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marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

Andromeda

Pairing: Choi Luciel/Reader

Description: Your life had been bound to the seas since the day you were born. You knew what it felt like to taste the salt water and freedom, but at the same time, you were bound with shackles and on the edge of a plank your captain made for you. No amount of screaming was going to save you from the seas, so, you had to fight to survive and fight to be the person that you wanted to be... so, what do you do when he returns to your life out of the blue?

Word Count: 8245

Cowboy Seven x Reader

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[Read On AO3]

The seas were where you felt like you were at peace.

There was nothing like the feeling of the wind in your hair and the sails strung high as the waves carried you from one land to another. You knew the sea life very well because every second of your life revolved around it and led you to always wind back up on the water. The ocean was your home, and the sounds of the crashing waves were like music to your ears.

This was where you loved to be, and it was where you were happy. Even though you had never had a choice in living on the ocean waves. It was a fate that you were bound to, not by choice, but by the acts of those that dared to think that you were nothing but a mere poker chip to bargain on the board in a gambling scheme.

You weren’t burned by those scars, not with the waters protecting you from the wildfire, and smiling broadly, you weren’t going to let it hold you down. You were going to make the best of what you had in this life and you weren’t going to let anyone tie you down as long as you had a say in it. Your eyes were directed at the freedom that you longed for that was out of your reach—

Taunting you and teasing you with the taste of something sweeter than the burn of saltwater taffy that you sampled now and again whenever you were able to reach any port city. There were worse things to be dealing with but you weren’t going to let it drag you down. You would continue tending to the ship that you were on, making repairs and mending whatever needed to be cleaned up.

Upkeep was specifically your job.

You were meant to make sure that everything was ship-shape and in working order. Most people didn’t like the grunt work, but you didn’t mind. Keeping a vessel running was a big task and this boat was like the back of your hand. You knew the in’s and the outs. There was nothing that could miss your careful eye on this boat. That was the luxury of being born and raised on a ship.

The ship became your life just as much as the ship provided your life.

You didn’t know any other life but that didn’t mean that you were lacking in that department. There were kind people on this ship with you that you knew and trusted very well. People that you knew that you could trust your life to and people that you knew would be there for you when you needed them. A couple of people were better than having no one.

You seemingly had no one on your side anymore except for yourself, but you had grown accustomed to that feeling.

To be fair, when you were on a ship, it didn’t matter whether you hated someone or not. Being able to look past angry and rivalry was crucial to being able to survive. The sea didn’t care if you hated that one person or not. All that mattered was that you knew how to keep a steady hand against the mast as the winds kept you at their mercy or retribution.

The sea was a cruel mistress at times, but at others, she was a calm and steady friend that could take you to parts unknown to you. That was what you loved the most. No matter how dangerous the seas could become, you would always embrace the water as it welcomed you into its waiting trenches to lull you to sleep every night. If you were so lucky, that was.

While your main job was to make sure that the vessel of the ship was in great condition alongside any of the others that were fortunate enough to be paid with pennies unlike you; You were the one that was in charge of navigation every night. The celestial navigation system had been used for such a long time and you knew the stars almost as well as you knew the seas.

No matter where you went on the planet, you could never get lost because you knew the way of the stars by heart. It was the one skill that the cruel captain had instilled into you from a young age.

It was all you were good for, by all accounts, according to your captain. You were the replacement for the last Wayfinder and it went without saying that you had to be good at your job or you would wind up in the same place that the last one had. The same place that your mother had found herself all those years ago.

The bottom of the ocean.

It didn’t matter how well you could swim, or how well you could navigate the stars. If you were thrown overboard in the middle of a storm, you were going to drown. Nothing would save you from the angry seas when they decided they were going to swallow you up and never let you see the light of day ever again.

The memory of that time still haunted you, but you pushed it down as it surged inside of your heart.

There were more important things to be focused on.

Like the maintenance of the vessel.

Rolling up your sleeves, you began to crawl down from the lookout tour after patching up some of the worn wood, taking the time to exhale as you slid down. It took a moment for you to get back down to the bridge but once you were on level ground again, you felt your stomach twist. It didn’t seem like any of the crew members were back yet.

You liked it better as long as you were alone on the ship. Not that there was anything wrong with the rest of the crew, sans the captain, but the tone on the ship changed drastically whenever business was back on schedule. There was no laughter, no light, and no feeling of liberation on the seas. Just the feeling of shackles against your ankles that would forever bind you to this fate. It wasn’t like you could run away from this life. It wasn’t like you could escape.

Oh, one could say that it would be easy to just jump from the boat and try to hitch a ride at the docks with another crew. However, that just wasn’t plausible. You couldn’t run and hide from a salty pirate that gripped your chains so tightly that you didn’t know what to do with yourself in the long run. It was to obey or taste the sting of saltwater in your lungs until you suffocated.

You weren’t a fan of the latter. You knew that no matter how far you tried to run, your captain would always yank your chains back to her. She was a cruel woman who didn’t care about anything but the thrill of the chase and the desire to control the seas. It wasn’t about the money, though that was surely a bonus in her book. What she craved was the infamy of destruction.

She was a tyrant, and the mere mention of her name made anyone who traversed the seas tremble in fear of what she would and could do to them if they dared to try and step on her power and control in any way. It didn’t matter if you sided with her or not if she simply saw you and your boat in the same area as her ship?

She would stop at nothing to make sure that your vessel sank to the bottom of the seas. Nothing could stop her from getting what she wanted. Challenging her or telling her that she wasn’t right in what she was doing would land you as good as dead. You’d seen it happen from a young age and you knew that nothing and no one could ever stop this tyrant.

The Bloody Emerald.

As long as you obeyed her orders, she didn’t come down on you too hard. She would allow you to live quietly on the ship and do what you wanted, as long as you made sure that your tasks were completed. Anything that deviated from her goals would put you on the walk to your grave. The last thing you’d wanted was to take a long walk off a short plank into the seas.

It was the last thing that anyone wanted.

So, you obeyed and did what you had to do.

Presently, you had taken care of everything that needed to be mended for the day. That was the good news… since the ship had finally docked in the harbor and you could stretch your land legs for the first time in a while. It had been a few weeks since you had been able to step on solid ground. You weren’t at all complaining about it, though.

As long as you knew that the land was the home for countless humans, you always felt drawn to the seas instead. The sea was your home, even if it was your captor at the same time. You pushed your hair out of your face and grabbed your bag from where you left it at the back of the ship. It was still bright out and early enough in the afternoon that shops would be open.

You wanted to stock up on some taffy again because it was your one saving grace in the evenings when it felt like you were going to fall asleep at the watchtower. The sugar was always just the jolt you needed to stay awake late at night. That and some decent fruit was hard to come by on the sea, and you didn’t want to be caught stealing apples from the kitchen again.

Your wrists still hurt from where the chef had smacked you with their ladle.

As much as that stung, you didn’t care about it too much. A little smack was nothing compared to what the captain would do if she knew that you’d taken things without asking again. A smack on the wrist was better than losing meal rights for two days.

Most of the crew did pity your position and knew full well that even if you pocketed something now and again—

You would repay it tenfold whenever you got the chance.

You were always good for your word. No matter what happened, you would make sure that you did things the right way. Well, the right way by the right people. Crooks and cons didn’t get that level of luxury. No pirate would ever dare trust another pirate with their livelihood least they were on the same crew and ship.

If it was somebody else, you wouldn’t have tried as hard to make things right.

Because, oftentimes, stealing from someone just meant that you were stealing from a thief in the first place. Now, that’d happened plenty of times before in your life, but when you entered this town and began to do your shopping, you were strangely reminded of a time when you took from someone and they didn’t try to start a fight with you in return.

—

It was a typical day.

Well, typical for you.

About as typical as your day could get when you were trying to duck and dodge your captain. It wasn't like you were trying to avoid her but it also wasn't like you wanted to be around her. If you had your saying things that you would pick to go with the latter. you didn't want her scolding you for something that you didn't even do.

You were the scapegoat.

The easiest person to blame in the room because you were the youngest out of anyone that was on this ship. God forbid you tried to do something for yourself for once. If she had taught you anything in your life it was that you had to fend for yourself. You would give her credit for that.

She had shown you that there was no mercy in this world and that you had to do what you had to do.

It was today that you just didn't want to deal with anything.

You couldn't smile and laugh as she tormented you and berated you for the smallest of things. You tried to play the fool to be able to survive, but it tended to backfire on you in the worst kind of way. She would just get angrier when you tried to last through your pain. Nothing would change that scowl on her face.

Even if you tried to keep things casual and very businesslike, that wasn't the response that your Captain wanted either. No matter if you were smiling or if you were frowning, your captain simply did not care. It had been difficult today because it was the day that lived in infamy and your mind. She knew what day it was and she knew what it would do to you.

And, she did what she knew best.

She kicked you around and she made you work the entire day without fail until your hand felt like they were going to break.

When all you wanted was just to get off the ship for just a few minutes to visit the edge of the coast so you could pay your respects to your mother. It was the day and the anniversary of your mother's passing. To your captain, it was a reminder that your mother blatantly failed and she was saddled with you because of it.

It wasn't like she didn't make money out of it anyway.

By the time that you were free from the ship, it was late into the evening. The sun had already begun to set and all you could think about was how the day had been taken from you. It was no different than when you were a child. whether you deserved it or not didn't matter, it just stung horribly to know that every year without fail, you would not be able to mourn in a healthy way whatsoever.

It stung because nobody was mourning for your mother except for you. There was nobody left who cared or would even think about it the way that you did. You had nowhere to visit for a grave since the ocean was her grave. But, you would always visit a small area of the beach to send out a candle in her honor to the waters to remind her spirit that her light would never be forgotten in your eyes as long as you lived.

