#he threw me $1000 computer on the floor

[theamazingannie]

Was all happy and content cuz I bought some cute Christmas socks at the store and then the universe had to go and push me back down

[super-secret-sick-fics]

hi! i loved your iwaoi fic so much!! if you’re still taking requests, i would love to see more iwaoi!! idc who’s sick but emeto is a yes :) no pressure and thank you! <33

Hi! I hope this is to your liking :)

I can’t promise that I’ll alway respond to requests this quickly or that they’ll always be 1000+ words. I’ve just been in the writing mood recently!!

Usually I hc Oikawa as super super overly-doting as a caretaker, but I think when it comes to Iwa’s migraines, he is so used to them (unfortunately) that he’s just like. “Okay this is what I gotta do.” If that makes sense?

Migraine: an IwaOi sick fic

Pair: sick Iwa, caretaker Oikawa

Word Count: 2,234

Warnings: vomit, swearing, slightly ooc Iwa

——————————————————————

Iwaizumi leaned against the wall of the elevator lethargically. He held the strap of his bag loosely as it leaned against his leg, suddenly too heavy to keep on across his shoulder. Why in the hell he and Oikawa chose to live on the 10th floor was beyond him. He was regretting the decision as each beep of the passing floors sent sharp, stabbing pains through his skull. The prospect of his bed called to him enticingly.

It had been a terrible day.

He woke up late and ran into someone on his way to class, spilling his coffee all over his notes. Then in each one of his classes, he found out that he did the homework for the next class instead of today’s, so when he was called on, he didn’t know any of the answers and each one of his teachers scolded him for not doing the readings.

During his lab, some dude passed out when they were practicing first aid assessment on a dummy who cut open his leg. (Apparently even fake blood was too much for the guy). Which wouldn’t bother Iwa usually, but when the kid fell, he knocked over the iodine and got it all over Iwa’s arm (which was now stained brown).

Then, during his clinicals, he was observing one of the trainers with rehab for a patient who only recently recovered from her shoulder surgery enough to start physical therapy. All he needed to do was watch so he could take notes on different types of treatment plans for shoulders. He was actually pretty relieved after such a rough day.

The universe was out to screw him apparently because the pain was a bit too much for the poor girl and she ended up throwing up down Iwa’s chest.

To top it all off, when he was writing notes for one of the certified trainers a little later, black spots started popping in and out of his vision and his upper arms started tingling. Anxiety immediately settled in his chest. Of course; the only way to end such a terrible day was with a migraine. He had at most thirty minutes from the start of the tingling to get home and take his meds before it became too late.

And of course that didn’t happen.

His notes took longer to finish because of the black spots interrupting his typing and the increasing difficulty he had starting at the blue light of his computer. Then his usual train route was under construction so they took a detour.

Now, here he was, an hour later, standing in the elevator, hating his very existence as the pulsing behind his eyes increased and nausea made his stomach churn.

Finally the doors to his floor opened and he stumbled forward, fighting his vertigo towards his apartment. The hall lights blinded him.

His fingers fumbled with the keys as he leaned against the door and when he finally got the door open, he all but fell inside. He dumped his stuff messily by the door (Oikawa would yell at him later for that) and made a beeline for his bedroom.

Iwaizumi could have cried when he finally got to his room. He didn’t bother with the lights and collapsed onto his bed. His head pounded relentlessly. He curled into a ball and whimpered.

“Iwa-chan? That you?” Oikawa’s bubbly voice from the hall cut through his brain like a knife and he brought his knees even closer.

“Iwa-chan, are you okay?” his voice was closer now. He was most likely standing in the doorway, a hand placed on his cocked hip.

“Migraine,” Iwaizumi moaned. Oikawa was quiet.

“Did you take your meds?” he whispered eventually. Iwaizumi was hella grateful for their life long friendship because Oikawa dealt with this before and knew exactly how to make Iwa more comfortable. Including toning down his usual obnoxious tone.

“Too late,” Iwa responded weakly.

“Tch. That’s not true and you know it,” Oikawa chided softly. Iwaizumi heard him moving around in the room before he felt the bed dip.

“Here. They might not prevent it from happening anymore, but you know as well as I do that it might lessen the symptoms,” he heard Oikawa much closer this time. He groaned in response but sat up.

He clenched in eyes shut to fight off the dizziness before prying them open again to look at Oikawa in front of him. He was holding the water bottle from Iwaizumi’s bedside table and his migraine meds. The look on his face resembled a chastising mother.

“I don’t know if they will,” Iwa said, “the aura started over an hour ago.” He took them anyway.

