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juniorgman187 · 4 years ago

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Be Forever Young (Reid Fluff Fic)

Summary: After Penelope’s resignation from the BAU, she attempts to set up her tech protégé, Reader, with Reader’s intellectual match yet much older counterpart - Dr. Spencer Reid.

A/N: The POV switches between Reader and Spencer, just use context clues to detect who the narrator is. Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid Content Warning: 21 year age gap, headcannon proposal Playlist: Cloud 9 by Beach Bunny Word Count: 6.1k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Prologue

Events like these weren’t exceedingly rare. They weren’t anything like Halley’s Comet, by any means, where it only happens once in your lifetime - if you’re lucky. But they weren’t exactly sunrises - something that you can count on occurring every day without fail.

The best celestial phenomenon I could compare it to are blue moons. Rare enough to still have an element of surprise when they came, but not so rare that I should never expect them.

These ‘blue moons’ are actually the events in which I meet an intellectual match.

It’s not too often that I find a mind quite like mine, so you’ll forgive me for the reaction it elicits to watch them transcend the physical level and connect with me on the psychological one. There’s only been a handful of people who’ve ever had the exact standard of aptitude to be permissible into this metaphysical world with me, but now - there’s a handful and one.

The newest addition to the list is her.

_ _ _

Getting a word in edgewise when it comes to a conversation with Penelope Garcia is nearly impossible. Getting a word in edgewise when it comes to a conversation with Penelope Garcia about Dr. Spencer Reid is impossible.

I couldn’t tell you when the first time she brought him up was, but I could probably tell you just how many times since then she’s mentioned him.

A trillion. At least.

For months on end, he was the only thing she would talk to me about. Morning, noon, and night. Every single day she’d gush about him with the same unrelenting zeal as she had the day before and the day before that. It was both scary and impressive how she never seemed to run out of good things to say about him.

“You would just die for his apartment. It’s got this super chic dark academia thingy going on. You’d be really into that,” she would say. Or something to that effect. I was never really listening.

Not that I wasn’t interested in learning about Dr. Reid - I was very interested in him.

As a superior.

I first learned of him when he taught my Psych 101 class. Freshman year me was simply enthralled with him as a speaker, probably due to the charm of his awkward humor. I found it eerily relatable and touching, in a way. That was probably my favorite class, minus the assholes who made it less than enjoyable at times. (That’s a story for later).

The next interaction I had with him happened not even a year later when he came back after temporarily teaching to sit in on a philosophy class. Even though he was only auditing the lecture, whereas I was enrolled in the course, he ended up sitting in the seat right beside me. Had he not been gifted with an eidetic memory - a fact I found out during one of my obsessive research sessions - I doubt he would’ve even remembered sitting next to me.

Our shared field of work helped to bring us back together repeatedly throughout college. I would run into him at seminars, workshops, once even at a library where we were both looking for the same book.

But for the most part, our relationship was parasocial. It largely consisted of me learning from him at a distance. I would use his brilliant research to support my own assignments, read the books he recommended, audit the classes he would teach.

Rather than accurately interpreting my very limited, very professional connection to Dr. Reid, Penelope was deliberately using it as ammunition for her arsenal of reasons why I should consider dating him.

“You guys are basically already friends, and nothing is cuter than the friends-to-lovers trope!” Now that she actually did say, and the only reason I remember it verbatim was it was so outrageous I couldn’t not remember it.

And probably because she just said it to me right now.

“We’re not friends! We’re ... acquaintances. Colleagues, if you will.” My attempts to gain distance from Penelope and this topic of conversation were crashing and burning. The more I tried to walk away from her, the faster she would chase me. It was inconceivable how she managed to do that and continue to pelt me with her perky persistence.

“Even better! You know I’m no stranger to workplace romances.”

That I did. One Derek Morgan or one Luke Alvez ring a bell?

“Dr. Reid and I don’t work together,” I reminded her, if only to burst her bubble of insanity.

“Exactly my point! If you two don’t work together, then there’s nothing keeping you apart.”

I was stopped dead in my tracks, almost causing Penelope to trip since she was right on my heels.

“Nothing? Really? Try 21 years.”

That surely kept us apart.

Our age gap was one of those glaring disparities Penelope couldn’t wave away with her magic wand. Frankly, it wasn’t an age gap so much as it was an age Grand Canyon. He was a whole person of legal drinking age older than me!

Hell - our age gap itself was older than me!

Maybe there weren’t any contracts or agreements or supervisors to keep us apart, but there was still one significant thing doing that.

Time. Arguably the most important thing you needed to get right for a relationship to work.

If there were any chance that he and I were good together, that was squandered by our divergence in age.

Right person, wrong time ... but wrong time by more than two decades.

I could see the smallest fragment of hope wither away in Garcia’s eyes, and it actually hurt to have known that I caused that. Her voice was more solemn when she said, “You don’t have to date him, I just want you to go on a date. Get to know each other better. Who knows? You might finally graduate from colleagues to BFF’s.”

Not that I was seriously considering the possibility of growing closer to Dr. Reid, but there was one question lingering in my mind.

“Does he even want to go on this date? Have you asked him how he feels about it?”

Part of why I was wondering was on the off chance that she’d tell me he had the same objections towards this that I did, which would be good news for me since it would mark my reluctance as a sound judgment. If there was anyone whose opinion was worth something, it was his, right? After all, he was the provable genius in the same compromising position as me.

“Trust me, he’s been dying to do this.” In spite of her preface to trust her, I didn’t. I couldn’t be sure if she was suggesting that he’d been dying to go on a date with me or if he’d been dying to go on a date in general.

No offense to him, but I guessed it was the latter, and if that was the case, he was only being a team player because she hadn’t told him it was me she was setting him up with. Already suspecting that I’d probe further to navigate through her vagueness, she cut in with one last Hail Mary. “One date! That’s all!”

Whether you believe me or not, 100% the only reason why I said what I said next was to put an end to this madness. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Maybe 99.99%.

_ _ _

I never knew how I could lose so much time. Sure, if anyone asked, I could probably account for everything I’d done in my day, second by second. But still, there was this cloudiness, a fog, inhabiting my brain, casting this haze on whatever else dwelled in my mind, too.

I couldn’t focus on anything for more than 4 seconds at a time, and while that wasn’t incredibly concerning for the average human, it was disconcerting for me.

What was going on?

What is going on?

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly, a hand began to wave in front of my face. “Yoo-hoo? Anybody in there?” JJ wondered aloud, causing me to realize it was her voice that asked the question from before.

“Yeah, sorry,” I shook my head to regain some clarity, but that did me no good. My foggy brain still remained. It goes without saying my words were worth nothing as well. JJ saw right through me in a way that never failed to scare me shitless. I could never conjure up a lie good enough to follow that look she’d give me. So I settled for the truth. The question that cast the haziness in my brain to begin with.

“What do you think about me dating again?”

If I thought that first look was bad, then the one she was giving me now was something of a nightmare. At least with the first, I knew what she was thinking. With this one, I hadn’t a clue.

To relieve us from some of the insufferable silence, I found myself speaking again in my defense. “Garcia mentioned something earlier about setting me up with someone and it got me thinking.”

Thinking about Max that is.

Being my most recent girlfriend, it made sense why she was freshest in my mind. That being said, we’ve been broken up for 14 months, which in any other context would seem like more than enough time to start dating again, but therein lies the catch.

We didn’t just break up. She said “no” when I asked her to marry me, which, if you ask me, is one hell of a way to break up.

So from that perspective, it obviously begs the question: is 14 months too fast to move on from something like that?

JJ sharply inhaled. “Well, are you ready to start dating again?”

I still didn’t have an answer for that myself. “I don’t know. There isn’t exactly a rulebook on how long you have to wait until it’s socially acceptable-”

“Lemme stop you right there, Spence,” She placed her hand on top of mine. “You can’t just do whatever statistics or studies or science say is right all the time. You not only need to be more in tune with your own needs but accepting of them, too. Screw what anyone else has to say about you dating again - including Socrates, including Einstein, including Aristotle ... including me. Do whatever you think is acceptable by your standards - not society’s. Do what you wanna do and I’ll support that.”

There was something special about having JJ’s approval. It was like getting permission to be excited, something I didn’t know I needed or wanted.

“I’m ready.”

Born ready, as Penelope herself would say.

_ _ _

I was starting to get suspicious that maybe I had an invisible string attached to me and on the other end of that string was Penelope. It was the only explanation as to how she managed to trail behind me at an isochronal pace. Perfectly equidistant, perfectly equal intervals of time. Must’ve been some form of magic that she was able to synchronize that connection for as long as she did as we pranced around the office, basically chasing me.

“Okay, I know the date isn’t until Saturday, but I really think we need to amp up your wardrobe choices ... like stat.”

Hearing that I was seeing my superior still didn’t settle well with me. I don’t think I could ever get used to the thought.

I should’ve been offended at her suggestion to change my clothing taste as it implied my stylistic choices weren’t up to par, but a part of me, a very small part of me, knew she was right. And just because I wasn’t keen on the idea of going on a date with Spencer didn’t mean I didn’t want to look nice for him for it.

“I’m assuming you’ve got some ideas in mind,” I said in a teasing voice, knowing that’s precisely why she brought it up.

“See! You are a genius! Exactly why you and Spencer are meant to be together!” Her exclamation was just as loud as it was outlandish.

“Alright, calm down sparky,” I shot a warning look. “It’s just one date - we’re not soulmates.”

Then, talking in the quietest voice I didn’t think Penelope was capable of speaking with, she said, “Not yet.”

I knew the minute I showed even the littlest bit of interest in Penelope’s fashion guidance, I’d end up draped in ruffles, sequins, glitter, tulle, rhinestones, or all of the above. Nothing again Penelope’s personal style - it’s just not mine.

I was scared to ask, but I had to know. “So what were you thinking?”

Before my very eyes, Penelope’s constantly-there smile transformed, something akin to the mischievous grin of the Cheshire Cat. “I was thinking …”

In a Mary Poppins-esque fashion, Penelope produced a dress that in no feasible reality should have been able to fit within that little Hello Kitty side bag.

I suppose it must’ve been absolutely backbreaking for Penelope to refrain from choosing a multicolor or at least pattern-riddled dress, so as compensation for the fact that it was only one singular color throughout, it had to be a bold one.

Red.

“Not too shabby, right?” Her eyebrows jumped on her forehead, knowing she’d made a good choice.

And a part of me actually died saying this, but it was pretty perfect.

_ _ _

My life didn’t flash before my eyes, per se, the moment I finally arrived at the delicatessen. It was more like a very specific, singular memory had flashed before my eyes.

That story for later? This is the one.

Psych 101 was my best class in Freshman year ... by a long shot. Come rain, wind, or snow, I was always excited to go. It was a standout course on its own, but not because it was terribly spectacular or the most fascinating subject in the world, but more so because of how it changed my own person. It challenged me, like all worthwhile things do.

There were more judgmental meatheads - boys, if you will - than not, who would jump down my throat for being a smart ass or a teacher’s pet if I so much as answered one of Dr. Reid’s questions. Par for the course, really.

As a result, I had a proclivity to avoid raising my hand. It wasn’t that I was hyper-fixated on managing my reputation, just that participating wasn’t worth the eventual harassment from my dimwitted classmates.

Nonetheless, one day, I felt compelled to answer Dr. Reid when he asked what our thoughts were about the sampled, pretense manifesto.

No one else was jumping at the chance to speak, perhaps they were just as cowardly as I was, and it was clear that he was going to stand there waiting until someone finally would. The silence was painfully awkward for everyone and so I felt obligated, as a student who was actually enrolled in the class for credit and not just to audit like 90% of the other girls here, to break it.

Slowly, ever so slowly, my hand hesitantly inched up into the air until it floated just high enough above the student in front of me’s head. As soon as I knew he saw it, I let it plunge straight back down.

“Yes, Ms. (y/l/n)?”

I could already feel the dirty looks and snide comments coming before I even said a word.

“I know we’re all collectively referring to this unsub as a man, and while that might just be a general assumption or Freudian slip perhaps ... I think the language is steeped in betrayal and contempt. And it would be ignorant not to notice how it reads more like the wrath of a woman scorned than your typical jilted male lover.”

“Lover?” Someone two rows back snickered quietly, clearly to mock my choice of words. I didn’t even have to look to know it was Brad who had said that. Nevertheless, Dr. Reid was impressed with my answer. His lips curved into the faintest smile as he nodded his head. If he had heard the commentary of one Brad Sterling, he made no visceral reaction to it.

With an extended hand, palm facing up, he gestured for me to, “Please. Stand up.”

I fumbled my way up and out of my seat to possibly delay the shit I’d get for this mere action.

“That, ladies and gentleman, is what it looks like to have courage,” He underlined his words with a grand flourish of his hand in my direction. “Putting yourself on the line even in the event you’ll be mocked and ridiculed or deemed wrong. That’s something you’ll need if you are seriously considering being part of the BAU, or the FBI at any capacity.”

My face was flushed from the acclaim he was showering me with. Suddenly, I was glad I volunteered.

Taking me completely by surprise, Dr. Reid wasn’t done yet.

“So, Mr. Sterling,” He began, directly calling out the boy in the back who without a doubt made the remark. I wouldn’t have had any reason to believe he heard it since his attention never diverted away from me long enough to catch the comment, much less the culprit. I wonder if he’d heard all the times Brad made jokes at my expense. Was he finally at his wits end with the sarcasm? “Make fun all you want, but might I suggest that if you like a girl, you do the opposite of that.”

His sickly sweet drawl was followed by a short wink at me as if to say ‘I have your back’, and I was lucky to have already been in the process of sitting back down because my knees would’ve given out underneath me from the sheer exhilaration of his praise.

The thought never once crossed my mind that Brad was so fixated on me because he had a crush, but it all made sense once it did. And if I didn’t know any better, Dr. Reid only humiliated him and brought it up because the realization dawned on him, too.

Was it possible that Dr. Reid was ... jealous?

In the spirit of complete transparency, that suspicion may have lit the tiniest wildfire imaginable in my chest. A wildfire that, even now, has yet to extinguish. Perhaps that little flame is the 0.01% of the reason I said yes. I could only imagine what kind of omnipotence it would soon gain if this date went well.

If he could light such an enduring kindle with simple praise, think about what would happen if he smiled at me. If he laughed at my jokes. If he held my hand.

If he kissed me.

Dr. Reid’s validation would be something I actively sought from all walks of life, I knew that much. What I didn’t know was how far that desire would take me.

I would have never guessed it would lead me here.

Standing in front of a fancy restaurant in a pretty red dress with the tenuous hope that the professor inside might just like it so much that he’ll end up liking the girl wearing it, too.

_ _ _

No matter how many times I adjusted the bouquet of poppies, they sat perpetually crooked on the table. Much like the dark gray tie around my neck that tightened around my throat with every passing second. I had to keep messing with it to loosen the noose-like grip it had on me. Who knew if it actually was becoming more restricting or it was the flourishing bundle of nerves in my stomach that made it harder to breathe.

I was never very good at lying in wait patiently. Especially if I was expecting something. Now that I was expecting someone? I could say with perfect clarity - I was not good at waiting.

I don’t wanna seem the way I do

Every time the door opened, my eyes flashed to it instantaneously. And every time it wasn’t her, a little part of me was disappointed. It was still too early to say for certain that she was standing me up, but my mind was doing what it did best. It wandered. There was nothing else to do after all.

Except maybe adjust those blood orange poppies one more time.

I’d picked them out specifically because Penelope slipped in a not-so-subtle comment about her dress being “a perfect match to the color of papaverales” - her words exactly. I thought if she went through that much trouble to find a color coordinated plant and say the scientific name for me to decode, it was worth picking up a bouquet of them on the way.

It was only the most ironic occurrence in the world that when I went to rearrange them one last time, I devoted my full attention to the action, missing the very moment I was on the lookout for the past hour and a half.

I didn’t even see her until the red poppies camouflaged into the identically colored setting of her dress.

Then there she was.

All the disappointment in the world was worth that first time I saw her with fresh eyes.

I was dumbstruck for a moment, long enough that it warranted an apology for not standing up sooner.

“(Y/n)! Hi!” I accidentally squealed. I couldn’t control myself, let alone control the pitch of my voice apparently.

I could see, in her, youthful naivete where, in others, I saw their age. She paradoxically had not aged a minute, and yet a new womanhood was piercing through her ultimately adolescent appearance.

“Hi, Dr. Reid,” She said through a laugh and a smile, shaking my hand politely and professionally. She was greeting me like I was still her professor and she’d just happen to run into me on an errand. Next, she’d be attempting small-talk for as long as it took for me to let her go.

Unfortunately for her, I had no plans for that.

But I’m confident when I’m with you

“Please, it’s just Spencer,” I reminded her, hoping to break down that governing image of me she surely maintained.

“Spencer,” She tried again; doing it more to be obedient to my instruction than to satisfy her own desire. It sounded so unnatural to her, just as it did to me. I found it adorable, actually. It seemed like she was breaking this unspoken, and very much illusionary rule to say my first name. “It’s nice to see you again,” She added after I pulled out her chair for her.

“Is it?” I asked when I rounded the table to get to my seat. “I get the feeling you’re a little disappointed.” The only reason I pointed it out was that it was true, not just that I’d observed the notion grow more poignant in her face for the past minute.

“Not at all,” She shook her head, which luckily for me, drew a line of congruence between her body language and verbal language. At least, she was being truthful. “It’s just that I’m sort of embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?” I repeated in astonishment, unable to cultivate a list of reasons that would justify her feeling that way. I couldn’t think of a single thing I’d done to provoke that emotion, and it nearly broke me to consider her internal being substantiating it.

“Embarrassed isn’t the right word, but I can’t find a more accurate one for what I’m feeling,” She shied away from my eyes when she lowered her head as she spoke.

“You could try to explain it to me?” I offered gently. It took an overwhelming amount of self-restraint to not offer my hand with it. It would’ve been so easy to slide my hand across the threshold to enter her territory of the table, but who knows if doing so would just make her that much more uncomfortable.

“Well for one thing, I don't really go on dates,” From this alone, I could already relate to her enough to laugh at the fact. “Don’t laugh at me! You know how dangerous first dates can be,” She swatted her hand in my direction to chastise me.

“I do! I do! I think it’s really good that you’re protecting yourself to the point of avoiding dates,” I was teasing the implication that she wasn’t asked to go on very many, which was thankfully delivered well enough to make her laugh again.

“Hey! Many people have wanted to go on dates with me, thank you very much. You included.”

“Me included.” I nodded in approval. We sat in a short period of silence while we exchanged one soulful glance, borne from the insinuation of what I just said.

“And for another ... I respect you too much as a figure of authority to see you in that way.”

_ _ _

“In what way?”

Rather than tossing me a lifeline, he was feeding me to the sharks. Forcing me to dive into the deep end. He wanted to see me struggle to stay afloat in the sea of his sticky toffee eyes. He knew I'd get suspended in them when he gave me that look. How much I’d be willing to get lost in them just so I could wander in the depths of his honeyed orbs for a little bit longer.

That look ...

“You don’t find it weird?” This was the most honesty I could’ve demonstrated.

“Find what weird?” For someone with such a high IQ, you’d think he’d be quicker on his feet.

“This! You - me. On a date!” I gestured to the space between us. “You’re ... well frankly, Spencer, you’re old enough to be my father.”

“Does that make you uncomfortable?” He genuinely cared about the answer.

“Only in theory. Not in actual life,” was the most precise response I could give.

“So what is making you uncomfortable?” Again, I could tell my answer mattered to him.

“You were my professor once, and now I’m just supposed to go on a date with you and see you as my equal when I’ve spent the entire time I’ve known you, putting you on a pedestal? Do you know how much pressure that puts on me? To be perfect?”

“Who says you have to be perfect? Who says you’re aren’t already?”

That one caught me off guard. I had to gulp down the lump of shock.

“You think I’m perfect?”

“That, or you’re pretty close to it.”

Lately all I feel is bad and bruised

I could’ve smiled, I could’ve thanked him, I could’ve fallen at his feet and thrown my dignity down there along with it, but I just laughed. I laughed.

“That’s ridiculous! You barely know me.”

“You’re wrong,” He simply replied with a firm shake of his head and a cavalier sip at his drink. It showed just how confident he was in his answer. How cocky he was.

“How am I wrong?”

He cleared his throat as though he were preparing to deliver the world’s greatest speech. Then, he leaned forward, motioning with his fingers for me to do the same.

“If I’m remembering correctly, which you know I am, you were the student who had the gall to raise your hand and correct me on my gender identification of the unsub, right?”

The second the sentimental thought, ‘aww he remembered’, came into my head, it was soon followed by, of course, he did, idiot. Eidetic memory, remember?

Tired of tripping on my shoes

“What does that have to do with me being perfect? Or so you claim?”

He was piercing deep into my eyes now, his gaze overwhelming my senses and sending shockwaves akin to the feeling of butterflies everywhere … and I mean everywhere.

“Bravery is the audacity to be unhindered by failures, and to walk with freedom, strength, and hope, in the face of things unknown.”

I recognized the quote as one of Morgan Harper Nichols, but the words went right to my chest like they were his own.

That damn wildfire just got a whole lot bigger.

“I’ve always thought about how if I could be unfazed by failure or even just the prospect of it, if I could just be strong enough or have enough hope to face what I couldn’t predict, I’d be set. I’d be golden,” He paused. “I’d be perfect ... but you? You, little one, have already got that figured out. So whether that means you’re perfect on your own because of your bravery or you're a perfect match for someone fainthearted like me, is up for you to decide. Whichever interpretation of being perfect you choose would be correct, but you should know - I meant both either way.”

But when he loves me I feel like I’m floating

When he calls me pretty, I feel like somebody

Even when we fade eventually to nothing

You will always be my favorite form of loving

“Do you want to get out of here?” He asked when he finally refound his voice.

“Since the minute I walked in.” I replied after refinding mine.

_ _ _

“You always take girls to your apartment on the first date, Doctor?” Asking this in the name of taking a jab at him was the most clever way I could think to conceal my underlying motive of trying to gauge how giddy I could let myself feel about the fact that he’d taken me to his ‘super chic dark academia’ themed residence - Penelope’s words, remember?

“Well, in my abundant dating history,” He sarcastically began, “I can’t say I ever have, no. You’d be the first.”

That shot another quick bolt of lightning to the wildfire in my heart that I’m ashamed to admit made the heat reinvigorate. The flame must’ve been too much for my chest to contain so it had to relocate to my face, where my cheeks were left to burn under his gaze and thanks to his admission.

I was the first.

He must’ve seen the glint localizing on my countenance and decided to speak on it. “Why does that amuse you?”

“I don’t know,” I dumbly but truthfully replied. He didn’t need any more information to get his answer, though. Because even if I didn’t know what amused me about being his first, I never denied that it did, and that was more than enough confirmation for him.

“You promise to be here when I come back?” He wagged a cautionary finger at me like it might persuade me to stay and hold me accountable if I didn’t.

Spencer needed to go into his room to collect an item that ‘shall not be named’ but was apparently essential for our super secret plans tonight (secret to even me) and he was leaving me in the living room while he did so. I guess being the initial girl he took home on a first date was okay, but being the initial girl he took into his bedroom on a first date was crossing a line.

That was alright with me, though. I was in this for the long haul.

“I promise I pose no flight risk, Your Honor,” I taunted with a coy tone. “But I can’t promise I won’t snoop around some.” Hey, at least I was telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

“Snoop around all you want,” He laughed ruefully, demonstrating an openness I quite envied and admired. “You’ll probably learn a lot about me that way. And you won’t even have to talk to me to do that!” I knew he was only saying that out of self-deprecating tendencies he harbored, but I couldn’t help feeling that a small part of him actually believed that I wasn’t interested in talking to him.

“Spencer, you know I do like talking to you right?” I caught him just before he ran into his room. Already halfway in the door, I could still catch the megawatt smile on his face.

“So stay then,” His smile grew impossibly bigger. “We can talk all you want when I get back.”

The door closed, and then suddenly reopened to let just his face through, a face that said, ‘Don’t go anywhere.’

After a few minutes of loudly sorting through his room, I heard the sanctimonious cry of victory. “Found it!”

I could hear the little pad of his feet and he happily trotted out of the room. “Ta-da! My stargazing kit.” He said it as though he were introducing the basket he was holding to me, and me to it. Like it was a real person he wanted me to know. I almost felt obliged to say, ‘Hi stargazing kit! It’s so nice to meet you. I’m (y/n)!’

“Let’s go,” He smiled, reaching for my hand.

I unabashedly took it, because although it meant that I was truly leaving his apartment, I had a very strong feeling that I would be back here again one day.

_ _ _

We were lying there on this big quilted comforter that was stashed away in that stargazing kit of his, staring up at the sky, drunk on the sound of our occasional fits of laughter.

“It’s Earth Day, you know that?” I wondered aloud in a state of complete euphoria.

“I actually did,” He said through a sheepish laugh, almost as if he was admitting the knowledge of it against his own will to protect my fragility.

From out of nowhere, there was a small tug on the skirt of my dress. I looked down to find Spencer’s hand there, playing with the fabric until it lay perfectly on my leg.

I coughed to possibly relieve the tension brewing in my loins. “So then you know the Lyrid meteor shower is tonight,” I moved the tiniest bit closer to lean into his touch.

“At exactly 4:33 a.m,” He moved too.

“Is that why you brought me here? To watch the shooting stars? To make a wish?” I thought for a second that I would appear exceedingly childish - more so than I already did being 21 years his junior. But he didn’t judge me at all for the kid-like notion of making a wish on a shooting star or the implication that I still believed in those things.

In fact, I piqued his curiosity, telling by the way he moved only his head to the side to watch my reaction. “Say I did. What would you wish for?”

In the throws of dreamy elation, I softly murmured the only honest answer. “To be older. But not the unfulfilling 9 to 5, loveless marriage, ‘I do my taxes for fun’ older. I want to be old in the ways that the stars and the sky are old. I want to be infinite.”

“...To be infinite.” He whispered my wish back, sounding sort of in awe of me.

Just then, the overhead horizon grew larger. With no buildings or people to block the view, it was just us, the stars, and the sky. I could actually feel that I was lying on a planet. It was so wide. So infinite.

“Can I hold your hand?” I asked softly, in a manner so vulnerable it scared me.

Without any words or hesitation, he put my hand in his.

“The universe seems so big right now. I just needed something to hold onto.” I explained quietly, practically with the hopes that he wouldn’t hear me. But he heard.

“I’m here.”

We didn’t know what was ahead of us then. We were just two people, looking up at the sky on a cold February night. We weren’t divided by power, or age, or space. We were ourselves and no one else.

My eyes fluttered shut again and a smile stretched across my face. “Stargazing was a good idea.”

