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yelena-bellova · 10 months

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Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve: Hold You Close

Plot: A night out with the Greyhounds, a short-lived stint as head coach and a massive data leak bring on a full week for Y/n.

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: language, alcohol, sexual undertones (nude leak), slut-shaming

A/N: What do you get when you write a football fic with very little knowledge of football? This.

To be honest, this chapter feels more like filler and felt very awkward to write. But even if it’s a tiny step, every chapter moves the story along a little bit. Very much a Keeley and Jamie chapter, so enjoy!

——————

Winning suited Richmond.

A four-game win streak had brightened the halls of Nelson Road Stadium. The whole city was in the best mood it had been since the start of the season. Total Football, though it had taken time, was leading them to victory week after week.

After their fourth straight win, the Greyhounds proclaimed a club night. After months of declining, Y/n finally accepted their invitation to join. Going clubbing was…more than a little out of her comfort zone, but the boys weren’t going to take no for an answer. And truthfully, she wanted to celebrate their good fortune just as much as they did.

Sat in the VIP section of a London nightclub, the Greyhounds shouted to one another over the thumping bass. Colin and Y/n were sat in a corner, Colin entertaining her with a story from training the other day. When their glasses were emptied, they headed to the bar to get a refill.

“Okay, fine,” Y/n gestured to Colin’s bottle, “Gimme.”

Colin handed over his vodka, Y/n poured a bit into her empty glass and threw it back.

She grimaced, letting out a groan.

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Colin replied.

“No, it is,” Y/n screwed her eyes shut, “It really is.”

Y/n wasn’t buzzed, but she was certainly more relaxed than usual. It felt good to be out, to be amongst people she liked, to laugh. It made all the lingering anxiety in her head fall hush.

Colin was laughing at her alcohol tolerance just as a man who didn’t belong to their party came up to the bar. He stood beside Y/n and flashed an easy smile.

“You weren’t saving this space, were you?”

“No,” Y/n’s voice was strained, coughing from the vodka, “Go for it.”

The man flagged down the bartender, “Something strong, please. But,” he pointed to Y/n, “Not whatever she had.”

Feeling like she could see properly again, Y/n chuckled. “Smart choice.”

“I’m Paul,” the now-named stranger held out his hand.

She shook it, “Y/n.”

Colin stayed silent beside Y/n, smiling and sipping his drink.

“Are you here with friends?” Paul asked in a thick Irish accent.

“Uh, sort of,” Y/n glanced back the corner of the room the Greyhounds occupied, “After-hours work thing.”

“Ah,” Paul nodded and thankfully didn’t follow her gaze, “Don’t know how many people want to spend a Saturday night with their co-workers.”

Y/n shrugged, trying to give as little information as possible. “Bit of an unconventional workplace.”

“Okay, well, now you’ve got to tell me what you do,” Paul said plainly.

“Ha,” Y/n smiled, “If I do, I’ll never get rid of you. Trust me.”

“No, no,” Paul held up both hands, “You tell me, I get my drink, and then I leave with a useless fact about a stranger whose name I’ve already forgotten.”

Y/n laughed again. This particular club didn’t strike her as somewhere you’d meet a genuinely nice guy. It was a surprise, and if nothing else, it was pleasant conversation.

“You’re…” Paul decided to start guessing, “Personal assistant to some 5-star chef.”

“If that were true, I wouldn’t have so many takeaway menus in my kitchen drawers,” Y/n replied, visions of Christmas dinner two months before flashing through her head.

“Ah,” Paul winced, strike one, “You’re…a dancer and you’re out with your company.”

Y/n scoffed, “I’m flattered, but no.”

Paul pressed a finger to his lips, twisting fully to face Y/n. It was the most polite way of checking someone out she’d seen.

He pointed towards her, “You’re-“

“There you are,” Jamie exclaimed, sliding up to Y/n, “Babe, I was looking for ya.”

Y/n’s mouth hung open, ready to reply to Paul but struck speechless by the interruption.

“Told ya, waiter could’ve brought us refills,” Jamie slid an arm around Y/n’s shoulders and tugged her into his side. “Didn’t have to do it yourself,” he finally took his eyes off Y/n and turned to Paul, “Good night, eh, lad?”

With nothing more than two sentences, Jamie had sent a clear message to Paul that his presence was not required, needed or wanted in the slightest.

“Yeah,” Paul nodded in defeat, “Good night. Hope the same for you,” he gave Y/n a thin smile, “Cheers.”

Y/n awkwardly held up a hand, waving him goodbye, before turning to Jamie. “And what was that?”

“Me savin’ ya,” he answered as if it were obvious. His eyes followed Paul across the room till he was satisfied by the distance. “These places are lousy with creeps.”

“But he wasn’t,” Y/n argued, though it wasn’t really an argument. She hadn’t felt one way or the other about Paul. “He was just nice.”

“I can vouch,” Colin made his presence known again, “Saw the whole thing.”

Details mattered very little to Jamie. The truth of it was, he wasn’t even sure why he had stopped the conversation. The moment he’d glanced over at Colin and Y/n’s spot on the couch and seen it was empty, he went on high alert. Colin could fuck off wherever he wanted, but not knowing where Y/n was unsettled him.

And seeing some guy, creep or no creep, chatting Y/n up and making her laugh felt wrong. Very wrong. So wrong.

“‘Course he was nice,” Jamie replied, “The good ones are always nice at first. That’s how they get ya.”

Y/n watched Jamie mansplain men to her, something she thought was impossible to do. Neither of them really realized his arm was still around her, effectively proclaiming to the club that she was off-limits.

“Well, congratulations,” Y/n took the glass Colin handed her, annoyed yet unable to stop from smirking, “You protected me from harmless small talk with the first person I’ve spoken to outside of work since I started with you clowns.”

Jamie could sense the sarcasm, he didn’t particularly care. The threat had been neutralized. He shrugged, “You’re welcome.”

—————————

A few days later, Y/n was sat at her breakfast table. She watched the busy street below out her window. There was a peace to the hustle and bustle of Richmond that differed from the rest of London. Everyone had a destination, but no one was really in a hurry to get there. It was one of the things that she liked most about living in the middle of it all.

A ‘ding’ from her phone redirected her attention. A Google and Twitter alert. There was a good chance it was pap photos coming out from the club’s night out. A bit late, but still possible.

Y/n held her breath as she reached for her phone. There weren’t a lot of flattering angles to have captured them at by the end of the evening. She tapped the screen to see it was…Keeley…who was trending.

“What…” Y/n mumbled, dropping her fork and typing in her passcode to search further.

Not pap photos. Worse. So much worse.

“What…” she breathed.

There’d been a massive leak of private photos and videos, mostly from celebrities. Among them was Keeley. A racy video of the former model from a few years ago was spreading like wildfire across the digital landscape.

“Oh my gosh,” Y/n whispered as she scrolled various reactions and unfortunate screenshots. She threw her phone down when clips began to fill her feed. The whole country was watching it. Talking about it. Laughing at it.

Y/n scarfed down the rest of her eggs, grabbed her keys and hurried out the door.

—————————

Keeley nearly didn’t answer the door. When the insistent banging didn’t stop, she caved and peeled herself off her bedroom floor. She peeked out the window to see one of the only people she felt like speaking to at the moment.

“I just saw,” Y/n blurted out as soon as Keeley opened the door, “I’m so sorry.”

Keeley exhaled, putting her hands over her face, “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know what the fuck-“

“Hey, hey,” Y/n placed her hands on Keeley’s shoulders and guided her inside, “C’mon.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Keeley continued, barely registering that she was moving and that Y/n had shut the front door, “My family’s gonna see it. The team. Our clients!”

“I know,” Y/n replied, sitting them both down on the couch, “But the clients don’t matter right now.”

They did, terribly so, but Y/n wasn’t going to bring that up.

Raking her hands through her hair, Keeley stumbled for words. “I’m so embarrassed. I’m so fucking embarrassed.”

Y/n rubbed a hand over her boss’s arm, “I’m so sorry, Keeley.”

There was no way to fix any part of the awful situation, but Y/n, just by being there, made Keeley feel 1% better. It was better to hurt with someone than to do it alone. Jack had just left and the last thing Keeley wanted to be at the moment was by herself.

“You came all the way here because you saw?” Keeley asked, struck by the sentiment.

“Well,” Y/n shrugged, “Yeah.”

Since Amsterdam, Keeley had seen Y/n’s walls come down, or weaken at least. She hadn’t pushed too hard on the matter, she rather enjoyed the new Y/n. But this, this was entirely out of character.

Keeley threw her arms around her neck, grateful and in need of a hug.

A few months ago, Y/n would have shimmied out as soon as she could. But this wasn’t then, and she tightly wrapped her arms around Keeley, doing what little she could to comfort her.

“This is fucked up,” Y/n sighed.

“So fucked up,” Keeley whimpered, stuck somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

Y/n pulled back, still holding on, “We’re gonna get you through this. I promise.”

Keeley took a shaky breath, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Y/n smiled, “C’mon, KJPR. Dealing with shitty headlines is our superpower.”

Keeley managed a laugh before digging back into Y/n, the two of them locked in a heavyhearted embrace.

—————————

“No, Miss Jones has no comment on the data leak,” Y/n repeated into her phone, shutting down the fifth reporter of the morning, “Have a lovely day.”

Hanging up, she let her forehead hit her desk. It had been a full day since Keeley’s video hit the internet and she could only pray people lost interest and moved on soon. She had made Keeley promise not to answer any calls, instead forwarding the reporters to her. Most of them were men, but all of them were intrusive.

“A dick pic leaks on the internet,” she grumbled and dragged herself out of her chair, “And fuck all, but armies mobilize for a naked woman.”

Y/n grabbed her notebook and left her office, jogging down the staircase to go about her day as normally as she could.

“Hey, Y/n,” Ted called, exiting his office just as she entered the hallway. A vaguely familiar child was walking beside him.

“Hey,” Y/n half-smiled.

“Haven’t gotten a chance to introduce you,” Ted put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, “This is my son, Henry. Henry, this is Y/n.”

Henry smiled up at Y/n, “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Y/n realized she’d seen him in a picture on Ted’s desk, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hey, listen,” Ted pointed towards the stairs, “I gotta talk to Rebecca, won’t be more than a half hour or so. Would you mind watchin’ Henry?”

“Uh…” Y/n sputtered, “I mean, sure, yeah, but don’t you have training?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ted quickly said, his mind was clearly somewhere else. He felt around his pockets and pulled out a small box. “Yeah, you know what? Y’all are gonna start training for me.”

While Henry’s face lit up, Y/n’s electrified with anxiety.

“Yeah,” Ted grinned, looking to his son, “There you go. You can go back home, tell all your friends you got to coach a football team. How ‘bout that?”

“Yeah,” Henry said with great enthusiasm.

“Uh, Ted,” Y/n waved a hand, “While Henry,” she smiled for his sake, “May be really good at coaching, I’m definitely not qualified.”

Ted waved a supportively dismissive hand back, “Ain’t nothin’ to it. Get ‘em started on warmups, I’ll be down before they really get goin’,” he handed Y/n the box, “Got this for Roy, but he ain’t gonna use it. You go on.”

With Henry looking up at her like she held the key to his happiness, Y/n didn’t have much of a choice.

“Alright,” she exhaled, feigning excitement, “Let’s go coach a football team.”

“Thanks,” Ted kneeled down to Henry, “Listen to what Y/n says, yeah?”

“Will do, Mr. Magoo,” Henry gave his dad a thumbs up.

Y/n’s eyes widened at the phrasing, there were two of them.

“Alright,” Y/n clapped her hands together as Ted left them on their own, “Let me go set this back in my office and we’ll head out, yeah?”

“Okay,” Henry nodded, following Y/n up the stairs, “So what do you do here?”

Y/n sighed, “Well, I help run the social media accounts. I help the boys with their interviews. Y’know how you see football or baseball players on commercials? I help those happen.”

“Wow,” Henry said as they got to Y/n’s office, “That sounds cool.”

Y/n slid her notebook onto her desk, and faced Henry, “Yeah, it kind of is.” Anywhere else, even she would admit her job was boring, but Richmond had changed that. “Let’s see what your dad gave me.”

Opening the tiny box revealed a plastic yellow whistle. Y/n chuckled, Roy definitely wouldn’t be using this.

“So why’d you come to England?” Henry continued to ask questions, “If you’re American.”

Omitting key details, Y/n slid the whistle around her neck. “I came over for school and loved it so much I just never left.”

“Do you ever miss America?” Henry stayed next to Y/n as they descended the stairs.

That was trickier to disguise. If Y/n was honest, she didn’t miss her home country. It was hard to miss the place all her worst memories had occurred. England had been a refuge before becoming her true home.

“Sometimes,” Y/n replied, guiding Henry down the hall, “I have a little sister who still lives there. I miss her all the time…” she smiled, “And Arby’s.”

Henry agreed just as they reached the doors that would take them outside.

“Alright,” Y/n pressed her hands to the door, “Now these guys are the best in the whole country, in my opinion, so we can’t go easy on them.”

“Got it,” Henry nodded.

“We’re gonna have to work them really hard,” Y/n added.

“I agree.”

Y/n narrowed her eyes, “You ready?”

Henry grinned, “Ready.”

Theatrically, Y/n threw the doors open and they marched down the tunnel.

The boys were stretching and conversing and had yet to notice their coaches were missing. Y/n and Henry headed over to the dugout, Y/n thanking her morning self for deciding on wearing sneakers.

“Do you have a favorite player?” She asked.

“Jamie Tartt,” Henry answered without hesitation, “The first time I visited, he signed my shirt.”

Y/n’s heart fluttered with warmth, “That was nice of him.”

“On my soccer team back home, I’m #9,” Henry continued, “Just like him.”

Y/n’s eyes scanned the group of Greyhounds, finding #9 laughing about something with Isaac. There were probably hundreds, thousands of kids who looked up to Jamie Tartt, but Henry’s admiration was something special.

“Well,” Y/n crossed her arms, “We’ll make sure Jamie has plenty to do.”

Clapping her hands to get the Greyhounds’ attention, Y/n and Henry stepped onto the pitch. “Alright, boys, here’s the deal. Coach has appointed me and Henry here,” she put her hands on Henry’s shoulders, “As your new coaches for the next thirty minutes.”

The team was understandably confused but amused once they saw Henry’s bright eyes. Training was to double as babysitting.

“Now, you’re dealing with one of America’s next top footballers,” Y/n jiggled Henry playfully, “And a woman whose life you all have made incredibly colorful, particularly last weekend…” she gave a thick grin. After their celebration at the club, many of the Greyhounds had needed to be poured into cabs. The task fell to the most sober of them, and Y/n had taken little joy in wrangling them into the backseats. “No one’s going easy on anyone today.”

The boys ‘oohed’ and laughed amongst themselves.

“Alright,” she shouted, “One lap,” Y/n gave a sharp blow on the whistle, “Let’s go!”

All credit to them, the team obeyed orders and set off around the edge of the pitch.

As he passed by, Jamie stopped to give Henry a fist bump.

“How ya been, lad?”

“Good,” Henry grinned, his spirits had lifted even higher the moment Jamie walked in his direction.

“Good,” Jamie stood to his full height to face Y/n, smirking, “Don’t get enough of this with Roy?”

With mere inches between their faces, Y/n blew the whistle smugly, “Fallin’ behind there, Tartt.”

Jamie set off with a smile and ran to catch up to his teammates. Y/n being on the pitch was a surprising, but welcome start to his day.

The boys were about halfway around the pitch when Y/n and Henry started forming their game plan.

“What should we have them do next?”

Henry thought a moment, “What about knee kicks? That’s my favorite exercise.”

“I like it,” Y/n walked across the grass to retrieve one of the balls, “But you better be ready to show them how it’s done.”

Henry’s entire face lit up, the glow radiating onto Y/n’s knowing she’d made it happen. She was going to make sure he went home with the best stories.

The Greyhounds came around the bend, well and warmed up.

“What next, Coach Y/n?” Dani asked enthusiastically.

“Now,” Y/n set the ball on the grass and kicked it to Henry, “You’re in the hands of Coach Lasso.”

Y/n stepped to the side to give Henry the spotlight. The boys all cheered him on as he came to join them, holding the ball under his arm.

“We’re gonna do a knee kick contest,” he said proudly, “We’ll see who can go the longest, and,” Henry scanned the group, “Jamie’ll go first.”

Jamie pressed his fingers to his puffed out chest, stepping forward, “I’m honored.”

Henry tossed him the ball, Jamie easily caught it. Y/n popped the whistle back in her mouth and it shrieked.

“Begin!”

Jamie bounced the ball from knee to knee, the team forming a ring around him to watch. They started cheering each time Jamie’s body made contact, Henry the loudest of them all. He kept it going about thirty seconds before losing it.

Y/n spared him a clap, purposefully holding back, “Not bad.”

Jamie frowned at her, the tips of his lips still curling up.

“Who’s next, Henry?” Y/n asked.

“Sam,” he answered.

Jamie launched the ball at his teammate, Sam caught it and they switched spots.

He lasted the same amount of time as Jamie, Isaac lasted twenty five seconds, Dani lasted forty, Colin lasted twenty eight.

“Alright,” Y/n clapped as Bumbercatch finished his turn, “I think it’s time you boys learned from a true professional.”

Henry stepped up, taking Y/n’s smile as his cue, and caught the ball from Bumbercatch. The boys chanted his name, surrounding him in gleeful anticipation.

Henry began to kick, feeding off the support of the Greyhounds. Y/n stepped back a few feet and pulled out her phone, snapping a few pictures for Ted.

Out of all the Premier League teams filled with cocky young men earning million dollar paychecks, Y/n couldn’t imagine there were many who would behave like the Greyhounds. They were jumping up and down, cheering and counting for Henry as he bounced the ball. It was all so genuine, and they didn’t even realize the extent of what they were doing. They were giving Henry memories he’d cherish forever.

Eventually, Henry kicked the ball for Sam to catch and the boys went wild. Jamie leaped into the air and started victoriously running with Henry, the rest of them following.

Y/n hit the whistle, “Well, I think we can all agree Henry’s the winner.”

The team agreed quite vocally.

“You haven’t gone yet,” Henry called.

“Oh,” Y/n shook her head, “I-“

“No, no, no,” Colin pointed to Y/n, “Boyo’s right. Everyone’s gotta give it a go.”

“That’s right,” Jamie clasped his hands together, “Fair’s fair, Coach.”

Y/n rolled her eyes, stepping onto the pitch to supportive hoots and hollers. Sam threw her the ball and she got into position, taking a deep breath. She’d never touched a football in her life.

Dropping the ball, she clumsily passed from one knee to the other. Henry and the Greyhounds cheered her on as they had each other. She lasted about ten seconds before she felt herself losing it and kicked it across the field. It didn’t make it to the goal, but even Y/n was impressed by how far it travelled.

The Greyhounds went wild, making a massive deal of her minimal accomplishment. A few of them punched her in the arm or high fived her.

“Alright,” Y/n laughed it off, “Henry, what’s next?”

“Corner kicks,” he said decisively, “Last one to grab the ball’s a rotten egg. Go!”

Henry took off before he’d finished speaking, the Greyhounds following. They spent the next ten minutes practicing corner kicks, once again, Henry and the boys insisting that Y/n took part. Pulling closer to the net than the pros, she was able to score a goal, resulting in wild cheers. Dani picked her up and spun her around and Jamie slung an arm around her neck the seconds she was back on the ground. When Henry scored, the Greyhounds lifted him up on their shoulders and ran him around the field.

When Ted gathered himself and headed back out to the pitch, he stopped short at the sight before him. His son, having the time of his life, surrounded by the team. And Y/n, facilitating it all, but enjoying every bit of it herself.

Ted smiled, deciding to watch as long as he could until someone spotted him.

—————————

Later in the day, Y/n drove to the KJPR offices. She hadn’t heard anything from Keeley and wanted to stay as close as she could to help in whatever way she could.

Y/n knocked at Keeley’s door and entered, “Hi.”

Keeley was sat at her desk, pouring over something on her laptop. Most likely, it had nothing to do with business. “Hi,” she mumbled.

“Looking at Twitter isn’t going to help anything,” Y/n sighed, entering the room.

Keeley didn’t look up from her screen, “It’s Facebook.”

Y/n scoffed, “That definitely won’t help anything.”

Keeley tore her eyes away, closing out the browser and turning to Y/n. “How bad’s it been?”

“Oh, Daily Mail were eager to talk,” Y/n fell into the chair opposite her boss, “Didn’t think that was the best avenue to go.”

Barely breathing a chuckle, Keeley ran her hands through her hair.

“I’m not letting anyone get close to you,” Y/n reassured, “And the good news is, the press’ll move on within a few days.”

Keeley glanced up with doubtful eyes.

Y/n regretted the words as soon as she’d said them, “Albeit, they’ll run with this all week. But still,” she reached over and held out her hand, “We’re gonna get through this.”

Keeley exhaled and took Y/n’s hand, squeezing like she was her lifeline.

A knock hit the door and they turned to see Barbara. Keeley did her best to appear as if all was well.

“Is now a good time, Ms. Jones?” Barbara asked, sparing Y/n a polite smile.

“Yes, of course,” Keeley answered perkily, “Yeah.”

Barbara came to stand beside Y/n’s chair, holding a single sheet of paper. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

Keeley looked like she was on the verge of tears, “Thank you, Barbara.”

“Um,” Barbara turned to Y/n, “Does someone have the press-“

Y/n held up a hand, “Got it covered.”

“Good,” she nodded, turning back to Keeley and handing her the sheet, “Jack asked me to give you this.”

“What is it?” Keeley asked.

“It’s a statement,” Barbara replied.

Keeley scanned the text before reading it aloud, “”Allow me to first offer my sincerest apologies,” her brows popped up, “”I deeply regret that video that some of you have seen online. I’m beyond embarrassed, and I never should have made this video in the first place.”

Y/n’s lips parted, even Barbara averted her gaze.

“‘I hope you can forgive me while I learn and grow,’” Keeley finished, looking up to Barbara confusedly.

“Jack thought you could post it across your socials,” Barbara said, “But maybe not Facebook, ‘cause that’s just for grandparents and racists now, isn’t it?”

In her despair, Keeley managed to give a gentle smile and Barbara didn’t miss it as her cue to excuse herself.

Y/n sat still at the desk, her mind flooding with rage. If she didn’t know better, she’d think that the “statement” had been written by a man. How could private property leak and somehow it could be turned around to be the victim’s fault? Worse, how could Jack be alright with it?

“Do you think,” Keeley stared at the letter, “I should put it out?”

In answering, Y/n wasn’t just giving business advice, she was wading into Jack and Keeley’s relationship, something that was entirely off limits. Clubbing with the boys was one thing, relationship talk was way too personal.

“I…” Y/n struggled, “I really don’t think it’s-“

“Please,” Keeley’s eyes snapped up to Y/n, “Don’t do that. I need your honest opinion,” she took a breath, “Do you think this is the right thing to do?”

Y/n had never seen Keeley be so firm, nor had anyone ever called her out on her hesitation. It was a snap back to the reality of the situation.

“Absolutely not,” she answered, speaking with total confidence, “This isn’t a statement, it’s shaming. You dare to do what most of these corporate fuckers do with their mistresses with someone you love, someones steals it from you, and it’s somehow your fault?” Y/n grimaced with rage, “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re the one who got screwed over, you’re the one who’s owed an apology. It is not the other way around.”

Y/n paused, trying to collect herself. “Keeley…please don’t put this out. For all women who have ever had something like this happen, just…please.”

Keeley nodded, as if it only confirmed what she was already thinking.

“Look, you and Jack are…you and Jack and you need to talk about this, but,” Y/n sighed, taking Keeley’s hand once more, “Don’t do it.”

The two of them sat in silence, Keeley eventually folding up the paper and rising from her seat.

“Is Rebecca in today?”

“Yeah,” Y/n answered, “Probably expecting you.”

Keeley nodded as she grabbed her purse, “Tea?”

Y/n frowned as she gathered her purse, “I can’t. Ted’s got a presser.”

The women exited the office together, riding the elevator down without a single word spoken. When they reached the parking lot, they went their separate ways.

“Keeley,” Y/n called once she’d reached her car, “Do I need to…talk to Roy or anything? Make sure he doesn’t speak to the press?”

“No,” Keeley paused her keys in their slot. It was an uncomfortable topic, but PR didn’t care about comfort. “Not, uh…no, not Roy.”

Y/n waited to see if there was more to the answer. At least she was spared a deeply awkward conversation with Roy. The extent of their relationship was a mutual love of yelling at Jamie. She just prayed whichever ex of Keeley’s the video was meant for kept their mouth shut.

“Okay,” she decided not to push, “Hey,” she drew Keeley’s attention one last time, trying to keep her smile, “We’ve got this.”

Keeley gave a watery one back. If she didn’t have Jack’s support, she knew she had someone’s. “Yeah.”

—————————

It wasn’t often that there was so much work it warranted coming in on a Saturday. But a resort chain wanted Dani to do an endorsement for them and the only time their PR department could speak was the weekend. Plus, damage control for Keeley had taken up the lions share of Y/n’s week.

She was sat at her desk, returning an email and waiting for the phone to ring. It was kind of nice having the place to herself, but strange for Nelson Road to be completely silent. Usually from her office, Y/n could hear the sound of the boys conversing loudly down the stairs or Ted’s whistle on the pitch.

Her cell dinged, louder because of the quiet. Y/n picked it up to see it was a text from Jamie.

What you up to?

Y/n snapped a quick picture of her desk and fired it off.

Waiting for the call proved to be tedious as the man she was supposed to speak to was late. She began to scroll social media, her phone having alerted her to the fact that Ted was trending. She found that he and Beard had taken Henry to a West Ham match. A photo of the three of them was flooding the football community.

Where she might have resented Ted months ago, or anguished over the clean up she’d have to do, Y/n couldn’t help but laugh. There was a story to be told and she was sure she’d hear it on Monday. It also didn’t escape her that Beard had made a point of coming in full AFC Richmond attire.

“Damn right,” she said to herself.

Knock knock.

“Fucking hell,” Y/n exclaimed, her chair rolling back a few inches.

Jamie grinned, “Sorry.”

“No, no,” Y/n held her hand to her chest, “My heart needed to be reset.”

“What’re you doin’ here?” Jamie asked, shoving into the office.

“Dani’s got a deal with a resort,” she answered, rolling back to her desk, “This was the only day they could talk.”

Jamie nodded, wandering around the room. For all the time they spent together, he never had much of a reason to be in Y/n’s office.

Y/n got a good look at Jamie’s outfit, “And…what are we wearing?”

Jamie turned on his heel, looking down at himself. He saw nothing controversial about the vest, hoodie and joggers combo. “Fashion,” he answered, gesturing down his body.

“Right,” Y/n replied as she checked her inbox. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to his particular taste in clothing. “Where’ve you been today?”

“Eh, stopped by Keeley’s,” he answered, coming to sit down across the desk, “See how she was doin’.”

“Oh,” Y/n replied, glancing back at her computer before two loose pieces in her mind connected and stilled her. Why did Jamie have any reason to check in on Keeley if not…?

“How, uh,” Y/n stuttered, “How’s she doing?” She hadn’t spoken to Keeley yet, unsure as to how she’d handled the conversation with Jack.

Jamie shrugged, “She’s alright. I, eh…” he scratched the back of his neck, “Yeah, she’s okay.”

Y/n looked up and smiled, suddenly feeling like she was intruding on something deeply personal. “Good.”

By now, Jamie was a pro at reading her expressions. If not the intricacies, the general vibe. He pointed a finger, “What’s that face?”

“What face?” Y/n asked.

“That face,” Jamie moved a little closer in his chair, “Everything’s fine but it’s not, you make that face.”

Y/n attempted to shrug it off, wanting to shrug out of the entire situation. “Jamie, I’m fine. I’m glad Keeley’s okay, glad you went to check on her.”

Jamie watched carefully, trying to decode the layers of what she was saying and, more importantly, not saying. He retracted his finger into his fist when he guessed.

“Oh.”

Y/n’s eyes darted up from her laptop screen and back down.

“How’d you not know that?”

“Know what?”

A single laugh and Jamie smiled, “You’re a lot of things, but you ain’t dumb.”

Y/n grimaced, wishing she could disappear into thin air. Moments like these made her miss her boundaries. Isolated as they kept her, they had merit.

“I didn’t know you two…” she awkwardly pursed her lips and stared down at her keyboard.

“All that research,” Jamie smiled at her awkwardness, “Didn’t look into that bit?”

“It’s not my job to know who’s sleeping with who,” Y/n replied quickly, hating how she’d phrased that.

Jamie hummed, “Kinda is.”

Public relations did involve handling all types of headlines. Personal and otherwise.

“Well, you didn’t tell me either,” Y/n retorted.

“I thought you knew,” Jamie enunciated with a laugh.

Y/n couldn’t place what changed, but knowing that her boss and the person who was effectively her closest friend had dated made her feel…uneasy. Knowing such an intimate video had been made for someone she knew, she felt like she’d seen some side of Keeley and Jamie not meant for her to ever know about.

“Right,” Y/n spread her hands over her desk, “Are there any more relationships, past, present or potential, in this club that I need to know about?”

Jamie thought a moment, deciding to exclude any and all locker room talk he’d been present for regarding Y/n. It had started the second she’d walked through the door, dying down and picking back up every once in a while.

“You’re safe,” Jamie replied, finding her discomfort cute.

Any further conversation was blissfully halted as Y/n’s desk phone rang. Finally. She moved to pick it up but was met with Jamie’s hand fending her off.

“Jamie, what-“

Jamie shushed her, nudging her hand away. He lifted the phone off its base and flopped back into his chair.

“Ms. Y/l/n’s office,” he greeted, his Mancunian accent disappearing to turn posh and nasally, “How may I help you?”

Y/n covered her mouth to silence her snort. She waved for the phone with her free hand.

“And she knows why you’re calling?” Jamie continued, sliding away from Y/n’s grasp. “Hold, please.”

He covered the microphone with his palm and smiled. Y/n’s annoyance was a poor mask over her joy.

“It’s for you,” he whispered.

Y/n shook her head and yanked the phone out of his grip. “Hey, Oscar,” she greeted, “Glad we could finally touch base.”

Jamie fell back in his seat, content to wait and watch her take the call. He was happy to stay and bother her as long as he could.

And Y/n would let him, without hesitation.

———————

Heartfirst Taglist: @lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield @thewildestwonderland @sablecities @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @strawberryacethingz @mentalistfan @tortilla-maria1 @katdahlali @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @glitterquadricorn @jamieolivia27 @imvibin69 @katlizada @lil-tracys @fanaticalfantasist @heyitz-julia @cactajuice @peachyy-tea @notalxx @rockchickrebel @anxiety-prime-max @mentalistfan @loveforaugust @jellycolors @actuallybarb @heletsmelovehim @lovinnscarletknight @imfalling-inlove @leslieiscrying @meg-ro @littlemisssunshine192 @beboldbebravethings @maydayfigment @spencerreidsbookclub @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @lemoonandlestars @im-a-weirdo-for-life @mindless-rock (tags cont. in comments ❤️)

#ted lasso fic #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso imagine #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt imagine #ted lasso x reader #keeley jones x reader #heartfirst

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xueyidweams · 1 month

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rambling once again (aventurine x cat-person gn!reader) (this kind of pattern is what I’m talking about.) (read more bc this became quite long, sorry!!!)

Aventurine in his life of working for the IPC has come across a lot of stealers or kids trying to find their food for the day. he usually gives them some money and send them on their way. however, he really didn’t expect for someone to try and rob him in Penacony, in the dreamscape no less. Somehow he didn’t sense the man hurling himself towards him and grunted in surprise as he was pushed down, before he could even open his eyes the man was off of him and running away with claw marks all over him.

dumbfounded, he gets up and looks around, only to find two cat eyes staring at him… except they weren’t a cat… well.. half cat half person? He thought the species went extinct long ago. though, you were living proof of the opposite. you helped him sit up, he felt your claws brush against his knuckles and you felt the coolness of his rings on your paw-hand. observing his every move with utmost attention, your feline eyes following his every mimic and body movement.

“well thank you kind stranger—“ you accidentally cut him off as you smell him closely and realize who he is, he smells just like those bastards from the IPC! way too rich to be true smelling! your ears curl backwards and you pull yourself away hastily as you run away from him. He blinks as he sees you run, so fast… is this why the IPC hunts you all down like you’re all one of a kind? He yells after you, “Hey wait! just listen to me, please!“ you look back at him, your teeth snared and your pupils as slanted as they can be, “leave me alone IPC scum!”

you turn a few corners and your eyes widen in horror to see a dead end… what the hell, you know this place like the back of your hand! did they build this just now or have you been hanging in the unfinished part for way too long? the hairs on your tail stand up and your ears curl back as you hear his footsteps, taking a step back your back meets the wall with an oomph.

