#but... well... full offence for no one questioning it

[bruhstories]

decompress

summary: you and silco are business partners pairing: silco x afab!reader warnings: minors dni - swearing, smoking, fingering, lil handjob, unprotected p in v, creampie, some fluff. w/c: 1.6k

a/n: listen, i know this is shit but i need to get back into writing somehow and this is practice. liking and reblogging are heavily encouraged cause i am losing motivation from the lack of interactions lol

Sometimes Silco needed to decompress, to unwind and relax. It wasn't often that he visited you, and every time he did, he swore to never step foot in your establishment again. But you knew better. You knew he always returned. Maybe not in a week, not in a month, but he always came back.

You were a useful tool to him. The owner of the most well-known brothel in Zaun, you always made sure to inform him of anything your girls found out through an effective weapon, one better than guns, blades, or magic — sex. Enforcers, Zaunites, councillors, they all visited your establishment, and they all left breadcrumbs that you pieced up together and sent to Silco. He tried to hire you, but you wanted freedom, and he respected that. He wanted the same for Zaun, and so Silco would've been a hypocrite if he forced you to work for him. Besides, you did him plenty of favours, enough to grant you and your employees independence and protection. It was a partnership that worked perfectly fine.

He entered through the back door, not wanting anyone to spot him visiting a brothel of all places, and he always greeted you the same way — his dagger pressed against your throat, his free hand wrapped around your waist, his breath tickling your ear. It was a power move, one you allowed him to have because you knew he wouldn't hurt you. He needed you in more ways than one.

"Business or pleasure?" You asked him, unable to contain the smile spread on your crimson lips.

"Pleasure." His whisper sent chills down your spine.

You got one of your most trustworthy girls to swap places at the front desk, then lead Silco up the creaky stairs. The corridor was dim and smelled of jasmine and vanilla incense to help your clients relax. At the very end of it was your room, one that Silco was too familiar with. You locked the door after he entered, then slowly untied the knot that held your dress in place, only for him to smack your hands out of the way.

"How many?" "None." You told him, but his fingers dug into your cheeks, forcing you to look at him.

"How many men have you fucked since I last visited you?" Silco clarified, as if you didn't know what he was asking.

"None." You reiterated, manicured fingernails dragging down his chest until they found his belt. "You don't believe me?"

"No, I don't." Silco scoffed, his right eye twitching when he felt your hand palming his cock through black trousers.

"Jealous?" You bit your lip grinning at him.

"Don't mock me." His fingers dug into the plush of your hips, pushing you against the wooden door. "You're nothing but a cheap whore."

"Ouch." You pouted, feigning offence. "I'll let you know I'm an expensive whore."

"And yet I never paid for your... services." Silco's hand trailed up your thigh and you whimpered at his touch.

"That's cause you're my favourite client." You gently unbuttoned his vest, letting it fall on the floor.

"Is that all I am to you, then? A client?"

"Business partner." You corrected yourself. "Better?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he crushed your lips under his while you gripped his silk shirt and tore it open, buttons clattering on the floor. He didn't care — you had spares in your wardrobe for him. Silco yanked a fistful of your hair to look at you, at the smeared lipstick and the eyes full of lust. There was one thing he could never understand.

"Why aren't you disgusted by my face?"

You were taken aback by his question. He wasn't much of a talker during your meetings, unless it was business you discussed. He held your head in place, forcing you to look him in the eye, but you didn't want to look any other way. Your hand reached out, fingers ghosting over his scar.

"There's nothing wrong with your face, Silco. You're beautiful."

"Tsk. Are you saying this as my business partner, or as an expensive whore?" He scoffed.

"As me. I'm saying it as me."

You weren't trying to flatter him, to get under his skin. You were genuine with your answer, and it annoyed him. It was as though Silco almost wanted you to lie to him when you told him he was beautiful. But no, you were honest, and it riled him up, because that meant you weren't afraid of him, that you didn’t loathe him. He pulled you away from the door and bent you over the desk inside your room, but you wriggled and turned around, not once wanting to look anywhere but at him.

"Why can't you hate me?" His elbow pushed your knee away, spreading your legs for him.

The lack of response from you almost confirmed his suspicions — you felt something for him, something more than professionalism. And how could your partnership be professional when violently pulled off your lace underwear, and his fingers rubbed circles over your clit? How could it be professional when he easily slipped his fingers past your slick folds, and you fucked yourself on them? How could there be any ounce of professionalism left when you unzipped his trousers and fisted his cock while he tossed his head back, your name spilling from his lips?

No, there wasn't anything professional anymore.

His tip pushed into you painstakingly slowly, until you arched your back and curled your toes, accidentally pushing away the trinkets on your desk. The rattling sound didn't bother any if you, and you wrapped your legs around Silco's waist, and your arms around his shoulders to feel him closer to you. Skin on skin, soul to soul, the desk squeaked with each thrust, each push and pull, and like magnets, you were drawn to each other.

He nestled his nose into the crook of your neck, taking in your scent — roses, patchouli, and him. You smelled so much like him that it intoxicated his brain worse than shimmer could. He believed you. He believed that you didn't fuck anyone else but him, and as a reward, he thrusted into you faster, deeper, harder, just how you liked it. Just how he liked it.

His name was a prayer on your lips and music to his ears. It didn't sound so good when other spoke it. The way you whispered it was intimate, sensual, loving. You loved him. Truly, you did, and you were willing to give everything up for him if he just asked. But he never did. He only came back to fuck you, never to claim you. And you weren't one to beg. Besides, it was better to have him in your bed, or your desk, than to not have him at all.

Electricity seeped into your veins every time he touched you, and Silco tilted your chin up to once again look into your glossy eyes, eyes he always saw when he closed his. Short black strands of hair framed his face, softening his sharp features, and he was so handsome like that. You were a work of art yourself, with your smeared lipstick, long thick lashes and beads of sweat on your forehead. And he asked again.

"Why can't you hate me?"

Silco used your own weapon against you, because the pure pleasure that bubbled in your core broke down all of your defence mechanisms. You were vulnerable and weak, caught in his web of mind games and power play. You tried to deny it, tried to wriggle your way out of it, but you couldn't. Not anymore.

"I love you."

Eyes squeezed shut, you refused to look at him, ashamed not of the squelching sounds and smell of sex, but of your confession. Love made people weak — weaknesses could be exploited. And you refused to be exploited.

"Good." Silco brutally slammed into you, your words like fuel to his fire. "You took too long."

You blinked once, twice, then stared at him in disbelief. Before your brain could form any thoughts, he kissed you, bruising your lips, and his taste lingered on your tongue when he pulled back — tobacco, whiskey, shimmer. He was the drug you eagerly abused, and you were his. You were entirely his, mind, body and soul.

"Forever." He murmured into your skin. "You’re mine forever."

You could feel he meant every single word. He didn’t have to say he loved you for you to know it, and that was enough to gasp and pathetically moan his name as you reached your climax. Your cunt clenched around him, your fingers almost breaking through his skin from the pressure of your grip to just feel him impossibly closer to you. You were made for each other, even if it was difficult for him to comprehend how or why. He was a broken man, broken beyond repair, beyond salvation, beyond redemption. And you loved him just like that.

His hips stuttered, the frantic thrusts a signal of his climax. You held him in your arms as he eased out of you, leaving you feeling empty, despite his cum dripping down your thigh. Silco sighed, his lean body heavy against yours. The haunting silence in your bedroom was soon broken.

"Marry me." "What?" You did a double take, slightly pushing him away to get a better look of him.

He scoffed, reaching into the drawer under your desk to take a cigar you had ready for him.

"Well, you won’t bloody work for me. Work with me, then." Silco exhaled the thick smoke. "As my equal."

"Very weird way to propose." You chuckled. But what else did you expect from him? He was not an ordinary man. And you were not an ordinary woman.

"Yes or no?" He passed you the cigar, and you took it, then kissed him on his scarred cheek.

"Yes. But you’re doubling my security."

"And you’re moving in."

"Deal."

[hheonki]

ೀ C U GIRL (／＼)

I wanna see you girl I wanna please you girl

Alternatively: Behind the facade of rivalry, You and your bf share a secret romance—full of teasing, stolen moments, and the constant fear of getting caught in school wherein everyone believes you two can’t stand each other.

정원 x gn! reader ✦ est. secret relationship, academic rivals ★ 1.1k ✴︎ oneshot ☘︎ fluff, crack, close proximity, one curse word, Jungwon in love, playful teasing (as kids till now, still dumb)

notiza: lwk inspired by les - childish gambino but steve lacy also works me thinks

The whole school knew the rivalry between you two, but not the kisses and the sweet nothings easily spilling from your mouths, that you shared secretly.

Yang Jungwon did not care if the other students found out about your relationship, he seemed to always be in your space bubble.

More under the cut!

No matter how persistently you told him

“We can't get caught”

He would tune it out and gaze mischievously at your face as he brings up his hands to hold up your cheeks with gentleness and warmth.

Gazing with fondness and adoration as if you'd hung the stars in the sky. Introducing a new world that was once so unknown to him. Now filled with love, affection, tenderness, and soft intimacy.

Even in the classroom as the teacher in the front lecturers about Trigonometric Graphs, sitting across from you, he tries to peep toward your way, only to catch you already staring.

No matter how many times this has already happened it never seemed to change, ending with the both of you flustered and trying to concentrate on the lesson.

After classes, he whisks you away to an empty classroom. Confused, you ask “Aren't you supposed to meet up with your friends?”

“I'll meet up with them after school” Jungwon answers nonchalantly, peeking at you from time to time.

Absent-mindedly, you said “Oh well.. I'm going to work on my homework we got in the morning”.

Taking a seat on the first chair in sight you pulled out your materials.

A pout made itself evident on the boy's face, which seemed to give away he wasn't surprised by your actions.

“You seriously amaze me, everytime I pull you away from everyone's sight, you start doing school stuff”.

Glancing up at him, you squint your eyes, “I mean, what else do you want me to do?” and muttered “What if we get caught while being all lovey dovey, everyone believes we dislike each other..”

“And why's that?” asked the boy with feline like eyes. “We both know it started because of you” with a deadpan expression on your face you simply objected to his challenging question.

“What?” Jungwon drags out the question in disbelief with a frown adoring his face, a hand on his chest in mock offence.

you let out a sigh just at the thought of how annoying he was (still is).

“You would literally poke me for attention only to annoy me about how you got only one mark higher than me on your results.”

“Yeah but there was no need to kick me after!”

“Yes there was! you'd always pull my hair!”

Jungwons shoulder slumped as he took a trip down memory lane when he used to sit a seat behind you and pull at your hair, in hopes of getting your attention.

he had to admit he was glad he did so, or else he wouldn't call himself your friend and now boyfriend.

“Okay fine.. but that's what brought us together!”

He tried to convince you with an innocent look.

“You're so weird” you say with an amused laugh.

“But you like my weirdness”

“right” He challenged more than asked as he leaned over the desk to gaze down at your eyes, that he swore sparkle like the stars.

his trance wandered down to your plump lips, that called for him. The tension grew, the two of you however, quiet. As he leaned in, a sudden knock came from the classroom door.

Jungwons whole body stiffened as he stood straight like a pencil. “We should hide”

“Should we?” another knock “Hello is someone in there?” which sounded like a teacher's voice that was all too familiar.

"We should!" you whisper yell anxiously.

you grab your things to somehow hide them in the art supply cabinet. Jungwon pulls you from your waist “forget those”

“But-” you mutter but essentially give up after he drags you away “No buts babe now isn't the time..”

You hide inside the classroom storage that was usually filled with the old supplies covered in dust long forgotten but is somehow empty and clean now, which managed to fit you both as Jungwon pulled you closer toward his body.

“You alright?” he asks in a quiet tone.

"Yeah.." you could feel his shaky breath on your neck that sends goosebumps up your spine.

The classroom door opened with a ‘click’.

Footsteps seemed to near the storage, as you both looked at each other nervously but suddenly a booming voice was heard throughout the hallway which meant it was a group of rowdy friends.

The strides of the teacher became distant.

Which made you both let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

“That scared the shit out of me..”

as you looked at him he seemed to hold in his laughter, with a smack on his chest he finally burst out laughing. “Ow- What was that for?”

“We could have gotten caught!” with another smack on his arm, you try to pull away from his grip. “Yeah and we didn't, relax..” Jungwon’s hold on you only seems to tighten as you finally give in.

Leaning his head against your shoulder he inhales your scent, mumbling as suddenly a gloomy look adorned his face “I don't get why we have to keep our relationship a secret, not like we're committing a crime”

“I know.. it's just-” deep in thought you try to convey it the best way with words hoping he will understand “Even we are so used to us being..” ”opponents?” you roll your eyes at his words

“If you wanna put it like that, sure”.

His hands make their way to your cheeks tilting your head at an angle so your eyes lock as he gazes at every speck on your face “You know I love you?”

at his question you nod your head, snaking your hands over his.

“Then trust me” Jungwon utters in the softest tone possible, “We shouldn't care what others say, and that pretty head of yours is stressing to much”

both of you inch closer and his lips brush over yours as he eventually places tender kisses against the corner of your mouth before finally capturing your lips in a saccharine kiss hinting at a taste of the cherry airhead he ate earlier.

One of his hands trailed down to hold your waist, as if it was any more possible to be closer than already.

Your lungs felt like they might give up, so you tried to pull away to catch your breath but Jungwon had no intention to stop anytime soon.

With a poke to his chest, Jungwon laughs as he let's go, only for you to huff breathlessly,

“You sure you can't stay underwater for 20 minutes?” with a raised brow he was ready to tease you, “Can't handle a few kisses from your oh so loving boyfriend?”

“Oh my gosh, you're so annoying!”

you remark with no true malice underlying your tone while opening the door to the storage room, only to leave him behind trailing like a kicked kitty.

[leavesonthetrees]

Not a Bloody Clue

Summary: Bilbo has decided it’s high time he cuts his hair, it’s far past a respectable length at this point. Unfortunately, the rest of the company have ✨thoughts✨ about that.

One thing about hobbit hair is that it grows inconveniently fast. Apart from the hair on their feet, hair in general is just seen as a nuisance as it’s just better to keep it cut short or tied back unless it’s a special occasion. Foot hair on the other hand must always be groomed carefully, rather uncouth not to.

By the time the company have reached Beorn’s rather battered and bruised, some more so than others, Bilbo’s hair was somewhere around mid-back. A rather beautiful cascade of riotous chestnut curls, or it would’ve been had it not been tangled, dirty and he was sure he heard chirping somewhere in that mess. Their gracious host had an unfortunate habit of just plucking Bilbo off the ground into his arms which while Bilbo did not appreciate, he did however appreciate the large spread of milk, cheeses, honey, bread and other assorted platters. Once their bellies were full, they filled their hearts with laughter and music. Beorn excused himself to verify their story, saying he’d be back by the time they woke and Gandalf had dozed off in the corner under his hat.

Bilbo was readying himself for bed, his body felt ready for bed about three weeks ago but his hobbit sensibilities demanded that he sort himself out. There was a small mirror in the bathroom Beorn had shown them to and Bilbo winced at the sigh of his hair; matted, one side caked in fluids he had no business thinking about and not to mention how un-respectable it was. He was well aware that the quest did not have room nor the facilities for all his particular habits nor the need to retain his reputation and manners but all the same, it was nice to have some comfort in the familiarity. Bilbo twirls a curl around his finger and sighs. Had he known what the 80’s were, he might’ve been pleased but as it was, he didn’t and wasn’t happy at all. The little wooden comb he has brought within him from the Shire almost immediately snapped in the mess of hair, not to mention how much it hurt. The prospect of using his other comb, his mother’s that she brought back from her time in Rivendell was out of the question.

“Should cut the bloody stuff off.” He huffs quietly, trying the untangle some of his with his fingers to no avail. Plan in place, Bilbo comes back out the the larger room and starts rifling through what’s left of the contents of his pack.

“What you looking for Bilbo?” Calls Bofur from where’s he sat across the room, pipe in hand.

“Scissors.” Replies a frustrated looking Bilbo. “Fiddlesticks, must’ve not brought any with me.”

“Here you are.” Dori fishes a pair of sewing scissors from a little case in his pack.

“Thank you Dori.” Bilbo walks over to take them from him. “I suppose it might take a while as they’re quite little but I’ll sharpen them and give them back to you.”

“Ye can borrow my wet stone.” Dwalin supplies from his spot next to Gloin. “What’re ye using them for anyway?”

“Oh, thank you. Well I thought I’d cut my hair.” Bilbo says inspecting the scissors. The room stills, silent and tense. Bilbo looks up at the abrupt, eerie quiet, startled when Dori lunges and pulls the scissors for him hand, clutching them to his chest with horrified expression. Kili and Ori have tears in their eyes and everyone else isn’t far behind.

“Cut your hair?” Asks Balin hoarsely. “Why lad?” Bilbo’s brow creases with confusion.

“Well it’s simply too long and getting in the way. It’s in a terrible state and I just need to cut most of it off.”

Horrified gasps ripple across the room. A very solemn Thorin crosses to Bilbo and drops to a knee in front of him.

“Master Baggins.” Thorin begins, his voice shaking a little. “I sincerely apologise for any grievous offence my behaviour or any member of my company have caused you. Please, tell us how we have wronged you so that we may fix it. I beg of you do not cut your hair.”

Thorin pulls a small blade from his boot and brings it to the braid on his right temple.

“I take sole responsibility and offer you my braid and the bead that denotes me as king until we have offered sufficient reparations and you have forgiven me.”

Before Thorin can flick his wrist to remove the braid, Bilbo is moving, catching Thorin’s hand in a tight grip.

“Stop, stop!” Bilbo’s eyes are wide with panic. “Don’t cut your hair. No one has offended me. I simply want to cut my hair, it is too long and it bothers me.”

Thorin’s hand falters.

“But why would you cut it? Why not braid it?”

“I never learnt to braid hair, it just seems easier.” But Thorin looks absolutely heartbroken, eyes glassy with tears. There is such an aura of sadness around him, around all of them that Bilbo feels he would be cruel to cut it, even if hair holds no significance to him personally.

“What do you suggest then?” Bilbo carefully guides the dagger away from Thorin’s braids.

“Braid it, obviously.” Dwalin says like Bilbo is the thickest creature in Middle Earth. Bilbo rolls his eyes and gives Dwalin a hard stare, just like his grandmother used to when he was a being rude as a faunt.

“I already said I don’t know how.” The silence hangs in the air for a few seconds before Bilbo huffs.

“Any other suggestions?” The dwarves look among each other, exchanging glances and meaningful looks.

“Right, well, hair doesn’t mean anything to hobbits, other than the hair on your feet, you can do what you like with it. So if there’s no further objection, I would like those scissors back Dori.”

“I will braid it!” Thorin blurts out in a panic. All eyes turn to him, a mixture of surprise, delight and some disappointment? Bilbo just nods slowly.

“Alright then…do you want to wash it too?” A second round of gasping, Bilbo’s honestly getting fed up of it now. Thorin is bright red and stammering, clearly taken aback.

“I-I’m flattered by I think I better leave that to you for now.”

Coin purses are being thrown across the room, Khudzul flying about, Bofur and Nori look strangely upset. Bilbo simply rolls his eyes and plonks himself down next to the fire.

“You’ll have to use your comb Thorin, mine’s broken.” Thorin’s eyes look like they’re going to bug out of his head and did Gloin just coo at them? This is getting stranger by the minute.

“Here? In front of everyone?” Thorin stammers, Bilbo briefly wonders if Thorin’s having an attack of some kind, dwarves should not be that shade of red.

“Yes? Should we not?” A shy smile that not once in a million years did Bilbo think he would ever see, creeps across Thorin’s cheeks.

“Not at all. Here is perfect.” Honestly, at this point Bilbo is a little creeped out but Thorin is rummaging through his pack, producing a comb and a small vial. He positions himself so Bilbo is sat on the ground in between his knees. The touch to his hair is almost reverent, the comb barely pulling as Thorin works methodically through the knots. At the particularly matted section, Thorin unstoppers the little vial and pours some fragrant oil into his hands, it smells of pine and bergamot. Dear Yavanna his hands are absolutely divine! Thorin works the oil into Bilbo’s hair and scalp, working it in small circles with his hands from his temples to his pressure points by his ears. Lost in the bliss, Bilbo makes a soft noise of pleasure and lets his head hang heavier in Thorin’s hands.

Unbeknownst to Bilbo, Thorin grins rather triumphantly and with no small about of smugness at Bofur and Nori, Nori makes a rather rude gesture in Iglishmêk which Dori swats at him for. All too soon in Bilbo’s opinion, Thorin’s voice is gently coaxing him back to reality.

“Hmm?” Bilbo says, blinking slowly, a soft sleepy smile on his face.

“I said you need to wash your hair before I can braid it.” Thorin returns the smile and Bilbo thinks briefly how much younger it makes him look, how sweetly the skin around his eyes crinkles.

“Oh yes. Back in a jiffy.” Bilbo has never washed his hair faster in his life, he does take a moment to scold himself for behaving like a faunt with their first crush.

“He is doing you a favour, nothing more.” Bilbo says under his breath, lathering the honey scented soap into his hair.

Smelling of far nicer and feeling much more refreshed, Bilbo retakes his position back between Thorin’s knees. There’s tension in the room but Thorin waves it away when Bilbo enquires with a “Nothing important, just minor disagreements.” And sets about braiding Bilbo’s damp curls into a tight but comfortable braid, leaving a small section at the front. He ties it off with a strap of leather before clearing his throat.

“Bur- Bilbo. I had no time to prepare a suitable bead for this occasion, when we reach Erebor I shall craft one for you out of gold and sapphires to indicate your status better. In its place, temporarily, will you accept one of my own beads?” Bilbo twists to look at Thorin, his hands fiddling with a bead, the braid at his left temple unraveled.

“That would be lovely, thank you Thorin.” Bilbo gives him a gentle smile, a little confused but he’s got the spirit.

The look that Thorin gives him as he carefully weaves the braid into his curls, makes his stomach flip. There’s a vulnerability and softness in his eyes which a whispered part of Bilbo longs for it to be romantic. Thorin clips the bead in place and secures the braid, the air between the two of them seems to crackle with an unspoken emotion.

A great cheer goes up from the rest of the dwarves which startles the both of them, he hadn’t noticed how close he had been to Thorin’s lips. He reaches up to feel the back of his head, neatly tied into an intricate braid that he could never hope to replicate, the little bead on the front braid resting cool against his burning cheeks. Bilbo’s got a very strong feeling something rather significant had just happened and he’s not got a bloody clue about it.

[bitter-me]

Hiya, I noticed that besides your Reverse 1999 masterlist, your Wuwa masterlist was the incredibly lacking. If you're taking any requests right now Could you please do a Jiyan x Jing Yuan! Male Reader? I'd like the reader to be a bit more older than Jiyan, maybe they met back when Jiyan was still a healer and he had to tend to the reader This is my first request I have made to anyone at all so sorry if this comes off as awkward or something, haha

The Dozing General

Jiyan | M. Reader as Jing Yuan [Honkai Star Rail]

----------

"Meditating with my eyes closed. That gets more difficult as time goes on."

----------

Living in Huanglong had never been easy. Sure, there's the beautiful sceneries of the mountains and wild life. Yet the threat of the TD's and the Thernodian hangs above their heads like guillotines. Perhaps that's why something like the Midnight Rangers were established. Perhaps that's why families cries at the departure of their loved one. That fear that it may be the last time they see them.

All they wanted is peace. A life where they can smile freely without a care in the world. A world filled with happiness and no lingering fear of the tomorrow.