“You didn’t have anything with you?” He shook his head and winced at the motion.

“What’s on your arm?!” Oikawa screeched and Iwaizumi hissed when it sent sharp pains through his skull.

“Sorry, sorry I’m sorry,” the bastard whispered.

“Just iodine,” Iwa responded and looked down at the brown stains on his arm.

“Oh.”

It was quiet again then and Iwaizumi settled back in bed.

“Wait, do you want to change?” Oikawa asked and stood up. He moved towards the dresser before waiting for a response.

“I want to sleep,” Iwa grumbled, getting increasingly more annoyed. He knew Oikawa was trying to help, but he hasn’t had a migraine this bad in a hot minute and the swirling in his stomach was only getting worse. Throwing up always made it worse, so he wanted to try and avoid that if he could.

“Sit up,” Oikawa said and Iwa would smack him if he had the energy.

“Oikawa, please,” he moaned again. He sat up anyway, his legs dangling off the side of his bed.

Oikawa pulled his shirt gently over his head and replaced it with a soft sweatshirt. It smelled like Oikawa and Iwa felt comforted despite himself. Next his jeans were pulled off almost clinically, as if he would break if Oikawa went too fast or pulled too hard.

Oikawa helped him into a pair of basketball shorts and then finally allowed him to lie down.

Iwaizumi wouldn’t ever say it out loud because it would give Oikawa too big of a head if he knew changing out of his school clothes made him feel just the slightest bit better. His jeans had been adding to the sensory overload.

“We were supposed to meet up with the guys tonight. Want me to cancel?” Oikawa asked, scratching Iwa’s head gently with perfectly manicured nails. It gave him a temporary relief from the pulsing that threatened to crush his head.

“No. You go,” he slurred, falling asleep.

“You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah.” Oikawa hummed and continued running his hand through Iwa’s hair. It didn’t stop the pain, but it diminished it enough that eventually, he fell asleep.

***

Iwaizumi woke up with a strangled breath when pain exploded through his skull and down the back of his neck. He blinked a few times, staring into the dark room trying to clear his blurry vision.

This wasn’t right. No, sleep was supposed to make him feel better, but an intense pain covered his entire head. It felt like someone was squishing his brain in between their hands. Why why why.

Suddenly he was nauseatingly dizzy and he realized he was panting, depriving his already struggling brain of precious oxygen. He pulled his knees to his chest and tried to calm down his breathing.

His body didn’t want to give him a break though because as soon as the world righted itself again, his stomach contents swirled sickeningly in his gut. He tried to ride out the nausea. He didn’t want to throw up. That would make the pounding worse. The more he thought about it, the more his stomach turned and he realized he was fighting a losing battle.

In a vain attempt to stay in bed, he thought to try and call Oikawa into the room only to put together that the roaring sound that was hammering nails into his skull was the shower. So he was on his own. He needed to make it to the bathroom. Needed to make it to Oikawa.

With heavy limbs, he forced himself to sit up and almost lost it. He gagged, slapping a hand over his mouth. It pounded in his skull. He swallowed it down and slowly made his way out of bed.

By the time he made it to the bathroom, he almost lost it three times and the pain in his head was unbearable. His eyes stung with tears and he pounded on the door before throwing it open and tumbling into the room. He collided with Oikawa who squawked loudly, painfully. Iwaizumi ignored him and collapsed in front of the toilet.

As soon as he moved his hand away from his mouth, he heaved once and vomit poured from his mouth. It burned the back of his throat and his chest. The torture stopped just long enough for him to catch his breath before he lurched forward with another gag and threw up again. His chest was on fire and the lights in the bathroom seared into his brain and he really just wanted everything to stop.

The sound of the lights clicking off registered through his haze somehow and he opened his eyes (when he closed them, he wasn’t sure). Then, a gentle hand was on his back.

“Oh, Iwa-chan. It’s a pretty bad one this time, huh?” Oikawa said tenderly from beside him. He turned his head slowly and found himself face to face with his best friend. He was wearing pajamas, so he must have gone to change at some point since Iwa entered the bathroom.

Oikawa smiled sympathetically and something in Iwaizumi cracked. Suddenly, the flood gates were open and he found himself launching himself into Oikawa’s chest. Thin arms wrapped around his back as he sobbed.

“It h-hurts s-so b-bad,” he weeped.

“I know, baby. I’m sorry, I wish it didn’t.” Oikawa buried his face in Iwa’s hair.

“You need to calm down though. It’s only going to make you feel worse.”