“Hey look— don’t be so hostile, we don’t have to be enemies. you can trust me.” yeah right. with those eyes? they’re unnervingly pretty and somehow frightening. your gut is telling you to run but your heart is hammering way too fast in your chest and the sound is drowning out his voice and you feel like everything you’ve had to endure to not fall into IPC’s slimy hands again has all been for nothing and—

you feel a hand on your arm, you look up and meet his eyes. then you feel the warm tears staining your cheeks, your tail hugs your leg as your ears droop, “look. please don’t give me up to them, i’ll literally do anything. do you want any dirty work done? i can do it! please just leave me alone, i don’t want to go back i can’t go back!” you see his eyes… soften somehow. to him, you’re a stark reminder of who he was, maybe still is. the way you fight so hard to protect the most precious thing to you, your freedom reminds him so much of the unsavory memories that he doesn’t notice he is squeezing your arm a bit hard and some of the fur is stuck on his rings. you flinch and grimace and he untangles your fur from his rings, he pulls his hands off of you.

he coughs in his hand and looks at you once more, voice softer yet firm. “im not going to hurt you or give you up. that’s not my job anyways. i just wanted to thank you, for helping even though it could put me in serious hot water. cats hate water right?” you half rolls your eyes at his teasing remark, “yeah yeah pretty boy, cough up some cash if you want to thank me. thanks for not turning me in but empty sentiments won’t feed me when i have to wake up from this dream.”

he smiles and takes off the ring from his index finger, he looks at you, “can i hold your hand?” you feel a slight warmness spreading through your face and squint your eyes, “fine but don’t try anything funny!” he chuckles and takes your hand in his gently, “wouldn’t dream of it.” he slips the ring on your ring finger, winking at you. “you can sell this for at least five hundred thousand credits, plenty to eat hm?” you look at your finger, the ring and at him as your heart does summersaults in your ribcage. you’ve never… even as a tease you’ve never been flirted with this is—

he takes advantage of your stupor and strokes your shoulder, squeezes slightly and gives you a smile. “you haven’t seen me and i haven’t seen you, yes?” you nod, speechless but thankful. he turns around and you finally get your voice back, “wait!” he looks back, his eyes watching you with interest. he raises his eyebrows, “thank you. i dont know what else to say but i’ll never forget this. and i wasnt’… joking when i said i could do your dirty work. so if you need something and i can get it done, i’ll do it free of charge.” you manage to tumble out as your voice trembles a bit, still shocked. his smile returns, “I’ll think about it, maybe fate will make us cross paths again huh?” he gives a little wave and starts walking, “oh also, do take care of your fur, it’s rather soft.”

you look dumbfounded, your face morphing from surprised to angry to flustered but he has already left. you look at your ring finger again and play with the ring, maybe the aeons have pitied you now?

‘he’s really pretty…’

you think to yourself as you pocket the ring and think of all the fish, meat and bread you’re gonna eat. and maybe you’ll try that soul glad thing.

#should i continue this?#hsr aventurine #honkai star rail #aventurine #aventurine x male reader #aventurine x reader #hsr x reader #aventurine honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader

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guessm0del · 9 months

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Little Red Riding Hood

Chapter Two: An Uninvited Guest

Summary: Living a life of caution for as long as she can remember, Y/N has never stayed too long in one place, always moving from town to town in hopes to hide her identity. With the Hunters Moon coming, she knows she must be extra careful, as the local culture resides heavily in the hunting of her kind. One night, when a cloaked figure unveils her secret and narrowly escapes, Y/N finds herself in a desperate situation: kill or be killed. With no face to go by, she must now search through the townsfolk before the stranger can spread the truth about her. But the task proves more than difficult when she realises her only lead is a long, crimson cloak.

Genre: horror, fantasy, little red riding hood retelling

Warnings: cursing, stalking, death, heavy smut (later included)

Pairing: redridinghood!Jungwon x femwolf! reader

chapter one here

chapter three here

chapter four here

Midnight air slips through the town square. The small clearing in front of the monastery lays bare, except for a small crow perched above its tallest wing, scrutinising my every move. The townspeople must be sound asleep in their warm beds. It’d be well past midnight by now, seeing as the way the moon slowly sinks across the stars. I glance to the midnight sky, cursing the way its constellations align so perfectly.

God is taunting me on this night.

He too, has seen my sin.

Perhaps he’s seen all along, and has only chosen tonight as the opportune time to tell me. Observing the empty courtyard to my left, I squint at the quiet townhouses in the distance. No red cloaks hurry through the footpaths.

The fool thinks he can hide from me.

The crow hawks a loud farewell and launches into the midnight sky. I hear it wishing me well as it passes. Smiling, I recount all the times they’ve watched on as I’ve killed the innocent. All creatures of the forest have an equal fealty to werewolves. Even birds know there are loyalties that must never be crossed.

Casting a subtle glance back to the monastery, I watch in silence as the town pastor gently closes the gates.

Shit.

Hearing him approach, I suck in an awkward breath and turn to retreat. His presence will only serve as a distraction.

He hurries forward and touches a gentle hand to my shoulder before I can turn away. “Y/N! I’ve been looking for you!”

Taking in a brief moment of freedom, I release a subtle sigh and turn to face my guest.

Pastor Mikaul has aged fairly since the last time I had seen him. His eyes droop with age, waning on the edge of exhaustion with chunks of hair that seemed to stick to his forehead like a mop.

In Mikeals mind, God was the greatest diety of all, giving sanctuary and hope to all those who send him their precious prayer.

I tilt my head to the side, observing the stern callouses that paint his palms. Some god indeed, stripping his faithful of freedom and leaving them to wander around a chapel all day like mindless fools. Blinded by their faith, High Priests in Avion spend their days locked up without a morsel of food or sunlight. They believe praying is the only thing they need to survive. I suppose it’s silly of me to judge, considering I’ve spent most of my life adapting to the shadows and living by the rules of the forest.

Pastor Mikeal makes an awkward cough as he takes his hand from my shoulder.

Cringing, I watch him shift closer, giving me a stern expression of disapproval. “The Council and I have been wondering why you haven’t been showing up to Church for our Sunday services.” He nearly whispers as he mentions the Council, pointing narrow glances to every corner of the courtyard before proceeding, “I understand your aunt is gravely ill, but perhaps praying for her good health will do better than neglecting your religious duties. You don’t want to break the Council’s trust now do you my dear?” Just as before, the old cripple goes into a hushed tone when mentioning the Council.

I suppress a smile.

Even the pastor fears them.

Under the guise of hiding a sob, I give each eye a firm pinch and wait impatiently for the tears to fall. I spend the next 10 minutes explaining my absences from church, and my dear aunts depleting health that seems to worsen each day. Waving my arms around on occasion, I weave a delicate tale of a hidden antidote, a difficult journey through the Northern treks of Rangaar, and a kind young woman trying to save her only living relative. In this story, and only in this story, I am the kind young woman. I finish my appeal with a long sob and a heartfelt apology thrown in for for his pride.

I watch through the corner of my eye as he stares uncertainly at the ground, catching the way his eyes twist in discomfort.

I’ve been a cold bitch to the him since the day Helena and I arrived in Avion. He wasn’t expecting this heartfelt reaction.

“My dear girl, if it troubles you so, let’s leave it be as it is for now…” he murmurs, briefly hesitating before giving my back a comforting pat.

I force myself into a stuttering mess. “B-but the Council will still be angry-”

“Don’t you worry about them, I’ll let the Council know of your impending troubles.” Giving me a reassuring pat on the back, he sets off in the opposite direction, leaving me to stand alone in the cold. I feel the sad expression on my face wear thin, moulding into the familiar uniformity of a nothingness.

In twelve days, when the winter solstice has begun, he will die. As will most in this town. Nothing has changed.

Our plans are still set, no matter how delayed.

I watch his figure morph into emptiness, chanting the promise once more in my mind.

They’re all going to die.

I turn to continue my hunt, finding myself pushing for any emotion, any small sign of sympathy, but all I feel is my heart sink at the knowledge that it’ll never hold more power over me than my head.

___

The South side of the forest could easily be considered the joyous reflection of the North. Complete opposites in every way.

Ever since Helena and I arrived in Avion, we’ve spent every spare hunting day covering the grounds of the North and West sides of the woods, using their confines of dark solidarity to our advantage while we hunted in secret.

The only few times I’ve needed to cross into the South was to visit Mary, who lives in a comfortable little cottage on the other side of town.

Leaves crunch beneath my feet with weary pace, leaving me to wonder if someone is actually watching me from afar or if it’s just my paranoia. I shake my head, pulling my lavender dress up to avoid a muddy branch in my path. Mary always fusses over my dresses, warning me not to get them dirty or she’ll be forced to do the one thing I hate most; make more of them. While Helena also pushes the importance of dresses as it eases the process of ‘blending in’ with the townsfolk, I’ve never been particularly fond of the discomfort a gown can bring me. Avion may be a quaint and colourful paradise in Summer and Spring, but in Winter the waters soak down through the small winded mud puddles, making it nearly impossible for any young woman to trek through the forest paths. How most Avion women bear the irritation that comes with wearing sun dresses and gowns everywhere they go, I’ll never know. Upholding the social standards of others has never been a concern of mine. Not with my situation.

I look ahead to the narrow stone path closing in, knowing I must be close. Mary usually insists I bring a map of Avion before setting off on my journey to her cottage, as the both of us know it’s not the easiest little place to find. Little does she know, I have a knack for finding people.

The crunch of leaves beneath my boots gradually soften, signalling I’m close. Mary’s cottage is situated in the centre of the most beautiful part of the forest, where the leaves in her garden shine with delicate care as though they’re watered everyday. Knowing Mary, they probably are. Small slivers of sunlight catch a small cottage coming up to my left. Hues of pink and green hover in small spaces of light above the roof. It’s almost as though Mary’s cottage is where the fairies come to congregate. That wouldn’t surprise me, honestly. I can already picture Mary welcoming them with her cinnamon cocoa and warm smile. Unlike the rest of the townsfolk, Mary has a pure heart filled with patience and compassion for the magical elements. Creatures of myth have never scared her, but that’s only because she’s never met a creature of dark magic.

She wouldn’t accept me, and as much as my affection for her stands firm, I certainly wouldn’t expect her to.

The smell of warm chocolate and pastry fills the air as I approach, pushing all thoughts of acceptance aside. Mary usually waits out the front for my arrival, fussing with my coat and boots so that I can enter comfortably, but today, she’s nowhere in sight. Making my way past the small porch steps, I take off my shoes and go to place them neatly by the door, stopping abruptly when I hear voices coming from inside. She must have a visitor. I glance to the small shoe rack by my side, searching for any shoes that mightn’t belong to Mary. I don’t see any.

Strange.

She hates it when people don’t take their shoes off before entering. Pressing my ear to the door, I listen in silence as I hear Mary’s voice accompanied by that of a males. Before I can catch what they’re saying I hear a loud crash followed by a scream.

Mary.

This was no visitor,

but rather an uninvited guest.

_____________________________________________

Authors Note:

Sheesh that took me forever haha, sorry to everyone who’s been waiting. I’m really going to try and punch out another chapter this week cause I’m getting too invested in my own story LMAO.

No fr, send help💀

Anyway hoes comment in the comment section if you want to be added to the taglist (for those that haven’t already asked)

Taglist: @ramenoil @moonmoongi

#enhypen x female reader #enhypen x reader #enhypen fanfiction #enhypen smut #heeseung smut #heeseung x reader #jungwon smut #jungwon x reader #enhypen jungwon #enhypen fluff #enhypen hard thoughts #enhypen imagines

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grimm-writings · 2 months

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imagine an event where… (part 1?)

…ft! wanderer, baizhu x gn! reader

…tags! some angst, honestly just word vomit, i love these two so bad, mentioned traveller as a separate character from the reader, reader has baizhu's illness

…wc! 580

…notes! i daydream a lot about hypothetical events with a reader like this sooooo… here’s one of em!!!!! if you’d like more do let me knowwww <3

Imagine an event where Wanderer, hearing of a certain doctor’s pursuit of immortality, meets with him in desperation.

Initially, Baizhu was sceptical. Storming his pharmacy, demanding his presence, and nearly scaring the undead life out of his little Qiqi is absolutely not the ideal way to make a first impression, but Wanderer doesn’t seem to care much for appearances.

Before he can even enquire what this impetuous stranger needs, Baizhu is given the blunt question upfront.

“What do you know about making someone immortal?”

Baizhu called on the traveller’s presence hastily through Qiqi. He needs a reliable witness to make sure this stays under wraps. He doesn’t exactly trust this vagrant in Inazuman wear to not open his mouth. He’s had enough visits from authorities. This is just another thing he can sweep under the rug with adequate help.

Wanderer, on the other hand, is trying to stop his lid from blowing off. As he tries to interrogate the doctor opposite him, he keeps directing the conversation somewhere else. The traveller with their floating friend stand to the side, watching the back-and-forth.

“You don’t get it. You won’t even hear me out!”

“I’m ever so sorry, but this sort of request is not something I can so easily provide.”

On and on it goes, Paimon even murmurs about nothing coming out of this, and it would continue that way until another person arrives at the entrance of the pharmacy. Heaving breaths from a person spent catches Wanderer’s attention, whipping his head around at an alarming speed. It takes Baizhu by surprise when he’s immediately at your side– and he’s so gentle when handling you.

It clicks in his mind, and he circles the desk to reach you. In his ear, Changsheng hisses a question of what in Teyvat he’s thinking, but she gets no clear answer.

Wanderer keeps talking to you as you catch your breath, coughing occasionally in heavy intakes of breath. The green-haired doctor picks up a vial and walks over to your pair, and gives you the medicine.

He says a word or two, something Wanderer couldn’t quite catch. Doctor-speak. However you look up at Baizhu and nod. He smiles, calm and empathetic. “I see. I have the same condition myself…”

You feel Wanderer’s grip on your arm tighten when Baizhu asks your companion if you could stay with him for a bit for a check-up. Even if protective of you, once given a promise that his request could be fulfilled, he relents.

This event would be one where the Wanderer becomes paranoid realising his companion’s mortal life might be taken away from him faster than he wishes. Baizhu, in empathy, feels for said companion upon taking them into his care. A study on grief, and one with characters you wouldn’t normally associate together interacting.

The traveller would help out with small tasks for Baizhu, creating different concoctions. Each time, we see Baizhu’s empathy turn into determination to include you in his pursuit for immortality, but the traveller will have to help Baizhu realise that he can’t just save everyone at once.

The traveller would also see Wanderer and his increasing paranoia grow, not trusting in Baizhu’s studies. The traveller, with probably some aid from Qiqi, will help Wanderer view mortal life as a treasure to keep with him once it passes despite his fear of being left again.

A story of healing, grief, and love. Immortality from different perspectives, and what exactly immortality will grant oneself.

#✮ grimm's fics!#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin imagines #wanderer x reader #wanderer imagines #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche imagines #baizhu imagines #baizhu x reader #genshin impact #genshin #scaramouche #wanderer #kabukimono #kunikuzushi #baizhu #tagging is hard...

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cosurmqne · 3 months

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02 — a short life of trouble

[ RDR2 X fem reader , 2310 words ] — previous ✶

“what were you thinking! bringing another woman in here.” “great, another mouth to feed.” “what if she draws more trouble right to us?”

“SHUT UP! all of you. she needs help. last time i checked half of you wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for us taking your sorry asses in.”

the blood stained stranger was laying down in a bed of rough canvas and animal hide, it’s fabric the softest thing she had ever felt after a month of dirt floors and blankets of pine-needles. the distant voices slowly awoke her mind, her eyes opening carefully as the morning sun stung them with its bright beams. how long had she been asleep? she knew it was morning when she was lifted onto a strangers horse, morning still when she slumped onto the mans back out of exhaustion and defeat, not even caring what would happen to her when she awoke or where he was taking her. and yet here she was, still morning? no, the stiffness of her joints suggest at least a full days rest, her legs wobbling slightly as she turned over and placed them on the soft grass beside her.

her hands travelled to her face, expecting the almost familiar texture of dried blood, crusty and flaky, but was met with her soft skin. the edges of her hair and a few tricky spots still had reminisce of blood she could scrape off with her chipped nails, but it seemed someone had wiped her face clean.

her clothes were different too, the blouse and pants she was wearing a size too big but clean and comfortable, her ripped outfit she last remembered wearing folded neatly at the end of her bed and completely pink. she figured someone had tried to scrub them clean, but the redness was impossible to remove.

“good to see you’re finally awake.”

the sudden closeness of a mans voice made her jump and spin around. she was met with a surprisingly kind face of an older man, smiling cautiously and offering a homemade mug in his left hand, the steam and smell suggesting the rare liquid that was coffee. her mouth watered instantly.

“here, it’s for you.” he moved closer, kneeling down next to her bed and placed the warm mug in her stuff hands. “don’t worry, it wont jump out at ya’”

y/n let a small smile escape her lips, “thank you.” she croaked, her voice straining and making her cough slightly. maybe she had been out for more than a day?

as she sipped her drink and let the coffee warm her from head to toe, the man continued. “my names hosea. i’m … i guess you could say i’m kind of a top man around here. just don’t tell the others i’m really in charge …. HA!” he joked and let out a small chuckle, but the woman just looked at him curiously, seemingly frozen still apart from her arms lifting up and down. he guessed he should change his approach ….

hosea cleared his throat, “ahem, well…. you sure gave us a fright earlier on. all that blood on ya, we’d thought dutch brought back a corpse, with you slumped over and all…” with again no response, he continued. “look miss, we’re good people here. well, not really good, but better than most, i can assure you. why don’t we go somewhere a little more private, you can talk to me. tell me how you got into this mess.”

he stood and offered his arm. to y/n’s surprise, she rose and linked her own. while she should never trust a man so easily, her conscience screaming at her for it. but he seemed kind. honest and trustworthy. human. something she hadn’t seen in a long time. besides, she figured if they had wanted her dead, she would be face down in a river by now…

they walked, making a beeline towards the trees in front of them. “what was your name miss?” hosea asked.

“y/n.” she responded.

with her eyes adjusted, bearings found and legs moving again, she let herself scan the area around her. she was in a camp, one that seemed small but … live in? tents, campfires, horses and even a kitchen of sorts was set up. quite a few people were living here, men, women, even a child? she tried avoided the eye contact of the strangers around her, not knowing what mess she could have landed herself into. it seemed a few had stopped their morning chores for a fleeting moment to get a glimpse at her walking past them, pretending to take no notice of her and continuing on whenever she caught their eye. had they been waiting for her to wake up? she guessed she was a stranger sleeping amongst them, concluding she would be just as curious to get a glance at herself as well.

looking around still, she held the gaze of a familiar face, the one she had once pointed a gun towards and one took her to this place. dutch was his name right? hosea beside her seemed to look his way as well, letting out a single tune whistle and pointing his head towards the forest they were heading too. the dark haired man instantly dismissed the two men he was talking to and started coming their way. it was like a shepards call she thought, a codependent understanding that could only be trained with years of practice.

“here, this is a nice spot. i tend to do a lot of thinking here.” hosea said, leading and sitting them both down to opposite logs on soft grassy ground, much greener than the almost dirt floors back at the camp, untouched and unflattened by consistent steps. it looked out over the lake that surrounded the area, but was still thick with trees and streaked with sunlight peeking through the canopy.

the heavy footsteps of dutch became closer, his voice loud and true, “aaah, our celebrity guest, awake at last.”

as he stood before them, y/n rose upright at once, standing stiff and attentive before she could stop herself. she tried to swallow the familiar feeling of guilt like a rock stuck in her throat. “th… thank you.” she let out, quicker than she was intending. “i’d sure be dead and buried if not for you.”

she felt like this needed to said, right then and there. not totally understanding it herself, but knowing that his actions will forever be a debt she could probably never return. she knew from experience and dread that owing someone an unpayable debt was the worst burden to carry, and a feeling she wanted to loosen as soon as possible. a thanks was a start.

dutch just smiled and chuckled, raising his hands up like he did in the forest on their first encounter, “theres no need for thanks, just … take it a day at a time. at ease.”

y/n sat back down, almost embarrassed by her outburst but distracted when hosea spoke up. “dutch here said you had a run in with some o’driscolls. dealt with them pretty well too, where did you learn to shoot like that?”

the woman swallowed, she figured there was no reason to be coy anymore. a voice in the back of her head was yelling out, what are you doing!? you don’t know these men!? they don’t need to know nothin’!? and yet …. she was almost beyond caring about that now.

“my pa taught me,” she admitted, taken aback already by her honesty. “and my brother. he was a lot older than i am, sharp shooter and kept us out of trouble.”

dutch let out a noise, “tsss, some trouble you must have had. not even half my men here couldn’t kill with such efficiency.”

“well, we had a farm up north, a big property. it wasn’t much, just a few horses to sell and trade but it had been with my family for generations. it was home.” she paused. dutch and his partner were sitting opposite her and staring with unbroken attention, seemingly hanging on every word. it threw her off a little but she continued on. “being isolated up there we were bound to run into trouble, usually just some fool trying to swipe a horse, wolves maybe trying to take one for a meal. nothing unusual, but being able to take care of ourselves was a high priority, and my pa taught us well. he made sure we knew how to handle all kinds of trouble…”

“when my brother went and got himself killed down south in the war, it was me who was left in charge, with my father too old and my mother untrained. we got along just fine, until these men keep knocking at our door. harassing us, showing up constantly, trashing our barns, stealing our horses. they wanted us gone, for what reason i couldn’t say … after a few months it was manageable, i’d shot enough of them to make their appearances less frequent… but…”

she had stopped, her throat closing slightly her but no tears threatened to break free. she was thankful, crying in front of these men seemed like the worst scenario. never again would she let a sign of weakness slip from her. she had done her weeping, was done with meekness and dependency. she could tell dutch sensed that about her, while hosea watched her with concern and understanding, he was smirking slightly, like he was seeing straight through to her core.

“but?” dutch pushed her on.

with a tough swallow, she continued. “but… one day when i was collecting water from our well down by the river, i looked back up the to see a pillar of smoke. thick, grey and as high as i’d ever seen. by the time i ran back and got view of our burning home, our barns were pitch black, the horses aflame and running in every which direction, the air orange and almost unbreathable. when i saw the roof of our house collapse completely, i knew it was over. everything inside was destroyed, my parents included….” she cleared her throat. “i had just raced to our shed and grabbed as many guns as i could carry, when i heard men laughing. all those men, probably twenty, who had been coming up to us for months. all here. i realised they must have all been from some sort of gang, and could tell they’d tried to steal as much as they could from us. i knew we had hardly any money in the house, and by the small bad one of them was holding, they’d only managed to swipe no more than 30 dollars …. all that . my home, my family, everything. taken away for 30 dollars….”

she could feel heat rising through her cheeks, hands clenched into fists without knowing and her voice rising. “i guess they weren’t happy with that and decided to make their exhibition worth their time… their laughing stopped as soon as i started shooting. one by one, not even caring to hide or take cover, just wanting them dead. i needed them all dead. i don’t even know or care to remember what happened. a-mist the flames and gunpowder i one jumped me, but id stabbed with him their own knives. i shot though them all like they were no more than the deer i had killed countless times for supper. like it was a necessity, not a murder.”

“wether they were all dead or ran away or lost in the fires, i’d escaped with nothing but what i had on me. for months i’ve been running, not really sure what to do, where to go. stealing food, money, constantly moving and too scared to fall asleep or stay in one spot for longer than a week… i ran into a few more of those men here and there, they seemed to be scouting me. i learnt that they called themselves the o’driscolls and their leader was furious that a woman had outsmarted his men, that a quick robbery had turned into a slaughter. he wanted me dead. still wants me dead i guess…”

“and, this is where we meet?” dutch said, his arms now rested on his knees and hands fidgeting with the large rings on his hands but full attention of her words.

“yes, i’d been running for four days straight, how far i travelled i’m not too sure but i knew they wanted me dead for good. they’d sent a bunch of those irish bastards to me and i was constantly trying to lose them. i didn’t know if i was alive or dead, asleep or awake, i just shot anything that moved, trusted no one and tried to make it to the next sunrise… and yes, thats where you come into the picture and … i guess, now i’m here.”

“well … hell of a time you’ve had.” hosea finally spoke, his sympathetic gaze surprisingly comforting. when he reached out and cupped his hands on her own, she didn’t resist. “you can let your guard down y/n, you’ll be safe here for however long you need. i assure you, we hate those o’driscolls just as much as you do. for every one of those fools shot dead the dirt beneath us gains another worm!” to this, he chuckled to himself, y/n even letting out a small giggle.

dutch joined in with his deep laugh, “oh yes, you will fit in just fine here miss.” he stood up and gestured to the camp behind him, now full of activity. “this gang can be your home now, we’re all misfits and outlaws, once lost and then found again.”

he looked at her not with hoseas sympathy, but with eyes that assessed and schemed, invasive and sharp.

“yes, i think you’ll be just fine…”

#red dead 2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 x reader #red dead redemption 2 x reader #arthur morgan x reader #kieran duffy #dutch van der linde #dutch van der line x reader #rdr2 oneshots #rdr #rdr2 #read dead redemption

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luimagines · 6 months

Text

Mirror Mirror

Another commission!

They asked for an expansion on Legend’s section on the Fairytale au, which you can read right here!

Masterlsit

Content under the cut!

You were telling him a story from your homeworld. A small princess who had to flee from her home because the evil queen was jealous of her beauty. After finding refuge with seven little men the queen attacked her and left her in a death like sleep with a poisoned apple. Legend fell asleep before he could hear the end of the story but he had hoped that it had a happy ending.

When Legend woke up in rags and was told to get to work, he was too shocked to question anything. He took the bucket and the mop and went into the courtyard.

Sure it was hard work but he was willing to lay low until he figured out how to get out of this place.

And then something stranger happens.

Warrior calls him over and calls him Prince and leads him away from the castle. Maybe this is a rescue mission? Surely they had the wrong guy from the get go. But how can he be confused for a menial servant and a prince at the same time?

When they’re far enough away, Legend feels as if he can let his guard down. With a stretch, he keeps walking forward, not aware that Warrior has stopped walking as well. “Boy, am I glad that you came along! I had no idea what I was doing but I figured one of you would come help me. Do you know what place this is? I have no idea how I ended up like that compared to everything else. I can’t wait to see the others though. Maybe we can-”

Something metal hits the ground.

Legend turns around with a small jump. “Captain?”

“I can’t do it.” Warrior sits on the ground on his knees with his face held in his hands. His sword is unsheathed and pointed toward Legend.

Legend feels his blood run cold as he takes a few steps back. “I don’t… What happened? What is the meaning of this?”

Warrior gasps and stands, shaking his head. “She’s gone mad. Absolutely mad.”

“Who?”

“You have to run.” Warrior grabs his shoulder and turns him around. He starts to push him forward, into the direction of the forest “You have to run. Never return. She wants you dead! Dead!”

“Wait! Who!” Legend digs his heels into the dirt. “Who wants me dead?”

“The queen!”

“The queen?”

“Yes! You must run! Run boy! Never look back!”

Primal fear overtakes him. He has no weapons, no supplies and someone who he’d trust with his life is telling him to run for his life. So he does so.

Something about this is familiar to him. Being on the run. Being hunted. Needed to look for help. His uncle would know what to do in this situation, his brain supplies despite his better judgment. It’s added salt onto the wound.

Legend trips, falling down what he can only explain as a cliff with lowered consequences. He doesn’t know where he is. None of this is familiar. Where are the others? Why is this happening to him?

He finds a small house in the middle of the woods after he’s run the better part of the morning. There’s smoke coming out of the chimney top. Someone has to be home.

Legend runs to the door and bangs on it with all his might. He’s out of breath and tired but he needs to get his bearings first.

The door opens.

“Help me!” He says before he can see who answered. He’s panting too hard to look up. “Please! They’re going to kill me!”

“Easy, young man. Who’s trying to hurt you?”

Legend gasps and looks up. Time blinks back at him, leaning down to meet his level. “Take a deep breath. I doubt they’ve followed you this far.”

Legend coughs, heaving too hard for his body to handle. Just how far did he run? “Help… Help me… Please...”

“Who’s at the door, Old Man?” Legend hears Wild asks from the inside.

He allows himself to relax. He’s found the group. He’s ok. They won’t let anything happen to him.

He blacks out.

He wakes up again but this time in a harder bed and a more modest setting. He still has no idea where he is.

“He’s awake!” A young boy shouts. Wind, Legend relaxes again. Friendly faces. People he knows. What a strange nightmare.

“Well hello.” Time enters the room again. He has a steaming bowl in his hand when he sits by Legend’s side. “We were hoping to get some answers out of you.”

“I had a really bad dream.” He rubs his forehead. “I dreamt that I was being chased out of a castle and that I was being hunted for sport. That’s the last time that I let them tell me a bedtime story-”

“Castle? Are you from the castle?” Hyrule asks as he comes into the room as well. “I checked over your body and managed to heal up some of your more major injuries. For someone who was running from the castle’s forces, you’re not as hurt as I expected you to be.”

Legend squints. Hold the phone. No one corrected him. “Where are we?”

“You’re in our cabin.” Time hands him the bowl. It smells delicious. “We go out and forage around in the forest before we’re called to menial jobs around multiple countries. This is unclaimed land. They can’t get you here. You’re safe.”

Legend feels his stomach drop. They don’t recognize him. Why don’t they recognise him? “...Good. I’m glad. Thank you.”

“Of course, we can’t let you stay for free anyway.” Twilight pipes up from the doorway. When did he get there? “But I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

Legend winces. He misses his items already. “I can’t pay you any money-”

“We’re not asking for money.” He hears from beyond the door. It sounds like Sky. “Just take care of the house while we’re out for the day. Nothing major.”

“House sitting?”

“Yes.” Time smiles gently. “You gave us quite a scare. But if it’s work, then it’s work. Do you agree?”

Legend has to think about it. Where else can he go? It’s not like he knows what’s going on or why they don’t seem to know who he is. He’s the only one who remembers them but they’re the ones that see him as the stranger. They clearly know each other.

There has to be a way to fix this somehow. Legend nods. “I can do that. Thank you.”

“Steal anything and we’ll find you.” Twilight points a finger in his direction.

Time turns to him with a disapproving look. “Pup.”

“I mean it. We don’t know this guy.”

“He’s clearly just been through a lot. Kindness shouldn’t be held overhead.”

“Yeah, yeah Old Man.” Twilight waves him off. “Welcome to our humble home, stranger. I have to get to work.”

“We all do.” Time stands up. He looks to Legend with a look that hurts more than it comforts. “We’ll be back soon. By nightfall if we’re lucky. Don’t be afraid to get yourself acquainted with the house.”

Legend nods and watches them all leave.

This becomes commonplace very quickly. Legend counts himself lucky that he knows how to take care of a home as he does. Granted, the group is messier than he is, but he supposes that’s what happens when you work all the time and with six other people. No one is willing to pick up after other people. But then again, that’s his job now.

He gets used to the quiet fairly quickly. And he gets used to the noise just as quickly when they return. It’s a cycle. One that he finds that he can live with relatively easily. Unfortunately, he’s no close to figuring out where he is or what happened to him.

He tries to snoop through belongings and items but there’s no weapons. There’s no maps. There’s no markers or hints about anything that he wants to know. At least not in a way that he would be able to piece together. Even stranger still, there’s not a single trace of you. You’ve seemed to have vanished into thin air, just like the group’s memories of him.

Paranoid, he makes the excuse of doing a deep clean throughout the house on the off chance that he’s ever questioned about his whereabouts through the day. Twilight seems to be able to sniff him out more than he’d like but with evidence of cleaning, he’s left alone for the most part.

It’s only a few days afterwards that he starts to think that this sounds more like the story you were telling than he realized.

As he falls into a routine of cleaning, cooking and investigating, he gets a knock at the door.

“That’s weird. They usually just walk right in.” Legend puts the broom on the side, walking towards the door.

He opens it and his blood freezes in its place. “...Zelda…?...”

“Hello.” She smiles sweetly. “I heard you were in trouble so I came to see if you wanted help.”

“How did you get here?” Legend runs a hand over his hair. “What are you doing here?”

Elated he hugs her, not thinking about the consequences. He pulls back, allowing her to enter the house. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Likewise.” She giggles, putting a basket on the table. It’s full of apples.

Legend realizes the truth too late.

He remembers the apples. He remembers what they meant. He was waiting for them. It’s time.

“...You brought food.” He tries to say normally but the words get stuck in his throat.

Zelda doesn’t seem to notice his instant turmoil and picks one off of the top of the bunch. “Of course! I didn’t know what else to bring you but I wanted to help in at least some way.”

She tosses it to him and he catches it with ease. Zelda looks at him expectantly, that ever sweet smile on her face.

Legend thinks that he’s never going to face her again after this. If he makes it out alive that is.

He looks down to examine the apple. It looks normal. Not a bruise in sight. It’s bright red and inviting. What happened in your story again? The princess bit the apple and fell asleep. Did she ever wake up? He doesn’t remember.

Legend wipes the apple against his shirt. Zelda seems to be waiting for him to bite into it. He may not know the ending to your story, but he’s been playing along as it is right? The story has to continue.

He takes a bite.

It tastes just fine at first. He can’t register that there’s anything wrong with it. But then he gets dizzy and falls to his knees. His throat feels like it’s burning and his head feels a hundred times heavier. He blacks out for the second time.

When he wakes up again, you’re over him and weeping.

He grunts. Was this a part of the story? He doesn’t know. What happened after he fell asleep? “...Good morning.”

With a gasp, you shoot up, teary eyed and all and kiss him.

Legend’s eyes pop open. He suddenly feels more awake than he did just a second ago.

You pull back and cry. “Oh thank goodness that you’re alive!”

“I’m alive.” Legend agrees.

You hug him and tuck yourself into the crook of his neck. “I was so scared that I would be too late.”

“Just like your story, you would win in the end.” Legend pats your hair, sitting up. Looking around, he’s back at the campsite, but everyone else looks like they’re still sleeping. Strange.

You shake your head, catching his attention again. “You fell asleep before the end. You missed the hardest part.”

“I knew about the apple though.” Legend whispers. “I hoped you were still around. The story had to go on.”

“Legend, you’re an idiot. Never again.”

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #linked universe x reader #lu x reader #lu legend

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candycandy00 · 1 year

Text

texasgirl1344 suggested this in a comment on a post I made (Dabi under a lust quirk). It sounded fun so here you go!

Smut. 18+. Blowjobs, masturbation, fist time sex, etc.

There he is again. That guy who comes into the convenience store you work at and buys a random assortment of snacks, a hood pulled low, casting his eyes in shadow, a medical mask covering his nose and mouth. From his build and the glimpses you’ve gotten of his eyes, he’s pretty cute. He rarely speaks, but he seems nice enough.

Of course he turns out to be a villain.

At the end of your shift, you’re taking out the garbage in the alley behind the store when you see bright blue light to your left, further down the alley. The guy in the hood had only left a few minutes ago, and you’re struck by the fear that he’s gotten caught up in something, so you do a very stupid thing. You investigate the bright light.