Perhaps that's why.. they look up to him. To the General that promises to give them that peace. The same General... that would casually walk though the city and play Xiangqi as if he doesn't hold the people's lives in his hands. As if he doesn't have burdens on his shoulders as he freely laughs with everyone.

"General."

"Yes?"

"Why is it that you, of all people, could laugh and sleep so freely? With everything on your shoulders?"

A small laugh escape his throat. He didn't take any offence. Not at all. Instead, he's glad that the young man would even ask such a bold question to him. That means the other isn't afraid of him. "When dear and despair holds the peoples hearts in a vice grip, they'll find it hard to even smile. As the General it is my duty to protect our hometown. Yet with how things are going now.. people may start to lose hope as we continue to fight in the frontlines with little to no updates."

Turning his head to the other, [Name] gave him his full attention as a small, lazy smile made it's way onto his face. "If someone like me, shows that even I, could smile and laugh freely, then it gives the impression that there's nothing to fear."

"'The General is smiling, then that means everything's going well.'"

"Remember that, Jiyan."

.

.

----------

'The General is smiling, then that means everything's going well.'

That's what he said. Yet here he is now. Tending his wounds. The world is truly harsh..

"What's with that look for, Jiyan?" [Name] ask curiously, his gaze focus on the younger man's face. He can't put his finger on it yet it seems like Jiyan is.. angry? Concern? Afraid? He doesn't know.

"It's nothing." The young medic say, more like mumbled, he doesn't look at the General instead he focuses on treating the wounds. It wasn't too deep but a wound is still a wound and it could become worse. [Name] merely hums in response, not believing it one bit, yet he didn't say a thing.

Silence falls on them. A silence that seems to speak louder than any word could. The worry and care that seems to fill the air almost felt suffocating. Suffocating enough for [Name] to smile fondly at the young medic as he slowly relax his body. The injuries he had sustained were painful yet that seem to be unsignificant as he knew that Jiyan would treat him with such worry and care.

[pitchsidestories]

all's well that ends well II Lucy Bronze x Reader

masterlist I word count: 2010

a/n: hi, we hope you enjoy the full length oneshot to the snippet we posted last week. 🫶🏻

“You!”

Your voice was high-pitched and cracked slightly at the end of the question.

You didn’t care.

There was no way, she was actually here. You had heard the rumours but hadn’t believed any of it. And now she was actually here, right in front of your eyes, on the Chelsea training grounds.

She actually did it.

You watched her through narrowed eyes, subconsciously clenching your jaw.

She smiled brightly at you: “Yes, me. Good morning to you too, pretty girl.“

There it was, that typical smug smile. Lucy Bronze, just like you wanted to forget her.

“Don’t call me that.“, you warned her.

Bad enough that she was here, you didn’t need her stupid remarks.

She remained unbothered, teasing you some more: “Oh, someone woke up in a bad mood.“

“No, only still stuck in a nightmare called Lucy Bronze.“, you replied, taking in the unfamiliar sight of her in the blue Chelsea training shirt.

From the look on her face she clearly interpreted it as you checking her out.

You cringed.

“A nightmare, huh?”, she repeated with a grin.

You wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid self-assured smile off her face.

“Dressed in Chelsea colours. Why did you come back? And of all clubs you had to choose mine?!”

You half-expected her to crack another joke but instead, her face turned serious.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t come here for you. I came for what the club had to offer.“

“In other words, Barca didn’t want you anymore.“, you taunted her.

You watched, waiting to see her face fall but it never did. She just cocked her head and replied: “Cold. But essentially yes, they didn’t guarantee me a spot in the starting squad so I left.“

Before you could stop yourself, you released a humourless laugh.

Following Lucys confused look, you explained: “You always leave when it gets uncomfortable. See you on the pitch.“

You turned around and took exactly two steps towards the football pitch before you heard Lucy catching up to you.

“What’s that supposed to mean? If you really think that you don’t know me well enough.“, she asked, her voice finally conveying some anger.

“Oh, I do know you.“, you shrugged and left her standing on the sideline of the pitch, joining your teammates for the warm-up.

To your surprise, she jogged up next to you, clearly not done with the conversation yet. “Sure. Of course you know me better than I know myself. You’ve always been such a know-it-all.“

You huffed in offence but before you could protest, she increased her pace and left your side.

In her place, Sam Kerr appeared with a curious look on her face: “Wait, you and Bronzey got history?”

“Yes, it was a long time ago though and I don’t want to talk about it, okay.”, you revealed reluctantly.

“Aw man, I love a good break up story.”, the Australian forward replied pouting.

“I know you do Sammy, but you won’t hear that one.”, you told her.

“I’ll figure it out sooner or later.”, she declared confidently.

“Don’t you dare asking Lucy about us.”, you warned your teammate.

“I’m sure she’ll tell me.”, Sam responded winking.

Much to her actual surprise the English defender did open up towards her, once it was just the two of them in an empty room.

“Our story is quick to tell we were together for quite a while, I went to another club, so we tried to do long distance, yet it didn’t work out.”

“And she thinks it’s your fault?”, Sam questioned.

“Obviously and she’s talking about comfortable all she has ever known is English football.”, the older woman shrugged.

The forward took a moment to think about what she just said before humming. “Oh, this is going to be a very interesting season.”

“Admittedly, I did a few things wrong in the past and there isn’t much I regret but these I do.” Memories of the moment Lucy regretted the most passed behind her inner eye.

“That’s too much information. I didn’t come for a deep dive.”, Sam intervened chuckling.

“Come on girls, don’t dally.”, Millie who stood in the doorframe called for them.

“She thinks she has something to say around here now that she has an honours doctorate.”, the forward rolled her eyes playfully.

“We’re ready, Doctor Bright.”, the dark-haired defender reassured the blonde with a teasing grin on her lips.

“Good to hear, Doctor Bronze.”, Millie answered happily.

A few days had passed since your conversation with your ex-girlfriend. During and post training you tried your best to ignore her. You were about to leave the Chelsea grounds, but a familiar voice held you back.

“Can we talk?”

“Now?”, you wanted to know.

“Yes.”, Lucy nodded.

“Fine, but be quick, I don’t have much time.”, you stated in an icy tone crossing your arms impatiently.

“Then you’ve to make some time.”, she emphasized.

“What do you want to talk about?”, you asked short-temperedly.

“About us. This is getting ridiculous. How’re we supposed to play together when you ignore me all the time?”, the defender countered eagerly awaiting your response.

The late afternoon light enhanced her tan, and her green eyes were glowing. You couldn’t help to admire the woman in front of you, but when you remembered what happened between you two and acid formed in your mouth, so you spat out words as cruel as the taste of that. Sentences you knew would hurt her.

“You’re less quick and sharp nowadays. Also how am I supposed to trust you on and off the pitch?”

Lucy blinked at you. Her face frozen, not slightest slip. Shaking her head, she replied: “You really have a way of making someone feel welcome here.“

“I’m normally more welcoming to our new signings… making sure they settle well into London…“

You stopped yourself from continuing and bit your lip. Why did you now feel the need to prove to her that your were actually good person?

“But not to me, I got it.“, she said, almost reading your exact next thought. She should know that you didn’t welcome her here.

“You’re a whole different story.“, you said plainly.

Your eyes suddenly caught sight of her arms crossed in front of herself. The little hairs stood up, small bumps forming around them. She had goosebumps.

“You’ll need a jacket. The evenings can already get cold.“, you advised her, trying to let no empathy seep through.

At once, you felt glad that you remembered to wear a long-sleeved shirt to training. You absentmindedly pulled the sleeves over your hands.

Your ex just rolled her eyes: “You act like I’ve never been to England.“

“You’re freezing. I can see that from here.“

“Yeah, this is obviously not Barcelona. But I’m not new here.“, she replied with clear annoyance.

You refused to let her have the point. “True but you never played in London though.“

“No, I didn’t.“

“See.“

It was petty but you won. You turned to walk away from her like you had done so many times in the past few days but again she wouldn’t let you. Her hand wrapped around your wrist, pulling you back in one swift movement.

“Where are you going? We’re not done here.“

You sighed in frustration: “I won’t ignore you in training anymore. Happy?”

“No.“

“There’s more?”, you frowned at her.

“Of course, it’s not done with that.“

Eyebrows raised, you waited for an explanation: “So?”

“We should talk about us too. And what happened.“, she suggested.

Your heart stopped for a second, your lungs felt deprived of air and you couldn’t do anything but stare at her for a second. There was no way you would bring that break up back again. You both knew how it had ended.

“Another time, okay?”

“Y/n…“

You forced yourself to a half-smile: “See you tomorrow.“

You found yourself in the starting line-up for the next friendly at Stamford Bridge. You would be playing on the right wing, in front of Lucy. And despite all your doubts, the game went well.

More than well, to be honest. It was like you had never been apart. Lucys typical runs forward gave you the opportunity to move towards the centre and position yourself in the penalty areas. One of her crosses was so precise that you only had to tilt your head to put the ball into the net.

“Amazing game, girls. The season is off to a great start.“, Millie cheered as she high-fived you way too hard.

“Yeah, thanks for the assist, Luce.“

“You’re welcome. I still know your movements on the pitch.”, Lucy waved it off while the look on her face was melancholic. There was a hint of fondness in her voice too.

“And I’m sorry for what I said about your playing style.”, you bit your lip guiltily.

“I know.”, the defender sounded almost amused.

“Good.”, you sighed relived.

“Don’t worry.”, the older woman added quickly.

“Bye Luce.”

“See you, y/n.”, Lucy watched you go with a sad smile.

“Lucy? You two are so weird.”, Millie tapped on the dark-haired defender’s shoulder.

Irritated she turned around to face her team’s captain. “What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you finally talk about it?”, the blonde asked frustrated.

“I try to, but she always runs away.”, the older player explained annoyed.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out for you.”, Millie promised.

And the Chelsea captain stayed true to her words.

It was the next day when you found yourself locked in a room with your ex-girlfriend.

“Sam, Erin, that’s not funny, let us out!”, you commanded, hammering your hands against the door. You felt like a mouse stuck in a trap.

“Do you hear anything, Erin?”, you heard the Australian ask the Scottish midfielder. The reply wasn’t audible to your ears because Lucy had started to speak.

“They’ll open the door again once we talked about us.”

“That’s so childish of them. To talk about us? That’s history.”, you grumbled.

“Of course. It’s obviously not history for you if you keep pouting about it.”, the defender observed

“I’m not pouting, I’m so over you at this point.”, you corrected her.

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.”, your former lover sounded unconvinced.

“You really broke my heart back then.”, you confessed quietly, your voice full of the sadness and hurt from days in the past when the breakup was still fresh like a open wound you thought would never heal.

“I didn’t do anything.”, she remarked calmly.  

“Yes, you did you left.”, you disagreed fiercely.

“I left because I had to. After you assured me, long distance would work.”, Lucy defended herself.

A grieving smirk appeared on your face, you remembered your old self, what a fool she has been. “I thought it would, but it didn’t that happens.”

“Yes, it happens. So, stop blaming me for leaving it was a mutual decision.”

“It wasn’t your fault- Cam we leave now?”, you directed the question towards the people who kept you in that room.

“Nope, you know what we want to hear.”, Sam declared grinning.

“Lucy, what does she want from us?”, you wanted to know.

“I’ve no idea., she admitted before continuing, we won’t get back together, Sam. That won’t work.”

“Exactly.”, you added quickly.

“That’s not what we want. Keep talking and you’ll see.”, the forward insisted.

“What if we begin again? Like we just met for the first time.”, Lucy suggested.

“Wait, what?”, you frowned.

“We can start over.”, she offered in a hopeful tone.

“You mean as in strangers who get to know each other?”

“Maybe.” , she nodded knowing fully well you’d never be a stranger to her.

“And we don’t know where this leads to?”, you felt your heart flutter against your chest, the door was open again and you both stepped into the unknowing. The past was the past the future was uncertain, all you could influence was the present.

All's well that ends well. Yet this was only the beginning and the closing of one chapter of your relationship.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Travel Day

Wonze x Child!Reader

Summary: Travelling with you is always eventful

If there was one thing that Keira hated, it was travelling with you.

It was always hit or miss if you behaved or not. Sometimes, you were just so full of wiggly energy that you were incapable of sitting still.

"Alright," She says as the plane levels off," What do you want to do, peanut?"

The flight from Barcelona to London only took two and a half hours so putting on a movie wasn't really on the cards to keep you entertained - you also despise wearing earphones so it was already out.

You blink at her, bottom lip still poking out in a pout since she wouldn't let you get the model plane at the shop in the airport. You huff, arms crossed over your little chest.

"No, Mummy," You say, shaking your head.

"No? You don't want to do anything?"

You stick your tongue out at her and your Mum, sitting on your other side says in warning," Peanut, put your tongue back in your mouth. You're being rude."

You huff again but do as you're told. "Mummy being mean," You tell Lucy.

"She's not being mean," Lucy replies, trying to not laugh at the look of offence on Keira's face," You're being mean. She asked you a question, peanut. What do you want to do?"

"Play."

"Okay. Now, what do you want to play?"

"Run." You reach for your seatbelt and try to unbuckle it yourself.

"We can't run around on the plane," Keira tries to tell you but you're too preoccupied with pulling off your shoes.

You get the first one off easily but Mum has tied your laces a bit tighter on your other one so you just kind of try to blunt force wrench it off your foot.

Keira and Lucy let you do it but Lucy makes sure that her hand keeps you in your seat when you finally work out how to unclip your seatbelt.

"Why?" You whine as you try to get her off you.

"Because you can't run in a plane," Keira says again.

You're wriggling around and trying to throw your Mum off but Lucy soon grows bored of your fighting and lifts you onto her lap.

Keira digs around in your backpack, bringing out one of your story books and plush bunny. "This should keep her occupied."

You want to whine that it won't but you're already distracted by Mum putting on a silly voice and reading. You grumpily settle in her arms and rub your bunny over your face as you glare at Mummy.

Keira just lets you be, happy to relax back in her seat as she reads over some paperwork sent over by her manager.

It's tough travelling on flights with you now that you're older. When you all arrived in Barcelona, you were only little and didn't have nearly as much attitude as you do now. All you wanted to do now was run around and kick the ball and play with Keira and Lucy's teammates, which was all well and good at the training centre but not as fun when the three of you were trapped on an aircraft.

Lucy manages to keep you mostly entertained for almost all of the flight until you fall asleep in the last half an hour - completely dead weight on her lap until you wake up as the plane descends with your ears popping which sends you into a fresh wave of tears.

Keira kind of assumed this would happen, you crying at some point today, and expertly takes you into her arms, tucking your sobbing face into her neck and covering you with a blanket.

You're still a little whiney and tearful when they get through customs and you hide away in your little blanket tent as Keira and Lucy wait around for their bags.

"Keira! Lucy! Where's the baby?!"

Georgia skids through customs to baggage claim, uncaring of the strange looks she's receiving from other people. You peek your head out from your blanket tent.

"Peanut! Hey!"

Aunt Georgia is always like this, loud and crazy and you're tired so you manage a wave before tucking yourself back under your blanket.

"What have you done to her? She's all sad!"

"She's tired," Lucy explains," We got up early. She had a late night. She was napping and her ears popped. It'll take her a bit to get used to being awake again."

"Poor baby," Georgia coos and you feel her hand rub at your head even though you're hidden away," She'll perk up though, right?"

"She'll perk up," Keira confirms, bouncing you lightly," Isn't that right, peanut?"

You grunt and kick your legs a bit in answer.

You hear Mum laugh slightly and then Mummy's moving again. It goes quiet for a bit before really loud when you all step outside and then quiet again when you slip into the taxi.

You're transferred from one set of arms to another and you recognise Mum's grip instantly. You sag against her and finally emerge from your cocoon of warmth.

Aunt Georgia smiles at you when she catches your eyes and you smile back.

"Hey, peanut," Mum says as the driver heads towards St George's Park," You feeling better now?"

"Little bit," You reply though your ears are still achy and you're fighting through a cloud of exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, peanut," Mum says, rubbing your back," But, hey, we're nearly there and then we'll have a proper cuddle and some food. Won't that be good?"

You grunt neither approval nor disapproval and just stare at Aunt Georgia, your face smooshed against Mum's shoulder.

"She's grumpy," Georgia laughs as you grip at Lucy's shirt like a lifeline.

"She's just a bit moody today," Keira replies as she digs around in her backpack for your bunny, passing it to you quickly and watching how you immediately release Lucy.

You don't speak (or make any noise at all) when the car finally pulls up at St George's Park. It's with practised ease that your mothers get everything out and ready and, by this point, you've perked up significantly.

You're happy to hold Aunt Georgia's hand as she leads you up the ramp to the main entrance.

The silly social media man is filming as you approach.

"Last camp of the year," He says.

Georgia laughs. "I know. I'll have to fly out to Barcelona to get my monthly peanut fix." She looks down pointedly at you.

"Good morning, y/n," The silly man says and you smile.

"Hi! Mum and Mummy are slow." You stop and turn to see where they're lagging behind.

"They are," He confirms.

"I'm not," You boast," I'm super speedy."

Mummy has finally caught up and she swings you up to sit on her suitcase as Mum talks with the silly man.

"Alright," She says," Naptime for you, peanut."

You pull a face. "Not tired."

She laughs. "Yes, you are."

"Want to run."

"Peanut, you can't-"

"Oh, let her run," Mum says," She can run off that energy and she'll crash in a bit."

"We've got training soon," Mummy replies but she's already tying your shoes again and setting you on your feet.

You're vibrating in excitement as you see more of the girls milling around.

"Even better. She can nap while we train. Come on, Keira. There's so many of us, it's not like she's going to disappear."

Mummy sighs and she crouches down next to you, helping you take off your coat and straightening out the bunches in your hair. "You need to stay where someone can see you, okay?"

"Uh-huh." You nod even though you're only half listening, focussing on the way that Ella and Alessia are none the wiser about your arrival, meaning you can run up and scare them.

"And if you get tired or thirsty, you come straight back."

"Yes, Mummy."

"Alright. Off you go, run wild."

[livelaughlovesubs]

uh! hi, i saw in one of your tumblr posts that you decided to open up your ask box for requests soooo, being aroused excited to see this up, i got a request, an early birthday gift for myself (June 4th!)

so... temperature play with nikolai? can be with ice cubes, or hot wax (or both??) but i just really wanna have a scenario that includes that cause imho, i want to have our GN reader torture in more than just ass pegging (no offence tho, it's hot af)

you don't have to answer if you don't have a big idea of what to do or like. i misread that you had requests opened (i’m a bit dum), i'm just a big fan of yours, and i might actually ask more requests like this in the future, so be on the lookout! okay, thanks!

- 🃏

happy birthday darling, I hope it’s a joyful day for you - and welcome 🃏 anon :>

Dom!reader x sub!nikolai

Warning: Temperatur play, teasing

“All set.” You murmured, putting aside a lit candle and lighter. Both of it was on your drawer now, among a bowl full of ice cubes. The man who was spread on your bed, all tied up and restrained by a rope, observed your every movement with attendant eyes. His lips were curled into a repressed smile, as if he couldn’t hide his emotions very well. “Are you ready?” You asked him, your hand brushing over his bare body. Careful fingertips danced across his chest, increasingly going lower, until you grazed his soft thighs.

He squirmed ever so slightly as his smile widened into a grin. “Of course, I’m ways ready for you!” Nikolai replied, his tone so cheerful you couldn’t tell if he knew what was going to happen any moment, or if he was just a huge masochist. His eyes scanned the night table next to him, noticing the medicine you placed as preparation. “No need to be gentle with me, I can take it all.” He reminded you while tugging at his restrains. Nothing bulged, good.

“I didn’t plan on going easy on you.” You admitted, then put on some gloves, sliding them around your hand. “Just making sure I have your consent.” The white haired boy laughed, that irritating yet somehow charming laugh of his. After receiving your confirmation that you won’t play nice with him once again, he spoke, “hahahah!! Good, good! Then I have nothing to worry about!” Sometimes he got on your nerves, enough for you to want to shut that mouth of his in multiple ways.

This time though, all you did was sigh in response to his chaotic antics. From the corners of your eyes, you checked out the red candle, to see if it burned long enough. After all, you were going to need a lot wax for this session. “Not yet.” You whispered to yourself, which is why you reached out for the ice cubes. “Finally starting now?” Nikolai asked, and instead of entertaining his question, you shoved one of the ice cubes into his mouth. Then you snarked at him, “Enough, just stay quiet.” His face brightened and he tried to say something, but all that came out were muffled noises and slurps to keep the ice cube inside his mouth.

Without wasting any more time, you took one ice cube and pressed it against his inner thighs, trying out what kind of reaction he might make. “Mhmm- oh!” His muscled tensed and his bulge twitched in anticipation, but you still payed him no mind. Instead you pressed the ice onto his chest, before moving it across his pecs and rubbing it against his nipples. That yearned you a nice flinch from the male.

Crunch.

Nikolai ate the remaining piece of ice in his mouth, sticking his tongue out to prove that fact to you. “It was so cold~” He started yapping once again, causing you to furrow your brows at him. “Mhm.” You hummed as you reached for another cube, bringing it over to his other nipple. “Iiik..! Ah- cold.” He remarked, some drool was hanging out of his lips. This continued for a few minutes, were you’d rub it in circles around his sensitive parts, stimulating his nerves. Every time you did that, a low whimper would emerge from him. Until both of the objects in your hands melted away completely, you did not change to anything else. At that point, his skin has been irritated to the point of becoming red.

“Hnngh!! I think my nerves are numb there now.” The boy said, half joking half serious. Some sweat was collecting around his forehead. His back was arched off the bed so prettily and thighs clenched together. You ran your tongue over his chest, to lick off the water pooling around the area. Still cold. “Ah.. it feels good, your tongue- hm, it’s warm.” A quiet gasp escaped his throat as he looked at you with desire and lust. The feeling of your wet muscle drawing on his chest was amazing, he loved the difference in temperature.

Next thing you did was reach for the candle, and holding it above him. His breath stuck in his throat, you noticed his fists clench around the rope you used to bind him. Instead to dripping the hot wax onto his skin, just as he wanted, you grabbed another piece of ice and pressed it against his half erect dick. “AhhHHH..!! Hnnng, y/n!” Nikolai almost cried out, shocked by your sudden change of plans, a tint of red clouded his cheeks. His legs trashed around, and his sex bounced against his belly. Precum covered the tip completely, so a bit of it stuck to his tummy as well.

When Nikolai clenched his eyes shut to get used to the freezing feeling, you didn’t hesitate to finally drop the hot, melted wax onto his chest. It sizzled on his skin, burning him and causing a bruise. “Hu-hMHMm.?! AHH-, oHhHmmm!!” He immediately moaned out, whining and wincing in pain that has been converted into pleasure. Mouth agape as his entire body shuddered in ecstasy and bliss, you knew exactly how to rile him up.

“You like this?” You smirked, a sadistic expression replacing the rather nonchalant one from before. The way you seemed to enjoy his suffering caused him to become fully erect, how he adored that unsympathetic look you owned. “Ahh, yes!! More, hurt me more~” The boy arched his back to get closer to the candle, almost making the fire touch his now shivering skin. He subconsciously hold his breath in anticipation.

You quickly pulled the candle back, noting down his mimics. A little wax wouldn’t hurt no one, but a fire was too risky even for you. But this wasn’t enough, he was still enjoying it too much, you wanted him crying and mewing in desperation. Then you brought the burning heat over to his arching cock, dripping down the crimson wax and watching it decorate his swollen tip, which had the same colour as the candle. “uhHmm! Wait- it’s, uGhhH!!” He groaned, throwing his head back as much as he can as tears flowed down his cheeks.