The world and the sky and the stars and I - we were all infinite. I couldn’t have felt bigger in my own body. In the best way possible, I was taking up so much space. I was occupying the earth. I was made up of matter. I mattered.

Just as I began to open my eyes, I caught a glimpse of a fading shooting star. Though I had wished to be older, I still felt like a child. Then it hit me. I didn’t feel older because I wasn’t older.

I was infinite.

Yes, I was a child, but not in the pinch your cheeks, bottles and pacifiers, babyish way. I was a child in the ‘you have a life full of possibilities ahead of you’ way.

You are young. He tells me with his eyes. And that is a good thing. Be forever young.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

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#spencer reid #spencer reid fic #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #juniorgman187 #be forever young

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only-johnny-deppp · 4 years ago

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“Whatever I’ve gone through, I’ve gone through. But, ultimately, this particular arena of my life has been so absurd...”

Johnny Depp’s NEW INTERVIEW!

Last saturday, August 14, The UK Times, released a new interview with Johnny for the Sunday Times section. It was realized sometime earlier this month, in London, probably on the same day he and Andrew Levitas were recording for the Q&A for the “Minamata” release in UK. This is Johnny’s first interview since the UK trials in London last year, and released three years after Johnny’s major interview for the British GQ Magazine. Here Johnny and Andrew Levitas speaks about “Minamata”, his future as actor and a thing or two about his personal life, although he cannot talk about the court case.

For those who couldn’t read yet, here is the FULL interview: Enjoy.

***

“I’M BEING BOYCOTTED BY HOLLYWOOD”

Johnny Depp has a new film out this week. In the opening scene his character, the real-life photographer W Eugene Smith, says, “I’m done. I’m tired. My body is older than I am. I’m always in goddam pain. I can’t trust my f***ing dick any more. Constantly in a foul mood. Even the drugs bore me.”

I ask Depp if Smith’s despair resonated with him. Depp stops. Rocks back and forth. “That’s interesting,” he replies with painful hesitation.

“I didn’t approach playing Smith in that way… Although you bring your toolbox to work and use what is available. Having experienced...” He stops again. Depp takes any questions that might refer to his calamitous libel case last year slowly, in a mumbly, croaking drawl. “A surreal five years…”

In the film Smith needs to revive his reputation. In real life Depp’s task is even more daunting. Thanks to the judgment, everyone can call him a “wife-beater”. Now he must convince a Hollywood still convulsed by #MeToo that he’s not toxic — and that any attempt to rebuild his career is a risk worth taking. This is Depp’s first interview since the case.

We are speaking over Zoom, Depp in his London home, in front of a gold-framed painting. The 58-year-old is wearing a lot of clothes. Earrings. Floppy hat. Sunglasses. Bandana. Scarf. Checked shirt over a T-shirt with an indiscernible slogan. If you saw him on the Tube*, you might think he was off to work at the London Dungeon*, to play most of the characters.

PS. For those who are not familiar with British words: * Tube = British slang for London Underground, the subway trains. * London Dungeon = is a walk-through experience that recreates scenes from London's scary history in a mixture of live actors, special effects and rides.

Depp resumes, talking in broken sentences about the new film, Minamata, in which Smith, via Life magazine, exposes the brutal mercury poisoning of Japanese villagers in the early 1970s.

“How do we do this?” he asks rhetorically, meaning how to speak about the elephant in the Zoom. “Well, there’s no way one can’t recognise the absurdity of the mathematics.” He grins. “If you know what I mean?” No. “Absurdity of media mathematics.” He talks in riddles. “Whatever I’ve gone through, I’ve gone through. But, ultimately, this particular arena of my life has been so absurd...”

He trails off again. He is holding a big brown roll-up of some sort. “What the people in Minamata dealt with? People who suffered with Covid? A lot of people lost lives. Children sick...Ill. Ultimately, in answer to your question? Yeah, you use what you’ve got. But what I’ve been through? That’s like getting scratched by a kitten. Comparatively.”

Last July, I went to the High Court in London to watch Depp on another screen — a video from the socially distanced court where the Hollywood star was losing a libel action against The Sun after it called him a “wife-beater”. It was the grottiest showbiz trial of the century. There were photos of the actor passed out in a foetal slump, socks on show. One lengthy exchange involved faeces. Another urination, inside or outside a house, after a violent night with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

This had all been going on for a while. In 2016 Heard applied for a temporary restraining order against him. The couple had long endured a narcotic, booze-filled, childish relationship, but that does not matter — 12 incidents levelled against Depp were proved, said the judge, and abuse is abuse, regardless of how badly they both behaved. Depp wanted to appeal, but the court said no. Next April in the US he has a $50 million defamation case against Heard relating to an opinion piece she wrote about being the victim of domestic abuse. It may be his last roll of the dice.

In the 1990s Depp was a sensitive heart-throb. Cooler than DiCaprio, edgier than Pitt. In this past year he has been stripped of his status and dignity. On day three of the trial Sasha Wass QC, representing The Sun, asked Depp about daubing a penis on a painting. He could not remember. “That would be quite a big thing, painting a penis on a picture?” Wass asked. “Quite a big thing?” Depp asked.

It was a well-delivered line, but Depp was on show. Performing. Now he is more timid, less lucid. His people say he cannot talk about the court case given the looming US trial, yet it hangs over everything. The director of Minamata, Andrew Levitas, is also on our call — as a pub trivia aside, Levitas is married to the Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins.

The two men clearly get on. “With regards to journalism, it was important for us to put across in the film the power of truth,” Levitas says. Depp nods. “The responsibility of journalists to look after citizens of the world. [Our film] coincided with the moment important publications had to put Raquel Welch on a cover to get enough eyeballs to sell enough ads in order to put something meaningful inside. A result of that is clickbait — it’s destroying the purpose of journalism,” Levitas continues.

“You said it beautifully,” says Depp, one of the world’s most pinned-up men, who built a career on magazine covers. “I couldn’t say it better than that.”

Last month Levitas wrote to MGM, which bought Minamata for the US market but decided not to release it. He accused MGM of being concerned that “the personal issues of an actor in the film could reflect negatively upon them”. Then the letter got really strong. Levitas accused MGM of failing in its “moral obligation” to release the film and said it needed to explain to the victims “why you think an actor’s personal life is more important than their dead children”. He then attached Smith’s photos of ghastly deformities that shocked the world 50 years ago.

“It’s important that the movie gets seen and supported,” Levitas says. “And if I get an inkling it’s not going to be, it’s my responsibility to say so. Where it goes from there? I don’t know. But we have responsibility to these victims . . .”

You can see why he’s passionate. The film is good. MGM bought the film because it is good. Depp is good too. He disappears into the role, far from his more recent pantomime parts. It’s being released worldwide, just not in the actor’s homeland.

Depp, who also produced the film, interrupts. “We looked these people in the eyeballs and promised we would not be exploitative. That the film would be respectful. I believe that we’ve kept our end of the bargain, but those who came in later should also maintain theirs.”

“Some films touch people,” he adds. “And this affects those in Minamata and people who experience similar things. And for anything…” He pauses, as he does. “For Hollywood’s boycott of, erm, me? One man, one actor in an unpleasant and messy situation, over the last number of years?” He trails off. “But, you know, I’m moving towards where I need to go to make all that…” Again, he trails off. “To bring things to light.”

The fact, as I think Depp knows, is that for his career, the court that matters is not one of law, but public opinion. On social media, where a lot of minds are made up, Depp’s good reputation will always outweigh the bad, thanks to his frequently blinkered fans.

Outside the High Court, as Heard arrived, I saw Natasha, 30, yell: “Get hit by a truck, Amber!” She is extreme, but the persistent way his fans demand that others think their idol is a saint shows a career revival will happen. After all, most filmgoers do not follow his private life at all. To them, he is Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands. To them, he is a star — and a star can take an awful lot of heat before it burns out.

“They have always been my employers,” Depp says of his fans. “They are all our employers. They buy tickets, merchandise. They made all of those studios rich, but they forgot that a long time ago. I certainly haven’t. I’m proud of these people, because of what they are trying to say, which is the truth. The truth they’re trying to get out since it doesn’t in more mainstream publications. It’s a long road that sometimes gets clunky. Sometimes just plain stupid. But they stayed on the ride with me and it’s for them I will fight. Always, to the end. Whatever it may be.”

Depp will talk like this for ever — about his “truth”. Minamata is the last film Depp has listed on the industry site IMDb, where actors usually have half a dozen in development. So, yes, fans of the actor can see Depp in a new role now — it is a return, but is it a relaunch? The film was finished in 2019, way before last year’s court case. Is that it? His last film? He thinks and looks off to his bookshelves, at biographies of Betjeman and Olivier.

“Er...no,” he says, eventually. “No. No. Actually, I look forward to the next few films I make to be my first films, in a way. Because once you’ve...Well, look. The way they wrote it in The Wizard of Oz is that when you see behind the curtain, it’s not him. When you see behind the curtain, there’s a whole lot of motherf***ers squished into one spot. All praying that you don’t look at them. And notice them.”

I would ask him to explain, but I am not sure he is an explainer. Watch this space, I guess, but he is already taking a first step back. After we speak, it is announced Depp is getting the coveted Donostia award at the San Sebastian Film Festival next month. Some people are just too famous to fail.

~ Interview by Jonathan Dean, in London, for The Times UK (released on August 14, 2021)

#Johnny Depp #New Interview #Interview #Minamata #Justice For Johnny Depp #I Believe Him #Johnny Depp is Innocent #The Times UK

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bvidzsoo · 4 years ago

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Poison (Part 3)

Author: bvidzsoo

Warnings: suggestive stuff, light swearing

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader

Word count: 15, 054

Summary: Three weeks have passed since the auction and things definitely changed. You didn’t want to admit it to yourself, but slowly, you started falling for Kim Mingyu. But things are never easy nor the safest, when you are dating a mafia leader.

A/N: Ayo lovelies, third part is here! We have a little bit of spice here and there in this chapter, but don’t get too used to it just yet! Someone is here to stir up some spirits, hehehe. Quick reminder, whenever I reblog the last part I posted, usually means the next one is coming real soon, so...there’s that. I don’t have much to say, except thank you for the support shown so far and please leave feedback! Enjoy now!

The days and nights felt like a big whirlwind that I got caught in, my days more and more exciting as they went by. I never thought I had a boring life, I did go out and party from time to time, but I never experienced having someone with me almost twenty-four-seven. Not that I never had a partner, it’s just been a long time since. And they weren’t Kim Mingyu. An annoying giant, clinging to you whenever he could, while he whispered dirty things into your ear just to piss you off more. I swore to myself after the night of the auction that I wouldn’t get caught up even more with him, that I would never kiss him again. I even managed to convince myself that what I felt for him was just the spur of the moment and nothing serious, like when you make accidental eye contact with a handsome stranger and imagine a whole life with them; I pretended that’s what happened after the auction. Just a daydream that got too far but would never be repeated. And then all of my walls came crashing down when the next morning a huge bucket of white roses was placed in front of my front door. I walked curiously to the door when I heard my neighbor calling out for me, knocking softly against the door. My eye widened when I opened the door and they fell on the roses.

“Look at these beauties!” The lady exclaimed as she leaned down and picked the bucket up. My mouth was open as I didn’t know what to say, I could only look at her in disbelief, “You should put the into water, quickly, before they wither.”

Like all the defenses and lies I told myself last night have withered the second she pushed the roses into my arms. I knew who they were from and it made my heart beat quickly.

“Thank you.” I bowed my head a little as the lady giggled and walked towards her own apartment.

“Ah, to be young and in-love again…” She mumbled to herself and my cheeks suddenly felt hot. My eyebrows furrowed at the foreign feeling as I remained rooted in the doorway, gazing down at the beautiful flowers, a smile extending onto my lips. But my attention got caught by the door opposite mine getting unlocked and I panicked as I whirled around at lightning-speed to close the door before my best friend could spot me.

“Yah! Oh Y/N!” I bit my lower lip as I froze with my back towards the person who called out, “What are you doing?”

I quickly placed the roses on the little table by the door and turned around swiftly, closing the door enough so that Seungcheol wouldn’t see the beautiful bucket.

“Chatting with Mrs. Eom, why?” I answered him with a sweet smile, ignoring the rapid beat of my heart. Did he see the bucket of roses? I highly doubt that, he’s still wearing his pajamas, hair disheveled and toothbrush in his hand.

“I just heard voices…” Seungcheol muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“You just got up?” I asked concerned, eyes falling on the clock hung up in the hallway, reading 12:38 am.

“Yeah, had a rough night…” He muttered again, starting to brush his teeth lazily as he held onto his door, “Not everyone got an early night like you yesterday, Y/N. We had to take care of stuff—”

“Was the mission a success?” I chimed up with a small smile, but it quickly disappeared when Cheol started looking around and threw me a glare.

“Don’t say stuff like that, Y/N.” He scolded me and I rolled my eyes, stepping further inside my apartment.

“Fine, get changed, I’ll be over in ten minutes with my leftover breakfast, okay?” I raised my eyebrows as Cheol continued to brush his teeth with a frown.

“You always make me eat your leftover—”

“You never have food, stop complaining!” I snapped and shut the front door with a smirk when Seungcheol groaned loudly, the slam of his apartment door echoing around in the hallway. My eyes fell on the bucket of white roses again and I sucked in a deep breath, hating the way my heart started beating fast. I picked it up and went to find a vase for it.

And that wasn’t the only bucket I got from Mingyu. I kept getting buckets almost daily, sometimes he’d even bring them to the bookstore. He never entered, he just knocked on the window and left them in the door. Irene kept gushing about the sudden gestures but I shut her down with a glare and a few harsh words, telling her they didn’t mean anything. Because they meant a lot and I wasn’t ready to accept that yet. It felt like Mingyu suddenly learned what privacy meant, he wasn’t breathing down my neck anymore and it felt weird. I had him in my shadow for six months, suddenly having my own space was a weird feeling. It’s not like he abandoned me, but he didn’t approach me so openly anymore. When I went on a morning run, he’d be running on the other trail from which he had a clear view of me; when I would go to the convenience store late at night to buy something I forgot to get during the day, I would see him sitting in his Mercedes and looking inside the store, keeping his eyes on me and my movements. He did corner me at times when I wasn’t expecting him to, like when I was at the University’s library looking for a book for my research essay. When I was walking home after my shift, I would be pulled into a secluded alleyway, sometimes even at the entrance to the apartment building. And I couldn’t resist him, no matter how hard I tried. He finally won this game and I couldn’t even hate myself, because I predicted that I would fall. My heart wasn’t cold enough to ignore someone like him. And he knew that, that’s why he remained so persistent. But even then, I wasn’t ready for the world to know about us. I wasn’t even sure I was ready for whatever we were doing at the moment. We weren’t dating, but we certainly were something. Three weeks after the auction night, I craved him more than ever and I wanted to be with him almost always. But I had my own pride, I wouldn’t cave in so quickly yet. And I had other priorities, like, getting passing grades at University, working at the bookstore and maintaining my other relationships with people like: Irene, Vernon, Seungcheol. In just three weeks it felt like my whole life was constructed around Kim Mingyu and that scared me. Before, I was independent, I never thought of others and most certainly I didn’t have to direct so much of my energy and time onto another person. Even when I dated in the past, the relationship felt rigid and somewhat cold, which was my fault, to be honest. But something about Mingyu was different and it was him that didn’t let me shut him out like I usually would do, and it was foreign. I’d always bicker with him about the smallest things because I didn’t know how else to act around him, I was expecting him to leave me at any second. But he didn’t, he stood by my side for six months and he swore to never let me go in the three weeks that we’ve been sneaking around.

Papers with my handwriting on it littered across the coffee table as I leaned my back against the sofa, sitting on the floor. It was getting late but I still had to study four more pages for tomorrow’s exam. It was a pain in the ass and I was already fed up with all the terminology I still didn’t understand, but I had no choice. I had all week to study, but due to a certain somebody, I barely had time to even breathe. Mingyu kept brining me out on dates, which, his words, ‘weren’t exactly dates’, and therefore I had no time to study in time. I hated leaving it for the last moment but right now I really had no choice. So, with a frustrated sigh, I leaned forward and grabbed my cup of coffee and took a big gulp, eyes running over the words I have written down in class. As I placed the cup back on the coffee table, the three locks on my front door were getting unlocked. I definitely told Seungcheol to leave me alone tonight, so he had no reason to be over at this hour. He was already sleeping, probably, Mingyu kept him busy lately and we barely hung out this week.

“I think I was clear when I told you I wanted to study, Seungcheol, why are you—”

“Seungcheol?” The deep voice made me jump, eyes go wide, “That’s not the right way to greet your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend.” I snapped with an eyeroll, ignoring Mingyu, “And take off your shoes, it’s not you who cleans up the apartment.”

I heard Mingyu chuckle before he went back into the hallway to take his shoes off, “You could just ask me, you know, I’d clean up—”

“And break my stuff?” I scoffed and leaned my head back against the sofa, “No, thank you.”

“I wouldn’t break any of your stuff…” I looked up at Mingyu, to see him smirking down at me as he leaned against the doorframe.

“But?”

“I’d love to break you—”

“Get out!” I threw him a glare, which amused him, of course, and continued to take in his form. Mingyu continued smirking at me, pushed off the doorframe to sit on the sofa. He was dressed in a burgundy silk like suit, jacket undone and the black shirt’s top buttons undone to show off his neck and the pearly choker that decorated it. He wore various rings today and his black hair was curly. Yesterday it was still brushed back, but today it fell in waves against his forehead and I gulped as he finally sat on the sofa.

“Enjoying me much?” He spoke lowly and I scoffed, deciding to ignore his remark, knowing well my voice would sound too weak.

“What—” I cleared my throat as I looked back at the paper in my hands, “You’re a model now? Did you do a shoot for W Korea or something?”

My tone was mocking, and Mingyu knew it was to hide my flustered state, and it made him chuckle. He sighed loudly and dramatically fell back against my sofa, bringing his hands behind his head. He really liked sitting like that.

“I totally could become a model, right?” When we made eye contact his eyes were glinting with mischief and I rolled my eyes, deciding to remain quiet, “We had an important meeting today.”

“About?” I mused absentmindedly as I started reading the words written on my paper again.

“Don’t think about that now,” Mingyu dismissed my question as he leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder, “What are you studying for?”

“Economy exam, so, kindly leave me alone.” I turned my head just a little bit, our noses almost brushing against each other. The hairs stood on the back of my neck as Mingyu let out a long sigh, his breath fanning against my neck and jaw.

“Do you have to study now?” He grumbled into my ear and I nodded wordlessly, not trusting my voice, “Why didn’t you study earlier this week—”

“Because you kept taking me out every single day!” I snapped, pulling away from him with a glare, “If I fail this exam it’s your fault, so, leave me alone.”

I watched as he jutted his lower lip out, “Come on, sugar, don’t be mean to your boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend…” I mumbled to myself as I leaned back against the sofa and started reading again. Mingyu remained seated on the sofa as silence stretched around the room, the soft tapping of his fingers against his muscular thigh the only sound that echoed around. His knee was close enough to my shoulder that it was just barely brushing against it and I bit my lip as I focused hard on the words and ignored Mingyu’s tempting warmth. He knew how hard it was for me to stay still when he was so close to me; and I call him clingy; but sometimes I just want to have even the smallest physical contact with him. Not tonight, Y/N, you’re really close to failing economy class, I thought to myself as my eyebrows furrowed as I read over again the same line. Mingyu’s loud sigh almost made me ask him what was wrong, but I just bit my lower lip and flipped the paper, internally groaning at another page filled with words I had to learn tonight.

“Do you like my new hairstyle?” I heard Mingyu ask faintly as his rings clanked against each other as he started toying with his fingers.

I hummed and nodded before licking my lips, “I didn’t think you’d look so hot with curly hair.”

There was a beat of silence and I felt his eyes on me, my heart picked up its pace, “So, you think I’m hot?”

“Yes.” I mumbled, feeling a sudden dryness in my mouth as I gulped quickly, refusing the urge to look back up at him. He was incredibly hot dressed the way he was today, and it was hard to not look at him, but I could do it. I was an expert when it came to ignoring Kim Mingyu.

“You’re hot too, when you’re turned on.” I didn’t have to look to see he smirk on his lips; I scoffed and rolled my eyes before reading the page from the top to the bottom again. Memorizing the information was harder when he was sitting next to me. I heard him shift on the sofa and I prayed he just wanted to lay down and torment me from there with his words, but I stopped breathing when his warm palm brushed my hair behind my shoulder and his soft lips pressed against my neck.

“Mingyu…” I sighed in warning, eyebrows furrowing when he kept pressing feather like kisses down my neck.

“Yes?” He whispered against my skin, which was now covered in goosebumps.

“I have to study,” I snapped, trying hard to resist his kisses, “I can’t fail this exam—”

“And you won’t.” Mingyu muttered close to my ear as he pressed a kiss just behind my ear, “You’re smart, you don’t have to study much. You already know this—”

“That’s what you think—” I choked on air when he bit my ear lobe teasingly, “I’m—I’m really not that—smart—”

“Sugar,” He sighed deeply and I dared to look at him, his pupils were already dilated and he smirked when he saw my face, my expression probably similar to his, “I’ll be really pissed off, if you don’t put down that paper and come make out with me.”

It wasn’t a request, and I knew it, he really wasn’t going to let me study tonight. Once again. Gulping and glancing down at the paper in my hands, I knew I really had to study right now, but when I looked back up at Mingyu, I knew by how impatient he was I had one second before he’d be pulling me over him. With a roll of my eyes, I slammed the paper on the coffee table and opened my mouth to curse at him, but his hands were around my head and his lips pressed against mine. His soft lips were familiar by now and it brought a sense of calmness over me. My eyes closed as I raised up onto my knees and gripped his thighs, earning a sigh from him.

“I don’t see you all day and even when I do, you ignore me instead of making out with me—”

“Well, Mingyu, I have a grade that I have to maintain and it’s a lot more important than your neediness—”

“Don’t be disrespectful to your boyfriend—”

“You’re not my boyfriend—” I got cut off by his lips again as he gripped me by the arms to pull me on him. He tasted like smoke and something spicy that I couldn’t identify. I straddled his hips, legs on each side, as I leaned my body into his. I let my hands run all over his chest slowly, groaning when my fingers brushed against his choker. Mingyu smirked into the kiss, his lips meeting mine hungrily as he pulled me closer into him by my bottom, squeezing it hard. I yelped and raised a bit up, pulling away from the kiss.

“I told you to stop doing that—” My chest was raising and falling a bit quicker as my eyes fell on Mingyu’s glossy lips.

“Did you drink coffee?” He asked, his voice octaves lower and it sent shivers down my spine, “It’s almost 10 pm, sugar. How will you sleep?”

“I don’t plan on sleeping tonight.” Our eyes connected, and meanwhile I meant that as in: ‘I will be studying the whole night’, I understood why it could have sounded like: ‘We’ll be having sex all night, so no need to sleep’. And Mingyu definitely thought of the second version because before I could correct his dirty mind, my hips were pulled down by his firm grip and he was sucking against my collar bones. I let out quiet breaths as my fingers finally tangled themselves into his black, curly hair and Mingyu sucked on my skin harshly. The place felt on fire as a dull pain coated the area, but Mingyu was quick to smooth it over with his tongue, which didn’t help much with the ache.

“We agreed on no marks—”

“If you pull my hair like that, I can’t help it, sugar.” Mingyu bit his lower lip as he gazed into my eyes deeply and I licked my lips, leaning down, lips brushing against each other.

“I want to rip your clothes off and kiss all over your body while you wear that choker—” Mingyu growled and all of my senses seemed to be heightened as his touch suddenly felt like it was burning into my skin, “You’re so fucking hot.”

One of his hands left my hips to grip the back of my head as he brought our lips back together and kissed me hungrily, lips bruising by the force he was using. His strong, honey like cologne enveloped my senses as I got lost in the feeling his lips were giving me. My heart was thumping loudly, lungs running out of air quickly, and every inch of my skin was on fire as I gripped Mingyu’s cheeks with both hands desperately as if he’d disappear into thin air. I never knew you could feel so much at the same time, I never knew one person alone could make you feel so alive. When I was with Mingyu time seemed to stop, people around us seemed to disappear and it was just us. I don’t know when I started trusting him so much or why I felt protected, a different kind of protection that Seungcheol and Vernon made me feel, but it happened and I realized it one day while we were walking in the park and holding hands. In Mingyu’s arms, the protection felt better and stronger, it almost felt like love. I was never in love with someone before, but maybe I was slowly falling for him.

I felt him shift us as he slid down slightly on the sofa, legs spread wider, and I realized it was to move my hips against his. His firm grip guided my hips in slow circles and I moaned when I felt his member poking through his burgundy dress pants. It sent a rush through my body, all the way down to my toes, and I gripped Mingyu’s chin to tilt his head back. He didn’t fight it as our lips moved hungrier than before, mine were already aching, and I let my tongue slip into his mouth. I swallowed his choaked moan and pressed down my hips harder against his, desperate for more friction. Mingyu moaned again and held the back of my head, his other hand slipping underneath my shirt as his hand travelled up my stomach to my breast. I bit his lower lip when he gave it a squeeze, and finally out of breath, we pulled away just barely. I smirked at Mingyu, seeing him so lost and whiney only happened during our make outs, and it was always hot and empowering. He caught his breath and his eyes darkened when he saw my satisfied expression, he stilled my hips with his hands.

“Don’t get cocky now, sugar.” His voice was husky and I let a finger run over his pearly choker before I hooked a finger in it.

“How, when I’ve got you wrapped around my finger?” He knew I was right and he knew he couldn’t say anything to deny it. I pressed my lips against his jaw and peppered light kisses against his smooth skin, his warmth made me feel like I was in an oven. I nibbled on the skin of his neck and I felt him relax as he gripped my bottom again. Wanting revenge for marking me, I chuckled against his skin before sucking down harshly on the junction of his neck and shoulder, teeth sinking into it. Mingyu hissed and was quick to push me back and look at me with a glare.

“What? You did it too.” I raised my eyebrows at him, his lips were red and plumper than usually. His hair was disheveled thanks to me and he looked so much more attractive that I kissed him again, his tongue pushing into my mouth this time. I moaned into his mouth as he squeezed my bottom again, not minding his aggressivity this time. I reached for the buttons of his shirt and started popping them open slowly. I couldn’t get enough of him and I wanted to feel more. We never did more than make out, mainly because I didn’t want to, but right now I wanted to feel all of him. Mingyu didn’t mind me and continued kissing me hungrily—until a key was pressed into the key-hole and we both froze. I pulled back stiffly, gripping onto his shoulders tightly.

“Fuck.” I cursed quietly, wide eyes staring back at Mingyu, “You need to get out, right now!”