At the other end of the alley, you find your cute hooded stranger shooting blue flames out of his hands, his hood blowing back from the air pressure and revealing black shiny hair. In front of him, three charred bodies lie at his feet, smoke rising from their forms. You recognize him now, even with the mask still on. This man is a dangerous, wanted villain named Dabi. You’ve seen clips of him on the news, committing violent acts.

Your first instinct is to flee, but you don’t want to alert him to your presence, so you try to back away quietly. And your foot hits a metal soda can, making a shockingly loud sound. Because of course it does.

Dabi turns around and your eyes meet. There’s a brief pause where you both seem surprised and speechless. Then you turn and run back down the alley, some ancient prey instinct taking over your body.

You don’t get far. He’s on you within seconds, grabbing you by the back of your shirt and jerking you backwards, into his grasp. He drags you over to the brick wall and tosses you against it, then slams one hand into the wall right beside your head.

“Can’t believe you made a run for it,” he says, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Please don’t kill me!” you blurt out, your whole body shaking with fear. Should you do it? Should you use your quirk?

He pulls off the mask and takes a deep breath. “No point hiding my face now, huh? You know who I am.”

You nod. “Y-you’re Dabi.”

“That’s right. And I really didn’t want to kill you, but I can’t have you reporting to the heroes that I’m hanging around this area,” he says, then leans in close. “So what should I do with you?”

You shrink back as far as you can against the wall. “I won’t tell anyone! I swear!” You know saying things like that is pointless. He has no reason to trust you.

“Sorry, but I can’t just take your word for it, can I?”

You start to sniffle as tears sting your eyes. You have to use it. There’s a risk involved, but it’s better than dying. You start to charge up your power, but you need to buy a few more seconds of time. “O-okay,” you stammer, “but please don’t burn me. You can stab me or bash my head in or whatever, but I’ve always been terrified of fire.”

He stares at you for a moment, then sighs and pulls back a few inches away from you. “Alright, I won’t burn you to death. So stop crying. I’ll just-“

Before he can finish the sentence, you hit him with your quirk. A massive cloud of pink dust explodes from your body, enveloping Dabi and causing him to cough and hack, waving his arm frantically to try to knock the dust away from his face. But it’s too late. He’s already inhaled it.

Your friends have joked that your quirk reminds them of a skunk, because you once had to use it this way before. A man was trying to rob the store one night and had a gun pointed at your face. You hit him with the quirk and ran off while he was dealing with the consequences.

Those consequences included a painfully sudden erection that didn’t go away for hours. At least, that’s what usually happened. To be clear, the quirk only makes people so aroused that they can hardly bear it. The quirk doesn’t make them attracted to you in the slightest. In fact, the few times you’ve used it (mostly on accident), the person hit with it ran to the nearest bathroom to furiously masturbate if they didn’t have a lover to run to. But you did realize the potential danger of using it on the wrong person, someone who didn’t care who they fucked and didn’t care about consent. Your quirk didn’t override a person’s mind or values, but someone who already thought nothing of raping someone would be very dangerous under the effects of this quirk.

Dabi was a villain. It was certainly possible that he was the wrong sort of person to use it on. But it was either this or be killed.

Presently, Dabi has dropped to his knees, panting heavily, looking down at his crotch in disbelief and then back at you.

“What the fuck did you do to me?” he asks, his voice strained.

“It’s a lust quirk. It’ll wear off in a few hours,” you tell him, backing away, getting ready to run back to the store, where a few other employees were still cleaning up before closing time.

He groans, rubbing at his crotch though his pants. “A few hours?! Fuck!”

You pause and watch him, unable to take your eyes off his face, the healthy parts of his skin flushed red, his soft hair hanging in his eyes, his hand struggling to unbuckle his belt, stilted moans escaping his lips.

Oh fuck, he’s hot.

He looks up at you, and instead of looking threatening or angry, he just looks… hungry. Like he’s starving and you have a big plate of food in your hands. His eyes move over you, but he makes no attempt to grab you or even touch you.

Suddenly you feel sorry for him. You step closer to him and say, “Do you want me to help you to a restroom?”

He groans and tries to stand up, stumbling a bit. You take hold of one of his arms and help steady him, then you help him walk back to the store.

The store is empty, and you remember that they had decided to close up early today. You feel like slapping yourself for forgetting, but it does make things less awkward as you lead Dabi to the men’s restroom and into a stall. He flops down on the toilet, fully clothed, and you turn to leave.

Only, you can’t bring yourself to walk out of the restroom. You hear Dabi’s belt coming undone, and you go back to the open stall, where he’s in the process of unbuttoning his pants. He looks up at you questioningly.

“Um… can I… watch?”

His flushed face frowns. “Huh? You a pervert or something?”

“No! I just… Sorry, never mind! I shouldn’t have asked that!” You own face is flushed as you start to leave again.

“I don’t care,” he says, those eyes looking at you hungrily again. Weird. Your quirk shouldn’t have that effect on him.

“Really? Are you sure?”

He nods, finally getting his pants open and pulling his cock free. It’s huge, and so hard and stiff, it looks like it’s about to explode. You blush as you stare at it, watching his hand begin moving up and down the length, feeling transfixed as the tip glistens. He has three piercings that look like they were incredibly painful, but somehow they turn you on. You stand there in the doorway of the stall, holding onto the door frame, squeezing your thighs together to prevent the growing wetness between your legs from leaking out, watching this villain stroke his cock. You face is hot, tinted pink, your lips open. You’re beginning to breathe harder.

Dabi looks at your face and, between ragged breaths, asks, “Did your quirk affect you too?”

“No,” you answer, “I’m immune.”

His eyes pointedly shift to your thighs, where your arousal has dripped down from under your short skirt and is leaving a trail down your leg. You gasp and reach down to try to cover it with your arm, but it’s no use. Dabi has already seen it. You squish your thighs even tighter together and say, “I’ve never watched someone jack off before. I didn’t know it would be so…”

“So what?” he asks, tilting his head back but still watching your face as his arm increases speed and force. The motion is making a wet sound as his hand spreads the wetness from the tip all over the shaft.

“So… hot.”

He suddenly grabs a handful of toilet paper and covers the end of his cock with it. He groans and closes his eyes, then his whole body tenses. A few seconds later, he pulls the paper away and tosses it in the nearby trash can, exhaling a deep breath and leaning his back against the wall behind him.

It only takes a moment for him to realize something is wrong and sit up straight, looking down at his still fully hard cock. “What the fuck?”

“Sorry, it’s because of the quirk. I said it’ll last a few hours, remember?”

“You mean it’s gonna stay hard the whole time?” he asks, looking at his own dick as if it had betrayed him. He groans as the feeling of uncontrollable arousal hits him again, and his hand is already beginning to move again.

You shift uncomfortably in the doorway, your panties so wet that it feels like you’ve peed yourself. “I can help, if you want me to.”

His eyes shift to your face immediately, his hand freezing in place. “What?”

You step closer. “I just thought… since I caused this, I could help. If that’s okay with you.”

He opens his legs further apart and looks you in the eyes. “Do whatever you want.”

He must have expected you to reach down and stroke him with your hand, because he seems very surprised when you drop to your knees in front of him and lean your face forward. You extend your tongue and gently lap at the tip of his cock, causing him to moan. You’ve never even touched a dick before, something your friends tease you about, considering your quirk, but your instincts guide you.

You close your lips around his cock, swirling your tongue around it as you move back and forward, letting it hit the back of your throat. You feel one of Dabi’s hands on your head, burying his fingers in your hair. You prod one of his piercings with your tongue and his cock twitches in your mouth. This all turns you on so much that you spread your knees apart, pull your skirt up, and shove one hand down the front of your panties. You have a well used vibrator at home but you’re so aroused, your fingers stroking your clit will easily get the job done.

Seeing you do this must have turned Dabi on as well, because it feels like he just got even harder, if that was possible, and he moans as he presses your head down, making you fight to suppress your gag reflex. Then, all at once he pushes your head down so hard that you feel like you’re choking, and groans as he cums down your throat.

You swallow it all eagerly, your hand still working between your legs. You only regret that he was so far down your throat when he came, you didn’t get a proper taste of his cum. You want it to coat your tongue. You want to savor it.

He’s still hard in your mouth, so you don’t pull away even when he moves his hand from your head. You just start moving your tongue around him again, sliding your lips up and down him. You glance up at his face and see him looking at you with a strange expression. It’s unreadable, but he can’t take his eyes off you as you continue sucking him off and pleasuring yourself at the same time.

You feel yourself getting close to climaxing, so you increase the intensity of your strokes, feeling your body quiver. Finally, you cum, and you let his cock slide out of your mouth just long enough to moan. When he sees this, he suddenly grips your chin and presses two fingers into your mouth, holding it open as he shoots his cum onto your tongue.

You slide your tongue around in your open mouth, tasting his cum and spreading it all over the inside of your mouth. It’s so good, you think you might get addicted. You pull your sopping wet hand out of your panties, fingers sticky, and reach toward the toilet paper, but Dabi catches your hand in his and pulls your fingers into his mouth, licking them clean.

He’s still hard. Of course he is. His eyes are looking increasingly wild and desperate, the lust completely over taking him. Soon he’ll be like a feral animal, doing anything and everything to cum again. If you don’t want to be fucked by him, now is probably the time to leave, before he loses himself completely. You stand up on shaky legs and look down at him. He’s breathing hard, one hand starting to stroke himself again, hair disheveled, blue eyes staring up at you. You look at his cock, and you wonder if that monster will even fit inside you. But he has that look again, like he’s positively starving for you, like he wants you more than anything else in the world.

This man was going to kill you only a little while ago. Now you want his dick to obliterate your virginity. Maybe you’re not so immune to your quirk after all. You reach under your skirt and pull your panties down, tossing them aside. You step closer to Dabi and say, “I can help you some more if you want.”

He reaches up and jerks the skirt down so fast, you almost fall down from the force. He practically tears it from your body, leaving you exposed from the waist down. You feel a quick rush of embarrassment, but it quickly passes. You’ve been staring at his dick all this time. Why be embarrassed by him staring at your pussy?

You position yourself above his cock, placing the tip right at your entrance. You rub yourself on him a bit, then prepare to lower yourself. “This is my first time, so be-“

He doesn’t let you finish the sentence. With a growl of pure, animalistic lust, he grabs your waist and pulls you down. You’re so slick from cumming earlier that, combined with him pulling you down so forcefully, his massive cock goes all the way in. For a moment, your brain goes complete numb. You don’t breathe. Your eyes go wide as tears fill them. You don’t move a muscle, you just sit there, impaled on his cock, your whole body twitching. Then you gasp, starting to breathe again. You’ve never felt pain quite like that before, but it also feels incredible. You’re so full of him, so warm, you want him to go even deeper.

His eyes, clouded with desire as they are, stay on your face. “You okay?” he manages to ask

“Yeah,” you say, “I think you just rearranged my insides, but I’m good.”

He laughs, but his face is still full of lust, arousal. He’s being as patient as he can, but he wants to move. You can feel it in the way his muscles are twitching.

You take a deep breath and brace yourself, then you start moving, slowly and gingerly at first, just wiggling around a bit, and then you raise yourself up slightly so that you can slide back down.

Dabi tosses his head back, grunts of “Fuck!” escaping his lips. His hands are still on your waist, gripping the flesh there for dear life.

After a while, you start to feel more comfortable, so your movements get more bold. You’re riding him now, grinding against him, arms wrapped around his neck. The sounds he’s making almost bring you to orgasm again on their own. Soon after, his whole body stiffens, he moans again, and you feel him cum inside you. How does he have anything left?

You slide off him and stand in the stall on trembling legs. He must know you need a break, because he starts jacking off again, using the sticky combination of your and his cum, and the small amount of blood from your deflowering, as lube. You watch him, mesmerized by the sight. Eventually he cums again, though only a few drops ooze out.

He’s still hard, the poor guy. You start to feel sorry for everyone you’ve ever used this quirk on, even the guy who held you at gun point. You had no idea the effects were so intense.

You have to take responsibility and help him out again. Two handjobs and another blowjob later, the quirk has finally worn off, and both of you are exhausted. You’ve collapsed onto his lap, breathing hard, clutching his jacket. You gather your strength and stand up, picking up your discarded clothing from the floor.

You glance back at Dabi, who has his head leaned back, his eyes closed. Did he pass out? Should you take this chance to run away? That was the original plan after all. But no, something tells you not to do that.

“So are you still going to kill me?” you ask, keeping your voice even.

He lifts his head and looks at you. “I was never gonna kill you. I was gonna threaten you a little and try to scare you into not calling the heroes on my ass.”

“Oh,” you say, feeling stupid.

He slowly stands up and buttons his pants. “I told you I didn’t want to kill you. Why do you think I keep coming in here?”

You still don’t get it. Maybe your brain is still fuzzy from all the orgasms. “Why do you keep coming in here?”

He gives you a weak grin. “There’s this cute girl who works here. I like seeing her smile when I walk in.”

You blush at that, your own grin spreading across your face. “What a coincidence. There’s this cute guy who comes in all the time but hides his face. I’ve always wanted to know who he is.”

Dabi laughs as he heads to the sink and washes his hands. You watch him in the mirror, your mind drifting back to all the things you just did with this man. When he’s finished, he opens the door to the restroom. He looks at you over his shoulder and says, “That’s a hell of a quirk you have. Next time, let’s be a little better prepared.”

With that, he leaves. You look at yourself in the mirror. Hair messy, cheeks flushed red, drying cum on your face. All you can think is, “Next time?”

#Dabi x Reader #Dabi x You #Dabi #Dabi Smut #touya todoroki

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streetlight11 · 11 months

Text

I Remember You

Summary: You grew up with your foster parents who found you at their doorstep when you were a newborn baby. They raised you up ever since and treated you like their own. When you turned 16, you started to keep getting the same recurring dream with the same scenes playing again and again. Until one day, it began to unveil more and more secrets to the dream which ends up showing you the bigger picture

Theme: supernatural au, strangers to lovers

Genre: slowburn, romance, fluff, a pinch of sadness(?)

Warnings: mentions of partial drowning, slight bullying, fights, injuries, cosmos, those paragraphs in italics are the dreams

W/C: 17.8k (sorry)

Pairing: Celestial!Jungkook x Human!FemReader

a/n: Hello hello! I'm back with a new fic✌🏼I wanted to try and write a theme I've never tried before so I honestly don't know if this is good or not. I'll let you decide :) *characters and storyline is completely fictional*

“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running around the park, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.

Within a split second, you plunged into the lake before your elders could chase after you. Water flushed down your nose and mouth, accidentally swallowing it in huge gulps while you were desperately crying for help. Since you were just a 5 year old kid, you didn’t know how to swim nor were you taught not to open your mouth and breathe underwater.

You were growing unconscious due to the large amount of water that had already started to fill your lungs. You were ready to just accept your fate that you were going to die right then and there. Except, luck has a different plan for you. Just when you were on the brink of completely drowning, a sudden new figure dives into the lake and swoops you into their arms before bringing you back up easily. Once you were on land, they began to do CPR on you until you finally managed to cough out a huge amount of water that had gotten into your lungs.

After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.

“Are you okay?”

It was a man. You glanced up but all you can see is a shadowy figure looming over you. Nothing about him or his appearance is clear and so it was pretty useless to even guess who or what he looked like.

Right after you’ve gotten a glimpse of his presence there with you, everything goes white. Even though this is just a dream, everything about this felt so entirely real. Almost as if this same exact scene happened before in your life.

And it did.

You just don’t remember it. Not yet.

And then you awoke.

You’ve been getting that same recurring dream ever since you turned 16. They’re all the same dream where it stops abruptly after your savior asks if you are okay. As much as you want to figure out the details of the dream, you couldn’t because you don’t have much to work with aside from it being what looks to be an old memory of what happened to you years ago. Nevertheless, you lived your days like every other normal teenager until you were now in your last year of university.

That’s where you met two of your current best friends and their names were Hwang Hyunjin and Han Jisung.

You were like three peas in a pod ever since college days. Everywhere one goes, the other two follow. Except the toilet of course. There isn’t anyone on this earth (aside from your foster parents) that you could trust more than you trust them. Only reason being you were an only child. Not to mention, adopted. So everyone in school used to make fun of you a lot. They called you all kinds of nicknames and said that your real parents never loved you enough to take care of you.

It hurts a lot, having to hear those words being thrown at you when you were barely a kid. However, you loved your foster parents so much, you tried so hard to ignore the bullies and carried on with your life just to make your elders happy. You couldn’t bear to see them sad so you made a promise to yourself that no matter what happens, they will always come first and you will do whatever it takes to give them a happy and successful life when you’re older.

It wasn’t easy of course but you made it through. Not only that, who knew college would let you cross paths with two of the most genuine individuals who actually cared for you and not expect anything in return. For that, you’re thankful you met Hyunjin and Jisung.

Everyday is such a blessing with them around and today was no different.

You were heading to the parking lot after your class ended when you saw a group of four guys gathered at the near entrance of the campus building. Both Hyunjin and Jisung still have yet to finish their lectures so you told them you’d wait for them by the car. You were about to walk down the stairs when one of the guys blocked your path intentionally.

“Hey, um… Y/N right?” He asked, to which you frowned. You don’t seem to recognize him so how did he know your name?

“Yeah? Sorry, do I know you?” Your voice was timid and almost inaudible.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve introduced myself. My name’s Changbin. This is Wooyoung, Yeonjun and Haknyeon. I’ve uh… been wanting to talk to you actually but I didn’t know how. So I kinda asked your friend about you…” He said while scratching the back of his neck nervously. Upon this revelation, you frowned as you tilted your head slightly in confusion.

“My friend?” You asked.

“Han Jisung?”

“Ah… Right, Mr Dumber…” You said casually, earning a few chuckles from them.

“So… I was wondering, if you’d wanna hangout with me tonight? I know this really awesome billiard place downtown.”

“Um… Sure. Yeah, I think that sounds good.” You said as he asked to exchange numbers with you and so you did. Once you were done, you bid them goodbye and soon walked over to your car. It didn’t feel weird or creepy talking to him but it did catch you off guard slightly considering you’ve never gotten someone to actually come up to you bravely like that and asked for your number. So for that, you kinda respected Changbin for that.

A few minutes later, your friends finally came and Jisung seemed happy as he was seen bouncing in his steps over to where you were standing.

“You look overly happy and satisfied. What’s up?” You asked, only for him to smirk.

“A little birdie told me that somebody’s got a date tonight…” Jisung teased you in front of Hyunjin who looks like he had absolutely no idea what’s going on.

“It’s not a date.”

“Really? What time is he picking you up?” He smirked at you, ignoring Hyunjin’s wide eyes staring back and forth between you and Jisung.

“We haven’t set a time yet, Ji. Now shut up and get in.” You said in annoyance as you unlocked your car doors and entered the driver seat easily while the other two followed suit.

“I’m sorry but what is going on? Can some kind soul please fill me in on what’s going on?” Hyunjin asked as he turned his body 90° to face you and turned his head back to glare at his same aged friend. Finally, Jisung explained the situation to Hyunjin and you were thankful that Hyunjin was just letting it slide without actually teasing the shit out of you.

A few hours went by, and you were finally done getting ready to meet up with Changbin. You opted for a simple crop top, skinny ripped jeans and a thick oversized jacket in case you got cold during the night. Changbin soon picked you up at your apartment with his black mustang, bringing you to the billiard place downtown. You were quite surprised with how easy your conversation turned out with him in the car. He was quite bubbly himself so it wasn’t difficult for him to start the conversation every time. And so far, you feel pretty comfortable with him.

Once you arrived at the location, the place was dimly lit to give off a relaxing vibe to the venue. There were many pool tables occupied so there were a few empty ones near the back. Changbin and you went to book a table for yourselves, only to get the last table at the very last corner of the room.

The other tables near you were empty so essentially, you had the space to yourselves. Changbin took the cue sticks for you and him while you carried the tray of billiard balls.

“Just so you know, I have no idea how to play this.” You said as a disclaimer, only for him to chuckle.

“It’s fine. I can teach you.” He said casually, making you smile.

After you had both settled down your things on the table, he began to prepare the balls into the triangle and soon called a start. He was the first to break it up. Right after that, he walks over to you and asks which colour you wanted to aim for, solids or stripes. You glanced around the table top to see which one was the easiest target and soon chose the stripes. He led you over to where the ball you were aiming for and began to guide you on where to stand, how to hold the cue, et cetera et cetera.

Apparently, you were holding it wrong and had completely no idea what to do so Changbin came over to stand behind you while he reached over to position your hand properly. His left hand was guiding your hand while the other hovered over your waist, knowing not to touch you without your permission.

So when you could feel his awkward hand beside your waist, you glanced down at it and laughed slightly before you turned to him and said, “Isn’t your hand tired from being in the air for that long?”

Changbin glanced over to your waist, only to laugh a little as he got shy.

“Sorry, I just… I don’t know where to put my hand.”

“Just hold my waist if you want. It’s fine.” You smiled at him, earning a little giggle from him.

“O-Okay.” He replied shyly before gently putting his hand on your waist. He resumed teaching you and once you got the shot, both of you cheered excitedly. The game continued with laughter and occasional lessons along the way but so far, you were enjoying it. After you were done playing, he offered to pay for the game so you told him you’d pay for the food afterwards and he said okay.

You were walking back to his car when you didn’t realise there was someone walking ahead of you. It wasn’t until the sudden crash against your shoulder made you turn around. A young guy locks eyes with you from under the brim of his baseball cap, black mask covering his nose and mouth.

“Sorry.” He said softly to which you simply smiled and shook your head.

“It’s okay.” You said as he then walked away. For some reason, your heart was starting to palpitate in your chest.

Soon after, Changbin drove you to a pretty cafe a few blocks down from where you were, only to gush over the cute decorations outside the cafe. It was decorated with pretty fairy lights and small strings of roses attached to it. So minimal yet so pretty at the same time. Both of you went inside to get your food first before sitting outside.

The night was young, people were seen walking about the streets in all ages. You were chatting about your hobbies and what you do when you’re bored. You realize that he is a gym-addict and that he does dance occasionally and rap most days when he feels like recording a song. He is multi-talented and yet, his hard work is not published anywhere. Nevertheless, you found him charming and an absolute sweetheart.

You just… don’t have any special feelings towards him. So when you were ready to call it a night, he sent you home all the way to your doorstep.

“If it’s not too much to ask, is it okay if we do this again? It doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to. I just… kinda like spending time with you.”

“Of course. I’d love to. Anyways, I should go in. It’s getting pretty late… Drive safely. Goodnight Changbin.” You smiled, before entering your apartment once he said goodnight.

Looks like you’ve gained a new friend.

It was a bright Wednesday afternoon. You were seated at one of the wooden tables at the rooftop garden of the engineering building, waiting for the boys to finish their lecture. You had your headphones on so the world around you was just a blur to you. Mind focused on your assignment, you didn’t even realise the two individuals that had just entered the rooftop until one of them slams both hands on the table top to scare you. As expected, you didn’t flinch.

“Boohoo… You’re no fun.” Jisung pouts as he takes a seat opposite from you while Hyunjin slides into the bench beside you.

“What are you doing?” The long haired blondie asks.

“A research on Thomas Edison. I mean, come on. That man might have invented the light bulb, telephone and motion picture camera, sure. But did he figure out how many times the earth orbits around the sun? I’m pretty sure that’s more fascinating than inventing a device that most people would have come up with eventually.” You didn’t realise you were ranting until you finished talking, earning a soft scoff from Hyunjin.

“Relax, Miss Know-It-All… What’s with the ‘tude? It was just a simple question. Geez…” Hyunjin said as he flips his hair sassily before taking out his phone to text someone.

“Sorry… I’m just a little stressed from this stupid thing, I kinda need a break from it.” You sighed heavily with your head against the table. Jisung cooed softly as he suddenly clapped his hand together and suggested hanging out at the empty music room that nobody seems to use anymore.

“I don’t know, Ji… You tend to overlook some important details sometimes…” You said while packing your stuff, only for the male to huff at you.

“Trust me. I’ve done my research this time. It’s safe. Besides, if anything happens, you have two hot guys to protect you.” Jisung smirks at you cheekily, earning a roll of your eyes.

“More like two cowards.” You said quietly but still loud enough for them to hear, only for you to giggle right after. All three of you finally made it back to the ground floor and were soon walking towards the music production building on the other side of campus. Jisung was standing in the middle of you and Hyunjin. As usual, he was being chatty and bright like how he always was. You were just listening to the chatterbox called Han Jisung when you naturally looked forward to see where you were walking.

Almost instantly, you caught sight of two males walking in your direction, parallel to you.

One had striking neon blue hair while the other had bright purple hair. The purple haired one would be right next to you once you crossed paths with them too. You kept your eyes on them as they got closer and closer until they were about 3 feet away. As if on cue, the purple haired individual just happened to turn his head towards you, causing you to lock eyes with him.

Suddenly, a weird feeling washes over you while you felt as though your heartstrings were being tugged. It was as if there was an invisible thread being pulled.

The minute he had walked completely past you, a small sense of longing lingers in your veins. You frowned as you glanced over your shoulder to find that the two males were casually talking to one another like nothing happened.

You were confused. Yet, there was nothing to say or do so you turned back in front with the thought plastered onto the back of your mind. A few seconds later, the feeling of longing and heartstrings being tugged, suddenly evaporates. Almost as if it never existed.

What’s going on?

Who were those guys?

Why did you feel like you knew the purple haired one?

Days passed since you first saw the colourful haired duo on campus. And it was pretty noticeable that you’ve been seeing them more often than not now. Even if they were on the other side of campus, you’d still spot them thanks to their brightly coloured hairs. You aren’t even sure if that’s a pro or a con at this point. What’s pretty sure though is that whenever the purple haired one is anywhere close to your range, you would casually lock eyes with him and that feeling you encountered the first time you saw them would come back again.

You still have no idea why but you weren’t one to dwell on it for too long. So after he leaves your radius, you’d either forget about it or you would just pretend like maybe it was pure coincidence and that you didn’t in fact know this guy because if you did, you would’ve recognized him… Right?

And yet for some reason, the one with purple hair seemed to linger in your thoughts more often than you wanted him to.

It has been 8 weeks now and today is a bright Tuesday afternoon. You just remembered you have a Netball tournament this evening in the indoor sports hall. They promised to come down and support you, despite knowing they’ve never missed a single game of your to begin with. All three of you were currently seated in one of the wooden tables right outside the main campus building, just hanging out there while waiting for your break time to pass before you had to go for your respective lectures.

“Omg, you know what? We should really check out that new club downtown this weekend! I heard they sell some amazing booze there.” Hyunjin suggested with a cheeky smirk on his face, one that leaves you rolling your eyes at him and Jisung to fake a gag.

“Sure, let’s see who drops dead drunk in less than 5 drinks first.” Jisung said, giving you a silent high five while Hyunjin straightened his back to retaliate.

“In my defence, I was already pre-drunk with beer the other night. That doesn’t count.”

“Yeah… Sure. You can’t even walk straight after a bottle of soju.”

“Shut up Han.” Hyunjin scoffed as he slapped a packet of wet tissue to Jisung’s face, causing the latter to dramatically stumble backwards. You were quietly watching the two children banter back and forth while your curious eyes began to wander around the campus ground. It wasn’t until two very bright, very prominent blobs of hairs were seen crossing the parking lot from the music production building to the main building, caught your eye.

You had to mentally rip your gaze off them by turning to Hyunjin who was sitting next to you to avoid looking like a creep. About 3 seconds later give or take, you casually turned to pretend like you’re looking around again and that’s when you almost panicked.

When did they get so close?

The purple haired one locked eyes with you as they were just 6 or 7 metres away from your table. Before it got any more awkward, you quickly turned away in hopes that he didn’t think you’re a creepy stalker of some sort because that is the last thing you’d wanna be labelled as. With that being said, the three of you left the table about 10 minutes later to head to your respective classes. You were just listening to Jisung rant about his crush’s kissable lips when you noticed your bracelet was missing.

That was your birthday present from your foster mother a few years ago and you’ve been wearing it ever since. So to know that you’ve lost it, really wouldn’t sit right with you.

“Shit! My bracelet! Where is it? Oh shit, she’s gonna kill me!” You panicked as the two boys couldn’t help but mimic you.

“How could you not feel it dropping from your wrist?” Hyunjin asked while staring at the ground and taking a few steps back to try and retrace your steps.

“Because I was too busy listening to you two idiots trying to differentiate between lipstick and lip gloss, for god’s sake.” You said only to glance at the time and realize that you were almost late for your lecture. They told you to go to class while they try to find the bracelet for you. With a heavy heart, you ran off to your next lecture, leaving it all in the hands of dumb and dumber whom you call best friends.

Hours later, you were in the hall where your tournament would be taking place. Hyunjin and Jisung already tried to find your bracelet but to no avail. You were devastated but what’s done is done. Maybe someone took it. Maybe someone used it. Maybe someone even threw it away. Only God knows. However, that’s not your main concern right now. The golden trophy is waiting for you tonight and you’re determined to bring that trophy home for the team and that’s exactly what you’re gonna do.

You were just stretching by the bench, facing the crowded bleachers where students from Hankuk U came to support you girls. Of course, Hyunjin and Jisung were amongst the crowd. In fact, you saw them earlier and even gave them a wave to acknowledge their presence.

As much as you’re upset about the bracelet, you promised yourself you shouldn’t let it affect your performance today during the game. It was hard, but you can do it.

The game was about to start in just 5 minutes. Your coach had already briefed your team about the rules and regulations, standard procedure, techniques to use, etc. you were just cracking your knuckles when your eyes naturally found its way to a few rows above Hyunjin and Jisung, only to find the coloured hair duo just calmly seated there. What made you not notice them at first was the fact that the purple haired one was wearing a baseball cap while the blue haired one was wearing his cap backwards.

This essentially hides their coloured hair so you didn’t quite spot them first straight away. Nevertheless, you locked eyes with the purple haired one and suddenly, the feeling of your heartstrings being tugged was present. You had to look away to make the feeling stop but it left a lingering tug in your chest. You were distracted for a second but was quickly brought back to attention the minute the whistle was blown.

Immediately, you went into alert mode as your game attitude comes on. The game was intense as you tried your very best to guide your team. You did a pretty good job until the end, claiming the victory title for Hankuk University. After everything was done, you were just gulping down your bottle of water when Hyunjin and Jisung suddenly ran to you and lifted you up on Hyunjin’s shoulders. A scream left your lips as you gripped his hair for balance.

You yelled at him to put you down and once he did, you slapped his chest a few times for nearly giving you a heart attack. They both broke into hysterical laughter as you shoved them away and told them to just go home and not wait for you.

The boys apologized after they'd stopped laughing and soon told you to have a safe journey home before bidding you goodnight. You didn’t leave the hall without taking a quick shower like you always do after every practice. About half an hour later, you’ve already changed into your earlier outfit you wore to classes which were ripped skinny jeans, a fitted tank top, an oversized jacket and a pair of jordans.

Once everyone was done, you all started walking to the entrance to head home. You were just walking ahead slightly from everyone else when you saw a familiar figure leaning against one of the pillars outside. The closer you get, the clearer it is for you to recognize them. A few more steps and you were finally just 6 metres away from him when he pushed himself off the pillar and turned to face you.

“Hey? Um… A-Are you looking for someone?” You asked, hoping he was there for you and not anyone else.

“Actually, I was looking for you.” The purple haired male said with the most gentle smile on his face. His lips curled upwards, reminding you of a bunny. An odd sound leaves you unconsciously while your head tilts in confusion naturally. He couldn’t help but chuckle upon seeing your reaction before he continued from where he left off.

“I wanted to congratulate you on winning 1st place today… And also to return this…” He said as he reached into his front pocket and soon took out your bracelet which you lost a few hours ago.

This made you gasp softly whilst staring at the item in his hand in disbelief.

“How did you-”

“I was sitting at one of the tables when your bracelet fell. I was gonna return it to you but you were gone. I didn’t know how else to contact you until I saw a poster on the notice boards all over campus about the tournament today so I decided to meet you here instead. I hope this doesn’t come off as creepy or anything.” He explained to you in detail, making you shake your head eagerly.

“No! Absolutely not! You have no idea how devastated I was when I realized it was missing… Thank you so much…” You said as he gave you a smile. Both of you were silent as neither of you clearly knew how to keep a good conversation going. Nevertheless, you broke the ice after not wanting him to leave just yet.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you before on campus… Not until recently at least. Are you new here?”

“Yeah. Me and my friend just moved to this city two months ago.”

“Where were you guys from?”

He looked like he was hesitating a bit but was quick to compose himself.

“Far from here actually…” He chuckled and for some reason, you didn’t feel the need to interrogate more.

“Well, I hope you guys will have good memories here so you don’t have to move again.” It went silent for a few beats before you asked, “Pardon my rudeness… My name’s Y/N. What about you?”

“Just call me Jungkook.” He smiled.

“It’s nice talking to you Jungkook, and… thank you again for my bracelet.” You said, to which he brushed you off.

“Anytime… Hey, uh… do you have a ride home?” He asked in the most gentle tone possible.

“Yeah. I drive to school everyday. It’s okay.”

“Alright then. Drive safe. I’ll see you around.” He smiled again, making you do the same. He then walks off with his hands in his pockets and he couldn’t look any hotter than that. The entire drive home, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. How his smile could melt your heart in a flash, how your heartstrings tug whenever you lock eyes with him, how he makes you feel like you’ve known him for years, how he makes you feel comfortable, etc.

You just wished you'd known him sooner.

After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.

“Are you okay?”

It was a man. You glanced up and saw what looked to be a figure of a man looming over you. Though his overall appearance and face was somewhat a terrible blur, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.

This was new to your dream. All these while, you’ve always seen a shadowy figure, with unclear images of your dream. This time, things were slowly beginning to become clear.

Maybe this is a memory.

A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.

So you knew, this wasn’t just any ordinary dream.

And then you awoke.

It was a Friday afternoon, your two best friends wanted to go to the club that night for some drinks and just lay off some steam. You, of course, could never get away with whatever plan they had so you had no other choice but to go. You were all gathered to do your assignments at one of the tables where the study building was. Suddenly, a thought came to mind and you just couldn’t get your mind off it.

