on.

"You should tell him."

Sam's voice from the backseat is so quiet it's barely a whisper, but it startles Cas like a gunshot. He turns his head a margin to find Sam watching him, head and shoulders against the back driver's side door, arms crossed over his chest.

"Did you say something?" Cas tries, matching Sam's barely-there whisper.

"You heard me."

"Tell him what?"

"You love him."

Cas turns his head further so he's not just looking at Sam out of his periphery. There's nothing accusatory in Sam's tone, quiet as it is, or in his posture, cramped as it may be. He looks back at Cas with nothing but the same easy camaraderie he's always shown him, like they're discussing a good book or the lovely weather, not a complete paradigm shift.

In his lap, Dean tucks one hand under Cas' thigh and nuzzles his face deeper against the fabric of his pants. Cas looks down at him again and feels ready to explode into several new galaxies.

"I can't." He breathes.

"Why not?"

"You know your brother, Sam.” Cas says, unable to stop himself from stroking light fingers through Dean’s hair again. “And I’m happy. I refuse to risk losing him in pursuit of something I don’t need from him.”

“You’re right, I do know my brother. Probably better than he’d like to believe.” Sam says. “And I think he might surprise you, given the chance.”

Cas looks back at Sam like he wants to argue, but then just closes his mouth, his jaw bunching. Sam gives a little shrug and sits forward, reaching behind himself for the door handle.

“Just some, uh… food for thought.” He says. “I’m gonna hit the head. I’ll take my time. No particular reason.”

“Sam.”

But Sam’s already unfolding out into the night air, the car rocking as his weight shifts. The crickets are suddenly much louder, invading their little bubble of quiet. In Cas’ lap, Dean twitches.

Sam shuts the car door and Dean sits bolt upright. His gun, dropped in the footwell before he fell asleep, is in his grasp in a blink.

“Sam's just gone to relieve his bladder.” Cas says next to him. Dean squints at him and sniffs, wiping at his groggy eyes, then flicks the safety back on. The gun hits the footwell again with a dull thunk.

"God. Like a damn cashew. You'd think with all that height there'd be more... storage."

Cas is carefully looking forward, and not at the red mark on Dean’s cheek that’s the same shape as the warm spot rapidly cooling on his thigh. Dean rubs at that side of his face.

“Was I…?” He clears his throat. “Uh.”

“Asleep? Yes. I thought that was the idea.”

“Lying on you.”

“You needed to stretch out.”

Dean gives a frustrated sigh. “No, Cas, man, that’s your personal space. You should have shoved me off.”

“It was easier on your neck.” Cas says, still looking straight ahead. “You weren’t bothering me.”

“That’s not the point. You gotta have boundaries.”

“What’s mine is yours, Dean. I have no qualms sharing everything I have with you.”

Dean scoffs, leaning forward over the steering wheel and tilting to pop his spine. “Jesus. You ol’ romantic.”

Cas turns his head to look at Dean. The slightly uncomfortable smirk slowly slips off of Dean’s face. His eyes drop to Cas' lips before he catches himself, and he makes a weak attempt to laugh the charge out of the air between them.

“Man, you gotta figure out your levels. Last person who looked at me like that had me thinking marriage."

“Dean, why do you say things like that?”

Dean’s shoulders shove up under his ears. “You turn eyes like that on some innocent girl she’s gonna up and devote her entire life to you, Cas, I’m just letting you know you gotta tone it down!”

“Why would I turn eyes like this on some innocent girl?”

“Because you’re doin’ it to me like you think it’s a normal thing to do!”

“Dean, maybe you need to figure out how to receive a signal without assuming the other person isn't aware of what they're broadcasting." Cas snaps, then subsides as something like fear flickers across his face.

Dean’s jaw hangs uselessly for a stunned moment.

"Cas. You–"

Cas watches him in the manner of a gazelle waiting for a sudden deadly movement. Dean's gaze flits to Cas’ lips again.

"You. Uh." He says eloquently, and his tongue darts out in a nervous motion. This makes his lips impossible to ignore, shiny and wet in the moonlight.

“It's not Everest." Cas whispers.

"It kinda fuckin' is." Dean says, hoarse.

“Forget it. You should go back to sleep.” Cas says, reaching towards Dean with two fingers. It’s his fighter’s instinct that makes Dean grab them before they can touch his forehead, but it’s something else entirely that bunches his other hand in the front of Cas’ coat and yanks him forward. Cas tumbles gracelessly on top of Dean, and Dean doesn’t give either of them time to think.

At the first touch of Dean’s lips, Cas melts. A tiny sound escapes him, not quite a sigh, not quite a moan, and he’s grasping Dean’s shoulder like it’s the only thing preventing him from falling into the footwell. Their mouths part with a soft, wet noise and Cas meets Dean’s eyes, almost too close to focus on.

His arm is pressed across Dean’s chest from his fall. He can feel Dean’s heartbeat, galloping like an outlaw with the sheriff on his tail, and he understands the feeling.

“Dean.” He croaks.

“Yeah.”

“Do that again.”

Dean nuzzles their noses together, nudges Cas’ mouth in a barely-there brush of lips. Cas touches Dean’s face, dizzy with it, feeling stubble rough on the skin of Dean's jaw. He presses forward, holding Dean’s face like the beloved thing it is, and kisses him reverently. Dean sinks against the door until he’s lying across the seats and shoves his arms up under Cas’ suit jacket, encircling his back.

The crickets play them a love song. It’s entirely lost on them.

When Sam returns, approaching the Impala with caution, he finds his brother asleep with his angel hugged against him like a large, man-shaped teddy bear. Cas glances up, clocking the motion of Sam leaning over to peer through the driver’s window, and there’s a smile on his face that Sam’s never seen on him before.

If happy was what he had been, then this? This is pure, unfiltered bliss.

Sam slides carefully into the back seat and shuts the door as gently as he can.

“I’ll save my I Told You So, but only because you look so cute.” He whispers.

“Sam.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Read on Ao3

[latestagejenga]

Only A Twinge

~ Paperhat jealousy fanfic ~

The sun had long gone down by now. The dark lord of villainy stared out at the now peaceful city outside his window, and then at clock on his phone with increasing impatience.

“Useless bag headed imbecile. How long does it take to ‘check in on’ some looney pink plastic bitch”

He thought out loud to himself, and decided to finally text him to at least make sure he wasn’t stabbed by some schizo in there

Flug Cell

<(what’s taking so long?! 👿👿👿)

(Im leaving! Now I just… gotta get out of here without anyone noticing that I stole this uniform…)>

<(you will be back here in exactly 15 minutes or your paycheck won’t be the only thing that I cut 🔪🔪🔪)

(Yes sir!)>

The hat closed his message app and turned to YouTube, the news, social media, everywhere; everywhere was just that blasted stream. But rather than just putting his phone down and ignoring it, he obsessively watched it over and over again. It filled the pit of his stomach with overwhelming nausea to see it but that was just it, no matter how deeply he explored it he couldn’t pin down what that disgust was or was it stemmed from. He’d never been of fan of loving gestures such as kisses, but other people doing it never bothered him like this, he could just look the other way. This he couldn’t take his eyes off of if he tried. There was a sense of dare he say, righteous anger at the heart of it that made him want to just - “OOOOHHH BOOOOOSS!!!”

His train of though promptly plummeted off the tracks as Dementia burst in.

“*Inhale* WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!”

“Bag nerd just called a meeting first thing tomorrow morning, apparently pinkie pie was actually able to get a complete sentence out.”

“Ha ha… they did taze her quite a lot didn’t they? Ah the sweet screams of a crumbling hero, nothing like it.”

“Not as good as getting to broadcast her little bit of air time in front of the entire city LOL!”

Black Hat clenched his armrest as his previous thoughts re-emerged and he violently banished Dementia from his sight, she left in a delighted scurry. His eyes and his thoughts returned to the Flug on his phone. And he noticed… just how much he wanted to crush it in his hand when he saw the goggly eyed look on his face after the heroine pulled away from him. Then in the distance, he heard the front door open and shut followed by the sound of Flug lovingly greeting 505. Blackhat arose from his desk, snapped his fingers, and transported himself to the entryway in a cloud of darkness; manifesting right behind Flug’s back.

Flug froze as he felt a hand on his right shoulder. He recognized it immediately and slowly turned around expecting to be met with a nasty scowl followed by a berating, but what he saw was… something different. Not quite anger, but some contempt, and aloofness?

“I-I’m s-s-sorry fo-for being late j-jefito” he said bowing his head slightly with his eyes shut tight to avoid Black Hat’s gaze. But he felt another hand on his chin tilting his head up towards him, and he opened his eyes.

“Just don’t spend too much time there alright, you might catch the crazy. And believe me we’ve got enough of that in this lair” Black Hat said glancing at Dementia giggling uncontrollably as she caressed a homemade sock puppet.

“Anyway it’s late, we all must rejuvenate after our exciting day of evil doings.” His wicked grin had returned to him.

~ Later ~

Flug put on his pajamas and collapsed onto his bed. He decided to read a few pages from his bookshelf to decompress before sleeping. It was then that he started to notice some weird things in the room.

Before he knew it shadows enveloped the room and his boss’s face was in all all the reflective surfaces.

‘J-Jefito? I-I know y-you’re there!’

The dark tall figure was already materializing over him and gazing down with that… same look as before

‘D-do you want s-something sir?!’

He was getting tired of this silent treatment

Much to his surprise, Hat sat down next to him.

‘Doctor, I wanted just… to make something clear here.’

‘Y- yes sir?’

‘…’

‘That your… loyalty… should never come into question’

‘…absolutely sir’

‘Yes… good’

And he got up to leave

As he departed from Flug’s plane he tried to think of why Flug’s answer hadn’t been satisfying for him. He was worried for his loyalty right? And he had just denied such a prospect. Was it not loyalty to his team? If not WHAT?! Was he feeling betrayed? No… betrayal you feel in your gut, this was a feeling in his heart. Something he thought wouldn’t ever bother him agian.

It was only a twinge

Jealously

[tomurasprincess]

Here’s a denki idea with incest and streamer denki for that anon that was asking about denki earlier and they get more fucked up as they go :)

(Tw incest Tw dub con... kinda? Tw non con) don’t worry Denki anon I got you, but hear me out. Denki is a live streamer that only shows his face once and a while, one day he “convinces” (basically passive aggressively threats and gaslights sister reader that they need to have sex with him to prove that “they aren’t a slut and they are still pure”, after sister reader refuses again. Denki forcefully bends them over the desk and tells them to cum around his cock or he will turn on the stream with the camera on so everyone can see how big of a slut his sister is.

(Ending one: consent is kinda given but it’s after he already pushes in so imma say dubcon) He’s surprised to find his sister trying to get him to speed up before she rubs against him and smirks at him with a small grind on his cock and a “get on with it then”

(Ending two: no consent, non consensual recording) Denki forces sister reader down onto the desk before slowly pushing in and out, wanting them to feel the drag from his cock before commanding them to say “I only want nii -san’s cock! I’m only a slut for nii-San!” After he fucks them for a while, talking about how much better their pussy and moans are rather than his hand and porn, he finishes. He cleans up sister reader before laying them to sleep, secretly saving the video he took of him fucking them for himself and blackmail

(Ending three: no consent, non consensual recording, non consensual somno, he broadcasts this bitch) pretty much the same as number two but turns out he has a seperate streaming account all for videotaping sister reader asleep as he eats them out or fucks them on his fingers all recorded and broadcasted. He turns on the camera with his face hidden but his sisters not, and fucks his sister as people flood in to watch as she takes his dick. Every time she tries to fight back or get him to stop he shocks her leg and goes harder to prove that she’s his and every time he shocks her he says something like “you must be enjoying it with how much you’re clenching down on me” . He ends the stream after finishing and finds his sister passed out, but not without smirking to himself and saying “tune in to the stream tomorrow and we’ll see if this slut can take dick in her tight little ass as good as she can take it in her pussy.”