“How?” Mingyu’s eyebrows rose as I quickly scrambled off him and tried to smooth down my clothes, “Do you want me to teleport? Because I sure as hell can’t do that—”

“Shut up!” I snapped and panicked more when the front door opened, “Please do something! You look—”

“Y/N?” Seungcheol’s deep voice rang through my apartment and my heart went wild, my worst nightmare getting confirmed. Fuck, this is so bad. Mingyu was up on his feet instantly, some of his buttons now done, but he didn’t have enough time to hide before Seungcheol would be in the living room.

“Why is your front door unlocked?” Seungcheol called loudly from the hallway, he was taking off his shoes. Mingyu walked up to me and I quickly tried to smooth his hair down as I ran my fingers through it, trying to make it look like when he arrived.

“Uhm, I—” I cleared my throat when I realized it was really dry, “I went to the—convenience store! Got back a few minutes ago and—forgot it!”

I hated lying to Seungcheol, I actually never lied to him before, and it made me feel horrible. He deserved to know the truth but I wasn’t ready yet to face his judgmental look and scolding of a lifetime. He would probably hate me and never talk to me again. What I had with Mingyu was like a safe heaven, I wanted to have it for a little longer.

“You’re an idiot!” Seungcheol was in my kitchen, probably rummaging for snacks, “I told you to always lock your door!”

“Sorry!” I called back while Mingyu picked up a hair tie from the coffee table and threw it at me, motioning at my hair. It probably looked like a bird’s nest and I clumsily pulled it into a very messy bun, which probably looked horrible. I turned to tell Mingyu to move away from the sofa, but instead he pressed one last kiss, soft and short, against my lips before stepping around me and walking towards the window. I couldn’t help but smile at him before sitting down on the ground again and picking up a random paper.

“Why are you so quiet—” Seungcheol’s voice died out when he walked inside the living room, eyes fixated on Mingyu, “Kim Mingyu.”

“Choi Seungcheol.” Mingyu turned around, the two men glared at each other. I quickly took a sip of my coffee, to make the dryness in my throat go away. Seungcheol was shooting daggers at Mingyu, as if his eyes were laser, and my heart started beating faster and faster when they remained silent. Did Seungcheol know? Did he realize what was going on before he walked in? I bit my lower lip nervously as I looked up at the two men, who were still squaring up each other. Mingyu didn’t succeed in doing all of his buttons, but at least he buttoned his jacket, which concealed a bit of his exposed chest. His hands were in the pockets of his pants and he wore an amused smirk on his lips as he dared Cheol to speak with a simple look.

“What are you doing here?” Seungcheol asked accusingly, eyes narrowing when Mingyu’s smirk widened. For a second, when Mingyu gave me a glance, my heart stopped beating. Will he tell Seungcheol? Blow everything to shreds? Mingyu promised he wouldn’t, he’ll remain quiet, right?

“Had some business to speak with sugar, of course.” Mingyu answered once his eyes were back on Seungcheol, the lie rolling off smoothly his tongue. I let out a sigh of relief and Seungcheol threw me a scrutinizing look, to which I just shrugged. Watching my best friend, I realized he was wearing similar attire to Mingyu’s, except Cheol was wearing a black turtleneck underneath his jacket.

He tsked and bit down on his lip piercing, “What business? I made it clear to stop involving her in this!”

“It has nothing to do with our meeting today, Seungcheol,” Mingyu’s voice turned reassuring and I watched as my best friend’s shoulders relaxed. What was that meeting about?, “I was just debating if I have to assign bodyguards for Y/N or not—”

“And I told you, I don’t need bodyguards!” I snapped with a glare, playing along with his lie. Mingyu scoffed and threw me a look.

“As if I care about your opinion—”

“Why don’t you assign Vernon as my bodyguard then, hmm?�� I raised my eyebrows and Mingyu’s jaw ticked, he threw me a warning glare.

“I live straight across, she doesn’t need a bodyguard, Mingyu.” Seungcheol snapped, just as riled up by my words like Mingyu was. What was so bad about having Vernon as my bodyguard? He’s literally one of the few friends I have. And he’s buff, I’ve seen it when he wore casual clothes once when we went to the gym together. That was also the first and last time I went to the gym.

“And when you’re not around?” Mingyu snapped, turning his fake reason into an argument. I sighed and leaned my head against the sofa.

“Can you both stop?” I asked with a groan, lifting my head when both men stared at me, “I have to study and you’re disturbing me. Leave, both of you.”

“I’m not leaving, I just arrived!” Seungcheol snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I rolled my eyes and searched for the next paper that I had to study.

“Sweet dreams, sugar.” My heart skipped a beat when Mingyu’s voice turned softer at the nickname and I bit my lower lip, peeking at Seungcheol to see him glaring at Mingyu before looking at me questioningly. I quickly cleared my expression and scowled towards the giant.

“Right,” My voice dripped with sarcasm, and for once, I really didn’t want to say hurtful words towards Mingyu, it felt wrong, “As if I could have any sweet dreams after seeing you.”

“Suit yourself.” Mingyu said with a nonchalant shrug before walking off, not casting even a glance back at me. My heart picked up again and I gulped, fearing I said something too harsh. We still bickered, but I stopped being so mean to him and I was afraid I upset him just now. Staring after Mingyu with furrowed eyebrows, I failed to notice the curious but confused glare Seungcheol was giving me. I gulped and made a mental note to text Mingyu after Cheol leaves to apologize and wish him sweet dreams.

“So,” Seungcheol grinned once Mingyu was out the apartment, leaving me anxious and stressed, “What are you studying?”

“Economy.” I answered blankly, reading through my notes. Seungcheol sat, where Mingyu was sitting a few minutes before, and laid down on my sofa, stretching his muscles.

“Ah, it’s so good to take a little rest.” He muttered to himself quietly and I hummed.

“Were you able to attend Uni classes this week?” I asked curiously as Seungcheol sighed.

“No, Mingyu had me running around to collect drugs and shit all week,” He sighed again before turning onto his side, “How was your week?”

I turned my body towards him when he poked my shoulder, “Long.”

Seungcheol giggled and I extended my arm to run my fingers through his hair in a comforting manner, “Our geometry professor is slowly killing me. He gave us three more assignments this week and we aren’t even done with the other five he gave us a month ago.”

Seungcheol grimaced and closed his eyes, “Fuck him, he’s such an ass. Who can do so many assignments? It’s not like you are robots.”

“I know…” I sighed and continued to look at Seungcheol until he opened an eye. His forehead had creased and I could see how tense he was even though he tried to relax.

“Hey,” I let my hand rest on top of his as I scooted closer, resting my chin on the edge of the sofa, close to his chest, “You can talk to me, Cheol, when things get hard. Especially now that I know everything. Stop burdening yourself so much.”

A soft smile spread onto his lips and I mirrored it, feeling my heart full of love for the person who stood by me in my most difficult moments, “I love you, you idiot.”

“I love you too, Cheol, massive asshead.” We both started giggling and he interlaced our fingers before his eyes fell on the coffee table.

“Do you need help studying?”

“Are you sure you are ready to compromise your much needed sleep?”

“Anything for the lady.”

“Where do I even start then…”

I sighed into my scarf as I nuzzled further into it, shielding my face from the cold breeze. Spring came around but the weather was still the same gloomy and cold, like it was all winter. I gripped the straps of my backpack tightly as I leaned against the wall of the building, sipping from my warm coffee I bought from the wending machine placed in the main hall of the University. Classes were over and the economy exam written, to which I studied all night with the help of Seungcheol. I got three hours of sleep and caffeine was the only thing keeping my eyes open and brain running at this point. I really just wanted to go home and sleep until tomorrow, but I had plans with Vernon since last week for today. We decided to grab lunch together and meanwhile my stomach grumbled quietly, I still only wished to go to sleep in my warm bed, shielded from the cold breeze and loud people walking around me. My phone started ringing and I fished it out of my pocket, pushing off the wall of the building.

“Hello.” I greeted loudly as a loud group passed by me.

“Good morning,” Vernon greeted cheekily and I scoffed as I walked towards the front of the institute. I was in the garden beside the library as I had to return a few books.

“Morning was hours ago, Vernon.” I muttered with a grimace as I took another sip of my coffee.

“You sound like you just woke up.”

“I wish,” I sighed into the phone with a pout, kicking a smaller rock in front of me, “I just finished classes.”

“Oh? Already?” Vernon sounded taken aback and I heard shuffling on the line, “I thought you had afternoon classes today—”

“Did you, perhaps, forget that we agreed on a lunch date today?” I asked accusingly, stopping for a second out of surprise. But the sudden anger didn’t last for long when I realized if Vernon wasn’t ready, I could cancel and just go home and sleep.

“Sorry!” Vernon exclaimed, his voice sounded to be away from the phone, he must have put me on speaker, “I didn’t exactly forget! Just a little—”

“You forgot, Vernon.” I cut him off laughing, walking lazily by the side of the building, “It’s fine, actually.”

“How cold is it outside?” His voice was right next to the phone and I hummed as I looked around.

“Cold enough to start freezing after fifteen minutes of staying outside.” I concluded after a few seconds of thinking and Vernon shuffled again.

“Shit!” He called loudly and I chuckled as I finally got to the front of the University. Five guys walked towards me with smiles on their faces and I returned it when I recognized them from Seungcheol’s course.

“Hi, Y/N!” They greeted loudly.

“Hi, guys.” I waved a bit before continuing my walk, “You’re still there, Vernon?”

“Okay, listen—” He took a deep breath and I started grinning, knowing he was about to rush out a really long sentence in one breath, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes, because yeah, I totally forgot that we agreed on that lunch date and I’m really sorry, you can rat my ear off at the restaurant, but do you think you can go inside and wait there for me, because I’ll send you a text when I get there?!”

I laughed as I watched the little crowd gathered on the side walk curiously, “I can totally go inside and wait for you—”

My mouth fell open when a few girls moved away whispering to each other, offering me a clear view of what caused the little commotion. My heart dropped to my stomach and then it started beating faster and faster as I remained a gaping fish.

“Uhm, Y/N?” Vernon asked, confused by my sudden silence. My eyes made contact with the person’s who was laying against his metalized grey Land Cruiser, easily as tall as the car.

“Uhm, yeah—” I muttered back to Vernon as I watched a wide smirk appear on Mingyu’s lips. The guys and girls that were watching us started whispering louder and my cheeks became pink as I nuzzled further into my scarf, “I just—uh, remembered that I have to work today.”

I swallowed hard in regret for having to cancel the lunch with Vernon, but he wasn’t even ready, so I didn’t really waste his time. Mingyu’s gaze electrified my body, suddenly the fatigue I felt disappeared.

“Irene called earlier, I really forgot…” I trailed off as I slowly walked closer to Mingyu, leaving a decent distance between us. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and his muscles bulged through his black leather jacket; he raised his eyebrows.

“Ah, shit,” Vernon sighed disappointed and there was shuffling before his voice was close again, “That’s fine—I was running late either way.”

“I’m really sorry,” I apologized again, unable to look away from Mingyu, “Can we re-schedule?”

“Of course, Friday?” Vernon was excited and I hummed as I took a quick sip of my coffee.

“Friday it is, but it has to be a breakfast date.”

“I’m cool with that, talk to you later.”

“Talk to you later.” I hung up with a smile and finally looked down, breaking eye contact with Mingyu, to put my phone back into my pocket. When I looked back up his eyebrows were furrowed and he pushed off his car, with two long steps he was directly in front of me.

“Who are you going on a date with?” He asked lowly, jaw clenching.

“Vernon, and it’s not that kind of date, so chill.” I answered him while rolling my eyes and Mingyu glared at me.

“I told you to stop seeing Vernon.”

“Yeah, and you thought I’d listen to you—a possessive, manipulative, bossy—”

“Boyfriend.”

“Not boyfriend.” I gave Mingyu a look, which he returned, before he dipped his head and pressed his lips against mine. My eyes closed and his honey-like cologne filled my nostrils as his soft, tasting like smoke, lips pressed back harder. Then I realized everyone could see us, Seungcheol was still at University, he could see us.

“Mingyu.” I snapped as I pulled back abruptly, eyes boring into his.

“I just wanted to give my sugar a proper greeting—”

“Not in public, you know.” I stepped back and took a sip of, the now lukewarm, coffee.

“I’m tired of sneaking around—” Mingyu snapped and I scoffed.

“Then leave me, easy as that.” I snapped back and Mingyu’s eyes narrowed at me as he lowered his head slightly, to be eye level with me.

“You still think there’s any chance that I’ll ever leave you alone?” A cocky smirk crossed his lips and I had to bite my lower lip from letting my own appear on my lips, “I’ve been obsessed with you since the first time I saw you—”

“I’m still not very keen of you, so—” I interrupted him with a shrug, watching as Mingyu’s eyes darkened just in the slightest.

“These past three weeks we’ve spent together tell me something different, Y/N.” I scoffed, knowing well he was right and I had nothing to say back, so I pushed him back by his shoulder and side stepped him.

“You make me stay out in the cold weather when your warm car is a few feet behind, how gentlemanly of you.”

Before I could open the door for myself, Mingyu gripped my arm and pulled me back slightly, opening the door for me. I rolled my eyes and made sure he saw it as I sat inside and he shut the door for me. I sighed out as the warmth seeped through my body slowly and threw my backpack in the backseat, looking out the window as I drank the last of my coffee. Mingyu entered the car and ignited the engine to life, even more people looking our way at the loud roar of the engine.

“Just drive away and stop showing off, please.” I whined and lowered my head as I quickly buckled up the seatbelt.

“Your wish is my command.” And off we took at a rather aggressive speed. Mingyu wasn’t a patient person and he certainly wasn’t when it came to driving. He sped around like a madman even if there was heavy traffic and made dangerous maneuvers.

“I told you to stop driving like this!” I snapped as I held onto the doorhandle, fearing for my life when Mingyu sped through the third yellow traffic light.

“And you’re still seeing Vernon.” He fired back nonchalantly, his hand coming to rest on my thigh.

“You seriously can’t be comparing something like my friendship with Vernon to you trying to kill us both!” I exclaimed and almost yelped out when pedestrians went to cross the street and Mingyu had to hit the brakes hard, “Please!”

“Fine, fine,” He sighed out, glancing at me, “I’ll drive more carefully.”

“Thank you.” I snapped as my heart continued to race and his palm gave a reassuring squeeze to my thigh.

“Are you taking me home?” I asked when I saw him driving closer to my neighborhood. I couldn’t be happier; I was still tired.

“No.” Mingyu answered shortly and I groaned.

“I’m really sleep, I studied all night with Seungcheol after you left. Just take me home before I fall asleep—”

“But you could still go on your lunch date with Vernon, right? You weren’t asking him to take you home.” Jealousy and venom dripped through Mingyu’s tone and I couldn’t help giggle, amused by his reaction.

“Exactly.” I answered him, placing my palm over his before he could say anything else. I interlaced our fingers and leaned my head against the headrest.

“I’m taking you away from the city.” Mingyu spoke up and I looked at him with raised eyebrows, “But I’m not telling you where to, it’s a surprise.”

“Ah,” I sniffed and pulled my lips in a grimace, “so this is where you finally kill me?”

Mingyu groaned and threw me a quick look, his fingers squeezing mine in warning, “Stop saying shit like that, it’s not hilarious.”

“Yeah, yeah…” I grumbled and bit my lower lip, thinking of how he never answered my text I sent last night while Seungcheol was in the bathroom showering, “Was I too harsh last night? You never answered my text…”

A small smile traced Mingyu’s lips and I looked down at our intertwined hands, “No, I figured you were with Seungcheol, so I didn’t want to cause even more anxiety by answering.”

A smile spread on my lips as I looked up at him, “I was more anxious that I hurt you…”

“You can’t hurt me anymore, sugar.” His pretty smile formed into a smirk and I rolled my eyes, turning my head away from me.

“We’ll speak in the afterlife, after the cops find my body lying in a ditch somewhere.” I muttered quietly to myself, thoughts of me mysteriously dying always swarming in the back of my head. I was exposed to a dangerous world and I wasn’t stupid, I knew what dangers lurked in the shadows. Mingyu wasn’t just anyone. He was a well-known leader in the world of illegal affairs and everyone feared his power and his team. He had many enemies and he also hated many people. I knew one day I could just disappear as a statement for Mingyu from a rival gang. And I was afraid, but maybe it was worth risking it for Mingyu. If I was already going to hell, might as well truly enjoy myself in the meantime.

It took us a whole hour by the time we got to the place Mingyu had in mind. It was a nice cozy looking house, for which you had to take the highway and then halfway a dirt road that led deep inside the forest to get to it. I looked at Mingyu questioningly a few times as he turned on the car lights, the tall pine trees obscuring the bright sunlight, but he remained focused on driving with the occasional squeeze to our intertwined fingers. I wasn’t necessarily nervous about what we could possibly be doing at a place like this, I was more nervous about what Mingyu had planed for us. Were we here to test my loyalty? Were Joshua and Jeonghan here too, to interrogate me and see if any of my answers match with what they dug up about me? Or did Mingyu just want to spend more time with me in a secluded place? Many thoughts swarmed in my head until the moment we stopped and Mingyu told me to get out of the car. His eyes were glinting with excitement and it slightly eased my nerves, even though I wasn’t sure if he was just excited about something obscure or just about being here. With the loss of the sunlight here, the air was chilly and I shuddered in the cold as I walked up to Mingyu, who seemed to be perfectly fine in the cold weather dressed thinly.

“So…” I cleared my throat and glanced at the pretty, wooden house; it looked like a cabin, “What are we doing here?”

His eyes fell on me and a smirk spread on his lips as he draped an arm around my shoulders, “Scared, sugar?”

I bit my lower lip and matched my steps with his as he started walking towards the house, “Maybe.”

Mingyu chuckled amused as we walked up onto the porch, smirk fading into a small, rare, comforting smile, “We’re here because I want to teach you something, Y/N, relax.”

“Maybe I’ll relax when you tell me what you want to teach me.” I looked up at him as he knocked on the door and he turned his head toward me, pressing a kiss against my forehead.

“I’d ruin the surprise.”

“I hate surprises.” I muttered and sighed, turning towards the door when it opened.

“Oh!” The old man seemed surprised to see us standing in front of his front door, “Mr. Kim! We weren’t expecting you today!”

Mingyu just nodded his head and brushed past the old man, pulling me after him, rudely without even waiting to be invited inside, “I haven’t visited in long. How’s Momo doing?”

The old man tensed at Mingyu’s words and I narrowed my eyes when a teasing smirk made its way onto his lips, “She’s—she’s alright.”

“Is she home?” Mingyu continued, obviously enjoying how uncomfortable the old man looked.

“She’s not—Mr. Kim.” The old man gulped nervously and I caught his eyes glancing behind us for a second. Getting uncomfortable by the interaction between the two men, I cleared my throat.

“I’m Oh Y/N,” I stepped away from Mingyu and extended my hand towards the old man, “Nice to meet you, and sorry for barging in uninvited.”

Mingyu cleared his throat behind me and I watched the old man hesitate before he shook my hand lightly, “Nice to meet you, Miss Oh. I’m Hirai Takumi.”

“Oh, just address me comfortably, Mr. Hirai.” I bowed my head a little as I felt a hand on my shoulder, but the old man quickly shook his head.

“I insist, Miss Oh.” I opened my mouth to speak up again, but Mingyu gave me a look as he pushed me inside a small kitchen.

“Stop being so rude, we didn’t even take off our shoes!” I whisper-shouted at Mingyu as Mr. Hirai rushed past us inside the kitchen.

“We don’t have to be respectful while we are here.” Mingyu said with a shrug and loudly sat in the chair by the table. I threw him a hard glare as I watched the poor old man scramble around the kitchen. I felt uncomfortable, disrespectful and pity towards him. So, I took off my shoes swiftly and left them in the doorway before I walked up to the man and took the little cups from his hands.

“But Miss Oh—” He exclaimed and I threw him a small glare to silence him. He didn’t say anything else as he took the teapot and avoided Mingyu’s eyes as he walked to the table to place it down. Mingyu was glaring back at both the man and me as I placed a teacup in front of him and the other at the vacant seat.

“That’s for Miss Oh—”

“I’m not thirsty, Mr. Hirai, take a seat and drink instead of me.” I spoke with a small smile and the old man stood rooted as he watched Mingyu. When I turned my glare at Mingyu he sighed and with a nod the old man was sitting and pouring tea for Mingyu and himself. I also sat in the last empty chair at the table and watched the two men quietly.

“Where’s your wife?” Mingyu asked after he drank from the tea.

“She’s working—in town, Mr. Kim.” The old man hurriedly answered.

“I suppose that’s what Momo is doing also?” That devilish smirk spread onto Mingyu’s lips again and I glared at him as the old man looked down at the table.

“Ye—yes.” He whispered as an answer and visibly jumped when Mingyu dumped his gun on the table. Why the hell are we here? And what is going on between these two?

“Mr.—Mr. Kim, I—”

“Hoshi will come tomorrow to talk business with you, old man, however, right now, I’m here with my woman to teach her how to shoot.” Mingyu interrupted Mr. Hirai and stood up, pulling me up from the chair as well, “I suppose you still have those weapons?”

“Of course!” Mr. Hirai sprung to his feet and bowed his head, “They are in the barn, do you want me to walk you there?”

“No, I know my way around.” The smirk was back on Mingyu’s lips and I couldn’t watch the old man flinch anymore, so I grabbed Mingyu’s arm and pulled him away from the kitchen. He paused as I took on my shoes and when I went to open my mouth and scold him, he grabbed my nape and started walking me towards the back of the house. I hissed and threw him a glare when he didn’t let go, but Mingyu ignored me as he continued to walk me from behind. I didn’t miss the way his eyes ran up the stairs and fixated on a door for a second longer than it was necessary, but the door of the barn was in front of me and I gave it a push.

“Can you let go of me?” I finally snapped, annoyed by the way he was walking me around.

“No.” Mingyu simply hummed and lightly tugged on my nape, hauling me in the opposite direction that I was trying to walk in. I threw him a side-eyed glare but he wasn’t looking at me, eyes focused on a chest. He leaned down and opened it with one hand; my eyes widened when it fell on the various weapons hidden inside.

“What is this place?” I muttered to myself, heart starting to beat quickly when Mingyu smirked back at me, with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“My fun place.” His smirk spread wider and I stepped back when he finally let go of my nape. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and watched him rummage through the weapons with a frown and grimace.

“These are all old as fuck…” He muttered to himself as he picked up a large shotgun, “I told the old man to change them…”

My stomach rumbled loudly and I looked away when Mingyu threw me an amused look, I never got to eat and I was pretty much starving at the moment. I hoped Mingyu would just ignore it and not demand the old man to serve us with food as well, I realized how much he wanted us out of his house. Mr. Hirai was terrified of Mingyu and I was so curious as to why.

“Come, sugar.” Mingyu straightened back up, with a rifle and a smaller handgun in his hands and walked to the rotten door and pushed it open. I looked at him for a second longer before I followed him out, the back of the house led directly into the woods. There was a long table placed out at least twenty steps away from where we were standing and the pine trees around the area had all sorts of men made scars in their trunks. On the long table there were ten beer bottles and Mingyu turned toward me with a serious expression.

“This,” He raised the rifle to be eye level with us, “Is an AR-15 rifle, made in the US.”

I hummed and watched him curiously, “If you push this button, the magazine comes out. First, you check to see if you have bullets, okay?”

“Okay.” I muttered quietly, hugging myself tighter. I wasn’t foreign to weapons but I never felt comfortable around them. Mingyu was serious, eyebrows frowning, as he took his time explaining the weapon and how to use it.

“You slide back the loaded magazine and then pull the charging handle,” He pulled it back easily, it made a loud clicking sound; I gulped, “If you push this down, the safety is off, you push it back up, the safety is on, understood?”

I cleared my throat and made eye contact with Mingyu, he had a dangerous glint in his eyes, “Understood.”

“Cool, now,” He hoisted the gun up, the end coming to rest against left shoulder as he came to stand next to me, “Safety off and—”

He fired twice, the loud sound made me jump and slightly step behind him, and he clearly hit two beer bottles spot on, breaking them, “That’s how you do it, sugar. Your turn.”

“Mine?” I asked with a frown, glaring at the rifle, “I don’t want to shoot with that.”

“Sugar, this is not about what you want and what you don’t want.” Mingyu said impatiently with a sigh and I heard a click, he pushed the safety on, “You have to learn this.”

“No, I don’t.” I argued with him stubbornly, taking a step back when he extended his arm for me to take the weapon, “I don’t want to hold that.”

“Y/N,” With his free hand he gripped my nape again and tugged my closer, “There will be times when no one will be able to protect you but you, yourself. Alright? You have to be ready and knowing how to defend yourself with a weapon, is the first step in your journey, okay?”

“I know how to shoot with a gun, okay?” I snapped loudly, glaring at Mingyu when his eyebrows rose mockingly, “You’re not the first person who tries teaching me how to use a gun, okay?”

“This is a rifle.”

“Rifle or whatever!” I exclaimed and slapped his arm away, “My father and Seungcheol already taught me.”

“Then show me.” He said with a shrug and pressed the rifle against my chest harshly, leaving no room for argument. I glared at him and took the weapon with a sigh, the weight of it foreign in my arms.

“If you want to teach me how to defend myself, teach me hand-to-hand combat, not this bullshit.”

“This is not bullshit,” Mingyu rolled his eyes and stopped me when I went to position the rifle against my shoulder, “What did I just teach you?”

“Check the magazine first.” I muttered and quickly pushed the button he pointed at and held the magazine in my hand. Mingyu hummed contently so I slid it back in then went to pull the charging handle, which was a lot harder to do than Mingyu made it look like.

“And you will learn hand-to-hand combat too, when the right time comes.” I threw him a glance as I raised the rifle, positioning it against my right shoulder, just like Mingyu did before. He came to stand behind me and his body warmth invaded mine, making me shudder. He corrected my posture and his finger curled next to mine on the trigger.

“Safety off.” He whispered in my ear and pressed a kiss against it, making me gulp loudly. I pressed the safety down and Mingyu took a tiny step back to watch me. I closed my right eye and started firing towards the beer cans, my ears ringing from the loud gunshots that went off next to my ear. I shot until I emptied the magazine and when I lowered the rifle, with the safety on, I frowned seeing that I only shot three bottles.

“Sugar,” Mingyu chuckled and gripped my cold, rosy, cheeks, “I thought you said you knew how to shoot!”

“I do!” I snapped, eyebrows furrowing, “With a handgun, I never held a rifle before…”

“Did no one tell you to keep both eyes open? So that you see your target clearly? You watch too many movies…” He trailed off and shook his head, pressing a quick kiss against my lips before he strolled towards the long table.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered to myself as I watched Mingyu place ten new bottles on the table, “Both eyes open, right?”

