#but the fastest way to confirm whether or not we have him is to play his source game.

[nil-the-glitch]

might make a bad decision soon ahaha-

[lafaiette]

I finally found Pen's Chinese romance lines :')

(You can find more comparisons here and here by the way)

First, something sweet to start with: Jasmine calls Pen, Burgess, and Miguel "uncle"! (叔叔)

Jasmine to Andy: Uncle Peng Hu thinks he's the most beautiful man in the world. We can secretly put a mirror in his room, so he'll look at it all day long and we can sneak out to play!

And now, I'll start with the Romance Quest - I included only the Chinese version of the dialogue happening after giving him the Heart Knot, because the post is already pretty long!

Chinese: Well... little weakling, you gave me this Heart Knot. I thought about it seriously... You have always been nice to me. You often praise me, give me gifts, and help me run errands everywhere. Maybe I have really found the one, the most special person to me. Someone who loves me as much as I love myself! Oh, this is so surprising to me... Little weakling, before we go further with our current relationship, I have to speak with you. I have to make sure you are sincere to me! Everyone knows that I am a golden bachelor. If you are with me just to show off and make yourself look good at some workshop awards ceremony, I will not allow it! What I want is true love... And I still have to understand if my fascination with you is not just for your body, but also for your personality… Yes, that's right. All this time, I called you "little weakling", not because of contempt for your figure, but because I couldn't take my eyes away when I saw your small body without muscles. It’s like seeing an uncultivated land with unlimited room for exercise. It’s so charming! There is only one way to test whether there is love between us... and that is - Fighting! An adrenaline-filled battle! Drenched in sweat, bloody, and bare-knuckled! Yes, the fastest way to get to know someone is to fight with them! Builder: 1) Then let’s go! -> Pen: Good! Let's meet tomorrow at the gate of the Paradise Lost ruins. Let's fight side by side to destroy those robots from the corrupt era and beat fierce drumbeats on their remains with our fists! I’ll go first! Remember to wear protective gear and be prepared. All for romance! Builder: 2) After falling in love... shouldn't you go on a date? -> Pen: Haha, that's what ordinary people do. I don't care for those old-fashioned ways of falling in love. Only when fighting can I feel truly alive! Builder: 3) But we have already fought many times... -> Pen: Many times?! It's never enough! I'm a fighting expert! For me, this is true love, nothing else but pure fighting and strong love!

Meeting Pen in front of Paradise Lost: Here you are, little weakling! I've been waiting for you for a long time, and I'm a little bored... Let's not waste time, let's hurry in and kill everyone! Get ready, little weakling! Let's show those robots real fighting skills and send them all the way back to their corrupt era! Not bad, little weakling, you have been exercising recently! Robot, take my blow! Punch! Fighting with you... makes my heart surge! That move is awesome, little weakling! Don't let them escape, leave no one behind! Haha, fighting with you is more exciting than I imagined! The thought of being able to "seal love" with you and fight these robots to confirm our relationship... my heart is beating fast! Let the battle become more intense! Come on, let's go in! Awesome, little weakling! It's been a blast all the way. Now there's only one last step left to make our date today even more perfect - Yes! That's it! A powerful elite monster! Come on, little weakling! Show your fists and give the big robot in this corrupt era the coolest blow! Haha... so refreshing... This feels so right... Little weakling, what do you think? I’m having too much fun today... ha, wait! I got it, the most important step is missing!

English: I'm afraid this moment cannot last forever… We must return to the hustle and bustle of city life… But let us always remember this place. Our lovers cocoon where, for one brief evening, the world was ours... Outside Paradise Lost: Goodbye, my love! Expect to see me again soon… I'll swing by your place later for a major make-out sesh!

Chinese: I really want to stay with you for a while longer! But I have to go protect Sandrock. Let us remember this moment and this feeling. No one can take away the energy of this love... … Goodbye then, my dear! I'm looking forward to seeing you next time …… I will definitely have a more exciting date with you!

English: You fell from a cliff and survived? Did someone help you? Or did you simply claw your way back to safety, and crawl to my feet just to see me again. You truly do love me, don't you? Chinese: You fell off a cliff and came back alive? Could it be that someone more powerful than me saved you? Alas, I missed an opportunity to protect you.

English: Knight, Protector, Enforcer, Big Daddy Love Sponge… I go by many names. Chinese: Besides, Knight is just a title. Guardian, Big Brother, Heart-throb... these are my titles!

English: Alright… fine. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth! But… here it is anyway: Miguel totally brainwashed me! Yeah, that's it… He told me, uh, Duvos rules and stuff, and… I was in a bind! I have multiple obligations! Do you have any idea how expensive the holidays are when you're shopping for twelve separate lovers who all think they're my one and only? Plus with Sandrock failing… I had no choice, I needed the money from his scheme… He said if I protect him, he'd give me a portion of his dirty money. Now that I think about it… say, do you think he could be some kind of high level Duvos operative? Certainly seems like it. Not trying to do your job for you or anything, though…

Chinese: Okay, okay, let me tell you... [Player's Name], your pal Peng Hu didn't know anything before he met that bad guy Miguel! Just eat, sleep, and protect the town every day. Until one day he told me that he was working for Duvos, trying to win me over, and saying a lot of things that made sense... I was short of money at that time, so I fell into his trap. Anyway, I am also a part-time worker. What is the difference between working for Sandrock and working for Duvos? Besides, with Sandrock being the way it is, I was saving myself. He asked me to protect him. As long as I did it, I would get a share of the embezzlement money. So I got involved in all this. Could that guy Miguel be a senior member of Duvos? An agent? Maybe he really is! Of course, that's the job of your militia group [Civil Corps], so I won’t say more.

English:

Builder: "How could you do this to me?" Pen: "What can I say, sometimes country trumps love…" Builder: "Please stop…" Pen: "I'm sorry, gotta fulfill my KPI, you understand!" Builder: "I still love you." Pen: "I know." Builder: "You were ugly anyway!" Pen: "Ooph, that might have hurt a mere mortal, but I know you know deep down in your heart that it's not true!" "Hm… to finally face you as my true self… it's invigorating! Now quit playing hard to get, Skinny, and take your place at my side!"

Chinese:

Builder: "How could you do this to me?" Pen: "What else can I do? The Empire is more important than love." Builder: "Don't do this to me..." Pen: "Sorry, [Player's Name]. This is my job, and I have to earn enough performance [points]!" Builder: "I never stopped loving you." Pen: "I know." Builder: "I stopped loving you a long time ago anyway!" Pen: "Haha, that doesn't hurt me. ["That sentence has no deadly effect on me."] Don't deceive your heart, you must still love me deep inside!" "Today I can finally face you with my true identity, and I'm actually very happy. Who doesn't want to be honest with his lover, little weakling? Why don't you come to my side, eh?"

English: I heard from someone in the capital that they experimented on him to make him stronger. Chinese: I heard that someone in the capital specifically conducted experiments on him, that's why he is so strong.

English: Ha! Know one thing about me, Skinny: any declarations I made on behalf of us was true. I make no mistakes, neither in war nor in love. You want proof? Well, it's not like I go around giving everyone nicknames! No… you were special in that regard. Perhaps it was always our destiny to be together… But I'm afraid that thread of fate has been cut short. I have chosen my country over love. Such is the duty of a Duvos Knight. …That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it…?

Chinese: Haha, one good thing about me is that I put real feelings into every relationship. I don't like to give people random nicknames either! Perhaps, ever since the moment I called you little weakling [Skinny Arms], you were destined to be my one and only love. It's just that we're different, and I had to sacrifice our relationship for the greater good of my country. Are you satisfied with this answer?

English: "Goodbye, [Player's Name]. It was... fun. Chinese: Farewell, [Player's Name]. This time it's for real. You're free.

The Protector's description, called "Guardian of Love" in Chinese:

A very delicate bracelet that protects the wearer's wrist. Wearing it gives the wearer a feeling of being emotionally confined. Perhaps this feeling is similar to what Peng Hu often said, "Marriage is a boring bondage".

Pen's letter in Chinese:

Dear [name], I've had a little more time to think lately in this so-called Atara Maximum Prison, and I'm more than a little sorry that I couldn't bring you along to accompany me. Well, it's my fault. Anyway, you are still the most beloved lover I have ever been with, and one of the few that I continue to miss even after a breakup. So, I'm going to forgive you. Yeah - I forgive you.I don't think there's a chance we'll ever be together again. You're just doing what you're supposed to do in your position, so there's nothing to complain about. I should have tried my best to recruit you from the beginning, and it would have been the best way to keep you with me. Of course I don't blame you, you're indeed excellent. I also left you a final challenge. In some ruins, there are a few of my most valuable things, and if you can get them, they're yours. It should be easy to get there, using the tricks I've taught you. My dear little weakling, this is the last time I'll call you that, I believe in your abilities. Remember, don't slack off on your training. We won't meet again. (but 后会无期 can also mean "meeting at an unspecified/unclear date")

WELP, what more can I say :'D

[777bae]

── Sure thing

Scenarios with jude to the lyrics <3

PAIRING… Jude Bellingham x fem!reader | Genre… angst, slight fluff | WC… 2.6k

Love you like a brother

You were childhood best friends, growing up alongside each other, he treated you as his own sibling. How you managed to catch feelings from his treatment is questionable however, love was still love and so whether he treated you as a sibling or as a lover, you would continuously choose to love him.

Treat you like a friend

There’s always going to be the questionable stage in which you are confused on whether you are dating or not. You believed he was still treating you as a friend and so continued to live in denial of your feelings.

Respect you like a lover

He believed that he was expressing his undying love for you, treating you in the manner he was. The confusion continued on, both unsure on confessing your feelings for each other.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Singing in the kitchen together, hand in hand, as you sway to each other’s beats, feeling as if it were you against the world, never once breaking eye contact as your cheesy smiles spoke more than what could ever be said.

You could bet that, never gotta sweat that

Having rapping competitions to see who could rap the fastest, however they always ended up with you laughing at Jude’s choice of clothes, his cap always being backwards as his moves always became animated when he began.

If you be the cash

Everyone believed you were in it for the money, the constant belittling leading to a decline in your mental health and so Jude ensured that he would love you endlessly. You agreed, confirming that your love for him was worth more than a simple piece of paper.

I'll be the rubber band

Jude refused to leave your side. Much to your ‘displeasure’ (although you secretly enjoyed the attention). He always needed to be attached to you in some way, whether it be his arm around your waist, or his hand clasping yours, you could always be sure that he would be by your side, ready to take on anything.

You be the match

You were a very emotional person, by perhaps every emotion. Anger, love, passion, sadness, happiness. You knew how to express your feelings however whenever you did so, said emotion would consume you, causing what others would call as ‘outbursts’. Whenever these situations would occur Jude would immediately be by your side, his arms wrapped around you as you would release your feelings. His comforting words always calmed you down as you would continue to remain in place, enjoying the short moments in which you could feel this comfort.

I will be a fuse, boom

The two of you were both known as being quite mischievous and so whenever one of you was up to no good, it was almost a guarantee that the other was in on it as well. You were both into pranks, constantly devising the perfect plan, and so leading to them being perfectly executed as your laughter would merge after every execution, those moments forever being your favourites.

Painter baby, you could be the muse

Art was your strong suit and so whenever you finished a project, you would be bombarded with constant praise, even without asking for his input. This would help boost your ego as you grew more confident with every new piece of media.

I'm the reporter baby, you could be the news

Constantly mimicking his post game interviews from the moment he arrives home. He would always act like he hates it when he secretly loves it as it confirms that you spent your time watching him match.

'Cause you're the cigarette and I'm the smoker

Him never being able to speak for himself and always needing you to help express himself, a reassuring hug from you to him always lead him to gain confidence, to which he would use as he would begin to express his opinion in tough situations.

We raise a bet, cause you're the joker

Playing card games with each other, both of you refusing to admit that you lost due to your competitiveness and so leading to a mini argument. Eventually, one of you would crumble from guilt and so the day would end with you apologising to each other and ending up on the sofa cuddling.

Checked off, you are a chalk

You always have to remind him of chores and other activities he needed to do, almost as if you were his personal agent as every so often you would get annoyed at his forgetfulness.

And I can be the blackboard

Jude would notice how annoyed you would get at having to constantly remind him of things and so he began to try and get better. He would start writing down small activities you mentioned needed to be done and would do them for you, surprising you as you would thank him continuously, apologising for how annoyed you used to get.

You could be the talk

Between the two of you, you were the easiest to rile up. Easily growing angry and annoyed over such trivial matters. Many mentioned how you were the fiesty one and so it was easily balanced between the both of you.

And I could be the walk

Though Jude was the calmer one, that didn’t mean he couldn’t act up when he wanted to. Whenever you were hurt because of comments made about your relationship, he would always grow angry. The constant hate directed towards you always caused an angry post to appear on his social media, showing that he in fact could also get riled up.

Even when the sky comes falling

Whenever it would start to rain whilst you were both out, he would always hold up an umbrella above you, ensuring that you wouldn’t get wet and despite your constant persistence, he refused to put it over him. Eventually, this leads to you cuddling up to him to ensure that he would also be covered.

Even when the sun don't shine

On a cold winter's night you would snuggle up with each other on the sofa, a warm blanket placed on top of the two of you as you would watch a movie together, however you would always end up falling asleep in Jude’s comfort as he would quickly following, the both of you ending up sleeping there for the night.

I got faith in you and I

Everyone said that you were perfect for each other, even from the day you first met you were inseparable and so time could only tell before your young love would begin to blossom.

So put your pretty little hand in mine

Walking hand in hand wherever you go, even if you or him find it embarrassing in the moment you both still appreciate the small expressions of love.

Even when we're down to the wire baby

Whenever your relationship goes into a rough patch, you both still know you love each other, even after the terrible words exchanged in your arguments. You both just knew that you would need a few days away from one another and yet both your hearts still yearned for each other.

Even when it's do or die

Jude was your ride or die. You wouldn’t know what you’d be doing without him. Most likely because you’ve known him since when you can first remember but that doesn’t change the fact that he has been here with you all this time, and will continue to be up until your last moments.

We could do it baby, simple and plain

You both knew you didn’t need to overexert yourselves to make the other happy and so, instead of extravagant date nights every date, you would both decide to spend it in each other's arms, cooking together, or just playing games. You could keep it simple and plain and still be able to enjoy yourselves.

'Cause this love is a sure thing

Knowing that he is your past, present and future, and planning out your lives together, spending and cherishing every moment together.

You could bet that, never gotta sweat that

Playing monopoly together and arguing with each other on whether you stole from the bank (which you did). One of you practically sweating as the other began to enter the last moments of the game.

Be the lover, I'll be the fighter baby

Calming him down after another one of his angry posts about the hate you receive, telling him that it truly doesn’t matter as long as the two of you will continue to love each other.

If I'm the blunt, you could be the lighter babe

He is always there to back you up whenever you get into fights, allowing you to have the freedom of choosing your actions, whether they would have consequences or not, and just being there in case it escalates.

Fire it up

Secretly cheering you on when you finally stand up for yourself, seeing you constantly vulnerable had caused him to grow angry and seeing you finally stop the attack made him proud.

Writer baby, you could be the quote

Helping him write down small speeches and preparing him for important interviews, all while messing about and writing down random inspirational quotes, placing them all around your house for him to see.

If I'm the lyric baby, you could be the note, record that

Singing together once again, this time pretending it was your own concert as you held ‘mics’ up and began to practically scream the lyrics.

Saint I'm a sinner, prize I'm a winner and it's you

Him inviting you onto the pitch after his team won a trophy, immediately hugging you as you could feel the excitement bubbling off of you. After taking photos with the team he would arrive in front of you, placing the medal onto you as you pulled him into a tight hug.

What did I do to deserve that

Always returning back to one another and expressing the feelings you had been bottling up between you, allowing you to both grow and understand each other more.

Paper baby, I'll be the pen

You both do an artsy date at home where you try to teach him how to draw, by recreating one of your many works. He eventually gives up and decides to draw you in his own way, making you look like an animated character as that drawing was instantly hung on your wall once it was completed.

Say that I'm the one, cause you are a ten

Him always saying that you are the most beautiful girl he has ever seen and whenever placed in front of a woman who you would consider was prettier than you, his longing eyes would still search for you within a crowd.

Even when the sky comes falling

Dancing in the rain, lightning causing his features to be brought out beautifully as you ignored the fact that the two of you would most likely catch a cold.

Even when the sun don't shine

Staying inside on a foggy day, just staying in bed longer than needed and cuddling up to one another, enjoying the comfort you both brought to each other.

I got faith in you and I

Him promising that he would spend his future with him, in a small house with as many kids as you want, including the dog that you’d always dreamed of having.

So put your pretty little hand in mine

Bringing you small gifts on important days, knowing that you’d feel guilty if he brought expensive ones as you can not afford such gifts for him.

Even when we're down to the wire baby

Going through new experiences together and admitting that you would both like to in the future as well.

Even when it's do or die

Him happily standing up for you when an interviewer crosses the line, always ensuring that he will be on your side.

We could do it baby, simple and plain

Wondering whether you were right for him as you once again felt as if you weren’t good enough as you didn’t have the expensive items other footballers girlfriends had.

'Cause this love is a sure thing

Him ensuring that no matter how much money you had, he would love you endlessly.

This love between you and I is simple as pie baby

Knowing that you could always rely on him being there for you whenever needs be, just like how you were for him, and realising how simple life could be, not needing everything to be over the top.

It's such a sure thing (such a sure thing)

Knowing that he will eventually propose and that you don’t need to stress about when he would, accepting that he would do it when he feels ready.

Ooh it such a sure thing (such a sure thing)

Him reciting your words after getting a small lecture about a small issue, a huge smile on his face as he treasured moments like this.

Even when the sky comes falling

Trying to find the perfect place to spend date night as it was your turn to decide and him eventually admitting that he prefers spending them at home with you.

Even when the sun don't shine

You always go to his games whenever possible and no matter the weather, eventually ending up in him scolding you for coming out in that weather before pulling you into a tight hug, his way of ‘protecting’ you from the kpotential illnesses’.

I got faith in you and I

Him finally proposing to you in the comfort of your own home, the sheer amount of happiness you felt in that moment cannot even be expressed through words.

So put your pretty little hand in mine

The loving kiss he gave you after you accepted his ring, his hand on your cheek as you both smiled lightly, realising that you were now experiencing what you had planned.

Even when we're down to the wire baby

Planning out your wedding together whilst still joking around with each other, your laughter filling the room as it reminds you of the old times.

Even when it's do or die

Him sneaking in a few comments about your future together and the future children you would have, sneakily wrapping an arm around your waist whilst wiggling his eyebrows as you would just giggle at his mischievousness.

We could do it baby, simple and plain

Stressing about planning for the wedding, your easily emotional mood being caught on by Jude as he tells you that whether the wedding is simple or extravagant, nothing would ever stop his love for you.

'Cause this love is a sure thing

Going out dress shopping with your friends and then finding the perfect dress, them confirming that he would love it so much.

Love you like a brother

Memories of the childhood you spent with Jude causing your smile to grow as you remember how naïve you were as a child to not have confessed your love for him sooner.

Treat you like a friend

Sneaking out the night before your wedding to see each other one last time, and beginning to reminisce about the years you had spent with him, finally admitting that you had loved him way longer before he confessed.

Respect you like a lover

You walking down the aisle, your beautiful white dress matching the veil that cascaded across your features, making you unable to see the loving looks you would receive from Jude.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Singing together in your home after experiencing the most loving and vulnerable moments of your lives together, your wedding day.

[rrasado]

Are you comfortable with uh- doing the obey me demon bros reacting to an MC who has DID having the bros as an introject alter? You dont have to if ur not comfy tho ofc

Which You Are You

I’m telling you all now I am no way experienced in writing about themes like this, nor do I experience this myself/know someone who does, I'm only relying on what I have from research so if you happen to find any offenses, mistakes and or misconceptions please don’t be afraid to tell me so I can fix it! Thank you dears. 💙🌒💙

Mentions of: Mental Illness

When you have Dissociative Identity Disorder: (under the cut)

Lucifer

Whether it was listed in your document in preparation for the exchange program or not. The first born will also be the first one to actually catch on to your condition.

But the How part is a bit...slow even for him. At first it might've started when he'd hear small talk from Mammon his brothers concerning the exchange student. Given your blank nature during first impressions he was not expecting to hear words of comparison between you and him.

Initially he was at least delighted, another responsible figure in the House of Lamentation instead of another person to look after? His wishes have been granted- that is...until he realizes he rarely sees these so called similarities between you two when he himself is with you.

After nitpicking whether he's being pranked by his brothers or you. He'll come to decide that observing you himself will be the best course of action. And in his observations did he find out what's truly at play.

"You humans tend to succumb to all sorts of hindrances... we must tend to this efficiently"

He'll ultimately end up being your personal tracker in some sense, especially with you having alters akkined to his brothers, he's the best at dealing with every single you. He may not voice it as much but he's come to grow a soft spot for you, after all... you make him remember what it's like to deal with his brothers when they aren't busy talking behind his back. A bittersweet mutual benefit noh?

Mammon

If Lucifer wasn't the fastest to catch on, Mammon would've been the next contender. The guy spends the most time with you, so expect him to actually vocally point out the eerily different behaviors you display in different times. Especially when your certain Lucifer alter comes out to scold him.

Only when he ranted to the poor avatar of wrath did he consider that this little quirk of yours might actually be more than just, well...a quirk.

Tries making it a game on which alter is currently out, he's correct 50% of the time. But hey at least he's trying-

Will not hesitate to put any lower level demons at school back in their place for making fun of you.

"OI! Ya'll are just cowards hiding behind the damned walls! Well newsflash you bastards wall can talk!-"

Believe it or not, he'd be the first one to actually get used to your condition. And whe that fact comes to light god- he won't shut up about it. Who else would understand the human most? None other than the great mammon of course!

Leviathan

Levi...surprisingly thought of the possibility the fastest- but he's one of the last ones to actually let it sink in. He probably thought of the possibility because he saw it in an anime once, the main character used their multiple personalities with different powers and- wait he's ranting.

on a more serious note, the only reason he doesn't get the hang of you the fastest is because he kept comparing your alters with character he know, which would sound helpful but- he misses his shot when interacting with you a lot, easily slipping and thinking you're the character and not- you.

But once he does, it's as easy to him as completing a cunning minigame puzzle in a video game. As long as he executes the right keys he'll be fine, right?

Ah levi...that's only if you know which one you're talking to. But when he hears of one alter that oddly acts like him? He'll finally learn how to slowly deal with, himself..?

"Eh? This is like dealing with a mimikyu...hm? ah-"

Overall he's on the "finds your condition dope" side of the spectrum, but that doesn't mean he dismisses the struggles that come with it, he may not be the first person you'd go to when seeking help but when you do...he'll at least open his door for you.

Satan

In his case the only reason he wasn't the first to pin point what's really at play is because he doesn't spend as much time with you as the others. His only basis for making a conclusion are your short morning greetings and when you see each other at the RAD halls.

And since he only has little basis, the realization only strikes him when he hears talk from his brothers how you acted in class with them. Cue to the fourth getting confused because hey you just said good morning to him and you didn't act that way- wait a damn minute..

"I hope this doesn't come too sudden but, would you like to hang out more?"

His hypothesis gets confirmed the more he spends time with you, and unlike the first born, he smartly deals with you via logical reasoning, especially when your more childish alters come out? He'll squint to see any patterns he can concoct counters for in any given situation.

In short, the man is a living breathing clip board of your situation. The others know they can't ask lucifer for advice despite knowing he's the one who absentmindedly deals with you the best, so they turn to the avatar of wrath much to his dismay for insight on you.

Asmodeus

The Avatar of lust is the last to adjust to you, most likely because he doesn't really pay attention to your behavior and mannerisms unless it's posture and if it affects your overall projection.

Deals with it the... least effectively, no asmo you don't- give special clothes and makeovers per alter- though the sentiment is very much appreciated.

Asmo is asmo he'll deal with it in his own style, which again isn't the best way to deal with it but- He's trying, trust me he really is. It shows when he finally gets the tick to ask satan.

And as such expect slow subtle changes with how he treats you, he doesn't wanna make his favorite human uncomfortable! But I think he's the best at relaxing you after a draining experience with one of your more energetic alters.

"Dear you should sit down for a bit- Here let me take care of you"

Depending on where you manifested your disorder from, he'll try to take it slow and easy for you, besides, he knows that there's more to you to unpack, but he's determined to fully accommodate you! no matter which you.

Beelzebub

The way Beel finds out is so odd and yet so unsurprising...and how you may ask? Food.

I meant- with him associating 90 percent of everything with food, he might find out when he takes note of what and how much you eat. He'll have a variety of snacks at the ready, depending how or even if you approach him for some, he'd be initially confused, except for when your alter similar to him comes out. He doesn't question your enthusiasm.

The thing that puts the final nail in the coffin is actually when Belphie points it out to him. He was prepping well trying to not eat food for you when belphie asks him what he's making, he says your favorite food and belphie would grumble how you have so many favorites.

Beel initially dismisses it because hey he has so many favorites to but here he was. But the more he thinks about it the more it connects- which led him to seek none other than the avatar of wrath himself.

"Hey...what are you craving for right now?"

That question doubles as his test for figuring which you is out, depending how and what you answer, his choice of treating you narrows down. Suffice it to say despite being the weirdest method- he's the third one that deals with you the best.

Belphegor

H...he actually accepts it the fastest- despite not being the first to figure it out, he comes into terms with it in the shortest timespan compared to all his brothers.

And just like his twin, he finds out how to deal with you with the most uncanny test- your sleep schedule.

There may be times where you sleep like a log, other nights you stay up longer than the first born. No matter what he'll deal with you to best he can in the moment...assuming he's awake.

He only concerns himself even more when his pillow ended up with you, your alter similar to him opted for that black and white pillow which ultimately ended up with you two napping and sharing said pillow.

"Hng...you're..awake..? How did you sleep..?"

Yes, there may be times he wishes to talk back to mammon's claims of dealing with you the best. but as long as he can interact with whichever you without hitch, he's content.

As I’ve said at the top, please don’t be afraid to tell me any mistakes. I wish to provide without offending nor demeaning anyone. And I won’t mind taking this down if it’s called for, thank you again dears. 💙🌒💙

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S3:E4; Chapter Four, The Sauna Test - [Pt. 3]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘌𝘭, 𝘔𝘢𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠/𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘺𝘯𝘹.

📝: ERICAAA!!! FRICKIN FINALLY!! Less important note, but when writing about Y/n, El and Max, I wrote "the three friends" and autocorrect literally changed "friends" to "fruits". Yelmax confirmed 💀

||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||

"It is fascinating what twenty bucks will get you at the County Recorder's Office," Robin reports, unfurling what looked to be a familiar layout on the break room table. "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."

"Not bad," Dustin smirks from her left.

"So this is us," she points to a familiar-looking room before gesturing across the map. "Scoops, and this is where we wanna get."

"Yeah, I don't really see a way in," Steve mumbles from his seat at the table.

"There's not. If,"

She rips away a layer of the blueprint, revealing a vastly complicated map of air ducts, pipelines, and detailing that made up Starcourt.

"you're talking exclusively about doors."

Dustin looks at her with excitement growing in his eyes. "Air ducts!"

"Exactly," she smirks, making her way to the whiteboard to retrieve the magic marker. "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room and these air ducts lead all the way" she circles the secret room in question, drawing one, interrupted line right back to, "here."

Dustin and Steve finally tear their eyes away from the map and follow Robin's mischievous eye. All the way to the air duct tucked away in the far corner of the Scoops Ahoy break room.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

To their surprise, a screwdriver had been harder to find than a ladder but soon enough Steve had managed to reach the air vent and unscrew it from the wall. But as he stood here now, peering down into the vent he quickly realized they were now facing yet another obstacle.

"Flath'ligh'?" Steve asked, finally removing the screwdriver from his mouth and shaping it for the small torchlight Dustin had waiting. "Thank you,"

The flashlight turns on with a tiny click and a soft yellow light bounces down the narrow metal tunnel, enunciation the frown on Steve's face.

"Yeah, I don't know man, I don't know if you can fit in here, it's like... super tight."

"I'll fit," Dustin smirks. "Trust me. No collarbones, remember?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Robin asks.

Steve jumps down from the ladder, turning to Robin as Dustin begins the climb and gives her a nod.

"Oh, he's uh, he's got so disease," he frowns thoughtfully, racking his brain as he tries to recall the word. "It's chrydo... um... something, yeah I don't know. He's missing bones and stuff, he can bend like Gumbo."

"You mean... Gumby?"

"I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo," he snorts.

"Just shut up and push me!" Comes Dustin's muffled voice from the vents.

By now he had wormed himself halfway in, his bottom half sticking out of the wall and still propped up on the latter while they had been talking.

"Okay,"  Steve huffed, motioning knowingly to the kid's feet and turned away from Robin.

She watched with a tired, lazily bemused expression as Steve grabbed a less than sturdy hold of the kid's feet and attempted to push.