While you had everything that you needed for the day, you still wanted to drop by the shops for something to eat since you hadn’t the time to stay on the ship and get dinner. A little snack wouldn’t hurt now and again. So you popped off to one of the shops and after you’d gotten what you needed, you paused in the doorway as you realized there was a bit of scuffle.

It wasn’t any of your business, but you were curious. As much as you knew better to avoid that sort of thing, you knew that sometimes it would lift your spirits to see someone knocked down a few pegs if they dared to do the wrong thing. Today it happened to be one of the crewmates from another ship in the docks that you had noted earlier in the day and a stranger that you didn’t know.

He was dressed quite… differently from everyone else.

The duster that he was wearing was better suited for desert terrain, and that hat of his was oriented differently from the one that a captain would wear. It struck you as odd because while you were used to seeing people of all kinds at the ports and docks that you visited, this wasn’t someone that you’d gotten to see before. This style of garb was something and brand new to you.

A cheeky smile on his face as he countered whatever the other man had said, “Now, now, gentleman, slow down n’ hold on a minute. What makes ya’ think that I took your things? I assure ya’, I ain’t do nothin’ of the sort. I’ll even empty my pockets if it helps ya’ out. I assure ya’, it’s a waste of time for ya’, though. Yer’ real thief is already long gone.”

The man scoffed, “It’s always the stranger that doesn’t belong here that is the criminal every time, sir country bumpkin. You ain’t got no excuse because you’re stalling for time. So, go ahead and save us the trouble, then. Empty your pockets, you’ve taken the money.”

Ah.

They were convinced that this stranger had stolen from them. Now, you weren’t going to say whether or not this guy had done it. You didn’t know. You had no way of knowing and it wasn’t your business. Only if the guy took from you or looked like a sleazebag would be an excuse for you to steal from him or get involved.

Though, there was something about his smile that made you want to lean in a little closer. That coy and dashing smile was dangerous and you knew it. If anyone let themselves get too close to another con, they would be conned just as quickly as they dared to get involved in the first place. Something was telling you to do something about this, though. If he was just being targeted for being different, you couldn’t just let that keep happening. It would be wrong.

And today, you knew that your mother would want you to step in and do the right thing for someone, even if they tricked you in the end. She always said it was better to be kind than criminal, but you could only take that advice so much from pirates, you know?

There was always a line but you were sure that you knew where to draw it in the sand.

Sighing, you knew better than this, but you smiled as you walked forward into the fray.

Flashing your eyelashes and waving at the crewmen. “Hey, boys. It seems as though you’re in some trouble with this stranger, you wouldn’t happen to need some help with that, would you? After all, the Bloody Emerald and her crew are here to offer help to anyone that needs it. Though, you’ll need a good price to pay me back for the trouble. I’d love to help, but if my captain finds out that you were causing trouble for our paying customers, she’ll be angry.”

The men blinked and realized quickly who you were, and despite the sweetness in your tone, they could tell that you meant business. Saying that name alone was going to bring someone into a mess of trouble that they didn’t want or need unless they were willing to pay the piper for the cost. They knew they were in for it, now.

“A—Andromeda!”

“Oh, God, it’s Andromeda.” They just bowed their heads, grateful that you had given them the option to choose to decide if they wanted to get involved or if they wanted to step off. “Forgive us for making a scene!”

The man shook his head, “Andromeda, no worries, no worries! It was just a misunderstanding. You don't need to get involved! We’re handling this. This stranger just thought he could get away with taking what’s ours.”

You merely stood your ground, “I’d hate for something bad to happen to you gentlemen. I understand if there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, but I can clear this up. Could you kindly leave this stranger be? He’s paying my captain for good service at the moment and I’m to see to his happiness. I can vouch for this guy being innocent. Though, if you are looking for a criminal here, I saw someone running off with gold and silver just around the bend over there.”

It was a little white lie, but nobody was going to fact check with your mistress to find out whether it was true or not. Your face was well known just as her errand person and seeing you could be a beautiful warning to disaster. The warning to watch your toes and pray for mercy before the Emerald would see to your demise. As much as hearing the name Andromeda made your head spin and whirl with unease and disappointment, it was useful at times like this.

“You said you saw something go around the bend, right? We'll go handle that. Don't go n' bother your captain!”

“On their way to the docks, guys, ”You waved your hand in the direction behind you, ”You might want to hurry, though. I believe he was wearing a deep maroon jacket and his hat seemed to belong to the Daybreaker ship. You know, Captain Kim and his band of thieves that think that they can take from anyone.”

“Thanks.”

“Please, don’t tell the Bloody Emerald.”

“Of course, not, boys. I would never sell someone out. Get along now, okay? Try to stay out of fights if you can.”

The men scurried off as fast as humanly possible. They didn’t want to push their luck and you were holding back the urge to laugh. People being frightened of you was a bit silly, but you could play the part of a criminal on the seas if you wanted. It was easy to slip into a role if you had to. That’s how you acted every day to survive with your crew.

Glancing back at the stranger, you offered a smile.

That was when you noticed that not-so-very-hidden bag of silver that he was holding underneath his coat. Yeah, he was a crook but he probably had a good reason for taking from those idiots. The ship they were from was filled to the brim with cons. You could smile and play friendly with them all day long but you knew better.

Those guys would cut your throat when you turned your back on them. You had to pull your leverage on them to secure your safety. It helped, enough, though. Those guys had it coming for being too clear with their crimes. That likely wasn’t their money, anyway. You knew it because the satchel was made of something far too luxurious to be from a couple of lackeys.

Some poor rich sucker had gotten jacked. Well, he probably had it coming, just like the crooks that thought that they were smart.

“Sorry about that, sir,” you said, cocking your head to the side as the stranger began to study you curiously. His golden eyes were watching your every move. “You have to be careful around these parts, there are pirates and crooks everywhere just waiting for an unsuspecting stranger to blame and steal from if he’s dumb enough to get caught red-handed.”

“Guess yer’ right, should’a been more discrete,” he chuckled. You adjusted your hold on your bag as he shifted from one leg to the other, extending his hand to yours. “Well, I reckon it’s nice to meet ya’. Thanks for savin’ me, there. I owe ya’ one. Though, I get the feelin’ ya’ tote yer’ power around like that quite a bit, huh?”

You took his hand as a common courtesy and noted how firm his shake was. It was just the right amount of pressure and not too light. Gesturing down the way that you were heading to, you decided that you could spare a few minutes to talk. He followed your step as you made your way down the boardwalk in the direction of the beach.

You expected to be alone in the long run today. Meeting a stranger felt like your mother sending you someone to talk to. A little talking and human interaction wasn’t something that you were going to turn down. Besides, this guy deserved to know that he needed to be more mindful if he was going to con people. He knew what he was doing but he seemed to be a little rusty.

Well, not everyone was prepared to swoop down from a rope and take whatever their eyes could see. A criminal on land was nothing like a criminal on the high seas.

You welcomed a distraction, “Only sometimes. Granted, normally, I might’ve just stolen what you stole from them just as a given to teach you a lesson about who you steal from, but you got lucky stranger. You’ve got a friendly face and I gotta give you credit for it. Let’s just say today is your lucky day since I was around. Those guys would have roughed you up and kicked you into the sea.”

"I could’a took ‘em,” he reassured you with a chuckle. He tipped his hat cordially at any stranger that you crossed. “But, I figure you must be in a heap of trouble yerself’, huh? I mean, you used your boss to get out of that one.”

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” you shrugged. It was true. You’d done that a few times before and it wouldn’t hurt anything. “Besides, it’s better not to bite the shark that will gobble you up if you don’t watch yourself. You got lucky that I was around, stranger. People don’t stick their necks out for guys like you.”

“Oh, I know,” he said.

“That doesn’t look very good on you, sir. Are you admitting that you’re a professional thief?”

“I’d like to say I’m a man of many talents. Pocketing a few coins just happens to be one of ‘em.”

“How charming. Do you flirt with just anyone using that?”

“Hahahaha… yer’ somethin’, that’s for sure. Mind if I ask about this Bloody Emerald you know? I reckon it’s not my business but ya’ can’t help a guy for being curious. I ain’t never seen two guys turn tail that fast before.”

“Well, if you’re not from around here, I would suggest you leave as soon as you get the chance. You don’t want to get caught up with pirates… trust me, I know that firsthand. Once you owe your life to the seas, you’ll never escape it, no matter how far you try to get away.”

“That so?”

You continued speaking to him late into the evening, taking a spot next to him on the sand as you watched the sunset over the horizon. He told you how he’d never seen the ocean before and was awed by its beauty and its wonder, and that dazed look in his eyes told you that he wasn’t lying. It was the face of someone who had just discovered something amazing.

As cruel as the seas could be, that childlike look in his eyes reminded you of whenever you were able to sail on your own right, letting your fingers touch the water and your body free from its shackles if only briefly. It felt like your mother was reminding you to not hate the seas for what they had done to her on the count of your captain.

The seas were not the devil nor were they the problem that sank people to the bottom. It was the people that were foolhardy and abused the seas and moved without thinking that were the problem, people who did the wrong thing for the worst reasons. There were bad people in this world, but seeing someone earnest and honest made you have hope.

Seeing this stranger who spoke of a desert of sands as far as the eyes could see without water made you imagine a world beyond your comprehension. That was what you wanted to do. See things and places that you couldn’t imagine. You wanted a ship of your own and you wanted to do what you wanted as you wanted to do it.

This man… this stranger criminal with his crooked smile, extended an idea of liberation to you just with his words alone. He spoke of chasing after the stars and extending his hand towards his freedom as he challenged the Gods. The stories he spun that evening made you laugh and made you think of the good times in your life.

Though a stranger, it felt like greeting an old friend.

