#but then my partner woke me up by activating find my phone on my phone

[n0v4t33z]

The Syndicate - Chapter 7: The Confession

Pairings: Choi San X Female Reader, Park Seonghwa X Female Reader, Ateez X Female Reader

Genre: Lots of angst, Romance, Crime Fiction, Psychological Drama

Word Count: 5.2k

Tags/Warnings: For Mature Audiences, Language, Graphic Violence, Mentions of Illegal activities (i.e Kidnapping, extortion, assassination etc.), someone confesses?, non sexual nudity, flirting, kissing (yk that cheesy stuff couples do)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!

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Author's Note 💌: Hi, It's been a while sorry! I've been very busy with work due to the holidays and because I'm going through a slight burnout but fear not I was able to prepare this short chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it! I promise I'm still here, just a bit busy! 💜

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The inside of this room was a completely different vibe than the shop, it was like a mini modern penthouse minus the big windows and the big city skyline it was absolutely beautiful and way better than my old apartment. While I walk further inside I see everyone relaxing and doing their own thing then I say in a small voice “Hey guys, I’m back...” They all turn and look at me like they’ve seen a ghost then Seonghwa, Jongho, and Yunho say in unison “y/n?!” Jongho quickly stands up "Wait, you're up and walking? I thought you were under police custody?" Seonghwa walks over to me hugs me tight while the others quizzically hover “How did you find us? I’m glad you’re okay by the way, I genuinely thought we’d never see you again. San told us you ended up turning yourself in.” I painfully smile then I pull back and step back just enough to where I’m at a less awkward distance.

“Somewhat yes, one major thing I got out of it was that I convinced my former partner to avoid having the news of me being alive be spread in the media. Now, how I got here was easy, I still had the phone San gifted me so I called him and he led me here by having one of his associates bring me here.” I pause for a few seconds then before Seonghwa has a chance to answer me back I continue to look around  “So where’s San?” Seonghwa’s gaze slightly falls and in a slightly gutted tone he responds “Oh, he’s with Wooyoung.” I quietly gasp “Can I go see them both? Ever since I woke up at the hospital I’ve been worried about both of them” He nods and says “ Sure, I’ll take you to them. Follow me.” Both Yunho and Jongho look at eachother for a few seconds then give me a tight smile goodbye clearly very confused, I give them a small smile and wave at them.

Shortly after I walk after Seonghwa, whom walks down a small hallway and gently knocks once he arrives at the door. He slightly pushes the door open leading into a room which looked like a regular expensive looking bedroom except the only thing that stuck out was the oxygen machine next to a sleeping Wooyoung and San sitting next to his bed. Which reminded me a lot of what Chris did back at the hospital because whether you’re partners or partners in crime, the bond you share with your partner is one of a kind.

I walk over behind him and gently tap on his shoulder and when he turns around his expression was that of wonder then gets up and hugs me tight gently kissing the top of my head and says “I’m seriously so glad you’re okay, for a second I thought I lost you.” I slightly pull back and I look right into his dark brown eyes “I’m glad to be back. I do hope you understood the reason why I got so upset though.” He presses his lips together “Oh yeah, that. I know, I was so reckless and I should have been more careful but I had to. A mole told me Lee was planning on keeping the original and replacing it with a decoy. I know that’s still not a reason to go and be stupid but...I couldn’t let my father’s gift be in possession of his murderer.” I lower my gaze and look over at Wooyoung  “But why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you if you told me the reason why you were doing it to begin with. We could have avoided all of this and here I was thinking you did it because of your ego.”  San reaches over to me and cups his hands on my face. “I didn’t want you to get hurt, not to mention the possibility of us getting caught and arrested was still probable. Which you were right about but I just didn’t want you to have your life being ruined by being thrown in jail because of me. You don’t belong in jail. You’re too pretty, too pure.” 

Wow, now I feel horrible for getting angry at him when all he wanted to do was protect me. I pull his hands off of my face and hold them tight, I can’t look at him. I judged and assumed he was doing this to feed his ego. “Look, I’m sorry for assuming the worst about you. I was just upset how you wouldn’t tell me why you did it and it came off like you didn’t trust me at all.” He slightly smiles whilst looking deep into my eyes “It’s okay, I don’t blame you for being a little scared and assuming bad things about me. Like I've said before I brought that onto myself so don’t worry about it, I know for sure Detective y/ln is somewhere still in there so I understand it’s hard going from being a good guy to being rogue in a blink of an eye, I know deep inside you don’t want to go against the law. I get it.”

I cross my arms in front of me and shake my head “No, you don’t get it. All this time you’ve shown me how much you trust me and the one time you keep something from me to protect me I begin to assume you did it because you’re a criminal who’s trying to play with my mind. You literally put me in your closest circle despite everyone else disagreeing and by what I know being in your closest circle is damn near impossible unless you have something good to add to the table. I just don’t understand why you even risked it all for a cop you barely even knew. How did you know I wasn’t going to betray you and kill you when you let your guard down?” He grabs my hand again but this time he gently plants a kiss on it without breaking his gaze from mine.

“Well, I let my heart guide me. Just the way you would act around me and seeing how comfortable you got with me showed me that you trusted me enough to let me see your vulnerable side but what tied it all together is your loyalty for me which made me fall for you even harder.” Trying to keep it together and not cry, my lips slightly tremble and I give him a small smile “Choi San, I love you.” He pulls me close while resting his hand on my lower waist and gently strokes my cheek with his thumb “And I love you Detective y/n y/ln.” The knot in my throat grows bigger but I manage to speak through it “Detective?” He nods “Yes, Detective because that’s how I met you. If it wasn’t because of that we wouldn’t have met. Hm, my Detective.” My eyes well up with tears and my vision blurs, unable to hold back the tears I’ve been keeping in for a while.

I hug San tightly and silently cry into his chest. He gently kisses the top of my head and says “Don’t cry, I should be the one crying seeing that I don’t deserve someone who actually worries about me.. I almost lost you today because of something stupid I did and that in itself made me realize how much I need you..” I look up at him with tears still streaming down my cheeks “I’m sorry if this comes off too strong but I just- I love you so much I can’t explain why. It’s so intense I’m afraid I need you too, you’re somehow my lifeline.” I don’t know if admitting this to him and being this vulnerable is a good idea but it just feels right especially after almost losing him. He gently presses his lips on my forehead and pushes a few strands of my hair behind my ears, wipes away the tears under my eyes with his thumb and smiles showing me his adorable dimples to comfort me. “If I’m your lifeline then that means you should be smiling when you’re with me not crying. I can’t stand to see such a pretty girl with the universe in her eyes cry like that.”

I sniffle and nod while wiping away the tears that just wouldn’t stop coming. I really need to stop. I pull myself together after a few seconds and chuckle at his words because although sweet, they still seem so cheesy. “Choi San, It’s scary how good you are at talking to women.”  He gives me a shy smile and says “Ah...I uh. Well, you know I learned a thing or two from my dad and the way he’d talk to my mom. He loved her so much he would always remind her how much he loved her, so I guess it stuck onto me.” He really does consider his dad a role model with all his heart despite him being gone now. Which makes it much more heartbreaking realizing how much he probably misses him. “I’m just messing with you, but in all seriousness I’m glad you’re the type to let your heart guide you. A man who can be so vulnerable and sweet like that is the perfect boyfriend. That being said, your father taught you right and if I didn’t show my loyalty to a man like that I'd be a fool.”

San looks at me with a look of adoration then he pulls me close then I put my forearm on his chest gently keeping a small distance between us while I look up at him and point to Wooyoung with my eyes. San embarrassingly smiles and says in a whisper “Ah, I completely forgot he was in here.” I press my lips together holding back a laugh then I say “A friendly hug okay?” He gives me a dimpled smile and nods. “Come here angel eyes.” 

He pulls me in for a hug again but this time in the process I happen to look at the door, there I see Seonghwa looking right at me and San. A look of sadness and shock was painted onto his sharp features but just as quick as I noticed it he quickly disappeared into the darkness of the hallway. He saw us. I don’t know if I should tell San or not, he already has so much on his plate from the police being on his ass to his best friend recovering from a gunshot wound to the lungs. Maybe I should handle this one myself instead. I look over at Wooyoung and smile “Well, I guess I’ll let you watch him now, I’ll come see him later when he wakes up. I honestly kind of just barged in here without really saying anything to the guys because I was too excited to come see you.”

While looking at Wooyoung, San nods and sits back down on the chair he was sitting in before. “Oh yeah, go ahead I’ll let you know when he wakes up. Besides I’m waiting for one of our allies to get back to me and let me know how everything is back in Ulwood.” I give San a quick peck goodbye and walk back into the living room and scan the room looking for Seonghwa until I see Yunho and Mingi having a snack together while laughing at who knows what on their cellphone. I walk over to where they were sitting “Hey, has anyone seen Seonghwa?” Yunho looks up at me and nods “Yeah, he said he was going to take a walk he left not too long ago, maybe a minute or so.”

I look over at the sofa and see a nice comfy hoodie and I put it on. Yunho’s eyebrow shoots up and curiously asks “Why are you putting on Hongjoong’s hoodie?” While I walk over to the door I smile “Well I’m going for a walk with Seonghwa.” Mingi gets up and shakes his head “You can’t leave, you might get found by cops if they already called in your disappearance.” I shake my head “Not if I’m wearing Hongjoong’s hoodie..” Yunho pulls Mingi to sit back down and says “It’s fine you can go as long as you cover your head and not let people see your face.” I nod and give him a quick thumbs up and run outside. Frantically looking around I see Seonghwa’s tall and slender figure walking in the distance so I run over to him “Hey! Wait for me!” I see him come to a halt and turn around with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, even from this distance I could tell he was upset.

When I get to a close enough distance to where he can hear me I say “Hey...” He nods acknowledging my words and says “What are you doing outside? You’re supposed to be inside resting..” I fix my hood to cover a bit more of my face “Yeah I know, I’m just going to cut to the chase. I just want to talk to you about what you saw.” Seonghwa looks forward not even giving me a glance then coldly responds “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I sigh and for a few minutes we walk in silence until we get to the park with a beautiful view of a small lake. I noticed the moon reflecting off of the water, it looked so peaceful and serene. A big difference in the environment between me and Seonghwa, you could feel how heavy the tension is. If I’m being honest it was kind of overwhelming, I have to just get it over with. Eventually I decide to break the silence between us “You do know what I’m talking about Hwa. I saw you.”

His eyes completely fixated onto the ground not wanting to even look at me “I really don’t want to talk about this, if you don’t want me to say anything to the others don’t worry I won’t.” My shoulders drop “You’re mad at me aren’t you?” He stays silent then I grab his arm and gently tug on it “Please, are you upset?” He silently shakes his head and almost like a switch he gives me a warm smile and says “No, I’m fine but you should seriously go back inside since you’re still recovering from an Injury let’s take you home.” He begins to walk back while I stay still holding his arm “No, Hwa please I don’t want what you saw to change our friendship.” He looks over at me keeping his warm expression “Nothing has changed don’t worry, everything is okay.” I stand there holding on to his sleeve for a few long seconds until he breaks the ice and says “How about we go get food then? Are you hungry? I’m sure you haven’t eaten in a while.” He’s not going to talk, but at least he’s not going to say anything. Something is off though I feel horrible because I know he felt hurt seeing that, his expression said it all.

I hum loud enough for him to hear and nod then Seonghwa gently pats my head with his other hand  “Alright, I don’t want you to get sick or anything since you need the strength to get better.” How could he just switch his emotions like that? Is that how much he’s built a wall around his emotions to where even if he’s really upset he just hides it? Why is that so scary to think about? “So are you just not going to acknowledge what we were talking about a few seconds ago?” he shrugs “What is there to talk about? You and San are a thing.” Slightly taken aback I feel like the wind was knocked out of me with how blunt he is. After quickly recovering I respond “Yeah, but why did you storm out like that?” He smiles and shakes his head “I didn’t, I just needed a breath of fresh air.” I narrow my eyes “You’re such a liar.” He chuckles and starts walking again “We should go now, that chicken place you like is probably about to close.” I grab Seonghwa’s hand and pull him to a halt “Goddammit Seonghwa stop! Why can’t you just be honest with me? I’ve told you everything.”

Almost seemingly like something was triggered his smile vanishes and his gaze darkens. I hope I didn’t piss him off with the way I phrased it. ”Everything except that you were with San.” My hands run cold and my stomach drops causing me to stumble my words. “Okay, I fucked up with that yes I'll admit it but I was meaning to tell you just maybe not right now..” I slowly trail off then I find my train of thought again just as quickly as it went. “Hey, wait. Don’t turn this around on me, spill it. I asked you a question.” Seonghwa looks up at the sky as if to gain strength to speak then he lowers his gaze to meet his with mine and lets out a long sigh "Give me some time. I'll tell you one day but considering the situation right now I don't think it's the right time.” I grab onto his sleeve a little tighter “But-” He then quickly interjects whilst staying gentle “I promise, I'll tell you one day.” He looks away then looks over at the lake gently removing my hand from his arm “Come on, let's get us some food.” I let out a short sigh and quietly follow behind him.

When we arrive home Yunho, Mingi, and Hongjoong see Seonghwa set the food down onto the table quickly get up from the couch and hover over the table to see what he brought. Seonghwa hisses “Hey, don’t touch. That’s y/n’s” Hongjoong gives me an odd look and points at me “Why are you wearing my sweater?” I quietly gasp “oh, I'm sorry. I went out for a walk and I needed something to cover up so I could hide my face.” Hongjoong motions his hand for me to keep it “Just keep it, it's fine.” I shake my head whilst I begin to unzip it “Oh, no. I promise I'll wash it and give it back to you I can't-” Hongjoong chuckles “Keep it, I've got plenty anyway.” He takes a plate and walks over to take his seat.

Seonghwa pulls out a chair for me gently patting the backrest “Come on sit, I know you’re hungry.” Hesitantly I look at him then I sit down. I wasn’t exactly hungry anymore but I don’t want to seem rude. Seonghwa sets my food in front of me then serves himself and sits down letting the guys ravage the rest of the food. While Seonghwa talks to the guys and enjoys his food I sit there in silence eating my meal until I finish. Seonghwa then looks over at me and says “You’re quiet, did you like the food?” I nod and curtly reply “Yeah, it was delicious. Thank you for the food.” He smiles and says “You’re welcome, do you want seconds?” I shake my head and get up grabbing my dishes and heading to the sink “Um, no I’m fine you guys can have the rest. What I really need is to just relax for a bit, I’m kind of exhausted. So much has happened I still haven’t fully processed everything.” Seonghwa gets up and walks over to the sink and takes the dirty dishes from me before I’m even able to put them in the sink and says “Go ahead, I’ll clean these up don’t worry.” I nod and turn my back towards him and somehow, I can still feel him staring at me.

With everything that happened I feel like it sort of tarnished our friendship in a way even if he says it didn't which is why it feels awkward to have him even look in my direction. I need to get over it though because I don’t want to hurt him anymore than I already did, especially if I’m over here making it awkward.

I walk down the elegant dimly lit hallway and step into the tiny bathroom in this windowless penthouse, it wasn’t by any chance super fancy but it was actually looking a little too good for it to be a bathroom in a small hideout behind a tattoo shop. I guess San really wanted everything to be as comfortable for him and his inner circle as possible. I climb into the bath and sit there for a bit staring at the dimly lit lavender candle next to the tub focusing on the small flame. I wonder if Chris is going to convince Captain Lee with that story and if so is he going to get in big trouble for letting me leave. Knowing how strict Lee is I’m sure he will be upset for sure, I can’t be more thankful for Chris, although lying to him doesn’t sit well with me but I’m sure he’d understand that I’m doing it for his safety. If he finds out too early about Lee I’m pretty sure he won’t survive very long before he sends someone on him. I have to tread lightly when, if I do talk to Chris.

I sigh and lay my head back at the edge of the tub feeling the warmth of the bubbly water against my skin and the slight stinging sensation from the bullet wound on my shoulder. I hope Wooyoung will be okay, despite all the stuff he’s done to me he didn’t deserve that. I’m sure after seeing his bestfriend suffer a hit like that San’s definitely going to be out for blood when Wooyoung recovers. That’s also a sign that I need to keep a close watch on him and steer him clear of him doing something that’ll sink his whole plan on eliminating Lee. Eventually I get out of the bath and realize I have no extra clothes so I put on the soft white robe hanging on the door then walk into the hallway and peek my head into the room Wooyoung was in to see if San was there and ask for extra clothes but instead I was met with Wooyoung laying there with the oxygen machine next to him minus San.

I quietly sit on the chair and watch Wooyoung peacefully resting, he looked completely different than what I’m used to seeing from him. I grew accustomed to his looks of disgust and disapproval towards me that I almost didn’t recognize the peaceful man in front of me. I get startled when I notice his eyes slowly opening. Oh no, I know I wanted to talk to him but it never occurred to me that he might not want to talk to me. I nervously sit there in silence until I manage to say “Hey, Wooyoung. How are you feeling?” He stares at me still slightly sleepy and says “Better.” I slowly nod then give him a small smile “I’m glad you’re okay.” His serious expression slowly settles in again “Thanks by the way…You know, for distracting Lee and letting them save me. I appreciate it.” He awkwardly looks away and turns his face away from me. I can still tell he still doesn’t know how to feel about me, but he doesn’t hate me anymore. At least I think he doesn’t.