Sorry for rambling but I just needed to share this or I was gonna go crazy

Warnings: Noncon, incest, forced orgasms, non consensual filming, degradation, electric shocks, mentions of somno, yandere Notes: Dark!Denki is my favorite kind of Denki, so I went with option number 3.

"I've got a surprise for you, sis," your brother says happily, grinning at you with that goofy smile like he used to. He had been changing so much lately, and not for the better. Much colder, much less likely to take on hero jobs. To your shock, he even said once that heroes were worthless, that the villains would end up winning. It wasn't like his usual self, and you're happy to see him acting closer to how he used to.

"What kind of surprise?" "Come into my room and I'll show you." He walks away, leaving you to trail behind him like you've always done since you were kids. You always looked up to your brother, always wanted to be close to him. And he was the same way. Everyone thought you were too close for siblings, but you disagreed. You wouldn't want it any other way.

Finally, he leads you into his room where there's a camera set up on a tripod and pillows and blankets arranged on the floor in front. You give him a surprised look, feeling uneasy for the first time. "Come on, this will be so much fun." He chuckles at you, pushing you roughly towards the center of the room. You're forced to the floor, face down and ass up in the air before you know it. "What the hell is this about, Denki-nii???" You snap at him, trying to get up again but finding your arm twisted behind your back painfully. "That hurts!" "I know you guys were tired of watching my toy with my sister while she's drugged up and asleep!" He chirps out, grinding himself against your backside. "So I thought we'd have a super special stream today!"

"While I'm asleep? I don't - I don't understand," you whisper, sounding far more childish than you intended. You think briefly to the times you woke up and your pussy was soaked, feeling sore and stretched out. You dismissed it as nothing despite the nagging doubt in the back of your mind. Sometimes you thought you remembered a presence hovering over you - but surely it was just a dream - "You really are a naive little bitch," your brother mocks you. "Can't believe you  never realized what your dear older brother was doing to you." He leans in closer to whisper in your ear. "Or maybe you did know and you liked it - " "Please stop," you whimper at him, "I don't want this, please - " You hear the ripping of clothes as your skirt is torn away, revealing a lack of underwear. "My sister doesn't even wear panties? What a little slut. I think you do want this." You feel something hot and hard prodding at your clit, and you let out another whimper as you try to squirm away. But an electric current runs through your body, and your muscles tighten up as you gasp. "Stay still, sis," Denki laughs at you. "You don't want me to keep doing that, do you?" You begin to weep, not understanding what caused your brother to change so much. Why he's being so cruel to you. But you don't have long to wonder before he's pushing inside of you, stretching your muscles out and taking your virginity cruelly. You only cry harder at the pain. "Fuck, my little sister's cunt is so fucking tight. Were you a virgin, sis?" You say nothing, shaking and shivering as his hips snap forward to bury himself entirely into his little sister's tight cunt. "Answer me," he growls, and an electric shock runs through your body. You scream this time, clenching around his cock involuntarily. "Yes! Yes I was!" You manage to choke out through the convulsions, and he stops his quirk.

His hips begin to move, balls smacking against your clit with every thrust. It causes unwanted pleasure to build up in you, muscles of your lower stomach tightening. "Please - Denki-nii, please stop -"

"Fuck," he groans out, "keep calling me that, it turns me on."

Your words fail you, and you keep your mouth shut until another electric current runs through your body. This one is so strong that you can barely breathe through it, the pain extreme. You want to refuse, want to do anything but what he wants, but you also want the pain to stop.

"Denki-nii, Denki-nii!" And still, despite the pain, you feel yourself begin to cum around your brother's cock. "Little slut," he giggles a bit, "cumming around your brother's cock like that. You've wanted your Denki-nii for a while, haven't you?" "Yes!" You scream, feeling a sense of relief as he deactivates his quirk. "Yes I want my Denki-nii's cock!" Tears stream openly from your face as he tangles a hand in your hair, forcing your back to arch and stare into the camera. "My little sis here is squeezing my cock so damned well. Her cunt feels fucking amazing." You let out a choked sob as you cum again, almost painful in its intensity as your cunt pulses around your brother's cock. He finds his own end inside of you, pace stuttering as he fills his baby sister full of hot cum. You can't keep your eyes awake anymore. They flutter closed and stay closed as you finally lose consciousness. "Oops," he chuckles, "I may have been a bit too rough. Ah well, hope you  like the show. Stay tuned while I wait for her to wake up so I can fuck this tight little asshole!"

[skiller0dani]

Bad Girl| Ethan Nestor

MASTERLIST YouTube Masterlist

smut requested requests info

hey guys it's been a while! Got this amazing request recently and I had to write it asap. love you all xx

Ethan didn't have many rules for you, but the most important one by far was to not bother him while he's streaming.

With the two of you keeping your relationship a secret there's just too much that can go wrong. He's live so if you came into the room, people could hear, rumors could start. More than anything Ethan wants to protect you so you coming into his recording room while he's streaming is completely out of the question. Normally you respected this rule without question, it was his YouTube channel after all, so he got to call the shots. More than that however, Ethan called the shots in other aspects of your life.

When it came to the sex, he called the shots in that too. But you always did what he said, and frankly, you felt like being a bad girl.

All day you've needed him, from the very second you woke up and the gentle morning sex he'd provided wasn't nearly enough to satiate you. You still felt that uncomfortable throbbing from between your thighs, and it lingered for most of the day. Any attempt you made to get his cock resulted in a soft kiss on the head and a "sorry baby I'm too busy today."

You laid back on the couch, irked to all hell. How could Ethan not see that he was depriving you? You pushed the heel of your hands into your eyes and groaned, your pussy was damp and aching and there wasn't a damn thing you could do about it. Spencer sat happily at your feet chewing on a squeaky bone. At least one of you was happy.

You heard Ethan laugh from inside his recording room, he was currently streaming Among Us. You feel so frustrated you want to cry and when you glance at the clock you feel like crying all over again. It's only 1:30, and Ethan is only 20 minutes into his stream. Meaning at this rate Ethan won't be able to help you until later tonight. You whined to yourself, snaking your hand under the sleep shorts you were wearing. Your fingers found your clit and you began to rub small circles just like Ethan does. It does little to nothing to relieve the pounding in your core. Only Ethan can.

You stand from your spot on the couch to go grab a bottle of water, hoping that some cold water will help calm you down. You lean against the counter, sipping at the cold water when you remember the night before. Ethan had come home from filming with someone he doesn't know very well. The recording session was frustrating and he hadn't gotten any good footage, meaning the entire day was a giant waste of time. By the time Ethan had gotten back to the house he was beyond frustrated and the first thing he did was bend you over the kitchen counter and slam into you mercilessly. You feel a shudder run down your spine at the memory and you groan softly in annoyance. You're not going to survive the day like this.

You went upstairs and into your shared room with Ethan and sat on the edge of the bed, you're always such a good girl. You followed every rule and every command without too much complaint. And today Ethan told you to wait. His rule today was to be a good girl and wait for his cock until that night. But damnit you're so turned on right now you feel like you're going to combust into flames.

You don't want to be a good girl today. You feel like breaking the rules.

With a smirk you stand from the bed and creep down the hallway, nearing his recording room. Once you're stood outside the door you feel a rush of adrenaline rush through you, you've never broken this rule before. In all 12 months of your relationship with Ethan, you've never interrupted him while he's live streaming. You almost turn back but when you hear Ethan groan in annoyance it sends tingles down your spine and a fresh wave of arousal dampening your panties. Gritting your teeth you quietly open the door and watch as Ethan's surprised eyes flicker to you for a second.

You bite your lip and sink to the floor, luckily Ethan's desk doesn't have a back so you easily crawl underneath it.

Being careful not to bump the desk you slowly crawl in between Ethan's legs, and he instinctively spreads his legs wider for you. When he glances back down at you, you feel heat rush through your entire body at the angry look in his eyes. He raises a warning brow before turning back to the game and for a second you consider leaving, but the pulsing from between your legs stops you. You bite your lip and reach forward, carefully unbuttoning Ethan’s jeans and slowly pulling his zipper down. 

Ethan tenses, his heart hammering in his chest as he does his best to act natural. This isn’t a regular video, he can’t edit anything out. This is being broadcasted live to nearly a million people. When he feels your dainty hands reaching into his jeans he sucks in a breath through his teeth. 

“Ethan you okay?” Bob asks, unfortunately for Ethan they decided to play Among Us with proximity chat on. Ethan clears his throat, “yeah stubbed my toe.” He lies but he knows it doesn’t sound very convincing. 

You wrap your hand around his hardening cock and you nearly moan when you finally free it from his jeans. The sight of it makes you even more wet then you were before, it’s hard and precumming. It’s beautiful. You lean forward instantly and wrap your lips around the head, sucking softly. Ethan clenches his jaw as he focuses all of his attention on the game in front of him. He keeps his eyes firmly on the screen because he knows if he looks at you it’s game over. Ethan would end the stream and have you bent over this desk in less than 30 seconds if he saw the beautiful sight happening under the desk. 

You keep your lips wrapped around him as you suddenly take all of him in your mouth. Ethan gasps softly in surprise, and this is when he notices the comments on his stream. 

Ethan flashes a smile to the camera, doing his best to pretend he doesn’t notice that every single comment is about him and not about the game. Embarrassment floods through Ethan’s body as he keeps his eyes on his monitor. You continue to slide him down your throat, and Ethan’s eyes briefly flutter shut. When one comment pops up, Ethan panics. 

what’s wrong Ethan???  he looks like he’s in pain  someone should tell the other people on the stream bc ethan does not look okay right now ethan are you okay? 

Shit. Ethan continues to ignore the comments, when did his fan base become little detectives? You bob your head down the full length of his cock, taking him into your mouth fully. It’s becoming increasingly harder to keep the sounds quiet so that nobody notices. When you swallow around him Ethan groans softly, “fuck.” 

does eef have a girl over?? ;)  omg ethan’s totally getting sucked off rn ngl ethan looks super fucking hot 

“Ethan?” This time it’s Mark. You pull off Ethan and smirk as you pump his cock with your hand. The arousal is coating your thighs at this point and you nearly moan out loud just thinking about what Ethan is going to do to you after this. 

“Ethan I’m getting some pretty interesting comments on my stream about you,” Jack says with a teasing tone to his voice. Ethan remains quiet, he doesn’t trust himself to say anything casually. “Got some company Ethan?” Jack says causing a chorus of laughter to ensue afterwards while everyone waits for another round to start. “His silence is...suspicious.” Steven adds through the laughter. 