You spoke of your tales of the sea and he spoke of his adventures in the desert. Neither of you was bleeding too much information about your lives, but sharing close calls and pushing the limits of what it meant to be a criminal that was just trying to survive, and pushing the idea of tempting fate against the wrong people.

You didn’t know at the time but this wasn’t going to be the last time that you would see this stranger.

It was far from it. You would go on to see him countless more times until one day everything changed once again. Leaving you right back where you started.

—

“Sorry, we’re all sold out,” the shopkeeper told you with a frown. They had been bought out by someone. All of that candy just disappeared as soon as they had placed it out. You couldn’t believe that someone had just come in and taken everything like the wave of their hand. It wasn’t fair. There was probably some rich bastard with a sweet tooth that purely wanted to spite you.

A sour look crossed your face. But, you knew that it wasn’t the fault of the shopkeeper. It was the bastard that wanted you to be denied your treats. Just your luck. That wasn’t what you wanted to happen today. You simply smiled and said, “Darn. Maybe I’ll be luckier next time, thanks for being honest with me, sir.”

You weren’t going to let that be the thing that ruined your day.

It wasn’t often that you had time for yourself to take care of things that you wanted to do. So, even if you were being denied your favorite treat… well, you could make the best of the day. It wasn’t the end of the world even if you lost out on something that you wanted. You could make the best of this mess!

It wasn’t at all that hard to try and find something to make matters better. So, you ran through some of your errands as best you could, grabbing what you did need with your pocket change and smiling your way through getting a few deals. People would give you this or that for free now and again, and it was nice.

Treats, trinkets, or a new scarf to keep you safe from the rustling sun overhead. It meant a lot to you to receive anything, and you were grateful for the kindness that you were shown by others. You smiled and thanked anyone who dared to help you. Even if you tried to reassure them not to do it, they would hand it to you anyway and you wouldn’t be able to say no.

So, you simply appreciated what you were given.

That was one of your saving graces, people often said that you looked like your mother, and for that reason, it graced you with good fortune even in a life of chaos. She had been a fair woman, kind and compassionate, but just the right amount of daring and willingness to chase the stars.

She was the kind of person that you wanted to be, even if you felt like you were failing that wish sometimes. You tried to keep a smile on your face despite everything that had happened to you but it was hard sometimes. Hard to stay smiling and positive when the world couldn’t help but slap you in the face over and over again.

You tried.

Trying was better than giving up, that’s what your mother would always say. Even though it had been a long time, you knew that her words still held weight to you. They always would. No matter if the day was good or bad, you were going to take your hits and keep walking forward.

Perhaps things would be better the next time that you had some free time to play around and leave the boat for a little bit with no captain looking over your shoulders.

By the time you cleared up everything that you needed, not as much time as you would have wanted would have passed. You weren’t ready to go back to the ship yet, but you weren’t exactly in the line of having something to do. As long as you had a viable excuse, nobody could bother you. You just needed to stay out of sight.

So, you decided that you would head over to the beach to spend the rest of your evening.

Sure, you spent all of your days on the water, but you never got to visit the beach! That was a different experience. You loved the feeling of letting your feet step deeper into the trenches of the water with a sigh against your lips, feeling relieved at the sensation of your body relaxing in the waves. The area that you visited in this particular area its own little alcove.

There was a private little area hidden deep within the trenches of the rocks on the coast that would open up during the low tide. That was a little haven for you, a place where you let some trinkets buried in the sand where nobody could find or steal them from you. It was a safer spot than in your little bed in the ship’s quarters that were maintained for you.

You ducked out of sight and followed the stone path alongside the beach until you got to your spot, pausing at the entrance of the little alcove when you heard the sound of voices.

You never allowed a single soul to venture into this area and it was well hidden. Nobody should’ve found it. You couldn’t help but peer into the opening to see who had dared to saunter into your personal safe space; and, upon seeing the glimmer of red hair peering back at you from inside, you had to pinch your arm and stifle the gasp that escaped you.

Standing there in front of you was the same man that you had met all those months ago, the man who had been like a whirlwind in your life for two weeks, only to disappear as soon as he appeared. He was not alone, either. There were two other people with him that you’d never met before. There was a man that shared his features, obviously a twin or a brother, and another person sitting next to him in the pit of sand.

It was Seven, his brother, and likely a friend. Though, those two didn’t look like they were friends with the way that their hands were interlocked together so very tightly as they spoke to each other as if the rest of the world didn’t exist nor did it matter. It wasn’t often that you saw couples up close as you never saw anyone get close to anyone. It filled you with a strange sense of comfort but that was washed away just as quickly as you realized that Seven was staring at you, now.

There was no way to turn back to step away from this one. Not that you were going to, though. This guy was just…

Because you saw that he’d been munching on your favorite delicacy. Was he the bastard that took all of your saltwater taffy? Ugh, why were you even asking yourself that? A memory of the two of you on the docks sharing sweets crossed your mind, but given how annoyed you were with the loss today, you had wanted to give him a stern talking-to despite how overjoyed you were to see him again.

Seven likely did that on purpose!

He knew it was your favorite.

He knew that you would get mad when it was sold out.

He knew that you would come to your space to—

Cheeky bastard!

“Hey, hey,” he cooed at you from the corner as his smile grew ear to ear. That smug look on his face was all you needed to see. He raised his hand and waved at you with the sheer confidence of a fool who had nothing to fear in the world. “I knew you’d come ‘round sooner or later! Nice to see ya’! Ain’t took as long as I’d thought it’d take ya’, though.”

His hat was tucked back around his neck and his jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up, revealing those arms that had been kissed by the sun. Those golden eyes of his peered back at you from his spot and you thought about slugging him in the arm to scold him for putting such a mean trick on you once again.

“You could’ve just come to the dock, you insufferable jerk!”

“That’s not as fun as gettin’ ya’ riled up,” he countered with a chuckle.

He beckoned you forward to come and join them. You stormed forward and proceeded to splash some ocean water against his face for that. He didn’t complain about that. He seemed to think that he had it coming after everything that had happened in the first place.

He rubbed the water from his face and offered you a peace offering, a few pieces of candy weighed heavy in your palms. You had given him some of yours the day before he disappeared in the shadows so receiving this felt like he was trying to pay you back for leaving so abruptly in the first place. You had been worried about him for ages, for months, and he just appeared out of the blue to do this to you of all things?

What had gotten into that head of his?

Had the desert sun melted his brains? What had even happened to him during that time? Your mind was swirling with questions that weren't going to get answers. You weren't going to get them by standing there and staring at him.

You clenched your fists, “Oh if you wanted to do that, trust me, you’ve already got me riled up today, Seven. You just left out of the blue without any explanation months ago. Did you think I was going to be happy when I was worried that one of the other pirates had finally caught onto your little thefts or something? You can’t butter me up with sweets and pretend that’s okay.”

The smile that he offered was apologetic, though. As irritated as you were with him, he knew how to make you feel better after a bad day. “I know, and I’m sorry about that. It’s a long story… one that I’d like to tell you. But, I deserved that splash. I ain’t got no excuse for leaving like that, so I’m not going to make one up on the spot.”

If he wanted to play that way…

“If you’re sorry…”

You stashed away the candy in your bag and offered him your hand. He stared at it for a moment until you took it, only for him to pull you down into the sand, the bit of water splashing around your legs as you cried in protest. He was a quick thinker, one that could guess what you were going to do and then make his counter strike.

Now your pants were a bit wet thanks to the ocean water, but that wasn’t a bother for you.

That would’ve happened whether he caused it or not. You groaned at that. You had wanted to do the same thing to him for his indignance. The last thing you expected was to be able to see him today, much less any day soon.

Everything was happening so quickly that you weren’t able to process all of it. Your brain was whirling with sensations and memories of the past. Lifting your head, you stared directly into those golden eyes of his. That cocky smirk on his face told you that he was mighty proud of himself for being able to do what you wanted to do to him first.

Nothing you did could hide the burn that invaded your features. This was mortifying, and he knew that it was. He seemed to thrive on torment and taunting. Leave it to Seven to take away every ounce of gall that you had just by flashing a stupid smile at you.

“Nice try. Yer’ gonna have to do better than that.”

Every part of you was telling you to walk him out into the sea and leave him there to float for a while to think about what he’d done. Too bad you taught him how to swim, otherwise that would’ve been a lot funnier than it should’ve been.

You clapped your hand against his shoulder as roughly as you could manage to prove a point.

He didn’t wince, there was still that coy look in his eyes. He knew what he was doing and he knew how it affected you.

Those sparks of electricity hadn’t just died because you had been separated for months at this point. Much to your chagrin, the feeling that invaded your senses was daring to bubble back to the surface just as quickly as you tried to bury it in murky depths.

You still stared into his golden eyes, “I see why you didn’t come to the docks. You knew that I would’ve pushed you into the bay.”

“I would’a pulled ya’ in with me, for sure,” he whispered.

“Not that again! The last time you did that, I had to drag you out of the water myself! You didn’t warn me you didn’t know how to swim! It took an hour to get you to relax so I could drag you back to shore.”

“I said I’d ain’t never seen the ocean before. Of course, I didn’t know. It didn't take ya' an hour, it was more like ten minutes.”

You groaned.

Nothing had changed. He was still trying to push your buttons. He was trying to invade all of your senses. It was what he had done since the very start. There was just something about him that kept drawing you in closer and closer. That had been the problem in the first place.

That was when you heard the murmur of conversation from the other two that were there, that you had almost seemingly forgotten about.

Seven’s brother seemed to be amused by how you were tearing into his brother with a huff and puff, and his partner seemed to be scolding him for teasing and poking fun at his twin. It seemed like they were close, though, you were still too caught up with Seven to think that hard about it. He had told you that he had a brother but not much beyond that.