"Not my feet, dumbass, push my ass!"

"Uh, what?"

"TOUCH MY BUTT! I DON'T CARE!" Came Dustin's impatient scream from the walls.

With a heavy grimace, Steve hesitantly began pushing against Dustin's rear end and his muffled anger grew louder.

"I'm pushing!" Steve argued.

"PUSH HARDER!" Dustin shrieks as he attempts to inch further into the metal vents. "You're playing with my legs!"

"I'm not playing, I have terrible footing!"

"Come on!"

Steve finally makes it to the top of the latter, Dustin's legs bunched together over his shoulders and locked under his arm as their voice continued to shout over one another.

"I'm gonna just shove you, ready?"

"Just shove me?"

"One, two..."

"Shit!"

"That work?"

"One more time,"

Robin rolls her eyes, finally turning away when she hears the sudden rapid chimes of the customer bell out front and all too familiar patron.

"Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck!"

Through the partition window, Robin meets eyes with none other than Erica Sinclair who flashes her an exaggerated salute and rings the bell knowingly.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Laughter and joyful screams filled the chlorine-soaked air, the smell of the pool lingering with sunblock was strong enough it wafted all the way to the parking lot where the majority of the Party now stood at the Hawkins pool. It looked quite different than it had the day before when Y/n, Max, and El had last been, but the tension weighing down the atmosphere seemed just as heavy and ever-present.

The storm had of course long since lifted, and the sun was now beating down heavily on their backs as they took shelter behind a Rust Red AMC Hornet, all eyes across the lot on the occupant in the lifeguard chair.

Billy.

He was squished underneath the bright red beach umbrella, hidden underneath a baseball cap, thick shades, a long-sleeved sweater, and a white beach towel draped over his legs where they poked out into the sun. He was completely covered.

"I don't know," Max begins, peering through the group's binoculars. "He looks pretty normal to me,"

"Normal?" Lucas scoffs. "How many times have you seen him with a shirt on?"

Y/n smiles weakly from where she stands in between him and Will. Max lowers the binoculars, conceding a wince.

"I mean, it's a little weird,"

"More than a little," Mike nods. "He was in a tub with ice. The Mind Flayer likes it cold. Plus everything El saw—"

"But he's lounging at the pool," Max argues, doubtfully. "Which is like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever,"

"Not necessarily," Will says, pulling everyone's attention. "The Mind Flayer likes to hide. He only used me when he needed me. It's like... like you're dormant. And then, when he needs you,"

All eyes return to Billy.

"...you're activated."

Y/n gulps, shifting on her feet from where she had previously stood rooted to the spot. Ever since that dreaded Halloween night the previous year, nothing seemed to have been the same. The Mind Flayer had set his sights on Will, and in turn, her. Slowly but surely, he had infected all of their lives as he had the town of Hawkins; spreading his rot and poison, and his hate. She could still feel it sometimes; the pain of Will's nails raking into her face and leaving behind the faded scar that had already long since disappeared.

Her eyes dart back through the fence at the suspicious-looking lifeguard and her insides twisted further into a sickening knot. The thought of the Mind Flayer's possible return was enough to drain the color from her face and leave a chill in the humid, sticky summer air. Her mind was running rapid with fear but the sound of Max's voice was enough to return her to earth.

"Okay, so we just..." she shrugs, looking back over towards her brother. "wait until he gets activated."

"No," Mike says with the shake of his head. "What if he hurts someone?"

"Or kills someone?" Will counters, and the Wheeler boy nods.

"We can't take that chance. We need to find out if he's the host,"

"Well, how do we do that?" Lucas asks.

The Party falls silent. The weight of the air growing heavier and heavier as it dawns on them. And one by one, each pair of eyes trickle over to the only present Henderson sibling in the Party. Her head is hung, propped-up against the hood and when she senses the eyes on her she straightens, breathing a sigh. But Will was already shaking his head.

"What? No, no way," he says to Mike and the others, Y/n already turning to him. "No, Y/n, I don't think it's a good idea,"

"I don't like it either," Y/n fretted. "but it's our best chance. The Mind Flayer hates me, and I can push his limits. It's the fastest way."

"And if, by some random chance, Billy isn't the host?" Will countered gently. "He'd find out about you,"

Y/n didn't have a reply for that. Truthfully, she didn't know whether to be relieved or angered he had cornered her. She just stood there, frowning at the concrete sidewalk biting her lip thoughtfully. She tried to think of a way to use her abilities subtly, but all her experience with heat came from seismic blasts or concentrated bursts from her hands. If she attempted that on Billy, he would surely know it.

"There's gotta be another way," Mike cuts in. "I mean, a safe way that doesn't risk you getting hurt or discovered."

Y/n and Will - even El - shoot him a funny look and he shifts under the sudden attention, guiltily.

"What about the sauna?" Lucas says, lighting up.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, it's perfect!" He grins, stepping out from around the car and motioning for Will and Mike. "Come on,"

Seemingly catching onto Lucas's idea, Mike wastes no time in following. And Will hesitantly steps away, sending Y/n and his friends an apologetic shrug.

"Where are you going?" El called after them, exasperated.

"Sorry! Boys only!" Mike throws over his shoulder.

Max scowls after them. "Seriously?!"

"Just trust us!" Lucas cries.

"We'll be back," Will shrugs again. "... I guess."

The three friends sigh, throwing less than impressed looks at the retreating boys. Privately, Y/n wondered if Mike stood any chance of harm just from her glaring at him in this moment. She hadn't shared these feelings with anyone, but since reuniting with Will something had been troubled Ling him and he wouldn't say what. She could spot it right away, the shift in demeanor but she knew it was something different from the return of the Mind Flayer somehow. And she believed it had something to do with Mike.

He was acting differently around him. He had been for some time now, as she had with Max and even El but this was different. Something had happened, and because Will was, well, Will, he was clearly trying to put aside for the sake of everyone's safety. Y/n couldn't really blame him there, but she wished he would open up to her. Tell her what was wrong.

And she wished more than anything she could fix whatever Mike had clearly broken.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"All we gotta do is wait until the pool closes and everyone leaves," Lucas begins, guiding his friends through the first layer of the men's locker rooms. "And then get him from here..."

He steps forward, quickly ripping open the secondary door. The three boys scurry inside, and Lucas's friends quickly seem to catch on to his plan and a small smile grows on Will's face.

"And get him into here," Lucas eagerly rips open the sauna door, expecting to see nothing but steam but his luck had run out.

Five sweaty adult men in towels sat packed in the sauna like sardines, scowls on their faces for the three party members who interrupted their steam. "Hey! Shut the door!"

-"Come on, kid!"

-"Shut it!"

Lucas finally broke from his stupor and slammed the door shut, shuddering.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth,"

Will nodded with a grimace, but shook it off when his eyes landed on the wall beside the door.

"The controls!"

Mike's still bulging, haunted eyes finally broke away from their zoning out and jumped to the wall where Will was pointing. His face lit up.

"We can control from the outside, it's perfect!"

"Do you think it'll get hot enough?" Will asks, feeling more and more relieved by the second. "Like, "Y/n" hot?"

His friends immediately stopped, looking to him with a deadpan expression. Will scoffed at them. "You know what I mean" he snarked, not in the mood though he was trying to ignore the hint of a blush creeping up on his skin.

"Nevermind that," Lucas says. "Look right, here, 220 degrees. That's definitely enough."

"Okay, so we just need to figure out how to get him into here," Will nods towards the sauna door.

"Precisely."

"Then we lock him in," Mike says.

Lucas nods. "-heat him up,"

And Will manages another somewhat relieved smile. "-and no matter what happens, we'll know for sure."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Erica descends from the latter, the flashlight in her hands flicking off with a loud click as she strides up to the break room table where her recruits stood waiting. The group had taken a calculated risk I confiding in the young girl, but she was smart and demanded the information and why they needed to know if she could fit into the air duct in the back room. So here they stood, waiting with anxious breath for her verdict.

"Yeah, I don't know," she says, propping herself up on the edge of the table rather unimpressed.

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin asks.

"Oh, I can fit. I just don't know if I want to,"

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin tries.

Amused, Erica gives the young woman a pitiful laugh. "I don't have phobias."

"Okay, well," Steve begins with a shrug. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica,"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Steve slides another banana boat ice cream float across the table, joining the already plentiful dairy banquet laid out for the Sinclair girl. She merely gave it a single, disinterested glance and slid it back.

"More fudge please,"

Nobody said anything. And Steve just stared back at the table with tired, glazed-over eyes before Erica sent him a dismissive wave.

"Go on,"

He gave a sigh, and left the booth with the Banana boat in hand, and retreated to the counter. Robin took that as her cue and pulled out the marked-up blueprints she had at her side.

"Alright, you see this?" She points from the circle marked Scoops Ahoy and trail connecting over the flipped map. "This is the route you're gonna take. Then we just wait until the last delivery goes out tonight then you knock out the grate. Jump down. Open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?" She asks.

"Exactly,"

"And you say this guard is armed?"

"Yes," Dustin quickly nods. "But he won't be there,"

"And booby traps?"

"Booby traps?" Robin echoed.

"Lazers, spikes in the wall,"

Robin couldn't help but give a small laugh, but Erica was all too serious. She turned to the two with a serious look.

"You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me? Child endangerment."

"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time-"

"Uh! Uh! Uh!" Erica stops her. "Child. Endangerment."

Robin sighs, ignoring the knot wanting to twist in her stomach. She knew she was right, and Robin supposed she just didn't want to admit to herself what they were asking not only of themselves but the young girl.

"Erica?" Dustin began. "Hi, uh... We think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"

"You can't spell America without Erica," she shrugs, taking a long and loud sip from her complimentary Scoops Shake.

Dustin just blinks at her response and concedes with a nod. "Uh... yeah. Oddly, that's uh... weirdly true, so... so! Don't do this for us! Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America, Erica."

Erica, who had been slurping her drink through her straw throughout his entire speech, finally finished it off and shivered, sending him a smirk. "Ooh! I just got the chills."

Dustin smiled proudly.

"Oh, yeah," she quickly corrects, her smile falling. "From this float. Not your speech."

His smile falls right off his face.

"You know what I love most about this country?" Erica began. "Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"

Both Robin and Dustin mumble a 'yeah'.

"It means this is a free market system, which means people get paid for their services depending on how valuable their contributions are. And this seems to me that my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all. So-"

Robin and Dustin share a worried look.

"-you want my help? This U.S.S. Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life,"

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[hongism]

mists of celeste ➻ eight

➻ pairing: ??? x fem reader ➻ genre: space au, pirate au, space pirate!ateez, angst, eventual smut ➻ Word Count: 3.9k ➻ Rating: M ➻ Warnings: language, violence, guns and weaponry, blood, future warnings tba ➻ summary: Sneaking aboard the ship of a renowned space pirate may not have been the best idea, but you’ll have to make do with what fate has handed to you

⇐ previous | next ⇒

mists of celeste act one ➻ part eight

​

“Well, since you’re intent on changing the subject, Y/N…” Seonghwa interrupts as Yeosang opens his mouth to say something else. “I guess now is the perfect time to explain the real reason I brought you here.

“Pardon?” You inquire, tilting your head towards Seonghwa now in search of an explanation.

“It’s time for your first mission.”

Seonghwa grins from ear to ear, eyes disappearing behind his lids as he looks your way. You blink back with your mouth agape. It seems too soon for you to be doing something like this. You can’t understand Hongjoong’s game plan in deciding this, but there must be one.

“A covert mission. Get in and get out without being seen or leaving tracks. Relatively simple for someone with your history, and it may hit a little close to home. We’ll be raiding a military warehouse for some supplies. Y/N, you and Yeosang will be on the watch team. San and Jongho, you’ll be on the infiltration team. Y/N, if you can handle holding a sniper rifle, your job will be to watch for guards. Yeosang will do the same at the back entrance of the warehouse while you’ll be watching the front. Yeosang, as leader of this mission, you’ll be calling a majority of the shots when there. Does this sound manageable?”

You watch as Yeosang, Jongho, and San all nod without any hesitation. They don’t seem bothered by your presence on the mission in the slightest, but for some reason, that doesn’t make you feel any less out of place. Seonghwa still watches you, eyes cracking open as his smile fades into a thin line.

“Yes,” you say quietly after you realize that he’s waiting for your confirmation as well. “But… well, I have a question.” You’re a bit hesitant, and this sudden show of authority by Seonghwa has you realizing that the others listen to him for a reason. It may not be your place to question him, but something about his methods and decisions strikes you as odd. You can’t tell whether it’s Seonghwa’s own decision or Hongjoong’s. Hell, Seonghwa may not even know the answer to your question, but you won’t let that keep you from asking. “Why would Jongho be on the infiltration team? He’s a Berserker. It would make more sense to have you be on the mission instead as an Elitist.”

A breathy laugh leaves Seonghwa’s lips. He glances away from you in favor of looking down at the table. “That’s the kind of thinking I hate. The military teaches you to be so close-minded and only think about two possibilities when there are at least eight. Jongho may be a Berserker but he is one who needs to stay away from most of the action. Yeosang is the leader of the mission because he is an Elitist, and as the leader, he needs to stay back and watch over things from a distance. Jongho can take care of any rogue guards who might be out and about, but his primary goal is to defend San. Just holding still and watching for enemies to waltz in is not his specialty. Catering to abilities and skillsets is far more important than just putting more Elitists on the field. Make sense?”

“I suppose…” you mutter more to yourself than to him. Out the corner of your eye, you can see Seonghwa grinning.

“Good. If everyone understands, then you had best get going. Hongjoong is preparing to enter the atmosphere as we speak.” The tall man stands up, sweeping his dark hair out of his eyes, and moves to leave the room.

“W-Wait, what?” You stutter out. Seonghwa stops in his tracks and turns to look at you over his shoulder.

“Did you not hear me?”

“No, no, I heard you. I’m just – where are we landing?”

“Have you ever been to Medra, Y/N?”

Shock overwhelms your body in an instant. Medra? How is that possible? You can only stare at Seonghwa with a dumb expression on your features for a good ten or twenty seconds.

“H-How? How are we already in Yuki? Aurum’s system is at least sixteen parsecs away, and we can’t have left the system too long ago. There’s no feasible way that a ship this size could make the trip to Yuki in such a short amount of time. Only the highest grade military ships can move that quickly.”

Seonghwa smiles at you and laughs again, his amusement shining through clear as day. It’s a bit embarrassing to be laughed at in such a manner but your confusion is too great to be caring about that right now.

“Why are you asking that question, Y/N? You should remember what ship you’re on. The Horizon is the pride of the Black Sea, the fastest ship in the galaxy. Atlanteia is home to only one ship that can travel this fast, and the galaxy always gives us favorable traveling conditions. It shouldn’t surprise you one bit. Now, hurry up and get ready.” Seonghwa doesn’t wait around to tease you any longer; he turns on his heel and walks out of the room without any further ado.

You blink at his retreating figure until he’s completely out of sight before turning to San. “Wh-What am I supposed to do?” You ask. You know that each and every single one of these people is expecting great things from you given your reputation, but if they don’t explain what the fuck you’re supposed to do, you won’t get to show them anything at all.

San stands up from his own seat as well and motions for you to follow him out the room in the direction Seonghwa headed. Both Jongho and Yeosang get up at well, so you rush to lift yourself and trail after San before he gets too far ahead.

“The Horizon is home to three transport ships for on-planet distance traveling. We use them for almost all of our missions, so that’s what we’ll be taking to get to the Military Warehouse. Hongjoong will land the ship a couple hundred kilometers away from the warehouse so we can avoid being seen entering the atmosphere. Our cloaking controls on the ship will help but as I’m sure you know, the military has countermeasures for that sort of thing.”

“Hongjoong flies his own ship?” You inquire, surprise lacing your tone. Somewhere behind you, Yeosang releases a loud laugh.

“Hongjoong would never let anyone else steer the ship. Not even Seonghwa is allowed to touch the controls, and the one time he did, Hongjoong broke three of his fingers.”

Your surprise morphs into horror at Yeosang’s retelling of the story. San glances over at your expression and a small sigh escapes him.

“We’re headed down to the hangar bay,” he explains, one hand coming to rest on your arm as he guides you down the corridor. His touch is light over your bandages but even with the faintness, your wound throbs from the impact. “We’ll suit up and get weapons there.”

“Suit… suit up?” You echo.

“You’re hardly inconspicuous in your current outfit. The best way to hide in your surroundings is to blend in with them.” San motions towards your outfit, a small smile playing at his lips. “Did you ever see ecosuits during your time in the military?”

“No way,” Yeosang cuts in again, answering before you have the chance to respond yourself. “Aera was the only military in Aurum’s system to get ecosuits. We were leaders in advanced technology.”

“Actually, I did see them,” you counter. Casting a quick glance over your shoulder, you spot Yeosang’s bewildered expression and continue explaining. “My unit received a shipment of ecosuits to use on covert infiltration and assassination missions. I believe it was engineers on Eros who built the first versions of ecosuits though.”

Yeosang all but sneers at your comment, and you smirk back at him. San glances back with you, a loud laugh erupting from his lips as he spots the bothered expression across the blonde’s features. For someone who is supposed to be a traitor, he sure seems to have a lot of pride in his home and military…

The man brushes off your comment a moment later. He disguises his annoyance with a smile before addressing you. “If you aren’t careful, I’ll have to put you in your place,” he says with the slightest hint of a threat to his tone.

“It’s not the first time a man has threatened me with that possibility.”

San snickers under his breath at your comment, but Jongho releases a full-bodied laugh that echoes through the corridor. It’s weird seeing a Berserker act so carefree and docile in all honesty. You have to look forward again though, because San stops you with his arm and you nearly collide with a wall. Well, it’s less of a wall and more of the doors of an elevator, but it would have been both embarrassing and painful nonetheless. San presses a button on the wall, receiving an immediate ding in response to his actions.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen someone who can keep up with Yeosang’s level of feistiness,” Jongho comments as you all step into the elevator.

“What do you mean?” You inquire, eyes on his back as he steps in front of you.

“We haven’t had anyone on the crew who can match his temper and arrogance in a while.” Jongho shrugs while keeping his eyes forward as the elevator doors slide shut. “You seem to be the type to balance him out with calmness and humility. At least that’s the aura I get from you. Yeosang always feels so angry but you exude the opposite of that.”

As intriguing as Jongho’s explanation is, it isn’t the part that catches your interest. Rather his comment about how it’s “the first time in a while” is what strikes you the most. You were under the impression that the crew had only consisted of eight people and that’s it. You didn’t even think to consider that more people used to be a part of the crew. Yet Jongho’s words seem to confirm the presence of previous crewmembers.

“Did there used to be more people on the crew?” You ask with a bit of hesitance in your tone. You aren’t sure whether you’re breaching a line that should not be crossed. You get your answer a moment later. Jongho turns to you with his mouth open to respond, and Yeosang sends the most heated glare you’ve ever seen in his direction.

The elevator dings, breaking through the awkward tension that has suddenly arisen between Yeosang and Jongho, and San tugs you out of the elevator before you can ask if it’s a touchy subject. The moment you two are out of earshot of Yeosang, San leans close to you, his lips brushing the shell of your ear as he speaks.

“Don’t bring up any past crew members. It’s a sensitive topic for many, and some respond with aggression rather than grief.”

You nod along to his words and bring your gaze back to where Yeosang is now exiting the elevator. There’s no time to dwell on San’s words or the possibilities lurking behind them because he keeps pulling you further into what must be the hangar bay. One quick glance at the vast open area to your left confirms your suspicions.

Three identical ships reside in the bay, much smaller and more compact than you expected, but you recognize the model to be the same as those of the military. The only difference lies in the color of the ships, each a jet black hue that is a stark difference to the white, gold, and red you’re used to seeing on each planet. San keeps pulling your attention left and right though so you can’t gawk at the ships for too long when he’s dragging you to a different corner of the room.

“Here,” he starts, pointing down at a table. It’s covered in an array of weapons – guns, knives, bullets all lined up and stacked atop each other – along with a stack of what must be ecosuits. The black kevlar is a familiar sight but not a pleasant memory, and you can only stare down at the suit with disdain in your eyes. “You can step behind the cabinet to change, if you’d like. We normally just change out here but… I can see how you may not want to do that.”

You laugh at his words, taking the tough material from his hands and bundling it up in your grasp. “Oh, I have no problem stripping down with you all but that’s more of a third date kind of thing to do, don’t you think?”

San responds with a laugh of his own, nearly choking on his saliva as he struggles to catch his breath, and you step around the cabinet he mentioned to slip into the ecosuit. It’s relatively easy to slip into, despite the bandage on your arm getting a bit in the way, but the bigger issue is that you’re having trouble zipping the back all the way up. Asking for help isn’t an option; the words Daichi spoke to you in your dream days ago still linger with you and despite claiming to not care about his words, you are a bit paranoid.

“Someone near you is a dangerous threat, one that you’ve never encountered before. You must be careful. Guard yourself wisely.”

So your only option is to suck it up and pull the zipper over your cascading tattoos rather than asking for help. San startles you a moment later, head poking around the corner as you have your back to him.

“Hey,” he says. You whip around so fast that it hurts your head, fingers still on the zipper that isn’t quite all the way up. You can only hope that he somehow missed the marking on your back. “You good?”

“Y-Yea, yea.” You nod a few times and give the zipper one last yank. It gives and pulls all the way up thankfully, saving you from any further awkwardness.

“Cool, you can just throw those clothes in a pile out here.” You gather the wad of clothes on the floor and follow San back out. Tossing them atop an already existing pile of clothes, you stretch your arms a bit to get used to the tight material over your body. The military never made these things the most comfortable to work in, so tight you can barely breathe properly, but at least the tech involved is neat to some extent. You never were one for enjoying the engineering side of things but some of your closest friends were and that was enough for you to at least respect the efforts that were put into these things.

Yeosang catches your attention, pulling you out of the memories by beckoning you closer to the table with weapons across it.

“If you can manage it with your arm, this will be yours for the mission,” Yeosang explains. You examine the weapon before you, a basic military-grade sniper rifle. It isn’t much different than the ones you’ve used in the past, but this one has more intricacies and decorations. You lift it with relative ease, finding it surprisingly lightweight despite the size.

“It’s fine. My trigger finger still works just fine and that’s all I should need with this rifle.” You peer through the scope. “No fine laser tracking on the scope, but I’ll manage.”

“Well, that’s only because your job isn’t to kill anyone. Just to be on the lookout for people coming in and out of the warehouse.” You pop the clip cartridge as Yeosang speaks, finding it full of bullets. He catches your questioning stare. “With precautions, of course. It would be stupid to give you an unloaded gun.”

“It would be stupid to give a highly dangerous criminal her weapon of choice too, but here we are.”

Yeosang chuckles at your comment. “Remember that you are aboard a ship full of criminals. You couldn’t possibly take all of us on, so I think we’re opting for a safe bet in giving you a loaded gun. Maybe it’s just in our blood to think that way though.” The Elitist turns to San and Jongho. “Go ahead and board the transport ship. Jongho, you’ll take the primary pilot seat. San, take secondary.”

Jongho follows the order first, but San hesitates. After a slight roll of his eyes, he trails after Jongho and goes aboard the transport ship.

“And for you, Miss Y/N, I’ll take that off your hands for now.” Yeosang extends a hand in your direction. You push the sniper into his hands. He grins at your quick compliance. “Good girl. See, we can make you obedient yet.”

You bite down on your tongue to keep from lashing out in response. Yeosang notices your restraint and arches a brow at you, teeth sinking into his lower lip.

“I’ll gather the rest of the weapons and meet you on the ship. You can go ahead and board now.”

“With pleasure,” you grumble under your breath, but you make sure to say the words loud enough for Yeosang to hear.

The interior of the transport ship is compact and small, consisting of only two compartments: the pilot seats and a slightly wider and more open area meant for carrying soldiers. You see Jongho and San fiddling with the controls in the pilot’s cabin, but you aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself now that you’re aboard. You seat yourself in one of the seats where you can peer into the cabin and watch them work. It’s a new territory for you as you’ve never piloted a ship this small before. You’re used to spaceships meant for doing small scale perimeter checks around a system and planets. Ships like these are definitely not your specialty, and you only remember riding one on a few occasions.

Yeosang steps into the back cabin after a few minutes, his long blonde flopping forward as he ducks to get in the door. He bears a hefty duffel bag on his back but drops it to the floor without a care as he turns to shut the door of the ship.

“Y/N, these are for you.” He comes closer to you, opening his palm to reveal a thin black wristband and a small grey device.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” You ask, blinking between the items and Yeosang.

“It’s a communication system that hones you into certain channels based on the frequency. The main channel is for all members of the crew, and its frequency is around 480. The one we’ll be using for the mission is 640. They’re paired with each other, so no one aside from us can hear our conversations.”

He sighs and picks up the small grey device first, leaning close to your ear without warning. You flinch away from him at first but he inserts the device with a surprisingly gentle touch. It’s snug against your ear and rubs awkwardly against the piercings decorating the shell of your ear.

“You seem to have a lot of piercings for a military person,” he comments as he pushes past the metal barriers. “It’s kinda hot, not gonna lie.”

“Focus on the task at hand,” you scoff. Yeosang chuckles to himself but does as told, thumbing over the material to make sure it’s secure in your ear. He slips the wristband around your hand, and it snaps to your wrist.

“To change the frequency just drag your thumb across the band and wait for this radar to pop up. Move left and right to find the frequency you want, and you’re good to go.” Yeosang swipes his index finger over the band and helps you set it to the desired frequency before pulling back. He raises his own wrist to his lips and speaks softly against it.

“Can you hear me?” His voice is loud and intruding in your ear, and a crackling sound follows his words. “Good,” he says as you grimace.

Yeosang moves towards the pilot’s cabin. You can hear him speaking to someone over an intercom and recognize the timbre of Hongjoong’s clear voice. You can’t tell what they’re saying, but Yeosang explains it when he returns.

“We’ll be landing soon. It should take around forty-five minutes to reach the outskirts of the warehouse.” Yeosang sits across from you, one leg coming to rest atop the other. His blonde hair stands out even more now that he’s dressed in all black, but that isn’t exactly what’s on your mind as you watch him closely. He notices your lingering stare and lack of response in an instant. “Is something on your mind?”

You purse your lips. “Why did you leave the military?”

Rather than words, Yeosang replies with a hearty laugh. You blink at him, thoroughly unamused by his answer, and that annoyance must read on your features because he explains himself after a moment. “You’re good at deflecting, I’ll give you that. To answer your question though, I didn’t leave the military.”

“That’s not possible. You couldn’t have gotten the chains without attempting to leave?”

“Do you know why they call me the Royal Betrayer?”

You freeze at the question. “I-I didn’t even – I didn’t know they called you that.”

“Well, it’s what they call me on Aera. I was tried for treason. I was going to be publicly executed for crimes against the crown and the Royal Guard, but I was able to get out of jail the night before my execution date. I got the brand that same night before I escaped.”

“How the hell did you escape? I thought Aera had one of the most protected prisons.”

Yeosang shrugs his shoulders, settling further back against the seat. “There just weren’t that many guards that night. I try not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes. I just accept it and move on, so that’s exactly what I did back then too.”

“That doesn’t explain why they call you – wh-what, the Royal Betrayer?”

“Lots of people don’t realize that even princes and royals are capable of treason.” Yeosang glances off to the side, staring at the floor rather than at you. …a prince? Then –

“I’ve heard of you,” you say aloud. Yeosang’s lips quirk up into a smile. “W-Well, I’ve heard of a prince who betrayed the crown on Aera. His name wasn’t Yeosang though. It was Kang something…”

“Kang Minhee,” Yeosang says for you. “Yours truly. It’s amusing to think that if you had been on Aera rather than Eros, I could’ve been one of your targets if I had stayed there. Funny how fate chose for us to meet like this instead.”

“I wouldn’t speak too soon. There’s always a possibility of me putting a bullet in your before this is all over.”

“Before it’s all over? How do you think this is going to end, Y/N?”

He’s not talking about the mission; no, that much is obvious. He’s talking about your involvement with the crew, with Hongjoong, your stay aboard the ship, and frankly, you have no idea how to respond to him. You don’t know how it is going to end. You haven’t thought that far ahead, which is typical of you, but also just something that didn’t cross your mind prior to now. When you were stuffed in a crate, you thought of escape ten times over, but you haven’t once thought of it since then.

“Consider that food for thought. It’s time to head out now. Hongjoong just opened the hangar bay doors.”

✧✧✧

a/n: here we are nearing the end of act one!! i hope you all enjoy this chapter lots! it wasn’t too eventful but the real juicy stuff is gonna hit with the next part!

taglist: @faeriewoobin​ @sugarrimajins​ @atinyinwonderland​ @2504-life @lil7bluedragon @sparklychangbin​ @jeong-uwu​ @jeonartemis​

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

[stardust-walker]

High Hopes

word count: 2767

If anyone wants to be added to my taglist, just let a girl know!