“Hey, do you remember the dream I keep having? The one where I fell into the lake?” You ask as Jisung stopped chewing his sushi while Hyunjin stops typing and slowly glances up from the top of his laptop screen.

“Yeah? What about it?” Jisung asked curiously before looking at Hyunjin to see if he knew something.

“You know how it always stops abruptly after the voice asks me if I’m okay and I see a shadow figure standing there?” You explained, earning nods from the two children.

“Well… It’s not really… a shadow figure anymore…”

“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked, his laptop long closed to pay full attention to your story.

“I saw… a male figure. Everything about him was blurry but I could see that it’s a man. And… he had this silver pendant necklace around his neck. Those where you can open and close.”

“You mean the ones where our grandmothers would put a picture of us in it?” Jisung asked.

“Yes. That kind.” You said.

“Hmm, do you recognize it?” Hyunjin asked, earning a firm shake of your head. “How did you feel when you saw him?” Hyunjin asked again. You couldn’t bring yourself to answer right away as your mind began to recollect the feeling you had when you saw that part of the dream.

“I… felt safe.”

“Well, that’s a good start, right? I mean, if you feel scared then it’s probably a nightmare.”

“But that’s the thing! I-I don’t think it’s a dream.”

“What do you mean? Of course it’s a dream. You were sleeping when that happened, weren’t you?” Hyunjin asked with a confused tone in his voice.

“I mean yeah, technically but… I think that actually happened to me when I was young. If not, why else would I keep having the same dream over and over again?”

“You’ve got a point.” Jisung shrugs while Hyunjin still tries to process this. He brings both hands up in front of him after waving it in a circle, closes his eyes to let the information sink in before he speaks up.

“So… you’re telling me… that the universe is somehow trying to make you recall this memory of yours through a dream?”

“It’s possible isn't it?” You asked.

“Okay? And then what? You’re gonna go to the place where you almost died and somehow meet up with the person who helped you?”

“No? Yes? I don’t know! Look… I think I’ll just ask my parents about it and see if they remember anything about it. I mean… there must be something they can tell me?”

“Good luck babe. You’re gonna need it.” Jisung said, making you sigh.

That evening, you were having early dinner with your elders in the small living room of their one bedroom house. Everyone was quietly eating their food, she was peeling some roasted sweet potatoes while your he was just folding some banana leaves to sell tomorrow. You glanced over at them once or twice before taking a deep breath and dropped the bomb.

“Hey grandpa?” You call softly as the old man pauses his actions and turns to you with a smile on his adorable little face.

“Yes, darling?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Ask away…”

“When I was young… did I happen to… fall into a lake by any chance?” You asked as he frowned in thought. He couldn’t seem to remember anything of it until she spoke up.

“Oh dear, how could I not remember? You were so busy catching the butterflies that I couldn’t even stop you in time.” She giggled as you couldn’t help but smile. “But then this brave young man jumped into the water without a shadow of a doubt. We thanked him for his gratitude and tried to offer him a lunch treat but he rejected us so nicely… I wonder where he is now…” She continued, making you frown.

“Do you guys remember what he looked like?” You asked.

“I’m so sorry dear, I can barely remember anyone I met.” He said to which you let out a soft sigh. Just then, her eyes lit up only for her to raise her finger up in thought.

“Oh, the only thing I could remember was his name… If I’m not mistaken, I think he said his name to be JK like the letters… Yes, yes… That’s it.”

With that being said, you tilt your head to the side in confusion before you stare into the bowl of potatoes, “J… K?” The name sounded like there was a hint of familiarity in it but you can’t seem to point your fingers at where it’s focusing. Nevertheless, you took your attention off that topic and chose to think of what to wear for later instead.

A few hours had passed and you were finally waiting outside the club with Hyunjin and Jisung. The security checked all of your ID’s before letting you in. Hyunjin locked fingers with you just so that you wouldn’t be lost or separated from them as Jisung stayed close behind you. Once Hyunjin has managed to navigate his way around the place and finally save a booth for the 3 of you, he lets go of your hand and allows you to sit in the middle. Jisung went to the bar to order drinks for you all while you stayed with Hyunjin.

Not long after, Jisung came back with a tray of 2 shot glasses, a bottle of tequila, along with a small plate of lime slices and a glass of mocktail for you. The club was pretty much alive with the endless amount of young adults enjoying their drinks and dancing freely to the music.

You had just finished talking to Jisung about the hot girl dancing on the dancefloor when Hyunjin tapped your thigh and soon said aloud in your ear, “Don’t look now, but I think that dude is into you… 10 o’clock.” With that being said, you took a sip of your drink while you let your eyes wander over to where Hyunjin told you, only to find yourself locking eyes with a familiar pair of eyes. It was the purple haired guy from school. Jungkook was his name if you remember correctly.

“Jungkook…” His name rolled off your tongue naturally, sounding so right.

“You know him?!” Hyunjin asked, making you scoff.

“He returned my bracelet to me the other day after the tournament. He told me his name then.”

“And you didn’t tell us this, because…?” Jisung asked, sounding offended almost.

“Not everything in my life has to be told to either one of you.” With that being said, you stood up and soon made your way to Jungkook. Once you were behind him, you slipped into the empty space next to him, dropping an order to the bartender. Right after you were done, you glanced over to him who was just running his middle finger over the rim of his glass.

“Hey… Jungkook right?” You were the first to break the ice as he finally turned to you and smiled.

“Hey, yeah. Y/N, correct?”

“The one and only.” You giggled, earning a soft chuckle from him.

“Are those your friends?” He asked with a slight jerk of his head to the side, referring to the two boys in your booth. You hummed in response before asking if he was here alone or with his blue haired friend.

“Nah, he’s in here somewhere… I just told him I wanted to get a drink at the bar.” He explained, to which you frowned.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he’d be occupied by now.”

“Are you tryna say he’s hot?”

“Am I wrong?” You smiled, earning a chuckle from him.

“Absolutely not. Anyways, enough of him… Do you wanna dance with me?” He asked, turning his body to face you now on the stool. You glanced at the dancefloor, seeing the group of people dancing freely to the music like there’s no tomorrow. You knew you wanted to, especially since he was the one offering it so you easily accepted it. Jungkook got off the stool and held out his hand to you. Without having to think much, you gently place your hand in his as he leads you to the centre of the room.

Once you were with the crowd, he turned around to face you. You comfortably placed your hands around his neck, swaying your hips to the rhythm. Both of you were moving your bodies in sync to one another despite everyone else stumbling and crashing into you. At one point, he twirled you around but you lost your footing. Hence, crashing into him.

You started to burst out laughing and he did too when he realized you weren’t injured. You didn’t notice his hands on your waist until he gently squeezed it to gain your attention. That’s when you glanced up to meet his eyes, your laughter died down as your heart began to beat rapidly in your chest. Heartstrings started to tug everytime he looked at you and it’s unhealthy. For your heart at least despite loving it.

“Are you okay?” He asked softly, his face was just inches away from yours. Suddenly, a part of your dream flashed through your mind upon hearing his question. You frowned a little from the abrupt thought. However, before you could reply to him, a frantic voice to your left made you jump only to meet Jisung’s heavy frown.

“Y/N! You have to help me! Hyunjin got into a fight!” With that, you basically tear yourself out of Jungkook and rush over with Jisung to where the fight was happening. Hyunjin was in a fist fight with two guys who were not much taller than him but were definitely bulkier than he was. You yelled for them to stop but they of course couldn’t hear you. Jisung went in to help Hyunjin but he got punched in the jaw.

“Stop it! Please! Hyunjin stop!” You yelled as he fell in front of you. His lip was busted, his cheek was bruised and his knuckles were bleeding from having a cut. You kneeled down beside your friend as you watched the guy charging over to you and Hyunjin.

So you got up and pushed the guy away with whatever strength you had. But instead, you got slapped across the cheek.

You collapsed to the ground with a hand to your face. Everything happened so quickly because right before the guy could throw a punch to Hyunjin, Jungkook swooped in from the side and landed a hard punch to the guy’s jaw making him fall to the ground with a harsh thud.

“Enough! Get lost before I call security.” Jungkook warned as you watched the two guys who were in the fight with Hyunjin began to scramble away. You crawled over to Hyunjin who was holding his jaw with a hiss. You cupped his face worriedly while you scolded him.

“What were you thinking?! You could have gotten even more hurt…” You frowned, only for Jisung to come over. That’s when you cupped Jisung’s bruised face as well.

Just then, Jungkook kneeled down asking for all of you to leave before the security came. Soon enough, Jungkook’s blue haired friend appears as well and the five of you leave the club through the back door. Once you were in the back alley, Hyunjin used Jisung as support while you held onto his waist and allowed him to sling an arm over your shoulder.

“Come on, our apartment isn't too far from here. We’ll need to get those cuts treated.” Jungkook said, only for Jungkook’s friend to come and ask for you to switch with him. You asked for his name, in which he told you it was Taehyung, so you thanked him afterwards. While they were walking ahead of you, Jungkook stayed next to you as he took off his coat and placed it over your shoulders. Eventually drowning you in his big coat. He chuckled at your ridiculously swallowed body, only for him to speak up.

“You were really trying to be a hero back there, huh?” You glanced up to him, seeing the small smirk on his face but it didn’t annoy you at all.

“He was going to hurt my friend. I can’t just sit there and do nothing...” You pouted slightly, to which his smirk melted and he sighed.

“No matter how dangerous it may be?” He asked as you frowned upon him. Nevertheless, you gave him a firm nod which left him to sigh. Silence falls upon you two, your gaze settles on the three boys walking ahead of you. Just then, Jungkook’s voice is gentle and soft, as if he didn’t want the rest to hear him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t help you sooner… If I did, you probably wouldn’t get hurt…”

“No… No it’s okay… it’s not your fault.” You said softly, making him shake his head. He feels responsible for not jumping in to help Hyunjin when Jisung came to warn you earlier. He felt like he could’ve done better and for that, he couldn’t forgive himself. So when you noticed how quiet he got, you carefully reached for his hand that was just beside yours and soon locked fingers with him to give him some kind of support. And maybe more than that too but he doesn’t have to know.

He glanced down at your linked hands, only for him to lock eyes with you again and this time, a small smile grew back on his face. You gave his hand a little squeeze for reassurance and was about to let go, thinking he might feel that it’s weird considering you barely know him. However, he held your hand tighter and said, “Keep it there. At least until we’re back at my place.” With that being said, you nodded as a blush creeps up on your face.

Once you arrived at Jungkook and Taehyung’s shared apartment, Taehyung tended to Hyunjin while Jungkook tended to Jisung. You were just walking around the living room when you saw a necklace on the table top. It was a silver chain necklace with a round pendant on it. What was even more intriguing is the fact that it looked so familiar to you and it was one of those pendants where you could open and close.

The question is, why did it look so familiar?

Just when you were about to open it, Jisung’s voice called for you as he reappeared into the living room while Hyunjin was still in the bathroom with Taehyung.

“Y/N, hyung asked me to call you over. He’s in his room, the last door on the right.” You gave Jisung a nod as you placed the necklace down and went to the said room. When you arrived, you gave the door a few soft knocks before Jungkook looked up and smiled at you. He told you to sit down on his bed next to him.

“Are you okay? Does it still hurt?” Jungkook asked and there it is again, a weird tug to your heartstrings made your breath hitch. Jungkook stared at you quietly before he asked if there’s something wrong. When you denied it, he went ahead and took a cool pack as he then pressed it against your cheek where you got slapped. You couldn’t seem to bring the words out so you opted to just put your hand over his that was holding the ice pack to make him look at you.

“This is random… but have… have we met before? Like before all this… Before university. I don’t know why but I feel like- like I’ve met you before. I keep getting this same feeling everytime I’m near you.” You said as he stared at you deeply without faltering.

It was nearly impossible to read his expression and thoughts but a part of you was telling you that he’s hiding something from you.

“Maybe we’ve bumped into each other before on the street or something.” Jungkook said as a small smile creeps onto his face. A genuine one at that. So without prying further, you nodded and gave him a soft smile. You thanked him for helping your friends as you excused yourself to let him and Taehyung rest. Jungkook offered to send all three of you home but you refused his kindness politely, opting for a cab instead so as to not trouble him any more than you already had.

“Are you sure? It’s really late out and I don’t mind driving you and your friends back.” He said as you both stopped at the foot of the hallway only to find Hyunjin semi-passed out on the couch after swallowing two aspirins you assume. Jisung was talking to Taehyung, well, more like ranting to the blue haired male about what went down at the club earlier.

With that, you turned to Jungkook and gently reached for his arm, holding it to give him some reassurance, “We’ll be fine. I promise.” You smiled as his eyebrows began to connect in the middle.

You let go of his arm, walking over to Jisung and Taehyung to retrieve your drunk friend.

“Thanks Taehyung. So sorry to disturb your night.” You apologized as Taehyung simply shook his head and told you that it was okay. Once you’ve gotten the green light, you snapped your fingers at Jisung and soon pointed to Hyunjin’s distraught figure.

“You take right, I’ll take left.” You said to him as he nodded. Hyunjin began to stir awake slightly but was still groggy and drunk. You struggled to get his arm over your head so Taehyung helped you with that. After you were ready to leave, Jisung and you began to walk towards the door where Jungkook was patiently waiting. Hyunjin tiredly opened one of his eyelids and was starting to slur over his words.

“Where am I? What are you doing? Where are you taking me, you kidnapper!” You slapped his chest quite harshly before earning a loud groan from him.

“We’re at someone’s house because your stupid drunk ass just had to get into a fight with two bigger dudes. You should be ashamed of yourself, you dimwit.” Hyunjin lets out a weird sound as he leans himself more towards you.

“H-Hyun… H-Hyunjin! Hwang Hyunjin!” You yelled as you were about to fall and get squished by him when a firm arm wrapped around your waist while the other hand was pressed firmly against Hyunjin’s rib to support his heavy weight. In addition, your side crashes against someone’s chest. You glanced up to find Jungkook’s chin directly above your line of sight. Jungkook pushed Hyunjin’s body slightly to stabilize the said man as you managed to stand up straight again.

Except, his arm was still around your waist. Almost as if he didn’t wanna let go of you. Not that you were complaining anyway. However, when he noticed this, he slowly retracted his arm from your waist and apologized to you. You shook your head, to tell him that it’s okay. After you left, Jungkook closed the door behind him only for Taehyung to smile at him.

“Ready to admit yet?” Taehyung asked simply, earning a thick eye roll from Jungkook who began to walk over to his couch.

“Shut up, hyung.”

“What? It’s just me…”

“You’re not seeing my vulnerable side. Uh uh. No way.” Jungkook shook his head diligently, causing Taehyung to laugh as Jungkook continued, “Besides, they’re gonna kill me if they find out.” With that being said, Taehyung sighs at the younger male. Knowing that he had a point.

“No they won’t. I won’t let them.”

“How? Stopping them is nearly impossible, you know that.” Jungkook said firmly.

After a few seconds of silence, Jungkook finally took a deep breath and said, “Whatever. I don’t care.” Jungkook was about to leave the room when Taehyung’s words lingered in his memory like a broken record player.

“You and I both know that’s a lie.”

“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re here!” Your 5 year old self exclaims the minute the cab driver brings the vehicle to a stop right at the entrance of the park. You hurriedly got out of the cab whilst your foster father was busy paying the driver for the fare. You run to the end of the footpath as it separates into two directions, leading you to different parts of the park.

“Grandma! Hurry! I want to see the swans!” You yelled excitedly as the elderly couple began to walk slowly towards you. Since they were just a few metres away from you, it was the perfect chance for you to run off towards the path on the left where the lake would be. Occasionally taking breaks while waiting for your foster parents to catch up with you. People around you give you smiles whenever you pass by them and say hello.

You were walking down the footpath, trying to find a pair of swans when a beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly suddenly hovered in front of your face. You flinched back in surprise as it landed on the tip of your small nose. A soft giggle left your lips as you reached up to touch its wings when it began to flutter away. Being the child you are, you started to trail after it.

The butterfly flaps its wings delicately across the park, freely and happily while you try to not lose sight of it. Unfortunately, your carelessness has brought you closer to danger than you would’ve thought at the time.

“Y/N, sweetie! Don’t go too near the lake!” Your foster mother said as she walked side by side with your foster father. Your 5 year old self was running down the footpath, trying to diligently catch the beautiful sky blue coloured butterfly. You ignored their calls of asking you to be careful because of course, kids will never listen. You got further and further away from your elders as you were so close to catching the butterfly when all of a sudden, your feet missed a step on the wooden bridge.

After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.

“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.

This was new to your dream. All these while, you’ve always seen a shadowy figure, unclear images of your dream, missing details, unknown situation. This time, things were slowly beginning to become clear with more details given to you in the form of this dream.

At this point, you were confident that this is in fact, a memory.

A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.

You just have to let time do the magic and fill you in with what’s left of the missing dream.

And then you awoke.

Days passed gradually as both Taehyung and Jungkook started to become friends with you, Hyunjin and Jisung. Well, they were dragged by Jisung at least. That one just doesn’t know how to stop his bargains until he gets what he wants. So eventually, both the coloured hair friends decided to just accept the welcome to be part of the friend circle. Later on in the weeks, you began to have growing feelings for Jungkook. The butterflies in your stomach and tugging heartstring were still present whenever he was near but you’ve grown accustomed to it.

It was a nice, warm Friday afternoon. Taehyung and Jungkook were nowhere to be seen while Hyunjin and Jisung were seated at the wooden table with you near the garden. Your mind was somewhere else and the boys noticed this. It was easy to know that because your fingers were hovering over your keyboard but nothing was being typed and it’s been a good 10 minutes of you just staring at the pond. Just then, Hyunjin’s voice broke your train of thoughts.

“A penny for your thoughts?” He asked, to which you turned to him with a confused face.

“Huh?”

“You look like you’re grieving over there. What’s wrong?” Jisung was the one to ask this as silence falls over you for the next 5 seconds, give or take.

“Something… new appeared in my dreams. It doesn’t just start with my mom telling me to avoid the lake anymore.” You began to explain as both boys soon stopped whatever they were previously doing, just to listen and pay full attention to you.

“Then what does it start with now?” Hyunjin asks curiously as he and Jisung exchange looks before turning back to you.

“Me in the cab with my parents and getting excited once we arrived at the park… But that’s not the only change in my dream that’s new. The dream doesn’t just stop at the part where he asks if I’m okay… This time, the last thing he said to me was…” You paused for a second to try and remember the exact words. Once you got it on the tip of your tongue, you brought your gaze back up to meet theirs and told them what you remembered.

“I promise to keep you safe from any harm. And then I woke up.”

The two boys were shocked at how much details your dream was showing now but they just can’t decipher why these changes were happening so suddenly. What caused your dreams to be more clearer as if it wants you to slowly remember that day, that incident, that specific person.

None of it was making sense to them.

“I just… I don’t understand. Like, why now? Why after all these years, only now your conscience is showing you all this. Why didn’t it show you from the start? What is it hiding? I don’t get it.” Jisung said as he dramatically pulled at his hair.

You couldn’t help but giggle at his figure before speaking up, “It’s my dream but why are you the one stressed?”

“Aren’t you?! I mean come on. You’ve been having this dream for years, aren’t you even a tad bit curious as to why this is happening to you?” Jisung asked with his eyes wide open. He has a point.

“Maybe the universe just wants me to remember that tragic incident for the rest of my life.”

“Or it wants you to find the hidden clues in your dreams that might lead you to something big.” Hyunjin shrugged his shoulders at you, earning a shake of your head.

“What could possibly be bigger than my near-death experience?”

“I don’t know? Meeting your savior and thanking him for saving you that day?” Jisung said with his arms bent on either side as his palms faced upwards.

“That’s ridiculous. I don’t even know what he looks like. Besides, if he really was in his early 20s when that incident happened, he would be like what? Early 40s now? He probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“Fate works in mysterious ways.” Jisung smirks at you, earning a ball of tissue thrown to his face.

You thought his theory was a whole load of nonsense because theoretically, your savior would be in his 40s by now and it’s nearly impossible for him to remember who you are. It wouldn’t make sense. However, in other circumstances, the universe has different layers to it. So the chances of something out of the ordinary happening, would be a solid 1 out of 10 chance but it’s not completely impossible. It just depends on how you wanted to see it.

Your attention soon diverted past Jisung’s head only to see Taehyung and Jungkook walking over to your table so you warned the two, not to mention anything about your dream when they’re there. Nobody knows about your recurring dream except for Hyunjin and Jisung and you intend to keep it that way.

A few hours later, you were at the supermarket to get some groceries for the house when you stumbled upon Jungkook who was searching through the shelves for something so you spoke up first, “Jungkook? Hey. What are you doing here? I thought your apartment was like 20 minutes away from here?” You asked him casually, earning a smirk from him.

“Ah shit. Looks like I’m busted…” Jungkook said, knowing he was just fooling around. He soon laughed as he continued from where he left off, “I’m just kidding. I needed some stuff that my nearest supermarket didn’t have so I drove over to this one.”

“Well, at least that's better than you stalking me right?”

“Why should I stalk you when I already have you at one phone call away?”

Smooth.

“Maybe you’re just clingy and want to see me.” You teased him to see what he says. You didn’t really know what to expect until he gave you his answer.

“And if that’s true?”

You were quiet as you didn’t think he would be that bold and straightforward. Sure he can be confident and maybe just slightly cocky sometimes but he was never over doing it when he’s with you. For that reason alone, you found that side of him charming.

“Then… you need to see a therapist.” You joked but he took it lightly. A small laugh leaves his lips while he grabs the can of sweetcorn from the shelf. At the end of your shopping spree, he offered to send you home after seeing the amount of bags you had to carry after you told him your car was recently sent to the workshop and wouldn't be repaired anytime soon. Of course you told him you could make it home on your own the first time because you didn’t wanna trouble him. And of course, he brushed you off by saying he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he knew he didn’t help you tonight.

With that being said, he drove you back to your home while he chatted with you comfortably about a series on netflix. Once he finally pulled up in front of your home, he glanced down to where your home was and soon turned to you with a smile.

“You didn’t tell me you lived in a cute little house.” He said effortlessly but it made you frown slightly.

“Well, to many, it's a ‘tiny shack’.”

“Well, those people are assholes.” His words made you laugh softly. You knew he was trying to make you feel better about it so you secretly thanked him for that. Both of you fell silent for a few seconds before he turned off his ignition completely and clapped his hands together once to liven up the mood.

“Come on! I’ll help you carry the groceries!” He left the vehicle before you could stop him, finding it cute that he was eager to help when he really didn’t have to. After he stubbornly carried three bags in each arm, you were left with none despite wanting to help him. You rolled your eyes at his persistence even though your smile never lies. Jungkook walks with you to your front door, only for you to unlock it and is soon greeted by your foster mother.

“Oh hello dear, I was just about to see if you were making your way home yet.” She said as her gaze soon fell onto the male beside you.

“Oh? And who are you, young man?” She asked with a fond smile on her face.

“I’m Jungkook, Ma’am.”

“You seem like a handsome young man, Jungkook. And well mannered too. I think you’d be a great partner for her.”

With that, you gasped softly and scolded her politely. Jungkook simply laughed as he brushed her off saying that it’s okay. Just as he was keeping the groceries with you in the correct places, your father walked out of his room and greeted Jungkook warmly. They talked for a bit while you kept the last bag of celery into the fridge when you overheard your father ask, “You should stay for dinner, Jungkook. My wife and I would love to get to know you more, especially if you are someone special in Y/N’s life.”

Jungkook was too kind to reject their offer so he ended up staying, just like they asked. Thankfully, your elders were mainly focusing on Jungkook rather than trying to convince him into dating you or anything like that. At the end of the dinner, he excused himself so as to not disturb your parent’s privacy. He bid them goodbye whilst you told them you wanted to walk him back to his car.

Once you made it to the top of the steps, you glanced back at the house and naturally, a smile grew on your face. He noticed this and he couldn’t help but ask, “You seem a little happy.”

You turned around to find him staring at you fondly with a smile.

“I just… can’t imagine my life without them.” You whispered sadly to yourself, suddenly a whole series of emotions just got washed over you. It took you a while to come back to your senses with the help of Jungkook. Who gently cups your face in his hands, caressing your cheeks lovingly while he does. Jungkook’s sparkly eyes bore into yours but the connection feels stronger than ever tonight. Your usual tugging of heartstrings and feeling of longing just felt stronger tonight. As he was holding you, a small part of you was yearning for him.

You felt a sense of safety and comfort with him but you don’t seem to understand why. Jungkook could read you like an open book, it was fascinating. Just then, he said something that made you genuinely shocked.

“Your foster parents are really nice. I should’ve thanked them for taking care of you well.” This made you pull away from him slightly in shock.

How did he know they’re not your grandparents?

“How did you know they’re not my grandparents?” You asked as Jungkook visibly froze.

“What do you mean?”

“You said ‘foster parents’ instead of ‘grandparents’...”

“Uh… You must’ve told me before that they’re not your grandparents.” He chuckled softly while rubbing the back of his neck. You weren’t fully convinced by his answer because if you had told him that, you would’ve remembered. However, you weren’t in the mood to question him further so you simply stood there in thought. Jungkook didn’t want you to occupy your mind with it, leading him to take a step closer to you until his forehead gently pressed against yours. Both of you stayed like that for a second or two before he leaned over to the side and kissed your cheek.

“Goodnight Y/N.” He said with a small smile on his face that you couldn’t help but mimic. The minute he drove off into the distance, the thought remained stuck in your mind as you found it difficult to move on from it. And yet for some reason, a part of you knew that he might be hiding something from you. You just don’t know what it is.

Even so, the feeling of his soft lips on your cheek, lingered in your head. Feeling giddy at the thought of him kissing you even if it wasn’t on the lips. You felt like a little girl having a crush on a boy all over again.

But that night, you had the same recurring dream again. Except, a new change happened this time as your dream was slowly becoming clearer.

After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.

“Are you okay?”

It was a man. You glanced up and saw a young man probably in his mid 20s looming over you. His facial features were a blur but you could somehow see how defined and sharp everything was. The bridge of his nose, his beautiful doe round eyes, the silver hair falling down his forehead. Except, there was one thing you could easily make out. And that was the silver pendant necklace hanging around his neck. You couldn’t really see it that clearly but it was an oval shaped pendant, similar to the ones where you can open and close it.

“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.

“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.

At this point, you were confident that this is in fact, a memory.

A recurring memory that your brain is trying so hard to remember every piece of detail that was left untouched at the very bottom part of your brain.

You just have to let time do the magic and fill you in with what’s left of the missing dream.

And then you awoke.

A few days later, you were going to your next class when Hyunjin told you he forgot something in the other lecture hall. Leaving just you and Jisung. Your mind was swirling around the latest dream you had where the image of your savior was starting to get clearer as the days went by. Jisung could easily sense your distraction because you had not paid attention to any of the things he just said. He got his answer when he snapped his fingers in front of your face and saw you flinch.

“Earth to Y/N? Are you okay? You’re barely listening to me…” He pouted at you sadly, making you sigh.

“Sorry Ji… I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?”

You took in a deep breath and exhaled right before explaining to him what was bothering you, “You know how my dreams are starting to get clear?”

“Mhm?” He hummed in response to which you continued.

“I can almost make out what the person looks like now.”

“Wait! Wait… You mean… The person who saved you?”

“Yeah.”

“Really? That’s great! I mean… Isn’t it? Didn’t your dad tell you the guy’s name the other day? Maybe you can try and find him to say thank you.” Jisung laid out the options you could take but somehow, a part of you still wasn’t sure if this was enough for you to go find the person.

“Ji… How am I supposed to find him?” You asked desperately, thinking his suggestion was insane.

“We have advanced technology now! It’s not that hard.”

“I don’t know, Ji… I don’t think we can find him.”

“Y/N, don’t give up before you even start. We’ll find him together and I’ll be here with you, okay? So will Hyunjin once we tell him…” Jisung said with a bright grin, his full cheeks on display for you. Hours later, you were walking to the parking lot with Hyunjin and Jisung when you bumped into Jungkook and Taehyung coming from the music production block. They were busy talking to each other, not realising the three of you were right there until Hyunjin called their names. They finally turned towards the front only for you to lock eyes with Jungkook.

“Hey guys, wanna go check out that new horror movie?” Hyunjin asked, making them both shrug their shoulders.

“Sure. We’re not doing anything anyways tonight.” Taehyung answered for both himself and Jungkook.

“Great! Shall we meet at the mall?” Jisung asked as he turned to you knowing everyone had their rides except for you. However, before Jisung could offer you a ride, Jungkook had offered it first which you of course, couldn’t reject.

Once you had all separated to go to your respective vehicles, you followed Jungkook to his. You walked along the front of the parked cars with Jungkook behind you. Just then, right when you were about to take a step forward past a tall jeep, Jungkook harshly tugged your waist back. Exactly 1 second before the sports car speeds out of the parking lot right next to the jeep where it was hiding from plain sight. If he hadn’t pulled you back to safety, you would’ve been run over.

A heavy breath left your lips after you gasped in shock. Your heart was racing in your chest, unable to calm down after your second near death experience. Suddenly, you could feel his hands run up and down your arms in attempts to calm your tense muscles in which it worked.

“Are you okay?” He asked as you slowly nodded.

Jungkook whispered a soft ‘okay’ before he guided you to his car safely. As soon as he drove out of the school compound, you felt a huge relief knowing you didn’t die in your school’s parking lot. He must’ve noticed your trembling hands at some point too. Hence the reason why he reached over with his free hand to hold yours softly to give you comfort. When you looked down to find him doing that, you couldn’t help but glance up at him to see his gaze focused on the road ahead of him while he had one hand on the top of his steering wheel.

The ride to the mall was peacefully quiet, with his hand never leaving yours except when he had to park and change the gear stick to reverse. The minute he finally brought the car to a stationary position, you took this opportunity to thank him for helping you earlier.

“Thank you for saving me earlier… A-And for calming me down on our way here.” You said softly to which he smiled.

“Of course. I wouldn’t wanna lose you.” He said easily, making you blush.

“How did you know the car was driving out?” You asked him a bonus question that made him freeze for a split second.

“I saw the tail lights turn on, red light flashing onto the tree behind it.” Jungkook said, which was pretty logical if you think about it. You decided to let the topic slide as you met up with the rest at the entrance. Upon buying the movie tickets, you were all going to get snacks to sneak it into the theatres. After a few debates, you have all agreed to buy some seasoned fries and popcorn chicken bites from FiveGuys. While Hyunjin was queuing to buy the food, the four of you wandered around the same level to see if there’s anything else you could buy.

You were just looking at some stuffed toys through the glass windows of a shop when someone wrapped an arm around your waist comfortably.

“Planning to sneak one in or what?” Jungkook asked teasingly, to which you couldn’t help but giggle.

“And use it to shield my vision from the horror movie? Yeah, why not.” You said, feeling your heartstrings tug upon hearing his laugh. You stood up straight to walk away, only for him to do the same with his arm still around your waist. None of you wanted the other to pull away and you could tell. When you saw Jisung and Taehyung at the other shop ahead of you, Jungkook was debating on whether he should pull his hand away from your waist.

Unfortunately, his thoughts were cut short when Jisung’s voice sounded from a few feet away.

“Hyung… Y/N… Is there something you’re hiding from us?” His voice sounded cheeky and you could tell. You looked at Jungkook and he did the same to you, not sure of what you should reply to your friend. Partly because neither of you declared anything of your status with each other. Upon realising this, Jungkook decided to answer for both of you.

“She got cold so I’m just offering her some warmth.” He said without a single hesitation, successfully convincing Jisung.

“Really? Do you want my jacket?” Jisung asked you as he unzipped his jacket and grabbed the hem, ready to tug them off his shoulders but you stopped him saying it’s okay.

After you had all managed to head into the theatre, you sat in between Jungkook and Hyunjin in the centre of the row. Halfway through the movie, you naturally snuggled closer towards Jungkook who easily noticed this. Your heart was beating so fast in your chest but you ignored it. At one point, Jungkook whispered something to you but you couldn’t hear him so you glanced to your right only to feel his lips brush over yours when you did that. You saw him glance down to your lips briefly as he smirks softly at you, causing your heartbeat to pick up its speed.

“I said… Do you wanna hold my arm? I’m sorry I don’t have a jacket to offer you.” He repeated his words to you, earning a soft nod of your head. You proceed to slide your arm behind his bicep, wrapping your hand over his forearm. Jungkook smiled as he leaned in softly only to feel him kiss your cheek so gently, you would barely feel it if you weren’t paying attention.

After the movie ended, the rest of them wanted to get ice cream before you went home. Once it was time to call it a day, Jungkook sent you home without being asked to do so.

When he finally arrives outside your house, he told you he’ll walk you to your door.

The minute he joins you by your side, he slips his hand into yours as you easily let him. He locked fingers with you, holding you close to his side as if he was afraid of losing you. When you made it to your front door, you turned around to face him. He had a bright smile on his face, eyes twinkling under the moonlight.

“Thank you for sending me home.” You said, earning a soft chuckle from him.

“No worries. Besides, how would I get my goodnight kiss if I didn’t send you home, right?” Jungkook teased you, making you blush hard.

“G-Goodnight kiss?” You repeated those two words in a whisper, catching his attention.

Jungkook laughed at you, not expecting to see you react so shyly like that. Jungkook reaches up with his free hand to cup your face, caressing your cheek softly with his thumb. You watched as he began to lean down, closing the gap until his lips were hovering over yours. Unfortunately, your fairytale thoughts were cut short because the minute you felt his soft lips brush against your own pair, your front door opened and there stood your mother with a bright smile on her face.

You jumped away from him in shock, clutching your chest where your heart is.

“Oh my! Goodness! Grandma! You shocked me…” You said with a heavy sigh, earning a soft giggle from her.

“I’m so sorry dear. I saw Jungkook’s car outside so I was wondering where you two were.” She said, making you sigh.

“You should go. It’s getting late. Goodnight Y/N… Goodnight Ma’am.” Jungkook said before he gave your hand a light squeeze before walking away. After he left, you entered the house with her only for her to ask you something you never expected.

