#he still shows up at her door like the stray dog you fed once and comes back every so often to leave a dead bird on ur porch

[floripire]

after flori got back from sue's disasterous birthday party, found her parents dead and her house ransacked, burr came in, ready to finish the job. when he saw that flori had been turned, he relayed this information to his boss and veronica greasley issued new orders on the spot: burr was to capture the girl and take her to the triad industries detention center. if she proved to be even more difficult than she already showed to be, they could always get rid of her via a transfer to the zetes institute - a similar detention center (with a focus on psychics, but still opens it's doors to every sort of preternatural creature) headed by emmanuel zetes in california - or toss her into the pit. the triad industries detention center mostly houses witches - like andi the wellness witch from 3x14 - who are kept docile with fentanyl patches and magic muting herbs until they are needed to cast spells, but there are also stray werewolves who they want to turn into their own personal attack dogs; vampires are in the minority - the ones who talked back or fought back got thrown into the pit (at the time, flori assumes this is a literal pit, only later will she find out about malivore) the ones who turned feral got burned to ashes by sunlight. during flori's time there, she's been desiccated on purpose and vampire venom has been extracted from her. she retreated into herself until she struck up something of an odd friendship with caleb smallwood, a security guard. every security guard was on vervain so they couldn't be compelled; it took ages, but eventually flori won caleb's trust to the point where he felt safe enough to lower his dose and then quit all together, seeing flori as one of the "good ones". after all, they talked about everything ranging from movies to philosophy. and then one day, when people least expected it, flori fed off of caleb before she compelled him to get her out of there and not stop until they were both far enough from the detention center. he did just that, seeing floribeth had memorized all the codes. once they made it outside, flori compelled him to "walk until your feet bleed and then keep walking, no matter how tired or hungry you get, no matter how much you need to relieve yourself; you just keep walking." she hasn't seen him, since, and presumes he has died. a good samaritan picked her up from the side of the road and brought her to the nearest town: grove hill. she got dropped off at grove hill's trauma center. there, she emptied a lot of their bloodbags. it is in grove hill that jeremy gilbert finally caught up with her, taking her back to the salvatore school to become a year-rounder. few people aside from loren and mia know this about her until she's forced to come clean when the school gets visited by a croatoan.

[aelingalathyniusrailme]

Power recognizes power

A little power training gwynriel fic that came from me writing “if you find me at the edge, we’ll jump together.” and I was like this sentence deserves to be the title of something. plus throw everything (and by everything I mean that one sentence in the book) that you know about lightsingers away I’m just using the cute name. and yk there may or may not be some smut at the end. 

She was glowing.

She was glowing and Azriel did not mean she looked radiant or that she was overcome with joy, although she did and she was. Gwyneth Berdara was a living, breathing star. As if the spring equinox had come early this year.

Her skin lit up against the blackness of the sky and her hair burned bright with the ferocity of the hearth.

Gwyneth Berdara had stopped singing, the crowd was silent.  All eyes were on her but she was looking at him, her light, a beacon to his darkness.

His shadows yearned to go to her, he yearned to go to her. Instead, they both stayed stagnant, watching, waiting.

Azriel was had had enough, he dissolved from view and reappeared on the stage. Startled, Gwyn, took a step back and he stayed right with her, matching her step for step.

He gently tucked a stray piece of lit-up auburn hair behind her here, whispering, “It appears you glow, my love.”  

Gwyn, ultimately getting over her initial shock lightly pushed him on the shoulder, “Don’t do that.” She scowled.

Chuckling, he pressed his mouth to hers, in a soft, soothing kiss, forgetful of the audience behind them. As she relaxed beneath his touch, the glow became dimmer and dimmer until it ceased to be. Darkness returned and he stepped back. Gwyn took a breath and stilled. The nervous, passionate energy, that arouse when she sang, calmed for now.

Azriel turned to the crowd, “Due to the events that occurred here tonight, the performance will have to be cut short.” A soft boo drew his attention and immediately he isolated the noise. “Do you want to boo my mate again?” Azriel threatened coolly, his eyes narrowing.

Annoyed, she sighed and spoke to the crowd, “Oh ignore him, I truly am sorry for this interruption but I want to give nothing more than my best and right now I feel as if I can’t do that. the show will be rescheduled sometime next month, letters will be sent out with more information.”

He watched as the stunned and irritated faces slowly began disappearing. Some winnowing away, others taking the slightly more traditional door. Gwyn held her hand out to him. He took it, “So you’re a living lamp?”

“An astute observation.”  

“Is there any way I can convince you to rest now and figure this out later?”

She sighed, “It has been an especially long night.”

Azriel stared at her in disbelief, “did you just agree that you should rest?”

“Oh close your mouth, you’ll swallow a fly.” He responded by grinning at her and winnowing them away to their shared home.

Taking off his shirt he yawned not realizing how tired he actually was. It was still strange to him, being able to sleep so freely, without the looming fear of the past and what he couldn’t control. He stopped, realizing Gwyn had not moved from the door.

Gently he asked, “Are you coming?”

She looked at him blankly, lost in thought for a moment before she responded, “Um-yeah-later.” He was unconvinced so she tried again. “I think I’m going to stay out here and make some tea, maybe read a book.”

Azriel gave her a knowing look but did not push, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Az.” He tenderly kissed her cheek and walked to their room, immediately passing out on the bed.

—————————————————–

Azriel awoke at dawn and turned, unsurprisingly, to find the left side of the bed cold and empty. He sighed as he got out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants, mumbling. “Gwyneth berdara, you are going to be the death of me.”

Knowing there was no way she would be in the house but believing he probably should, he checked regardless and when he determined that she was in fact not in the house, he closed his eyes. When he opened them once again he found himself at the house of wind.

He nodded in acknowledgment, “Clotho,”

Shadowsinger. “The one and only.”

Is there something you require? “Just looking for that mate of mine. Any chance she’s here”

You know she is, and you know precisely where to find her. Ask what you truly want to ask. Through gritted teeth, he asked, “How long has she been here?”

Since 11 pm. Exhaling, he muttered, “Why can’t that damn woman ever rest.”

Over excursion out of only stubborn will seems to be a similarity between the two of you. Azriel frowned slightly before smiling pleasantly, “It’s been a pleasure as always, thank you for your help.”

Clotho only nodded and Azriel began the stairs to the 7th floor.

It took a moment for him to find her, the shadowsinger was a trained spy, forced to observe and retain even the smallest of details, yet he couldn’t find a bubbly redhead in a room full of texts and stories.

Ah, no wonder he hadn’t seen her. Gwyn was surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of books. She was drowning in literature, her hair was tied loosely in a braid with quite a few pieces falling out, there were dark circles beneath her eyes, and she was sporting the slightly insane look that came from a lack of sleep.

“Gwyn.” Her head jerked up in surprise to see him.

“Oh Az, Ok Ok, I promise I will go to sleep soon I just need 5 more minutes. I’m so so so close. I think I’m going to skip training today. Ok how about 2 minutes. 10. No that’s more. 10 sets of 1 minute. I just need 10 sets of 1 minute. I’m fine how are you?”

“Gwyn, my love, you’re delirious.”

She brushed him off, “What no I’m fine. I’m fine. Did I already say that? I can’t remember.”

Logic was never the way to deal with her insane stubbornness, so he tried a different approach. He pushed down his worry for her, and curled his mouth into a smirk, “I bet,” She perked up like a dog about to be fed, “that you can’t summarize everything you learned last night into,” he checked the clock. “15 minutes.”

“I could do it in 10.”

“Prove it.”

“And when I win?”

“I leave you to research. But if you can’t you have to go to bed.”

“Time starts now.”

Gwyn took a deep breath and began. “First I looked into where light magic is supposed to originate: the day court. Their magic is described as warm and comforting. Every single text I read described the magic the same way, as a sort of yellowish-brown light, like the sun. But the magic that came from me was more of an icy blinding light, like the lights from the stars rather than the sun. Also, as far as I know, I don’t have family from the day court so I looked into the family I do have. My family from the autumn court. However, we know that autumn court magic is fire, and what manifested in me was light not heat. My grandmother was a nymph so I thought well what type of magic do nymphs have. And the answer was severely disappointing, with basic plant magic being the most a nymph was able to do. I was stumped for a few hours before I realized. I’m basing my research on what I believe to be true not what I know to be true. I was told that I am a quarter nymph and because that heritage would explain my non-high fae-like features I believed that, for there was no reason for me not to. But what if my nymph grandmother was not a nymph at all. I flipped through dozens of books on faeries that have similar features, light magic, and/or can live on land and water. For the most part, I could not find anything, but then out of the corner of my eye I found a small tome on the history of light magic, the majority being all things I’d seen a million times before on the day court, but a passage no more than a page long, referenced ‘the lightsinger.’ Now what is a Lightsinger, you may ask? Honestly, I had no idea what or who they were so I found every book and story I could on them. The lightsinger’s, instead of being a title for a way to manipulate magic, like shadowsingers or daemati, were a race. A long-lost fae race said to be able to bend and create light with their voices and song. It’s said that they died out due to a conflict with the shadowsingers but every so often there are sightings of unknown nymph-like creatures in you’ll never believe where. The autumn court. Now I would only have 25% of lightsinger blood but magic is a fickle thing and some sources believe that when bred with high fae blood the magic intensifies.” Gwyn exhaled.

Azriel grinned victoriously, “It’s been 20 minutes.”

“Goddamn it, I didn’t even get to the interactions between shadowsingers and lightsingers.”

Now he was intrigued. “Well if you want to continue I certainly won’t stop you.”

“No no,” she yawned, “I lost which means I will be going to bed. But I do want to alter our deal slightly.”

“Oh?”

“I sleep now, you train me tomorrow.” The set of her chin and the look in her eye were enough to assure him of how serious she was.

“You want a male who specializes in darkness to help you master your light?”

“Certain theories believe that the mother gifted the light and shadowsingers their gifts to balance each other out and to remain harmonious.” She reasoned. “So yes there is no one I would want more to teach me.”

“I will not take it easy on you.”

“Wouldn’t want you to.”

“Alright Berdara, we meet Sunday at dawn, do not be late.”

“I’ll be there.”

——————————————————————————————————–

Sunday arrived and Azriel watched as Gwyn came down to the training ring in her leathers, with a white ribbon tied in her hair.

“Good morning Gwyneth.”

“So formal.” He shot her a look. “Oh alright ok my turn. Good morning Azriel, shadowsinger, spymaster of the night court, mate of the most amazing female to grace this planet.”

“Training is serious.”

“Of course it is. Shall we begin?”

“I want you to light up the room.”

“What? is it not already lit?”

He smirked and let his shadows paint the room black. Azriel himself became smoke, nothing more than a voice in the darkness.

“Az, az come on this is not funny.”

“Good, because it’s not a joke.” His voice came from every direction and every way Gwyn turned she was surrounded by endless nothing. “You must learn to sing the song of light the way I learned the language of shadow.”

“Speaking in vague melodrama feels like it’s not going to be that effective.”

Gwyn tried to back up only to find what was once the training ring now bled together with the depth of the sky.

“Let the light speak to you. Coax it, nurture it. Burn through the darkness and find the light.”

“How am I supposed to do that.”

Gwyn thought of the way Nesta harnessed her silver fire, the way her eyes became the flame itself. She concentrated and searched deep within herself, searching and looking for the light she knew she possessed.

All she saw was a hallowed chamber.

“No.” The word echoed throughout the room. “Our magic is not like others, we do not create out of nothing, we manipulate what is already there.”

“How am I supposed to manipulate if I’m in a room with no light?” Gwyn huffed frustrated.

“Just because the shadows are masking it, does not mean it is not there.”

He was so damn infuriating. She tried calling the light to her, she flexed her hands, she even tried speaking to it, all to no avail.

“As you said, magic is fickle and our elements especially. Light and darkness do not want to be bound or controlled, let the light be a friend, a companion, let it want to help, let it want to be influenced by your will.”

But how the fuck was she supposed to do that.

“Think of the first time it came to your call.” He whispered ominously. “What were you thinking. What were you feeling? Power often manifests through emotion.”

Singing. She had been singing. Was it really so easy that all she had to do was sing?

Turns out it wasn’t.

For hours she sang hundreds of songs. From songs in the old fae language that she sang at the priestess services to ones she had written herself. Nothing worked. Azriel had let her have a singular break when she desperately needed to pee and even then he was skeptical.  

He had left her to her own devices leaving his shadows to watch over her progress. When he returned he found Gwyn clutching her knees, rocking in the shadows. Her gaze was unfocused and she was humming to herself.

“You have officially broken me. I’m done.” She wanted nothing more than to sit in the library with her sisters and a book.

“No.”

Gwyn’s eyes snapped into focus, her breathing steadied, and she went predatorily still. “Excuse me.”

“You heard me. No.” Azriel laughed, a cold vicious laugh. “You asked me to train you. Gwyneth Berdara has never quit before and she certainly won’t start now.”

Gwyn was seething, but she remained quiet. “What?” He was toying with her. “A little darkness too much for you. Light up the room and we won’t have a problem.”

“Oh that’s right you can’t. 10 hours in and no light in sight. You’re pathetic.”

Her anger cleared her mind and in that moment of clarity a memory, buried deep within her, resurfaced as if it was resting, snoozing until its moment of need.

Gwyn was in her mother's lap, a black-haired girl sat across from her. Her voice pulled her attention. “My girls, Catrin,” She tickled her, resulting in a giggle from her lost sister, before she turned her head, “Gwyneth.” And also tickled her. Gwyn's small hands clutched at their mother, desperately trying to hold on. “My two beautiful daughters.” She sighed. “Your lives will be filled with so much darkness, darkness that you do not deserve. But I need you two to be strong, to stay with each other, and to find strength in the other.” ‘I don’t get it,” Gwyn whined.

“We are a part of a glorious and lost people, a people of light and song. But they fear us because they do not understand us.”

Gwyn and Catrin looked up at her, confused and innocent.

“It’s ok, you will. You know the song I sing to you every night before you go to sleep?” Gwyn and Catrin cheered, “Yeah.”  

“I want you to sing it with me, and I don’t want you to ever forget it. Can you do that for me?”

Their voices came together in a melodic lullaby. It was captivating and cold, those who heard could not look away. The song demanded to be heard, to be sung.

The words came tumbling out of Gwyn, they twisted around her tongue and lips as if finally home. Lost but not forgotten. Lost but born anew. Through the shadow and darkness, her eyes found the light, it heard her call and from every direction it found her. She pulled the brilliance of the stars to her and let the light paint the dark white.

The shadows retreated to Azriel who stood just two feet in front of her. Their eyes locked and he smiled, “there she is.”

The light flowed and flowed, and the room lit up in a blaze of pearlescent radiance. Her pale skin lit and she had once again become one with the stars.

But while the call came from her, there was another that drew her light forward. His shadows and her light curiously answered the pull. Finding each other between Azriel and Gwyn. One did not dissolve into the other like it should but instead mingled, swirling around each other in an almost playful manner. They became one from two opposites that never should have met.

As they blended together she felt a pounding in her chest and a throbbing somewhere lower. Her toes curled and she craved more. Their power was its own entity and yet connected to them. A push and pull, a desire to be close.

Azriel bridged the gap between them breathing heavily, pulling her against him as he’d never felt her before. “Az.” she gasped.

His eyes were on her lips as he licked his own, smiling, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so alive.”

“You’re the worst,” She said between breaths.

“I know.” And their lips met in a furious burst of passion.

He kissed her with a fiery hunger, a male starving. Her hands weaved through his hair, her fingers getting lost in the darkness. Gwyn wanted nothing more then to be lost in his darkness, as he wanted to drown in her light. Azriel gripped her waist, grinding his hardness into her causing her to moan.

“You make such pretty sounds for me.” He chuckled, ripping her shirt off.

“Fuck me.” It was an order, not a request.

“Gladly.” Their clothes were gone moments later. His kisses moved down her neck as he sucked and his fingers dipped to her cunt as he felt her. “Always so wet and ready for me.”

She wrapped her hand around his cock, “Always so hard for me.”

“Can’t help it.”

“Wouldn’t want you to.” He laid her down in the middle of the training ring and stroked his cock up and down her folds, pressing against her clit. “oh my god-fuck.”

With that, his control snapped and he buried himself to the hilt in her. Stroking once, twice.

He smirked, crooning, “look how perfectly we fit.”

His thrusts were slow and shallow, edging her on, basking in the feel of him in her, of her around him.

He then went harder, hitting her in the right spot every time, but Gwyn needed more.

“Faster.”  

“Your wish is my command.” Azriel fucked her hard and fast, and with every thrust she moaned in ecstasy, driving her hips forward, meeting him step for step.

“Oh my god fuck me.”

“Such a good girl, taking it so well.” He captured a moan on her lips, devouring her.

“yes, yes fuck.”

Where the light met the dark, was where Gwyn met Azriel. They were cocooned in a shell of power flowing between and all around them. They were a storm of blinding light and depthless shadow, the lines of what were and were not, blurred to just the other.

“Gwyn.” He groaned, nothing existed but them.

“Az I’m gonna cum.”

“Yes, my love, cum for me.”

Every thrust became sporadic and uncontrolled as if his pleasure had taken a mind of its own. He swirled his tongue around her nipple and ground her clit with his fingers.

It was all too much, Gwyn cried out as she came, her back arching, toes curling. Her cunt tightened around his cock as he fucked her past completion. She was everything and watching her cum was enough to send him over the edge as he emptied himself in her, collapsing on the ground next to her.

For a moment they were silent before Gwyn spoke, “would you like to hear what I learned about the interactions between Lightsinger’s and Shadowsinger’s” She smirked, “Apparently the sex is unlike even mate sex.”

“I can vouch for that.”

Gwyn laughed, and if it wasn’t the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.

[heliads]

Goodbye in C Minor

Luke Patterson was dating this incredible girl, Y/N, until he died along with Alex and Reggie. Now that he’s been stuck in the present day, he doesn’t know how to move on from the girl he left behind in the 90s.

masterlist

A girl leans against an open doorway. She takes in the band playing around her, the black and white Sunset Curve banners streaked with color. Her eyes flash over all members of the band in turn, but they tend to linger on the lead singer, a boy with a shock of brown hair and enough passion for an entire band of his own.

In fact, he doesn’t even notice that the girl has arrived until the song ends and he looks up, finally snapped out of his reverie. Instantly, a smile shoots across his face and he jogs over to her, unslinging his guitar strap from around his shoulders and setting the instrument down on a nearby stand. He picks her up and twirls her around in the air. The girl laughs, and her eyes meet his again once her feet touch back down on the ground.

One of the boys from the band shouts something to her from across the studio, his voice hopeful. “Did you bring us lunch?” The girl turns to face them, attention finally diverted from her boyfriend. She holds up a plastic bag full of boxed containers. “I did! Takeout, hope you don’t mind. And yes, Bobby, some are vegetarian.” A light-haired boy, Alex, does a silent fist pump. “You’re the best, Y/N. Honestly.” 

Y/N hands the bag of food over to the hungry bandmates, and all except one hurriedly dig in. Luke stays, interlacing his fingers with Y/N’s. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Y/N waves his concern away. “I absolutely did. You’ve gotten me into the Orpheum for your upcoming show, the least I can do is make sure you’re all properly fed. If I can’t help with music, I can at least help with this.”

Luke grins. “Trust me, I think the food is the best thing ever. By the way, Reggie wants me to tell you that we’ll invite you to every show on the planet if it means he keeps getting free lunch. Although technically you don’t have to worry about that- I want you by my side every step of the way, lunch or no lunch.” Y/N laughs. “That’s one of the most romantic things I’ve heard all week. Maybe you should put that into a new song. ‘I’ll love you even if you don’t bring me takeout.’”

Luke pouts, and Y/N giggles at his mock sadness. “I’m kidding. Mostly.” Luke leans forward to kiss Y/N. “You had better be.” From across the room, Alex yells something at them. “If you guys keep making out in the middle of practice we’re going to ban you from the studio.” Y/N waves her hand at him. “I brought you food, you can’t ban me! I’m too important to the future of the band.” Reggie shrugs. “She’s right, you know. We might starve.” Alex swats him on the shoulder, and Y/N turns back to Luke with a slight smile.

“I can’t believe you’re playing at the Orpheum in a week. That’s so exciting!” Luke nods fervently. “Sometimes it doesn’t even feel real. Like I’ll wake up and find out we were actually booked to some other place, not the actual Orpheum.” Y/N smiles at him. “You’re going to do great, and that’s final. I can’t wait to see you guys perform.” Luke absentmindedly runs his fingers over Y/N’s knuckles, tapping out the beats of half-written songs. “I know we’ll do great. I’ve got my muse. All of my songs are about you, you know that.” Y/N raises an eyebrow. “Even ‘My Name is Luke?’” Luke groans. “Okay, maybe not that one. Almost all of my songs are about you. How about that?” Y/N beams at her boyfriend. “That sounds perfect.”

Luke jolts back to reality. He’s still standing in that same studio, but he’s back to the present day. He’s not in the 90s anymore, and it’s been decades since he was writing songs with Sunset Curve, preparing to take on the Orpheum for the first time. He’s standing in the exact same place as that one memory, when he’d been talking to her. They’d both been so happy, so exhilarated at the prospect of Sunset Curve’s Orpheum performance. Neither of them had known that Luke, Alex, and Reggie would die that night, permanently taking Luke away from everything he knew best. Away from her.

There’s a slight motion next to him, and Luke freezes before remembering that he’s not alone in the studio. Alex has just walked up beside him, although his friend’s gaze softens when he sees the troubled look on Luke’s face. “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you? You’re thinking about Y/N.” Luke sighs. “Yeah. I just- I can’t believe that all this time had passed. She isn’t here with us, and she didn’t eat those street dogs, so she must not have died. That means she grew up and she’s probably older now. I don’t know what to think about that.”

Alex nods slowly, placing his hand on Luke’s shoulder in a show of comfort. “We left so much behind that it’s hard to think about. If you ever want anyone to talk to, you know we’re all here. Julie too, although that might be more of a difficult conversation.” Luke blows out a slow breath. “That’s the problem. Things are going so well with Julie and the new band and everything that I feel like I should be happier, and I am, and then-” His voice trails off. Alex finishes the sentence for him. “And then you remember what life used to be like.”

Luke walks over to a photo tacked onto the wall. Julie had found some old snapshots of Sunset Curve and set them out in the studio. They were nice to see, but sometimes they tended to hurt instead of inspiring fond memories. One in particular catches his eye- the band and a couple of friends, mere hours before the Sunset Curve show at the Orpheum. It’s a faded Polaroid, showing a group of beaming teenagers pointing up at the Orpheum’s sign glowing in neon lights above them. Look what we’re about to do, they seem to say, look what we never got to finish.

Luke’s eye strays on the far right corner. He’s standing there, arm wrapped around a girl. Y/N. They’re both smiling, although in this shot neither of them are looking at the camera. Instead, they’re both turned towards each other, as if delighted by the simple fact that both of them are together. Luke remembers the details of that night in perfect clarity. They’d all arrived at the Orpheum and taken the photo, and then the boys had headed back to begin their sound checks. Y/N had watched them perform, making friends with a girl who worked at the venue. Rose, who Luke now knows is Julie’s mother.

Y/N always had this easy way of making friends. One smile, a few words, and it was like she’d known a stranger all their life. She and Rose had both cheered when Sunset Curve had finished their warmups, and then looked down at her watch in surprise. She’d said something about how she had to run and do some final checks with the venue staff, and she’d be right back. Y/N had kissed Luke quickly before dashing out the door with a promise that she’d be back in a second. Luke, Alex, and Reggie had disappeared down the block to get some street dogs. By the time Y/N had gotten back, papers and signatures held triumphantly in her hand, it was too late.

Luke doesn’t know what happened after that. He’s not positive that Y/N was there when he died, maybe arriving a few minutes after the fact. He’s not sure if that makes it better or not- although she’d be furious with herself for not being there to save him, Luke knows there was nothing she could have done. Would it have hurt more to be next to him, unable to do anything but watch as he breathed his last, or to have missed the entire thing? He supposes Y/N has had years to think the issue over.

Luke turns away from the photograph. His legs are itching to take him away, his heart racing to find something to do. The band doesn’t have practice today, so there’s nothing to distract him from the awful loneliness beating against his chest. He has to do something to get away from all of this, from the memories and the photographs and the knowledge that he had left the girl he loved behind and there was nothing to do to get her back. Luke mumbles something to Alex about how he’s going to take a walk, then poofs out of the studio, no clear destination in mind.

Luke reappears in the middle of a path. At first, he’s not quite sure where he is. There’s a line of pavement under his feet, leading away in front of him. Spring green boughs wave overhead, framing the way before him. The trees eventually clear out to form a clearing, and only then does Luke realize where he is. It’s the local cemetery, the place where all of Luke’s family have been buried. The place where surely he, too, lies at rest. His head must have some twisted sense of humor to bring him here.

Luke wavers one last moment, then decides to take off down the path. He’s never actually visited his own grave, as it seemed too morbid an activity to actually set out and do, but if he’s already here he might as well see it. There’s some sort of curiosity affixed to seeing your own headstone, weird as that may be, and at least now he can glance at it once and forget about it.

Luke passes between the long lines of gravestones, reading through the names. It’s late afternoon, and there’s almost nobody here at all. At least, there isn’t anybody here except one woman, who’s crouching before a headstone in the middle of the cemetery. On second thought, she appears to be around the place where Luke’s family is buried. As he walks over, he realizes that this woman is actually next to his grave. 

She’s speaking quietly. “Nothing much happened today, but it’s a Saturday, so I had to drop by anyway.” Her head drops. “You’ve been gone for 25 years. Can you believe that? 25. I miss you still.” A bittersweet smile cracks her lips, and Luke’s heart twists at the pain in her voice. “I have children now. They’re just beginning to enter double digits. At some point, they’ll be older than you. I wish you could have met them, Luke. I think you’d like them a lot.”

Luke’s head flies up when she says his name. The way she said it sounded so familiar, like he’s heard this woman before. Like he knows her, and knows her very well. The woman freezes slightly- she must have seen his small motion out of the corner of her eye. But that doesn’t make sense, because lifers aren’t supposed to see ghosts like Luke. Yet the woman still stands, lightly brushing dirt off of her legs. “Sorry, I’ll get out of your way. Didn’t see you there.”

The woman turns to face Luke, and her eyes widen. She stands for a moment, staring, and then her voice comes again, faltering and weak. “Luke?” She looks away from him, studying her own hands as if expecting them to be ghostly and translucent. “But you’re dead. How can you be here- Am I dead?” Luke shakes his head. “No, you’re not dead. I mean, I am, but I’m a, uh, ghost. You’re not a ghost. At least I don’t think so.” Luke’s voice trails off when the woman looks at him again. When she’s finally turned towards him, her face seems so familiar. It takes him a moment, and then he realizes who she is. “Y/N.”

It has to be her. There’s no way around it. Indeed, the second her name passes through his lips he knows it’s true. The Y/N standing before him is far older now, maybe in her late thirties or early forties. That would make sense, wouldn’t it? They were teenagers when he died, and if it’s been 25 years since then, she would have to be older. A slight lump forms in Luke’s throat. What would it have been like if he hadn’t died? Would he have been like this too? Would they have grown old together?

Y/N rubs a hand over her face as if in shock. “This makes no sense. I mean, you sound just like yourself and everything but-” Luke laughs quietly. “But ghosts aren’t real.” Y/N gestures loosely with her hand. “Exactly.” Her eyes flicker over him again, taking in every detail of his face as if committing it to memory. This small action itself is so strange to see- Luke remembers Y/N doing this at shows and practices, and it doesn’t feel right to see this similarity in a version of Y/N that is so much older, especially when Luke himself is still a teenager.

Luke’s voice is quiet. “Do you always visit my grave?” Y/N nods. “Every other Saturday. I think your mom and dad come all the time too. I try to give them some space.” She looks back at him, as if she can understand what he’s thinking. “We haven’t moved on so easily. There was a time right after you died when I thought we never would. I didn’t see how the earth could keep turning without my boys. And then the years kept passing by, and although the pain never got any easier we learned how to be happy too, how to keep the grief but remember you with brighter memories instead.”

She smiles, although her eyes are tinged with pain. “I’m married now.” She holds up her hand, and Luke’s gaze is drawn to the ring on her finger. “I think you’d like him a lot. We have two children, a boy and a girl. They know your parents well, we get together all the time. They supported me when I was in over my head, they pulled me out of a well when I was drowning in grief. I check in on them, and they check in on me. We were trying to do right by you.”

Luke feels like his legs are about to collapse underneath him. To see Y/N like this, so much older and calmer, feels like an earthquake tearing him apart. He doesn’t know why, but some part of him had almost assumed that she wouldn’t grow old either, that if he looked hard enough he could find her and they could be the same again. He knows now that he was wrong, although the sight of Y/N is still so reflexively exhilarating that he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

Luke forces himself to speak. “Are you- are you happy? Now, with your family?” Y/N nods, a radiant smile breaking out across her face. “I’m incredibly happy. Things are good now, and they’re going to keep being good for a very long time.” She looks at him, seeing the questions he’s too afraid to ask. “I’m sorry that things happened the way they did. I would have liked nothing more than to see you shine on that stage and have your star career the way that we always planned. I have a feeling that you’ve got a new chance now, a way to move on. I’d take it. You’ve always been able to stay on your feet and keep running forward. Don’t let that go.”

Luke nods. “Thank you, Y/N.” They exchange their goodbyes and then Luke disappears back into the trees. After a moment or two of walking, he poofs back into the studio. Luke walks on leaden limbs towards his songwriting notebook, flinging it open and reaching for a pencil. He turns to one page in particular, a song he’d begun writing for Y/N a few days before their performance at the Orpheum. He changes some lines, adds new chords, transposes the song from a major to a minor key. He doesn’t know how long he sits there, but when he looks up at last, the song is finished.

The title sits at the top, a blurry gray after recent erasings. ‘Goodbye in C Minor.’ The beautiful start to a love he never got to see through.

[juletheghoul]

Mysticus Chapter 3

Ezra x F!Reader Soulmates AU

Pairing: Ezra x F!Reader

Word Count: 1.4K

Warnings: Slow-burn (Smut later on)

Masterlist Chapter 4

His name bounced around in your head constantly, Ezra. So simple, but once he told you it seemed almost obvious. Repeating it back to him you could almost taste it, easy and sweet, with a little something rich near the end. Something darker maybe, it was like you’d been waiting your whole life to say his name.

At first his casual touches shocked you. Big firm hand on your shoulder guiding you through a parking lot, same hand on the small of your back when opening a door for you, a light smack on your thigh while driving when spotting something interesting on the side of the road. Even though you’d been travelling alone with the dog for so long, it was worryingly easy to get used to him. It felt as though the warmth in his hands seeped into your skin wherever he touched you, warming something inside of you that you hadn’t realized was frozen. It also didn’t hurt that to you, he was devastatingly handsome.