Previous Chapters: 1 2 3 4

Chapter 5

Dove felt the blood drain from her face. Her stomach turned as she closed her eyes to keep from spilling the already minimal contents of her stomach onto the rooftop. A sudden shout followed by a click caused her eyes to shoot open. The brunette nudged her way past Glenn as she stared down at the other men in their group, weapons all pulled on each other except for T-Dog. Her heart sank before she heard Rick’s voice. “Drop it. Or I swear I’ll do it. I don’t care if every walker in the city hears it.”

There was an audible exhale from Glenn as the crossbow was lowered, but the way Daryl stared at T-Dog still made Dove uneasy. She stood on the edge of the platform as Daryl finally spoke. “Ya got a do-rag or something?” Much to her surprise, T-Dog reached into his pocket in order to provide Daryl with a blue bandana.

Finally feeling safe enough to descend, Dove to the few steps down to the rooftop slowly. Backpack straps clutched tight in her hand as the cool metal almost dug into the palm of her right hand, she came to a stop between T-Dog and Rick. It was like a train crash, you want to look away but you can’t.

“I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs,” Daryl spoke as he picked up his brother’s hand in a surprisingly delicate way, “Ain’t that a bitch.”

“I mean if I ever saw anything that looked like the definition of ‘ain’t that a bitch’ it might be that hand,” Dove whispered to Rick. Her stomach lurched again and she swallowed hard as she watched the hand be deposited in Glenn’s backpack. Glenn didn’t look pleased, but it wasn’t like any of them were going to stop Daryl Dixon anytime soon.

“Must have used a tourniquet. Maybe his belt? Would have been much more blood if he didn’t,” Daryl pointed towards the ground and Dove’s eyes scanned the fresh blood stains. Daryl began to walk off and with a nod from Rick, the others followed.

“I’m just going to pretend that Merle Dixon’s hand isn’t in my backpack right now,” Glenn said through gritted teeth as T-Dog walked off to collect Dale’s tools.

“I’m tellin’ you right now, if that shit starts stinkin’, I’m taking it out and using it for batting practice,” Dove shook her head. “Man this fuckin sucks.”

Daryl’s sudden shouts for his brother were definitely startling. Not only for the volume, but for the fact that they didn’t know if there were any walkers in the building that might hear him. She prayed there weren’t any.

As they walked into a room and saw two walkers down for the count, Dove let out an appreciative whistle.

“Had enough in him to take these two out one handed,” Daryl said as they all surveyed the room.

“That’s one tough son of a bitch,” Dove mumbled as she tiptoed past one of the walkers on the ground.

“Toughest asshole I ever met. Feed him a hammer, he’d crap out nails,” Daryl nodded as he reloaded his crossbow.

Dove walked slowly around the room, a quick peek out the window showed her there was nothing to see outside except the walkers roaming. Not that she expected much different.

“Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is,” Rick raised his gun and began to walk through the room.

“Plus, he was probably running on pure adrenaline. He might have crashed at some point. But like you said. Toughest asshole you ever met, right?” Dove raised an eyebrow at Daryl as she went to walk past him into the next room. “I mean I’m sure he’s fine,” her apology was lost as Daryl clenched his jaw, shook his head, and walked forward into the next room.

“Nice going,” Glenn shot her a thumbs up as he came up next to her.

“Shut up,” Dove grunted and stomped ahead, not wanting to fall behind too much.

 ~

The smell from the stove hit her before she even entered the room. Dove coughed and covered her mouth.

T-Dog covered the lower half of his face, “God what is that?”

Dove’s answer was muffled through her hand, “Burnt skin.” She caught the wary glance of her friend and shrugged. “What? I used to work in a crisis unit right out of college. Saw a lot of shit. But the smells would always be the thing that got me,” she shivered slightly as she stepped into the room just in time to see Rick approaching the stove.

Glenn approached from the side asking what it was and Rick just confirmed her suspicions. “Skin. He cauterized the stump.” That was it. Dove retched and ducked back out of the room. The contents of her stomach spilled out on the floor in front of her as she placed her hands on her knees to recover.

She heard footsteps approach and held a hand out into the room. “’m fine. Just give me a second.” Another cough echoed through the hallway before she was able to straighten up and reenter the room as she wiped her face on the sleeve of her shirt. “Sorry…”

The looks she got ranged from annoyed to sympathetic before Daryl shook his head and broke the silence. “He ain't dead. Nothin can kill Merle but Merle.”

Dove had to appreciate how much faith the man had in his brother. It was admirable. Just like she had to admire the fact that, in spite of an injury that could take another man out, Merle Dixon had somehow made it out of the building.

“Why the hell would he do that,” Glenn squinted at the bright light from the broken window.

“Why wouldn’t he? He’s out there alone as far as he knows,” Daryl mused as he pulled back from the window.

“You call that surviving? What are his odds out there,” T-Dog motioned towards the window.

“He’s right. Any sane man would assume that people who left him chained to the roof wouldn’t come back. Not that ya’ll didn’t have your reasons,” Dove shifted from foot to foot as T-Dog stared at her. She didn’t mean anything by it, but to her it seemed like nothing but facts.

“You couldn’t kill em,” Daryl stepped up to Rick. “Not so worried bout a dumb dead bastard.”

“What about 1,000 dumb dead bastards,” Rick snapped back. “Different story?”

“Take a tally, do what you want. I’m gonna go get him.” Daryl went to march off before Rick was able to stop him.

Dove’s wide eyes met Glenn’s shocked gaze as the two men argued about whether Daryl was going on not.

“You can’t stop me,” Daryl practically shouted.

The next thought that went through Dove’s head was that maybe Rick was actually a good cop as he was able to empathize with the other man. “He’s family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel.” It actually seemed to get through as Daryl stopped pacing like a caged animal. “He won’t get far with the injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head.”

T-Dog spoke as the attention turned to him, “Alright but only if we get those guns first. I’m not roaming the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions.”

Rick turned his head and nodded towards Dove. The young woman paused for a moment. “T’s right. I’m in but…I mean if it comes down to it, a gun is much faster than a crowbar and I would just feel a lot safer if we got the guns first.” Her hazel eyes glanced towards Daryl and she furrowed her eyebrows. “But I do want to help you find your brother. Because if it was my sister, I wouldn’t stop lookin until I found her or I knew she was dead.”

The expression on Daryl’s face was unreadable as he nodded his head. “Alright. But we best go get those guns, then. Don’t want Merle bleedin out,” his eyes narrowed at Rick again before he shouldered his crossbow. This might be the most agreeable that they had ever seen him, even if he still looked like he was ready to fight.

~

The five of them had settled down in another room so that Glenn could look at the map. He knew where the guns were and he knew the city best. Dove had perched herself on the edge of a desk and it was there she sat, legs crossed, when Glenn mentioned his plan about going out to find the guns. Alone.

Rick immediately interrupted, “You’re not doing this alone.” Dove’s hands shook as she ran a hand down her face.

“Even I think it’s a bad idea and I don’t even like you much,” Daryl agreed.

“It’s a good idea,” Glenn interjected from his spot on the floor.

Dove threw a thumbtack from the desk in his direction. “It’s a fucking awful idea! What do you got a death wish or somethin’,” she hissed at the younger man as she bounced her leg and shook her head.

“If you just hear me out,” Glenn almost pleaded. She couldn’t even believe they were having this discussion. “If we go out in a group, we’re slow. We draw more attention. If I’m alone, I can move fast.”

She hated the fact that he sounded right. She tuned out the mapping of the city until she heard it. “That’s where Daryl, Dove, and I will go.” Her head snapped up as she looked across at Daryl. He looked equally confused.

“Why me?”

“You’re crossbow is quieter than his gun,” Glenn shrugged his shoulders.

Dove sighed, hopped down from the desk, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Yeah but why me?”

Glenn stared up at her, “Next to me, you’re the fastest. I mean you played sports.”

“Yeah like ten years ago in high school!” Dove rolled her eyes.

“But, you’re fast. If things go wrong, you run for the guns. They're the most important thing.” Glenn pointed to the map on the floor.

Dove’s eyes scanned the crudely drawn diagram of the streets with narrowed eyes before finally letting out a sigh. “Alright. I guess I’m in.”

“While they wait here in the alley,” Glenn placed a gum wrapper on the board, “I run up the street, grab the bag.” He then explained the positioning of the others in the group. It sounded way too easy and usually when things sound that easy, they aren’t. “Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me.” Dove nodded her head in appreciation as he finished his explanation.

“Hey kid,” Daryl finally spoke up, “What’d you do before all this?”

Glenn squinted, “Delivered pizzas. Why?”

Dove’s eyes widened as she let out a quiet snort of laughter before she nodded her head. “Makes sense. Gotta learn the backstreets to make those thirty minutes or less, ain’t that right?”

~

The ladder that they had to climb down was less than ideal. Dove sighed as she looked down at it before she held a hand out in front of Glenn. “Uh uh. Didn’t you ever hear of ladies first? Plus, I don’t exactly feel like having anyone check out my ass,” she held two fingers up to her eyes before turning her hand to point at the two men. She swung her leg over the edge of the building and placed a foot on the top rung of the ladder as she heard Daryl speak up.

“Not much to check out,” he said just loud enough for her to hear.

Dove smirked wickedly for a moment. “Then check this out,” she raised her middle finger at both of them before she began her descent.

She heard Glenn say something about being nice to Daryl before beginning his own descent. Wouldn’t that be the day.

A few rungs from the ground, Dove hopped off the ladder and landed with a quiet grunt before she stepped to the side.

Glenn stepped past her once they were all on the ground. “C’mon,” he motioned down the alley.

Dove followed close behind Daryl, crowbar raised slightly as she stood next to the dumpster. She still didn’t like this.

“You got some balls for a Chinaman,” Daryl stated.

“I’m Korean,” Glenn corrected.

“Is now really the time for this,” Dove hissed through gritted teeth

Then Glenn was off. Dove moved forward slightly before she felt a tight grip on her arm. Her knees hit the ground as she was pulled behind the dumpster, a retort lost on her lips as Daryl motioned for her to keep quiet. As quietly as she could, Dove moved to position herself between Daryl and the wall. Back against the dumpster, she said in a barely audible whisper, “What the fuck was that?”

“Someone’s comin,” Daryl whispered just as quietly. Before she could even think about anything else, he had jumped to his feet, crossbow raised.

“Whoa don’t shoot me,” another voice shouted as Dove jumped to her feet, “What do you want!”

“I’m looking for my brother. He’s hurt real bad, you seen em?” Daryl didn’t lower his crossbow. Dove’s gaze shifted quickly between the two men. Or rather, Daryl and the boy.

Suddenly the boy shouted in Spanish.

“Shut up! You’re gonna bring the geeks down on us! Answer me,” Daryl growled as he approached with the crossbow. Dove stepped out from behind the dumpster.

“Daryl stop it! He doesn’t know what you’re talking about,” she snapped at him. She hoped she was right. All of a sudden, the boy wouldn’t stop screaming for help. Dove ran towards Daryl just in time to see him hit the boy in the face with the crossbow. “Ah, shit.”

“Shut up,” Daryl repeated as he held a hand over the boy’s mouth. A yelp of surprise slipped through Dove’s lips as two men came barreling down the alley. The shoulder of one of the men connecting with her own as he ran past her. Her back slammed against the wall, the world started to spin as she hit her head. The crowbar was wrenched from her hand and she watched as the two men started to beat Daryl.

A quick burst of adrenaline hit her like a truck and she mumbled a quiet, “Motherfucker,” as she stumbled to her feet. The one closest held her crowbar in his hands. She took two quick steps towards him and grabbed the crowbar, her hands wrapped around the man’s own. “Stop it,” she grunted through gritted teeth as the man fought to get control of the crowbar back. The woman’s nails dug into his fingers and she thought she had it for a second before she felt the air leave her lungs. An elbow to the stomach sent her reeling back. 

A commotion near the entrance to the alley stopped the two men. Her eyes went wide as she saw him. She was hoping he would have to take the other alley. One of the men screamed, “There’s the bag! Take it, take it.”

Dove shook her head and attempted to stumble to her feet again, the crowbar was close by. She thought about throwing it, but then the screams of one of the men drew her attention back. Daryl was up on his knees. He had shot the guy right in the ass. Any other time, she might have laughed. Glenn’s screams for help chilled her to the bone as she scrambled to regain her footing. Even when she did, the elbow to the stomach was really messing with her. “Glenn, run!” But it was useless, because they already had him. She was hot on Daryl’s heels as the car pulled away from the alley with Glenn and the men inside.

“Come back here! You sumbitches,” Daryl shouted as he started to pull the gate shut.

Dove tried to slip through the hole in the gate. She wanted to run after the car, run after Glenn. It was stupid and she wasn’t thinking straight, but she couldn’t let her friend die.  A strong grip on her arm was the only thing that made her stop. She spun around, a wild look in her eye and met Daryl’s angry gaze as he shook his head. Dove’s attention turned back to the gate as the walkers began to pile against it. She couldn’t even hear the car anymore.

Glenn was gone.

 ----

@crossbowking​

[csykora]

[A candid photo of Igor kissing his very grumpy toddler’s forehead goodnight]

The Greens could feel they were getting older, and Coach’s rookies just stayed the same. Two had joined CSKA that year. One of them was another Sergei, who we’ll call Seryozha. He had grown up skating eagerly every day, just outside their training camp in the city of Arkhangel. He thought Igor “was one of the smartest people I've talked to on this earth," and is pretty sure his idol didn’t know he existed. (Having read Igor’s book, I can now confirm). The other was Sasha, and had been born on the other side of the world, in Siberia, before he was taken early for CSKA’s system. 

Sasha did not like any of this any better than the Greens had before him. Picking up the tension between the team’s leaders and Coach Tikhonov, Sasha had no problem talking back when Tikhonov turned on him. After his first season, the same trick that had made Igor an officer was used on him, making him a real Russian soldier who could be shot for treason. Igor hadn’t fought it, but the whole team heard Sasha yelling down in Tikhonov’s office.

Quiet settled for a while when Sasha was privately promised a better position to soften the blow--the top right wing, at Igor's side. 30 was creeping up on Sergei. He, Igor, and Vova privately celebrated and mourned the upcoming '88 Olympics as the last time they might play together on the world stage before Sergei's clock ran out. Pretty soon Tikhonov would be ready to retire him, just like Kharlamov.

But there were still signs that replacing Sergei wouldn't be easy, on either side. One day in practice, Sasha was injured and the team doctor told him to just watch from the stands that night. Igor saw him leaving the locker room just as Coach came in. Coach demanded that he get his sweater on immediately. Sasha repeated what the doctor said, and Tikhonov repeated what he had said, but louder.

“‘I thought I had explained it clearly enough,’’” Igor remembers little Sasha saying. “‘I will not play. That is all!’” And he walked away. Igor had to cough and cover laughter as Coach stood speechless.

“Only his wife and his dog like [Tikhonov],” Sasha once said. “And I don’t understand how they do.”

In December of ‘87, Igor thought that with a little help, maybe he could score another point on Tikhonov. He reached out to the author of that article about the hockey program that he had read to the point of memorizing two years before. Their conversation turned into an interview. He admitted he wasn’t ready to share the deepest details, but even scratching the surface of the Soviet image was enough to attract attention. Igor decided he liked to think of himself as a bit of an author. All the papers were calling for more quotes, until Lena got fed up and unplugged their phone.

At practice after it was published, Coach Tikhonov screamed, “‘Comrades, I always thought that I was working with hockey players. But here, do you understand, it has become clear I was not right. Among us are writers! Larionov, for example, is a Boris Pasternak!’

I think we could safely say he was not pleased.”

Two months later, the national team headed to Calgary for the Olympics. Before the Games the senior players had asked as always--if we win, wouldn’t it be possible to train less this summer, to rest, to see our families during the coming year? Coach Tikhonov said they’d talk about it if they got him gold.

Journalists invited Igor to a press conference. They forgot a Russian translator, though, so when they asked the first question and he understood it, he decided not to bother pretending he didn’t speak English. They asked how his new literary career was looking (and whether he’d had any flare-ups of that tonsillitis). He told them what he thought was the truth, colder than it had been when he was 20.

“I do not hope for some kind of large and speedy change for the better….But, I am not losing hope. We shall see what we shall see.”

They still had the rest of the Olympics to play. Between periods in the first round, Coach Tikhonov took Sasha out to the hallway and began to lay into him for mistakes he may or may not have made yet. Sasha told him no again, so Coach Tikhonov punched him in the gut. 

Slava was the only one who saw, but he told the others. If thinking the team didn’t need him had snapped some key piece of Igor’s heart, the winter of ‘87 and ‘88 broke Vova’s massive one. They had won gold, again--and Vova had heard Tikhonov say that he wished he could coach the Canadians instead. Vova had swept more scoring titles, been named the best winger in the world, again--and Tikhonov had given a public speech about how Vova was proof that he, Viktor Tikhonov, and his physical training methods could make anyone a star. Igor was furious for his friend, and Vova was realizing nothing they did would ever be enough for Coach Tikhonov to stop hurting them. 

They had nothing to do at Arkhangel, after eight years of doing the same nothing. One night in the spring Vova and Igor climbed out their bedroom window and hiked through the woods to a bar in the city. They sat beside a Canadian journalist and gave a short interview, Igor translating for them both.  

By the summer of ‘88, Slava was done, too. He wanted permission to play in the NHL during the regular season, and he told everyone so. Officials told him no problem. And then they got out the red tape. 

“You would not wish it on an enemy. Especially not on Slava, who is my friend. It was painful to look at him, irritated, disappointed by the word that had been given to him, grown tired from going from office to office, lost.” 

When he complained, the Party told him if he wasn’t happy in Arkhangel he could always play in a Siberian labor camp instead.

But Igor was also busy, or trying to be, at home. He and Lena had their first baby, a daughter, Alyonka. Like her father, she was frighteningly small. If officials had thought becoming a husband and father would scare Igor into shutting up, like it had Lyosha, they were super wrong. The boredom, indignity, and constant inconvenience of Soviet life was bitterer now that he had to see it happening to someone else. When his daughter was sick, he couldn’t go home to hold her. When she was hungry, he might spend his whole day off wandering around the city, waiting in different lines to be told that there was nothing worth waiting for left. During parts of the season he could visit their apartment in Moscow in the afternoons, but couldn’t help cook or eat with Lena or stay to clean up and put Alyonka to bed. 

Just like Tretiak had, he asked Tikhonov for time off next August--no days off, just nights, to be able to stay for dinner and drive back for training. 

No.

“In August it was a life and death necessity for me to spend the night at the base? Well, the World Championship was not far off. Only eight months!”

Igor thought about it. He told the Greens that he was thinking about publishing another article. They were excited to read it, asking what this one would be about. He still wasn’t quite ready to say it, but he wanted them to know the moment was coming, so he just made them promise to read it.

Then he quit. In September he handed Tikhonov a letter explaining that he would play his last season with CSKA. They could let him go to the NHL during the regular season, or home to Khimik, or wherever he was wanted, as long as it wasn’t here. He went to the newspaper that promised him it could print fastest, and published it.

In his resignation letter, addressed to Tikhonov and now to the whole Soviet Union, he told everyone about the schedule (it was shocking, he said, that he and Lena managed to have a baby, when Tikhonov didn’t let him sleep beside his own wife); about how Tikhonov had made that schedule more important than Kharlamov, then Tretiak, and now Igor too; about Tikhonov punching Sasha; about the steroid injections he’d kept secret for Tikhonov for six years.

Those last two pieces were the wedge that any officials looking to shift the system needed. The papers published more pieces arguing one way and the other, which only made sure everyone heard about it. Fans and former players, now officers, stopped to pat Igor’s shoulder. Igor was informed that the legendary Tarasov, in his country retirement, had quite liked it.

Coach Tikhonov didn’t like Igor’s poetic inclinations any better this time. He was getting calls from all kinds of important people, and they weren’t going well. For the first time in years he was quiet, speechless. And then it became clear that was his response: he wouldn’t acknowledge Igor’s existence. He couldn’t take him off the roster now, but he could pretend he wasn’t there. No criticism in practice, no direction, nothing. 

That was the difference between them, Igor wrote, both of their fatal flaw: Igor wanted to talk to everyone in the whole world, and Tikhonov had never learned how to talk to people.

The veteran players on CSKA’s second line found quiet moments to come up to Igor, and let him know they were on his side. Slava, still fighting for his own right to leave the team, came to Igor as soon as he’d read it, and took his hand. He told him Igor had done the right thing. Sergei and Vova embraced him and agreed.

Lyosha wasn’t sure it was right to share what had been said in the room, or to undercut Coach, who had kept him when he was at his lowest, and he was afraid of being sent to Siberia. 

He told Igor, “You and I are not going the same path.” 

And they did.

CSKA went on the road in October. In Sergei’s hometown Chelyabinsk fans hung over the rails and heckled Tikhonov, asking if he’d come to steal more children. His brothers Nikolai and Yuri were an institution in the city, and locals had consoled themselves over losing out on the full set by imagining that Sergei was doing well for himself and making a name for their city. Tikhonov turned away from the ice to try to shout at a fan like he did his players, and was swamped. Igor burst out laughing. 

The next game, Tikhonov told the assistant coaches to tell Igor that Tikhonov still wasn’t talking to him but he could take a shift now, or whatever, not that Tikhonov cared. Igor caught the puck and carried it along the boards, expecting Sergei and Vova to chase him. Instead he hit a patch of bad ice, and then two of the other team landed on top of him on the way down. His right foot went the wrong way.

Now Tikhonov had a cast iron-excuse. Igor went home, and held his daughter, and waited and worried to hear what would happen if he didn’t heal in time for the next national team tournament--the Super Series, which would be the last warm-up before the ‘88 Olympics. It was out of his control, and he couldn’t bear that.

Igor has an explanation for what he did next that I’m sure felt sensible at the time. We, now, can gently set that aside. Igor had all the symptoms of a serious eating disorder, so for three weeks, he only drank water and honey.

Because, and I just can’t stress this enough, Igor, your bones heal in their own time anyway, he was back on the ice a month or so after that. Once again able to skate himself sick with CSKA’s reserve team, he started eating fruit and the occasional vegetable again. 

The team doctor, who I guess had been hired on the basis of being able to say, “All good, Coach!” over an injured player faster than anybody else, cleared him to play. (Like a stopped clock, Igor maintains that the doctor--who Igor had seen point a concussed Vova in the general direction of the goal, roll players over the boards, and offered Igor mystery drugs--got it right this one time. Again, gently, we can question Igor’s medical fucking expertise here.) 

It didn’t matter anyway. Tikhonov stood with arms crossed the whole time watching Igor skate, and said he was out of condition. He sent him home.

Igor was helpless again. His family wouldn’t get the pay from wins with CSKA, and now they were missing tournaments. Those could earn him $300, five months ordinary pay. He could train as much as he wanted alone--it wasn’t the same as playing with the Greens, and anyway now Tikhonov could always have a handy excuse to say he wasn’t back to his old self. All he had were his friends, who seemed sympathetic, but still hadn’t done anything.

Winter was coming on by now. He drove from Moscow to the training camp and walked across the grounds in the first drifting snow. Everything was quiet, cold, and clear, and he might as well have been twenty again, but this time he wouldn’t cross through the barracks door. Sergei, Vova, and Slava saw and came running down to meet him in the snow. They were glad to see him, worried for him, but they knew that Tikhonov was having his way.

I drove home along the Leningrad highway. I felt like shouting. ‘Where are your friends in a time of trouble? WHERE??? Can I expect sympathy from you, and nothing more?’...

Only my wife understood my despair.”

Main

Next>>

[fandom-necromancer]

1324. I'm not leaving you like this.

This was prompted by a wonderful anon! Somehow my Allen60s get longer and longer XD Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Allen60 (Warnings: Graphic description of violence)

‘Quick, to the right!’ Sixty pulled Captain Allen with him behind a pillar and scanned his surroundings. The sounds of footsteps echoed through what once had been a fancy lobby to a hotel, but now was just another building in Detroit’s lost district that was prone to decay and neglect. It was a single person, on guard duty but not alerted. Ambling through the halls. If they played their cards well, they could slip by unnoticed. Sixty waited until the footsteps were far enough away, then signalled Allen to make a run for the door behind the next pillar that would lead down to the basement level. He counted down from three, taking his husband’s hand and pulling him towards the door. An easy hack later they stood in the hallway behind it, descending on a creaky steel ladder. Sixty scanned for any enemy activity, but at least for now they were clear.

Before turning the corner into a maze of tunnels used for laundries, kitchens and other hotel facilities the guests shouldn’t see, Sixty activated the holographic screen of his hand. >The terminal should be in the back, according to our informant. >The energy usage confirms this, they would need a lot to cool their servers. Allen nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way. Sixty’s eyes may have lingered a bit on his eyes, determination emanating from them as they did so often. But the android worried. He always worried, that’s why he was so good at his job. But now all was depending on their distraction to work. If it hadn’t… Well, they were currently running towards the heart of their enemy’s operation. If anything went wrong, then- No. It would work. They didn’t know what was coming for them.

Sixty led Allen through the maze, taking the fastest route and only switching to alternative routes when they had to evade a patrol. Everything went smooth. At some point they heard nervous hushed voices talking into a phone or walkie-talkie. Their distraction had to have begun already. That was another point of concern: They had no way of communicating with their other teams. The gang they were infiltrating just now was one of the most dangerous Detroit had seen in years. Technically advanced, using code just like another weapon to use and hacking into any system that would be of help to them. Even the heavily protected police databanks guarded by programs and all androids present at the building had been no challenge for them. That’s why they were here. The gang had managed to break into their systems and steal their personnel-data. Name, occupation, address, age, family… They could wipe out the whole DPD if they wanted to. If Sixty and Allen failed today.

They turned around the last corner and Sixty laid his hand on the door handle, hesitating. ‘Hey’, Allen’s gentle voice whispered from behind him, as his hand found his way to his shoulder. ‘It will be okay. They don’t know we are here. They are distracted by our team up there. I have your back if someone comes in here. Go get that data and we’ll be out of here in no time.’ He smiled at him and that eased his stress levels a bit. He still couldn’t help and let go of the handle to turn around. He slung his arms around his human and pulled him close, pressing his forehead to the other’s. He felt his warm breath as he exhaled from his nose in amusement. Allen was the first to pull back, far too early. But they had a job to do. Also, he made it up with a quick kiss, before pushing him towards the door and ducking behind a crate for cover.

Sixty nodded to himself, entered the server room and pulled the door close behind him. It was cold in there. Not that it bothered Sixty but spending this much time amongst humans it felt… uncomfortable. He quickly strode towards the sole terminal, pushing his gun to the back so it rested solely on the strap over his shoulder for quick access. Then he braced himself, retracted his skin and pushed his hand down on the terminal. He concentrated on surveying the digital infrastructure and analysing the defences. He had far too quickly found the data he had searched for, so there had to be some kind of defence hidden. Except when they didn’t expect anyone to come this far. A server physically disconnected from the net and a terminal only accessible to androids could also be the only security measures they took. Sixty searched thoroughly and couldn’t find anything. It quickly became a question of whether he wanted to waste more time while their colleagues above them were in danger. In the end he took the risk and began downloading the data package, erasing it from their systems at the same time.

It worked for a while. Then all he felt was pain. Foreign current – no, his own current, redirected and misfiring – rushed up his arm from the console, as a program started to defend the terminal. Sixty didn’t know if he screamed, he needed all his concentration on the download. It still ran, no one could stop it or take access from Sixty, not when he had inserted himself this deeply in its system. But this program was powerful, it was almost as if it was… Another wave of pain surged through him and he saw his artificial skin waver over his arm. Still he pressed on the terminal. 40%. He would suffer through this. The other program felt like an interface. It was like an android mind turned into a virus and with the gang’s ruthless operations and expertise that wasn’t impossible. 61%. Thankfully it wasn’t too powerful. Not against his own systems. Except for his arm that burned under the electric assault, now completely exposed as his skin retracted. It felt like being set on fire and the sensation didn’t lower in intensity with time. As the current destroyed his pseudomuscles, he pressed the whole weight of his upper body against it to keep the connection upright. If he lost contact now, everything would have been futile. He would get through this. It was just pain. Damage. Nothing that couldn’t pass or be repaired. He could withstand this. He had to. 84%.

He gritted his teeth, watching how his arm had heated up enough to melt the plastic hull. It roasted to black sludge throwing bubbles, but that also melted some of his delicate receptors along with it, alleviating the pain a bit. Because of that he suddenly got enough power back under control to access his other sensors. That was when he heard the gunshots. Allen! His first instinct was to turn around and run to his aid, but he couldn’t walk away from the terminal. He had to stay connected. But to hell, this was a lot of gunfire. His mechanical heart beat faster as he willed the download to hurry. He had to get to his human! He was in danger. And there was only so much an organic being could withstand. He shook his head, trying to focus. His first priority was the data. They all depended on it. He just had to hope Allen stood his ground. 92%.