As if on cue, Iwaizumi’s stomach lurched again and he tore himself away from Oikawa’s arms to wretch once again.

The nausea and pain made him dizzy. He was having trouble keeping himself upright, but thankfully, Oikawa placed a hand on his forehead to keep him from banging it on the toilet seat.

“Shhhh, it’s okay,” Oikawa soothed as Iwa stared into the toilet. His stomach still turned dangerously but he was on the verge of collapse. The tightness in his head only got worse and he really wanted to cut his own head off. He cursed his brain for being messed up and causing him such pain.

He started heaving again, but nothing was coming up and it hurt. It hurt it hurt it hurt. Make it stop make it stop make it stop.

“Hajime, breathe,” Oikawa commanded quietly, rubbing between his shoulder blades. It did nothing though. His stomach kept rolling and turning thanks to his stupid stupid head.

Finally, the back of his throat gurgled and a wet hiccup brought up bile and the rest of his lunch. He coughed and sputtered into the toilet and gasped for breath. Maybe it was over.

A minute or two after the episode ended, Oikawa spoke again.

“Ya think you’re done?” He spoke so softly and so tenderly it made Iwa’s heart soft. He nodded.

Oikawa helped him lean back against the wall and a second later, handed him some water and his toothbrush. He lazily rinsed his mouth and brushed the nastiness away before spitting in the toilet. Oikawa flushed it and turned to help him up.

Once he was standing, the pain magnified tenfold and his knees buckled.

“I think I’m gonna pass out,” he mumbled and Oikawa caught him before he could fall.

“Hey, no. Not allowed,” he said and ran a wet wash rag over Iwa’s face (where did he get that?)

“Okay,” Iwa slurred, “not this time.”

“Thank you,” Oikawa chuckled. Together, they made it back to Iwa’s bedroom. Oikawa helped him under his covers and kissed his forehead.

“My poor Iwa-chan,” he sighed and scratched at Iwa’s head again.

“Stay here?” he asked pathetically. Oikawa blinked at him.

“Of course. I’ve already called the guys and told them we weren’t coming,” he said. He walked around the side of the bed and sat against the headboard, nestled beside Iwaizumi. Iwa turned and buried himself in the setter’s stomach and immediately, Oikawa’s hand was running through his hair. He sighed contentedly. This was by far one of his favorite positions.

“Go to sleep, Iwa-chan. Hopefully your migraine will be gone in the morning.”

These migraines really knocked him out. They stripped him of his usual personality and left him a sniveling, pathetic, clingy, mess. But he was a mess Oikawa was familiar with and Iwaizumi was eternally grateful for that. Oikawa knew what he meant when he couldn’t use as many words as he’d like. He knew how to make him comfortable, what foods he could tolerate and how to comfort him. There was no one else that Iwaizumi would ever want around when he got migraines. Hell, there was no one else Iwaizumi wanted around at all. As long as Oikawa was there, he’d be fine.

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (155/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Hey, it’s the Hero Lab!

[1 July, Age 726.    Planet Plant.]

The latest reports from the frontlines were very encouraging.    The Tuffles were a stubborn enemy, but the Saiyans had managed to drive them out of the north quarter of Orange City, while the Truffle pushback in Cidertown had slowed to a virtual standstill.   Nappa smiled as he laid the report down and enjoyed the view from his new penthouse.    The blood of the previous owner still stained the walls and floors, but he rather enjoyed the scent of dead Tuffles.   It gave the place some much-needed personality.    

"You seem to be in a good mood today."  

Nappa looked up from the balcony and spotted a young Saiyan floating overhead.    He didn't recognize the man, but judged him to be part-alien from the color of his hair and the strange clothes that he wore.    He looked more like a Tuffle than a Saiyan, but the scent was proof enough that he wasn't Nappa's enemy.    Whatever the young man's parentage, his blood was nothing like the kind that decorated his new home.    

"Why wouldn't I be happy?" Nappa asked.   His thin mustache framed his smile as he crossed his arms over his massive chest.    "The Tuffles have been lording over us for years, and now we're finally taking over this planet, just as easily as I took over this apartment.    Before long, the Tuffles will be the ones begging us to let them stay on Planet Plant."

"I guess you're right," the man said.   "At least until someone stronger comes along and takes it all away from you."

"I like you, kid," Nappa said with a gravely laugh.    "You sure do know how to tell a joke.   What brings you here?"

"I had some questions," he said as he alighted on the balcony.  "I need information, and I heard you knew my father, so I thought I'd start with you."