Sometimes he caught you staring at him, but he only ever gave you that secret smile you had grown to love over the short time travelling together. He smiled, because he stared at you the same way

As you drove through a particularly long stretch of highway in comfortable silence, you saw a sign advertising a rest area coming up within a few miles. Some food would be really welcome you thought to yourself. You noticed movement beside you, Ezra was digging in his bag for something and before long he was holding out a bag of pretzels to you. Not looking up from the paperback he was trying to read in the dying light of the day. Your brow furrowed. Had you spoken out loud?

“Here Birdie, to hold you over until we can stop for a proper meal.” Secret smile on display. You felt like there was something strange going on.

“Did I say I was hungry out loud?” You asked just as your stomach growled loudly. He laughed softly, without malice.

“Audio evidence aside, I’m not sure you’re aware how loud your thoughts are Birdie. Eat, we shall arrive at the rest stop soon. Once we’re properly fed and watered we will trade places and you can rest.” He put the open bag on your lap so you could reach in while driving.

“I know you’re hungry too aren’t you sweet girl?” He smiled over his shoulder at the dog whose attention had been piqued from the crinkling of the bag. He reached into another bag and pulled out one of her treats and gave it to her. Cooing softly into her ear as she took it gently from his hand. You had this overwhelming sense that there was something bigger at play here. You ate the pretzels, quietly lost in thought.

Two hours later you were both enjoying the evening breeze while sitting at one of the many empty picnic tables outside the rest stop. Both of you happy to be out of the car for a little while, dog enjoying the grass as she laid at your feet. You had been more quiet than usual as you ate your food.

“What’s troubling you Birdie? I can tell there’s something on your mind. I hope I haven’t done something to upset you?” He asked with genuine concern, softly taking your hand in both of his big warm ones.

“How’s do you do that? It feels like you know what I’m thinking sometimes.” You felt ridiculous asking, realizing how crazy it was once the words were said out loud.

“I suppose I do it the same way you do Birdie. You often give me answers to questions I haven’t voiced. Haven’t you noticed?” You frowned, you didn’t know what he was thinking did you? He traced the mark on your palm unconsciously and it made your heart race.

“Haven’t you ever noticed we seem to anticipate what the other needs before speaking it out loud? Yesterday while I was driving you handed me my water without me even making so much as a peep. Often times I’ll think I need something and you’ll hand it to me.” He stared at your hand as he spoke.

You tried to think about what he was saying, you assumed he’d said he was thirsty. Had he actually said it or did you somehow feel what he felt as clearly as you felt your own desires. Your heart was racing and there was a curious panic spreading from the middle of your chest, radiating out of you in waves. He sensed your panic in that strange way and tentatively walked over to where you were sitting.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of Birdie.” He spoke gently, slowly bringing his arm around your shoulder to ground you. So many emotions hit you at once and it was hard to focus on any one in particular, you were scared at the thought that someone else might know what you were thinking or feeling or whatever the hell this was, you felt emotional at the tenderness he was showing. Quietly letting you deal with everything you were thinking without pushing. Most of all, you felt embarrassed. You didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all. There had always been something, you knew that in your heart of hearts, or you wouldn’t have said some of the crazy un-knowable things you’ve previously said during your palm readings. Whether you acknowledged it or not there was a sense you had about people; about different places even. Why was it so unbelievable that you’d find someone who was similar? He rubbed at your shoulder in comfortable silence as you slowly brought your sudden panic under control.

“What does it mean do you think? How come we’re connected this way?” You asked as you unconsciously scooted a little closer to him, seeking out his reassuring warmth. You felt him stiffen for the briefest of moments, you thought you saw a look of sadness on his face; it was gone before you could even register it. It still tickled at something, in the back of your mind. There was something there that you pushed away, avoiding. Ignoring.

“Well Birdie, I’m not entirely sure what it means. We’re special I suppose.” He didn’t meet your eye as he took your hand again. Touching the mark on your palm as you took in his words. He was quiet when you got back on the road You thought about your conversation with Ezra for a long time after, and as you were coming up on the motel you were planning on stopping at for the night you felt something. There was something wrong. The motel looked indistinguishable from any other motel you’d stopped at during the course of your travels. There was an unnatural electricity skimming over your skin, the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. The car came to a stop before the entrance of the parking lot and you turned to face him. There was a strange expression on his face. A seriousness that was completely at odds with his usual mood. He generally wore an easy smile, always in a good mood. If you were honest this scared you a little bit. The dog growled softly from her place in the back seat. “If it’s all the same to you Birdie, I strongly suggest we depart from this place without haste.” He didn’t wait for you to respond as he peeled out of there and got back on the highway. “You felt it too right?” Your voice came out smaller than you intended. “I did. What did you feel Birdie?” He asked quietly, as he continually checked the rear-view mirror. “It was like someone threw me in ice cold water.” You felt the sweat drying on your back as you tried to focus on your breathing. “I couldn’t have phrased it better myself. We’ll find another more suitable place to replenish our strength.” He said it in a voice that booked no argument, not that you had one to offer. You read about that motel in the news a couple of days later, a fight had gotten out of hand and shots had been fired. A few stray bullets had found themselves lodged in the beds next to the room involved in the altercation. Luckily, the room had been empty.

--------

Tag List: @foli-vora @frannyzooey @freak-nasty-thick-dick-mando @marydjarin @thirstworldproblemss @cannedsoupsucks @ilikechocolatemilkh @lori-tovar @freeshavocadoooo @hrk-fic-recs

[firetextskpop]

Hi , can u do pentagon's reaction when they are doing sex with their wife and suddenly their son / daughter come in to their bedroom bcs they had a nightmare ? I think it would be funny lol ..

A/N: Absolutely! Let’s see how this goes.

PTG when their kids have a nightmare and they were doing the do 

Jinho:

With your wrist pinned above your head and husband pounding into you, it was hard to hear anything but the both of you. Jinho whispered in your ear, “I think Mina would love, a little sibling. Is that what you want love? Another baby.” His words nearly take you over the edge until you hear crying. “J-Jinho, wait. I think she’s up.” Your husband stops his movements and hears the same thing. “Is she in the room?” He asked, pulling out of you and turning around. Low and behold stood your 3 year old daughter. “Fuck.” Jinho mumbled. You hit his arm and began speaking to your child with open arms. “Mina, what’s wrong baby?” She walked over for you to pick her up. “I had a bad dream. There was loud noises. I went to the noise and its here.” You pout your bottom lip at her. “It’s okay princess, let’s get you back comfy. Go to your table and I’ll heat you up some milk.” She nodded and went to her table. Jinho looked at you and started speaking but you cut him off. “Absolutely not.” Now it’s Jinho’s turn to pout. “She’s going to your mom’s next week.”

Hongseok:

Seok was very sure he locked the door. So when your 5 year old twins busted in as Hongseok fucked you in the mirror with the camera on, he felt terrible. Immediately He covered you and yelled at the boys not to look. The twins turned around as Hongseok got everything situated. “Okay, Daddy’s sorry for yelling, you can come in now.” He says and the boys came in and hugged you both. “Why are you two up at 3 am?” You asked stroking the younger of the two’s head. “Haneul had a bad dream then scared me too.” Hyunmin said cuddling into your side. “Can we sleep with you please?” Haneul asked with puppy dog eyes, (like his father.) Hongseok nods and tucks them in between you both before telling them a story he made up on the spot.

Hui/Hwitaek:

After a long hard day at work, Hui just wanted to endulge in you. Anywhere, anytime. Being able to take you on the kitchen counter was more than enough for him. When your son walked in with his protective blanket, you know something wasn’t right. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking completely so you began to push off Hui and fix yourselves just in time. “Jisung?” Hwitaek addressed his son and picked him up. Surprisingly, this made you son cry more as he held on dearly to his father. “Talk to me Sungie.” Your husband coddled Jisung. “I miss you daddy, please dont go.” This of course confused Hui. “I think you had a bad dream. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s go to bed” He says and pats your sons back.

Changgu/Yeoone:

Changgu literally just put the kids to sleep. But at the same time he couldn’t keep his hands off of you. The second your bedroom door shut, he ripped off your clothes and began pleasuring you with mouth. Just as you neared our climax, there was a small knock on your door. Quickly you tapped on his head to inform him of this. Changgu sighed before throwing the blanket over your private bits and opening the door. There stood your youngest child with the biggest tears you’ve seen in your life. “I sleep with you please daddy?” She says wiping her eyes. “Absolutely.”

Shinwon:

Surprisingly enough this was your 4th round at it and it was 5 am. You bounced on Shinwon as he tightly grasped your hips. “Fuck, you ride me so well.” He mumbled against your neck. You began to scratch at his chest but then felt a little dip in your bed. Neither of you thought too much about it until you heard a soft sniffle. Both of your attention turned to the 3 year old laying on her side facing away from the two of you. Panic rose in the two of your eyes as you both looked at each other but you moved calmly. Quietly and slowly getting off the bed to put on your under clothes at minimum before sliding back into the bed. When you went to ask what was going on, she already was soundly asleep. You and Shinwon decided not to prompt her on it but join her in sleep.

Yanan:

He finally came home after being on tour and doing shows and you really missed him. Every night leading up to this one, you promised that the day would be all about him. Yanan sat in the chair as you worked your oral magic on him with ice cubes in your mouth. His sensitivity was severely high, so high in fact that his other senses were heightened and he actually heard your 5 year old son come close to the door. “Xiaohui is coming.” He warns you and you immediately pop up as he fixed his pants. Not a second later, your son knocks on the door and you let him in. “Monsters aren’t real, right?” He asks immediately. Yanan chuckles a bit and you shoot him a look. “No HuiHui, but if you want, I can still check the room for you.” You say and push the stray hairs out of your son’s hair. “Please.” He asks and holds on to your wrist.

Yuto:

You both were in the shower getting clean but Yuto looked a little too good under the water. He noticed you staring and started flexing a bit for you. After some teasing and messing around, he began to fuck you against the shower wall. “Come for me babe.” He whispers in your ear and you do just that. In that moment there were 3 loud bangs on the bathroom door. Normally you would be afraid it was an intruder but it was your 7 year old daughter. “What’s wrong Natsumi?” Yuto asked drying off and throwing on his basketball shorts. “Naoki is having a nightmare and keeps talking about some big bug and I can’t sleep.” This wasn’t the first time your son had a sleeptalking nightmare. “Okay, we’ll be there in a minute.” You responded through the door. Once you both were dressed, you went to your sons side with a glass of warm milk.

Kino/Hyunggu:

Hyunggu had you pinned against the couch. Your legs completely spread apart as he rocked his hips into yours. Well explaining how he was a father of 3. “Are you gonna give me a daughter love?” You nodded your head agreeing to anything because, well...he was fucking you so well. His head now buried into your neck. “Dad?” Your oldest asked from behind the couch coming from his room. Kino panicked and sat up to face his child who had dried tears. “Hyunwoo what are you doing up?” He asked nervous. “I had a bad dream..Why are you naked on the couch?” Your 7 year old son asked genuinely concerned. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll be there with you in a minute.” Kino responded. “Also where’s-” “Now.”

Wooseok;

It was one of the many nights that you both had pre-planned. The 4 year old should be sleep by 9, wine at 10 and 11? It was time to ‘double your pleasure’. Wooseok held your legs around his head and you moaned around his shaft as he rapidly flicked the tip of his tongue on your sensitive bits. When he began fucking you with his tongue, without thinking, you made attempts to deepthroat him. Wooseok began to growl a bit before spreading you open a bit more. When you both least expected it, the door busted open and there stood your child, sobbing the hardest since he was an infant. Immediately, Wooseok threw you off and pulled up his pants. “Jinwoo?” The child nodded his head. “I had a bad dream.” Seok pouted and looked at you, who was slightly more dressed now. “Can we talk about the bad dreams Daddy?” Jinwoo asked. Wooseok nodded and ushered the child to the kitchen where he fed him food Yanan cooked for your husband’s birthday.

[unbridgeabledistances]

hi<3 okay i am finally writing the new kotss chapter, and once again here is a lil contemplative snippet of tumblr-drabble length as a preview for when i write the whole thing in a day or two!😌💜 (mostly bc i am feeling sleepy and sappy this morning about mickey’s growth and just. cannot get over it.)

hope u enjoy<3

--

He fucking loved the dog, okay?

When they were first waiting in that overly-bright room in the dog rescue center (or whatever the fuck it was called) with Ian sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him, and Mickey had seen the bundle of fur with its paws hitting the ground, a scrawny puppy with a swollen belly and a protruding ribcage— he’d immediately known he was in trouble.

First, because there was no fucking way that Ian was going to let them leave this place without it, since he practically made heart-eyes the second the puppy stumbled its way over to him— and second, because Mickey was absolutely, totally sure that he was going to fuck this up. Even reading the fucking description on the website on Ian’s phone screen, “comes from a troubled past and needs a loving home,” made something twist in his gut— because how the fuck was Mickey supposed to provide something like that?

Mickey didn’t take care of shit like this, like fragile puppies or babies or anything he could mess up— and he especially didn’t let in anything more than he could handle losing, anything soft and helpless and innocent that he couldn’t let slip between his fingers on his own accord. He’d learned that shit early, when whatever whispers and soft traces of touches on his cheeks were ripped away by the pry of Terry’s calloused hands— when one day, when he was fifteen, he and Mandy and everyone else didn’t have a mom anymore. Losing his mom, losing his family after years on the road, even losing fucking Terry those now months ago; all of that shit compounded and pressed on the walls of his ribcage in a way that Mickey himself didn’t really understand, and apparently was oozing out of him in a fucking dog shelter as he stood there frozen, in the face of a helpless frame on wobbly legs with silky grey fur.

For some reason, even though he and Ian had been talking about the dog in the abstract for days now, something about seeing the dog scared him shitless— because taking care of shit was objectively scary, and Mickey was shit out of practice with it. He’d never been good, comfortable, at holding something fragile in his hands, something that he could mess up in a second with a slip of judgement. Mickey was great at getting shit done, but with something like this— well, honestly, he wasn’t sure if he trusted himself enough, to not make those split-second choices that Terry made, the ones that left cigarette burns on his sides and snapped his jaw out of place and left him with so many aching wounds that only became more dark and cavernous through the years.

I’m gonna fuck this up.

What if he got too mad and kicked the dog, what if he fed it the wrong shit and it withered away and became more frail than it already was, what if it ran away or got hit by a car or got fucking shot by a stray bullet in a shitty neighborhood? It felt scary to choose to care about something this fragile, to sign up for the loss and the ripping ache that would follow if Mickey overreacted or fucked something up or made a slip-second misstep. In the Milkovich family, loving was a liability— a promise that someone you cared about could get pummeled and bloodied and beaten in front of you, could get handcuffed and dragged upstate for months or years in the blink of an eye. When Mickey was fifteen, scratching “FUCK LOVE” and “STAY THE FUCK OUT” signs on pieces of cardboard with Sharpies he’d stolen from the dollar store, he’d made a promise to himself to harden himself against that weakness— against that loss.

And then, of course, freckle-faced chicken-legged Ian Gallagher showed up at his doorstep anyways.

So he’d let himself love Gallagher—and eventually he’d let himself love Franny after she plopped herself in his lap one day, wearing a princess tiara talking a mile a minute about monster trucks; and he didn’t even mind hanging out with Liam once in a while on those late nights in the Gallagher house, when Ian would be working a double shift and he and Liam flopped on opposite sides of the couch, watching shitty cartoons in a comfortable silence as the glow from the TV screen flickered on their faces.

But none of that felt like a choice—all of those people, those warm bodies to love, just fell into Mickey’s lap; so it wasn’t Mickey’s fault, really, if shit hit the fan. It wasn’t like he made the choice to love them in the first place— it just happened.

But adopting a dog (or having a fucking kid, like he knew Ian wanted)— that was a choice. That was telling something, someone, that you were ready to take care of them; that you were ready to lose everything when they inevitably got taken away, that you were ready to pour all of your fucked-up bullshit into someone and hope that you weren’t the reason why they turned out screwed up. It just seemed like too much; and in the face of the tiny fucking furball that Ian was cooing over as he sat cross-legged, Mickey’s immediate impulse was to keep his distance and tether himself into the linoleum floor miles away.

But of course Ian had done that fucking thing only he had the power to do, and melted whatever iron walls Mickey had soldered into place with a gentle Mick, d’you wanna pet her?— and of course the fucking dog had to nuzzle her goddamn tiny wet nose into Mickey’s hand, and give a too-trusting lick to his palm as she rolled over onto her back, exposing her vulnerable belly even after whatever fucking dog-fight bullshit she’d been through— and immediately Mickey couldn’t couldn’t see a timeline in which they didn’t wrap this fucking mutt up in a soft towel and take her home to the dog bed in their apartment and get her healthy on gourmet fucking dog food from a monogrammed tin bowl.

So even though it drove him fucking crazy that she was so fucking skinny, and the entire first night when she’d slept curled on the bed he kept waking up and googling the best dog foods and exercise regimens and refilling her water bowl at the kitchen sink like an obsessed fucking maniac— he really couldn’t help it.

Against every instinct, he’d chosen to love when he didn’t have to— and he was starting the realize that maybe that shit wasn’t a weakness.

**

“So, I hear you guys’ve got a new mascot.”

Tommy was ambling in the front door, right on the dot of their 2 P.M. opening time, with Kermit skittishly following a few paces behind him.

Ian rolled his eyes from behind the bar when he thought Mickey wasn’t looking (fucking traitor).

“Yeah, I think the whole neighborhood knows by now. Someone’s been a little too eager with the dog photos.”

Which— fuck that. So what if he fucking posted a few pictures of Baz to the mostly-defunct Alibi Facebook page that Kev had given them the login info to, some of which featured Baz wearing Mickey’s sunglasses when they were partway through a walk? Nobody needed to know that Mickey alone was behind that shit— Ian liked taking dog photos too, even though they were never as good as Mickey’s, and mostly just featured the moments Mickey was passed out on the couch with Baz sleeping on his chest.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Ian grinned and turned towards Mickey. “Nothin.’ Just nice to see that you’re growing into the whole dog parent thing. Though it is kind of turning into a stage mom thing.”

Mickey furrowed his brows. “Fuck you. The customers love her. It’s good for business.”

Ian held up his hands in surrender, still smirking—which just cause Mickey to shove him gently in his sternum.

“It’s not my fault Baz is the prettiest pit on the fucking Southside.”

In the corner of the bar, Baz was sitting on her cushion that they’d bought at a boujee pet store down the road, to keep downstairs at the Alibi so they could keep her other dog bed upstairs— and when Tommy and Kermit came into the room her ears immediately lifted, her tail twitching excitedly at the new faces. Tommy just gave a wary side-eyed glance to the dog pillow before plopping himself onto his usual stool, but Kermit nervously crouched beside the cushion and gave Baz’s chin a scratch.

“Ey! Paws off the princess until you drop some money on a beer, Kermit. I didn’t haul myself down to the empty bar on a Monday afternoon to watch you pet my fucking dog.”

Kermit shuffled to his usual seat beside Tommy at the end of the bar. “She’s cute. I didn’t realize pit bulls could be so scrawny.”

Baz was already filling out fast in the few days she’d been living with them; but it was true that she was still small and wiry for her age. Mickey made sure they got some sort of fresh dog food shit from the pet store that they had to keep in the refrigerator (even though Ian insisted kibble was fine, like a fucking cheapskate) to get her strength up, and he also got a bunch of fucking vitamins, like salmon oil and shit to make sure her coat was shiny—and yes, okay, maybe he also bought her a badass collar with spikes on it, and maybe he also dropped money on one of those engraved pet tags in the shape of a skull and crossbones that said “Bazooka Gallagher-Milkovich” on it with the Alibi’s address on it. He couldn’t fucking help it; they had a steady stream of cash coming in from crowded nights, they were planning on doing Ian’s karaoke shit once a month, and Mickey felt like they could afford to spend money on shit like this—like they could afford to do this right. And because of Mickey’s doting, even though Ian had started to take Baz for runs in the morning, it was no secret that she liked Mickey ever-so-slightly more than Ian; when they were laying in bed at night Baz would always hop up and curl into Mickey’s side and leave inches between her and Ian, causing a surprised chuckle to escape Mickey’s lips the first time it happened as he scratched behind her ears. Ian just stared at him, with some sappy fucking smile on his face.

“The fuck’re you looking at?”

“Nothing. Just glad we took her home.”

Mickey rolled his eyes, but felt a smile creeping onto his lips despite himself. “Yeah. Me too.”

“And I’m definitely not jealous of a dog right now.”

**

It was later in the evening and the bar was pretty empty, a standard for a Monday night— Mickey had been trying to train Baz to stay on her cushion now that she’d learned how to sit and lay down on command; much to the amusement of Tommy and Kermit, who kept fucking distracting her. If Mickey had his way, he’d train Baz to bark at Kermit whenever he said something stupid (the guy just got on his fucking nerves, what could he say)—but of course Baz had other plans once she realized Kermit was the one of the pair who would pet her, and kept nuzzling her head onto Kermit’s thigh and thumping her tail on the floor.

“I thought pit bulls were supposed to be vicious.”

“Fuck you, Kermit. That’s fucking… dog racist, or some shit.”

Kermit just meekly looked down at his half-empty beer glass, as Ian came in the front door from where he was bringing in the sandwich board from the curb, not expecting any more customers for the night. He reached down to ruffle Baz’s fur along the way.

“How’s our girl doing?”

“Pretty good. Once these assholes get out of here we can called it a night.”

Tommy scoffed at that. “Milkovich, we’re some of your most loyal customers— hell, we’re your only loyal customers. I think we deserve more than insults.”

“Oh yeah? You gonna go drink the day away somewhere else?”

Tommy faltered for a moment, and raised an eyebrow. “Touche.”

“Alright, bozos. Time to pack up. No one else is coming in tonight, we’ll see you tomorrow. Me and Ian have better shit to do.”

Tommy drained the last of his beer, placing a wad of one-dollar bills on the countertop and giving an exaggerated salute. “Until tomorrow, gentlemen.”

When they left the bar and the doors were locked, Ian’s shoulders started to shake with laughter. “Jesus. I never thought I’d be at a point in my life when I’m dependent on the consistent generosity of Tommy and Kermit, but here I am.”

“More like consistent alcoholism.”

Ian smirked, then flopped to sit on a barstool opposite the countertop from Mickey, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Are you fine taking Baz out? I’m kinda tired, wanna get a start on dinner.”

“Yeah, man. Works for me.”

They’d been living with each other in the Gallagher house for months, sure, but they were still new at doing this— at only accounting for each other’s schedules, at divvying up tasks like walking the dog and cooking dinner and doing fucking dishes rather than just coasting on someone like Debbie getting them by. Things were different now— things were settled and quiet, in a way that still made Mickey like he had to rub his eyes extra hard to clear them in the still, dark mornings in the apartment, like he wasn’t convinced this shit was real.

After dinner they sat cross-legged on their bed, watching a movie on Ian’s old beat-up laptop with Baz sitting between them and chewing on one of her toys that squeaked loudly every few seconds (this one was a stuffed animal in the shape of a police officer, because in Mickey’s own words at the pet store, “ACAB motherfucker”)— and later that night, wrapped in the smell of laundry soap on clean sheets and dog shampoo, Mickey slept easily.

Maybe this was something he could trust himself to hold on to.

[sparklingchan]

Prologue|| Stormbringer- Stray Kids Demigod AU

Pairing : Reader(fem.) X Felix

Word count : 1.2k+

Warnings : Family issues, mentions of mythological monsters, not edited.

Genre : Romance, Demigod AU, fluff, angst.

Description: Two twelve year olds kids with apparently normal lives find themselves in a rather uncomfortable position when they are told the truth about their not-so-normal parentage.  

A/N : FINALLY I managed to post this!! I haven’t been feeling well lately so hope I didn’t keep anyone waiting too long. This prologue doesn’t necessarily connect with the main plot of the story but it does lay the backdrop for it so this part might come off as plain. 

Hope everyone’s been keeping well, given the current situations. If you need anyone to talk to, I’m right here!

SERIES MASTERLIST ||  Click here for introduction to the story and glossary and here for the Stray Kids demigod diaries!

Lighting in the Sky

"Before the world existed, there was nothing. Only a primary void, a nothingness and ..chaos. "

Your glazed, intrigued eyes follow every word from the new book your mother reads out from, your curiosity unable to handle the wonderful way your mother always turns every story into a mystery.

The bright green cover of the book looks attractive, and smooth like glass. Instinctively, you hold your finger up to its surface.

Its cold.

" 'Famous tales from Greek Mythology ' " you read out its title, now no longer paying attention to your mother's words, "Mum, do you think the people in these stories are real?"

Your mother stops mid sentence, not really surprised when a rather familiar memory finds its way back to her. Thunderstorms, a handsome young man, rapid heartbeats, a little baby girl.

"I'd like to think so," she runs her fingers through your hair, "But not all of them are as heroic as they're made to be in these books."

You wondered what her words had meant for a long time after that. For a 12 year old girl, you'd been way too curious, way too hard to deceive. But truth is something that cannot be hidden for too long.

You remember that day as clearly as if it were yesterday.

It was your 13th birthday , a joyous day for a young girl who'd always wanted to experience the so called 'exciting' teen years. Your mum had prepared an amazing celebration for you- a small picnic by the seaside, a chocolate cake (your absolute favorite), the second edition of 'Famous tales from Greek Mythology ' as a gift. It was almost perfect.

Almost.

While on your way to the parking lot, a dog pounces at you. Except it wasn't just a dog. It was a Hell Hound.

You'd only seen the likes of it before in your story books and in your nightmares that were as vivid as memories. But you know exactly what a hellhound really is. Hellhounds are dogs that guard the Underworld - world of the dead .

"Get off of me, you dog!" You scream as the monster claws at your face.

Viscious creatures and brilliant killers these dogs are and if it weren't for two boys showing up to your rescue, you are sure you'd have become the hellhound 's food that day.

"Are you okay, y/n?" The boys ask you.

"H-how do you know my name? Who are you people?" You pant, on the verge of tears, "What was that thing?"

The taller of the two boys - Hyunjin, as he would introduce himself to you later sends a look of confusion over at the shorter boy - who also introduces himself as Minho later. "We have a lot of talking to do, y/n. Where's your mom?"

Your mom is not one bit fazed when she drives the three of you back to your small apartment. It's almost as if she'd been expecting it all along.

Once you reach your house, your mom who's usually extremely cheerful and loud, sits you down quietly on the couch and tells you the truth. Of who you are, what you are capable of.

"Sweetie, your father is not the book author you think he is. I'm so sorry I lied to you. " she sucks in a deep breath, almost scared, "Honey, your dad is...a God. A Greek God. The ones we read about."

And that one sentence turns your entire world upside down. Everything you've ever known just changes.

But sometimes changes are for the best, you'd like to think.

Minho and Hyunjin reveal that they come from a place called Camp Levanter - a home for kids like you, demigods is what they're apparently called.

"A-are you like me too?"

"Yes, y/n. We're like you." Minho says, "I'm the son of the Greek God Dionysus and Hyunjin over here is the son of the Greek goddess Aphrodite."

Hyunjin pats your head ever so gently and in an alluring voice says, "Do you want to come with? We could be your friend. How does that sound?"

You find yourself nodding almost immediately.

And just before you walk out of the door, you give your mom the tightest hug, assuring her that you'd do just fine.

"By the way, mum, what's dad's name? You never told me."

You mom sighs, as the skies outside rumble with thunder, "Your father is Zeus - the God of sky and lightning. "

*

The symbol of Love

"Are we going to die tonight, Nana?"

Felix shivers into the embrace and pulls his greying, old grandmother closer, her weak body already completely corrupted by the cold and snow.

"N-not you, Lixie. You have things to do." She mumbles, holding the 13 year old kid to her chest, hoping to find some kind of warmth in this freezing cold weather, "I-its not your time yet. You will go back to your father, you hear me? You didn't have to come with me anyway!"

Felix's father wasn't the nicest person - to put it decently. He didn't so as much bat an eye towards him. Perhaps he was ashamed of having a child out of wedlock or worse, he was reminded of Felix's gorgeous mother he so dearly missed everytime he saw Felix.

Anyhow, parental love never made it into Felix's life from his father's side so instead he grew up under the warmth of his grandmother's love.

On his 13th birthday, Felix receives his first and last gift from his father; a step mother. That fall, his father marries an old colleague in a small ceremony. And Felix would later go on to hate himself for ever thinking that this new addition to the family might fill up the blank space his birth mother had left behind.

Not ten days after the wedding, his new step mother 'accuses' his grandmother of being rude and unwelcoming and begs his father to throw her out of the house.

Which all comes down to this moment, where his grandmother is freezing to death and he cannot do anything but watch silently.

"Hey, do you need help?" When Felix hears that voice, his first instinct is to brush it off as a hallucination, for who would help two homeless people in this bone chilling weather?

"Felix, do you need help?" A few rapid footsteps and two boys present themselves in front of him, panting as if they'd been running all the while.

"W-who are you?" He stutters, hugging his grandmother closer, "How do you know my name?"

One of the two boys reply gently, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Felix. How about we go to my place? Your grandmother might like a warm cup of tea, don't you think?"

And so he agrees to go with the two boys.

Once they'd warmed his Nana up and fed her, Felix gently tucks her into the bed of the guest room they'd been given. As scared as Felix was to accept their help, he knew he had no option. His grandmother meant the world to him and he couldn't watch her succumb right in front of his eyes.

The two boys are very careful in approaching Felix, making sure to not scare him more than he already is.

"What are your names? How do you know me?" They let a whole hour pass by as the three boys sit on the dining table, occupied with plates of untouched food and full bottles of water, letting Felix be the one to start conversation. And when he finally does, Changbin breathes a sigh of relief. Really, he was starving but he didn't want to seem rude in front of their new friend.

"I'm Chan," Chan introduces himself, and then Changbin speaks, "I'm Changbin. And why do we know you, you ask - well the three of us have quite a lot in common, you see. More than what meets the mortal eye."

Mortal eye? What's this all about? Felix finds himself more confused than he already was.

"We're the children of Greek gods, Felix. " Chan sighs, " You, me and Changbin. Is it hard to believe?"

Felix is about to say 'yes' out of pure impulse but he holds his tongue this time ; these guys don't seem like the kind to make such obnoxious claims, even as a joke. All his life, Felix had spent as an outcast, among his friends, among his cousins, among his classmates. His father had treated him like he were a monster. And his estranged mother who his father never said anything about? Felix finds suspicion knocking at his door.

Whilst its still extremely hard to believe, Felix responds,

"I want to believe you."

Chan and Changbin exchange a look of surprise, complete astonishment since none of them had expected Felix to even listen to them. And now that they have his attention, they find themselves a tad bit pressured as well.

"But don't disappoint me," Felix mutters, more to himself than to the boys, "Don't give me hope just to snatch it away."