A grenade exploded outside and Sixty flinched, holding his arm in place with his other hand not to let it slip. His tears evaporated immediately from the heat in front of him. Allen only switched to grenades when his ammo was about to run out. Disperse his enemies and wipe them out with precise shots as they came back into range one by one. A solid tactic. But also, one he knew was desperate. Seconds. Why did it always come down to seconds? 97%

Silence. Sixty felt as if his pump had stopped. As if all thirium had been drained from him. Silence was never good. ‘No, no, no!’, he panted, watching the last numbers tick up. The download tinged complete and Sixty didn’t hesitate. From where he stood, he jumped to the door with all he’d got, his useless arm dangling at his side. He ripped it open, nearly ripped it out of the hinges too, and stared speechless over the dead bodies lying in the corridor. The crate had given in to the fire and frantically Sixty searched for any sign of his human.

A wet cough from next to him had him falling to his knees immediately, his remaining hand hovering over the man, just to cup his cheek ever so gently. ‘Allen…’ He sat next to the door, slumped down, his empty gun to his side. Sixty saw the damage to the bullet-proof vest from afar. The inner Kevlar was frayed at places and the protective fabric around it torn. No bullets had pierced the vest, but the damage still was intensive. The hard armour plates had been bent from the impacts and it made the man’s breath laboured. Sixty quickly got to getting his human out of it, getting out of his own vest and reapplying it to him. In the meantime, he ran quick scans. His torso, as well as any vital organs were intact, but the vest had broken several ribs and bruised his skin heavily. A bullet had scraped his head, blood dampening his hair, but already clogging. It wasn’t too deep. There were more bullet wounds on his leg and arms. Chances at survival weren’t too bad if he got him out quick enough. But the Captain seemed to have a different opinion to that:

‘Sixty…’, he groaned, speech making his ribs flare up. ‘Leave me be… The data is… more important. I’ll manage somehow.’ The android shook his head. ‘Bullshit. I’m not leaving you like this. You are coming with me!’ ‘Sixty…’ ‘Shut up’, he hissed. ‘And don’t you dare pull rank on me. We are getting out of this and you will be fine. End of discussion.’ He hoisted the man up, who barely managed to stifle his cry as he put weight on his leg. Sixty promptly swooped his human up and carried him as he hurried through the corridors.

He was merciless. Any human who got into his way was shot down. In his opinion they deserved it. If not by the suffering they had caused with their gang-activities, then by wounding the love of his life. Sixty wasn’t the most morally stable person, especially when it came to the people, he liked being hurt by someone. Not the best prerequisite for police work, but normally he had Allen at his side calming him down. One reason more to get him out of here fast.

He had broken radio silence as soon as he got out of the basement. They were already spotted, so it made no sense to not rely on what they had. He informed the team of Allen’s situation and ordered the retreat. They got what they had wanted. Their colleagues were safe now and they could weed out this gang another time. All that mattered to Sixty now was Allen anyways.

As he crossed the lobby he was running. He knew what his model was capable of, but he believed he had just set another record for how fast an android could possibly become. He had one goal and one goal only and Sixty always accomplished his mission. He was met by police cars and ambulances arriving at the scene, the backup they had requested in order to show the gang-members they had lost this battle. They weren’t here for another raid, but if the gang members pressed on, they would be soon. Sixty just ran past them. For once he was ready to give up responsibility.

He had finally gotten the attention of a medic and jumped into the back of an ambulance to lay his human down on the stretcher gently. Then he stepped back to let them do their first aid, staring hopelessly at the commotion around him. He knew they would need his help here, would need the data secured at the precinct. But more than anything else he wanted to stay with Allen. He stayed there staring at the medics, until someone touched his good arm. Sixty turned, ready to snap at the person, but halted as he recognised the RK900. ‘Go with him. We’ll give them hell.’

Sixty nodded, not knowing what to say. His eyes fell on Detective Reed checking his gun and Hank and Connor not far away talking to Fowler. He understood. Without another word, he climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat by Allen, who had been patched up to at least stop the bleeding. He held his hand and smiled at him. ‘It’s going to be alright.’

-

‘You still haven’t gotten that repair?’ The hoarse voice jerked Sixty from stasis, but he was glad for the interruption. Because that meant Allen was awake. Not only awake, but gently brushing over his ruined hull. He couldn’t feel it, but he saw it and took the man’s hand in his still functioning one. ‘No.’ ‘Sixty, you really should set priorities’, Allen chuckled and pulled a grimace from the pain. ‘I already did long ago’, the android muttered, squeezing his hand. ‘I wanted to see you were alright.’ ‘Well, I was. They pulled the bullets out and sewed me back together. No excuse for sitting here hurt.’ ‘It doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel anything in it’, the RK800 disagreed. ‘And I wanted to see you when you woke up. Didn’t want you to be alone, darling. That’s why you got hurt in the first place.’

‘Sixty.’ His tone sounded tired. ‘You are not blaming yourself for this again, are you?’ ‘It is my fault. I should have searched the terminal more thoroughly. I should not have been detected. But I also realise I couldn’t have chosen differently and that this is experience I can learn from. I’ll never let you alone again.’ ‘Jesus, Sixty. What if I have to go to the bathroom, hm?’ He had tried to lighten the mood a little, but the android looked at him in all seriousness. ‘I won’t leave you alone if you can’t defend yourself, like now. And I won’t accept a plan that has anyone separated in the future.’

His eyes softened. ‘I also feared to lose you in that room. When it went silent, I was sure to only find your body. Seeing you here next to me, alive and well, means it didn’t happen. I… I love you. And I couldn’t live without you. I need you to be my compass in life, my sense of direction and you need me to have your back and protect you. I don’t… I don’t know how-‘ ‘Shh, Sixty, I’m still here. We are both still here and it will be alright. It won’t happen. Come here.’ The android leaned forwards in his chair and Allen angled himself differently to hold his face and pull him in for a kiss. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll get back on my feet in no time and then we’ll get you repaired together, agreed?’ Sixty nodded slowly, not wanting to lose that touch so soon. And Allen left his hands there. He closed his eyes and felt the warmth of them on his skin. So warm, so gently, such a rough texture. A stark contrast to that cold server room and the empty basement. And he sighed, finally, letting go of all the tension that had stuck in his shoulders and back. ‘I might also need a new wedding ring’, he laughed quietly and a bit embarrassed, pulling up his arm with his hand to show the man. The strip of metal had fused with his hull there. Allen looked at it and wheezed. ‘Damn, Sixty. The next time you decide to have a meltdown, take it off before the mission!’

[outerspaceisbetterthannothing]

No Love Go [Alpha!Cal AU] - The Girl Who Cried Wolf. Part 3

The Girl Who Cried Wolf | Royal Blood | No Love Go | Gimme

Summary: How does it feel to lose something you’ve never had?

Warnings: ugh, usual stuff, lack of proofreading, smut and smut and some drama and, oh that’s new, graphic description of bloody violence, so 18+ kids and on your own risk only

A/N: without long prologues, here’s the next part of our favourite wolves’ adventures. Traditionally, all my love goes to my pixie @bringmethehorizonandpizza for kicking my ass and being my consultant reader. Traditionally, thank you @flannelpunkcalum for alpha Cal 😘. Enormous shout out to the wonderful @burncrashbromance for another mind blowing lyrics edit you can see in the moodboard (the theme song for this part is ‘No Love Go’ by Jesse Mac Cormack). And huge thank you to all of you who read, commented, sent asks and messages, kept asking when’s the next part coming and just patiently waited! I can’t even begin to explain how much your support meant to me! Anticipating future questions - yes, there will be a continuation, lol)) Feedback is extremely appreciated, as always. Enjoy!

***

Calum was sucking on your clit. His hands were holding your thighs, fingers leaving prints on your skin. His tongue was sliding up and down your entrance, teasing you, making you arch your back, but not entering you. Calum moved his lips to your thigh, kissing and sucking there, while his fingers moved to your core. His thumb pressed on your clit, drawing a long moan out of you. You stretched your arm out, burying your fingers in his curls, trying to move his head back to your already aching core. But he threw your hand off and kept sucking hickeys on your skin. 

“Cal, please,” you begged, not capable of holding back anymore. You felt him smiling into your thigh, his fingers started teasing on your entrance. 

You sobbed at the feeling, one of your hands squeezing on your breasts, while another went back to his hair. This time he gave in and turned back to your clit, his lips wrapped around the little bundle, while his fingers finally entered you. You groaned deeply, feeling all of your tension gather in one spot, where he was devouring you. You kept moaning out his name mixed with lustful yes’s and pushed through your greeted teeth fuck’s. 

His fingers were fucking you with the breathtaking speed. You were so close, the pit inside your stomach burning harder, ready to explode. You felt his free hand find yours on your breast and squeeze. And that moment it happened.

Your alarm went off. 

You opened your eyes to see it flicker with the red numbers. 6.35. 

You rolled on your front, cursing the whole world, Calum and yourself. You hated waking up like that, aching for the release. And it was the second morning in a row it happened. Your body was missing him, longing for him, and no matter how hard you were trying to overcome it, you weren’t any close to it. You couldn’t get him out of your mind. But you also couldn’t give in to your instincts. 

You looked at the clock again. At least you had some time to finish what he started in your dream. You closed your eyes and brought back the pictures, your imagination ready for you, your hand slipping lower on your stomach.

***

Calum opened his house door and bent down to pat his tiny dog. 

“You do have the habit of saving lost souls,” commented Ashton, following Cal inside and closing the door. “First that dog, than Andy.”

“You wanna eat, buddy?” Cal asked the dog not paying attention to what Ash was saying.

The pup ran to the kitchen, two men followed him. Calum filled a bowl with the name ‘Duke’ on it with the dog food, while Ashton poured them two glasses of whiskey. They sat down on the opposite sides of the kitchen counter. 

“Did you have any time to look at the chemicals suppliers offer?” Ashton asked, his eyes not leaving his friends face for a moment.

Calum nodded, spinning the glass in his hands.

“And what do you think of it?” 

Cal shrugged. “Whether we sign it or not, it won’t change much,” he answered finally, his eyes still on the glass. 

Ashton frowned. “The fuck is on with you, Cal?” 

Calum looked up at Ash, but turned his eyes away pretty fast. “Nothing much. Just tired, is all.”

“Tired, huh?” Ash took a sip of his drink. “Is it your omega?”

Calum looked up again, sad smile on his face this time. “She’s not my omega,” he shook his head. 

Ashton’s frown grew deeper. “Hold on, she went into a heat after you two fucked, right?” 

Calum nodded and finally drank from his glass, the liquid burning his throat, distracting him from the memories Ashton brought up. 

“And you were the only one to tame her heat?” Ashton went on with stating facts.

Calum nodded again.

“So you two are mates?”

“Obviously,” Calum muttered, knowing exactly where Ashton was going with that. 

“Then why the hell would you say she’s not your omega? That’s exactly what she is.”

Calum nodded this time too. Ashton was right. And still, she wasn’t his omega. What could he say to that? He took another sip.

“Cal?” his friend kept asking. 

Calum sighed and gave in, “Remember how we could only track her down to the last city she lived in, but never to her original pack?”

“Yeah,” Ashton confirmed. 

“That’s because she ran away from her pack and tried pretty hard to cover all tracks.”

Ashton shrugged nonchalantly, “Not the strangest thing.”

“Taken out of the context, probably, not,” Calum agreed.

“And what is the context?”

Calum sighed again. Then said, “She’s from the Northern Lakes pack.”

“The one with the alphas bloodline?” Ashton gasped.

Calum nodded. 

“Okay, but so what?” his friend obviously didn’t see much problem in that, until an idea popped in his mind. “Don’t tell me- Don’t tell me she was someone else’s omega before!”

“Are you out of your mind?” Calum looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed in displease. “She’s never been anyone’s omega before me!”

Ashton raised his hands, “Chill, man! You’re just being mysterious with that shit and you know things like that happen sometimes.”

“She’s the alpha’s daughter,” Calum dropped the bomb, enjoying Ashton’s dumbstruck face. 

“But that bloodline produced only boys, that’s why they kept their position for so long,” Ashton mumbled. 

“Yeah, well, she was the first, obviously,” Calum shrugged. He knew what people said about that pack. Still, he had his own sources. 

“Did she tell you that herself?” Ashton asked and Calum heard suspicion in his voice.

“I checked her words, if that’s what you’re thinking about.”

“How?”

Calum shrugged again. “I have some friends on the north. They confirmed there was a daughter of the Lakes pack alpha’s and that she disappeared around ten years ago. The description matched.”

Ashton finished his drink and poured himself more. “Why did she ran away in the first place? Her bloodline is probably the oldest in the country and as the alpha’s daughter she could have it all.”

Calum sighed again. “From what I got, her family is pretty crazy.” Ashton chuckled to that. “Her father didn’t even presumed she could ascend as an omega. He was raising her as an alpha, future leader of the pack. So when she did ascend, things got rather harsh. She had to leave not to let her older brother kill her.”

Ashton kept gaping at Cal. “And what did her father think about his son trying to kill his daughter?” he finally asked.

“Oh, he was hoping she’ll kill her brother first.”

“Crazy, you said? I’d rather use ‘sick’ for this family,” Ashton stated, drowning half of his drink in one go. 

“You don’t say,” Calum muttered in agreement.

“So what now? She has issues with her omega nature?” Aston asked some time after.

Calum just nodded, rubbing his chin. “She said she doesn’t have it in her, obeying to the man,” he added. 

They kept silent for some more time, until Ashton came up with one more question.

“Maybe your dick play wasn’t that good?” he asked, smirking at his friend.

Calum looked back at Ashton in disbelief. “My dick play was gorgeous if you need to know! She was seeing stars and tearing up with my name on her lips.”

“You sure those weren’t tears of disappointment?”

“Fuck off, mate!” Cal scoffed to that.

“Just kidding, bro,” Ashton laughed. Calum couldn’t help but smile to that too. That was exactly why he couldn’t imagine his life without his best friend, who was able to make him smile even in the dark hours. 

“What are you gonna do?” Ashton asked all serious again after his laughter went off.

Cal shook his head, “I have no idea. For the first time since I became an alpha I have no fucking idea what to do.” He sighed, finished his whiskey and added, “But not like there are so many options. I can force her into it. Or I can let her go.” 

“You can’t let her go,” Ashton said. “You two are mates, you know it doesn’t work like that.”

Calum inhaled deeply, hiding his face in his hands. “But I can’t force her into it, either. I just can’t do that to her. So what options am I left with?”

“Just give it some time, Cal,” Ashton said with another heavy sigh. “Give her some time. She won’t be able to deny it. She just needs time to, probably, come to terms with that.”

Calum moved his hands off his face and nodded, looking at his friend. That he could do, he thought, while Ashton filled their glasses with amber liquid and raised a silent toast.

***

You strolled down the grocery shop aisles, debating on the fastest and easiest ways of not to die of hunger and still eat more or less healthy. You hated shopping on weekdays, having no power or patience enough for it after work. But as you spent your weekend first on going through the heat and then on bailing your eyes out and cursing on the whole world and your own damn nature, you had to do your shopping today, having a literally empty fridge. You didn’t even have any liquor there, all the bottles finished in an inefficient attempt to forget the past weekend.

You stopped next to the fridge with cottage cheese, thinking it would be the easier meal for tonight, when you noticed him. The wolf was standing next to yoghurts. His basket was empty. You forced yourself to look away before you draw his attention. You took a deep breath and tried to convince yourself there was nothing strange in a grown up man choosing yoghurts. Who said men only cared for meat and beer after all? Fuck the stereotypes and let men like yoghurts. That was logical enough if not for the couple of things. One of them being the fact that he left yoghurts without picking one and followed you to the vegetables aisle, his basket still suspiciously empty. And the other being the fact that you’d seen that wolf at least for the third time that week. And it was only Wednesday. 

You looked back at him again. He was rather tall, but too lanky, so looked more like a teenager than a grown up man. Uneven haircut and a neck tattoo only added to the childish look of his. You felt he was an omega, and frankly his posture and shaky hands only proved you right. You’d expect to see a wolf like that somewhere like an outskirts of a big industrial area, living alone, being an outcast, exiled from a pack by stronger male wolves as a weak element. With bigger integration into human society there were less and less situations like that among your kind. You thought, picking on herbs, how much stronger the pack bonds were becoming in past generations. But there still were some less civilized communities, so the occasion of weak wolves being thrown away, unfortunately, wasn’t that rare. Maybe he was an outcast, you though. A wolf like that being used to hunt you down seemed rather unrealistic and, you hated to admit, offensive. But what if the look of him was delusional? You were an omega yourself, for god’s sake, yet you’d give any pure blood a run for their money. You threw another careful look at the guy. He was an omega, no doubts there, but there was something else in him, which left a taste of danger on your tongue. 

You huffed, picking up a cauliflower and the couple of eggplants and trying to keep him in your eyesight. Were you thinking too much of it? The town was pretty small after all, but the annoying voice in your head was nagging it wasn’t that small. You hadn’t met Calum even once unless he wanted you to, yet you’d seen that guy every day. And even though you knew alpha had his reasons not to cross paths with you, while that wolf hadn’t, you still thought it was too strange for a mere coincidence.

You understood you lost him when you were paying for your food and let yourself relax. Not for long though, as you saw him again on a parking lot. The wolf was getting in his car. His hands empty. He left the shop not buying anything. You felt your hands starting to shake. 

You got into your car and left the store parking, keeping eyes more on the rear view mirror than on the road in front of you. His car was following you all the way to your house. When you parked next to your apartment building, you saw him drive past. Then he parked at the end of the street and stayed in a car. 

You felt danger slipping into your life again, anger raising inside of you. Why would it happen to you again? Why would it happen now?

You found shelter inside your apartment, persuading yourself he’d harmed you already if he wanted to. His task was obviously just watching you. But for how long? You were unloading your shopping bags, while your mind was running up to one assumption after another. 

Was he your father’s wolf? Sent in search for the long lost daughter? The lucky one to come to the Lakes with the good news? In that case you had almost nothing to worry about, except for your past finally finding you, of course. If you knew your father, and you flattered yourself with the idea you did know him, he wouldn’t act spontaneously. He’d wait, look around, figure out chances and dispositions, and only after that he’d act. Which gave you time. And that also was the less horrible option, as your father was undoubtedly a sick bastard, but he didn’t want to see you dead that much.

If the wolf was from your brother, you were much likely to be screwed. Your brother was even sicker than your dad. The only question was if he wanted to kill you with his own hands, or would be satisfied with just your breathless body, brought to the Lakes. You had no idea what had been happening in the pack after your runaway, you could hardly predict your brother’s behaviour and that did leave you unsettled. But if you knew at least one thing, your brother wasn’t the type to send an omega after you. 

The morning didn’t bring you any answers, as you were positive you were being followed to your work. The car was different, but not the wolf inside. And you could swear this wolf’s eyes didn’t leave you for a moment until you disappeared behind the office doors. 

You kept thinking about that while working. As worrying as it was, some wolf following you kept your mind occupied and distracted you from thinking about alpha. The thoughts of him made your heart shrink with guilt and regret, so you were almost glad you got a break from it. 

And then it stuck you. Your father and brother weren’t the only alphas who could have you followed. Could it be Calum? You started thinking. You were absolutely sure you hadn’t seen that guy from the yoghurt aisle before this week. You hadn’t seen that much wolves in general before Calum, they were careful with who they let see them. Could Calum have one of his wolves following you? But why? To keep an eye on you? To control you?

You felt blood boil in your veins. That was the reason why you hated being an omega. Every damn alpha being sure he could take control of your life without asking. You tried not to focus on the fact that the damn alpha in question was your actual mate, still trying to deny that fact. Even that didn’t give him the right to play you so dirty. 

“Heey, sorry to bother, but I need to get your answer today,” you heard behind your back. 

You looked back to see one of your colleagues, Jess. She was looking at you with a question in her eyes. You tried to remember what was that question she wanted an answer to, but your mind was too overwhelmed with all the wolf drama to concentrate on anything else.

“About?” you asked, trying to keep your tone calm.

“The trip we plan for the weekend. You remember, I told you on Monday. A little outing.”

“Yes, sure! Sorry, those reports are basically killing my brain,” you apologized.

Jess smiled in a friendly manner and rolled her eyes, “Yeah, tell me about it!”

“Remind me, please, where exactly it’s going to be?” you asked, having a bad feeling.

“In a campsite not far from the city, about forty miles or so. There’s a national park there, some really beautiful places,” Jess explained.

Your throat tightened immediately. You’d known your answer before it formed in your mind. You were prohibited to leave the town. “Oh, I’m sorry Jess. I thought it would be just for the couple of hours,” you decided to play dumb. “I can’t leave for the whole day, have plans in the evening.”

“Male plans?” Jess smiled to you. 

You felt your muscles relax. You liked Jess, she was one of the first people to actually start talking to you when you just moved here and you felt like with time you could really become friends. That’s why you smiled and said, “Maybe.”

You didn’t completely lie, you told yourself. Even though you had no plans with Calum, he was the reason you had to say no to the trip. Jess left couple minutes later after wishing you luck with your plans. You sighed heavily. You needed something more serious than sheer luck to get out of the mess you called your life. 

Somehow that short chat with Jess distracted you from your heavy thoughts and let you work in peace till the end of the day. But when you saw the same guy from the yoghurt aisle on the parking lot of your office building, all your worries overflown you instantly. You got in the car, understanding there was a simple way of narrowing the number of suspects in organizing this follow. So instead of driving home, you turned to the nearest bar. 

You chose the first guy you saw. It wasn’t important how he looked like, the only thing that mattered was that he seemed to be interested and bought you a drink. Twenty minutes later he was ready to take you on that very bar counter if you pleased. You were mumbling some shit about leaving with him, as he leaned in to kiss you, his hand on your waist. 

Before you felt his lips, a wolf’s hand lay on the guy’s shoulder, stopping him from what he was about to do and giving you all the answers you needed. You grabbed your purse and left the bar abruptly, letting the men sort out the situation themselves. The last things you heard before the door closed behind you were the guy’s exclamations and omega’s surprisingly low voice, explaining how you were “taken”. 

You pulled out of the curb on a racer’s speed. You didn’t really remember where his place was. Leaving in a taxi the only time you were there, you were able to remember the part of the city, but didn’t even try to recall the actual address. But now you realised it wasn’t a problem at all. You didn’t even need to try to find his smell or use your instincts. You just knew where to go. You let out a low roar. If he wanted to be your mate, he had to deal with you finding him anywhere and at any time. Your blood was singing in your veins, your whole body shivered with anticipation as you were getting closer to him. You tried to suppress the longing you felt for him, fueling yourself with anger. Your breath was heated, you hardly could control yourself. But it was his fault. All of it was his fault. 

His parking lot was empty, but you had no doubts he was in the house. You got out of your car not bothering with even closing the door, throwing a look to the garage door, probably hiding his black suv inside. The pictures of fun times in his car flashed in your mind, but you forced them away. You were here not for that. You were here to show that damn alpha who he was messing with. 

You pulled the front door and stormed inside, the sounds of another car parking following you suit. You looked around, dim light of the hall and Calum’s scent messing with your senses. The sound of voices was on your right, so you followed it not losing any time. 

You entered the living room as a little tornado, messy hair around your face with bright already blue eyes. What you didn’t expect, too occupied with your anger and, frankly, lust on the way here, was Calum being not alone. You stopped as four pairs of yellowish eyes turned to you. All the men in the room were wolves. One more alpha, who, you remembered, you saw at the party, where you first met Calum, and two more pure bloods. You had no idea, whose pure bloods they were, but, turning your eyes to Calum, who was already standing and looking at you warily, you understood one thing very clearly. No matter how much you wanted to come up to him and start scratching his awfully beautiful face in a rage of your fury (and maybe fall on your knees and blow him after that, but you did your best not to focus on that idea), you couldn’t do that in front of other wolves. He was not just alpha, he was your alpha, you though, squeezing your fists so hard, your nails were hurting your palms. You could have been furious with him, but you couldn’t do anything to hurt his reputation.

You hesitated for what seemed to be only a couple of seconds, but this time was enough for the yoghurt-less omega to approach you and grab on your forearm. You breathed out and turned your face to him slowly, looking at the bold wolf in disbelief. The fucker thought he had a right to touch you? More of it, to touch you in front of your alpha? You already opened your mouth to inform that idiot of all the things you were about to do to him, when you heard Calum’s low voice.

“Andy, let her go, please. It’s okay.”

The wolf let go of your arm and took a step back. Calum motioned you to the corridor behind him and put his beer bottle on a coffee table. “Excuse us,” he dropped to his friends, while you were already rushing down the corridor. You had no idea, what rooms were behind the doors in that part of the house and you didn’t really care. You just needed the farthest one. You opened the door you were aiming for and found a study behind it. Walls covered in warm colored wood, huge desk, windows looking at a rather wild garden. 

You turned back to Calum and raised your hand to slap him the moment he closed the door. He moved fast, too fast even for you. You didn’t catch the moment he snapped your wrist, the next thing you knew, he was holding you tight, both your hands in his, like in handcuffs. You were pressed to his chest with your back, his scent overwhelming you. 

“Easy, slugger,” he whispered and left a feather like kiss behind your ear. 

You started bucking, trying to free from his grip. “Let go of me,” you hissed, twisting your hands.

“Are you gonna try to hit me again?” he asked, not raising his tone. You heard a smile in his voice, felt his lips linger down your neck. You had to gather all your strength not to dwell into his touch. He was doing it on purpose, you reminded yourself, he was trying to get an advantage of you. 

“Fucking, let go,” you roared, kicking off even harder. 

Calum unclenched his grit and you almost fell into the middle of the room. You felt like you only stayed on your two feet out of dignity. You turned back and just looked at him with all the anger and offence you had in you. He was standing right in front of the door, hands in the pockets of his pants. He met your sight and didn’t flick for a moment, no shade of guilt or understanding in his brown orbs. 

“How could you?” 

He kept silent. Just a quirk of an eyebrow being an answer. 

“Prohibiting me to leave the town wasn’t enough for you? I can’t even go for a day trip with my colleagues, Calum! But your controlling ass decided to make your wolf follow me everywhere?”

“That was for your own good,” Calum finally said in the same low voice, yet you saw in his eyes he was getting angry. 

“For my own good? Are you-” you huffed, not finishing the sentence. There was no point in asking if he was out of his mind. You knew the answer, had all the evidence on your hands. “That’s exactly why I never bother with alphas!” words fell off your lips like poison. “Too high up your own asses to even think you can be wrong!”

“I protect what’s mine,” said Calum and those words sounded more like a roar.

“I am not your, Calum!” you shouted, not able to keep it down anymore. 

“Yes, you damn are! You think I don’t know what you were doing there?” he wasn’t shouting, but his words somehow hit harder than yours. You felt his anger in shivers on your skin, in the metal taste on your tongue. “Andy had a very simple instruction, he should have only get involved if you were about to fuck another human. Don’t you think it’s rather selfish of you to come after me when that’s what you were gonna do?”

“For your information, I wasn’t gonna fuck anyone! I was only checking who that wolf was working for!”

Calum chuckled to that. “I’m sorry, love, is there any other alpha desperate to keep an eye on you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Calum, how about my freaking father?” you said, suddenly calm, as if all of your emotions were frozen instantly. “Or my crazy brother? How should I’ve known it wasn’t one of them finally finding me?”

You saw his expression change, from accusations to understanding and then to regret mixed with sorrow. He didn’t even think about it, you understood. He had no idea what awful whirl of emotions he put you through in the last 24 hours. 

Calum took a step towards you, you stepped back. 

“I-” he started, but his voice broke. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t think.”

He took another step and lifted up a hand to touch, but you stepped back again.

“Of course, you didn’t,” you dropped, venom still on your lips. You knew you weren’t that fair to him, but you just couldn’t stop at this point, your resentment pouring out of you. “Because you’re an alpha and alpha’s never wrong, right?”

He shrugged a little, like warding off your accusations with his shoulder, and stepped forward one more time. You mirrored his action yet again and crossed your arms on your chest.

“Just call your wolf off, that’s all I ask,” you mumbled. You felt uncomfortable with him towering over you. You knew you couldn’t trust yourself when he was so close and you were scared of what could happen next. 

“I can’t do that, love,” Calum shook his head, getting one step closer to you. 

“I told you, I’m not gonna fuck anyone,” you sighed and took the last step back, as you bumped into his desk with your back, “if that’s your issue.”

“I need to protect you.”

“I’m a fucking wolf, Calum!” you rolled your eyes. “Living among humans. If anyone needs protection, it’s them, not me.”

“What if your family do find you?” he said quietly, closing the distance that was left between you. 

“If that happens, your lanky little spy won’t stop them,” you sighed, feeling you had nowhere to run now. 

“He’s tougher than he looks,” Calum chuckled and put hands on your waist. “I heard some omegas have that peculiarity,” he finished with the smile and bent down to you. 