It hurt, it hurt so damn bad, and how it did. At the same time his heart pounded like never before, and every fever of his body was aroused to no end. He could swear he saw stars. “So- so good..! It hurts so mhmm-much.” With such misleading words, you weren’t sure if he was complaining or encouraging you to continue. Though judging by how his useless little dick kept wagging around like the tail of a dog in heat, it seems he enjoyed it.

Once again you switched the item in your hand and grabbed the cold object from the half filled bow, pressing it against his abused member. “No-noO!! Ah, it-HnnGhh, hurttsss.?!!” The sudden change in temperature caused him to squirm around uncontrollably, trashing and wriggling his hips as if he’s putting on a show for you. More precum leaked from his slit, flowing down his shaft and dirtying the mattress.

What a work of art he was, all ruined, hurt and helpless like this. To think it was your hands that made him like this, that created this masterpiece. Nikolai was drooling, melting and crying like a whore. Many rosy marks covered his tattered body, and the wax of the candle dried around his dick. Water mixed with his body fluids, dripping down in a perverted and erotic way. His eyes look like he’s about to pass out, rolled to the back of his skull and pupils all blurry. Not to mention how his cheeks flushed in a dark colour or how his hair was messy and spread everywhere. His lashes were clumped together due to the shining tears, all while quiet sobs slipped from his mouth.

You caressed his face gently, brushing away one tear with your finger before licking it off. Then you peeled off some of the wax from his tip, and he immediately shouted again. When he saw you staring at him, he grinned back at you. That made you chuckle, rubbing his tummy before bringing the burning candle over his body again. “Don’t pass out now, I’m still not done with you.” Of course he won’t pass out, only when his master wants him too. His only response was him biting his bottom lip, bending his body like some common slut as cum shoot out of his disgusting sex.

[letsgetrowdy43]

most wanted man (Rowan’s Version)—

Quinn Hughes x Lacey Porter

Warnings: No cw that I can think of, if there's any you think I should include, please lmk!!

Notes: a little blurb loosely based on Lucy Dacus new song “most wanted man” which I knew I needed to make the second the song was released two days ago :)))

Quinn's eyes caught Lacey’s from across the dinner table, a small smile on his face before he returned to his conversation with her nephew.

His gaze was so loving and lovesick in an endearing way before his attention fell back to the eight-year-old asking a million questions about hockey. Questions the man would answer with sincerity and so much excitement as they chatted about maybe getting the little boy and his sister to a game with their aunt.

It was a heart-warming scene, one that she felt so lucky to be able to witness and hold so close to her heart.

Dinner was concluded with a homemade cherry cheesecake made by Grandma Porter, which everyone was forced to have a slice of> The second the first person announced their fullness, Quinn was up on his feet and whisked all of the dishes away to take care of them while he urged his in-laws to relax.

Accompanied by Lacey, the two found themselves bumping shoulders with their hands in the warm soapy water.

He pressed gentle kisses to her shoulder or the side of her face every once in a while before she turned away to start wiping down and putting away the drying plates.

“You having fun?” She asked as her hands gently ran up his arm before taking a freshly cleaned glass from his hands to put away He hummed, concentrating on the dishes before looking up, “I am. I love how close your family is.” “They're your family too babe,” she watched as his cheeks reddened slightly before her hands moved to brush out his hair.

She loved their little life, the ease that came with loving Quinn and all his quirks. Like the way he shied away when she talked about how loved he was or the way he wanted to gain the 'cool uncle' title with her neices and nephews.

He was so attentive, and he loved not only her but her family with his whole heart.

"I promised Jackson and Ella could come to a game," he said, moving his attention from himself to the kids as she grinned at how his eyes lit up at the mention of the two little ones. "I told them you'd take them." "You realize you don't have to give them things to get on their good sides?" "I know, but it sure does help," he gently nudged her before he leaned down to press another kiss to her lips to stop her from any rebuttal.

"Well if it helps I'll gladly take them, and we can finally get those jerseys you bought them in use," she pulled away as he laughed before a loud cough forced their quiet moment into the background as Lacey's older sister walked in holding a stack of coffee cups from the post desert pallette cleanser.

"Less making out, more washing," she joked as she placed the stack next to the sink. Lacey's eyes nearly rolled out of her head as she tried to shoo her sister out of the kitchen, "we weren't making out, we were talking about taking your children to a game so you and Bryan could get a night to yourselves," she looked over to Quinn who was nodding along and smiling with a look of innocence spread across his face.

The woman's eyes narrowed as she looked at her little sister, "Im not buying it, but I would love to take you up on the offer," she said with a final grin and headed back out to the living room to join the rest of the family.

Lacey turned back to Quinn, his face a tint of red spread across his cheek that signified he was a little embarrassed of being caught. She moved to press a kiss to his lips, but he swerved skillfully as his hands found themselves back in the water to finish up.

"I can't believe you just moved away from my kiss," she faked offence as her arms crossed over her chest. Quinn shook his head gently, "can't have them thinking I'm slacking on my chores," he mused. "Their dishes can wait," he shook his head and continued the dishes, playfully ignoring her until she cupped his chin in her hand a pressed a plethora of sloppy kisses to his cheek.

The sound of his laughter was like music to her ears as she placed one last one to his chapped lips.

Loving Quinn was all-consuming but never overwhelming. If she had the time, she could write a book about him and the way he loved, never taking for granted a moment they shared.

She watched the gentle concentration on his face as he drained the sink and took the towel from her hands so he could finish her job, she smiled.

And it was moments that somehow fate, chance, or even God pulled them together, intertwining their paths and leading them to one another that allowed them to truly relish in the feeling of the truest form of love.

"I don't know if I tell you enough that I love you," she whispered as he smiled at the confession. "You don't have to say it, I feel it," he admitted softly while putting the cutlery back in the drawer.

He had such a way with words, so thoughtful, but also so effortless. He knew exactly what to say without having to think about it.

"Thank you for being so you," she watched as he stopped moving and turned to her with a little smile, placing the towel down to hold her. His calloused hands wrapped around her and landed on her back, thumbs running across the silky fabric of her dress. "Thank you for allowing me to love you and letting me into your family."

Tears nearly formed in her eyes as she pulled him in for a hug, her lips finding his shoulder as she just held him for a second.

They stood their for a few more seconds in the quiet bubble of love before quietly finishing the task at hand and joining the family in the den who were cheering along Ella who had insisted on doing her ballet roiutinue for the adults.

Life with Quinn and Lacey was so mundane, but it was so pure.

Made up of moments in the quiet of kitchens as they do dishes, hiding in bathrooms at college parties, or even in the quiet of arena parking lots, it was never about the place, their love peeked through in all settings.

And for as long as she could Lacey would hold on to Quinn because when you have the most loving man, you keep him as close to your heart as possible.

-

-

-

[sunoorintarou]

Catharsis: Christmas Special

Phos!Reader x Teen!Gojo Satoru and Teen!Geto Suguru

Warnings: Gojo - centric, usual angst, fluff if you squint, major character death, dead bodies, set in 2006, lots of talks of politics, death, murder, trauma, morals, etc, borderline bullying? (Satoru is a jerk), self - blaming, grief, and all it's stages, trouble processing and understanding emotions, Gojo is seriously just his own warning

Notes: Merry Christmas!!!

"You're weak. Why do you bother being a sorceror?"

Satoru's words make you freeze, eyes widening at their bluntness. He doesn't react, however, because in his mind, he's simply telling you the truth.

You're weak. He's known that from the moment you set foot in this classroom almost three months ago.

He doesn't understand why Suguru and Shoko seem so fond of you. All you do is get into trouble, injure yourself, and make it everyone's problem to save you. You can't fight, your Cursed Technique is subpar, not to mention that you're annoying.

Stepping into battle like some sort of self-righteous hero knowing full well that if a curse so much as touches you, you'll crumble. Literally. That's another thing he finds annoying about you. How easily your skin chips and cracks like porcelain revealing an ocean of Phosphophyllite underneath.

You can't lift anything heavy, you can't fight, you can't help out without injuring yourself, you're clumsy, you're annoying, and the list could go on.

What he finds the most annoying about you, however, is your soft voice going, "Gojo - san, are you alright? You look tired", "Gojo - san, you should rest, you don't need to use your technique so often", "Gojo - san, you haven't eaten yet, so I brought you this, I hope you don't mind".

Gojo - san this, Gojo - san that, God. You drive him crazy. How do you manage to see through every front he puts up? Every act? Even Shoko and Suguru can't see through it, and yet you have the audacity to call him out.

You're a liability in battle, and you're practically useless, more like the team's overglorified mascot. So, for the life of him, Satoru doesn't understand why everyone likes you so much. Even Nanami, his grouchy underclassman, doesn't seem to mind you.

What annoys Satoru the most, however, is the tug his heart feels when he looks at you. Because no matter how he tries to deny it, you're growing on him like a parasite, and a part of him wishes he was as close to you as they were.

"I am weak." You agree, seemingly taking no offence to Satoru's question. It's just you and him in the classroom. You're standing at your desk, bag still in hand, and he's sitting a desk, two desks behind yours. Shoko and Suguru are still on their way, and he's taken this opportunity to ask you what he's been dying to.

Satoru's eyes widen at your response.

"If you know you're weak, why do you try so hard? It's kind of pathetic, you know." His brows furrow, glasses sliding down his nose bridge as he tilts his head.

"I- because, I'm selfish, I guess." You say softly.

There it is again. That annoying soft tone of voice that makes his chest hurt whenever he hears it.

"I know I'm weak, but I want to keep trying. I want to fight. One day, I want to be able to repay everyone for everything they've done for me. Yaga - sensei, Shoko, Suguru, Ken, Yuu. Even you, Gojo - san. I want you to be able to rely on me. I want to be able to protect innocent people like you guys do. So I hope you can bear with me for a little more, Gojo - san. I'm sorry for being such a burden, but I promise I'll pay you back." You say earnestly, looking Gojo in the eye.

Satoru's eyes widen, and he's silent for a moment. Before he bursts out laughing.

You suddenly feel embarrassed. You were being serious and heartfelt, and all Gojo does in response is laugh.

"What's with that? Did you quote that from an anime?" He cackles, hitting the desk with one hand and holding his stomach with the other.

"I- I did not! I was being honest!" You defend, feeling the heat tinting your cheeks.

"If- if you really want to repay me, buy me something sweet from the vending machine." Satoru stutters between fits of giggles.

"OK, I'm on it." You nod, turning on your tail to leave the class. A hand grabs your shoulder, stopping you.

"Where are you going?" Satoru asks, leaning down to look you in the eye.

"The vending machine?" You reply, brows furrowed in confusion.

"You're going now?"

"Yeah? I'll be back really quickly."

Satoru scoffs, but there's a smile on his face nonetheless.

"Really? I'll time you then. You have 5 minutes." He challenges, smirking as he tilts his head at you.

"5- 5 minutes?" You stutter, eyes wide. The vending machine was on the other side of the school. There's no way you'd make it back in 5 minutes.

"Yeah. The clock is ticking. Didn't you say you'd pay me for saving your butt all those times?" He mocks.

Satoru's eyes widen as you put down your bag, determination clear on your face.

"I did. I might not be back in 5 minutes, but I'll be back in less than 10!"

"Hey, wait-"

And with that, you've rushed out the classroom, leaving Satoru absolutely bewildered. As he sticks his head out the door, watching you run and almost slip multiple times, Satoru thinks he's figured it out. He understands why Shoko and Suguru keep you around.

You're amusing. And he wants to get closer to you.

Unfortunately, things never go as planned. And if Satoru had known the outcome before, he would have tried to get to know you much sooner.

Things change quickly when you're a Jujutsu Sorceror. People come and go, live, and die. They change, they evolve. People grow apart, and people grow closer.

Regardless, it's not a pleasant feeling when you lose someone close to you. 

Gojo Satoru had never thought the day would come when he'd feel regret. He was the strongest, after all. Everything he wanted he got. The world was his oyster. Money, power, good looks, everything. So it's safe to say that loss was also a new concept to him.

A feeling he decided he'd prefer to live without.

It hurt in a way he couldn't explain. He felt as if he couldn't breathe, as if there were something heavy on his chest. Almost as if he were having an out of body experience but could feel whatever the stranger he saw when he looked in the mirror felt. Pain. Anger. Despair.

Cold and light. That's how your body felt in his arms. He couldn't bear to look at the white cloth covering it. This, this couldn't be you. This body in his arms, the broken shards of its head cutting into the cloth.

Yet it was still vivid. Amanai Riko running out and finding him, letting him know that you had died saving her. A bullet straight to the head. Pushing her into Suguru's arms and telling him to run with your last breath. Riko's tear filled face as she begged for him to help Suguru because she couldn't bear to have anyone else die because of her.

Since then, he's felt numb. It hasn't faded. The coldness in his skin, the haze of his reality, brain clouded as it was forced to process the events that had taken place.

"Suguru... should we kill them all? I probably wouldn't feel anything right now."

Did he say something? The words don't register in his mind. Was that his voice? Raw and soft.

Them. The higher-ups. If only he had known earlier that they were supportive of your death. That there was a bounty for your head somewhere.

He didn't know why. He didn't know anything. You had kept so much to yourself. Just what were you dealing with alone? All this time, smiling wide, eyes always sparkling, hiding everything behind your carefree, happy - go - lucky persona.

You didn't deserve this. You of all people. You weren't weak. You were sweet, kind, caring, and selfless to a fault.

This was not you. Lifeless in his arms. You were never this cold.

He remembered it, how warm your hands were all those time your fingers brushed his forehead to check if he was well, when your fingers brushed his whenever you handed him something, how warm they were when you held his face in your hands and scolded him for being reckless. He remembered it vividly.

What would you say if you saw him now? The exhaustion in his face, the blankness in his eyes, the way his- his hands were... trembling?

He could hear your voice, clear as day.

"Gojo - san! What happened to you!"

"You should really take care of yourself more, what were you thinking?"

"I don't care if you're one of the strongest! You're a teenager. Right now, you're just Satoru, and you're going to learn to be kinder to yourself. You- you don't deserve this."

What did Satoru deserve? Was it really kindness? Care? Gentleness? Love? He had messed up. If he had been stronger, he could have saved you. If he had been stronger, you wouldn't be dead in his arms.

What was the point of awakening his powers when they weren't there when it mattered? What was the point of being the strongest if he couldn't protect the people he cared about? The people he loved?

What made matters worse was finding out the higher-ups were happy you were gone. The people that had singlehandedly been the cause for his suffering. His. Suguru's. Shoko's. Yours. Those filthy old bags who only thought of themselves.

What would really happened if he killed them all? Would it really be such a bad thing? Weren't they supposed to be the pillars of the Jujutsu world? The elders for people to look up to and learn from. A symbol of hope, something, anything even remotely positive, beneficial to the future of the young next generation of Jujutsu Sorcerors?

All they had done was applaud the death of someone innocent. A teenager. A child. How dare these self-righteous ba-

Your hand falls from the covers of the white sheet, hanging limply.

Satoru's brain goes blank. A pale arm, an empty hand, and familiar phosphophyllite fingernails.

"No need. It's meaningless." Suguru's voice is low, as if the reality that you're gone hasn't hit him yet. His eyes linger on your hand. The palm that patted his back, the fingers that ran through his hair, the hand that was so warm in his.

Before he can stop himself, he finds his own hand grasping it. It's cold. He drops it like the contact physically hurt him.

"Without the higher-ups, the Jujutsu world will go up in flames. And even if they die, there's the possibility even worse people will come into power. Killing them won't bring her back either."

His words don't make sense, even to him, but Suguru utters them nonetheless. The look in Satoru's eye is enough to tell him that if he doesn't do anything, today will mark the beginning of a massacre. And although he feels the same anger Satoru does, Suguru's moral compass, as well as his understanding of the type of person you are... stops him.

"Meaning... huh?" Satoru repeats.

The Satoru in front of him is not the Satoru Suguru knows. The playful, snarky, overburdened boy replaced by something else. Something unfamiliar. Something... cold.

"Do we need that?"

Suguru hesitates for a split second. The girl in Satoru's arms is just as unfamiliar. A bubbly, bright, kind girl replaced by something else. Something unfamiliar. Something... almost sinful. A shell. An empty shell. The existence it harboured long gone. A disgrace to the being it had once been.

"Yeah. It's very important... for sorcerors."

Your corpse wouldn't decompose. The crystallisation forming a perfect seal to your body, and perhaps that's why they can't bring themselves to immediately bury you.

Clinging onto the false hope that perhaps you'd wake up, bounce back like always. Familiar head of teal hair poking over Suguru's shoulder, a second softer set of footsteps padding behind Satoru's, a warm hand flinching at the touch of Shoko's cold ones.

It's sickening. How quiet everything has become in your absence. How the shadows seem darker due to the absence of your light.

Perhaps you wouldn't know it, but your death was beneficial in a way. Suguru spiralled into depression but your words of the past kept him strong, and somehow, he managed to graduate with Satoru and Shoko.

They left an empty seat between them at graduation. Your certificate is still in Shoko's office to this day.

Your warnings and nagging that reminded everyone of their mother saved Haibara's life. You had always told them to never accept missions alone, and it was thanks to your words ringing in his head that Nanami became paranoid while Haibara was out on a mission. This led to him going out to check on Haibara and ended in him saving his life.

It was almost idealistic how almost everyone graduated that year. A rare thing in the Jujutsu World to have so many young people survive.

Satoru jokes its because you took on the unwanted burden and closed the gates of Heaven yourself. You always did. Eating the bitter parts of his food that he didn't like, letting everyone choose first when Yaga gave you rewards, not touching your food until everyone had started eating. You always took on the unpleasantries so that everyone else could live without knowing suffering.

Why did everyone deserve happiness except for you?

Why did everyone deserve to live except for you?

"Gojo - Sensei."

"So even Sensei sleeps, huh?"

"Of course he does. What kind of nonsense is that?"

Satoru's eyelids flutter. He pulls up his blindfold, his vision coming into focus as he sees a blurry image of his students.

For a split moment, he's in high school again. He's in his second year, and he's sleeping before class. He hears soft footsteps approach him. Feels someone lean down near him, but he's not scared. Not even annoyed.

Rather, he plays dumb and waits in anticipation. There's butterflies bursting in his chest, a smile pulling at his face that's hidden in his arms. Smirking at the familiar scent of yuzu and caramel engulfing his senses. He'd chosen it, after all.

"Gojo - san? Wake up, class is about to start."

"Gojo - sensei!"

But when his visions focuses fully, he realises it's been 12 years and his beloved students have visited his office.

"Oh, he's awake!"

There's a red rim to Satoru's eyes, but it's almost unnoticeable. He smiles before pulling his blindfold back down.

"Please don't fall asleep after summoning us all here." Megumi states.

Satoru stands up, and Yuji and Nobara are quick to fight over who gets to sit on his chair.

"What are you smiling about?"

It's today. By 4 that morning, Satoru had found himself sat in front of a familiar grave. He was always the first to visit. He brings a bouquet of white heliotrope and places it on the grave. He crouches in front of it, his blindfold tucked away in his pocket.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday, dear Y/n. Happy Birthday to you."

If there's one thing Satoru wishes, it's that he was able to tell you his feelings truthfully while you were still alive. It's unhealthy, but he finds himself uttering the same three words on every occasion to a stone in the ground.

If only he could have seen your pretty face while he uttered them in person.

Satoru doesn't know if he believes in the afterlife, but he hopes you're listening. And maybe, just maybe, you're screaming at the top of your lungs, repeating the words in hopes he'd somehow hear.

"It's nothing."

A lie. Because deep down, Satoru knows he's thinking about a certain place, a certain person.

Maybe in his next life, he can finally go home to you.

[carrotsworld]

my (not so) lovely guardian angel

pairings: comfort! guardian angel! eric sohn x reader

word count: 15k

genre: comedy, fluff, fantasy

tw: blood, gore, mentions of torture

who's scared when you always have your guardian angel with you at all times?

or, apparently heaven assigned the wrong guardian angel to you. but it's okay because he promised to always be there by your side.

"guardian angel? you're more like my guardian puppy."

do you know that when you cry, it rains in heaven?

read the spin-off love. here!

a/n: this was a very, very old draft of mine. it was supposed to be just fluff and angst, i don’t know how it became a full blown fantasy storyline :)

@deoboyznet

we could never see our guardian angels, unless we really needed them, or when they decided to make themselves seen. (which rarely happens) it was always in the stories, people who have seen them would say it was a miracle, having these beings among us.

you never believed it, that is until, you woke up to see one staring straight at you a few months ago. you thought you hallucinated, but immediately snatched the night lamp of your side table as soon as he started talking, ready to defend yourself against the said stranger. the said stranger was mumbling a string of colourful words to himself, pacing around your room. who knew angels could curse?

"you have three seconds to explain who you are before i'm throwing this lampshade at you." you started, mentally preparing yourself if he was some psycho killer.

he held his hands up in front of him. "wait! wait! wait! i'm your guardian angel!" he shouted, closing his eyes and bracing for the impact that never came.

"what?" you asked dumbfounded, still clutching onto your night lamp tightly.

"i mean... technically i'm not yours... you were supposed to be hyunjae hyung's responsibility but... i don't know how i accidentally ended up here." he explained, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"well? can't you go back?"

"that's the thing. i can't. once a human sees us, we are bounded to be their guardian angel for the rest of their life." he said, running his hand through his hair. "hyunjae hyung is gonna kill me."

"how can i trust you're not lying and you're not some psycho killer?" you asked.

he looked at you in offence, gesturing to himself. "do i not look like an angel?"

you ignored his question. "show me your wings." you demanded.

he sighed. "do you really have to go that far?"

you shrugged. "or i don't believe you and i'll call the police."

"fine. fine." he agreed. "just look away for a second, the initial glow of my wings might blind you."

you narrowed your eyes at him.

"i'm not kidding." he said as soon as he saw your expression. "we've had a previous few cases... and i don't want that happening to you. not when you're my responsibility now. just close your eyes for a second." he assured.

you sighed, deciding to blindly trust the stranger in front of you and closed your eyes, counting down from three.

before you could mentally count to one, you heard the sound of things crashing, and you jolted your eyes open to find a pair of majestic ivory wings, with the stranger looking sheepishly at you.

"sorry for messing up your room. i promise to clean it up for you." he winced, as his wing hit yet another decoration off your table.

you shook yourself out of your reverie and peeked over the edge over your bed, seeing your things scattered all across your carpeted floor but that was the least of your worries.

"so... angels are real." you gasped in awe, unconsciously reaching your hand out to touch his wings, to which he flinched.

"sorry." you apologised, retracting your hand quickly.

"they're... uh.. sensitive." he explained. he quickly changed the topic, tucking his wings away and clearing the awkward tension in the air. "does this proof that i'm not a crazy psycho killer now?" he asked, gesturing to himself.

you nodded, slowly placing the night lamp back onto your bedside table.

"great." he beamed. "my name's eric by the way."

"eric." you repeated softly, your hands fiddling with your blanket.

he hummed, picking up your things and organising your table back to how it once was. "by the way, were you in some sort of distress? you were calling out to hyunjae hyung."

"i was?" you asked, confused.

"your soul was. i was running some errands when i found his chain glowing, which somehow... brought me here." he explained. "though angel chains are normally bounded to their owners.... and theoretically only their owners can have access to it..." he mumbled to himself softly, his eyebrows scrunched into a frown.

he absentmindedly reached towards the chain around his neck. "it's weird..."

"and a tiny bit suspicious?" you continued.

"huh?" eric asked, looking at you.

"i don't know... but it kinda sounds that someone was trying to sabotage you." you explained. "i was not in distress until you popped up in my room. at 3 a.m. at that."

he threw the nearest pillow at your direction.

"hey!" you exclaimed. "can angels even be violent?"