Were they close? The man sighed, shaking his head at the scene in front of him. “Guess I owe ‘em that pie. They do exist, Cereus.”

“I told you to give Saeyoung the benefit of the doubt, Saeran,” his partner said, tapping his shoulder with their hand. “C’mon, I know that he tells tall tales sometimes, but it sounded too specific to be a story this time.”

“Little Cereus, yer’ too nice.”

“That’s my best trait, right?”

“Heheheh…”

Saeyoung…?

“Hey...?”You drew your attention back to Seven, who was kind enough to brush the stray hair from your face with a smile.

You were still peeved. You looked back at the opening for the alcove and he seemed to get the hint. You wanted to speak to him alone about all of this and you weren’t going to take no for an answer after all this time.

“Can we talk, then?”

He could laugh all he wanted.

Something needed to change.

“Always.”

It had sincerely seemed like he may never return ever again the last time that you spoke. All you had was a single letter to go off of and that didn’t tell you much. It just said that he had to go because he had found what he needed and that he would return once he was able to finish his mission that had to be completed no matter the odds.

Which, even that was a mystery to you, but seeing that he seemed so carefree now, you wanted to think that he was finished with whatever he needed to do. It seemed to weigh on him the last time you spoke, the weight of the world laying on him as he had to do something about the injustice of the town that he was living in.

He had his own tyrant, as far you knew, and just like the Bloody Emerald, you had to believe that someday, people like that would be taken down from power like they deserved to be. Life didn’t always work out the way you wanted. It wasn’t always a fairytale. It wasn’t always going to end neatly and nicely for everyone involved. Things just didn’t work that way.

You knew it.

And, deep down, you were pretty sure that Seven understood that, too.

So, you both stood together underneath the dwindling sunlight, not saying anything but knowing that there was so much that needed to be discussed. He seemed to be on edge about it. You hoped that he’d felt like he needed to be because he had to know what it felt like for you to have no way to see if he was okay or if he’d ever truly come back.

You thought he understood.

You thought that he understood how painfully closed off you were and that the last thing he should ever do was leave without saying a proper goodbye. Those two weeks were a whirlwind of your life and you thought you meant something to him. He had come to mean something to you and bottling it up and shoving it down never helped.

Seven had been a part of your life for a brief moment, and yet, he became saturated with your life to the point where it was hard to imagine not seeing him around.

“I am sorry,” he said, quietly. The two of you standing at the bank of the shore. “As I said, I reckon it ain’t gonna make things right but… it’s a long story. I never wanted to leave so abruptly but my brother needed me and I had to get to him as fast as I could. His life… was in danger, my life was in danger, and I had to do somethin’.”

“I’m not upset about that,” you said. “What I am upset about is that you left without saying goodbye after…”

After that day.

“I understand if ya’ hate me, now. I didn’t mean to break your heart. I wanted… I… I meant what I said in that letter. I wanted to come back to you and I’m here, now. I know it ain't to make up for what I did or what happened back then, but ya’ve been in my thoughts since back then. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of…”

“Stop.”

You looked back at the redhead, ignoring that swirling feeling that was bubbling in your guts as you spoke up. His eyes drew you in like nothing else ever did. A part of you wanted to scream and another part of you wanted to cry. Seven was the one that treated you kindly and made you laugh, made you laugh. You missed him.

But, it hurt at the same time.

You reached over and brushed your hand against his, “I shouldn’t give you a chance, but I… I never was that clever. I don’t want you to leave without saying goodbye, again, Seven. I don’t think I could take it if you left again like that. Can you promise me that you're not going to do that again?”

“I’m here to stay,” he clasped both of his hands around yours. The earnest look on his face told you that he was trying to be sincere. “Can ya’ give me another chance to make things right this time? I’d understand if yer’ not in the market for that… but, I want to do right by ya’. I fought the devil and was able to win, and now I want to live to the fullest. So, I wanna get close to you without the rush.”

“...Okay.”

“Okay?”

“As long as you say goodbye if you have to leave this time around.”

“I don’t plan on leavin', but ya’ got a deal if it happens, Andromeda.” You scoffed at the mention of that name. He still seemed to be using that name for the wrong reason. No matter how many times you told him to use your name instead of the one that the captain had given you, he would continue to call you Andromeda instead. “By the way, I did buy all that taffy but I got for ya’, peace offerin’, n’ all.”

You held out your hand, expectantly. “Pay up, then. I’ll think about forgiving you, then. You've missed a lot since the last time I saw you so you're going to have to make up for it, cowboy. I won't let you off easy."

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marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

If Ray was in Cereus:

Ray wasn't like Unknown.

That was putting it lightly, but when he came to see you, there was always the sense that there was light in his eyes. It was so unlike when Unknown met you half-way, it wasn't intense in the way that Unknown's sharp eyes followed your each and every single move.

No, Ray's eyes followed you slowly and methodically, curious and sure that he wanted to unravel you piece by piece.

There was no denying one thing, he was incredibly kind to you. He would always tell you to take care of yourself, and he would make sure that you were okay. He knew that it wasn't easy to be trapped in that bar of yours, but he also knew that you were capable of handling things on your own.

Yet, he wished that you didn't have to get involved. He understood why, but he seemed worried that you might fall into trouble. Either way, you were happy to see Ray just as you were happy to Unknown. You barely got to see them face to face, and whenever they dropped by when you were on stage?

Your heart raced with such speed. Today was like that, when you noticed someone waiting for you at the back door after you finished your tasks, smiling broadly when you realized that it could've been your boss. You ducked past Zen before he could question you about it and shut the door behind you, noting that it was Ray, today.

He wasn't wearing the duster that Unknown wore, though one hand was tucked behind his back, and when he saw you, he instantly looked down. A nervous hand reaching up to grasp at his hat as he tipped it in your direction to hide his eyes from yours.

There was a bit of pink in his face, almost if the sunlight had burned him. He often worked at night so the sun didn't harm him but it didn't protect him from the heat. "Ray?"

Swallowing, you were taken back when he pulled a bushel of flowers out and kept his grip tight on his hat. "Sweet Cereus, I... I brought ya' something. Hope that's okay. To light up your room, y'know?"

#cowboy saeran #cowboy saeran supremacy #ray choi #choi ray #cowboy ray #mod kait #drabble #saeran #saeran choi #choi saeran #cereus

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marshmallowprotection · 4 years

Text

Silly little trend idea. I would absolutely love to see you guys draw your MCs or yourselves with the aesthetic of Cowboy Saeran's story. I've had a few people draw the man of the hour, but I'd thrive harder seeing you guys doting on him like that. Or even the rest of the RFA since they're in this as well. I guess I'm just saying Cowboy RFA supremacy.

You don't gotta, but if you do draw or write or dress up, don't hesitate to share it with me! I'm loving the little community of support around this silly AU of mine. I just think it's neat! I don't know how many of you would be interested in that but hey, if you make something, shout at me.

#mod kait #mystic messenger #mysme #saeran choi #mysticmessenger #choi saeran #mm #cowboy saeran #cowboy saeran supremacy

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marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

Cereus

Pairing: Choi Saeran/Reader

Description: You never knew what you wanted to do with your life from day one. It just seemed like there were too many things to pick from and all you knew was that you didn’t want to be bound by the expectations of your parents. So, you decide to head west like the rest of those that are seeking new lives and changes without knowing what to expect or your plan. You just never thought that you would find yourself ensnared in the rope of fate on your journey to find yourself.

Word Count: 2235

Cowboy Saeran x Reader

[Read On AO3]

Previous Chapter

Epilogue

“Was now really the best time for you to pick up the guitar again?”

“What? Did ya’ want me to change the song to somethin’ more fittin’?”

“How about we travel in silence, instead?”

“That ain’t as fun, Saeran. Ya’ gotta live a little… c’mon, get that sour look off your face! Here, I wrote this one for you!”

“...Great.”

The sounds of a finely tuned guitar were all too prevalent in your eardrums these days. Saeyoung was far too content as the little wagon continued to go along the path, playing along to a song that he had been learning recently since he had so much more free time on his hands lately to explore his hobbies outside of conning and trickery.

While you didn't mind the sound, Saeran wasn't as big a fan of the humming and strumming. It led to a bit of bickering between the twins that was a surprise. The lighthearted argument wasn't unwelcomed. It was nice to see how the two of them interacted when they wanted to show that brotherly bond.

This wasn’t where you thought that you would find yourself but you weren’t going to complain about it in the slightest.

You just leaned your head against Saeran’s shoulder as he commanded the reigns for both of their horses. He sighed at his brother’s antics and just continued as he was. It had only been a few weeks since everything happened and it was still an adjustment period.

After Saejoong was forcibly removed from power, the sheriff and everyone else that had been working with them were taken down and removed from power. They didn’t need to have a trial for them since it had been proved in front of them with the wave of a hand. They were going to be locked away where they would be unable to hurt anyone ever again.

Saeyoung and Saeran no longer had to live in fear of losing their lives because of him anymore. That was all they ever wanted. They didn’t have to hide their faces anymore. Frankly, there were people in many places that weren’t happy about their crimes as they were, but the boys had been forgiven for what they’d done by countless people.

Most of them, anyway.

It wasn’t like they had been stashing away all that money consistently. They were consistently fueling it to people in need. Anyone who needed to eat was getting paid. Anyone that was living without parents in their life was getting money. Anyone in need of something. They had been taken care of by the twins for quite a while.

The rest of the money had been for trying to control the crime scene to manipulate a load of real crooks into listening to them. Whatever they didn’t need was just put away so they could either give it back eventually or so they would have some money to get by when and if they were free. Not that the people needed to worry about it.

It changed everything in the town for the better.