“Are you finally dating the nice boy? What’s his name again? Jungkook, is it?”

“H-Huh? Oh… N-No, no. Jungkook, he… he’s just a friend.”

“Are you sure? I can see that he likes you a lot and I’m pretty sure you do too.”

For the first time in your life, you were speechless. You didn’t know what to answer. So you simply kept quiet as you guided her further inside before you head to your room.

It’s been a week since the ‘almost-kissing-him-goodnight’ incident which neither of you dared to acknowledge it outwardly. Just hugging and holding hands and occasionally kissing your cheek like he’s been doing all these while. It was a Saturday evening, you were in your bedroom when your mom came knocking on your door and said, “Dear, someone’s here to see you.”

With that, she pushed the door open to reveal Jungkook standing there with a shy smile on his face. He was wearing a white shirt, a black and white large flannel unbuttoned over it and a pair of slightly loose denim jeans. You ushered him in as you patted the mattress, asking to sit down.

After she had closed the door to give you two some privacy, that’s when you giggled softly. Clearly not expecting his arrival.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

“I was passing by the neighbourhood so I decided to come and say hi. I hope I’m not a disturbance to you or your parents at this hour.” He apologised to you as his eyes began to wander around your bedroom.

It was small but really cosy to you. All there is, was a small desk for you to do your school work, a super single mattress laid on the floor at the corner of the room beside the window, a drawer to keep your clean clothes and a full length mirror. You smiled as you watched him quietly, finding his curious face pretty cute with how his eyes grew round and his lips were parted slightly to show his adorable bunny teeth.

Minutes ticked by so fast when you’re not paying attention. Both of you were just joking around at some point when you saw his necklace fall out of his shirt where he had hid it. It was the same necklace you saw that night on his tabletop but what was even more intriguing is that it was the exact same one that the guy in your dream was wearing.

You reached forward for his necklace but stopped halfway. Jungkook knew what you were going to do so he held the pendant in his fingers and asked why you were going to reach for it.

“I’m sorry, I just… I feel like… I’ve seen the necklace you’re wearing, somewhere before. It’s okay. I must be mistaken though.” You said as you let out a soft laugh. Jungkook remained quiet as he nodded. Suddenly, you watched as he took off the necklace and soon put it around your neck. You frowned as you glanced down at his lips where his face was just inches away from yours, only to meet his gaze after he’s successfully clasped the necklace hook in the loop.

“Why did you put it on me?” You asked in total confusion, having absolutely no idea as to why he did that.

“Keep it.” He said.

“B-But I can’t! It’s yours!”

“I mean it. It’s yours now.” He said as he gave you the softest smile you’ve ever seen. With that, you simply clutched onto it like your life depends on it. When you finally walked him out to his car, you suddenly felt like you didn’t want him to go just yet. Jungkook could sense your hesitation so he lightly chuckled.

“Do you really have to go?” You whispered shyly, earning a laugh from him.

“I have to, besides, it’s getting late. I don’t want to disturb your parents. They need their rest.”

“Hmm… Okay…” You hummed sadly, only for Jungkook to chuckle. Just then, Jungkook takes a step forward as he slides one hand over your waist while the other hand cups your cheek. He tugs you closer as you glance up to lock eyes with him. Jungkook’s eyes glistened under the moonlight as he caressed your cheek with his thumb while his eyes flickered down to your lips. Neither of you said anything as he closed the gap and soon kissed you. Your heart pounded against your chest while you snake your hands around his slim waist.

You felt him smile against your lips before he pulled away to leave barely any space between your faces only for him to whisper, “I love you.”

You were about to reply but he stopped you.

“Don’t… Don’t say it yet.”

“Why?”

“You’ll get to say it when the time is right…”

“When will that be?” You whispered to him, unsure of what was going on and you couldn’t help but feel like something’s wrong.

“You’ll know it… I promise.” Jungkook said as you frowned upon him. You didn’t understand why but you obeyed his words nonetheless. Jungkook breathes out through his nose before he kisses you again longingly, making your heart swell for him. When he finally pulled away, you could feel your whole world slowly begin to crumble.

Something’s not right.

With a heavy heart, you watched as he got into his car and drove off into the distance. There was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that there’s something off with his behaviour. You just don’t know exactly what it was.

That night, your questions were answered.

That night is when it all happened.

That night is when your dream finally became crystal clear to you and all the memories came flooding back like a tsunami.

After you have recovered slightly, the voice of the person who had just saved your life, rings in your head like a lingering memory.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes… T-Thank you, M-Mister…” You stumbled over your words as you saw your elders rushing over to you. That’s when the man said something that wasn’t quite understandable to you.

“I promise to keep you safe from any harm.” He said over a whisper but you heard him.

This time, when you glanced back up to meet the face of the man who saved your life, it was like the blur finally faded away and you could see clearly whoever was standing in front of you. That’s when you realised. The man who saved your life, the man that has been appearing in your dreams as nothing but a black shadow to begin with, the man who you owed your entire life to for giving you the opportunity of a second chance at life, was the same guy who you met a few months ago. The same guy who you became close to. The same guy who you eventually fell in love with.

It was him this entire time.

It was Jungkook.

But how? That’s impossible… right? How could he not age? How is he not in his early 40s by now if he really was in his early 20s when he saved you 20 years ago?

All these questions began to swirl around your head, filling you with a million different emotions.

And then you awoke.

It was 3 in the goddamn morning but sleep was no longer in your to-do list. You quickly changed out of your sleeping shorts to your sweatpants, putting your bra on and an oversized jacket as you rushed out of the house without waking your parents up and soon made your way to his place. You gave it a few knocks, hoping he was still awake. A few seconds later, the door swings open only for you to be greeted by a shirtless Taehyung. He seemed fully awake as he gave you a confused smile.

"Y/N? What are you doing here at a time like this?" He asked as politely as possible.

“I’m looking for Jungkook. Is he here?”

“Uh… He’s not home… He probably won’t be for the next few days…”

“Why? Where did he go?” You asked a little impatiently. Taehyung stared at you in worry as he wasn’t sure what to say to you.

“He, um… He has a very important business to handle somewhere else. I’ll update you once he’s back-”

“I really can’t wait that long, I need to see him now…” You partially begged as Taehyung pressed his lips into a straight line in defeat.

“He went back to the cosmos…”

Now it was your turn to get confused.

“Cosmos? What cosmos? What are you talking about?”

“Me and Jungkook… We’re not from this universe.” You stared at him in disbelief but for some reason, you knew he wasn’t lying.

“T-Then… Then does that mean you’re… immortal?”

“Correct. How did you find out?” Taehyung asked as he stepped aside for you to enter. Once you made it inside, he guided you over to the couch where you decided to come clean.

“When I was five, I almost died… But someone saved me from drowning. I never got to remember who it was. Right after my 16th birthday, I started getting these blurry, recurring dreams about my accident. The dream wasn’t clear but I kept seeing the same scenes happen again and again. A few months back, my dream slowly began to get clearer but I still couldn’t see who saved me that day… And just now… just now is when my dream finally became crystal clear and I saw everything. Now I remember.” You said. Taehyung smiled as his eyes travelled down to the necklace around your neck.

“He gave you his necklace, huh?” He asked softly. You held it in your hand as you reached forward with your other hand to hold Taehyung’s forearm gently.

“Taehyung, I need to see him. All these years, I’ve been trying to figure out who saved me that day but I have no idea who it was. Now that I know, I have to tell him.”

“There is something I have to tell you.” You remained quiet as you stared at him desperately so he took that as his cue to continue.

“Jungkook was never supposed to save you that day. His task was to simply watch over you. Sort of like a guardian angel. He can’t help you no matter how fatal the situation was for you because that’s just how it works for us. But that day, he couldn’t bear to see your parents cry. He didn’t have the heart to watch you drown in front of your parents…” Taehyung paused as you slowly began to piece this whole thing together.

“So that’s why he saved me…”

“Correct. However, because of that, the higher deities did not approve of his actions… So, he had to receive punishment. And his first punishment was that he has to watch over you from afar as you grow up without getting into close contact with you until your 16th birthday. The recurring dreams you had since you turned 16 was the second punishment. You were made to slowly remember that it was him who saved you that day. And once you fully remember that it was him…” Taehyung stopped abruptly as if he was afraid to continue.

“What happens if I remember it was him? Taehyung tell me! What happens if I remember?” You asked desperately as Taehyung frowned at you sadly.

“He will forget that you ever existed.”

“What…?” Your heart stopped as you couldn’t get this thought through your thick head.

“That’s his punishment.”

“N-No… No he… he can’t forget me. He’s been there for me my entire life, he can’t just forget me… No…” You began to get anxious as Taehyung felt bad for you. You were determined to not let Jungkook forget you so you begged Taehyung to bring you to the cosmos and see Jungkook. Taehyung didn’t want to risk it at first but after seeing how determined you were and knowing that Jungkook would not want to forget you, Taehyung decided to help.

Jungkook stood in the middle of the courtroom up in the cosmos, ready to receive his punishment. Though his heart was already shattered into a million pieces, he told himself he had to stay strong in order to have even the slightest bit of hope that he would somehow remember you after all this was done. He couldn’t bear to lose you. Not again. Not ever. He has loved you from the start. He fell in love with the little girl he was told to look after. The minute he laid eyes on you on the day you were born, he knew that he would look after you to the best of his abilities.

He made a promise to himself that he would do whatever it takes to protect you from any harm that may come in your way. Jungkook wouldn’t know what he would do if he just watched you get hurt no matter how little or fatal the accident may be. And on that unfortunate day where he was just watching over you from afar, running along the edge of the lake trying to catch the butterfly, he already saw it coming. He just wasn’t sure if he should obey the words of his deity or defy them by doing exactly what he was told not to do.

In which he ended up choosing the latter for he could not bear to see your parents crying and struggling to save you. Jungkook wasn’t heartless and he wasn’t planning on becoming one. Hence, why he decided to dive into the lake that day and save you. He knew his actions would result in a heavy consequence but he didn’t care at the time. All he wanted was for you to have a second chance at life and thanks to him, you got it.

So as he stood there, his mind was filled with memories of you. From when you were a kid to now. Every single memory he had of you, lingered in his mind like posters and pictures pinned to a bulletin board. Suddenly, all he could think of was kissing you. How soft your lips were. How good it felt to finally tell you how he feels about you. To be able to hold you in his arms and tell you he loves you because he wouldn’t get to say it to you again after tonight.

It broke him but he was satisfied.

“Jeon Jungkook. You were called upon the courthouse to receive your punishment for the offence you committed years ago. Are you aware that the girl has finally seen the truth in her dreams?” His deity asked, earning a scoff from Jungkook.

“If she hadn't, I wouldn’t be here.”

His deity leaned back in his seat feeling slightly furious with how Jungkook was showing lack of respect for them. Nonetheless, they continued with Jungkook’s sentencing.

“Very well then. By the power vested in me, thou shall have no memory of the said girl after tonight. Every single memory of her shall be erased, leaving no traces of her behind. In addition, thou shall not remember any mortal from the past 2 years and vice versa. It shall be as though they never existed in each other’s lives. If there are no objections-” As soon as this was said, a familiar voice catches Jungkook’s attention.

“I object!”

He whipped his head up in search of the owner of the voice. The minute he found it, his eyes grew wide as he stared in shock upon witnessing this discovery. There you stood, at the very top of the stairs in the courthouse right next to Taehyung. He knew he had to stop you but he didn’t. He wanted nothing more than for his best friend to be happy so he decided to let you do what’s right to get his best friend out of his misery.

“Who dares to go against our ruling?” The deity said, making you speak up bravely.

“I do.”

He whispered your name under his breath as he watched you descend the stairs while keeping your eyes locked on the higher authorities.

“And just who do you think you are? Strutting about and bravely make your call to stop this trial?”

“Someone that will stop you from carrying out his final punishment.”

“Ah… you must be the girl from the lake… You must be stupid enough to think that you could leave this place alive.”

“No! Please! I’m begging you, don’t hurt her please. Give me my final punishment, just leave her alone.” Jungkook said as he stood in front of you to shield you from them.

“What are you doing? Don’t you wanna remember who I am?” You asked in confusion as he turned to you with tears in his eyes.

“Of course I do. But I also want you to leave this place alive.”

“I don’t want you to forget me! I can’t lose you again. Jungkook please!”

“You won’t lose me. Because you remember me. Promise me that you’ll make me remember you.”

“I promise.”

With that, Jungkook cups your face with both hands as he pressed his forehead against yours softly. Your eyes were closed, feeling him caress your cheeks with his thumbs. Just then, you didn’t want to lose this chance so you pushed your head forward only to kiss him. You let your lips stay there for a while before pulling away. The minute you did, you wrapped your fingers around both of his wrists while you whispered against his lips, a sealed promise.

“I love you Jungkook and I promise I’ll make you remember me.”

Suddenly, everything happened so fast as a blinding white light began to fill your vision. The next thing you knew, you were in your bedroom. It all felt like a dream to you. Except, you remembered everything vividly.

The next day, you made your way to school, only to find Hyunjin and Jisung seated at the wooden table in the garden. You came over and soon asked them curiously about the other two. However, what they answered came as a surprise to you.

“Who’s Taehyung and Jungkook? Are they your friends?” Hyunjin asked, making you frown.

What the…

A few hours later, the three of you were walking to the CS building across the campus when you caught sight of two males walking in your direction, parallel to you. One had striking neon blue hair while the other had bright purple hair. The purple haired one would be right next to you once you crossed paths with them too. You kept your eyes on them as they got closer and closer until they were about 3 feet away. As if on cue, the purple haired individual just happened to turn his head towards you, causing you to lock eyes with him.

Your heart began to race in your chest the closer you got to them. The minute you walked past them, with the purple haired one being the closest to you, the same feeling you felt the first time this happened a few months back repeated again today. The feeling of a string being tugged at that was invisibly linked to your hand and his, a small sense of longing lingers in your veins. However, you continued walking despite sensing him turning back to look at you.

So when you felt like it was safe to turn, that’s when you glanced over your shoulder to see him tilt his head in confusion but nonetheless continued walking. You whispered something under your breath, feeling your heart shatter with every word you say.

“I remember you.”

You turned back in front, your mind was already somewhere far. There was absolutely no way in hell that you were going to let this slide.

Why? Because you were determined to make him remember you for you had made your promise to him.

#bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts fics #bts #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jeon jungkook fluff #jungkook imagines #jungkook x reader #jungkook scenarios #bts jungkook scenarios #bts jungkook imagines #bts jungkook fluff #bts jungkook x reader

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telemi · 2 years

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εїз ﹢🥂 𓂂 genshin men as story genres ! ( 100% )

𓂅 ！“juliet to your romeo, how i heard you say”

꒰ featuring ! ꒱ diluc, zhongli, childe, thoma, kaeya, heizou, dottore ?!

꒰ cw ! ꒱ vampire au (diluc’s part), mentions of blood, rex incognito official lore (only slight mentions), reader was harassed (zhongli’s part), historical au (zhongli’s part), mcd (zhongli’s part), heavy angst (zhongli’s part), very introverted reader (heizou’s part) ?!

꒰ a/n ! ꒱ TYSM FOR 400!! >< special thanks to my moots mwah mwah ily /p <33

vampire au // DILUC

he’s a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years. only recently have their clan ordained that they should stop drinking blood forcefully, one must receive the permission of a human possibly through a contract — verbal or written, or in common cases, through gaining their trust. he is not adept in loving someone, he tried contracts upon contracts but all the humans scramble away from him in fear. he needs a human, a blood supply or whatever, to drink blood from otherwise he’ll die. now on the brink of death, he stumbles across a college student which is you.

stressed and burdened from university, you find yourself sitting in an empty park with a strange man by your side. truth is, you left your apartment because of a shitty roommate who kept complaining because you didn’t clean her room. yeah that’s right, she treats you like a servant. you and her were at odds since before but this was the last straw. the last thing you would do is go back to that hellish apartment and stay with her.

“you,” he starts, voice husky and dry. “yes?” you reply, heart beating violently against your chest because of the steady silence of the place. “do you want to sign a contract with me?” he asks in such a serious tone that you refuse to believe that he was joking. “oh, ah, i’m afraid i have pressing matters to attend to rather than taking a job. thank you for the offer though.” you chuckle nervously, shifting your eyes to a much clearer view of the man beside you. he wears clothes that are all black, his hair is messy, and his peculiar eye color. his crimson-stained eyes makes eye contact with you and you involuntarily shudder with a sense of fear.

“i don’t mean a job,” he sighs, his gaze turning away. “i can help you, i can pay for your needs or find you a place to stay, just — please, help me.” he begs you with a trembling voice and you think about it for a second. “okay, i’ll help.” his ears perk up at your answer and you continue. “but only for a year. next year, on new year’s eve, this—” referring to you and him, “should end.”

“deal.”

right person, wrong time // ZHONGLI

you met the said man when you were nineteen. he was dressed simply in a brown attire, it wasn’t exactly made with the finest material and it looked old and tattered. in the eyes of everyone, he seemed like a poor commoner struggling to make ends meet. though you two were merely strangers, he came by your side when your superior harassed you uncontrollably without a stop. ever since then, you’ve started being friends and you will not lie, but being with him gives you a big sense of relief and comfort. as time flies by, you get to know that he has a lot of secrets to hide and even though you do have a lot to share, there’s one thing that you will never reveal to him — the fact that you’re terminally ill.

only then when he stopped by your house and saw you coughing up blood does he realize what the true state of your health is.

he would offer to help you again — give you his jewelries to sell, give you mora, pray to celestia—! but in all honesty, he knows it was all to no avail. this is the unfortunate truth of the world, you were a mortal and he was a god. saving you was far from possible but... why is it that his heart aches so much as he clasps your hands in his, kissing your forehead and begging anyone— everyone! not to take you away from him. you were nearing death and all he could do was kneel against your frail body and take whatever there is left of your presence.

your lifeless eyes look at him one last time as you smile weakly against his trembling fingers.

“i love you.”

and he vows that in your next life, he’ll tell you everything — morax, liyue, everything. for he is the sole survivor of the love that you shared with him.

childhood friends to lovers + slight enemies to lovers // CHILDE, THOMA

you and him were the best of friends, like two peas in a pod. as a child, you two were inseparable. that is until he suddenly moves out of town and leaves nothing for you to find — a letter, a text, nothing. he left you without a word and deep hatred stemmed from within your heart, and you were sure to remember that feeling for years to come. years passed ever since then and now you were in college, you moved into the capital city of your country since that was where your university resides.

only when you enter the building of the said university, do you see a guy who’s VERY familiar. you squint, trying to figure out who that is and there it is — that cheeky smile you’ve known ever since your childhood. you weren’t sure how to approach him, but one thing you’re sure about is the fact that you need to confront him about something — the reason why he left you without a word.

forbidden love w/ a criminal // DOTTORE

you were from a noble family in teyvat, while he works as a researcher for the fatui. your family doesn’t approve of him, i mean have you seen him???? 1.) he lacks basic manners (apparently :sighs:) and 2.) they say that he doesn’t deserve you at all! but you think otherwise.

no matter how much you beg your parents to accept him, they just wouldn’t budge. so he proposes the idea to elope, and you complied very easily. that night you left your home, your status, and your family. wearing a black cloak you see him atop of a horse, he notices your presence and picks you up as you both run away from your manor. finally, you’re out of that constrained life of yours.

a love accident..?? // HEIZOU, KAEYA

he was deeply in love with your sister. she was a natural cheery girl, whilst you were a quiet person who doesn’t like interacting with people that much. but the thing is, your sister doesn’t like him back, so he comes up with a strange plan that is sure to work. he goes into a witch’s shop, purchasing a small but effective love potion that needed to be dropped on your sister’s tea.

surely enough, the three of you had tea together and he drops the mixture as expected. what he and you didn’t know, was that you were the one who took a sip of the spiked tea. he was in disbelief when you suddenly cling to him and say a lavish amount of ‘i love you’s’ and ‘marry me’s’ that your sister squealed in excitement. that evening, she says that you and heizou are very in love and that you two are ‘planning for a marriage’ to happen — and your parents are more than delighted to arrange your engagement with him.

there, within a single night, you get betrothed to him. and now he’s freaking out because everyone believes that you two are passionate lovers when in reality, this is all because of his stupid mistake! just how is he going to live like this, how is he going to live with you?

🏷️ — ( taglist ) : @kujuo, @yonaraee, @modmochi, @thirtyn1ne, @elizabethrosedarling, @nxwxie, @deathkat657, @kazu-topia, @starfellforyou (refer to this post if you want to be tagged in my future works)

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cookiesupplier · 6 months

Text

Hell Ain't So Bad - Part Two

pairing: Noah Sebastian x ofc (Ellie)

warnings/tropes: slow burn, smut (eventually), angst, fluff, mentions of death, mentions of torture, thoughts of religious ideology, and swearing. – potential more to be added at stories progression

summary: Ellie is lost in the world, homeless and has been out of the world for so long in her mind she has no idea what to do and nowhere to go.. When the perfect opportunity falls into her lap, she doesn’t want to pass it up.. Turns out though, it might be a little bit stranger than she ever expected. Who would have thought that one day, she’d end up working in hell itself.. And what does this even mean?

author’s note: Unbetaed, readers beware.. if you want to chat with me about ideas for this story I'm open to it, my asks are always open as well. I threw you a bone, Noah is there.. but not with Ellie lol

ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME. (my replies are broken I will reply via reblog to yours)

tags: Tags are open if anyone is interested.

Ellie offered Steven a smile in thanks before she moved past the door into the small office that he’d pointed her towards. It wasn’t anything special, not that she’d expected it to be. Places like this either went one of two ways. They were either simple down to earth, got the job done, or tried to show their accolades for every person and success story they’d had, and every person they’d managed to save.

She didn’t trust those people.

The office was empty though. Too Empty. It was Eerie.

Nicholas Ruffilo, he’d said. Okay.

Ellie glanced around, the office was pretty much the barest of bones, not even a photo to show anything other than a computer on his desk, a notepad and pen.. It gave the impression he’d walked in this morning, plonked it down this morning and said, this was good, let's work from here today, and yet.. Right there was a name plate.. But anyone could get one of those made, cheap. It was weird.

It made her nervous. How did she never notice this place before, right across from the clinic. Today had been so strange, so unnerving all around, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

A feeling she’d had since she’d yesterday.

Just when she was thinking that maybe she should listen to that feeling, when she turned to go, a coughing fit hit her, and she almost doubled over. She almost collapsed to the floor before a pair of arms caught her decent and guided her to sit in the chair across from the barely used desk. While she was hunched over trying to breathe, he moved to the side of the room, doing something, she was too focused on attempting to get air into her lungs to pay any mind until he was coming back to her, and gently pressing a cup of hot tea into her hand.

“Here, sip this tea, it should help with that cough, it’s a special blend. Just don’t ask me what's in it, my mother swore me to secrecy.”

Ellie lifted the mug to her lips grateful for the kindness, sipping at the warm liquid, and letting the tiny, tiny sips soothe her throat. She knew better than to take more, especially at first. She could barely swallow with how sore her throat was with the coughing was right now, and, oh, that warning he gave her for not asking, fuck, whatever was in it, his mother was a miracle worker. All it took was a few sips, whether from the warmth, or the herbs of the tea mix, but the irritation calmed down and soothed her throat something blissfully.

It felt like she could actually take in a breath for a moment.

“Better?”

Lifting the mug back to her lips to take another life saving sip, that’s what it felt like, how it felt with each sip of the tea right then easing her throat just for a moment. Part of her considered how long she could draw out this cup, wondering if the effects would allow her to get a decent sleep tonight. She knew better though, she knew better than to wonder, because even if she walked out of this building with a new job, she would still be going back to the overpass. She would still be wearing these overworn threadbare clothes that didn’t keep her warm. She still wouldn’t be able to breathe properly tonight.

Ellie would still be back tomorrow morning to go to the clinic again, this time, hopefully, she’d get in.

“Yes, thank you.”

She smiled at the man as she took his appearance. Instead of moving around the desk to sit behind it with his notepad and computer, he pulled up the other random chair in the room and sat this side with her. His hair was long, dark, but it wasn’t down, he had it piled up on his head, in a sort of messy knot, gauges in his ears, and he was covered in tattoos.

Ellie couldn’t help but think of all the stories he might have to go along with them. She had a few herself, back from before she’d had to drop out of college.. When she could afford to rub a couple of pennies together. Then again, maybe he had no stories, maybe he was one of those guys that just wanted to look cool naked, nothing wrong with aesthetics, she loved seeing beautiful artwork. Ellie also just loved how it made her feel though, and that in itself was a story for her.

“Alright, so, before we get started, I’m going to need you to sign this waiver allowing me access to your records so we can find you the best placement possible.”

Reaching across his desk, he plucked up his notebook, and sure enough, underneath there was the waver, and he snagged the pen from his notebook that he held out from her,

“Just sign away at the bottom and we can get started.”

He said best placement, but really, she just needed any placement, she’d take any job, she needed a job to fill her belly, to get somewhere to live. Ellie was tired of merely existing, she wanted to live again.

Setting the waiver down so she could sign it without giving up her mug of tea, she handed the pen back with a sigh.

“Alright then.”

Standing from his chair, he moved back around the desk with the pen and waiver, and started to click away at his laptop,

“We actually have a prime entry level position opened up just this morning that might be perfect for you Ellis if-”

“Ellie.”

Nicholas looked up from the screen when her quiet voice interrupted him, and to her surprise, it was almost as soft as it used to be. It wasn’t the rough wheezing hack she’d felt like she’d had ever since the cough had started coming and abusing her throat back and forth.

“I prefer to be called Ellie.”

Nicholas just smiled softly, nodding lightly, and glanced back to his screen.

“Well, there is a particular position that seems to have come up that looks to be perfect for you, its entry level, a postal worker placement, making sure goods get from A to B. It will involve a bit of relocation on your part, but the company in question will provide you with travel and lodging entirely free of charge for the entirety of your employment with them.”

He listed off information for the job details as he clicked away at the computer. Her eyes went wide, oh, that sounded both like a gift and a horror. Going somewhere she had never been, but also they would just be giving her a place to live as long as she was working for them. Where was it though?

“Nice warm climate too, so it’ll help take care of that cough, I might even throw in some tea for you, we won’t tell my mom, Ruffilo secret.”

Winking to her, Ellie couldn’t help but smile.. Was this.. Was this just too good to be true? After everything feeling so strange all day, and everything just slotting into place, why did this feel so… odd?

“Now one caveat listed here, is that you must note that you will need to be capable of handling the packages with care.”

She was curious how he said that, with care, because how he said it sounded quite specific, but at the same time, she really didn’t want to ruin this chance, even if there was something screaming that this might be too good.. She needed this. Ellie needed this.

“Oh, thats not problem for me at all.”

Smiling, it really wasn’t.

“I ah, I used to volunteer as an ‘Angel’ at my local hospital in the children’s oncology wing. Unfortunately I started college, and..”

She sighed.. Her boyfriend and classes had taken up a lot of her time. She had a lot of regrets.

Swallowing, the smile Nicholas got though as he nodded, with a knowing look in his eye as if he heard it all before.. Sighing, she knew that look. He probably thought she was just trying to talk herself up, make herself sound good, because she used to volunteer to look after sick kids. Didn’t matter, she just regretted that she stopped.

“Alright, well then, in that case, I have a few more forms I need you to sign once I have printed them out for you.”

Nicholas watched Ellie walk out from his office with Steven with the promise of some more sandwiches, and a place to sleep tonight. They were not going to let her go back to the overpass where Steven had found her yesterday, and her transport wouldn’t arrive until the morning, he was sending word for it now. Clicking away at his computer, it wouldn’t take long, but even for them sometimes paperwork could be tedious.. Everyone had to dot their I’s and cross their T’s though. Got to make the world go around.

All the world.

Just as he was hitting send on the email to Folio letting him know the time to pick her up in the morning, his phone started to ring, and sure enough, a familiar name flashed across his screen, coupled with a familiar pair of dark eyes that flashed with fire when annoyed.

Swiping the green circle to accept the call,

“What do you want, asshole?”

The chuckle from the voice on the other end had Nicholas shaking his head with a knowing smile,

“Is that anyway to greet your best friend Nicholas Ruffilo, what will your mother say?”

“My mother knows you Noah Sebastian, as much as she’d clip me around the ear, but still ask me what her sweet darling angel did to annoy me this time. She knows.”

The answering laughter on the other end of the line as Nicholas rolled his eyes said it all. Still, he just continued to click away at the laptop on his desk, looking over at the information on Ellie’s file, this was so much easier now that they could download information rather than just use paper hardcopies all the time, it could be so tedious.

“You want me to say hello like a normal person asshole, don’t eat all my fucking food.. like always.”

You’d think he’d learn, you really did, but he didn’t, Nicholas always had left overs that just disappeared whenever Noah came over to his apartment to hangout, which was, always. The man practically lived there more than he did at his own place. Not that he was complaining.

“We have a new one by the way, this one might take some time though, she’s going to be an interesting transition. Not sure how she’ll take it.”

A rumble of a humm was all he got from his best friend on the other end of the line.. And Nicholas paused at his typing as he looked suspiciously at his phone sitting on the desk. His best friends goofy face looking up at him from the screen, back from when they were younger, still kids and Noah was nothing but a fucking giant string bean. The noises in the background of the call made his eyes narrow..

“Oh you fucker, you’re at my place right now aren't you?! Step away from the pizza right now you jackass!”

All he got in response was cackle in response before the call cut off.

Noah ‘Fucking’ Sebastian, the food thief, his days were numbered.

Dividers by @saradika-graphics

#bad omens #noah sebastian #fanfiction #nicholas ruffilo #demon noah #noah sebastian fanfic #noah sebastian x ofc #original female character #ofc #bad omens au #noah bad omens #bad omens band #bad omens cult #hell au #slow burn

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dawn-moths · 2 months

Text

"Player, Champagne, Showtime"

CHAPTER 2

Tomura & Dabi x Female Reader

word count: 23,400+

part 1 * part 2 * …

(After your fateful encounter with Tomura and Dabi, the trio of unfortunates you’ve found yourself a part of decides to try your luck at committing a high-risk robbery on some people from Dabi’s past. The payout will be huge, if things go according to plan. But, of course, nothing ever goes according to plan, so, by the end of the night, you all just hope you can make it out alive, and if you do, well, you might just have to start considering yourself a pretty good team.)

disclaimer/content warning: 18+ content! minors dni! quirkless au, pretty plot heavy this chapter (no smut, but trust me, there will be plenty later down the line), violence and descriptions of gore, drugs, mentions of human trafficking, threats of sexual assault, reader gets hurt on purpose, once again the title is taken from the lyrics of “365 Fresh” by Triple H which this fic is based upon.

*ao3 mirror*

***

The following morning, you’d woken early, carefully slipping from Tomura’s warm, protective grasp on the couch and tiptoeing toward where you thought you might be able to find some water. Though, when you turned the corner, expecting to find the little cubicle room empty, you came face to face with the tattooed man who was becoming less of a stranger and more of a reluctant acquaintance with every passing hour.

And, the following morning, you’d finally learned his name.

“They call me Dabi,” he remarked after you’d pressed him about the matter in the makeshift kitchen. He leaned against the barely functioning mini fridge and studied you for a moment then, his crystal clear blues scrutinizing, as if testing you in some way.

“They?” you lightly scoffed. “And who are they?”

Dabi chuckled to himself, a hum of amusement accompanied by a grin that might’ve actually been genuine and soft, if such words were allowed to be used to describe someone like him. Then he pushed off from the fridge, causing the appliance to wobble on its uneven base for a couple shallow sways before migrating closer to you. “They…” he emphasized, leaning down to be right at your eye level, so close you could see your reflection shimmering in all that bright sapphire. “They’re the ones who we’re gonna make pay.”

You gaped at him, looking into a malicious vortex of cruel cerulean, cold yet burning with such an intense revenge it was startling. But then, just before the stretch of silence between the two of you could become suffocating, Tomura popped his head around the corner and asked, “What’s for breakfast?”

Dabi shot him a scathing glare, as if offended by the sound of his voice alone, and straightened back to his full height, replying with an irritated drone as he strolled past, hands shoved deep into his pockets, “Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. Though, I can’t promise any of it’s still edible…”

“Where are you going?” you asked, sauntering over to stand next to Tomura, who scratched absentmindedly at a red patch on the side of his neck. For now, you resisted the urge to reach over and clasp your hand with his to get him to stop, but later you knew you’d be applying some of the cheap lotion you kept at the bottom of your bag to it while he hissed at the sting of the salve soaking into his irritated flesh.

Dabi smirked and pulled a plastic baggie full of little white pills from his pocket, pinching it between his fingers and dangling it before him as if trying to entice you with it. “Just some extracurricular activities. Why?” He quirked an inky eyebrow, faking innocence for only a moment before that smug expression returned. “Wanna join me?”

You rolled your eyes, leaned back against Tomura, whose hands quickly found purchase on you for support. “You wish,” you scoffed. “Just don’t get so high you forget your way back. We won’t be coming to look for you.”

Dabi coughed out one loud, sardonic, “Ha!”, his mouth stretching into a too wide smile before dropping back to the general disinterest he usually carried about him, turning on his heel and stalking the rest of the way to the heavy metal door that led to the hallway painted with the glowing blue inferno. The only indicator you had to know he’d really left was the slam as the door closed behind him, leaving you and Tomura in the warehouse alone.

“Well, I guess we should see what he has in the fridge…” you muttered, spinning away from Tomura’s grasp and swinging open the rickety door of the minifridge, clicking your tongue in annoyance when you saw there were only three things in there— half a dozen eggs that were who knew how old, a six pack of some cheap beer, and half a gallon of milk that was nearly empty, likely drank straight from the jug.

You opened the crumpled cardboard carton of eggs, feeling a little optimistic when they still looked to be in pretty good shape, then peered over your shoulder at Tomura, who was rummaging through a plastic bin that served as Dabi’s pantry.

“Find anything?” you asked, coming over to check things out for yourself.