"you'd be surprised." he shrugged. "though you might have a point. i'll have to discuss this with headquarters."

"that sounds weird." you commented. "sounds like there's a hierarchical society up there too."

"we might be angels but we're not perfect, you know." he sighed, making his way towards your window. "i'm genuinely sorry for bringing you into whatever mess this is. and disturbing your sleep at 3 a.m."

you waved his worries away. "don't mention it. life's no fun without a little adventure right?"

he nodded, the corners of his lips curling up into a gentle smile. "see you again soon, little human." was the last words you heard before he disappeared into the summer night air.

__

it hadn't been a week before eric showed up (or popped up) again in your room, nearly giving you a heart attack while you were studying, or stressing, really, about your physics question.

"you really need to give me a warning before you suddenly appear out of nowhere." you stated, spinning around to face him while sitting your study chair, deciding to disregard your revision for a moment.

"do you mind?" he asked, gesturing to your bed.

you shook your head, and he immediately splayed out on your bed head-first, heaving a sigh.

"you know," he started, his voice coming out muffled due to the covers. "you might be right."

"about?" you tilted your head to the side, confused.

"about someone trying to sabotage us, or me and my brothers, specifically." he explained, flipping over to face you.

"continue." you said, crossing your arms.

"hyunjae hyung said he lost his chain a few weeks ago, and he filed for a new one to the headquarters, that's why it wasn't with him. headquarters was supposed to deactivate it once it was reported missing, or stolen..." he trailed off.

"but they never did."

"bingo." he snapped his fingers. "the question here though is why."

you hit your head against your study table. "physics questions and now philosophical?" you mumbled to yourself.

eric jumped out of your bed, immediately coming over to inspect your now slightly redden forehead. he sighed, his eyes glowing a faint gold colour as he waved his hand over your forehead.

"so, what now?"

"don't worry that pretty little head of yours. it's supposed to be mine to worry about, anyways." he said, peeking over your shoulder. "what are you working on?"

"physics." you said, blowing the stray strand of hair away from your face. "i apparently have a test almost every other week."

"that's brutal." he commented, his eyes narrowing in focus at the physics question.

you looked at him expectedly. "my guardian angel wouldn't have a knack for physics, would he?"

he ignored your question, pointing to your working. "did you notice that the velocity was supposed to be in negative because it's going the opposite direction?"

you glanced back at the question. "shit. you're right." you agreed, quickly correcting your mistake. you mustered your best puppy eyes, "could you please help take my test this thursday?" you asked, innocently.

he stared at you, unimpressed. "angels also have limits, you know. plus, i'm not supposed to help you cheat. it's not an angel thing to do."

you sighed in defeat. "well, at least i tried." you pondered before asking, "were you on bad terms with anyone? maybe the fallen?"

he shook his head. "no, we disagree sometimes but they hardly ever interfere unless it has something to do with the nephilims. speaking of which, hyunjae hyung did have a mission on earth last month."

"i know you said not to worry about it, but promise to update me if anything happens."

"i promise. in the end, we're all in this together."

"did you just quote high school musical?" you asked.

he looked at you confused. "did i... what?"

you shook your head. "never mind." though you did make a mental note to make him binge watch it in the near future.

eric didn't have to reply you because the small feline decoration on your table started glowing before exploding into golen dust.

"pixies." eric cursed under his breath. "watch out!" he shouted, pulling you into his arms as the matryoshka dolls next to you exploded.

"what? pixies?" you exclaimed in shock, your heart beating erratically from the sudden chain of events.

"they're pesky little creatures meant to cause mischief. you know about the fallen but not pixies?" he asked, scanning your room and noting there wasn't any exploding hazards left before letting you go.

"no?" it was supposed to be a statement, though it sounded more like a question.

"someone's messing with me." he sighed, opening your window and sticking his head out, looking around. "hah! gotcha!" eric exclaimed, using your transparent pencil holder to trap who knows what.

"who sent you?" eric asked, his tone demanding.

you peeked out from behind your guardian angel, seeing a tiny green creature, not larger than the size of your hand, with wings.

"human..." it snarled as soon as it spotted you.

eric slammed his hand on the table, startling both you and the creature. "answer me."

you didn't know angels could be so scary.

"master hyun sends his regards." the creature smirked mischievously.

"i should've known. what does he want?" eric asked.

the creature glanced at you, it's eyes filled with menace. "if i were you, i would think there would be more pressing matters to attend to, such as your little human behind you."

"what do you-- shoot! y/n! watch out!" eric shouted. but it was too late as a black entity shattered your glass windows, and you stumbled back. you came face to face with a 7ft demon, it's eyes glowing red.

you grabbed your night lamp and threw it at the demon slash creature, hitting it square in the face.

"seriously?" eric looked at you incredulously.

"what?" you shrugged. "at least i tried!" you exclaimed, though the night lamp barely did any damage to the demon. you managed to duck just in time before the demon swiped its claws at once your head was.

eric jumped at the demon, and the exchange of blows was too quick for you to comprehend what you were witnessing. you saw him reaching a knife at his ankle, plunging it straight into the demon's chest before it turned to ash.

eric immediately went to you, remnants of ash still in his hair. "are you hurt?" he asked, checking you for any injuries. "you are." he grabbed your left arm, your left arm that you didn't even know was bleeding, and his palms glowed, sealing the wound.

your eyebrows furrowed as you noticed as a faint identical scar to yours appeared on his left arm, exactly where you had been cut. but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"the pixie escaped. let's go. we need to leave." he said, grabbing your arm and leading you out your front door.

the familiar sound of your car unlocking snapped you out from your daze, and you wondered when he took your keys from your apartment. he got into the driver's seat, and you settled into the passenger's, securing yourself with your seatbelt before eric took off.

the car was silent for a moment, before you decided to break the silence. "i didn't know angels could drive." you commented. you paused, before another thought popped up yet again in your head. "do angels have a driver's licence?"

"that's the first question you ask after coming face to face with a seven feet demon?" he glanced at you, a small smile tugging at his lips.

you shook your head. "i don't even want to know what that is. where are we going?"

"a safe house. i already informed my brothers. we're meeting them there." he said. "it's going to be a long drive."

your eyes flicked over to eric, pondering whether or not to ask him about whoever the pixie had mentioned but decided against it, not wanting to pry.

whether human or angel, we all have our secrets to keep. and you trusted eric to tell you if you needed to know.

you don't know when you had drifted off to sleep, maybe it was all the fatigue that had crept up to you, but when you woke up at an empty parking lot outside a diner and eric was no where to be seen, you internally panicked.

taking a deep breath, you managed to spot eric coming out of the diner with his hands full, making his way back to the car.

"sorry if i took long." eric apologised, handing you a burger. "i didn't want to wake you, so i figured to stop by to take out some food in case you were hungry when you woke up." he explained. "i made you worry didn't i?"

"was it that obvious?" you asked, embarrassed.

"i would be lying if i said no. other than the fact that it's written all over your face, we're bonded emotionally too. so i can sense if you're in danger." he answered, pulling the car out from the parking lot and onto the freeway.

"oh." you replied in understanding at the new information he gave you. "so, other than the fact that we're bonded emotionally, any other things between a guardian angel and a human i should know?"

he pondered for a moment. "i'll let you know when it comes to mind." he said, taking a bite of his burger with one hand on the wheel.

"do angels need to eat?" you asked, curious.

he shook his head. "nope. but it's just one of the mundane things some of us take pleasure from." he gestured to your burger. "you should try it. it's really good."

you nodded, your stomach grumbling at the thought, taking a bite of your own burger that eric had gotten for you and savouring the taste. it had been more than 12 hours since your last meal, after all.

you reached over to switch on the radio, a taylor swift song coming on. you could hear your guardian angel softly humming to the tune of 'love story'.

"a swiftie?" you asked.

"one of my brothers, jacob, used to blast her music in our room last time." he explained.

you nodded. "he has good taste."

"i'll have to agree with you on that one. he's musically talented, and is the nicest amongst us." he paused. "don't tell anyone, but, he's my favourite hyung."

"my lips are sealed."

---

eric pulled up into a driveway of a white majestic house, (fit for angels, really). though it looked empty from the outside, the door swung inwards before eric could knock, and an almost 6ft man with blonde hair popped his head out, smiling at eric and you with his dimples showing before opening the door widely, allowing you and eric both to step inside.

"hello." he greeted you cheerfully. "i'm changmin. it's nice to meet you."

you smiled at him. "hi, changmin. i'm y/n. it's nice to meet you too."

"it's finally nice to put a face to a name. don't tell him that i told you, but, eric talks about you. a lot."

"he does?" you asked, surprised.

he nodded, smiling. "don't worry. i promise he said good things only."

you followed changmin into what looked like the living room, the living was decorated with various greek elements, with the high ceilings and grand foyer making you feel like you got transported into a movie. but what was even more beautiful were the six men sitting on the sofa, and their conversation stilled when they saw you.

you don't even know when eric disappeared, but when you tried to look around to find eric for help, he was nowhere to be seen. the six men (or angels, you would rather say) must have sensed your nervousness, because they each sent a small smile at you.

you figured changmin could sense it too, because he told you not to worry and that they were all his brothers. they all introduced themselves to you, and you learnt that their names were jacob, younghoon, chanhee, haknyeon, kevin and sangyeon.

"there's two more, sunwoo and juyeon who are busy running some errands, but they'll be back soon." jacob explained kindly as your eyes wandered.

"please make yourself at home." younghoon said. "we don't bite."

your ears turned red at his comment and younghoon bursted out laughing, which earned him a swat from chanhee. "don't torment the poor girl." chanhee turned to you. "how was the journey here? you must be tired. i'm sorry that our house is located so far in."

you shook your head. "it's alright. i slept most of the way here, so i'm really okay."

"chanhee's just excited that there's another girl in the house. it's been ages since he was assigned to one anyways." changmin teased, taking a seat next to you.

if looks could kill, changmin would've been dead as chanhee narrowed his eyes at him, but it seem liked changmin was already used to it.

"you're late." sangyeon commented as two other men stepped into the living room, who you assumed were sunwoo and juyeon.

"the demons downtown were being a bit of a hassle. nothing we couldn't handle." sunwoo explained, then continued. "but seeing hyunjae and eric still absent, i'm betting that they're having a brawl in your study." your eyes widened at his comment. "you must be y/n." he noted, as he turned to you.

you nodded, greeting the both of them. "i'm just kidding about the brawl." sunwoo said, which let you release a breath you were holding. you followed his eyes that were trailed to the staircase to see eric and who you assumed was hyunjae before he added. "or not."

---

although eric assured you that angels heal quickly, you were still worried about the bruises on his face, and the cut on his lip.

"what happened?" you asked, as you applied the ointment younghoon gave you.

eric would never admit it, but he found it cute how you scrunched up your eyebrows in focus while tending to his cuts and bruises.

"it was nothing. we were just talking." he yelped when you pressed lightly on his cut.

"right." you mocked him. "talking would have you ended up in bruises."

"i'm touched that my human is concerned about me."

"uh-uh. don't change the topic." you warned, finishing up with his bruises, proud of your own work.

a knock on the door, made you turn around to see kevin by the door. "hi. sorry to interrupt but sangyeon wants to have a talk with us, eric."

eric practically jumped up from his seat before dashing out the door. "yup. coming!"

kevin turned to you, smiling sheepishly. "i deeply apologise for the actions of our youngest. thanks for taking him out of our hands, and taking care of him."

you shook your head. "it's nothing."

"i gotta go." he said pouting, looking out the door. "you seem really cool. let's talk again soon, y/n."

"ditto."

---

after exploring the whole house and left with nothing to do (since the rest of the guardian angels were still busy), you made your way up to the rooftop. the sun was already setting, and because the house was located deep in the woods, you could see some stars peeking out.

you pulled your legs close to you, resting your chin on your knees while admiring the view. you wouldn't lie that you weren't feeling a bit overwhelmed with how quickly things changed, but you were slowly getting used to it.

"when everyone else couldn't find you, i thought i could find you here."

you turned your head to find the source of the voice, unfamiliarity evident across your face.

"i'm the last of the eleven brothers you haven't met, hyunjae. your supposed to be guardian angel." he said, taking a seat next to you, his presence oddly comforting.

"oh." no wonder his name felt so familiar.

"i also frequently come up here to think." he continued, also tucking his knees into his arms. "the stars are really pretty tonight, they must've known you were watching." he commented, smiling.

"huh. though i feel it's the other way around." you said, as he settled down next to you comfortably. you both sat in silence, admiring the stars above before you.

"can i ask you a question?" you asked.

"go ahead."

"if things had turned out differently, would you have still been my guardian angel?" it felt as if you had known hyunjae for decades, vulnerability evident it your voice.

"always." he replied. "i know that i've never shown myself to you, but i was always there. silently watching over you."

you pondered in silence, thinking back to when some situations that felt like pure luck, or miracles for you. "that night, when someone was following me home, you sent darong, the labrador to protect me, didn't you?" you asked, finding the way how darong suddenly appearing out from nowhere strange.

he nodded. "she did a good job of keeping you safe. i promise to bring her the next time we meet."

"i would really like that. i always wondered where she always went after walking me home. that explains why she always disappeared after." you commented. "thank you." you added, sincerely. "it's nice to know that someone was always there for me."

"even though i'm not your guardian angel now, you can always come to me if you need someone to talk to, or if you want to complain about eric. it's been a long time since he cared for a human. i'll scold him for if he's not taking care of you properly." he said.

"noted. i'll hold you to that." you paused, debating whether or not to ask what they had discussed about without you.

"i can see the gears in your head turning, y/n. ask away."

"i forget that you know me too well." you pouted. "if you don't mind, can you tell me what caused the demon to come after us?"

he sighed. "eric told me what happened." and if someone had flicked a switch, hyunjae's voice turned serious. "we used to have a half brother, centuries ago. but things didn't turn out well between him and our father, which caused him to join hands with evil."

"like the fallen?" you asked, shocked at the revelation.

he shook his head. "the fallen... they're different. fallen angels made their own choice. but our half brother, well, father ripped out his wings and banished him from heaven. and he thinks we were the ones who caused it, especially eric."

"why?"

he paused. "that's not my story to tell." and for the first time, you've never seen the eyes of an angel so sad. "if you want to know the whole truth, it's best you ask eric yourself."

---

the whole night, you just spent tossing and turning, thinking back to your conversation with hyunjae. a soft knock sounded at your door, and you opened it to find eric standing there.

"couldn't sleep?" he asked, stepping into your room, (or their guest room for that matter).

you nodded. "i woke you, didn't i?"

"i could feel your anxiety, so i came to check up on you." he explained. "i heard that you had a talk with hyunjae hyung."

"yeah. i'm sorry that i woke you."

he shook his head, though fatigue was evident in his eyes. "it's alright. this must how you felt when i suddenly appeared in your room at 3a.m."

"that feels so long ago."

he sat at the edge of your bed and smiled. "it does, doesn't it? i still remember you wanting to throw your night lamp at me."

you looked at him in mock offence. "the world is really dangerous nowadays!"

"i've forgiven you for it." he said, playfully.

your eyes widened in shock. "i didn't do anything wrong!"

"and how you threw it at the demon." he continued.

"that was kinda stupid, i admit. i really didn't know what i was thinking then." you said, before both of you bursted into laughter.

when the both of you calmed down, he asked. "though as your guardian angel, what can i do so that my human can go to sleep without all her thoughts running through her head?"

"what's your speciality?" you asked, leaning against the backboard of your bed.

"everything. just name it. i can even bark if you want me to."

"that's oddly specific." you noted. "are you sure you're my guardian angel? you're more like my guardian puppy."

"everybody tells me that. jacob says that i'm like a chihuahua because chihuahuas are cute. but i swear i don't think it's a good thing."

"puppy, come here." you beckoned, patting the empty space next to you.

"is that my new nickname now?" he asked sighing, but obeying your request anyways.

"it does have a nice ring to it..." you trailed off, looking at the angel next to you. he was so close, that you could count his eyelashes if you wanted to. which indeed he had really pretty eyelashes. and lips.

wait. what were you thinking?

you shook yourself out of your thoughts. arranging the pillows so you were settled comfortably. "can you sing me to sleep?" you asked.

"sure. any song request?"

"any song would be fine." you replied.

"close your eyes."

it would have been an understatement to say that eric's voice was beautiful, because he sounded like angels (no pun intended). his soothing voice lulled you to sleep as you slowly surrendered yourself to your fatigue.

---

you didn't know when you had such huge pillow to cuddle with, but it was cuddly. and warm.

sure, you remembered that the pillows were super soft and cuddly. but warmth was a new addition. and now your pillow was moving on its own. that was strange.

were you even snuggling a pillow?

"didn't know my human was such a hugger."

your eyes jolted open to see eric right in front of you, with your arms around him. "why are you still in my room? i thought you would've went back to yours." you said, any evidence of your grogginess fading away.

"i was planning to but you're like a koala bear, you know? you were clutching on to me so tightly like you were scared of letting me go." he answered nonchalantly.

your eyes widened as he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer to his chest. "plus, it's nice to cuddle with my human like this for awhile."

your cheeks flushed. you had to admit, you felt safe in eric's arms. "eric. can i ask you a question?" you asked, your voice slightly muffled.

he nodded, his chin resting on your head.

"can you tell me what happened between you and your half-brother?"

you could feel him tense up at the question. "hyunjae hyung did tell me that he told you about it last night and i think you deserve to know." he paused. "but promise me one thing, okay? promise me that you won't hate me."

"i promise. i could never hate you."

he released a breath he was holding. "me and hyun, my half-brother used to be very close. like stuck at the hip close. but then, one day he started questioning our father's rules, and he started looking into the occult, dark magic and all. when i caught him in the act, i tried to warn him against it. that nothing good will turn out from evil. but he refused to listen, saying that we were brainwashed by father."

you could feel his hands tighten around you, and you rubbed soothing circles on his back. "you don't have to continue if you don't want to, eric."

he shook his head. "i want to." he took a deep breath. "things started going downhill when he visited the human i was protecting when i was running some errands. back then, everyone knew everyone. guardian angels used to always show themselves to their humans so she knew my half-brother. the reason why he needed her was to summon the king of hell. god, he wanted to start the apocalypse to wage war on our father. the ritual went wrong and the demon he summoned killed her. and the worst part of it? i wasn't there."

"eric, it wasn't your fault." you reassured.

"but it was. y/n, do you know that I could feel her fear, pain and agony? and i couldn't get to her in time before the empty feeling settled in my chest. if only i had reported him to my brothers, or to someone, it wouldn't have happened. she wouldn't be dead."

"eric." you cupped his face with your hands. "listen to me. you couldn't have done anything and it wasn't your fault."

his eyes watered. "i'm sorry that you're stuck with me, y/n. i'm sorry that i'm your guardian angel when it's supposed to be hyunjae hyung. when you could've been safe with him instead."

"eric, i wouldn't have traded you for anyone else. and i promise it'll be different this time."

"how can you be so sure? i don't want to lose you, y/n. not this time. not again."

"you won't. because i trust you. and you've protected me up until now. if it wasn't for you i would have probably be dead."

"i don't deserve you, you know that?"

"i know." you teased playfully, ruffling his hair.

he looked at you in mocked offence before breaking out into a smile. that beautiful smile of his.

"come on, puppy. gotta get up or your brothers are gonna wonder where we went if we don't show up for breakfast."

he shook his head, pouting. his strong arms not letting you escape his hold as he pulled you closer and buried his face into your hair. "five more minutes."

"alright. alright." you smiled, finding his pout adorable.

"good morning, y/n. breakfast is ready--- oh."

what you didn't hear was the knock on your door before the door swung open and jacob stepped into your room, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

---

breakfast was awkward to say the least, as you caught jacob stealing glances at both of you from the opposite side of the table. the food sangyeon had prepared was scrumptious, but you couldn't fully enjoy it due to the awkward tension at the table.

"so, did you have a good sleep last night y/n?" kevin asked.

your head snapped up at the question, and you nodded at his question. "yeah. thank you. the room was very comfortable."

"eric was pretty comfortable too, huh?" sunwoo mumbled under his breath, and all heads whipped to the both of you.

"what? didn't you both sleep together?" sunwoo asked, nonchalantly. you winced at the question.

eric denied. "god, no."

"this just got ten times more awkward." kevin commented, and you wanted the world to swallow you whole.

"what do you mean no?" sunwoo asked.

"not in the way you're implying it!" eric countered.

"i wasn't implying anything. you know, the same room, sleeping." sunwoo replied, his hands up in surrender.

"yeah, right."

sangyeon dragged them both by the ear from the table before things could escalate further. everyone was silent for a moment at the table, before continuing whatever they had been doing, as if nothing had happened.

"it's normal for the both of them to bicker." hyunjae whispered to you, explaining the situation. "they're like dogs and cats at each other's throats. and if it makes you feel any better, i have no idea what they were talking about. and i bet the others don't know too."

you smiled at him gratefully. "thanks. that escalated quickly."

he shrugged. "though, i've got to admit, sunwoo should've been more low-key about the teasing." he puts down his fork. "do you want to get out of the house for a bit? i need to run some errands at a town quite nearby. you should come along, it'll be a change of scenery for you."

you nodded. "that sounds nice."

"great. just let me put away the dishes real quick and we'll head out."

changmin wanted to tag along, but he apologised as he needed to visit downtown for a pick-up, and promised to come along next time. hyunjae showed you around the town, bringing you into some of his favourite cafés and letting you try some of his top ten food.

you were having fun chatting with hyunjae as he picked up some groceries along the way. but you did occasionally (well, more than occasionally) wonder what eric was doing, hoping he didn't get into any trouble. the day was going well with hyunjae.

all of a sudden, a piercing scream reached your ears, and you froze. hyunjae looked at you worriedly. "stay here. i'll go check it out."

you nodded as you watched him run to the scene. the sky had suddenly turned dark, and you felt a suffocating tension in the air. you saw the dark creatures that similarly looked like the ones that had attacked both you and eric in your room, but there were so many of them. too many.

you tried to help as many people as you could to evacuate the area, and you made eye contact with a young girl no more than five, hiding near the fountain. you quickly ran to her as dust and debris were flying all around you, some missing you just narrowly.

you hoped hyunjae was okay.

you crouched down to the girl. "hey, are you okay? i'm gonna get you out of here."

she nodded as you wrapped your arms around her, using your body as a human shield. before you could sprint your way to the exit, you came face to face with a demon, but it didn't attack you, not yet, as if it was just taunting you. you hugged the girl close to your chest, reaching for the angel knife tucked away in your right boot, and aimed for an opening at the demon's neck.

thank god for eric giving you one.

as the demon fell to the ground, you managed to make your way to safety, returning the girl to her parents. when you returned to the scene, the air stilled, an uneasy feeling settling in your chest. dust was clouding your vision and destruction was evident but there was no sign of any demons left at the scene. or hyunjae.

"hyunjae?" you called out, stepping over chunks of debris. hyunjae was nowhere to be seen.

you tried calling out again, and this time, you could barely make out a figure with wings through the dust. you let out a sigh of relief, heading towards it, glad that hyunjae was safe. but it became clear to you when the dust settled.

hyunjae wasn't the one heading to you. it was someone else. his wings were obsidian black stained with red, and horror struck you at the possibility of what happened to hyunjae. every cell in your body told you to run, but it was as if something rooted you to the ground.

"i've been waiting for you for a very long time."

and everything went black.

---

you woke up to an unfamiliar environment, and you tugged at your arms only to notice they were chained to a post. you saw hyunjae opposite you, also chained up, but he was in a worse condition than you, unconscious.

hyunjae was bruised, battered. his once pristine wings were tattered with blackened blood. he was so much more different than the angel you first met.

you needed to help hyunjae get out of here.

your hands trembled as you tugged at the chains, trying to find a weak spot or some sort of leverage to free yourself.