“Well, I couldn’t let San lose his best friend. I know how much you mean to him so I don't want him to experience another loss, not if I could prevent it at least.” Wooyoung continues to look away and says “Why do you even care though...I’ve treated you so bad since you got here, you could have just let me die you know...” I shrug “I mean as much as I don’t like the way you’ve treated me and humiliated me I care because I’m aware of how valuable a life is and it’s in my instinct to save them even if they haven't been too kind towards me. Despite you hating me I understand why you did it to begin with and it was to protect San because you know how vulnerable he is when he becomes reckless. That’s why I saved you, because despite you being an asshole towards me you don’t deserve your life being cut short and not being there for him.”

He turns his head to face me slightly annoyed “So you like San? Is that why? You saved me to save face with him? Why else would you care so much about him and his emotional state, you do remember it was his idea to kidnap you right?” I sigh and slightly rub the sides of my temple “Seriously? That’s what you got out of everything I said? But yeah...of course I like him, we’re friends. We grew close after he told me what happened to his dad. I kind of felt bad for him, especially the way his father was taken from him, it was very gruesome. I saw the aftermath and I honestly can’t imagine it being one of my family members.”

Wooyoung stares right at me almost like he was looking into my soul “Do you really think I’m that stupid? I knew the moment he told me to stop beating you was the moment he started to like you because I know him so well. San has never told me to do that, ever. When it comes to his line of work he doesn’t care who he has to hurt to get what he wants, we could have easily tortured you and sent your hand to your captain. That’s exactly why I was onto you even more when I managed to get that reaction from him. I knew that if he fell in love with a cop we’d all be screwed considering how reckless he’s always been. He always thinks with his emotions whether it be pride and hate or passion and love. I know. Maybe not everyone else but I know, I also know what you’re doing too.” He pauses and pushes himself up to sit up a little bit “I suggest you stop using San to kill your captain off just so you can benefit from it. Stop using his pain against him.” I blink in disbelief. How could he think I’m this type of person? I would never use San’s feelings against him much less to my benefit. This has to be a misunderstanding.

“No, Wooyoung. You’re misunderstanding me.I didn’t mean for it to come off that way. Once the captain is finished off I will not be returning to the police force, you also don’t have to worry about me staying here either. I’m not trying to use San at all I promise you on my grandfather’s grave. I want this just as bad as he does because I know once Captain Lee is out of the picture everyone will be more relieved, but that won’t happen unless both sides work together.” He silently stares ahead as if he was figuring out what to say then he says “There’s one last thing that I do want to let you know and it’s that I don’t care if you saved my life, mark my words I’ll put a bullet in your head if you betray us Detective.” Well, that escalated quickly. At least I’m safe knowing I don’t have those intentions. I smirk and raise an eyebrow and without thinking I say “Is that a threat? Well, aren't I glad that’s not what I’m intending to do because if I wanted to I could easily kill you and make it look like an accident...” I did not just say that, fuck.

Wooyoung raises his eyebrow and smirks “You wouldn’t do it.” I stare straight into his dark eyes and say with no hesitation “I can, but I won't. I’m better than to kill San’s best friend just to get my point accross. What I do want is that I just want to let you know that you have an ally in me if you ever need my help. It’s fine if you continue to hate me, just stop refusing my help. I really do mean well, whether you believe me or not.” I extend my hand and he stares at it blankly then looks at me and says “Right, I’ll keep that noted then.” I force a smile and awkwardly pull away my hand pretending I didn’t just get my handshake rejected and get up and I head over to the door. Before I leave I look back at him and say “I really hope you get better, I’m glad you’re okay. Please rest well.” He sits there in silence and turns his face away from me. I sigh and close the door behind me and sit outside in the hallway. I have no idea where my room is but i’ll be here in case Wooyoung needs something.

A few minutes after sitting down my eyes begin to get really heavy and I carefully lay down on the opposite side of my injured shoulder. I try to fight my pain medicine induced sleepiness until eventually I fall asleep. When I wake up hours later I notice I'm on a bed, I slightly wince in pain when I sit up from the injury on my shoulder. When I turn to my left I notice San was asleep next to me. He must have found me asleep outside of Wooyoung’s room. Maybe I should wake up I don’t think it’s a good idea to sleep with San here since everything is so compact and it’s harder to sneak around and not get caught. I don't want any issues with anyone else. I glance over the edge of the bed and I notice San laid out clothes for me to wear so I wouldn’t have to walk around with a bathrobe all the time. How sweet.

Once I put on the clothes he picked out let’s just say he worked with what he had which I’m proud of. It was a plain white t-shirt and some black jogger style cargo pants then I quietly head over to the living room and notice no one was awake yet. Hmm, I wonder what time it is? I look around for a clock and and see it’s 5 am. I should try and make something to eat at least. I check the fridge and notice nothing was in there so I sneak back into the bathroom and grab Hongjoong’s hoodie. On my way out I notice there’s a key on the counter by the entrance. How odd how it was just left there, it was probably Seonghwa’s and he left it there when we got home last night. So I decide to take the key and close the door behind me

 I look around the dark tattoo shop careful not to trip on anything until I reach the door and unlock it then before leaving I lock it just for safety measures and head over to the grocery shop. I take a basket at the entrance of the store and In the middle of me deciding what meat to get I get a phone call from an unknown number. I answer it suspecting it was Chris but when I answer the phone I’m met with a familiar voice “Hello Detective, this is your captain speaking.”

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[poppadom0912]

The innocent detective - Part 8

Warnings: Mentions of robbery, breaking in, guns, potential shooting

Summary: The team is on the hunt to find your twin sister, Abigail Y/L/N.

A/N: Honestly, we didn't get enough Halstead brother moments in any of the shows and it really upsets me, especially since we're not going to get anymore with JLS' exit. They had so many opportunities and they missed them all. It's kinda really sad.

Anyways, this is kinda long so I hope you enjoy because we're nearly done!!

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*****

No one managed to get anything out of Blake so after little to no deliberation, he was sent down to the cage where he would remain till he either spilled Abigail's whereabouts or the team found her on their own accord.

Everyone was pulling their weight, doing the most to find Abigail and finally put an end to all of this but so far, they'd all come out empty handed with nothing but dead ends.

Sighing, Jay gritted his teeth, glaring at his computer screen which showed nothing helpful. They were wasting so much time and he was starting to get restless with this endless searching.

Getting up from his chair, Jay grabbed his jacket and excused himself, saying something along the lines of he was going home to have a shower and get a change of clothes since he'd used up everything inside his locker.

With no objections, Jay up and left the precinct, getting into his car and driving to your shared apartment which was empty. It'd been empty for the seven months you'd been in jail but even after more than half a year, he wasn't used to going home alone.

He didn't have a lot of partners and he had military experience but going home to an empty apartment and a cold bed, no one by his side when he woke up, Jay couldn't become accustomed to that again.

Using the time he was going to be driving, Jay tried giving Will a call, not too sure if he was even available to answer since he was still at work.

Fortunately for Jay, Will did answer, the first thing he said when he answered the call being 'Your lucky I just started my break' before he apologised to Jay because he was going to eat his lunch and wouldn't actively be participating in their conversation which was about to take place.

Not bothered by protocol and legality, Jay told Will everything they knew, starting from the very beginning that you were a twin to Blake being in their custody where he would stay until further notice.

Talking to his older brother was a good distraction for Jay, even if they were talking about the exact thing that he needed a distraction from.

By the time Jay got everything out, spilling all the tea to Will, he was parked and waiting for the elevator to stop at the correct floor. Saying a quick goodbye, promising to call back when he got something good, Jay hung up and made his way to your apartment.

Fishing for his keys in his pocket, Jay's body came to an abrupt stop, his eyes freezing on the open door, a small crack revealing the shoe rack which lay right behind the front door.

Wasting no time, Jay pulled out his gun and cautiously entered the apartment, eyes surveying every inch of every room till he knew it was clear. His shoes made no sound at all and even with the best hearing, you couldn't hear him breathe.

Nothing looked out of place. Everything was where Jay left it and that's what irked him, the fact that nothing was taken but it wasn't till Jay got to the final room he needed to clear, your bedroom, to find out what was taken.

The gun you had in case anything happen to your work one was gone from the safe, your purse and your keys to basically everything you needed a key for in your life, was gone too.

Jay didn't have to think too far, already knowing who would've broken in and taken such random but useful things that just so happened to belong to his girlfriend. Without a second thought, his phone was out of his pocket and on his ear.

"Voight, we've got a problem."

*****

"So, besides Will, the only other person to have a key is our neighbour." Jay walked back into the apartment where the entire unit was, a few techs roaming around for fingerprints and all that jazz but there was nothing they would find that they wouldn't already know of.

"She's in the last stages of dementia, going onto Alzheimer's." Jay explained, defending his neighbour, there was no reason to blame her. "Her daughter, whose her carer, was out so she was alone. Abigail somehow got into the building, knocked on her door and asked for a key."

"She just thought it was Y/N who simply forgot her key." Jay pressed his lips together, hands going to his belt, holding it as tight as he could as a sort of mechanism to ground himself.

"We checked the buildings cameras." Hailey said once Jay finished. "Someone downstairs forgot Y/N was in prison and let her through, only remembering when we arrived. Abigail got in and out easily."

Kim carried on for her. "We've got GPS on Y/N's car, we've got access to all her cards so the second Abigail uses them, we'll know."

It was only a few seconds of silence but it was deafening. It was in those few seconds that they realised all they had to do and were able to do was sit and wait till she moved because as soon as she did, they'd know and they'd be on her ass.

*****

It felt like a break away from all the drama and work even if they were at your apartment all but ten minutes ago. Everyone just got back, cars parked and while half the unit went inside, the other four insisted on staying back for a bit and promised to be back soon.

That left Jay, Kim, Adam and Kevin outside in the carpark. Jay standing by his truck while the officers were up to their usual antics and shared their banter which never failed to bring smiles.

In the middle of Kim scolding Adam, Kevin egging her on, Jay caught sight of someone in the corner of his eye, doing a double take when he recognised the man from a little over half a year ago but never saw him again after that.

The man wasn't fazed by the faces of the four intelligence members, instead, he actually walked towards them, telling his partner to head inside without him.

Jay jutted his head in the mans direction, standing up straight and dropping his smile, the three officers following suit as they watched the man join the circle they unconsciously created.

"Detective, Officers." The man greeted the courteously. "I don't think we've officially met."

Adam scoffed, keeping his lips tightly shut when Kim elbowed him in the gut. Kevin stood to his tallest height which would've intimidated the man had he been looking in his direction but his eyes were glued to Jay who looked at him with nothing but pure hatred burning in his irises.

Jay didn't even bother following his movements, neglecting the hand he was offered to shake. He couldn't care less if it made the man feel awkward because Jay was just starting.

"Detective James Simmons, Homicide." The man formally introduced himself, completely oblivious to what he'd just done. Keeping his customer service smile, he eyed the group with some sort of plan building in the far corner of his mind.

Jay clenched his jaw, this investigation was just filled with plot twists that nothing surprised him anymore. Now that he thought about it, they did look the same, sharing similarities like that smug smile and the same broad shoulders but one wore a silver star while the other wore scrubs.

Jay continued to glare at the man but the corner of his lips perked up. "Have a wonderful day Simmons." He said sarcastically, watching his every movements as he left and went into the district.

"You think we should tell him we have his brother in our interrogation room?"

"We don't do shit."

*****

Shuffling back into the bullpen, they filled in the other half of the unit in on the tea, telling them in semi-shock that the sibling of doctor Blake just so happened to be the detective that arrested Y/N that very night seven months ago at Molly's.

At first, it was shocking but then it made sense but then it didn't. Everyone went back and forth with different propositions, guessing and throwing around scenarios but in the end, no one could come to a solid conclusion nor did they have any evidence that supported any of their theories.

While trying to fill in the gaps, Kim stood up way too fast, alerting everyone that she'd just gotten a notification that your car was on and on the move. It was being driven towards an address that not all of them recognised, but while gearing up, Jay grumbled in disappointment.

Driving towards the high school, it felt so surreal. From here on, anything could happen but whatever happened, it would affect the case. Negatively or positively, they weren't sure but they'd be straight back on their feet the second they had another lead.

But Jay wasn't letting Abigail go because she'd gone too far now. He didn't care if she was your identical twin, he wasn't totally upset that the people that caused you pain were gone but he did care that Abigail killed them. He didn't care if he had to continue running after your sister for the rest of the year and the next, as long as justice was served and you were free, that's what Jay cared about.

With deafening sirens blasting down the roads and the flashing red and blue lights blinding the occasional pedestrian, the high school was notified of the situation and was immediately put on lockdown.

The one person that wasn't given a CPD officer to constantly be by their side was the one person that intelligence thought didn't hurt you but did have a connection to the case.

During the frantic drive, Hailey managed to find out who it was exactly that was Abigail's target and she had to blink a few times to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing.

Why was Abigail going after the wife of Detective Simmons? Realistically, Abigail should like the wife of the man that would one day be her brother-in-law if her and Blake's relationship got to the point of marriage but at the looks of things, they wouldn't even reach the point of engagement.

Not being too bothered with his parking, Jay jumped out his truck and weaved through the patrol cars and the several officers that consisted of a mix of patrol, swat and anyone else that was considered necessary for bringing out the woman roaming the halls of the high school you coincidentally attended when you were sixteen.

Briskly announcing he was a part of intelligence, Jay strode into the school, Hailey close behind him with the rest of the unit separating and covering different exits and entrances.

The halls were deathly quiet. All you could hear was the occasional squeak of their shoes going against the polished floor. Whispering clears to one another as the team all came together in the middle of the school where the quad was.

It was in the midst of the flowers, bushes and small trees that were planted and being grown by the students where they found Abigail, her hand shaking as she pointed her gun at Detective Simmons' wife who they found out not too long ago was called Julia Simmons.

Will all eight of their guns trained on Abigail's back, it felt surreal that after everything that happened, they finally found her. It wasn't the ideal situation they wanted but they could work with this.

Jay did the honours since he was in front of everyone else and the closest to her. "Abigail, put the gun down."

She didn't move, having already sensed the heavy presence behind her before they said anything. Her gun which was actually yours remained inches in front of Julia's forehead who had silent tears rolling down her rosy cheeks with her eyes screwed shut, refusing to look the woman she grew to love like a sister in the eye.

"Come on Abigail, Julia's innocent and has got nothing to do with Y/N." Jay started with, seeing if he could pry Julia away unharmed. "Let her go and show everyone you're willing to cooperate and this can be a lot easier for all of us."

Jay could see your twin debate with herself, her thoughts running wild as she hesitantly lowered your gun when all of a sudden, she whipped around and pointed the gun at the first person she saw who just happened to be Jay.

Encouraging Julia to get up and run, Kim grabbed her forearm and pushed her out of the quad, back into the hallways and into an officers arms where she would be safe.

With their alertness increasing because of where Abigail's gun was pointed, everyone's finger itching to pull the trigger but being held back by the thought of one of their own being hurt and you in the back of their minds.

"Listen to me Abigail." Jay said, keeping his weapon drawn on your carbon copy. It felt so weird, staring at Abigail who was technically called a serial killer for everything she'd done but all he could see was you.

But then he had to remind himself that everything she'd done was the cause of you ending up in jail.

"Don't do this. Put the gun down and come with me, come with us." Jay clenched his jaw, unsure how he was going to convince her. "You know who I am, you know who we are which means you know that all we want is to help Y/N and bring her back home."

"She's been hurt and is suffering in jail and only you can help get her out but only if you put that gun down." Jay said truthfully, watching as her eye twitched at the mention of you being hurt.

"You come with us and we will help her, that's all we want to do."

Taglist:

@samanthavitale

@lovearynacemn

@itsdesiree8686

@sorry-i-spaced

@mads-weasley

@enchantedblackrose

@lanea-1

@laylasbunbunny

@Alkadri-Layal

[shy-urban-hobbit]

I hardly send asks because I made the mistake of not making my most active blog my main blog.... but anyways. for the "why is it so dark in here" prompt: #2, your choice of characters! - sol

Here ya go Nonnie!

For the prompt 'Person A can't sleep without the hallway light on and person B can only sleep in total darkness'

Modern au. Kid Ciri's nightlight stopped working, leading to a new temporary sleeping arrangement. Slight Geraskier in there too.

 

There was a time when the tell-tale sensation of somebody looming over him in the middle of the night would have caused Geralt to jerk to full wakefulness and be ready to fight in a matter of seconds. As it was, he blinked blearily as the latest addition to his ragtag family stared at him with tousled blonde hair and wide, green eyes.

Wordlessly, he lifted the covers in silent invitation for Ciri to crawl in as he tried his hardest not to squint at the light coming from the hallway  through the now open door. He was fully aware that all it did was make him look like he was scowling and he didn’t want Ciri crying again because she thought she’d made him mad. The six year old wriggling around to get comfortable would have happily slept with every single light in her room on, the compromise they’d reached was (in Geralt’s opinion) a rather creepy looking mermaid nightlight from a local thrift store. At least, it had been until it had met an unfortunate end in the form of Ciri deciding to use it as a bath toy and Geralt had yet to get a replacement (he’d been trying, but finding one exactly the same was proving to be like finding gold dust), leaving the hallway light to stand in as an apparently very poor substitute as this was the fourth night in a row she’d found her way to his room.

 

“Hmm, Ger’lt?” A voice slurred from his other side, accompanied by shuffling as a body turned over.