And much to his surprise, he isn't left disappointed this time. These two boys manage to change his life completely, and now when Felix goes to bed at night, he finds a rather foreign feeling of fulfillment in his heart.

and for the first time in forever, he lets himself hope. Hope for a new family who would make up for the love his father could never offer. Hope for better days to come now that he's finally found a new identity and a new life.

****

Taglist: @chogiwow​@ctrlaltfangirl​@blueprint-han​@whattaweeb​@bigskzz​@judewalid​@kpopssuregi​@crispy-chan​

Note: Please DM or send an ask if you wish to be added to the taglist!

[vegan-peppermint]

Long-run part 4

(What happened last night- part 4)

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Fandom: Harry Potter- Marauders Era

Chapter summery: You talk about what has happened with Lily and James . (honestly you can skip this part, there is no Sirius action just some things for character development and stuff. Not my best work but yea. It doesn’t rlly affect the storyline so you can skip np. Kinky stuff in part 5 and part 1XDXD)

Warnings: None

word count: 1,3 k

Part 3 part 5

Masterlist

Buy me a coffee

     Lily stared into her hot chocolate while listening to your story. The Gryffindor Commonroom wasn’t the best place to talk shit about one of The Marauders but it will have to do. It’s not like the word of your big fight hasn’t gotten all over the school already(your year at least). Everyone had a different version of you and Sirius’ fight but everyone seemed to believe anything but the truth. Some said you stood him up for that Slytherin, others that he already cheated before the first date and whatnot. The only one who seemed to listen was your best friend (and roommate) Lily.

   “Do you think I was too though, Lily?” you questioned, looking for affirmation.

   “No, not at all! I’m really happy you are standing up for yourself!” she smiled looking up at you. “Don’t get me wrong, you are not a push-over, no, not at all! It’s just,” she stopped weighing whether to tell you or not. “It’s just you are different with Sirius, you always have!”

    You just stared at her wide-eyed. What is that supposed to mean? If anything it was the opposite, you were always fighting with Sirius, ALWAYS.

    Lily caught on your confusion so she clarified:

    “Even if you two weren’t always nice with each other, you always put him first. After every little fight or contradiction, you would usually side with him. Because that’s all your fights were, teases.” She smiled mischievously before adding “I always thought it was just you being a brat for him to tame, but it’s just my opinion.”

  “Gosh, Lily! Can you just stop over-analyzing my every action? Not everything is about kinks or whatever goes on in your sick head!” you tried to look hurt but couldn’t help a smirk. You truly did try to tease Sirius just to have him snap back from time to time, but only now you realized you’ve let him get too comfortable with you doing what he said. If Lily was so good at reading you maybe she did the same with Sirius, but you didn’t have time to even start your sentence when James (quite literally) threw himself on the couch next to Lily.

    “Hello, ladies!” he awkwardly stated while looking directly at you with a dumb smile. “I heard what happened today,” he continued not looking away “and I just wanted to say. On behalf of Sirius that he is sorry.” He talked like one of these politicians with sticks up their arses.

    “Don’t even sta-“

    “And that,” he quickly cut you off, speaking louder this time “he is a man, and men are usually stupid.”

    You heard Lily hum in agreement before sipping more of her drink. James ignored her and continued with his presidential speech.

    “Especially the ones that are in love. And Sirius is no superhuman. He is an arrogant prick but, ladies, he’s a prick in love.” he ended dramatically.

    He looked really proud of himself which only made both you and Lily burst out laughing. James relaxed a bit himself and looking at you two couldn’t help but give in. You and your best friends laughing like crazy on a cold Saturday night near the fireplace. This was a feeling you haven’t experienced in a while and it made you feel, even if for one second, a familiar warmth in your chest before coming back to the real world and realizing things were never going to be like this again. You stopped laughing, feeling lonely again. You looked at them who didn’t even notice this change in you and smiled. They are a couple now, they are happy without you and who on earth are you to blame them? You were happy for them, truly, but you felt like you were, even if still their best friend, an outsider.

    “Y/N, I’m serious though.” James continued making you refocus. “Sirius is head over heels in love with you.”

    “I find that hard to believe.” Which you did. Not only did he never show any sign of affection (besides making out while passed out drunk), he usually wasn’t talking to you directly at all (again, besides when alcohol kicked in). Honestly, you wouldn’t be surprised if he just didn’t want to hurt your feelings after what happened at the party so he asked you on a date.

   James gave you the warmest smile you have ever received which made you feel, by all means, uncomfortable. He looked at you like a child looks at the stray dog he just fed: benevolent, for sure, but hidden hints of pity.

    “You have no idea how much he talks about you.”He rolled his eyes grinning. “Day and night while trying to act cool.” He dragged his voice before making a very smug face which defiantly resembled Sirius: “Have you seen Y/N today? No, I wasn’t looking for her just noticed she’s not here yet. I wonder if Y/N would like these chocolates, I don’t want to buy them for her or anything, dude! She just seems like she would like strawberries I dunno.” He really got into character, it was hard to bring him back after a while.

    “My point, Y/N” his eyes were fixed on yours and you felt he was serious. “I know Sirius, I really do. I’ve heard him talk about a million girls but never have I heard a girl’s name more than once. Except yours. Which was annoyingly more than once, believe me.” He bit his lower lips before continuing. “Sirius is very, very dumb. But I’m telling you if there is one person for you, it’s him. He is already very loyal to you, has been since the beginning of the year. Won’t talk about it but I’ve seen him refusing any kind of advance from any girl besides you. He has a lot to learn, for sure, but if you are willing to take him I promise you” he leaned closer, “he will be the best thing for you.”

    You looked at Lily for confirmation which she didn’t exactly offer you. She smiled softly before looking away which gave it away she had another opinion. You wanted to ask her but not right now. It was clear she was not comfortable talking about this right now in front of James.

    You chatted for a bit more before Lily left for the library to study and Lupin came and picked up James. You were left once again alone with your thoughts. You didn’t really mind sitting alone until you raised your eyes which met Sirius’ across the room. Right now, you felt exposed and vulnerable. Luckily Sirius didn’t come over to you and went directly up the stairs to his dorm room. You exhaled relief before anxiety took over you again.  Why didn’t he come here, though? Has he already given up?

   It was Sunday morning and you were woken up way earlier than you planned. You were not sure what woke you up but it was 7 in the morning. You looked around and saw your roommates sleeping soundly which made you even angrier. Were you the only one who couldn’t sleep? Maybe it was the repetition of the conversation you had with James that was repaying in your head since it happened or just the stress about the gossips that woke you up. You decided it was too early to face the world so you flipped over your other side intending to fall asleep. However, you found a beautiful rose sitting on your nightstand with a note tied to it.

      Follow me

     You examined the note carefully before noticing some petals trailing to the door. Your first thought was a killer that wanted to lure you to your death. After giving it some thought you decided it was unrealistic and if it was true, you wouldn’t really mind it that much. So you hopped out of your bed and in your slippers and followed the flowers out the door.

//ok so this part wasn’t that exciting, also didn��t really spellchecked or proof read or whatever. I really wanted to post this chapter now. The next part will have smut I promise XDXD

Taglist: @dude-whatawave @skinnianna

[i-ntrmission]

Nine (Van McCann)

Just a silly little fic where Van is sporadic regular at a coffee shop.

Part 1

Part 2 

Saturday morning.

You’ve already baked cinnamon buns and the peacan pie by time Carly officially opens up the café at 8. The smell of freshly baked goods circling the shop, Carly hums in appreciation, hovering in the kitchen to see what she can rob for breakfast.

Toby arrives at half 8, Carly all too gladly standing back from the coffee machine. He hovers by the kitchen door a few minutes later, thanking you again for last night while you’re pulling a tray of breakfast muffins out of the oven.

“Sure you didn’t lose something?” You ask him, he only blinks, a questioning ‘no?’, and you tug his keys from your pocket.

“Are they my- shit, where’d you find them?!”

Fragmented story telling about last night, about Van, between serving customers. You still feel a rush of lightheadedness when you think about last night, think about Van. Heartbeat kicking up in a weird little pitter-patter rhythm - something you only associate with kittens and Hugh Grant films. Toby listens with a knowing smile, which you choose to ignore.

“Oh, and guess who Julia got off with last night?” You say, maybe to change the subject off Van, after he’s handed a takeaway cup to the last of the customers. He raises a how eyebrows, looking at you with interest. Toby liked to act like he wasn’t interested in the gossip, stories swapped between you and Julia on long shifts - but you always caught him half listening, weighing in with his own comments if asked.

But before you can dish out the gossip on who you had walked in on in your kitchen this morning, Julia herself stomps through the door.

“Speak of the devil,” you mumble with a smirk while Toby playfully hisses at her as she walks past “Ey, what time do you call this then?”

It’s 9, she’s an hour late. She had told you this morning she’d cleared it with Carly, when you had brought her water and painkillers. More as a front to question her on who you had found in the kitchen than being concerned for her head. She’d seen through it and buried herself under her duvet when you entered her room.

“Piss off,” she hisses back, taking off her sunglasses. No makeup and too much perfume, the telltale signs of a rough night. “And don’t even start you!” Pointing her sunglasses at you, your smug smile. You only hold your hands up to with a lingering smirk. Toby’s eyes flickering between you both.

The bell hanging from the door rings, drawing your attention back to the till as two mums with buggies and toddlers make their way in, the screeches of excited children make Julia shudder.

“Jesus Christ, kids shouldn’t be allowed out in public until at least midday on weekends,” she huffs under her breath and makes a beeline for the staff room. A chuckle - calling after her, telling her you had left breakfast muffins in the oven. The perfect combination of savory and sweet - the best hangover cure. Apart from more alcohol that is.

You’re loading up a tray with hot chocolates and coffees for the mums and kids when Julia re-emerges from the back room, taking a bite out of the muffin in her hand with a groan of your name, telling you that you were a lifesaver.

“Sure you can manage these? No more bad luck leftover? Need a side of salt?” Toby teases while handing you the tray over the counter, you roll your eyes - telling him not to remind you of yesterday’s disasters.

“So, wild night at the pub quiz I hear,” you hear Toby turning back to Julia while you walk away, biting down on the inside of your cheek to suppress a smile. Recalling her texts.

You make your way out front to the terrace where the noisy kids have taken up residence at one of the tables, except now their shrieks seem to be in despair rather than delight. One of the women standing out on the path while the other is desperately trying to calm the boys, one already in tears. Inconsolable.

“Oh, what’s happened?!” You ask, a frown while setting the tray on their table.

“Pebbles ran away!” The older of the boys wail while pointing down the road. It’s then that you notice the abandoned dog leash on the ground beside your foot, one end under the seat of the chair, the other end clipped onto a collar.

“He must have wriggled out, a lad’s gone running after him - I hope-“ the woman is cut off by the younger boy’s screech of “There! Pebbles!!”

You follow his gaze, almost shaking your head and laughing - it’s Van, of course it’s fucking Van to the rescue. Sauntering back down the path with the runaway Yorkshire terrier in his arms, licking at his face.

You watch the look of adoration in the women’s eyes as he carries the dog back up to the table, the gleeful sounds of the kids. His smile widens once he spots you, hovering.

“Alright lids, see he’s fine! Just a little messer ain’t he?!” Van eases, dropping down on his haunches to hold the dog while the mum fiddles with adjusting the collar.

Ducking back inside while the chorus of ‘thank yous’ surround Van, grabbing a couple of chocolate chip cookies and pain au chocolats, sugar for the shock.

Once you set the treats down on the table, the boys wipe the end of their tears from their eyes. Sounds of delight resurface, something their mothers echo when you tell them not to worry, that the cookies and crossiants are on the house.

Van follows you back inside after high fiving the boys, winking at the women and blowing a kiss at the dog - who seemed rather taken with him. Holding the door open for you.

“You’re in early, thought rockstars didn’t get up ‘til noon,” you say as he follows you in. Eyes a little bloodshot, voice a little husky - but other than that he didn’t share any of Julia’s hangover symptoms. You wonder what kind of drinker he is.

“Eh, never been good at the whole rockstar thing me.” A lazy grin, reaching the counter where Julia stops mid rant about how bacon absolutely belongs in muffins. Their eyes lock, mirrored smirks - sharing the same secrets.

“Think you have someone that belongs to me, love.” He chuckles.

Julia hums in response, “think I’ll hang onto him a bit longer.”

You bite back a smile. This morning, walking into your kitchen at sunrise only to be greeted with a scruffy, bearded man. Vaguely familiar, from the countless interviews and live performances you had binged on YouTube. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, unbuttoned shirt and undone jeans, hand buried in his hair, staring blankly at the floor tiles. Clearly in the midst of a hangover from hell, possibly going through the fear. You could smell the stale alcohol.

“Er, morning?” You said quietly, blue eyes flickering up, a crooked smile, and a rasped “Mornin’, love.”

Like it was the most natural thing for him to be standing in your kitchen, like it was his kitchen even.

“Are you looking for sommat or?” You opened the fridge, glancing back over him. Hoping he wasn’t about to puke all over the place. He had that look.

“Yeah, just the last shreds of me dignity.. and anything.. cold, please... fuck,” he grumbles, pressing his head into his hands. You almost felt sorry for him, then you remembered the videos and messages from Julia last night and hide a smile by looking back into the fridge. Jug of iced water and a pint glass, handing him the full glass before rooting through the medicine drawer, painkillers.

“Aye, you’re a fuckin’ godsent, thanks angel.” Taking the painkillers and water from you. “Can see why Van’s so fond of you, coffee girl.”

There’s a lot of unpack in that sentence, and it was way too early. So you simply blink and watch him take the pills.

“Coffee girl?” You question eventually, arms crossing.

His eyes drift back over to you, grimacing while he sips on the water. “Aye, you work down the café, wi’ Julia, reet?”

You knew you shouldn’t have, but when opportunity arises, you can’t help it. Winding him up. It’s a rare morning you’re in a good mood, able to communicate in more that one syllable words.

“No? Dunno what you’re on about mate, Julia works down the cafè.. heard her mentioned someone called Van a few times, seemed like they had a thing, yeah?”

A flash of panic in his eyes, practically hearing the flurry of curse words going through his head. The prospect of the fact he’s probably shagged someone his best mate is ‘fond of’. Quirking a brow while he stared.

“Nah, she said.. You.. fuck.. fuck me,” a string of grumbles, clearly trying and failing to get his head straight - remember what had happened last night, what Julia had told him. Hands patting down his jeans, pulling out his phone with a heavy sigh. He curses at the screen. “Fuck, Van’s gon-“

“Hey,” you decide to put him out of his misery. He was growing paler by the second, and you were getting more and more worried about the prospect of cleaning up puke. “I’m just messin’ with ya.”

Realisation hitting - eye narrowing at you, telling him your name, confirming that you were indeed the coffee girl who worked with Julia. He shakes his head, a gruff noise and crooked smirk.

“Jesus, threw me for a loop there... well played, my dear... I like you already,” holding out his first, “Am Johnny,” he says while you knock your knuckles against his. You refrain from telling him you knew that already.

“Well, he’s kinda crucial in our band and that, so afraid I get first dibs, darlin’” Van’s voice drags you back to the present.

“So you’re saying you’re going on tour again soon, eh?” Julia tilts her head.

A breathy little laugh - “Bands do more than just tour, yanno?”

“You do realise the internet is a thing, Van - we could literally google your tour dates right now and find out. So your mysterious bullshit ain’t flying anymore.” She rolls her eyes, another bite of her muffin.

Since finding out he was in Catfish, neither of you had ever thought about checking on the tour dates, when he came he came and when he left he left, and that’s that. No wondering if he’d show up when the tour was up. Simple, no attachments. You and Julia even named a local stray cat after Van who you fed from time to time when he came snooping around the bins outside, the easiness of coming and going.

So why were your fingers suddenly itching for your phone.

“Ah, love! Why ruin the little mystery that’s left then? Like I said - we do other stuff too, could have label stuff to do, graftin the next album... cheers, mate.” Trailing off once Toby slides his caramel latte over the counter, something he had got him hooked on a year or so ago. “Fuckin missed this.” He says as if every other coffee shop has yet to discover caramel.

“So yous are doing a new album then, that it?” Julia persists, rolling your eyes at her blatant attempts at winding him up. But he catches on, a lazy grin, licking his lips.

“Ain’t ya too hungover to be fuckin’ with us like this?” He calls her out, a smirk.

She shrugs while her eyes slide over to the elderly couple that come in every morning, sitting in their usual spot. Calling over to them that their tea and scones are on the way, fond calls back of ‘take your time, pet.’ telling Van she’s not finished with him before heading into the back to get a teapot.

“What happened last night anyways?” Toby interjects, bemused look across his features. Completely left out of the loop, obviously not getting anything out of Julia when you left them a while ago.

Taking the opportunity to pull up Julia’s messages - putting you phone down on the counter between the three of you. The video is obviously taken at the time of the night where all rational thoughts are lost to drinks. Loud music, girls screams - background static, Johnny Bond stood at the bar, downing three consecutive shots of what you assume is tequila, Julia’s giggles soundtrack while following him out the smoking area, turning back to the camera and taking off his cap with slur of ‘mind this for me, love’ before he proceeds to do a handstand against a wall for 15 seconds. Confused onlookers as Julia counts it out.

Amused sounds - Toby and Van, Julia passing back around the counter in search of scones for the couple, she glances over your shoulder at the video.

“Ey, anyone who does a handstand after 3 shots of tequila without vomming earns their space in my bed.”

There’s another video from about 20 minutes later of Larry stood on a table, Kylie Minogue blaring, and he’s doing an enthused rendition of the Can’t Get You Outta my Head dance mixed with a bit of the Macarena. Cheers erupting around him, wolf whistles.

Van - a rasped cackle, “send that one onto me, that’s too good! Never gon let him live that one down!”

You watch him while he watches the video again a few times over. His eyelashes nearly brushing his cheeks when he looks down, fingers restlessly tapping against his coffee mug, soft chuckles. Feeling Toby give you a nudge, a wink when you look up. Letting you know he caught you, shaking your head with your best ‘fuck off’ eyes.

“So why were you making the lads humiliate themselves for your entertainment then?” Toby asks Julia once she circles back around the counter

“‘Cause, the lads bet me that they’d beat us at the pub quiz,” she explains, helping herself to another muffin. “Johnny spent half the time outside smoking, and Van and Larry fuckin’ argued over every question and ended up writing down bullshit made up answers.”

Toby asks where Van’s forfeit video is, you’re only half listening now - taking orders of the few people who just came in, but you zone back in once you hear your name mentioned.

“-and after I told him she was workin’ late closing up, never seen anyone down their pint so quickly, what was the excuse again, Van? Jet lag was it?”

Glancing up at that to find him already looking at you, catching his eye, his lips tilt making his dimple pop out. It lasts less than a second, your eyes darting back down to the pecan pie you’re cutting. Feeling your cheeks warm up. He never mentioned that he had run into Julia at the pub last night, remembering how he just said he was on his way home. Although, you were half sure it did have nothing do with you, more likely he was just sick of Julia’s drunken bullshit.

“Nah, just quite like that pub and want to be able to show me face in there again, innit.” He tells her, a laugh.

You grab a basin and walk away to start to clear tables, not really wanting to hear anymore of Julia’s torments. You’re happier zoning out, getting lost in your own thoughts, smiling and small talk with a few regulars. On you’re way back to the kitchen when you hear Van again as you walk past, catching your elbow.

“You in then too, Glasvegas?”

“Sorry, what?” Turning back to him, you had been thinking if Julia would be up for getting chipper on the way home after the pub tonight. You were already craving garlic cheese chips.

“Coming down Cassidy’s tonight? Van’s buying first round for being a pussy last night.” Julia quips, and you look from him to her. Fuck, remembering Van’s confession about wanting to buy you a drink last night. Julia’s looking at with you a smug expression, knowing you can’t get out of this one. You and her always went out on Saturday night’s - either just the two of you, or a group of friends. But going to the pub with Van and his mates, your heart skips a few beats, uneasiness. You give her a look before letting your eyes slide back to Van, an expectant look, finishing off his cinnamon bun.

“Er, I dunno..”

“Dunno if you’re up for going to the pub? Like we don’t go out every Saturday night?” Julia tilts her head, feigning mock innocence. You knew what she was doing, and you glare. A non-verbal ‘you’re being a dick.”

“Well, er, it’s been a long week.. yanno. I’m kinda tired.. was thinkin’ of staying in and having a quiet one,” you’re backing slowly into the kitchen as you say this, feeble excuses. “And I’m.. I’m trying to save some and that.”

“So me and you will do pre-drinks at ours,” Julia pushes, entertaining your excuses to a certain extent, but not letting you get out of it.

“And I’m buying first round,” Van adds.

“So, it’s just one drink really.” Julia confirms.

“Jus’ one drink.” Van reaffirms.

“Just one drink?” You say, somewhat defeated.

Toby glances up from the coffee machine, a chuckle. “Now when’s the last time anyone went out and actually had just one drink?”

Van leaves a little while later, Toby giving him a tray of coffees for Larry and Bondy if he’d yet ventured back from your place, you sending him off with a bag of hangover cures in form of pastries and cakes.

He came back in a few minutes later, forgetting his stamp on his loyalty card.

“2 down, eight to go. Cheers, see yas later.” He walked back out, a spring in his step. You turned to Julia.

“What the fuck, Jules?! Will you leave us alone and stop tryin’ to setup me up with Van fuckin’ McCann!” Exasperated tone, she only shook her head and giggled. “S’not funny! He probably already has a girlfriend and you’re here makin’ us look desperate!”

“Dunno what you’re on about, babe!” She says while heading out to clean up the terrace, humming matchmaker matchmaker under her breath. She turns back to you as she reaches the door “Oh, and he deffo doesn’t have a girlfriend, found that out last night for ya. You’re welcome!” She beams, all but skipping out the door.

You somehow resist the urge to chuck the tea towel in your hands at her head.

[hanniiesuckle17]

Their Child’s First Word

Stray Kids Reaction

A/n: requested by the lovely @sannie-san-shine! 

Requests are open for imagines, scenarios, whatever you want my lovelies!

Warnings: Swearing (sorry)

C/n= Child’s name.

Bangchan:

It was an early morning for the Bang family. You had been up since four in the morning. C/n had been crying and wanting to be fed and then wouldn’t go back to sleep. Chan had gotten in late so you took care of it. Now about seven a.m, your daughter and you were in the kitchen making breakfast. She sat in her high chair with a little bowl of fruit as you cooked breakfast for you and your husband. 

You smiled as you felt strong arms wrap around your waist. Chan nuzzled his face into your neck, eyes still closed. “I need coffee.” You smiled and continued to cook. “It's brewing. Go sit at the table.” With a sleepy nod, he trudged over to the table and sat across from your daughter. A quick glance behind you showed his head already slumped on the wood, catching a few extra seconds of sleep. You returned to the stove and focused on not burning the eggs. “Coffee!”

You chuckled at your husband’s whiny voice. “I know, hold on.” A few seconds later he called out again. “Chan, just give me a minute, babe!” You said with a laugh. “What? I didn’t say anything.” He looked at you with half-closed eyes. Your eyes went wide as you placed the pan on the cool side of the stove. “If you didn’t say anything...”

“Coffee!”

Slowly the both of you turned to look at your daughter who was brightly smiling and patting her hands on the highchair’s tray. “C/n! Look at you, baby girl!” Chan said picking her up and spinning her around, eliciting a laugh from your daughter. “Do it again!” “Coffee!” You laughed and stood in disbelief as your daughter giggled with your proud husband.  

Minho:

Rain poured down outside the window of your apartment on a Saturday afternoon. A random cartoon was playing on the TV, but neither you or your son were paying attention. Your back rested on Minho’s chest as the two of you sat on the floor near the couch. Your son, C/n, was babbling and playing with your hair. “Hi, baby!” He crawled over your leg and pushed himself up as best he could to get better access to your hair.

Minho giggled as his son tugged on a strand, making you yelp. “Ow!” C/n giggled and babbled in his own little language. He clapped his little hands and fell over onto his butt. “Your son is a devil, just like you.” You said elbowing Minho. He laughed and kissed your cheek.

C/n had wandered over to the coffee table and Minho had started talking to you about something. Doongi hopped up on the couch and rubbed up against the back of Minho’s head distracting him momentarily. “Mommy!” Your head turned to the sound to see your son wobbly trying to walk over to you, a remote in his hands. “Did you just-” “Mommy!” He said with a loud laugh. Before you could reach out to your son Minho got out from under you and grabbed your son who let out a happy shriek. “Da-ddy. Da. Dy. Repeat after me, Dad-dy!” 

“Mommy!” Your husband let out an aggravated sigh and walked off with your son, “No. Da-ddy. Me. My name. Daddy.” You couldn’t help but laugh and follow your two favorite boys. “Minho, babe. It’s not gonna work.” 

“Shut up, woman. My son loves me more. Come on, C/n! Say it! Dad-dy!”

Changbin:

Changbin was a good dad. You trusted him alone with your son. However, that didn’t stop your new mother instincts from making you worry the whole time you were visiting a friend. So, you sipped on wine and tried not to check your phone every two minutes for a message from your husband. 

You came home at the end of the day, carrying a bag or two of groceries and a present your friend had given for C/n. You had barely set a foot in the door when you heard Bin scream your name. “Y/n!” Dropping everything in your hands you rushed through your apartment trying to find your husband and your possibly mortally injured child. Slamming the door open you found your husband laying on your shared bed with your son raised in the air, a huge grin on his face.

It took you a minute to realize there was in fact, nothing wrong. “You fucking asshole. I thought someone was hurt or sick or dead.” He chuckled and stood up, resting a perfectly fine C/n on his hip. “Nope. All good here!” “I’m gonna murder you.”

 Nervously, he brought his lips over to your cheek and placed another chaste kiss on your lips. “Look what I taught C/n!.” Your husband said wrapping his free hand around your waist.  “C/n, show mommy your new trick.” With a cute smile, your son opened his mouth and said, “Dark,” It was a little mispronounced, but Changbin looked so proud. His smile faltered when you weren’t smiling. 

“Seo Changbin, I had eggs in those bags!”

Hyunjin:

Hyunjin was still at the studio, but he texted you he was coming home very soon. Your fiancee said he asked to leave early to spend time with you and his daughter. C/n was still young so she needed to eat every couple of hours. About a week ago she was finally able to start eating harder foods. “How about some fruit, honey?” She babbled cutely in response as you placed her in her highchair. 

Walking over to the fridge you pulled open a drawer that held a lot of the fruit you had. You pulled out an apple, an orange, some blueberries, and a kiwi, which for some reason happened to be C/n’s favorite. She just really liked kiwis. You prepped the fruit as your little girl entertained herself a few feet away. You texted Hyunjin a cute picture of her, telling him to come home quickly with a heart. Almost immediately you got a response back from him saying he missed his girls. You quickly chopped up the fruit and put it in a bowl for your daughter.

She clapped her little hands as you placed the bowl on her little tray. With a cute giggle, she picked up the green fruit and shouted, “Kiwi!” “C/n! Your first word! Kiwi!” You said picking up another piece of green fruit. “Kiwi!” She repeated. You heard the sound of the front door opening and Hyunjin setting his bag down on the couch. He came in with a smile gave you a sweet and long kiss. “C/n said her first word.” You said as he pulled away. “No, really?” He turned to his daughter, eyes bright and sparkling with excitement. She showed him the green fruit and said, “Kiwi!” He laughed and kissed her forehead. “Can you say Kkami? It’s kind of close.” He said with a smile. Hearing its name the dog rushed over and Hyunjin picked him up showing his daughter. “Kkami? Kka-mi.” 

You laughed as she simply patted the dog’s head like she normally did. 

Jisung:

Your boyfriend, Jisung, walked beside you with a mask and hat covering his face. You adjusted the hat you were wearing while continuing to push your son in his stroller. It was too nice of a day for you not to go out and the fact that Jisung had the day off made it even better. Jisung’s hand was resting securely on your waist as you walked through the almost vacant park. Every once in awhile C/n would babble and giggle if he saw something that caught his eye. 

A couple of older women jogging stopped to greet you and compliment how handsome your son was. Jisung was very proud and thanked them generously. The two of you found a shaded spot and laid a blanket down under a tree near the path. Jisung placed C/n in his lap as you settled down next to him and laid your head on his shoulder. C/n’s little hands pulled at his father’s mask, pushing it down to reveal his handsome face. You couldn’t help but kiss the corner of his lips, marveling at the perfect moment with your family. 

A dog barked as he and his owner passed by and C/n jumped at the sound. “Puppy!” Jisung looked down at his son in shock, a smile growing on his face. “Puppy,” C/n said pointing at the happy animal growing farther into the distance. With a laugh, I picked C/n up and sat in him my lap facing Jisung. “C/n, can you say squirrel?” Jisung made his cute little squirrel face at his son making both you and the boy in your lap giggle. His happy eyes glanced at you and then back to his son as he continued to make squirrel faces at his little boy. 

“I love you,” you said with a bright laugh. “I love you too.” Jisung leaned forward and kissed you, his hand resting on your cheek. “Da Da,” C/n said latching onto the fabric of Jisung’s shirt. He looked shocked for a second and then looked back at you. “Now you aren’t the only person who calls me daddy.”

“I hate you.” 

Felix:

You were running errands all day so you left your boyfriend Felix at home to watch C/n, your son. JYP had given the boys the day off so Felix asked Jisung to come over to your shared apartment for the day. Jisung loved hanging out with C/n almost more than he liked hanging out with Felix. Felix placed his son in his lap on the couch as he and Jisung hung out talking and playing video games. C/n had already been fed and taken a nap before his uncle Han had arrived so he was awake and excited when Jisung came. 

C/n reached out for the controller in Felix’s hands trying to grab it. “Hey, monsta,” Felix said in his deep voice. You had given the nickname to C/n because of his rambunctious personality. So, you and Felix called him your little monster, however with Lix’s accent it always came out ‘monsta’. “You wanna play bud?” He handed the controller to his son who threw it on the ground with a laugh. Felix chuckled and picked it up continuing to play the game with Jisung.  

The two boys had gotten rather intense as the game proceeded to harder levels. Felix still held his son in his lap, but his focus was now completely on the game as he had given C/n a toy to play with. “Felix get the damn door open already,” Jisung said as he shot several enemy characters on the screen. Felix stared intently at the screen as he tried to open the locked door in the game. 

“Fuck!” He exclaimed in English as his character was taken out from behind, getting rid of his last life. “Fuck!” Felix’s eyes widened as he looked down at his son, who looked up at him with an innocent smile. Jisung burst out laughing as Felix panicked and put his hand over his young son’s mouth. “Y/n’s going to kill you!” Jisung laughed so hard he fell off of the couch and onto the floor. 

“Okay we are going to tell her that his first word was ‘cat’ and I will murder you if you tell her otherwise.”