"uh-uh. not so fast little one."

you snapped your head up to see your abductor walking towards you. even angels in hell were beautiful, and your eyes were drawn to his red ones.

what were you supposed to do now? you've only ever seen this in movies, not expecting to experience it in real life.

your breath came out in puffs of air. you never expected hell to be cold. so cold.

your eyes darted away from his, trying to focus on anything but the angel turned devil in front of you. he grabbed your chin, turning your head side to side, as if he was trying to look for something.

“huh. weird…” he mumbled under his breath. “valak, are you sure she is the right one?” he asked, his voice booming.

a lesser demon came to his side immediately with his head bowed down. “positive, your demonness. she was the one spotted with your half brother.”

“she doesn’t have the mark.”

the lower demon’s eyes widened, and his hands trembled. “i apologise, your demonness!” he bowed, his head on the ground. “we shall look into it once more.”

“leave before my patience runs out.” he demanded, as the demon, valak, scurried away.

he sighed, letting go of your chin. “this wasn’t in my list of expectations when i took over hell centuries ago.”

you raised an eyebrow, “you don’t sound too happy about it.”

his head snapped towards you. “you’re one to talk. i bet hell wasn’t in your list either.”

“ditto.” you paused. “what do you want with us anyways?”

“you never questioned the angels, have you?”

“what do you mean?”

“they probably told you i wanted to summon the king of hell. but they never told you I failed. it’s true that the demon i summoned killed the human, in exchange for the aetherion, an artifact that is imbued with immense divine energy. something that eric stole.”

“forget about it, jun. she’s mine.” hyunjae mumbled. “eric’s never had a human in centuries after you murdered his previous one. there's no reason to keep us."

“does he not?" he questioned. "how pathetic. does father finally know that he is possession of the aetherion?"

the room fell quiet.

"i guess so. why, brother, cat got your tongue?" the demon's cold smile lingered, his eyes gleaming with malice and a hint of amusement.

he slowly turned back to you, his gaze unwavering. "you've never heard of the aetherion before, have you?" he asked, his voice laced with a dark undertone. "it's the very source of divine power that binds heaven to hell, and earth, to the both of them. something the creator created before he even created heaven or hell. with it, one can obliterate heaven, hell or earth. and not even the strongest warriors can stop them."

your mind reeled, as your brain struggled to process what he was saying. the aetherion-- something even more powerful than heaven or hell, can wipe everyone off the face of existence. at this rate, you're convinced that the four horsemen are real.

"you're never going to get it." hyunjae muttered. "the aetherion belongs to no one."

jun laughed bitterly. "belongs? no, brother, it commands." he knelt before hyunjae. "your strength is now gone, brother. you were once father's favourite angel, but now look at you, a broken shadow of what you once were."

you tightened your grip on the chains, your fingers bleeding from the effort. "and you're willing to risk it?" you asked. after all, it was dangerous to all, demons and angels alike.

he leaned in closer to you. "i have nothing to lose, do i? and you, little one, are going to help me get it."

---

it was hard to keep track of time when you were thrown into the dungeons of hell, the air damp and suffocating, heavy with despair. the flickering glow of distant torches cast long, ominous shadows on the jagged walls, amplifying the eerie silence punctuated only by the occasional distant screams.

time passed in agonising uncertainty. minutes, hours, or days—you couldn’t tell. when they finally brought hyunjae in, you almost didn’t recognize him.

his once radiant presence was dimmed, his golden aura now a faint flicker. bruises marred his face, his body littered with cuts and his clothes hung in tatters. he stumbled as they threw him back into the cell, collapsing onto the cold stone floor.

you crawled towards hyunjae, ignoring the pain that came with every tug of your chains, as it bit further into your skin. he struggled to lift his head to look at you, and in his eyes, you saw it all.

regret. sadness. despair.

"i'm sorry i couldn't protect you, y/n." he whispered, weakly.

you cupped his bloodied cheek with your hand, shaking your head. "don't go down that road, hyunjae. you did everything you could. i wouldn't be alive without you."

you tried to take care of him as best you could, tearing strips from your own clothing to clean his wounds.

you could see hyunjae drifting in and out of consciousness, as his head lulled to one side. "hyunjae, stay with me." you urged, your voice trembling, as tears burned your eyes. blood smeared on your hand as you patted his cheek lightly, trying to keep him awake.

"hyunjae... hyunjae! don't you dare die on me!"

his eyes fluttered open briefly, dull but searching yours. "you.. need to survive." he murmured, his words barely audible. "eric... he'll come for you."

"don't you dare talk like that. you're not leaving me, hyunjae. you hear me?" it felt as if someone was crushing your heart, as you were faced with the weight of the situation, yet helpless at the front of it.

a faint smile ghosted his lips, but it lacked its usual radiance. "stubborn as always." he whispered, his voice fading.

your heart clenched as he slumped forwards, his once strong figure now reduced to a fragile shell. panic surged through you. "no! hyunjae, stay awake!" you shook him again, ignoring the searing pain in your injuries.

you leaned in close, the shallow rise and fall of his chest indicating he was still alive, but barely. you let out a breath of relief. it was better than nothing.

you glanced at the chains holding him, iron biting into his wrists, keeping him anchored to the stone wall like a caged animal. you tugged at your own, trying to find some sort of weak spot, some sort of leverage you could. it hurt like hell, but you tried to pull through.

a low rumble interrupted your thoughts as you heard heavy footsteps echoing in the dungeon hall, and your heart skipped a beat. fear clawed through you as you frantically pressed against hyunjae, trying to shield him with your own.

the figure that stepped through the doorway wasn't jun, but it didn't bring you any relief. a tall, shadowy figure with yellow eyes sneered down at you, showing its sharp canines. "afraid, human?" it taunted. "you should know that i feed on fear."

it's eyes narrowed to slits as it shifted to hyunjae who was behind you, its lips curling into a menacing grin. "and despair tastes even sweeter. your angel here is practically dripping with it."

you glared at the demon. “don’t hurt him.”

the demon chuckled. “a mortal protecting an angel? how noble. how… futile.”

you flinched as it reached a clawed hand towards you. you clenched your eyes shut, bracing yourself for the inevitable.

but it never came.

bang! a huge burst of force sent the demon flying away from you, skidding across the dungeon floor. you opened your eyes to see eric standing by the doorway, his silhouette faintly framed with a glowing aura.

“touch her, and you’ll wish that you never crawled out from whatever pit you came from.”

“angel, angel. that’s not how you greet someone, do you?” the demon snarled.

without warning, the demon lunged at eric, moving faster than any mortal could comprehend. their clashes sent shockwaves across the room, and you scrambled back to avoid getting caught in the fight.

the sounds of swords clashing echoed throughout the room. the difference between light and dark was evident as the room felt like it was split into two— one half bathed in angelic power, while the other, was full of demonic energy.

they clashed violently, both moving with absolute precision, sending fatal blows to the other.

“you can’t hold out forever, angel. the light always dims in the dark.”

eric gritted his teeth, shoving the demon back with a burst of energy. “and the dark always cowers before the light.”

the demon swung its blade downward, aiming for eric’s shoulder, but eric managed to sidestep it at the last second. using his speed, eric drove his sword straight into the demon’s chest before the demon disintegrated into ash.

breathing heavily, eric turned to you, his eyes softening. “y/n, are you hurt?”

“i’m fine.” you managed, though your voice shook. “but hyunjae— he’s—“

eric’s gaze shifted to the angel lying limp on the floor, his expression hardening. he crouched beside hyunjae, gently pressing on his pulse point. “he’s alive, but barely. we need to get him out of here before more demons come.”

he snapped the chains binding hyunjae with a strength that startled you, then moved to your side, breaking your restraints just as easily.

“can you walk?” he asked softly.

you nodded, though your legs wobbled as you stood. “i think so.”

eric swept hyunjae into his arms effortlessly and held out a hand to you. “then let’s move. we don’t have much time.”

---

eric led you through the twists and turns of the dungeon's corridors, his steps sure despite the oppressive darkness at every corner. the flickering torches along the wall were the only source of light, casting uneven shadows on the jagged stone walls. you struggled to keep up, the weight of exhaustion pulling at your every moment.

"stay close." eric said, his voice low and steady as he glanced over his shoulder at you. "we're not out of danger yet."

you nodded, clutching the tattered fabric of your sleeve to your bleeding arm. each step felt heavier, but the adrenaline coursing through your veins pushed you forwards.

"how did you know where to find us?" you asked, your voice barely audible.

"we're connected, remember? i'll always know where to find you if you're in danger. i'm sorry i couldn't get to you sooner." he apologised, his voice softening as he glanced back at you.

you shook your head. his words stirred something warm and bittersweet in your chest, but there was no time to dwell on it. the looming danger kept you grounded in the moment.

"the others are waiting for us." he continued. "we just need to get out of here."

you stumbled slightly, your body betraying the toll the dungeon had taken on you. eric immediately stopped, his eyes scanning you with concern. "y/n, you're hurt." he said, his voice tightening. "i should've checked you earlier."

"i'm fine." you insisted, hiding your bleeding arm behind your back. you didn't want him to bear the cost that comes with healing you. "we need to focus on getting hyunjae out of here."

eric's frown deepened, and he stepped closer, gently but firmly catching your uninjured arm. "don't do that." he said quietly, his voice carrying a rare sternness. "don't pretend you're okay when you're not."

“nothing i can’t handle,” you deflected, your voice steadier than you felt.

eric’s eyes narrowed. “don’t lie to me, y/n. i saw the blood. show me.”

you took a step back instinctively, clutching your arm. “it’s just a scratch, eric. i don’t want you wasting energy on me when hyunjae—”

before you could protest further, he closed the distance between you, gently but insistently pulling your arm forward. his brows furrowed as he examined the torn fabric and the deep gash beneath.

“this isn’t just a scratch,” he said, his tone tight. “why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“i didn’t want you to—”

“to what? help you?” eric’s voice rose slightly, a rare show of frustration. “you think I wouldn’t notice? that i’d just let you bleed out?”

“i didn’t want you to take on my pain!” you snapped, pulling your arm back. “i know how it works, eric. if you heal me, you’ll take the wound yourself. i couldn’t let you do that.”

eric’s expression softened, the anger giving way to something far more vulnerable. “y/n… that’s not your decision to make.”

you stared at him, taken aback by the raw emotion in his voice.

“i’m your guardian angel,” he continued, his voice quieter now but no less intense. “it’s my job to protect you, even if it hurts me. don’t you understand? keeping you safe means so much more to me than the pain i might feel.”

the weight of his words settled heavily in the air, and you couldn’t bring yourself to meet his gaze. “it’s not fair,” you whispered, your voice trembling. “i don’t want to see you suffer because of me.”

eric stepped closer, his movements deliberate but not forceful. “i’d suffer a hundred times over than see you in pain,” he said softly.

"y/n, if I don’t heal this, it’ll get infected. you’ll be in even more danger.” he stepped closer, his gaze locking onto yours. “please. let me do this.”

you glanced at hyunjae, his breathing shallow. you were all running out of time.

you hesitated for only a moment before nodding. “fine,” you murmured.

eric’s eyes softened as he gently took your injured arm, his fingers light against your skin. “thank you,” he said simply.

he closed his eyes, and the faint golden glow of his aura brightened. warmth spread through your arm, washing away the pain as your wound began to knit itself closed. but as the injury faded from your skin, a sharp hiss escaped eric’s lips. you watched in horror as the same gash materialized on his forearm, blood seeping through his sleeve.

“eric!” you exclaimed, reaching for him.

he waved you off, sweat beading on his forehead. “i’m fine,” he insisted, echoing your earlier words with a wry smile. “see? not so bad. angels heal way quicker than any mortal would.” he showed you his forearm, the gash disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

before you could argue, the air around you shifted. a cold, oppressive energy crept into the chamber, and the faint echo of footsteps resonated from the hallway you’d just left.

"they're coming." eric said, his voice low and taut. he shifted his stance slightly, angling his body to shield both you and hyunjae. “stay behind me.”

your pulse was pounding in your ears as a hulking figure stepped into view, its form monstrous and grotesque. "you thought you could escape?" it rasped, sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

eric's jaw tightened as he set hyunjae gently against the wall. "y/n, stay back." he ordered, drawing his blade in one smooth motion.

the blade hummed faintly, its angelic energy casting a faint glow in the suffocating darkness.

the creature lunged at eric without warning, its claws slashing through the air. eric parried the attack with a burst of energy, the clash sending sparks flying and illuminating the corridor in bursts of light and shadow.

“go!” eric shouted over his shoulder, his voice strained as he pushed the creature back. “find the others and get hyunjae out of here! i’ll hold it off!”

“but—”

“now, y/n!” he exclaimed, his golden eyes blazing with authority.

you hesitated for only a moment before you scrambled to hyunjae’s side, your hands trembling as you tried to lift him. he was heavier than you had anticipated, his unconscious body limp in your arms.

another growl tore through the air, and you glanced back to see eric locked in combat with the creature, their movements a blur of light and shadow. you clenched your teeth, forcing yourself to focus. with every ounce of strength you could muster, you began dragging hyunjae down the corridor, your legs trembling under the weight and fear.

you gritted your teeth and pushed forward, dragging hyunjae step by agonising step through the dark corridor. The air felt heavier with each movement, pressing against you like an invisible force trying to hold you back. hyunjae’s unconscious weight grew unbearable, but you didn’t stop.

you couldn’t. not when both of your survival relied on you.

behind you, the sounds of the fight were relentless. every sound sent a fresh surge of fear coursing through you, but you forced it down. eric was buying you both time, and you wouldn’t waste it.

“almost there,” you whispered to hyunjae, as much to reassure yourself as him. “we’re going to get out of here.”

your heart leapt as you saw a faint light ahead, filtering in from what looked like an open chamber. summoning the last of your strength, you half-carried, half-dragged hyunjae towards it, your breaths shallow and ragged.

the chamber was vast and empty, its walls lined with faded carvings that seemed to pulse faintly in the dim light. you stumbled into the centre, collapsing to your knees with hyunjae still in your grasp.

"hyunjae, stay with me." you murmured, your voice trembling. the faint light filtering into the room cast a ghostly pallor over his face, and your heart clenched at the sight. you cupped his face with trembling hands, brushing his blood-matted hair back from his forehead. his skin was icy, his normally vibrant glow dimmed to almost nothing.

you barely noticed when jacob dropped to his knees beside you as he examined hyunjae's injuries. "he's fading." jacob said, grimly. "we need to stabilise him before it's too late." he uncorked a small vial filled with some sort of silvery liquid. "y/n. do you mind helping me lift his head a little bit?"

you did as you were told, as jacob tipped the vial against hyunjae's lips, the liquid sliding into his mouth. "it's gonna take awhile before the medicine sets in." jacob explained. "you need to get checked out too, you don’t look too well.”

“i’m okay.” you assured. you turned back to look at the corridor you came from, the silence deafening. “something’s wrong.” you blurted out. “i’m going to look for him.” you pushed yourself up despite the exhaustion.

jacob’s head snapped up. “no. you can’t—”

“i can’t just sit here,” you interrupted, your voice firmer than you felt. “what if eric’s in trouble?”

“and what happens if you walk into something worse?” jacob countered, his tone sharper now. “you’re in no condition to fight. even if you weren't injured, the weakest demon would be able to rip you into shreds in seconds."

you swallowed hard, the weight of jacob's words settling over you like a heavy cloak.

right. you were just a mere mortal.

"kevin and sangyeon are out there looking for him now. trust them." he continued. "it's safe here. i've warded the place with protection. no demons can get through. "

safe. the word felt foreign in this hellish dungeon.

"trust them," jacob said again, his voice firm yet gentle, as though sensing your spiraling thoughts. "sangyeon and kevin will make sure he comes back."

you opened your mouth to respond, but a distant crash interrupted you, the sound reverberating through the walls. your head snapped toward the corridor, your heart racing.

jacob cursed under his breath, his hand instinctively going to the hilt of his blade. “stay here,” he ordered, standing quickly.

“no!” you blurted, grabbing his arm. “you just said i’m in no condition. if anything happens—”

“i’ll be back,” jacob interrupted, his tone sharp. “but if they’re in trouble, i can’t stand by.”

before you could protest further, a new set of footsteps echoed from the corridor. this time, they were uneven and rushed. you held your breath, every muscle in your body tensing, hoping—praying—that it was them.

sangyeon emerged first, his face set in a grim expression, black ichor staining his blade and splattered across his uniform. kevin followed close behind, his usually composed demeanor replaced by a weariness that mirrored the battle they had endured. and then, finally, eric stepped into the light, his golden aura faint but present.

“eric!” you called out, relief flooding your voice as you rushed toward him.

his gaze found yours instantly, and the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease just slightly. “i’m here,” he said, his voice steady despite his labored breathing. his sword, slick with ichor, hung loosely at his side. his usually pristine appearance was marred by smudges of soot and blood, though it was impossible to tell if any of it was his own.

without thinking, you closed the distance between you, your hands instinctively reaching out to check for injuries. “are you hurt?” you asked, your voice trembling. your fingers ghosted over his arm, then his chest, searching for any signs of wounds.

“i’m fine,” he assured you, though his words were quickly followed by a wince as you pressed against a sore spot. his golden eyes softened as they met yours. “what about you? are you okay? did anything happen while i was gone?”

you shook your head, but the weight of the past few minutes hung heavily on you. “i was worried,” you admitted, your voice barely above a whisper. “you were gone for so long, and with the demons...”

“i know,” he interrupted gently, his hand coming up to grasp yours. his fingers were warm despite the chill of the dungeon, grounding you. “i’m sorry i worried you. but i’m here now.”

you opened your mouth to argue, to point out the flickering of his aura and the way he swayed slightly on his feet, but the look in his eyes stopped you. instead, you squeezed his hand tightly. “don’t do that again,” you muttered.

a small smile tugged at his lips. “deal.”

“i hate to break up the moment,” sangyeon interjected, his voice sharp but not unkind, “but we need to move. the demons are regrouping, and they’ll be back in force.”

kevin nodded, already scanning the chamber for supplies. “we don’t have much time. is hyunjae stable enough to move?”

jacob glanced at hyunjae, his expression grim but determined. “barely. but we don’t have a choice.”

eric released your hand reluctantly and stepped forward, crouching beside hyunjae. “i’ll carry him,” he said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument.

you hesitated, watching as he gently lifted hyunjae into his arms, his movements careful despite the obvious strain it placed on him. “you’re already exhausted—”

“i can handle it,” he said, cutting you off with a reassuring glance. “we need to stick together now.”

“we need to leave,” sangyeon said, his voice clipped as he surveyed the room. “kevin, help me secure the path. jacob, get everyone ready to leave.”

as soon as you left the chamber, you could feel the air growing heavier with every passing moment, the oppressive darkness pressing in from all sides. the faint light from kevin and sangyeon’s weapons illuminated the narrow corridor ahead, casting eerie shadows on the jagged walls.

“how much farther?” you asked softly, your voice barely above a whisper. the tension in the air made speaking feel like a risk.

“not far,” sangyeon replied, his tone grim. “but they’re closing in fast. we’ll need to hold them off if they catch up.”

“they won’t,” kevin said, his voice unwavering. “not if we move fast enough.”

behind you, eric adjusted hyunjae’s weight in his arms, his jaw set in determination. despite the strain, he kept moving, his golden aura flickering faintly but steadily.

a sudden noise—faint but distinct—brought the group to an abrupt halt. it was a scraping sound, like claws against stone, followed by a low, guttural growl that sent chills down your spine.

“they’re close,” jacob murmured, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade.

“keep moving.” sangyeon commanded. he and kevin turned to face the oncoming threat, their weapons glowing brighter as they prepared for the fight. “jacob, stay with them!”

the group surged forward, but the sound of clawed footsteps scraping against the stone floor grew louder. shadows flickered at the edge of the light, and a guttural snarl sent a chill down your spine.

you turned your head just in time to see the first demon emerge from the darkness—a hulking creature with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp claws. it lunged toward kevin, who met it head-on, his blade slicing through the air in a brilliant arc.

“don’t look back!” jacob shouted, grabbing your arm and pulling you forward. “focus on the exit!”

eric’s pace quickened, his breathing labored as he carried hyunjae, but his steps were steady. “we’re almost there,” he said, his voice strained but resolute.

the corridor widened slightly, and ahead, you saw a faint glimmer of light—daylight. hope surged through you, but it was short-lived as more demons poured into the corridor, their snarls filling the air.

jacob stepped in front of you, his blade flashing as he blocked an oncoming attack. “go!” he shouted over his shoulder. “don’t stop!”

you hesitated, your heart pounding as the battle unfolded around you.

“trust us!” jacob said, his eyes blazing with determination. “we’ll hold them off. just get out of here!”

eric glanced at you, his expression fierce. “go, y/n. i’m right behind you.”

swallowing your fear, you forced your legs to move, sprinting toward the light with every ounce of strength you had left. behind you, the clash of steel against claws echoed, but you didn’t dare look back.

the light ahead revealed a massive stone doorway carved with intricate runes. it was partially open, a faint golden glow spilling through the crack. hope flared in your chest, but it was quickly overshadowed by the sound of claws scraping against stone.

jacob showed up moments later, his blade slick with black ichor. “the wards won’t hold much longer!” he shouted, his eyes darting to the door. “we need to get through now!”

sangyeon and kevin followed close behind, their faces grim and their movements sharp. as soon as everyone got through, sangyeon slammed the door shut behind him, leaning his weight against it as the first impact hit—a thunderous crash that sent cracks spidering through the stone.

"we need to activate the runes! or the seal will break!" sangyeon shouted. you quickly ran to the door, using your body weight to help sangyeon brace against the relentless pressure from the other side. the vibrations beneath your palms made the ancient runes shimmer faintly, but they didn’t hold.

jacob took a deep breath, his hand gripping his blade tightly as he started tracing the runes etched into the doorframe. the runes glowed faintly in the golden light, their intricate carvings vibrating as though alive.

kevin rushed to his side, his expression fierce as he worked on the other runes. eric began to channel his energy into the runes alongside jacob and kevin, trying their best to seal the door.

sangyeon, still braced against the door, called out, "keep going! we don’t have much time!"

“we’re almost there,” jacob said, his voice steady despite the chaos surrounding him.

the crashing sounds behind the door grew louder, more frequent. sangyeon gritted his teeth as he strained to hold back the onslaught. "hurry! they're breaking through!"

you pushed harder against the door, feeling every tremor and crash echo through your body. the air was thick with tension, each second feeling like an eternity.

the runes were beginning to glow brighter, the energy building with every second. you could feel the faint pulse of power thrumming through the air, strengthening with each passing moment.

“keep pushing!” sangyeon urged, his voice strained as the door began to groan under the relentless attacks.

before the demons could breach, a barrier of golden light erupted, forcing them back with a deafening screech.

the air grew still, the light dimming as the runes completed their work. the demons were gone—sealed away, at least for now.

"we did it," kevin muttered, his gaze distant. "for now."

you collapsed to your knees, exhaustion finally overtaking you. eric caught you before you fell, his arms steady despite the toll the battle had taken on him. “we made it,” he murmured, his voice filled with relief.

you looked up at him, your vision blurred but your heart steady. “we’re alive.”

“barely,” sangyeon muttered, slumping against the wall with a weary smile.

but you couldn’t help the small smile that formed on your lips. against all odds, you had survived.

---

when your eyes fluttered open, you were lying in an unfamiliar bed. your body felt heavy, every muscle aching. you panicked when memories from what felt like the night before hit you like a wave, and you scrambled back, your back hitting the bed rest.