I raised the riffle again and placed it against my right shoulder, adjusting my grip on the trigger as I kept both eyes open, pointing it at the first bottle. Mingyu was still standing there and when he turned around, unintentionally, the rifle was pointed at him directly. The safety was still on, but he didn’t know that, and we stared into each other’s eyes, unmoving. Mingyu went stiff and I could see as his eyes darkened even from where I was standing, his shoulders moving back as he adjusted his leather jacket. He never expected me to point a gun at him, let alone a rifle, even though he’s done it twice to me now. And once he even pulled the trigger, even if it was an unloaded weapon, he pulled the trigger. His left hand sneaked in his pocket and instinctively my finger pushed the safety off and wrapped around the trigger, my body going rigid. Yes, I trusted him most of the time, but the little voices in my head telling me that he could kill me still anytime, were screaming at me that this was that time. You could never know when you had a mafia leader standing in front of you, with a hand hidden in its jacket’s pocket. I let out a quiet sigh when he pulled his hand out and held the pack of cigarettes, slowly starting to walk towards me. I subtly pushed the safety back on and cleared my throat when Mingyu stopped at the end of the rifle, chest pressing against it. His eyes still watched me like a hawk as he lit one cigarette and inhaled deeply from it. I watched, and felt through the rifle, as his lungs expanded then decreased. He blew the smoke out in one long breath and it floated into my face. I narrowed my eyes but didn’t flinch.

“What a fucking woman.” He muttered to himself with a chuckle before he stepped away, coming to stand behind me at a good distance to not bother me. I pushed the safety down and now with both eyes open, I focused on the bottles and started firing. Shards of glass flew around the table as I hit all ten this time, shattering them all in half. My heart thumped loudly and my ears rung as I lowered the rifle with shaky hands, pushing the safety back on. I turned my head to look at Mingyu, who was watching me pridefully with a big smirk on his lips.

“See what it does if you keep both eyes on the prey?” I chuckled and handed him the rifle back as he looked over it, “Well, seems like my training takes an end here.”

“So soon?” I raised my eyebrows as he took another puff of his cigarette, “You think this is enough?”

“Did you hit all ten bottles?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes, this is enough for you,” He chuckled and threw his finished cigarette on the green floor of the forest, making me frown, “You said you know how to use a handgun, I have nothing else to teach you.”

“And you had to take me here? For nothing?” I groaned as Mingyu walked up to me.

“This wasn’t nothing.” He rolled his eyes and I mirrored him.

“Yeah, it was.”

“Shut up, I got to spend time with you,” He muttered and leaned down to press another kiss against my lips, longer this time. He tasted of smoke again and I pulled back when I felt his tongue trying to push my lips apart.

“No, not here,” I muttered, running my hand through his still curly hair, “I’m freezing and starving and tired. You only get a kiss if I’m satisfied with my needs.”

“Fair enough, sugar,” He smirked and intertwined our fingers, “Let’s go then, but I’m not taking you home.”

“Didn’t I just tell you what I want?” I groaned as I closed the barn door behind us, Mingyu threw the rifle on the creaky floorboards uncaringly.

“You never said you wanted to do all of that at your apartment.” His smirk was cheeky and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Where else at can I do them then?” We walked inside the house and Mingyu didn’t bother to close the door as he pulled me down the hallway.

“My house, of course,” Mingyu chuckled and glanced back at me, “There Seungcheol can’t interrupt us at least.”

I bit my lip as I thought back to the first, and only, time I was at his mansion. I wanted to argue with him more, but his mansion was too nice and he knew I liked it. It was everyone’s dream place, I wasn’t about to turn down a dinner there cooked by Mingyu, who apparently has some nice culinary skills.

“But I’m sleeping at home, Seungcheol will notice that I didn’t return for the night.”

“Fine—” Mingyu stopped in the doorway when we spotted Mr. Hirai sitting on the staircase leading upstairs, “Go clean up, old man. Sleep tight tonight and make sure to bake those pastries for Hoshi tomorrow, you know he’s nicer to you when you give him those.”

“Yes, Mr. Kim.,” Mr. Hirai bowed as he stood, averting his gaze, “Have a pleasant afternoon, Mrs. Oh.”

“Thank you, you too!” I bowed my head before Mingyu could pull me after him and I watched as Mr. Hirai’s eyes turned sad as he closed the door after us. I let Mingyu walk me to his car and open the door for me.

“Who is this man and what’s your business with him?” I spoke up once Mingyu sat inside, turning towards him.

“No one that should concern you, you won’t see him ever again—” He started the car and I frowned at his words, “So forget about him.”

“You should treat him with respect, he’s your elder.”

“And he’s also a liar and thief.” He snapped with a scoff and I looked out the window.

“Just don’t speed around, please.” I dropped the topic, not wanting to piss him off while we were in the car. Mingyu just hummed and turned on the radio, all conversation ceasing between us as I closed my eyes and let my head rest against the headrest.

My body jumped when I felt a hand gently cup my cheek, alerting me awake. I hummed and nuzzled into the warm touch as best as I could, sighing when a finger tenderly stroked my skin. Slowly, I realized the car wasn’t moving anymore and it was quiet inside too, the radio turned off.

“Wake up, sugar, we’re home.” Mingyu whispered and I sighed, his breath fanning my face.

“Home?” I asked, voice raspy, and slowly opened both eyes. The lights coming from the outside were dim and I watched as Mingyu smiled fondly at me, his finger still stroked my cheek.

“Yeah, home.” He whispered and my heart skipped a beat at the softness of his voice, a vulnerability I’ve never heard before coating his words. His defenses seemed to disappear as he looked at me quietly, his eyes running over my face. His forehead had faint wrinkles and his lips were pouty when he was serious, his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. His dark irises offered comfort and my heart started beating quickly, a feeling of content overtaking me.

“Did I sleep the whole ride back?” I broke the comfortable silence and Mingyu hummed, leaning closer. I watched him curiously as he pressed a long kiss to my forehead, his warm touch disappearing from my cheek when he pulled back. I wanted to grip his hand and place it back where it was, but Mingyu was out of the car before I could do that. Sighing, I took my backpack from the backseat, undid my seatbelt, and exited the Land Cruiser. Stepping outside, I realized we were standing in Mingyu’s garage, he did take me back to his mansion after all.

“How does takeaway sound?” His loud voice rang through the garage and I shivered at the coldness as I walked up to him; he was standing in front of the door that led inside the house.

“Anything that comes fast is good, I’m seriously starving.” I muttered, rubbing my empty stomach when it rumbled loudly, “I’ve never been this hungry before.”

Mingyu chuckled and intertwined our fingers as he pushed the door open and brought me inside with him. Instantly, the warm air warmed me up and my eyes fell on the pool that was inside, making a mental note to ask Mingyu to let me swim in it once. I loved spending a day or two doing nothing at the pool when it was summer.

“We have some leftover from yesterday, you can eat those before we order anything.” Mingyu spoke as he pulled me around the house, the ground floor I was already familiar with. We stopped in the hallway to take off our shoes and coats, I placed my backpack on the marble floor and put on the slippers Mingyu pushed my way.

“You’ve never been upstairs, right?” Mingyu looked at me with his eyebrows raised and I glanced behind him, eyes running up the marble staircase. I looked back at him and nodded my head no.

“Let me show you around then.” He extended his hand again and I took it, rubbing my eyes to make the sleepiness go away. We didn’t go straight upstairs, however, we walked past the marble staircase and towards the only room I haven’t seen from downstairs. He pushed the white door open and my eyes fell on different machines you see in the gym. The room was big and breezy, the air conditioning was still on as if someone had just been in the room.

“You even have your own gym, huh.” I muttered, turning my head to look at him, “I could come around and work out sometimes.”

“You go to the gym?” Mingyu asked surprised, closing the door again.

“I’ve been there once with Vernon and it was enough for a lifetime.” Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed and I threw him a look, silencing him even before he could say anything about Vernon. We walked towards the marble staircase and Mingyu teasingly bowed his head and made way for me to go up first, but we both came to a halt when someone cleared their throat. I turned my head towards the living room, where the voice came from, and quickly jumped away from Mingyu, ripping my hand away from his.

“Fancy seeing you here, Y/N,” Wonwoo’s deep voice echoed around as Mingyu glared at me for my reaction, “Also fancy seeing you two can’t greet.”

“I had no idea you were home. I didn’t see your car in the garage.” Mingyu said with a shrug and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. My eyebrows rose as I looked between the two males.

“Home?” I spoke up confused, looking at Wonwoo for answers.

“He didn’t tell you?” Wonwoo chuckled and started walking towards us, a book in his hands, “I live here too. This is our house—”

“It’s my house, but Wonwoo miraculously moved in one day without even asking me if I was alright with it, so…” Mingyu cut Wonwoo off with a scoff and I gaped at the two.

“But last time I was here—”

“I was running an errand, that’s why you didn’t see me inside.” Wonwoo answered with a smile as he stood at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the railing.

“But you picked me up—”

“Yeah,” He chuckled and started walking up the stairs, Mingyu and I made space for him, “How do you think I got here so fast? I had just arrived home when Mingyu called me.”

“I see.” I muttered and bit my lower lip as I watched Wonwoo casually strut to a room. He stopped after he opened the door and turned towards us to give us a wink before he disappeared inside and shut the door closed. Still biting my lower lip, I looked at Mingyu with a glare.

“And now why are you glaring at me?” He asked with a scoff as he continued his walk up the stairs, me hot on his tails.

“Because you never told me Wonwoo lived with you and that ultimately led to him seeing us holding hands!” I whisper-shouted, still glaring at Mingyu’s broad back.

“Wonwoo is way more observant than you think, we don’t have to tell him or show him that we are together, he already knows—”

“Because you told him!” I accused Mingyu as I followed him blindly towards a room.

“I didn’t!” He was quick to defend himself, throwing me a small glare as he opened the door, “I told you he’s observant.”

“As if I believe that, you always brag about shit, Mingyu—” I stopped talking when Mingyu grabbed my waist from behind and pushed me lightly further inside the big bedroom. It was Mingyu’s bedroom, his honey-like scent was everywhere with a tinge of light smoke floating in the air. My eyes took in the big room, a round bed sat in the middle of it, the sheets a light green. He had a big TV hung on the wall opposite the bed with a fireplace underneath it. There were some cushions laying on the marble floor here and there, the colors a mix of light green and white. He had a walk-in wardrobe that you could see inside from here and probably a private bathroom as well. I was surprised to see so many plants inside the room and a big bookshelf filled with tons of books. A professional looking camera was placed on his nightstand, with a few polaroid’s laying messily around it.

“This is my room,” Mingyu muttered next to my ear as he rested his chin against my shoulder, “It’s a lot cooler than yours.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, nudging his side softly. Yeah, it was a lot bigger than mine, but I live in an apartment and he literally lives in a mansion.

“Is this the moment where you finally get me in your bed?” I asked teasingly, turning my head and making our noses brush against each other.

“As much as I’d love to—” Mingyu groaned and bit my lower lip playfully, “It’s not. You haven’t seen my office yet.”

“I have permission to step inside your office?” I asked him teasingly as we left his bedroom, walking towards a dark wood colored door, “Isn’t it like…forbidden for others?”

“This office? No.” Mingyu answered with an amused chuckle, pushing the door open, “The office at the headquarter is forbidden to certain people, however.”

“Can I still go inside?” I asked with a pout, making Mingyu smirk as he turned on the lights.

“We’ll see when we get there, sugar.” He let go of my hand and walked further inside, drawing the curtains closed and I pouted when the beautiful night view of the city was gone. His office was dark, unlike the rest of the house which was mostly covered in white marble, and it was also smaller. He had bookcases on both sides of the wall and a big mahogany desk sitting close to the big windows.

“Wonwoo likes to read, so these are practically his books.” Mingyu explained when he saw my eyes running over the bookcases once again.

“Did you put them here just for him?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“No,” Mingyu chuckled and leaned against his desk, “They were here before too, just a lot less filled with books.”

“You don’t like to read?” I hummed as I walked around the room, my fingers running over the material of the black, leather sofa.

“Not my favorite activity.” Mingyu muttered and I hummed as I pulled the curtain just a bit to be able to peek outside.

“What’s your favorite activity…besides stalking me.” I added with a pointed look towards Mingyu and he laughed quietly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Other than ruining others lives, you mean?” He mused quietly to himself, watching me as I walked up to him, coming to a stop in front of him, “Spending my time with you.”

I fought the smile that tried to break onto my lips and crossed my arms in front of my chest, trying to look at him accusingly, “Before me? I wasn’t always in your life.”

“I didn’t do much before,” He said with a shrug and extended his arms, to rest them against my waist, “I invest too much of my time into my work and I don’t have time for other activities that I could enjoy—”

“Come on!” I groaned and undid my arms, resting them on his shoulders, “You were a kid too once! You definitely didn’t sit around your house every day, doing nothing.”

Mingyu’s eyes darkened at the mention of his childhood and I raised my eyebrows questioningly, stepping between his legs when he pulled me into him. He watched me with narrowed eyes before pressing his lips against mine. I rolled my eyes but kissed him back, excusing him for dodging the subject for once. He hated talking about his childhood and whenever I brough it up he did something to change the subject. I knew it wasn’t my place to constantly push him, but I just wanted to get to know him better. Knowing someone’s childhood gave you an insight onto that person, a chance to get to know them better, to paint a general image of them. Mingyu was an enigma and I always wanted to know more about him, feeling like there always would be layers that I wouldn’t get to, because there wasn’t enough time for us.

“I like taking pictures.” He muttered against my lips as he pulled back from the kiss, his eyes still closed. I hummed and pressed a soft kiss against his left cheek, then his right cheek. Mingyu sighed quietly and I smiled, pecking his nose.

“You’re tired,” I muttered and he opened his eyes, pupils dilated, “Let’s order that takeout and call it a day…we are both tired, actually.”

“Are you sleeping over then?” Mingyu asked hopefully, eyes fixated on my lips. I licked them and unconsciously leaned further into him, letting his warmth envelope me.

“No, I’ll call a cab.” I whispered and shut him up with a kiss, easily slipping my tongue inside his mouth as he opened his to argue. He tasted like smoke and something sweet, and I yelped when I was hoisted up in the air, legs wrapping around Mingyu’s hips in fear that he’d drop me. He kissed me hungrily as he turned around and my ass came in contact with the hard surface of the wooden desk, as Mingyu gently placed me on top of it. My fingers tangled in his curly hair and I pulled on the roots when Mingyu harshly sucked on my tongue, making me tighten my legs around his hips.

“I can never get enough of you.” Mingyu mumbled against my lips and I smirked, playfully biting his jaw, “You’re so sweet.”

We stared into each other’s eyes for a moment and then our lips were moving against each other feverishly again, my fingers tangled in his locks at his nape, as Mingyu tried to push me down on the desk. I placed one hand on the desk and leaned down on that elbow, Mingyu’s hand running down from my neck, breasts, to the hem of my shirt. He slipped his warm hand underneath and I moaned at the feeling, heartrate picking up once again. My cheeks were flushed and my lungs screaming for air, but I could never get enough of his lips. He ignited a fire inside me that I never wanted to stop feeling. As Mingyu’s hand started traveling up on my skin, I buckled my hips instinctively and he groaned when I accidentally grinded down on his growing member. My back curved the slightest when he let his hand rest on my breast, feeling the perky bud, and my free hand travelled to the belt of his pants, fumbling around to undo it.

“Mingyu—Oh!” The shrieking voice made Mingyu and I jump and we bumped our foreheads together. I hissed and Mingyu stared into my eyes for a second with want and regret, before pulling back from me and helping me sit straight up on the desk. I huffed and ran a hand through my hair, angry that yet again someone interrupted us, but anxious that someone caught us making out. However, when my eyes fell on a familiar blonde head, they narrowed into slits. What’s the blonde woman from the auction doing here? Do Mingyu and her know each other?

“Kim Mingyu!” She shrieked again, seemingly unphased by what she saw a minute ago, and completely ignored my existence. I glanced at Mingyu questioningly as his infamous smirk was back on his lips, he seemed to be ignoring me too. I cleared my throat and got off the desk, standing up straight. The woman walked inside with swaying hips, her short and revealing dress clung to her body perfectly.

“I wasn’t expecting you tonight, Sana.” Mingyu’s tone got velvety and almost flirty. I narrowed my eyes at him as the woman, Sana, giggled with a high pitch and stopped incredibly close in front of Mingyu. My jaw clenched when Mingyu didn’t step back, instead he pressed a kiss against the corner of her mouth. I gulped down the anger that was bubbling up and cleared my throat again, gaining their attention for once. All warmness, vulnerability, and affection were gone from Mingyu’s eyes as he watched me with a neutral expression, his smirk never faltering. The woman raised one eyebrow and extended her hand giggling.

“Minatozaki Sana,” She said with her high-pitched voice, I realized that’s what her voice was like, “And you are…”

“Oh Y/N.” I took her hand and gripped it firmly, shaking it with a warning squeeze, but I made sure to keep my voice leveled and warm. I didn’t know if my anger was showing, or the discomfort I was feeling, but Mingyu seemed to grow amused at the exchange between Sana and I.

“Oh!” Sana exclaimed once again and I let go of her hand, not missing the subtle glare, “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?”

“Oh,” I faked my confusion, eyebrows softly furrowing, “We’ve met before? I don’t think so…I usually remember significant people.”

Sana gulped and a sweet smile ran over her lips as an airy chuckle left her mouth, eyes running over my body in a quick check out.

“Well…” She spoke up, placing a possessive hand on Mingyu’s shoulder, “My memory must be better than yours than…I’m here to talk business, Mingyu, who’s she again?”

I looked at Mingyu, biting the inside of my cheeks to stop myself from ripping her hand off my man. She clearly saw us making out, what was she putting on this act for? I watched Mingyu expectantly and impatiently, but he didn’t even look at me as he answered Sana.

“You’re here for business, right? Then who she is, is not important.” I took a deep breath, counting to five to stop myself from punching Mingyu and dragging this woman away from him by her fake blonde hair. Sana giggled and looked back me, her red lips pulling into another sweet smile, but her eyes narrowed malevolently. I glared at Mingyu, but when he avoided eye contact, I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone to talk business.” I snapped with a honey-like tone, threw Sana a warning glare, then strutted to the door and slammed it hard behind me once I was out the room. My jaw clenched as I took deep breaths, palms turning into fists as I stopped myself from waltzing back inside the office to drag the woman out and away from Mingyu. I cleared my throat and my eyes fell on Wonwoo’s closed door; would I be bothering him very much if I were to ask him to drive me home? I didn’t like bothering him, but I really needed to rant to someone right now, and he was the only one who, apparently, already knew about Mingyu and I. But feeling like I would be bothering him, I stormed downstairs and into the kitchen, opening Mingyu’s fridge aggressively. If I didn’t eat right now, I think I’ll pass out. I took out the leftover rice that sat at the back of the fridge and one big tomato. I sat at the marble counter and started eating, stuffing my mouth with nothing else but rice and tomato. My blood was boiling at the thought of that filthy woman staying alone with Mingyu in his office to talk business. If she acted like that when I was around, even though she doesn’t know I’m Mingyu’s girlfriend, then I don’t even want to imagine what she’s doing right now, when I’m not there. I sighed and paused eating, closing my eyes to clear my mind. I can’t be this jealous, I’m not a jealous person; I have to trust Mingyu. Would he really chase me for six months to leave me for the first woman that throws herself at him? I’m sure this happens very often, he’s a very handsome and powerful man, but it still leaves a bad aftertaste in my mouth. What if him chasing me for six months was just his way of having a little fun? What if I am worth nothing in his eyes, like he said, I’m not important. But then all those tender moments we shared the past three weeks were fake? When he looks at me so vulnerably, that can’t be fake, right? I sighed and rose to my feet to start rummaging around the cupboards, see if I could find anything to cook dinner for Wonwoo, myself and…Mingyu. I’m sure Wonwoo hasn’t eaten anything as the fridge is pretty much empty and there’s no takeaway.

In the end, I found some noodles hidden deep inside a cupboard, and as they weren’t expired yet, I decided to cook them. They didn’t have anything much around, so I just boiled the water for it and cut the bags containing the flavor open. I heard feet thudding lightly against the marble floors as they descended the stairs and I tensed, ready to see Sana’s annoying face. But I was met instead with a smiling Wonwoo.

“Ah, what smells so tasty?” I chuckled and sighed out, raising a stray noodle into the air.

“I found some not expired instant noodles in your cupboard, so…I guess that’s what we are having for dinner.” I said with a shrug and Wonwoo walked inside the kitchen, sitting at the counter, opposite me.

“That sounds great.” He muttered and placed his book on the counter, intertwining his hands and resting his chin on top of them, “I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah, I’ve been starving the whole day. I only had breakfast.” I answered him, eyes falling on the half eaten rice I found in the fridge, “When Mingyu said you had some leftovers, I didn’t think he meant just rice.”

“Yeah,” Wonwoo laughed, his deep laughter bringing a smile onto my lips, “I cooked his favorite dish, we ate it all.”

“He has a favorite dish?” I muttered with a sigh, letting my shoulders slouch as the noodles were almost cooked.

“I heard Sana is here—”

“Who wouldn’t hear her shrieking voice?!” I said with a scoff and Wonwoo nodded. As I looked at him, I just noticed he was wearing round glasses.

“She can be annoying, yeah.” Wonwoo said quietly, fingers tracing the cover of his book, “You don’t have to worry—”

“I’m not!” I snapped a bit too quickly, clearing my throat when Wonwoo shot me an understanding look, “There’s no—nothing to worry about, right?”

“There really isn’t.” He answered back reassuringly and I hummed, turning off the gas underneath the boiling noodles.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses…” I trailed off with a smile and Wonwoo chuckled, pushing them up on his nose.

“I have bad eyesight, I’m too lazy to wear contacts at home.” He explained as he opened his book to the page where he left off at.

“I understand…” I muttered quietly as Wonwoo went back to reading. Finding a strainer after five minutes of searching for it, I poured the hot water with the noodles into it, filtering the two apart. I dumped the noodles back into the pot I boiled them in and sprinkled the bag containing the sauce and flavor over it, mixing them well together. Wonwoo continued to read as I moved around the kitchen quietly, preparing three plates and chopsticks for us to eat with. Just as Wonwoo closed his book and took his glasses off, voices from upstairs filled the silence as they grew closer and closer. Wonwoo and I shared a look and I leaned against the cold counter; arms crossed in front of my chest.

“Stop! That was so funny!” Sana shrieked as they came in view, eyes widening when she saw me still there.

“You cooked dinner?” Mingyu’s eyebrows rose as his neutral expression slipped a bit.

“She did, so hurry up with your business, Mingyu.” Wonwoo spoke instead of me, his deep voice demanding and accusing. Sana’s eyes traveled between the three of us and a sick smirk crossed her lips, she clapped her hands together and made a sound of disbelief.

“You finally hired a maid, Mingyu!” The oxygen left my lungs and I felt as my cheeks slowly grew warm, teeth clenching so hard together, I was afraid I’d break them. Mingyu’s jaw ticked as well, but he did a good job of smoothing out his expression, even having the audacity to laugh. Wonwoo was on his feet, arms crossed in front of his chest, as he glared at Sana unimpressed.

“She’s—”

“I’m unsure how you run things in Japan, Sana, but I’m sure your mother, or sister, or brother, or father aren’t your maids… I mean, you cook too, don’t you?” I asked, while pushing my hair behind my shoulders, chuckling fakely, as I watched Sana’s smirk slowly slip from her lips, “I wish I could invite you to have dinner with us, but, Mingyu, my boyfriend, forgot to tell me he was having you over for business…”

Upon hearing me call Mingyu my boyfriend, Sana’s amused expression disappeared altogether and I could see Wonwoo smirk from my peripheral vision. Even Mingyu’s lips pulled up in a big, prideful, smirk and he placed a hand on Sana’s shoulder, rather harshly.

“You heard my girlfriend, I’ll see you soon for more business, Sana,” He turned the blonde woman around and walked her towards the front entrance, “Lovely seeing you tonight.”

“Ah,” We could hear Sana giggled, “Sweet dreams, Mingyu.”

I took a seat at the counter and pushed the pot of noodle in the middle; Wonwoo sat down too, but he didn’t stop smirking. I threw him a small glare as I put noodles in my plate and he too put some in his, as Mingyu’s loud footsteps approached us. I looked up at him when he stopped next to me with a glare and his smirk extended into a wide grin, his canines showing.

“I’m your boyfriend, huh?” His tone wasn’t mocking, it was pleased, and I glared at him.

“Sit down and eat while there’s still food.” I snapped and looked away from him, eyes falling on an amused Wonwoo.

“You’re not my boyfriend.” I snapped and made sure he heard me, especially after this whole thing with Sana.

“Really? Because you clearly—”

“Wonwoo,” I cut Mingyu’s words off, ignoring him when he scooted his chair closer to mine, “Would you mind driving me home?”

“Of course, not—”

“I’ll drive you home.” Mingyu said with a scoff, but I just ignored him. I don’t want to see him tonight anymore, or I might punch him in the face.

“Thank you, Wonwoo, I appreciate it a lot.” I offered the man a smile and he returned it, sneaking a glance towards Mingyu. I could feel Mingyu glaring at me as he dumped the remaining noodle on his plate, but I didn’t look at him.

“And Wonwoo—” Wonwoo looked at me with his eyebrows raised, chewing his food, “Please, don’t tell anyone about Mingyu and I.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.” He muttered reassuringly and I sighed quietly, slowly eating my food. Even my appetite was gone now. I felt Mingyu shift beside me and then he was pressing his lips against my cheek in a hasty kiss. I ignored it, but my heart skipped a beat. I needed a day, at least, to cool off and forget about Sana, and how Mingyu acted around her towards me.

“Thank you for cooking dinner.” Mingyu whispered into my ear and I hummed, staring down into my plate as I continued eating the food I cooked. Yeah, I definitely need to sleep as soon as I get home.

Part 4

159 notes · View notes

blu-joons · 4 years ago

Text

When You Support Them During The House Party Comeback ~ Super Junior Reaction

Leeteuk:

Your expression softened the moment you walked into the dressing room and saw Jeongsu sat with his head in his hands. “Everything going alright?” You asked him, noticing the chaos of the other members who sat around, frowning as he looked across at you.

“I’m just doing a lot of thinking,” he admitted, encouraging you to take a seat beside him.

You nodded understandingly, studying his face closely, “anything that you happen to be thinking about particularly?”

“Just how lucky I am,” he whispered, not wanting any of the others to here. “I never imagined when we released Twins that I’d still be sitting in dressing rooms fifteen years later preparing to perform on music shows still.”

Whilst Jeongsu had always been one to reflect as the leader, you were well aware that their recent anniversary had triggered a new wave of feelings in him. “It’s nice to see you perform without the rookie pressure these days.”

“I’m definitely starting to feel my age,” he chuckled in response to you, “one run through of House Party and I’m ready for a nap.”

“Just at least try and look young in front of the cameras,” you teased.