But, everything changed in a matter of a few weeks. It went from zero to one-eighty. At the very least, it went from bad to better. Which was the greatest thing that anyone could hope for. The gold that was already taken from the wells couldn’t be placed back, but it could be doled out equally and fairly to all of the members of the town thanks to Jumin Han’s family.

Since his father controlled the banks, everyone’s accounts were layered with weekly reimbursements of gold and silver profits. Because of this, the town was able to grow in more ways than one, with more businesses opening up and people moving into town because everyone supported each other.

It was looking to turn around the town that was only a few months away from the brink of collapse.

Once Saejoong was gone, there needed to be a new mayor… and believe it or not, the people wanted Jihyun to take the job.

He had been such a capable man that had worked to protect everyone, and they all trusted him to do the right thing. He was elected in a landslide after everyone agreed on who they wanted to be in charge for the time being. With him and Jumin at the helm, the town was shaping up to be a great place to be and somewhere that you knew would be okay.

Since he was going to be handling matters of the town now, the bar was given to Yoosung. Who was surprised by the event entirely! But, in all honesty, he and Zen had been running the bar for quite a while on their own apart from Jaehee stepping in now and again to help with the books when she wasn’t busy with Jumin.

So, Yoosung was the one that he trusted most.

Yoosung was excited about the prospect. He had a lot of ideas for the bar, too. He wanted to be able to make it into a restaurant that anyone was welcome to. He and Zen were working together to make things work out with both of their capable hands. It would still be Jihyun’s Bar, but it would be more than anyone ever expected it to be.

While you liked your place at the bar and the job you held, you couldn’t deny that call to adventure that had your name written all over it. As things calmed down and you and the rest of the group had worked together to help the town, you had been dutifully recovering from your attack.

You weren’t on the stage to perform, but after a week of being stuck in bed, you had sat at the bar and gave a song to Zen’s performances. Singing didn’t take too much out of you, and it felt nice to be out and about where everyone was instead of worrying about how things were going. As always, this place was a good place to be.

All and all, things were going together in town.

Even better, Saeyoung had joined you at the same time, stepping in when he wasn’t working with Saeran and Jihyun to play some music along with you. He revealed his secret talent, that he was rather skilled at guitar, but he never had the chance to show it off to other people like he wanted to. He was really good!

Even if Saeran said otherwise.

Saeran had been right by Jihyun’s side the entire time, trying to help him make matters right from what happened with their father. He was taking it personally and seriously to make amends for things. You’d been surprised by that, given the history that you had heard about what the twins went through they’d met Jihyun, but the fact that Saeran was calling him “dad” was telling enough.

Saeran wasn’t trying to become the next mayor, though.

That was the last thing he wanted.

This was just the loose end that had to be tied up for him. Saeran had told you that he wanted to be able to leave the desert for a while, maybe not forever because he knew how much this place meant to you now, but he did want to see the world first.

You knew that feeling.

You knew what it felt like to want an adventure.

Saeran was your adventure now, and anywhere that he wanted to go, you wanted to be. That’s what led to this situation that you were now in. So, when he proposed the idea to you one day if you would be a willing party to go on a trip with him. Of course, Saeyoung was going to be tagging along, but it was a given. He still wanted you to come with him.

Of course, you said yes.

It wasn’t a “goodbye” to the western town that you had come to, but a simple “see you soon.”

Which is how you wound up where you were now, in a little wagon pulled by Begona and Big Dipper, headed out from town and deep along the trails to take you to wherever you wanted to go. Saeran was kind of interested in seeing the ocean since he’d never been able to see that before, well, there were a lot of things that he hadn’t seen before, but…

It was the first thing that came to mind when you asked, “Well, where do you wanna go?”

“I reckon it’d be nice to see the coast?”

“Good choice, Saeranie!”

Saeyoung seemed jazzed about the idea, himself. He had traveled out with Jihyun and seen the coast before, and had described it to his twin with a mystified look in his eyes. It had left a mark on him that Saeran wanted to see. Hilarious, you knew, but it was kind of sweet to see them getting along and sharing these things.

You were happy here with Saeran.

He snorted when you tucked yourself closer to his side, but ignored the urge to make a snide comment to torment you. You’d grown used to him teasing you and pulling your hair now and again. He might have been Saeran now, but he was still your tormentor by all accounts. Which was exactly what you’d wanted, anyway.

“How far do you think we have left?” you asked him, watching as the landscape changed by the minute from the clay and soil, into the greens that you knew very well. “Do you reckon it’s more than a day or two at this rate?”

“I reckon so,” he responded. You’d pay for stealing some of his quirky vocabulary to tease him. But, you liked that little accent of his whether he wanted to agree with that or not. “I ain’t never traveled this far by myself before, so I’m just guessing from what the maps said.”

“It took a while even by train,” you admitted.

“‘Course, we ain’t in no hurry, little Cereus. We’ll get there when we get there… don’t tell me that yer’ gonna start askin’ me that every five minutes. We already got one idiot n’ this car, we don’t need two of ‘em.”

The two of you chuckled.

That seemed to bring Saeyoung’s attention to the scene. He had stopped playing the time being as he leaned forward between the two of you, ignoring the way the wagon bounced against the terrain and could’ve knocked him over. The way that things were changing had caught his eye. Had he traveled in this area before? “I’ll pretend I ain’t hear that. But, hey, do y’all remember when I told ya’ that I met someone when I was gone with Jihyun?”

“...That fake partner ya’ mentioned?” Saeran quipped. You knew what he thought about that person that Saeyoung had brought up now and again. You couldn’t doubt him. Because they all doubted Zen about you! So, who was to say that he was hiding information about somebody just to make some kind of joke?

“They’re not fake!” Saeyoung retorted. He huffed and looked at you for some moral support. “Cereus, ya’ believe me, right? I’m only bringin’ this up because I was wonderin’ if you two would be interested in meetin’ ‘em? After all, they’ve been waitin’ for me to come back n’ see ‘em since I left a few months ago.”

That made you curious.

You raised a brow, “Oh?”

“Absolutely.”

Saeran sighed. He looked back at his twin and shook his head, incredulous. It was like he couldn’t believe that Saeyoung wanted to take a little detour. He wasn’t going to hear the end of it if he didn’t do something about this. “Alright, alright. Ya’ know what? I reckon that I want you to prove that this person is real, then. I’ve heard this spiel too many damn times. Ya’ wanna prove it? Let’s see ‘em, then. Tell me where we’re headed, then.”

“Aw, Saeran, I knew you cared about me!”

“Mainly, I just wanna see if yer’ a liar or not.”

“I’ll admit I’m a little curious, Saeyoung. I’m willing to give you the benefit of a doubt on this one. Be nice, Saeran. Who knows, it might lead us to another adventure!”

“The last thing I want right now is another dangerous adventure.”

“That settles it, then. To the sea, we go!”

[AUTHOR’S NOTE:]

Heya Howdy Doodle Doo, don’t let the door close on ya’ because this ain’t over yet.

That’s right.

This isn’t the end of Cowboy Saeran. Join us soon in the sequel which is going to be a Seven x Reader story. This will be my first long-form Seven x Reader story, and I’m glad to be writing it. I sincerely am going to have to thank countless people for supporting this story and supporting me. I’ve made a lot of new friends that I hope to keep forever thanks to this story.

My heart is filled with so much love for so many of you fans.

I’ve received fan art, cosplay, and all kinds of gifts for this story of mine and it means a lot to me that there are people that enjoy something I’ve made so much that they want to play around in my take on the Mystic Messenger characters. So, this isn’t goodbye to you, my loyal cowboy fans.

This is a See You Soon.

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marshmallowprotection · 4 years

Note

imagine Unknown breaking into the apartment. u point at his shoes. the words "yee fucking haw, pardner" leave your mouth. you're laughing. he's being stylish and you're laughing

Any response that he has is immediately destroyed with:

SILENCE, HOT TOPIC COWBOY.

#cowboy saeran supremacy #ask #mod kait #unknown #saeran choi #choi saeran #mm #mysme #mysticmessenger

35 notes · View notes

marshmallowprotection · 3 years

Text

Cereus

Pairing: Choi Saeran/Reader

Word Count:

Cowboy Saeran x Reader

[Read On AO3]

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Chapter Nine

You were left with your thoughts for quite some time after Saejoong laughed at how terrified you had become in a matter of minutes.

His voice invaded your senses as he recounted every gory detail of how he’d destroyed the boy’s mother just to give you a taste of what he was going to do to you. You still felt sick to your stomach even though hours had passed since the sunset.

It was disgusting that this man was allowed to get away with everything he had done. Seeing how every person in town thought that he was doing good and helping others only to realize that he was this old and greedy monster that was willing to kill anyone that got in his way. He had described to you how it had been so easy to get rid of the evidence.

How he got rid of the body and burned down the house afterward. Every trace of the life that the boys had lived was gone in a matter of seconds and the only reason they were alive was that they hadn’t been caught. They must have run and run for ages to protect themselves. You didn’t know what that kind of fear felt like.

You felt like you wanted to weep but no tears would come to your eyes anymore. The heat had dried you out. They were denying you water and food at this point. It had been… maybe a day, maybe two at this point. You couldn’t count the hours where they had left you. You slipped between being conscious and being asleep most of the time.

The sun scored your skin… and you felt like they planned that fate. They left you tied up in a spot where there was no sunlight.

It made you feel like you were on the cusp of losing your mind. Zen had once told you that being out in the heat made you do crazy things, and made you feel like you’d do just about anything for a taste of water.

Water…

All you wanted was some water.

And that turned out to be the plan for them. Every couple of hours, that man would come back and ask if you were thirsty enough to give up any information about the twins. Every time they would ask you the same question, you wouldn’t say a word. You would glare at the ground and ignore them. It wasn’t going to happen.