Seungmin:

this is the cutest fucking gif of seungmin oh my god

Your daughter loved baths. You gave her a bath every other day, usually towards the evening before you and Seungmin (if he was home by then) had dinner. Seungmin was in the kitchen starting on dinner while you bathed C/n. She giggled and splashed around the bubbles you had put in her bathwater. “Aren’t you cute, sweetie?” You said with a smile as she played with one of the toys.

You took a sponge and washed C/n gently as she played with things in the tub. She babbled and splashed you with water occasionally. You laughed and adjusted yourself on the bath mat next to the tub. C/n’s tiny hands reached up and pressed bubbles all over your cheek and hair. “Oh thank you.” You said with a smile as she giggled at your partial soap beard. “Bubble,” she exclaimed splashing more of the water. You froze. That was her first word. She said her first word. “Seungmin! Seungmin!” 

You heard a small clang and footsteps thundering down the hall of your apartment. Your boyfriend burst through the door and looked down at you in a slight panic. “What’s wrong?” He kneeled next to you and checked his daughter for injuries and then turned to see if you were okay. “She said her first word.” He blinked a couple of times before a soft smile came onto his face. You turned back to C/n and wiped bubbles from her cheek. “Baby, what’s this?” You said holding up the foamy soap. 

“Bubble!” He laughed and pulled you to his chest as he looked at his daughter. You smiled and adjusted so your back was to his chest as the two of you sat on the bathroom floor. “C/n, can you say dad-dy?” You said pointing at Seungmin. “Da-” She stated, cocking her head to the side. “Good! Da-ddy. Daddy.” “Dada.” Seungmin grinned and kissed you on the cheek, staring adoringly at his little girl.

Jeongin:

Jeongin was not happy about leaving you for three whole months to go on the US Tour. The both of you were still young and still very new to being parents. He hated the idea of leaving you all alone to take care of his daughter. You knew being the girlfriend of an idol was hard, and you knew being the mother of an idol’s child was going to be even harder. To be honest you were more worried about Jeongin than you were about C/n. You got up early with Jeongin and helped him finish packing. The two of you carefully woke up your daughter and set her up for a car ride.

 You walked hand in hand through the airport with your daughter in a sling across your chest. The airport was almost deserted this early in the morning but both of you still wore masks just in case. Soon a loud commotion of reporters and photographers could be heard near the gate Jeongin was supposed to meet the boys at. He stopped and turned to you brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “Call me okay? I want texts and picture updates every hour.”

 You laughed and nodded. “We’ll miss you. So much.” You had dropped Jeongin off at the airport before, but it was different this time. This time a part of your family was leaving. “I love you,” he said softly. You pulled down his mask and yours and kissed him while you knew no one was looking. He gave you a sad smile as he pulled away leaving a small space between you. “Okay, you better leave before I start crying.” You said with a shaky laugh. 

“C/n, say bye-bye to daddy,” You expected her to wave but instead in her small voice, she said, “Bye-Bye,” Jeongin immediately turned around covering his face with his hands before turning back to you. He had tears in his eyes. “How am I supposed to leave now?” He let out a breathy laugh and took his daughter in his arms. “I love you,” He kissed her forehead earning a smile on her lips. Jeongin kissed you one last time before finally turning to leave and walking to the gate.

You heard the sound of reporters calling Jeongin’s name as he got closer and you turned away so not to put you and your daughter in the background of a shot.  

Requests are open! Just send an ask or a comment!

Masterlist

[lolabangtan]

My cat neighbour | pjm

Fair enough. Weirder things had already happened to you, like that time you swore to have seen a shadow vanish in the corner of your room. Odd? Indeed. Impossible? Not quite. Buzzfeed? Unsolved. However, the fact that the cat you had seen settling down near your flat was actually a human—a hybrid, as he had stated—was certainly a bit too much.

index • next

Word count: 6k

Warnings: well if you’re not into hybrid smut (although i can grant you that all genitals and erotic zones addressed in this story are 100% human) then you probably shouldn’t read this. Anyways, this is a mess, i don’t even know what is this supposed to mean. Ended up being kinkier than i expected. Don’t look too deeply into it. Please. My therapist will be really disappointed if she ever finds out.

Also: some doctor who-shaming. Sorry, i hate cheesy sci-fi.

# cat hybrid!jimin, dom!reader, animal rut as a poor excuse to indulge in my kinks, dry humping, overstimulation, masturbation, nipple play, lactation kink, praise kink, Jimin really hasn’t grasped the concept of ‘non-pregnant women’s breasts don’t produce milk’, impregnation kink, vaginal sex, ‘mommy’ and ‘kitten’ as part of my big fat kink, of course.

After all those years, you were decided to put your life together and stop being a nuisance for society. No more partying until the next afternoon, no more sleeping around and not stepping on your apartment for days. You’d become the best, most responsible version of yourself from now on.

Why, people might ask you? Well, the reason was a pretty ball of blonde fluffy fur you had bumped into a few days ago.

You two had first met the day you caught him sneaking through the window into your kitchen, having probably smelled your delicious food from the street. As everyone in the neighbourhood knew, the colony cats used to gather at the end of the backstreet to share the food they found, so you assumed that was the reason why the cute kitten had shown up in your kitchen.

You fed him some turkey and fresh water, and he ate and drank plenty. The little cat didn’t look too dirty, nor too famished. It’d probably been abandoned by its owner not so long ago, and the thought made your heart ache.

“Do you mind if I pet you, kitten?” The cat meowed, looking at you with its big, black eyes, and rubbed its head against your hand. “Oh! You’re a smart little guy, aren’t you?”

However, the cat ran away shortly after, and you rushed to dress up for work, the hangover from last day still lingering.

The next time you saw it, it was raining cats and dogs, no pun intended, so you invited it in, towelled it dry, and fed it the leftovers of your dinner. It was dark and cold outside, so you also pitied it and allowed him to sleep with you on your bed. Its purring sang you to sleep.

By the time you woke up, the kitten had already disappeared from your embrace, so you got out of the bed to look for it, worrying about whether it had been caught by one of your neighbours’ evil kids to torture it. Kids nowadays were merciless, or at least so were the ones you had met around the block. Besides, your maternal instinct was less than alive.

“Kitten?” you called, leaning out of the bedroom door.

You heard a mellow meowing from the kitchen and saw it sticking out his tongue as it drank the running tap water, too engrossed in it to bother to look at you.

“Kitten! How did you turn it on?”

The cat only jumped off the counter and headed back to your room, so you let it go and followed it, giggling at its strange behaviour. Animals could be so weird sometimes. It had already claimed its spot on the bed, so you simply laid down next to its warm, purring body, and covered you both with the blankets, kissing it good night.

Minnie, as you had named it, kept coming back every once in a while, probably when the weather was too cold and there was no food on the streets. However, you began to wonder if Minnie really was a stray cat, for it looked quite healthy and well-fed, and always seemed to come from the same place—the flat next to yours.

It often came over for food and to shelter from the rain, but the kitten ended up demanding cuddles, since it started to stay the night almost every day, falling asleep curled up on your chest, although its purring and warmth weren’t really helpful when you already struggled to wake up in the morning.

You felt during the night something heavy resting on your chest, some pointy furry ears tickling the tip of your nose, making you giggle in your sleep. Someone was breathing against your exposed cleavage, but you were both sleep and sex-deprived, and your dried-out brain induced you into believing that it was just a dream. Enjoy it while you can, you horny bitch, it told you.

It was the first time you’d had the chance to sleep next to someone in weeks, even if it was just your mind playing you dirty, so you moved to face your inexistent lover, put your leg over his apparently naked thigs, and pulled him into your chest while your hand scratched gently the back of his neck down to his lower back.

Cuddling a boy in your lucid wet dream felt kind of fucked up, but who would find out? The stray cat sleeping next to you that had probably already snuck into your kitchen to steal away your low-fat turkey leftovers? Nonsense.

You kept caressing the soft hair, nuzzling his neck. It was quite vivid to be only a dream, as clear-headed as you felt. Drowsiness had slowly abandoned your body to leave room for the warmth coming from the stranger’s skin, and you couldn’t help rubbing your lower half against him when you felt something hard pressing on your belly.

“Mo-mommy.” A fucking whimper.

Hell, your mind really hated you. How dare it use the mommy kink against her master and commander? I’ll force it to binge watch Doctor Who for twenty hours straight. Let’s see if it survives to the worst show ever created.

Listening to your peaceful humming, he tensed under your palm’s brief touch, fingers caressing his belly hair, close to his already hard and wet dick, but not close enough. Your hand, your fingers, they were only a teasing presence, the shadow of what it would feel like. The other hand ghostly roamed around the shadow of his left nipple, reminding him how close he was—to you.

You felt a weight sink the mattress as he turned on his own body, pulling the dripping hardness away from your belly.

But you didn’t let him go. The hand caressing his nipple went up to the back of his neck, and you tangled your fingers in his hair. A weak ‘mommy’ came out of his lips again, and this time you felt his hand travelling down his torso to his dick.

“Mo-mommy, sorry, I-” You heard a continuous wet rubbing sound and a mellow voice. “I-I’m sorry.”

The bed was quaking under the increasingly frantic movement of his hand. You could feel against your chest how his breathing began to quicken as he tried to swallow down his little whimpers, but then your fingers came back to one of his nipples and you pinched it, tearing a delicious moan away from his lips.

The boy choked on his spit as he spoke. “I-I’m close. Sorry, ah, mommy, I’m so sorry-I… I-”

He did his best to keep his load shot away from your skin, trying to focus on the grip of his hand instead of the way his hips were thrusting into nothing in an attempt to handle the pleasure of his sneaky orgasm.

When you felt his breath calming down against your chest, you moved your hand to his half-spent dick, a smile creeping on your lips as you felt your fingertips getting dirty with his cum. Then you took its length, softly, gently, eyes still closed, far away from the darkness of your room, and pumped it. The boy whined, nuzzling the beginning of your breasts while his hips followed the pace of your hand.

“Mommy, ple-please,” he begged, almost sobbing, “I’m gonna-I’m gonna come again.” But with his whispered pleas he was not asking you to stop. “Mmh, ngh! Coming, mama! I’m coming!”

This time, some of his semen ended up streaming against your skin, although it took him a few seconds to realise it. Horrified, the boy stared at both your cum-stained hand and belly, and moved his shivering thighs to the other side of the bed to get out.

That was the end of your dream, and you were fairly weirded out when you woke up.

However, you were pissing yourself, so you ran into the bathroom and sat on the toilet to enjoy one of your favourite parts of your morning routine—staring at nothing while you started feeling how your ass goes numb against the cold porcelain of your toilet.

When you turned around to fetch the toilet paper, you were faced instead with a lonely cardboard tube, so you grabbed it, frowning, and threw it in the trash with a jerky move. “I wish I had a flatmate I could blame for these things.”

After you peed and flushed the toilet, you headed to the kitchen to get yourself your daily dose of caffeine and, perhaps, let Minnie have some of your skim milk. It had apparently been craving it for a few days now—the brat let you know yesterday, after it knocked down your mug as it tried to drink before you even had the chance to pour coffee in it.

“Minnie!” you called, “Pspspspspsps!”

Your heart ached at the thought of losing your kitten. Yes, it was not yours, and its name probably wasn’t even Minnie. But you couldn’t deny that taking care of it had made you feel something that you never thought you’d be able to—the desire of nurturing, of spoiling and babying your kitten.

The kitchen window was half opened, cold coming through it, waving the white curtains. Perhaps Minnie had gone out to come back to the colony.

It was nine in the morning. With that in mind, you grabbed a coat after putting on the first trainers you spotted and opened the door to the hall, hoping to bump into any of the old ladies that fancied doing the grocery shopping as soon as the convenience stores opened their doors. And you were lucky that morning—Mrs Oh, the middle-aged woman who lived across the hall, had just closed the door behind her.

“Madam! Excuse me, Mrs Oh, have you perhaps seen a yellow cat around the building? Not too big, with dark eyes. It looks healthy and well-fed.”

The woman pressed her lips together. “Oh, miss, I haven’t. I just got out. Did it get lost tonight?”

A clattering sound grabbed your attention, and you turned around to see one of your neighbours rushing to get his keys to open the door of his flat.

It was Park Jimin, the boy next door. Handsome, cute, highly shy. He barely interacted with the rest of the neighbours but was always willing to lend a hand if someone needed him to. Despite his casual clothing, you found yourself horrified by the ugly hat covering his head. It was too big, too wide, and too tall.

“Yeah,” you muttered, completely heartbroken.

“Was it your cat?”

You frowned. “Yes… Yes, it was short of my kitten.”

“I didn’t know you had any pets since you’re always going in and out of your flat…” As much as you were fond of Mrs Oh, she tended to be quite gossipy and nosy, so you cut her off with a brief and sad ‘thank you, anyway’ and turned around. “Perhaps Mr Park knows something! Do you, sir?”

You noticed Park Jimin had been eavesdropping your entire conversation with Mrs Oh, cheeks all flushed and shiny dark eyes. A fatal jerky jolt of his fingers made him drop the keys, startled when he saw the two of you staring at him, so he bent down to pick them up and used those seconds to think about what on earth he could add in a situation like that.

“Yes?” stuttered the boy, looking at you with his elusive eyes. His voice sounded awfully familiar.

“Miss Y/L/N’s kitten got lost. Have you seen it, sir?”

“Now that I think of it,” you suddenly said, “Minnie prowled your door quite often, Mr Park. It’s a yellow kitten, small, really cute, with dark eyes. You must have seen him.”

Jimin shook his head, looking down to the floor. He was chewing on his bottom lip. “Minnie?” The boy finally tilted up his chin to stare at you, but soon looked back at your hands. “I haven’t seen your… kitten, sorry. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

“Thank you so much,” you breathed. Even if Park Jimin hadn’t seen your baby Minnie, he was willing to lend a hand, as always. “Don’t hesitate to ring if you find out anything, Mr. Park. I live next door.”

“I know.”

You stayed in silence for a few seconds, but thanked him anyway for his help and headed back to your flat, sad and depressed that you couldn’t spend your lazy Saturday with your kitten. How you wish you could hold Minnie in your lap to pet and pamper it! You were even willing to stay at home for the rest of the weekend, too, instead of going and painting the town red.

Honestly, you had lied—you weren’t going to torture your own mind watching Doctor Who. You simply chose an uninteresting movie to fill the silence of your living room while working on your laptop.

Every once in a while, you turned your head to check if Minnie had come back: the window was still open, inviting, and you thought about leaving on the counter a bowl with your favourite skim milk to lure the kitten into your den, but you didn’t even know if it was around.

Almost an hour later, someone knocked on your door. The knocking was gentle and patient, so you moved to the entrance of your flat with much curiosity and looked through the peephole.

“Mr Park!” you said, opening the door, “God, did you find my Minnie?”

Jimin looked down for a second before gathering the courage. “I… I’d like to talk to you. May I come in?”

You hesitated. Yes, Park Jimin was your cute neighbour, the handsome boy that lived next door, but he was practically a stranger either way. What if he was a psychopath who was using your kitten to break into your flat, tie you up, and kill you—in the best scenario?

“Please,” he insisted with a weak voice.

“I don’t know, Mr Park. I barely know you.”

“It’s about… your cat. I need to tell you something, but I-I can’t do it out here. Anyone could see me—that’s not helping, is it? Please, Y/N, I wouldn’t even dream of hurting you.”

“Alright.” With a deep sigh, you grabbed his shoulders and pushed him into your flat, only to turn around yourself to press your back against the door, hand already gripping knob, ready to turn it at any time in case you needed to run away. “Go ahead, I’m all ears.”

Jimin stood in the middle of your living room in silence, not so sure about the best way to tell you. You wouldn’t believe him if he used only his word, he had to show you, somehow, but your gaze was too sharp, too intense for him to focus on anything that wasn’t your eyes. So, the boy simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and bit his bottom lip.

“It’s me,” he said, “I’m Minnie.”

“What?”

Your hand slipped from the doorknob, making you trip onto the floor, although you managed to keep yourself on both of your feet. By the time you looked up, Minnie the kitten was standing in front of you, staring at you over a pile of clothes—the clothes that Park Jimin had worn just a few minutes before.

You scoffed. “So, this was a bloody prank? Go to hell, Park Jimin, or whoever planned this, and take your cat with you.” It’d be stupid to deny that you sounded hurt. You were. Minnie, your kitten, your baby, was only part of a bigger trick. Where could the cameras be?

But Minnie meowed to get your attention, and you had to fight the urge to take it in your arms and kiss it.

“Mr Park?” you called. The flat was silent, except for the kitten, which meowed again. “No,” you laughed then, scoffing again through your nose, sceptical. “You must be joking. It can’t be…”

With more meowing—that sounded a little bit impatient now—Minnie grabbed the clothes piled under its paws with its fangs and dragged them behind the kitchen counter, protected from your wide-open eyes. You were still trying to process everything, but it was undeniable that there was conscience in Minnie. When he looked at you, he saw you.

A few moments later, Park Jimin peeked over the counter. His big, rounded eyes shone through the blue morning mist, but you were not standing there to admire his features, his luscious lips, his little frame hidden behind the countertop. On the contrary, you approached him with cautious steps and confirmed that the kitten was nowhere to be seen.

What struck you most was the ugly hat clenched in his hands. Now that it was not covering his head, it was easy to disguise the two furry, pointed yellow ears camouflaged in his blond hair.

“You are a cat?” you mumbled, completely astonished.

“A hybrid,” he corrected you, “I can take the form of either a cat or a human, but I’m a hybrid… And this-this can make interactions a little bit weird for us, so I understand if you… I thought you’d be horrified if you found out since, hm, what happened last night.”

“So it wasn’t a wet dream!”

Jimin started fidgeting as he talked, and you swore, he was too cute for your own good. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you since you moved in, but you always seemed so… busy. Thought you’d only have me around if I was a cat.” His cheeks were blushing with a bright red. “Guess I’m braver when I’m your Minnie.”

“That’s why you kept coming around? Because you wanted to be with me?” you asked, still not quite sure how you wanted to feel about it.

“Yeah. I know it sounds creepy but-”

“That’s actually really cute. Awkwardly cute,” you laughed, “Aw, Minnie, come hug mommy.”

There was nothing but innocent intentions in what you said, in the way you addressed yourself, but Jimin couldn’t help shuddering when you surrounded him with your arms, crawling him into your chest.

You noticed how he took a deep breath against your neck, completely embarrassed. “I’m so sorry that I-I touched myself. I’ve been getting my rut these days, but I was trying to control it! I swear I’m more than happy with your kisses and your cuddles, but then you were—shit, I know it wasn’t your fault, it was mine, but-”

You took him out of your embrace so that you could look at him better and have him pay attention to you instead of wrapping himself up in a chaos of apologies and stuttering.

“Jimin,” you cut him off, “I appreciate that you’re apologising, but you don’t have to worry.” The boy hopefully tilted his head up. “You don’t.”

Actually, it was you the one who felt like shit. While Jimin was nothing but the victim of his own natural instincts, your biological functions, unlike his, were less than dead loss when it came to reproduction per se. Technically, it was you the one who took advantage of his needs, no matter how asleep you were.

Pressing him again against your chest to calm him down, you sort of felt something, and you couldn’t help the smirk that crept on your lips.

“Are you hard?”

He looked down at his crotch and nodded as he looked up back at you, a cute pout on his lips.

“You can’t help it, can you, kitten?” Your hand rose to his pointy furry ears and caressed them with the utmost delicacy, not wishing to disturb him or hurt him in any way, but still wanting to make him feel calm around you. It was a familiar touch for Jimin already, your hands on his head. “It must be bothering you.”

“I-It’s okay, mommy, I’m fine. It’ll go away,” he mumbled.

“Why don’t you use my bathroom to take care of it?” Jimin stared at you with his eyes wide open and a wild blush taking over his cheeks. “Go ahead, don’t be shy. You said it’s a natural reaction so, proceed. Don’t mind me.” And, in order to add more solidity to your offer, you pointed at the bathroom door with both hands.

His way to the bathroom was awkward, at least for him.

While Jimin was sometimes prey to his natural instincts, that didn’t mean he didn’t have proper sexual desires. You were the living proof of that. He wanted to be yours, yours—he wanted you to hold him while he merged into you and whisper to him what a good kitten he was. He wanted to feel you close. He wanted you to touch him where it hurt and kiss him and pet him and nurture him and love him.

When Jimin went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, he knew perfectly well that it wasn’t right, just like last night, when he let himself go against your warm touch. He was taking advantage of your maternal instincts towards him and was betraying your trust with his silence.

And it felt so good, and so wrong, pulling down his trousers and pants, freeing his already wet and hard dick. You had told him that you’d be in your room, in case he needed anything. But all he needed was you.

Meanwhile, you had decided to work on your bed, much more comfortable than your couch, hoping to get away from the moaning and groaning you heard coming from the bathroom. What the bloody hell were you thinking about when you told him he could touch himself there? Now you’d have to deal with the wet fabric of your underwear and the empty feeling in your crotch.

Jimin let out a moan, louder than any other sound you had ever heard from him. “Shit, shit-!” This was so fucked up. You were so fucked up. Your brain wouldn’t survive if he kept moaning and whimpering and whining like that. “Mmh- Mommy, p-please!”

“Minnie?”

You wondered why he was calling you so suddenly. What if he had accidentally hurt himself? You couldn’t think of any other reason why he’d be calling for his mommy—you really shouldn’t think about that.

The door was ajar when you arrived at the entrance of the bathroom, and all the lights were on. It was impossible to avoid staring at him and his figure in front of the mirror, moving frantically at the rhythm of his hand. If Jimin had not yet finished, he was close. Like a kid who kept mumbling ‘just one more sweetie’, you couldn’t rip your eyes off him. ‘Just one more look’.

Jimin turned around, leaning his back against the counter, unashamedly showing himself to you, his invisible audience. A high-pitched whimper came out of his mouth as his thumb stroked the sensitive tip of his dick.

Instead of reacting appropriately and hiding behind the wall, your body froze up as your mind looked for an excuse for why you were standing there, watching him touch himself in your bathroom even though you had ‘allegedly’ granted him privacy.

Sorry, I thought you were calling me.

You opened your mouth to speak, but you realised that Jimin had not flinched from your presence, continuing with his ministrations. He hadn’t noticed you—he was too engrossed on the way his fingers felt around his cock to do so.

His pointy ears twitched in your direction. “Hmf, please, so good,” he groaned, throwing back his head to flex on his thick neck. It would look amazing with your hands or a collar around it.

But then he looked at you through his narrowed eyelids, and it clicked.

Jimin was putting on a show, bending his back and softening his grip on his dick so you could see his angry red tip. He was putting on a show for you to see. To test you. To challenge you, tease you, dare you to come and take him. And, Lord have mercy, you fell into his trap.

“Were you calling for me, kitten?” you asked from the doorframe.

He nodded eagerly. “It’s not enough, mommy. Can’t cum.”

You looked down at his cock, caged between his short fingers, as you approached him. It was a game, and perhaps he was asking you to play along, but you needed to be sure that he wanted you to ravish him.

As far as he was concerned, he wouldn’t make the first move. He wouldn’t ask for anything, not even your hand. Jimin wanted you to go to him, because it was worth it only if you wanted him. And to get it, the kitten knew he had to lure you in.

But you could play that game, too—Park Jimin wasn’t the only one who knew which buttons to push and which strings to pull to drive someone crazy. If he wanted to push you beyond your limits and make you go feral, he’d have to work for it and bear with the consequences.

“Not enough? What isn’t enough, Minnie? I won’t know unless you tell me,” you muttered, stroking the tip of one of his furry ears.

Jimin soon understood the way you were going to play, and it was hard for him to keep a smirk off his face as he continued to move his hand up and down his dick. “My hand, mommy. It’s not enough, doesn’t feel right.”

“How so?”

“Your puss-shit!” he finally moaned. You felt his warm, unbridled breath on your cheek as he pressed his chest against yours. “Your pussy, mommy, I need your pussy, I need to be inside of you and fill you up, spill it into your womb so good! Please, let me, mommy, I need-”

You cut him off. “You need it, don’t you? You can’t help it. You’re so naughty, Minnie, wanting to fill me up…”

“So naughty,” he parroted out of breath.

In your defence, you couldn’t say it’d be easy for you to deny him anything at this point, given how damn wet you were or the way you were throbbing down your belly. Hell, Minnie had ended up having the upper hand, the lusty kitten. His lewdness was unquestionable. He could ask you the world and you would give it to him.

“Poor little thing. Since you can’t help it,” you agreed.

Jimin could have your pussy, but you knew that, eventually, it wouldn’t be enough, and that he would ask for more, but he’d have to play on your terms.

“Let’s go to my room.” Taking his hand, you lead him to your bed. “Oh, kitten, there’s no need,” you said when he started taking off his trousers. “I know it’d be embarrassing for you. Keeping them down to your thighs will do. You don’t have to take off your jumper either.”

The disappointment that shone momentarily in his eyes tasted like honey.

He couldn’t argue with you, no matter how much he wanted to beg you so you’d let him strip for you. “O-okay…”

Just as he was not surprised to see that you had no intention of taking off more clothes than necessary either. Jimin crawled in silence across the mattress to you as you lay on your back after taking off your pyjama shorts and throwing them somewhere.

It was all fun and teasing and jerking off to turn you on until the boy finally processed the fact that he was kneeling between your legs, dick hard and freed, waiting for you to get rid of your knickers.

“What is it, Minnie?” you cooed. He had suddenly got even redder and his ears were turned back. His dilated pupils were looking straight at you. “We can stop this if you want, kitten, don’t worry. Just tell me and I-”

“I want this,” muttered Jimin.

Smiling fondly, you pet his ears. “Then what is it? Are you nervous?”

The way he nodded, nuzzling your neck in embarrassment, made you move your hands towards his cheeks and pinch them gently, smiling down at him.

You thought for a second what you’d do with your hands. If you followed the lines you’d mapped out for your game, you’d have to keep them still, but that felt sort of weird and, what the hell, you weren’t willing to stoop so low. You wanted to touch Jimin and you would, even if it meant playing his game.

“Ready, kitten?” you asked as you took off your wet underwear.

Encouraging him a bit, your hands then went to his back, nails sinking into his soft flesh to keep him grounded, and Jimin finally gathered the courage to thrust up into you.

You didn’t lie—it took you more effort than you first thought to shut up a groan when you felt the way his dick stretched you out. But you managed, somehow, and that allowed you to hear the little sob that came from his lips as you noticed his whole body going into overdrive and shivering over yours.

This was going to be more fun than you thought.

“Anytime, Minnie.”

Once Jimin bottomed out—which seemed to take a year and half a second all at once—he began to build up a pace that surely wasn’t enough for you, but that you hoped wouldn’t be enough for him, either. He was visibly holding back, teasing your labia with the tip of his dick as he watched your reaction. It was funnier than you expected, seeing him press his lips together every time you showed him nothing but a calm, soft, and encouraging smile.

But even Minnie’s dick had a limit, and you soon felt that he was getting closer to his orgasm. You needed to change your strategy.

“Do you mind if I pet your ears? They’re so soft.”

He’d come straight away if you did. Jimin needed to make you let your guard down first, make you go feral on him, kiss him with your teeth and caress him with your nails and mark him all over and spank his ass. You’d stroke his ears, call him a good kitten, and it’d be over before it could even start.

“May I?”

Jimin shut his eyes. “I-I’ll come if you do it.”

“Isn’t that the whole point, kitten?” you teased him, “Having you come inside my pussy so you can quench your needs.”

“But-” The boy went silent instantly when both of your hands moved to his ears, stroking the tips up and down with the pads of your thumbs. He cried into the curve of your neck, tensing his thighs as a last resort not to come in a flash. “Shit!”

“How long are you going to keep up this game of yours, you naughty kitty?” you asked, moving to grab the back of his neck so he’d look at you, but let go of him, tired.

He breathed against your chest, pressing his nose on the hem of your loose top. “This isn’t a game for me anymore. I’m your kitten, mommy. Claim me—claim me and I’ll be yours. I’ll be your Minnie so you can kiss me and bite me and mark me and-fuck!” Jimin couldn’t stop his hips from thrusting into yours, the friction too good and the climax too close. “Fuck me! Fuck me all you want, as hard as you want!”

“Now that’s my kitten,” you smirked.

You only needed a tilt of your head to make him turn both of you over so you could straddle his lap and line up his dick with your cunt. The smirk on your face was indelible, and for Jimin it was priceless.

“I don’t know if I’ll last, mommy.”

Jimin drank from your caress on his cheek as if he hadn’t been touched in years. “You’ll last as long as I tell you to, kitten. Be good for me, will you?”

“Yes,” he groaned.

It was crazy. He had been smelling you from the very first moment, how wet you were, and how impassive you seemed despite rubbing your thighs together every time you thought he wasn’t looking. Jimin knew he could fill that emptiness as soon as you told him to. But he had to get his shit together—thinking about his dick buried deep in your soaking cunt wouldn’t help him hold his load.

Soon enough, you grabbed the hem of your shirt to take it off, making your tits bounce free as you gestured Jimin to follow your example and strip, something he did almost instantly.

“I want mommy’s milk.”

You stared at him in awe, wondering what on earth ‘mommy’s milk’ was. Your skim milk he seemed to love? “Does that mean that you wanna suck my tits?”

“Yeah, I want mommy’s milk,” he repeated, nuzzling your chest as he stared at your perky nipples.

Some cock-warming would do him good to cool down, so you fixed your posture on his lap and grabbed his nape gently to guide his lips into one of your breasts, holding your breath. That one was new for you, but you couldn’t say you were even a bit less excited than Jimin.

He sucked the areola into his mouth, flicking his tongue around your nipple and ripping a moan off your proudly smiling lips. “You’re so good, kitten, drinking so well from mommy.” His dick twitched inside of you and you swore, you heard Jimin whimper against your soft skin. “What was that, Minnie? You don’t agree with mommy? Don’t you believe that you’re doing incredibly well? Because you are, baby. So good to me.”

The kitten had his kinks, just like everyone else.

After taking a deep breath through his nose, the boy wrapped his lips around your nipple again, and you thought for a moment if he really thought milk would leak from your bud at some point.

“I’m gonna-shit, mommy, I’m so close.” His voice was muffled by your skin. “Let me cum, please, let me fill you up, fuck!” You clenched around him when one of your fingers travelled down your belly to rub your clit. You’d only need a minute to reach your climax. “You’re so tight, I can’t hold it! ”

“You will hold it, kitten, or else I’ll use your cum to lube your useless spent cock and fuck myself with it until you’re begging me to stop,” you growled.

That shouldn’t have turned him on even more. It really shouldn’t have. But the moan that came from the depths of his chest gave him away, and Jimin had to use forces he didn’t know he had in order not to cross that limit, so close yet so far, that kept him from coming inside of you.

“I know you can do it, kitten, you’re so good for me already,” you cooed, trying to encourage him, as your voice was getting higher, “Just like that, baby boy, you’re doing so good.”