His hand reached out to push against your arm, “as long as everyone else still thinks I’m young, you can be the one to deal with my old bones at the end of the show.”

“You know that I’ll take the best care of you!”

Heechul:

As you walked in on Heechul running through his rap once again, a proud smile graced your face, noticing his eyes fall on you once he’d finished. “Sounds good,” you complimented, walking into his open arms as he reached out for you to approach him.

“I wish that I could do more,” he admitted, kissing softly against the top of your head.

Your brows furrowed instantly, “you do as much as you can, and I know the fans and the boys all appreciate it too.”

“At times I wonder how different things could be if I was able to perform on the stage though,” he sighed, “it still never quite feels the same only being able to spend a few moments on stage, it wasn’t supposed to be the way.”

You reached across and placed your hand into his tightly, “just being on the stage is huge for you, whilst you can’t change the years you’ve spent on the side-line, you’re here for this comeback, which I’m sure means the world.”

“It does feel nice to be around the group for a comeback again,” he confessed, taking a quick look around the room.

“And I know they’re all happy to see you too,” you noted.

His head nodded proudly, “I don’t want to get myself upset, I know that I should just be thankful for the chance to even be on the stage right now.”

“There’s nothing wrong with getting upset, it’s understandable.”

Yesung:

As Jungwoon placed his camera in front of you yet again, your hand reached out and pushed it away to face the members beside you. “I’m not a part of this,” you reminded him, pointing out to the carnage that was surrounding you both instead.

“You’re here supporting me, it’s a big deal,” he replied, turning his camera back around again.

Your eyes rolled at how persistent he was, “at least take some pictures of the group so that you can remember this time.”

“We’ve been together for weeks, I’ve got plenty with those losers,” he laughed, “but it’s my first time having you at one of our music shows, so I want the chance to take a photograph of you to remember this time.”

Despite your protests, you soon ended up smiling for Jungwoon to take a photo of you, only to be quickly interrupted by Hyukjae by your side. “I don’t remember asking for a group photo to be taken of us all.”

“I just want a picture of Y/N,” Jungwoon complained, pushing Hyukjae to one side, “my whole album is full of your ugly face.”

“I’ll have you know my face is very photogenic,” Hyukjae argued.

Jungwoon’s head shook, taking your hand and dragging you to somewhere where he could get you alone. “I’m determined to get a picture of you today.”

“Good luck with all of these guys around us.”

Shindong:

Your hand came over your mouth as you spotted Donghee miming against the mirror. It didn’t disguise the small squeal that came from you. “Sorry,” you whispered as his head snapped around to see where the noise had come from, grinning when he saw you.

“I’m just trying to create the perfect ending fairy,” he announced to you.

Your eyes rolled at his smile, “just smile and you’ll be perfect. What exactly are you trying to come up with for it anyway?”

“I thought I’d try and mime,” he spoke, repeating his actions once again so you could see what he was working on. “It’s something I’ve not seen anyone do before, even SHINee didn’t come up with something like that.”

You couldn’t help but be impressed not only by his creative mind, but also his high skills when it came to dance. “I think the fans will love it, and I know that you’re enjoying yourself whilst you’re creating it too.”

“I’ve definitely missed performing live,” he smiled, “I’ve just got the camera block to make sure that this looks as good as I want it too.”

“From what I’ve seen, it’ll be brilliant on the show,” you hummed.

His arm moved to wrap tightly around your shoulders, “if nothing else, knowing that I’ve put a smile on your face by doing it has already made it a good decision to make.”

“Everyone will smile watching you, I just know it.”

Eunhyuk:

His eyes fell on you as soon as you found him hidden away in the corridor of M Countdown, pausing his phone as you approached him. “You know the routine Hyukjae, there’s no need to worry,” you quickly tried to comfort him before he started again.

“I just want to make sure everything is perfect,” he frowned, letting go of a sigh.

You walked over and took a hold of his hands before he could continue, “you’ve danced for years, as soon as you step on the stage, you’ll be fine.”

“I know,” he frowned, leaning forwards to rest his forehead against yours, “I’ve been going through it so much with everyone else that suddenly it just feels like I’m the one who has no idea how the routine goes anymore.”

Your hand moved up to cup the side of his face, “why don’t you go over it once, with me? If you’re perfect, then you stop practicing, and if you make a mistake, you still stop practicing because you know you’ll be fine.”

“How’s that fair?” He laughed, “either way you end up getting your way, but what happens if I truly make a mistake Y/N?”

“I know that you won’t, that’s why,” you assured him.

His smile grew as you squeezed his hands, “I don’t know how you manage to make me feel better so often when I’m so full of self-doubt. How do you do it Y/N?”

“Because I know exactly what you’re like Hyukjae.”

Siwon:

Sweaty arms wrapped around you as soon as Siwon made his way off the stage, pressing a soft kiss against your forehead. “You’re gross,” you remarked, trying to wriggle out of his grip, but his strong arms kept you against his chest despite your protests.

“You should be telling me you’re proud of me,” he quickly retaliated against you.

Your eyes rolled, “you know that I’m proud of you, but not when you’re stuck to me, at least go and get a shower first.”

“You don’t normally complain like this,” he teased, unwrapping himself from around you as a member of staff began to remove his mic pack. “What did you think of the stage. anyway, did you enjoy being a part of our House Party.”

Without a thought, your head nodded excitedly. “You were centre a lot, but you absolutely killed it. Sometimes I watch you and I still feel like I’m watching you back in 2010, the last decade all feels like a blur.”

“My body is certainly starting to feel it,” he grinned, grabbing onto your shoulder, “can you believe we always used to perform at that intensity?”

“I reckon you still could if you tried hard enough,” you wisely responded.

Siwon’s eyebrows raised in surprise at your sudden remark, “this is my workplace, I can’t believe you’d even dare try and suggest such things right now.”

“I have no idea what you could be talking about.”

Donghae:

You sat back as Donghae moved around the dressing room, making sure to record as much as he could for his vlog. “Have you got any footage of yourself?” You asked as he passed you by again to record the mountain of food that was on the table.

“The fans don’t want to see me,” Donghae argued, keeping his camera out of your reach.

Your head shook, trying to grab onto it, “let me record you for a minute, you’ve at least got to show off that ponytail you’re rocking.”

“The fans have already seen my hair,” he tried to argue, but it was too late, you finally had a hold of his camera and quickly started following him around. “Are you really going to be alright with your voice being in the vlog.”

Your head nodded as you moved with him around the dressing room, “I’m sure the fans will thank me for filling them up on Donghae content, don’t you worry. Now, tell the fans a bit about what you’re doing right now.”

“I’m finding the right bandana to go with my outfit,” he informed the camera, holding up the selection that he’d picked out.

“What about the one that I bought for you?” You quickly suggested.

Donghae reached in and pulled out the black and white bandana you bought when he first started growing his hair out. “I was leaning towards this one anyway.”

“I know you were, because I bought it for you.”

Ryeowook:

His silence instantly concerned you as you walked back into the dressing room once everyone was changed and prepared for the comeback stage. “Feeling good?” You asked Ryeowook, desperate to get even a couple of words out of him to reassure yourself.

“It’s been a little while, even if there’s no audience,” he admitted in response.

Your head nodded, “I’m sure it feels strange without Elf there to support you guys, but they’ll all be watching, around the world.”

“I still feel like a rookie,” he sighed, brushing his hand gently through his fringe, “I look around and see all these younger singers, and that still feels like me, but it’s not. How have our fans stuck around with us for so many years?”

Your smile softened, taking a tight hold of his hand, “your fans have stuck around because you guys are amazing. Even if you’re far from rookies, you still have that rookie mind that makes people always fall in love with you.”

“I feel a lot better after talking to you,” he whispered, straightening out his suit jacket, “will you be there watching?”

“Of course, just have a little confidence in yourself,” you smiled.

His head nodded, unable to hide the growing smile that developed on his face, “I know what you’re trying to do, but I’m confident of putting on a good show.

“That’s what I love to hear from you.”

Kyuhyun:

The flash of a light coming across your face yet again caused you to groan, your eyes flickered up and pushed Kyuhyun to one side. “You’ll drain the battery of that before you get on the stage,” you sighed, knowing how bad of an idea it was to trust him with a prop.

“They’ve got hundreds of lights for Burn the Floor,” he smugly teased back at you.

Your eyes rolled, trying to reach out to take the light, “I’ll be blind before I get to see you guys perform the song too.”

“So dramatic,” Kyuhyun scoffed, placing the light down on the table. “If you play your cards right, I could try and steal one of these to take back to the dorm and give you your own private performance of the song.”

Your hand pushed against his shoulder, sending him stumbling back, “why would I want to watch it at the dorm when I could watch all of you here, live? And the proper dancers are here then, I don’t have to watch you.

“How dare you,” he chuckled, stepping back towards you, “do you not remember I was a lead dancer in Bonamana all those years ago?”

“Many years ago,” you laughed, “I think a lot has changed since then.”

Kyuhyun’s head shook, picking the light back up, “you just wait, the performance I give you simply won’t compare to what you’ll see on the stage in a while.”

“It won’t compare, but not in a good way Kyu.”

---

Masterlist

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dialovers-translations · 4 years ago

Text

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, MORE BLOOD Vol. 5: Mukami Yuma [Track 1]

Original title: 贈り物

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, More Blood Vol. 5 Mukami Yuma [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Translator’s note: Oh how the tables have turnedーー Since most of the CDs have the guy be in charge of rewinding time, it was nice to see Yuma give it to the MC in this one, only to have it come back to bite him in the ass a few minutes later. I love how she actually did not hesitate to use it at all, even though he warned her not to. We stan a sly, cunning MC in this household, haha.

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5 + Epilogue

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Track 1: A Gift

Yuma enters the room.

“...Oh! Sow!”

You turn your head.

“Ya were in my room? Perfect timin’ I got this nifty lil’ thing, so I wanted to show ya!”

You ask him what he received.

“This was delivered from Karlheinz.”

*Cling*

You tilt your head to the side.

“Ah. It’s an hourglass. Never received somethin’ like this before.”

*Flip*

“Accordin’ to the card that came with it, it’s addressed to both of us... But why did he give us this? I don’t really get it, but he might be givin’ us his blessings!”

You smile, noting he seems happy.

“Haha. Well, yeah. It’s a gift from the man I look up to, ‘course I’m happy. It’s actually been on my mind this whole time. Our relationship ruined the future that man wished for, right? No matter what anyone may say, no way in hell I’m givin’ ya up still. But...Somewhere deep inside my heart, I felt as if I disappointed him. That I failed to live up to his expectations, ya could say.”

You comfort Yuma.

“However, when I consider he’s still congratulatin’ us now like this, I feel very grateful.”

You nod.

“Well, that’s all just part of my own imagination tho. I honestly don’t know what truly goes on in that man’s mind just from readin’ this card.”

You point out there’s something on the back of the card as well.

“Oh! The back? ...Hm?”

*Flip*

“Oh...You’re right, there’s an additional note. Uhm...Let’s see...Ah!? Is this for real!?”

You ask Yuma what is written on there.

“Seems like this isn’t just a regular hourglass. It’s a model from the Demon World which can rewind time if ya flip it over. It runs on magic so there’s only a set amount of times ya can use it but...He gave us quite the dangerous toy, huh?”

You sigh.

“Good point. All of his gifts are always a lil’ over-the-top. Just look at the elaborate decoration on this thing. Ya can just tell it’s no ordinary hourglass. This kinda fancy stuff doesn’t fit me.”

You note it’s pretty.

“What? You like it?”

You nod.

“I’ll give it to ya then. Here ya go.”

*Cling*

You seem hesitant, asking once more if he is sure.

“Yeah. I’d be a waste of a treasure on me, so it’d probably be best if ya hold onto it instead. Ya know...Pretty things like that.”

*Cling*

“Yeah! Don’t ya dare lose it! Ah! Also, be careful not to flip it over, ‘kay? Apparently time will rewind after all.”

You promise to be careful.

“Haah...Will ya actually be cautious? You’re still as much of a klutz and airhead per usual so I’m worried.”

You protest, puffing out your cheeks.

“Nah, ya definitely are. That part of ya hasn’t changed one bit since we met. For example, ya thoughtlessly ate my precious Sugar-chan back when ya had only just arrived at this manor, right? Do ya remember?”

You tell him you could never forgot.

“Heh. At first ya were shittin’ yer pants ‘round us, but afterwards you’d just casually eat our food. Not sure if you’re an airhead, or just shameless.”

You reminisce about memories.

“Hoh! Now that ya mention it, that happened as well! That was when I sucked too much of yer blood and ya collapsed, right?”

You nod.

“Ya were makin’ a long face over at the infirmary, so I had no other choice but to put Sugar-chan between my teeth like this...”

Yuma bites down on a sugar cube before leaning in and kissing you.

“Mmh...Nn...”

*Smooch*

“...Hm~ And fed it to ya mouth-to-mouth, right? I remember, don’t worry.”

You get flustered, making a fuss.

“Hehe...Right, right! Ya made the exact same baffled expression, I had no idea if it actually felt good or not! ...Oh! I remember feedin’ ya tomatoes as well! I just forced those inside yer mouth tho.”

You scold him for doing that.

“...Aah? Ya still gonna complain ‘bout that now? I fed ya my tomatoes, so don’t be whinin’ ‘bout any discomfort. Actually, weren’t ya to blame back then ‘cause ya upset me by givin’ me the silent treatment? It was basically yer punishment.”

You frown.

“For some reason...Lookin’ back on all those memories, I really fed ya the whole time, huh?”

You giggle, nothing how he likes to take care of others.

“Haah? I’m a carin’ guy (1)?”

You remind him of that one time he nursed you back to health.

“Aah...Yeah, that happened too. Guess I can’t prove ya wrong then. Ya mean that one time ya broke a fever, right? Ya were stumblin’ ‘round the hallway with yer face bright red. It’d be bad if ya had died on us back then, so I had no other choice but to cook up some stew. I actually made it ‘cause I was cravin’ some as well tho. It wasn’t for ya. Didn’t I tell ya back then as well? Yet ya kept on complainin’ ‘bout the size of the ingredients with that cocky attitude of yers.”

You try and explain yourself.

“Ya might have not said it with that many words but I could tell by the look on yer face! ...You’ve been kinda fragile ever since we met, huh? Oh! You’ve always been weak to my fangs as well.”

You protest.

“No? Don’t ya remember? You’d make that ecstatic expression from the second I latched onto ya. And in the end, you’d come beggin’ for my fangs yerself.”

You deny it.

“Nah, I’m not wrong. Just admit it. Ya are weak to my fangs. Ever since we met and ‘course, to this day.”

You pout.

“Take for example that one time I sucked ya by the window? Ya were makin’ a shameless expression even tho someone could have easily spotted us.”

You flush bright red.

“Heh! How’s that? Can’t deny it, can ya? You’re weak to my fangs!”

You shake your head.

“You’re damn persistent, just admit it already...”

You refuse.

“Che...I’ve given ya this much proof and ya still won’t acknowledge it? Ya can be surprisingly stubborn at times, huh?”

Yuma walks over to take a seat on the bed.

*Thud*

“...’Kay, as you wish. Let’s fight it out then.”

You tilt your head to the side, clearly confused.

“Yeah. ...Well, take a seat over here for starters. I’ll explain it to ya.”

You take a seat next to Yuma.

“Listen up. I said ‘a fight’, but we won’t be throwin’ fists. I’ll continue suckin yer blood like usual. However, if ya end up beggin’ for them yerself at any given point, ya have to admit that you’re weak to my fangs.”

Your eyes widen in shock.

“...Don’t seem so surprised. If ya really aren’t weak to them like ya claim to be, ya can easily endure as much, no?”

You ask him how long you have to endure it.

“The time limit? ...Geez, ya sure are cocky. Let’s see...How does one week sound to ya? If ya beg to have yer blood sucked within the time frame, it’s yer loss. If ya endure it, ya win.”

You agree with the rules.

“Heh. Ya think ya can manage for that long? In that case, let’s get this challenge started right away.”

*Rustle rustle*

“Pretty sure just bein’ honest and acknowledgin’ it would be the easy way out tho. You’ll only end up sufferin’ more if ya drag it out.”

*Rustle*

“After all...I’ll make sure to torment ya plenty, you’ll be cravin’ me so badly, it’ll make ya go crazy. ...I’ll start by plungin’ my fangs in this nape of yers and suckin’ yer blood.”

Yuma bites you.

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haahn...”

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haah...Heh. You’re already cryin’ out sweetly.”

*Rustle*

“I’m holdin’ back a lil’ more than usual, but seems like you’re already feelin’ good? However, this is child’s play to ya, isn’t it? Then get yerself together. ...Heh. This is only the very beginnin’. I told ya, didn’t I? That I’d toy with ya to my heart’s content. ...That bein’ said, bite marks really look great on ya.”

He runs his fingertips across.

“Hm? Does it hurt when I touch them? But bein’ stimulated that way makes ya ache as well, doesn’t it?”

You shake your head.

“Don’t think ya can deny it. Even if ya do, yer body tells me you’re enjoyin’ it. Mmh...”

*Smooch*

You flinch.

“...See? You’re enjoyin’ this after all, aren’t ya? ...Ah, speakin’ of which...Ya liked this too, didn’t ya?”

*Smooch*

“Hehehe...You’re givin’ me some pretty interestin’ reactions. I’ve turned you into quite the slut if ya get excited just from havin’ yer ear kissed.”

*Rustle*

“In the end...Yer body is no match for the pleasure. Say...Ya want more, don’t ya? Then just say so. ...It’s easy, isn’t it?”

You refuse.

“You’re a stubborn one, huh? Then...How ‘bout this?”

*Smooch*

“...Heh. How’s that? Yer whole body should be tinglin’ all over just from a few bites here and there.”

¨Rustle rustle*

“Hehe. Judgin’ by the look on yer face, you’re really feelin’ it. Seems like ya can’t give a proper reply either. If I were to suck ya one more time, you’ll...”

*Cling*

“...Haah!? The fuck...? Whatcha gonna do with the hourglass?”

You tilt the hourglass to the side.

“...Ah! You! Don’t tell me...!”

*Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock - Tick tock*

“...Uwaah!?”

ーーー

“...Ah!? ...What happened just now...!?”

Yuma looks around.

“Wha...!? Ya used the hourglass just now, didn’t ya!? So...Time has rewinded!?”

You blink in confusion.

“Why does the person who used it look so damn puzzled!? This feeling...We’ve definitely gone back in time! ...Ugh. Yer clothes don’t look disheveled anymore, nor do ya have any bite marks. Which means...We’ve really rewinded to before I sucked yer blood...”

You grin.

“Fuck...Ya brought us back right as things were gettin’ good too! Ughー! I was literally one hair away from pushin’ ya over the edge! ...Hm? Actually...Was that yer goal? Did ya use the hourglass ‘cause ya knew ya were ‘bout to lose our bet?”

You admit it.

“Tsk. Look at ya bein’ all sly. I didn’t expect ya to pull that sorta trick. I shouldn’t have thoughtlessly handed it to ya. Well, whatever. Let’s start over from zero. I’ll suck ya relentlessly this time, so ya won’t even have the time to think ‘bout usin’ that lil’ hourglass of yers...”

*Rustle*

“Now I won’t stop even if ya beg me to.”

You quickly make a run for it.

“...Ah!? Oi...! Where are ya goin’...!? Don’t ya dare think ya can get away! Hold it...!!”

Yuma chases after you.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) 世話好き or ‘sewa-zuki’ is used to refer to someone who finds enjoyment in helping others out, or looking after them.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yuma mukami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers more more blood #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

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jamestrmtx · 4 years ago

Text

Fairytale Complex - [Undertale | Sans x Reader]

[Gender Neutral, Frisk's Parent Reader | Slow Burn]

Chapter Ten | Dating Fight! (Part 2 of 2)

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

With yesterday's uniform already washed and dried along with you wearing your spare set to avoid wearing the same one today, you're ready to go off to work the second you're out of Toriel's home. No detour to yours is needed, though you stop to say your thanks and farewells, and instruct Frisk on how they should behave while you're gone. "Wait for me, alright?" you say, smiling at them. "I have to work overtime today, but I'll be right back before nine." You place a hand on their head and play with their hair before pressing a quick kiss to their cheek.

"Does this mean Toriel's going to be my new babysitter from now on?" they sign, a hopeful light in their eyes.

"...Yes." You relent, not wanting to be late. "For the time being, at least."

Even with that addition by the end, their joy doesn't fade away, something they show through a grin and a wave. "Take care, (mom/dad)!"

You wave back at them, left with a lingering warmth in your chest at the sound of their voice again, so loud and free despite who they're with and how many people they're around. The only chances you'd gotten to hear their voice be so confident and strong were when Jerry used to visit, whenever they wanted to say they loved you, and -- most recently -- whenever they were left under Toriel's care, though you soon dismiss those thoughts to focus more on making it to work. You check the time on your phone to see there's still around three hours left: one for running errands, half to grab a quick bite to eat, one to make it on-time to work, and the other half left to meet up with your boss and excuse yourself over yesterday's missed meeting.

When you see Undyne's legs emerging from under your minivan, you subtract the hour for running errands, only expecting the worst scenario from how much rain had fallen yesterday.

"Is something wrong?" you ask, clutching your ring and toying with it for support.

The fish woman slides out from under it, arms and hands smudged with oil and dirt. She doesn't seem to mind though, and grins up at you instead. "The battery and some other stuff got damaged in the rain, but it's nothing my girlfriend and I can't fix!" You offer a hand out to the woman, though she declines and stands up on her own, commenting about not dirtying your outfit now that you were going off to work. "We've got a motorcycle in the garage, so if you know how to ride one, then feel free to use it." She looks over to the minivan as a hint of smugness slips on her face. "If you don't, Sans can give you a ride." She jabs your waist with her cleanest elbow, what you assume is a wink directed at you, albeit difficult to tell with only one eye. "How about it, (L/N)?"

Don't look at a gift horse in the mouth.

That's the only thought you can come up with as she offers you a solution. The jab she'd given you confirms your suspicions as to what she believed was going on between you and Sans; regardless, you don't say anything about that and nod. Best to go with the flow of things for now, tardiness unwanted. "Well… Thank you, miss," you speak up, words almost forced out. The thought of being at such a close level with the skeleton again makes your temples ache, and while you could use the excuse of taking the next bus as an easy escape, you're not sure whether to risk it and give into the woman's offer as a result. "Is he… around?"

"He's at the garage," she replies, sliding back under the vehicle. Her voice sounds muffled when she continues, the melody of tools and metal clanking heard as she keeps on with her work. "Think you could tell him Papyrus doesn't need a lift anymore? I got a call from him earlier saying the car's back in shape."

You bite your lip, frowning after. "Did he say how much the repairs cost?"

"His insurance covered up for him this time. A lot of cars have been getting damaged under this weather, so it really isn't a surprise for companies to receive those calls anymore."

"Still," you persist, sighing. "If there's any way I can help, then please let me know." You rummage through your belongings, retrieving a twenty, a ten, and three fives from your wallet. "I, um... don't really have enough cash on me right now, but I can pay you more formally when I'm back."

Undyne slides back to you, forehead creased, eye narrowed, and lips frowning. "I'm not asking you to pay," she says. "I like getting my hands on stuff like this, so it's no big deal."

You crouch down next to her and slide the money into her jeans' front pocket. "It still feels bad not to." Standing up, you dust your uniform off and check the time marked on your phone again, reminding yourself not to make any further delays.

"Hey!" She calls out for you when you leave without any other words or wait. To counter, you rush off to the garage, both as an escape and a necessity. "I'll get you next time. You're lucky I'm laying down right now!"

Her words fade as you approach your next destination, being greeted with a helmet the second you're in. A motorcycle stands in front of you, engine rumbling as the driver holds it back, his face kept hidden under another helmet. "C'mon," the monster says, his expression unknown to you, and voice similar by how quick those words are muttered. "I already know you're late, so I ain't gonna push any buttons." You see his head lower, and a comment follows after that, "Suggest ya hold on tight with what you're wearin'."

You face down at yourself, seeing both dress pants and shoes -- typical of your work uniform. While it's nothing out of the ordinary, it makes sense as to how it can be hazardous wearing both pieces while riding a motorcycle, their material far less practical for something like this. Taking the monster's words into account, you nod and sit behind him, hands awkwardly slipping around his waist. "...May I?"

"Not may," he says, a chuckle leaving him. "You should."

Words acknowledged, you press yourself closer against the skeleton, arms locking tight around his waist and chest brushing with his back. Your hands can be felt growing sweaty, reminding you to be cautious despite the well-intentioned meaning of the ride being offered to you. "I'm… I'm ready." You can hear your voice shake, though you hope that he hasn't; the engine helps drown out part of it, fortunately.

When Sans steps on the gas, your words fall short and you grab him tighter than before, the loud and sudden roar of the vehicle sending out fear inside you.

"You're not," he remarks, holding back a laugh. "Just grab on tighter if you're scared. I won't bite."

You do as suggested, ignoring the humour in his tone as you close your eyes shut and squeeze him tight enough to cut his laughter.

"Ready now?"

"Y- Yes."

He charges right off, wind stinging your arms with how fast it blows. While fear clings onto one side of you, adrenaline takes hold of the other, allowing you to open an eye and peak at the scenery before you. The monster zooms past all sorts of sights and sounds, from birds foraging through trees to other engines rumbling. It's an exhilarating feeling at its least, and an overwhelming one at its most.

He stops at a red light and spares a glance at you through the mirror only to chuckle again, more amused than the last. "The more I know you, the more (mom/dad)-like you act," he says, prepping the motorcycle again.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You drive a minivan, wore those long pajamas Tori gave you to sleep without any problem, and now you're scared of speed n' danger." The light changes back to green, muffling out part of his voice as he drives off again. "What's next? Do ya work as a teacher, in an office, or under the medical field? Those're usually the top three, though I'm guessin' it's somewhere along the first two -- based on your uniform."

You don't want to give him an answer, reluctant to let him know he'd been right. "...I'm a secretary," you reply, facing down at his waist.

He laughs, hard and deep. The sound alone makes you ease in, how earnest it is making you break into a smile yourself.

"Called it."

• • •

You're a mess by the time you make it to your first stop, pants wrinkled, shoes dusty, foundation smudged, and body still shaken up by the ride. Sans waits until you're done fixing yourself out, though as expected, he makes a comment along the lines of how you didn't need to bother, since you still looked good -- all according to him, at least. You ignore those comments and face him only when you're done freshening up, mind locked on what you're meant to do now that you've made it to a shopping center.

"Do you… really have the time?" you ask before getting off, noticing how early it still is and the fact he'd chosen to take you here rather than drive you off straight to work without any other stops. "You don't have to stay, if it's going to delay you in any way."