“Go back to sleep Jask, it’s just Ciri.” Geralt whispered, bidding a silent goodbye to any more true sleep for the rest of the night. Unlike his partner, who had the ability to fall asleep under just about any circumstances (an ability Geralt was growing more and more envious of), he himself could only sleep in total darkness. It had been that way since he was a kid for reasons he never wanted to think on for too long. The total opposite of his daughter in that any source of light instantly had him on high alert, whilst they’d found out the hard way that she would start screaming hysterically if she woke up in darkness.

Jaskier checked his phone and made a sympathetic noise as he leaned over Geralt to peer at the now sleeping girl curled up into a ball next to him.

“Little chickadee. She’d almost made it through the night this time too."

Geralt made a noise of agreement.

“Want to risk it and let me get the door? You must be exhausted after the last few nights and dawn’s only a couple of hours away. She’ll probably sleep through again now.”

Geralt shook his head, pressing a kiss to Jaskier’s forehead “It’s fine Jask. Go back to sleep, you’re worse than me if you don’t get enough.”

He heard the other man mumble something about how that definitely was not true before his breathing evened out again.

Geralt adjusted the covers around Ciri before falling into a light doze. Jaskier wasn’t wrong – he was definitely starting to feel the effects, but he’d sacrifice a hundred nights of restful sleep if it meant his little girl felt safe.  

[sweetheartsaku]

—ot5 txt ; 2023's first kiss!! [ new years special ]

a/n: [fem!reader] a little ooc? happy new year all!! i luv all of u sm<33 wishing the best for all this year <33 tysm for the support this 2022 !!,! also,, this is non!idol & anata means darling in japanese,, mentioned in yeonjun's & gyu's part <3 enjoy mlssss

daffodil

after waking up from a warm, slumbersome sleep, picking up your phone you checked the time. 31st December. 31ST OF DECEMBER/?? ohmygoshohmygosh well,, its still 5;03..

and coincidentally a text message appeared.. from [ random member of your choice! ] politely inviting you and your partner to go on a 2023 firework show picnic with the rest of the members.

yeonjun yeonjun woke up first for this one !

yeonjun woke up first with an arm stuck onto his shirt. 'junnie where are you goinggg' 'you need to get up too yn, we're having a new years picnic, there's gonna be most of our friends, there's even fireworks.' he said in a still sleepy state. 'cmon yn, can you wash up? for me? take your time though, okay?' 'mkay..' you groaned.

getting out of bed, you did you best to muster up an adorable fit, as you walked out you asked yeonjun 'is this okay? or is it too reveali-' 'don't worry anata, I can fight.' 'apart from the fact you look phenomenal, i packed a bunch of snacks and drinks and made breakfast, at the table.' he kissed your cheek.

'not even on the lips?' 'no anata, we have to save it till later, but don't worry; past the fireworks ill pamper you with all the kisses you'd like.

he never fails to make my heart flutter, its like I fall in love all over again every time he's around. its kinda like I have a crush on my boyfriend.. isn't that what a relationship is th-

'baby, you dropped a strawberry on your phone-' 'a- ah.'

time skip till the firework show !

as they all gathered at the picnic spot, there was a chill breeze which caused you to face your boyfriend and share a small eye smile and he blushed at the sight of it. you might as well be the death him.

the fireworks shot in a range of colours as chatter died down and active again over every firework. mostly everyone pulled out there phones, you and yeonjun just wanted to feel each others blessed precense and enjoy each other on the night of occasion

hand on your thigh, he softly spoke; 'aren't the fireworks beautiful?' 'of course yeonnie,, not as beautiful as youuu!!' he chuckled at your compliment and thought; 'nothing can even compare to you in the first place.'

soobin

instinctly, you delicatley poked your boyfriend's side as he groaned out of annoyance. 'soob.' 'soooooobie' 'bae? ew thats cringe.' 'WAKEYWAKEY' you whisper scream under your breath. 'yes my love what is itttttt' 'we're having a new years firework show picnic with your homies and some of my friends' he sighed, and got up. as he was about to press a kiss to your forehead, you gently pushed him away. 'my love?' 'we need to save the kiss for lateerr! at the picnic' he was a little dissapointed, ( and sulked ) he understood and admitted defeat.

as you were washing the dishes to plate the fruit you and soobin have cut up, his hands slumped around your torso; your heart couldnt help but skip at his modest giggle right after.

'pretty boy, why don't you clean up before traffic builds up instead of distracting me with that adorable giggle of yours?'

'mkay sweetheart, whatever you say.'

time skip to the fireworks show !

sitting down at the picnic blanket, you fiddled with soobin's hands and humming magnolia, by laufey. ( laufey listeners hmu )

suddenly, a singular firework blew, and one by one, it was a whole performance.

'soob, the fireworks are gorgeous!!!' 'not as gorgeous as you..' he whispered under his breath, as he stared at you in awe of the fireworks, thinking.. 'how could I have been able to find a person like them..' the thought of it flustered him. you noticed his staring and said, 'whats up? something on my face?' yeah.. my lips

he settled his lips on yours, as you melted into his touch. you could feel little smiles as his warm breath kissed your face.

beomgyu

letting out a yawn out of shock, you swiftly got out of bed, except with your lover latched onto you. his hair was a little wet from his late night shower yesterday and it was adorable <3 'gyu..' 'gyuu?' responding in whines, he honestly just wanted cuddles. you slowly went down to his level and softly spoke, 'gyu, its new years.. and we've been invited to a firework show by [ member ].' 'oh.. so your just saying no more cuddles?' 'and yes gyu, no kisses till midnight too ;D' he just responded in whine and complaint.

after you two showered, you went out to the stores to buy some drinks and BOY you must've went bankrupt. the hassle with the apple orange juice issue, not having an eski and even just getting the coin into the gawdamn coin socket for a trolley. you and beomgyu may be an iconic couple, but you didn't think choosing orange and apple juice was gonna be your biggest issue, till you guys just settled on buying both.

time skip till firework show !

'gyuuu!! look its a bear firework!! it looks like you too!' he boyishly laughed at your remark, as he fiddled with a small box in his hand. 'yes yn, it does.' he whispered to yeonjun, as he got up and reached his arm out. 'anata anata, will you come with me for a second?' 'yes of course gyu! why?' 'just come.' ( y'all lucky I didnt write that he retracted his hand )

he pulled you aside to a tree with fairy lights & your favourite flower petals sprinkled all over this luscious green grass that tickled your ankles; and he got down on one knee. saying, 'y/n l/n, were too young to get married; and I swear we will soon, your the light of my life, my first and last, the most imperfect perfect person I've met, and I promise,, we will be together till someone counts all the atoms on earth, grains of sand in the beach, stars in the sky and the love in my heart. y/n l/n, do you pinky promise to make me the happiest man alive and be with me forever?' he opened a box with a necklace engraved with his and your names, for you each. he revealed his pinky and spoke, 'pinky promise?' 'pinky promise.'

the fireworks behind the pair died down, till 2 lovers shared a kiss underneath the subtle moonlight.

taehyun I imagine taehyun waking up first too tbh

'tae.' 'taeeeeeee' 'my love?' as you shook him softly. he faintly groaned, 'yes my sweetheart?' with his hand over his eyes. 'today is literally the last hours of 2022.' 'what.' 'YES!! and [ member ] invited us to a firework picnic thingy majiggy and we have nothing prepared!!1' 'okokok,, when did they say the picnic was?' 'oe. ill ask them.'

'they replied to be there at around 5 because the fireworks start at 9 and there's gonna be traffic n stuff. they recommended tram to avoid traffic; wanna go on tram or car?' '..tram.'

after you both showered, you decided to bake cookies together, handmade with love, deciding to put your all into the last cookies of 2022.

after giggling and getting a little messy with the batter and chocolate chips, the oven pinged as your boyfriend reach out to grab them ( with mittens dw guys ) he sighed in relief. you delicately shifted his light rose hair out of the way as he blew on the cookies. after decorating, you went to take a shower.

time skip till the firework show !

as you sat on the picnic blanket with his arm around your waist, you conversed with the other members and your friends,, until the first firework blew. you stared in awe, lips slightly agape.

the fireworks went on and on till you found yourself and taehyun standing next to each other, pinkies interwined.

'will you share our last kiss of 2022 with me, y/n l/n?' 'OF COURSE!!!' and he placed a tender, loving kiss onto your lips as the fireworks behind you quietened.

kai - WARNING VERY OOC [sob]

'kai' 'kai??' 'OMG UR MOLANG FE-' 'AAAUAUAUHHGS WHERE?/?//?' 'hehehe made you wake up' 'are you for real right now.' 'whats real is that we have hours we can count on our fingers till the end of 2022.' 'oh.' 'we also have to prep for a firework show picnic with the guys.. LAST ONE TO GET TO THE SHOWER IS A ROTTEN E-'

as you finished cleaning up, you and kai went out to the local market to buy some snacks!! 'yn is it safe if I go in the trolley' 'dunno beb, just try it we'll see the security's reaction' you guys rode around the store and picked out some chips and soft drinks for the picnic!

getting home, you began to unpack the groceries and put them in a basket. kai sat down and stared at you unpack the goodies and blurted out; 'yourlipslookverykissable.' you chuckled at his statement and replied, 'darling don't you wanna save the kiss till tonight?' 'mmm.. no but for you I will.'

time skip till the firework show !

you sat down with your lover, just enjoying the aura and the stunning, unique fireworks

'YN LOOK THERES A PENGUIN FI-' 'WHERE' as you turned to face his direction; 'right here m'lady.' his slender fingers lifted up your chin and said, 'now can I get that kiss?' a firework blew as you were still processing what just happened. 'y'know what ill take that as a yes.'

his lips smashed pressed onto yours gently, as the lake beside you glimmered from the twinkling stars in the sky.

[silvershoe]

well I don't do much in my day to day life. for the past 3 years I have done all but nothing in my creative endeavors, or at the very least I have been passively. not a single piece of self discipline has lasted in me since high school and part of it has a lot to do with my depression I think but I also still have difficulty really internalizing my symptoms and how they affect other parts of my life. they bleed into my relationships and how numb I feel often and how of course it was sometimes difficult for me to make room mentally for a partner. and the responsibilities that come with that (emotionally). like no wonder I'm high all the time (I'm high right now) because otherwise I feel nothing or anxious. my serotonin receptors are either fucked from the weed or I'm just incredibly bored and I need to find something to obsess over. I'm this close to trying to get into some fandom or something and writing fanfiction again because that was so fun. but I'm not sure if that will be fun for me anymore. I think an audiobook sounds really appealing actually. so I can play videogames or something while I listen. my attention span is fucked too from my phone and social media. I spend so much of my day on my phone. I hate it so much. it is very much a numbing activity and a dissociation thing I think. not that I have to diagnose everything I do. another side effect of social media or something. it is very strange to me noticing the passing of my interests. writing is still very much something i do and keep doing but in but in a different way. I love how that has stayed with me and evolved with me as I change as a person. sometimes I wonder if I'm not really changing at all in comparison to who I'll be in the future, how different I'll be in the future. but then again of course I'll be more different in the future, that doesn't mean I haven't changed in subtler ways in the past 3 years, a long time in my opinion. I must keep on viewing time like that, like how long a life I have yet to live, how blessed am I to perceive time in seconds. so much time left to love and be sad and lost but happy at times. like today I woke up very late. but then I took a shower and ate some apple cake and drank some coffee and now I'm in a sunny grassy field listening to music looking hot as hell in my little jean flares and juicy couture zipup and CVS pink tinted sunglasses. red nails and my monkey platform docs. and my little brown leather bag.

[medicus-felini]

ᓚᘏᗢ Small (actually not so small) vent below. [Depression tw]

I don't know how to describe it exactly why but I got a massive mental burnout the other day. It may be not my bestest decision to share it here but I feel writing it down is better than keeping it for myself.

All the bad things that happened and still happen to me caught up. I feel awful. I lie awake the whole night only to break out in tears when my partner woke up. There was too much in my head to even spell out what exactly made me break down.

I am looking for a job for years, trying to get a normal daily shedule only to never get an answer and to fuck up my sleep shedule for the 100th time. I am getting 25 this year. My depression and panic disorder I developed when covid began seemed to 'heal' in a way. I went to group therapy, got medication which I still take to this day. I am stuck because I have trouble doing phone calls. Trouble TIPING IN numbers for real therapists.

Time is awful. When will I be done with learning a job? I will be 28 if it happens someone recruits me this year. And then I work. I will have so much less time for things I like. Speaking of which: I catch myself falling into the 'I don't enjoy the things I normally enjoyed' loop again. That was one of the main reasons for taking antidepresants and it now seems to crawl back.

I want to at least do something I enjoy. Writing, drawing, playing video games. I started to feel little joy in it again. It makes me angry to not be happy with my time. I don't want this.

I text my family less and less not because I am mentally exhausted but because of their believes. All except my dad (which I always had little contact to) openly and proudly boast about how they vote right wing parties in Germany. You can't discuss with them. I can't. Because I instantly start crying like some trauma haunted 12 year old back in the day when my mom raised her voice. This party I am speaking of actively stands for traditional beliefs, inbetween against lgbtqia+ (which, surprise, I am part of).

They only see points they like. "Oh, they won't get this through, you will be fine." BUT YOU VOTE FOR THESE BELIEVES. You actively support these anti lgbtqia+ shit only because you are racist and intolerant towards NORMAL PEOPLE who live their lives in Germany like everybody else for years.

Next thing is they hate my partner. Something that really only was a question of time passing. My mother always seems to dislike my and my sisters partners after some time. Finding little things she can pick on and passive aggressively point them out. Making everyone awkward and feeling unwelcomed. I feel unwelcome. It is my partner. My choice. You despite my choice and thus insult me with it. Family gatherings became horrible. My partner doesn't want to say anything because he is scared to 'mess up' and my mother getting fuel for her hatred. My sister is young and living with her. She took on my mother's believes politcal wise. I love her dearly but I feel like she also only plays mirage only to talk bad behind my back, which she usually does with other people.

I feel so alien. I don't even want to drive over there to my birthday. I would love to but it doesn't feel like my family anymore. It feels all so forced. My dog gets older too. He is the reason I still look forward a little bit when visiting them.

Writing this feels good in a way tho. Even if I know the majority of my moots only as little guys in my screen, I feel loved. I will observe my mental state these next weeks. If it doesn't get better, I'll call my doc and ask if we can higher my dosis. Just so I can think clearly and focus on important matters.

*Siiiigh* okay okay thanks for being lovely babes ♡

[jjagainst]

Photography | Jed Olsen / Danny Johnson x Female reader

TW: Danny is a TW himself but blood, weapons, murder, stalking, language, mentions of sexual activities. WORD COUNT: 3690

You got his attention a few months ago, when the local newspaper hired you, a pretty new face around the workplace got Jed interested in you. Working together made you two grow closer and become friends eventually. The ambiance of the workplace was good, and even though he was nice to you, something felt off about him, but you couldn't really figure out what it was.

You woke up to the sound of your phone ringing. Last night you got home late and fell asleep on the couch without even changing your clothes. You checked the hour before answering, who would call you this late? "Hello?" You said with a sleepy voice. "Hey, (Y/N), I know it's late but we have work to do" "Jed? Man, what the hell do you mean we have work? It's three in the morning" "There's been another killing" That caught you by surprise. "What? Another one? This is getting worrying" You took a deep breath before standing up. "Where are you? I'm on my way" You grabbed your notebook, a pen, and your car keys and left. You were tired, but if you wanted to be the first newspaper to give the news you had to help your partner.

After what felt like an eternity you arrived at the place. There were a lot of blue and red lights glowing from the police cars, and there were more officers than you expected. You parked and approached the scene, sealed with yellow plastic tape. "Excuse me miss, but this is a crime scene, I'm afraid you'll have to leave" An officer stopped you before you could see anything. "Oh, I'm from the press, here's my- fuck, I forgot the ID at home" "I'm sorry ma'am but I can't let you speak to anyone or even be at the place if you don't show me the ID" You had taken a long drive there and you weren't leaving just because you forgot the identification at home. "Officer look-" "(Y/N)!" Both your eyes and the officer's landed on Jed, coming from behind the tape and holding an ID card. "I'm sorry officer, my partner is so absentminded sometimes, here's her ID" He handed it to the officer, who carefully examined it. "Okay, you can look around" He returned the paper and left you with Jed. "Hey, thank you, but why do you have a copy of my id?" "That doesn't matter, c'mon let's see what we can find" "You seem too excited to see a death body" "Yeah, isn't it cool?" "No, Jed I swear, you genuinely scare me sometimes" He laughed a bit at your comment. "Anyway, do you bribe the chief or something? Cause I still don't get how you are the first person to know when someone is been killed and how are we allowed to see the scene" He shrugged his shoulders "I don't know, I guess I'm just lucky" "Okay" You were too tired to keep asking questions, you just wanted to take a few pics of the scene and go back home to get some more sleep before going to the office in the morning.