It hit you like a hammer. You reached that sweet point that unravelled the knot in your belly, making your thighs shiver and your hips push against his, shoving his cock deeper into your cunt.

How he didn’t come despite having you clenching around him so tight, you didn’t know, but Jimin did let you know that he had felt it deep in his bones when his hands grabbed your ass to speed up and shove himself into you, moaning loudly between gasps with his mouth agape.

But you scoffed out of breath, looking down at him, and pushed his chest into the mattress, raising your hips off him. “You’re gonna cum on my terms or you’re not gonna cum at all.”

“Mommy?” he gasped, “What-what are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” you growled in his ear, forcing his hands onto the metal raids of your bed headboard. Jimin got the idea instantly and grabbed them, using the grip to propel his hips and thrust up into you. “I’m mounting my pussycat, Minnie. Didn’t you say you were going to fill me up? That you were going to spill all your load into my womb?”

“Yes, yes, please! I’m gonna fill you up so good, mommy, so fucking good!”

God bless this boy’s stamina.

You pushed your hips down his dick with all the strength you could gather. The tip bumped your cervix a few times, not hard enough to hurt, but firmly enough for you to feel it. Then his cock twitched over and over again, his heavy balls hardened under your ass.

“I-I’m coming, mommy, fuck, harder, please! Hug me, hug me!” he sobbed, you couldn’t help obliging your kitten. Jimin sank his face between your breasts, barely sucking on your skin as he couldn’t close his mouth, and shivered in your embrace, thrusting up erratically into you. “Shit-so good, so tight! Fuck, fuck, hm, yes!”

With a final groan, he spilled his cum into you and shoved it up your cunt to ride out his orgasm before coming down on you, totally and utterly spent by the time you raised your hips off his dick.

But your thighs didn’t betray you, and they let you at least reach the edge of the mattress so Jimin could breathe, away from your suffocating breasts, as much drawn as he seemed to be to them. Then you felt something wet down your belly, and you looked down at your crotch to see cum dripping down your inner thighs.

“Mommy, it’s leaking!” he pouted, lazily sticking a finger in your cunt to keep his load inside of you. It seemed to truly concern him.

“Mommy’s sensitive down there, kitten,” you hissed in response, “You can try and fill her up again tomorrow if you want, but now we should take a nap. You can barely move, baby, and I can see you can’t keep your eyes open.”

Jimin nodded and threw himself onto your mattress. “Promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“You don’t have to work tomorrow, do you, mommy?” You shook your head, lying next to him and covering you both with your bedspread. “And the next day? You always wake up so early on Mondays, mommy.”

You frowned, wondering how on earth did he know that you worked the morning shift on Mondays, but Jimin’s warm arms tangling up around your waist so he could lean his head on your chest made you think that there were weirder things on this world than your cat neighbour knowing your schedule by heart.

He was your kitten now, though—it was better if he knew.

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch5: Doggy Style Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Everyone at the resort feels the aftermath of the blow up from the night before…and they welcome a new member to the team.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Tiny bit of smut via flashback- like blink and you miss it (NSFW no under18s)

 Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz 

  Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 4

 When Hannah woke up the following morning her eyes were swollen and sore from crying. She winced at the rays of sun that hit her mercilessly and shut her eyes again as she stretched and sat up on her bed. Her head was pounding and she didn't feel like seeing anyone that morning, she was pissed at everyone. Well not everyone. Rachel and Jake hadn't wronged her in any way since they had met. On the contrary, Rachel had been the sister she had never had, her only girl friend in a place brimming with testosterone in a country hostile to women. She’d sat with Hannah, comforting her for a while the previous night, rubbing her back and calming her down till she had stopped sobbing. And Jake had been nothing but friendly and kind with her, he had made her laugh and had showed her the wonders of Red Sea bottom

 The revelation of what Andy had done had sideswiped her greatly. Maybe that out of everything was what had hurt her more and what was worse, there was nothing she could do about it no matter how angry she felt, no face to punch either. She knew she had to move forwards and that there was no point dwelling in the past because as her mama always said, You can't change the past, but you can make your future. And she was determined to follow her mother's wise words but, that said, she still was ready to kill someone along the way. Starting with Sammy and she would probably have killed Andy too if he was there. She certainly wanted to rip Max's tongue off and feed it to the fish. And then there was Ari. Ari ... well, where to even start with that?

She pushed her evil thoughts aside as she got up and pulled a pair of shorts and a top. She brushed her teeth and headed out, deciding to go for a walk before taking a shower. She strolled in the kitchen and grabbed herself a coffee, greeting Rachel good morning and blatantly ignoring Max, who was eating toast. 

"Don't you forget I need you to help me with the aerobics class, Han." Rachel reminded Hannah, looking between her and Max.

"Sure. I'll be back on time." Hannah said as she took her mug and headed off down the shore.

She walked mindlessly for five minutes, enjoying the early morning sea breeze and the calming feeling of the beach sand under her feet and between her toes. The walk took her to her favourite spot just where the shore curved round the bay. It was a huge crop of rocks which were ideal for sitting in between and hiding. It was almost like a little cave, her cave, with two large rocks either side and a flat one which formed a sort of roof. It reminded her of a dolmen, ideal for sitting under and cleansing one's mind and spirit.

She was lost in her thoughts, dwelling on how she was determined to take the reins of her own life from that moment on and fuck the world, as her eyes scanned the ocean in front of her. Then, suddenly, something cold, then warm and wet nudged her hand. She gave a little yell and jumped as she thought it had been a jellyfish. But she didn't feel any itching or irritation, so she then thought it must have been some sort of fish or eel, something that was washed up.

Not that it was a more comforting thought.

Hannah looked around and saw a small, hairless dog cowering in the inner corner of the cave. Or at least it looked like a dog. She approached the animal cautiously to verify it was indeed a dog and not some other random form of life and was pleased to see her initial identification was correct. 

"Hey puppy." she said gently, holding her hand out.

The dog was tentative. He looked at her hand but didn't move a muscle so she stayed still allowing him time to move and sniff her and then his tail gave a small wag and she reached out to scratch his ear. The dog then wagged his tail a little stronger.

"I like you too, buddy." Hannah said softly, smiling at him. 

At the sound of her voice the dog came nearer and put his paws on her legs, wagging his tail before he sat down close next to her, his head resting against her legs. She noticed then the dog needed a bit of patching up as he had a few wounds over its back. He must have been a stray dog living in the cave, she thought, and she had intruded his safe place.

She drank her coffee in silence with the dog beside her. Then she got up and headed to the resort in order to take a shower and help Rachel with the damned aerobics class, but when she looked down she realised the dog had followed her instead of staying behind his home. Her mind travelled then to Cocoa, the dog they had as a kid. A chocolate Labrador who used to growl at Sammy whenever he was teasing her or messed with her dolls. Cocoa used to follow her all over, he was like her shadow and had never let her down. Of course he hadn't because dogs are better than people. They're loyal, which is not something many people at the resort could claim.

And that was that, she was keeping the dog. She made up her mind there and then. This dog had appeared when she most needed something to rely on and maybe he needed her too.

 When Hannah entered the resort, followed by the dog, everyone was sat on a table at the patio, before the guests awoke fully and the busy hours of the day began.

 "Oh my God! Whose dog is this? Hi fella?" Rachel said, immediately spotting the dog.

 "Suppose he’s mine now." Hannah shrugged as she took a seat next to Jake and left the coffee mug on the table.  "Found him on the beach...or he found me."

"We're not keeping a dog...are you keeping him? Seriously?" Sammy asked, raising her voice with every question.

Hannah merely glared at him, she didn't say a word. She turned to Rachel instead before saying "I think I might keep him.”

Simon then pottered over to Max, sitting down beside him, his ears forward, looking at his food.

"The dog wants my food." Max deadpanned.

"Give him some then." Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

Max hesitated before grabbing some beef bacon from Ari's plate and gave it to the dog.

"The dog wanted your food not mine." Ari protested, before taking a sip from his coffee.

He looked at the dog as he wolfed it down and then jumped up, paws on Max's leg, tail wagging so hard his butt was moving.

 "Hey!  He likes me." Max chimed.

"He is kinda cute..hey buddy..." Jake said as he gave a sharp whistle and fed him a slice of toast.

"There's some leftover chicken in the fridge..." Rachel offered, seeing as the dog would guzzle all their breakfast if they let him.

 "Oh, cool, he's hungry...poor thing..." Hannah said standing up.

She slapped her leg and the dog followed her unconditionally.

Once she was gone Sammy started his usual campaign against anything new.

"She can't keep him." he groaned.

"She's so keeping it." Jake snorted.

Ari who was now smoking a cigarette, his left arm leaning on the chair's back, asked "Why can't he stay?"

 "He reminds me of Ethan...no hair" Max joked, with his signature grin. Rachel slapped him on the back of his head and everyone bar Sammy snorted.

"Seriously, Ari, she can't keep it. We're on a mission." Sammy tried again.

"You fucking tell her then..." Ari growled, not bothering to look at him.

"Chill out, it's only a dog. And what's wrong with you two?" Jake asked, looking between Sammy and Ari.  "You're throwing daggers at each other."  He then turned to Max "And you, you're being weird too."

Ari decided then he had had enough and stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray. He too was pissed at Sammy and Max and wasn't in the mood to answer any of Jake's questions whatsoever.  "I'm going for a run." he said as he got up.

"Yeah. Get the fuck out of here..." Sammy snarled.

Ari stopped on his tracks and glared at him "I'm going now before I punch YOU in the jaw...and you wanna upset your sister again, be my guest, because I can't and I won't."

"Yeah, you've never been able to say no to her have you, Ari?" Sammy raised his voice again.  

“Ok, what have I missed?" Jake asked, his eyes darting between Sammy, Max and Rachel.

Ari just shot Sammy another glare, more like a death stare, thinking how he would love to drag him over the table and smash his face in.  But he simply left, his hands turning into fists.

 "Just leave it" Max whispered, leaning over Jake.

The first guests started appearing in the dining room just as Rachel switched seamlessly into Angela, welcoming them. Max, Jake and Sammy stood up and cleared the table they had been having breakfast at. Hannah came back, the dog on her tail after having been fed and patched up, and greeted the guests in a perfect Spanish accent. 

 "Buenos días" she said to the woman she had spoken Spanish to the day before, and then ignored everyone and headed to her hut. 

Just as she was about to reach her door she bumped into Ari as he emerged from his in his running gear complete with Walkman.

"Sorry firefly didn't see you..." Ari apologised.

"It's ok, I was distracted..." she said softly, taking him in but not daring to look him in the eyes.

Ari was in no better position and ran his hand through his hair struggling for words while she checked him out. And suddenly the dog jumped up at him.

"Hey pal..." Ari kneeled down to gently pat the puppy's head and scratch him behind his ears.

"Think he likes you." Hannah said, giving him a small smile.

Ari looked up, and saw Hannah was smiling, and he'd be damned if it wasn't a genuine smile. His eyes locked on hers for a second before he looked back at the dog who was now licking his face. 

"Where did you find him?" he asked softly.

"My rocks." she said, pointing to the curve of the bay. Ari squinted his eyes and then he spotted the place she was pointing out. "I think I might call him Simon."

Ari laughed at the random name. "Simon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Hannah shrugged and just then he let out a snort as he realised "Still hoping Simon Le Bon is gonna come rescue you?"

"Well if you can't have Simon Le Bon, Simon Le Bone will do. What do you think, buddy?" Hannah cooed, bending to give him scratches.

"A substitute for the real thing?" Ari quipped. He sensed Hannah was in good spirits and decided it was worth giving a shot.

"Well, we don't always get what we want." she replied, looking up back at him.

Ari swallowed, remembering the dream he had had the other night and her saying those exact words to him on her 21st. His face then fell and though he tried to collect himself quickly Hannah noticed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, studying him.

"Nothing Firefly, just....I'm sorry." he answered quietly.

"Yeah, you said." she shrugged as she looked down at the dog who was now rolling on the sand. She looked back at Ari and could see the pain was still in his eyes even though he had rearranged his face. She swallowed before admitting "I'm sorry too, Lobo."

"What for?" he frowned. Now, that was a surprise.

"Being so angry at you...I know you're hurting too." she looked into his eyes, just to check they were still in turmoil.

Ari couldn't find the words, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness. He knew he didn't. The only thing he could come up with was looking at her shrugging before stepping forward and in an automatic response, hugging her. He didn't even think about the possibility of her rejecting his touch, even his nearness. But, surprisingly, she rested her head against his chest as his hands gently rubbed at her back and he decided in a bold movement to kiss her head and whisper into her hair "I'm so sorry, Han."

"I know." she whispered back.

They stood there until a moment later she pulled back and wiped her eyes "Look I have to help Rachel with the tourists. Can you keep an eye on Simon?"

 "So we're actually calling him that?" Ari snorted.

"We?" Hannah asked, arching her eyebrow.

Ari simply smiled "I've got you on this, I like him."

"Let me guess, the others want him to go." Hannah asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, just Sammy." Ari confessed. But just as the words left her mouth he internally face palmed himself realising he may have just made it worse between the siblings.

"Well Sammy can jump. I'm done letting him take things from me." she said, her eyes burning with determination.

Ari saw her open her mouth to say something, but she shut it almost instantly as she apparently had changed her mind and after a few seconds she spoke again "I don't think there's anything on this afternoon, do you wanna take me into Port Sudan? Simon's gonna need some stuff if he is staying, I was gonna go diving but..."

Ari's mind went directly to Jake and his diving experience the previous day and blurted out  "No!" and noticed Hannah's surprised expression before correcting himself "I mean, yeah, I'll take you...sure."

"Thanks, so you're ok watching him whilst I help Rachel?" she checked.

Ari looked at the dog who glanced up at him, tongue lolling out before replying "Sure Firefly."

****

Ari was in the dining area, reading the American paper they got once a week if they were lucky, with Simon led by his feet when Sammy walked in. 

"Oh fuck me..." he said, stopping when he spotted the dog.

Ari looked at him, deciding if it was worth trying to speak to him or if he was actually in the mood to do so when Simon sat up and growled at Sammy.

"Oh look at that..." Ari grinned "He doesn't like you either."

"Fuck you Ari..." Sammy rolled his eyes "She convinced you, didn't she?"

"The dog stays, Sammy." Ari said sternly, his eyes on the newspaper.

"She did." Sammy said, shaking his head as he scoffed.

"Like I said, the dog stays." Ari looked at him again. "End of discussion."

"You're an idiot." Sammy spat.

"It's just a dog Sammy." Ari sighed "What's the issue?"

"You really can't say no to her can you?" Sammy asked as a response to Ari's question.

"Again Sammy?" Ari groaned as Sammy glared at him.

"Don't even think of getting near her again Ari." Sammy threatened him.

"Fuck off Sammy." Ari bit back feeling his temper fray as he stood up and stormed out of the dining area, pushing past Sammy and headed towards the beach, Simon following him. 

He nearly missed Max who was about to walk in the door and moved out of the way of Ari and looked at Sammy puzzled before saying "Wow, everyone loves you today, don't they?"

"Oh shut up Max." Sammy rolled his eyes and walked into the resort.

"Yeah, that's what I should have done." he muttered. He looked at Ari who was now walking down towards the ocean and turned to follow him.

"Ari..." he called, "Wait up buddy."

Ari stopped and turned and saw Simon ran towards Max as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the man to reach his side.

"Yeah, I ain't got no food now pal...you ate it all.”

Ari called Simon by his name to stop bothering Max and Max looked at him "Simon? Let me guess, Duran Duran..."

"You know Hannah." Ari snorted "Simon Le Bone, meet Max...or Irving...he's Maltese..."

"Le Bone?" Max laughed "Good call..."

"Yeah I thought so too." Ari smiled.

"Look, Ari.I want to apologise. I swear when I told Andy well, I didn't think he would go and do that..." Max spoke, looking at him shyly.

"Well, he did." Ari shrugged.  "But it doesn't matter anymore."

"Doesn't it?" Max asked. Not believing for a moment his leader was going to let him get away with it. But Ari just sighed. "I know you Ari, and I know Hannah too." Max insisted.

"Well, in that case why don't you tell me if it matters or not then Max?" Ari asked, a little tetchy.

"You know it does Ari." Max shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry man."  he added before leaving.

Ari breathed out and looked down at Simon before muttering "Everyone's fuckin' sorry... Well, except Sammy that is."

Simon just looked at him. The dog hadn't got a clue of what was going on so he happily headed down to the ocean, sticking his paws in the water. 

*****

Ari drove the truck down the main road heading towards Port Sudan. Neither of them were talking much, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Both of them were glad to get away from the atmosphere that had descended on the Red Sea Diving resort, even if they were partially responsible for it despite that not being totally their fault.

Hannah was simply looking out of the window, every so often taking something in, an interesting landmark, an animal, whatever it was they passed by. Her passenger side window was opening, causing the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun to blow around her face. Ari stole a glance at her, taking in her profile, smiling softly to himself thinking it was probably a good job her eyes were covered by her shades because he really should be focussed on the road…

“Why are you looking at me Ari?” Hannah questioned as she turned to face him. He hastily averted his attention to the road as he gave her a sheepish smile.

"Was just thinking, it’s been a while since we've been alone in a car." he said, his elbow leaning on the door frame.

"Yeah well this ain’t gonna end the same way as the last time that happened." she said taking a deep breath as she looked back out of the window.

"What do you mean?" Ari frowned.

She turned to look at him "You forgotten that night after the McDonalds drive through?"

Oh…

Ari tossed the scrunched up cheeseburger wrapper into the paper bag as Hannah did the same, before he turned and dropped the trash into the rear foot well of his chevvy behind his seat. Hannah reached over for her coke, taking a large drink as she glanced out of the window.

“So tell me, mi Lobo…did you park this far away from everyone else for a reason?” she asked, turning to him.

“Firefly, I resent that accusation…” he said, shifting slightly so he was side on in his seat, facing her, one arm sneaking round the back of her headrest.

“You’re so full of shit…” she looked at him, and he arched an eyebrow.

“Ok, you got me…” he said, his other hand falling to her thigh just above where her long, over-knee socks finished “I just wanted to make sure no one dented the car…” She let out a laugh and he grinned, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding up over her skin and under the hem of her tartan mini skirt.

“Been driving me crazy sat in the theatre next to you, wearing this…” he muttered into her mouth, as his fingers reached the top of her thighs. She let out a soft moan as she shifted slightly, his hand gently skating over her panty clad core. “I wasn’t concentrating much on the movie.”

“Kinda the point…” she whispered, his eyes locking onto hers.

“You know you give off this sweet, little innocent girl vibe when really you’re nothing but fucking minx…” he mumbled, his lips crashing onto hers as his fingers moved her underwear to one side and he found her hot and wet and so fucking ready. It hadn’t taken him long, as his fingers coaxed her gently he nipped at her neck, lavishing her with the praise and soft dirty talk she loved and just as she’d let out a soft cry of his name and arched her back as she came, wrapping her hand around his wrist, there was a sharp banging on the window which startled them both enough for Ari to jerk upwards, cracking his head on the roof of his car.

“Fuck!”  he said, massaging his head before he moved as Hannah straightened her clothing and he wound his window down.  

“Officer…” he greeted the Cop who looked at him, then to Hannah, then to the back of the car and Ari glanced around, spotting for the first time that the windows had misted up. “We were errr…” “I know exactly what you were doing…” The officer looked at him “Take it home kids.”

“Kids…” Ari scoffed, watching him go. “I’m twenty-fucking-eight!”

Hannah laughed, “Must be your boyish good looks Lobo…”

“I’m not a boy, as well you know Firefly…” he shot her a look as he readjusted his pants and turned on the ignition to the car.

“Awww, would it make you feel better if I stroked your ego and told you that you were all man?” “You can stroke somethin’…” he quipped, shooting her a dirty grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and she laughed, and turned those blue eyes on him as they flashed in the dim street lighting.

“Well take me home and I will.” Yeah, he remembered that very well. And thanks to that memory, his not so little problem from yesterday morning was well on it’s way to reappearing.

"Well, I imagine with the sand and the dust around the place, getting the windows as steamy as we did then would be a challenge." he said, clearing his throat.

Hannah gave a laugh "We nearly got arrested.”

“Why break the habit of a lifetime, sweetheart?” he laughed and Hannah shook her head as her chuckles subsided and she once more fell silent.

Ari glanced at her again before he turned his eyes back to the road. It wasn’t long after that, 2 nights in fact, that following the Surgery Inauguration Party Sammy had turned up on his doorstep and punched him in the jaw, warning him off. Lost in his own thought, he nearly missed the almost whisper from Hannah a little while later when she spoke again.

"Thank you."

Ari frowned "What for firefly?"

"For backing me up with Simon." she turned to look at him.

“Like, shall I count the amount of times you backed me up since we came here?" 

"I backed you up those times Lobo because you were right." she shrugged.

"Yeah, well and so were you about Simon." he said simply, his eyes back on the road.

"Well thanks anyway..."

"You're welcome Han. Besides, I kinda like him." he said, smiling at her.

At that she gave a snort "Sammy doesn't."

Ari rubbed at his eye, “Sammy doesn't like anyone, well not at the moment."

She let out a cheeky laugh, before she grinned and Ari looked at her again "That's part of the reason I wanted to keep him." she said, drawing a loud laugh from him.

****

Jake entered the reception area in his diving gear and was about to say something but shut it closed when he realised only Rachel and Jake were there sorting some schedule for the following day.

"Where the hell is Hannah?" he asked them, his hands on his hips.

"She went with Ari to Port Sudan." Rachel deadpanned without taking her eyes from the folder.

"What the fuck?” Jake cursed, making both Rachel and Max lift their eyes to look at him. "I was gonna take her diving..."

Not missing the whiney tone to his voice, Max vaulted over the reception counter and put an arm round Jake "Come on man, I'll tell you a story..."

They walked towards the seafront part of the resort, the dog behind them. Hannah had instructed Max to babysit Simon while she was away. In fact her exact words had been to take care of her puppy and keep it as far away from Sammy as possible. As long as he didn't turn his whiney bitch mode on, in which case Max was fully allowed to unleash the dog on Sammy having been told by Ari about his little growling incident before. 

Max explained to Jake everything he needed to know about the big fuck up that had taken place nearly nine years before and which was still altering their lives. Jake listened carefully, slack-jawed as he ran a hand over his face from time to time.

"Whoaa, talk about a fucked up story." was all Jake could muster as realisation of what had been happening in front of his own eyes hit him. "So, Ari and Hanna..." he trailed and Max nodded in reply.

Then they abruptly stopped talking realizing Simon was gone. They looked around, turning and walking frantically, searching for the dog but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Cracker is so gonna kill us…” Max groaned as they ran back to the resort. "Have any of you seen the dog? We can't find him." he asked, bending over his body and panting as they emerged into the reception area.

"What?" Rachel shrieked.

"We got distracted for a minute and bam, he gone. We lost him." Jake explained as he tried to steady his breathing.

"What the fuck do you mean you lost him?" Rachel asked fuming. "Find him.  Now!"

"Yeah, you better do it fast before mama bear comes back and rips your head off." Sammy snorted. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the show Dumb and Dumber were putting on.

"Yeah mama bear and wolf daddy." Max laughed.

Both Sammy and Jake glared at Max.

"Let's have a look around the buildings." Jake said, still pissed at Max's comment. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Hannah had bailed on him. That said, he was still quite fond of his head so didn’t want to give her any excuse to be pissed at him, so together they headed out looking for the dog at the front side of the resort but there wasn't any trace of him there either.

 "You know it's a stray..." Jake sighed "He could have just fucked off home..."

"Yeah, I think he did...look" Max said, pointing to Simon who was stood outside Hannah's hut just like he was chilling. He looked at them, his ears pricking up, almost in a greeting. Yo guys. 

 "Fucking dog." Jake hissed.

They tried calling him to them, both relieved, but the dog showed no intention of moving from his spot. He just observed the two sweaty men looking at him with squinting eyes and their hands on their hips.

"If he's waiting for Hannah, he won't move." Jake said. "Unless..." and he turned to look at Max with a hopeful grin.

So Max rushed to the kitchen to fetch some food for the dog and quickly came back, showing it to him. Simon then got up and headed over to Max wagging his tail.

"Like, if this is Hannah and Ari's kid..." Jake snorted "Does this make Sammy his uncle?" he asked as Max fed the dog.

 "Grumpy uncle..." Max snorted, looking at Jake.

"Then you must be food uncle..." Jake offered and Max grinned satisfied with his title. “What am I?”

“Shit shirt uncle?” Max quipped, as Jake shot him a look before the three of them headed back to the main building.

****

Ari had to hand it to Hannah, she hadn’t lost a shred of that tenacity she’d possessed years ago. She was currently stood in a little pet shop on the high street describing Simon to the man behind the counter. The guy spoke really bad English, but had given a yell to someone who had wandered through from the back, who was now attempting to translate.

“No, no hair…” Hannah was saying “Grey, with pink patches…big ears.” “Ahhh…nem, nem!” The man said, and he hurried out from behind the counter and gestured for Hannah to follow him. Ari watched as she did, and he pulled a book from one of the shelves and thumbed through until he found the page.

“Yeah!” Hannah grinned, giving him a thumbs up “Sukran…” The man beamed and nodded, leaving her with the book whilst he went to ring up the total for the dog bowls, the basket bed, food, collar and leash Hannah had picked out.

“You find him?” Ari asked.

“Yup.” she said, as he looked over her shoulder at the page. “He’s an Abyssinian Sand Terrier, also known as an African Hairless dog…” “Sand Terrier is much better.” Ari said, “Makes him sound much more mysterious…” “Says here they are fearless, loyal and willing to please…” Hannah mused.

“Sounds like someone I know.” Ari quipped and Hannah looked at him, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face as she closed the book on Dog Breeds and placed it back on the shelf. She moved to the counter and pulled out her purse but Ari gently placed his hand on hers and shook his head.

“I’ll get it…” “Ari, no,it’s…” “I’m gonna ring it through on expenses.” Ari grinned “He’s a guest after all…” She looked at him before she shrugged “Good luck explaining that to Ethan.” “I think Ethan would like him, like Max said, they both have the same amount of hair.” Hannah laughed and Ari grinned and he paid the man, giving him a tip as a thanks for his help before they gathered the things and headed back to the car. They placed the stuff in the back and Hannah went to the passenger side to climb in, but Ari stopped her when he spoke.

“Whilst we’re here, why don’t we head to the Souk and then the market? I’m not in any particular rush to get back…that is unless you want to?” “No, a walk sounds good.” She smiled, her hands shifting to the scarf that was round her head, making sure it was adjusted properly.

Together they made their way through the relatively busy dusty street and found themselves in a large market place, which led in turn to smaller alleys off which the found the various Souks and Bazars. Ari allowed Hannah to direct, as they spent a bit of time looking at the clothing and the jewellery, a particular piece caught Ari’s attention due to the shape but before he could say anything Hannah’s focus was on a perfume stall which seemed like you could basically mix your own. After smelling a few components, some nice, some really not, they wandered back to the market place and there they spent a little more time at the food stalls. It was fun, they walked around, taking the free samples of the local breads, cheeses, meats and fruits they were offered along with pastries and sauces and dips…and once they’d decided what they liked at Ari’s suggestion they picked up a selection as a treat for the team later when they settled down for their usual end of day chat and drinks. Ari felt encouraged when Hannah agreed, that she was amenable to actually being round a table with Max and Sammy gain gave him hope that she was feeling a little less hostile towards the pair of them.

On their way back they passed a local café and Hannah stopped and asked Ari if they could grab a drink. Given that they’d been in the heat and sun most of the afternoon he conceded it was probably a good idea and they settled at a table, Ari lighting up a cigarette as they drank some form of sweet, iced tea. Hannah made some joke about how Max would be pissed about missing out on free food samples and Ari grinned, agreeing. For the most part, however, he was silent, simply letter her talk as he was happy she was relaxing and the Firefly he knew was coming back to him. It wasn’t just that though, his mind was clouding a little as she was stirring deep feelings, emotions he had been trying to ignore since she admitted the other night that she had loved him.

It had shocked him, it truly had. As it was something that neither of them had ever said to one another, they’d never admitted to the feelings being that strong.

And now he was kicking himself for not doing so when he had the chance.

Mind you, to do so he would have had to have admitted it to himself and at the time he hadn’t. The old adage of not knowing what you had till it was gone had never been more apt.

“We should probably go if we want to get back to help with Dinner Service” Hannah said softly, glancing at her watch “Damned it…is that the right time?”

She held her wrist out and Ari then glanced at his and shook his head “No, it’s short by 30 minutes…”

She groaned “I only set it again this morning. Think it’s on its way out. Mind you, what do you expect when it only costs you 5 bucks huh?” “So it’s not a real Tag?” Ari raised an eyebrow, teasing and she gave him a look of mock indignance.

“That is a genuine fake I’ll have you know, Lobo.” she snorted before she sighed “I’ll get one, one day.”

Ari tossed down some money, thanked the guy who had served them and they headed back to the truck. As they made their way back, the sun was starting to dip, and with it Hannah’s mood as the closer they got to the Resort, the more withdrawn she started to get again.

"Do you regret it?" she suddenly blurted out.

"What?" he frowned.

"Regret being with me all those years ago?"

“Hannah…” he sighed “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Raking over it all…” “Because I don’t understand Ari.” She looked at him, “Before on the beach, when you said you were sorry…I just wonder sometimes if...” she trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, forget it.” “It clearly does matter.” Ari said, his voice carrying a level of frustration. “Spit it out.” “If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Ari took a deep breath. "Han I hate the way we ended, I really do...and it tears me apart thinking about why it happened and there's a part of me that will never forgive Sammy for what he did, but he did it because he thought he was protecting you, and I know that doesn’t make it ok..." He cut her protests off before she could launch into another rant about her brother, continuing as he attempted to get his point across. “But I knew he was right. I wasn’t good for you. I was a selfish asshole, still am according to you remember?”

“I shouldn’t’ have said that…” she dropped her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.

“But you’re right.” he shrugged “So I didn’t fight because I believed what Sammy was saying, I still do in some ways but do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

His words hit Hannah like a lightning bolt as she turned everything over in her mind. Over the course of less than 3 days she’d gone from believing that Ari had left because things were getting too serious for him and that he had gotten what he wanted and so cast her aside, to then believing that he had in fact been warned off by her brother and didn't fight because he didn't care enough but now she truly understood. He actually believed everything that Sammy had said. He genuinely thought he wasn’t good enough for her. So had done what in his mind was right, broken her heart to save it in the long term.

“I suppose it worked out for you in the end.” she said gently “You found Sarah, had Maya.”

Ari sighed “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change any of that in the world…but you know, you got Andy…”

He instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as her face darkened again and she looked out of the window.

"Han, don't be too angry at him..." he pressed.