Tomura held out a half-full bag of some stale cereal hastily rolled at the opening in a failed attempt to preserve it longer. “Other than flamin’ hot cheetos and wasabi peas…” he muttered, sounding slightly defeated, “not much…”

“Wasabi peas?” you repeated, nearly laughing.

Tomura plucked up the plastic container of the little green and white morsels and gave it a playful shake, like a maraca, and then cracked a crooked, puzzled smirk. “Guy’s got some fuckin’ weird taste.”

You took the bag of cereal from him, unrolled it and reached in to see if the little niblets were too far gone or if a splash of some back-washed milk on the verge of expiration could save them. After an indecisive taste test, you handed the bag back to Tomura and said with a sigh, “Alright. I’ll see if I can find a frying pan. See if you can find any kind of bread anywhere, y’know, so long as it’s not moldy. Maybe we can make some egg sandwiches.”

“And the cereal?” he asked, reaching in to toss a handful of the sugary grahams into his mouth and seeming a little more satisfied with them than you were.

“If you’re willing to risk ingesting whatever state what’s left of the milk in there is in…” you shrugged, setting the eggs on top of the fridge while you began scavenging for anything you could use to cook over the rusted old hotplate, “then the cereal is all yours.”

Unable to find a bowl, Tomura settled for pouring the cereal straight into the milk jug and taking crunchy swigs, chewing before swallowing it down. He sort of winced a little upon the first gulp, but didn’t further elaborate on whether the milk had gone sour or not, almost like he himself couldn’t even quite figure it out, then proceeded to finish what was left, so you figured it couldn’t be that bad. Meanwhile, he also searched the other bins and tubs that held an unorganized array of varying food items until he managed to find half a loaf of bread, only three pieces left that weren’t infected with furry green spores.

“Ah! Found it!” you happily announced as you pulled a tiny, scratched up teflon pan from beneath a pile of dishes in the sink. It looked like it had been scratched to hell and back with the end of a metal fork, but you figured it would still do the job just fine.

“Still want eggs?” you asked, finagling with the faulty dial on the hotplate’s temperature gauge before finally getting it to turn on. Tomura nodded, taking a seat at the tiny table, only one folding chair topped with a thin, frayed cushion available, the other seat consisting of a couple empty wooden crates stacked atop each other, though it wasn’t much of a surprise to you that Dabi didn’t make a habit of keeping company.

Especially after what he’d said earlier.

They’re the ones who we’re gonna make pay.

By the sound of it, he had far more enemies than he did friends. In fact, you were starting to wonder if you and Tomura were the only people currently on semi-decent terms with him, and even considering it that was generous…

“Hey,” Tomura spoke, pulling you from your Dabi curiosities. Your gaze darted to meet his and he gave a cursory glance down at the eggs in the pan. “I’m no expert, but I think they might be burning…”

You turned your attention back to breakfast and swore under your breath as you quickly flipped them to the other side, a thin veil of smoke wafting up from the pan accompanied by a satisfying sizzle.

Luckily, the eggs had been saved in time thanks to Tomura’s warning, all six successfully scrambled— three for you and three for him, courtesy of Dabi’s current obligations to his drugs. Using two of the three slices of bread, you fashioned yourself a sandwich which, despite being a little soggy once the eggs soaked into the untoasted bread, wasn’t half bad, while Tomura tried his best to eat his opened-faced on the last slice on account of already having finished all the cereal.

You hadn’t even realized how hungry you’d been until you’d wolfed the whole thing down, suddenly craving more. “You said you found cheetos earlier?” you inquired with Tomura, whose eggs had fallen into a mushy mess on his plate, carefully picking up what he could with his fingers so that none of it would go to waste.

He paused mid-bite and his eyes widened a fraction as he spoke from one corner of his full mouth, “Yeah…?”

You cracked a mischievous grin, licking a couple of your fingers before saying, “Go get ‘em,” prompting Tomura to rise from his seat and retrieve the entire snack bin, dragging it across the dirty concrete floor to sit beside the cramped table.

As you dug out the flamin’ hot cheetos, along with some crumbling chocolate chip cookies, laying an array of other snacks across the table for you and Tomura to choose from, you rhetorically asked, “Think he’ll mind?”

Tomura scoffed, unable to hide the crooked smirk that pulled up one corner of his chapped lips as he tore open a bag of salt and vinegar chips. “His fault for telling us to help ourselves anyway.”

And so the two of you feasted on a smorgasbord of all things salty and sweet, fattening and processed, all the while trading flirty banter and off-handed comments about everything else that had led you two to end up sitting at the uneven little table in this repurposed warehouse.

When there was a lull in conversation, both of you drifting off into the full-bellied aftermath of an oncoming food coma, you asked Tomura, “Do you believe in fate?”

He seemed to take a moment to think about that, all the while staring at you, tracing the features of your face with his eyes as if trying to commit you to memory, to resurface any shred of a glimpse he may have caught of you in a hypothetical previous life. “No,” he finally answered, paired with a minute shaking of his head. “No, I think fate is a bunch of bullshit. I think we make our own destinies. At least, I’d like to think that.”

“So you think the good things that happen to us are because we worked for it and the bad things that happen to us are because we deserve it?”

“Not necessarily,” he elaborated. “I just think that nothing is predetermined. One decision leads to an outcome and so on and so forth. It’s as simple as that.”

You lazily rested your cheek in your palm, slouching over the tabletop a little more, considering him with a teasing look. “Sounds like you got life all figured out, huh?”

Tomura flashed a nervous smile, beginning to scratch at the irritated spot on his neck again, his skin becoming more inflamed there with every passing hour. “I just think, if there is a God, he’s got a cruel sense of humor.”

“Bet he’s laughing at us right now,” you remarked, low, almost under your breath, wearing a sad smile as you lowered your head to rest atop your arms on the table. Then, glancing up at Tomura through your lashes, you concluded with, “Though, if it’s a show he wants…” You nudged Tomura’s foot under the table with your own, entwining your ankles, bare feet turned cool from the chill creeping up through the concrete. Tomura watched you carefully, as if trying to anticipate your next move and beat you to it first. But as your foot traveled up his leg until it was just barely brushing against his inner thigh, his expression darkened into the intense hunter’s stare of a predator about to capture its prey, hungry and confident.

“Yeah?” he tempted, replying to the unspoken request your actions were currently insinuating.

You nodded, returning your foot back to your side of the table, standing and offering him your hand. “Yeah,” you confirmed, and as Tomura swallowed your hand within his own, he was once again reminded of that hazy, haloed image he’d seen of you the very first night you’d met on those dark city streets.

He’d asked if you were an angel back then, but as you guided him towards the beat up old couch, straddling his lap the moment he was seated and beginning to kiss him like you couldn’t breathe without his air filling your lungs, he knew you must be something way beyond that, the feeling of your body pressed against his transcending heavenly.

“Think he’ll mind?” you playfully asked through a quiet, breathy chuckle, your lips hovering just above Tomura’s, letting him taste your words on his tongue.

He smirked, shifting you to lay on your back as he crawled over you, kissing you again, deeper, harder, enough to have you gasping for air by the end of it. “Fuck what he thinks,” he remarked, a raw edge to his raspy voice.

And if Dabi could’ve seen you two like that, shamelessly fucking on his couch, he probably would’ve killed you both.

But he was too busy making his own slow, sweet sentiment to his beloved painkillers on some rooftop halfway across town, sulking under a greying sky with a half-smoked cigarette caught between two lazily curled fingers, staring at his tattoos until the high made the inked images bend and sway.

***

Low thunder grumbled from far in the distance, the vibrations purring in Dabi’s chest as he watched the storm rolling in over the shiny high-rise buildings of the city’s center, soon to soak the gleaming metropolis down to the bone.

The wind was always stronger from up here. In the humid summer months, it felt good. In the winter, it was almost unbearable. And during a storm…

During a storm it felt electric, as if he could breathe in the invisible sparks bouncing through the air, tiny firecrackers lacing through his blood and making him feel invincible.

The painkillers helped dull the sharp, barbed edges that always seemed to splinter back to life inside his brain, temporarily alleviating the tension that corded through his muscles and wove its way through his lanky, wraithish frame, chasing the worries away, if only for a little while. The nicotine got his wheels turning again, the ritualistic practice of inhaling the smoke and holding it in his lungs for as long as he could before breathing it out acting as a countdown until his next notion of how to strike.

Sometimes he came up here without his addictions tagging along, even if just to stare at that shimmering oasis of a city spiking up in the distance, the skyline like an irregular heartbeat on an EKG, and remind himself why he still wanted to burn it all to the ground.

He was also reminded why he was so afraid to go back.

But what Dabi found himself pondering over on this particular afternoon was a rather unexpected development in his most recent schemes. Because, of all the details he’d overlooked or ignored in previous, criminally-inclined, chaotic plans, the last thing he’d thought he’d have to worry about was catching feelings for someone like you.

He’d never admit to it out loud, but Dabi was well aware why his stomach twisted every time he saw you and Tomura too close to each other, why he had to force himself to look away when you two stared into each other’s eyes like you were actually in love and not just two fucked up slum rats just like him, only way more chemically attratched to each other than a murderer and a suicidal had a right to be.

He was the odd man out. The third wheel. The silent reject. And for what?

All because he’d gone and kicked you both out of that stolen car, practically delivered his current predicament to your doorstep and wished you well as he sped off down the desolate midnight streets with only an ear grating tire screech to remember him by.

“So stupid,” he muttered to himself, leaning back against the roof, staring into the blotchy void of the greyscale sky, stormy winds causing the clouds to race across the view overhead. He cupped a palm to the back of his neck, closing his eyes as he took a final drag of his cigarette, flicking the remains down onto the street below, bringing his other hand to join the one that was already cushioning the back of his skull. Then, again, through a forlorn, tired sigh, “So fucking stupid…”

He wondered how he always seemed to sabotage himself in hindsight, whether by getting hooked on the little white pills that he’d sworn “would only be for a little bit, just until I get out of here and put this city far behind me”, only to get roped up in a couple gangs gone wrong and end up losing every last penny he’d scrounged up in order to escape the hellhole of the slums. Or the time he’d been a homeless teen skulking around the streets, trusting all the wrong people despite his intuition warning against it just because they’d offered him some food and a corner shielded from the rain to sleep in.

And now there was you, perhaps the only girl in the entire prefecture he had a chance with, and what had he done?

He’d gone and said all the wrong things, done all the wrong things, and fucked it all up.

But then, as the charcoal clouds covering the city center began to drift closer to his part of town, little sparkling flashes of lightning laced throughout the mass of black and grey, a new perspective occured to Dabi. Because, yes, while his own choices had led him to become a hopeless, orphaned addict, he’d still found a way to survive.

Through all his hardship and loss and misfortune, he’d learned how to still come out on top in the end, even if he was bruised and battered and barely standing.

So why couldn’t he apply the same rules to winning you over?

Doing something to remove Tomura from the picture was the obvious answer, but with how quickly the two of you had become attached, it would also be obvious who was at fault if the scrawny, silver-haired boy went missing or turned up dead somewhere, even if he had tried to kill himself during your original meeting.

No, simple problems required simple solutions, so going to all the trouble to lure Tomura out and dispose of him would just end up being too much work. Dabi would have to get you alone with him, make some attempt to get to know you better, get to know your secrets, your weaknesses, convince you that you were better off with him, that he had more to offer you than Tomura.

As the first fat droplets of rain speckled the rooftop, darkening the concrete of the street below with watery freckles until the steady drizzle morphed into a full on downpour, drenching everything in sight, Dabi rose from the roof, climbed down the fire escape, and navigated the maze of alleys back to his hideout, several different schemes now cooking in the back of his mind.

He definitely had more to offer you. Or at least he liked to think he did. But, truth be told, none of you really had anything to offer each other at the moment except some twisted form of solidarity between rejected members of society. But you had the most to lose. Because Dabi did know one of your secrets. He knew you were a murderer, and, while he’d figured the guy had probably deserved it, that didn’t change the fact that the cops would likely see it otherwise.

You knew Dabi was already trying to lay low from law enforcement from how he’d acted in the diner that day and— well, there was also the fact that he stole and pawned off a car.

And Tomura, well, other than trying to commit suicide and drag others unwillingly into it, Dabi didn’t know what else he was guilty of, though the fact that he knew someone like Spinner— a man who could procure all sorts of illegal and nefarious goods— said it was probably worse than he’d let on.

So, the first step for any of you to have a chance at making it out of this place, whether it was all together or just you and Dabi, if he got his way, was finding a way to make some money.

The rain beat down hard on anything not hidden beneath cover, Dabi included by the time he had to make a run for the last stretch of his journey back to the warehouse. But the adrenaline was aiding his brain in working double time, skin prickling with needles of cold and heart racing until he swung open the door and found himself in the comfort of his painted hallway, the blue flames glowing through the dark after a few seconds and welcoming their artist home.

And it was then, in the vortex of the cerulean inferno, as cold water droplets raced down his neck and chest and stirred a shiver in his bones, that the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

Dabi smirked to himself, a malicious, mean smile that made him look a little crazy as the blue light cast dimly over his face.

There was no way it could be that easy. There was just no way.

But, it’s like people always said…

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.

***

A camera flash bathed the crime scene in blinding white light, there one instant and then gone the next like a ghost.

Just like the perpetrator, Keigo thought to himself, peering over the photographer’s shoulder and scribbling down some theories on his notepad, pen scritching across the page quietly as he listened in on the testimony of one of the establishment’s employees, his back facing her as he pretended not to eavesdrop.

“—still can’t get in contact with her,” a young woman explained, sounding distressed. She was one of a few hairdressers at the rundown barber shop. Besides her, there was only one employee left that the police hadn’t yet spoken to about the owner’s sudden and rather gruesome death—

You.

“Could you give us her number?” the other officer asked, in the middle of taking his own notes.

The girl shrugged, pulling her phone out from her bag. “Yeah, I mean, sure, it’s just…” She pulled up your contact info, turning the screen around to show it to the cop. “She rarely ever picks up, even if she does know the caller. I doubt you’ll be able to reach her, but if you do, please let me know. We’re worried about her…”

The officer thanked the woman for her cooperation after jotting down the phone number, heading off to exchange notes with another investigator, which is when Keigo swooped in to do what he was best at…

Charming the rest of the truth out of someone who might know a little more than they were letting on.

“Excuse me, miss… Mind if I ask you a few more questions?” he inquired politely. At first, your co-worker looked annoyed, finally about to be able to go home after over an hour’s worth of questioning, her back turned to the new detective. But when she turned around and saw those lovely umber eyes and all that wavy, golden hair, she reconsidered rushing off.

“Sure,” she smiled, dropping her phone back into her bag and readjusting the purse strap over her shoulder. “But then I really do have to get going. I promised my sister I’d pick up her kid from daycare since she’s working a double today.”

“It’ll only take a moment, I promise,” Keigo assured her through a carefree chuckle, knowing full well he’d snagged her hook, line, and sinker the moment she blushed and began playing with her hair.

“So, this co-worker of yours… The one you can’t seem to get in contact with…” he began. “When’s the last time any of you actually saw her?”

The woman took a moment to recall that information, then nodded to herself and answered, “We were working together the morning before the mur—” She caught herself about to use a word that might’ve been perceived as harsh, even if she, as well as everyone else who worked at that barber shop, couldn’t care less if your awful boss had been gutted and bled dry like the pig he was and left to rot in the alley, then cleared her throat and quickly amended with a slightly more sensitive, “The morning before the incident… I left a couple hours before closing to head to my other job, and she said she’d close up by herself so I wasn’t late— I’m kind of already in trouble with my other boss for cutting it too close too often…” She gave a nervous chuckle and kept twirling a ringletted strand of hair around her manicured finger, sneaking coy glances at Keigo through her false lashes.

“So she was the only one in the shop when the murder took place?” Keigo asked, though it was more to himself than to your flirty co-worker. Then, after quickly scribbling something down among his patchwork web of notes, he muttered in a low, almost menacing growl, “Interesting…”

“I think one of the other girls called her yesterday morning. We all got a call. Y’know, after poor Himari walked in to open and found all that blood and the body and…” She chewed at her bottom lip, worrying the thick gloss away with an incisor, clearly still bothered by the image of such a massacre even if it was of someone she hated.

“I see…” Keigo continued, circling your name among the list of employees, condemning you as the most likely suspect in black ink. “Do you happen to know where she lives?” he asked next, then rephrased the question as, “Or rather, have any of you been by her place since this happened? You know,” he cracked a sympathetic smile, giving a flash of perfect white teeth, “just to make sure she’s ok.”

“Ren said that, when she called her, she said she wasn’t feeling very well and had the rest of her appointments canceled or something like that…” your co-worker recalled. “I don’t think anyone went over to check on her though.”

Just for good measure, Keigo asked if she would mind giving him your address. And, while all of you usually knew better than to give out each other’s personal information to anyone who asked for it, no matter how handsome said anyone may be, she figured nothing bad could come of sharing it with a kind detective just trying to do his job.

Plus, it’s not like she thought you had been the one to finally do that horrible man in.

Unfortunately for you though, while she could cut and style hair like a master of the craft, she’d never been the brightest among the group of you that worked together when it came to common sense.

So, after obtaining your apartment’s address, Keigo wished the girl a good day, reminding her he’d be in touch if he needed any information reconfirmed or followed up on.

“Just gimme a call if you need anything,” she said, giving him a wink over her shoulder. “You know where to find me.” After that, she was gone, leaving only Keigo, the forensic photographer, and two officers lingering at the scene.

After exchanging some last minute details, they decided to call it a day and head back to the precinct. The others seemed to think this was going to be a troublesome investigation, more so because there had been no witnesses and it was in the part of town none of them really wanted to make a habit of traveling to if they could help it, not really seeming to care that a man had been killed using a straight razor.

They’d say things on the ride back like, “Stuff like this happens all the time in this part of town. I don’t get why the Chief insists on us going down there unless one of them comes to our part of the city to stir up trouble first,” and “Some old guy got slashed. So what? It’s only interesting if it’s a pretty young girl or something. Can’t believe we have to do overtime to solve a case that doesn’t even have the concern of any next of kin,” but Keigo knew that, if his hunch was right— and, let’s face it, it usually was— then this case was going to end up being more than any of them originally bargained for.

Maybe, if he was lucky, it might just turn out to be entertaining in the meantime too.

But first thing was first.

He had to find you.

Because you— little miss missing in action, the ghost of closing— were the first key to finding where this case led.

Actually, fuck the key. You were the whole damn door, lock and all.

***

“I told you to help yourself to whatever was in the fridge,” Dabi growled as he surveyed the damage to his secret snack stash, colorful wrappers and torn, metallic plastic packaging littering the kitchen table leaving blatant evidence of you and Tomura’s raid. Then, under his breath he complained, “God… Now I’m gonna have to start robbing the local Seven Eleven again… And I know they got me on CCTV last time…”

All the while, amidst Dabi’s rambled tirade of passive-aggressive complaints, you and Tomura were sitting atop the uneven counter, watching the inky-haired member of your hodge-podge trio with gaping stares and furrowed brows as if he’d left the warehouse with one head and returned with two.

Then, finally, after swiping the shredded remains into an already half full trash can (one that was likely stolen, as the logo for a local cafe was stamped on the front in white spray paint), Dabi whirled around to face you two, looking more than miffed as he snapped out a short-tempered, “And get the fuck off my counter!”

You jumped down, tiptoeing a few short steps towards him, Tomura sliding ungracefully off the counter a few seconds after. “Dabi…” you began, cautious, as if trying to talk someone off the ledge. Then you asked, as if this was the most distressing factor of the current equation, “Why are you soaking wet?”

Just seeming to register this to himself now, Dabi’s tense shoulders sagged, weighed down by heavy, soggy clothes, raven spikes matted flat to his head (you thought you saw a few droplets of diluted black race down his face but figured it could just be a trick of the light) and let out a defeated sigh.

“‘Cause it’s fucking pouring outside,” he said, adding on as his eyes squinted into a slight glare, “Maybe if you two wouldn’t have been crunching on all my shit then you would’ve heard it beating down on the roof.”

“Look, man, we’re sorry, it’s just—” Tomura began to apologize, actually sounding sort of heartfelt, but was cut off when Dabi shot him a scathing look.

Before things could begin to escalate between the two of them, as they so often tended to do, you stepped in, drawing closer to Dabi, and in a tone far too caring and soft for someone like him, you sighed and said, “Where do you keep your towels? You’re going to catch a cold if you stay wet like that…”

Dabi glanced from you, to Tomura, then back to you, his expression melting from hostile into something much more tired. And how he wanted to take you by the hand and lead you to his makeshift bathroom, give you one of his raggedy old towels that was frayed at the edges and eaten through with tiny holes and tears, sit on the edge of the grimy old tub and just let you work the fabric over his head, drying his hair and his face before peeling off his drenched clothes and letting you pat the water from the rest of him, if you’d be so kind.

But that kind of intimacy— that kind of care— was so foreign to Dabi, so long forgotten, that the thought of the emotions that might follow terrified him more than the need to be taken care of enticed him.

“I can do it myself,” he scoffed, all those sharp edges and harsh lines etching their way back into his voice and features. Then, right before rounding the corner of the kitchen cubicle, he peered back over his shoulder and said, “Oh, and, meeting in the living room in ten minutes…” The smirk that curled on his lips then caused a spark of fear and excitement to flare in your chest. It was the kind of smile only the totally insane or arrogant could wear. It was a smile that said, “I know something you don’t,” and, in this case, you hoped that something would play in your favor.

“Meeting?” Tomura asked, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms, not looking too thrilled at the vague order. “Meeting about what?”

Dabi turned around the rest of the way, leaned against what served as the cubicle’s doorway, and simply stated, “I think I have an idea. And it just might be crazy enough to work.”

***

Your apartment had been easy to find. Even easier to break into, since Keigo was well versed in picking the old, cheap locks used to provide a false sense of safety to anyone living in the rundown old buildings this far from the city’s sparkling center.

Because, despite the fact that the agency’s newest golden boy looked, sounded, and acted like he’d been raised in the privileged lap of the city’s luxury, Keigo was and always would be, to some degree, just another kid raised among the rats of the slums.

Sure, he hadn’t called the maze of narrow alleys and crumbling architecture home in over a decade now— he had the foster family who’d taken him in at thirteen and decided to keep him once he proved to hold some form of talent and intelligence to thank for that— but he could still remember what it felt like to navigate the dark tunnels and cramped spaces woven throughout the downtown area.

The only thing that had really changed, Keigo had thought to himself as he’d struggled to squeeze through a tiny opening on his journey through the cluttered side streets, was him. No longer was he the malnourished, spindly little kid with scraped knees and dirt-smudged cheeks who could slip through any opening, steal what food and supplies were needed to survive, and slither out in a flash, sprinting back to his little tarp-tent covering spread out at the end of an adjacent alley like a cobweb hanging loosely in the corner of an attic.

Now he was bigger, stronger, still lean and lithe but in a way that spoke more to health than starvation. But, most importantly, he was smarter, more cunning, blessed with the carefully studied and learned ability to talk his way into or out of any situation the job called for.

He’d already had a whole spiel rehearsed on the off chance he knocked on your door and you actually were dumb enough to answer. Though, of course, as was the more likely scenario from the start, you were nowhere to be found, your residency left vacant and in slight disarray. Aside from your unmade bed and a couple dishes scattered in the sink though, not much seemed out of the ordinary at first glance.

But any detective worth his salt knew that first glance meant near to nothing.

It was the digging further, the unearthing of unseen evidence, that really told you anything worthwhile about who or what a person was. And, at first, he wasn’t even entirely sure what he was looking for, but after rifling through your cabinets and drawers, flipping through your little calendar book that you’d used to keep track of things like your scheduled appointments for work or jotted down notes about items to pick up at the grocery store next payday, Keigo made his way into the bathroom and discovered the golden egg of the scene.

Balled up and tossed into the bathtub was a heap of clothing— your clothing— and, with hands gloved as to not leave any fingerprints or evidence of his own behind, he carefully tugged one article free from the pile. It was a shirt— your shirt— and it was covered in what was unmistakably recognized as the dark, dried remains of human blood.

Too much to be your own, Keigo figured instantly, and upon taking a closer look at the skirt that had been tangled with a tanktop, he could tell that, whatever had happened, it had been a rather messy affair.

It all added up— you disappearing right after your boss turned up dead, the blood on your clothes belonging to the man you’d most likely killed with one of the razors found around the barbershop— but yet, Keigo got the sense that there was far more to this than currently presented itself.

He wasn’t so much troubled by the likelihood of you— a young, attractive girl who’d been unfortunate to end up in the darker parts of town— killing your boss— a man whose lost life hadn’t been mourned much if the way his next of kin had sounded when they’d received the news over a phone call the morning the body was discovered. In fact, Keigo didn’t even really care why you’d done it. Again, he was familiar with the kinds of people who crawled between the cracks in this section of the city. He had a pretty good idea.

It was more so this feeling, this unrelenting intuition that, whatever you’d gotten yourself roped up in, it was far from done.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket then, interrupting his chain of thought for a moment as he peeled off a glove and clicked the answer button, one of his co-workers back at the precinct on the other line.

“Hey, so I know it’s technically your day off—” he began, and Keigo already knew where this was headed, preemptively rolling his eyes. “But we just got some new evidence on that other case you were working on and before we go any further the chief is insisting you take a look at it…” Keigo held the phone between his shoulder and his cheek, slipping the other glove back on before kneeling down to shift through whatever you had under your bathroom sink but finding nothing of particular interest. “So do you think it would be possible to just stop by at some point today? All the other guys are gettin’ pretty restless with the whole thing. Plus, you know they look up to you, Hawks—”

Keigo bristled slightly at the nickname as his co-worker continued to ramble on. He closed the cabinet, pulled the shower curtain three quarters of the way across just the way he’d found it, and strolled back into the main area of the studio, standing between your bed and the partially sectioned off kitchen area.

He checked his watch. 12:45 PM. He’d really wanted to drop by the new noodle place that had just opened up around the block from his own apartment in the city center, maybe catch a late afternoon showing of one of the 80’s action movies they were currently rerunning at the theatre, then have a nice, relaxing night before the whirlwind of work resumed the following morning.

This time though, his guilty conscience got the better of him, so he cut in before the guy on the other end of the call exhausted himself from trying to convince him and said, “Alright. I can be there in half an hour,” before getting a much relieved thank you in response. He hung up the call, just about to leave before remembering what he’d been about to do right before his phone rang.

Pulling the shower curtain back open to reveal the bloody clothes in the tub, Keigo snapped a few photos on his personal phone before returning everything to its previous, hastily yet lazily hidden state, then slipped back out of the apartment, making sure to relock the door, tossing the gloves in a rusted dumpster down the block from the building.

Even as he worked on sorting out and discussing the newly discovered details from the case he’d been called in about, a piece of his mind was still turning its wheels about you. So much still seemed— felt— uncertain.

But he was onto you.

All he had to do now was figure out where you went.

***

Black water sloshed against the edge of the docks, night turning it dark and oil-slick as is caught shimmering reflections of the hooked moon hanging overhead, salty air corroding away at rotting boards that creaked underfoot with the threat of breaking every time someone was brave enough to tread over them.

Located on the very edge of the city, there were only two types of people who ventured out this far— people looking for a place to hide or people who already had something to hide.

But, in this case, that was going to work in your favor. Because, like most crimes committed beyond the formally recognized city limits, if there was a case of breaking and entering, theft, or even murder, most times it wasn’t taken seriously, if even investigated at all.

As Tomura and Dabi approached the chain link fence that tried and failed to deter trespassers, they were careful to stay out of sight and keep their heads down as they navigated the dark, debris strewn courtyard. It was littered with anything and everything from cigarette butts and playing cards and coins to the remains of clothing that had probably belonged to former enemies, now decaying bodies sunk to the bottom of the bay courtesy of some zipties and cinderblocks, scattered among wooden crates and broken glass.

Because even though this territory was technically owned by the city, it had been long claimed and occupied by some of the slum’s most notorious gangs, vultures landing to pick at the abandoned corpse left to rot on the desolate outskirts.

Dabi was far more suited to traversing this kind of terrain, footsteps quick and light as he ran from one cover to the next, clearly more familiar with the territory than Tomura, who more so scuttled and jumped clumsily a few generous strides behind his reluctant confidant, just barely avoiding being discovered by whoever had been put on watch that night.

But now, with their backs pressed to the wall and awaiting their signal in uncomfortable silence, the two boys tried not to instigate any unresolved issues with each other, which was to say, Dabi tried not to instigate any unresolved issues.

“Damn, what’s takin’ ‘er so long…” Dabi eventually grumbled under his breath, leg beginning to bounce and wishing he at least had a cigarette to pass the time with right now. Then, with unbridled sarcasm, “It’s not like she has the easiest part of the plan or anything…”

“Relax,” Tomura shot back through a hiss, growing tired with Dabi’s constant nagging, especially in an already high-tension environment. “Just give her time. Plus, she has to come all the way from the other side of the docks.”

Dabi felt his whole body coiling with the urge to jump into defense mode. To shoot back with some hurtful, low blow remark or, if he really had it his way, do something to trip the guy up and leave him in the dust the next time they had to move further into the nest of nemeses. It would hardly be his fault if Tomura got shot because he couldn’t run fast enough. You’d be distraught and the plan would go to shit, sure, but at least Dabi would still earn the reward of being able to pick up your devastated pieces after the fact.

But, once he took a second to apply some logic to that scenario, Dabi realized that jeopardizing the chance to nab one hundred-thousand dollars, even for a chance at winning you over, was a fucking dumb thing to risk. Well, really only about thirty-three thousand once it was split three ways between you.

But still. That was a hell of a lot more money than any of you had ever had your hands on— ever imagined having your hands on— and all in cash at that.

But the best part of it all— y’know, besides the life changing wealth— was the fact that Dabi was finally going to be able to score some revenge against those who had wronged him. Or, at least, a small portion of those who had wronged him. If he was being honest, he’d sort of lost count when it came to the tally. But these guys had been the most recent offense, which was good enough for him.

They were the ones who’d left him beaten and bloody in the alley the night he’d met you. The night he’d stolen from them, only to have them steal it right back, and caused Dabi to suffer the beginning stages of withdrawal from his beloved white pills.

Tonight he felt sharp though. Tonight he felt good. Tonight, he felt ready for anything that could come at him. There’s no reward without a little risk, he reminded himself, trying to keep calm while he and Tomura waited, pretty much out in the open, vulnerable and defenseless. On a similar note, Tomura’s line of reasoning had been that winning big prizes required playing difficult games.

You just hoped you made it out alive at the end of it all, one hundred-thousand dollars richer or not.

And so, running like your life depended on it, tears streaming down your face, knees skinned and wrists bruised, looking like you’d narrowly escaped a specific kind of hell, you called out, voice shredded and broken as you begged for help, cries echoing across the water and hopefully reaching its intended audience.

Something in Tomura’s chest ached at that sound, body instinctively pulled in your direction as if you actually needed saving. He stopped himself, reminded that it was all just an act, but even when he felt a nudge at his shoulder, Dabi dragging his attention back to the task at hand, the look Tomura wore was almost traumatized. Let me go to her, his eyes pleaded as carmine clashed with cobalt. Please, just let me go to her.

“C’mon,” Dabi beckoned, ignoring Tomura’s pained expression, already having swiftly picked the rickety old padlock securing a thick chain around the back door of the warehouse on the edge of the water, dropping the linked metals to the concrete slow and quiet. “We only get one shot at this. Don’t fuck it up.”

***

Three days ago, the trio of you had been huddled in the living room for Dabi’s impromptu “meeting”. You and Tomura sat side by side on the couch, thighs pressed together, while Dabi paced restlessly back and forth on the other side of the scuffed up coffee table that had most likely been salvaged from someone’s curbside or stolen from a junkyard. He still had a towel slung around his shoulders, darker stains smudged against the navy blue material from where he’d roughly rustled his hair dry, now wearing a clean white t-shirt and fresh pair of jeans.

“And that’s why they’ll never see it coming!” Dabi explained fervently, still trying to get his excited madness to rub off on you and Tomura. “They won’t even be able to trace it back to me— back to us— because you two practically don’t even exist to them!”

“But…” you began, hesitant to poke holes in his master plan lest he completely lose his cool. “Didn’t they see us the other day when we were running from them in the alley?”

Dabi dismissively waved away your concern, frowning for a moment as he quickly brushed over the fact that those were, “Completely different guys. I mean, there’s a chance they might know the guys we’re targeting, but they hole up on the other side of town. Don’t do much business together except for once in a while.”

“Oh, great!” you commented, faking pleasantry and relief before your expression and tone dropped back into unamused ridicule, “So you have friends in all the darkest corners then…”

“Don’t forget that the cops are probably still looking for you because you stole a car,” Tomura butt in, to which Dabi just narrowed his eyes and hissed back at him, “Not helping.”

“What’s the plan, Dabi?” you asked, point blank. With an exasperated shrug of your shoulders and a look of incredulity you said, “I mean, what? We break into where they keep the drugs or the money or whatever and then what? We just grab as much as we can carry and make a run for it? They’ll catch us in an instant— They’ll follow us right back here and then we’ll be even more fucked because we’ll have nowhere else to hide!”

“Need I remind you I have sev—”

“Several hideouts in every corner of the outskirts,” you completed his sentence, rendering him silent for just a little longer. “Yeah, I know. You told us. But if you think the three of us stand a chance against however many of them there are, then you’re delusional.”

Dabi ceased his pacing, facing you with arms crossed over his chest, tattoos on the most display you’d seen them yet with his usual jacket absent from his form, currently hung to dry over the side of one of the cubicle dividers, and asked bitterly, “Oh and what’s your plan then, princess? Gonna waltz in there and woo them with your feminine charms?”

A scornful response was on the tip of your tongue, just about to be spit right back at him when all of a sudden, something in your mind clicked.

“Actually,” you said, “that’s probably the smartest thing you’ve suggested so far.”

Dabi raked his hands over his face, though you could still see the way he rolled his eyes from between the cracks in his fingers, and muttered something indistinct under his breath that was muffled by his dramatic display of disbelief.