"It's fine," he replies, double-checking the vehicle's parked. "Wouldn't drive you here, otherwise. You also didn't wanna stay for breakfast, so I know you haven't eaten anything yet."

The hustle and bustle of everyone around you stops whenever they walk too close to where you're at.

Knowing your face has been thrown around all over social media these past few weeks, it's no surprise nor doubt that you've already got a reputation, be it more bad than good. The sight of you being right next to the monster involved with you in your bus incident is apparently a surreal one based on the looks people display, these varying mostly between shock, amusement, and caution -- sometimes all three at once. You step out of the motorcycle when the skeleton offers a hand out to you, further making those around you demonstrate their feelings over the scene unfolding before their eyes.

You don't bother giving them a minute of your time and rather keep your hold firm on Sans's hand, nodding your head subtly when he casts a look at you.

"Play along," you mouth, smiling at him. "Don't bother with this stuff," you whisper, close to his ear cavity. "The best we can do right now's prevent something like that bus incident from ever happening again." To avoid letting the situation receive another meaning from him, you hold his hand stronger, getting him to walk closer to your side again. "And thanks again for back then, by the way." You say those words only loud enough for only him to hear. Then, you move your gaze away from him to direct a sterner, unamused look at a passerby, this one having stayed looking at you for just a little too long.

You continue walking and ignoring stares until you arrive at the school supply closest by.

With Frisk being gone for almost two months during their time spent at the Underground, it's of no surprise plenty of things have changed at their school. One of these were the new materials required for the start of their second semester, mostly for physical education and the newest addition of a gardening class. Although you hadn't thought the skeleton would offer himself to help you get through your to-do list, you adapt and thank him. Truthfully, you expected him to simply drop you off at work and leave.

"Do you want to eat something first? You haven't had breakfast yet either, have you?" you ask, spotting a diner barely a block away. "There's still time, if you're really up for this. And Undyne already said Papyrus got his car fixed, so you don't need to go pick him up anymore."

"Askin' me out? Thought I was the one who owed ya dinner for last time."

Not wanting to satisfy his teasing any longer, you ignore his comment with a hum and search through your belongings. From there, you retrieve some brand-new ear plugs, these still in their packet. "Here," you say, handing them over to him. The monster's lucky you aren't too much of a morning person, and that he'd caught you in a good mood with the rush and the wind of the ride. Any different situation, and you would've come up with a quick retort to his comment. "I'm not sure if it'll work on your kind, but... Frisk uses them when they need to study or sleep when they're not sleepy. They get distracted easily, so I usually carry these with me, just in case."

It takes Sans a solid minute to react, though a grin shows when he takes the ear plugs from you. He looks them over once before saving them in his back pocket, and the outright cheeky look he gives you makes your senses grow alert again. For certain, there was no letting your guard down whenever he was near you from now on. "Thanks, pal," he says, winking. "You're a real dear underneath all that exterior -- All bark and no bite."

"Don't test me," you warn, scowling. "And don't call me dear."

"What about babe, then? Or do ya wanna be called (Mr./Mrs.) Serif already?"

You huff and hurry to the school supply, leaving him behind. "I'm fine with neither. Thank you." Your steps are haste, these only stopping when you open the door, keeping it that way for him to enter next. "But if anyone's last names are getting replaced here though, it's you who'd be named Comic Sans (L/N). I don't do replacing names, unless I get to keep mine."

"Assertive," he comments, whistling. "Nice."

Already feeling a headache coming through, you sigh and pay more attention to the list at hand, then head over to the store's arts and crafts section first.

"Do you need anything for you or your brother?" you ask him, keeping your eyes focused on the materials displayed. There's a bunch of items you figure could catch Papyrus's interest given by how much he liked spending time with Frisk, be it by playing with them or helping them with their homework. That thought makes you throw in a few items regardless of having not received an answer yet, endeared by the image of Frisk being happy over the surprise, and the taller skeleton as a follow-up. Not only did Toriel ensure to be a great babysitter, but Papyrus was attentive over Frisk's happiness and enjoyment just as much as he was over his elder brother's. "My treat."

You've almost forgotten who you're shopping with, thoughts having drifted away more than you were aware of, though it doesn't take long to be reminded of your company, his comment one that drags you right back to the present, too quickly for you to manage.

"You're already a treat all on your own, pal."

Pissed, you take the nearest, lightweight (and non-breakable) item to you and throw it at him. He catches it though, barely flinching or budging with how quick he reacts. Then, he looks at the item now held in his hand, diablerie flickering in his gaze. He shows you what you've thrown at him, further making you subtract another point off your comeback list and add it over to his wooing list.

"Being indirect now, huh?" he comments, holding a Valentine's Day scrapbooking kit, marked off as a discount item for how old the product is. "I like it."

Determined to fight back, you retort with, "Yeah. It's worn out and fifty-percent off, just like your poor excuses of what you call 'flirting' around with me."

Unfortunately, that only seems to make him smile more.

"Nice."

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#sans x reader #undertale x reader #lgbt #lgbt themes #gender neutral reader #male reader #female reader #mother reader #father reader #parent reader #chubby reader #long fic #romcom #adventure #mystery #platonic relationships #slow burn

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timelordthirteen · 4 years ago

Text

In All Things 26/?

Mr. Gold/BelleFrench, Explicit (eventually)

Summary: A Rumbelle arranged marriage AU.

Chapter Summary: An invitation, a decision, and touch of regret.

Notes: Oh my gosh this got so long and there’s so much dialogue and uuuugghhh. Sorry. It was necessary I guess. Also idiots got all cute with each other and *hands*

[AO3]

Gold stared at the crown in the center of the wax seal, his thumb running back and forth over the thick, raised edge.

He knew what it was, particularly given the extra embellishment on the outside of the paper, and any other year it would have swiftly been tossed into the fireplace and forgotten, but this year he found himself in a different situation. The seal cracked easily, a few bits crumbling to the desk as he unfolded the letter. Inside was a card made of a heavier parchment and embossed in one corner with the sigil of the royal family. Across the card, in an elaborate calligraphy style writing, were the words... Lord & Lady Gold

He sat back in his chair, momentarily startled by the titles written together, much as the near daily realization that he was married did. Setting the card aside, he scanned the letter, noting the usual pleasantries and flowery phrasing. It was the expected invitation to the royal court’s New Year’s ball, an extravagant one night event, surrounded by some of the most tedious and disingenuous people he’d ever met. Still, Lady Ella would be there, and he supposed there would be other acquaintances of Belle’s that she might like to see. But a solstice celebration at Thornhill was a far cry from the royal court. Accepting the invitation would mean being seen in the most public way possible, at one of the largest events in the kingdom.

Then there was the small matter of the dance.

He rubbed at his leg idly, remembering the tight ache from a few days ago. The dance he’d shared with Belle had taken up residence in a corner of his mind, rather persistently. It kept coming to the forefront in the late hours, and he couldn’t sort out how he felt about it to put it to rest. There was a moment at the end, after he’d spun her around one last time, delighting in her bright smile, where they had been very close, and he could admit that for that brief instant he’d been almost spellbound. The thought of kissing her sprang to mind, shocking him, and had then been swiftly dismissed.

It was absurd for him to even consider. A beautiful woman in close proximity would naturally raise such ideas, if one's guard was let down, and he was only human. But that was simply not the way things were with Belle. Their marriage was becoming a strong, capable partnership, one where they were working together for the prosperity of two estates and all those who depended upon them. Romance, lust, too much wine, whatever that brief instant had been had no place in that plan. Never mind that Belle would likely be aghast at what he’d been thinking. She trusted him, and he couldn’t risk doing anything to disrupt that, certainly not something so silly and fleeting.

“What’s wrong?” came Jefferson’s voice.

Gold sighed and set the invitation down on the far side of the desk before looking up at his friend. “That.”

Jefferson frowned and picked up the page, his eyes jumping back and forth, getting wider as he skimmed it. “Well...”

“Hmm.” He sat back in his chair and motioned for Jefferson to sit. “That was my thought, or lack thereof, exactly.”

“Are you going to accept?”

Jefferson handed the invitation back, and Gold folded it closed. “I have not decided, but I should probably speak with Belle before I do. The palace may have become a dangerous place for us now that we’ve disrupted George’s plan to take Avonlea.”

Jefferson smirked. “Yes, I think your wife’s opinion on the matter would be interesting.”

He gave Jefferson a flat look and shook his head. “She likely wouldn’t want to go, and I can’t say I blame her.”

“Nor I,” Jefferson agreed. “There’s also the small matter of politics when one is at court. It’s a game I don’t imagine Belle would want to play.”

“Very true.” Then Gold sighed. “So, to what do I owe this visit from you in the middle of the afternoon?”

Jefferson suddenly looked deadly serious and sat forward in his chair. His voice was low as he spoke, as though he was afraid of being overheard. “On the heels of your little coup at Avonlea, I’m told that the King is attempting to subvert your victory by getting the council to take it away again.”

He made a face and then frowned. “Is it reliable?”

Jefferson nodded. “I believe so. Everything else I’ve received from this source has been, and they are very well placed with the royal court.”

Gold leaned his elbows on the desk as his eyes fixed on the invitation card for the New Year’s ball. “Belle will be the named heir to Avonlea now. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“But the King does not know that yet,” Jefferson said. “As far as he understands, the estate is yours by rights. Maurice signed it over, those were the papers were sent to the palace.”

He met Jefferson’s gaze and huffed. “That may be true, but the council would have to believe that it was done under some sort of false pretense, that Maurice was coerced or otherwise not in his right mind.”

Jefferson’s look was pointed. “Do you really believe it will be that hard for the King to convince them to agree with his proposal? Enough of them dislike you sufficiently to believe you are capable of willful deceit as it pertains to Maurice and Avonlea, whether or not it’s actually true.”

Gold scowled and made a begrudged, grumbling reply. He knew Jefferson was right. A number of the other nobles thought little of him, whether because of his past, or because of how he had helped George ascend to the throne. They were forced to treat him as an equal, though they clearly despised it, which he always used as a source of amusement. That the same derision with which they regarded him was now directed at Belle pained him, and further reinforced that he was nothing but a bastard for trapping her in a marriage.

“You’re right,” he said finally, nodding to Jefferson and sighing. “He would need Belle to support his petition to the council, and to support the claim that Maurice was forced to give up his land.”

“He probably believes she would if he promises to give Avonlea over to her heir.”

The words nearly startled Gold. Of course the King would make that sort of stipulation, it was the only way to ensure the misery of everyone involved, and the result that he desired which was Avonlea under royal control. Gold abruptly pushed to his feet, his fist thumping hard on the desk before he turned and stalked to the window. The cool draft off the glass was a welcome sensation on his face, and he knew it must be furiously red as dhis heart rate increased along with his anger. There would be no heir, and Belle would be forced to watch her home be given to whatever lord or lady prostrated themselves the most.

Jefferson came to stand beside him, his hands folded behind his back. “What do you want to do?”

“What I want to do, and what I should do, are very different things,” he said.

Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as he tried to calm himself. What he wanted to do was take George Spencer’s legs right out from under him with his cane, crown or no crown.

“Maybe...” Jefferson began, glancing sideways at Gold as he hesitated. “Maybe you should go to the ball.”

“What?” he snapped, turning to Jefferson. “You just agreed with me that it was a terrible idea to subject Belle to that viper’s pit, and now you’re suggesting I do exactly that?”

Jefferson smiled slightly. “Yes, I am, but what if - “

“Jefferson...”

“- what if...” he continued, ignoring Gold’s interruption, “you and Belle attended, and presented a very... united front? One that would imply the King would not have Belle’s approval for his proposal to the council.”

Gold looked out of the window at the snow heaped up over one of the planters as he pondered what Jefferson was suggesting. If the King got the impression that he and Belle were truly partners, that they were of one mind when it came to Avonlea, then it might be enough to thwart the entire effort for good. Without Belle to reinforce the assertion that Maurice was coerced into signing over his estate, the council could dislike him all they wanted, it would mean nothing.

“It could work,” he said finally. “Though it’s not without risk.”

“You would need to appear as aligned and together as possible,” Jefferson warned. “You know what the palace is like. Many eyes will be on you, both those you can see and those you can’t.”

Gold nodded. They would have to share meals, dances, everything including a room, the same as all the other couples. Everyone would be wondering about Belle, wanting to see how Lady Gold carried herself, and how they behaved together. It would be uncomfortable at best, and at worst she might return to Thornhill hating him. But Belle was strong willed and smart, and he believed she could do it, if she was willing.

Jefferson leaned to the side, bumping his shoulder against Gold’s. “You know it isn’t you I’m worried about, right?”

Gold glanced sideways at him. “I know. I will speak with Belle before dinner, let her decide how we proceed.”

Jefferson nodded, and left the room, leaving Gold alone to contemplate how to break the situation to his wife.

Belle sat tucked into the corner of the sofa in front of the fireplace of her library, several letters spread out on the cushion beside her.

Gold stopped in the half open doorway and knocked gently, a smile playing at his lips as he watched her. “May I come in?”

She looked up and grinned. “Of course. Come sit with me.”

“Heard from Desmond again?”

“Yes,” she sighed as she hurried to pick up and stack the papers she’d laid out.. “He wrote two days ago.”

Gold frowned and sat at the other end of the sofa. “Two days? Why did it take so long to arrive?”

Belle set the letters on the side table and then gave Gold a flat smile. “Apparently the road from Longbourne is nearly impassable with snow and ice.”

He made a face and shook his head. “Should have guessed. We’ve gotten quite a bit more since the solstice.”

“Apparently his son, Liam, took a hunting party out on Sunday, hoping for a deer or two,” she said, giving him a wry look. “But he lost his footing, slid down the side of the gulley, and nearly ended up in the river.”

“Good heavens,” Gold said with a light snort. “I presume he’s well?”

“He has a very hard head, he’ll be just fine.”

They laughed and then she added, “Unfortunately, they were only able to get two pheasants and a rabbit, and so the issues continue with supplies at Avonlea. It seems they can’t manage to find any good fortune of late.”

“Indeed,” he muttered. He let his gaze drift to the fire for a long moment as he pondered whether or not the news he brought and the question that came with it would help or hinder the situation.

Belle tilted her head and leaned forward, trying to catch Gold’s eye. He seemed preoccupied with something, and she hoped that he would tell her about it, whatever it was. “Cameron? Did you come find me because you couldn’t bear to wait until dinner to see me, or did you have something to ask?”

At the sound of his name he startled and then sighed. “Sorry. Yes, I have something to ask you, and no I could not bear to let it wait until dinner.”

She laughed again and shook her head, but then noticed he wasn’t smiling. “You seem...out of sorts? Are you well?”

Gold reached over and took her hand, giving it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. “I’m fine, I promise, but we have something to discuss that I thought was best kept between us.”

At that her expression turned serious, and she shifted closer, holding his hand with both of hers and resting their joined hands in her skirts. “What is it?”

“I’ve, uh, I’ve received an invitation,” he said, “from the King.”

Her body stiffened, and she knew he felt the change from the way he looked at her, the lines at his mouth betraying his concern. “I see.”

“It’s for the New Year’s ball, and in normal course I would politely decline, but given the circumstances I thought it might to our advantage to accept.”

Belle bit her lip and frowned as her thumb passed back and forth idly over his knuckles. “How so?’

“Jefferson received a letter this morning, from one of his sources in the palace,” Gold explained, lowering his voice as a precaution.

Even talking about their potential ruse within his own house made him uneasy. If Jefferson had spies within the palace, who was to say that the King hadn’t done the same in return? All of the staff, save Astrid, had been there for years, and were well vetted beforehand, but now that the thought was in his head, he couldn’t ignore the possibility.

“It seems,” he continued, watching Belle’s face as he spoke, “the King may be continuing his attempts to take over Avonlea. Word is that he is going to petition the Royal Council to grant him temporary control, on the assertion that your father was coerced into signing the contract with me.”

She blinked and her fingers stilled. “What?”

Gold swallowed and put his other hand over hers. “The King would need your support to have a chance of succeeding, which right now he believes he would have if he promised to turn over Avonlea to you, or your heir. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but there are enough on the council who dislike me, that they would happily go along with it, whether they believed your father was being taken advantage of or not.”

Belle blinked, her mind only registering that the torment which she had thought they’d laid to rest was back, full force. Immediately, she sprang to her feet, anger propelling her from her seat with her fists clenched at her sides. She could feel a heat creep up her neck and a fierce pounding in her chest that made her stalk towards the windows for relief. The cool air drifted over her skin, and though it did little to assuage her ire, it did make her feel a touch better. She breathed in and out and closed her eyes, until she felt a presence at her side.

“Belle?” came Gold’s soft voice.

“I’m fine.”

His hand touched the middle of her back with a gentle pressure. “No, you’re not not.”

She gave him a tired glance. “Sorry, I’m - I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

She shook her head as her throat tightened. Many times she wished to be alone when she was like this, but right now she felt in great need of his company. “No, no, please don’t. I - I just need a moment.”

He waited patiently for her to collect herself, his hand began to move up and down, a soothing sensation against her back. Finally, she blew out a breath and turned towards him, standing no more than the length of their shoes apart.

“I’m sorry.”

Gold winced and caught her chin when she looked down, drawing her gaze back up. “None of that now.”

Belle closed her eyes. Her head felt heavy, and there was a disconcerting tension in her temples that felt like a belt cinched too tight. She knew it was her nerves getting the better of her, but that didn’t mean she could stop them from doing so. Cameron was calm and solid as he stood in front of her, as though nothing could move him from this spot except her word, and she gave in and let herself fall against him. Her forehead rested on the soft linen of his shirt as her fingertips brushed the paisley patterned stitching of his waistcoat. His arms came up around her, hands near her shoulders, holding her without crushing her to him, and after a long moment, she exhaled.

“Is there ever going to be an end to this?”

The words were muffled, but he could hear them clear enough and sighed. He wanted to tell her that it would, more than anything, that he would do whatever it took to achieve that peace for her, and, abruptly, he became aware that he would if she asked it of him. There were things he knew, things he could do that would upend the entire kingdom, and if that was what was needed, if this latest plan did not set the matter to rest for good, he would do it. Yet, he knew Belle would never ask for such a thing, not if she knew the chaos that would result. She was too good, and would see her own happiness lost before letting it come to that. It made his chest ache to

“I can’t answer that for certain, but I think if we were to attend the ball, we might be able to put it to rest, yes.”

She sniffed and looked up, surprised to see his face merely a breath from hers. His eyes were warm, his expression comforting, and the simple presence of his arms bolstered her. If they faced the King and the royal court together, it would send an unmistakable message. She could do this; they could do this. Suddenly, she was very glad she had married Cameron Gold, and her lips curved in spite of all her anxiety.

“Then we should go.”

His eyebrow quirked. “You don’t want to hear my reasoning?”

She nodded and stepped back, the chill of the window making her immediately miss the warmth of being near him. “I do, but I also trust you. I imagine that if we go, and make every effort to present ourselves as being truly united, then the King would know that no matter what he offered me, I would never agree to it.”

Gold’s mouth curved slowly as she spoke, marveling silently at how she had arrived at the same idea as Jefferson.

“What?” she asked as soon as she noticed him smiling.

He shook his head slowly. “You are brilliant, do you know that?”

She made a face and then let out a short laugh. “Well, I do try.”

“You know it won’t be easy,” he warned. “There will be all sorts of people there, friend and foe. The whispers and rumors, the politics...”

“I know.” She blew out a breath and nodded again, feeling strangely calm now that she had let herself think about things rather than just being angry and upset. “I’m not afraid of them.”

“Even Milton and Sir Gaston?”

Belle reached out and took hold of his hands. The mention of their names set her nerves on edge, but she could tell that it had less of an effect than even a week or two ago. She owed some of that to Cameron, and trusted that if he was by her side, then she could weather seeing a few unfriendly faces at a ball.

She lifted their hands out to either side and stepped closer. “I’m not going to let them deter me from having another chance to dance with my husband.”

His lips twitched, and he freed one of his hands to rest it at her back, lifting the other to the side as she came to stand toe to toe with him. They took a few small, circling steps together in the space between the windows and the end of the sofa, less wide and graceful than their previous dance together, but drawing smiles from both of them all the same. Once again, he surprised her with a brief spin, and her soft laugh settled his mind on the matter. They would attend the ball and leave no doubts as to where their alliances lay - with each other, and no one else.

Belle twirled back towards him, coming to rest with her hand on his chest, and immediately pushed up on her toes to press her lips to his cheek. When she dropped back, she was smiling, and he was gratified to see she had recovered from her earlier distress. Her faith in him seemed to be unwavering now, and he hoped that when all this was done it would remain so.

“So, we agree?” he asked, letting her pull away from their impromptu dance.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “We accept, and we put this nonsense to rest once and for all.”

“Then I shall reply immediately.” He gave her a brief bow, pleased at the way she rolled her eyes at him, but still smiled in spite of herself, and left her to finish reading her letters.

It was late, and Gold knew he should follow Jefferson and Belle’s examples and go to bed, but he had told Belle that he would reply to the King’s invitation and he was committed to doing so before the end of the day.

Unfortunately, the day had ended some hours ago, but before dinner there had been a frustrating matter with one of his tenants losing two horses that required a quick, coordinated search party to recover the animals. After dinner, the lure of cards with Belle and Jefferson was far greater than penning a perfunctory letter, but he was finished now and that was what mattered. He scrawled his signature at the bottom, and then scanned the page to ensure it had all of the required fluff and politeness.

He pushed to his feet, waving the paper idly to dry the ink, and crossed to a small table set in the corner between the bookcase and the window, tucked away where few would notice it. On it was an ornately carved box with a lock on the front, and he set the paper down next to it before reaching up to a shelf just over his head. He pulled out a book bound with green dyed leather and held it aside as he felt around on the small space its absence made on the shelf until he found what he was looking for.

The key was old and tarnished to an oily black, as was the lock it fit in, and he held his breath until it clicked open. It was a habit from so many years ago, and even now a faint smile graced his lips as he remembered the sly smile on his aunt’s face every time she pulled the box out from under her bed.

Gold opened the box and set the invitation card to the ball inside, pausing to stare at the small stack of papers inside. He swallowed hard and reached in, his fingertips lifting the card out of the way to reveal a letter, folded closed with the addressee and direction visible. His jaw clenched as he read the name for the hundredth time, penned elegantly above the broken wax seal of the royal house.

Lord Maurice Faure, Avonlea

Shaking his head, he pulled it out and then lifted up the rest of the papers inside the box to slip it back in at the very bottom. The invitation card went back on top, and he closed the lid of the box hard, exhaling heavily as he finally clicked the lock back in place. He quickly replaced the key on the shelf, followed by the book, and walked over to his chair by the fire. He lifted the glass of brandy he’d poured earlier and downed the rest of it one gulp, closing his eyes as it warmed its way down his throat.

He gave the fire a long look, and then his gaze shifted to the locked box across the room, wondering not for the first time if he shouldn’t burn the whole damn thing. Instead, he sighed and replaced the grate over the fireplace before heading off to bed.

#rumbelle #rumbelle fic #belle x mr. gold #arranged marriage au #my rumbelle fic #fic #in all things

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tr-ashbin · 4 years ago

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𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 » 𝒌𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒐 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

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𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕟𝕖

[ 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕧 | 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 ]

masterlist

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𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 : online crushes, online friendships, online flirting, ash putting so much detail into them playing minecraft

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it was 2:45pm, kuroo had logged onto discord and raced to his dm’s, looking for your username.

hey, hey, u on?, he texts, leaning back on his chair and spinning, eagerly waiting for your response.

hello, tetsurou! :), you replied. quite quicker than expected. kuroo almost fell off his chair upon seeing your message. his fingers tapping along the keyboard rapidly.

that was fast :0 can we call? he asked, cursor circling the call button as he stares at the “typing ...” message at the bottom of the screen.

sure, why not, and he instantly clicked call.

as usual, your camera was turned off the moment you joined the voice call, while kuroo’s was on, revealing him with his headphones flattening his messy bed head and black t shirt.

he was spinning on his chair, smiling.

“you seem to be in a good mood today, tetsu.” you laughed at the sight displayed on your screen.

“of course i am, you’ll never believe what day it is today!” he placed his arm on his desk, leaning his face onto the palm of his hand while his elbow held it up for support.

you knew what he was talking about, though.

“hmm.. i don’t know, what is today?” you smiled, he could hear it through the screen, somehow.

brushing past that, he went along and said “it’s been a year, y/n! a year since we’ve met.”

“oh, how could i forget?” you both laughed. you both cherished the time you two spend talking to eachother, it was almost like you could feel eachother’s warmth through the screen.

kuroo was still smiling, smiling at you.

more specifically, your profile picture that was displayed on his monitor.

you didn’t expect what he said next.

“we should meet up.” he proposed, and you paused, at a loss for words.

it took you a bit to respond.

“..huh? w.. what did you say? sorry, you lagged a little there.” you said, hoping he wouldn’t notice how you were shaken up a little. it was kuroo, though. he could read you through the screen.

“you’re such a bad liar.. you better be happy i never ratted you out whenever you played impostor.” he laughed, “seriously though, we should meet up.”

“why? don’t we live far from eachother?” you said, hoping he’d agree and dismiss the thought.

“well, yeah. but my break is coming soon, i have my midterms this week and then a whole month off. i’d have enough time to go to you and back.”

how could you expect so much, he’s persistent. he always has been.

“but what if—”

“what if you’re not what i expected?”

you gulped. of course, he knew what you’d say.

“well, you know what i look like. that’s not a problem for you.” he leaned back onto his chair, spinning. “i may not know what you look like, y/n, but i do know what you sound like. you don’t sound like a 40 year old man, that’s for sure.”

you chuckled, he was right.

“you don’t have to worry about how you look, you’re—”

both of you suddenly got pinged, by kenma.

hey guys, server’s open. it said, you two hadn’t noticed. it was 3pm, the time kenma gets on discord and boots up his minecraft server.

of course, it wasn’t only kenma who was on there. they had bokuto and akaashi, too. though not as enthusiastic about minecraft compared to you and kuroo, got on anyways because they would never miss out an opportunity to play with you.

“ahaha, what a shame!~ guess we’ll have to get on the server now..!” you quickly rushed a goodbye to kuroo, before he could finish what he had to say.

“wait, y/n—” and before he knew it, the sound of you disconnecting from the call went, and he followed along.

to kenma’s discord server, where you were already in a voice call with kenma, bokuto and akaashi.

he reluctantly went in.

“HEY HEY HEYY! KUROO!!” bokuto greeted him with much energy, so much energy that his voice was bass boosted through the speaker.

“jesus christ.. don’t shout at your mic, bokuto..” kenma grumbled as he was trying to focus on the game. bokuto muttered a sorry right after.

“hey, guys. y/n.”

“hello.”

kuroo had logged into the game not long after, spawning in his quartz mansion, fully redstone activated.