"Angry? I'm fucking furious Ari.” she turned to him, tears in her eyes “I feel betrayed...like...well, my entire relationship happened because he broke us up. It’s like the whole thing was a fucking sham." 

"Don't say that." Ari shook his head "You loved him Hannah, and he did what he did for a reason. He loved you."

"Well I loved someone else back then." she wiped at her face "And he hardly knew me either at that point so he didn't have a right to do anything. It's like he saw me as some prize to be won in some fucked up competition"

“Hey, come on…” he reached out for her left hand which had fallen to her knee and he gave it a quick squeeze “I know it hurts, and I know you’re angry but everyone did what they did because they thought it was right.” “It should have been my choice though Ari.” she looked at him, shaking her head “And you all took that choice away from me whether you meant to or not.” “I know, and I’m sorry…” “I know, I know.” she said softly “And I believe you, I do…” she took a deep breath and she shook her head “Suppose you’re right…not like we can change any of it anyway, unless you’re hiding a TARDIS somewhere...” “Sorry Firefly, you’re The Doctor not me.” She looked at him, before her face creased up and she let out a huge howl of laughter.

Thankfully, the conversation took a lighter turn, Ari getting the impression that Hannah was as tired of being angry and bitter about things as he was and he hoped that she was ready to stop torturing herself over the past. He hated seeing her so upset and withdrawn.

Eventually they got to the resort and once the car had stopped, Hannah climbed out and grinned as Simon came trotting over to greet them, his tail wagging furiously. As Hannah stooped to greet him, Ari was pondering at how the dog seemed to actually be that bonded with her already considering she had found him only that morning, when his attention went to Sammy and Rachel who were emerging from the side entrance.

“Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours.”

"Hello to you too Sammy..." Ari rolled his eyes

"I didn't realise we were being timed" Hannah stood up and folded her arms. "Did I miss my curfew?" she asked sarcastically. "Ignore him." Rachel shot Sammy a look before she walked towards the truck where Hannah was now reaching into the back for the bags.

"Gladly" Hannah mumbled. Rachel took one of the bags from her, looking inside and immediately started cooing over the stuff they had bought, informing them that it looked great. Hannah started to tell her all about the fabrics and the perfumes at the souks as they walked inside, Simon mooching behind them.

Ari watched them go, ignoring Sammy and then smiling at Jake who had also emerged to help.

“Need a hand?”

“Yeah…thanks.” Ari said as Jake grabbed the bag of dog biscuits. Ari tossed the smaller pet items into the basket before he removed it from the truck, shutting the door with his hip. He nodded at Max who was leaning in the doorway eating a sandwich as he entered the resort.

“Where do you want this Firefly?” he asked. She turned to face him and placed the bag she was carrying down, fishing in her pocket.

“Can you take them to my hut?” “Sure.” She crossed towards him, placed the key in the basket he was carrying and he gave her a smile as he headed back outside and down to the hut that was 2 along from his. Unlocking the door he walked inside, placed the basket on her bed and stood up, taking a quick look around. The familiar vanilla notes he associated with her surrounded him and he simply took a deep breath before he turned to go, which was when he noticed that there was frame on her bed side table which was face down. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t help himself and he gently picked it up. It was a photo of her and Andy in her Mama’s garden. Hannah was sat on his knee, smiling at the camera as Andy gently kissed her cheek. Fuck, she’d really, really taken what the man had done badly.

Captain fucking obvious, Levinson….

He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but she’d been happy with Andy. He had been a good guy, what he had done was selfish but he wasn’t a selfish man, not by nature…hell, he’d given his own life to save Ari’s…but as he stood there, Ari suddenly started to wonder whether there had been more to that. Had Andy felt some sort of guilt?

No, no. It had been a split, in the moment decision, one any agent would do for another. That was all.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, he replaced the photo so that it wouldn’t appear to have been moved and left, locking the door behind him and heading back to the dining area.

As usual everyone chipped in to help serve dinner to the guests, and then that was it. Their duties over for the day and they were free to do what they wanted. As the Guests started to thin out, either heading to the beach or to their huts the staff-slash-agents retreated to a table outside with a bottle of wine and the stuff Ari and Hannah had brought back. The chat was easy and it was comfortable, which Ari was thankful for. Rachel, in her full Angela role informed them they were booked now until the start of April, at which point Ari, or Guy, nodded and suggested that might be a good time to go scouting again for more diving locations…in other words, their next mission. They all nodded, and he agreed he would clear it upon his trip back to the US (Israel) to chat to their sponsors (Ethan).

“Well, before we go scouting anywhere…” Max spoke, in his Irving voice “It’s Rosa’s 30th…” There were subdued cheers around the table, and Hannah groaned.

“Don’t remind me…” she said, her accent impeccable as always.

“You know we should throw a party…” Sammy said “A proper beach one, like they do back home, in Aus…” Hannah looked at him, and then shook her head. Rachel looked at her “Oh come on!” “A party could be fun, Red.” Jake grinned at her and she sighed.

“Fine, but I am not going naked diving.” she pointed at him “Regardless of whether it’s a birthday tradition in the diving world…” “Isn’t that a 100th Dive Tradition?” Ari looked at Jake, raising an eyebrow. Jake shrugged, mischievously.

“You lying bastard!” Hannah scoffed, slapping his arm. Jake grinned and she shook her head.

“And on that note, I’m calling it a night.” he yawned “I have a double diving tour tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, I should really sort some paper work too, ready for the check out tomorrow.” Rachel said, as they both stood up. Jake bid them all goodnight and Rachel headed into the resort, presumably to the office just behind the reception desk. Hannah watched as Sammy’s eyes trailed after her for a second before he too sighed and said he was heading to bed leaving Max, Hannah and Ari at the table. Hannah glanced down at Simon who sat up at the commotion, cocking his head to the side, his blue collar settled on his neck.

“Think I’ll take Simon for a little walk before bed” she rose from her seat. “Night boys.” “Good night Cracker.” Max smiled.

“Night.” Ari nodded and with that she left.

Ari watched her walk off down the sand. Simon trotting at her heels. The loose, pale yellow top she was wearing blew slightly in the breeze as she walked, barefoot and bare legged thanks to those navy blue shorts…

He turned to Max, the two of them striking up a conversation about Port Sudan, until Ari suddenly interrupted, unable to get the thought that had sprung up as Hannah walked off out of his mind.

“Think she’ll be ok?” Ari turned to Max. Max simply looked at him. “Hannah, you know, with the military being around…” Max considered Ari for a moment before he leaned forward “Why don’t you go keep an eye on her?”

“No, I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Ari shook his head.

“She might.” Max shrugged.

Ari looked at him again, before he gave a nod and headed out. He couldn’t see Hannah, but he had a good idea where she would be, he remembered her talking about the cave she had found Simon in, just at the curve of the cove. He made his way over, exhaling cigarette smoke and smiled as he realised he was right when Simon came bounding out from behind a rock to greet him.

 "Hey pal..." he said softly before he stopped at the entrance to the cave.

Hannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile as the dim light sparkled in her eyes.

"This isn't walking Firefly." Ari smiled, leaning against the rocky wall of the cave by the entrance as he looked down at her. 

"I walked here didn't I?" she raised an eyebrow. 

"Want me to leave you alone?" he asked, fully aware she had hidden in there for a reason. He’d got what he wanted, to know she was safe, so he was perfectly happy to let her be.

"You can sit if you want." she shrugged "But you can put that out before you step into my secret den…” He smiled and stubbed his cigarette out before he ducked into the rock cluster, sitting beside her.

“So, what you up to? Actually, no let me guess thinking..." he said and she gave a soft huff, shrugging “You know I meant what I said before, don't you ever wanna switch off your brain and just stop for a while?"

"Yup." she nodded “But it’s never that simple though is it?"

"Nothing is Simple." Ari sighed "I wish it was.

"I managed it for a bit today." Hannah looked at him. "Switching off I mean. When we were in the market and stuff...it was nice."

"Yeah, yeah it was Firefly." he agreed

She looked at him and smiled "I like that."

"You like what?”

"When you call me Firefly, not Hannah or Han."

"You'll always be Firefly to me." he shrugs "Although Hannah is your actual name, so..."

"Sorry, you mean Rosa Maria, Guy.”

Ari chuckled as did she. "I think we needed that" he smiled.

"Needed what?”

"A smile, and a laugh...chance to be away from it all for a little while." he looked at her.

"Maybe, like I said today was nice. Tonight was nice too...things have gone a bit overboard since we came back from the mission."

"You're telling me." He agreed.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the moonlight on the water as a slight gust of wind blew in from the Ocean, ruffling Ari’s hair slightly. He felt Hannah give a little shiver besides him and he looked at her as she tucked her knees into her chest. He hesitated for a second before he passed his arm over her shoulder.

"If I was wearing a jacket I'd offer it to you..." he nodded to the goose-bumps on her arm as explanation for his display of affection, fully expecting her to push him away but she didn’t.

"This is fine." she shrugged "Thanks”

"You're saying that a lot today Firefly." he looked at her before his attention went to Simon who was digging in the sand at the mouth of the cave, his tail wagging furiously.

"Well, you know, mama always told me to give thanks when it’s due so..."

"Good advice" he nodded.

“Seriously though, thank you Ari…” she looked at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing his cheek. 

He turned his head to look at her and her face was so close to his. “You’re welcome” he whispered, swallowing slightly and her eyes flickered down to his lips. It was quick, and had he blinked he would have missed it. But he didn't...and once more he was catapulted back to the night of her 21st outside the club.

The internal conflict that had been raging inside him back then reared once more with vengeance only this time it wasn’t just about Sammy. There was Andy and everything else that had happened over the past few days, and her question from before rang around his head, silencing the voices... 

“If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Whilst he couldn’t answer that, because he honestly didn’t know, he did know one thing. He didn’t regret them being together, at all.

“…do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

And he would, one and a million fucking times over regardless of how it worked out, because he'd rather have had her for those few months than never at all.

He was aware she still hadn’t moved, her eyes were bouncing across his, like she was waiting for him to decide what he wanted, what he was going to do…so he did. His lips brushed hers, in a soft, gentle kiss, their noses bumping together slightly. And she didn't pull away. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, his lips gliding over hers, the kiss deepening slightly. She was mimicking his movements, reciprocating, her tongue sliding against his and fuck he was in heaven, his stomach full of those familiar knots, until she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, her hand on his chest.

"Ari..I..." her voice was raspy, her chest rising and falling deeply as was his. And he shook his head before he pressed it to hers.

“I know.” he sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s not your fault” she said softly.

He looked at her before he moved his arm from round her, running his hand through his hair as he sat back, shaking his head, looking down at his hands. There was a moment or two of silence, Ari mentally cursing himself again for being an idiot before Hannah spoke.

“I need to go…it’s late and I didn’t sleep much last night." she looked at him “Wanna walk me back?” He looked at her, noticing that she was smiling and he gave a soft laugh.

“Sure…come on.”

He stood up, ducking again as the cave wasn’t tall enough to accommodate his full height and held his hand out to help her up. She took it, and once she was stood, she didn’t let go.

**** “Have you seen Hannah?” Rachel asked, walking back out onto the patio “I need to ask her something about the Spanish guests.”

“She left for a walk.” Max said, looking up from the piece of drift wood he had been whittling into shape. As Rachel made to go find her, he suddenly realised he had sent Ari before and hastily stood up. “I’ll go, see if I can find her.” he offered.

Rachel smiled “Thanks.”

Max walked over the sand, down in the direction Hannah had headed in and then paused as he saw them in the distance, slowly making their way back towards the resort, hand in hand. Smiling to himself, Max turned to head back, giving one last glance over his shoulder at which point he saw them both stop at Hannah’s hut. Hannah looked up at Ari who wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back, smiled and headed into her room with Simon. Ari paused as the door closed, his head dropping a little as his hand ran through his hair before he headed towards his own accommodation.

Max made his way back to the dining area and wanderd inside to the bar, pouring himself a scotch.

“Did you find her?”

He spun to look at Rachel and shook his head “Nah, no sign. Must have gone to bed”

She looked at him before nodding “Ok, it can wait until tomorrow. I’m turning in myself now then. You ok to shut up here when you’re done?” Max nodded and watched Rachel go before he resumed his previous position at the table, picking up his carving, a soft smile playing on his face.

This time, he wasn’t saying shit about what he’d seen.

**** Chapter 6

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Leave No One Behind Ch5: Doggy Style

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Everyone at the resort feels the aftermath of the blow up from the night before…and they welcome a new member to the team.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Tiny bit of smut via flashback- like blink and you miss it (NSFW no under18s)

Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:  Passenger Seat by Stephen Speaks

A/N: Yes we know this song isn’t an 80s one but we don’t care! It fits too well, please give it a listen. As always, we hope you enjoy!

Series Master List // WIYPT Master List   

I look at her and have to smiile, as we go driving for a while, her hair blowing in the open window of my car 

When Hannah woke up the following morning her eyes were swollen and sore from crying. She winced at the rays of sun that hit her mercilessly and shut her eyes again as she stretched and sat up on her bed. Her head was pounding and she didn't feel like seeing anyone that morning, she was pissed at everyone. Well not everyone. Rachel and Jake hadn't wronged her in any way since they had met. On the contrary, Rachel had been the sister she had never had, her only girl friend in a place brimming with testosterone in a country hostile to women. She’d sat with Hannah, comforting her for a while the previous night, rubbing her back and calming her down till she had stopped sobbing. And Jake had been nothing but friendly and kind with her, he had made her laugh and had showed her the wonders of Red Sea bottom

The revelation of what Andy had done had sideswiped her greatly. Maybe that out of everything was what had hurt her more and what was worse, there was nothing she could do about it no matter how angry she felt, no face to punch either. She knew she had to move forwards and that there was no point dwelling in the past because as her mama always said, You can't change the past, but you can make your future. And she was determined to follow her mother's wise words but, that said, she still was ready to kill someone along the way. Starting with Sammy and she would probably have killed Andy too if he was there. She certainly wanted to rip Max's tongue off and feed it to the fish. And then there was Ari. Ari ... well, where to even start with that?

She pushed her evil thoughts aside as she got up and pulled a pair of shorts and a top. She brushed her teeth and headed out, deciding to go for a walk before taking a shower. She strolled in the kitchen and grabbed herself a coffee, greeting Rachel good morning and blatantly ignoring Max, who was eating toast.

"Don't you forget I need you to help me with the aerobics class, Han." Rachel reminded Hannah, looking between her and Max.

"Sure. I'll be back on time." Hannah said as she took her mug and headed off down the shore.

She walked mindlessly for five minutes, enjoying the early morning sea breeze and the calming feeling of the beach sand under her feet and between her toes. The walk took her to her favourite spot just where the shore curved round the bay. It was a huge crop of rocks which were ideal for sitting in between and hiding. It was almost like a little cave, her cave, with two large rocks either side and a flat one which formed a sort of roof. It reminded her of a dolmen, ideal for sitting under and cleansing one's mind and spirit.

She was lost in her thoughts, dwelling on how she was determined to take the reins of her own life from that moment on and fuck the world, as her eyes scanned the ocean in front of her. Then, suddenly, something cold, then warm and wet nudged her hand. She gave a little yell and jumped as she thought it had been a jellyfish. But she didn't feel any itching or irritation, so she then thought it must have been some sort of fish or eel, something that was washed up.

Not that it was a more comforting thought.

Hannah looked around and saw a small, hairless dog cowering in the inner corner of the cave. Or at least it looked like a dog. She approached the animal cautiously to verify it was indeed a dog and not some other random form of life and was pleased to see her initial identification was correct.

"Hey puppy." she said gently, holding her hand out.

The dog was tentative. He looked at her hand but didn't move a muscle so she stayed still allowing him time to move and sniff her and then his tail gave a small wag and she reached out to scratch his ear. The dog then wagged his tail a little stronger.

"I like you too, buddy." Hannah said softly, smiling at him.

At the sound of her voice the dog came nearer and put his paws on her legs, wagging his tail before he sat down close next to her, his head resting against her legs. She noticed then the dog needed a bit of patching up as he had a few wounds over its back. He must have been a stray dog living in the cave, she thought, and she had intruded his safe place.

She drank her coffee in silence with the dog beside her. Then she got up and headed to the resort in order to take a shower and help Rachel with the damned aerobics class, but when she looked down she realised the dog had followed her instead of staying behind his home. Her mind travelled then to Cocoa, the dog they had as a kid. A chocolate Labrador who used to growl at Sammy whenever he was teasing her or messed with her dolls. Cocoa used to follow her all over, he was like her shadow and had never let her down. Of course he hadn't because dogs are better than people. They're loyal, which is not something many people at the resort could claim.

And that was that, she was keeping the dog. She made up her mind there and then. This dog had appeared when she most needed something to rely on and maybe he needed her too.

When Hannah entered the resort, followed by the dog, everyone was sat on a table at the patio, before the guests awoke fully and the busy hours of the day began.

"Oh my God! Whose dog is this? Hi fella?" Rachel said, immediately spotting the dog.

"Suppose he’s mine now." Hannah shrugged as she took a seat next to Jake and left the coffee mug on the table.  "Found him on the beach...or he found me."

"We're not keeping a dog...are you keeping him? Seriously?" Sammy asked, raising her voice with every question.

Hannah merely glared at him, she didn't say a word. She turned to Rachel instead before saying "I think I might keep him."

Simon then pottered over to Max, sitting down beside him, his ears forward, looking at his food.

"The dog wants my food." Max deadpanned.

"Give him some then." Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

Max hesitated before grabbing some beef bacon from Ari's plate and gave it to the dog.

"The dog wanted your food not mine." Ari protested, before taking a sip from his coffee.

He looked at the dog as he wolfed it down and then jumped up, paws on Max's leg, tail wagging so hard his butt was moving.

"Hey!  He likes me." Max chimed.

"He is kinda cute..hey buddy..." Jake said as he gave a sharp whistle and fed him a slice of toast.

"There's some leftover chicken in the fridge..." Rachel offered, seeing as the dog would guzzle all their breakfast if they let him.

"Oh, cool, he's hungry...poor thing..." Hannah said standing up.

She slapped her leg and the dog followed her unconditionally.

Once she was gone Sammy started his usual campaign against anything new.

"She can't keep him." he groaned.

"She's so keeping it." Jake snorted.

Ari who was now smoking a cigarette, his left arm leaning on the chair's back, asked "Why can't he stay?"

"He reminds me of Ethan...no hair" Max joked, with his signature grin. Rachel slapped him on the back of his head and everyone bar Sammy snorted.

"Seriously, Ari, she can't keep it. We're on a mission." Sammy tried again.

"You fucking tell her then..." Ari growled, not bothering to look at him.

"Chill out, it's only a dog. And what's wrong with you two?" Jake asked, looking between Sammy and Ari.  "You're throwing daggers at each other."  He then turned to Max "And you, you're being weird too."

Ari decided then he had had enough and stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray. He too was pissed at Sammy and Max and wasn't in the mood to answer any of Jake's questions whatsoever.  "I'm going for a run." he said as he got up.

"Yeah. Get the fuck out of here..." Sammy snarled.

Ari stopped on his tracks and glared at him "I'm going now before I punch YOU in the jaw...and you wanna upset your sister again, be my guest, because I can't and I won't."

"Yeah, you've never been able to say no to her have you, Ari?" Sammy raised his voice again.  

"Ok, what have I missed?" Jake asked, his eyes darting between Sammy, Max and Rachel.

Ari just shot Sammy another glare, more like a death stare, thinking how he would love to drag him over the table and smash his face in.  But he simply left, his hands turning into fists.

"Just leave it" Max whispered, leaning over Jake.

The first guests started appearing in the dining room just as Rachel switched seamlessly into Angela, welcoming them. Max, Jake and Sammy stood up and cleared the table they had been having breakfast at. Hannah came back, the dog on her tail after having been fed and patched up, and greeted the guests in a perfect Spanish accent.

"Buenos días" she said to the woman she had spoken Spanish to the day before, and then ignored everyone and headed to her hut.

Just as she was about to reach her door she bumped into Ari as he emerged from his in his running gear complete with Walkman.

"Sorry firefly didn't see you..." Ari apologised.

"It's ok, I was distracted..." she said softly, taking him in but not daring to look him in the eyes.

Ari was in no better position and ran his hand through his hair struggling for words while she checked him out. And suddenly the dog jumped up at him.

"Hey pal..." Ari kneeled down to gently pat the puppy's head and scratch him behind his ears.

"Think he likes you." Hannah said, giving him a small smile.

Ari looked up, and saw Hannah was smiling, and he'd be damned if it wasn't a genuine smile. His eyes locked on hers for a second before he looked back at the dog who was now licking his face.

"Where did you find him?" he asked softly.

"My rocks." she said, pointing to the curve of the bay. Ari squinted his eyes and then he spotted the place she was pointing out. "I think I might call him Simon."

Ari laughed at the random name. "Simon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Hannah shrugged and just then he let out a snort as he realised "Still hoping Simon Le Bon is gonna come rescue you?"

"Well if you can't have Simon Le Bon, Simon Le Bone will do. What do you think, buddy?" Hannah cooed, bending to give him scratches.

"A substitute for the real thing?" Ari quipped. He sensed Hannah was in good spirits and decided it was worth giving a shot.

"Well, we don't always get what we want." she replied, looking up back at him.

Ari swallowed, remembering the dream he had had the other night and her saying those exact words to him on her 21st. His face then fell and though he tried to collect himself quickly Hannah noticed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, studying him.

"Nothing Firefly, just....I'm sorry." he answered quietly.

"Yeah, you said." she said as she looked down at the dog who was now rolling on the sand. She looked back at Ari and could see the pain was still in his eyes even though he had rearranged his face. She swallowed before admitting "I'm sorry too, Lobo."

"What for?" he frowned. Now, that was a surprise.

"Being so angry at you...I know you're hurting too." she said looking into his eyes, just to check they were still in turmoil.

Ari couldn't find the words, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness. He knew he didn't. The only thing he could come up with was looking at her shrugging before stepping forward and in an automatic response, hugging her. He didn't even think about the possibility of her rejecting his touch, even his nearness. But, surprisingly, she rested her head against his chest as his hands gently rubbed at her back and he decided in a bold movement to kiss her head and whisper into her hair "I'm so sorry, Han."

"I know." she whispered back.

They stood there until a moment later she pulled back and wiped her eyes "Look I have to help Rachel with the tourists. Can you keep an eye on Simon?"

"So we're actually calling him that?" Ari snorted.

"We?" Hannah asked, arching her eyebrow.

Ari simply smiled "I've got you on this, I like him."

"Let me guess, the others want him to go." Hannah asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, just Sammy." Ari confessed. But just as the words left her mouth he internally face palmed himself realising he may have just made it worse between the siblings.

"Well Sammy can jump. I'm done letting him take things from me." she said, her eyes burning with determination.

Ari saw her open her mouth to say something, but she shut it almost instantly as she apparently had changed her mind and after a few seconds she spoke again "I don't think there's anything on this afternoon, do you wanna take me into Port Sudan? Simon's gonna need some stuff if he is staying, I was gonna go diving but..."

Ari's mind went directly to Jake and his diving experience the previous day and blurted out  "No!" and noticed Hannah's surprised expression before correcting himself "I mean, yeah, I'll take you...sure."

"Thanks, so you're ok watching him whilst I help Rachel?" she checked.

Ari looked at the dog who glanced up at him, tongue lolling out before replying "Sure Firefly."

****

Ari was in the dining area, reading the American paper they got once a week if they were lucky, with Simon led by his feet when Sammy walked in.

"Oh fuck me..." he said, stopping when he spotted the dog.

Ari looked at him, deciding if it was worth trying to speak to him or if he was actually in the mood to do so when Simon sat up and growled at Sammy.

"Oh look at that..." Ari grinned "He doesn't like you either."

"Fuck you Ari..." Sammy rolled his eyes "She convinced you, didn't she?"

"The dog stays, Sammy." Ari said sternly, his eyes on the newspaper.

"She did." Sammy said, shaking his head as he scoffed.

"Like I said, the dog stays." Ari looked at him again. "End of discussion."

"You're an idiot." Sammy spat

"It's just a dog Sammy." Ari sighed "What's the issue?"

"You really can't say no to her can you?" Sammy asked as a response to Ari's question.

"Again Sammy?" Ari groaned as Sammy glared at him.

"Don't even think of getting near her again Ari." Sammy threatened him.

"Fuck off Sammy." Ari bit back feeling his temper fray as he stood up and stormed out of the dining area, pushing past Sammy and headed towards the beach, Simon following him.

He nearly missed Max who was about to walk in the door and moved out of the way of Ari and looked at Sammy puzzled before saying "Wow, everyone loves you today, don't they?"

"Oh shut up Max." Sammy rolled his eyes and walked into the resort.

"Yeah, that's what I should have done." he muttered. He looked at Ari who was now walking down towards the ocean and turned to follow him.

"Ari..." he called, "Wait up buddy."

Ari stopped and turned and saw Simon ran towards Max as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the man to reach his side.

"Yeah, I ain't got no food now pal...you ate it all."

Ari called Simon by his name to stop bothering Max and Max looked at him "Simon? Let me guess, Duran Duran..."

"You know Hannah." Ari snorted "Simon Le Bone, meet Max...or Irving...he's Maltese..."

"Le Bone?" Max laughed "Good call..."

"Yeah I thought so too." Ari smiled.

"Look, Ari.I want to apologise. I swear when I told Andy well, I didn't think he would go and do that..." Max spoke, looking at him shyly.

"Well, he did." Ari shrugged.  "But it doesn't matter anymore."

"Doesn't it?" Max asked. Not believing for a moment his leader was going to let him get away with it. But Ari just sighed. "I know you Ari, and I know Hannah too." Max insisted.

"Well, in that case why don't you tell me if it matters or not then Max?" Ari asked, a little tetchy.

"You know it does Ari." Max shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry man."  he added before leaving.

Ari breathed out and looked down at Simon before muttering "Everyone's fuckin' sorry... Well, except Sammy that is."

Simon just looked at him. The dog hadn't got a clue of what was going on so he happily headed down to the ocean, sticking his paws in the water.

*****

Ari drove the truck down the main road heading towards Port Sudan. Neither of them were talking much, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Both of them were glad to get away from the atmosphere that had descended on the Red Sea Diving resort, even if they were partially responsible for it despite that not being totally their fault.

Hannah was simply looking out of the window, every so often taking something in, an interesting landmark, an animal, whatever it was they passed by. Her passenger side window was opening, causing the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun to blow around her face. Ari stole a glance at her, taking in her profile, smiling softly to himself thinking it was probably a good job her eyes were covered by her shades because he really should be focussed on the road…

“Why are you looking at me Ari?” Hannah questioned as she turned to face him. He hastily averted his attention to the road as he gave her a sheepish smile.

"Was just thinking, it’s been a while since we've been alone in a car." he said, his elbow leaning on the door frame.

"Yeah well this ain’t gonna end the same way as the last time that happened." she said taking a deep breath as she looked back out of the window.

"What do you mean?" Ari frowned.

She turned to look at him "You forgotten that night after the McDonalds drive through?"

Oh…no, he hadn’t forgotten...just not thought about it for a while. But now he was.

Ari tossed the scrunched up cheeseburger wrapper into the paper bag as Hannah did the same, before he turned and dropped the trash into the rear foot well of his chevvy behind his seat. Hannah reached over for her coke, taking a large drink as she glanced out of the window.

“So tell me, mi Lobo…did you park this far away from everyone else for a reason?” she asked, turning to him.

“Firefly, I resent that accusation…” he said, shifting slightly so he was side on in his seat, facing her, one arm sneaking round the back of her headrest.

“You’re so full of shit…” she looked at him, and he arched an eyebrow.

“Ok, you got me…” he said, his other hand falling to her thigh just above where her long, over-knee socks finished “I just wanted to make sure no one dented the car…” She let out a laugh and he grinned, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding up over her skin and under the hem of her tartan mini skirt.

“Been driving me crazy sat in the theatre next to you, wearing this…” he muttered into her mouth, as his fingers reached the top of her thighs. She let out a soft moan as she shifted slightly, his hand gently skating over her panty clad core. “I wasn’t concentrating much on the movie.”

“Kinda the point…” she whispered, his eyes locking onto hers.

“You know you give off this sweet, little innocent girl vibe when really you’re nothing but fucking minx…” he mumbled, his lips crashing onto hers as his fingers moved her underwear to one side and he found her hot and wet and so fucking ready. It hadn’t taken him long, as his fingers coaxed her gently he nipped at her neck, lavishing her with the praise and soft dirty talk she loved and just as she’d let out a soft cry of his name and arched her back as she came, wrapping her hand around his wrist, there was a sharp banging on the window which startled them both enough for Ari to jerk upwards, cracking his head on the roof of his car.

“Fuck!”  he said, massaging his head before he moved as Hannah straightened her clothing and he wound his window down.

“Officer…” he greeted the Cop who looked at him, then to Hannah, then to the back of the car and Ari glanced around, spotting for the first time that the windows had misted up. “We were errr…” “I know exactly what you were doing…” The officer looked at him “Take it home kids.”

“Kids…” Ari scoffed, watching him go. “I’m twenty-fucking-eight!”

Hannah laughed, “Must be your boyish good looks Lobo…”

“I’m not a boy, as well you know Firefly…” he shot her a look as he readjusted his pants and turned on the ignition to the car.

“Awww, would it make you feel better if I stroked your ego and told you that you were all man?” “You can stroke somethin’…” he quipped, shooting her a dirty grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and she laughed, and turned those blue eyes on him as they flashed in the dim street lighting.

“Well take me home and I will.” Yeah, he remembered that very well. And thanks to that memory, his not so little problem from yesterday morning was well on it’s way to reappearing.

"Well, I imagine with the sand and the dust around the place, getting the windows as steamy as we did then would be a challenge." he said, clearing his throat.

Hannah gave a laugh "We nearly got arrested.”

“Why break the habit of a lifetime, sweetheart?” he laughed and Hannah shook her head as her chuckles subsided and she once more fell silent.

Ari glanced at her again before he turned his eyes back to the road. It wasn’t long after that, 2 nights in fact, that following the Surgery Inauguration Party Sammy had turned up on his doorstep and punched him in the jaw, warning him off. Lost in his own thought, he nearly missed the almost whisper from Hannah a little while later when she spoke again.

"Thank you."

Ari frowned "What for firefly?"

"For backing me up with Simon." she turned to look at him.

“Like, shall I count the amount of times you backed me up since we came here?"

"I backed you up those times Lobo because you were right." she shrugged.

"Yeah, well and so were you about Simon." he said simply, his eyes back on the road.

"Well thanks anyway..."

"You're welcome Han. Besides, I kinda like him." he said, smiling at her.

At that she gave a snort "Sammy doesn't."

Ari rubbed at his eye, “Sammy doesn't like anyone, well not at the moment."

She let out a cheeky laugh, before she grinned and Ari looked at her again "That's part of the reason I wanted to keep him." she said, drawing a loud laugh from him. .