“don’t panic. you’re safe here.” a gentle voice said, and you turned your head to see younghoon seated beside you, his dark eyes filled with relief.

you placed your hand on your chest, willing your beating heart to calm down.

“how long…?” you croaked, your throat dry.

“two days,” younghoon replied, handing you a cup of water. “you passed out as soon as you arrived. we’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

“the others?” you asked, anxiety bubbling to the surface.

younghoon nodded, a small reassuring smile on his lips. “everyone’s fine. a few scratches here and there, but alive.”

the door creaked open, and kevin poked his head in, followed by changmin and sunwoo. “she’s awake?” kevin grinned, stepping inside with a tray of food.

“finally,” changmin said, crossing his arms. “you scared us.”

sunwoo nodded, his usual mischievous expression replaced with genuine concern. “eric’s going to lose it when he finds out you’re awake.”

you tried to sit up, but younghoon gently pressed a hand to your shoulder. “not so fast. you need to rest.” he helped you prop yourself against the headboard. “you’ve been through a lot.”

"i brought something sangyeon prepared from the kitchen." kevin said. "you must be starving."

your stomach growled at kevin’s words, and he smiled, setting the tray down on the bedside table. “told you,” he teased.

“it smells amazing,” you admitted, your eyes lighting up at the food. the tray held a bowl of steaming soup, a slice of fresh bread, and a small cup of tea.

changmin leaned casually against the wall, his sharp eyes scanning you. “you gave us all a scare,” he said, though his tone was lighter now. “eric hasn’t left the house in days. he’s been hovering like a mother hen.”

“he’ll be here soon,” sunwoo added, sitting at the foot of the bed. “he’s just with sangyeon and jacob, talking about the wards and defenses.”

younghoon handed you the soup, steadying your trembling hands as you took a cautious sip. the warmth spread through your chest, and you sighed in relief.

“how’s hyunjae?” you asked suddenly, the question slipping out before you could stop yourself.

the room grew quiet for a moment, and kevin exchanged a glance with changmin.

“he’s stable,” younghoon said softly. “he woke up briefly, but he’s still weak. jacob and sangyeon have been keeping an eye on him.”

“he’ll be okay,” kevin added quickly, trying to reassure you. “hyunjae’s tough. don’t worry about him.”

you nodded, the tension in your chest easing slightly. “thank you… for everything. for taking care of me.”

sunwoo snorted, breaking the seriousness. “you can thank us by not doing something reckless again. and pushing yourself too hard.”

“sunwoo,” changmin warned, though he didn’t seem entirely opposed to the sentiment.

you managed a small smile, feeling a strange warmth despite the lingering exhaustion. “noted.”

the door creaked open again, and eric appeared, his golden aura faint but present. his eyes immediately locked onto yours, relief flooding his face.

“you’re awake,” he breathed, stepping into the room.

“eric,” you said softly, guilt and gratitude mixing in your chest.

he was at your side in moments, crouching beside the bed. “you scared the hell out of me,” he muttered, his voice tight. “don’t ever do that again.”

“it wasn’t exactly part of the plan,” you said, managing a weak laugh.

he shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips despite the worry etched on his face. “i’m just glad you’re okay.”

“me too.” you agreed softly.

kevin cleared his throat loudly, shattering the moment. “okay, guys, before we keep distracting her, we need to let her finish her soup.”

changmin smirked, folding his arms. “agreed. she needs strength if we’re all going to survive whatever’s coming next.”

you laughed softly, the warmth of their teasing making you feel more grounded. “i’m fine,” you reassured them, though the soup did look inviting. “but thank you. all of you.”

for the first time in a long time— you felt safe. if only for a little while.

eric stood, his presence still close as he glanced at the others. “has anyone updated her on hyunjae?”

“we told her he’s stable,” younghoon said. “but maybe she should hear it from you. you’ve been the one keeping watch most of the time.”

eric’s expression shifted, a flicker of vulnerability crossing his face. “he’s been in and out. he’s still weak, but his recovery is steady. he’s resting now.”

your heart clenched at the thought of hyunjae, his usual strength and confidence reduced to fragility. “can i see him?”

“not yet,” eric said quickly, his tone firm. “you need to focus on getting better. hyunjae would say the same if he were awake.”

“but—”

“no buts,” kevin interrupted, grinning as he handed you the bread from the tray. “listen to mother hen over here. you’re no use to anyone if you don’t recover.”

sunwoo leaned closer, his mischievous grin reappearing. “besides, hyunjae’s not going anywhere. you can visit him once you’re steady enough to walk without toppling over.”

you huffed in mock annoyance but relented, knowing they were right. “fine. but let me know if anything changes.”

“of course,” eric said, his voice softening.

“now, now, out of the room—everyone,” younghoon declared, standing with an air of authority. “she needs rest.”

“bossy,” sunwoo muttered, but he followed the others toward the door, tossing you a wink. “don’t miss us too much.”

“as if she could,” changmin teased, earning a chuckle from kevin as they filed out.

eric lingered for a moment longer, his gaze meeting yours. “if you need anything, just call for me, okay?”

you nodded, offering him a small smile. “thank you, eric.”

his golden aura flickered faintly, a sign of his own lingering exhaustion, but he returned the smile before stepping out of the room. younghoon shut the door behind him, leaving you alone with the soft hum of silence.

as you sank deeper into the pillows, exhaustion weighed heavily on you, and your eyes fluttered shut. the steady hum of silence wrapped around you, and before long, sleep claimed you, pulling you into its quiet embrace.

—-

the next few days passed in a blur of quiet recovery. you worked on regaining your strength, your muscles slowly losing their ache as you started getting better. during this time, you learned more about the boys—each of them with their own quirks and charm. their camaraderie was infectious, and you found yourself surprisingly at ease in their presence.

changmin always found ways to make you laugh, sunwoo was endlessly curious about your mortal life, and younghoon often lingered nearby, offering quiet support. kevin filled the safe house with music and humor, while sangyeon and jacob balanced the group with their steady leadership. eric, of course, never strayed far, his protective nature always evident.

juyeon, quieter than the others, often sat with you during your recovery, reading with you or simply keeping you company. while chanhee would always chat with you about the latest trends.

on the third morning, as you were carefully making your way to the kitchen, jacob appeared in the doorway, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “hyunjae’s awake,” he said simply.

your heart skipped, a mix of relief and nerves washing over you. “really?” you asked, setting down the cup of tea kevin had made you earlier.

jacob nodded. “he’s still weak, but he’s been asking about you.”

you didn’t hesitate. “let’s go.”

jacob led you down the hallway, his steps steady and calm as if trying to ease your nerves. your heart pounded with each step, a mixture of relief and apprehension swirling inside you.

jacob knocked lightly before pushing the door open, guiding you inside. hyunjae was propped up against a stack of pillows, his usually sharp features softened by exhaustion. despite the paleness of his skin and the faint shadows under his eyes, he managed a faint smile when he saw you.

“glad to see you’re back on your feet,” hyunjae said, his voice hoarse but laced with warmth.

you managed a small smile, stepping cautiously into the room. “and i’m glad to see you awake. how are you feeling?”

“like i went a few rounds with a demon,” he joked lightly, though the faint wince that followed betrayed the toll his recovery was taking. “but i’ll live. thanks to you.”

you hesitated, guilt flickering across your expression. “it wasn’t just me,” you said quietly, lowering yourself into the chair beside his bed. “everyone worked together to get us out.”

jacob stepped back, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “he’s been asking about you since he woke up,” he said with a faint smile.

hyunjae smirked weakly. “figured i owed her a ‘thank you.’”

“you don’t owe me anything,” you said quickly, your voice firm. “just focus on getting better.”

“yes, doctor,” hyunjae teased, though his eyes softened.

“do you need anything?” you asked softly, your gaze steady as you studied his pale features.

hyunjae shook his head slightly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “just for you to stop worrying so much. i’ll be fine.”

“easier said than done,” you murmured, leaning back in the chair.

his expression softened, and for a moment, the weight of everything you’d been through together hung in the air. “i mean it,” he said. “you’ve done more than enough. now it’s my turn to catch up.”

“catch up?” you repeated, your brow furrowing.

“yeah,” he replied, his voice quiet but steady. “i don’t plan on letting everyone else shoulder everything. not anymore.”

“also, the demons made a mistake when they were questioning me in the dungeons because they thought i wouldn’t survive,” hyunjae continued, his tone sharper now, the faint smile fading from his lips.

you leaned forward, heart pounding. “what kind of mistake?”

“they let slip some of their plans,” hyunjae said, his eyes darkening as his voice grew grim. “they’re building armies—bigger and more dangerous than the last. they’re not just hunting the aetherion; they’re preparing for war.”

“war…” you trailed off, the word heavy on your tongue.

hyunjae nodded grimly. “and not just to seize control of heaven, but earth too. if they get the aetherion, they’ll have the power to do it.”

“which is why we need to act fast,” hyunjae said firmly, his gaze locking onto yours. “they’re desperate, and desperation leads to mistakes. we need to stay ahead of them and make sure their next move works in our favor—not theirs.”

“what’s the plan, then?” you asked, a determined edge creeping into your voice despite the unease in your chest.

hyunjae hesitated for a moment, his expression unreadable. “we start by strengthening the wards and regrouping with everyone. and after that…” he sighed. “we figure out how to protect the aetherion—no matter the cost.”

—-

as hyunjae got better, you also started learning basic fighting skills. the boys took turns teaching you whenever one of them had a moment to spare, each bringing their own unique style and expertise.

changmin focused on agility, pushing you to dodge and outmaneuver, while sangyeon emphasized strength and precision. kevin and sunwoo kept the mood light, turning drills into playful competitions that left you laughing despite the bruises. juyeon’s quiet patience made him a natural teacher, guiding you through techniques with calm encouragement, while younghoon’s protective nature ensured you never pushed yourself too far.

chanhee was sharp and analytical, quick to point out weaknesses and help you refine your strategies. though his critiques could be blunt, they always came with useful insights that helped you improve faster than you thought possible.

hyunjae occasionally watched from the sidelines, giving a few of his own tips now and then. though he rarely interrupted, you could feel his presence, quiet but steady. every once in a while, his eyes would meet yours, offering a flicker of encouragement.

and then there was eric. when you struggled, he was patient, stepping closer to guide your hands into the right position or demonstrating a move again without a hint of frustration. “you’re getting it,” he’d say softly, his golden aura flickering with warmth. “trust yourself a little more.”

he’d flash his boyish grin as he challenged you to mock duels or turned footwork drills into impromptu games of tag. his lighthearted approach made it easier to forget the stakes, and you found yourself laughing more than you expected.

and it reminded you of the first time you met him.

“tired?” he asked as you sat by the stairs, drenched in sweat, your legs aching from the drills.

"mmhm." you hummed, thanking him as he handed you a towel.

eric plopped down beside you, his own breath coming in short bursts. "you did really well today. you’re starting to look like a pro.”

you let out a soft laugh, dabbing your face with the towel. “i don’t think pros trip over their own feet.”

“hey, that was just once. and i caught you, didn’t i?” he asked, flashing that familiar grin.

maybe, just maybe, your heart skipped a beat.

“barely,” you teased, though the memory made your cheeks warm.

he nudged your shoulder gently with his. “you’re doing great. better than i did when i first started training, actually.”

you gave him a look. “you’re just saying that.”

“nope,” he shrugged. "you can ask sangyeon hyung. he'll say the same thing."

“hard to believe,” you teased, though his words sent a flicker of pride through you.

"i guess all the lessons are rubbing off on you." he said. “come on, let’s take five, and then i’ll show you a trick for keeping your balance. sound good?”

“sounds good,” you replied.

though the lessons were challenging, you found solace in their support, and for the first time in a long while, you felt a spark of control over your circumstances. you weren’t just surviving anymore—you were preparing to fight back.

---

on one of the rare evenings when the house was quiet, the soft glow of the fireplace bathed the room in flickering light as you sat across from hyunjae. he looked more himself now, his strength slowly returning, but there was still a heaviness in his expression that made your chest tighten.

“you’ve heard the others talk about the aetherion,” he began, his voice low, almost hesitant. “but no one’s really told you what it is. not completely.”

you nodded, unsure of what to say. the name carried weight, whispered in fragments and cloaked in fear.

hyunjae’s gaze lingered on the flames for a moment before he turned back to you. “the aetherion isn’t just an artifact. it’s a fragment of divine power—pure, uncorrupted energy left behind from the creation of the realms. it was meant to remain hidden, untouched by mortals, angels, or demons alike. but centuries ago, it was bounded to a guardian angel.”

your breath hitched. “eric.”

he nodded, his expression unreadable. “eric didn’t choose it. it chose him. the aetherion is… alive, in a way. it senses something in its bearer, and once bonded, it amplifies their power but also binds them to it.”

you swallowed hard. “what does that mean? for him? for me?”

hyunjae hesitated, his jaw tightening. “when eric became your guardian angel, the bond between you two linked you indirectly to the aetherion. that’s why the demons are after you. they think they can exploit that connection to locate it—or worse, manipulate it.”

the weight of his words pressed on your chest. “but i don’t even… i don’t feel connected to it. i don’t even understand it.”

“you don’t have to,” hyunjae said softly. “the connection isn’t something you’re aware of, but it’s there. that’s why they targeted you in the first place.”

your gaze dropped to your hands, trembling slightly in your lap. “so, if something happens to me…”

“the bond between eric and the aetherion would weaken,” he admitted, his voice grim. “but it wouldn’t sever. not unless—”

“unless what?”

hyunjae leaned forward, his gaze intense. “unless eric willingly broke the bond, which would destroy him. or if the aetherion itself chose a new bearer, which it hasn’t in centuries.”

"so the reason why eric didn’t have a human for so long…” you trailed off, piecing together the fragments of what you’d heard over time.

hyunjae nodded, his expression unreadable. “it’s because of the aetherion. the bond makes him... different. unique, even among guardian angels. the council feared the risks of pairing him with a human, knowing the kind of power the aetherion holds—and what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. and he knew whoever that he was assigned to would immediately have a huge target on their back.”

your brow furrowed as another thought struck you. “and that’s why… that’s why the demons kept looking for a mark on me. because i didn’t have it. because you were my first guardian angel before eric.”

a flicker of something passed through hyunjae’s eyes—regret, maybe, or something deeper. “exactly. they knew something wasn’t adding up. you were an anomaly to them. no mark meant no typical bond, no trail to follow. especially when eric became your guardian angel. it threw them off. they’re desperate to understand what happened… and how they can use it to find the aetherion.”

you swallowed hard, the weight of his explanation settling heavily on your shoulders. “so, in a way, i’m the weakest spot to finding the aetherion and the reason they haven’t found it yet.”

“it’s not your fault,” hyunjae said firmly, his tone softening. “this isn’t something you chose. but it’s why we have to stay one step ahead. they’ll stop at nothing to get what they want.”

for a long moment, silence stretched between you, the crackle of the fire the only sound. finally, you looked up, meeting his steady gaze. “thank you for telling me. even if it’s a lot to take in.”

hyunjae’s expression softened. “you deserved to know. and whatever happens, we’ll protect you. all of us.”

you took a deep breath, trying to steady the swirl of emotions inside you. “i guess i just didn’t realize how deeply i was connected to all of this. i never expected to play such a big role in, the aetherion, the realms, everything.”

“it’s a lot,” he admitted, his voice quieter now. “but you’re stronger than you think. you’ve come this far, despite everything.”

his words were meant to comfort, but they only added to the weight you already carried. “and if i make a mistake? if they find a way to use me—”

“we won’t let that happen,” hyunjae interrupted, his tone firm. “you have all of us by your side. and eric… he’d tear the realms apart before he let anything happen to you.”

the thought of eric—of his unyielding determination and the weight he bore for your sake—made your chest ache. “he’s already done so much. on top of everything he needs to do. sometimes, it feels like i'm too much of a burden for him.”

“he doesn’t see it that way,” hyunjae said simply. “for him, you’re worth it.”

you looked back at the fire, its flickering light casting long shadows across the room. despite the overwhelming truths you’d just learned, there was a quiet resolve building within you. “then i’ll do my part. i won’t just sit back and let everyone protect me. i need to be ready for whatever’s coming.”

hyunjae’s lips curved into the faintest of smiles. “that’s the spirit of the girl i know.”

the words were meant to reassure, but the storm brewing in your chest didn’t subside. there was so much more at stake than you’d ever realized, and the aetherion wasn’t just a distant legend—it was woven into your life in ways you couldn’t escape.

---

you knew the time you had with all the boys was just the calm before the storm. something as simple as having a meal together wasn’t something you would take for granted.

the laughter that filled the room, the way sunwoo playfully argued with kevin over the last piece of chicken, or the soft hum of a song that younghoon absentmindedly sang while setting the table—all of it felt precious. fleeting.

each moment was a reminder of what you were fighting for, of the bonds you’d built amidst the chaos. though the shadow of what lay ahead loomed large, you found strength in the small, quiet moments like these. they were your anchor, grounding you when the weight of everything threatened to pull you under.

as you watched eric teasing changmin over his choice of toppings, his grin so effortlessly bright, you couldn’t help but smile softly to yourself.

"what do you wish for, y/n? after all of this is over," jacob’s voice broke through your thoughts, drawing your attention away from the playful banter.

you blinked, caught off guard by the question. after everything? the idea of a life beyond the storm seemed almost too distant to imagine. but as you looked around the room—at the faces of the people who had become your family—you felt a flicker of hope.

“i don’t know,” you admitted softly, your gaze dropping to the table. “i guess… i’d like some peace. a chance to live without always looking over my shoulder. to wake up and not feel like the world’s about to end.”

the room stayed silent for a moment before younghoon spoke, his voice gentle. “that sounds nice.”

“it does,” juyeon agreed, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“and maybe,” you added, your voice quieter now, “to keep this. all of us, together. no matter where we are.”

eric’s gaze lingered on you, something warm and unspoken in his expression. “we’ll make it happen,” he said, the confidence in his voice a stark contrast to the uncertainty of the future.

kevin grinned, leaning back in his chair. “yeah, we’re pretty hard to get rid of anyway.”

sunwoo chuckled, nudging him. “speak for yourself.”

the laughter returned, lighter this time, and for a moment, the weight of everything seemed to lift. you didn’t have all the answers, but maybe that was okay. as long as you had them by your side, you could face whatever came next. for now, at least, you had this—a family pieced together in the unlikeliest of ways, sharing a fleeting sense of normalcy before the world demanded more from you all.

——

the air inside the safe house was thick with tension. the moment sunwoo burst into the room, panting and wide-eyed, you knew—there was no more running.

“they’re here,” he breathed out, hands gripping his knees. “they found us too quickly.”

eric was already moving, securing the exits, checking his weapons. you watched as his wings flickered in and out of existence, a habit when he was restless.

“we end this now,” sangyeon said, voice steady. “no more running.”

you nodded.

outside, the distant sound of chaos signaled their arrival.

“positions,” hyunjae whispered.

you took a deep breath, gripping the hilt of the blade eric had given you what felt like decades ago. it felt foreign in your hands, but fear wasn’t an option anymore.

the first impact came like a thunderclap—the door blasted open, and they poured in.

chaos erupted.

eric moved like lightning, his wings cutting through the air as he took down the first intruder. sunwoo was right behind him, fists meeting flesh, a well-timed kick sending another enemy crashing into the wall.

you ducked, narrowly avoiding a strike, before twisting and driving your blade into the demon’s side.

kevin and chanhee fought back-to-back, their attacks synchronized. jacob’s healing light pulsed through the room, mending wounds almost as fast as they were inflicted. juyeon and haknyeon worked in tandem, their strikes precise and ruthless.

but they just kept coming.

eric’s voice rang out above the chaos. “stay close to me!”

you didn’t need to be told twice.

the battle was brutal. fast. the safe house, once a place of refuge, was crumbling under the weight of destruction.

then, the room fell into a eerie silence.

a deep chuckle echoed from the doorway.

jun.

“you all put up quite the fight,” he mused, voice laced with amusement. “but this is where it ends.”

without warning, he lunged.

eric met him midair, their clash sending a shockwave through the room. light and darkness clashed violently, illuminating the safe house in bursts of celestial gold and abyssal red.

“i shouldn’t have hesitated then. you’re not the brother i once knew.” eric said, blood dripping from his lips.

with one final strike, eric plunged his blade into the its core. the room trembled. shadows shrieked as jun convulsed, its form unraveling like smoke in the wind.

but they weren’t done yet.

sangyeon raised his hand. “now.”

as one, the group activated the exile spell. golden chains wrapped around the demon, pulling it into a swirling void. it roared, thrashing, but the light was too strong.

“sent to headquarters.” sangyeon declared.

eric wiped a hand across his face, blood staining his fingertips. he turned to you, eyes searching. “are you hurt?”

you shook your head, swallowing the lump in your throat. “i’m okay.”

sunwoo collapsed onto a chair. “that was insane.”

eric exhaled, finally letting his wings fade. “it’s over.”

and for the first time in what felt like forever, you let yourself believe it.

——

“five more minutes.”

“eric, we’re gonna be late.”

he groans, burying his face deeper into the crook of your neck. “only five more minutes, i promise.”

you sigh, but there’s no real frustration behind it. months had passed since the last battle, and they managed to sort everything out with heaven. (or headquarters as they say). now, for the first time in what felt like forever, peace wasn’t just a fleeting dream. it was real. it was here.

eric had decided to take a break from angel duties, staying at your place while you continued with your school. it was nice to have someone, to say the least.

and today, you were all having a reunion lunch at sangyeon’s place.

eric tightens his arms around you, refusing to let you go. the warmth of his body, the steady rise and fall of his breathing—it’s all too comforting.

“you’re the one who said we had to be responsible now,” you remind him, though you make no effort to move.

“i lied,” he murmurs against your skin, voice still thick with sleep. “responsibility can wait. let’s stay like this for a little longer.”

“sangyeon might lock us out of his house if we continue with this.”

“he wouldn’t. he likes you too much. something about freeing his hands and lessening his chores.”

you scoff. “you give him that much trouble?”

“depends. occasionally. sometimes.”

you raise a brow. “so… all of the time?”

he grins. “i like to keep him on his toes.”

shaking your head, you finally manage to slip out of his hold, standing up to stretch. outside, the sun is bright, and the distant chatter of people starting their day filters through the window.

“we’re gonna be late,” you remind him, heading towards your bathroom, not before throwing a pillow at him. “if sangyeon does lock us out, i’m blaming you.”

“okay. okay. i’m up.” he says, catching the pillow before it can hit him on the head. he stretches his arms, yawning as he finally swings his legs over the edge.

as you both got into the car (him in the driver’s seat), eric reached over to buckle your seatbelt for you, his fingers brushing against your shoulder.

“you know, i can do that myself,” you tease.

“i know.” he grins, tapping your nose before pulling away. “but i like taking care of you.”

you roll your eyes, but the warmth in your chest is undeniable.

“are you ready to see everyone?”

you nodded. “are you?”

“yup. let’s go.”

as he starts the engine and pulls onto the road, the radio hums softly in the background, the city passing by in a blur. everything feels calm, like this is exactly where you’re meant to be—next to him, in a moment that is finally, beautifully, just yours.

[syrupfog]

The first time Penguin sees him, it’s in the auction house at Sabaody, standing on the opposite side of the room. He’s hard to miss; tall and imposing, a mess of blond hair and a LOUD polka dot shirt. 

He leans over to Shachi. “Does this boiler suit make me look cool?”

Shachi smacks him upside the head. “No,” he says. “Stop making eyes at the enemy.” 

“He can’t even SEE my eyes,” Penguin sulks.

The second time Penguin sees him, it’s in Wano. And it’s, like, a whole thing. There’s a lot going on, and Penguin’s a bit BUSY, honestly, he’s got some other things to deal with. 