“hey, tetsurou, have you seen the gift i left in there?”

kuroo squinted his eyes at the screen.

“not yet, the chunks are still— oh, there we go.”

once he had fully loaded in, stood a sign before him.

happy one year of being friends :), said the sign, and behind it was y/n’s block avatar.

“wait, that’s not your usual skin, isn’t it?”

“i made it myself! it’s a blocky version of me.” they said, and he laughed.

looking at their skin and going around to get a nice view.

“don’t stare, dumbass. maybe you’re the 40 year old creep between the two of us.”

“bro, what was the gift? they kept talking about it but never told us what it was.” bokuto asked, immediately cussing right after almost being blown up by a creeper.

“oh, just a sign. it said ‘happy one year of being friends’ with a smiley face. kinda cute.” kuroo said. you didn’t think much of it, it was a daily occurrence to you two.

you playfully hit kuroo in-game, he pulled out his sword and you retreated knowing that you hadn’t brought any of your gear with you.

“that’s what i thought.” you both laughed.

“please tell me they’re not flirting again..” akaashi finally spoke, making you two laughing even harder.

“nah, we’re just friends.” you replied, in between giggles.

“if you say so, babe.” kuroo said, in a jokingly flirty manner.

“just friends, they say.” kenma mocked.

“that’s what they always say.” bokuto groaned, as you two laughed some more and went back to playing.

definitely just friends.

—————————

taglist: @potataisnotnoice @tetsufairy didnt let me tag the one in bold for some reason sorry 😩‼

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ncisladaily · 4 years ago

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Renée Felice Smith was only six years old when she knew that she wanted to be an actress and storyteller, but people tried to dissuade her from her chosen career path, telling her it was an impossible goal. Luckily, Smith’s parents weren’t among the naysayers, and today she’s living her dream, starring as Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones on NCIS: Los Angeles (Sundays, 9 p.m., CBS) and co-authoring her first children’s book Hugo and the Impossible Thing with her creative partner Chris Gabriel.

So, when her French Bulldog Hugo was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Smith once again ignored the doubters and found the best vet possible to give Hugo a shot at life rather than listen to those who told her it was “just truly impossible.”

“We just knew we had to try for our little guy, and we’re so glad we did because he was with us for another two beautiful years, just grinning, growling and running around the yard like the wild man that he always was,” Smith tells Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “So, we’re so glad we fought for him and advocated for him.”

When Hugo finally passed, Smith and Gabriel knew they had to tell his story to inspire others to conquer the seemingly impossible things in their life. So they wrote a story about a little dog named Hugo, who succeeded where others didn’t even try as a result of his bravery, curiosity, teamwork and persistence.

“The love is still here, and it needed someplace to go, so now we have the book and Hugo’s message that now we get to share with the world, which I’m just so grateful that it’s become real,” Smith adds.

Related: NCIS: Los Angeles‘ Daniela Ruah Speculates About Whether Kensi and Deeks Will Survive the Obstacles Ahead

This Sunday night, Smith will be back with some teamwork of her own when NCIS: Los Angeles returns with a new episode dealing with technology, which is something that Nell excels at. In the “Imposter Syndrome” episode, NCIS obtains a hard drive containing a realistic deep fake video of a deceased terrorist and must retrieve the dangerous technology behind it. However, when the team’s comms are hijacked during their mission, they find that one of their own has been a victim of its potential.

And, spoiler alert, Smith says that in the May 23 Season 12 finale, Nell will finally be reunited with Hetty (Linda Hunt)! But how that will play out remains to be seen.

“Linda was essentially sidelined by the pandemic, but, very exciting, I do share a scene with her in our season finale and it’s one of the most memorable scenes of my time on NCIS: LA, so I’m very grateful to have her back as my scene partner,” Smith says.

For more of what Smith had to say about her real-life Hugo and Hugo and the Impossible Thing, as well as more NCIS: Los Angeles scoop, read on.

With your background, a movie seems a more natural project than a book about Hugo. How did it turn into a book?

Chris, my other half, and I are lovers of all types of books. We grew up with children’s books and some of the most impactful stories and lessons we feel that we’ve learned in our lives we learned in the pages of those books, so we really wanted to create this modern classic, a book that kids, or quite frankly, anyone nowadays could really benefit from.

Especially right now, we’re all dealing with our own version of the impossible thing, and we’re trying to find our way to the other side. What better way to inspire you and yours to go out and conquer whatever your impossible thing is than through a storybook following this spirited French Bulldog through the forest, kind of this yellow brick road, Wizard of Oz structure? He meets up with his forest friends and they end up helping him through the impossible thing. It’s really a story about bravery, curiosity, teamwork and persistence. We wanted to encourage that in our readers, both young and young at heart.

Tell us about Hugo and his battle with his brain tumor.

Hugo was diagnosed with a brain tumor and we were truly beside ourselves. It was an out-of-body experience. He was a feisty, curious, wild man who was quite literally sidelined by this potentially terminal disease, and we just knew that we didn’t want to give up on him, and he wasn’t giving up on himself. Every step of the way, we would say out loud, “Hugo, just let us know, buddy, do you want to keep going?” And he met us with this enthusiasm for the process every step of the way. And that is truly why we kept going.

Did Hugo instill in you the belief that the impossible might be possible? Or did you already have that?

That’s interesting. I think the process really showed us that if you ask the questions, oftentimes the people who ask the questions are the people who find the answers, and this process really reiterated that. He inspired us to advocate for him, because animals are helpless on their own, but we could do something about it. We could ask the questions; we could be his voice. I’m just so thankful that he was always this bright light that had this insatiable curiosity for life. He definitely imbued that in me, and I know he imbued that in Chris. He did inspire us to help him conquer his impossible thing. If he didn’t have the fight in him, if he wasn’t such a spirited dog, I don’t know if that would’ve happened, but he was singular in a way. I reference him as my canine son, because he was. He was my baby.

On NCIS: Los Angeles, Nell is torn these days. She feels Hetty tricked her into taking the job when she said she didn’t want it, but she has the support of her team and also Kilbride. So how do you think she’s feeling these days?

She really is at a crossroads in her life. I think a lot of young women find themselves at this point, where they are very good at their job, but is it the job that they always saw themselves in? Is it the job they saw their future selves thriving in? I think for Nell, she’s really questioning whether she wants this to be her story, and in the process, she’s really finding her voice this season. There’s a scene with Sam Hanna, LL Cool J‘s character, that recently aired, where she spells out her frustrations in her position as de facto operations manager and how she’s struggling to keep the plates spinning. And she tells him that he needs to get on her team. It was a really stern moment for Nell.

I don’t think we’ve really ever seen that. Actually, LL Cool J and I were talking about what a different flavor this scene is bringing to the show because Nell usually is quick with a quip, but she doesn’t often drop the hammer in this way. And this season, we really do get to see Nell drop this hammer, stand in her power, and let people know that she needs help and she’s questioning this process.

I think that’s the side of being the operations manager that we didn’t really get to see very much with Hetty because she had everything under control. So, it’s kind of fun and new to see the person, who may be greener in the position, find her way in this new position of leadership.

How much has COVID affected what we’re seeing this season? Is that why we don’t see more of Linda Hunt, to keep her safe? And I noticed there are fewer people in scenes, especially in ops.

You’re absolutely right. Our show did an incredible job managing the crisis that was the pandemic and continues to be the pandemic. We are tested five days a week. Our crew was incredible in keeping everyone safe. The was goal to keep everyone safe, and we were, in turn, able to create 18 episodes of television, which is incredible.

You were just picked up for your 13th season, so it isn’t over yet, but when you look back, what will you take away from it?

Oh, my goodness. We’re a family, you know, but it’s been a mini-film school for me as well. My time at NCIS: LA has been educational. I just pinch myself how lucky I am that I was able to quite frankly lock onto a job like this for so long. In our industry, stability as an actor is not something you often experience. So, to have this group of people who I’ve grown to love and really consider extensions of my family, I’m just so grateful for the time. I feel like I’ve been a student. I feel like I went to school all over again for 10 years.

With Linda being this master in her craft, I can’t even quantify what I learned from her and most of it happens when we’re waiting to do our scene. It’s in those moments that I hear the stories from her childhood and the stories from early in her career, just these nuggets of wisdom that I have now in my little carpet bag.

From your work outside NCIS: LA, it seems as if maybe long-term, you’re more interested in being behind the camera and writing, producing, directing.

It’s interesting, often as actors, we’re part of someone else’s story, we’re carrying out someone else’s vision, but I’ve always been a storyteller. As a kid, I would essentially write my own little plays and perform them in the yard and direct my friends and family, my sister, namely, in those plays. And for as long as I remember, I’ve always wanted to tell stories. So, yeah, that is where I see myself heading in the future.

You’ve said that you knew at age six that this is what you want to do. And you were lucky that your parents supported you.

Oh, 100 percent. I wouldn’t be standing here today if they hadn’t instilled confidence in me and in my creativity. They really created an environment that fostered out-of-the-box thinking, and I’m so grateful for that.

Which takes us full circle back to the impossible just might be possible.

It’s so true. If you’re curious enough and brave enough and you have the support, obviously, of your community, I think that’s the missing piece in a lot of these puzzles. It’s really the support because you can’t get there alone. No one can. The one-woman show does not exist. It’s an ensemble; it’s a production.

#s12 #Renee Felice Smith #Linda Hunt #ncis la #ncisla #NCIS Los Angeles

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rachelbethhines · 5 years ago

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Keeper of the Spire

You wouldn’t know it upon first watch, but today’s story is one of the few non-filler episodes of season two.

Summary: In order to acquire the third scroll piece, Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra and Lance travel to the home of the Keeper of the Spire and meet Calliope who informs them the third piece is kept inside the Spire’s vault at the top of the mountain. The group begins the long journey to the Spire's vault the following day and become increasingly annoyed by Calliope’s rude, arrogant and inconsiderate behavior. Despite Calliope's treatment, Rapunzel insists they still need her help all while they being dangerously pursued by the vault's protector, the Kurlock. The group eventually reach the Spire's vault, but again encounter the Kurlock and discover Calliope is not the real Keeper of the Spire.

Once Again, ‘Destiny’ Isn’t a Goal

If you want to build up some sort of mystery with the scroll pieces and what awaits Rapunzel at the end of her quest, then that’s fine. But at some point you have to actually explain what her destiny actually is, how the scroll connects to it, and most importantly, why she needs to fulfill it.

We’re never given a reason for why Rapunzel needs to reconnect to the moonstone, nor why she couldn’t have just stayed home and did nothing. The scroll itself doesn’t tell her anything and what it leads up to has nothing to do with ‘destiny’ and ultimately comes to nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Indeed, much like the quest itself, things would have been better for everyone had she not found the scroll at all.

Meet the Best Written Character In the Show

No, I’m not exaggerating. Calliope is the only recurring character in the series not to get royally screwed over by last minute rewrites and poor pacing. In fact her arc may have actually been improved by the dumb creative decisions of season three.

Which is a problem because she’s not a main character. Her story and arc shouldn’t be more well rounded than Rapunzel’s. It’s also clear, given how the writers try to pitt her as annoying thorn in the heroes sides that is only tolerated because she’s useful, that they weren’t expecting the general audience to identify with her, and so her subsequent portrayal as the most developed character in the show is fully accidental.

We Finally Get Some Indication of Cassandra’s Age

Well first off, we probably shouldn’t be getting such information about our deuteragonist this late in the game, but also, putting Cass in her early 20s recontextualizes her arc the same way Varian being 14 recontextualizes his conflict, but in the opposite direction. A 24 year old is more accountable for their actions than a 14 year old. Always will be.

And before people try to get all pedantic on me; yes she’s only 23 here, and Varian is currently 15. What I meant is those are their ages at the start of their villain arcs, because the linear progression of time is a thing.

This Joke Actually Highlights One of the Bigger Problems of Season Two

I laughed when I first heard this joke, but that’s cause I was under the assumption that they would go on to develop a friendship between Cass and Lance as the season went on. But they don’t.

Cass never has any focus episodes that aren’t about her failing relationship with Rapunzel. She never interacts with the other four people that she’s traveling with outside of group scenes like this. Not even with Eugene, who we spent the whole previous season establishing a bond with.

This undermines Cassandra’s arc in several ways. She less well rounded and developed without other people in her life besides Rapunzel; it ignores her place in the show as the older and wiser friend if she’s so majorly co-dependent upon only person. It also ignores what was set up in season one in order to push a certain narrative later that clashes with what we the audience already know.

Plus there’s the added effect of other characters getting poor representation within the story.

So Why Didn’t the Others Come Along Again?

I understand not being able to take the caravan upto the top of the mountain, but the road was wide enough to get it up this far. Also it didn’t take you all day to get here so you could just walk back to camp.

But let's get to the real reason why the caravan was left behind. The writers wanted and excuse to get rid of Hookfoot and Shorty. Because they didn’t want to write them into the story. Because they have nothing to do with the overall plot and together they’re one too many characters to keep up with and give stuff to do to. Which begs the question of why they were ever included into the season at all.

Also why leave Adria behind? She was the one who sent them up here. She’s the one who has a vested interest in getting Rapunzel to the end of her journey. She’s the only one driving the plot at the moment, so why not have her present to do just that?

Rapunzel is a Hypocrite

There’s not a single description that Rapunzel says here that couldn’t be applied to herself.

Which would be funny if the writers ever actually acknowledged this within the series.

Having parallels simply exist on their own and not actually inform the story is bad writing. Same with character flaws; acknowledge them, use them to advance both the plot and the characters, and build off of them to establish character dynamics. This is in part why Calliope is the better written character between the two of them.

Behold, the One and Only Time Lance and Rapunzel Hold a Conversation with One Another!

Speaking of characters not getting enough focus.... It’s just a set up for a recurring gag in the episode, but this is indeed the only point in the series where Lance and Rapunzel talk, about anything.

It’s not just Cass who is prevented from establishing relationships, it’s literally everyone. All of Rapunzel’s focus episodes alternate between Cassandra, Eugene, or a random side character. Cassandra only gets focus when with Rapunzel. Eugene only gets development with either Rapunzel or on his own. Lance is only ever shown interacting with Eugene or Adria, outside of some highly specific one off instances like here. Hookfoot is left out in the cold save for three episodes and two of them double as New Dream folder.

We’ve managed to pair the cast down to only six, as opposed to a whole kingdom’s worth of characters, and yet they have less development here than they did in season one. The group does not feel like a group, and that is a problem.

How is This Meant to be Encouraging?

Ok, I get what the writers were going for here. Calliope has low self esteem. she feels useless because she’s lost her only support group, her mentor. So Rapunzel is ‘inspiring’ her to fulfill her dream of becoming the new keeper of the spire.

However, this is an incredibly bad take.

Calliope lacks self esteem because she’s lonely. Her dream of becoming the keeper is directly tied to her father figure, who up till now was the only person who gave a damn about her. She only wants to impress Rapunzel because she wants a friend and she believes that she needs to be useful in order to get that. And here is Rapunzel and the narrative reinforcing that belief under the guise of ‘achieving a dream’.

No fuck that!

You don’t need to have a ‘purpose’ to have friends.You shouldn’t have to prove yourself useful just be respected and included. Also, Rapunzel doesn’t even befriend her. She just uses Calliope to get what she wants and then avoids her for the rest of the show; only checking up on her out of obligation in season three.

So not only are we denied another female friendship in a show bereft of female relationships, but we also have a character who can be easily read as autistic by the audience needing to prove she’s useful to society in order to be accepted.

Ugh!

And yeah, I said autistic. We have a character who fails to pick up on social cues, hyperfixates upon her special interests, is rejected by society for trying to share these special interests, and she even pulls out her magic linked rings to fiddle with when stressed, which can be coded as a stim. I’m not saying that this was the writers’ intent, but nevertheless these are traits that people on the autism spectrum tend to identify with.

So how insulting is it to watch this episode and see someone you could relate to being constantly put down by the heroes behind their back and then never apologize for it, even when said character admits their own fault?

So Are We Ever Going to Get Any Background on this Spire?

So the spire is one of the few places that is plot important in the show. Yet we never find out why it exists, who built it, how it came to hold such important plot devices, nor the story behind the keepers who guard it. It’s just there, and that’s infuriating because it’s both a lack of much needed worldbuilding and lore.

Still A Better Dad than Frederic

Leaving for months on end without telling you loved ones why and where you’re going is a shitty thing to do. Doubly so if its just to teach your kids ‘a lesson’. However, The Keeper still winds up being a better parental figure than most of the other dads (besides Cap, who is awesome) in the series. That’s how low the bar has been dropped by Chris and his weird ideas on parenting.

So What Was the Lesson Here?

Ok first off, Calliope didn’t need to be reminded of anything. The Keeper says as much. She was always persistent. The only lesson that she does learn is not to lie but apparently that’s not what we’re supposed to take from this episode.

But what are we supposed to take away? Because Rapunzel doesn’t learn anything either. There’s no admittance of wrongdoing on her part and she does not change her outlook or behavior from this encounter.

Calliope at least learns to become more self assured after this episode and remains honest and true to herself once the episode is done with. Rapunzel however is the same. You can’t claim that this is ‘Rapunzel’s story’ (Chris’s words not mine) if it’s only random side characters who are allowed to grow. Which is yet another reason why the main cast of characters don't get the development and interaction that they should.

That’s also why Calliope is better written than the main character and she shouldn’t be. It’s a bewilderingly oversight of basic writing.

Conclusion

I don’t mind this episode. As I said in the beginning, it is one of the few non-filler episodes in season two. However, there’s a lot of problems with it to the point where I can’t actually call it good, just mediocre.

#tangled #anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure

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malkumtend · 5 years ago

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I Like Your Laugh - Chapter 9.

“So?” Squirrelpaw began, horribly masking the exhaustion from her voice. “Is this what it’s always like in Windclan?”

Crowpaw turned, staring at the molly stonily. “Yes. But normally we haven’t been travelling for days on end.”

“Hmm.” Squirrelpaw was not impressed by his answer. “So, no advice on how to deal with this heat then?”

“No.”

The Thunderclan molly groaned, her head dipping down towards the ground again. It was getting too tiring to even hold her head up. It had been a while since they had left the forest bordering the Twolegplace, and they’d been traveling on the open country hills since Sunhigh. Now, it was getting close to moonrise. The blue sky had slowly changed into a burning orange, but the heat of the sun persisted, surely draining every inch of energy out of the group as they continued to walk in the direction of the glistening yellow orb.

Every cat was clearly beginning to tire. They could practically sense the pain in each other’s paws and feel the growing heat soaking in their fur. Each walked with low heads and tails, even Brambleclaw was starting to look like he was losing his breath, despite his evident desire to look strong at the lead of the group. Squirrelpaw almost found it admirable, despite his general attitude.

But it wasn’t like she could speak. Her mouth was dry and she found herself licking her chapped lips after every fox-length in order to keep a part of herself cool. Starclan, she was thirsty. But there would be no water on these hills; not even a single drop.

Brambleclaw’s ear had flickered at her and Crowpaw’s conversation and he looked back, eyes narrowed but too dry with fatigue to look remotely fearsome. “There’s no use complaining about it.” He said gloomily, “We just have to carry on until moonrise.”

“And then what?” Stormfur remarked, “Do we even have any idea how far away the sun-drown place is from here?” No cat needed to answer him. The grey warrior sighed, “I can’t even smell anything anymore, just the hills. It could be a moon before we even get there.”

Out of the tense silence that followed, Brambleclaw bared his teeth at the warrior.

“It won’t do you any good to say that!” The brown tom snapped; his head twisted away with a rugged groan. “There’s no way we can turn back now!”

Stormfur let out a soft breath, blinking sluggishly, “I wasn’t suggesting that.”

Brambleclaw scoffed gruffly, “I know you’re thinking about it.”

Stormfur didn’t respond. Of course he was thinking about it. Every cat, no matter how little they wanted to admit it, had thought about the defeat of giving up and turning back. None of them wanted to consider it, but after so much endless, aimless walking the heat and pain was slowly cracking at their resolve which was now as delicate as a freshly laid bird’s egg.

Squirrelpaw looked around at the group, apart from Brambleclaw, everyone looked ready to drop where they were in exhaustion. She felt a mixture of respect and irritation for her clanmate. She could understand how much he wanted to believe in Starclan and follow through on their quest, but he just couldn’t accept how drained the rest of them were. Squirrelpaw was not going to give up either, but she could see the hunger clouding the cats that would soon lead to further injuries if they weren’t careful.

Just behind her brother, Tawnypelt tried to sound supportive. “Brambleclaw, no cat wants to turn back. We’re just tired.”

“I’m tired too.” Brambleclaw said, turning to his sister hotly. “But we can’t afford to suspect the worst, or else it’ll be over for all of us.” His tone hollowed and he looked towards the sun again with a broken pattern of breaths.

The group could tell he was convincing himself more than them.

Squirrelpaw felt Crowpaw nudge her. She flushed absently. “Guess he’s starting to realise how hard it is being a leader.” The tom mewed softly.

“Mhmm.” Squirrelpaw murmured. It was becoming more and more obvious just how stressed Brambleclaw had become; it wasn’t just how quick to temper he was. His proud structure had sagged with his neck slanting like a dead branch. His steps had become small, sapping every time his paw hit the hot grass. The confidence he had shown in front of Purdy was gone, now he looked just as hopeless as cats he was trying to lead.

But he was still forcing himself to look strong, which made the weight of his movement so much heavier.

“Still, maybe we should stop to hunt at least.” Feathertail asked. The normally soft voice was jaded and dry. Squirrelpaw felt her stomach groan at the mention of hunting. No cat had eaten since that morning and they all smacked their lips at the thought of warm meat and blood.

“I think we should make some more ground before moonhigh.” Brambleclaw explained, frowning at the Riverclan cat.

Feathertail shrugged, “What’s the difference? We know which way we need to go and we’ve already said that we don’t know how far it will be before we even get close to the sun-drown place.”

Brambleclaw looked to his side, “Maybe, but-”

“The path there isn’t going away, Brambleclaw.” The cats all felt a prickle of surprise. Feathertail wasn’t the kind of cat to normally interrupt anyone. “But we all need to eat something soon. You must see that.”

Brambleclaw looked determined to argue further, then his mouth closed as he noticed the cat’s begin to mutter between themselves in agreement. His eyes narrowed, but his gaze dropped away. Squirrelpaw hoped that, outside of his pride, he was able to admit to himself that he was as starved as the rest of them.

She could hope. But he would never show it.

He huffed, but he kept his words calm. “Okay, yeah, you’re right.” He admitted with what could be assumed as self-righteous graciousness. “We need our strength, I’m sorry Feathertail.” He seemed genuine but it was hard for Squirrelpaw to tell by how Brambleclaw’s tail waved crossly across the grass.

“You don’t have to apologise.” Feathertail mewed, either too tired or too kind to create an argument. Brambleclaw nodded, a sheepish look in his eyes.

“I suppose we should split up then?” Stormfur asked, already walking over to where his sister was, hope shining in his eyes. “Hunt for ourselves?”

Feathertail smiled at her brother but found herself looking over where Squirrelpaw and Crowpaw stood. Squirrelpaw tittered, waving her white paw at the Warrior. “Go on! Me and Crowpaw will be fine.”

Wait…

Her and Crowpaw… alone. Had that thought always made her insides scurry like a dormouse?

She shook her pelt. It was just hunting with her friend, they’d done it before, it wasn’t any different this time.

Feathertail glanced up at Crowpaw, as if waiting for his confirmation. Maybe hoping that he wanted her to come along, Squirrelpaw wondered. She internally screamed at herself. Oh, Fox-Dung, so that had returned!

Crowpaw’s tail swung in thought, softly meeting Feathertail’s gaze and opening his mouth to say something. Then he glanced over at Stormfur’s stony expression and his mouth closed. He thought again. The apprentice smirked. “Yeah, go ahead. It wouldn’t hurt Stormfur to see how a Warrior can catch prey bigger than a kit’s claw.”

“Go chew on your tail, frog-brain!” Stormfur snapped, his fur prickling with fury. His head dropped when Feathertail giggled at the apprentice’s joke.

The Riverclan molly seemed to think it over a moment longer, then she smiled at her two friends and turned to her brother with a comforting purr. “Come on, Stormfur. Don’t lose your whiskers over that.”

The grey tom growled once more, but he soon calmed down as he followed his sister. “We’ll go over this way.”

“See you later!” Squirrelpaw called, watching as the white and grey pelts shrank in the grassland.

“You’ll be off with him then, I suppose.” A bitter voice hissed.

Squirrelpaw could feel Crowpaw’s fur rise even before she faced Brambleclaw. She’d really hoped she wouldn’t have to argue with him anymore today. The Tom’s frown was stiff and discomforting, amber eyes gawking sharply into her.

“Brambleclaw.” Tawnypelt warned, padding up to him cautiously.

“Is there a problem with that?” Squirrelpaw goaded, her tail curling as she challenged the tom’s stare.

Brambleclaw’s lip curled, “Oh no, of course not.” Brambleclaw gibed, looking away half-heartedly. One eye travelled to meet her, glowing inside an ominous slint. “It’s just good to see where your loyalties lie, that’s all.”

Squirrelpaw’s gaze iced.

‘Especially a loud mouthed one.’

‘She didn’t help herself, after all, shaking like a leaf.’

‘I don’t need to explain myself to you, you’re an apprentice.’

Anger tightened Squirrelpaw’s stomach. Despite everything he had said to her, she had tried her best to be nice to him. And he had rejected every kindness she’d offered.

Yet somehow, he found a way to blame her.

“What did you say?!” Crowpaw started forward, his face full of bloodlust. The apprentice’s claws unsheathed and Squirrelpaw could sense he was determined to rake his claws across the Warrior’s throat. As much as she wanted to see her clanmate pay for his words, it would do no good for Crowpaw to spill blood when he was clearly exhausted.

She stepped ahead of the apprentice, ushering him back with her tail. She could feel Crowpaw’s muscles tense, but he kept still. She stared on at her clanmate, as cold and bitter as saltwater. “You don’t have the right to say that to me.” She hissed, already beginning to turn away. She didn’t have to waste her time on him. She prodded Crowpaw with her tail, beckoning him to follow. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brambleclaw notice this with a hiss of hurt and disgust.

“I’m your clanmate and a Warrior; I think I do!” The tom snarled.

“And I told you before,” Squirrelpaw meowed tonelessly, “I’d treat you like that when you acted like it. Until then, I don’t give a mouse-tail what you think.” She gave him a passive glimpse. “Besides, we’re in the moors. Crowpaw will be more use here than you’ve ever been.”

Momentarily, Squirrelpaw questioned if she’d gone too far after a clear upset sting panged across her clanmate’s face. But the vicious snarl he created within seconds made her throw away that idea into the dirtplace.

Also, it did feel wonderful when she saw Crowpaw grin at her remark.