Unable to focus any longer, Ethan releases a breath he’d been holding as he finally glances down at you. The sight before him stops him cold, you’re sitting on your knees with his cock in your mouth. Your breasts are spilling from the tight tank top you’re wearing and he can see the damp spot forming on the crotch of your shorts. His pupils blow wide as he quickly ends the stream and turns off the camera. The second he’s sure everything is shut off he pushes back from the desk and yanks you to your feet. 

“You think that was funny?” Ethan growls when he sees the smirk on your face. In an instant Ethan has you pulled over his lap, “you think it was funny to suck my cock when I was live? I can’t cover any of that up baby.” Ethan says, his voice low as his hands find the waistband of your shorts. 

“I need you.” You whined as he yanked your shorts down. Ethan hummed in satisfaction once he sees your glistening pussy. “Yes I can see that.” He hums, spreading your lips apart so he can look at you better. 

“I just fucked you this morning baby girl, you couldn’t wait? I’m pretty sure I told you to wait until tonight.” He says, the dominance beginning to seep into his tone. You moaned in delight when you feel Ethan spank you hard. “I couldn’t wait Ethan, I needed you now.” You explain, with a pout on your face. 

“Now all my friends know what a dirty girl you are, and now so do all my fans as well. We aren’t going to be a secret anymore baby, you just outed us.” Ethan explains, his fingertips brushing through your folds. You whine desperately as you try to grind back into his hand, but he pulls away. “It was time baby, oh my god Ethan please just fuck me please.” You plead shamelessly. 

Ethan continues to rub the globes of your ass as you moan and wriggle in his lap, “hm I’m not sure you deserve it now baby. You didn’t listen to me, I’m not sure you deserve my cock anymore.” He says, a small smirk on his face when he sees the look of pure desperation cross onto your face. “No Ethan please, I’ll listen now. I-I will I promise baby!” Ethan taps on your hip, signaling you to stand. Once your stood in front of him you moan again, you’ve never seen him look sexier then he does right now. 

His hair is messy and his chest his heaving, but the best part is between his legs. His cock is hard and his legs are spread wide, and the heated look Ethan is giving you makes you want to melt into the floor. “Go wait for me in our room.” Is all Ethan says, and you immediately scramble out of the room and down to hall to yours and Ethan’s bedroom. You sit on the bed and anxiously wait for him, your entire body buzzing in anticipation. When 10 agonizing minutes pass Ethan finally opens the door, his jeans still opened. “I’ve thought of a fitting punishment for you Princess.” 

Ethan walks to his side of the bed before sitting down, pulling you to stand in front of him. “Since you don’t seem to like my rules, why don’t you be in charge then baby?” Your heart sinks, and you immediately shake your head. 

“But I love it when you’re in control, I love following your rules.” You argue but Ethan shakes his head with a teasing smile on his face. 

“I seem to have lost my authority, you don’t listen to me anymore baby. So you try being in charge, tell me what to do.” Ethan reaches forward and yanks you towards him. You fall against his chest, your lips a hairs length from him, “boss me around.” He whispers and you swallow a thick lump in your throat. You stand again, feeling anxious and unsure of what to do. Normally Ethan tells you what to do, but he just relinquished all control to you and you already hate it. 

Ethan watches with knowing eyes, he knows already that you have no idea what to do. “Well? What do you want me to do baby?” Ethan asks, watching the blush crawl up your neck and tint the edges of your ears. You tremble, “um...I-” you feel your throat close as tears well in your eyes. In a second Ethan is pulling you into his arms, smoothing your hair down and pressing kisses to your head. You melt into his embrace while he mumbles loving words into your hair. “I’m sorry baby I didn’t mean to upset you.” Ethan whispers, pressing soft kisses to your head. 

“Is that how you felt on the stream? Embarrassed?” You ask hesitantly and to your dismay, Ethan nods. 

“Kinda, but it’s okay baby.” You lean up to press a kiss to his lips. 

“I’ve learned my lesson, I promise. I know why you make those rules now.” You say softly and Ethan brushes hair out of your face with a small smile. “Can you be in charge again?” Instead of answering Ethan flashes you a smile before pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

“Lay down baby.” In an instant the heat floods through your body again as you scramble to lay down on the bed. Ethan stands and swiftly yanks his shirt over his head, and motions for you to do the same. Sitting up you quickly pull your shirt off, watching as Ethan kicks his jeans and boxers off as well. Ethan hovers over you, and you feel his cock nudging at your entrance and in an instant you spread your legs wider for him. Ethan slides just the head of his cock into you and he stills. You wriggle your hips, “Ethan please,” You beg in a gasp. 

Cupping your cheeks, Ethan turns your head to look him in the eyes. “No more bothering me while I’m live got it?” He says and you nod instantaneously. With one sharp thrust, Ethan slides the rest of the way in and both of you release a moan. Pressing his lips to yours he begins to thrust into you and you feel the heat building already. You wrap your legs around him, locking your ankles behind his back as he slowly picks up speed. Ethan pulls out, “bend over.” He gasps and you move to bend over the bed, already missing the stretch his cock provided. As soon as you’re bent over in front of him, Ethan grasps your hips and thrusts back into you. 

Your face is pressed into the bed as you cry out softly, Ethan slamming into you again and again. “Fucking took my dick in your mouth in front of the entire world, you’re lucky they only saw me. If anyone else saw how beautiful you look with a cock in your mouth I think I’d lose my mind.” Ethan growls and you can only moan in response as your fists twist the sheets in your hands. You feel the coil in your abdomen winding tighter and tighter and when Ethan reaches around your body to softly pinch your clit you’re crying out and convulsing around him, leading him to his orgasm as well. You collapse against the bed and Ethan rubs a hand up and down your back before gently pulling out with a wince. 

He helps you into bed and lays down next to you, pulling your bare body against his chest. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you.” You say softly, but Ethan merely presses a kiss to your lips. 

“Only a little, I couldn’t be bothered too much I mean you were sucking my dick. Doesn’t get better than that.” Ethan shrugs, causing you to blush. You sit up when Ethan stands from the bed, reaching around for his clothes. 

“Now if your unusually high sex drive has been fully satisfied, I have some explaining to do.” Ethan teases, causing you to giggle. With a kiss to your sweaty forehead Ethan is exiting the room, and you lay back against the bed with the widest smile stretched across your face. 

[pesewla]

Thank you for the request, @bout-to-snap <3 

“This is why I don’t trust him!” Mu Qing fumed. “He’s literally the Lord of the Ghost Realm, Your Highness…”

Xie Lian allowed a small, relaxed smile to grace his lips. He was mediating a fight between Mu Qing, Feng Xin, and Hua Cheng for what seemed like the thousandth time. Though newly renovated, Puqi Shrine was still too small for these massive quarrels, and Xie Lian dreaded the property damage that would ensue if their swords were drawn.

Given all that had happened – the destruction of the heavens and defeat of Jun Wu – why were these three still at each other’s throats?

“I thought we were past this,” Xie Lian sighed. “We don’t get to see each other all the time, so can we please not fight?”

“Exactly, we don’t see get to see each other all the time, so can’t we talk to you in private?” Feng Xin said, fidgeting a little.

Xie Lian looked confused. “About what?”

“You expect me to walk away when you’ve just called me the scum of the earth?” Hua Cheng said coolly, examining his nails. “Gege, these servants are no good.”

“We’re not his servants!” Mu Qing exclaimed. Xie Lian thought it sounded like he was about to say “anymore” at the end, but cut off his speech abruptly, making the outburst awkward and clunky.

“Are you sure?” Hua Cheng asked skeptically. “Because when you’re with him, it’s like 800 years never happened, you can be his ever-most-loyal-servants again. The roleplaying is disgusting, and doesn’t absolve you from guilt.”

Xie Lian sensed the atmosphere in the shrine shift. He stepped forward again and raised his hands placatingly. “San Lang – “

“And what would you know?” Feng Xin demanded. “You can’t possibly understand what we’ve been through, at the time you were merely a mortal child.”

“I understand that you abandoned Dianxia when he was most vuln –“

“San Lang,” Xie Lian said. Hua Cheng’s lips instantly froze at the warning in Xie Lian’s tone; it was a lilt and a dangerous flavor that Xie Lian hardly used on anyone, and never on Hua Cheng.

“…”

“Why can’t they know, gege?” Hua Cheng asked softly. “Don’t you think they deserve to know? Frankly, their ignorance offends me.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing had fallen silent, too, their faces both a few shades lighter. The word abandon seemed to always have that effect on them. Then Feng Xin regained his voice. “Ignor – know what? Taizi Dianxia, just what…”

Xie Lian had folded his arms, his mouth drawn into a line. “It’s old history,” he sighed. “There’s no need to bring things like this up. Do not shame me.”

“Shame you? When that came to visit you, he dismissed your fears as insan –“

Hua Cheng’s voice cut off for a moment, and the temperature in Puqi Shrine seemed to drop. Because, at that moment, an expression entirely foreign to Xie Lian flitted across his face: rage. Neither Mu Qing nor Feng Xin had seen him make that expression since his third ascension, and it didn’t suit him well.

It was gone as soon as it arrived, and Xie Lian’s characteristically peaceful smile returned in its stead. However, the faces of his two ex-subordinates were already white as sheets. Hua Cheng stepped toward, placing a hand on Xie Lian’s shoulder as if to hold him up.

“Dianxia, are you mad… at us?” Feng Xin whispered.

Xie Lian looked at him strangely, as if he had asked a very bizarre question indeed. “No… Not you.”

Hua Cheng snorted, as if he was thinking, too bad. Xie Lian’s face was soft. “In any case, I’m quite tired, so I think I will retire for the night. Please make yourselves at home.”

“Wh – you can’t – after –“ Mu Qing sputtered.

Feng Xin’s eyes were round. “Dianxia, does that mean… That time with White No-Face, when we were on the run… Was it really…?”

Xie Lian had started towards his chambers, but after being addressed, his shoulders tightened infinitesimally. Then, he turned back to the trio, his face still serene. “Yes.”

As if he’d been punched in the gut, Feng Xin slouched over. Mu Qing looked baffled.

“I didn’t tell you this because I knew you’d blame yourself. Yet, in the end, the only one who sinned was me. So, please, do not inquire further into this matter.”

With a nod and another smile, Xie Lian vanished into the back room, anxious to escape the conversation.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing were bursting with indescribable emotion. Some small part of Feng Xin fumed at Xie Lian for leaving them without explaining, but the rest of him just wallowed in a torrent of guilt, doubt, and self-questioning.

If the Taizi Dianxia wouldn’t tell them the truth, who would? Xie Lian had been abandoned with only his parents, who were long dead, so who besides him even knew what happened? The only people must be Jun Wu himself, and –

“Don’t look at me,” Hua Cheng rolled his eyes, leaning lazily against a chair. “I’m not going behind gege’s back for some backstabbing servants.”

“You’re the one who said we deserve to know,” Mu Qing argued.

“So? It’s gege’s story to tell, and he said no, so no.”

“How do you even know?”

Hua Cheng shrugged. “I was just ghost fire at the time. I had to watch.”

The corners of his eyes tightened, and a murderous look crossed his face. Unlike Xie Lian, his malice wasn’t bottled away, but instead broadcast for all to see.

“Watch what?” Feng Xin cried in anguish. “Why must you torture us?”

Hua Cheng snickered. “If only you knew your own irony.”

With that, he straightened and glided in Xie Lian’s direction, back towards the sleeping chambers.

“We – we’ll be back tomorrow!” Feng Xin and Mu Qing shouted at his receding back. Hua Cheng shrugged again.