You weren’t going to turn either of those boys to this monster.

Learning that they had gone through and everything that you knew about them? No matter if they left you behind, no matter if Saeran left you to die, no matter if this was the last place that you would ever see, and no matter if you were subjected to the worst pain of your life… you weren’t going to let them suffer anymore.

In your heart of hearts, even if you were left here to die, you were okay with it. You wanted, no, you were praying that Saeran was going to run. It was funny, you hadn’t known his true name and after all this time, he hadn’t even been able to tell you himself.

It was a lovely name, and it made your heart ache knowing that you could never whisper that name to his face. Only to see him chuckle and scold you learning something that you shouldn’t know. That’s how it always was with him. Playing a game of secrets and pushing each other back and forth.

You missed the way that he would make you think twice about what you were doing and what you were saying.

He was just this special person that made you want to believe in something.

Saeran… Saeran… In your frustration, all you could do was feel the burning sting that came to your eyes. You just wanted to cry. You just wanted to cry until it was over. You weren’t going to break down in front of that monster and give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt you. You weren’t going to go down and prove that you were weak.

You weren’t going to give anyone that satisfaction.

Saeran had told you that if you were going to do something, you needed to do it without fear. He had shown you that you could be brave. He had shown you that your kindness was your weapon and you weren’t going to change now. You gripped tightly to that feeling of yours. You wished that you had the chance to see him again.

You wished that you had taken that last moment you shared with him to have taken that kiss from his lips. It seemed so fleeting now. They looked incredibly soft in contrast to say, his coarse hands that you loved so much. You shut your eyes and thought about what that might feel like, the feeling of his hands against your face…

“Saeran…” you whispered.

“[Y/N]...”

Suddenly, you felt something warm against your face. Opening your eyes, you blinked through the heat of the sun and could’ve sworn that you saw red curls staring back at you. You wanted to reach out with your hand and touch him. Despite your exhaustion, you felt like he was there by your side.

It felt like he had come to rescue you.

“Sorry, I kept ya’ waiting,'' his voice murmured. “I do hope ya’ hold it against me, little Cereus. But, I hope you know that this means your life debt is gonna be doubled since I had to save ya’ twice. Guess ya’ll never escape me.”

A breathless laugh escaped your lips, “I never want to escape you…”

Saeran clicked his tongue in that familiar way you always heard when he scolded you. “I think the heat’s finally got to you. Are you admitting such a sappy mess to me right now? Tch. I thought you had more pride than that. Yer’ such a blubbering baby… hang on for me, okay? I’ll come and get ya’.”

You believed him. You believed his words with all your heart. As numb as the heat had made you feel over the last few days, you wanted to lean into his touch as if it were your savior. Saeran was there, just right there. You could almost feel the feeling of his touch against your skin. The cool relief of those coarse hands beckoned you forward for something more.

“Get me…?” you asked. “Saeran, you’re right here with me…”

Closing your eyes for just a second, just a short second, you blinked a few times, and when you looked again, there was no sign of Saeran.

It was like—

It was like he was there one second and he was gone the next.

“Saeran…? Saeran…? Saeran! Come… come back…!” Distressed lined your features as you looked around to see where he’d gone, your broken voice calling out his name.

It didn’t even sound like you anymore. It sounded dry and cracked, barely even a whisper of what you had once sounded like and no amount of water was going to take the taste of dirt from your throat.

Alone and abandoned with your feelings once again, you stayed there tied away as the sun burned down against your skin.

Nobody was going to come for you. Nobody. You didn’t want them to come and find you at this point. It was better for them to run. If they were going to be subjected to the countless atrocities that Saejoong had told you?

You’d rather sit here and burn till there was nothing left of you if it meant they were safe and sound from this suffering. Nobody deserves to feel this way. If you had been able to learn anything about the twins, it was that their childhood was the shittest one that anyone could experience.

They knew what this must feel like firsthand and you would fight them kicking and screaming to stop it. Even without knowing what they went through, you thought about Saeran’s coarse hands and the scars that lingered against his wrists.

Who knew just how far those scars ran? You didn’t.

Thinking of the agony he lived through thus far stung.

Saejoong wasn’t going to win because of you. You wouldn’t let him. No even as your body fought back against your mind. You just had to stay here and focus on what you assumed to be the end of your life. It was sad that you wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to everyone that you loved and cared for, but you burned that bridge when you left home.

You breathed in deeply and tried to cool yourself down as best you could. There was just so much to think about while you were alone like this. You just wanted to sleep off most of the frustration until it grew to a point where you wouldn’t get up again. It seemed like fate wasn’t on your side in that front because it simply wouldn’t let you slip asleep again.

You tried closing your eyes but it did you no good. The sweltering heat, even in the afternoon, was nothing to joke about. You thought that it had been a bit warm when you were working in the bar but this heat was something else. You were never going to complain about being hot ever again.

That’s what you resided yourself to if they spared you.

Doubtful that they would.

It was peaceful, though, while you were alone.

That much you hadn’t had in such a long time. You thought of the sprawling green and the rivers of your childhood the entire time to keep you steady. The feeling of the cool grass after a shower in the afternoon and the cover of treetops as high as you could see. It was unlike this desert scenery where it held no cover, showed sprawling mountaintops, and miles of dirt and clay.

In its own way, it was beautiful. The landscape had caught your eye when you were traveling by train. You had thought there was something mysterious about it as it was, something otherworldly that was unlike anything you’d ever seen before. Unknown… no, Saeran.

He had told you that it was cruel and unforgiving, but he named you after a plant.

He disregarded your name and chose a name that you didn’t know. Night-blooming Cereus was what the mayor had called it. He said they only bloomed at night once every year. He said they wilted away just as fast as they could bloom.

Why had Saeran called you Cereus? Why had he looked at you and said that he thought of you when he thought of a plant that grew and died so fast? Was that all you were? A fling in the heat of this lonely desert to humor him? Nothing more than a passing fancy? Then, why had he gone out of his way to try and show you parts of him that nobody knew?

It didn’t make any sense.

When he called you Cereus, your heart fluttered and you felt like your face was as hot as it was right now. He teased you and tormented you with the whisper of a nickname that he’d given you. You did not want to believe that he worked with anyone to lead you into this.

Little Cereus… his voice echoed in the back of your head, and all you were left with was the faith that he would be smart enough to run. You wanted to truly believe this was a fluke and that he was taking the chance to run while he could. He was smart enough for that. He knew better than that.

He’d told you how easy it was for him to find more people to help him and how easy it was to fight back. He could start over if he wanted.

But, this?

It would be smarter to run and never look back.

You could close your eyes and imagine Zen helping the boys back to your hometown because it was such a faraway place from this town. If you thought hard enough you could see them enjoying the grass and endless rivers, as well as maybe stopping by your families’ bakery. It was a silly sight to imagine but it did bring you a sense of peace when you thought about them escaping.

Please, you thought. Please leave and don’t come back.

It would be better that way. Left to wallow in those thoughts for a while, you didn’t realize that someone had returned the sound of heavy boots against the dirt were nearly right next to you. You barely had the strength to lift your head but when you did, you realized that you were staring at someone that you didn’t know.

It wasn’t the mayor and it wasn’t the masked man that you’d seen with him.

It was somebody else entirely. They had shoulder-length sandy brown hair that was tied back into a very loose braid. The dark coat they were wearing covered most of their body so you couldn’t gauge who they were by that alone. You squinted at them for the longest moment until a memory suddenly struck you in the face.

You knew them from somewhere but where did you know them from? Your brain wasn’t able to catch up with your thoughts anymore. The sun had made you a lot more lethargic and lost to the faintest bit of a breeze. Who were they? They weren’t a savior, that was for sure. If someone wanted to help, they’d cut you free.

It seemed like they were more than ready to do as the other two had.

“Still awake?” their voice sounded tired and exasperated. It seemed like they didn’t want to be here as much you did. “It would be a lot easier for the both of us if you just gave up already. Do you have no self-preservation skills? I’m thinking being around those brats has finally affected someone too damn much.”

You didn’t have the energy to respond. Nevertheless, you persisted. “Are you… working with them… or the mayor…?”

“Ideally, I’d say neither. They’ve all given me nothing but trouble since the day I made a deal with Jihyun Kim,” the stranger said. They sat down next to you and let out another sigh. It seemed like they were just as tired as you were. “Realistically, the answer to that question of yours is that I’m working for Saejoong but it’s not my choice. You don’t get a choice when ya’ ain’t got no power.”

So, you pondered. That meant that they were being forced to do whatever they were doing because they had no free will.

Well, it reminded you a lot of how you ended up in the honor system. Saeran expected you to be able to repay him for his saving your life and said that most people, if they had any honor, would listen to that system and obey the order that it was designed until they paid back everything they owed.

Still, you had to wonder what it was that got people indebted to someone like Saejoong Choi.

You understood why and how Saeran found the people that he did. You didn’t know why Saejoong would find anyone unless they served a clear purpose. Saeran was working from all sides to be able to get all kinds of crooks on his side. Wait… A broken thought crossed your mind as you considered what they had said.

“You said that you know the boys and Saejoong,” you could feel the gears turning in your head as you spoke up. You didn’t like the answer that you had reached. “Are you saying that you worked with… all of them? Is that what you’re implying? So what you’re saying is that—”

“Yeah, I’ll stop you before you waste the energy. I sold them out, I double-crossed them, whatever you want to say about it, I’ve done it. The reason why you’re here right now is that I made it happen. So, if you’re looking for someone to blame, I’m right here,” the dejected tone in their voice told you anything you needed to know about them.

“You sold them out—” your voice cracked as you tried to shout at them but it was no use. You didn’t even have the energy to keep your head up anymore. “You sold them out and you know what they’ve been going through! How could you do something like that to them! I don’t care that you involved me in this mess but those boys don’t deserve this!”