You held your breath before the kiss, yet his lips felt like breathing for the first time since Sunday morning. Calum pulled you closer, you had to stand on your tip toes even though you were wearing high heels. The kiss got deeper, his tongue claiming you once again. You tried to fight him, you honestly pushed him away for two seconds straight. You wanted to stop him, say that wasn’t what you came for, but instead you let yourself sink in the kiss. You kissed him back, your arms flew to his shoulders. It was crazy how intense your body’s reaction to him was. Your hands were shaking with lust, bright flashes twinkling under your eyelids, dark pit burning with desire in your abdomen. You were scared your heart would break through your ribcage, it was beating so hard, like it was trying to get close to Calum’s heart. 

He picked you up and sat on the desk, the difference in heights not so prominent now. You felt his hands on the small of your back, wondering when he pulled your shirt from under your jeans. With your leg around his hip you involuntary brought him even closer. His fingers were burning your skin up, you only detached your lips to take a short breath. 

“Please, stop,” you mumbled in one of the pauses like this.

“No,” he whispered back, his lips sliding down on your jawline, “haven’t touched you in too long.”

“It’s been just five days,” you managed to state between your moans, your hands already tugging on his shirt.

“Felt more like five years,” Calum groaned and moved back to you lips. 

He was kissing you hungrily, his hands deep in your hair, his eyes shut so hard there were crinkles around them. He was so soft and felt so much like home at that moment, that you couldn’t keep it inside anymore, all the stress of the last day leaning over you. Your eyes watered up and you failed to suppress the sniff. Calum stopped abruptly, feeling something was wrong. 

“Just stop, Calum,” you asked quietly. But there was no need, he wasn’t holding you anymore. 

You jumped of the desk and fixed your shirt with your shaking hands. Calum tried again to reach you, reassuring ‘Hey’ falling off his lips. But you gained enough self-control to let this happen. You practically pushed him away, being met with sadness in his eyes. You knew he didn’t mean wrong. But you couldn’t let him have it. Not after what he did, not on his desk and not in the house full of wolves with perfect hearing. 

“Call off your wolf,” you didn’t ask this time.

Calum didn’t answer anything, not like you expected him to. You gave him another heavy look and left the room. 

The sound of your heels went around with an echo as you strode down the corridor. The wolves were still in the living room, looking at you with the mix of interest and judgement. You thought you saw another alpha having a ghost of a smile on his face, but you were too much in distress to look at him twice. As you headed to the front door, the lanky omega rose from his seat and made a few steps towards you. You stopped and looked back at him.

“Are you fucking serious?” you growled under your breath.

The guy lifted up his hands in a joking giving up gesture and stepped back to his armchair. 

You huffed and left without another word.

Calum came out to the living room after your car left. His movements were slow and careful.

Omega turned to him immediately. “I’m sorry, alpha, I-”

Calum stopped him with a gesture. “That’s okay, Andy. You wanna beer?”

Omega nodded and looked at the others wolves warily. Calum handed him a bottle and gestured to sit down with them. They sat there in silence for some time, everyone too scared to bother Calum, and Calum too deep into his own thoughts.

Ashton was the first to speak up. “You remember I said it’ll take some time?” he asked. 

Cal nodded.

“Well,” Ashton went on, giggling uncontrollably, “maybe it’ll take a little longer.”

***

Summer breeze was playing in your unruly hair, making them tickle on your cheeks. You spent the whole day on your little balcony, enjoying your book and the rare opportunity not to worry about anything. The serenity of the day relaxed all your tensed muscles and calmed down your mind. Worries of the past week died out inside as abruptly as they emerged, leaving nothing inside you besides the peaceful emptiness. You loved this state of yours, when all the emotions burnt down to the ashes and it felt like nothing in the whole world could ever worry you again. Of course, such calmness was the most temporary thing ever, but you were thankful even for a short break. You knew it wouldn’t last long.

Another wind blow brought you a familiar scent, marking the end of your emotionless pause. You sighed, mentally preparing to a new battle. You heard the car door close down on the street. You didn’t need to look to know it was him, but you did anyway. Calum looked up and saw you standing and watching him. He didn’t smile, as calm and serious as you were. Just looked at you before entering the building, a garment bag in his hand. You inhaled his scent deeper and went to open the door for him. You knew his visit wouldn’t probably end well, but you also knew there was no way out of it except through.

Calum entered your apartment a minute later. He was in a suit, navy blue button down a little stretched on his toned chest. He looked too good for your sanity. Sweat covered your palms, and you had to make an effort to steady your breath. You knew he felt how much of an effect he had on you, but he didn’t show it in any way. 

Instead he handed you the garment, “This is for you.”

“What is it?” you asked, standing still. 

Calum exhaled and put the bag on a hanger next to your door. “It’s a dress.”

“Why would I need a dress?” you asked in the same calm tone. You weren’t trying to provoke him or be a bitch about it. You just wanted to understand and get through it as fast as possible. 

“Because I want you to wear it and go with me to some event,” Calum explained. He put his hands in his pants’ pockets and was watching you intently, like he was trying to see something under your skin. “My pure blood is about to marry Ashton’s pureblood and today is the ceremony of giving her away to the other pack. I want you to go with me.”

“I’m not going there, Calum,” you shook your head. 

He took one hand out of the pocket and stroke his chin. You’d seen this gesture already, a little signal of him being nervous or thinking of what to do. 

“And before you go with all the angry alpha roars and decide to order me to go,” you continued, not giving him a chance to try to force you into it, “I’m not going, because I have nothing to do there. These are not my packs, Calum, I don’t know these people and, even though I do wish them all the happiness, I don’t wanna be at their party.”

“One of these packs is yours,” he said through gritted teeth.

You felt his anger in your spine, but ordered yourself not to react on it.

“No, it’s not.”

“You’re my omega and you’re…”

“But I am not your omega, Calum!” you exclaimed back, stressing every word. 

You thought that’d be it, the moment when you start shouting at each other, not capable of a civilized conversation anymore. The last time you shouted at each other popped up in your memory. Including the heated make-out session on Calum’s desk. Would this one end the same?

Instead of shouting, Calum slowly came up to you and asked, his voice calm, low and soft, “If you aren’t my omega, then why are you dripping for me already?” 

You stared at him, taken aback and having nothing to answer. You were dripping for him, your underwear soaking wet since the moment you saw Calum in that suit. But damn you if you admit that out loud. 

For better or for worse, Calum didn’t need your confirmation. His hand raised up to your face, caressed your cheek, then gripped the back of your neck and pulled you in. His lips were harsh and demanding, as his hands, clenching on your shoulders and leaving bruises on the pale skin. You tried to push him back, your hands pressed to his toned abdomen, teeth biting on his lower lip. His low roar, a reaction to your bite, set your blood on fire. His hands moved from your shoulders, one pressing hard on your back and the other sliding down to your butt and squeezing hard. You yelped in Calum’s mouth, when you felt his fingers slip between your butt cheeks and push into your wet core through your pj shorts and underwear. You tried to slither from that touch, raised to your tip toes and somehow ended up practically hanging on him, only easing everything for his fingers. You felt Calum smirk, not stopping kissing you feverishly, and groaned in displease. No matter what you were doing, it all was somehow helping him. 

You lifted your hands higher and sank your nails into the skin of his neck. Calum lost his breath as your fingers slipped down to his collar, leaving red scratches. You smiled, feeling a little better at your small revenge, picked up the hem of his suit jacket and pulled it off his shoulders. You didn’t want to sleep with Calum, you knew it’d only mess everything even more. But fuck it if you could stop now, when he was sucking on your neck so damn good. 

Calum let go of your body to help you with his jacket, but a moment later his hands went back. One was clasping on your hip and another slipped under the waistband of your shorts and panties, getting where it was before, but with no cover stopping him now. Calum had to lean forward a little for his hand to get to your clit, making you forget how to breath in the process. But that gave you some space to pay him back, as you didn’t waste much time and unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants and let your hand sank down into his underwear, gripping on his already half hard cock. 

“Still thinking you’re not mine?” Calum chuckled, getting back to kissing your lips. Instead of answering, you just squeezed his dick, not afraid of using your nails, feeling it getting harder in your hand. You brought your thighs together, turned on more at how you were turning him on more, and added to the pressure his fingers were producing on your clit. Calum chuckled again and detached his lips from yours, one of his hands pressing on your shoulder. You looked up at him and felt your body trying to sink down under his silent command. You tried to refuse, shaking your head, and scratched with your nail alone his slit. He nodded with the same smirk on his face and pushed you down more. Your knees betrayed you and you finally sank down. You hated the power he had over you and loved it to death. 

Your hands pulled his pants down, your tongue licked on him through the soft material of the underwear, to your surprise, white this time. And you thought he only wore black. His dickhead was peeking out of the waistband, red and leaking precum. You felt your mouth filling with spit at the mere view. Calum pulled your hair up in one hand as in an improvised ponytail and pushed your head towards his dick. You put your hands on his thighs and pulled away, not giving in so easily. You looked up at him, devilish smile on your lips. 

“Aren’t you one damn stubborn she-wolf?” Calum mused back, tugged down on his underwear with his free hand and lined up his dick for you. You shook your head again, same smile on your lips. He wasn’t smiling anymore, his eyes full of anger and lust. He pushed your head closer, making you almost crash into his crotch. You took his dick and let it slide on your cheek, the touch is light and almost innocent. You lightly pecked his head on the way back and looked back up at him. 

Calum bent down to you and roared through his greeted in anger teeth, “You think it’ll help you, being such a fucking tease?” he shook his head in displease and then added in a low alpha voice, “Open your mouth!”

You couldn’t fight his order and so you obeyed, watching him dip his cock in your mouth. You gulped at how deep he went. You only had so much time to get a little air before he sank in again. You held on his thighs and tried to get used to the fast rhythm. Calum was practically fucking your face, like punishing for denying him all this time. You heard low moans falling off his lips, sinful sounds making the fire inside you burn brighter. You were so whipped for him, even now, being pushed on your knees, being forced in sucking him off, being fucking hard in your mouth, you were enjoying that. Just because it was your alpha, you could be that obedient just for him. 

You felt him letting go of your hair carefully. You pushed back to take a breath, but curled your lips around his dick the moment later and kept bopping your head in the same rhythm. He stroked your cheek, whispering, “That’s my omega.  Look how good you’re for me.” You couldn’t help your smile, looking up at him. Calum smiled back and started unbuttoning his shirt. The sight of his bare chest peeking out from under the shirt made you moan from desire, the vibration of you throat drawing a hiss from Calum. You pushed one hand down your shorts and pressed two fingers to your clit. The sensation was so hard, you moaned again around his dick and scratched it with you teeth slightly. 

Calum groaned loudly from your teeth and looked down, trying to see what got you so worked up. He shrugged off his shirt, smiling at the sight of your hand going fast in your shorts, and bent down to you, pulling on your hair again, making you let go of his dick and look up at him. With your mouth open and gaping for air and lips glistering with your spit you looked so unholy, he had to make an effort to keep his moan back. Instead he held on your face, fingers pressing on your cheeks. 

“Shall I cum on your face and leave you without your release for those sharp teeth of yours?” he asked, his sight slipping to your hand pleasuring yourself.

“No, alpha,” you sobbed quietly, his face blurry in front of you, all your focus on your clit. 

He smirked and, giving a light slap to your cheek, ordered, “Hands up.”

You whined at a loss of the contact, but obeyed. Calum pulled your top up, hissing at the sight of your bare tits and pushed you on your back. You fell down on your elbows, watching him freeing you from your shorts and underwear in one move. You widened your legs, making sure your dripping pussy was right in front of him. You almost laughed at how he was looking at you. 

“Can’t live without that cunt now, can you?” you asked, your voice full of mocking.

He looked at your face, growling lowly. Then grippen on your legs and pulled closer to him, hard wooden floor painful to your back. He spread you even more, lifting your legs on his forearms and, leaning down, sank into you to the bottom. 

“And can you live without that dick?” he asked, enjoying your face, eyes rolled up and mouth opened, you lost for breath. 

He pushed again, not giving you any time to adjust, you let out a long moan. Then he pushed again, just as deep. You felt his balls slapping on you, floorboards hitting hard on your body only adding to the pleasure. Calum huffed, going on faster and fasted on your, until your moans went into continuous wheezes, the only sounds you were capable of now. 

A strand of hair fell on Calum’s forehead. He tried to shake it off, but it stuck in a sweat. You raised your hand up, pushing the strain from his face, making him look at you. You left your hand on his cheek, eyes not leaving him for the moment. You couldn’t say who started kissing who first, you hugged on his neck and pressed him even more into yourself.

“God, you drive me fucking mad,” he whispered between heated kisses, not slowing down his pushes into your. “How d’you do this to me?”

His lips sank on your neck, you felt his teeth leaving little marks on your skin. Your heart was beating so fast, legs started shaking. You felt your orgasm coming and closed your eyes concentrating on the feeling of him moving inside of you. You had no time to warn him, your release crushing you hard. “Fuck, keep squeezing,” you heard like from under the water, lost in your own pleasure. You felt Calum going a little faster, pounding into you with all the frustration he had, until he gained his release, coating your insides and roaring into your shoulder. 

You had no idea how much time it took for the both of you to gain consciousness again, a minute or an eternity. Calum tried to lift himself off you as he came, but you gripped on his neck, forcing him to press you to the floor with his weight. Eventually he rolled off you, pressing a light kiss to your shoulder before that. He sat up and pulled on his underwear and pants, tangled around his ankles all this time. 

“Mind if I smoke?” he asked as he finished with fixing his pants.

You shook your head. Calum fetched himself a cigarette and lay back down, taking a drag. 

You wolf senses were in an overdrive. You heard water leaking out of a tap in an apartment above yours, kids shouting on a playground on the other side of the building. Could smell the  gas on the street and Calum’s shaving lotion. 

“How can you live here?” Calum asked, apparently being bothered with too many noises and smells too. 

You shrugged, “Just switch my senses off.”

Calum smirked, “Still moments when you can’t do it that easily.” He handed you his cigarette. “Wanna drag?”

“Not smoking,” you answered, sitting up. 

Calum felt the change in your mood, his hand stroking your bare back. “We can’t go on like that,” he said, his voice low.

“Can’t offer you anything else,” you shrugged. “Fuck me as much as you want, Calum, it doesn’t change anything.”

Calum sighed, finishing his cigarette, and stood up. He picked up his shirt and put it on, looked around for the suit jacket, took it from the floor and stepped to the door.

“Forgot the dress,” you told him, still sitting on the floor completely naked. 

Calum looked back at you, his eyes drained of emotions. “It’s a present,” he dropped and left.

***

Lights hanging from the cedars branches were making this place look like a scene from a fairytale. Calum took another look at the future bride and thought, how fairytale was exactly what Gabbie deserved. She was so beautiful in her pale blue dress and looked so happy, Calum couldn’t help but feel his heart clench with pain. He was beyond happy for her. And still he was losing a loyal wolf tonight. 

The ceremony of betrothal was beautiful and light. Calum persuaded Ashton to take the honor of conducting it and couldn’t be more right about it. Ashton’s joyful temper and his love for silly jokes made this evening as troubleless as it was supposed to be. And Calum was more than happy with his role of giving Gabbie away at the soon wedding, instead of her long late father. 

Now people were just having fun, two packs living in such close connection that most of the times it felt like one big pack, where everyone knew and loved each other. Kids and young wolves were dancing and messing around, making older laugh and mock them. Some couples were sneaking deeper in the woods, risking of troubling the patrol. Guards, who were free from service today, were gathered in a small group away from the centre of a party with water and non-alcoholic beers in hands. Calum looked down at the same bottle in his hand. 

“Not fair, huh?” asked Ashton coming up to Calum, nursing a glass of water. “It’s our own party and we can’t even relax.”

Calum shrugged. He came to terms with his duties long ago and didn’t see much trouble in it. “Life of an alpha,” he said, taking a sip from his bottle. “And it’s not our party, it’s Gabbie and Peter’s.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ashton frowned, “still.”

They stood like that for some time, observing their wolves having great time and feeling same satisfaction with their lives. That was what they were living for after all, to take care of their packs.

“You have a scratch on your neck, by the way,” Ashton noted after some time. “Got in a fight with a nasty branch?”

Calum let out a humourless laugh. “I know you can smell her on me. Why asking?”

Ashton shrugged, “Just giving you some privacy, mate.”

“Wanted to bring her here,” Calum explained. “But she refused. Again.”

Ashton only laughed to that.

“Seriously, Ash, what’s so entertaining in this for you?” 

Ashton snorted, not able to hold back anymore. “I’m sorry, it’s just-” he broke, taking a deep breath and calming himself down. “Don’t you see the irony?”

“What irony?” Cal scowled even more.

“Remember how you never bothered with omegas?” Ashton went on, explaining. “Said, you hated how obedient to you they were and how never cared about anything but flattering you? Well, I think you found the only omega in the whole world who doesn’t want to obey to you, and she’s your mate. I’m sorry, Cal, but that’s hilarious!” 

Ashton giggled as he finished and Calum couldn’t help laughing with him. As difficult as his situation was, Ashton was somehow right. 

But their laughter died out the very next moment. Calum turned back to the woods behind him, he heard some movement and didn’t like it at all. Ashton’s low roar next to him only proved him right. Two alphas stood still, watching and listening to the darkness. 

Calum understood everything first, the moment before a pair of yellow eyes became visible between trees. 

“We’re under attack!” his voice went above the party like a thunderstorm, bringing everything in movement. Packs, chaotic at the first sight, started acting like a clockwork mechanism. 

Guard, lead by purebloods of both packs, stood right behind Calum, bottles dropped to the ground, followed by jackets and ties. Ashton stepped back, organizing male betas in a circle around the kids and women, his task to protect the weakest in the pack. Calum heard his friend order Gabbie and Pete to stay with him, and to his own satisfaction heard no objections from Gabbie. He looked around, taking in the number of wolves under his direct command and started taking his clothes off, preparing to shift. He roared, seeing more and more wolves coming from the woods. He shook his head and shifted, his guards howling to him. Those fuckers chose the wrong night to attack his pack, he thought. He bent down on his front paws and prepared for a jump. 

***

You were rereading the same page for the third time already, but the meaning kept slipping away from you. You huffed and started from the beginning, trying to concentrate on the plot. Couple minutes later the book flew to the wall, followed by your irritated groan. 

It’s been hours since Calum left. You took a shower after it and cleaned the floor where you were lying and settled on your couch with a book in a feeble attempt to get him out of your mind. But, of course, Calum was the only one you could think about.

You kept replaying his earlier visit in your head. Not the sex scene, unexpectedly rough and filthy, for which you couldn’t blame him. You knew you made him go so hard on you, your stubbornness used to drive wolves with even stronger self-control mad. And you were not opposed to rough sex too, so that part didn’t bother you at all. What bothered you was his request and the way he left you after. You couldn’t help but ask yourself, if that was possible for Calum to actually be that alpha.

He demanded you to go with him, yes. But he never ordered. He knew you couldn’t disobey, yet he still didn’t use his power. He got angry with you, but never forced you. Like he wanted it to be your choice. He needed it to be your choice and not his command. Even in sex, when he was forcing you to get on your knees and ordering to open your mouth, you were pretty sure, you say no out loud at least once and he’d stopped. You knew he respected you enough for that. 

So you kept asking yourself. Him being the alpha who wants you to follow him by choice and not only the instinct, could he be the alpha you’d finally choose to follow? Maybe you’d be able to obey him? Knowing he respected you and took you as a partner and not a slave. Could it be that your alpha mate was also the alpha you’d agree to bent to? You shook your head, which was blowing up with questions without answers. You knew him well already, but you still didn’t know enough.

All of the sudden everything around went black. You felt excruciating pain in your ribs, like something was breaking them from the inside. You heard a deafening shriek, full of fear and despair, and only a moment later you understood it was you, who cried. You closed your eyes and felt wet ground under your paws, the smell of pines and the taste of your blood in your mouth. Only you knew your own blood really tasted different. Your broken ribs were scratching on your left lung with every breath you took. You had a deep bite on your back paw and you were losing consciousness fast. 

You came up to the surface of your illusion. Your body covered in thick sweat, pain still burning on your rib cage. You knew it was Calum. He was somewhere in the forest, hurt and in danger. You tried to think of something logical to do, but all the logic went out of the window under the pressure of your instincts. You almost fell on the floor, your legs were shaking so hard, you held on your left side with one hand. You were positive your ribs were totally fine, still it was impossible to move normally. You slid your feet in the flip-flops you saw near and picked up you keys on the way out. You didn’t care you were wearing the old pj’s or had a messy bun on your head. You gave no fuck about anything right now, except of your alpha needing you. 

You emerged from the building entrance, rushing to your car as fast as you could with the feeling of broken ribs. You pressed a button on your key, your car signaled shortly, when the other thing you couldn’t expect happened. You heard your name being called behind you. 

You turned back abruptly and stared at the wolf in front of you. 

He was taller than you remembered, shoulders more broad and hair shorter. But you couldn’t help recognizing him. You knew him all your life after all.

“Matt?” you called, your voice feeble and shaky.

He nodded, taking in your appearance. Your mind was rushing around, jumping from one thought to another. How could he find you here, you spent so much time, hiding your tracks. Calum was in danger, you had to go. Did your father send Matt or your brother? You couldn’t waste any more time. Why was Matt looking at you so intensely? You really had to go. 

“How did you find me?” you finally asked.

Matt shrugged, “It wasn’t easy.” He thought a little and added, “You weren’t the best of us for nothing after all.”

You shivered visibly. You felt danger, but couldn’t understand, was it your fear for Calum or was the danger you felt coming from Matt. You stepped back to your car.

“I’m sorry, Matt, I have to go,” you told him. 

“You haven’t seen me in ten years and that’s all I got,” he smirked, looking around. “Don’t even wanna know why I took all that trouble looking for you?”

You sighed.”I really have no time right now, Matt. It’s a matter of life and death. We’ll talk later.”

He chuckled to that. “Was afraid, omega instincts would change you, but no, you’re still the same bossy little wolf you were.” 

You frowned to that, opening the driver’s door.

“You do wanna talk with me, trust me!” he tried one more time. 

“I told you, Matt, we’ll talk. Just not now.”

You couldn’t bear it anymore, pain driving you insane. You started the car, throwing the last look at the man from your past. 

“You smell of another wolf,” you heard in the open window. You didn’t look back. It didn’t matter, he didn’t matter. 

You took a deep breath and let your senses lead you, not giving another thought to where you were going. You left the living area and turned to the narrow road between the trees. Fifteen minutes later you saw lights in front of you. It looked like there was a party here, but people, mostly kids and women, weren’t having fun. Tables and decorations were thrown around like by a small tornado, people’s clothes dirty and ripped. There was no music, voices not louder than whisper.

You parked and got out of your car, heading to the centre of the scene. You inhaled deeply, feeling his scent everywhere. He was here not so long ago. Was he in the woods now? You looked around in search for anyone to ask. If these were Calum’s wolves, they could have known something. 

You saw him gathering the younger kids together, the guy from the yoghurt aisle. It seemed like he wasn’t looking at you on purpose, doing everything for you not to see him. Too bad you already did.

“Hey, you, the yoghurt guy!” you called him, coming closer. 

The omega handed kids to the young female pure blood, who eyed you with suspicion, and turned to you.

“First, my name is Andy,” he said. “Second, the hell you need here?”

You would lie if you said you weren’t taken aback by his attitude. You frowned, getting you were quite too bossy for calling on a wolf who wasn’t even from your pack. 

“Where’s Calum?” you asked in a slightly softer tone, your hand still clenching on your side. The pain wasn’t burning so bright anymore, which thankfully let you think. But it was still there, not letting you care about anything else until you find Calum.

Andy shook his head, bitter smirk on his face. “Obviously, not here.”

You huffed and tried to go from the other side, “What happened here?”

The omega just shook his head again, not bothering even with saying anything. He turned to go away from you. You grabbed on his arm and made him look back. “You alpha is out there somewhere in pain and probably unconscious. You better answer me right now,” you hissed under your voice. You tried to be polite, you gave him the chance. Not your fault he chose the hard way.

“How do you know he’s in pain?” Andy looked at you with the same mix of suspicion and displease in his eyes, but a small trace of worry in his voice let you know, you got him.

You sighed, thinking of what you could possibly say to this to make that wolf believe you. “Cause I’m his mate,” you finally answered, settling for truth. 

You saw the shadow of understanding in his eyes, him finally getting why Calum would ask him to follow you. He huffed, looking away, and already opened his mouth to answer you, when some rustle from the woods distracted you. You saw the grown wolves rounding kids and teens, you were slightly surprised by how well their protection skills were trained. You instinctively stepped in front of them, finding Andy and the pure blood girl you’ve seen before next to you. 

When the wolves came out from under the cedars, you felt everyone relax a little. An alpha, whose smell you recognized and five more pure bloods were leading a big group of she-wolves and young pups. You saw some wolves in human shape running to their friends and probably relatives and hugging on the furry necks. The female pure blood, who was just standing next to you, ready to fight, kneeled down to the brown-furred wolf and stroke his back, human eyes looking straight into wolf’s. You turned away from this intimate scene, feeling uncomfortable, like you were peeping through a hole. 

An alpha shifted aside of you, all women instantly looked back. All except of you. Andy was already handing him some pants. Alpha thanked him and turned to you. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked. His tone wasn’t hostile, he was asking purely to get an answer, not to show you weren’t welcome here.

Still, you had no time for this. “Where’s Calum?” you asked him back. 

Alpha frowned, looking around and then turning to Andy, “They didn’t come back?”

Andy shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed. Alpha looked around again, silently counting on pure bloods and guards around, some already shifting back into human forms, some staying wolves. “But they should have come already,” he mused out loud. “He, Luke and Mike left first to clear the way. They should have been in front of us.”

“Ashton, you were the only ones who came back,” Andy said.

Ashton, as Andy called him, turned back at you, being even more at a loss than you were. 

“Why are you here?” he asked again and immediately added, seeing your irritated frown, “I mean, how are you here? Why are you looking for him?”

You sighed, clenching on your side, “I felt his pain.”

“You what?” Ashton asked, your words probably the last he was expecting.

“I felt his pain,” you repeated, getting tired of this talk, feeling burning in your ribs increase with every moment of your delay. “He’s got two or three broken ribs, scratched, maybe already torn lung and a serious bite on his back paw. And he’s unconscious, from what I can feel.”

Ashton was looking at you quizzically, like you were speaking some other language he didn’t understand. “Do you have your mating mark?” he finally asked.

“No,” you answered, wondering where that question came from.

“You don’t have your mating mark, yet you can feel his pain as your own,” he stated, looking at the side you were still caressing. “Damn, you’re more stubborn than I thought.”

You scoffed, “Can we actually concentrate on the fact, that Calum is still out there injured and in danger?”

“Right, sorry,” Ashton rubbed his forehead. “We were having a party, which you so eloquently chose to ignore, when they attacked us. Cal took the guards and fought back, as usual. The fight moved deeper in the forest, Cal always tries to push attackers away from the pack. We thought, it was okay and then men with guns came. They took women and kids and, of course, we shifted and followed them, most of the guard following us.We fought our people back pretty easily, Cal said he’d go forward and clear the way. It was probably just a trap. They only wanted him.”

“Who wanted him?” 

“The Ripper,” you heard the answer from Andy this time, he was looking guilty for some reason.

“Is it some lame nickname or what?” you frowned, not getting the joke.

“He calls himself Ripper absolutely seriously. He’s an alpha of the biggest pack in the south. They with Cal have had bad blood for some time,” Ashton explained to you. 

“Whatever,” you shrugged, that information was just as useless for you. You actually needed just one thing. “Where can I find them?”

“That’s the problem,” Ashton chuckled, “you can’t. They don’t have any kind of base.” 

“Okay,” you nodded, “where did you see them last then?”

“In the northern part of the woods, closer to the town border.”

You nodded again, turned north and took off your top. All the wolves looked away like by the order. 

“The fuck are you doing?” you heard Ashton hiss behind you. 

“I’m going to get him,” you shrugged, like it was the most obvious thing ever. You stepped out of your flip-flops and took off your shorts and panties. 

“You can’t go there! We don’t even know where exactly they are. We don’t know anything!”

You looked back at Ashton, who looked at your side, all blue and purple from the bruise you had there. “The only thing I can’t do is stay here, while he’s there. Anything else I can.”

“Cal’s gonna kill everybody for seeing you like this,” Ashton muttered, shaking his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Why are you still looking then, Ashton?” you asked with a smirk and shifted. 

It took a couple moments for you to find your balance again. You heard Ashton curse behind you, taking his pants off. “Guard goes with me!” he called out. “Gabbie, Andy, you too. Jeff, divide everybody in groups and send home, all the kids and she-wolves stay with their group leaders until me or Calum come back. No one follows us no matter what! That’s an order!”

You sniffed the ground around, hearing wolves shift behind you, but there were too many tracks to chose one you needed. So you closed your eyes and let your pain show you the way. The pack lined up behind you, naturally choosing you as their lead, even Ashton slowing down his pace. And it just felt so right. Like you were sixteen again, hunting at night on the Lakes, your future pure bloods behind you, ready to fulfill your any order. But it wasn’t a child game anymore, the pain reminded you. 

How do you know where you’re going? you heard inside your head.