//

That night, Hua Cheng was holding Xie Lian in his arms, and casually said, “Gege, this is what you did with Lang Qianqiu, too.” It wasn’t an accusation – it was never an accusation, just a comment.

Xie Lian exhaled. “I know.”

Hua Cheng’s voice grew husky. “Isn’t it enough that you suffered alone then, why must you be alone now, too? Why must you save everyone secretly, then endure their collective ridicule?” Then, “Is keeping it a secret truly doing anyone good?”

Xie Lian was silent. “Maybe I don’t have a good reason,” he finally said. “I don’t like thinking about it, really. I’m weak.”

“…”

“Although, looking back on it, I can’t believe that cute little ghost fire was you,” Xie Lian laughed. “You’d barely popped up and you already had a little cult following, so adorable!”

Hua Cheng grinned, but it was pained, like he couldn’t remember that period of his existence without discomfort. He said nothing, but his grip around Xie Lian tightened, like he was afraid of letting go.

Xie Lian noticed, and, after a beat of silence, shut his eyes. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

//

Feng Xin and Mu Qing would not give up. Day after day, they visited Xie Lian, demanding answers, so after months of heckling, Xie Lian finally agreed to explain what had happened all those years ago. When Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, Feng Xin, and Mu Qing sat down in Paradise Manor, Hua Cheng started talking first, trying to alleviate Xie Lian’s burden.

“…He’d wailed and screamed and cried and begged for mercy, but the people, having deemed him a sinner, continued without hesitation. Of course, his sinfulness was merely an excuse to save their own skin…”

“…After one hundred fatal strikes, Dianxia laid on his own altar, disfigured beyond recognition. Nothing more than a pile of flesh.”

Feng Xin was not the type to cry. So, when his eyes grew wet and then started streaming, Xie Lian hurriedly waved off Hua Cheng’s stone-faced words.

“Feng Xin, this was hundreds of years ago,” Xie Lian assured him, patting his shoulder. “It’s not sad anymore. Also, I’ve endured worse since then.”

This aggravated Feng Xin even further, and he looked like he wanted to cry some more. “I just can’t… when I imagine it, I can’t help it…”

“Trust me, whatever you’re imagining, it was five million times worse in real time,” Hua Cheng muttered darkly. He stared at Xie Lian with an odd expression, before languidly pulling him into his embrace.

Feng Xin looked like he wanted to rebuke, but in the end, could not. Thus, he motioned for the story to continue.

Xie Lian skimmed over his recovery period, the reformation of his flesh, and Feng Xin’s departure, but before he was in the clear, he was interrupted.

“So that’s why you asked me to leave?” Feng Xin said incredulously.

“There was no need to pull you down with me,” Xie Lian murmured.

“I thought you’d gone insane,” Feng Xin mumbled, nauseated. “I told your mother and father… I left you…”

Describing what happened to his parents was even harder, and when he finally got to saying how he’d put his own head in the noose, eyes filling with blood and collarbone cracking, Mu Qing jumped up.

“DAMN IT,” he roared, picking up a glass and shattering it against the nearest wall. “Damn it, damn it, damn it, Dianxia! What the actual fuck?”

Xie Lian peered at him. “Please don’t break San Lang’s things,” he tried.

“WHAT DO I FUCKING CARE? FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, TAIZI DIANXIA, HOW COULD YOU KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM US?” Mu Qing was panting, and Feng Xin was staring off into space, eyes empty. “WE COULD’VE HELPED! IF I’D HAVE KNOWN, I’D HAVE –“

“Come back?” Xie Lian questioned lightly. “Followed me until the end?”

There was a deafening silence.

“No… I wanted you both to break free,” Xie Lian said. “You had a future.”

“SO DID YOU!” Feng Xin cried, broken from his trance. “Why… why did all this… why must it happen to you?”

“For that, I have no answer,” Xie Lian said. “But, if it had to happen to anyone, I’m glad it happened to me.”

Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked like they’d been shattered into a million pieces. Xie Lian said ruefully, “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

Mu Qing rushed forward. “GODDAMN IT, THE FACT THAT I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT IT IS EVEN WORSE! WHY DIDN’T YOU ASK FOR HELP? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO USE US, RELY ON US, THAT WAS OUR FUCKING JOB AND WE…”

“At the time, you were ganging up with Middle Court lackeys to chase him out of spiritual lands,” Hua Cheng remarked icily, pulling Xie Lian closer to him.

Mu Qing appeared stupefied, like Hua Cheng had just slapped him. “San Lang!” Xie Lian admonished. Mu Qing sat back down.

Both Feng Xin and Mu Qing both looked like they wanted to protest more, but Xie Lian continued with the story before they could. When he described donning the white mask and preparing to unleash the Human Face Disease, both of them seemed to hold their breath. Hua Cheng described his rebirth as a ghost soldier, following Xie Lian’s commands but never believing that he would truly commit the atrocity.

Feng Xin was regarding him with something that almost looked like newfound respect, but Mu Qing turned his head.

The rest was all downhill from there. He described laying on the pavement for days on end, and the one farmer who’d salvaged his faith in human goodness.

“To anyone else, thousands of onlookers ignoring your pain and suffering before one did anything shouldn’t reinforce your faith in anything…” Mu Qing muttered.

Xie Lian pressed forward, practically sprinting through the unleashed Human Face Disease, taking the brunt of the curses, and then Hua Cheng dying for him for the second time. He talked about ascending into heaven, and asking Jun Wu to punish him for his wrongdoings using banishment and cursed shckles.

“…DIANXIA?!?” Feng Xin gasped. “IT WASN’T A MURDEROUS RAMPAGE?”

“Nope!” Xie Lian said cheerily, relief crossing his face as if he was pleased to be done talking.

Mu Qing’s face darkened, and he started swearing again. “I WAS FUCKING WONDERING HOW SOMEONE AS TALENTED AS YOU SPENDS 800 YEARS TRYING TO ASCEND, IT WAS ON FUCKING PURPOSE? FUCKING FUCK, I WANT TO STRANGLE SOMETHING! SOMEONE GIVE ME SOMETHING TO BREAK!” He clomped off in a random direction.

Feng Xin’s face looked shadowed over, too. “Here I was wondering how you suddenly had such bad luck. As Crown Prince, you’d never had something so egregious. Now, learning that you asked for it… it all makes sense.” His hands were clenched into tight fists, and his words turned into cries. “Why… why… why… for 800 years, we felt… we waited, we were waiting, for something, and we thought maybe you’d died, or gone crazy, or vanished… We…”

Xie Lian had approached him, and put both hands on his shoulders. It was an old, but familiar gesture, and Feng Xin’s heart immediately squeezed with pain and regret. He was at a loss for words, and everything seemed wretched.

“Feng Xin, I understand your anguish,” Xie Lian said softly. “But I became very close to becoming that thing which I swore to destroy. And, to be honest, at that point I didn’t care much for godhood. I lost everything because of godhood. What I couldn’t stand to lose was myself, not to that monster, not to anyone. So, please understand. I’m sorry I hurt you, but it was necessary.”

“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUCKING GOOD?” Mu Qing roared, coming to stand next to Feng Xin. “WHY CAN’T YOU EVER BE SELFISH?”

Xie Lian chuckled, and Mu Qing covered his mouth, as if the words had escaped by their own volition. “…I wasn’t being good, I was scared.”

Mu Qing swore more. Feng Xin, on the other hand, fell to his knees, his shoulders trembling. So, Xie Lian acted on impulse, pulling Mu Qing down to the ground, too. Xie Lian then wrapped one arm around Feng Xin, and the other around Mu Qing, enveloping the both of them in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Xie Lian murmured again, trying to control their trembling. He couldn’t tell, at this point, if it was only Feng Xin, or if it was Mu Qing too.

“We failed. I failed,” Feng Xin said, and his voice was raw with agony. “Why are you apologizing?”

“It wasn’t fair to either of you… but I loved you very much, and it was like you were shackled to a man descending to the bottom of a lagoon. If I didn’t remove your chains, you would’ve drowned too.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, holy shit, I’m so sorry,” Feng Xin said, almost gasping through the words. He looked as though someone had drawn a sword across his Adam’s apple, and he was choking through the blood. “Taizi Dianxia, I’m sorry. I failed.”

“Don’t be so damn self-sacrificing, Your Highness.” It was Mu Qing, this time, and he wasn’t struggling against the embrace. “Every single fucking time. Disgusting. How can we even stop you? Something like this. Damnit.”

“I’m a bit tougher than I look,” Xie Lian assured him. “Drowning is no big deal. Pain will subside. Embarrassment will fade. And look, I’m very happy now.”

From somewhere far away, Hua Cheng laughed slightly. However, even Mu Qing and Feng Xin, who weren’t well acquainted with him, could hear that it was laced with pain, too.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to stay with you,” Feng Xin said. “I wanted to stay, I trusted you unequivocally, you’re my world. But it scared me…”

Xie Lian smiled. “I know. You didn’t have to say anything. Ever since you came to help me at Yu Jun Mountain, I’ve known. And I’m grateful.”

“Stop being so damn forgiving.” Mu Qing’s voice was muffled by Xie Lian’s robes.

“Why? I forgive you.” Mu Qing and Feng Xin seemed to collapse in on themselves. So Xie Lian repeated, “I forgive you.”

No one moved for a long time. The trembling intensified. “You’re so damn forgiving,” Mu Qing mumbled. “It doesn’t mean a thing…”

And yet, they were not willing to break away.

Even after 800 years, Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn’t think that they would ever get used to being dazzled by the Crown Prince.

[mari-beau]

GIVE ME A REASON: PART SIX - A Rogue One Fanfiction

This is a shorter installment, and maybe pointless… maybe I’m dragging this out too long… But also, who cares, I’m doing this for fun. I just love playing with them!

Read on AO3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Title: Give Me A Reason: Part Six

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Jyn Erso POV, Cassian Andor

Pairing: Cassian/Jyn (mostly pre-ship?)

Spoilers: Rogue One; Episode IV A New Hope

Setting: Post-Rogue One AU (Cassian & Jyn live); Also during/post A New Hope

Warnings: Some coarse language. References to wounds. And… Cuddling?

Words: 1,720

Story Summary: Jyn’s entire universe has been turned on its head, so maybe she’s clinging a little too hard to the one thing she feels certain of (strangely enough) as she tries to figure out her place in the galaxy. And maybe she’s being a little overprotective of a wounded captain.

Also can be found on AO3.

The Death Star had come for them.

Again.

But Jyn couldn’t bring herself to care. It did seem a little strange to have been spared the last time only to probably be destroyed this time, barely a week later. But either way, it was the end to her life she now knew to be her fate, or whatever. It just felt right. It just was. Not the Death Star specifically, but,

Jyn Erso would die in Cassian Andor’s arms.

Whether it should’ve been on Scarif. Or it was here on Yavin 4. Or the next day. Or thousands of days in the future.

And there was a sort of peace in knowing that. One that allowed her to climb into his bed, slide her arms around him, and bury her face in his shoulder. He stirred and her heart skipped a beat. It was easier when he was unconscious, to consider how she felt about him, how she’d been attracted to men before, even had something akin to a relationship with one or two, but it had never felt like this.

“Jyn…?”