Jed and you walked into a house, you were expecting it to have broken windows or a forced door, but everything was fine. Police officers were seen everywhere, trying to figure out what happened, and a trail of blood led you upstairs. "Gross" You said. Jed looked at you with a funny expression and grabbed your hand before leading you two upstairs. He opened one of the doors, just to be met with a fresh corpse. "Oh my god" You gagged as Jed placed his hand on your shoulder. "You never get used to this, do you? You okay?" You nodded "Yes, I just need a second" You took a deep breath and held the urge to throw up. You looked at your partner and then followed him inside the room. You first took a look at the place, it was a mess, and there were a few blood stains on the walls. Then, your gaze fixed on the dead body. It was a middle-aged man with several stab wounds all over his body. He was lying on a blood puddle and next to it, you could find a Polaroid picture. You approached the photo and without touching it you took a closer look. "Great, Jed come and see this, it's another Ghostface killing" "Not surprised" "Me neither, but it's the third one this month, I think this is more concerning than we thought" The picture was a selfie of Ghostface stabbing the man. It was common to find this kind of Polaroid pictures in his crime scenes. You took out your phone and took a few pictures of the Polaroid and the body, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. "(Y/N), let's see if any officer can give us something" You nodded and both of you started wandering around and trying to get some information from the officers, but only getting the same answer over and over again "We only now it's a victim of The Ghostface". You finally gave up and decided to wait for the next morning's official statement.

"Jed let's go, they're not gonna give us anything" He sighed, defeated "Fine" "Want me to take you home?" "That would be nice, thanks" "No problem" You tiredly smiled at him. The ride home was mostly quiet, both of you were tired and couldn't wait to get to bed. The morning after a killing was usually busy, with a lot of people doing research and hearing official statements from the police to write a good article.

The first one was a Polaroid picture of yourself he took on your first day at work. You were smiling, and holding a newspaper where you could clearly see a picture of The Ghostface. You were looking away, not noticing someone was taking a picture of you. On the back of the Polaroid, with a red marker he wrote "You cought my interest"

He took three photographs of you.

You rushed to your office as you were late to work. With huge eyebags and a tired smile, you got to your workplace. "Morning, Jed" "God, you look awful, did you sleep at all?" "Yes, but we have to stop doing this thing of sleeping two hours, going on an adventure, and then sleeping another two hours, it's not healthy" He laughed at your comment as you sat at your desk in front of him. "Did the police said anything yet?" You asked, curious. "No, not yet, but I don't think it will take them much longer" "Okay" You rubbed your eyes. "Oh, by the way, look at this" You showed him the picture. "I found this on the floor this morning, someone must have slid it under the doorframe" "Wow, looks like you have an admirer" Your eyes opened wide. "Jed this is so creepy, we have a serial killer killing people and leaving Polaroid pics and now I receive one? Maybe it's not related, maybe it is, but in any case, if there's someone here having a crush on me they can just tell me, it's not like I'm going to be rude or kill them or anything" "Yeah I guess you're right, you look cute on the pic tho" You smiled a bit. "Yeah, I guess"

. ₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊ .

The next few months were pretty calm, there haven't been any more killings and people felt a bit safer again, although you felt something was wrong, why would someone who killed regularly suddenly stop if they weren't even close to being caught?

Half an hour later, you got home. You left your things on the bed and went straight to the shower, cleaning yourself with warm water felt like heaven. You got tucked in a towel and went back to your room. It was dark outside already and a cool breeze came into the room through the window. You put on clean underwear and your favorite pajamas, and went downstairs to have dinner while watching a movie, just as you told Jed you were going to do. You don't know how many movies you watched until you fell asleep on the couch. It was almost 4am when the sound of someone knocking on your door woke you up. "What the hell" You rubbed your eyes and slowly approached the door. You opened it to find no one was there. "Hello?" You took a few steps outside and looked around, but it was empty, just you. "Very funny" you murmured to yourself. You took one last quick glance to make sure no one was there just to find a picture on the floor next to the door frame. "Oh no, not again" You rolled your eyes as you bent over next to it. You were about to pick it up when you noticed it was stained. "What the fuck, this guy's a pervert, this is so gross" You sighted as you went back in to grab a piece of paper and pick up the picture. "I don't care if it ruins the photo but I'm not touching this" You took it to the bathroom and put it under the faucet, letting the water clean it. After a couple minutes you felt it was already okay to see it.

"Morning" Jed entered the office, placing one cup of coffee on your desk and another on his. "Morning, thanks" You grabbed the coffee and took a sip. It was still pretty hot and you burned your mouth a bit. "You're early today" He smiled at you. "Yeah, I woke up early today" You shrugged your shoulders. "What are you working on?" "That article about the local fair, I have to hand it in later. Pretty boring" You rolled your eyes. "What do you have for today?" You asked. Jed was the best one writing articles and reports about murderers, and you helped him with it, but now that everything was calmer both of you divided the work and wrote about a bit of anything that was slightly interesting. "Nothing, I finished yesterday the article I was working on and handed it in before coming here, I thought maybe I could help you?" "That would be nice, 'cause all I've written so far is useless, it's genuinely so bad" You laughed a bit. Jed moved his chair to your side of the desk and sat next to you. "Okay, let's see" You liked working with Jed, he taught you a lot of things and was always nice to you. You got used to being with him and just his presence made you happy; without noticing, you had developed a church on you friend. After a few hours of writing, erasing, and rewriting, you finally managed to finish the article. "I think it looks good, thanks Jed" you smiled at him. "No problem" He returned the smile. "I'm going to hand this, I'll be right back, and then we can go home early" You returned to the office a few minutes later to pick up your things. "I love going home early" "Me too, I have more time to do nothing, what are your plans for the rest of the day" You shrugged your shoulders. "I don't know, get home, take a shower, eat some cheap pizza and fall asleep on the couch watching a movie. What about you?" You were genuinely interested, although you spent a lot of time with him, you barely knew anything about his private life. "I'll probably go for a night walk later, when everything is quiet. It's peaceful" "I like night walks too but I don't take them often, I like walking through the forest behind my backyard but I don't think it's the safest thing to do alone at night" Jed laughed. "Definitely not" You finished getting your thing ready to leave and said good bye to Jed as you walked towards the door. "See you tomorrow, Jed" You smiled at him. "Bye, (Y/N)" He returned the smile.

The second one, another Polaroid picture, covered in a sticky white liquid, showed your half-naked body. You were at the window frame of your room changing your clothes, only wearing panties and putting on a shirt, it had been taken before, when you came out of the shower. In the back you could read "You are pretty" and a lot of red hearts around the text.

You spent the rest of the night awake. You closed all the windows, drew the curtains, and sat on the couch waiting for a response to your text or at least to be the time to take off to work. A few minutes later, you received a phone call. "Hi, (Y/N) are you okay" Jed seemed worried about you. "Hi, I thought you were sleeping, I'm fine, I just got nervous and didn't know what to do. I only received the picture, there was no one around" "It's okay, I woke up a couple hours back and couldn't fall asleep again. You sound upset, do you want me to go stay with you?" "N-no, don't worry, I'm fine, it's late and I don't want to make you take the trip all the way here" "Hey it's fine, it's not like I'm sleeping again. I'm on my way" And just like that, he hung up the phone. About twenty minutes later, he was at your place. "Hey, (Y/N), you sure you're okay?" You nodded. "I was just feeling a bit shaken up, I mean, it's a creepy situation" You two sat on the couch and patiently waited for it to be the time to go to work. You felt bad that Jed made it all the way to your home because you were nervous, but at the same time you were grateful, he was reassuring and made you feel much better.

"You've got to be kidding" A feeling of nervousness and disgust took over your body. Just a few hours before, someone had taken a picture of you on your own house and purposely gave it to you, as if to tell you that you were being observed. You didn't know what to do, you felt unsafe and you weren't sure if calling the police was rash, so you decided to wait and text Jed. You sent him a picture of the polaroid from both sides and a message telling him what happened. "Hi Jed, I know it's late but I wasn't sure of what to do. Someone woke me up and left a picture on my door. I couldn't see him but the guy jerked off on the photo and left it here. I don't know if I'm getting stalked or sexually harassed or what but this is getting worrying and disgusting. I took it as a joke when I received that one picture a few months ago but this? The photo is from tonight, when I got home earlier. I don't know what to do"

. ₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊ .

As time passed, Jed and you grew closer and closer, until it was obvious you liked each other. None of you wanted to take a first step, dating a work partner was not something that usually went well, and for now, you were fine with just being friends. From time to time, you meet to go out for a walk, to drink a coffee or just to spend some time together; silly dates none of you were brave enough to call them as so.

You were about to leave the office when Jed stopped you. "Hey, there's a new restaurant nearby, I thought maybe we should give it a try? What about having dinner tonight?" You nodded. "That sounds nice, see you later then" You went home and changed clothes, choosing something between casual and elegant, not wanting to look very formal but also not wanting to look very casual; and did a light makeup. You were going to have dinner with a friend, but he wasn't just a friend, you liked him a lot and you wanted to look nice. It didn't took you long to get to the restaurant, arriving at the same time as Jed. "You look beautiful, (Y/N)" You blushed at his words. "Thanks"

The dinner was nice and you had a good time together, talking about everything and anything. There was a connection between you two. After leaving the restaurant, you went for a walk in the dark of the night. The temperature was cool and there was a soft breeze, but it was a nice feeling. Without noticing, you eventually got to Jed's place. "I had fun tonight, we should do this more often" You smiled at him. "I totally agree" He returned the smile. "Oh by the way, there's a Halloween party tomorrow night at the office, if you want to come with me" Your face lit up "Of course, I didn't have planned anything for tomorrow night, so yes, count with me, it can be fun" "Great" You looked at him for a second, his smile, his black eyes, his dark hair, he was so beautiful. A small smile appeared on your face and your cheeks went slightly red as he maintained visual contact. Jed raised his hand and slowly caressed your face for a moment before pulling you in for a kiss. His soft lips pressed against yours felt like heaven. He hugged you by the waist as you carefully placed your hands on his shoulders. You only pulled apart when you ran out of air. "D-do you want to come inside?" Your heart skipped a bit. "Yes" You said softly.

You spent the night together. A night full of passion, kisses and hugs; a night full of love. A night you wished would last forever. In the morning, you woke up laying on his chest, his arms around you holding you tenderly. You moved slightly, just enough to see his face. He was awake too, as soon as his eyes met yours, his sleepy expression turned into a smile, giving you a soft kiss on the forehead. You buried your face in his chest for a few seconds before moving to his side. "Good morning" His voice was hoarse. "Morning" You still were sleepy. He stroke your hair for a few seconds before getting out of bed. "Want some breakfast?" You nodded and got out of bed too. Both of you got dressed and went to the kitchen to eat something. Right now, you were the happiest person on earth. Life felt like a dream, everything was perfect. "I'm going home, I want to shower and change clothes before tonight's party" "Okay. I'll pick you up if you're fine with it" "Yes, of course, that would be lovely" "Nice, see you at six then?" "Perfect" He smiled and gave you a kiss before you left.

You took a warm shower and dressed up. Although you were not a fan of costumes, it was Halloween, even something simple would work, so you chose to be a witch. A nice black dress and a hat made it. At exactly 6 pm, your doorbell rang. "Coming!" You looked at yourself in the mirror for a second before heading to the door. You felt pretty. You looked pretty. You opened the door to find a Ghostface costume before yourself. "Oh God Jed, that's creepy" The man just stared at you. "Come in for a moment, I'll grab my bag and we're good to go" You closed the door and turned around to go to your room and get your things. "You okay? You seem quiet" He nodded. Something was wrong. He was usually a talkative man, but now he was just silent and he wouldn't stop looking at you for a second. He suddenly handed you a picture. You looked at him confused, and then stared at the picture.

The third photograph wasn't a Polaroid, but a picture he took with a digital camera and then printed. In the picture, you and Jed were seen together, having sex. In the back, the words "I want to hear you scream again" were written with blood.

"What the fuck, Jed" "It's Danny, actually" "What?" You were confused and terrified. You froze in place and a sudden feeling of anxiety started to take over you. He pointed a knife at your throat. "So, this is the thing. Name's Danny, and you're the first person to know I'm The Ghostface. I assume you understand I have to kill you, I can't let you live now that you know it, but if it makes you feel any better I have to admit that you're special. I had fun with you and you were an interesting person, but all good things must come to an end, don't you think?" He laughed. "Y-you've been lying to me all this time" A tear ran down your cheek. "Well, yes" A quick move of his hand got his knife in your throat, causing a deep wound. It hurt. A lot of blood started to come out of the wound as you desperately tried to cover it with your hands in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. You looked at the now named Danny with an expression of horror in your eyes. He just chuckled and stabbed you multiple times before you ran out of strength. You lied on the floor, full of painful wounds around your body, next to the man you loved. He betrayed you, and that hurt much more than any stab wound he could cause you. Now, you were going to be another name on the list, another victim of a serial killer that was far to be caught.

He took one last photograph of you.

He captured your almost lifeless body on the floor, covered in blood. Multiple stab wounds around your stomach, back and neck. Blood covering the kitchen floor and pouring out of your mouth and wounds, the last breath of life coming out as tears flowing down your eyes. You looked at him one last time, seeing that Polaroid camera taking one last picture of you.

Author note: GUYS AAAh I'm sorry I took a nap a few days back while going back home from vacation and dreamed of this idea, I just built it up and I thought it might be a good idea to write it down. Also yes, I feel Danny is a completely degenerate person and this kind of liar/manipulative behavior suits him. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it ^^

"I'm sorry honey, it's a waste having to kill you, you're so pretty and it was fun all the time we spent together, but I had to do it, I have to keep telling stories about killings. I hope you're not mad at me, you're gonna look amazing in tomorrow's newspaper front page"

. ₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊ .

[littlemisstonydiary]

Unknown Love Pt.1

Have you ever felt such love that you know existed but it grew without you knowing? I did. It was just a crush before. He was my partner as our surnames were alphabetically next to each other. I liked how cool he was, how clean he was ( he is a neat freak), how sarcastic he was, and how intelligent he was. I liked everything about him except for the fact that I know he will never like me. I kept those feelings thinking that was only a ridiculous crush and that I know I will get over it eventually. Flashing news today: I never did! And every now and then I think about him. How's his life? Is he still alive?

The last news I heard from him was he broke up with Lana. After that, he is nowhere to be found. No social media, no number. I don't have anything. Every now and then I tried looking for his profile on any social media. I failed a million times. I tried checking those people he was close to before, but he is nowhere to be found. It's like he tried to erase himself from society. After a couple of years, I stopped looking, lurking, expecting I will see his face but my desire to see him did not end.

Last night, I dreamt of him. I know it's that extreme when I dream of someone. It's like the universe is telling me something. My brain always shows my deepest secret that I kept avoiding. Often times when I dream of someone, I consciously, tell myself that I am dreaming. As I dream I tend to make scenarios to make the dream better but this time, I genuinely thought it was real. I slept for so long and woke up happy.

Yes, it was him in my dreams. I dreamt that we ended up together. I was so happy just being by his side. I am happy that we are together and with his family. It was chaotic but I was happy.

I woke up contemplating life. It's more than 10 years since I saw and talked to him but I still remember him vividly. It's like my self is healing and it's letting me go through all the love that I tried to suppress. I like him and just thinking about being with him makes me the happiest.

I pulled out my phone and I searched for his name. " Manuel Gezaea" No results in any social media. No active accounts. I knew that will be the outcome but I still did it anyway. It made my heart sink. When I am about to put my phone down, an idea popped into my head as if someone gave me a hint of where to find him.

"Try Google," said the voice inside.

I gladly followed it. I did not expect anything as I know there will no result. I tried that before and got nothing. To my surprise, there is one result. Manuel Gezaea from Austria. I thought to myself this could not be him but I still open this job site. To my surprise, there he is. His picture is on this company website. Older but still gives me butterflies. I rejoice and felt like crying.

" I found you!" I shouted. I was so happy. I jolted up and looked at this picture of yours. " I missed you. I found you!" that's all I can say. I also felt relieved as I know you are still breathing and alive.

"So this is you know. " I continued talking to your picture. " I have so many questions! I want to hear everything."

But after the feeling of happiness, sadness overwhelmed me. "This is him now. He is far from this country. We do not breathe the same air anymore. He is out of reach." it made me out of breath. It's like something punched my heart.

I clicked on connect on your job site hoping that you will feel the urge to talk to me too. I am hoping that you are happy with your life. "Please universe, please have him talk to me if he is still available." I kept on praying until I close the site. Shut down the computer and went on with my life.

[aroallo-y-la-concha-de-tu-madre]

A liberating experience?

I find myself tired and confused, but happy after an experience I had. Since I had that thought of having sex with myself, that wandered through my mind through yesterday.

After coming home from the psychologist, I took a nap which ended lasting much more than I intended to, and I woke up horny and with an urge to jack off. I took my phone, went to the selfies I took in the last adult post. My eyes scanned through my body and I started to masturbate while reminding the thought I had. In my imagination, I sucked my clone, then I kissed him, put his dick inside my ass and started to ride him cowgirl while I kissed him. I use to moan while I masturbate, and I use to masturbate often, but this was the first time I was doing it while imagining myself with a man.

My mind raced, first I imagined myself as the passive, but as my hand caressed my body as I imagined me fucking with myself, I started to alternate, sometimes imagining the feelings of the passive one, then imagining myself as the active one.

I started to feel pleasure imagining two of my bodies having sex, then I started to moan what they were saying at my thought, things as "fuck me" or "you hottie, that's so good".