“But— Hey, listen—” you went on, forcing Dabi to pay attention. “Sure, it’s not like I’m gonna go in there and get them to hand over the goods with the power of seduction or whatever, but I do know something else that might work that only I can do.”

“And what’s that?”

You smirked, the idea just sick enough that it might actually succeed. “I can make myself worth something. A bounty or a runaway or—”

“Human trafficking,” Dabi interrupted, and while he looked like what he’d just suggested was as common as a cloud drifting across the sky, you and Tomura both stared at him like he’d just uttered the most offensive thing either of you had ever heard. “Yeah…” he nodded to himself, silently working over the details in his head. “Yeah, they mark those girls so, if they run away, they can always be returned, y’know, so long as the fucker runnin’ the show can pay up.”

“Hello? Hypothetical human trafficking victim sitting right here…” You waved your hand, causing Dabi’s electric blue gaze to snap back to meet yours. “Wanna ask me how I feel about this? ‘Cause it’s definitely not good.”

“Well how else do you propose you make yourself worth something, genius?”

“Well good luck making this plan work without me you snarky piece of—”

“Guys!” Tomura shouted over you and Dabi’s argument, his raspy voice sounding raw and jagged, like there were tiny shards of broken glass stuck in his throat. Once you and Dabi were looking at him, he cleared his throat and addressed you by name, saying, “Let’s just hear him out.” Tomura put his arm around you, tugging you slightly closer into his side as if trying to comfort you. “And Dabi—” His eyes narrowed with contempt at the man in question, warning him with his gaze. “Why don’t you explain it in a way that’s a little less…” He let the sentence trail off, searching for the right word, then settled on, “A little less like, y’know. Like she’s not actually in the room with us.”

Again, Dabi thought to himself that, if you weren’t around to act as Tomura’s shield, he’d have beaten this guy’s ass up, down, and all the way around town for the audacity he had of which to speak to him with. And in Dabi’s house, no less.

But, as all of you were coming to realize— some more begrudgingly than others— this was a plan that needed three. Not two. Not one. Three.

It was the magic number and, if nothing else, it was the only thing the group of you really had going for you.

So while you and Dabi brainstormed, cooking up a plot that your targets just might buy, Tomura took to mapping it all out, having Dabi help fill in the blanks in the shoddy blueprint of the waterside warehouse, as he’d seen the territory firsthand before, and giving you all a better visual of your positions and movements throughout the entire plan, given it went accordingly.

Though, as all of you knew but none of you dared to point out, nothing ever really went according to plan, no matter how much choreography went into it.

“But how are we really gonna sell it…?” Dabi murmured, glancing from the crudely drawn map to you back and forth a few times before holding on your face, your figure, trying to decipher if your acting abilities would be enough or if these guys— pieces of shit who’d likely dealt with real human trafficking victims before— would smell the inauthenticity from a mile away.

“Well…” You began, hesitant as you forced yourself to meet his eyes, his face only inches from yours as the three of you sat smushed together on the floor on one side of the coffee table, you nestled between the two boys. You sighed out a regretful breath, knowing if you didn’t force the words out now, they’d remain lodged in your throat.

You stood from the huddle, hands on your hips as you rounded to the other side of the table. You looked from Dabi to Tomura then back to Dabi again, both of them looking at you caught in suspenseful confusion.

Then you shrugged and said, “I guess one of you is gonna have to hurt me.”

***

Dabi and Tomura had been met with a narrow hall dotted evenly with pools of cool light casted down from the flickering fluorescence after clipping the chain that had been secured around the back door.

The coast looked clear, until Dabi heard something and quickly pulled Tomura into a tiny crook in the hall as the sound of footsteps echoed in warning taps around the corner.

The two of them stood there, practically pressed chest to chest and trying to avoid eye contact, until the sound faded. The moment they were in the clear, Dabi shrugged out of the small space, nudging Tomura in the ribs amidst his haste.

“Just how many of them are there?” Tomura asked, keeping an ear out for any more unexpected visitors.

“Well, we saw at least five guarding the front,” Dabi recalled, continuing further down the dimly lit hallway, checking every corner before he turned it. Puddles of greenish-blue light pooled evenly along the floors, leaving small spaces of darkness that Dabi couldn’t help but picture someone lying in wait and ready to strike within. For a moment, he even thought he could make out a familiar face within the shadows— someone who he’d tried so hard to leave behind, who he’d escaped the moment he left home and set out on these crooked streets, yet still haunted him like a specter no matter how far he ran— his own personal, paternal monster.

“Hey,” Tomura whispered, pulling Dabi from his trance. “Are we gonna get going or what?”

Dabi glanced down the opposite hall, looked back to where he’d seen the wavy, mist-like image of his father’s face like an omen through a fog, then started down the other way. “It’s this way,” he directed, waving Tomura along after him to follow. “Stay close and don’t let your guard down.”

***

When the time came, you’d asked Tomura to do it. You had a feeling Dabi would take things too far, end up actually breaking your wrist after getting a preview of his grip strength from the time he’d hauled you up onto the roof along with him while you’d been running from your pursuers in the alley.

And Tomura hadn’t wanted to do it. Didn’t even like the thought of hurting you, despite how well acquainted he personally was with pain. But it hadn’t been up to him. You were the one that was going to have to suffer, so you got to choose who inflicted the suffering.

“Ok…” You winced, preparing yourself for what you knew was going to be an unpleasant experience. Tomura held your wrists in his grip, loose for now, but about to become a whole lot tighter. “I’m ready. Just do it—”

A high-pitched yelp escaped your throat upon the sudden pain, Tomura gritting his teeth as he dug his fingers into your tender skin as hard as he could without crushing the bone. You bit your tongue, a sob hitching in your chest and your feet stomping on the ground as you tried to distract yourself with anything that would help you outlast the pain.

“More?” Tomura asked, sounding distressed. “Or stop?”

For a second, you couldn’t answer, just hissed a sharp breath in and then panted a shaky exhale out. “Just… Ok— Ok, stop!” His grip released in an instant, you pulling your throbbing wrists into your chest, your pin-prickling hands taking turns rubbing the places where the imprint of Tomura’s fingers were already beginning to blotch in navy and violet from under your skin, dark bruises blooming bright and brutal over your flesh.

“Fuck…” you hissed, the pain subsiding a lot slower than you’d originally anticipated.

“Sorry…” Tomura huffed out, the word a wisp of air exhaled under his breath, his carmine gaze tracking you and hoping that when you next looked up at him it wouldn’t be with fear or contempt.

Just then, Dabi reentered the room with three cans of beer and an ice pack, setting the items on the coffee table and casting a somewhat nervous grimace towards your blossoming welts. “Did it work?” he asked, not sounding so thrilled about the current state of your plan now.

“I think so…” you muttered, Tomura lightly pressing the ice pack to one of your injuries, holding your wrist in his palm like it was made of the most delicate glass. “It’s just… I hate to say it, but it’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than this to be convincing.”

When you met Tomura’s eyes, he was already wearing a look of pleading worry, all that wide, bright red begging you not to make him go any further than what he’d just regretfully done, even if it had been with your consent.

“Tomura…” you whispered, only loud enough for him to hear. “It’s ok. It’s not your fault. It’s—”

He snapped his gaze away from you, jaw clenching and looking like he was wrestling with about a dozen emotions at once, a sea of memories flooding him. He opened his mouth to speak only to close it again. But you gave him time to collect his thoughts, and once he’d finally picked out the words he wished to say, he told you, “Does it really have to be you? Is there anyway it could be me instead. I mean—”

“Tomura…” Lightly, with your free hand, you reached over to cradle his cheek, trying not to flinch when you bent your wrist a little too far under its current state. In that moment, it felt like it was just the two of you in that room, Dabi torn on whether to stay and express his disgust with your openly displayed affections or leave again and give you the room.

“It’s ok. Besides, this is the only way this works. Once we have the money we can go anywhere, right? We can go anywhere…” The thought of getting out of the city’s gutter had felt like such a far off dream to you for so long. Now, faced with the possibility of leaving the entire country behind if that’s what you so chose, well…

It was damn near impossible to imagine.

“Alright, well, if you two love birds are done making googly eyes at each other…” Dabi droned, breaking the delicate silence of the atmosphere with the sharp crack and sizzle of opening his beer, slurping the first sip noisily and making sure to swallow extra loud just out of spite, “I think we have a plan to get back to. This is time sensitive, remember? Tick tock, tick tock.”

Tomura shot Dabi a scathing glare, an unsightly sneer to match, but before another argument could ensue, you stood from the couch and said, “He’s right. We only have four more hours until we either do this or die trying…” You wandered over to an open space of scuffed concrete off to the side of what defined the perimeters of the living room, brushing away some dirt and debris with the side of your shoe. “That should be enough time for these bruises to darken.”

You looked back at the boys, both watching you with varying levels of confusion and intrigue, and then you locked eyes with Dabi, giving a short, beckoning nod of your head. “I’m not fucking around this time. Dabi. Get over here and push me.”

Dabi quirked up an inky eyebrow, beer can still raised to his lips. He finished his sip then placed the drink off to the side, resting his elbows on his spread knees. “Uh… Come again?”

“You heard me,” you taunted, shifting on your feet. “I mean, I’ve been beaten and abused by all kinds of people, right? That’s why I had to run away? So get over here and make it real. I can’t do it on my own.”

Dabi then looked to Tomura, who offered no assurance but also no protest, before sighing to himself and pushing up from the couch, lazily strolling over. You’d been afraid of him before, still felt some sense of nervousness in his unpredictable presence, but now, looking up at him, his shadow casting over you as he looked down at you right back, those cerulean eyes damn near glowing in the dark, you felt something you couldn’t place.

It wasn’t quite fear, but the way your heart skipped a beat in your chest told you to be wary still.

“Turn around,” Dabi muttered, voice low, the three syllables not so much an order as they were a suggestion.

You abided by his request, slowly turning so that your back faced him, already bracing your hands in front of you to catch you when you went down. “Just— Just count down from three or something,” you stuttered, suddenly wondering whether you were going to regret choosing him to do this or not.

Now standing from the couch, Tomura said your name, an anxious upturn to the end of it like he was warning you of something you already knew was coming.

“I mean, I don’t know if it would be better if I saw it coming… But I only wanna do this once so—”

“One…” Dabi began, drawing out the number as if that would buy you more time before you were subjected to even more pain.

“But not too hard—!” you warned through a startled gasp, preemptively flinching. “None of this will work if I break anything. And also—”

“Two…”

“Wait! Maybe I do wanna do it myself! I mean, maybe there’s a way to—”

You didn’t even hear Dabi say three, but the moment both his hands made quick, hard contact to your shoulder blades and you felt yourself surging forward, the rest of your protest was cut off with a gasp.

You stumbled to the ground and skid a little, yelping as electric bolts of pain shot through your knees and elbows as they collided with concrete, numbness ricocheting through your bones. You didn’t even register your skinned shins and nicked palms until you felt something wet dripping down your calf and touched it, fingers coming back with the bright redness of blood.

“Are you ok?” Tomura asked, coming to your side and taking a closer look at the latest injury. Dabi stood back, not necessarily admiring his violence but— ok, maybe he was a little bit.

“I’m fine…” you assured him, voice a little strained with discomfort as you staggered to stand, Tomura helping you back to your feet on wobbly legs. “I don’t think I wanna go further than this though…” You looked to Dabi, his gaze taking a moment to move from your bleeding knees to meet your beseeching eyes. “Please tell me this is enough?”

“Something around your throat might help,” he commented, and when Tomura gave him a look of disgust that very much translated to “dude, what the fuck” Dabi just shrugged and replied defensively, “I’m just sayin’! These guys are pieces of shit! If you think they draw the line at choking a girl—”

“Alright, enough!” you cut in, starting to feel a little nauseous. “If we need to take things that far— Fuck, I don’t know, I’ll have to steal some eyeshadow from the drug store and do it that way. I’m not letting either of you do that to me.”

He considered you, looking you up and down a few times before nodding to himself in contemplation. Then he said, “I think if we add some fake needle tracks and really fuck up your hair and makeup, put you in something a little less…” He vaguely gestured to the oversized outfit you were currently wearing, which consisted of a pair of Dabi’s boxer shorts (you’d been extremely adamant that he lend you clean ones) and an old black t-shirt adorned with the logo of some underground metal band. You cast him a look in response that agreed. Enough said.

“Alright, well, that settles it then. You two are gonna have to get me some things. And you’re gonna have to do it fast. Makeup takes a while.” Dabi asked you what you meant, though Tomura already seemed to have caught on, even if just partially. “Well, I can’t risk showing my face around you two on the off chance of one of them seeing us together before the job. It’ll blow our entire cover. So, you two are gonna have to go steal me some drug store makeup and a skirt or a dress or whatever you can get your hands on.”

After listing off some more specific items you thought you would need, more so in the realm of makeup than clothes, you sent the boys off to do some shoplifting. In the meantime, you navigated your way into the bathroom and searched around the disorganized cabinets until you found a nearly empty bottle of disinfectant, setting yourself up on the couch for a little pre-plan contemplation session while you carefully cleaned your open wounds, each sizzling sting of the peroxide on your skin making you wonder just many times you could ask yourself if you were going to be able to live to regret another decision you made.

***

The cheap slip dress was a size too big and the chunky costume jewelry earrings kept smacking you in the face with every bounding stride you took sprinting across the field, your feet bare and cold, adrenaline helping you forget your staged injuries for the time being. Clumpy streaks of mascara ran down your cheeks in pairs, biting the inside of your cheek, your lip, at one point even your own bruised wrist, just to force more tears to come.

Around your neck was Tomura’s handprint branded in dark violets faded around the edges with navy— eyeshadow, that is. You’d brushed it onto his hand before having him place his palm to your throat and apply just enough pressure to leave the residue on your skin. You’d spruced up the fine details yourself to make it appear as convincing as you could, even adding a few scratch tracks, some of which had been done with your own nails.

“Every little bit helps, I guess…” Dabi had said, almost sounding a little disturbed as he’d watched you mutilate yourself from the bathroom doorway.

“Yeah, well, it fucking better,” you’d said bitterly under your breath as you applied lipstick and then smudged it across the corner of your mouth with a tissue. You thought you looked the part. Now the only question was if they would believe it too.

With every nerve in your body screaming for you to stop, to turn around, to run away from the men pointing guns at you and not towards them, you forced yourself to press on. You just had to have faith in the fact that Dabi and Tomura— or, in the very least, Tomura— wouldn’t just abandon you to the wolves.

Or, who knows. Maybe they would. You’d only known them for five days, give or take.

“The fuck…?” one of the guys muttered, gazing over the barrel of his pistol at the silhouette frantically approaching, your distressed cries ringing out loud enough for the sound to reach them, though the words were still indistinguishable.

“Dunno…” another shrugged, lowering his gun, which caused some of the others to do the same. “Stay here though. I’ll go check it out.”

You came skidding to a halt right up against the chain link fence that caged the entrance, clutching the criss-crossed steel wire in shaking hands, sobbing as you babbled incoherently, more tears streaming down your face as you shook your head back and forth, rattling the fence in a desperate attempt to get in.

“Please!” you shrieked, making sure to anxiously glance behind you a few times for good measure. You were being chased after all. Pursued. Hunted down. “Please! Please, you have to help me! They’re after me! I— I can’t go back there!”

The man who’d volunteered to approach you stopped halfway between his colleagues and the fence, looking over his shoulder at them with slight confusion as if asking for some guidance, but when offered none, simply shuffled a few steps closer, finger still resting on the trigger, and asked, “Who’s after you?”

“The last thing you need to be is logical,” Dabi had instructed you on the drive over, having hot-wired the nearest vehicle he could find unattended after smashing the driver’s side window with a screwdriver, making quick work with getting the engine started and sneaking glances at you through the rearview mirror as you adjusted the cheap dress to stay up on your chest. “The less sense you make, the more time you’ll buy us.”

“Oh, god! Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god—!” You were practically hyperventilating at this point, making yourself lightheaded in the process but hoping that only added to your acting. “Please! Please just let me in! I— I’ll do anything! I just can’t go back there! He’ll— He’ll kill me! Please! Please, please, please, please, please!”

You clutched the gaps in the fence above your head, leaned forward so your forehead could press against the wire, sobbing yourself to a point of near faintness, and feeling an odd sense of pride when you felt the beam of their flashlights shining on your form. Starting at your hands and making their way all the way down to your feet before tracing back up again, their hesitation and silence spoke to the fact that they knew exactly the kind of person you’d escaped from.

Or, at least, the kind of person you wanted them to believe you’d escaped from.

“She one of Chisaki’s girls?” you heard one of them mutter, lifting your head to show off more of your smeared makeup and watery, bloodshot eyes.

“We’d have to check ‘er for the brand,” you heard another answer, and that made your stomach drop. Of all the effects you’d applied— both special and practical— a brand hadn’t been one of them.

“Well should we let ‘er in or just call ‘im?”

“Fuck if I know, man. I mean, unless there’s a reward for returnin’ ‘er, why not just keep ‘er for ourselves?” The three of you had agreed not to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary— more so because that would take too long and only complicate things— but that comment made you wish you’d voted in Dabi’s favor for taking as many of these assholes out as possible.

“Just let ‘er in. Take ‘er to the boss. He can decide what to do with ‘er.” He looked you up and down again, eyes landing on your fake needle tracks for a while until he said, “And if she is Chisaki’s… Well…” If you weren’t so terrified then, you might’ve been able to pick up on the fear in the man’s own voice, horrified yet curious as to what kind of monster this Chisaki person must be to scare these guys so much without even showing his face. “Just don’t let anyone put their hands on her until we confirm.”

And then, the gate was being unchained and swung open. You almost forgot to keep up the act, jumping from your temporarily dazed state back into the panicked pleading and rambled thank yous of a poor drug-addicted, abused, hostage-escapee of a girl who thought she was finally being saved.

But that had been the easy part.

Now you had to clear a path for Tomura and Dabi to grab the goods, grab you, and get the hell outta dodge.

***

The place was bigger on the inside than it looked and, also equally as troublesome, a complete fucking maze.

This gang had enough guys to cover their main entrance and the goods they kept inside, but not enough to have every inch of this place on lock. Besides, back when Dabi ran with them, it had been his job to hangout and watch for stragglers who might try and sneak up on whatever shithole they were calling base for the week in hopes of finding a stray window or door unattended. Since his departure, he’d been willing to bet they hadn’t bothered finding a replacement.

They hadn’t had a reason to. They’d never been infiltrated.

At least, not until tonight.

But even so, as they navigated the crumbling concrete halls like every corner they turned could be their last, Dabi was kicking himself for not bringing a gun. Too bad he didn’t even own one. Though, maybe tonight he’d get lucky enough to change that.

“Clear,” Tomura whispered, him and his inky-haired accomplice dashing down another long stretch until they finally grew closer to the heart of this place, distant voices now registering from off in the distance.

“Not far now,” Dabi said, also careful to keep his voice low. “When we get there we’ll just have to hang tight till we get her signal.”

It shouldn’t be long now, he figured. If things went according to plan, the guards would take the bait and let you inside. Someone would inform their leader and draw a bulk of the attention surrounding the goods elsewhere. From there, Tomura would cause an additional distraction while Dabi swooped in and grabbed the duffle bag or whatever sorry excuse for a hiding place the cash was stored in. He knew it would be in whatever room they kept the most heavily occupied. These guys might’ve had more than him, but not by much. They wouldn’t risk letting their guard down in fear of losing what they’d scored.

They might as well have lit up a blinking neon sign that flashed “I’M HERE! I’M HERE!” with an arrow pointing straight to where they stashed the money. That’s how confident Dabi was feeling about this plan. Besides, he kept reminding himself, he used to run with this crew. He knew they talked big and acted tough, but at the end of the day they were just as desperate and greedy as any other slum rat trying to survive was, himself included.

“…Should’a seen the look on ‘is face, man!” one boasted as Tomura and Dabi came upon their main hangout, crouching low beneath the windows cut out in the half-finished construction job, the glass never installed before the place had been left to be scavenged by the downtown dogs. “He was all like, ‘Please, I have a family! I have kids! You don’t have to do this!’” The man let out a dark chuckle, the sadistic sound making Dabi clench his jaw. “And I was all like, ‘Well I guess you should’a thought about that before you took out a loan you couldn’t repay.’”

“And then what?” a second guy asked, sounding high off his ass with the way his words slurred and sloshed together like water threatening to spill over the edge of a glass.

“Well then I fuckin’ slit his throat, obviously,” the leader, a man Dabi knew was called Jiro, shrugged, as if killing a man in cold blood was the most uninteresting topic in the world. Dabi took the risk of slowly peeking over the edge of his cover, trying to get a count on just how many guys they might have to deal with— or outrun— if things went south.

But, from the looks of it, there was just Jiro, one guy half asleep from whatever he was high on, and a third who slouched forward from his seat on the couch occasionally to tap the ashes of a dwindling cigarette into a chipped tray on the table, his leg bouncing anxiously while his gaze darted around as if expecting a threat to pop up any moment now. But, most importantly of all, Dabi noticed, was the gun secured at his belt. Now if only he could figure out an easy way to steal it…

“What we got?” Tomura asked, growing a little restless as Dabi sunk back below cover, filling him in on what he’d seen. Then, nodding to himself, Tomura said, “So if we get rid of the leader somehow, we could just take the other two out ourselves…”

“Yeah, but only if the paranoid one doesn’t get all trigger happy on us, which, trust me, one look at that guy and I can tell, given the chance, he will. So here’s what I’m thinking…”

As Dabi laid out the next phase, Tomura was only half listening. Truthfully, he was still too antsy wondering what was going to happen— or maybe already currently happening— to you to be able to fully focus on the task at hand.

“But first thing’s first,” Dabi decided, looking a little more conflicted than confident now. “We gotta figure out exactly where in there they’re keeping it. Once we locate the cash, we’ll have a better chance at actually getting out of here with it alive.”

That was something they both could agree on, at least, and Tomura suggested they split up to try and cover more ground. From where they were currently crouched, the view inside the shoddy lounge contained plenty of blind spots. Plenty of places for a duffle bag holding dozens of wads of bundled bills to hide. So, with Dabi venturing further around the right side and Tomura beginning to creep towards the left corner, the two of them attempted to better map out the area without being spotted, the tops of their heads bobbing up and down through the vacant window cutouts for only a few seconds at a time. But the closer they came to completing the circle, the more worried Dabi became.

Because he didn’t see anything worth much of anything anywhere.

“Shit…” he swore under his breath as he sunk back below cover, defeat already looming over him like a shadow. With his back pressed to the wall, the chill seeping through the concrete soaking through his clothes, Dabi was almost ready to call it off. To just slip out before there was time for even more losses to pile up and regroup back at the warehouse.

But that’s when he heard it.

A scream.

High and loud and splintered with terror.

He flinched at the sound of it, the blood-curdling cry pulling the attention of the other men in the room, their conversation suddenly going quiet except for one muttered, “The fuck…?” from High Guy.

Dabi lifted his gaze over his cover, locked eyes with Tomura across the way, even from this far able to tell how his crimson stare widened with pleading.

Let me go to her, let me go to her, let me go to her.

But Dabi shook his head, slow and warning, the gesture advising him to stay put for now.

“Well?” Jiro snapped, causing both the other men in the vicinity to wince. “Get the fuck up and go check it out!”

There was the sound of frantic, shuffling feet rushing out of the room, Dabi’s gun escaping as the man with it secured to his belt drew it and prepared his finger on the trigger as he and his more sluggish colleague disappeared off into a deeper part of the building, nearly spotting Tomura who pressed himself as hard and flat as he could against the wall he was hiding behind, waiting until he saw the darkness swallow them completely until he dared shift his position to meet back up with Dabi.

But Dabi didn’t move.

Not yet.

Jiro’s back was to him now, not a care in the world as he reclined and rested his arms across the top of the sofa, rolling his neck and groaning as a few joints popped, the red scorpion tattooed there shifting as the tendons moved beneath his skin, the crackling echoing faintly throughout the high-ceilinged space.

The way he saw it, Dabi had a choice to make. And it was now or never.

He leapt through the window opening with more cat-like grace than most people would’ve assumed him capable of, rubber-soled boots laced tight and landing soft and soundless against the dusty floor.

Tomura popped up to try and see where his accomplice was currently at, but felt his stomach sink with dread when he saw Dabi sneaking up on Jiro, a length of stray rope that had been discarded amidst the other odds and ends of debris scattered across the floor held firm and taut between his hands.

What the fuck are you doing, he would’ve called out if it wouldn’t have meant sudden death. So instead, Tomura decided to double back and pursue his own mission, now that everyone seemed to be going rogue.

But the thing was, Dabi was still technically doing things according to plan, just with a little improvisation tossed in at the last minute. Because he’d seen something Tomura hadn’t, and while things most certainly wouldn’t be going as smoothly as you all originally had hoped, you wouldn’t be leaving empty handed if he managed to actually pull it off.

Because placed on top of the coffee table and currency serving as Jiro’s foot rest was a metal box with a turn dial on the side— an item Dabi hadn’t been able to tell prior was actually a safe.

Here goes nothing, he thought to himself right before he slipped the rope over Jiro’s head and pulled it tight across the man’s throat. When the struggle started to look like it wasn’t going to turn out in Dabi’s favor, he growled out a desperate, “Tomura! A little help!” but was met with nothing except Jiro’s continued grunting, choking sounds and a fist colliding with his cheek.

Dabi went to just put the man into a headlock but Jiro threw his head back and cracked Dabi in the nose, blood gushing and temporarily spotting his vision with white. Dabi loosened his grip, giving Jiro just enough space and time to throw his assailant off of him and swivel around to look him in the face with wild, wrathful eyes.

“You—!” Jiro began to accuse, reaching for something inside his jacket, but Dabi was faster, barreling towards him and tackling him, both of them crashing through the coffee table before they hit the ground, the safe sliding across the floor until it went under one of the gaps of the wooden shipping crates stacked atop each other off to the side.

“Fuck—!” Dabi yelped, feeling his elbow crack down on the concrete with a sickening crunch, pain lancing through his bones like a lightning strike before his arm went numb from elbow to fingertips, which was probably for the best right now.

Because he didn’t have time for wincing and whining. Not when Jiro was already halfway to standing and wearing an expression of blind rage and bloodlust.

And then, reaching back into his coat, instead of pulling out a pistol like Dabi had originally anticipated, instead Jiro drew out a blade. An eighteen inch machete that gleamed in the dull, yellow light, freshly sharpened and hungry for its next victim.

And Jiro— Jiro was laughing.

He was laughing like a man who already knew he’d won.

“Gotta hand it to ya, kid…” he taunted, voice gravelly and strained from where the rope had bit into his throat, a rough, red mark rubbed raw across his skin. Dabi went to stand, but Jiro kicked him in the ribs hard, knocking the wind from his lungs. Then he pressed a grimy boot to Dabi’s chest, effectively pinning him in place, and concluding with a sinisterly amused, “You sure don’t know when to quit.”

Suddenly, Dabi was sixteen years old again, scrappy and weak and all alone. His hair was still snow white and his pale skin was unmarked, not even having gotten his first tattoo yet. He was hungry and desperate and all he had to his name was a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, some combat boots, and a pocket knife.

He’d chosen the wrong guys to steal from loads of times during that first year, been beaten within an inch of his life too many times to count, and that had begun even before he’d fled to the streets, so what was one more time, right?

Only, this time, with the blade resting under his chin, Jiro intent on taking his sweet time making Dabi squirm before he made him bleed, Dabi had a feeling he wasn’t coming out of it alive.

So close, he thought with regret, both hands gripping Jiro’s ankle in his fists and attempting to lift some of the pressure from his bruised chest, but all that seemed to do was make the man stomp down harder. I was so fuckin’ close…

And that wasn’t just about the money.

“Now, here’s what’s gonna happen…” Jiro said, voice lowered to a ruthless hush. “I’m gonna handcuff you—” he gestured with the machete, “to that refrigerator over there. Then, I’m gonna go get the other guys ‘cause I’m sure they’d be just fuckin’ elated to see you again—” Dabi tried to twist free with one quick, harsh jostle, but to no avail. What Dabi had in height, Jiro had double of in strength. He knew he didn’t stand a chance. “And after that,” Jiro continued, ignoring Dabi’s growing despair like he was nothing more than a fly slowly buzzing about the room, the threat level only warrenting a light swat, “we’re all gonna take turns teaching you what happens when you keep try’na bite the hand that fuckin’ feeds…”

Dabi remembered his days serving as one of Jiro’s yes-men cronies, seventeen years old and halfway to a full sleeve of ink etched into his right arm, hair a fading blueish-black. He remembered the grueling hours, the shit jobs left especially for him because he was the newbie, yeah, let Dabi do all the things no one else wants to. He remembered the way his ribs began to show stark through the t-shirt he was outgrowing, could still feel the sour pang of starvation twisting just below his sternum. The headaches. The disorientation from going five days with nothing but a heel of stale bread and half a can of some other guy’s beer. Always left to beg and scavenge through the meager scraps of the packs’ provisions like the outcast runt of the litter.

Holding a scream back behind clenched teeth as he felt the pressure on his chest feel like it was soon to splinter ribs, Dabi spit, “When did you ever even try to feed me, motherfucker—” which in turn only earned him more agony. But if he was going to die tonight, he might as well hold nothing back.

And for what, Dabi wondered, eying the safe which taunted him from just a few short yards away under the crate, Just for a fuckin’ chance at a life out of the gutter…

All he’d have to do would be to reach under there and grab it.

Pathetic.

“Enough chit-chat. Just be a good boy,” Jiro teased, pressing the blade’s edge harder against Dabi’s craning neck as he reached into his back pocket and produced the set of steel cuffs that clinked and clacked against each other as they were dangled before him, “and don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”

***

They took you into the building, caged you in the center of their tight formation, guns still held at the ready, and led you to a room in the back filled with more dangerous looking men.

You felt your stomach flood with dread the moment all their heads turned in unison to the opening door, four new sets of eyes landing on your disheveled, abused, and terrified state with varying degrees of confusion and eagerness.

“That don’t look like pizza,” one man huffed with sarcasm, his lips splitting into a smirk and causing the scar that ran through one side of his mouth to pull awkwardly. Then, turning back to his buddies, all of them holding playing cards close to their chests, occasionally darting their glances down to a growing pile of money wagered at the center of the table they were gathered around, he asked, “Any of you order an appetizer beforehand without tellin’ me about it?”

They all laughed, their mockery of you and your situation— or rather, the situation you were pretending to be in, which still made you just as sick knowing real victims were probably passed through their hands as regularly as a slice of pepperoni and cheese, by the sounds of it— causing you to begin shaking with fear, your entire body trembling like a rabbit surrounded by pack of salivating wolves.

“We found her by the front fence,” one of the men who’d led you through the building explained, and while he sounded a little more sympathetic than the new group you were faced with, if things began to escalate you doubted he’d do anything to stop it. And then, leaning in to speak quieter to the man with the scar, he said, “She might be one’a Chisaki’s girls…”

The man with the scar set his cards facedown on the edge of the table, pushing up from his seat with a sigh and strolling over to take a closer look at you. He leaned down to be on your level, his face only inches from yours as he studied your smeared lipstick and running mascara. He asked you, voice lowered to a quiet growl, “You one’a Chisaki’s girls? And don’t lie to me now, because, y’know that if you are, we don’t really have a choice here, right?”

He noticed you were shaking, your stare still spread wide with trauma and your jaw clenched shut as you felt tears begin to well in your eyes. You weren’t acting anymore. You didn’t have to. Not when every bit of this suddenly felt all too real.

“Shit…” he exhaled, seeming to come to his own conclusion as he straightened back to his full height, running his gaze up and down your bruised body. He seemed to be considering something, the room filling with an eerie, anticipatory silence, until he nodded to himself and said to the group that had guided you in, “Did you check for the brand?”

You felt your blood run cold.

Slowly backing away, as if intending to make a getaway and escape from eight armed men, your tears spilled over the edge, a few sparkling droplets racing down your cheeks in pairs as your back met something solid behind you.

His hands took hold of your shoulders before you’d even finished turning around to look at him, and you gasped when you looked back in front of you, the scarred man having closed the gap that had grown between you in barely a second.

“We’re really gonna need ya to cooperate, sweetheart,” he said, gravelly, condescending tone laced with a heavily implied command. “Or else we’re gonna have’ta hurt ya. And I don’t really think you would like that, would you?”

“Please—” you breathed, trying to twist free of your captor’s strong hold. You swallowed hard and then attempted to speak louder, fear crackling through your voice as you frantically stammered, “I— I don’t have a brand! I’m not one of Chisaki’s girls! Please, just— Just let me go. I swear I’ll—”

“Let you go?” the scarman repeated, clicking his tongue and flashing you a look of sarcastic concern as if to say “it’s so cute that you think that”. His friends were flanking him now, a wall of them stretching out before you with the others guarding the exit behind. He said, “Nah, sorry, hon, but that’s not how this works…” Before you could even get out one more syllable of a bargain or a plea, he nodded towards you and instructed his friends with two simple, condemning words. “Check ‘er.”

The hold on you vised tighter, another one of them coming to assist as your struggle increased, holding you in place as you thrashed and kicked and tried to get away. Your foot made contact with one of their thighs and you heard a growl of impatience right before a hand wrapped around your throat, squeezing just enough to scare you at first, then hard enough to choke you until you settled down.

“So that’s how you want it to be then?” Scar sighed, sounded disappointed with you. All activity to “search you” ceased for the moment as the others awaited his approval to continue. He reclaimed his original seat, looking rather bored with the whole ordeal now, slouching back and crossing one ankle over his knee. Then he snapped at the others, “Well the fuck are you waiting for? Hurry up and see if she has the brand!” Then, more so to himself, “If not, I call first dibs.”

You were crying. You were begging. You were writhing as several more sets of hands joined in the effort to try and rid your clothing from your body in search of Chisaki’s brand— the identical mark he had burned into all his whores to make sure no one else could try and claim them for their own. And while you had no idea who this Chisaki man was, just knowing he was notorious for such things made you feel like you were trapped in a vicious nightmare.