****

Jake entered the reception area in his diving gear and was about to say something but shut it closed when he realised only Rachel and Jake were there sorting some schedule for the following day.

"Where the hell is Hannah?" he asked them, his hands on his hips.

"She went with Ari to Port Sudan." Rachel deadpanned without taking her eyes from the folder.

"What the fuck?” Jake cursed, making both Rachel and Max lift their eyes to look at him. "I was gonna take her diving..."

Not missing the whiney tone to his voice, Max vaulted over the reception counter and put an arm round Jake "Come on man, I'll tell you a story..."

They walked towards the seafront part of the resort, the dog behind them. Hannah had instructed Max to babysit Simon while she was away. In fact her exact words had been to take care of her puppy and keep it as far away from Sammy as possible. As long as he didn't turn his whiney bitch mode on, in which case Max was fully allowed to unleash the dog on Sammy having been told by Ari about his little growling incident before.

Max explained to Jake everything he needed to know about the big fuck up that had taken place nearly nine years before and which was still altering their lives. Jake listened carefully, slack-jawed as he ran a hand over his face from time to time.

"Whoaa, talk about a fucked up story." was all Jake could muster as realisation of what had been happening in front of his own eyes hit him. "So, Ari and Hanna..." he trailed and Max nodded in reply.

Then they abruptly stopped talking realizing Simon was gone. They looked around, turning and walking frantically, searching for the dog but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Cracker is so gonna kill us…” Max groaned as they ran back to the resort. "Have any of you seen the dog? We can't find him." he asked, bending over his body and panting as they emerged into the reception area.

"What?" Rachel shrieked.

"We got distracted for a minute and bam, he gone. We lost him." Jake explained as he tried to steady his breathing.

"What the fuck do you mean you lost him?" Rachel asked fuming. "Find him.  Now!"

"Yeah, you better do it fast before mama bear comes back and rips your head off." Sammy snorted. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the show Dumb and Dumber were putting on.

"Yeah mama bear and wolf daddy." Max laughed.

Both Sammy and Jake glared at Max.

"Let's have a look around the buildings." Jake said, still pissed at Max's comment. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Hannah had bailed on him. That said, he was still quite fond of his head so didn’t want to give her any excuse to be pissed at him, so together they headed out looking for the dog at the front side of the resort but there wasn't any trace of him there either.

"You know it's a stray..." Jake sighed "He could have just fucked off home..."

"Yeah, I think he did...look" Max said, pointing to Simon who was stood outside Hannah's hut just like he was chilling. He looked at them, his ears pricking up, almost in a greeting.

Yo guys.

"Fucking dog." Jake hissed.

They tried calling him to them, both relieved, but the dog showed no intention of moving from his spot. He just observed the two sweaty men looking at him with squinting eyes and their hands on their hips.

"If he's waiting for Hannah, he won't move." Jake said. "Unless..." and he turned to look at Max with a hopeful grin.

So Max rushed to the kitchen to fetch some food for the dog and quickly came back, showing it to him. Simon then got up and headed over to Max wagging his tail.

"Like, if this is Hannah and Ari's kid..." Jake snorted "Does this make Sammy his uncle?" he asked as Max fed the dog.

"Grumpy uncle..." Max snorted, looking at Jake.

"Then you must be food uncle..." Jake offered and Max grinned satisfied with his title. “What am I?”

“Shit shirt uncle?” Max quipped, as Jake shot him a look before the three of them headed back to the main building.

****

Ari had to hand it to Hannah, she hadn’t lost a shred of that tenacity she’d possessed years ago. She was currently stood in a little pet shop on the high street describing Simon to the man behind the counter. The guy spoke really bad English, but had given a yell to someone who had wandered through from the back, who was now attempting to translate.

“No, no hair…” Hannah was saying “Grey, with pink patches…big ears.” “Ahhh…nem, nem!” The man said, and he hurried out from behind the counter and gestured for Hannah to follow him. Ari watched as she did, and he pulled a book from one of the shelves and thumbed through until he found the page.

“Yeah!” Hannah grinned, giving him a thumbs up “Sukran…” The man beamed and nodded, leaving her with the book whilst he went to ring up the total for the dog bowls, the basket bed, food, collar and leash Hannah had picked out.

“You find him?” Ari asked.

“Yup.” she said, as he looked over her shoulder at the page. “He’s an Abyssinian Sand Terrier, also known as an African Hairless dog…”

“Sand Terrier is much better.” Ari said, “Makes him sound much more mysterious…”

“Says here they are fearless, loyal and willing to please…” Hannah mused.

“Sounds like someone I know.” Ari quipped and Hannah looked at him, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face as she closed the book on Dog Breeds and placed it back on the shelf. She moved to the counter and pulled out her purse but Ari gently placed his hand on hers and shook his head.

“I’ll get it…” “Ari, no,it’s…” “I’m gonna ring it through on expenses.” Ari grinned “He’s a guest after all…” She looked at him before she shrugged “Good luck explaining that to Ethan.” “I think Ethan would like him, like Max said, they both have the same amount of hair.” Hannah laughed and Ari grinned and he paid the man, giving him a tip as a thanks for his help before they gathered the things and headed back to the car. They placed the stuff in the back and Hannah went to the passenger side to climb in, but Ari stopped her when he spoke.

“Whilst we’re here, why don’t we head to the Souk and then the market? I’m not in any particular rush to get back…that is unless you want to?” “No, a walk sounds good.” She smiled, her hands shifting to the scarf that was round her head, making sure it was adjusted properly.

Together they made their way through the relatively busy dusty street and found themselves in a large market place, which led in turn to smaller alleys off which the found the various Souks and Bazars. Ari allowed Hannah to direct, as they spent a bit of time looking at the clothing and the jewellery, a particular piece caught Ari’s attention due to the shape but before he could say anything Hannah’s focus was on a perfume stall which seemed like you could basically mix your own. After smelling a few components, some nice, some really not, they wandered back to the market place and there they spent a little more time at the food stalls. It was fun, they walked around, taking the free samples of the local breads, cheeses, meats and fruits they were offered along with pastries and sauces and dips…and once they’d decided what they liked at Ari’s suggestion they picked up a selection as a treat for the team later when they settled down for their usual end of day chat and drinks. Ari felt encouraged when Hannah agreed, that she was amenable to actually being round a table with Max and Sammy gain gave him hope that she was feeling a little less hostile towards the pair of them.

On their way back they passed a local café and Hannah stopped and asked Ari if they could grab a drink. Given that they’d been in the heat and sun most of the afternoon he conceded it was probably a good idea and they settled at a table, Ari lighting up a cigarette as they drank some form of sweet, iced tea. Hannah made some joke about how Max would be pissed about missing out on free food samples and Ari grinned, agreeing. For the most part, however, he was silent, simply letter her talk as he was happy she was relaxing and the Firefly he knew was coming back to him. It wasn’t just that though, his mind was clouding a little as she was stirring deep feelings, emotions he had been trying to ignore since she admitted the other night that she had loved him.

It had shocked him, it truly had. As it was something that neither of them had ever said to one another, they’d never admitted to the feelings being that strong.

And now he was kicking himself for not doing so when he had the chance.

Mind you, to do so he would have had to have admitted it to himself and at the time he hadn’t. The old adage of not knowing what you had till it was gone had never been more apt.

“We should probably go if we want to get back to help with Dinner Service” Hannah said softly, glancing at her watch “Damned it…is that the right time?”

She held her wrist out and Ari then glanced at his and shook his head “No, it’s short by 30 minutes…”

She groaned “I only set it again this morning. Think it’s on its way out. Mind you, what do you expect when it only costs you 5 bucks huh?” “So it’s not a real Tag?” Ari raised an eyebrow, teasing and she gave him a look of mock indignance.

“That is a genuine fake I’ll have you know, Lobo.” she snorted before she sighed “I’ll get one, one day.”

Ari tossed down some money, thanked the guy who had served them and they headed back to the truck. As they made their way back, the sun was starting to dip, and with it Hannah’s mood as the closer they got to the Resort, the more withdrawn she started to get again.

"Do you regret it?" she suddenly blurted out.

"What?" he frowned.

"Regret being with me all those years ago?"

“Hannah…” he sighed “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Raking over it all…” “Because I don’t understand Ari.” She looked at him, “Before on the beach, when you said you were sorry…I just wonder sometimes if...” she trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, forget it.” “It clearly does matter.” Ari said, his voice carrying a level of frustration. “Spit it out.” “If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Ari took a deep breath. "Han I hate the way we ended, I really do...and it tears me apart thinking about why it happened and there's a part of me that will never forgive Sammy for what he did, but he did it because he thought he was protecting you, and I know that doesn’t make it ok..." He cut her protests off before she could launch into another rant about her brother, continuing as he attempted to get his point across. “But I knew he was right. I wasn’t good for you. I was a selfish asshole, still am according to you remember?”

“I shouldn’t’ have said that…” she dropped her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.

“But you’re right.” he shrugged “So I didn’t fight because I believed what Sammy was saying, I still do in some ways but do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

His words hit Hannah like a lightning bolt as she turned everything over in her mind. Over the course of less than 3 days she’d gone from believing that Ari had left because things were getting too serious for him and that he had gotten what he wanted and so cast her aside, to then believing that he had in fact been warned off by her brother and didn't fight because he didn't care enough but now she truly understood. He actually believed everything that Sammy had said. He genuinely thought he wasn’t good enough for her. So had done what in his mind was right, broken her heart to save it in the long term.

“I suppose it worked out for you in the end.” she said gently “You found Sarah, had Maya.”

Ari sighed “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change any of that in the world…but you know, you got Andy…”

He instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as her face darkened again and she looked out of the window.

"Han, don't be too angry at him..." he pressed.

"Angry? I'm fucking furious Ari.” she turned to him, tears in her eyes “I feel betrayed...like...well, my entire relationship happened because he broke us up. It’s like the whole thing was a fucking sham."

"Don't say that." Ari shaking his head "You loved him Hannah, and he did what he did for a reason. He loved you."

"Well I loved someone else back then." she wiped at her face "And he hardly knew me either at that point so he didn't have a right to do anything. It's like he saw me as some prize to be won in some fucked up competition"

“Hey, come on…” he reached out for her left hand which had fallen to her knee and he gave it a quick squeeze “I know it hurts, and I know you’re angry but everyone did what they did because they thought it was right.” “It should have been my choice though Ari.” she looked at him, shaking her head “And you all took that choice away from me whether you meant to or not.” “I know, and I’m sorry…” “I know, I know.” she said softly “And I believe you, I do…” she took a deep breath and she shook her head “Suppose you’re right…not like we can change any of it anyway, unless you’re hiding a TARDIS somewhere...” “Sorry Firefly, you’re The Doctor not me.” She looked at him, before her face creased up and she let out a huge howl of laughter.

Thankfully, the conversation took a lighter turn, Ari getting the impression that Hannah was as tired of being angry and bitter about things as he was and he hoped that she was ready to stop torturing herself over the past. He hated seeing her so upset and withdrawn.

Eventually they got to the resort and once the car had stopped, Hannah climbed out and grinned as Simon came trotting over to greet them, his tail wagging furiously. As Hannah stooped to greet him, Ari was pondering at how the dog seemed to actually be that bonded with her already considering she had found him only that morning, when his attention went to Sammy and Rachel who were emerging from the side entrance.

“Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours.”

"Hello to you too Sammy..." Ari rolled his eyes

"I didn't realise we were being timed" Hannah stood up and folded her arms. "Did I miss my curfew?" she asked sarcastically. "Ignore him." Rachel shot Sammy a look before she walked towards the truck where Hannah was now reaching into the back for the bags.

"Gladly" Hannah mumbled. Rachel took one of the bags from her, looking inside and immediately started cooing over the stuff they had bought, informing them that it looked great. Hannah started to tell her all about the fabrics and the perfumes at the souks as they walked inside, Simon mooching behind them.

Ari watched them go, ignoring Sammy and then smiling at Jake who had also emerged to help.

“Need a hand?”

“Yeah…thanks.” Ari said as Jake grabbed the bag of dog biscuits. Ari tossed the smaller pet items into the basket before he removed it from the truck, shutting the door with his hip. He nodded at Max who was leaning in the doorway eating a sandwich as he entered the resort.

“Where do you want this Firefly?” he asked. She turned to face him and placed the bag she was carrying down, fishing in her pocket.

“Can you take them to my hut?” “Sure.” She crossed towards him, placed the key in the basket he was carrying and he gave her a smile as he headed back outside and down to the hut that was 2 along from his. Unlocking the door he walked inside, placed the basket on her bed and stood up, taking a quick look around. The familiar vanilla notes he associated with her surrounded him and he simply took a deep breath before he turned to go, which was when he noticed that there was frame on her bed side table which was face down. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t help himself and he gently picked it up. It was a photo of her and Andy in her Mama’s garden. Hannah was sat on his knee, smiling at the camera as Andy gently kissed her cheek. Fuck, she’d really, really taken what the man had done badly.

Captain fucking obvious, Levinson….

He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but she’d been happy with Andy. He had been a good guy, what he had done was selfish but he wasn’t a selfish man, not by nature…hell, he’d given his own life to save Ari’s…but as he stood there, Ari suddenly started to wonder whether there had been more to that. Had Andy felt some sort of guilt?

No, no. It had been a split, in the moment decision, one any agent would do for another. That was all.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, he replaced the photo so that it wouldn’t appear to have been moved and left, locking the door behind him and heading back to the dining area.

As usual everyone chipped in to help serve dinner to the guests, and then that was it. Their duties over for the day and they were free to do what they wanted. As the Guests started to thin out, either heading to the beach or to their huts the staff-slash-agents retreated to a table outside with a bottle of wine and the stuff Ari and Hannah had brought back. The chat was easy and it was comfortable, which Ari was thankful for. Rachel, in her full Angela role informed them they were booked now until the start of April, at which point Ari, or Guy, nodded and suggested that might be a good time to go scouting again for more diving locations…in other words, their next mission. They all nodded, and he agreed he would clear it upon his trip back to the US (Israel) to chat to their sponsors (Ethan).

“Well, before we go scouting anywhere…” Max spoke, in his Irving voice “It’s Rosa’s 30th…” There were subdued cheers around the table, and Hannah groaned.

“Don’t remind me…” she said, her accent impeccable as always.

“You know we should throw a party…” Sammy said “A proper beach one, like they do back home, in Aus…” Hannah looked at him, and then shook her head. Rachel looked at her “Oh come on!” “A party could be fun, Red.” Jake grinned at her and she sighed.

“Fine, but I am not going naked diving.” she pointed at him “Regardless of whether it’s a birthday tradition in the diving world…” “Isn’t that a 100th Dive Tradition?” Ari looked at Jake, raising an eyebrow. Jake shrugged, mischievously.

“You lying bastard!” Hannah scoffed, slapping his arm. Jake grinned and she shook her head.

“And on that note, I’m calling it a night.” he yawned “I have a double diving tour tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, I should really sort some paper work too, ready for the check out tomorrow.” Rachel said, as they both stood up. Jake bid them all goodnight and Rachel headed into the resort, presumably to the office just behind the reception desk. Hannah watched as Sammy’s eyes trailed after her for a second before he too sighed and said he was heading to bed leaving Max, Hannah and Ari at the table. Hannah glanced down at Simon who sat up at the commotion, cocking his head to the side, his blue collar settled on his neck.

“Think I’ll take Simon for a little walk before bed” she rose from her seat. “Night boys.” “Good night Cracker.” Max smiled.

“Night.” Ari nodded and with that she left.

Ari watched her walk off down the sand. Simon trotting at her heels. The loose, pale yellow top she was wearing blew slightly in the breeze as she walked, barefoot and bare legged thanks to those navy blue shorts…

He turned to Max, the two of them striking up a conversation about Port Sudan, until Ari suddenly interrupted, unable to get the thought that had sprung up as Hannah walked off out of his mind.

“Think she’ll be ok?” Ari turned to Max. Max simply looked at him. “Hannah, you know, with the military being around…” Max considered Ari for a moment before he leaned forward “Why don’t you go keep an eye on her?”

“No, I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Ari shook his head.

“She might.” Max shrugged.

Ari looked at him again, before he gave a nod and headed out. He couldn’t see Hannah, but he had a good idea where she would be, he remembered her talking about the cave she had found Simon in, just at the curve of the cove. He made his way over, exhaling cigarette smoke and smiled as he realised he was right when Simon came bounding out from behind a rock to greet him.

"Hey pal..." he said softly before he stopped at the entrance to the cave.

Hannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile as the dim light sparkled in her eyes.

"This isn't walking Firefly." Ari smiled, leaning against the rocky wall of the cave by the entrance as he looked down at her.

"I walked here didn't I?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Want me to leave you alone?" he asked, fully aware she had hidden in there for a reason. He’d got what he wanted, to know she was safe, so he was perfectly happy to let her be.

"You can sit if you want." she shrugged "But you can put that out before you step into my secret den…” He smiled and stubbed his cigarette out before he ducked into the rock cluster, sitting beside her.

“So, what you up to? Actually, no let me guess thinking..." he said and she gave a soft huff, shrugging “You know I meant what I said before, don't you ever wanna switch off your brain and just stop for a while?"

"Yup." she nodded “But it’s never that simple though is it?"

"Nothing is Simple." Ari sighed "I wish it was.

"I managed it for a bit today." Hannah looked at him. "Switching off I mean. When we were in the market and stuff...it was nice."

"Yeah, yeah it was Firefly." he agreed

She looked at him and smiled "I like that."

"You like what?”

"When you call me Firefly, not Hannah or Han."

"You'll always be Firefly to me." he shrugs "Although Hannah is your actual name, so..."

"Sorry, you mean Rosa Maria, Guy.”

Ari chuckled as did she.

"I think we needed that" he smiled.

"Needed what?”

"A smile, and a laugh...chance to be away from it all for a little while." he looked at her.

"Maybe, like I said today was nice. Tonight was nice too...things have gone a bit overboard since we came back from the mission."

"You're telling me." He agreed.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the moonlight on the water as a slight gust of wind blew in from the Ocean, ruffling Ari’s hair slightly. He felt Hannah give a little shiver besides him and he looked at her as she tucked her knees into her chest. He hesitated for a second before he passed his arm over her shoulder.

"If I was wearing a jacket I'd offer it to you..." he nodded to the goose-bumps on her arm as explanation for his display of affection, fully expecting her to push him away but she didn’t.

"This is fine." she shrugged "Thanks”

"You're saying that a lot today Firefly." he looked at her before his attention went to Simon who was digging in the sand at the mouth of the cave, his tail wagging furiously.

"Well, you know, mama always told me to give thanks when it’s due so..."

"Good advice" he nodded.

“Seriously though, thank you Ari…” she looked at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing his cheek.

He turned his head to look at her and her face was so close to his. “You’re welcome” he whispered, swallowing slightly and her eyes flickered down to his lips. It was quick, and had he blinked he would have missed it. But he didn't...and once more he was catapulted back to the night of her 21st outside the club.

The internal conflict that had been raging inside him back then reared once more with vengeance only this time it wasn’t just about Sammy. There was Andy and everything else that had happened over the past few days, and her question from before rang around his head, silencing the voices...

“If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Whilst he couldn’t answer that, because he honestly didn’t know, he did know one thing. He didn’t regret them being together, at all.

“…do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

And he would, one and a million fucking times over regardless of how it worked out, because he'd rather have had her for those few months than never at all.

He was aware she still hadn’t moved, her eyes were bouncing across his, like she was waiting for him to decide what he wanted, what he was going to do…so he did. His lips brushed hers, in a soft, gentle kiss, their noses bumping together slightly. And she didn't pull away. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, his lips gliding over hers, the kiss deepening slightly. She was mimicking his movements, reciprocating, her tongue sliding against his and fuck he was in heaven, his stomach full of those familiar knots, until she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, her hand on his chest.

"Ari..I..." her voice was raspy, her chest rising and falling deeply as was his. And he shook his head before he pressed it to hers.

“I know.” he sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s not just your fault” she said softly.

He looked at her before he moved his arm from round her, running his hand through his hair as he sat back, shaking his head, looking down at his hands. There was a moment or two of silence, Ari mentally cursing himself again for being an idiot before Hannah spoke.

“I need to go…it’s late and I didn’t sleep much last night." she looked at him “Wanna walk me back?” He looked at her, noticing that she was smiling and he gave a soft laugh.

“Sure…come on.”

He stood up, ducking again as the cave wasn’t tall enough to accommodate his full height and held his hand out to help her up. She took it, and once she was stood, she didn’t let go.

**** “Have you seen Hannah?” Rachel asked, walking back out onto the patio “I need to ask her something about the Spanish guests.”

“She left for a walk.” Max said, looking up from the piece of drift wood he had been whittling into shape. As Rachel made to go find her, he suddenly realised he had sent Ari before and hastily stood up. “I’ll go, see if I can find her.” he offered.

Rachel smiled “Thanks.”

Max walked over the sand, down in the direction Hannah had headed in and then paused as he saw them in the distance, slowly making their way back towards the resort, hand in hand. Smiling to himself, Max turned to head back, giving one last glance over his shoulder at which point he saw them both stop at Hannah’s hut. Hannah looked up at Ari who wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back, smiled and headed into her room with Simon. Ari paused as the door closed, his head dropping a little as his hand ran through his hair before he headed towards his own accommodation.

Max made his way back to the dining area and wanderd inside to the bar, pouring himself a scotch.

“Did you find her?”

He spun to look at Rachel and shook his head “Nah, no sign. Must have gone to bed”

She looked at him before nodding “Ok, it can wait until tomorrow. I’m turning in myself now then. You ok to shut up here when you’re done?” Max nodded and watched Rachel go before he resumed his previous position at the table, picking up his carving, a soft smile playing on his face.

This time, he wasn’t saying shit about what he’d seen.

[godseen]

tw :  death  by  fire   characters  featured :  eddie  ,  nat  ,  ash  . 

it  began  just  like  any  other  day .

with  only  a  couple  hours  of  sleep  (  thanks  to  insomnia  and  his  choice  of hyperfixation  for  the  week  )   ,  reggie  jr  was  tired  and  lethargic  as  he  got  up  at  dawn  .   languid  with  his  movements  as  he  got  dressed  ,  a  loud  yawn  escaped  his  lips  that  was  quickly  followed  by  a  quick  groan  at  the  annoying  tick  and  tock  of  the wall  clock  amidst  the  quiet  of  the  morning  .   tick … tock … tick …  tock  …  tick …  tock …  and  reggie  would  have  taken  its  batteries  out  there  and  then  if  he  wasn’t  suddenly  distracted  by  the  very  faint  smell  of  iron  and  burnt  meat  in  the  air  .  but  in  the  end  ,  reggie  shrugged  it  off  as  some  weird  morning  hallucination  as  his  senses  awoken  with  him  .   he  had  other  things  to  worry  about  .  it  was  5:15 AM .   and  he  was  already  running  late  .

reggie  stood  there  for  a  moment  , (  breathe  in  ,  breathe  out  )  channeling  all  the  energy  he  could  muster  to  face  the  rest  of  his  day  .  then ,  a  whirlwind  of  motions  —   he  let  his  dog  out  to  the  backyard  for  a  quick  poo ,  brushed  his  teeth  ,  took  his  vitamins  ,  and  prayed  to  his  god  for  a  great  day  for  everyone  in  town  .   it  was  5:49 AM  when  he  was  finally  prepared  ,  everything  was  muscle  memory  with  his  routine  at  this  point  .  

the  first  signs  of  sunlight  kissed  his  skin  when  he  stepped  outside ,   a  comfort  as  the  cold  morning  breeze  hit  his  pale  cheeks  ,  but  reggie  didn’t  have  the  time  to  bask  in  its  warmth  —  eleven  minutes  before  the  first  delivery  ,  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half  before  opening  time  .  the  walk  to  the  diner  was  brisk  ,  with  a  few  minutes  to  spare  before  fernando  ,  their  regular  shipment  driver ,   would  deliver  the  produce  that  they  couldn’t  get  from  hidden  hill  farm  .  it  was  5:59 AM ,  and  reggie  was  waiting  behind  the  diner  for  the  shipment  while  he  fed  a  family  of  stray  calico  cats  .    

he  made  a  mental  note  to  ask  fernando  about  how  his  date  went  ,  remembering  how  excited  the  other  man  seemed  to  be  about  it  the  last  time  they  talked  .  reggie  always  made  a  point  to  make  conversation  with  everyone  he’d  come  across  ,   such  a  social  creature  with  charm  and  the  gusto  for  bringing  people  together   .   it  was  6:20 AM  ,  twenty  minutes  after  fernando  was  supposed  to  arrive  and  reggie  felt  uneasy  as  it  was  the  first  time  the  other  had  ever  been  this  late  after  all  these  years  without  any  notice  .   the  strange  scent  made  its  presence  known  again  ,  stronger  this  time  but  reggie  still  couldn’t  pinpoint  what  it  was  and  where  it  was  coming  from  .  

beginning  to  be  perturbed  by  the  smell  ,  reggie  went  back  inside  the  diner  ,  glad  to  see  ruby  ( auntie  ruby ,  he’d  call  her  —  a  good  friend  of  his  dad’s  and  a  line  cook  for  the  diner  since  he  was  little  )  was  already  there  .  he  greeted  her  and  asked  how  her  weekend  was  ,  only  to  be  ignored  .  he  didn’t  take  it  personally  ,  albeit  a  little  disheartening  ,  since  he  figured  she  just  woke  up  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  bed  .   they  spent  their  opening  preparations  in  awkward  silence  and  reggie  wondered  whether  something  was  wrong  ,  but  he  didn’t  want  to  prod  so  early  in  the  morning  .   he  was  thankful  when  the  clock  struck  7:00 AM ,  finally  time  to  open  the  diner  and  serve  great  food  to  darkwood  residents  ,  and  their  praises  and  conversations  were  his  own  food  for  the  soul  .

but  it  was  unusually  quiet  ,   the  silence  almost  too  overwhelming  that  reggie  couldn’t  help  but  tap  and  knock  on  the  counter  endlessly  to  drown  out  white  noise  —  their  morning  regulars  seemed  to  have  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth  .  and  those  that  came  were  disinterested  in  his  chit  chat  ,  simply  took  their  coffee  and  meal ,  leaving  without  a  word  .  he  smiled  at  every  customer  ,   greetings  highlighted  with  pep  ,  disheartened  at  every  time  he  was  disregarded    —   again  and  again  and  again  and  again  and  again  ,  like  an  endless  repetition  that  left  him  deeply  disturbed  .   there  was  something  alien  about  what  was  happening  …  something  so  eerie  ,  especially  when  the  old  jukebox  unexpectedly  began  to  play  on  its  own  to  break  the  silence   —  and  reggie  wished  it  hadn’t  .  

 i  know  you  belong  to  somebody  new  but  tonight  you  belong  to  me  although we're apart you're a part of my heart but tonight you belong to me  —  the  song  began  to  play  faster  and  faster  with  every  syllable ,  and  while  it  had  malfunction  before ,  it  had never  just  played  on  its  own  accord  — waitdownbythestreethowsweetitwillseemoncemorejusttodreaminthemoonlightmyhoneyiknowwiththedawnthatyouwillbego                             and  the  song  continued  to  speed  up   until  it  just  sounded  like  a  loud  high-pitched  ringing   ,    forcing  him  to  cover  his  ears  as  he  ran  towards  the  jukebox  so  he  could  unplug  it  .  and  then  ,  back  to  complete  silence .  

it  was  only  9:15 AM  when  reggie  took  his  first  break  ,   so  deeply  disturbed  that  he  had  to  step  outside  for  fresh  air  .   he  texted  nat  ,  offered  free  strawberry  milkshakes  and  curly  fries  just  for  her  to  stop  by  and  make  him  feel  less  like  a  lunatic  over  what  was  happening  .  but  she  left  him  on  read  ,  which  didn’t  happen  often ,  or  at  all  if  she  could  help  it  .   he  began  to  pace  outside  ,  which  would  have  looked  really  strange  if  there  was  anyone  watching   —  but  the  town  was  almost  deserted  ,  like  he  had  been  left  behind  by  everyone  that  ever  mattered  to  him  (  a  list  that  consisted  almost  of  the  entire  town  )  .   it  was  a  sick  joke  ,  it  had  to  be  .   he  texted  ash  ,  no  detail  spared   —  it  was  a  nice  bait  ,   ash  would  probably  laugh  at  him  for  thinking  everyone  had  suddenly  conspired  against  him  but  he  needed  to  talk  to  someone  .  anyone .  

if  ash  was  stupid  about  her  pride  and  their  whole  rivalry  ,  then  reggie  was  stupid  about  ash  .  he  never  wanted  to  be  in  competition  with  her  ,  would  very  much  rather  have  a  bond  based  on  mutual  interests  and  fondness  for  each  other   —   and  yet  ,  for  years  and  years  ,  reggie  went  along  with  it  in  hopes  that  it  would  make  her  feel  more  involved .  and  he’d  be  lying  if  he  said  he  didn’t  enjoy  seeing  her  show  the  smallest  semblance  of   happiness  whenever  she’d  beat  him  in  their  most  trivial  feuds  .   he  enjoyed  his  time  with  her  ,    so  ,  he  hoped  for  a  reply  .  no  ,  he prayed  for  it  .  he  could  already  imagine  ash’s  smug  smile  when  they’d  talk  about  this  in  person  and  how  it  would  make  his  day  just  to  see  it .  

but  minutes  passed  and  still  nothing  .  he  tried  to  call  his  dad  ,  mom  ,  siblings  ,   eddie  ,  pari  ,  his  neighbors  and  even  the  police  —   all  nothing  .    reggie  felt  ill  ,   almost  lost  his  balance  at  the  thought  of  being  alone  in  a  world  without  everyone  he  cared  for   .  he  had  always  been  able  to  hold  onto  hope  ,  but  not  when  all  signs  lead  to  everything  he  feared  for  .  he  ran  back  inside  the  diner  and  auntie  ruby  was  gone  .   it  was  the  terror  of  patterns  and  schedule  thrown  awry  ,  the  banality  he  was  so  used  to  suddenly  replaced  with  dread  growing  exponentially  in  the  pit  of  his  stomach  .  what  was  his  life  if  not  to  care  for  people  ?  what  was  his  life  if  not  trying  to  make  their  sleepy  little  town  a  better  place  ?  his  life  meant  nothing  if  he  was  alone  ,  and  god  ,  he  couldn’t  stand  it  .  

he  raced  outside  ,   barging  into  every  store  ,  knocking  on  every  door  ,  desperate  for  any  signs  of  life  .  he  went  to  his  family’s  home  —   completely  empty  of  life  ,  his  parents  and  siblings  gone  as  if  they  were  never  there  in  the  first  place  .  people  were  not  just  supposed  to  vanish  into  thin  air  .  he  wondered  if  this  was  the  rapture  ,   if  he  had  been  left  behind  because  he  wasn’t  good  enough  .   it  was  a  painful  thought  ,  his  dedication  to  everyone  else  meaning  nothing  .  he  ran  and  ran  and  ran  and  ran  until  he  couldn’t  breathe  ,  collapsing  onto  the  ground   (   breathe  in  ,  breathe  out  )  as  he  became  painfully  aware  of  the  lack  of  air  in  his  lungs  .   his  throat  was  agonizingly  dry   ,   tears  welling  up  in  his  eyes  as  he  realized  that  this  had  to  be  a  nightmare  .  if  not  ,  then  it  must  be  hell  .  

he  closed  his  eyes   and  sent  up  a  simple  ,  desperate  plea  to  god  ,   ❛   please  ,   wake  me  up  .  ❜   but  the  prayer  went  unanswered  .   and  once  again  ,   the  smell  came  back   —  so  strong  ,  so  pungent  that  he  could  almost  taste  it  ,  that  he  felt  like  throwing  up  .  he  was  scared  to  open  his  eyes  ,  but  he  was  betrayed  by  his  own  body  .  in  front  of  him  was  eddie  ,  standing  tall  and  proud  (  of  what ?  he  wished  he  would  never  find  out  )  as  that  sinister  smile  on  his  lips  taunted  him  .  