As the two bodies of mine shagged each other, I found myself moaning thoughts such as "oh you fuck so well", "I love this dick inside my ass" or "I love fucking this ass". Later, those moans were followed by praise of my body such as "your body is so sexy" or "your dick is so beautiful" as I imagined myselves moaning harder and louder. I imagined top riding reverse cowgirl and moving his hips in circles slowly while bottom fondles his nipples with both hands, fucking slowly. They were kissing deeply, then looked at each other's eyes. I moaned "I love you, I'm deeply in love with you" as I called myself "my love".

I then put my Spotify "kinky" playlist to play in my phone. My mind was racing faster as I found myself edging close. I was moaning "make me cum inside your ass", then moments later, moan "cum inside my ass". I cannot remember the order of the songs now, but now after a side fuck, both of myselves were facing each other laid in the bed and started a 69, sucking each other's dick. My mind could only think "cum for me, cum in my mouth", and I made sounds like if I was gagging. Then, after two or three songs and some ads, the app started playing Destiny Child's "Lose my Breath". I decided to stop moaning and listen to the song, jacking off myself the fastest I could during this song, not stopping until it was over. I found myself so focused in the song and the thoughts that I could not even moan, just jack myself off until I came, imagining myselves reaching orgasm at the same time, sucking themselves and swallowing all of their cum.

After I came, I went to the bathroom, cleaned myself and found myself looking into my own eyes and telling myself I am hot and a great sexual partner.

[nerodreamblog]

Another bizarre cold medicine dream.

It took place in the Hey Arnold universe, but this time it was Arnold and the green hat kid (I had to look it up, his name is Sid) were fighting for Helga's affections. They all attended this boarding school. Kind of a weird Harry Potter world.

The first activity had them trying to eat some kind of dessert like a creme brule or white cake. They had to eat at a specific pace to essentially "hook up" to each other like they were scenes in a show. (We deal with hook ups in animation frequently. It just means to make sure the shots match each other.)

Helga and Arnold were sitting next to each other and Arnold was acting shy and timid. Helga was eating like a champ. In fact she was eating so fast the teacher scolded her and told her Arnold had to really push himself to keep up. She felt bad but I don't remember if she said anything.

Next up was some kind of activity involving roleplaying manners at the table. Sid got partnered up with Helga. Arnold was seething with rage when Sid spoke with Helga and had to sit out and grit his teeth and cover his ears.

Later they all had to do some chores around the school. Arnold and Sid got into an argument where they started pushing each other.

"What the hell's your deal, man?" I remember Sid saying.

Arnold said Sid was lucky he got to roleplay with Helga but Sid said he wished he could have sat next to her during dessert.

"Whatever man, I'm leaving!" Arnold said as he stormed off, carrying a small punching bag under his arm.

Later he came to a small town built at the bottom of a canyon. The entire town was blue. All the houses, bridges, etc. Even the canyon itself. Except the entire thing had flooded over. Water went up to your ankles.

Arnold ran towards it, excited that he found the town in one of his favorite books. The author had written about her little blue town and Arnold went to find her.

Wading through the water was difficult. At this point the dream shifted to my point of view. Though my brain still understood I was Arnold.

I tried to take a photo of the town using my phone camera, but it kept zooming in for some reason so I couldn't get a decent shot. It also occurred to me that the water could be full of sewage so I tried to lift myself up on the banister near the bridge.

I decided to peek into the house and found an elderly and kindly old lady, though she carried around a shotgun. I don't remember much about this part to be honest.

I just remember ending up outside with some bubble headed blonde lady who went on about something while a raccoon skittered over and grabbed a dead squirrel in the water in its jaws. It tried to jump up towards me, but I put my foot in front of its face, causing it to drop the squirrel carcass.

This enraged the raccoon and it started chittering and jumping around. It went to bite me but then I woke up.

[nikonyash]

Voice Message || Gojo, Nanami, Fushiguro M., Okkotsu, Itadori

Fluff. JJK men sending you voice message while they're away for days

GOJO SATORU

The message will only come whenever he remembers

So in average, once per 3 days....

The duration is about 2-3 mins long. He will only talk about food he tries, bragging about his strength, and amount of cursed spirit he has defeated

Sometimes, you will hear either explosion or Yuuji & Nobara bickering in the background

"Did you sleep with my shirt and hugging my pillow? Poor angel~"

"I wonder why Nanami never appreciate my message? Pretty sure I said 'penis' repeteadly!"

You need to hold back the urge to smash your phone every time you listen to his message

End the recording with a teasing tone, and you wish you can teleport to his place to punch then squeeze him in a hug (no need to be in order)

"Don't be shy to reply to my message and say you miss me. I won't laugh."

"Oh, and don't touch yourself. Don't touch what's mine. Okay?"

NANAMI KENTO

The message comes every morning and night in a short duration, 2 mins is the maximum

Will summarize things he will do and had done for the day. Pretty much like a report, but it gives you the idea of what he does, plus make you less worry

And that's actually his goal. He understands you tend to overthink when he's not clear about something

He also sent some pics of him because you ask him to. You just love this man and his effort so much 🥰

"Stop staying up late. And don't spend your money on junk food."

"I will try to come home soon."

There will be a short pause in his message, sign of him considering next words he's gonna say.

"If you would, I'd like to hear back from you. Even better, a video message."

"Only to make sure you're also still, uhm, alive."

A big smile would never leave your face after his message. You end up doing your makeup before recording a video for him

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

Another one that sends short message

Complaining why he should send you voice message every day. But will still do it anyway

His message always comes in the morning

Just like Nanami, he will share his plan for that day

"I just woke up, and going to the city in 15 mins. Looking at the progress, I think it won't take long until I come home."

Somehow, his raspy voice sends fog to your brain, and you have to pause the message, take a deep breath, then play it again without thinking to touch yourself

"I find it odd how you only reply with photos and text. I want you to send me voice message too, in the morning, lunch time, and night."

"You're not the only one that miss their partner, you know."

You land pecks on your phone screen and curl up on your bed. Smirking, to the thought of him flustered as he's saying that line.

You will reply promptly, teasing him along the duration for his effort to stay flat

The guy will listen to it in his burning cheek and swear to punish you when he's home

OKKOTSU YUUTA

Every night, you can assure one of your phone notifications comes from him

He sends a long message, sharing every thing he has done that day 😭 ♥

It's about 7 mins in average but you don't mind listening to it

He's excited to talk about pretty sceneries, foods, cursed-spirits, interesting people he encounters

Every thing he saw always remind him to his friends and you

"Panda would be happy to play with zebra and elephant here! Oh, do you think Maki will be happy to get a traditional weapon? I also found a triple face sculpted mask and I remember Inumaki!"

"I want to go here with you. Not for missions, I guess. I'll take you to this cafe I found!"

"If you're not busy, maybe we can call? I think I haven't heard your voice for years."

"Please don't get bored hearing this, but I miss you."

You will replay the message before sleeping as it's the best lullaby in the world

ITADORI YUUJI

King of short message

But will send A LOT in a day.

Some of the message will just calling out to you. While some of them only random talks with some details of his activity that he casually mentions

"Baaaabe I miss you."

"I'm in the city right now. Didn't expect it to be this crowded! Kugisaki forced Fushiguro to take pics of her in crosswalk."

"I'm eating now. Their dessert is bomb!"

"Baaabe, what you doin'?"

He's too precious and of course you will reply to every thing 🥺 ♥

"I promise I'll be home soon. Please please hug me and I want my kisses!"

The voice message has failed to treat your longing of your boyfriend. Now you yearn for him.

[vaspider]

I'm getting married Saturday! Any words of wisdom to impart for someone starting that new chapter (if you're comfortable with it)? Thanks for being a parent figure to so many of us on here. Goodness knows lots of us need someone like that.

In any case, Shana Tovah, and many blessings to you and yours!

💙

First of all, mazel tov! So much joy and happiness to you both. 💓

I had to think about this for a bit. @dadhoc and I have been together for 17 years and married for 12, and we've been with @apocalycious for 2.5 years, so I think we're doing something right. In no particular order:

Know when you need to be Right and when you'd rather be Happy. If your spouse wants to build a house with a Jell-O foundation, keep arguing/discussing/etc. bc you need to be right - it could hurt you both if you don't! If you're arguing over which one of you said what when you clearly had an unfortunate misunderstanding and accidentally hurt each other's feelings... wouldn't you rather be happy than right? Take a deep breath, apologize for your part in the misunderstanding, and figure out how to not have it happen again.

Don't let the sun go down on your anger. Don't go to bed angry with each other or actively arguing. That kind of stuff calcifies.

Figure out how the other person expresses love and says they're sorry, and honor that. Communicate how you need to be loved and apologized to. @dadhoc doesn't always say "I love you" out loud, but they make the leftover challah into French toast on the weekend, and they work really hard on NerdyKeppie stuff. I write poems and make art for people and get silly little presents, like an enamel pin with a red panda or a penguin on it for my boos. If you mention something you might like to do someday offhandedly, or a question you wonder about, Evie will remember that and research it for you! Steve also often doesn't say "I'm sorry" out loud - they will go wash the bedding and clean the bedroom so we can all spend time watching TV and snuggling together when the argument is resolved... but I need to hear "I'm sorry" out loud. So I acknowledge and appreciate the things they did, and they say the words out loud.

Respond to what your partners say, not to your baggage or to what you expect them to say. This becomes more of a Thing the longer you're together: you have so many conversations and talks and arguments that you fall into a comfortable groove with each other. That's great! But. Make sure when they're talking that you're not responding to something your dad said that hurt you 20 years ago, or to your ex who was hypercritical of you, or to who your partner USED to be, 6 years and a bunch of discussions ago.

Celebrate each other's successes, even the little ones. Get ice cream together when you finish a project at work. Take each other out for self-care time. You're together because you're each other's biggest fans, after all, but also...

You don't have to be each other's everything. I'm fact, you shouldn't. Make time for yourself. Spend time with your friends. Cultivate your friends, not just our friends. (Evie is friends with people I can't stand, and I'm happy they get along!) Have your Own Things that you do and are.

Spoil each other just a little. If you won't do it, who will?

Laugh with each other but never at each other. Human beings are ridiculous!

Go to therapy. It's preventative maintenance for your brain.

Find something you enjoy doing together that has a finished product at the end. Build a model, bake a cake. Evie and I really like cooking together. Even cleaning is nice if I'm doing it with my partners.

Don't stop going on dates, even if a date means eating dinner outside instead of in your kitchen.

Speaking of which: try to make Family Dinner a thing. Sit at an actual table presuming you have one, trade off making food, put your phone somewhere else while you're eating, and talk to each other without distraction for at least that long every day. I know I sound like a mom in a Pixar movie, but I'm serious, this works! When I was sick, we stopped having a dining room table really bc of how our house got rearranged, and we didn't eat together at a table for years. Now our Family Dinnertime is sacrosanct. Even if we're all eating leftovers, we eat at the table right around the same time every day. It makes a difference in our ability to connect with each other. Eating together is an important human bonding activity.

You're going to change. So is your spouse. That's not just okay - that's great! Life means growth. I'm not who I was in 2004, thank G-d, and neither is Steve. I'm not who I was in 2019, for that matter. That change and growth is who you're becoming together, so honor and celebrate that. You can't grow old together if you don't grow old, after all.

If you're so inclined generally speaking, never stop looking at your sexy-ass spouse with the same wide-eyed delight you do now. Just... enjoy it when they're getting changed in the room with you. If I ever stop saying "... butt... " dreamily when one of my partners is changing, or informing one that they're missing out on seeing the other's butt, just bury me, I'm dead. Appreciate them out loud. They're cute!

Smooch daily.

Take care of yourself. You can't be a good spouse if you're not eating food food, getting enough sleep, etc.

Even in the shitty parts, which will happen, remind yourself that you've got backup. From now on, you've always got backup, and it's much easier to go through crises with your biggest fan by your side. It'll be a great story on the other side, right? I'll forever tell the one about how when Steve was in the hospital for afib, and the docs had to knock Steve out to shock their heart into behaving, they woke up and started immediately asking "where's my [husbutch]?" They got so insistent about it - still loopy on the anesthesia - that the nurse came to get me. I called from the doorway and Steve calmed down... for 5 seconds, and then their short-term memory cycled, and they started asking for me again. This happened half a dozen times until I asked "do you want me to just ... squeeze in?" bc Steve's insistence was slowing the doctors down, the docs said yes, so I worked my way up to the head of their hospital bed and said "here I am, please calm down so the doctors can work." Steve said, "oh! My [husbutch]. Hello, [husbutch]!" and took my hand and calmed down. It was a TERRIBLE day but I LOVE that story in retrospect.

Smooch lots.

Mazel tov! Love each other. Building a marriage is work, but anything worth building takes effort. It sounds cheesy but it's so true. 💗

[nationalharryleague]

Saturday Morning

Summary: Y/N and Harry spend a lovely Saturday in bed. 

Genre: FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF and a “Two for the Show” extra!! 

Word Count: 2.5K!

A/N: Two for the Show is by far my favorite and the most popular fic I’ve ever written and I just missed my babies so much I had to write an extra for them!! I owe my heart to my loves S @tobesolonely​ and Nat @harrystylescherry​ for reading this for me and reassuring me when I needed it!! I am very rusty so please be nice! You can find more of my writing in my masterlist and I really want to hear what you have to say about this one!!! Also hi soph <3 @theharriediaries

**Read Two for the Show first**

***

Saturday mornings had always been Y/N’s favorite.

When she was little, she always woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen up the hall (courtesy of her father being an early riser who always got a bit bored in the mornings). As she got older, she spent them sleeping in and trying to recharge from long days at school, basking in whatever peace she could get before exiting her room into the chaos of her loving--but crowded--household. When she got to college, Saturday mornings were reserved for dealing with hangovers, and once she moved to LA and her career began to take off, it was the only time she had for herself in her busy schedule.

Her love for Saturdays had only grown since she had moved in with Harry.

They always woke up slowly, basking in the quiet of their bedroom and the soft glow created by the light that streamed through the small crack in their blackout curtains. The pair were often a tangle of limbs by the morning, pressed together as close as they possibly could get, both of them feeling at their most relaxed when they could feel their partner’s heartbeat against their own. Sometimes someone woke up with an elbow to the ribs, but most of the time Y/N’s cheek was pressed up against Harry’s shoulder, her face buried into his neck, with his arm draped around her waist and tightly holding her to him like she might roll away in the middle of the night.

That morning she woke up to Harry’s curls tickling her nose. He had been growing them out slightly, letting them fall to a middle part that gently flicked out at the bottom. It reminded her of when he had hosted SNL a few years prior and she adored it. It was just the right length to sink her fingers into and hold on to him. But she did not appreciate it pulling her out of her beauty sleep.

She had wiggled away from the wispy hairs, trying to get her face away from the tickling strands when she felt Harry’s hands clamp down on her waist, refusing to let his girl slip away from his grasp.

“Stay,” he rasped, clearly still half asleep and mumbling in a way she knew no one else could have understood. “You’re warm.”

“I’m not leaving,” she murmured, maneuvering her way onto her other side and pressing her back against his chest. “Just adjusting.”

“But I like holding you that way.”

“Hold me this way.”

“Yes, sir,” he smirked against the back of her neck, delicately placing a few kisses to her skin while he was there. “You just wanted to be the little spoon.”

A sleepy but mischievous smile crawled onto her lips as she snuggled further into her pillow, eyes still closed in hopes of keeping the day away just a little bit longer. “Maybe I did. What are you going to do about it?”

The second his hands moved to her waist she knew what was about to happen. A squeal left her lips as his fingers began to move rapidly at her sides, pulling loud and boisterous laughter from her chest. Sleep was a dream of the past now, but she was sure she wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.

When Harry was gone--either on tour, work trips, or the occasional solo visit to see his family--she missed him like crazy. She still remembers the empty heartache she felt when he had gone on the next leg of the tour without her when they were still brand new. She had to be in LA for her now exploding career (thanks Harry), but daily phone calls and incessant texting could only do so much when the person she was quickly falling in love with--for real this time--was on another continent. By some miracle, she had made him feel the same way about her as she did him through a screen.

She always felt like he had taken a piece of her with him when he was gone. He did if you counted the small hidden tattoo of her first initial that had found its way onto his ribs after their (actual) two year anniversary.

The feeling of missing him never left when he was gone. She imagined he felt the same whenever she was on tours or work trips of her own.

While her body fought against his tickling touch, her heart melted into it. These moments, on (usually) quiet saturday mornings, meant the world to her. This was a time that was just theirs, belonging to no one else but them. Their joy and love took place in private, as privacy became something the couple had been increasingly possessive of as of late.

Harry’s loud and giddy laughter behind her sounded like a perfect melody and she could feel his chest heaving against her back as he rolled onto his back and brought her with him. Their comforter was now tangled around them, wrapping the pair together in a way neither of them could move with Y/N’s thrashing. He finally ended his torture when she whezed out between giggles that she was going to pee herself.

“Okay, I’ll stop,” he relented, letting his hands leave her sides to reach them across his stomach and hold her body tightly on top of his. “We both know how you pee your pants.”

“Harry Edward Styles, it happened one time three years ago after nearly an entire bottle of tequila! How long are you going to hold onto that and bring it up?”

“Until it’s not funny anymore,” he snickered.

“You know what’s also funny? When you got so sloshed you were crawling under tables at the BRITs. Or that time that you got so drunk that you sent  Jeff a dick pic by accident because you thought you were sending it to me. Or that other time-”

“That’s enough!” he announced, playfully clamping a hand down over her mouth, and releasing her mouth and a disgusted ‘blegh’ when she ran her tongue up his palm.