“Yes, it’s me. We’re on the base on Yavin 4. Safe. In your quarters.” It was easier to preempt any confusion or alarm Cassian experienced when he woke from his heavy, partially drugged, mostly just exhausted from his body’s healing, sleep.

“How long?” he asked, then realized there were static-laden voices broadcasting over the basewide intercom. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been asleep for 12 hours,” Jyn said, moving closer and partially on top of him to prevent him from trying to get up in a rush and falling flat on his face. Also, she was admittedly afraid on some level, afraid to be alone and facing death. When he was near her, when they were physically entwined in some way, she felt like everything would be okay. Even if she died, if it was in Cassian’s arms, then everything would be okay. Irrational, yes. But that didn’t make it any less her truth.

“The Death Star is here,” she said, once she could tell he was awake enough to understand, not muddled by pain meds. “The Alliance is scrambling their forces to engage. They’re leaving the comms open, since you know…”

“We’re all dead if they fail.”

His arms wrapped around her and engulfed her in his warm embrace. Cassian Andor, a man who, she didn’t think she was wrong to guess, hadn’t received much at all in the way of affection in his life, somehow was so good at holding a person he made the pain of the universe go away, made the entire universe fade away except for his hands on her body, gentle and undemanding but also firm and reassuring, his breath hot on her neck, sending shivers down her spine, and his body beneath hers, so strong despite his injuries.

“Are you okay?” she asked, remembering the physical state of him.

“Mmm… Yes.” His hands tightened their grip on her side and shoulder, reflexively, a gentle squeeze as he murmured into her neck. “Feels good.”

He probably meant he felt fine, but oh, yes, it did feel good. Or maybe he was still quite medicated?

“My weight isn’t putting pressure on your injuries?” Jyn asked. “Maybe I should…”

“No.” Somehow he managed to pull her further into him, her breasts flattening against his chest, her hip practically fusing to his, her breath hitching momentarily and then joining the rhythm of his own breaths...in and out… in and out… in and out...

Cassian sighed, made a frustrated, growling sound.

“I need to use the ‘fresher,” he said, loosening his grip on her.

Jyn rolled off from him, swung her legs around to sit on the side of the cot and waited to see if Cassian could manage to stand. He slid to sit on the edge of the bed next to her and took a moment. She didn’t press him, though an instinct inside of her wanted to offer assistance, wanted to take care of him, wanted to ease the pain and struggle his recovery was.

He stood, again pausing for a moment, then walked slowly across the small room to his private refresher facilities. Apparently, it was one of very few benefits to his officer’s rank, for the small quarters were nothing more than a glorified closet. But she supposed it spared him from having to sleep in a large barracks with a bunch of others, not that it would’ve deterred Jyn in the least from crawling into his bed.

Part of her felt like she shouldn’t watch his laborious movements, out of respect, but she couldn’t look away. What if he needed her?

Force, what if he didn’t need her? Not like she needed him? Aw, fuck. She needed him.

She watched the muscles in his naked back twitch, stiff from inactivity and injury. But her eyes were inevitably drawn to the perfectly uniform lines of small circular marks running down his spine. She knew there was a matching sort of trail along his ribs. Injections of some sort of bacta cocktail meant to speed the fusing of the fractures in his vertebrae and ribs, injections straight into the bone. How painful would that have been if he’d been conscious, she couldn’t help but wonder, couldn’t help but want to wrap her smaller body around as much of Cassian as she could, run her hands gently over his scars, old and new, make sure his wounds were healing and his bruises fading, hear him sigh contentedly against her skin, hold him forever.

As he disappeared into the ‘fresher, Jyn realized she was hopeless.

Cassian Andor had taught her about hope. And had made her absolutely hopeless at the same time.

But why fret about it? What did it matter?

Jyn was used to dealing with life moment by moment, day by day. And she might not have many more moments, anyway.

The loud, static-laden voices crackling over the basewide intercom announced the launch of yet another squadron of fighters, then abruptly switched over to some ship’s communication officer announcing visual confirmation of the target. The Death Star.

Looming on the horizon like a moon, a harbinger of death, bringer of eternal night. Cold, austere, which made it somehow more terrifying, somehow worse than staring down an angry brute about to put a knife in you. It was just so inevitable, indomitable. Made her feel so small, insignificant, so alone.

“Do you mind if I turn this off?”

Jyn startled. How had she not noticed Cassian reappear in the small room? He pointed at the comm, which was broadcasting the prelims of a battle to determine all their fates.

She didn’t want to listen to it either.

“Please do,” she said, already feeling less… alone.

She watched Cassian lean over to switch the speaker off, wincing in sympathy with him as he straightened again, taking a deep breath that expanded his chest and shifted the muscles beneath his skin, mesmerizing her more than a little. His mostly naked body preoccupied far too many of her thoughts.

But what else had she been supposed to do? She’d woken up drenched in sweat that first night in his quarters, had to strip out of the heavy infirmary clothes, found Cassian tossing in his sleep, nearly feverish, removed the sweltering clothes from his body, as well. Little did she know, how enthralling she’d find his lean muscles, the shape of his body, the feel of his bare skin, his-

His hands cupped her face and Jyn looked up at Cassian Andor, his kriffing gorgeous dark eyes fixed on her. His fingers swept some stray hair from her forehead, tucked it behind her ear, returned to swipe gently over the nearly-healed scar above her eyebrow, in her hairline.

“Are you okay?” A knot formed in her throat. Cassian was a good man, despite every questionable thing he’d done and tortured himself over. Of course he would care about her wellbeing. It didn’t mean-

“Ow!”

“Your blaster wound still hurts?” His fingers feathered over her shoulder, not touching the freshly healed injury this time.

“It does when you jab your finger in it.” She grabbed his wrist and tugged his hand away, throwing him off balance so that he fell into her and she managed to catch him and ease him onto the bed, right where she wanted him.

A chuckle escaped him and he smiled, making something flutter inside of her. And then he was reaching for her, pulling her close.

His embrace was everything she’d never known she’d wanted. His hands stroked her back and he buried his face in her neck, nuzzling a sensitive spot just behind and below her ear.

She sighed, wrapping an arm around his middle and burying the fingers of her other hand in his messy, soft hair. She pressed gently as she massaged his scalp down to his nape, eliciting a hum of pleasure from him that vibrated against her bare skin and into her flesh.

If this was to be her last moment, Jyn held no regrets. It was a good moment.

“Jyn?” His voice had a lethargic but happy edge to it, thick and low and sleepy. She could sympathize.

“Yes?” She twisted her finger in a lock of hair curling about his neck.

“Please don’t let me sleep so long this time.” His whisper tickled her ear. “No more than 10 hours. Okay? Please?”

He wanted her to wake him up in 10 hours… Like there wasn’t a battle raging in space nearby… Like he didn’t believe they were quite probably going to die soon, incinerated by a weapon her own father helped design. Like he didn’t believe they were going to lose, after all. Somehow, he believed they would be there, together, ten hours from this moment.

Hope.

Such a man as Cassian… The most unexpected thing she’d discovered about him was his belief in hope. That he possessed any at all after all he had done, all he had seen. And then he’d given it to her.

And again, it warmed her, deep inside, that small seed of hope. She snuggled closer to the man, hoping for something she couldn’t even begin to conceive of. But yearned for it, with every fiber of her being.

[purpleyellow]

Road To Kingdom

The boyz 12th member

Mae’s masterlist

“A summary of Mae during RTK” 

a/n: not @/ me using the performance names as historical events. Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open! 🧡

... After the concept meeting for Sword of Victory...

Mae cracked open the door to a practice room, making sure no one was inside before dropping her stuff, as well as her body, on the floor. The lightbulb making it almost impossible to keep her eyes open reminded her that she used to do that during her trainee days.

Here she was again, feeling hopeless like she was going to face the biggest challenge ever. And the girl was sure she wasn’t ready for it. 

Minkyung had a problem of self-doubting even though she couldn’t pinpoint it, all the members seemed willing to take on the challenge, yet she felt like she’d be the downfall of the group. And yes, she had a thing for being dramatic as well, that’s why she rested the back of her hand on her forehead and sprawled out her other arm.

The door flung open with mild force, startling her from her thoughts and sending her body into a more normal position. Q entered the room without a word and just laid on the floor next to her. Both members looked at the ceiling deep in thought.

Mae went back to the idea she had during the meeting. Not a particularly bright one, though it did attack the fact she felt like an upcoming burden to the group. Taking a deep breath she mumbled, “I think I should take a hiatus”.

After her words, the room went back to silence. Her heartbeat had increased due to the heaviness of what she had spoken, and looking to the side, she saw Changmin frown.

“Are you sick?” He asked after a few minutes and the girl shook her head. “Physically or mentally unwell? Is there an issue we can fix?”

His questions made her taken back, for Mae it was very clear why her taking a break would be beneficial for the group. 

“I’m saying because of the program”

“We’re joining a competition, so you want to drop out?” Changmin sat up confused. 

“I’m thinking of the bigger picture. The group will do better if you don’t have to worry about me keeping up with you guys”.

“No, you’re not. I’m sorry, but you’re being selfish now” He chuckled. “We don’t mind if you need to repeat the same move a couple of times extra to understand how it goes. Do you honestly think it’s going to help being one person down?”.

“I figured I wouldn’t be setting you back. It can be stressing sometimes and -” She sat up trying to explain her thoughts, and he shook his head.

“Minkyung, you bring a lot to the team, just because you struggle with something doesn’t mean it’s worth losing everything else. When we were rookies I used to get annoyed because you were so quick to give up. But then you began understanding how you learn and your limits. And even though it takes you a little longer you push yourself. Why did you suddenly come back to assuming you can’t do it?”

“The meeting today. Everyone is preparing a lot, there’s so much thought involved and maybe not pulling it off would mean I failed you guys”

“I’m terrified too,” Changmin nodded, placing a hand on his chest “I mean, did you listen to the stunts they were talking about. My first thought was to run away. But then I remembered we’re here to prove ourselves” 

Sighing, Mae looked at him annoyed “You’re a great dancer, and singer and whatever else, you’ll do fine because that’s how your body works”

“And you’re an insane performer” He cut her off with wide eyes. A random giggle left his mouth before he continued “I’m talking about acting and becoming another person on stage, you literally do that in the blink of an eye. This is your chance of growth. Who cares if you pull an all-nighter to get the right angle? When you’re on stage it’s like someone else entirely, and we haven’t even done some crazy concepts like we’re planning on doing”

“If the angles are wrong then we won’t look synchronized” The girl mumbled looking at the big mirror and Q chuckled.

“And that’s why you’re not going to rest until it’s perfect. None of us is going too actually. We’re going in as a team, with all our flaws and strengths”

“It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it?” She mumbled after a moment of silence. Changmin laughed and added. “I’m scared to death”

… Five hours before Catching Fire…

The last rehearsal before the performance had ended and the group went back to their dressing room. Sitting sideways on the couch, Mae rested her head on her arm and watched some members go get their makeup retouched.

Jacob sat on her side and stared at the girl’s blank face before laughing. “Can you blink, so I know you’re still alive?”

Blinking once, she slowly adverted her gaze to him and bit her lip “This is crazy”

“It’s not as fast-paced as they show it on TV though. At least we have some time to process what’s going on” Jacob shrugged making her narrow her eyes at him “But yeah. It is crazy”

“Sunwoo keeps going on high places. And there’s some acrobatic stuff I’m not sure how it works and-” She kept mumbling like she hadn’t been there for the tiring practices and rehearsals. Laughing Jacob interrupted her by adding.