You turned right and looked at Ashton, his dark brown fur looked almost red in the moonlight. 

I’m his mate, that’s how.

But you haven’t submitted to him, that just doesn't work like that, he mumbled in your head.

You didn’t answer anything to that. You had no idea how it was supposed to work, but also had nothing against the way it was working now. If not for that bound, you wouldn’t know something was wrong with Calum.

You were running through the woods for some time, when you suddenly stopped in front of the tiny spring and started pacing along it in distress. The wolves ran forward and were coming back in circles around you.

What happened? Ashton asked treadding closer.

Can’t go further, you explained, feeling something stopping you and not letting cross the spring.

What? Why?

You huffed, looking around. It was a damn good question.

Let me guess, you said, we’re at the town border?

Ashton confirmed, wolves around him getting impatient.

Fucking shit, you hissed. Calum prohibited me to leave the town.

Okay, stay here, Ashton agreed far too easily. Less worries I’ll let my best friend’s mate die out of her stupidity.

Don’t even count on that, you stopped your pacing and brought up the memory of the pain you felt at first. The feeling of the ribs being broken, the fragile membranes of a lung being injured. All the despair and anger, you felt it all over again, letting the pain flood your mind, seeing red and not remembering anything besides pain, pain, pain...

You jumped over the spring and rushed forward in an attempt to run from all of that. Breaking your alpha’s order felt like breaking your spine, each backbone separately, but that didn’t change anything, your body already in too much pain to notice that. You heard the wolves following you suit, howls sounded behind you. You sank deeper into your wolf’s nature, feeling the pain step back and free some space for the animal instincts. 

Soon the run was over, you came out to the abandoned industrial looking building on the outskirts of the woods. Ashton came up to you again.

Alright, let’s say, four wolves go first and take over the watch if there’s any. Then we send…

You didn’t let him finish, jumping out of your shelter and rushing to the closest window. You heard Ashton ordered his pure bloods to protect you at any cost and felt them reaching you as fast as they could. You jumped into the window, which didn’t have any glass in it for what seemed like a decade at least.

It was shabby and dark inside. Smells of rot and dirt made you huff. You treadded down the hall, peeking around the corner. Two wolves were there, guarding the door to the other part of the building. You couldn’t even call that a room, the borders of it more of a metaphorical type in the ruins of it all. You had no time to even think what wolf to start with, as two pure bloods passed you and jumped each their own wolf. You strode past them and entered a much wider space. Was here a factory or something? You could see a weak light on the other side of the hall and rushed towards in, more wolves at your side. 

You didn’t see where these other wolves appeared from. One moment you were peacefully running to your goal, surrounded by your guard, and the next you found yourself in a middle of a wolves’ fight. You checked, that Ashton had more wolves than those who were attacking you, and speed up. They had they work, you had yours. 

The room wasn’t empty, just as you hoped. You saw Calum lying away still in his wolf shape. His beautiful black fur was covered in dirt and blood, his eyes were closed. But he was breathing, and for now that was enough. You turned to the man standing above him. A wolf in his human shape, holding a gun in his hand. You growled, stepping inside the room. The man looked at you.

“And the fuck are you?” he asked, stepping away from Cal and turning his gun at your. “This pack had no blue-eyed sluts, I’d known already,” he informed you, like you cared at all. 

You saw big scar running across his face, from his chin to the hairline. That was Ripper, you understood.

Please, just don’t do anything stupid, you heard Ashton asking behind you. 

“And the loyal best friend, just as I expected,” Ripper smiled, looking at Ashton. “What a lucky day. Will finally kill you both and have two packs to myself.”

You looked around the room while that dickhead was talking. Calum was far enough for you not to hurt him in the process. The bulb hanging rather low was the only source of light for Ripper. You scoffed, looking back at him. What a wolf would chose a humans’ weapon over his claws and fangs? He truly deserved everything you were about to do to him.

Go right, you told Ashton. 

He sniffed, not looking at you, displeased to get an order from an omega, but suppressed his nature and did as you said. Ripper, just as you thought, followed his movement, not thinking much of you. No one ever thought much of an omega.

As I jump, run behind his back and wait there, you instructed him. 

I’m not gonna hide, he owes me too much.

Okay, stay where you are and catch a bullet, you mentally rolled your eyes. Always the same story with alphas. Was nice knowing you, Ashton. 

And with that you jumped. Not at Ripper, you aimed at the bulb. It started swinning, shadows jumping on the wall, making it look like a dozen black devils were dancing around the room. As you expected, Ripper started shooting instantly. With satisfaction you noticed that Ashton whisked behind Ripper’s back. You were jumping in crankles, bending to the ground and trying not to catch a bullet yourself. You pushed off the wall in your last vault and aimed to Rippers hand with the gun. You knew you had close to no chances to avoid it, heard the gunshot when you were already in the air. Your teeth clenched around Ripper’s wrist at the same moment the bullet sank into your flesh. You heard the bones crunch and hoped those weren’t yours. Ripper shouted and tried to shake you off, the gun feel to the floor and shot one last time. 

Any holes in you yet? you asked Ashton as you landed on your paws in front of the yelling bastard and prepared to the next jump. 

Nope, you?

You didn’t answer, feeling the burning in your right paw. You jumped again, this time sinking your teeth in Ripper’s soft throat. Even his blood tasted disgusting, you thought, letting his body fall and thumping on his chest. He gurgled with his own blood for couple minutes more and finally died. 

You’re bleeding, said Ashton, coming closer and sniffing your paw.

Just a scratch.

The sounds of the fight were getting lower, Ashton’s wolves kicked away all the wolves of Ripper, as you understood. You looked at Calum, still lying in the far corner of the room. You heart clenched with worry for him and you stomach churned at the thought of what you were about to do. Not like you had that much of a choice, there was only one way of preventing anything like that happen again. You jumped on the Ripper’s breathless body and started tearing on his clothes with your claws. As you were done with fabric, you plunged your claws into his still warm chest. You helped with your fangs, opening his chest up, making sure blood splashed all around you. 

The fuck are you… you heard Ashton’s voice in your head, but blocked it. You knew how it looked like, but you had to do it. 

As you broke through the ribcage, you snatched his heart and ripped it out of his chest, dropping it on the floor nearby. One lung was thrown to the opposite wall, the other to the entrance. You were going on consistently, stomach, liver, both kidneys, his guts, throwing his insides around like in a crazy ritual. You glanced around, as you finished, checking the result. Just the type of picture Ripper deserved, you concluded, shifting back in your human form.

Blood was covering the most of your front and the pain in your arm grew stronger, no animals instincts to suppress that now. You heard Ashton shifting behind you, as you came up to Calum.

“Why would you do that?” Ashton asked, glancing in disgust at the scene you left. 

You carefully took Calum’s snout in your hands, feeling his warm steady breath on your palm. You saw something gleaming in the fur of his neck, stretched your left arm and pulled out a dart. 

“Why would you do that?” Ashton demanded an answer, towering over you.

“To leave a message,” you explained calmly. “And for your information, your alpha voice doesn’t work on me. Look here,” you added, showing him a dart. “He was sedated.”

Ashton nodded, “That explains it all. Cal would never be taken down so easily.”

You dropped the dart and stroke Calum’s neck, his black fur stinky, but still beautiful. 

“Can anybody of your men steal a car?” you asked Ashton, not looking up at him.

“I can,” you heard from the entrance.

You with Ashton both glanced there to find Andy gaping at the scene in the room.

“You said they came in a car,” you said, turning to Ashton again. “If we’re lucky, that car is not far from here. Please, be careful while carrying him there, his lung is fine for now and I’d much rather it stays like that.”

Ashton unexpectedly snorted. You looked at his face in confusion, trying to avoid looking at more intimate parts of his body.

“I thought Cal was exaggerating when he said you were a born alpha. But I see he meant every word he said,” he explained. You smiled shyly, hearing not judgement in Ashton’s voice, but more of a surprise and amusement. 

He turned back to Andy. “Did you find Luke and Mike?”

“Yeah, they were also sedated,” Andy confirmed and then continued with a smirk. “Lara almost bit off the heads of the wolves who were keeping them.”

“Women ripping throats for their wolves,” Ashton chuckled, looking around. “Tell me about it.”

“Andy, please, bring couple more men to take Calum,” you broke into their little conversation. 

You heard omega’s bare feet slopping on the concrete floor. 

“Please, take care of him,” you asked Ashton quietly. 

He looked at you, frown on his face. “What do you mean? You’re going with us.”

You shook your head. “I  need to take care of the others,” you answered. 

Three pure bloods entered the room. You stood up and took several steps from the Calum’s body to give them more space. They lifted your alpha and left without saying anything out loud, only Ashton’s head nodding told you they communicated differently. 

Ashton looked back at you. “They’ve gone, my wolves took care of that.”

“They will come back as soon as you leave, to see what happened to their alpha,” you retorted. “They can feel his death, but they’ll come back to check.”

“Calum is against killing,” Ashton still tried to talk you round. “And I agree with him.”

You looked at the alpha, quirking an eyebrow. “I don’t need them dead, Ashton, that’d be a stupid waste of resource. I need them alive and scared shitless, so they can take a word about a crazy wolf protecting the town and ripping alphas’ throats as far as possible. So no one ever crosses your borders without thinking twice beforehand.” 

Ashton smiled. “You are crazy,” he agreed, “but I like it. I’ll see you later.”

You watched him shift and run away from the room stinking of blood and dirty flesh. You shifted back into a wolf too and sat on the floor, preparing to wait. 

***

Calum opened his eyes, squinted and closed them again. The light wasn’t bright, only a table lamp under a grey lamp shade on, but it was still difficult for him to look. His head was hurting from the sedatives, as he thought. The dull pain in his side signaling of his ribs healing up. He couldn’t remember when he’d shifted back in the human form, but decided it was for the better, imagining the pain shock from the broken ribs. 

He listened to the sounds in the house, ground floor full of his pure bloods and some other wolves. He found Ashton and asked, concentrating his hardest on their mental bond, Have we lost anyone?

Calum sensed Ashton’s smile. You’re one lucky bastard, mate, his friend drawled with a giggle. Both packs are safe. Welcome back to the world of living!

Calum thanked his friend and gave couple of orders to his wolves and then turned to the little frame on his left.

You were the first thing he sensed as he woke. Not the pain, not the dizziness. You. 

You were sitting on the floor, your head on your crossed arms next to his hand, fast asleep. Your right shoulder tight up in bandages made Calum frown, questioning, where could you get it. You were in Calum’s clothes, too big for you and only accenting how delicate you were. No makeup on your face, little frown between your eyebrows. Calum wondered, what was bothering you in your dream. You were the most precious creature Calum has ever seen in his life, mating bond or not. You were the best thing in his life. And that’s why he had to let you go, no matter how much he was aching from that decision. 

You stirred soon, too soon for Calum’s liking, and raised your head, sleepy eyes shining with joy at the sight of Calum.

“How do you feel?” you asked, pushing some hair from his forehead. 

“Like I was beaten up and sedated,” Calum answered with a smirk.

“Pretty accurate,” you smiled at him.

He looked at your shoulder, “Where’s that from?”

You shrugged, “Don’t worry, it’s just a scratch.”

You just sat there, looking at him, basking in the serenity of the moment. Although, you felt Calum had something on his mind.

“Have you been here long?” he asked finally.

“Almost since you were brought back,” you answered, omitting how much of an almost and looking at the dark skies outside his windows, “which has been a day already, I think.”

“Sorry for worrying you,” Calum mumbled, stroking his chin. 

“No worries, I knew you’re tough enough,” you shrugged, sensing there was more to his apologies, than just worrying you with his injury.

“I can’t do this to you anymore, love,” he whispered, looking at your hands on his bed covers. “I can’t force you into being mine.”

“What?” you exhaled, looking at him in shock.

Calum met your eyes and said, “You can leave the town now. Can go away if you want. I won’t be bothering you and won’t try to stop you if you decide to move away.” He sighed and went on, while you were trying to comprehend his words, your brain went numb suddenly. “And I’m sorry for what happened in your apartment yesterday. You didn’t deserve such attitude, and I’m really sorry that I tried to force you into it with sex.” 

You kept gaping at him in total disbelief, feeling a mindblowing mix of fury and adoration raising inside you. 

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Calum!” you whispered, shaking your head. “You haven’t understood, have you? It’s never been up to you if I stay or go. I’m here, because I want to be.”

He looked at you just as surprised as you were, looking at him a minute ago. 

“Don’t you wanna know how exactly your pack found you?” you asked, feeling the anger overcome all the tenderness you had for your alpha.

“They tracked me down,” he shrugged, giving you the most obvious answer. 

You huffed, pushed off the bed and lifted his shirt you were wearing, not caring if you were showing off your breast. His eyes found what you revealed for him fast enough. You saw his plump lips round in a silent ‘oh’. 

“Where’s that from?” he asked, as you lowered the shirt.

“That’s from your broken ribs,” you said what he was already proceeding. 

“But this is…”

“Imposible? Yeah, guess our mating bond went a little deeper than anyone’s expected,” you huffed.

Calum looked up at you again, his eyes are even more full of sorrow than before. “You felt it?”

“All of it,” you confirmed, not trying to sugarcoat it for him. “I was the one to find you, Calum. I broke your fucking order not to leave the city to come for you and trust me when I say that shit hurt almost as much as your broken ribs. I caught a bullet for you. Hell, I killed for you, Calum. Not for you to tell me to leave now,” you finished.

“You killed someone?” he asked, completely taken aback by your tirade. “Who?”

“The Ripper guy, or what was his name,” you shrugged, showing it was the least important thing right now. 

Calum shook his head, muttering, “Unbelievable.”

You shrugged again, “He was standing over you with a loaded gun, not like I had much of a choice there.”

“I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it,” Calum said, his voice slightly defensive, “I’m just  surprised, is all.”

“Well, would gladly do it again, if I could,” you growled, pouting and crossing your arms on the chest and instantly wincing from the pain in your side and arm.

Calum huffed and with an effort sat up, leaning on the headboard.

“Hey, no no no, lie back down, your ribs are still…” you tried to stop him, your pout immediately forgotten.

“Comere,” he motioned on the bed, interrupting your mumbling. 

“You need rest,” you protested, your voice weak. You wanted to come closer to him, to feel his hands on your. But the memory of his wounds and the pain he went through was still fresh.

“Bring your pretty ass up here!” he snapped at you.

You sighed and sat up on the bed as careful not to touch him as you could. Calum rolled his eyes at this, leaned forward, flinching at the pain in his body, grabbed your arm and pulled, making you straddle his lap. He hugged you with both hands, buried his face in your hair, which probably smelled of his shampoo, and finally relaxed.

“Thank you,” he whispered, “for coming for me and saving me. Though, I’d rather you didn’t need to kill anyone for me.”

“He had it coming, threatening my alpha,” you whispered back with a smile.

“You’re a maddening, maddening woman,” Calum sighed into the crook of your neck.

You sat like that for some time, holding each other and tasting the lack of heartache between the two of you. No hard thoughts, no regrets poisoning your bond anymore. You caressed his head, his hair soft under your touch, and looked at him. His lips were too close not to touch them, just once, only for a moment. The kiss grew deeper, soon you were diving in it, making your lungs ache for air. Calum’s arms squeezed your frame, making you writhe from the pain and still asking for more. Soon you felt him getting harder under you.

“Calum, stop,” you asked, it took all of your restrain to detach your lips from his.

He shook his head, reaching for you, “Need you.”

“You need to rest, so your broken ribs can actually grow back together,” you tried to argue. 

“My ribs are fine, comere,” Calum pressed his crotch to your clothed centre, his lips assaulting your neck. 

“You’re insatiable,” you giggled, his lips tickling on your skin. “Calum, stop, I’m not fucking you in a house full of your wolves.”

Calum looked up at you and smiled devilishly. “I sent them away while you were still sleeping.”

You listened to the house. And instantly understood he was right. The fridge was gurgling in the kitchen and Calum’s dog was shifting in his sleep on the couch. Apart from that the house was silent. It was empty. How come you didn’t hear it? 

“You still need rest,” you tried again.

“I still need you,” Calum smirked and pushed you a little back in an attempt to get on you, but you pushed him back. You huffed, giving in. 

“Let me ride you,” you whispered, sitting up and sliding from him. 

“Where you’re going, baby?” Calum pulled you back.

“Wanna fuck me through your sweats?” you snarled back, wiggling out of the pants.

Calum chuckled. “Watch your mouth,” he warned, as you straddled him again. He already lowered the covers and his underwear and you sank straight on his dick.

You both lost your breathes at the first moment, feeling too intense, mixed with pain and pure euphoria of belonging to each other. Calum’s hands slipped under his own shirt, covering you now, to stroke your body, help you keep the balance. You whimpered quietly and lifted yourself, sliding back down and letting him go deeper. You were going slow, as slow as you only could, savouring the feeling. Calum was kissing you deep, his tongue moving in unison with your rocking on him. His hands were torturing your breasts and clenching on your butt. He didn’t try to rush you, taking all you were ready to give, whispering how you were his in your hair, inhaling your confirmations along with your moans. You felt like you lost yourself, becoming a part of him forever. Until you found yourself again, shattered to million little pieces, shimmering with bright happiness.

The sky was getting blue as you two lay in your bliss, your head on Calum’s shoulder. 

“How bad is it?” Calum asked quietly, rubbing your bandage.

“Told you, just a scratch. The bullet barely brushed,” you whispered back, kissing his skin. You felt he had something on his mind again and waited for him to spill.

Calum sighed and asked after a while, “What now?”

“Hm?” you lifted your head up to see him better. “What now?”

“I mean-” Calum stumbled, looking away. “Do you still need time? Can I bring you to the pack? What are we doing now?”

You giggled, amused to see your big bad alpha so indecisive and unsure. 

“Why is everyone laughing?” Calum groaned, rolling his eyes. “What’s so damn funny in all of this for you?”

You hid your smile on his chest, not missing the opportunity to peck on his collar bones.

“Don’t you think we started from the wrong end?” you asked only to be met with his confused sight. “You’re expecting me to spend the rest of my life with you, Calum. How about asking a girl out on a proper date?”

“What, sit in a restaurant, discussing worst childhood memories and favourite books?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes,” you nodded. “And also the names of first pets, what foods we’re allergic to and what political party we vote for.”

Calum let out a short laugh. He raised up a little and pecked your nose. “A date it is then.”

Then he lay back down and closed his eyes, pulling you in closer. You put your head down on his shoulder and closed your eyes too, ready to drift off to sleep. 

Instead you saw a parking lot and a pure blood demanding of your attention. You froze, shivers crept up your spine, the realization striking you. Matt was in the town and wanted to see you. How the fuck could you forget about that?

“You alright?” Calum asked, feeling you shift uncomfortably, his voice thick and sleepy.

“Yeah, just, understood I have to be at work in several hours,” you lied.

“Call in sick,” Calum offered.

You mumbled something what you hoped sounded as an agreement, wishing you could just as easily call in sick to your past, which seemed to finally reach you this time.

***

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[katahnisharma]

when the party’s over [2] |h.o.

Word Count: 1.5 K

Warnings: angsty but there will be a happy ending soon i promise

Summary: You’d always been in love with Harrison, but how long would you have to wait for him to notice you?

A/N: haha I'm back and I'm going to finish what I started! there will be 3 or 4 parts to this :) Read PART ONE HERE

masterlist | series masterlist

The minute Harrison saw you, he knew he had messed up. He didn’t know you had been standing there, and judging from the look on your face you had heard everything.

Why the hell did he say that? What had possessed him?

Harrison tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. The look of pure brokenness on your face cut him to the core. When the tears spilled from your eyes, he wanted to die.

He had done that to you. He’d made you cry, and it was all his fault.

“Y/N, no wait!” Harrison yelled, as you turned and ran from the building. He tried to go after you, but Maya held him back.

“What are you doing? I have to go find her!” Harrison hissed, but Maya gave him a stern glare.

“Are you serious?! It’s our anniversary, you can’t just leave! Why do you suddenly care anyway, we all heard what you said?” She asked, and Harrison’s heart sank. Maya was right, he wasn’t supposed to care.

But he did.

“I don’t care, I’m going after her.” He said, leaving Maya standing alone livid. Harrison pushed past the hoards of people, catching the eye of the bartender who had seen the whole thing.

“You’re a dick!” He yelled, shaking his head. On any other day, Harrison would have punched his lights out, but he knew the man was right. Only a dick would hurt someone so perfect.

He just hoped he’d be able to find you.

Eventually, Harrison made his way out of the bar and saw you take off. Though you were wearing heels, this was the fastest he’d ever seen you move.

“Y/N! Please wait!” He shouted, but it seemed to make no difference. You kept running, refusing to look back. Harrison followed, trying to keep up. But you turned a corner, and Harrison lost sight of you.

“Shit, shit, shit. Where did she go?” He panted, staring abysmally into the dark. It was late, and he knew that you didn’t know how to get home on your own. Worst case scenarios began to play in his mind and he frantically searched for his phone.

Harrison couldn’t find it.

“I left it in the bar.” Harrison hissed, slapping himself for his stupidity. He sprinted back, pushing past the swarms coming through the door to find Maya. She was still right where he had left her, with those vapid people they called ‘friends’.

“Maya, where’s my phone?” Harrison shouted, trying to make his voice louder than the music. Maya turned, her eyes cold and angry.

“Why? She doesn’t want you to call anyway.” She sneered, holding the phone away from him. Harrison rolled his eyes, and grabbed it from her reach. The bartender was watching from a distance, and when he saw Harrison reach his phone, he gave a nod of approval.

“I’m going to find her. Don’t wait up.” He turned away, leaving Maya fuming and their friends whispering to each other.

Harrison found himself back outside, alone on the dimly lit sidewalk. He brought out his phone, but to his dismay found that it was dead. Of course, Maya had chosen to omit that bit of information.

Now what?

There wasn’t a charger in sight, and the nearest pharmacy was three miles away. He knew Maya would never let him borrow her phone, and no doubt she had told their friends to do the same.

Harrison looked around and spotted a couple on the steps outside the bar, both on their phones. He walked over and asked if he could borrow one, which the woman kindly obliged him. But when he went to dial your number, he found that he couldn’t remember it.

Just like the phone number, Harrison had always taken you for granted. He’d never imagined his life without you in it.

Now he was starting to feel the withdrawal effects.

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

The plane ride back to chilly Boston was uneventful to say the least. As you had expected, there was not a single call or text from Harrison. You couldn’t decide whether you were angry or disappointed, so you settled on both.

Screw him, honestly.

Determined to put him out of your mind, you wiped away a stray tear and turned back to your book. It was riveting, but every so often you would be drawn back to the events of a couple hours ago and your eyes would water again.

Even with an ocean between you, Harrison still had some hold over you,

Frustrated, you shut the book and closed your eyes. Maybe with a little sleep, things would look better. Just as you began to doze off, the overhead announcement sounded above.

“Thank you for flying Blue Airlines, we hope you enjoy your stay in Massachusetts.”

You groaned quietly, shifting to peer out the window. Sure enough, there was snowy Boston just as you had left it four years ago to study at Cambridge. With a start, you felt the plane begin to descend, and you clutched the armrest anxiously. You hated landings with a passion, but the one person who was usually here to comfort you had just called you an insignificant placeholder.

Clutching your seat for dear life, the plane came to a bumpy stop. You breathed a sigh of relief, and after waiting for most of the cabin to depart, you grabbed your things and left. The airport was unusually empty, but it was early in the morning. Most flights would leave hours later.

A quick look at your phone confirmed that your mother was waiting for you outside. You smiled for the first time all night, eagerly anticipating going home again. You broke into a slight jog, removing your luggage from baggage claim and walking outside. The rest of your things would arrive later in the week, and you were glad you didn’t have much to worry about.

“Y/N!” A voice cried, and you turned to see your mother standing by the curb. You felt tears of joy paint your cheeks, and you ran to give her a hug. She smelled like cedarwood, her favorite scent, and you were suddenly aware that it had been far too long since you had last seen her.

“Mom, I’m so glad you’re here.” You cried, sniffling into her shoulder. She stroked your hair gently, letting you cry for a few minutes. When you had finished, she took your bags and put them in the trunk of the car. You slid into the passenger’s seat and inhaled sharply. Your mother sat in the driver’s seat and looked at you softly.

“When you want to tell me what happened, you can. But I won’t push you, okay?” She said, and you smiled gratefully. Your mother had always given you your space, never angling for information. She knew you would tell her when you were ready.

“Well, it is a long ride back home. I think we have enough time for the full recount.” You laughed, and your mother rolled her eyes.

So you told her everything. The party invitation, the bar scene, the awful truth. The only part you left out was your feelings for Harrison. They seemed insignificant now, just like your friendship with him.

“That’s everything?” Your mother asked at the end, keeping her eyes on the road. You nodded, picking at your top nervously.

“Yeah, that’s everything.” You looked out the window at the blur of people passing by, when your mother began to chuckle.

“Liar. You love him, don’t you?” You whirled around, utterly speechless.

How did she-

“You forget that I raised you. I know you well enough by now. This boy wouldn’t have affected you so much if he didn’t mean something to you.” Your face flushed pink, stunned by her words.

“I did love him, but that’s in the past now.” You muttered, staring at your hands. Your mother shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe. Only time will tell, I suppose.” She pulled into the driveway of your three story home, and placed a hand on yours. “But don’t try and kill it so quickly. Weeds grow back unless you take them out carefully by the root.”

“Real poetic, mom.” You laughed, despite the fact that her words hit home. When the car came to a complete stop, you slung your bags over your shoulder and unlocked the front door. Within seconds, a little German Shepherd puppy came bounding towards you.

“Luna! My baby!” You squealed, scooping her up and kissing her head. She yipped happily, licking your face everywhere. With one hand you took her and the bags to your old room.

“Wow, nothing’s changed at all.” You whispered to no one in particular. Your mother had kept everything immaculate, but nothing had been moved or altered. It was exactly as you left it after graduation. The bedding was the same, your books were in the same order. Even your old Marvel posters were still hanging.

“Yell if you need something!” Your mother called from below, and you thanked her before falling on your bed in a heap. You stared at the ceiling, smiling when you realized your old glow in the dark stars were still there.

“It’s good to be home, Luna.” You whispered to the puppy sleeping on your lap, and for the first time all night, you were able to sleep.

add yourself to my taglist here! | writing challenge

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[xxxgrianeatsendermitesxxx]

The darkitechs

Ren had been feeling eyes on him ever since Sahara had opened, he hadn't said a word about it to the other hermits and he got the feeling he shouldn't. Or at least nothing bad.

Doc was curious and asked him how it went, Ren forgot about his feeling for a moment and was happy to laugh and joke with his friend about the hilarious gremlin fang and their many short comings. It was only as he was walking away that the feeling returned, the feeling of being watched. But that wasn't important, the fact that there was a block of sand where grass should be was. There was more then one of these mistakes, Ren shrugged it off as a bug but just in case, he followed it anyway. He followed it right out of hermitville and into a cave. He only placed torches on the sand blocks, the little yellow spots being what kept his attention after all.

At the end of the trail, a sign; 'Congratulations! You've won a free minecart ride! Have fun and remember to leave a review at the end!'. Ren shrugged and got in, tucking his tail under him as the minecart began to leave it's station. Rolling through a tunnel, down and up, round corners and bends, curling in on itself and even some drops. Ren was having fun and even began to relax, until a strange feeling set in; he'd fallen for this before. At the very start of the war- before it was even a war- False had done this...False and-

Grian. That's who's childish laughter he heard as the minecart came to a stop, dropping him through the floor onto a single slime block, in the infinity room. Ren didn't think he was under Grian's base as this room looked quite different; Tables around the edges of the room, an armourstand in the corner, a Sahara poster behind his head and the white of the walls, they weren't just white- they were plastered in the A for architech, a simple that made Rens heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

"Hello Ren!" The blonde was right there, a huge, beaming smile on his face as he stood before Ren in the crimson suit that really spoke volumes.

Ren realized that this might be because of what he'd said about them to Doc, especially when Iskall walked in, Mumbo in tow- Ren found it odd to see the frown on Iskall's face when the other twi has bright, happy smiles. It made him feel strangly more trusting of Iskall as the swede raised his eyebrow at Ren's face.

"Oh it's a rare occasions we take Mumbo's advice but when he gives ideas like this one- well it's hard to say no." He chuckled and Ren saw him gaze towards Mumbo with a curious smile, making him wonder what they had planned. Grian was behind them, going through a barrel. Iskall shook his head, almost ridding himself of a thought. "You know...it's hard to tell when Mumbo's genuinely being a spoon or if he's just lying to gain your trust-"

Grian nodded with a little chuckle, looking back to grin at his buddies- Ren almost felt like he was intruding. He went to speak, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I-"

"-It's the same thing with Grian really." Mumbo interrupted him, chuckling in response to Iskall's comments. Grian chucked a shulker box towards him, Mumbo caught him and nodded, pulling out some redstone and popping out a tile from the wall- revealing the redstone beneath. "You never really know when Grian's going to snap, it's like playing russian roulette with a living block of tnt." He chuckled, the other two following suit as the mustached man began placing redstone dust around Ren.