“Oh yes, you’ll make a fine warrior with that attitude! We’ll see how much those flowers mean when we get back!” Brambleclaw yowled after her. Squirrelpaw held her tongue, ignoring the Warrior. Though she could make out the frantic scolding of Tawnypelt as she sauntered away.

“You’re one to talk about attitude!” Crowpaw spat back heatedly, baring his fangs at the Warrior one last time before following Squirrelpaw. “Rabbit-brain.” He muttered under his breath.

“Don’t waste your breath.” Squirrelpaw advised, though her tail curled in appreciation at how quick Crowpaw was to defend her. “With this sun, you’ll need it for hunting.”

The dark grey cat grumbled, “He acts like he’s a mentor! I can’t stand it!” Crowpaw whipped his tail violently behind him, “He thinks he’s so special, ordering us all around as if he’s a Deputy!”

Squirrelpaw wouldn’t ever disagree with the cat. Brambleclaw had just been getting worse as the days went on. She didn’t understand why the others weren’t as bothered about it as her or Crowpaw. “You don’t need to tell me twice. Be thankful he’s not your clanmate.”

Squirrelpaw felt her face heat up when Crowpaw looked back up at her again. His brow furrowed, creased with protective conviction. “I swear to Starclan, if he treats you like that when we get back to the forest, you make sure you tear his fur off. It’d be my pleasure to help you do it!”

Squirrelpaw laughed, flashing a brash grin. “Thanks, but I’m on it. When I become a Warrior, I’ll make sure he knows he can’t treat me like a kit anymore!” She wasn’t afraid of the tom anymore, the only reason she hadn’t clawed his ears already was that she wouldn’t allow herself to cause divisions in the group over his sake.

Crowpaw made a sound that seemed close to that all to wonderful laugh. “Good! I’d rake through the dirtplace if it meant I could see that fool get a mark or two on his pelt!”

“Well, when you find a rabbit, you can pretend it’s him!” Squirrelpaw quipped, rubbing his pelt against his playfully.

Crowpaw gave a mock gasp of horror, “Are you hare-brained?! That would be too cruel to the rabbit.”

They both laughed with each other. It was becoming more normal.

They padded away, both internally promising to not go too far for fear of losing the scent of the group. That turned out to be easier than expected. Stormfur had been right; the sun had seemed to dry out the air around them, making the scents faint and difficult to cling to. Squirrelpaw let out a soft breath, it was going to be hard to hunt when they couldn’t find prey scents to begin with.

“Anything?” She whispered hopefully. Low to the ground, Crowpaw shook his head but didn’t relax in the slightest. His pelt was on edge, prepared, waiting for something.

“Just wait a moment.” Crowpaw murmured, his whiskers directed high to the air.

Squirrelpaw watched transfixed, trusting. The grey cat’s whiskers drifted with the light breeze of the wind, imitating the swaying grass, then as if turned by the shifting tide, the wind changed, dragging Crowpaw’s whiskers with them. His tail twitched and he crouched down; his whiskers brushing along the grass.

Straightening up, eyes fixed, Crowpaw faced Squirrelpaw again. “This way.” He concluded, nudging her with his tail to follow him. Squirrelpaw’s eyes narrowed in confusion.

“How do you know?” She sniffed the air again and couldn’t find anything.

Crowpaw smirked, cocky but not incredibly condescending. “In the moors, the scents go across the grass with the wind. All you need to do is be facing the right direction and you can find prey that are tree-lengths away.”

Squirrelpaw blinked, “You’re pulling my tail. I’ve never heard of that.”

“You don’t need to. This land isn’t your home.”

True, but Squirrelpaw still wasn’t convinced. She must have looked it too, as Crowpaw stopped walking.

“Give it a try.” He said, too composed to be lying.

Squirrelpaw tried her best to imitate what she saw, waiting for the wind to stroke her whiskers before pressing them near to the grass. She didn’t need to wait a moment before her nose twitched at a faint trace of prey.

“Fox-dung.” She was relieved, but she still whined.

“You were saying?” Came the good-natured jeer.

Squirrelpaw rose brashly, now stuck on the same trail Crowpaw had found. “If you need the wind to hunt properly, it’s no wonder you’re so skinny.” She said, sticking out her tongue at the apprentice, before walking ahead, taking the lead.

“Yeah, that’s real mature.” He followed her, strides short and comfortable.

But even though Squirrelpaw was trying to look disinterested, she had to praise Crowpaw’s technique when it had granted them with a large rabbit, caught and dispatched within minutes.

Squirrelpaw licked the blood from her fangs, quivering as the tasted gave her a sudden burst of energy. “That’s better.”

Crowpaw looked over the prey, glancing around with a stiff expression. He faced the air again, but his whiskers barely swayed at all. “The wind’s dying down, it’s going to be harder to catch another if that sun gets any worse.” His relaxed look didn’t match his next words at all. “You want to share this one?”

Smiling, laughing, sharing. Squirrelpaw was finding it harder to believe this was Crowpaw but it didn’t stop her from taking up his offer within the first beat of her pacing heart.

With every bite, Squirrelpaw felt her tiredness ease, and her muscles begin to stiffen comfortably. Hopefully, the others had been just as successful with their hunts; it was going to be a long night otherwise. In the, admittedly too often, glances she’d snuck at Crowpaw, she found that he was gulping his share down as quickly as he could. Already he’d stripped one leg down to the bone.

“You going to chew any of that, Crowpaw?”

After gulping down half a foot, he answered. “Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry, more far off than anything. “You take your time, I’m in no rush to see your clanmate again.”

She felt like she was meant to laugh. She didn’t. “What’s up?” From the dim gaze to the twitching whiskers, Squirrelpaw was able to catch onto when something had Crowpaw riled. She still didn’t know if she entirely knew what to do to cheer him up.

He didn’t answer straight away, only after a stoic pause with a bite and a tear and a swallow. “How long is it going to take now?”

Squirrelpaw bit softly on the inside of her cheek. Of course. “I wish I knew.” She took another bite, hoping the flavours would sate the uneasiness creeping on her back. “It’s like they said earlier, it could be days, it could be moons in fact.”

“Well that’s comforting.”

“You asked.”

Crowpaw swallowed less forcefully, “I just wonder what’s going on back at home.”

Squirrelpaw stared at the floor, trying to imagine what it was like back in Thunderclan; what was it like for her parents or for Leafpaw? She could only hope for the best. She couldn’t think that Starclan was going to send them on this journey only for it to mean nothing in the end.

Well, she hoped not at least.

Hoping. There was a lot of it these days.

“I know how you feel.” Squirrelpaw purred, “But we can’t just lose faith in Starclan. We’ve got to get there, no matter how long it takes, even if that does mean spending moons with your grumpy face.”

“Hey!” Cropaw scolded, though his voice was soft. “I haven’t lost faith in Starclan. I’m just sick of going nowhere.”

“Well, there’s a somewhere at the end of nowhere, Rabbit-brain.” Squirrelpaw chirped. She was as sick of everything as he was, but she had to stay positive about it, especially when confronted with a cat as moody as her friend.

Crowpaw frowned, tilting his head at her. “Doesn’t do us much good until then, though, does it?”

“Well it’s all we’ve got for now.” Squirrelpaw said, swallowing her words like a bone. It was aggravating, but it would do no good to lie. “Just try to relax and you might be able to sleep for once.”

Crowpaw sniffed but he also laughed. Squirrelpaw counted that as a win. He pulled away from the bones now littered in front of him. “I’m done. Don’t rush for me, I can wait.”

“Oh, you’re such a gentletom.” Squirrelpaw said with a mocking reverence, ignoring that she actually meant it. Crowpaw stuck his tongue back out at her, but his eyes were warm and inviting. Squirrelpaw felt her heart stutter again.

What was going on with her? It was becoming way too frequent now that this tom could cause her brazen attitude, that she had perfected over moons and seasons, to crack even a little. It had never been something that hit her even once before, never to this degree at least.

But as he looked, not stared, just a the few glances he struck her with, as she ate, Squirrelpaw��s face felt like water boiling under the sun of Crowpaw’s grin.

It maybe shouldn’t have been a surprise to her. This cat hadn’t been the Crowpaw she’d known before in any way or whisker. That Crowpaw had been an enemy. This cat was one she would maybe even call one of her best friends.

Maybe that was why she didn’t want this journey to end so soon.

It was nice that the flower would be there to remind her of her friends, but Squirrelpaw knew it would never be the same. Not really anyway. Even if they met through patrols or gatherings, it would be under a thousand watching eyes, all judging and making sure they never went to far against their loyalty to the clan.

It’s just good to see where your loyalties lie.

Her hunger suddenly faded underneath, perhaps motioned on by the clouds drifting above them, minutes from blocking the sun. More likely perturbed by reality.

She wanted to tell herself that being a warrior was her greatest duty, and that completing this journey was all that she was ever meant to focus on. That was clearly why Starclan favoured Bramblelclaw over her, anyway. She had the chance to prove to her clan how she could and would live up to the name of her father. She could be his reflection rather than his shadow.

But, when this was all over, what would it be that she’d remember?

She didn’t see this journey as an opportunity to prove herself anymore, she now looked back on the past, all that she could focus on were the friends she had made.

Friends that would naturally leave.

Did that thought hurt them as much as it did her? She’d probably never know.

And it would be best not to ask. Just because she had problems left to sort out with her clan didn’t mean she had to drag other innocent cats into it. She was strong enough to deal with it on her own.

“Are you finished?”

Squirrelpaw looked up to Crowpaw’s patient expression. She examined the prey, there wasn’t much left now, besides she was full enough.

“Yeah, let’s get back to the others.” She stretched her stiff back, sighing from the sudden feeling of her full stomach. “Much better.”

Crowpaw stood up as well, leading the way with a shrewd sneer. “So, it looks like you Thunderclan cats actually could learn from us after all, huh?”

Squirrelpaw scoffed, her tail flaring. “Yeah, yeah. What do you want? A stroke on the ears?” She pouted at him. “I’d consider us even after I was the one who taught you how to stalk instead of swallowing muck.”

Crowpaw’s smile dropped, he groaned to his side. “You’re never going to let that go.”

Squirrelpaw leapt beside him with a smirk. “Besides, I’ve been able to catch your prey now. I bet you’d never be able to catch ours.”

“What? You mean I’ll never have mole breath? Oh, what a shame.”

“Try birds, flea-brain.” Squirrelpaw snapped back.

Crowpaw shrugged, his tail swaying coolly. “Eh, rabbits make for a better meal.”

Oh, he wasn’t getting away that easily! “Spoken like a true tail-chaser.” Squirrelpaw perked her nose up for effect.

It worked. Crowpaw’s right eye twitched and his smile looked much more artificial. “If I wanted to catch one of your little sparrows, I could! But there’s no trees for them to roost on near Winclan!” He insisted, making use of the small height he had above Squirrelpaw as he looked down at her.

“Hmm, I’ve heard better excuses.” She winked. “Why don’t you show me?”

Crowpaw’s brow furrowed, “How am I supposed to show you? There’s no trees around here!”

Squirrelpaw walked on as if disinterested, her tail curling under Crowpaw’s chin. “Oh, don’t worry, Crowpaw. You don’t need to make anymore silly excuses for me. I won’t judge you.” Her voice sounded as if she had drained all the sugar out of a stalk and was now spitting it onto the grey apprentice.

Crowpaw drew a sharp breath, now fully pulled into Squirrelpaw’s trick. “Okay then.” He drawled; one eye cold on the molly. “Then, most divine robin catcher, please do tell me; how do you such amazing cats catch those birds? I’ll catch on, no problem!”

Squirrelpaw’s tail flicked in victory. She was going to enjoy this. “Oh, I suppose I could tell you. As long as you don’t come stealing our prey that is.”

“Same goes to you, vole-brain.” Crowpaw shot back, his smirk becoming more genuine.

Squirrelpaw’s eyes brightened with delight. “Okay then, watch this!” She took a few paces away from him and got into a stalking position. She slowly crawled, facing imaginary prey. “First, we stalk the bird once we spot in in the tree.” She lowered her voice dramatically. “We slooowwwly crawl up to it, making sure it doesn’t see us.”

“What mystical advice.” Crowpaw said dryly, though his mouth snapped shut at Squirrelpaw’s thunderous look.

“Anyway as soon as we get close enough,” She paused, getting into a pouncing crouch and tensing her legs with all the power she could. Instantly she burst into the air, wrapping her paws around her invisible prey. “We use the bark to give use some more power, grab the bird by it’s feathers and drag it down!” She exclaimed, snapping her jaws on her imaginary bird. She pretended to chew viciously for a moment before getting back to her paws with a proud chuckle. “That’s how it’s done.”

Crowpaw rose a brow, thoroughly unamused. “That’s it. That’s simple.”

Squirrelpaw pretended to look offeneded, but internally she was giggling. “Alright then, show me how well you do it.”

The Windclan apprentice rolled his eyes, “Sure.” He shook his pelt, crouching down to mimic Squirrelpaw’s stalking. The Thunderclan cat took the opportunity to go behind him while he was distracted, making sure her own paws were quiet along the grass.

“Ah ah ah,” Squirrelpaw tutted, “Stalk it more slowly.” She heard Crowpaw groan under his breath and he followed her instructions. All while Squirrelpaw stalked him. The molly grinned darkly from behind, getting her hind muscles ready again.

“Okay, so I’ve stalked it slowly,” He mimicked mockingly, “So now I just-”

“Pounce!”

Crowpaw only had half a moment before Squirrelpaw landed on him, where he was able to twist around to face the grinning beast leaping at him. She collided against his chest, pressing onto it with both her paws. She landed on top of him, holding him down with two paws on his shoulders, but not painfully hard.

Squirrelpaw threw her head back with a triumphant laugh as Crowpaw snarled beneath her. “That was a dirty move!” The tom yowled; his fur ruffled under the cat.

Squirrelpaw craned her head down to give the tom a half-lidded grin. “It’s you’re fault for not seeing that coming.”

Crowpaw growled with clear irritation, but there was no hostility in his gaze, unlike when he had pounced at her when they’d first met. It was clear that Crowpaw wasn’t going to fight. That actually made Squirrelpaw feel a little guilty, she’d thought it would do the tom good to have a little excitement. She just wanted to have some fun with him.

The she realised what was going on. That she was above Crowpaw, staring right into his eyes, with the tender pads of her paws buried into the soft fur of his chest. Soft and warm. Her heart stuttered again and her strength on the cat relaxed.

Big mistake.

Immediately, Crowpaw’s eyes burst with fire and he twisted upwards, catching the molly by surprise. She yelped as she felt his paws press against her chest, pushing her down onto her back. It didn’t hurt when her head hit the soft grass, but she was instantly aware of the slight force now holding her down.

Her eyes opened and she caught his spirited expression directly above her. His blue eyes were furrowed with proud mischief. “And you shouldn’t let your guard down so easily.” He piped, grinning down at her with satisfaction.

If her heart was stuttering before, it was losing breath now. Her chest heaved as she felt him above her. She took in his soft fur again, the misty calmness inside the ocean blues of his gaze, when it was directly above her his smile gleamed so much more.

He had pinned her, but she didn’t feel embarrassed. Not in the way a warrior should.

She even found herself smiling back, laughing along with him. When they looked at each other, there wasn’t any animosity, no challenge, just a peace that came between friends.

Her fur was messed up, but it was her that was ruffled.

Squirrelpaw tried to sound playful behind her blush. “Now who’s playing dirty.”

Crowpaw sank in closer to her with a wink. “I’d call us even, wouldn’t you?”

He laughed again. That beautiful laugh that held the same joy she felt.

If only she’d kept a better eye of her surroundings. She may have noticed the heavy paws thundering towards them.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!” Came the thunderous growl.

Crowpaw only had time to flick his ear before the barrage of fur and muscle slammed into his side.

Squirrelpaw swept her eyes in horror as she saw her friend struggle desperately as he thrashed under the strong paws of Brambleclaw. His paws scrambled at the Warrior’s underbelly with his hind paws trying to shake him off, but Brambeclaw didn’t even flinch, holding down the apprentice with a heavy paw on his neck.

“Why did you attack her?!” The Warrior yowled, slamming Crowpaw’s head back down into the grass, causing the flower to dislodge from Crowpaw’s fur and flail away from the fight. The apprentice buckled under the force, but he continued struggling, thrashing as wildly as he could.

“Get off me!” The apprentice hissed, trying to rid himself of the paw painfully pressing his face into the dirt.

“You had her pinned down! You attacked her!” Brambleclaw snarled, he looked ready to lodge his teeth into Crowpaw’s throat.

Squirrelpaw looked on in horror, straight on her friend hopelessly grunting and writhing for freedom. She scrambled up to her paws, ready to help, when she saw a flash of brown and black dart past her towards the fighting cats.

“Brambleclaw!” Tawnypelt screeched, neck spiked, “Stop it!” She bit down on her brother’s scruff, trying her best to drag the furious tom from the smaller cat. Brambleclaw made no effort to quell in his attack, fixing himself down with his claws. They latched onto Crowpaw’s chest making him cry out in pain.

Whatever trance Squirrelpaw was in was ripped away as anger stormed inside her chest. She raced to the scene, not noticing Feathertail and Stormfur appear from the area where Tawnypelt had ran from.

“Oh Starclan, Crowpaw!” The Riverclan molly screamed with a newfound urgency.

“What’s going on here?!” Stormfur exclaimed, following quickly behind his sister as they both surged to stop the fight as well.

Luckily, Tawnypelt was enough as she finally pulled with enough strength to make Brambleclaw lose grip of his opponent. Crowpaw took the time to give a last furious swipe at Brambleclaw’s belly before scrambling away. Squirrelpaw sprinted to him, looking over the panting apprentice, his fur was ruffled badly and there would certainly be some scars left on him by tomorrow.

“Are you okay?” Feathertail squeaked, pressing her nose against her friend’s fur.

Crowpaw didn’t answer, too busy reclaiming his breath, and glaring with incredible ferocity at the Thunderclan Warrior.

Brambleclaw glared back over the pelts of Stormfur and Tawnypelt, both holding the tom back. “Is he okay?! He attacked Squirrelpaw!”

Stormfur looked back at the apprentice icily. “He did what?”

Brambleclaw bared his teeth, “He had her pinned down, I saw it myself!”

Squirrelpaw rose up, her fangs clear as she hissed maliciously. She wasn’t going to let him try and turn the group against Crowpaw when he’d done nothing wrong. “No, he didn’t! We were just sparring!”

Whatever distrust the cats had of Crowpaw subsided as Squirrelpaw rushed to his defence. Even Stormfur’s harsh stare softened as the ginger apprentice questioned her clanmate. Brambleclaw froze, but his eyes still blazed with rage.

“But he was on top of you! He had you pinned!” Brambleclaw’s ire set back on the wounded apprentice. “I knew it was stupid to think you wouldn’t lose your mind at some point! You’ve always been looking for trouble!”

Crowpaw looked as if he wanted to become as wild as a tornado, but when he tried to stand he winced from the scratches embedded in his shoulders and his side. Squirrelpaw’s heart panged with worry and anger, turning on her clanmate with unsheathed claws.

“He wasn’t hurting me, you fox-brain!” Squirrelpaw yowled, keeping her body between the apprentice and Brambleclaw. She would be the one tearing out the Warrior’s fur before Crowpaw, that was certain. “Maybe if you’d actually bothered to look you might have noticed!”

“What I saw,” Brambleclaw muttered, as cold as frost, “Was a Windclan cat attack my clanmate! I had every reason to get involved!”

Squirrelpaw’s snarl was so vicious her gums were visible. Brambleclaw was not going to find a way to justify this. She could deal with whatever stupid comments came out of his trap, but he had attacked her friend! This was enough! “The only one attacking anyone was you!”

Brambleclaw’s jaw hung, he stammered, as if searching for a way to reason his anger. But Tawnypelt’s angry face burst in front of him. “That’s enough! Face it Brambleclaw, why would she be defending him if he had really attacked her? You made a mistake.” The Shadowclan Warrior seethed, her mouth contacting in a warning. “An extremely stupid mistake! Have you forgotten your own advice of how we should be working together instead of fighting?”

“A mistake? I was trying to help her!”

“I didn’t need your help!” Squirrelpaw growled, once again stung by Brambleclaw’s lack of faith in her abilities. “I can fight my own battles, and when I do it won’t be for no reason at all!”

Brambleclaw looked between the glares of his sister and his clanmate, the adrenaline of the fight dimming as his ears went flat against his head. He looked towards Stormfur, but the tom only returned a small frown his way. There would be no one to back him up here, not when Squirrelpaw so passionately denied his reasoning.

The Warrior’s breaths slowed as his muscles began to relax. Sensing no more fighting would occur, Tawnypelt and Stormfur eased away, but not enough to allow Brambleclaw an easy run at his opponent. The Thunderclan tom glanced at all the furious faces staring him down, and a brief flash of shame oozed from him. But as soon as his eyes settled on Crowpaw again, he darkened again fiercely turning his gaze between the two apprentices’.

“It is my duty as a Warrior, to protect my clanmate when I see them in danger.” Brambleclaw drawled with a slow venom. “I saw and I acted to what I thought was right.” His eyes narrowed on his clanmate. “Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t wasting your time with kittenish games!”

Squirrelpaw felt her claws tighten against the ground. It was unbelievable. Even when the group was against him, he still found a way to deflect the blame onto her. She moved her tongue to make some dry remark, but all that came out was a growl. “I hate you.”

There was nothing else to say.

Her clanmate’s brow creased, it was unclear whether it was anguish or malice. Overhead a cloud passed, covering the face of the sun and causing a great shadow to overcome the hills.

Tawnypelt stared at him with a vague disgust. It almost looked like the horror of remembering someone she wouldn’t wish to recognise.

Brambleclaw noticed it and his anger began to mix with a strained pain. The Shadowclan Warrior shook her head, almost piteously, turning to give Crowpaw a soft glance. “Crowpaw, can you walk okay?”

The Windclan apprentice shook a little, his teeth grinding as he felt all the eyes fall on him. On his wounds. He hissed as he rose to his feet, shaking off the support Feathertail offered. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He muttered, his gaze downcast. Feathertail and Squirrelpaw looked at each other worriedly.

“But you’re wounded.” Feathertail ushered.

“It’s just a couple scratches!” Crowpaw insisted, his voice raspy behind his teeth, as he began to clean his ruffled fur. Squirrelpaw wanted to interject; it wouldn’t be wise to just leave Crowpaw unchecked. But there was an intensity, a shame, in Crowpaw’s scowl that silenced her.

Tawnypelt looked as unconvinced as the rest of them, but she didn’t say anything more about it. “Alright, then we should try to make more ground. It’ll be dark soon after all.”

Stormfur muttered in agreement, displaying a weariness for how sour things had turned within minutes. He looked over at his sister, then to Crowpaw, offering a polite nod.

Squirrelpaw sensed Crowpaw stiffen.

“Come on.” Tawnypelt said, padding back in the direction of the setting sun. Out of the corner of her eye, she glared at her brother. “It’ll be over for us otherwise, right?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, Stormfur followed her. Brambleclaw stared into the space, his mouth thin, for a while before he offered another glance at the furious trio. Squirrelpaw knew he could feel her hatred for him. Good. A war seemed to go inside of him as while his eyes were still cold and unapologetic, his frown was rigid and weak. Something was breaking. It didn’t amount to anything though, as the Warrior finally just scoffed and turned on his tail, slowly making his way to the others.

Squirrelpaw sent another growl his way, loud enough to be heard, before she turned back to her friends. Feathertail was close by, the still ruffled, Crowpaw checking him over for wounds.

“Really, I’m fine.” Crowpaw stated, stepping away from the Riverclan molly. “Stop worrying about it, already.” He sounded dry with anger. Feathertail flinched, but she knew that he wasn’t trying to be hurtful, so he relented calmly.

“Okay.”

Squirrelpaw felt a stormy guilt rile in her gut. It has been her who had started the sparring after all. Her eye glinted at something white nearby, her breath caught, and she padded over to the flower, picking it up with her teeth.

“Here, let me.” She said through her fangs. Crowpaw’s eyes flickered at the image of the plant, but he kept his face stony. Still, he remained still, silently accepting.

Squirrelpaw tried to look calm as she wrapped the flower back into his now messy fur but ignoring the beating of her heart was nothing compared to Crowpaw’s expression. He forced his eyes away from hers, as if ashamed to meet her gaze. The fight had seemed to suck all his energy away.

Usually, Squirrelpaw would have found wounded pride something trivial and unimportant. But when she saw the stiff, humiliated expression on his face, her heart ached.

“Did you guys catch anything?” Crowpaw mumbled, talking to Feathertail despite his attempt to stare at his paws.

“Oh, um, yes. We did. When we’d finished, we met up with the others and then… went to look for you. two” Bless her heart, she was careful enough.

Crowpaw made a small sound of recognition, and Squirrelpaw finished getting the flower settled into his head again. She wiped away dust from the petals, trying her best to give her friend a smile.

“Don’t worry.” Squirrelpaw purred. Her heart stopped for a moment as she considered then decided on her next action. Smoothly, she licked Crowpaw’s cheek, cleaning away the dust of the fight. “They know it wasn’t your fault.”

She had hoped that that was what was bothering Crowpaw and that what she’d said would get him to return to the smiling face she loved so much to see.

But neither were true.

Instead Crowpaw met her eyes, still hot and upset with embarrassment and defeat. “Thanks.” He mumbled lethargically, breaking away from her to walk to where the others had gone. “Let’s go.”

He walked slowly, still waiting for them, but the mollies knew it was different. His tail was tucked despite his desperation to look unaffected.

But it was clear that he was exhausted.

Squirrelpaw swallowed as if she’d been chewing on nettles. How? How had everything go so badly that quickly? She just about managed to look appreciative when Feathertail gave her a comforting nudge and a small promise that it would get better. But Feathertail couldn’t hide the clear pain of seeing her friend look so wounded.

But it was the image of Crowpaw’s face that hung in Squirrelpaw’s mind. Even when he had broken down to her about his father, she’d never seen him look as ashamed as he had in those few seconds.

Squirrelpaw wanted him to get better. She wanted him to become friends with the others, and that did look more possible now they’d seen he wasn’t at fault. But, most of all, she wanted to see him smile again.

She just wanted him to be happy.

So she rushed over to where Crowpaw was, determined to not leave his side, not caring if it took the whole way to the Sun-drown place, because he was her friend. She would stick by him.

That was the only loyalty she could care about right now.

...

I hope you liked this chapter. I believe this is the chapter I disliked writing the most. But, some angst is important, so what are ya gonna do?

Anyway, leave a like if you enjoyed!

#squirrelflight #squirrelpaw #crowfeather #crowpaw #brambleclaw #Feathertail #tawnypelt #Stormfur #Warriors #Warrior Cats #warrior au #crowsquirrel #squirrelcrow #New Prophecy #fanfiction

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