But he notices that the guy’s, like, seriously bulked up. It would be hard not to notice, really.

Penguin flexes his own muscles. He can’t see much of any change. Especially under the boiler suit. 

Shachi squints at him. “What’s wrong with you?” He asks. 

Penguin smacks him. “Shut up,” he says. “And give me those binoculars back.”

The THIRD time Penguin sees him, things are a bit different. 

And by a bit different, he means “SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCK SHIT WHERE DID BEPO GO? SHACHI— FUCK WHERE IS SHACHI—“ 

It’s HOT on this island, boiler suit stripped down and tied around his waist and Penguin is still sweating buckets as he runs down alleys and side streets with the sun beating down on his back. There’s only about twelve people running behind him, yelling angry-sounding things that Penguin doesn’t bother deciphering because WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYONE?

The bundle in his arms isn’t helping the heat stroke quickly approaching either. He’s gonna need Law to give him a rehydrating IV or something after this and then he’s going to be in trouble for wasting resources. 

Racing around a corner leads him to a crowded market street — a good sign, maybe he can get lost between the stalls. Or maybe not— the angry mob behind him seems to be gaining and they’re yelling honestly very rude things. WHERE the FUCK are his CREW— 

That’s when he sees him. HOW they ended up on the same island is a mystery, but—

“Hey! Oi!” Penguin yells, making a beeline straight for him. 

Killer, of the Kid pirates, is at a stall perusing mangos. He looks up, blue and white stripes zeroing in on Penguin. GOD the guy has some wide shoulders. 

“Yeah, you!!” Penguin yells. “Offense or Defence??”

“Uhhhhhhh,” Killer says, tilting his head. Very calm for a guy who MUST see the mob behind Penguin. “Depends on the game.” 

“Now!!” Penguin shouts, getting within throwing distance. He can practically SEE the question marks popping above Killer’s head. 

“…Defense?”

“Then CATCH” 

Penguin throws the bundle at him and turns on a heel, skidding into place mere feet in front of Killer and facing down the approaching mob. He sticks his hands deep into the pockets of the boiler suit and draws out two brass knuckles, because god these outfits are NOT good for hiding larger weapons in. 

“Uhhhhh,” says Killer behind him, voice echoey under the helmet. “Maybe I should be offence, actually.” 

“TOO LATE,” Penguin yells, charging toward the mob that has been quickly thrown into confusion now that their target has turned around.

Honestly, there’s not even any burning pitchforks or anything. It’s just a dozen or so citizens with sticks up their asses (and in their hands), and Penguin, well, he’s had to fight Clione for the last ice cream bar. 

He comes away with one nasty scrape to the cheek and a bunch of blood splatters on his outfit that Law will enjoy testing for STDs. When he finally shoves the brass knuckles back in his pockets, he turns around to find Killer still standing in front of the mango stall (although the seller has long since run for it)

And the bundle squirming around in his hands. 

“You good?” Killer asks. 

“Are you holding her upside down?” Penguin asks. 

Killer looks down at the bundle in his arms. He flips it over, and the squirming stops. A head pops out. A small child with an unnervingly large mouth full of triangular teeth, and a head of shockingly blond hair in two messy tails, is looking bright eyed at Penguin. 

Penguin gives the small child a thumbs up. 

She giggles, showing off her many unnerving teeth. There’s a second set behind the first.

“So,” says Killer, conversationally. “She yours?” 

“Oh god no,” Penguin says. “Found her chowing down on some offering to a local god and the townspeople were getting all angry at her.” He walks over, picking up a mango and holding it up to her. She neatly bites through half.

“Cool,” says Killer. 

“You got parents, kid?” Penguin asks. 

The small child shakes her head, mango juice dripping from her mouth. 

Penguin frowns. “Family?” 

The small child shakes her head again. She doesn’t seem sad. She probably didn’t know them.

“Aww,” says Killer. Penguin looks up at him. He’s oddly expressive for a man in a helmet. 

A chill runs up his spine, though, and he turns away, recognizing the feeling of conquerors haki. Sure enough, the captain of the Kid pirates is walking through the center of the now deserted market street. 

“Killer!” He yells, stalking over to them and ignoring Penguin entirely. That’s fair. Penguin likes it that way. “What’d you fucking do??” 

Killer tilts his head. With both hands he holds up the fishchild. “Got a baby,” he says brightly.

Kid blinks at the child. “What the fuck,” he says. 

Killer lowers the child and then points with one hand at Penguin. “His baby,” he says. 

“Well,” Penguin hedges. 

“What the fuck,” says Kid.

“I’m keeping it,” says Killer. 

“Her,” says Penguin. 

“That makes you a grandpa,” says Killer. 

“FUCK no it doesn’t,” shouts Kid. 

The child laughs. 

“You can’t have a BABY with the ENEMY,” Kid yells. 

“Well,” says Penguin. 

“You can’t tell me what to do, Mom.”

“Fuck you,” spits Kid. 

“She has her father’s eyes,” says Killer. 

Penguin’s not sure which of them is supposed to be the father. 

“My hair, though.” 

Ah, Penguin is the father. 

“We’ll have to work out custody agreements,” Killer continues. 

“I’d like a date first,” Penguin says

Honestly it’s fitting that that’s the first full sentence he gets out, somehow. 

“You can’t date my second in command!” Kid yells. 

“I mean, we have a kid together,” Killer points out. “You’re a bit late.” 

Penguin is halfway to a genius response of some kind when he sees  blue light wash over them. It’s all he can do to mime “call me” at Killer before he’s shambled back to the ship. 

“You’re late,” Law tells him. 

“I’m an unwed mother now I think,” Penguin says. 

Law sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t want to know.

[sukunas-wife]

Hmm, I’m interested 🤔

Part 2

Capturing your life at this moment, you would be written off as a poorly educated woman. You were sitting crossed legged on the floor, your extravagant robes ruffled and bunched up from how loudly you were laughing before leaning back on to your hands, legs stretching out under the kotatsu as your laugh faded into a soft smile.

Your eyes were full of sheer joy looking at the man who sat across from you, his head tilted down as he started to drink from his sake. He felt your stare and he stopped his sip, a smirk pulled at his lips as he stared at you with lidded eyes. He placed the choko down, propping his elbow on his knee and bringing a loose fist up to rest his cheek on. His free hand toyed with the fabric of your Junihitoe that pooled under the table. The silk fabric running smooth under his hands before he let it slip back to the ground, “Well aren’t you free spirited tonight, little lotus?” The feeling in your stomach had you looking away, the smile playing on your lips growing a bit in size.

“It’s been much too long since the last day you came to see me. I saw it appropriate to celebrate with a more lively atmosphere.” “Mm, quit that royal facade princess, I know what your tongue is capable of and every little word you utter in defiance. There is no point in trying to hide the real you that I know all too well.” You watched as he brought the choko back up to his lips, never breaking eye contact as he finally emptied his cup.

He stood up, the floors creaking under his weight, your eyes followed him as he walked to your side. Holding out a hand, curious of his gesture you took it before he pulled you up. Following his lead as he led you through the walls he had become familiar with stopping causing you to bump into his back, he looked back and down at you from over his shoulder with lidded eyes and a teasing smile.

He placed a hand over your mouth pulling you into his side when you were going to speak. You looked at him with a mix of questioning and offence, he looked away and soon enough you saw the orange glow of the approaching light outside the shoji walls. Your eyes followed the figure as it walked by not bothering to stop and look around, you’d complain about security but honestly it was best it stayed this way.

Soon the light faded from the end of the hallway and your mouth was free and you laughed quietly being lead outside and straight into the ikeniwa garden, following the path quietly as if on a stroll in the chilly spring afternoon, but rather it was a cool summer night under the crescent moon. The sound of crickets chirping, light bugs dancing over the dewy grass and waters surface.

Stopping at the peak of the guzei under the red maple tree, its leaves shaking in the wind scattering over the bridge and water, he pinned you against the bridge’s rail. Under the moon's faint light, the red leaves cascading behind him left him an ethereal sight. One hand on your waist, the other raised to run the back of his hand against your cheek taking a strand of your hair and tucking it behind your ear, you saw the amusement flash in his eyes when your hand shot out past his face. His eyes followed your arm to see your hand holding two red maple leaves conjoined at the stem.

“Continuously blessed by your little gods of luck and fortune, hm?.” You couldn’t fight your smile and small scoff, “If only they had really helped me when I needed it.” His hand came up grabbing your forearm, slowly moving to your wrist pulling your hand between both of you, looking at the leaf before he pulled your hand up to his lips. Pressing his lips to your wrist, eyes closing briefly before he opened his eyes, staring at you. You could feel the heat kissing your skin when he grazed your wrist with his reach before biting into your flesh. Your brows furrowed at the foreign and familiar feeling when he licked over the fresh wound, your heart was beating faster in your chest the longer you held onto his burning stare. “…Sukuna…” it was a breathy whisper on your lips.

He hummed when you pulled your hand free, taking his face in your hands, his lidded eyes watched intently, studying your face. His eyes closed when you pulled him closer kissing him softly, his hands came to your waist pulling you against him.

The irony of kissing the man known to bring suffering and damnation to men on the bridge that represents the route to salvation, purity and sacredness. It wasn’t the first time you disgraced this bridge in this manner and both of you knew it wouldn’t be your last time spitting in the face of your beliefs to be with the man that made you feel distinctive like no other man could. Not even your well known and well praised fiancé Satoru Gojo, a man known for restoring peace, being a blessing incarnated to live amongst men.

The very reason many had said you were born to be blessed in this life.

—- —- —- —- —- —- —-

“Come now y/n don’t you want to find a nice man to marry when you get older?” Your mothers loving smile almost coaxed you to say yes before you shook your head aggressively, “No! I wanna be free! I don’t wanna marry a boy! Eh!” Her face was shocked before she closed her eye in a smile, tilting her head to the side toward her shoulder, “You say that now my little dove but one day you’ll grow up and you are going to meet the sweetest boy who will love and take care of you. Then you’ll want to be married.” Your head tilted to the side with a pout, you didn’t want some boy to come spend his nights in your family home just to spend all day doing whatever he wanted while you had to stay home. “Mmmmm.” You closed your eyes making a thinking face, “no.” You ran off after hearing your mom sigh, the smile in her voice when she spoke to herself, “my little y/n.”

You weren’t free spirited, but rather just stubborn and resilient. Maybe running away from home after your lessons has given you too much liberty. The men down at the docks were terrible to listen to, foul language that you picked up but never spoke. Running by brothels to get to the shops on the other side of the district and gagging and being disgusted seeing some things you shouldn’t not have seen. Always seeing and admiring the prettiest ones walking around being sent off. Avoiding the lady you hoped was joking when she'd see you saying you were pretty enough to snatch up for her house, but always remembering her warning of flesh traders.

Most importantly, fighting with the kids that tried to pick on you and your friends Utahime and Shoko, MeiMei would sometimes come out to play but she was always busy with her younger brother who would stick to her side. So the three of you would venture on your own the rest of the day.

That was until the day your friends were busy helping their parents celebrate a grand coming event and you found yourself wondering past the usual village lines.

Something was calling to you past those wisteria trees on the hill. The ones rumoured to ward off demons, but you always knew it to mean long life and love so there you went on an adventure. Trudging up that stupid hill to see what was so special about those trees. Only to find a boy standing under the canopy of the ancient tree. The purple wisteria was beautiful with the sun's rays breaking through, but you were curious about this boy. You couldn’t help but stare at him, he was wearing robes, but his eyes were what surprised you when he turned, head tilted as he looked at you with a weird expression.

Those eyes, they weren’t normal, you’d never seen anyone with those eyes, so vibrant, but all you could think was ‘a boy with those eyes can’t be human.’ You were right, he was a walking curse. Those bright red eyes burned themselves into your memory and into your dreams. You’d spend days searching for him hoping to see him again and again to talk to him and be his friend, because he always seemed so serious, more often than not you’d simply follow him around the wisteria forest while he minded his own business. You’d go on and on and he’d simply keep his hands tucked into his sleeves crossed over his chest occasionally giving you a side glance to see if you really would persist on following him around even as the night advanced.

That was until one day you’d followed him around for so long he finally turned to you “What do you want brat, you show up every day and follow me around like I am a God and you’re begging for a miracle. What do you really want?” You looked at him, he didn’t seem pleased or displeased, there was a slight furrow in his brow and a slight frown on his lips.

“I just want to be friends.” You pouted, you could hear the desperation in your voice. When he sighed, turning away, he didn’t answer you or even send you away. Still you followed him quietly until you hit a stone path, you never knew a path to be out here past the village borders. So it was no surprise when you stepped closer to the boy grabbing at the back of his kimono’s belt, missing the way he looked at you with a “are you serious” expression. Still he walked until you bumped into him, “This is my family home, shut up and stay out of sight, if someone talks to you just act how you usually do and never speak back to them.” He looked back at you with an expression you’d never seen before, it was kinda scary in your eyes. Yet you nodded, taking a stronger hold of his belt, scared you’d get separated, he wasn’t impressed. He made his way through the shinden-zukuri, it was much like your own home. Only the wood in his home was of glossy dark oak with gold accents and vibrant deep red cherry wood with gold accents.

It was beautiful, yoru fingers loosened a bit until you heard shoji doors slide open and you did your best to hide behind him, “Young Lord Sukuna, you’ve return- oh? Who’s this?” A pale man with long white hair and a red strand peered around to try and look at you. You looked down at the floor pressing your forehead to his back avoiding eye contact. You had caught a brief glimpse of his eyes, they were black and seemed lifeless, how demons were rumoured to be. “Who?” Sukuna turned around acting like you weren’t there before he turned back, “You’re a fool Imuzu, there is no one else here.” Imuzu, the pale faced man couldn’t help but stare at his young master, before his eyes settled on you, you could feel his stare burning into your skin, daring you to look up at him. “Enough, leave while I allow you.” Imuzu was quick to bow, tucking his hands into his sleeves, “Forgive me young master, I will leave you to tend to your… pet.”

Your thoughts lingered on that pale faced man, the briefest glimpse of his face was engraved into your mind. You were pulled out of your thoughts when you tripped down some stairs and heard Sukuna tsk, you looked up to see him sighing and rolling his eyes, “Get up, only a fool, cowards and pigs roll around in the mud.” You were quick to get up realising instantly he wouldn’t help you like all the servants in your home would when he turned and started to walk away again. You watched as he stopped at a rack, “If you want to be even something remotely close to being what you call a friend, a delusion in my opinion, you need to prove you’re even worth keeping around.” He looked at you with a smug smile, eyebrows dropped slightly. He was challenging you.

You were laid out on the ground, the sun no longer blinding you. Over your huffing you heard Sukuna let out a long sigh, “I was just starting to have fun, look at you.” You could hear the arrogant smile in his voice, “Laid out on the floor and so tired,” He was mocking you. “Pathetic, I guess there really is no use in you being around or even being that little delusion word you call friends.” You were tearing up, tired, sore, and upset. So it was a surprise to you when you found it in you to get up and run at him with the Yari he had given you earlier. The flash of red when you swung at him, was blocked with his own. The sound of wood smacking as you kept him on the defence was astounding. His smile was growing the more you pushed him back until he used his hold horizontally in his hands to upper cut your Yari with force that made you stumble. “That’s IT” he started his own attacks on you, your defence was weak and he yelled at you when he got the upper footing looking down at you, “PUT MORE HATE BEHIND IT” your hands were trembling doing your best to keep his yari from smacking you on the head, so you did what any sane person would do and tried to sweep his feet. Only for him to take hold of your Yari and stabbing his own into the Ground blocking your kick and pushing himself back, his hand twisting and breaking your yari from your hold as you stumbled from being yanked up off the ground. Then he stood, his left hand holding his Yari that was stabbed into the ground, the right hand holding your own down by his side and he had his eyes closed with a smug smile, “You could be better, but of course you’d lose to someone like me. A little more work and you might not end up laid out on the dirt next time.” You don’t know why, your eyes teared up again, your lips wobbly breaking into a smile, before the tears started streaming adn you started laughing wiping away the tears. He looked at you like you were crazy, awkwardly shifting before you he poked your shoulder with the end of one of the yari. “Hey brat..” his eyes were looking everywhere but at you, “…Maybe it’s time for you to go home…” your tears stopped as you managed to finally look at him standing there, looking scared and awkward. “Yeah, maybe next time we can do it again and you can show me more.” He looked confused, “Next time?” “Yeah you said next time Sukuna.”

His face went blank when realised he had in fact said ‘next time’. He scratched his head, “I suppose I did.” Your eyes widened seeing a firefly pass in front of him, “You have fireflies here!” His eyes followed the bug before he smacked it down with a Yari trying not to snicker when your jaw dropped with wide eyes, “They're a real nuisance once the sun sets and they all decide to come out.” “ I NEED TO GET HOME!” He watched you run into his home and right back out, “will you-No.” He deadpanned and you huffed, “Fine. Only because if you get caught by a flesh trader I won't be held guilty for it.”

You followed his pace straight back to the clearing in the wisteria forest, the canopy blocked out the sky, and you stopped seeing Sukuna stop ahead of you looking around, “That’s weird.” You were confused, “What's weird?” You watched as he lifted his Yari pressing it against a branch of one of the trees and pushing it around, until it rustled, the shades of purples hidden in the dark coming to life with the glow of the light bugs that started to swarm and flash around as if they had just been awoken. Your eyes were gleaming with pure joy seeing the many light bugs that reminded you of the ones that once lived around your home lighting up those grassy plains and dark skies. “Cmon or I’ll leave you behind.” You looked ahead to see Sukuna poking another tree branch further ahead, the path lighting up with the fireflies guiding you home.

”Where do you live? What part of the city.” He broke the comfortable silence once the city was in sight. “Oh, I live in the Imperial Estate.” You didn’t miss the way his head snapped to look at you, before he looked away acting like it was nothing. “L/n Clan?” He asked looking ahead while he took a lantern off a shop you were passing, tying it to the Yari he held. You nodded, “Yeah.” You both walked through the city until you made it to the opposite side, that’s where the stone path started up the ascent. “You can make it home from here.” He wasn’t really asking, but you shook your head no, “Not at night…” he sighed, “What? Scared of the dark?” You didn’t deny it looking at him with pleading eyes before he rolled his, “FINE, but make it quick.” It was five stairs up when you heard a rustling and you clung to his side, he rolled his eyes swaying the lamp around, “Nothings there, see?” Still you didn’t let go and even when he tried to shake you off he relented when you didn’t move.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs it was no surprise to see the house lit up with lights. People were rushing around in panic, “WHERE IS YOUNG LADY Y/N?!”

You both saw a woman stop and look at the both of you, “Y/N” her face looked pained, she rushed at both of you and you heard Sukuna’s whisper, “who is she?” You mumbled back locking eye contact with the lady, “she’s my mom...”

”oh y/n! My little y/n! Where were you?! I've been worried, I was so scared! Those flesh traders got you, do you know how worried I was I’d never see you again!” She held you by your shoulder, eyes looking over your face. “I’m sorry mom, but I'm home safe, Sukuna made sure I got here and nothing bad happened. Her head snapped to him, he had a blank expression staring back at her, she knew that face, “You must be of the Wisteria Estate, you have your fathers name. A striking resemblance to him.” Her hands slipped from you while she turned to look at him, “You must be tired you can rest here and return home tomorrow.” He shook his head, “Thank you for your kind gesture Lady L/n but I’d prefer to return home as soon as possible.” He quickly bowed his head ready to turn and leave, “Then let me send a guard with you to assure your arrival.” He looked at her with a smug smile, “You shouldn’t think I need protection, I brought your daughter home safe all on my own.” He puffed his chest out like he was worthy of praise. Your mother giggled, “I see, well let me give you something as a sign of thank you for bringing my little y/n all the way home safe.” She looked around signalling a servant who rushed off and back with a small wooden gilded box. You both watched curiously as she opened the box, her fingers moving slowly before she pulled up a gold necklace with a pendant, it was a Jade figure of a lotus with a ruby centre. You looked at it in awe, Sukuna tilted his head confused.

“I know it's a bit feminine for a boy, but I can't just give you my husband's jewels, so maybe you’ll find use for it when you grow older and find a nice little lady to marry.” Her soft smile was unusual to him, but he reached up to take it only for all of you to realise you were still holding tight to his hand. You pulled your hand away quickly, a blush on your cheeks, your mothers eyes landed on you with a cheeky smile.

Sukuna was quick to make his escape bowing quickly. You felt how he bumped into you before running off not looking back, your mother stood at the top of the stairs, you stood by her watching that little lamplight bounce and fade its way down the stairs.

“My little Y/n,” her hand landed on your head brushing your hair back, you looked up seeing her soft smile, before she looked down at you, “Holding hands already hm?” You pouted looking away, “no.” She kept brushing your hair back, “Those Ryomen men are peculiar, but let's get you inside. We’re going to have a busy week.”

You made it to your room, your caregiver was there to help you, “What's this?” You turned to look, curious to see she had a little glass jar with two fireflies. You were overjoyed to take it from her but she stopped you, “Calm down lady Y/n if you shake them in your excitement they’ll surely die. Looking at them closely they must be a pair. How admirable, if you set them free maybe they will lay eggs nearby.”

You watched as she set the small jar by the window, the two bugs dancing trying to escape.

When she left you tucked in your bed, closing the door, you watched the light fade before you got up quietly rushing to your window, your little heart hoped and begged one day to see the fireflies abundant around your home again. You watched them fly free, their paths intertwining in the night sky.

You sighed, a smile on your little plump face, “…Ryomen Sukuna…”

There’s no Tag list here- yet I don’t know if I should make a new one or even a series yet 🤭

Perm Tags: @sakuxxi @mercymccann @certainduckanchor @najiiix @bakugou-katsukis-wife @amitiel-truth @souyasplushie @mylovelessnightmare @ynjimenez @dolliira @princessluvz @furiousblacktiger @anyaswlrd @shytastemakerthing

[mynicosensesaretingling]

Playful banter and dull sceneries

Nico Rosberg x fem!reader

Request: “Hello I hope you're taking request sorry for bothering if not but could you please do Nico Rosberg friends to lovers ending in someone walking in on them while they’re making out? Thank you in advance.”

Warnings: none except it has been written in my notes app

Note: Thank you so much for your request. I had so much fun writing this and really hope you enjoy what I came up with!! <3

————-

The day of the race dawned with a sense of anticipation hanging in the air, the paddock abuzz with activity as teams and spectators alike prepared for the thrilling spectacle ahead. Amidst the hustle and bustle, you found yourself in the company of Nico Rosberg, your longtime friend and partner in crime.

As you strolled through the paddock together, Nico's presence beside you felt both familiar and electrifying, the air tingling with unspoken tension. Over the years, your friendship had evolved into something deeper, though neither of you had dared to acknowledge the simmering undercurrent of attraction that lingered between you.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" you asked, eyes studying Nico’s side-profile with playful curiosity, as you waited for his answer. Turning his head to meet your gaze, Nico flashed you a grin, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well, aside from winning the race, I thought we could find a cosy spot to avoid the paparazzi and their pesky questions.“

You raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on your lips. “Ah, so this is your clever plan to dodge the journalists, huh? Sneak away with me and hope they won’t find us?”

Nico feigned innocence, placing a hand over his heart in mock offence. “I’m hurt that you would even suggest such a thing! I just thought we could use some quality time away from the madness, that’s all.”

You rolled your eyes, knowing full well Nico’s aversion to the press. “Sure, Nico. Quality time away from the madness. Translation: hiding away from nosy reporters.” The blonde grinned unabashedly, his arm slipping around your shoulders as he pulled you closer. “Hey, if it means spending time with you, I’ll take my chances with the paparazzi any day.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his shameless flattery, playfully nudging him with your elbow. “Smooth, Rosberg. Real smooth.”