Silence washed over the scene for a long moment. Neither of you said anything as that hung in the air and honestly, it was the truth. You both understood that no amount of begging or lying was going to change the situation. At least they had the decency, to be honest to your face instead of lying and hiding everything away from you.

You could respect someone being honest with you for once. No more lying, no more games, and no more putting up with it. It wasn’t right. You were tired of being lied to and you were tired of being subjected to someone that needed to be rescued. Nobody let you hold any of the cards. You were just a pawn to subject your loved ones to torture. You didn’t even know if your death would be the end of all this.

Who was to say that Saejoong wouldn’t go after everyone else in the bar because of you? Who was to say that Zen or Yoosung or Jumin or Jaehee were safe? They weren’t. You didn’t know if they would be safe. It pained you to think about it. Saejoong wasn’t going to stop. The cycle of hatred and pain was going to continue until someone killed him.

That was the only way this could end.

The only way to end this cycle was by everyone dying. Someone had to die, and at the end of the day, you didn’t know who was going to die. It felt like the world was unjust and cruel in its way of allowing such spite to fester. Who had robbed so many people of their hearts? Or rather, why were people all too willing to deny their humanity for their greed?

How could you find the good in any of this when all you saw was pain?

If you had the energy to cry, you would’ve cried. Tears would’ve done nothing for you, however, and you knew it. You kept hitting this wall over and over again. Nothing mattered because you couldn’t protect yourself, much less escape from this place and make sure that the people that you cared about the most were protected from this grief.

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” was what they supplied from your side as your thoughts traveled all over the place. “Saejoong isn’t the type of person to let something slide when he wants it. He doesn’t take no for an answer when he wants to be the winner. There’s no point in trying to fight him when he’s got everything in his pocket.”

“That man has a way of finding out everything about your life in a matter of days. Before you realize it, he’ll have your family held hostage and at gunpoint until you agree to do whatever he wants. You don’t get a choice once he’s decided that you’re going to be useful to his goals. He caught me when I let my guard down and now I’m paying the price.”

Paying the price, huh?

“You sold out more than just yourself,” you snapped. “If you cared about them, you would’ve done a lot more to keep them safe.”

You didn’t care how bitter you sounded. You couldn’t believe that someone would turn them in when they understood what would happen if Saejoong caught them. It sounded like a pitiful excuse to you, like they were trying to think of something to justify this choice to themselves to wipe away some of the guilt they felt.

“You’re right,” they said, a strange laugh at the corner of their lips. “I don’t have an excuse. I’m the one that dragged them into this mess to start with. Jihyun Kim made the deal with me a long time ago to protect them in exchange for my service, I never thought that those two would destroy the guy I owed a debt to, much less go searching for the person they were supposed to be hidden from.”

Deal?

You weren’t sure what they meant by that. Did they mean that the boys had been hidden with them because Jihyun paid them off? They had run away from their father to survive, found the help at the bar with Jihyun, and then you had a blank for the rest of their lives.

They went from hiding in the dark to challenging the darkness head-on.

Saeran had to become a criminal because he had no other choice to survive. The same for his brother, but how they got to where they were today was beyond anything that you knew. You could only guess what had happened to them and what made them the people they are. Yet, you knew that they were good people.

Criminals or not, they didn’t deserve to die like this.

Nobody did.

“You’re saying that Jihyun made a deal with you to protect them a long time ago?”

“Yeah, more or less. They were brats back then, and they’re still brats, now. I took them in with my group when they were teenagers. They were more trouble than they were worth but money is money and you take what you can get at the end of the day. Saeran was always the one to watch out for cause you’d never know when he’d snap and Saeyoung was ready to do the dirty work without a moment of hesitation.”

“Kind of like… having a death wish, huh?”

“I told them to keep their heads low if they wanted to survive, but no, nobody listens to Vanderwood. They might’ve had an easier chance if they didn’t bite the hand that controls everything. Maybe things wouldn’t have gone to shit if they listened.”

“They weren’t happy living like that. I can’t imagine anyone would… how could you be happy if you’re always running? That’s not real freedom. That’s not even happiness. That’s just trading your one devil to get another one in return.”

“You’re alive, and that’s what counts out here, Cereus. Living is your priority above all else once you’ve gotten too deep into this situation. If you valued your life and safety, you would have just told Saejoong where they’re hiding right now.”

“And you don’t know? If you’re as close to them as you claim to be, shouldn’t you know where they are? If you raised them then shouldn’t they be in touch with you? I’m glad if they aren’t because you did this.”

“...It’s complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be complicated,” you said, simply. You dug your nails into the pads of your palms just to remind yourself that you were still breathing. “Let me break it down. You thought that they wouldn’t trust you enough to follow you, and the only way to ensure it was guaranteed they’d come was by kidnapping someone important to them. Because whatever relationship you have with them is strained, at best.”

“Something must have happened in the past to change whatever relationship you had with them,” you continued. “And whatever that was, I don’t know, but if they ever meant something to you, you’d not be doing this. So, whatever Saejoong has on you must be life or death because if not, you’re just some kind of coward. I’m willing to bite my tongue until I die for them, what can you say about yourself?”

Vanderwood knew that you were right. They couldn’t deny that. Whatever their history was with the boys, you weren’t sure and you doubted that you’d get any answers for it. But, you hoped they were happy with their choice because whether they liked it or not, they had put the boys on the march to their death by all accounts.

Because your heart hissed that they wouldn’t be smart enough to run and leave you behind. You weren’t worth the effort and trouble, you thought. You were just a hapless dream that got way too in over their head and this was the price. You would’ve died a lot sooner if Saeran hadn’t saved you from dying that first day.

Frankly, if you would’ve known that you would hurt him this much, you’d almost wish that…

“I have no excuse,” they shrugged.

Despite yourself, you snorted. “At least, you’ll admit it.”

“It was nothing personal,” Vanderwood said, at last, like it was a finality. They didn’t look at you as they stared over the scenery. “We’ve all got people to protect in our lives and I need to protect mine right now. You can hold it against me, I don’t care. But, I didn’t do this to intentionally hurt those twins or you. Saejoong has my hands tied.”

And in a moment of sincerity, Vanderwood met your gaze. “He has my family. I ran away from home when I was their age to save my family the trouble of trying to feed another mouth. I became a crook to send money home, not that this excuses me throwing the boys under the carriage. I started by wanting to help people and this is the way it always ends for people like us. We all start the same but it ends six feet under, nothing to speak of to prove life meant anything.”

“I did care about them, for what it’s worth. But, I had a choice to make with a gun pressed to my mother’s head. It was the life of my family or the life of the boy’s. It’s a choice nobody wants to have to make but men like Saejoong don’t care about that. When you have to choose between what life means more, you’re going to get hurt no matter what you do. I guess I can say I’m sorry, but I know that it won’t fix anything.”

They seemed defeated… like they had given up on everything because there was no choice. How could there be a choice? A gun to the heads of the people you care about? Knowing that if you fought, you’d die, and everyone else would die or live knowing one of them died because you “valued” that life more.

It was a painful reality.

And you, being the kind person that you were at the end, simply smiled sadly and accepted that this would be your fate. This was simply how things were going to end. No matter what, as long as they didn’t come for you, you would hope for the best they could make in this life.

Saejoong didn’t play fair and now everyone would suffer. Nothing was going to change that. You saw no way out of this… and as a bitter it made you feel, you thought only of Saeran. You thought of him and how he made you feel.

Saeran had once told you that he valued your kindness. In the end, you didn’t want to go out being angry at the world. It wasn’t worth your time. These crooks weren’t worth your time. You weren’t going to waste your energy hating everything in your final days no matter how spiteful you felt about these people hurting the ones you loved.

You would try to be the person that Saeran had faith in. Despite how much pain you were in, and how much it hurt.

The person that he looked at with such a fond smile that you swore nobody knew about, the man who held your face in his hands and whispered so softly as if only you mattered, the man that extended his hand to you not because he had to but because he wanted to, and the man that you had fallen in love with despite everything that had happened.

You loved Saeran.

You would never be able to tell him that.

You strained to lift your head to look at the sunset, “It’s okay, Vanderwood. I forgive you. I don’t want to die angry and bitter. I want Saeran to think of me as he knew me, kind and compassionate. If my loved ones were in danger, I would do anything for them to make sure they were safe. But I guess we all have different ways of doing that, don’t we? I hope your family is free after this… and I hope you’ve made peace with your choice. Because I’ve made peace with mine.”

—

It felt like it was yesterday when Vanderwood met those twins, but it had been years ago when that incident occurred. It was a chance encounter of sorts and there was no denying they’d been in over their head when they made that deal. They had been younger, a little cocky, but still firm in making deals with people who thought that they could pull the wool over their eyes.

Getting drinks at the bar wasn’t a strange occurrence but the bar they’d visited this time was different from the others. The energy was bright and unassuming but the people inside? They were characters that you couldn’t disregard. The whole town had this energy to it that didn’t sit quite right.

It was too friendly, too welcoming, and too soft.

For the desert where the landscape was unforgiving and ready to chew you up and spit you back out as fast as you came? Something wasn’t right about it. Now, if Vanderwood had been the one to say where they were going next, they would have continued through the town until they were on their way to just one town over.

It was too friendly.

They never thought that he would say that about a town but this one? It was just wrong. Everything about it was wrong. When you get an uncertain feeling about what you see, this often means that you need to get out of there before you get involved in something that you regret. Vanderwood could say that they made that mistake three times in their life.

This would be the second time in their memory where they made that mistake. In a bar with a blonde with a beckoning hand that would steal your wallet for your money’s worth if you weren’t careful of a charming face. It was when they made eye contact with Jihyun Kim that they knew that they were in for a bit of trouble.