“Behave Styles,” she teased as she inched her way up his body, resting her head on his shoulder and snaking her fingers up into his hair, giving it a gentle tug as a warning.

“You know I like it when you pull my hair like that, so how about you behave, Styles?”

“That’s Y/L/N-Styles to you,” she teased, but she couldn’t fend off the giant grin that found its way to her lips at the mention of their still very recent nuptials.

The wedding had been small, very small, with only their immediate families and best friends in attendance. While their relationship had started in (and for) the focus of the public eye, they both decided their wedding was going to be just between them and those that mattered most. They didn’t wear their rings in public and no magazines had leaked or published that they were married yet. The day that it became public information was inevitable, but at the moment, the two relished in their little secret.

She felt a swell of love within her as she thought about her husband, sliding out of his grip and onto the bed beside him so she could finally see his face. His eyes were always a little puffy in the morning, a sight shadow of stubble decorating his cheeks if he had shaved the morning prior, but his tired smile was always the same. His pink lips lazily perked up to the left, his deep dimple appearing as if to say ‘good morning,’ and his two front teeth that always reminded her of an adorable bunny made their first appearance of the day. His smile usually disappeared quickly though, morphing into a pout and asking for a kiss.

How could she ever say no?

She settled a hand onto his bare chest and propped herself up to reach her lips to his. Their mouths moved with a well practiced gentle love and passion for each other, Harry’s hands coming to rest on her heating cheeks. She moved herself over him, settling her knees on either side of hips, never breaking their lips apart.

Kissing him was her favorite activity and with five years of practice, they were really good at it by now, but the swirling electricity that always appeared never failed to bring a flush to her cheeks. She could never get used to him. He was intoxicating and she never wanted to sober up.

Their moment was interrupted by a loud grumble coming from Harry’s stomach and Y/N pulled her lips from his and threw her head back with a loud belly laugh she just couldn’t contain.

“You good?” she teased down at him, lightly poking at his bare stomach right below her favorite butterfly.

His cheeks flushed slightly as he dramatically hung his head and flashed his best puppy-dog eyes at her with a silent plea to feed him. “I think I’m hungry.”

“You can be hungry but I’m not getting out of bed to make you breakfast.”

“Well, I’m not getting out of bed either,” his eyebrow quirked. “Aren’t you hungry? Don’t you want your morning coffee that you say I don’t make right?”

She pretended to think about it for a moment. “I’m willing to risk shitty coffee if I get to stay in this bed.”

“I will do anything you want other than getting out of this bed right now.”

“Anything?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow and a curious lilt in her voice. She was quickly answered with an eager knod. He obviously thought this was some sort of sexual request by the smirk that rose to his face. “You have to clean the litter box until I decide I’ve been properly paid back for your veggie omelet and tea.” His face fell.

“That’s your job!”

“Exactly why I don’t want to do it.”

“I’ll do literally anything else.”

“My one offer. Take it or leave it?”

“Leave it,” he said with a theatrical pout and crossed his arms over his chest. She was momentarily distracted by the way his tattoos moved over his muscular and tan arms for a moment, but shook herself from the thought and steeled herself in her stubbornness.

The two shared an intense look for a moment, both of them deciding whether or not they would press the issue further. With a sigh and slight roll of her eyes, she stuck out her hand towards him.

“We go on ‘shoot’ and none of your ‘best two out of three’ bullshit.”

As childish as it felt, Rock, Paper, Scissors had become their way of negotiating most of their disagreements over the years. It was a lighthearted game of chance, and while it sometimes led to a few minutes of frustration for the losing party, it worked for them and stopped arguments before they could happen. Interviewers often thought it was a joke when they answered the usual “secrets to a happy relationship” question, but it couldn’t be more truthful.

“Fine, we play by your rules.”

Their fists dropped down to their opposite palms three times, before both called “shoot.” She had gone for rock. Harry had gone for paper.

A loud combination of a whine and a groan left her lips and she dramatically let her body fall off of his and back onto her side of the bed.

“Fair is fair, my love,” he playfully taunted. “I would like my veggie omelette and I’m thinking I could go for some green tea this morning.”

“I will be getting you back for this,” she grumbled as she began to drag herself off the bed and away from it’s cozy warmth. She slipped his go to Columbia black hoodie over her head and took a pouty deep breath. It would have been more dramatic but she was distracted by how good the sweatshirt smelled. It smelled like home.

“I love you so so much,” he defended, opening his arms wide to grab her for one last kiss before she ventured down to the kitchen.

“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled against his lips. “I love you too.”

She sulked out of their bedroom towards their kitchen (not before Harry swatted at her butt that was barely covered by the sweatshirt) and began to hold up her end of their deal. The cold tile nipped at her toes as she made them both omelettes and bopped along to the music she had instructed their Alexa to play. She fixed herself a morning coffee (that Harry really did always screw up somehow) and rummaged through their cabinet until she found her husband’s special order of green tea.

“Come get your breakfast, princess,” she shouted up the stairs when she was finished and after pausing her music.

“No breakfast in bed?”

“You are not getting eggs on our new--very expensive--sheets. Come down here and give me another kiss.”

She heard a whine of “fine” come from their bedroom followed by the padding of feet. Harry appeared at the top of the stairs moments later, rubbing at his eyes like a sleepy child and she just wanted to pull him into her arms and run her fingers through his hair until he fell back asleep. He pecked her lips softly when he reached the bottom of the stairs, but killed it when he called her a “breakfast tyrant.”

Y/N followed him back into the kitchen and watched him plop his still sleepy body into one of the high chairs at their kitchen island in front of his plate and his favorite mug that read “Coffee has a rough time in our house. It gets mugged every single morning!” She hooked an arm around his shoulders and slid herself onto his lap, sipping on her coffee as she waited for his opinion on his breakfast.

“It’s always better when you make it,” he smiled at her and pressed an eggy kiss to her cheek.

“You always say that,” she smirked back at him, only causing his smile to grow. “Oh, I almost forgot. Alexa, resume music.” He gave her a faux frustrated stare as he recognized what song she had been playing.

“And when we go crashing down, we come back every time, 'cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style!” rang out from the small speaker on their counter and she laughed so hard she would have slipped off his lap if his arm wasn’t wrapped firmly around her waist.

“How long are you going to hold onto that and bring it up?”

“Until it’s not funny anymore,” she used his own words from this morning against him with a cheeky smile.

“You are so lucky I love you so much.”

“And I love you more,” she mumbled against his lips, bringing her smirk with her into their kiss.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!! REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK MEAN THE WORLD!!!! If you enjoyed this you can support a broke college kid here :)

[a-pretty-nerd]

Self Indulgent Shigaraki Nonsense Part...6??

Tomura Shigaraki x Pregananant reader series

A/N: Dude I'm not even close to being done, I really love writing this series. It's a whole lot of fun to see Shigaraki have a normal domestic life with the reader. Like damn. I'm thinking of writing a one-shot where the reader doesn't keep the pregnancy and its reader and Shigaraki going through the motions of that in their relationship because I'd like some more diverse fanfic out there. Let me know what you think!

Warnings: Descriptions of childbirth. If you want you can honestly skip this part.

Your contractions started early in the morning. Around 2am you felt the familiar cramp in your stomach that pulsed. At first, you thought it was another false alarm. You had been having a lot lately, but they just kept coming. They weren't long, and they weren't super painful yet either. They just made you tense and pause for breath. You shuffled out of the bathroom and looked over to the sleeping form in your bed.

There the father slept peacefully. You gazed upon his gentle features tucked underneath layers of scaring. You had wondered if the baby would take after him. If they would have that cute little beauty mark on his chin. You suddenly realized You'd be finding out soon enough. You laid back down beside him and closed your eyes in an attempt to get a few more hours of sleep before you had to prepare.

Mostly everything had been prepared beforehand. Your Midwife, a kind woman by the name of Mae would be on call at all times. Once contractions started getting regular, you were to call her. Apparently, Mae was well known amongst villain and crime families. When Tomura first brought her, you were surprised there was even such a thing as a Villian Midwife. But the more you thought about it, the more it made sense. Underground villains and criminals needed their own help. Accountants, lawyers, employees, etc. With Villians becoming more and more popular, it was no surprise that you weren't the only villain family.

Mae was a professional, the best at her craft. She'd delivered hundreds of babies without issue and you would be her next case. She practically took over the house with everything she did. Helping to put together a nursery and everything you could have ever needed. You decided on natural water birth. Something that made Shigaraki unreasonably nervous. If anything went wrong, he was prepared to call every villain doctor he knew of. Hell, he'd send for you to be airlifted to the nearest hospital if necessary.

The pain woke you up again. The intense ache coursing through your body. You let out a strained breath as you sat up in bed. Your partner jumping to life with a jolt. You chuckled through the pain when you saw his wide-eyed expression.

"You okay?" He asked, his wide eyes filled with concern. You've never seen him so visibly worried before. So doting. You continued to laugh as the pain passed.

"Yeah it's just, the contractions, they're getting worse." You took deep breaths as you sat up in bed. Resting your head against a tower of pillows. Tomura sat up to get a better look at you.

"Should I call Mae?"

"Um...no I don't think that's necessary yet."

"Have they been regular?"

"Well, every ten or so minutes."

"I'm calling Mae." He turned away to get up and reach for his phone before you stopped him.

"No! Not yet. I can wait. I don't wanna bother her." His expression turned dark.

"I'm calling Mae." He ignored you, leaving the room to call the midwife. You huffed in frustration. Really, you felt fine. It was like a bad period cramp. There was no need to panic. "She'll be here in thirty minutes. I'm preparing the tub."

"No, Tomura wait, please. That's not necessary. I'm not even remotely close yet. Just hold on a few more hours." Tomura looked away and back down the hallway. He shifted from side to side before entering the room again and sitting on the edge of the bed beside you. His eyes glued to your thighs. He reached out a gloved hand and placed it on your knee, running his hand up and down your thigh.

"Don't try to tough this out." He told you.

"I won't." His eyes shot up to give you a knowing look.

"You need to tell me if anything goes wrong. If anything feels even the slightest bit off."

"I will. I promise." You reassured him. Bringing your hand to grasp his. He pulled his eyes away to look down at your hand and squeeze back.

"This is really what you want? It's not too late, Mae could bring it to be adopted. We could go home." Tears filled your eyes. No. You've come so far, done so much to prepare. You're not giving them up now. You shook your head.

"No. I can't do that. I've come too far for that now. That isn't my home anymore." You tore your hand from his to cup his cheek. When you looked back up, you could see tears forming in his ruby-red eyes. He looked scared. His bottom lip starting to quiver. "You are." You told him. He let out a defeated sigh and rested his head against your belly.

"You better not hurt her. You hear me? You better be good to her." He whispered. Your tears finally fell down your warm cheeks. You quickly wiped them away. You loving ran your fingers through his hair, petting his head. The sweet moment only to be interrupted by the sharp pain of another contraction.

"Fuck!" You cursed as your hand tightly grasped his shoulder. His attention snapped up to you, tears running down his face as he watched. Soon the pain passed as you took deep breaths. "Do you think, you could time my contractions for me?" You asked as it eased.

And so the hours upon hours of labor began. At first, Mae recommended you stand and move around to lessen the intensity of your pain. So now Tomura watched you shuffle around the house as you groaned and cursed. He timed every contraction, put the blow-up pool together, and set up towels by it, made you raspberry leaf tea because he read somewhere that was helpful.

He counted the seconds until Mae arrived. When the doorbell rang he promptly stood from his seat on the couch and quickly went to open the door. There stood the short old woman with a large smile plastered across her face. Her six arms holding a plethora of bags and boxes of necessities and pleasantries. She left one hand free just to greet him with a wave. He looked behind to watch the car with his own men drive away, and then again around the yard.

"Don't worry. There's no one but me, honey." Mae reassured as she pushed past him and into the house. You watched her waddle in as a contraction began to fade. Her attention leaving Tomura far behind and devoting it entirely to you. You watched Tomura grunt before looking back out the door to check one more time before closing and locking it. "I mean really, think about it. What woman in her right mind would use this time of all times to call the heroes on you. How cruel would I be!" She chuckled as she set her things down.

"You'd be a fool not to. A time like this would be perfect. We're alone and vulnerable." He growled behind her.

"And end my career just like that? No sir! I've worked too hard to get where I am just to let you dust me! Now let's see, you said on the phone contractions were regular?"

"Oh, well, not really. They're not that bad. Maybe every fifteen, ten minutes, give or take. Right?" You looked up at Tomura as he starred down with a cold expression.

"Her pain varies, but the timing is growing consistent." He corrected. You huffed in annoyance.

"Alright well let me just check the baby's heartbeat before we do anything else, okay? The last visit everything was fine, but we can't be too careful now can we, Dad?" She addressed him. A cold metal stethoscope glided across your skin as she silently listened. "Good, strong heartbeat. Everything looks good right now. Let's keep you active for now and monitoring those contractions, okay? Dad? How are we doing on preparations?" She turned back to look up at Tomura with an unbothered stare. He glared down at her.

"I've prepared the pool and towels. I'll add the warm water when we're getting closer."

"Oh good. That's more than most Dads do. You got a planner here don't ya?" She turned to you and smiled.

"Heh. He's a doomsday prepper." You joked. Tomura did not find this amusing, but Mae gave a kind giggle.

"Well, at least he's smart, huh?" She spoke as she shuffled away and back to her cluster of items. You looked up at Tomura and watched his expression soften as his eyes met yours. You gave him a kind smile.

"Something like that." His eyes narrowed on you for a moment, only to relax again when you chuckled at him.

Contractions came and went. Getting stronger and stronger by the hour. Now they were getting closer and closer. They started at 2am, it was now 9 at night. Tomura helped you undress to get you into the warm water of the pool he placed in the living room. Mae moving furniture aside and setting up her tools and everything as you stepped into the warmth of the bath. It allowed your tense muscles to relax, forcing a moan of relief from your lungs. Tomura knelt down behind you, his gloved hands never too far behind.

He watched you closely, all of his attention focused entirely on you. His right hand reaching out to rub soothing circles across your bare back. You closed your eyes shut as you groaned, another contraction grabbing ahold of you.

"That's it, good job. Don't forget your breathing, focus on your breathing. Dad, don't forget to do the breathing too." His eyes flashed up at Mae before going back to you.

"C'mon Y/N, breath with me." He instructed, his hand coming around to lay flat against your chest as you laid back against the pool. He felt your chest rise and fall with each deep breath. "Good. Again." He continued firmly. Another contraction struck, sending a jolt of pain throughout your entire body. You coiled back in pain, your face scrunching into a painful grimace.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck!"

"Okay! Okay! Let's check you again see how far you're along okay!? Just breath."

"Just breath." He repeated.

"I'm breathing! I'm breathing!" You shouted back in frustration.

"Okay we're getting close you guys, we might be ready to push here in a few minutes." You panted as the pain subsided again. Tomura's attention came back down on Mae.

The birth itself felt like a pain-fueled blur. An intoxicatingly painful bender of sounds and colors. You couldn't focus or think straight, the pain rattling your head in your own skull. He watched you bark and huff and cry out. Something he knew very well. For a moment it took him back to the long and painful Dr's visits. The pain so unimaginable he grows hot with rage at the idea you might be feeling even an ounce of pain at all. Pain he caused.

You swung your head back to plant it firmly on his shoulder, your hair wet with sweat and water. He holds your hand tight, willingly letting you crush it with your own strength. It's nothing to him. He presses his lips into your temple. Wishing with all his might he could go back in time and change things. You're panting, you're body is growing weak, your hand is losing its grasp. Your shoulders are relaxing. No. No. This isn't right. You're not supposed to be this weak now!

"Almost!" Mae's voice shouts with gusto. He rests his head against yours before he lets out a weak and exhausted sigh. His voice rattles in a sad and begging tone.

"C'mon Y/N. You're so close." He says softly. Your body coils back as he feels your muscles spring to life once again. Your lungs filling with air before you let out a shrill, horrific battle cry. Only for it to abruptly be replaced by another. Your body drops limp in his arms once more as he feels you panting. Mae gives a triumphant cheer and proceeds to tell you how well you've done. How it's all over.

"Hello, little one!" The old lady chimes brightly. Tomura keeps his eyes shut tight as he presses his head against yours. He hears their loud, harsh cry. He knows it's over. He knows there is no going back. Once he opens his eyes and looks at them, at that little monstrosity, it'll be all over. Maybe you'll see the truth when you see it. Maybe you'll finally understand and come home with him once and for all.

"Both of you, open your eyes! Look at him!" Mae orders. The harsh and intense pain subsided, left with a dull ache, renders you exhausted. You hardly feel you have the strength to open your eyes, much less move. You pull your head up, feeling the weight of it on top of your neck. Heavy and pounding. You pull your eyelids apart to look down, your vision blurry at first. The harsh light blinding you for a moment before the shapes you see sharpen and become reality.

"Tomura, look." You whisper. His hand squeezes yours, he's gently shaking. You turn to watch him slowly open his eyes, and turn his head. In Mae's arms, a rather small and wrinkly infant cries. It's nearly blue skin, changing as it screams. Its face quickly becoming red with expression. It's no monster. It's weak and helpless and unaware. It's so small, it's half the height of his forearm. Its little hands, balled into fists, swat at the air as its legs coil back to its torso.

"Say hello!" Mae jokes. With a weak smile and laugh you oblige.