A comfortable silence settled between you as you made your way through the paddock, navigating through the maze of trailers and hospitality suites in search of the perfect hiding spot. Despite the chaos around you, there was a sense of peace in Nico’s company, a feeling of familiarity that eased the tension in your shoulders. 

Finally, you found yourselves at the paddock's edge, overlooking a secluded stretch of the racetrack. It wasn’t the most glamorous spot, with a few discarded tyre stacks providing makeshift seating, but it offered a reprieve from the chaos of the ever-buzzing paddock.

“Well, this is…. cosy.” you remark, eyebrows raised as you take in the less-than-stellar accommodations.

The driver chuckled, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “I did promise you a quiet spot away from the crowds. I never said it would be luxurious.” You playfully elbow him in the ribs, earning a mock wince in response. “At least tell me to bring a cushion next time.” 

Nico grinned at your playful jab, rubbing his side theatrically. “Ouch! Next time, I’ll be sure to pack a bottle of champagne for the princess.” 

You roll your eyes at the nickname, biting your lip to prevent the laugh bubbling up within you from escaping. “I guess for now we’ll just have to make do without the VIP treatment.” 

The blonde driver settled onto one of the discarded tyre stacks, motioning for you to join him. “Come on, don’t be a diva. This is prime real estate.” You followed suit, perching on the stack beside him with a grin. “You know, I think I’ve had worse seats at the movies.”

Nico chuckled, head tilting, as his gaze lingered on you for a moment longer than necessary. “Well. as long as the company’s good, that’s all that matters, right?” 

Noticing the warmth in his words, your heart fluttered. The playful banter between the two of you adding an extra layer of tension to the already-charged atmosphere. 

“Of course,” you replied, flashing him a smirk. “Though I must admit, the view could be better.” your hand lazily gesturing in front of you. Nico raised his eyebrow, the mischievous glint returning to his eyes upon hearing your comment. 

“Are you implying that I’m not enough to keep you entertained? I’m wounded.”

His dramatic antics lead you to shake your head in amusement. “Oh, come on, Nico. You know you’re more than enough to keep me entertained. I just thought a more scenic backdrop wouldn’t hurt.” 

Nico feigned a loud sigh, hand clutching his chest, as if your words had struck him. “I’m crushed! Here I was, thinking I was the main attraction.” You couldn’t help but giggle at his theatrics. “Well, you’re a close second.” The driver’s blue eyes sparkled with amusement, as he grinned. “I’ll take it. But just wait until I win this race- you’ll be singing a different tune then.”

You cross your arms, eyes sparkling upon feeling challenged. 

“Oh, is that a promise, Rosberg? Because last time I checked, certain other drivers might have something to say about that.” The man’s grin widened, the competitive spark igniting in his gaze. “Ah, but you forget, my dear. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve this time.”

You fully turned your body in his direction, to lean in closer. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? But I’ll have you know, I’m not easily impressed, Rosberg.”

Nico was still grinning, his gaze holding yours with an intensity that sent a shiver down your spine. “Oh, I’m counting on it. After all, what fun would winning be if it didn’t come with a challenge?”

You laughed, the sound bubbling up from deep within you as you met his playful challenge head-on. "Well, then, consider me your greatest challenge yet. But don't get too cocky, Nico. You haven't won this race yet."

Nico's expression softened, a hint of something more lingering in his gaze as he looked at you. "True, but with you by my side, I'd say my odds are looking pretty good."

The words hung in the air between you, charged with a tension that left you breathless. In that moment, surrounded by the fading light of the afternoon sun and the distant buzzing of the paddock, you couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

But just as the tension between you threatened to reach its peak, Nico's cocky demeanour resurfaced, bringing the sense of playfulness back to the moment. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he reached out, his hand gently grasping yours.

"Well, if I haven't won the race yet, perhaps I'll just have to find another way to claim my victory," he quipped, his voice laced with a hint of seduction.

Before you could respond, he surprised you by reaching out and tugging you from your perch on the stack of tyres. You found yourself swept off your feet, quite literally, as Nico effortlessly pulled you onto his lap, interrupting your protest with a playful grin.

"Nico, what on earth—" you began, but before you could finish your sentence, he cut you off with a cheeky smirk.

"Just making sure you have the best view possible, darling," he said, his arms encircling you in a snug embrace. "You were right, the scenery is quite dull after all."

You couldn't help but let out a laugh at his audacity, though a part of you couldn't deny the flutter of excitement that his closeness stirred within you. "Well, aren't you just the epitome of chivalry, Nico Rosberg."

Nico smirked, the playful expression never leaving his lips. "Only the best for you, my dear. After all, it's not every day I get to share a secluded spot overlooking the racetrack with such charming company." You rolled your eyes at his smooth talk, but couldn't suppress the smile that tugged at your lips. "Oh, spare me the flattery, Rosberg. We both know you're just trying to distract me from the fact that you're about to get your butt handed to you on the racetrack."

Nico's grin widened, his confidence unwavering. "Is that a challenge, darling? Because I assure you, I'm more than ready to prove you wrong."  "Oh, I'm counting on it. But just remember, Nico, actions speak louder than words." you teasingly wink.

Nico's eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against your skin, as his voice suddenly became husky. "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to let my actions do the talking."

Before you could even process the meaning of his words, he closed the distance between you, his lips meeting yours with a gentle urgency. In that instant, years of unspoken longing seemed to culminate in the tender press of his lips against yours. It was as if every stolen glance, every lingering touch, had led to this moment of undeniable connection.

As his arms enveloped you, pulling you closer, you felt a sense of completeness wash over you. The world around you faded into insignificance, leaving only the warmth of his embrace and the sweet taste of his lips against yours. It was a moment of pure bliss, a culmination of years of pining and unspoken desires finally coming to fruition.

In that fleeting moment, everything just clicked into place, and you lost yourself in the intoxicating sensation of being truly and completely loved. It was a kiss filled with passion, tenderness, and a deep-seated longing that could no longer be denied. And as you melted into his embrace, the world seemed to stand still, leaving only the two of you and the undeniable truth of your connection.

Amidst the fervour of the moment, a satisfied, hoarse noise escaped Nico's lips, a primal sound of contentment that sent shivers down your spine. It was a silent affirmation of the intensity of his emotions, a wordless declaration that spoke volumes about the depth of his desire. And as you melted further into his embrace, you couldn't help but reciprocate, your own heart echoing the fervent passion that burned between you.

But just as the kiss deepened, a sudden voice shattered the moment, causing you to jump in surprise.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Jenson's smirk widened as he observed the scene before him, his eyes flickering between you and Nico with a knowing gleam.

Nico groaned theatrically at the interruption, one hand reaching up to comb through his tousled hair while the other comfortably rested on your hip. "Jenson! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

The Brit chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Just thought I'd take a stroll through the paddock and see what I could find. I must say, I didn't expect to stumble upon a couple of lovebirds in the process."

You exchanged sheepish glances with Nico, a blush creeping up your cheeks at Jenson's teasing remark. "Well, it looks like our secret's out," you quipped, a playful grin tugging at your lips.

Nico chuckled, his arm tightening around your waist as he pulled you closer. "I suppose there's no hiding it now. But if we're going to be caught, I can't think of a better person to witness our... moment."

Jenson raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk playing on his lips. "Oh, believe me, it was pretty obvious from the moment I stumbled upon you two. The way you were practically glued to each other's sides? I'd say the cat's been out of the bag for a while now."

You exchanged a surprised glance with Nico, the realization dawning on you that perhaps your feelings for each other weren't as much of a secret as you had thought. But as Nico pressed a tender kiss to your forehead, his gaze softening with affection, you knew that whatever the future held, you were ready to face it together – with laughter, love, and the occasional teasing remark from the ever-observant Jenson Button.

[minniethemoocherda]

Connect This Space Between

Summary: "PRIME! YOUR SPARKLING IS CURRENTLY OVERCHARGED ON HIGHGRADE IN MY MEDBAY!"

A/N: This takes place a few weeks before the start of my fic Iridescent. But you shouldn't have to read that for this to make sense. In my head Bumblebee is around the equivalent of seventeen here whilst the twins are about nineteen. Also sorry! I am on a hype right now! So I couldn't wait until Sunday to post this! What did you guys think of the new Transformers One trailer? Anyway hope you enjoy! Xxxxxxx

Ao3

FF.net

"PRIME!"

Optimus jerked awake at the sound Ratchet's voice shouting over his internal comms, accidently knocking to the floor a pile of datapads that he must've fallen asleep on top of.

"Yes Ratchet?" Optimus said, bending down to place the fallen datapads back onto his desk.

"You're sparkling is currently overcharged on highgrade in my medbay."

Optimus nearly dropped the datapads again in shock.

"Is Bumblebee okay?" He asked, concern for his ward over riding the many questions that statement posed.

"He's as fine as one can be after drinking an entire bottle of the twins' moonshine." Ratchet answered, the familiar cranky tone, reassuring Optimus that the damage was not too serious.

"I am on my way."

As Optimus marched towards the medbay, the questions previously overridden, now sprung to the forefront of his mind.

Why would Bumblebee be drinking? How did he gets his servos on the twin's secret stash? And what would possess him to drink enough of it to end up in Ratchet's medbay?

It didn't make sense to Optimus that the newspark that he had found in the ruins of The Well could be drinking.

Although he guessed that he shouldn't be too surprised considering that Bumblebee was due to get his final upgrades in a couple of weeks. Optimus supposed that it was only natural that Bumblebee would get curios about such things.

Outside the medbay, Prowl was currently reading Sideswipe and Sunstreaker the riot act, listing off all of their current offences which included but not limited too; indecent behaviour, production of moonshine and serving said moonshine to an underage mechling. The twins faces paled under the scrutiny, whether that was from their own over indulgent high grade consumption or from their dawning realisation of how much trouble they were in, Optimus was unsure. He suspected that most likely, it was a mixture of both.

Inside, Bumblebee appeared the picture of misery. He was hunched over the edge of a berth with his doorwings drooped and his head in a bucket.

His eyes widened in panic when he spotted Optimus standing the doorway.

He opened his mouth, probably to protest that he hadn't been caught drinking when he was cut off by his own spew, regurgitating into the bucket.

Optimus hurried across the medbay to his side. No matter the circumstances, the Prime hated seeing his sparkling in pain.

He rubbed the space between Bumblebee doorwings like he had when he was little until eventually the young bot had finished emptying his energon tank.

Ratchet switched the now full bucket for an empty one.

"Am I dying?" Bumblebee slurred.

Ratchet snorted.

"You're going to wish you are when you're sober enough for me to give you my dangers of underage drinking lecture!"

Optimus thought that was a bit ironic coming from the mech who's nickname growing up had been The Party Ambulance. But since Optimus preferred not having a wrench thrown at his head, he tactfully decided not to mention that.

"I'm sorry." Bumblebee mumbled, sounding so dejected that regardless of the splashes of energon now staining the bot's front Optimus couldn't help but put his arm around him.

For the first time in months Bumblebee didn't shrug him off, instead leaning into his touch. Over the past few years as his sparkling came ever closer to adulthood, Bumblebee had sought comfort from his guardian less and less. Even if the only reason Bumblebee was permitting it was due to his lessoned inhibitions, Optimus felt his spark warm.

"I should hope that this experience has been enough of a lesson for you to learn from without the lecture." Optimus said.

Bumblebee nodded, nuzzling against his shoulder.

Growing up in a war, Bumblebee's childhood had been anything but traditional. He'd never had the chance to go to just school or the cinema or the park. Until recently he'd never even met any cybertronians his own age before.

No, instead Bumblebee's childhood had been a serious of safe houses and self defence lessons.

In a strange way, Optimus was glad that Bumblebee was getting in trouble for normal mechling things for once. Not that he was going to tell Bumblebee that.

At least Bumblebee's first fore into high grade hadn't ended with him throwing up on Alpha Trion's prized organic scroll collection.

"Drink this." Ratchet ordered, interrupting Optimus's thoughts as he thrust a glowing purple liquid under Bumblebee's nose.

Bumblebee looked nauseous again at the idea of anything more to drink, but under Ratchet's glare reluctantly took a sip.

"Good now you shouldn't have to waste any more of my time again tomorrow morning because of a hangover."

Optimus fought the urge not to show his smile. As despite Ratchet's gruff words, he knew that the medic's actions showed the not so secret soft spot Ratchet had for the sparking. Because if it had been anyone else in this position, they would've been thrown straight to the brig to sober up the hard way.

"Now, Prime can walk you back to your room so you don't end up in any more trouble." Ratchet stated as he started to clean up.

"I'm okay." Bumblebee protested.

"Oh really?" Ratchet drawled. "Walk in a straight line for me."

Bumblebee pushed the bucket aside as he stood up on his unsteady feet. He didn't even make it one step before nearly faceplanting the floor. Luckily, Optimus managed to catch him by his scruff bar before he could do any more damage to himself.

Even in his drunken state, Bumblebee must've known that resistance would he futile as he didn't put up anymore fight when Optimus scooped him up.

Gone were the days when Optimus could lift Bumblebee with only the palm of his hand. But even on the edge of adulthood, Bumblebee was still a small bot. Optimus cradled him close, arms securing the bot's legs and back, allowing Bumblebee to rest his against his shoulder. Optimus easily carried the mech to his quarters.

Once there, he gently placed Bumblebee down on the berth, tucking the blanket of tarp under the mechling's chin.

As Ratchet's potion kicked in and Bumblebee drifted off, Optimus glanced around the room that was the closest place the young bot had ever had to a home. On shelves sat scavenged action figures from shows he'd never watched, attached upon the painted walls that showed sights he would never see. And by his bed, a set of twins knives that Optimus had tried to talk Jazz out of giving to him.

Because as much as Optimus wished that he could, he would not be able to protect the former sparkling from the horrors of the world. Something that even without a war, would still ring true. One way or another, Bumblebee was always going to grow up.

With a new sense of acceptance, Optimus was about to leave he heard a quiet voice mumble;

"Love you sire."

Optimus smiled, walked back across the room to place a kiss on the helm of his sleeping sparkling.

"I love you too."

[auspiciouselephantintheroom]

On a Granddaughter

Non-massacre AU. Just some domestic fluff for Mother’s Day. I’ve had pregnancy and babies on the brain recently. Must be hormones.

I normally don’t use Japanese terms of address and honorifics because I’m never 100% sure if I am using them appropriately or consistently, but I decided to use “Okaasan” instead of “Mother” when Itachi addresses Mikoto in speech because I felt like I typed “mother” so many times elsewhere it got annoyingly repetitive.

Note: An Oshichiya is a naming ceremony that takes place on the baby’s 7th night after birth.

Also posted on AO3.

⋆｡ °✩⋆ ˚｡ ⋆ ❤︎ ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆✩° ｡⋆

Mikoto handed her eldest son a small plate of kinako dango and cup of genmai-cha tea while they sat on the engawa of their family home on an early spring afternoon. Itachi had stopped by to help her with her garden, but they had finished for the day and were enjoying a light refreshment in the spring air before he went home.

“There’s something you’ve been wanting to say, isn’t there?” Itachi had seen the way his mother had been biting her lip all day, like she always did when something important was on her mind.

Mikoto quietly sighed before finally saying, “When were you going to tell me that Asaya is pregnant?”

“You knew?” Itachi was surprised. But then again, he shouldn’t have been. His mother had a way of knowing things.

Mikoto lightly shrugged. “I was once pregnant myself, Itachi. Twice, actually. She’s been very good at hiding it. I first became suspicious because she was suddenly so tired and fatigued all winter for no obvious reason. And she suppresses nausea at certain foods, even ones she used to enjoy like cinnamon rolls. Recently, she’s begun wearing looser clothing and dresses when she hadn’t before. New ones. And I know you’ve been swapping her sake for water at clan and village gatherings.”

“And I thought no one noticed.” Itachi shouldn’t have underestimated how observant his mother was, especially of their family.

“But I knew for certain last weekend when we were out running errands together. We met at the park, and when I arrived I caught her with both hands on her belly and the most joyful smile on her face. I used to do that when I was pregnant with you two, especially when you first started kicking,” Mikoto told her eldest son. “Which means she’s been hiding it for quite a while.”

“We wanted to keep it to ourselves for as long as possible,” Itachi explained. “Please don’t take offence.”

“I understand. It’s a special thing to share with someone,” Mikoto said. “I haven’t told anyone, even your father and brother. Although, I think they’ll find out regardless if you don’t make an announcement soon.”

“Thank you, Okaasan.” Itachi said. “We appreciate it.”

“There’s no need. I’m just happy for you. For both of you.” Itachi’s life had been so full of hardship and sacrifice, and he’d exceeded every expectation he’d been burdened with. Just as with his marriage, she was so glad he finally had something to fill it with love and meaning.

“You want to know, don’t you?” It wasn’t really a question. Everyone wanted to know immediately after learning of a pregnancy.

“Of course,” Mikoto nodded affirmatively.

“It’s a girl,” he said, and his mother’s eyes lit up. “We have a name for her already, but you’ll have to wait until the Oshichiya, I’m afraid. She’s due in late summer.”

Mikoto placed one hand over her mouth as tears began to well up in her eyes. “That’s wonderful,” she could only breathe the words out she was so overwhelmed.

“I remember you always wanted a daughter of your own, but instead you had two boys,” Itachi said. One of his earliest memories was his mother’s pregnancy with Sasuke. She had said that she hoped for a girl, which was one of the few things she wanted enough to express directly and openly as a normally reserved woman. When Sasuke was born, Itachi was excited to have a younger brother like he’d wanted, but he felt guilty his mother never got a daughter of her own. As a child, he hoped to give her a granddaughter one day. “I’m glad I can finally give you a granddaughter to make up for it.”

“I have two lovely daughters in law to make up for it,” Mikoto said. “But I am excited for a granddaughter.” She had to put her teacup down because her hands began to tremble.

“Please don’t cry, Okaasan.” Itachi reached an arm around her shoulders. “You’re going to make me think I’ve done something wrong.”

Mikoto sniffled and leaned into her son’s embrace. “I’m just so happy.” She brushed a tear from her eye before it could fall down her cheek.

“You’ll finally be a grandmother. Congratulations.”

“I will,” she sniffled. “Oh, Itachi, I-” she choked on her words. “You’ll be an excellent father, and Asaya will be a wonderful mother, too.”

“Thank you, but don’t worry about us.” Itachi rubbed his mother’s forearm soothingly. “Think of how lucky we are to have you. Our baby, especially, to have you as her grandmother.”

Mikoto smiled at her son’s words, the apples of her cheeks full and round. “Oh, stop. You’re going to make me cry.” Not that she wasn’t already. “Have you gotten anything for her yet? Like a crib or toys or baby clothes?”

“No, not yet. We didn’t want to fill the house with things only to have them sit for months. But we should start soon.” While it was true, Asaya had also known that Mikoto would want to help with shopping for their baby. And teach her how to swaddle, and nurse, and bathe, and lay to sleep, and all the little things mothers did to care for their babies. “She’s looking forward to it after we make the announcement.”

“I’ll have to take her out, then,” Mikoto sniffed, still overcome with emotion. “When you both were born, I loved dressing you in baby clothes, and swaddling you in blankets, and…”

Itachi smiled at his mother’s recounting of her early memories of motherhood. A soft, genuine smile that came over him like a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves, making the sunlight filtering through them flicker and dance.

“Do you think she’ll have her mother’s hair?” Mikoto asked, imagining brushing her fingers through wispy baby curls. “We could tie little ribbons in it and…”

For most of his life, Itachi never thought he’d have this life, married to the woman he loved and expecting their first child. He never even thought it was something he would want. But he was eternally grateful that it was his life now, a life that brought him moments like this, listening to his mother’s excitement about being a grandmother and sharing with her a future he looked forward to.

[spoonerwrites]

The 60k celebration poll had joint winners, which means...TWO extracts!

“Your friend is very unusual, isn’t he?” said Miss Westenra.

“He can be that,” I answered carefully. “But he is a brilliant man, and his mind works like no other I have ever known.”

“Oh, I meant no offence!” She looked suddenly stricken.

I smiled as I buttered my toast. “I know you did not, my dear. For those who have never met Holmes before, he can come across as strange, and even standoffish, yet I have always found even his oddest behaviours have significance which reveals itself when the time is right. If he insists on walking about the garden, he is undoubtedly looking for something.”

“What clues could he find in the garden?”

“What clues might be found in any garden? Footprints, disturbances in the grass or flowerbeds, animal tracks; all sorts of things. I can think of more, and Holmes would know more still.”

“But that does not make any sense, doctor!” She laughed, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. “How might animal tracks have made me feel unwell? It is true that sometimes I like to go out and watch the birds or the squirrels, but I have not been for more than a week. I am afraid Mr Holmes may be wasting his time.”

I continued to do my best to entertain Miss Westenra and keep her spirits up until my friend returned, while enjoying a hearty and delicious breakfast. I encouraged the young lady to eat as well while we talked. She managed a good amount of tea and toast liberally spread with bright orange marmalade. I found the same technique that I sometimes used on Holmes worked on her; if I kept her attention, she didn’t seem to notice that she was eating, and would only acknowledge the food when I made her laugh and she covered her mouth politely.

The door to the dayroom was slightly ajar, and so I spotted Holmes out in the corridor just before he knocked. “Watson, if you’re finished, I must speak with you,” he said with a polite nod towards Miss Westenra. “Do you mind me stealing him away?”

--------------------------------------------------

My nerves would not let me rest. In the cab, my knee jogged up and down without me realising until Holmes put his hand on my leg to stop it. I apologised at once.

“Nonsense, Watson,” he said, waving a hand, “it stands to reason your nerves are tried after tonight, and with what will come tomorrow.”

I shook my head. “I have witnessed things tonight that belong in nightmares and legends, and even having seen them with my own eyes, part of me refuses to accept them.”

“It’s only natural for your mind to revolt, my boy.”

“Do stop making excuses for me, Holmes. My mind is not revolting; it’s at war with itself,” I grumbled. “I know what you’ve told me, what Van Helsing has described, what I have seen. Each explanation only raises further questions. What sort of spell did that creature weave over our minds, to make Lord Godalming wish to embrace her in spite of his revulsion and grief? How was it that the crucifix repelled her so? And the use of the Host to seal the tomb - how on earth does the professor know to do these things?”

“He is an inexplicable sort of fellow, isn’t he?” said Holmes with a little laugh. “The use of the Host; I wonder if His Excellency might grant me a similar supply. He does owe me a favour or two.”

“You’re very energetic, old chap, considering what we’ve just seen,” said I.

“I am full of plans, Watson!” he declared, taking my hand and giving it a shake. “All we have had for days is mere speculation. The missing children, the bite marks, they all pointed toward Miss Westenra as the culprit, yes; but tonight – oh, tonight we have had a concrete truth laid before us. Now we may – Harker!” he added suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Harker.” He shook my hand again. “Van Helsing mentioned ‘the diaries of Harker and the rest’, and I have been racking my brains trying to remember where I have heard that name before. There was a letter to Miss Westenra from one Mrs Mina Harker, in which the latter described finding her husband recovering from a traumatic ordeal in a hospital in Buda-Pesth. They married then and there, with the young man in his sickbed.”

“You went through Miss Westenra’s correspondence?”

He gave a sharp nod. “Her mother’s too. It is how I knew of the changes to the will. Miss Westenra and Mrs Harker appeared to be very close friends.”

“What do you suppose the Harkers have to do with all this?”

“That, friend Watson, will have to wait. I am confident an explanation will come in time, as explanations have come for everything else. Tomorrow we have more urgent business.”