Before they could get your dress past your waist though, you let out an ear-piercing shriek, a kind of razor-sharp wail, stunning the men around you for a second before one of them went to clap a hand to your mouth, but he miscalculated slightly and allowed you the perfect opportunity to sink your teeth deep into the space between his pointer finger and thumb, clamping down until you felt a burst of bitter copper hit your tongue, coating your mouth in nauseating warmth.

You didn’t hear the man yelp over the pounding of your own panicked heart, though weren’t able to hold on for long as a thick, sharp-knuckled fist collided with your temple, causing you to fall slack for a moment as your head spun with vertigo and pain.

“Fuckin’ bitch—!” you heard someone swear through the muffled ringing that ran between your ears. You coughed out a pathetic sounding groan as your head lolled slightly to the side, your eyes fluttering and rolling as reality sloshed inside your vision like a fishbowl rocking back and forth on the edge of a shelf, just about ready to tip. “God— Bit me fuckin’ hard!”

“Oh shut up and finish it already!” the scarman barked, but when the others hesitated, too distracted with watching the blood well and spill down their friend’s wrist in fat red rivulets, a few drops already dripping down onto the floor and staining the dirty concrete, he pushed up from his seat and marched over, roughly hiking your dress up the rest of the way and quickly scanning for the telltale mark. Unable to find it on the front or back of you, he yanked the thin fabric back down to cover your body, completely uninterested in whatever ideas he had for you prior, and then decided, “Y’know what, fuck this. Bring her to the boss and have him decide what to do. She ain’t worth the trouble.”

You were just sort of coming back to, though tried to stay as silent and still as possible for now, hoping it might buy you some time. You heard someone say, “C’mon man, wouldn’t be the first time we had a biter—” but was cut off by a distant crash-and-shatter sound that drew their collective hivemind attention in the direction that it came.

“What the fuck now?” Scar grumbled, and then, “Y’know what— Ok, you four, go back to guarding the front. If the boss finds out we left this place unattended he’ll have all our heads. You two, go see what that was all about, and you—” gesturing to the one you’d bitten, “fuckin’ tie her up or some shit until all this chaos is resolved and Jiro can decided what to do with ‘er.”

“And what about you?” one of them asked.

“I’m goin’ out for a smoke. And I swear, if any of you fuckers so much as even think about peekin’ at my cards, I’ll shoot you in the face myself. Reconvene in an hour—” A chuckle, the sound almost playful, teasing. “And don’t think I intend on lettin’ any of you off easy. I’m still gonna rob you blind at the end of the night.”

Some of them laughed. Some of them scoffed. All of them then went off to do as they’d been told, leaving you alone with Bitten-Hand, who kept mumbling passive-aggressive complaints under his breath about how he was always left cleaning up everyone else’s mess.

You let him drag your limp body to another corner of the room, fought the urge to jump up and run right then and there. But it wasn’t until you heard him shuffle a few feet away from you, cracking your view open to see him struggling with some zipties, that something inside you said, loud and bright, now.

You sprung up and dashed for the door, nearly stumbling over your own feet but surged with adrenaline again, which helped with the pain that was currently reduced to a faint throbbing behind your eyes and, well, almost everywhere else on your body at this point too.

You heard Bitten-Hand call out a more-desperate-than-angry, “Hey, wait!” just before you threw yourself against the door and came barreling back out into the hall. You didn’t look behind you to see if he was following. You knew he was. The sound of his boots hitting the concrete further down the long stretch of hallway behind you told you as much. But you didn’t stop running. Didn’t slow down.

You felt your eyes welling with tears again, your chest heaving with ragged, panting breaths as you neared the next corner. Maybe you could lose him, find some vacant room to slip into or some bit of cover to dive behind. But the moment you rounded the turn, you felt yourself getting yanked off to the side, a new palm covering your mouth as the other arm wrapped around your waist, submerging you both into the thick black darkness once again.

***

It hadn’t been easy, but Jiro had, in the end, gotten Dabi handcuffed to the busted old refrigerator. And no matter how hard he tried to yank against the pull handle the cuffs were liked around, the damn things wouldn’t give.

The room was empty, Jiro gone off to fetch his cronies, and the safe lay still as a stone where it had slid from the broken coffee table to underneath the wooden shipping crates. Dabi tried to force himself free once more, but it was no use. Plus, he was exhausted from everything that had led up to this too. He pressed his forehead to the cold steel of the stolen fridge and just breathed out a wobbly, defeated, “Fuck…”

He didn’t even have it in him to be pissed off at his own shitty life decisions for landing him here right now. What he was really angry about was how he’d roped you into all of this. Sure, the original plan had benefited from the part you had to play in it, but right from the start Dabi knew he should’ve just done this himself. It might’ve been riskier, taken him longer, but he was willing to bet he would’ve at least come out of it with something in the end. Either way, all it would’ve taken was one fuck up, but at least it would’ve just been his consequences to suffer.

Tomura was probably already shot dead and bleeding out in a hallway somewhere, he figured. That didn’t really bother him that much, given the fact that, because of Tomura’s abandonment, Dabi was, regretfully and beyond irritatingly, handcuffed to a fucking refrigerator and basically waiting to get the shit beat out of him before he was murdered as the grand finale.

But you…

God, he’d never forgive himself for that.

So be it, he thought. Let them kill me. I fucking deserve it at this point anyway.

And so he waited.

Dabi stood there and waited to die.

***

The grip around you flexed slightly as you began to struggle, though, unlike your last encounter with people who wished to do you harm, the more of a fight you put up, the looser the hold on you became.

It wasn’t until you whirled around and let out a terrified sob that you caught a glimpse of silver amidst the shadows and a quick flash of those crimson eyes.

“T-Tomura…?” you squeaked, entire being beginning to shake with relief rather than horror now.

“Jesus— Are you ok?” he whispered, hands cautiously hovering about you like he was afraid even a single touch would make it worse. “You’re all—”

“Wait—” you cut in, pushing him back against the wall of the small closet of a room, pressing yourself against his chest until you heard Bitten-Hand’s running footsteps pass your cover and disappear down the next hall. You let out a shaking sigh, resting your forehead against his chest and trying to catch your breath, feeling a panic attack coming on but fighting to keep it at bay.

Slowly, and somewhat hesitantly, Tomura gently wrapped his long, spindly arms around your shivering form, holding you against him but in a way that made you feel safe, not trapped. And you were crying again, you think, your sobs muffled by his shirt and his skin as he stroked the back of your tousled hair and just kept on repeating in a low murmur, “It’s ok, I’m here. It’s ok,” until you were able to calm down enough to feel like separating from his grasp wouldn’t completely shatter your world.

And the next words out of your mouth were ones that shocked you both. Because where you’d meant to say, “We need to get out of here,” instead what came out was, “Where’s Dabi?”

Tomura stammered for a second, stalling, and then just admitted, “I don’t know.”

“Well we need to find him and get the fuck out of here,” you stated, panicked severity working back into your tone. “Forget the money. We just have to go.”

Tomura opened his mouth to protest— whether it was the idea of going back for Dabi or forgetting the money, he didn’t know— but then he registered the suffering in your eyes, the suffering that was written all over your body in bruises he knew he or Dabi hadn’t given you in preparation for this whole robbery-gone-wrong, and then bit back his reluctance, nodded firmly, and said, “Ok. But stay close to me.”

You didn’t intend to stray from his side. In fact, more often than not you found yourself clutching his arm as you both navigated your way back to the room where Tomura had seen the third member of your crew last, a few times almost causing him to trip.

“Should be just down this hall,” Tomura told you, checking to make sure the coast was clear before lightly pulling you along behind him. Oddly, you hadn’t seen anyone else in a while. You’d tried to compare notes, Tomura saying there had originally been three in the room you were doubling back to, you saying there had been five at the front but only four had led you inside to the room where another four had been waiting. Making it twelve you’d seen so far.

“But I bet there’s more than that skulking around this place,” Tomura muttered. He was willing to bet the total count was somewhere near double that, given how big the place was and the fact that you guys had only really traversed about half of it. Then, irritated, “Fuck, this whole thing was just a big fucking mistake…”

“Tomura…” you spoke, almost sympathetically. Then, figuring you probably didn’t have much else left to lose, you said, “Y’know, for what it’s worth, I’m really glad we hit you with the car that night.”

And when he looked at you, you were actually smiling. The expression was far softer or sweeter than you had a right to wear, given the current situation, and yet…

Tomura smiled too. “I’m really glad you hit me with the car that night too,” he said. “And even if—” He had to stop himself, finding the words even if we do die tonight to be a little harder to admit to than usual. He cleared his throat, then started from scratch. “Well, I just want you to know that spending the last few days with you has probably been the highlight of my entire life.”

And, god, how you wanted to just reach up and kiss him in that moment. To twine your fingers through his fluffy white waves and taste him one last time. And maybe you might’ve, just shrugged and thought, fuck it, before making one more bad decison before you all died here. But you didn’t get the chance before another figure turned down the long hallway, stopped in his tracks as he registered two unknowns before him, a long blade gleaming in the low light from where it was clutched in his hand by his side.

Jiro didn’t bother asking any stupid questions or attempting to monologue his sinister schemes that time. Instead, he just started straight for the two of you, not in a run, but a fast-paced walk that somehow made things seem all the more dire.

“Fuck!” Tomura gasped, already pulling you back down the hall from whence you’d just come before you could even figure out what was going on. You didn’t remember to ask, either. You just tried to keep up with Tomura as the man with the machete approached closer on your heels, all of you sprinting now.

Tomura must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere though, because suddenly he slammed to a halt and looked around with certainty as an even more worrying, “Uhhh…” escaped his chapped lips.

This was a part of the warehouse none of you had seen before, a wide room filled with all kinds of stolen goods— cars, appliances, pills, handbags, jewelry, you name it— sort of similar to Spinner’s contraband museum but nowhere near as glamorous or organized, but luckily, just in the nick of time, you and Tomura ducked behind a stacked display of tires that looked like they belonged to eighteen-wheelers, trying to cease your heavy breathing and hope Jiro didn’t know the ins and outs of this place too much better than you did.

“Wanna know the best thing about this place?” Jiro’s voice rang out as he began to navigate through the tightly packed space, hunting for you. “There’s only one way in and one way out, so…” He jumped up into the bed of a rusty old pickup truck, one foot propped up on the edge as he scanned the cluttered chaos, looking rather satisfied with himself. “All I really have to do is wait.” You and Tomura exchanged looks caught between despair and panic.

You could now consider yourselves officially trapped.

“I have an idea,” Tomura whispered, “but it’s gonna require us to split up.”

Instantly, you grabbed onto him, eyes gone wide with terror as you frantically replied, “No— We need to stay together until we get out of here!”

“Just trust me, it’ll only—”

“Don’t leave me again—” You were near sobbing now, bloodshot eyes welling with a fresh film of sparkling tears. You covered your mouth to try and contain the sounds that threatened to hitch in your chest, lest you give away your current position and alert Jiro, all the while mumbling incoherent pleas that all pretty much roughly translated to the same thing.

“Alright, just— Listen.” He placed his hands on your shoulders, felt you trembling beneath his palms. It took a few tries to get through to you, but eventually he had enough of your attention to explain, “We won’t have to go very far. Basically, each of us will take a side of the room. We’ll take turns making distractions to lure Jiro away from the door. Once we’ve got him far enough we can just sneak out and—”

“But what if—” What if something went wrong. What if Tomura was caught or you were caught and then you were killed. What if. What if. What if. What if.

You couldn’t get past the image of that machete buried into the side of one of your necks or sticking straight up from the center of your chests.

Taking a steadying breath, you tried to calm yourself down, then came to the conclusion that this was your best shot. “Alright,” you agreed, though every fiber of your being was fighting against the thought. “I’ll take the left, you take the right. But Tomura…” You looked into his eyes, searching for something, and then, in your moment of hesitation, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. It was a chaste kiss. Quick. Over before it really had the chance to begin. But it was enough for now. It was the promise for more once you made it out alive.

“I’ll be careful,” he said, cracking a tiny smile, as if he’d read your mind. “And don’t worry, I’ll pull him further to my side so he doesn’t get too close to yours. Just keep your head down and don’t let him know which one of us is which.” You weren’t feeling too confident, gazing down and off to the side as you worried your bottom lip between your teeth. As soon as he spoke your name though, tone sweet and soothing, you glanced back up at him. “You can do this,” he told you. “We can do this.”

Somehow, even if they were simple words that might turn out to be completely untrue, hearing them gave you the resolve you needed to participate in this plan. So off you went, carefully weaving your way through fishtanks full of broken jewelry and plastic bins of prescription drugs. Once you reached the far back corner, your eyes landed on some kind of big, blown glass sculpture, the art speckled through with a rainbow of color. It stood almost as tall as you did, and as you considered it you wondered why, and how, these guys had managed to bring it back to their base in one piece. Maybe it was worth a fortune, but it wouldn’t matter anymore, because with both hands placed against its side and a good push, it tipped, fell to the ground and shattered.

Jiro perked up from where he was still perched in the truckbed, tightening his grip on the machete’s handle as he swiveled around to face the direction the sound had come from. He chuckled darkly, the taunt echoing faintly throughout the room, and then jumped down from the truck with a heavy thud, starting in the direction of the crash.

“Ready to come out and play?” he provoked, a husky, off-key sing-song tone to his words, his footsteps scuffing closer your way. When he passed a severed car door, passengers side, from the looks of it, he scraped the end of the blade against the steel, a grating screech reverberating closer to where you tried your hardest not to cower in the corner.

And honestly, Jiro hoped he’d find you first. He hoped he’d get his hands on you, get to feel you writhe and squirm and struggle under his hold. He would relish in the look of horror that filled Tomura’s eyes as he was forced to watch your throat part with a thin red smile, deeper, darker crimson soon spilling out and soaking the front of you until you choked on your own blood and fell limp and lifeless to the ground.

Then he’d go for the scrawny, scraggly, scratch-track streaked boy before he even had a chance to register the scene unfolding before him. He’d make a gorey mess of him too, only allowing you two to lie together one last time right before he had his boys drag your mangled corpses out back and burn the remains, scattering them into the bay before daybreak.

And Dabi…

Well, he figured he might want to force Dabi watch his friends’ bodies go up in flames right before he joined them in the grave too.

“Y’know, for what it’s worth,” Jiro began, his voice now way too close to your corner for comfort. For a moment— as much as you hated to even consider the idea— you began to fear that Tomura had merely been using you as bait, allowing you to take the fall while he made a quick and easy getaway. “If you guys had done this without Dabi, you might’ve stood a chance. I’ll admit, I didn’t see it comin’…” You were getting antsy now, ready to bolt off in any direction that wasn’t Jiro’s.

“And you…” His voice was practically hovering right above you now, all of your limbs suddenly locked with prey-like terror. Jiro’s ugly mug came into view from over the edge of your cover, his beady gaze colliding with your wide, terrified one, reminding you of your boss, the same perverse hunger glowing at the center of them. Shark’s eyes. “I think I might have a little fun with you first after a—”

Your body lurched with a sudden jolt, more tears spilling from your eyes and rolling down your ruddy cheeks to meet under your chin and drip onto your chest as you saw Jiro’s eyes glaze over and then roll, his sentence reduced to a thin, feeble whine for but a moment as his entire body stiffened and then went slack, dropping to the floor like a bag of rocks.

The machete slid from his grip and when his head smacked against the concrete, it left a rorschach smattering of red there, the back of his skull blooming with a hemorrhage.

You opened your mouth to let out a scream, but all that escaped was a distraught, animal moan.

You didn’t even notice Tomura’s figure looming like a shadow behind where the man’s body had just stood, a crowbar still raised with vengeful intent as if he thought the man he’d struck down would rise and try again. You were too busy watching the blood well and spill into a puddle on the floor.

“Are you ok?” he was saying to you, but all his words were muffled by the blood singing through your ears, everything around you feeling like it was swaying, body becoming lighter, head growing dizzier, until Tomura wrapped his arms around you, tucking your face into his chest to hide the view beyond him from your sight. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just— I saw the opportunity and I took it.”

Reality came crashing back over you like a violent, white-rimmed wave. You felt like you were going to be sick.

“It’s ok now,” Tomura kept on repeating, hugging you close, almost hard enough to crush you. “Let’s just go. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

You couldn’t think. Couldn’t move. So you just let Tomura help you to your feet, grabbing up the machete on his way, as your team was severely lacking in weapons, and guide you towards the exit.

“Wait here,” he told you, still speaking quietly, afraid raising his voice any louder would destroy what little was left of you. “I forgot to get the keys.”

“The keys…?” you muttered, but Tomura was already gone.

Luckily, the journey to Jiro’s corpse and back was a short one, Tomura a little more familiar with the layout of the room now. He unhooked the ring that jingled with at least twelve different keys from Jiro’s belt loop, thumbing through them and hoping at least one of them would be useful to you down the line. He’d played enough games to know that sometimes even the smallest of items could be the difference between clearing the level and game over if left behind.

When he returned to you, you were curled in on yourself, arms wrapped around your shivering body with your forehead resting on your knees.

How much had you been through, up until now? And how more would you have to endure before all this suffering and trauma could finally come to and end?

“Hey…” He extended a hand toward you, feeling a little bit of the weight of his worry lift when you looked up at him, now appearing more tired than terrorized. “C’mon,” he said. “It’s time to go.”

“Dabi—”

“We’ll get him,” he promised, though didn’t sound so sure. And then, repeating more resolutely, “We’ll get him.”

Whether Dabi was even still alive, there was no way to know. But, for your sake at least, as much as Tomura was still caught between despising and respecting him, he found himself hoping that the third member of your trio had somehow survived.

***

It was sort of eerie, Dabi was beginning to think, that no one— not a single soul— had been seen or heard within his vicinity since Jiro had left him alone.

Hadn’t he gone off to get the others? Y’know, gather everyone ‘round for a good ol’ fashioned torture party?

But it had been too long. The place was big, but not that big. And the fact that none of the others had returned, even just out of coincidence, curiosity, or boredom, was weird too.

And what about you and Tomura?

Were you two even still alive, or had you just escaped without him, left him here to die?

All of them sounded like likely options, but still, the little sliver of hope that lodged itself in Dabi’s heart like a thorn told him to wait just a little bit longer before he started mourning the first real friends he could’ve had.

But even if you guys did come back for him, there was still the whole handcuffed to a refrigerator dilemma to deal with. You might have no choice but to leave him to be devoured by the wolves anyway.

“…Down here I think…” Dabi’s head lifted from where it rested against the side of the fridge, the rough, whispery voice dangerously familiar only for the fact that it made that slice of hope inside him twist like a blade. “Are you sure you can walk? You can always get on my back and I can carry you…”

“No, I think I’m ok, thanks…” Dabi’s heart fluttered at the sound of your voice. It made him wonder if he had dozed off and was dreaming, or if maybe somehow he was already dead and this was his own fucked up version of heaven.

And then there you were, looking like hell but still alive, one arm slung over Tomura’s shoulder, who also looked a little worse for wear but then again, didn’t he sort of always?

“Oh my god—!” Dabi barked out an incredulous laugh, the sound sharp but full of light, like the sun reflecting off of broken glass. “Oh my fucking god!”

“What the fuck?” Tomura asked once he registered Dabi’s current predicament.

It was then that Dabi’s disposition suddenly shifted, a deep scowl etched into his inky brows. “Yeah, what the fuck, Tomura?” He roughly jangled the chain linking the cuffs together against the handle of the fridge, as if he needed to further accentuate his point.

Tomura helped you down onto the nearest couch, leaving the machete by your side, and you were grateful for the rest and the weapon. Then he approached Dabi, slowing to a halt a few feet away and staring at him, hands shoved into his pockets like he was wracking his brain for a solution. Dabi stood, trying again, and failing, to yank himself free.

“Shit won’t budge!” he stated with an irritated shrug. “And I’m not too fuckin’ keen on dislocating my thumb.”

Tomura let out a sigh. You stared at your ravaged reflection in the gleam of the machete. Dabi shook the cuffs against the stainless steel just for the hell of it.

Then, finally, Tomura said, “Yeah, well, that guy who’s their leader or whatever is dead.”

In that moment, something made you look over and lock eyes with Dabi, his piercing blue gaze boring right into you, and then, you realized, the machete.

“Jiro’s dead…?” he repeated, though it was hard to tell whether he was shocked or devastated. Maybe a twisted mix of both. A crooked, deranged smirk then began to break out across his face, a maniacal chuckle bubbling up from deep within his chest until it became a full blown bout of hysteria.

This could’ve gone on for ten seconds, or it could’ve gone on for several minutes. Time seemed to shimmer and sway like sand through an hourglass, ungraspable, uncountable. It wasn’t until Tomura had had enough of all this madness, oddly enough, that he pulled out the ring of keys, the gentle jingle of them shutting Dabi up like a door slammed closed.

“No fuckin’ way!” Dabi exclaimed, his surprise genuine and almost endearing. Before Tomura even had a second to act or respond he blurted out, “Well— God, hurry up and unlock me already!”

You heard Tomura shifting through the keys, mumbling something to himself while Dabi craned his neck forward to try and pick the right one out. But the more they passed that weren’t the right one, the more anxious Dabi started to become. Until finally, the second to last key—

“Oh, oh!” Dabi called out. “That’s it! Hurry, hurry!”

Tomura put the small silver key into the cuffs’ tiny keyhole and turned it, the cuffs clattering to the concrete with a satisfying clank.

Dabi let out a stuttering sigh of disbelief, rubbing his wrists and relishing in his unexpected freedom for a moment before remembering the safe.

Perhaps this nightmare of an evening wouldn’t end up as a complete waste of time after all.

“Alright,” Dabi declared, strolling over to reach under the crate and swipe up the safe, tucking it snugly under his arm. “Let’s split, while we still can. We just have to—”

A loud bang immediately followed by a high whistle sang through the air as a bullet whizzed by and struck one of the crates directly behind Dabi, missing him to the left by only a hair. Tomura yanked both you and him behind the cover of the fridge as several more attempted to strike you, more guns firing from just beyond the cage of crumbling concrete you were now trapped within.

“Shit—!” Dabi swore under his breath, clutching the metal box to his chest like it would shield him, like it would save him.

“What now?” Tomura barked impatiently, having grown tired of all the mishaps this mission had brought several mishaps ago.

“Do we just run for it?” you tossed in, panicked.

“Uhh…” Dabi stalled, his own trepidation beginning to bubble up to the surface. More bullets struck the steel of the refrigerator, pinging off but approaching your cover with more and more accuracy, warning of the fact you were all about to be closed in on. Then, seeming to regain himself, you saw those cold blue eyes ignite with surety as he declared, “On the count of three, we all scatter. Meet back at the car, whoever gets there first, be ready to fuckin’ floor it once they get close enough to hit the tires—”

“No, wait— What about—” You began to protest.

“One—”

You weren’t going to make it out of this alive.

“Jesus, man! Just hold on a fucking second!”

They would mow you down the moment you showed yourself.

“Two—”

None of you were going to make it out of this alive.

“Oh, god! Please don’t—!”

Dabi flicked his gaze to meet yours. Held it as he said, “Three!”

And then you all ran for your lives.

Their aim followed in a tight trail at your heels, threats and shouts echoing behind you as you and Tomura bolted off in one direction and Dabi in another. He’d said for all of you to split up, but you hadn’t gotten the lay of the land like they had. You were lost without Tomura, though, honestly, he could only do his best to retrace his steps without Dabi around to lead the way.

But then he pulled you down the long stretch of hallway that Tomura now recalled being the first one he had walked down, the space narrower, the fluorescent lights flickering pale puddles against the scuffed cement floor.

“It’s this way,” he said, voice low but urgent, just on the cusp of disbelief that at least you two might have a chance at escape.

Dabi, on the other hand…

He’d been stuck with taking the long way around, several more guys in pursuit of him given he had what they valued most. And there’d been a fleeting moment where he wondered if there would be anything in the safe at all once he cracked it open, but with how desperately the others chased after him now, he knew it must be the whole damn lot.

And once they found out Jiro was dead, then what? Which one of them would rise to the top to take his place? Or would they all just end up killing each other in the end, fighting over their leader’s scraps like starving wild dogs?

Dabi skid around another corner, pulling down an empty metal shelf as he rushed by that was leaned against the wall in hopes that the slight obstacle might buy him a few more seconds of time. He felt a bullet graze his calf, bit his tongue at the sting of it, but forced himself to keep running. Soon he was around the bend to that telltale hallway, the final stretch, his chest heaving, lungs burning with the effort to travel as fast as his legs could carry him.

When he burst through the doors, the cool night air flooding his senses, he felt himself begin to slow his pace, entire body buzzing with adrenaline and relief all in the same breath. But then he heard another gunshot from the other side of the heavy metal push-doors and was shocked back to reality, which was that he wouldn’t be truly in the clear until he made it back to his warehouse, which meant he first had to make it back to the car.

He frantically searched the immediate surrounding area, looking for something, anything to block the door with. He found an old wooden rake and slotted it between the door bars. It wouldn’t hold for long, especially not with the force of at least four men trying to bust through on the other side, but it would be enough to at least gain the distance he needed on them.

The first slam-retract of the doors attempting to be broken past came when he was only about four yards away. Another by the time he was six, and after that, he stopped paying attention.

Because there was the car, sitting dark and patient off in the distance, two figures he recognized as you and Tomura hopping in, Tomura in the driver’s side and—

Dabi nearly halted in his tracks when the grinding, squealing horror of an engine that wouldn’t start pierce through the sloshing ambiance of the nearby bay. He heard a crash behind him, the handle of the rake splintering in half, a barrage of armed men racing his way.

“Guys—!” Dabi shouted, now close enough for you to hear him. You popped your head out from the passenger side’s rolled down window, dried tears still streaking your mascara smeared cheeks, hair a tousled mess and clothing all askew in the frenzy.

“It won’t start!” you half sobbed, half shrieked.

Tomura turned the key in the ignition again, earning the same, blood-chilling result.

“Fuck— Move over!” Dabi snapped, practically yanking Tomura out of the driver’s side as he tossed the safe into the back seat. Tomura didn’t get angry or wait for Dabi to solve the problem. There was no time. He jumped into the backseat to join the safe, and after one final, miraculous try, the engine purred back to life and Dabi slammed the door shut behind him, flooring it away from that nightmare as more bullets hit the ground just inches from your tires, one bursting through the back window as he swerved hard, nearly throwing you from the car as you scrambled to put on your seatbelt, and disappeared from the edge of the outskirts with nothing but a cloud of dust and the smell of burning rubber to remember him by.

***

You were not happy when you returned to the warehouse.

You were not giddy and curious enough to stay awake while Tomura and Dabi tried to crack open the safe.

You might’ve felt relieved to be alive, if not for the growing ache in your bones, flesh tender with bruises and the ghost of forceful hands that had grabbed you. Mainly, you just wanted to wash this day from your skin, to soak and scrub every last inch of your body until you felt like yourself again.

But instead what you did was find the quietest corner of the base to collapse in and fell asleep.

***

The following morning, early, when the sky was still pale with dawn’s soft, lulling light, you were awoken by the jittery mumbling of hysteria.

“…Holy shit—”

“—can’t fucking believe…”

“No, no, hold on…”

“…think we could just…”

“…not a good idea, it’s probably—”

You rose from your slumber, limbs heavy and aching with the night before, slowly rising to stand with a groan. You pulled the blanket further around your shoulders, a slight chill skittering up your spine, the slightly-too-big silk dress you hadn’t changed out of still clinging around your legs like a veil of cold as you slowly shuffled your way closer to all the hubbub.

“If I had a dollar for every time I…”

“Dude, it’s not even—”

“Sure it is, but only if you know the right people…”

The voices were getting clearer now, words spoken hurried, but hushed.

“She’s gonna freak when she sees this—” Dabi.

A raspy chuckle, and then, “Should I go see if she’s awake?” Tomura.

You rounded the corner of patchwork walls, some of the dividers a little leaning or lopsided in places, and announced with a sleep-rusted tone, “I am awake.” You cleared your throat, looked from the boys to the table in front of them, eyes widening when you saw the array of cash spread across the chipped wood, so much of it that it covered the entire surface and still left Dabi and Tomura clutching bundles of it in their hands.

“Holy shit—” you gasped, rushing over to kneel before the table, scooping up some of the bills and cradling them in your hands like they were delicate enough to turn to ash at just the slightest flex in your grip. “Is this really— You guys got it open?”

Dabi plopped down on the sofa across from you, Tomura opting for a seat on the floor, always needing to be closer to you, though whether that was out of necessity or habit now was lost to you both.

“Wasn’t fuckin’ easy…” Dabi drawled through a smirk. “But yeah. About half an hour ago.”

Your smile was widening, slowly but surely, like a flower blooming up through a crack in the concrete, hope fighting its way to the surface. “Oh my god…” You felt like maybe you were still dreaming, like you’d blink open bleary eyes and find yourself curled up under a frayed old blanket all over again like the day had reset itself. “How much is—”

“We’re still counting it,” Tomura cut in, handing you one of the thick wads of cash to thumb through, letting the bills fan through your fingers like one of those flip-books that made little doodles look like animations. “But we think it’s somewhere around fifty-thousand.”

You looked up to gaze upon their faces. Dark bruises hung under their bloodshot eyes, the most obvious sign that they hadn’t slept. They’d been up all night trying to crack the safe, desperation skittering like ants through their veins until success had brought them the catharsis of feeling like they’d earned their much needed rest.

“We decided…” Dabi began, leaning forward to set his stack of cash on the cluttered table, elbows perched on his knees as his fingers laced loosely to dangle before him. “Each of us will count it individually.”

“All of it?” you asked, eyeing the money-flood that drenched the table.

Dabi nodded. “All of it.”

“That way we know, when we all come up with the same amount, that the split will be even,” Tomura further explained, scooting closer to you still.

“And then…” you uttered absentmindedly, still in a daze.

“And then,” Dabi replied, “we can all go our separate ways…”

He leaned back to lounge against the couch, one hand cradling the back of his skull while the other remained bent awkwardly across his lap. His elbow was definitely fractured and he’d sustained a slight concussion, but for now, he figured, that could wait.

“Or…” he continued after a few beats of heavy silence, a tangible uncertainty hanging between you and Tomura as if you’d thought you’d heard him wrong.

“Or?” you pressed.

“Oh, I dunno…” Dabi sighed. “I was just thinkin’, we make sort of a not-so-terrible team—”

“You mean, besides all the shit that went wrong and nearly got us killed back there?” Tomura posed, unamused.

Dabi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was too tired to argue right now. “I mean, despite the odds, we still came out on top. And it wouldn’t have worked without the three of us— y’know, aside from you abandoning the plan halfway through—”

“I saved your life—” Tomura cut in.

Under his breath, Dabi muttered, “Don’t know if I’d go that far, but—”

“Oh, I’m sorry—” Tomura, on the other hand, still had some fight left in him. “Next time I’ll make sure to leave you handcuffed to a fucking refrigerator so those guys can use you as target practice—”

“Ok! Ok—!” You called over their useless bickering, hands held out as if trying to keep them from advancing on each other, despite neither of them looking even halfway to making any kind of physical move. “Enough! None of that matters now. Next time, we’ll all stick to the plan, and make sure there’s a plan B just in case.”

“Not to mention,” Dabi continued, still droning with his I-don’t-give-a-shit attitude, “technically, Tomura, you shouldn’t even get the same cut as us since you didn’t really contribute as much—”

“Oh, fuck off!” Now Tomura stood, looking ready to throw a punch.

“Kidding—! I’m just kidding. Jesus…” Dabi was quick to remedy. Tomura relaxed a little, slowly lowering back to his seat beside you as you grabbed his hand and pulled him back to his senses.

“That’s another thing,” you said. “No matter what, if we do this, we all get the same share. No exceptions.” You locked eyes with Dabi, held his striking sapphire glare until you feared you might crack and shatter under the intensity of it. But then, begrudgingly, he clicked his tongue and agreed.

“Fine,” he said. “But if either of you ever leaves me without backup again, I’ll make sure none of us gets anything.”

“Whatever, man…” Tomura mumbled, cheek resting in his palm, the exhaustion trying to ambush him.

“Well, same goes for me,” you pointed out. “I mean, was it even ever really in your plan to come help me out if things went south on my end?”

Dabi opened his mouth to defend himself, maybe protest, but then closed it again when he realized you had him on that one.

“Dude,” Tomura snapped, his grip tightening around your hand protectively. “What the hell? You said—”

“I know what I said!” Dabi shouted over the accusation. Then, simmering down a little, raking a shaky hand through his inky hair, “Fuck, just… I didn’t think it was gonna play out like that. I really didn’t. I mean, I knew it was risky, for all of us—” You shot him a bitter glare, causing him to backtrack with, “For you, especially, ok. I knew that. But I really thought—” He pulled his tattooed hands down his pale face, brain on its way to short circuiting from lack of sleep. “I never would’ve asked you to do it if I really thought those guys would…” But he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. To finish the thought.

“Ok…” you exhaled, figuring that was as close as you were going to get for an apology. “So, now what?”

“Now…” Dabi stood from the couch, boots dragging over the concrete floor as he slowly circled around to you and Tomura’s side of the table, sitting on the other side of you. “Well, now I guess we start counting.”

***

(Well… two years later and I’ve finally managed to finish chapter 2. In truth I’ve been wanting to get back to this series for a long, long time now, but knew it was going to be a big commitment (especially given how much more involved it became shortly after beginning to dive into this chapter) and due to some personal/life stuff I just didn’t have the time. Originally, this series was supposed to only be three chapters, but now it’s looking like it’ll end up being somewhere between five and ten, so please be patient with me while I write it.

But I’m happy to report that, this year, I really want to put a lot of focus into this series. I have some big ideas for it that I’m excited to share, especially the scenes that have literally been living in my mind rent free for over two years now lol. So please look forward to that!

As always, a big thank you so much to everyone for reading! I’ll see you next time! Byyyyyeee~)

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