"Hello!" You coo. Tomura relaxes as you look back at him with a kind and elated smile. His gaze never leaves the child as Mae prepares him to be placed on your bare chest. Its crying soon subsides as it curls up under your chin. It's crying being replaced with little huff and sniffles from you. He leans back and away to watch the two of you.

He's in shock it would seem. As he sits back to watch you, he feels a tightness in his chest. He feels a wave of somber relief wash over him. His thoughts were gone only replaced my emotions.

"Dad?" Mae calls to him. "Dad?" She calls again. The third time he turns his head to look at her with a wide-eyed expression. She chuckled at him. "Would you like to cut the cord?" She offers, bringing him closer and instructing him how. He does so, quickly turning his attention back to the two of you. You look so peaceful. So happy. His gaze trails down to his child.

He watches his balled little fists press themselves against your chest, its expression turning relaxed and calm. Its little head covered in a rich black mess of hair. What color are its eyes? He wonders.

You turn your head to look up at him with that sweet adoring smile. His heart raced in his chest. He is overwhelmed and yet at this moment, nothing is happening. Time has slowed and has become irrelevant to him. The way you look at him. He feels like he's done something right. Like he's being praised for a job well done. He feels wrong about it. He should be making you feel that way. So, he tries.

"A boy?" His voice is hoarse and shaking. You nod your head. "A boy."

"A healthy one at that! Those lungs!" Mae jokes again as her arms go about working to clean and manage the space. You gently run the pads of your fingers against his small little back. His skin is so soft and smooth.

"Give me your hand." You requested.

"What?" He spat in shock.

"Give me your hand." You repeat firmly, your fingers gently spelling out the word: Mom, on his little back. Tomura reaches out a gloved hand. You reached out and removed the glove, taking his middle finger and gently directing it to the baby's back. "Gently." You tell him. Pressing the pad of his finger to his son's soft back. With this, you gently spell: Dad, repeatedly. Until he understands and continues to spell it himself along the baby's back. Very careful, and delicate. Tomura rests his head on your shoulder as he continues, slowly drawing the word. Allowing for a safe and intimate moment between the three of you.

[costellos]

a/n: I almost titled this “the things they do exclusively for their partner” but “the ways they say ‘I love you’” has a much sweeter ring to it :’) anyway, this wasn’t a suggestion! just something fun to take my mind off of work for the evening. enjoy!

tw: none.

disclaimer: I’m anime-only, so apologies if my character interpretations aren’t accurate!

❥ ┋ ❝ gojo, nanami, itadori, fushiguro & the ways they say “I love you!”

gojo satoru.

Gojo says “I love you” by always texting you first.

talk to any of the faculty at the school and they’ll tell you that Gojo is awful at responding to texts. even after sending him a calendar invite for meetings a week in advance, he still manages to be 20 minutes late. and it’s not that he doesn’t check his phone — no, quite the contrary. it’s just that in this day and age, with notifications pinging every five minutes, he gets distracted quite easily. Gojo simply likes to focus on whatever’s on his mind at that moment.

which since you started dating, so happens to be you. every day at 3:30 PM, right after the final bell rings, you feel your phone vibrate in your back pocket.

sometimes it’s texts asking how your day was. other times it’s little messages about his thinking of you. most of the time it’s stupid memes he stumbled upon that day. ↳ satoru🤍 said: hey hey hey check out this new video that’s been going around.

he always checks in on you when he’s on work trips. he likes sending you pictures of the places he visited that day. opening your Insta DMs is always a gamble, though. there are two types of pictures waiting for you: a snapshot of a pretty sunset, captioned “thinking of you!” or a dumb selfie.

your favorite interaction was from when he travelled to the U.S. for work. your phone rang just minutes after you woke up for the day, with Gojo there to say good morning. it sounds mundane, but what made it special was that he was almost 12 hours behind you. it was easily past his bedtime when you picked up. when you asked what warranted the call, he said (as if it was the simplest answer in the world): ↳ “don’t laugh, but... I wanted you to be the last person I talked to for the night. it makes my day feel complete.”

nanami kento.

Nanami says “I love you” by spending most of his free time with you.

he’s the kind of person who prizes his time above everything else. hell, part of that is embedded in his personal binding vow. he spends so much of his day at work, completing mind-numbing tasks, that being alone is his safe space. it’s where he can escape from Gojo the headaches around him. 

you knew that before entering a relationship with him. anytime you had asked what his plans for the weekend were, joking if he’d go out and party, he’d reply that he would be spending it alone matter-of-factly. 

to be honest, you were a little worried that your relationship would see him prizing his free time above you, but... you were pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case.

in fact, not a lot of your time is spent at home. Nanami enjoys showing you his favorite spots around Tokyo. they’re all places that are so him: neatly-organized yet eclectic bookshops, trendy yet affordable restaurants. he’s not as much of a homebody as you took him for.

and it’s something that he shares with you and only you. Gojo’s tried inviting himself on more than one occasion, to which Nanami quickly shuts down. ↳ “I’m not being callous, [Name]. I’m acknowledging what's fact: there was never a chance he would come with us. this is our time together.”

but not all of your time has to be spent actively. Nanami just enjoys being in your company. you could be in the same room, doing your own thing, and he would be perfectly content with that. ↳ “you’re one of the few people I don’t get exhausted of. everything we do together is time well-spent... I, ah- hope you feel the same.”

itadori yuji.

Itadori says “I love you” by including you in everything he does.

he moves fast and he moves without thinking. outside of his promise to his grandfather, Itadori is someone who runs by his own code. he hates being bound in; after all, rules were meant to be broken. it doesn’t help that his life only lasts as long as the search for Sukuna’s 20 fingers. 

hence, he likes following whatever catches his attention first. typically it’s some new movie out in theaters, where he can sit down and enjoy for two hours, only to read more about it on IMDB. he hyperfixates from one thing to another, his interests ever-changing.

he normally does this by himself. it’s easier this way; he can focus on his interests at his own pace. that is, until he starts dating you.

Itadori includes you in everything. it doesn’t matter if it’s his two-week obsession for convenience store sushi or the Marvel cinematic universe. he wants you to be there for it all. ↳ “did you know Chris Evans had to wear a fake chin for the end-credits scene in the first Avengers? ...hey, do you think I’d look good with a fake chin?”

he can go on and on and on about his interests. and you don’t mind — he knows you don’t. that’s why he shares them so willingly. you don’t judge him or tell him to shut up. you absorb everything he has to say, smile on your lips, with questions at the ready. 

you’re his better half, the person who’s there to weigh in on every bad idea he’s had. which, unfortunately, varies in intensity. “bad idea” can mean his getting a mullet or facing off against a grade 1 cursed spirit without help. ↳ “I never really felt like I had control of anything. but when I’m with you, things feel... easier. does that make sense?”

fushiguro megumi.

Fushiguro says “I love you” by accepting your clinginess.

he’s so hard to read. for the longest time, you assumed that Fushiguro only saved Itadori to avoid complicating paperwork, not out of the goodness of his heart. likewise, you took him for an avid cook after he made you meatballs. you didn’t learn the truth until Panda explained it was actually Itadori’s recipe; that this was Fushiguro's dumb attempt to impress you.

that’s why you’re so cautious at the beginning of your relationship. you don’t want to step on his toes. the last thing you’d want to be is a burden. so you keep your issues and your hands to yourself. ↳ “[Name]. knock it off. I know you’re holding yourself back when you’re with me. just... act like yourself, okay?”

he tells you that two weeks into your relationship. caught red-handed, it seems. it’s almost unfair how well he can read you, and you... just can’t do the same.

but you relent. you start by venting to him about the minutiae in your day-to-day life. and surprisingly, he’s not terrible at comforting you. he listens and offers simple advice. when that doesn’t cut it, you find your favorite dessert on your desk later in the day.

you try testing how far you can go by holding his hand in public. Fushiguro hates it when people touch him without his permission. you’re scared to see how he’ll react and... he glances at you for a moment, shoulders stiff, before turning back ahead of him. his cheeks are pink but he doesn’t stop you. 

in fact, he doesn’t stop you from doing anything. he honestly does want you to rely on him. because between you and me, he’s awful at expressing the more vulnerable parts of himself. doing these little things for you is the best way he can show that he cares. ↳ “what? of course you can stay for another hour. err— actually, do you want to just spend the night? no reason, it’s late and... I don’t want you walking back at this hour.”

like this piece? here are some similar works! 🌑 🌒 🌓

[since0202]

Taking Time—Twenty Three

Summer skin

If you look long and hard enough into the dark, your eyes form shapes to make sense of the unknown. But whatever shapes they construct tend to cause more fear than what may or may not be there. I haven’t had the dream with the wolf in awhile. Maybe because it was Paul’s secret all along that had been searching me out, telling me the truth before he could. Now I dreamt about being alone in a tall dark forest that was unnaturally quiet. I wished the wolf would show up now, but he doesn’t. My eyes never adjust to the darkness, the shapes just grow and twist into more menacing figures that get closer with every breath.

When Maya woke up the next morning, the bed was empty next to her. Contrary to Paul’s request, Maya had come home around 2 a.m., celebrating every last moment at the summer revival with her friends. When she’d finally dragged herself home in Paul’s forerunner, she half expected him to be in bed, waiting up for her to give her a hard time and then take her beneath him. But the house had been empty.

She rolled over to check her phone and saw a text from Paul that had come in around 3 in the morning.

Paul: I’m out for the night. I’ll try to catch you in the morning. Jared said you’re seeing Kim today. Text me how it goes. Also when I said not too late, I meant before 2 a.m.

Maya smiled, rolling her eyes, and typed a quick message.

M: I will. Missed you last night. I’m taking the car to see Kim today. Is that okay?

Maya opened a text from Kim that had come in early that morning.

Kim: Hey cutie. Want to come in to see me around 10 this morning?

Maya checked the clock. It was just after 9 a.m. She could swing it. When she replied in the affirmative, a swift text from Kim followed.

K: Great! I’ll see you then. Tell them you’re here to see me at the front and I’ll come and grab you.

Maya hauled herself out of bed and quickly showered. After plowing through the top drawer for something suitable. She grimaced, toothbrush in her mouth as she realized she had next to no clothes left over at Paul’s. Would he notice if she started leaving more stuff here considering she was here all the time anyway?

She settled for the shorts she wore yesterday and pulled one of Paul’s white t-shirts over her head, tying it tightly at the waist. After brushing out her hair and hurrying down the stairs, already running late, her phone lit up. A reply from Paul.

P: Yeah, take the car. I’ll be home later this afternoon instead.

Weird. Where was he that he was out all night and all day? She thought about asking him now but decided against it. She wouldn’t get an answer outright via text with him. Maya made the 20 minute drive to Forks hospital and gave the nurse at the front desk her name. Kim popped down a few minutes later and looped Maya’s arm through hers with a bright smile.

When they were tucked into an examination room, Maya felt the uncertainty rising in her.

“Okay,” Kim said, taking a chart out and already jotting down some notes.

“This is a dumb question,” Maya interjected. Kim looked up at her surprised. “My mom isn’t going to find out I’m here is she?” Maya knew she was silly to be worried about this. Her mom had been absolutely fine with her shacking up at Paul’s most nights and she probably assumed that they were having sex, but something in Maya still felt like it needed to be a secret.

“Of course not,” Kim said firmly, “Your 18 and these medical records are yours. Totally private. Promise.”

“Okay, cool,” Maya breathed, loosening her grip on the side of the examination table.

“Alright, so I’m going to ask you some questions that are pretty personal, but they’re important and legally I can’t share this information with anyone. Pack or not.” Kim gave her a reassuring smile. Maya nodded. “Okay, so are you sexually active?”

Maya laughed, “Yes.”

“Thought so. And what form of protection are you currently using?”

“Just condoms.”

“Multiple partners?”

“What?” Maya said, shocked.

“Have you had any other partners?” Kim asked again professionally.

“No. Just..Just Paul. He’s my first.” Maya blushed and she wasn’t sure why.

“Makes things easy,” Kim confirmed. “Okay, before we talk about birth control options, we need to make sure you’re not pregnant. So,” she handed her a cup, “Take this to the bathroom down the hall to provide a sample. Leave it in the little door in the bathroom. I’ll walk you down there.”

As Maya completed the awkward task of peeing in a cup, she hoped beyond hope that she wasn’t pregnant. Other than the first time they had sex, she was pretty sure Paul hadn’t come inside of her. After she deposited her sample, Kim walked her back to the examination room.

“Okay, we should get some results back pretty quickly. But, in the meantime, what kind of birth control were you thinking?” Kim looked at her expectantly. Maya’s mouth fell open. She felt wholly unprepared for this question. She only knew about the pill, but was there more than one?

“Uhh,” Maya stalled. “I don’t…” she faltered and Kim’s gaze softened.

“So, there are a few options for you to choose from: the pill, an IUD, shots that you come in for once every three months, or a patch. Speaking imprint to imprint, I’d recommend the shot or the IUD. Emily was on the pill and Sam still got her pregnant with her second less than a year after their first kid. Jared and I had a couple of scares when I was on the pill but once I got an IUD, we didn’t have to worry anymore. Assume that these idiots have super sperm and plan accordingly.” There was a knock at the door and a nurse handed Kim Maya’s results. She glanced at it quickly and smiled, “Not pregnant.”

Maya let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Thank god.”

“Tell me about it. Do you know how stoked the council would be if you got pregnant at 18?” Kim laughed. Maya quirked her eyebrow at her.

“Wouldn’t they be upset? That would ruin my plans for college.”

“Ahh, no. Remember how aggressive they were about you and Paul having a relationship? Yeah, multiply that times ten when it comes to kids. They want every imprint to have lots and lots of kids. Even Sam and Emily who are on their fourth are being encouraged to have more. It’s insane.” Kim looked truly annoyed by this.

“Didn’t realize they were such advocates for teenage pregnancy,” Maya matched Kim’s energy, her tone annoyed. Her mind flashed back to Chief Black seemingly threatening her to re-establish her relationship with Paul and she felt a chill rush through her.

“Oh yeah, the earlier you start the more kids you’re likely to have. I swear to god, the second Jared and I turned 18, Elder Mila was like all over me about having kids. It doesn’t stop.”

“Gross,” Maya looked at Kim now, “I’m sorry they’re on you about it. Your life is important, with or without kids.”

Kim smiled, a little sad and nodded, “Jared’s with me on the kid front. We definitely want them, but when I’m ready. And so far, I haven’t been so.. Fuck em.” She laughed and Maya was a little taken aback by her honesty. She wanted to know Kim better—all of the imprints—since they shared a singular defining feature between them: they had all been chosen and deeply loved by a member of the pack.

“Anyway,” Kim breathed out, “What are you thinking then?”

“Definitely the IUD,” Maya said.

“That’s what I was going to recommend. If Paul is anything like Jared, he most definitely will not want to keep wearing condoms because they’re big babies about it.” Kim made a note on her chart and then stood up saying, “Great, I’ll get the attending OB in and she’ll get you squared away!”

“Thanks Kim...so much, really. You’re a lifesaver,” Maya said, relieved.

“Anytime babe. You should come by Emily’s more often. We usually hang there on the weekends if the guys are out doing rounds. Just swing by, the door’s always open.” Kim gave her a hug and Maya agreed that she would.

After thirty traumatic minutes with the OB inserting her IUD and snapping it into place, Maya left the Forks hospital lighter than she came in. When her phone lit up as she climbed into Paul’s car, she was surprised to see the number that popped up: Sadie. She answered right away.

“Hey!” Maya couldn’t control the weird excitement in her voice. She could tell Sadie was smiling when she answered.

“Hey Maya! Uh, weird question. Do you want to grab some lunch with me today?”

“Absolutely! What time?”

“I just got out of class, so want to meet at the diner on Main at about noon?”

“Sure!” She was thrilled.

“Great! I’ll see you there.” Sadie sounded equally pleased.

After they hung up, Maya made a beeline for her house to change and gather some things to keep at Paul’s before making her way to the diner to meet her. She hugged Sadie, who stood up to greet her when she entered the diner, a textbook laying open on the table next to two iced teas.

“Thanks so much for meeting me on such short notice. I felt like I barely got to talk to you the other day,” Sadie said, a smile stretched across her heart shaped face.

“Of course! I’m honestly so glad you called.” They sat down across from one another in the cozy diner booth and a waitress was over to take their orders shortly.

The two immediately descended into easy conversation about school, family, plans, life, the whole gambit. After thirty minutes, Maya felt like she had known Sadie all of her life and she held nothing back.

“Paul’s been out all day and all night on rounds. It’s kind of odd,” Maya said between bites of her chicken santa fe salad.

“Mmm, I mean they do them all the time. I feel like I’ve barely spent a full night with Seth in over a month,” Sadie replied.

“Wait… how long have you and Seth been together?!” Maya said surprised.

“Let’s see. He technically imprinted back in February, I think? And we officially got together in early March.” she confirmed. Maya’s mouth dropped open and Sadie looked taken aback, “What?”

“Paul literally just told me the DAY I met you that Seth imprinted.” She couldn’t believe it.

“What!? I knew about you like right after Seth and I got together. Do you not see Paul a lot or something?” Sadie asked. Maya prickled a little.

“We see each other almost everyday…” True. Things had been a little rocky for them at the start, but Maya was starting to suspect that maybe Paul didn’t share a lot of info with her about the pack as maybe other members did with their imprints. Was that intentional? She wondered.