You see, Vanderwood owed something to Jihyun Kim. The latter had helped Vanderwood in a bit of a pinchy situation. They had almost been caught red-handed one time and Jihyun happened to be in the area, the kid covered for them and saved them simply by vouching for them to the sheriff. The kid had said that Vanderwood didn’t pay him back for it—

But, the damned honor code for outlaws was something that they had to take seriously. That meant that Vanderwood promised that any time that Jihyun needed something, they would be there to pay back that price. Vanderwood didn’t want to contend with whatever a kid wanted, but this one didn’t want to receive anything.

They left it at that and assumed that the debt would go uneven for a while since it was unlikely they would ever run into that kid again. So much for that, they thought with a disgruntled expression. It shifted from that point, Jihyun striking up the deal for the debt almost instantly.

“I hope this isn’t too taxing, but I hope the debt that we discussed years ago is still good,” Jihyun looked at him looking worse for wear. He was carrying the weight of someone much older than he was and it showed. “I hate to ask this of you, but this is a time-sensitive matter that needs to be taken care of and I know I can trust you to be good for it.”

“A debt is a debt,” Vanderwood had to agree with a nod. They weren’t happy about it but it was what had to be done. “I owe you for what you did and I said I would repay the debt. So, what are the terms of your end of this deal?”

“...Well.”

Vanderwood would need to hide two boys for the time being and make sure they stayed out of sight no matter the cost.

Which, was a hassle in itself since they hadn’t dealt with children in years, but his boss overheard the conversation and in the state of breaking the honor code, Vanderwood was not only stuck with the debt but with the boss breathing down his neck to make sure that those boys were alive enough that they would keep getting the money from Jihyun Kim to “take care of” them.

Yeah, none of that money went to taking care of the boys. It was likely very obvious but it seemed like Jihyun was at the end of his rope and there was nothing else that he could do for those kids that he was desperate to protect. It went to that man’s pocketbooks while Vanderwood was subjected to playing babysitter.

They didn’t know why the brats needed to be out of sight and out of mind, but they didn’t want to know. If they did, it would only be a matter of time as more trouble came into their life. Two brats clutching tightly onto each other in the dead of night as they were removed from Jihyun’s house as quickly as they had arrived.

That was the way they first met them.

Even for their age, they were small. It likely had something to do with the fact that they hadn’t been eating right.

Wherever they came from, it hadn’t been treating them right or their family had no money whatsoever to care for them properly at all. The smaller boy, assumedly the younger twin, was holding tightly to the sleeve of his brother’s shirt, trying to hide behind him as the two quickly realized that they’d be staying with strangers.

Well, any child would be anxious when they had to be smuggled out of their house in the dead of night through a window while the sounds of the sheriff drew closer and closer to the house. The two were on edge and rightfully so, but if either of them cried now, it would do nothing but hurt them. It was bad enough they had to be here, but if they broke down and cried, it would just get them treated poorly.

Crooks and criminals don’t exactly have sympathy or compassion.

Most of the time, anyone that bothered to show too much emotion or weakness would be weeded out and gotten rid of. You didn’t last for long if you had a heart filled with empathy. It just didn’t end well if you cared about anything other than yourself. You put yourself first and only first when you lived a life like this.

Vanderwood knew that neither of these boys was going to last long. But, that was their problem. They had to make sure they lasted otherwise this debt wouldn’t be dead-even. They could still see those boys the way that they used to be, and thinking of them now in comparison to those days was such a stark difference.

“I’m scared,” Saeran whimpered. He had been rubbing at his eyes to cover up the tears but it didn’t do much to hide the fact.

“Jihyun said we’ll be okay,” Saeyoung reassured Saeran in a quiet voice. It proved quickly to this con who the weaker link was. He was trying to be brave but those legs of his were trembling. “We just have to stay out of sight for a little while until things settle again, and then we can go live with them again, Saeran.”

“If either of you wants to survive till that happens,” Vanderwood roughly cut into their conversation as the wagon they were in continued to travel down the long and winding path. “You’ll get out whatever tears you have now. If you cry in front of these criminals, hell, if you even have your voice crack in front of them… they’ll eat you alive.”

That only caused a lot more whines and whimpers. They expected about as much as that from two blubbering children. The last thing they wanted to do was to be subjected to playing babysitter but it seemed like the universe had other plans in mind. Those two were more trouble than they were worth and the fact of the matter was, Vanderwood couldn’t deny they had a soft spot for them.

It was unfortunate the way that things had turned out.

Vanderwood stared out at the winding desert from their spot next to you. You’d passed out already from the lack of energy and everything in between. Your face was scorched with the sun’s heat even in the evening air and relief from the moon. You weren’t going to last for very long… not much longer than this, that was.

You had said to them that they had to make peace with their choice; but, the fact of the matter was, this wasn’t what Vanderwood wanted to be doing. They never meant for things to turn out like this. When they left home all those years ago, the goal had been to make sure that they could send money home for their family to get by, and now, that family was being used against them to destroy another family.

It wasn’t like they had a choice.

When they put a gun to the head of your mother and little siblings, and told you that they die or you do what they tell you to do? You don’t get to choose. Vanderwood wasn’t happy about this. They did not want those brats to die. They’d seen them from blubbering babies up until they were both boldly facing down their monsters.

Those boys had fought from the moment they were born. They had been fighters and they were still fighting to this day to survive and yet, the game wasn’t fair to them. They almost had never even been players in their own game. Vanderwood felt the weight of guilt on their shoulders because of this. All they wanted was to help their family.

That was all they had ever wanted.

And in a way, those boys were family now, too.

Vanderwood sighed and looked back over at you. You were just someone that had gotten dragged into this for no reason. They never thought they’d see the day when Saeran got close to someone, but when they saw him getting close to you… they knew that it wasn’t going to end well. That point stood when they realized that Saeran was using their hidden message system to communicate with you.

Seeing that had been the biggest mistake they’d ever made.

It didn’t take long for Saejoong to find Vanderwood in the middle of the desert. They’d been searching for anyone that worked closely with the twins and someone sold them under the carriage. Vanderwood had been caught while trying to get by the only way they knew how in this life and they got caught red-handed.

Saejoong was countless moves ahead of them from the start. He had moved to locate everything that meant something to Vanderwood before he even approached them to make a deal. There was no way to know how he did or how he had managed to get the upper hand. It was simply something the man had learned how to do over a lifetime of conning people.

There was no turning back when Saejoong got involved.

Vanderwood knew that there was no winning, but you seemed to think otherwise. Maybe you were stupid, maybe you had too much faith, or maybe you had something that Vanderwood gave up on a long time ago: Hope.

It was the barren landscape that told them to stop believing. It happened to everyone, so why couldn’t you just accept that? Why weren’t you fighting back? Did you believe in those boys that strongly or did you simply have a death wish? They weren’t sure, but they knew one thing. They knew that you weren’t going to go down without giving Saejoong a run for his money. At the very least, they may not be able to protect you—

Or even take you out of this place, but they could spare you one kindness for showing them forgiveness when you owed them nothing. Breathing in deeply, they turned to face you. You were quickly jostled out of your rest to stare at them with blurry eyes.

They clicked their tongue and offered you some of the water from their canteen, “Listen, brat, I can’t get you out of here, but I can at least spare you some water.”

You didn’t respond to that at first. It seemed like you were still trying to make sense of what they had just said, or the delirium was eating away at you. Regardless, you were too thirsty to even think that it might be a trap. So, you took the water from them with a relieved sigh. It wasn’t much in the scheme of things, but it was a small act of kindness.

“You can’t be such a crook,” you muttered underneath your breath as the taste of sand escaped your lips once again. “At least, if you’re willing to offer that much.”

“I’ll always be a con. But, thanks for not hating me,” Vanderwood said.

There was no changing that fact. No matter how much they fought against it, no matter what they did or where they went, they would always be that criminal. It was unfortunate that their family was aware of that fact now. They never intended for that to happen. It never works out the way that it should, but at least they could say…

They did one thing right.

And that was protecting those twins when the boss wanted to kill them that first night. Jihyun had no way of proving they were alive or dead when they were hidden with Vanderwood. The boss had been that close to simply killing them and falsifying proof.

They protected those boys only because it felt like the right thing to do. That’s what someone would try to say to honor them after they died as one good thing they did, probably.

That’s why it stung so much to be the reason why their father was going to win in the end. It didn’t matter, though. Even if they did the right thing back then, it hadn’t been for glory or for doing the right thing. It was to simply stay alive and make sure the debts were paid. It hadn’t been for any other reason.

They couldn’t say they agreed with the idea that they did it for the right reasons. You’d shown that it was possible for that former crybaby to have hope when it had been wrenched from him and so far from his grasp. You were a saint, and Vanderwood wished they could do more. They wished they could but life wasn’t fair.

This was all they could offer to you.

And you understood that.

“Your family means a lot to you, so I know they’ll understand. They don’t seem like the types to hate someone who didn’t have a choice to protect the ones they care about. As far as I know, Saejoong is far too willing to kill anyone, women, children, and even the elderly. He wouldn’t spare anyone without a deal…”

“And even then, it’s a deal with the devil that never ends.”

“If it’s worth anything, I don’t think they’ll hate you, Vanderwood.”

“I’m okay if they do hate me, [Y/N]. After all, I’ve damned them and you, as well, tonight. I’ve made peace with that choice,” It was an honest lie and you both knew it. That’s why you didn’t comment on the solitary tears that escaped Vanderwood in the dead of night underneath the cover of a sky without a moon, blanketed with dark clouds.

Those boys were family, too.

And it was a damn shame that they wouldn’t be able to live on and make their family whole again.

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