Grian then stood up and clapped his hands together- signaling something to the other two who immediately jumped into action, Iskall sharpening his sword whilst Mumbo stood to attention a strange headband-like comparator on Ren's head. Ren felt like the fun was over and these boys were ready to work- they certainly seemed like it in the way they stood. The blonde approached Ren, almost skipping, a dizzy smoke on his face. "We didn't really get any proper feedback from you after the opening! But that's ok- we heard you telling Doc what you thought of us!" Ren's eyes widened as he saw Grian throw his head back with a quiet; "Ahh..." - then snapping back, a few inches from Ren's with a twisted smirk and a ruby flash in his eyes. "We didn't like what you said."

"So we've decided to fix your opinion of us." Iskall spoke with a slightly bored tone, rolling his eyes at Grian's antics. "We can't have you running around and slandering our good name after all." He grabbed the last redstone torch from the chest and tossed it to Mumbo, who caught it with ease.

The raven haired man grabbed the torch and twirled it around in his fingers, the scarlet flames dancing around his hand. He turned to face Grian- allowing him to take charge. The blonde took this opportunity to smooth back his hair and chuckle. "Ren, buddy- look, we don't wanna hurt you but you're hurting our business. We can't let that happen." Ren watched him cautiously, not wanting to make any sudden movements when suddenly- as if a penny had dropped within Grian's brain, the blonde began to laugh. "Oh who am I kidding! Of course we want to hurt you!" He chuckled, the other two snicker quietly as they watch the blonde dance around Ren. "We find this kind of thing fun if I'm honest, it's just how we are." He shrugged and continued; "But here's what we want from you; take this little warning to heart and we won't kill you, got that bud?"

If Ren could've leaped to his feet in that moment then he would, but he was stuck- instead he simply growled under his breath when Grian took a step too close. Scowling at the blonde, his right ear twiched and so did his lip. "You're mad, you think I'm going to big you up despite your shortcomings- which for you Grian, the bar is pretty low- do you? Well I'll never big you or your company up now I know what you're really like, you physcos!"

All three of them looked taken aback, not expecting him to lash out like that. It was Iskall who recovered fastest, nudging Grian out of the way and sighing. "Listen to me, you don't want to make us angry, Ren. You can't talk to us like this, when we're together we aren't your friends- we're a business, and you're ruining our reputation." He flicked the lycanthrope's ears, causing poor Ren to flinch, concerned as to their plans for him now.

Grian nodded, he looked so upset- betrayed even, it was like he'd expected Ren to react positively to their threats. "Ren please, we really don't want to lose you as a friend but business is business- you understand?" He reached over, petting Ren's cheek- snarking at his expression. "Oh I bet you wouldn't say that kind of thing against our competitor would you?"

"He's partnered with them, that's why." Mumbo spoke up, still twirling the redstone torch in his hand. "Big logs.Inc™, partners with Concorp™ and associate to The Convex® via BigsLogs.INC's CEO, Ren Dog." He read it off a little book, putting it back in his pocket. "That was why he'd never say a bad word against them. He's not allowed to."

Grian hummed in thought, putting a finger to his mouth, pondering something. He stared at Ren, his eyes- usually soft and bright- pierced deep into his soul, seemingly scanning his mind. Finally, the blonde came to a conclusion- seemingly out of nowhere- and let his face all to a dark frown. "Kill him."

Ren spluttered, shocked that his supposed friends could be so cold and fearful of what Grian intended by death. "Wha-What?!?" He looked to each of the trio in turn, all of them seeming to get to work. Ren was panicking as he watched then, not sure if they meant permadeath or not. "What do you mean death??!" He cried out, he wanted to know- he sensed danger.

"We mean permadeath, Ren." Iskall sighed as he sharpened the blade of his sword, clearly not caring all too much. "What else?"

"You can't...YOU CAN'T JUST KILL ME!!" Ren screamed at them, the fear setting in as he realised what was really at stake here. His life and possibly the other hermits.

"Oh but we can," Grian chuckled, grabbing Iskall's sword from him and placing the tip lightly between Ren's collar bones. "and we will."

Ren pleaded with them, begging for them to show a little mercy but his pleas fell on deaf ears- two pairs of death ears, Mumbo decided to play nice. The redstoner tapped Grian on the shoulder, holding his torch up in gesture. The blonde nodded and stepped back- allowing Mumbo to take centre stage. He stood before Ren with a smile, holding the torch up where the canine could see it. "Now personally, I don't want to see you dead permanently. Not because I care whether you live or die but because I don't want to have to deal with Doc." Ren realized that Doc might be his unknowning savior and nodded, agreeing that Doc would fly into a rage if he lost another friend. Mumbo lifted a confident smile at that positive response, glancing back at Grian and Iskall for confirmation- they nodded. "So maybe it would be better if you just took our warning and our advice, you could respawn all you want then." Ren blinked at him in confusion and shock, Mumbo glanced at his torch- seemingly noticing it for the first time- and his fave lit up. "Oh!" He exclaimed, smiling happily- an expression now sour for Ren. "Fun idea Ren, I place this torch down and we tell Doc you've gone endbusting."

Ren realized that the torch was the only thing between him and permadeath, the torch that Mumbo had been playing with so liberally. Ren evaluated his options then took a deep breath- squeaking as he inhaled. He spoke clearly but with a shaky voice. "Plea...Please don't kill me, I'll big you up, I'll never tell them the truth, I swear- just don't kill me!"

The Architechs looked between each other, Mumbo sighing and putting his torch away. Grian chuckled, taking his sword away from Ren's neck and tossing it to Iskall- who caught it with ease and leant it against a chest. Grian began to smile brighter. "Oh I'm so glad we've got this all cleared up! Thank you for understanding, Ren." He seemingly had something come to mind, beaming at Ren happily. "Oh! Do you want to see my new dog?"

Ren felt a little safer now, glad to have come to an agreement with his captors. Mumbo had even untied his arms, letting his smooth down his hair, dry his eyes and adjust his sunglasses. He loved dogs- being half one himself- so he was happy to nod in response to Grian's question, seeing a dog would really help him right now.

Grian clapped his hands in excitement, stamping his left foot rapidly- a sign that he was truly excited, he never faked this and was in fact embarrassed by it. Ren saw that the other two Architechs began to get as high as they could, perching on shelves. Ren was back to being concerned now, where they scared of dogs?"

"Oh Daisy!" Grian called, pulling the leaver to open a large piston door, revealing a fully grown ravager- decked out in a pink frilly collar with a gold tag in the shape of a flower, reading; Daisy.

The ravager charged towards Ren, crushing him against the wall and knocking all the breath from his lungs- killing him almost instantly. The last sound he heard was the giggles of a maniac, a maniac his friends trusted completely- the he respawned.

[renthedog was killed by a ravager]

[solitaria-fantasma]

((Session #7 shenanigans, GO!))

We’re skipping the filler stuff this week and jumping straight into the Plot bc our DM has figured out how to connect us to her main campaign and really wants to get to the good parts.

It’s been a while so we had to do a little discussing to remember where we’d left off: Destroying a dog-fighting ring, making friends with the dogs, and kidnapping the pit boss.

We dragged the pit boss halfway back to town bc we’d left our horses at the inn, and then dragged him into the woods to interrogate.

I woke him up with a slammin’ lute chord (and I was absolutely thinking “SECRET TUNNEEEEELLLLL!” in my head as I did).

Udaji rolled another ‘4’ on her Perception check and someone else in the voice chat said “yeah that’s on-brand for her”.

ZONE OF TRUTH! ZONE OF TRUTH! ZONE OF TRUTH!

(the pit boss calls the dogs ‘stupid animals’) “Someone needs to hold Udaji back, please.”

“Lord Hassan? Yeah, he’s the boss-.....I shouldn’t have said that.”

This poor man didn’t have a high enough intelligence to recognize the spell ‘Zone of Truth’ and is confused af right now.

The second piece of the map to the Crescent Gang’s Hideout was rolled up in a little bottle on a string around the pit boss’ neck - now we have two!

We asked where the third piece was, but the pit boss didn’t know - he gave us a few towns that he thought it might be in, though (such as Caister, in Everton).

Apparently, you need to layer all three map pieces over top of each other to see the full picture - like animation cells!

We asked about the marriage-murder scam, too, but the pit boss didn’t know anything important.

“If these bitches were cute enough then maybe-” *angry Dragonborn noises*

“Maybe we could feed him to the dogs?” “No way! Burnt Toast and Matthias Jr. need a well-balanced diet, not junk food.”

The only thing holding Udaji back from killing this man rn is Claus’ hand on her shin.

We leave the pit boss tied up in the wilderness, and he’s probably going to die. It’s a good thing none of us are Lawful Neutral.

The fastest way to Caister is by boat, which will take about one week, rather than two weeks if by land.

We have to pay to board the horses on the boat, but as long as the sailors were allowed to pet our new dogs, we didn’t have to pay for their boarding.

“What would you like to do on your two week boat ride?”/”I would like to train Matthias Jr. to play dead when shot with a pretend bow and arrow.”

Level Four! Yay!

We had barely landed in Everton when we heard an NPC shouting about a thief.

Mountain was too distracted trying to keep Señor Guapo from eating poison ivy to notice the commotion.

I have only just now realized that I did not include in my last session’s notes that the other two dogs are named “Señor Guapo” and “Joel”.

“Because Claus is a good boy and he is the conscience of this party.”

“We could also surround her. We number quite many.”

*insert Benny Hill theme here as the party & our dogs attempt to surround the suspected thief while our horses graze serenely a few meters away from the chaos*

The thief is a hungry young woman I don’t care what her role in the story is I have already mentally adopted her.

Mountain paid the farmer the five copper the carrots were worth, and the man stormed off, threatening to call the guard if we let her near his farm again.

“You offer her your rations, and she looks at you like you are God.”

The child is absolutely bewildered by the size of Ganondorf the Horse, but then she looked back at me (the Dragonborn) and whispered “Oooh, that makes sense…”

Soothing lute music is good for panic attacks and that’s about all Udaji’s good for right now.

Her name is Colette De Mir, and she claims to have fallen on hard times after receiving a letter pROPOSING MARRIAGE TO A LORD IN EVERTON OH NO-

She survived an attack on her traveling group, and was the only survivor. Lord Hassan tried to kill her, and threw her off of a bridge into a ravine, where she once again managed to cheat death. No-one else in her party survived, and everything in their carriage that could be stolen was.

Burnt Toast and Joel are therapy dogs: Confirmed.

Colette was horrified when we told her that she was not the only one who had been targeted by this scam, and demanded to know what we knew.

Matthias doesn’t trust her, for some reason, but the high Insight roll checks out.

“Yeeting princesses is not a very Lordly activity.”

Colette says she woke up underwater after the fall, and found herself breathing rather normally. What a way to find out you’re a sorcerer.

I lent her one of the costumes from my Entertainer’s pack, to replace her dirty and mismatched clothing as we go into town, and it’s WAY too big for her, considering it was sized for a Dragonborn.

Once we get to town, Astrid and I take Colette on a spa/shopping trip so that she can get cleaned up, and have some proper clothes.

At the inn, Colette tells us that she didn’t know that this town was Caister - she had been told that it was Kenkilly by the ship that had carried her and her entourage.

She was lied to about which town was which, basically, and - being from a completely different country - she had no idea.

Our money from Swadlin is still good in Everton, but almost all of the shopkeepers and merchants could pin us as tourists from our foreign currency.

Colette asks us to take her to Kenkilly, where Lord Hassan is supposedly supposed to be. Safety and strength in numbers, right?

Udaji - having been raised by an overprotective party of retired adventurers in a quiet, but populous, town - has no survival skills of her own.

For all intents and purposes, Colette is a Waterbender. 

Colette has a blue cloak that she tried to hide from the party, and took great care to dry and keep when changing clothes. It was a gift from her mother, meant to protect her.

When we set out the next morning, Colette rode with Astrid and got the tea (whether she wanted it or not) on the rest of the party.

“She has all the embarrassing stories on you, like what you do when you sleep.”/”Oh, no! She’s seen me cuddle my lute??”

Kenkilly is actually a small, rural village on the coast, rather than the larger city it had been made out to be in the letter to her family.

We track down some shady locals to try and get information, and we….are not subtle about it.

Between the Dragonborn, the Tiefling, two half-elves, a princess, and four dogs, we stand out quite a bit.

Matthias joined the shady people for a game of chance with dice, and won a bit of money, but no information.

Mountain joined in the betting, and Astrid is shit-talking both of them while Colette, Claus, and Udaji stand off to the side and watch.

Claus lasts about five minutes before he gives up trying to pretend we aren’t doing some shady BS and goes back to the inn to drink.

Mountain asks about the Crescent gang, but one guy asks for a bribe for his answer. Mountain tries to intimidate him, and fails miserably

Matthias also tried (and failed) to intimidate, but with Astrid’s help, the criminal was successfully intimidated.

Lord Hassan does indeed live in this town (or at least the castle nearby it), and he does not seem to be entirely well-liked by the people.

None of the complaints are super-bad, though….”trash day changes too much”, “the cost of living is too high”, “there’s too many damned foreigners-” Okay. Okay. We get the point.

“Udaji’s gonna look herself up and down from her boots to her flower crown and ask: “Do I look like a cop??’.”

“If we’re gonna ‘case this castle’, may I recommend not sending the Tiefling or the Dragonborn?”

Matthias goes out to scout, and finds out that Lord Hassan has ‘appointment times’ where he is available to the public - the next time being 2pm the next day.

He signs up the party for the 2pm meeting and comes back to the inn where the rest of us are waiting.

“I have been giving you guys tons and tons and TONS of money! You know you can spend it, right??”

The local armorer can upgrade our weapons with silver, but it would take two days, and we don’t expect to be in town that long...bummer.

I bought some new Studded Leather Armor for Udaji, sold her original Leather Armor, AND got it refined - my bby now has an AC of 16 now!

“Why do you still have all these rotten apples in your inventory?!”/”She’s fermenting them!”

Matthias’ player had him eat twenty rotten apples in one sitting just to spite the DM (their sister).

He then had to go throw up in the harbor.

So earlier, Matthias horribly embarrassed Astrid back in the alley, and now she’s refusing to talk to him.

Colette is confirmed for 19 and Udaji is still the baby of the party at 17.

The rest of the party is hanging out in the tavern, completely unawares, as Astrid yeets herself out a second story window to avoid talking to her father.

The innkeeper gave Udaji some alcohol, and Mountain casually stole it, drank it, and said “Underaged drinking is bad.”

Everyone goes around placing dinner orders at the inn and Udaji orders an entire chicken.

Astrid came back after brooding out in the wilderness for a few hours and we settled down to sleep.

Astrid steals a crown that Matthias had ‘found’ in an earlier session for Colette, arguing that “she’s actual royalty, and we’re going to talk to a Lord tomorrow, so we need to make the best impression”.

We also get a ‘glow-up’ montage as Astrid uses Matthias’ disguise kit to alter Colette’s appearance (bc if Lord Hassan really DID try to murder her, then walking straight back into his castle with no disguise would be a death sentence).

Still refusing to talk to her father, Astrid paid a very confused and slightly offended Colette to bring her breakfast in her room, just so she didn’t have to look at Matthias’ smug elven face.

Astrid also does not join us at the castle.

The Lord that we meet in the castle…..is NOT the same Lord that tried to kill Colette.

“It is kind of rude to show up for your scheduled appointment and just stand at the door, not saying anything.”

Colette storms past the party to demand an explanation of Lord Hassan, who is very unimpressed with this strange woman’s attitude.

“She’s a little upsetti spaghetti.”

Udaji’s soothing lute music saves the day again.

We tell the Lord that we are from the land of Swadlin, and were sent to investigate a series of deaths.

This Lord Hassan is a widower who is deeply faithful to his late wife and has no intentions of marrying again, and is VERY confused to hear that someone is using his name.

An advisor steps forward to take over the situation, and Matthias’ successful Insight roll gives him TERRIBLE vibes.

“He’s the kind of person whose teeth are too straight; too white.”

This advisor offered to pay us to investigate who was impersonating his Lord, and despite the bad vibes, Matthias agrees.

“Maybe DON’T intimidate the advisor while surrounded by guards.”

“He’s essentially offering you $7,000 EACH.”

We got sent off to investigate this impersonation of a Lord, and went back to the inn to try and shake off the Bad Vibes and calm Colette down.

Colette draws us a (rough) sketch of a frowning man with a pointed hairline and stiff moustache as the man who threw her off the bridge.

*two minutes of the DM (lovingly) insulting her cat in the background*

Colette says he was incredibly handsome, but Udaji just doesn’t see it.

We decide to try following the river upstream until we find a bridge that matches the one Colette was thrown off of.

Colette uses some of Matthias’ paper to write a letter to her parents, and asks Udaji to come with her to find a sailor to deliver it to her parents (for a modest fee).

The DM brought up the map and showed us the island of Mir, where Colette was from. It is a tiny dot out in the ocean, down in the far right bottom corner of the map. No wonder she needed to sail for two months!

“Matthias drinks one drink and then is blackout drunk.”/”Why do you think I have a kid?”

When we leveled up I took “Suggestion” as my next 2nd level spell, and I absolutely cannot wait to use it.

I CAN TAKE THE “DRAGON WINGS” RACIAL FEATURE AND GIVE UDAJI A 20FT WINGSPAN! Oooooooh boy the sTORYTELLING I can do with this!!!

[soundofseventeen]

Everything You Are (Yoon Jeonghan)

I am...the worst. I’m literally so busy with everything in my life that I’m AWOL on most of my social media and I haven’t responded to anything or anyone. I’m iffy about this but I needed to post. And a happy birthday to our ever wonderful Kim Mingyu! Credits to owners for the gifs. -Bee

Word count: approximately 5100

Inspired by: Everything You Are

March 31st: present day

“So,” Mingyu said in the midst of slurping his noodles, “what are we doing for the greatest day in the world?” The hotness burned his mouth, but that only prompted him to shove more inside than he could (literally) chew. He almost choked when he locked eyes with Minghao, who only stared at him in confusion.

Jihoon shook his head. “The greatest days in the world are those that don’t require alarm clocks and we won’t be getting those anytime soon.” He swiped a piece Soonyoung’s fish with his fingers, playing with it and then eating it before telling Wonwoo to high five him, which his elder declined and moved away. (Not that stopped him from throwing lettuce.)

“April has great days...earth day, Easter Day, April Fools Day, Arbor Day...Mingyu sunbaenim’s day.” He shrugged. “You know, just to name a few.”

“Those don’t sound like fun though.” Seungkwan.

“No one asked you.”

“Then why are you asking?”

“Are you really gonna brush off my special day?” He placed his chopsticks on the bowl when half of his brothers nodded, sticking out his lower lips in a pout. “But oh, we had to take the maknae to out to a movie and give him this fancy dinner and buy him everything he pointed at.” He ruffled Chan’s hair affectionately and rested his head on said boy’s shoulder.

“Did you have anything in mind?” Joshua.

“We haven’t done a proper birthday in awhile. And we haven’t really talked to any of our other friends besides when we bump into them at the shows, so I was thinking we invite them all and just hang out. Maybe bust out a cake, a piñata.” He counted his fingers as he ticked off his plans. “And either get some takeout or pizza. Oh! And we can hire strippers!” At that, he had everyone’s attention.

“Why the hell…” Minghao shook his head. “Never mind.”

“It’ll be funny to throw them off.” He slammed his hand down in front of Jeonghan who sat across from him.

He jumped, clearly not expecting to be acknowledged by the dongsaeng. “What?”

“Can you invite Y/N?”

“Y/N?”

“Yeah. You remember Y/N, don’t you? The best friend you swore you never had? The one you kept away from us for a long ass time? The one who’s currently somewhere in South America since your last update? How long ago was it that we hung out?”

Jeonghan swallowed subtly. “Oh that Y/N. I’ll see what I can do.” He offered his best version of his mischievous smile. “It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Give or take six months if you don’t count birthdays. “But do you really want that?”

“Hyung, I don’t ask for anything except for clean dishes and rooms. I can’t even remember the last time we had a conversation that didn’t start and end with ‘I miss you’, and that’s just on Instagram!” He rubbed his eyes, “We were all friends too, not just you two.” Mingyu’d mumbled that last part so lowly, anyone would’ve missed it if they weren’t paying attention. But they didn’t know you didn’t speak anymore.

April 6th: three years ago

“Dinosaurs?” Seungcheol asked in disbelief as he saw Jeonghan’s choice in balloons. “You’re getting a grown-ass man balloons in the shape of a dinosaur?”

“It’s his birthday,” Jeonghan shrugged. “You know better than to deny Mingyu anything…”

“You binge-watch The Land Before Time one time-”

“No, apparently it was the Disney movie Dinosaur.”

“Disney did not do a dinosaur movie. I would remember...I had a phase until I was 11!” Though the T-Rex sticker on his phone was a subtle reminder of his younger days in Daegu that he never quite outgrew it.

“If I’m gonna have to fight you on this, at least get me a soda and a bag of chips.” He pulled out his phone, typed in the movie in question and watched Seungcheol’s face scrunch up in disbelief in amusement. “Pay for lunch too while you’re at it.” Jeonghan then turned his attention to the person at the register. “Hi, how are you today?”

“Hi, I’m good. How are you?”

“Another day in paradise. I have a question. Are these all you have?”

“Yeah, a few others came in about-” A quick look at the clock, estimating a time, “maybe 20 minutes ago, and took just about everything. Are dinosaurs like a thing here?”

“Not that I know of.” Jeonghan found himself squinting his eyes. “Are you new here?” He asked when he realized he didn’t recognize you.

“Overall, yeah. I’m not too crazy about switching jobs but I need to survive, especially when I don’t get enough. C’est la vie, you know?”

No, he wouldn’t. The Louis Vuitton wallet in his pocket confirmed it. He watched as you blew up the foil balloons and rang up everything. He didn’t miss the way your eyes widened slightly when he saw the designer logo on the leather material nor when he handed you his American Express card Joshua convinced him to get when they were in America. “Thank you,” he finally said when he signed his name on the receipt.

“Thank you. Have a nice day.”

Not one to make impulsive decisions, he surprised himself by scribbling some information on a scrap of paper and handing it to you. “This is an address from where we work. I don’t know if they’re looking for anyone, but if you tell them Jeonghan sent you, they’ll find you something.” His angelic charms hadn’t failed him yet, and he’d be damned if this started now. “Don’t hesitate to call me, uh-”

“Y/N.”

“Y/N.” He could feel Seungcheol tugging on his sleeves. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

“Same here. Thanks for this, really.”

“We’ve been there and done that. It’s no problem.”

*April 2nd: present day

Mingyu’s constant question of, “Have you called? Have you called? Have you called?” played like a broken record inside his head throughout the day, irritating him more than he cared to admit, the longer he thought about it. He hadn’t bothered trying because he knew it would go straight to voicemail and it’s not like Mingyu would find out if he didn’t. You wouldn’t have broken your evading streak...well, besides calling for a happy birthday...scratch that, Mingyu would have Jeonghan’s head for that. It was late when he got home, Seokmin’s King Arthur rehearsal taking up more time than he thought it would. He had already flopped into bed, granted, the yellow toothbrush dangling dangerously from his lips as he tried not to gag from the baking soda when he saw his phone light up with a notification. You had uploaded a video from your time on your tour. Jeonghan found himself shaking his head, feeling a smile forming. Who would’ve thought you were gonna end up as a famous YouTuber when you’d struggled with jobs in the past.

He loved seeing how happy you’ve been looking, despite the fact you’d never smile the same way again. He laughed at your introduction, eating whatever you scrambled together at that moment, rambling a bit and then diving into your story, not even realizing he was dialing your number at three am, foam dripping into his sheets and hoping for once in your life, you’d pick up. With every passing ring, he felt nervous. He figured it’d play a key role in where you stood at the moment. Just when he was about to give up, he heard someone pick up, his heart pounding with anticipation on how this could go.

“Hello?”

*

Jeonghan swore it took you four days to actually show up to Pledis Entertainment studios, and his charismatic streak lived to see another day. And because you were recommended by him, the head of said Pledis only saw it fair that you become an assistant to not just him, but the entire group. It scared you for the first few weeks, what with learning their names to figuring out who spoke which language to who was in charge, you considered yourself lucky that you didn’t crack under the pressure. It wasn’t because they looked much too perfect to be real (though it was a factor), but because your world flipped upside down when you realized Seventeen were kpop idols, not part of the staff.

The boys were friendly, thankfully enough. Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Soonyoung were obviously the ones who welcomed you the fastest and the ones who spoke for everyone else when it came to opinions and the ones who made sure the rest had an ounce of energy to get through the dance or song or whatever required physical exertion. Hansol, Wonwoo, and Jihoon eyed you dubiously at first as if waiting for you to expose yourself as a sasaeng or someone who worked for a sleazy tabloid magazine. They watched your every move whether on break or on call and had Jeonghan not confirmed the story of him reaching out to you, they would’ve continued to give you the cold shoulder until you quit. Once you gained their trust, everything simultaneously fell together and apart.

For starters, any requests made had to go through the ‘95 line. It wasn’t necessarily ice cream for dinner stuff, but if so and so could come in late the next day because they wanted breakfast. Four books and a game console were always required in their dressing room when they were scheduled to perform. They could never decide on what they wanted to snack on before they were due on stage, so you’d find yourself running back and forth to satisfy their cravings. (Though you did notice that vocal unit had a soft spot for gummies.)

Because you were still getting used to the boys’ hectic schedule, they left you in the hands of the Nu’est boys while they attended KCon in the late summer. While it meant learning the names of more boys, you preferred that over fucking things up because of jet lag and possibly getting fired for not being able to follow instructions. (Though the vibe was different than what you were used to, you were glad you treated you just as well as Seventeen. The only difference was that they used your respected honorific instead of just “Y/N” and you were home a little after midnight as opposed to two, three am.)

It was the ongoing prank war between Jonghyun, and Jeonghan that got the ball rolling between you and Jeonghan. Jeonghan had texted you to see if you could swipe Jonghyun’s water bottle and replace it with vodka he had smuggled into Jihoon’s locker and to send him the reaction when he drank it and in return, he’d bring you back something from the (not so) great Los Angeles. Instead, he found himself sending you pictures of Six Flags Magic Mountain, and the famous Santa Monica Beach and how beautiful the ocean looked from above the Ferris Wheel and began looking forward to your text messages and your overall company while you were on opposite ends of the world. He realized how much he missed having someone to talk to that wasn’t the 12 boys he loved and how it had been a while since he felt attracted to someone, felt wanted.

Upon coming home, you surprised each of them with a single balloon and new speakers for when they practiced a new choreography and they treated you to a late late-night dinner and a million stories. (Jonghyun got Jeonghan back the following day by shoving all the baby powder he could manage on the inside of Jeonghan’s towel.)

Jeonghan managed to keep your flirtationship inconspicuous, both on the clock and off although the fact that everyone played a part in treating you special (because one on one things became a common affair.) No one really had a second thought when you started carpooling with him because you lived in the same neighborhood and nobody said anything when he asked you to help him bring all the cup holders containing coffee and tea. And nobody had any questions when you and Jeonghan would smile at your phones during their practice break. (That was mostly due to the fact that he sent links to everyone in their group chat.) He’d wink at you when everyone was watching and playing it off as you being their favorite assistant.

The first time he kissed you was on Halloween during a party hosted by Pledis. It could’ve been the fact that it was a day no one was themselves or because the vibe was stress free but all you knew was that one minute you were fighting over the last can of beer and the next, he had you pressed against the counter and shuddering from the way your hands tangled in his hair. He remembered admitting that he had wanted to do that for a while. He would’ve leaned in again, but he heard someone coming in and he stole the can from you and skipped away, bumping into one of the boys but he forgot who. From then on, he’d kiss you whenever he felt like it, always making sure that no one was around. He liked the feeling of sneaking around, knowing that while recording was going on in one room, he’d be in the broom closet next door with you, fighting for air and grasping at whatever you could. And it was an unspoken thing to never mention what you had going on, which you naïvely agreed to because it was Yoon Jeonghan, the angel and the boy whom you couldn’t say no to.

Jeonghan knew it was reckless and irresponsible what you were doing but he couldn’t stop. It felt different than he was used to. He had someone at the palm of his hand. He felt something for you and he had planned to pursue it as long as possible, although that plan was short-lived.

April 3rd: present day

Why Jeonghan had picked to meet you by the street vendor who sold snow cones, he didn’t know, but it would’ve been better than looking like he was sneaking around. He sipped on his sofa, letting the fizziness calm his nerves. He couldn’t believe you agreed to meet with him. While he waited, he took pictures with the lucky Carats who found him completely by chance and even Jonghyun, who he hadn’t had the chance to say a proper hello to since...it felt like forever ago due to increasing demand of kpop and how they rarely saw each other outside of Pledis because of it. Their war was no longer a counted thing, but they enjoyed pulling their pranks here and there for the sake of nostalgia. (The matching scars on their pinkie fingers being a subtle sign of their idiocy.)