“And you fake kicked someone”

“And I fake kicked someone” Mae repeated with wide eyes making him laugh and Hyunjae approach them.

“Hey, I’ve been jumping on high places too,” He said defensively making her stare at him and shrugged. Jaehyun laughing before patting her on the back “How about once we get home today you have a really long night to sleep”

“I’m good” Mae shook her head “I’ll sleep but tomorrow don’t let me miss the meetings please”

Agreeing with her, Hyunjae stepped back to the styling session and the girl stood up to use the restroom.

Just as Mae turned around the corner, a faint sound of a violin came from Golden Child’s door. Before she could fully process the song it was playing, the door opened wide showcasing Jangjun.

“Well, do we have a spy among us?” He laughed bowing at her and Mae repeated the gesture a little embarrassed.

“I was just passing by and heard the violin. I didn’t mean to interrupt” She said making an x with her hands.

“Nah, I don’t believe you” He teasingly said and dropped an arm over her shoulder, ultimately bringing her inside the room “So, what did you hear? Are you going to sell this information to your members? And what is it going to be your concept today, I can see the hunger games thing on your shirt, is it like a revolution”

“Uh, I don’t know… Hello” Bowing to the rest of Golden Child, the girl tried to remember what he had first asked her. “I only heard a melody, and don’t worry I won’t spread it around”

“Hyung, I told you not to play it right now” Bomin scoffed to Joochan, who seemed to realize he was still holding out his violin before hiding it on his back.

“But Mae-ssi is a friend, isn’t she? She will hold out the shock factor for us” He laughed making the girl nod and give them a thumbs up. “Do you know how to play it too?”

“I do actually” She laughed and Joochan gestured her to take the instrument “Oh, no it’s fine”

“You heard our song already. At least play for us or tell us something about your stage” Jibeom teased leading her to sigh and take the violin to herself.

Fixing up her posture, Mae quickly played a random song she had learned as a child making the boys cheer. 

“Okay, I should be going now,” She said bowing embarrassed by their compliments and Denyeol nodded along. Fist bumping her before raising a finger.

“But, Mae if you could do us a favor” He started grabbing her attention “Please make sure you show you’re surprised”

Laughing she nodded making her way to the door, before leaving she held up her hands with her fists closed “Golden Child fighting!”

“Mae fighting!”

(requested by 🍓🥛 anon) 

… Behind the scenes for Heroin…

“Why are we so embarrassing?” Sunwoo giggled and clicked his pen repeatedly. He and Mae were sitting on the same side of the table waiting for Leedo from Oneus to show up for the writing session. 

Bouncing her leg, Mae hugged the boy’s arm and looked at the door expectantly, only to get startled by it opening up. 

“Hello” The tall boy put his head inside the room and entered it slowly. The three idols greeted each other and sat down still a little awkward from being the first time they truly interacted.

“I got the demo, so we can write the raps to go with it” Leedo said unlocking his phone. A piano melody that would blend in with Sunmi’s Heroin started playing, and Mae quickly unlocked her own device.

Opening a piano app, she waited for the recording to be over before quickly replicating it on her phone in different tempos.

“You picked it up quite fast” Leedo laughed scribbling down on his paper, and she smiled. “Sorry, just a habit before writing. This way we can adjust it as we go”

“No yeah, sure” He cleared his throat and Sunwoo bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing.

“Anyway, for the lyrics, I was thinking we could talk about becoming an idol”

After finishing up with their rap parts. The three idols made their way up to the practice room where the rest had began working with the choreographer.

“Mae, come here” Juyeon called out as soon as she stepped in the room, so he could run over some parts with her and Ravn. “There’s only actual choreography for you after the last chorus, but we do some kind of puppet thing during your verse”

“My love for this song couldn’t be any bigger” Mae giggled and looked around the room for the camera “Sunmi Sunbaenim, if you’re watching this, let’s be friends”

Laughing, Juyeon pulled out a chair for them to start while saying “Watch out. Taemin Sunbaenim commented on danger, maybe she’ll actually see this”

“Wait, he did” Mae stopped with wide eyes and Juyeon nodded. “Holy sh-”

“Yeah” Laughing he pulled her arm “Just remember this is still a broadcast” 

“Honestly, if she ever reaches out let me know. I want to be her friend too” Ravn added making them giggled, and she gave him a positive sign.

“As long as you don’t tell Juyeon, because he’s been censoring me a lot lately”

“Well, we have an agreement”

Sulking, Juyeon added “I don’t see how this is fair but okay”

… 1 minute after Quasi una fantasia …

The members bowed to the staff and extras before slowly stepping away from the stage. Mae could see some of the boys crowding around Juyeon who seemed pretty upset, though she had no idea what was going on. 

Holding her side, the girl went behind the boy and gave him a back hug making them waddle together back to the dressing room. Once they were all settled back, she stepped away from the crowd and raised her shirt a bit showcasing a forming bruise right above her waist.

“Crap, how did that happen?” Kevin who looked her way at the right time said under his breath. “You need to ice it, probably"

“I bumped on the corner of the piano," She said recalling the incident. “Hopefully it wasn’t noticeable. The camera wasn’t turned to me anyway”

The one part that had gotten her most nervous during this performance was her piano solo for the climax of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Not only it dictated the rhythm for the first dance break, but it was also challenging for her as she hadn’t played something like this in a while, and it ended a few seconds before her part. 

So strategically speaking, she had to run off the instrument as soon as it was done and went back to the center of the performance. Not without hitting her hip against the wood.

“Is it hurting?” He asked while waving for a staff member and asking them for ice.

“It’s starting to. Do you think it’ll leave a big bruise?” Mae shrugged and hissed as the cold hit her warm skin. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on something else “Well, not mentioning everything. How was the performance?”

“Weren’t you there to see it yourself”

“I don’t know. I kind of blackout every time we go on stage” She made him laugh, but her face was dead serious.

“Wait really?”

“Kind of. I can remember it roughly I guess. Today there was so much to focus on that I’m not sure if I was entirely present. I banged my hip and didn't feel it at first for all things”

“Dude, same I guess. I need to lay down and get smushed by ten weighted blankets tonight” Kevin added hugging her on the other side and leading them to the couch.

… 3 days before Checkmate …

“The synchronization feels off” Eric spoke from the huddle of members watching the recording of their practice.

“Mae…” Q started, but before he could finish the girl spoke “Right arm higher. I got it”

“If you got it then why didn’t you do it right away” He turned playfully to her and poked her nose. 

Massaging her back, the girl laughed and walked back to her spot next to Haknyeon. The boy dropped his bottle on the floor to help her out “Did you fall on your side?”

“No. I did trip while running from one side to the center, so maybe that was it” She shrugged looking around the room “Nobody is intact”

“Tell me about it” He pouted and called Sangyeon closer. “Hyung, maybe we should work on another part. We’ve been doing this section of the chorus for too long”

“Go talk to the captain, I’m not in charge of that” The leader laughed sending him towards Changmin, Juyeon, and Hyunjae talking to one of the choreographers.

“They would listen if you’re the one asking,” Mae said leaning on his side and Sangyeon nodded. 

“Yeah, but I already came all the way over here. I don’t feel like walking back” Sangyeon chuckled, looking to the side where one of the staff members started calling his attention.

“We’ve got the costumes ready if you want to do a rehearsal with them” Looking up at the leader, Mae separated herself from him to run for the stylists while he went to call the other boys.

After the stylists helped her put on her clothes, one of them brought a box and quickly pulled her to the side “I know we’re not doing hair and makeup for today. But I’d figure it’s best for you to have it on for the rehearsal so we can make sure it won’t fall”

“Wow, is she getting a present?” Eric laughed approaching them and the stylist opened the box to reveal a thin black tiara to go along with her outfit.

“The crown itself is one of the props, so we had to make it subtle, but we couldn’t pass away the chance to represent the nickname you were given during the program,” She said helping her adjust the thing on her head and Mae walked to one of the mirrors.

“Wow, thank you so much Unnie,” The girl said checking herself out in the mirror “My face looks dead but damn this is pretty” She added making Eric and New, who also had joined them, laugh.

“You know, during a chess game, the Queen is one of the main pieces” She turned around to them holding a hand to her chest and a teasing expression “Thank goodness we didn’t go with a narrative that would give me that role because I’d crumble under the pressure”

“Only for the first week, then it would quickly get to your head” Chanhee scoffed patting her on the back and making her giggle. Eric chuckled as well and urged them outside “Let’s go work, so we can get Kingdom’s lost princess back to her place”

“Mock me as you want, I never asked for the nickname”

[wannabemobwife]

Guns, Glamour and Goodfellas - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Revenge Never Felt So Good

Dad!Mob!Tom x Mom!Mob!Reader

-Pairings: Tom Holland x Reader, Rosie Holland x Henry Osterfield

-Warnings: Guns, bombing, language, murder, blood, hints to smut (none actual smut), typos, shitty writing, torture I guess

-Words: 4.9K

A/n: Can we get back to mob stuff? Please. I want to apologize for this chapter, it is absolute shit and I could tell by writing it. Kind of a filler chapter. Sorry it is long.

Chapter 13: Revenge Never Felt So Good

Words: 4.9K

It had been a week, since you got your memories back and you declared your love for Tom once more. Right after that, you and Tom were on the first train to Paris, refusing to fly for awhile.

You and Tom returned last night, just in time to see Parker and Rosie off to school the next morning. While you and Tom had been enjoying a second honeymoon in the city of love, Nikki and Dom so graciously offered to watch the kids. Everything was falling back into full swing. Parker and Rosie were going to school regularly. Rosie spending all her time with Henry and Parker still living his secret double life.

Things going back to normal. Somewhat.

It was a typical morning, but anytime everyone every thinks that, something gets massively screwed up. You woke up early to make pancakes and bacon.

“So what is plan for everyone today?” You asked, sipping at your steaming cup of coffee.

“Well, Rosie and I have school,” Parker explained.

“I have plans with Henry,” Rosie chimed in.

“I have meetings all day, love.” Tom said, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek.

“Ok, so I’m all alone today,” you muttered, a little disappointed.

“I’m sorry darling, you could join me. You know much I love it when you sit in my lap during meetings. Really show them who’s boss,” Tom said, wrapping you in his embrace.

“No, it’s ok. I have some errands to run anyway.”

“Alright, angel. I love you. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“I love you too. Come on, kids. In the car we go.” You said, pushing everyone out the door.

“Why is Jared not driving?” Parker asked.

“Cause, I have errands to run and besides he’s driving your dad today.”

“Now let’s go.” You said as Parker and Rosie hopped into the car.

Tom was having a hard time returning to his mob personality. Some business was conducted in Paris, you tagged along and enjoyed every minute of it. Tom sometimes overcompensated for not being as dangerous and intimidating. He had grown soft taking care of you after the helicopter crash. Helping you get your memory took most of his time, he had to step away from the mob for awhile. But you were his top priority.

Tom couldn’t remember the last time he sat in his office doing business. He missed it. He missed the thrill of torturing someone, having them beg for their life in front of him. He missed the feeling of firing his gun.

“Tom, you’re late,” Haz said as Tom got out of the car.

“Sorry not sorry Haz, I enjoyed breakfast with Y/N and the kids this morning,” Tom responded.