“It’s probably nothing. Seth said Paul tries to be pretty private about you two, so maybe he just focuses on you and not weird pack politics when he’s with you,” Sadie shrugged, “I did think it was a little weird though that a Beta’s imprint wasn’t like...second in command to Emily or something.” Sadie let out a laugh and when she saw the crestfallen look on Maya’s face she immediately corrected and apologized, “Oh my god, Maya. No. I’m sorry that came out wrong.”

“What do you mean...beta?” Maya said. She had remembered Becks saying something like that when Keye had first told her about Paul being a shifter.

“He really hasn’t told you anything?” Sadie asked in a small voice. Maya stared at her and shook her head slowly. “Weird. Okay, well from my very limited outside understanding, Sam is the alpha of the pack. And Paul is his second in command—the beta. But since Sam started having more kids, his attention has been more divided and Paul has kind of taken the reins on a lot of pack stuff. As far as I know, he organizes protection rounds, is Sam’s stand in a lot of the time, and can give alpha orders if absolutely necessary. Alpha orders seem like a really really big deal according to how Seth describes them—they like physically cannot ignore them they’re so strict. But I don’t think they really use them much anymore.”

“So...he’s like in charge?” Maya said. Sadie shrugged.

“Most of the time. Sam is still a very active member of the pack, but for the most part, it sounds like Paul handles rounds. Runs a pretty tight ship. He seems like a dude who likes to be in control,” Sadie looked up at Maya seriously.

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Maya thought she had faced the brunt of Paul’s controlling behavior, but maybe it didn’t even come close. “Does Seth like to keep tabs on you all the time?”

“What do you mean?” Sadie genuinely asked.

“Like, does he need to know where you are all the time and get agitated if he doesn’t?”

“Mmm, not really. I mean, Seth kind of knows where I am anyway. They can sense their imprints if they’re pretty nearby and we have the most recognizable scent to them. But no...he doesn’t ask where I am all the time. Is Paul pretty protective?”

“Yeah, like desperately so. To be fair, I have taken off a couple of times and had some close calls, but he does hold on pretty tightly.”

“Do you mind it though?” Maya thought about Sadie’s question for a moment and then with a breath of release she said,

“I don’t think I do. I kind of love that about him. But that might just be the imprint telling me to like it.” She laughed and fell silent for a second.

“Or, you just love him.” Sadie said simply. Maya’s eyes shot to meet hers.

“What?!” Genuine shock colored her voice.

“You’re...you’re in love with him aren’t you?” Sadie said unsure now. Maya paused, opening and closing her mouth.

“I….I don’t know,” she finally said. Sadie looked at her a little sad and grabbed her hand across the table. “I probably should,” Maya choked out, taking a sip of tea to quench her suddenly dry throat. Did all imprints instantly love their imprinters? Was there something wrong with Maya? She cared for Paul so much, wanted him around her all of the time, and was excited to be with him, but everything still felt so new. “Are you in love with Seth?”

“Absolutely.” Sadie said without missing a beat. And she meant it too.

“Oh,” Maya said in a small voice.

“Everyone moves at their own pace,” Sadie said matter-of-factly.

“Right,” Maya replied after another gulp, “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Wolf-related or not?” Sadie smiled and Maya forged ahead:

“What is something I probably don’t know about the pack, seeing as Paul literally tells me nothing?”

“Hmmm, well, they can hear each other’s thoughts when they’re in wolf form. See each other's memories, all that.”

“WHAT?!” Maya said a little too loudly. Sadie nodded her head and continued,

“ Yeah, I’m honestly surprised Paul has so much self control over his thoughts about your guys’ relationship. Seth said he keeps a pretty tight lid on stuff. Every member of the pack has definitely seen me naked in Seth’s mind at this point,” she let out a laugh and shook her head, “Oh well, comes with the territory.”

“You mean...they can see..”

“Yeah. Everything. And knowing those freaks, they don’t really hide a lot of the details. Maybe that’s where Paul’s protective streak comes in handy though. Mr. Control won’t let anyone see his imprint naked if his life depends on it,” Sadie giggled and Maya went a little red before joining in.

“I had no idea…”

“You should ask him about this stuff. Honestly, it’s super weird he hasn’t filled you in before this. But maybe he just didn’t want to overwhelm you?” Sadie suggested.

“Maybe...” Maya was determined to ask him now. He had said previously that he just wanted their relationship to be just the two of them before the wolf stuff got introduced. But now that she was a part of the fold, she just thought he’d tell her everything she needed to know. Apparently not.

After another hour of chatting, Maya hugged Sadie goodbye and they promised to get together again this weekend at Emily’s. She checked her phone and like clockwork, there was Paul.

Paul: Did you have fun with Sadie?

She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew given the information that Sadie had spilled but still, she let out a laugh of astonishment.

M: Stalker much? Yes, I did. It was very enlightening.

P: You don’t say. I’m headed home soon. Meet me there.

M: Okay, on my way.

He never asked, he just told her to do things, but Maya found it easy to oblige. She felt that familiar pang in her stomach at the distance from him and desperately wanted to see him soon.

When she pulled up to the house and grabbed her duffel bag out of the back seat, she felt the pain ebb in her stomach. Maybe that was what Sadie had been referring to when she said imprints could sense each other.

Maya unlocked and pushed the door open, slipping out of her shoes and leaving her stuffed duffel bag by the stairs.

“Paul?” she called out. Silence. Must not be back yet. She walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge to pour herself a glass of water and popped herself up to sit on the counter, swinging her legs like a little kid. A few minutes later, she heard the front door open and her body filled with relief. The old saying was true: you never really know what you’ve got until it’s gone...even temporarily. Paul rounded the corner to the kitchen and seeing Maya perched on the counter, a smile washed over his face and he let out a noise of satisfaction, striding over to her instantly. He set a stack of mail he had gathered in the space beside her and immediately dug his hands under her shirt, holding firmly to her waist to satiate his need for skin contact. His lips were on hers in a hungry kiss and Maya crashed against him, letting her body push against his bare chest as her arms wrapped around his neck.

After a few breathless moments where they reconnected to one another, Paul’s hands pressing and squeezing around her waist and lower back, Maya leaned back to look at him.

“Where have you been?” she pouted only a little bit, but it pulled a light laugh from Paul.

“Pack stuff, no big deal,” he dismissed. Maya irked a little at this. “Come take a shower with me.”

“I already took a shower today,” she protested as he slid her off the counter, his hands grabbing her ass. He lowered his head to kiss her forehead and around her face.

“Fine, a bath then,” he nodded toward the bathroom off the kitchen that held an oversized tub that Maya always wanted to try.

“Mmm, I’m good,” Maya pushed back, pressing her hands to his chest and setting space between them. Paul raised an eyebrow at her. “Take a shower and then come tell me about your night,” she offered instead, pulling out of his arms and walking toward the staircase.

“Did I do something?” Paul asked as Maya leaned over to grab her duffel bag.

“No! Not at all.” Maya was only being a little defiant, but she could tell that the itch to control things was pulling at Paul.

“What’s in the bag?” he asked as he walked up and grabbed it off her shoulder, pulling her up the stairs with him. Maya let him.

“Some clothes, I was running out of things to wear here that wasn't just sleep stuff, and I was hoping I could keep some things here...just as backup.” Maya said tentatively. She wasn’t sure why she felt shy all of the sudden. Paul set the duffel bag on the bed and turned toward her putting her face in his broad hands.

“I’d prefer you keep all of your stuff here if I’m being honest.” Maya let a little gasp escape her and he leaned down to kiss her gently. “Clear out whatever space you need and let me know if I should build an extra dresser. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said shortly before turning to the bathroom. Maya stood frozen in place with whiplash. Paul had this uncanny ability to be overwhelmingly sweet that made her lose her breath and then pulling away just when she wanted more. She thought about joining him in the shower for a moment just to please him and see that aching smile on his face, but instead she unzipped her duffel bag and started unpacking some things in his closet and shuffling things in his drawers to fit her stuff in.

She had only unpacked half her bag when she stopped, hands on her hips. She was definitely going to need her own dresser. Maya heard the shower turn off and Paul emerged, gorgeous and hair dripping with a soft towel around his waist. She looked over her shoulder at him and said softly, “I think I am going to need you to build me a dresser.” He came up behind her and kissed along her shoulder.

“Whatever you want,” he said in her ear. It made her shiver. “Why are you still dressed?” He asked seriously, his hands pulling at her shirt. Maya smiled and turned in his grasp as he pulled her shirt up over her head. He unsnapped her bra quickly and filled his wide hands with each breast. Maya reveled at how neatly they fit in his grasp and has he ran his thumbs over each of her nipples, he lowered his head to bite gently at her lower lip before pressing his lips to her neck. Maya unfastened her shorts and shimmied out of them, followed quickly by her underwear. Paul had backed her up so that she was pressed against the wall. Her hands pulled at the towel at his waist and she took him in her hand.

“Let me grab a condom,” he breathed in her ear. Maya wrapped her arm around his neck and shook her head, pulling him close.

“You don’t have to,” she was rubbing him against her now and his hands had slipped to tightly grab her ass. A small smile played at his lips as he looked down at her.

“Oh?” he said, she nodded enthusiastically and he lifted her up, pressing her to the wall and entering her fast. She let out a startled cry and let him fall into a fast and easy rhythm between her legs, letting out little moans and cries that egged him on. That hard and desperate look was back in his face now and as he spun her off the wall and dropped her on the bed to finish her there, Maya kept her eyes locked on him. Paul pounded into her fast, lowering his mouth to hers and nibbling at her neck. When he reached is end, he pulled back to look at her and said in a loud breathy voice, “Fuck, Maya!” before thrusting into her deeply and finishing inside of her.

The feeling of it, much like the first time they had sex, was unlike any other time. Maya shuddered in overwhelming release and felt her body exhale. She had never felt more complete than in this moment and when Paul slowly eased out of her, she let out a sigh so sweet that he cupped a hand to the side of her face and pressed his forehead to hers saying, “I love you so goddamn much, My.”

Maya let out an elated giggle and tilted her head forward to kiss him softly before he rolled off of her, his arm draped across her stomach.

“You must be exhausted,” she said, turning toward him and placing a hand softly on his face. His eyes were closed and he was catching his breath.

“Yeah,” he breathed, “Do you need anything? I was going to take a nap for a few hours before I head out.”

Maya’s eyes pulled over his closed face. “You’re leaving again?” she said softly. He opened his eyes now and pulled her a little closer.

“Yeah, I have to run rounds again,” he said nonchalantly.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were Beta?” Maya said suddenly. She hadn’t meant to ask this question. She knew he needed to sleep, but something in her pulled it out of her. Paul turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand.

“Didn’t seem important.” he grabbed her wrist now and pulled it off his face to rest on his shoulder.

“Well, how was I supposed to know that I was the imprint of the second in command if you didn’t tell me? What if I had like...duties or something?” Maya was grasping at straws here. Paul gave her an amused look that said she was being silly.

“Do...do you have duties I’m unaware of?” Paul said, the teasing clear in his voice. Maya pouted again.

“I mean...no, but I would have liked to be in the loop a bit more. Sadie’s been an imprint for less time than me, but she seems to know way more. I had no idea you ran the show when Sam was away or about the wolf telepathy thing—”

“Ah fuck, she told you about that?!” Paul seemed genuinely irritated. He stood up now and dug through his drawers for a pair of briefs. Maya sat up, acutely aware of him dripping from between her thighs now. She quickly made her way to the bathroom and cleaned herself up before re-emerging and donning some sleep shorts and fitted tank top that didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Was she not supposed to tell me or something? Thanks for not showing my boobs to everybody.” Maya picked up their conversation. Paul snuck past her to brush his teeth and then sunk back into bed, pulling her with him.

“The general rule is that the imprinter gets to tell their imprint stuff when they’re ready. I didn’t share all this shit with you right away because...we were still getting to know each other and I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. For as long as possible.” He had her tucked into his side and Maya could tell sleep was going to over take him soon.

“Fair. But I would really like it if you started to share more stuff with me….Paul?” she said softly. But he was gone. Maya settled in on his chest and let herself drift off for a little bit.

Maya woke up an hour later in the cool room. Clouds had rolled in and a storm was rumbling just offshore. Paul was fast asleep and Maya gently unwound herself from his grasp. She tossed the blanket at the bottom of his bed over him and padded softly downstairs.

After a few hours, Paul stumbled down the stairs rubbing his eyes. He’d thrown on a shirt and some pants and when he came into the kitchen, Maya was finishing up the stir fry she had made him for dinner.

“Hey,” she said with a smile as he walked in and immediately came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her shoulder.

“Smells good,” he said as he yawned. Maya reached her hand up behind her to touch the stubble on his jaw as he ran his fingers tips lightly across her stomach.

“Good, should be done here in just a minute.”

“Thank you,” he said softly, kissing on her neck a minute and pulling a soft sound of satisfaction from Maya’s throat before letting go of her to sort through the mail on the counter. Maya scooped some stir fry into bowls for them and carried it to the table. She uncovered the dumplings she had prepared earlier and sucked some sauce off her thumb.

“This is for you,” he said, handing her an envelope. Maya, surprised, took it tentatively from his hand.

“For me?!” Maya turned over the envelope that was hand addressed. “Who’s sending me mail here?” She opened it and sat down at the table. When she opened the envelope and pulled out the folded paper, something fell out onto the table. Paul sat in the chair across from her digging into his stir fry. “What is…” Maya picked up the familiar black card and turned it over in her hand. She was confused for a moment and then saw her name printed in neat letters on the bottom of the card.

“Paul what is this?” she looked up at him in shock and between mouthfuls of food, he said casually.

“It’s a graduation present.”

“What?!” She looked back down at the card, “Is this? Did you? What…” She looked back up at him and he shrugged.

“It’s easier than giving you my card all the time and I’d feel better knowing you always have money if you need it.”

“Paul this is….way too much,” she looked down at the card again.

“You always say that.” Paul replied, picking up some dumplings and dropping them in his bowl.

“I...I can’t take this,” Maya put it on the table and slid it across to him. Paul stopped eating and looked at her seriously.

“My. Don’t make this hard.” He had a firm look on his face and he pushed the card back to her.

“Paul, this is a fucking black card. With my name on it. I can’t—” Maya tried to push it back but the look on his face stopped her.

“My, I need you to understand this so please hear me when I say this...you’re it for me. Whatever happens, this is it. You’ll always be my responsibility, and I will always take care of you. No matter what. That card has your name on it for a reason. There are no strings attached. I want you to use it to buy whatever you want with it—clothes to keep here, dinner when you’re with your friends, anything. And I really hope you make it easy on me by taking it and saying thank you so that I can have one less thing to worry about.” Maya stared at him for a long time, her mouth slightly open and finally, she placed her hand over the card and took it back.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Paul gave her nod and continued eating. Maya ate slow careful bites, her eyes glued to this man who in all other moments seemed like a closed book, but then did overwhelming things like this that knocked her off her feet. The rain pounded against the back door and Maya’s eyes drifted over to the sound. When she finished eating, Paul stood up and took her bowl from her. They had eaten in tense silence after the black card incident and Maya felt weirdly nervous. Something else seemed to be bothering him and she didn’t know how to get it out of him. Despite the intense connection they shared, Maya still felt brand new to this relationship. And she realized that she almost felt embarrassed by her inexperience.

Paul was her first everything. As she watched him wash the dishes, she itched to get closer to him. She drifted over and wrapped her arms around his abdomen laying her head on his back. He stopped and placed his hand on top of hers. When he turned his body to take her in his arms, she looked up at him.

“I don’t get why you fight me on stuff sometimes,” he said, his voice gentle, all the tension gone. “And why you don’t…” He stopped himself, his hands gripped tightly to her back.

“Why I don’t what?” she asked, her eyes flush with concern.

“Nothing, My. I’m just trying to take care of you. Let me take care you,” he said earnestly. Maya sighed and buried her face in his chest now.

“Fine, but does it have to be a black card?” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

“You weren’t so opposed in Santa Monica. What did you call me? A sugar daddy?” He laughed and Maya felt buffeted by the sound. She looked up at him and smiled.

“Yeah, but this card is mine. My name and everything. That just feels like so much more.” She breathed.

“Let me ask you this...we’re together right?” he said.

“Yeah,” Maya said slowly, watching his face now.

“So that makes you mine right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So think of this as just an extension of that feeling. You’re mine and that means I want to give you everything that I can. Am I allowed to take care of you the way that I want?” his eyes raked over hers and Maya held onto his gaze before she nodded.

“Yes, you are.” She breathed. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss to her lips.

“Then let me.”

“Okay,” she gave in. If this was something he wanted, she could give that to him. Plus, she didn’t have to actually use the card if she didn’t want to. He held her for a moment, her head pressed against his chest as the sound of the rain pummeled the house.

“I gotta go,” he said gently.

“In this?” her grip automatically tightened around his back as if she could make him stay put. “Why?”

“Duty calls,” he said, unwrapping himself slightly from her. “Can you stay here tonight? I don’t want you out in this.”

“I don’t want you out in this,” she retorted. He chuckled and put his hand under her chin so that she was looking up at him.

“I’m a little more durable than you. I’ll try not to be home too late this time,” he kissed her long and slow and when she came up for air he said, “Promise me you’ll stay put tonight.” She didn’t know why he asked this but she agreed to it anyway. At this point, Maya felt like Paul could get her to agree to just about anything.

“Promise.”

Next > >