He didn’t know how long he waited, but it was worth it when you tapped his shoulder, waiting for him to respond. He knew seeing you would be a shock, but he didn’t expect for his vocabulary to fly out at the window and stare at you dumbfounded, nor for his first reaction to just reach out and grab you in a hug.

He missed this so much. He was a fool to think he could’ve fucked with your mind and expect you to be okay with it. He lived with the regret of lying to you when he said he wasn’t in love you everyday and when you hugged him back, he swore he saw his future flash before him. You pulled away first, expecting him to say something. “Hi.”

“You called me up at three am just to tell me that. Now, what is it?”

“I miss you.” Well, not the greatest start, but it’s something.

“I miss you all too. How is everyone? Congrats on the comeback by the way. You guys doing great.” You broke eye contact with him, peering past him.

He waved off your praise. “We’re all good thanks. I just wanted to talk to you about Mingyu. He, ah-” He scratched the back of his head. “He just wanted you to know that he’s having a party on Saturday and he’d love for you to stop by.” And he would too. Maybe, he’d be able to talk to you then.

“Saturday?” You racked your brain to see if you had any commitments for the day, coming up short. “I don’t think I’m doing anything, but I’m not sure I should go,” you admitted. Talking to Jeonghan always brought out your honest side, even when it was best to lie, like now. But the irony was that Jeonghan was the master of deception. You’d know. You’d fallen under his spell one too many times to not know him.

“Why?”

You shook your head. “Jeonghan, hhhhhh, never mind. You wouldn’t understand. I’ll see.”

“Wait.” He stepped closer to you, taking off your scarf and readjusting it so it’d look right. “There.” He was close, really close like he could smell the winter mint chewing gum you had in your mouth. If he really wanted to, he could steal a kiss, something he hasn’t done in so long. So he went for it.

Only instead of getting caught up in the moment like you were used to, you stopped him. “I can’t do this again.”

“Why? You afraid your boyfriend’s gonna see you?”

“As a matter of fact, he will, and I’d appreciate me doing myself a favor and not fucking this up too. Goodbye Jeonghan. I have to go; excuse me.”

Late December: three years ago

Jeonghan loved to admit it and he would always say it: he enjoyed watching you stress over birthdays because everything seemed inadequate due to their lavish lifestyle. But he expressed his appreciation from the homemade card and a new phone case and he saw the appreciation in the boys’ eyes when they opened theirs. And once he saw how you were fretting over Joshua (because “what the hell do you give an American boy who sings show tunes and eats his soup with a fork?”) he gave you clues as to what his best friend out on several wishlists. Once you figured out what to get him, you ordered it and the day it was to come, you invited Jeonghan to your place after they were done for the night to get his opinion.

And one moment you were showing him a thing of the Hollywood sign and the next, you were a tangled mess of limbs on the couch and Jeonghan knew he had crossed the line. Even worse was his realization that all he wanted was a friendship with you. So he ghosted you that night and gave you the excuse that Soonyoung needed everyone in the practice early. (Which wasn’t true, of course, because performance unit were recording their song while the remaining two basically had a free day.) From there began the end. Suddenly, he felt that everything you did had an ulterior motive to wanting an actual relationship and he started feeling annoyed with your presence and gave you the cold shoulder.

You knew everything that had happened before that was a mistake but it didn’t stop you from trying for more. Your feelings for Jeonghan ran deep and you would’ve sworn you had fallen in love but you bottled it up, letting him take the lead. The way he ignored you broke your heart and you weren’t as cheerful, nor did you treat the boys to anything like before. Your quieter than usual manner worried them, once Seungcheol going as far as asking if you wanted to see a doctor before they had to leave for the airport, which you declined, blaming your mattress for lack of sleep. You bid them a fun trip and to let you if they needed anything done while they were away.

While away for three months, Jeonghan texted you on occasion, mostly for business (and once in a while to fulfill his pranks) and how to handle some personal affairs. Again the distance made him miss you so he tried to keep you close, but he couldn’t; not when you eagerly replied to him and sent him photo after photo of irrelevant things, once again thinking you could regain what you had. He didn’t really blame you since he was the one who initiated your affair (if you could even call it that) but he knew if he continued to go down that road, the basis of your friendship would go up in flames. So he began looking for companionship in the wrong places, self-destructing himself in a way, not that he told you any of this. As far as you were concerned, he went straight to bed after a long day. He did, however, try to set you up with the pizza girl who delivered to Pledis but when that backfired, you yelled yourself to the point where Jonghyun sent you home until you could talk without killing yourself. (Seventeen still left you with Nu’est at this point because they liked how you worked with them, and it didn’t seem right to let you go with them when Nu’est was just as busy.)

When they came home it was only for a month before they were needed in Japan for promotional purposes and they left you once again. Jeonghan had only vaguely talked about his actions, but still felt guilty and tried to make it up to you while he was gone. The plus side was that he got to know you on a deeper level and understood the way you were and promised to help you help others because he saw it’s when you were your happiest. The long calls started again and it felt like old times. The downside was that no matter how much you opened up to him, he never did, so he never told you about his love interest who was nothing like you and let you believe something could happen when he came back home. True to his word, when he came home, he decided the fastest and easiest way to help people was to start your own YouTube channel and he readily provided the audience.

Two months into your unofficial commitment, YouTube’s management contacted you about being interested in making a career out of it and once you expressed your interest, they wrote down your information and told you they’d be in touch. You burst through the doors to Pledis that day, ready to shout from the rooftops about that, smoke all but visible behind you as you ran to Seventeen’s wing, and when you threw the doors open, there was Jeonghan in the middle of a tonsil hockey game with someone you’ve never seen and it was all you could do to not make a sound and just walk away quietly. You managed to sneak out of the building unseen and call Seungcheol that you came down with something and wouldn’t make it.

For three days, you stayed in bed, not eating or drinking anything, just crying your heart out for letting him lead you on. You would’ve gone the whole week like that, had one of your friends not forged a note from the doctor they worked with saying you needed bed rest and when you came back, they jumped at you, wanting to know why you didn’t say anything about being sick sooner, and you thanked your higher power at how oblivious they could be. And then Jeonghan had the audacity to stoke your hair, playfully telling you you looked like shit and you visibly flinched away from his touch, blaming it on a nonexistent headache. And suddenly your good news didn’t seem so good when you told them and bless Seungkwan’s heart when he asked if it meant you were quitting which you nodded sadly, and that meant a party for everyone.

That party was held the following month, in which your heart felt heavier than the day prior because of how Jeonghan acted like nothing had happened, and you suppressing everything. The boys bought liquor and alcohol like it was the end of the world and you used that opportunity to drink the image away. Not your brightest idea you’ll admit since you ended up hooking up with Joshua when he tried telling you that you had too much to drink and you begging him to make you forget.

And that was only the beginning of your own self-destruction, falling deeper in the rabbit hole, the closer your days as Seventeen’s assistant ended and the closer you became an influencer. The bags under your eyes never faded, feeling more sluggish by the day. You had only coffee in your system, not being to stomach food. Your headache never went away and you couldn’t stop crying. Everything hurt; there was no remedy for your pain.

Naturally, you worried everyone until Jeonghan confronted you and didn’t let you leave until you told him what the hell happened. He pushed you to your limit, finally telling him everything you felt, everything you saw, how nothing seemed to matter, to which he yelled at you, words feeling like venom as he spewed his own thoughts and piercing deeper into your heart and disintegrating parts of your soul. He cared about you, but not in that way. You were a wonderful person but you weren’t his type. He wished he could change everything but he was happy who he was with. He regretted everything because he was afraid this would happen.

You quit the next day but that wasn’t the last time you saw Jeonghan. He didn’t last much longer with his fling and his first reaction to the split was to call you, even though you had to work on your first ever video where you worked with introductions and whatnot. You had the faint naïve hope for reconciliation each time he called you up when something went wrong, each time ignoring the fact you were nothing more than an emotionally unstable human blinded by your love and him taking advantage of that. On Halloween of that year, you quit him cold turkey after sleeping with him one last time, realizing that he was nothing more than someone who fed off your energy and you couldn’t keep living like that, not when you had so much to offer the world and knowing you had a younger audience watching your movements.

It took time but you finally managed to get him out of your system.

You didn’t hate him. How could you when he not only made you but was a friend when you needed him? You wished him nothing but the best because at one point he was the best to you though it took a while to admit you were angry. It took you some time but you dedicated a special video for your situation, not mentioning his name for the sake of his image.

April 6th: present day

During that time, Jeonghan learned just exactly what he lost, and his mistake was meeting you again after those six months. He had grown up and he had hoped you would see past it and give him one more chance. He was lonely; he knew that now. All he wanted was for you to hold him one more time. He remained skeptical about you having a boyfriend though. You never mentioned it to anyone, so he chalked it up to you lying.

He didn’t expect you to show up tonight. He didn’t expect to stop singing his duet with the birthday boy to open the door and you forcing a smile on your face when you saw him. Jeonghan couldn’t even say hello because in that moment tipsy Mingyu came to the rescue and hugged the hell out of you, scolding you for hiding away and not even bother to check in on them and then enveloping you in a bone-crushing hug, swinging you back and forth and actually hearing your bones crack at his strength and laughing like his night couldn’t get any better. Everyone surrounded you, asking questions and catching up and you enjoying yourself, gossiping with Pristin and BlackPink, playing musical chairs with Monsta X, swapping stories with BTS and complaining to Seventeen when Nu’est was arriving because you were here for them. It was everything you needed: a fun night catching up with old friends.

Eventually, you ended up in the kitchen, looking for a water bottle to soothe your throat, coughing in an attempt to catch your breath from laughing so hard and bumping into Jeonghan, who was serving himself a slice of cake. “Great night?” He asked you, motioning for you a take a piece which you accepted.

“The best. I missed everyone. It felt like old times.”

He had to agree. “The only difference is we’re not hiding away, eager to rip each other’s clothes off.”

“And it’ll stay like that.” You wrinkled your nose at his words. You’d never felt awkward around him, but now knowing everything was different, you didn’t know what to say. He knew you well, and at one time you, him. He put his hand over yours as if he knew what you were thinking and you retracted it just as fast. “I-”

“Are you sure you have a boyfriend? The words were out before he could even stop himself. “Or are you just giving me an excuse?”

“Yeah, I do. And I’d appreciate you not doing this anymore. I’m not who I used to be.”

“I love who you used to be.”

“I don’t. You made me hate myself.”

“I’m sorry.” He had never apologized for causing you grief before tonight.

“Y/N! You made it after all!” The familiar voice of Jonghyun filled the room.

“It’s for the one and only Kim Mingyu. I wouldn’t dare.”

“Well my love, you look perfect. I’m sorry I’m late.” He kissed your hair, his eyes widening in pleasant surprise when he saw you weren’t alone. “Jeonghan-ssi! I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

He wanted to call out his seonbae for his latest prank, wanted to tell him he got him good. But judging from the way he pulled his arm around your waist, he knew it wasn’t. The cake in his mouth felt dry and found himself choking when he tried to swallow as you left with him.

He took shots the rest of the night, each time he saw you laughing at his words, every time he saw the look in your eyes, every time he shamelessly kissed you, feeling disgusted with himself because he wasn't courageous enough to do it when he had the chance.

He lost his lover and his friend from his actions.

Behind his truth lied everything you are; he knew that too little, too late.

[edgarbright]

Red Army Baseball AU Headcanons

Shout out to @lofi-bear​​ for sharing some great baseball AU fanart! I wrote the majority of this after seeing the Black Army, but now there’s a Red Army too so go take a look! They really got my headcanons running!

These kind of walk the line between canon and AU. We could either have an official Red Army baseball team or this could be the set-up for a school/league AU. But either way: play ball!

Lancelot - pitcher

No one instills more confidence in the team than this man here

Nicknamed the Beautiful Beast for both his pitching and batting styles

He is the central defense on the mound but also a pinnacle point in the offense at the plate

Fastballs have serious heat and he is best known for his speed, most of his outs are actually gained through breaking balls

If you’re looking for that meat ball to slam over the fence you’re going to end up swinging over a slider

Has occasional problems with being a slow-starter, but his team does not

Can appear a lonely figure, often relying on himself despite his team surrounding him

While the team calls to just let the batter hit it and let them field it (they want to field it!), Lancelot sometimes ignores them and makes the decision himself

He often times just wants to fight the tough batters one-one-one. He'll run himself raged with pitch count is he must. He isn’t one to back down even when maybe he should

In a more modern AU, he has had either problems with his knee or elbow, maybe both. He's surely had surgery at least once--Kyle is the only one who knows for sure while Edgar suspects, Zero shows some concern, and Jonah respects and admires Lancelot too much to think him capable of injury.

When the catcher comes to visit him on the mound, Lancelot usually lets them lead the conversation if he doesn’t tell them to get back to home plate

Lancelot knows a lot more about candy now than he did before he started playing baseball

In addition to his strong pitching, he’s a heavy hitter

Bats fourth in the clean-up position

This is still an odd choice because he plays a strong small game and his on-base percentage isn’t that good

Skilled at using bunts and sacrifices to move other players along

But when he sees the right pitch, he swings for the fences and it’s gone

Edgar - catcher

Can make a regular pitcher look outstanding. With an already outstanding pitcher like Lancelot on the mound, the opposing team will have their work cut out for them.

Could honestly and competently play any position

Although the team now knows not to put him in the outfield after the time he was found sitting about on the lawn. He still jumped up to catch the flyball, so no one can really complain or accuse him of sitting there with his eyes closed (they have no proof his eyes were closed), but they remember...

As a catcher, he has the full view of the team and can strategize best on where to place them. It's hard to get bored when he's in the center of things.

He smiles off those foul tips but damn do they hurt

Laughs off his bruises

Forget stealing bases when this guy is behind the plate

When Lancelot lets him, Edgar is a decisive component to how they take down each batter. He can lead the pitches like no one's business

He will have researched which pitches the batter likes and which they don't

If the batter is new, he'll have fun figuring them out

Says things like, "Oh, a little higher next time!" and "Nice swing" to the batters. Very encouraging. The batters are sweating.

As a batter, he can either come across as very dangerous or as if he’s fooling around

No matter where you put him, he's the Gentle Demon

It's worse when he's the relief pitcher. Very gentle but oh dear, those pitches.

His pitching form is absolutely beautiful. Just positively smooth and stunning.

But as a relief pitcher, he lacks the rallying ability of Lancelot

His pitching dilemma is that no one can catch for his best pitches (knuckball for sure). For having such wonderful control, his pitches drop or lunge too quick for the batter or the catcher. He's been tagged with more than his share of wild pitches.

He's not afraid to shave the hairs off the batter's chins if they crowd the plate. He’ll call for a close inside pitch on purpose. If you get hit, that's awful, are you OK? But he won't be phased.

Edgar is rarely used for relief pitching

Since he has to tone down his playing style to accommodate the rest of the team, he gets bored on the mound, which is why he doesn't want to pitch. Being too good is the same as being the worst.

Thus he always votes for Zero to take the mound instead. Always.

Grew up playing catch with his uncle, Claudius.

Claudius comes to the games on occasion. Lancelot does not appreciate his presence. Edgar looks unbothered but he always acts a little different

Edgar has had a past using dangerous plate blocking styles, cleat-first slides, and spitballs encouraged by his uncle. It’s another reason he doesn’t volunteer to do relief pitching. Once a cheater always a cheater...

He bats second after Zero, although he’s strong enough with keen enough senses he could pull off clean-up, but the more chances he gets to bat, the better, so he’s higher in the line-up

Switch hitter (can bat left- or right-handed), either using this skill to great effect or simply to mess with the opposing pitcher (also to great effect)

Jonah - third base

Wanted to be be a catcher when he first found out Lancelot was a pitcher, but he's not good at reading batters and his strategies aren't very in depth

Also struggled as a catcher because he complained too much about the protective gear and the squatting and having to scramble about in the dirt. It's not very dignified.

So he'll be Lancelot's right-hand man--guarding the hot seat at third base.

He’s quick on his feet with a discerning eye. He’s quick to tell what’s coming off the bat

He still ends up scrambling in the dirt to catch those bunts, but he'd rather get a little dirty than let some batter make a fool of one of Lancelot's glorious pitches by tapping it

Thinks bunts are a personal offense towards Lancelot's person

His appearance belies the absolute monster throw he can unleash to get that ball to first plate for the out

Absolutely HATES that Edgar uses the 1-on-1 time with Lancelot on the mound to talk about weird candy

Jonah SWEARS Edgar has given Lancelot candy during games before but he doesn't have any PROOF and it drives him crazy

Has a lot of pride in his position and in the team. Expects them to be more dignified (but isn't actually angry when they aren't)

He’s the one declaring that he will NOT let any balls past him (not that he always has say in the matter)

He’s all sweat, blood, and tears for this goddamn team

Used to be on a team with Luka and really misses it. Doesn’t miss a chance to remind Luka that there is always a place for him on Jonah’s current team

Left outfielder is a confirmed Heart Defender

Jonah bats third, after Edgar and before Lancelot, because while he’s a strong batter, the psychological aspect that Lancelot is coming to the plate behind him actually increases Jonah’s hit percentage. Jonah is determined to get on base for Lancelot.

Zero - shortstop

Zero started playing baseball because Edgar pulled him into it

He loves it and practices daily

Quick on his feet -- he’s the fastest runner on the team.

Analytical with strong hand-eye coordination. His calm demeanor results in some great judgement calls

Whether or not he makes a good play, he can be a little too hard on himself. The throw to first could have been lower, or he should have expected the batter to pull the pitch after seeing the last swing.

Works incredibly well with Edgar in getting those double-plays. A single glance from Edgar and he knows what’s coming and prepares.

Is a relief pitcher as well

Whenever they are in a bind, Edgar’s recommending Zero to play relief. Edgar loves catching for Zero! Zero is not sure whether he should be happy about this or not, but they make an even more coherent battery than Edgar does with Lancelot, if only because Zero is more about teamwork than Lancelot is

As a pitcher, he takes some of the best of Lancelot and Edgar’s play styles: heated pitches with fierce control. Although he’s still not as fast as Lancelot and lacks the movement on Edgar’s pitches.

Plays a rather straight, honest game.

The team is quick to rally behind him when he’s on the mound

Gets angry with Edgar for not sharing the burden of the plays--Edgar making pitch calls to lessen the demand on the fielders or to cut down Zero’s pitch count by making the fielders work without asking Zero about it

A strong batter but his best skill lies in his feet. He gets those hits and gets on base.

The ideal lead-off man, batting first

But has to deal with any nonsense or spectacular batting choices Edgar follows up with

Kyle - first base

The player who doesn’t like physical exertion but wound up playing baseball anyway

First base involves least amount of running involved but still a seriously hot corner

His weaker throw arm isn't as much a hindrance at first base

Handles a lot of catching though, second only to the Catcher

His flexibility is what makes him shine on first base, allowing him to stretch out when needed while keeping that foot on the plate

Gives close support and a close eye on Lancelot, who he knows overworks himself

Kyle is the main one on the team who can get Lancelot to stop. He’s the one who suggests that maybe Lancelot switch out a while when Lancelot is starting to get exhausted

Bats ninth and last in the line-up because he’s just not very good at batting either (lol)

Despite his poor athleticism, he doesn’t phone it in. When he’s at bat, he swings for it. When he’s on base, he’s going to run

Is surprisingly good at stealing bases (He can sprint but just don’t expect him to keep going!)

And here’s a bonus to complete the infield! Absolutely no one is surprised by who it is!

Harr - second base

He's on the Red Army team because I said so that's why!

Loki is on the Black Army team so it’s fair

Left handed batter and pitcher

2nd baseman and theoretical relief pitcher

Good enough to be a starting pitcher

Rivals Lancelot in skill/strength

But when he's not concentrated on the batter, he can get overwhelmed by the spectators

If the spectators start hollering at him, he cripples, he gets embarrassed

It doesn’t actually impede his pitching too much because he’s very good/professional, but you can see him squirming

This is also a problem for when he's fielding but not as bad

Very fluid on those double plays and very considerate towards Kyle's reach

Supportive and even a little protective of Zero for reasons no one but Lancelot seems to know. Works well with Zero at covering second base.

Often at odds with Jonah during huddles on the mound, especially where Lancelot is concerned, but ends up backing down quickly due to shy embarrassment at being verbally attacked rather than because his assessment was wrong

It's for the best that Zero is between them in the field

Has a past of being a a bit of a selfish batter but has since reformed. He knows he can’t pitch and bat all by himself. He can’t win a game if he tires out his arm because he won’t depend on the team to field it. He can’t win a game if he’s batting like no one else is on base, waiting for him to bring them home.

Harr will wait for the pitch he likes before he swings. If he swings before, it’s because he’s testing his timing. He’s very careful batter so it’s difficult to get him out. Opposing pitchers rack up their pitch count against him.

Harr bats after Lancelot because, should Lancelot’s attempt to sacrifice himself wind up with him getting on base instead, Harr will always brings Lancelot home (♡´艸`)

Batting Order:

(1) shortstop: Zero

(2) Catcher: Edgar

(3) 3rd base: Jonah

(4) Pitcher: Lancelot

(5) 2nd base: Harr

(9) 1st base: Kyle

Pitch Choices (which I’m still debating over):

Lancelot: Four-seam fastball, slider, screwball, changeup

Edgar: Two-seam fastball, knuckleball, cutter

Zero: Four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider

Harr: Four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball

[mahiru-no-haato]

Dankira English Guide

This is a guide for the newly released Japanese mobile game Dankira!!! Boys, be DANCING! This guide is to help those of you who cannot understand Japanese navigate and play the game. It has images of (almost) every menu in the game with translations on them and explains what they do. My ask box is also open if there’s something I missed or you just need help with something!

Some Images will have certain points marked with a pink circle, these are areas that I was unable to translate the text (I will still explain what the button does) or there was simply no text to translate, but I still want to talk about what’s marked.

Just in case tumblr compresses these and makes some of the text unreadable, this post is also available in an imgur gallery here.

Starting with the home screen, this menu is actually pretty self explanatory. The main buttons you will be using here are nicely labelled in English. 

In the top left we have your coach name and title. Below that is the news, present box, and your missions (I will talk about missions more later). At the top of the screen you have your coach rank, stamina, and your aqua. 

Right above the Dance Battle button, you have your duty button. I unfortunately have a 12 hour one currently running so I am unable to take a screenshot of what that menu looks like, but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out. While you have one running, the time remaining to completion is nicely displayed on the button for you. It displays the hour first, then the minutes, so I have 10 hours and 55 minutes remaining until its completed. The two characters you chose in this menu will have their Soul Link level increase when it’s completed. 

Finally in the top right, we have our menu button. I labelled this one in pink as it has no text on it, only the three dots. This button will be on your screen in almost every menu, and is a convenient way to move around to different menus. When you tap on it, it will open and take up about half your screen.

At the bottom, we have the same 5 buttons from the main menu, except they don’t have English text on them anymore. Above that are the home and dance battle buttons.

You might notice that there are two buttons here that aren’t translated. Unfortunately I cannot understand what they say, and after tapping them I don’t really understand what they do. These will require your own testing, or someone else’s explanation. 

This is your Mission menu, accessed from the home screen. On the left, you can see there are daily, weekly, dancer, and coach missions. On the daily tab at the top, the black text is telling you how long until the reset occurs. In this screenshot it will reset in 8 hours and 48 minutes. In the same location in the weekly tab, it will tell you how many days until reset.

Here’s the story menu. This one is pretty easy to navigate so I won’t go into an explanation on how it works. You have your main, killer trick, soul link, card, and event stories. The stills/cgs button is, well, stills/cgs you have unlocked.

The dancer button will take you to a menu with the teams on it. It doesn’t really have text that requires translating on it so I’ve left an image of that menu out. Slide left or right to go to the next team, and you can tap on the boys name or image to come to this menu.

This is your Dancer menu. It starts you on his profile. Selecting killer trick shows the killer tricks you have unlocked for him. (I will explain this a bit more later). You also have your voice menu, this one is pretty self explanatory. It displays all the voice clips you’ve unlocked for him, and you can tap on one to hear it.

Right underneath him you can see there’s an outfit button. Here you can preview every outfit that your cards of him are able to unlock. When you have an outfit you don’t yet have unlocked selected, there’s a little green button near the bottom of the screen that will take you to the dancer tree that unlocks the outfit.

Next to that is the soul link button, which has its own big menu.

Soul link is pretty much your character’s bond with each other. It increases from doing dance battles with them, but this menu is the easiest (and fastest) way to increase it. You earn rewards like stories, voice clips, and aqua from leveling this up. At the bottom you can tap the rewards button to see exactly what you will earn.

You can get presents from doing missions. The weekly missions work in a sort of rotation, so you will receive a different dancer’s favorite gift from a different dancer every week.

The character on the left of the screen is the character giving the gift. So in this screenshot Mahiru would be giving a gift to Oboro. The swap sides button will make them, erm, swap sides, making Oboro the one giving the gift. The change recipient button just changes the character on the right.

Back from the main menu, the team button will take you here. At the top you see your team name, which you can easily rename by just tapping on it. Mine is just the default チーム１as I cant be bothered to change it lol. Your first team is the characters that display on your home screen.

Labelled in pink, we have the killer trick button. This changes which killer trick this character will perform when you use his killer trick.

Under that is the change outfit button. This one is pretty self explanatory, but this changes the outfit on the home screen (if its your first team) and the outfit he wears in dance battles.

At the bottom left we have the soul link button. This one just opens a neat little graphic that shows the soul link between the boys on your team.

The button to the right of that is untranslated as I can’t read what it says, but just give it a little tap, it’s a really small somewhat insignificant option.

Underneath that is the lovely, wonderful, osusume button. This is basically the “do it for me” button. Most people who have played Japanese mobile games before will know what this button does.

But, for those of you who don’t, here’s the osusume menu. The main buttons are the all types, body, technique, and spirit buttons. Confirming with the all types button selected will give you your strongest team in pure numbers. Selecting body will give you your strongest body attribute team etc etc you get it.

The button marked in pink is the same team button. What it does is, when selected, it will not change the members on your team. So if I wanted to make a body focus team with my 3 favorite characters, all I have to do is put them all on a team, select body, and confirm and the game builds that team for me.

Back from the home menu again, we have the Training menu. This doesn’t have much that requires translating or explaining. The status button changes what information is displayed on the bottom half of the card.

The sort button opens this little menu. The two top buttons are whether you want it in ascending or descending order. You can sort by level, rarity, or the untranslated one. I’m honestly unsure what this button does. I think its sorting by date received but I can’t say for sure because I can’t read it.

Tapping on a card will take you to this menu. Here you can see your card title, character name, exp, level, your body/technique/spirit values, and your center skill. The text marked in pink is how many duplicates of the card you have. I can’t read what the text says, so I can’t translate it but that’s what it is. I only have one copy of this card so I have 0/4 dupes. Getting a duplicate of the card increases its max level and unlocks more of its dancer tree (possibly other things too, im unsure).

This is the training menu. This menu actually confused me when I saw it for the first time I might just be brainless idk, but I’m going to explain it even though it’s not too difficult to figure out. 

So as you can see I have 0/30 of the first training notebook selected. This means I have 30 of them that I can use. Right under the cancel button there’s a plus and minus, this is toggling whether you’re increasing or decreasing the amount of notebooks you’re going to give him. This menu is pretty easy to get after that. It displays how much exp he’s going to get on his exp bar, so you can tell how much you need to give him.

Moving on to the dancer tree. This is a menu that probably looks really familiar to those of you who have played Enstars or Utapri Shining Live (and many others I’m sure).

This menu has a lot of little nodes on it that when unlocked have different effects. The ones that have an attribute like bo/te/sp just increase that stat. You can also unlock stories, voice clips, killer tricks, and card artwork here. At the bottom you can use the shortcut buttons to take you to the next unlockable one of whichever you tap.

At the top you can see your little jewels (idk what they’re officially called) that you use to unlock the little nodes on the screen here. The 4th rainbow set of them can be used in place of any of the other ones. So if I required 5 of the blue small jewels to unlock something but I didn’t have any, I could use 5 rainbow ones instead. 

Moving on to the final menu I think needs explanation, we have the team selection menu. This will appear when you select dance battle. Most of this is pretty easy to understand, but I’m still gonna talk about it a little bit.

On the right of the screen we have the auto ticket option. I have never used this but I assume it just plays the dance battle for you. In this screenshot I have 11 auto tickets available to use.

Above that is another option marked in Pink. This option says Dankira something... I can’t read the kanji in this one haha. Tapping on one of the 3 little slots opens a menu where you can use a little attribute booster. I also haven’t used this option but I assume it only works for one song.

And with that I will leave you gremlins to enjoy the game! If there’s something I didn’t explain, or something you just want extra help with please feel free to shoot me an ask (I also have submissions on if you want to send an image along with your question). Anonymous asks are available, and I will answer questions privately if you want! (Just let me know if you want your ask answered privately, I will answer it publicly otherwise).