“I have to tell you something.”

“What? It’s never good news if it’s right when I get here.”

“We’re down two more.” Harrison mumbled referring to then decreasing number of soldiers part of the Holland Empire.

“Are you fucking serious? Haz, I’m so fucking tired of this bullshit. My men are getting fucking killed. Everything has gone to shit,” Tom screamed, enraged.

“Tom, we’ll figure it out. Just need to keep your cool.” Haz said, trying to avoid Tom’s wrath.

“Easier said than done. Alright, who’s here,” Tom asked, trying to forget about everything else.

“William.” Haz said with a straight face.

“What? Why? He’s always been loyal,” Tom questioned. One of his most valuable men, working against him, the rat?

“I got word from the soldiers he has been taking bribes from Parker,” Harrison explained.

“What the fuck for? Well, I guess we’ll find out.” Tom said, walking into the main room of the warehouse.

“William, I’d never thought it would be you in this chair.” Tom said, walking up to one of his most trusted employees.

“Tom, you gotta believe me. I didn’t do anything. I’m not the rat,” William pleaded. He knew what had been happening to the mob.

“Did you or did you not take money from Parker?” Tom asked.

“Yes, he just wanted to get out of the manor at night. So, he paid me to turn a blind eye.”

“Where was he going?”

“I don’t know, I assumed to some girl’s house.” “William, I trust you. So I’m going to let you off with a warning, but you can’t let him sneak out anymore. I’m afraid we are being targeted. If he tries to leave, you have to tell me.”

“Yes, boss. I’m sorry.” William apologized.

“It’s ok, but you understand what needs to happen right? I can’t be looking like I’ve gone soft,” Tom asserted.

“Yeah, I can take it. It’s ok,” William said, gritting his teeth as he waited for the collision of Tom’s fist to his cheek. Tom winded up to deliver one swift punch to William’s left eye. Not breaking the skin but creating a dark purple blotch.

All of Tom’s frustrations have been channeled into his mob duties. Each punch riddled with anger and frustration. A release of catharsis combined with blood. Tom wears the smell of blood and death like a perfume.

The rest of the day was full of uneventful meetings. Meetings with business associates, actual business associates for the company.

When Tom came home, he planned to confront Parker about his whereabouts if he tried to sneak out again. Everyone retired, you went to sleep first and Rosie went to her room. Parker said, he was going to bed but Tom could see right through him.

Tom was sitting in the den, sipping a glass of watered down whiskey. Waiting for his son to disobey him. At 11:55 PM, Parker made his way downstairs ever so slightly. Only to be met with the dagger eyes of Tom.

“Where the fuck do you think you are going?” Tom asked as Parker tried to sneakily leave.

“I… I thought I heard noise outside and I’m going to go check on it,” Parker stammered. Getting caught by Tom was not part of the plan.

“Oh, ok. Parker the guards can do that. Go back to bed.” Tom said, turning back to the TV in the den, broadcasting Raiders of the Lost Ark.

“Ok. Night, dad,” Parker said, trudging himself back up the steps.

“Night…. I know, you’re lying,” Tom whispered loud enough for Parker to hear.

“What? I’m not lying.”

“Parker, I know you’ve sneaking out for weeks and bribing William.”

“Dad, I’m sorry,” Parker immediately started apologizing, no bother in trying to lie himself out of this one.

“Why have you been sneaking out?” Tom questioned, seething with anger but refusing to show it. Trying to have a mature adult conversation.

“I’ve been going to a girl’s house, her name is Jamie.”

“Oh, glad you find someone. You know after everything with Charlotte,” Tom replied.

“Well since I told you the truth, can I go? We made the plan a couple days ago and don’t want to cancel,” Parker lied.

“Alright, just be back before sunrise or your mother will have may head,” Tom informed him.

“Thanks dad, you should get some sleep,” Parker said, making his way out of the heavily guarded house.

Parker left as quickly as possible. He knew Wilson would be pissed for him being late. The talk with Tom was not how this was supposed to happen.

He couldn’t betray his family and himself anymore.

Parker hoped this was the last time he would have to talk to him. He planned to quit, after the conversation with Dom. Parker had become everything he hated, someone who kills for sport.

“Wilson, this is the last thing I’m doing then, I’m out,” Parker said, walking towards Wilson.

“We’ll talk about it later, my boy,” Wilson said, patting Parker’s shoulder.

“Alright who am I killing? You never gave me a target.” Parker shouted at Wilson walking.

“Oh, this isn’t a hit, it’s a robbery. Here’s your new firearm,” One of Wilson’s men explained, tossing a MP5K at him.

“You okay kid? You know if you’re too much of pussy the boss might understand,” jeered one of the men as Parker gulped at the size of the weapon.

“Fuck you, I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with,” Parker barked, trying to put his mind aside. He has never done anything like this. It wasn’t just one person he was killing, it was the possibility of having many causalities. Altering his persona from a hitman to a mass murderer.

A million thoughts flooded Parker’s mind. He wouldn’t be killing people who deserved it like before, contract killers or drug dealers, these were innocent people. Stupid people for gambling all their hard earned money away but nonetheless innocent.

Parker’s heart nearly stopped when he saw where the van pulled up to. A place he knew all too well, it was one of Tom’s casinos.

The company that Dom had built, but all the Holland boys sent thriving in the new century, was more than it seemed. Holland Exportation and Luxuries was much more than exporting goods.

It was casinos that ran all along the French Riviera, more specifically Monaco. It was hotels across the entire globe. It was a business but not the family one. More of a front for the mob but it paid the bills. Harry and Sam had been in charge of running and establishing the hotels and casinos across Europe.

“Y’know your way around, right? That’s why the boss put you on this.” One of men asked Parker as he fiddled with his new machine gun.

“I guess so.” Parker replied.

“Here’s a map. Where are the guards? Which posts?” Asked a soldier, pointing to the main entrance hallways, where security was sure to be.

“I don’t know.”

“So we’re going in there fucking blind? Fuck, thought you’d be good for something. Just stay out of our way,” yelled one of the capos.

“No. I’m taking point. If you have a problem, you can fucking talk to me about it along with my Glock,” Parker threatened.

“Alright. Don’t screw this up. The boss wants big bucks from this. Says “it’s step two in the fall of the empire.” Whatever the fuck that means.”

“On my count, 1, 2… 3,” Parker screamed.

They came storming in, barricading all the entrances and exits. Parker and Wilson’s men clad in all black and payday masks. All various colors and designs. They looked as they were trick or treating.

This was the last thing Parker wanted to be doing. He came today to quit and now he was robbing a casino.

Parker kept repeating a mantra in his head “Last one, then I’m done” as held his gun high. Pointing it directly at innocents, he could see them shaking in fear.

“EVERYONE ON THE GROUND NOW!” He shouted, aiming his machine gun high.

“Don’t you fucking touch that button. I know what it fucking does.” Parker barks at the person behind the token counter. “Open the vault.” Parker said, pointing the gun at him.

“Why should I?” remarked the worker.

“Cause I fucking said so and I’m threatening your life,” Parker explained

“Enough of this shit!” He screamed, firing a few rounds close to the worker but not hitting him.

“You don’t have to do this. You could walk out of here, all of you. And we could go on with our lives. No need for money or the cops.”

“I think we both know that’s not gonna happen. I’ll ask nicely, please open the vault,” Parker mocked. “Boss said “start killing hostages in 10 minutes.” One of the other men whispered in Parker’s ear.

“Did you fucking hear that? We’re gonna fucking kill you if you don’t cooperate. So I suggest you open… the fucking… vault.”

“Sir, we can’t.”

“See this gun. LOOK AT IT! It has the power to put a bullet through your skull. Open the fucking vault. I won’t ask a fifth time.”

“That’s it. Now, type in the code.” Parker directed towards them.

The vault door creaked open, revealing trappings of pure wealth. Money stacked on tables, almost reaching the ceiling. And gold bars, glistened as the light reflected off of them.

“Now was that so fucking hard. Take all of it. Everything, even the gold.” Parker said, directly towards his men.

“Thank you, you’ve served you purpose,” Parker said to the worker, shooting him dead not even 3 seconds later. The screams of the other hostages echoed through the vacated room.

“Now to everyone here, there’s already one dead. I don’t mind making it more,” Parker barked.

“What’s your name?” Parker asked the nice looking girl kneeling on the ground.

“It’s not nice to not answer when someone asks you question, especially someone with a 9 caliber MP5K in your face. I ask again. What’s your name?” Parker spoke.

“Jane,” she whispered, shaking with fear.

“Well Jane, I want to thank you for your cooperation. You are in charge of talking to the cops, ok? And let your boss know, that Wilson is always watching,” Parker said, as he turned to leave.

“I will but you won’t get as far as you hoped,” Jane asserted, trying not to irritate Parker.

“And why’s that?”

“I know you. I remember you. You’d come in here with your dad.”

“You don’t know fucking shit!” Parker screamed.

“I know your name and that puts me at a high position of power,” Jane expressed, growing less afraid by the second. Realizing he is just some scared boy. Maybe not afraid of his own shadow but broken down by the fear of the world.

“I’m the one pressing fucking gun to your head. I HAVE ALL THE POWER!” Parker vociferated loud enough to shake the chandelier hanging above.

“You wish. Men like you always wish.”

“Seems like you’re doing some wishing yourself sweetheart. Wishing to be escorted out of here in a body bag. Now shut your fucking trap.”

“Hey. Let’s go. Leave her.” One of the Wilson’s men said, pulling Parker towards the exit.

“He still loves you and he’ll forgive you for this,” Jane shouted as Parker left.

Refusing to turn back, he had taken enough lives from this ill attempt at revenge. Parker didn’t know who he was fighting against anymore. Who was the hero and who was the villain?

All the wrongdoings as vast as the sea. All his attempts to make someone pay were misconstrued. Who actually deserved it?

The words of the woman replayed in Parker’s head. She was like a broken record, forcing him to listen to a truth he hoped to forget. How could Tom forgive him? Parker knew what he done was unforgivable. It was a mistake, all of it.

Parker marched into Wilson’s office and said, “Ever since I started working for you, my family has been in danger. I thought my dad was the reason for my girlfriends death, but I was wrong. I guess I’ll never know. Here Wilson, my gun. I quit.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? I own you. I could end you, boy. Just like I almost did your parents,” Wilson barked.

“What?” Parker questioned, a look of confusion are on his face.

“Oh, please. You really think it was just a malfunction,” Wilson scoffed.

“What are you talking about?” Parker asked.

“Their helicopter. Pretty brilliant work, if I do say so myself,” Wilson gloated.

“They almost died.”

“Yeah and so? Your dad is my enemy. That is the whole reason you came to me in the first place.”

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt them,” Parker screamed. “Promises are meant to be broken. They don’t call me the Merchant of Death for nothing.”

Wilson was ready for the fight and been the one pulling the strings the entire time. Tom warranted no quarrel. Never being the instigator in a fight with Wilson.

They had been divided for years to come, focusing on their separate mobs. Only acknowledging each other if they accidentally crossed paths. There was Wilson’s mob, then a few others scattered round London such as Graham’s which was almost non-existent and Shaw’s which was mostly the drug scene. But Wilson was Tom’s biggest competitor. Being a part of then game for years before didn’t matter, Tom eclipsed Wilson just like the sun does the moon.