 ❛  you  were  wrong  ,  reggie .  about  me  .  about  everything  .  ❜ 

 the  conviction  in  eddie’s  voice  left  his  powerless  ,  his  faith  in  eddie  finally  deteriorating  with  the  evidence  laid  behind  him   —   a  pile  of  ablazed  corpses  ,  his  loved  ones  and  the  people  of  darkwood  slowly  being  reduced  to  ashes  .   the  wind  blew  soot  and  god  ,  it  burned  his  eyes  but  reggie  remained  unblinking  at  the  horrors  ,  mouth  agape  as  he  stared  at  the  horrors  against  his  will  .  he  wasn’t  sure  how  long  he  had  been  looking  at  it   —  seconds  ,  maybe  minutes   —  when  god  finally  answered  his  prayers  and  he  finally  blinked  .  

the  next  time  reggie  opened  his  eyes  ,  it  was  5:15 AM  and  it  was  time  to  start  his  day .   tick … tock … tick …  tock  …  tick …  tock … and  the  annoying  clock  went  on  and  on  ,  but  he  was  too  listless  to  do  anything  but  sit  on  the  edge  of  his  bed  and  contemplate  that  dreadful  nightmare  .  was  he  truly  wrong  about  eddie  ?  no .  no  .  no  .  he  couldn’t  let  himself  doubt  him  now  ,  too  .   it  was  just  his  psyche  playing  tricks  ,  recycling  the  rumours  and  gossips  the  townspeople  tried  to  imbue  on  his  mind  .  eddie  was  innocent  .  he  paid  no  mind  to  the  other  parts  of  the  dream  ,  that  sickening  loneliness  he  felt   —   it  was  just  a  nightmare  ,  and  being  awake  meant  he  had  other  things  to  worry  about  now   —   eddie  ,  ash  ,  the  diner ,  his  family  —  and  he  was  already  running  late  .  

[bang-to-the-tan]

Stray Cat Strut

Chapter 3

Reader x OT7

► Faerie!AU

Fluff, Comfort

Warnings: Mention of Death, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Faerie Mischevious Bullshit

↳ Summary: When your grandmother passes away, she leaves her countryside house in your name. The longer you stay, the harder and harder it becomes to explain away the odd happenings. What kind of secrets does this sleepy town hold? And why do the local animals act so strangely around you?…

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You aren’t awakened by the sun, or by the sound of your alarm clock—set to wake you up just in time to get ready, have some breakfast, and then go and help Jin with the pond. Instead, this morning, you’re pulled from your strange dreams to the sound of birdsong. Not just any bird song, you realize groggily as you come to. The melody from the woods, specifically. You sit up in bed, rubbing at your eyes and yawning, casting a glance out your window. Sure enough, there it sits, perched upon a branch just beside the window. A tiny, pink bird. When it sees you arise, it shuffles, and repeats its song. You stare at it. There’s no way the bird followed you all the way here from the forest. There’s no reason for this one particular bird to be following you at all. As you stare, the song trails off and eventually the bird flutters its wings, head cocking. It droops comically, its whole, round body visibly shrinking. You repeat the song hastily, whistling the tune back, struck by the sudden fear you’ll hurt its feelings if you don’t. It almost immediately brightens and continues, chirping louder as you get up from the bed and move towards the kitchen. You hear it throughout the house as you get ready for the day and, not that it’s a bad song or an annoying one, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious how not normal it is to be so thoroughly serenaded by a bird. You aren’t sure you’re fully convinced by the strange librarian yet, with his ‘Keprys’ and such, but maybe he’s right about one thing—there are definitely things going on in this town that are beyond the pale. Clutching your purse, a handful of money shoved into it to try and pay for the book, you make your way outside. Maybe you can hit the library before you go to see Jin.

As you pass by the lavender, you pause, blinking at it. It’s…begun to wilt. Is it maybe not the season for it anymore? You reach out a hand to caress the fading purple flowers, feeling guilty for the dried pieces that come away with your fingers. It still smells lovely, though, and at an afterthought, you reach to the bag around your neck, taking a moment just to inhale the combination of cinnamon, autumn, and now lavender. Heavenly. A gentle smile curves your lips and you allow it, pressing on. When you come back, you’ll do something about it, you decide resolutely. The beauty of Granny’s beloved garden will not fade on your watch.

The second you get close to the fence, there’s an excited snuffle and you spot a tiny snout appearing around the bushes to the front. You can also see the fur waving in the air as the small dog from yesterday wags its tail like a thing possessed. Does it think it’s hiding?.. As you go to open the gate, you can hear it making small noises like it just can’t contain how terribly happy it is to see you again. It almost bowls you over in desperation when you finally unlatch the door and step out. You try to console it and walk past it in turn, but the way it weaves and bounces between your legs is making that very difficult. Eventually it settles for jittering impatiently by your side as you walk, occasionally yipping when your hand finds itself anywhere else but stroking through its warm fur. A strange way to spend your morning, for sure, but you don’t mind the company while you trek to the library.

The dog follows you, of course, tail bouncing congenially with every step. On the steps of the library you stop and turn towards it.

“Listen,” you warn, as it looks adoringly up at you with eyes slightly crossed from focusing too hard on you. “You can’t come in the library.”

Perhaps sensing that you’re going to abandon it again, it snuffles and whines.

“But,” you add quickly, “I’ll be right back out and we can spend time together then. I’m sure Jin won’t mind you at his pond.”

It snorts, and the force of it makes it take a step backwards, small paws dancing, but it’s still looking at you rather doubtfully. It huffs a quiet bark and you chuckle at the way it searches your eyes. Just like an argumentative child.

“I promise. I swear. Please don’t scream.”

It blinks, licks its chops and leaves its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. When it moves to sit, it’s with a weary sigh and additional whine, throwing all of its 10 pounds to the cobbles like the world is just too heavy on its shoulders. You giggle, turning up the stairs and peeking back at the door to see if its followed. But no, still sitting. Ears down, whimpering under its breath to itself. You’re left wondering once again whether there’s something wrong with the animals in this town as you push open the front doors and step inside.

 The library is just as quiet, just as empty as it was the last time you were in it.

“Hello?”

“Hello.” You almost shout, but manage to choke off the end of it, whirling about to glare at the librarian. Once again, he’d somehow managed to move with all the noise of a phantom, appearing behind you out of nowhere. He smirks at your scandalized expression and chuckles when you point at him accusingly.

“You. You have got to stop doing that.”

“No way,” his eyebrows rise, lips curving into a pout. “You need to start paying better attention to your surroundings.”

“I could pay better attention to you if you were wearing a bell or something.” You huff, beginning to dig through your purse to retrieve the handful of money you’d stuffed in there, pulling it out as a handful.

“…And ruin the fun?” He glances down at the cash in your hand, but makes no move to acknowledge it.

“For the book,” you clarify after an awkward second, holding it out to him. “About faeries and stuff.”

“Did I convince you already?”

“No…but I’ve noticed some real weird stuff going on in this town and I want to cover my bases. Just in case you aren’t totally nuts.”

 He hums non-committedly. He meets your gaze and doesn’t look back down, even as you wiggle your outstretched arm to try and catch his attention again.

“That’s not going to cut it,” he says finally.

You balk. “What do you mean ‘that’s not going to cut it’—what is it, covered in gold leaf??”

“I mean what I said. I don’t want a bunch of paper.”

“Look, mister—“

“I said something of value.” “Money has value.”

“Only the value you give it.”

You drop your arm with an exasperated groan, rolling your eyes ceiling-ward. “Are you going to tell me the real book is the friends I made along the way? Because I really could be doing something better with my time.”

“I’m going to tell you the real book is very valuable to me,” He says instead. His tone is surprisingly sharp and you’re actually spellbound at the intense look he’s serving you. His eyes are so dark, so deep, you can almost see yourself in them. “If you want it, you have to barter something of equal value.”

After a moment, he speaks again, but softer, his hypnotic hold on you slipping away. “I can’t afford to replace it. I just don’t want anything happening to it.”

You hesitate.

“Okay. Something of equal value. Something that means a lot to me.”

“Yes.”

“Collateral.”

“Exactly.”

Your head lolls so you can peer at him in disbelief. He’s fighting a small smile that’s growing in the corners of his mouth, but there’s still something unreadable in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

He shrugs. “I’ve read it several times. If you have any questions about Keprys, you can always ask me.”

“Well…okay, so…So, there’s some weird stuff happening to me lately. Weird animals.”

“Right.” You try to gauge whether or not he believes you, but his mild expression tells you only that he’s listening.

“There’s a bird that followed me from the forest. I woke up to it singing to me, like this one little song. It got…disappointed when I didn’t whistle it back? And-and there’s a dog. It looks like it’s taken care of, but it’s following me around too now and always wants attention. I guess that doesn’t really sound all that odd,” you add hastily, interpreting the stony look on his face as him getting bored with you already. “I’m not phrasing it right, but it, I mean, it just feels odd. Like they shouldn’t be acting like that. Oh! There also was—um,” You pull at the bag around your neck, taking out the fragrant stick from inside and holding it out in the middle of your palm. His gaze flicks down to it, but he doesn’t move otherwise, seemingly frozen in place as he stares. “There was a cat. And I, uh, I fed it and let it stay the night and in the morning it was gone—even though I locked everything up. And it left this stick behind. I don’t know. It sounds crazy, but I swear—“

“It’s a totem.”

“A what.”

He moves like he’s going to take it from you, but his hand retreats with a jerk and he slides both of them into his pockets, taking a step back instead, eyeing your hand as warily as if you were holding a knife. “A totem. It’s the reason you keep having these run-ins. The cat was a Kepry. You did him a favor, so he left you a totem.”

“What’s the point of that…? What does it do?”

The librarian blinks, briefly looking away. “You break it, and they show up to accomplish whatever task you need help with. It’s a summoning. But it’s also why the others keep coming to you. They’re drawn to it.”

You frown. “Oh.”

“You should get rid of it.”

“What, like throw it away?? Seems kind of rude…I like the smell of it.”

“Just summon him for something small. If you keep it for much longer, weird things will keep happening to you.”

“I mean…nothing bad has happened.” You argue for reasons you aren’t sure of.

“Yet.”

“They wouldn’t hurt me, would they?”

He blinks, studying you past his glasses. There’s something in his expression, some old hurt, lurking behind his eyes. “You should get rid of it.” He repeats, slowly.

 You think of the small bird. Of the fluffy dog. The stray cat. Not exactly the most threatening creatures you’ve come across. A summoning totem could be really useful, if that’s what is. Besides, all of this hinges on this random guy telling the truth. The only real way to find out if he is or not is to get your hands on that book. If it even really exists. But, you’ll admit, this all feels very intriguing. And you don’t mind having something to do when you aren’t cleaning. A little quest. Mysterious book, mysterious librarian, weird animals. You feel like a YA novel.

“Something of value to me.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow, then. Again. I’ve got a bargain to keep today.” You say resolutely, stuffing the money back into your purse and turning. You miss the faint look of alarm on his face as you do.

“…A bargain to keep?” he echoes quietly, his voice drifting away from you as you make your way to the front door.

“Yeah, I’m helping a guy clean the pond down the road.” You reply, already trying to think of something you could trade. Something of value? It feels skeevy to consider trading something of Granny’s, but maybe you can scrounge up something small and convincing as collateral. You’ll look through your suitcase later.

“Wait—“

You’re already out the door, making your way down the stairs. Halfway down, you look over your shoulder, up at the building, but whatever it was that required your attention must not have been that important because the librarian hasn’t followed you out. You purse your lips and shrug.

The small dog out in the front is still sitting there, but the minute you come back into view, it’s popped up animatedly, tail wagging, tongue lolling, panting and yipping breathlessly. It won’t allow you more than a few paces before you have to pet it to stop it from weaving around your feet.

 You’re struck by disappointment when you reach the pond and don’t see the man from yesterday. Immediately followed by frustration when you realize that you’re so disappointed in not seeing him again. He’s probably busy doing something else. Not like he owes you his appearance. Besides, he said ‘tomorrow’—didn’t specify when. Maybe you’re just early. Overeager. As you muse on this, the small dog by your legs falls silent. It keeps walking in front of you, laying its body against your shins as if to herd you back home. It dodges your attempts to pet its head, intent on keeping a strict eye on the smooth surface of the pond. You see why a few seconds later. Underneath the bridge, gliding across the water with a gentle motion like it was floating on air, a swan passes by through the pond. It doesn’t look directly at you, but the way its wings flutter as you watch gives you the impression it’s not any less aware of your presence.

Now, if there was anything in this town that could convince you of magic and otherworldly creatures, this would be it. You feel like you shouldn’t even be looking at it, it’s so beautiful. Even with the disrepair of the pond and the bridge around it, it’s the most incredible thing you’ve ever seen. The light catches its pristine feathers, its delicate neck, the impenetrable coal of its eyes. It looks like a painting. As it drifts past, the fur on the dog’s back rises slowly, and a deep sound echoes within its small body. It’s growling at the swan, stiffly standing between you as firmly as though it were made of stone. It only gets worse when the swan curves towards you and comes closer. You try petting the dog more, coax it into relaxing, but it won’t be moved, and it doesn’t stop the constant, low rumbling in its throat until the swan has begun to float peacefully, if reproachfully, to the other side of the pond instead of approaching you.

“Aw, come on, puppy,” you chastise. “It didn’t mean any harm. If it was angry, it would hiss. Swans hiss when they’re angry,” you add, unsure of why you feel the need to explain swan behavior to a dog. “Or afraid. It didn’t look scared of me, though. Probably been here for a long time. Used to people. Maybe it’s used to being fed.”

You pause, watching the swan glide towards the opposite bank, barely even pulling any ripples from the water.

“Maybe I could bring some food for it. Do you think Jin would mind?”

The dog whines, sneezes, and bounces once, still glaring out over the water at the retreating water fowl. Finally satisfied with the distance between you and the bird, it spins and offers you a snuffle and a quiet yap, tail picking up a proud wag once more. You sigh, but reward it with a few gentle strokes anyways. For whatever reason, it was trying to protect you from something unfamiliar and you can’t really fault it for that.

You stand and cast another look about, but still you don’t see the man from yesterday. He probably isn’t even up yet. What time is it? You’re shocked to realize that you aren’t even sure. Time seems to have less meaning in this town, you’ve noticed.

You decide after a beat to visit back here after you’ve tended the garden. You aren’t one to go back on your word, after all, but you can’t just sit here all morning either. Maybe you’ll bring lunch. Sneak in a slice of bread or two for the swan? The dog will have to stay somewhere else. You aren’t sure how you’re going to manage that.

You cast it a sideways glance as you go to walk back down the path, but it’s just as happy to meet your gaze as ever, panting and jittering in mounting excitement when it realizes you’re looking back. You stifle a laugh at the adoration in its slightly crossed eyes.

As you turn the corner to make your way up to the cottage, you realize that there’s someone standing inside of the fence. You can’t see their face, but catch glimpses of faded pink and purple-ish hair as it bobs about your garden. You blink, confused and a little wary, stepping to the gate. The dog at your feet immediately bristles, growling again, louder. Strangely enough, you feel a little grateful for its’ protective company now as you stare at the stranger yanking at your granny’s flower bushes. It’s a man. Long-limbed and lithe, he reaches thin fingers towards a rose and snaps the head off, discarding the blossom to the ground.

“Hey!” you start, suddenly indignant, throwing the gate open and stepping inside. The dog immediately melts into a cacophony of shrieking barks, and you have to raise your voice to be heard. “Excuse me!”

The stranger pauses, swivels to rise to his full height and casts you a perfunctory glance. “You’re excused?” he offers, brows rising. His features are so finely chiseled, high cheekbones, delicate lips, and soft eyes that glitter in the sun.

“Who do you think you are?”

The dog continues to bark loudly in the background, occasionally stopping to gather its breath.

The man blinks, as though surprised by the question. It takes him a moment to reply. “I’m the gardener. Or, I was.” He looks back to the flowers and sniffs once, shaking his head. “The contract is over, I guess.” He mumbles.

“You didn’t hear? She…she’s dead. My grandmother.” He doesn’t react, so you quickly reiterate, “The owner of the house.”

He hesitates again and looks at you, something stirring in his eyes that you can’t quite understand. “…I’m sorry…for your loss.” He adds after a beat, as if unsure it’s the right thing to say.

“Yeah. Me, too.”

The uncomfortable quiet that attempts to settle between you is broken when the pup begins howling. You have to stifle an exasperated laugh.

“I’m gonna guess he found you, then.” The stranger puts in, inclining his head towards the gate.

“What do you mean?”

“Taehyung.”

“Is that his name?” You throw a glance over your shoulder. ‘Taehyung’ wheezes, trying to yap pointedly at you but seemingly going hoarse. He bounces forward, head nodding towards the ground passionately, and that’s when you notice that the gate isn’t even closed properly. Probably best that he doesn’t seem to realize, or else he might do something to the ‘gardener’. At present, you aren’t sure you’d stop him.  

You turn back to the man in question, folding your arms over your chest.

“Um, so. Like I was going to say, she passed away. The house is mine, now, I guess, for as long as I want it.” “Is that right?” He doesn’t seem particularly interested.

“I don’t have a lot of money. To keep your services, I mean. For the garden.”

He only watches you as you attempt to stammer your way through a halfway decent explanation, growing steadily less and less coherent under his gaze.

“Just, please don’t…destroy it? I don’t really understand why you would do that.”

“I don’t appreciate being conned.” Is his terse reply.

“I’m sorry?” You’re a little taken aback by his coldness. “I mean, like I said, she…my grandmother died. If you think got the short end of the stick, I…I’d like to know if I can make it up to you maybe? If that’s how you feel?”

He pulls a thoughtful expression, lips pursing, eyes flicking skyward. By the gate, Taehyung sneezes and hacks once, then resumes his tirade with renewed energy.

“If you can make my time up to me, then I’ll work for you.” The gardener says finally. “If you still want my services. If not, the contract needs to be dissolved and I’m taking the plants with me.”

“Uh, alright.” You blink. It seems a solid enough argument, coming as it is from a man that waltzed into your yard and started ripping the heads off roses. “That…I guess that’s fair. Honestly, I’d prefer if granny’s garden stayed as beautiful as I’ve always remembered it, and well…I don’t exactly know what I’m doing with flowers.”

His face breaks out into a smile at that, eyes glittering. “You liked it?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s always been so gorgeous, even as a kid, I loved playing in it.”

“You don’t remember Taehyung, but you remember my garden?”

“…I’m sorry?” You peer at him curiously.

His grin grows wider, and he breaks into a laugh that squishes his cheeks, shoulders quaking, hand coming to hide his mouth behind his knuckles. “He won’t forgive you, you know. But I’ll take it. I’m glad you remember my garden so fondly. Just for that, I’ll give you a day to decide what you want to do with the contract.”

“That’s…nice of you.” There’s some weird energy going on with this guy. You aren’t sure what it is, or what it means for you. He moves to turn away and you start, straightening.

“W-wait! You didn’t give me your name.”

“I didn’t.” He cocks his head, still grinning absently.

“…What is it?”

He smiles at you, and it’s like he’s trapped the sun behind his teeth, lighting up his entire face. “Hoseok. You can call me Hoseok.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to see you again.”

 You’re so busy trying to unpack that statement that you don’t even react, really, when he goes to step towards the gate, until you realize that Taehyung is visibly bristling and snarling over by the door. You rush forward quickly, mind spinning with visions of ankle mauling, gathering the small dog in your arms and stepping out of the garden, to the side to allow Hoseok to pass. He’s heavier than he looks; solid, warm, and softer than you could imagine. He smells…oddly sweet. Clean, fresh, warm. Like honey. He struggles, yipping in a high pitch, but suddenly goes completely limp in your grasp. You look away from the gardener to stare at Taehyung, shifting his weight to turn him around. Did you…did you hurt him? He has his eyes closed, paws in a resting position in front of his chest. Part of you panics. Did you pick him up too fast? Are little dogs really that delicate? But no…no, he’s breathing. He’s just…sleeping? Or maybe just content? You can see him blinking underneath his eyelids. Under your incredulous gaze, a tear rolls out from his eye and his entire body shudders with a weary sigh. He’s not hurt. He seems to be basking in the sheer amount of contact you’re affording him. You snort. Typical. You should have guessed.

When you look up, Hoseok is gone. He must have better things to do than hang around and get threatened by small animals.

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[chenle-dressed-in-black]

baldrs, neos, and kangs~  pt.1

     NCT mafia au with my own oc named Kang Sooyoung, who is a young girl born into one of the coldest mafias of them all. She’s trying to live on her own and cut ties with her family, but with everyone either looking out for her or waiting to kill her, it’s a lot harder than it sounds. 

     relevant people in this story who will appear a lot (every nct member appears at some point): johnny suh, dong sicheng, nakamoto yuta, and kim doyoung

warnings: language

word count: 1.6k

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     Sooyoung picks up her phone each time it rings, which is admittedly a bad habit she should start working on. “Hello?” 

     Her cousin, Gwen, mouths a question at her. Who is it? She’s sprawled across her purple velvet, four-poster bed. Her bare feet hang off the side of the bed lazily. She looks like she doesn’t have a care in the world, so nothing new there.

     “Are you even home?” It’s Sicheng, but Sooyoung should’ve expected that. “You’re not, are you?”

     He sounds irritated, which puzzles her. Gwen makes a face at her across the room. Sooyoung’s confused silence is enough to propel Sicheng into an exasperated explanation. “We’re going to the new Chinese restaurant tonight. You promised we could.” 

     “Oh.” She feels like shit. Gwen shakes her head and theatrically puts her hands on her forehead in feigned disapproval, but not surprise. Her thick, wavy hair doesn’t move with the gesture. “I completely—”

     “You forgot.” Sicheng steals the words right out of her mouth flatly. “You’re with your cousin, who’s having an emotional breakdown, so it completely slipped your mind. You’re really sorry, but we can do it another night next week.” 

     Sooyoung frowns, but she’s hopeful. “We can?”

     “No,” he deadpans. “I’m going home next week like I do every year the first week of spring.” 

     Gwen gracefully stands up, walking over to her cousin, who’s standing in the middle of the room on a plush fake-animal rug. Holding out her hand for the phone, she waits until a reluctant Sooyoung gives it over. Gwen takes a deep breath. “It’s not Sooyoung’s fault my boyfriend dumped me, Sicheng,” she says in a perfectly calm, sultry voice. “You know she’ll make it up to you.” 

     There’s a huff. “I know you’re family, but I don’t understand why Sooyoung is the one who has to solve all of your problems.” 

     “I’ll let that slide, lover boy.” Sooyoung’s eyes goes wide at that comment, but Gwen just shrugs her off. “I’m giving the phone back to the nice Kang now.”

     Sooyoung claws at the phone, shoving it back up to her ear. “I promise we’ll find another time. I’m not blowing you off.” 

     “Okay.” He’s clearly impartial at best and deeply upset at the worst. “Whatever you say. Gwendolyn should learn how to solve problems herself. She’s supposed to be the one who looks after you.” 

     Sicheng is gone before she can say anything. Sooyoung tosses the phone onto a plush chair, flopping down onto her cousin’s bed. She screams into the blanket. This marks the third time she has postponed the restaurant outing with him. Neither time before was intentional. The first time, Gwen came down with the stomach flu while her parents were off doing a black-market bypass surgery in Indonesia, so there was no one else but Sooyoung to take care of her. When Sicheng heard, he offered to bring soup and stay to help, but Gwen said she would rather die than let that boy see her with sweat matting her long black waves to her forehead and laugh at her with his dyed hair and evil eyes. 

     They don’t get along well. Obviously. Anyway, the excuse Gwen used to keep Sooyoung in the clear this time was the same as last time. Except she was the one who dumped her terrible boyfriend. That didn’t stop her from sobbing into Sooyoung’s shoulder all night, though. 

     Now, the third time around, Gwen’s not-so-ex-boyfriend cut ties with her again. Trouble and bad consequences are stray dogs she shouldn’t have fed. They follow her everywhere. Sooyoung was honestly not completely sure what was happening between Gwen and Yuta. She dumped him, but then he showed up at her apartment in sobs and begged for one more chance. She agreed, of course. Gwen’s parents reached out to Sooyoung immediately, urging her to convince their reckless daughter to leave that troublesome Neo boy once and for all. So, Yuta ended things with her again, apparently. She isn’t sure how Gwen and Yuta can even keep up. 

     It’s also Wednesday, which means that Sooyoung cannot go to her apartment. Sicheng knows everything about her, but not this. “No wonder he hates me,” says Gwen wistfully. “I’d hate me to if I were him. Me and my relationship problems are such a cock-blocker.” 

     “He was really upset.” Sooyoung sighs. “I feel bad.”

     “Of course he’s upset. The love of his life keeps ditching him for her rash cousin. And Sicheng has to spend his week being told he’s a coward for not killing more people.” 

     “I wish you wouldn’t make a joke out of his feelings. It’s really not fair,” replies Sooyoung. “I’m not what most people would call , ‘emotionally available.’”

     Gwen snaps her fingers. “But you should be, because we both know that Johnny left to go all Neo City. He’s not coming back, sweetie. I love you, but it’s the truth.” 

     “We don’t know if that’s what happened,” she says weakly, because she knows that is exactly what happened. 

     “You need to let him go.” Gwen puts a gentle hand on Sooyoung’s shaking shoulder. “The way Sicheng has. Johnny’s ignoring the most wonderful girl he’ll ever know and ditching the most annoying best friend he ever had. I’ll tell you what’s going on: Johnny Suh is an asshole.”

     While she makes self-destructive choices in her own personal life, she is extremely gifted at advising others. Right now, Sooyoung is being reprobated by the offender. “You’re one to talk about letting go.”

     Gwen drops her brown hand, returning it to her side as her expression goes cold. “At least I’m not delusional.” She’s staring hard at her cousin, black eyes afire. “I’m trying to help, but you wanna deflect everything to me.” 

     “Maybe someone should!” Sooyoung, who never yells, is screaming at the top of her lungs. “All you do is tell me to get over Johnny, but you’re still sleeping with Yuta!” 

     “If you don’t truly let him go soon,” says Gwen slowly, “I fear how much he will hurt you, in the end. Look what he’s done to you already. I can’t even blame him for this anymore; it’s just you.”

     The way she stays so collected after being insulted makes Sooyoung want to scream even louder. Does nothing bother you? That’s what she wishes she could yell, but suddenly she feels afraid that she won’t be able to control whatever comes out of her mouth if it opens again. She’s taken aback by herself. Before she can think once about it, Sooyoung is spinning on her heels and running out of the apartment. 

     Once she is gone, Gwendolyn stands in the middle of her bedroom for a long time without moving an inch. She’s stunned, frankly. That didn’t seem like Sooyoung at all. If anything, the person she who just screamed at her reminds her of Hyeyoung. And, for god’s sake, that is not a good thing. A buzzing sound yanks her out of her thoughts, sending her over to the nightstand. Her eyes take over her face. It’s Hyeyoung who’s calling her, which only has one explanation: somebody died. 

     “What happened?”

     But Gwen isn’t the one who asks, which worries her more, for some reason. She’s already looking for shoes. “What are you talking about?”

     “She’s not homeless, is she?” Hyeyoung inquires manically. “No way, because you’d let her stay with you. So what’s going on?” 

     Having secured a pair of combat boots, Gwen is tearing through her messy walk-in in search of her favorite leather coat. “That’s a great question. Here’s another one: why the hell did you call me?” 

     “I miss you, too, cousin.” 

     Gwen’s heading for the door now. “Answer the question.”

     “Sooyoung passed out in the middle of the street.” There’s accusation in her voice that Gwen doesn’t like one bit. “It looked like she was having a hard night and I’m betting you know why.” 

     “Where did you take her?” asks a jogging Gwen. “. . . Unless you left her there.” 

     “Of course I didn’t!” cries Hyeyoung. “I brought her home, obviously.”

     As she is about to reach a taxi, she cannot resist. “You mean your parents’ house?” 

     “Where else? That’s Sooyoung’s home! You need to watch out before—”

     With a carefree laugh, Gwen says, “Don’t threaten me, darling.” 

     She hangs up before Hyeyoung can scream into the phone like a death-metal vocalist. Someone is calling her name behind her; she spins. “Sicheng?” 

     He stops running once he’s caught up to her. “I need to talk to Sooyoung.”

     The taxi has already been taken by another passenger and it speeds by. Gwen’s heading toward another with him on her tail. “She’s not here.” 

     “Was she lying earlier?” he asks, his nose wrinkling in confusion. “But I heard your voice on the phone.” 

     And he trusts Sooyoung, but Sicheng doesn’t need to speak for either of them to know that. “We got into a fight and she left.”     

     “Is she at her apartment? I really need to see her.”

     Gwen is unphased by his urgency, since she matches it. “She’s at my aunt and uncle’s. Apparently she fainted in the street. I’m going to see her right now; this is all my fault.” 

     Sicheng, who does not commonly pass up a free opportunity to make a jab at the contentious girl, only asks: “Can I come with you?” 

     Opening the backseat of a taxi, Gwen shrugs. “I can’t stop you.” She scoots over to make room for him. After a few minutes, she clears her throat. “I need you to promise me something, though.” 

     Sicheng nods for her to continue.

     “As soon as we know she’s okay, you have to help me get her out of there. Hopefully before she wakes up; Sooyoung is gonna freak the fuck out if she sees her family. I don’t know how much she’s told you about what happened—”

     “Sooyoung didn’t tell me anything about why she left.”

     “Trust me on this,” Gwen pleads. “The faster she’s out, the better.”

     “Okay,” he declares, meeting her eyes. “I’ll help you.” 

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