Or the moon to the sun, that was exactly Wilson’s play from the start. Taking out the pillars of Tom’s life. First a reason to have his son turn on him, the death of a loved one. Next, removing you from Tom’s grasp. Eventually a play had to be made on Rosie. Leaving Tom utterly alone.

Only thoughts that would cross his mind be suicidal ones, having lost everything he ever cared about. It was a long play, one Wilson vowed to see through. Wilson saw all his work as justice and merciful. Almost biblical, they way everything was playing out.

“It was you. All along. The fucking puppet master,” Parker mumbled under his breath.

“If you are talking about your little girlfriend, that was strictly business, nothing personal. But yes, I have been the one behind the scenes driving your father mad. Remember the note?” Wilson exclaimed.

“She didn’t deserve to die,” Parker shouted.

“What? Are you really upset? That was ages ago. Plus, I had to get you on my side somehow,” Wilson teased.

“Wait, you knew I’d come here?”

“Parker, how stupid are you? When will you grow up and learn this rivalry is just the beginning of a war. What side are you going to be on? You have a choice. I’ve warmed to you and I want you on my side as I take your daddy down.”

“That’s your first fucking mistake don’t have any weaknesses,” Parker admitted, taking a lesson from Tom. He drew is gun, point blank at Wilson.

“Parker, what are you doing? Put the gun down,” Wilson pleaded for his life.

“No, you made me into a cold blooded killer. Not my dad. I quit.”

BANG

After a loud thud sounded, the room was silent. Only a faint smell of smoke from the gun was there as Parker fled as quickly as possible.

Parker made his way home that night a changed man. All his kills in the pass were strictly business. Never driven by emotion but this one was personal.

It wasn’t a job or a hit. He was no longer a contract killer. Killing for the sake of money or an obligation. He was cold blooded killer.

In some twisted way, Parker enjoyed Wilson and his company. Looking up to him. He was then one who saved him from the horrible life he thought he was leaving behind. The one full of deceit and betrayal. The one with Tom, you and Rosie.

The one that led him to be next leader of the Holland mob. The one that resulted in the death of his beloved girlfriend. The one that had almost taken you and Tom away from him. The one that almost took his life. The one that forced him to kill for sport.

But no, he was wrong Parker brought that on himself. Parker’s naivety was his greatest enemy. He was just a child not too long ago. Once afraid of his own shadow, then afraid of failing at life and school, especially the SATs. Now, he was an adult burdened by problems a 16 year old should ever face. He could sit there and blame Tom, but it would do him no good when all he had to do was look in the mirror.

Parker was his own worst enemy. Searching for justice, when none could be found in a world wear mobsters roamed. Causing shootouts, robbing banks, and killing innocent people. People deserved to be avenged and Parker sure as hell wasn’t doing anything to aide.

Parker drove home, took four showers and threw his clothes away. Anything to wash off this abhorrent day. The next morning, Parker went on like nothing had changed. As if he didn’t shoot his boss and Tom’s rival in cold blood. As if didn’t only see himself as a cold blooded killer. Everything that he is and everything he owns soiled with the scent of murder.

He played it as though it was any other morning. Eating his pancakes and bacon before starting the day. Telling you about his plans for the day. Trying to keep his cool. The lovely morning breakfast conversation was interrupted once Tom’s phone rang.

RING, RING, RING

“Haz, why are you calling me? I’m having breakfast with my family,” Tom asked, annoyed his precious breakfast was interrupted. “Charlie is here, you need to get here. I have to tell you something,” Haz informed Tom. “Ok, I’m on my way,” Tom said, brushing off the request. Why would the

company’s electrical engineer for aeronautical transportation be there?

“Love, I’m so sorry but I’m needed at the warehouse. Thank you for this wonderful breakfast, wish I could enjoy it. Bye, kids. Have a good day at school,” Tom said, making his way out the door. Bidding you all goodbye.

“Haz, what’s was so urgent that I couldn’t finish my breakfast.” Tom barked, annoyed he was pulled away from you and the kids even on a Saturday.

“We were robbed last night. The casino.” Haz explained, his head hanging low.

“How the fuck? Did they catch them?” Tom seethed with anger.

“No, we do have eye witnesses though.”

“How much is missing?”

“About 11 million dollars, from cash to gold bars.” Haz said, waiting for Tom to explode.

“FUCK. We need to make them pay. I’m done playing fucking games.” Tom shouted, calming himself down for his meeting with Charlie.

“Now, you said Charlie was here, right?”

“Yeah, in your office.”

“Charlie? What are you doing here?” Tom asked, a little annoyed he was taken away from his morning with his family.

“Tom, I ran my report and did diagnostics tests and it’s not good,” Charlie started.

“What the fuck does that mean, Charlie?” Tom yelled.

“I think the helicopter was sabotaged.”

“What? You mean is that someone tried to take out my wife and I while we were on a helicopter,” Tom repeated, making all the connections necessary .

“Yes, it wasn’t just a normal malfunction. Did they ever find the pilot?” Charlie asked.

“No… Jesus fucking christ, if it’s true then…Fuck, I’m sorry I have to go,” Tom yelled, running out to the car.

“Jared, home now.”

“Mr. Holland is everything alright?” Jared asked, concerned by Tom’s frantic manner.

“No. I just found out the helicopter was sabotaged. I think someone might being trying to take out Y/N and I.”

“Come on baby, pick up,” Tom whispered, frantically dialing your number over and over.

“Y/N answer the god damm phone!” Tom shouted, when heard the same voice message over and over again, “Hi, this Y/N Holland please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

“God fucking dammit. Fuck, voicemail. Jared do you know where my wife is?” Tom yelled, afraid what your silence meant.

“Last I heard she was at the store getting groceries,” Jared explained.

“Fuck, I have here location on my phone. Change course,” Tom barked, praying you were okay. With the information he just learned he didn’t want to leave you alone, not even for a second.

“Y/N! You’re okay.” Tom said, inhaling a breath of relief. You were coming out of the store pushing a cart of groceries.

“Tom! Of course, I’m okay. What are you doing here?” You asked.

“I’ll explain later. Get Parker and Rosie we need to go home now.”

“They’re already home. Henry’s there also. You’re scaring me.” You said, Tom never acts like this.

Being a part of a mob there is a constant fear of someone behind you. All throughout Tom’s life he only had to worry about himself until he met you.

Tom’s worst fear is him being the reason you no longer walk the earth. The last week he had glimpse of life without you and didn’t care for it one bit. You weren’t a weakness but at the same time, you were. For anyone with a dangerous job there’s always a target on your back.

“Come on, love. In the car,” Tom motioned towards the car.

“Tommy, my car is here. I’ll meet you there,” you said, kissing his cheek goodbye.

“Ok just be careful please.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Ok, Jared. Home now plea—“ Tom directed but was cut off by a loud BOOM.

“Jared, what the fuck was that?” Tom asked.

“Sir, it was Mrs. Holland’s car.”

“Y/N! Y/N?” Tom jumped out of the car. Nothing else mattered in that moment, only finding you.

Time stood still as thick black smoke bled through the air. Coating everything in its path with a faint ash. Screams echoed from the bystanders as the car went up in flames.

“Tom, I’m okay. It wasn’t mine.” You exasperated, coughing from the smoke. It wasn’t your car but it was close in proximity.

“Thank god. I can’t keep almost losing you,” Tom whispered, kissing you hairline.

“I’m here now.” The second you were in his arms you knew you were safe.

“Yes you are. It sure does look hell a lot like yours, though. Come on, I’m taking you home,” Tom said, wrapping his right arm around your shoulder.

Pulling up to the manor, everything looked different. There were more guards posted at every corner with heavier weaponry. Tom had the gate barricaded with another car in case some where to ram into the gate.

“Jesus, what took you so long?” Haz said

“They tried to bomb Y/N’s car. Thankfully the dumb fucks who planted it, picked the wrong car.”

“Tom you need to tell me what’s going on.”

“I will. Family meeting in the living room. Now.”

“Some of us have some secrets to share. I want to know everything that happened here while your mother and I were in Paris. Someone start talking,” Tom said, pacing in front of Parker and Rosie sitting on the couch.

Rosie and Parker were both hiding something. Rosie’s however was a rather monumental milestone. Rosie reminisced of her wonderful night with Henry while you and Tom were away. She loved Henry so much and was overjoyed to share that experience with him.

Rosie had told Henry at the wedding that she was ready to take that next step with him. Seeing you and Tom re-commit yourselves to one another affirmed that for Rosie. That she loved him more than anything.

“I’m sorry, dad. You don’t have to worry, we were safe,” Rosie blurted out.

“What?” Tom barked growing more anger by the second.

“Henry and I used a condom,” Rosie responded.

“Rosie?” You questioned, knowing what she was talking about.

“WHAT?” Tom screamed.

“That’s not what you were hinting at?” Rosie stammered.

“No, this is about Parker,” Tom reckoned.

“Fuck,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Where the fuck is he?” Tom yelled, bolting out of the living room. Looking for the boy who had stolen Rosie’s innocence. You and Rosie soon followed hoping Tom wouldn’t do anything rash.

“Dad!”

“Tom!”

“Henry, you bastard! You fucked my daughter!” Tom shouted charging at Henry.

“Oh shit,” Henry muttered, he knew Tom could kill him in an instant.

“You went in my daughter! What’s stopping me from killing you right now.” Tom asked with gritted teeth, hoping this dumbass wouldn’t answer.

“Tom, put him down,” you said, as Tom was gripping his collar and dangling him in the air.

“Daaaadddd.”

“Tom, please,” you pleaded as Tom held a gun square to Henry’s head.

“The safety is on, I was never gonna shoot him. Just make him shit his pants a little. From now on, you two can’t be here alone. And if you are in your room the door needs to stay open,” Tom said, pointing fingers at Rosie and Henry.

“I believe we have more important business to get to. Now come on,” you said, pulling Tom away.

“Y/N, you know I was never going to actually hurt the boy right?”

“Yes, Tommy. Now please resume the family meeting.”

“Parker. Do you have something to tell us?” Tom asked, knowing his son will lie.

“I’ve been sneaking out at night and I’m sorry,” Parker started, you could hear the disappointment behind his voice.

“Why? I know it’s not because of a girl. I want to know everything,” Tom explained, fucking tired of all the lies.

“Everything?”

“Everything.”

Parker began by explaining how he felt by the loss of Charlotte and how he turned to Wilson. In Parker’s mind he was doing the right thing. Serving justice to those who wronged others. But in reality he was the one committing the wrongdoings.

Parker came clean that he was the one killing all of Tom’s men and that he killed Jazz. That he went Wilson before coming to Tom. Becoming Wilson’s secret hitman was never supposed to go this far. He only intended for it to be a big fuck you to Tom. Not destroy his livelihood and his family in the process.

Including all the details of Wilson’s secret agenda of taking you and Tom out. But Parker left out the fact that Wilson was no longer a threat. Having taken care of him the day before.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve never been this naive and stupid. I’m the one you’ve been searching for. I’m the rat,” Parker exclaimed. “Dad, say something,” he pleaded.

“Get out,” Tom said with an unchanging expression.

“What?”

“I said get the fuck out!”

“Tom,” you tried to reason.

“You are no longer my son. Betraying me, betraying your family. Get out.” Tom screamed.

A/n: I’m sorry. I like the content in this chapter but not the writing.

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