Nappa eyed the man suspiciously.    "I know a lot of fathers," he said.   "None of them wore long black coats, or carried a sword, though.    What's your dad's name, kid?"  

"Vegeta," he said.  

Nappa laughed.    Then he looked at the young man more carefully, doing his best to ignore the blue eyes and the lavender hair that hung around his face.   Then he laughed harder.  

"Something funny about that?" the man asked.    

"I do see a bit of a resemblance," Nappa said.   "Guess King Vegeta II had a few 'unofficial' heirs over the years, huh?   Who knew he had it in him?   So which is it?   You want to blackmail the royal family?    Or were you hoping they'd give you a cushy civil service job?"

"Nothing like that," the man said.   "I just wanted to ask you some questions.    Nothing personal, just general background stuff."

"Yeah?  Well why should I help you?" Nappa asked.    "For that matter, killing you would probably be a smarter play.    One less would-be usurper for the king to worry about, right?  I’m sure your old man would make it worth my while."

"Oh, I probably should have been more specific," the young man said.    "My father isn't Vegeta the Second.    It's Vegeta the Fourth."    

Nappa gave him a sidelong glance.    "There is no Vegeta IV," he said warily.  

"Not yet, anyway," the man said with a knowing smile.  

"That's it, I don't know what your game is, punk, but I'm through playing!" Nappa said.    "You can tell your lies in hell!"  

He drew back his arm and threw a punch that would have killed most Saiyans on contact.    Nappa had made a name for himself on the battlefield for defeating entire companies of Tuffle mechatroops all by himself.    He fully expected to turn the young man's head into a cloud of red mist.    

Instead, the man blocked his strike with such incredible speed that Nappa couldn't even tell that he had moved.   In one instant, the man had been standing with his hands in his pockets.    And then in the next, the man was now gripping Nappa's palm with his thumb and index finger.    He squeezed slightly, and Nappa nearly dropped to his knees from the pain.    

"Nnnghhh!" was the noise he made as he struggled not to show how much it hurt.   His free hand reached up for his scalp, where he tugged at the tuft of thick black hair on his head.

"Look, let's cut to the chase, all right?   For you, this'll only take a few minutes, but I might be doing these interviews all night, so don't waste my time, okay?   Those Tuffles you're fighting might be pushovers, but I'm not.    So now that you know that you can't brute force your way out of this, what'll it be?"

He released Nappa's hand, and Nappa gasped with relief as he cradled it in his other palm.   He stared at his hands for a moment, then at the man.   Then he paused to consider the sword, and how much worse it would get if the young man decided to make use of it.    

"Heh.   Uh, yeah, sorry, Your Majesty.   I-I should have recognized you sooner.    Anything you want, just let me know, Prince... uh... Prince... What'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't," he replied.  "So, let's start with a simple one.    Have you ever heard of a Saiyan named Luffa?"

*******

[1 December Age 893, Earth.]

"Honestly, I didn't expect him to know Luffa.    Nappa didn't recognize her when she faced him on a Time Patrol mission, but he did fill me in on a few things."

By Age 889, the arcade game Super Dragon Ball Heroes had become a popular pastime, and the city of Hero Town became the global headquarters for the craze.    Gaming enthusiasts from around the world traveled to Hero Town to partake in the game, which was based upon actual events from the previous century.   Trunks had logged many hours in front of an SDBH cabinet, though his reasons had nothing to do with recreation.   For all its popularity, the game had a very strange secret.    It was the Capsule Corporation who developed the software, but the world within the game was actually made possible by the Time Patrol.   Deep beneath Hero Tower was the Hero Lab, where the Time Patrol occasionally conducted secret research and reconnaissance.  

"I don't get it, Master," said a teenage girl standing near one of the main computer terminals that surrounded nearly every surface of the Hero Lab.    "You formed the Dragon Ball Heroes Team to help you defeat Sealas, right?   So why didn't you come to us on this Towa situation?"

"Note's right, Trunks!" said a teenage boy eating mochi from a bag.  "I'm Goku's descendant, after all!   It's not fair to leave me out of a case like this."

Trunks deactivated the Hero Switch device and handed it to Anne, one of the scientists who maintained the lab.    His black trenchcoat and sword hung next to several labcoats on a metal rack in the corner, revealing the olive-green sweater he wore underneath.   He smiled at Note and Beat, and then Dr. Leggings, the project director of the Hero Lab, who was programming the next simulation.

"I understand where you're coming from, kids," Trunks said, "and I appreciate the offer, but it's not that simple."  

"Why not?" Beat asked.   "From what you've told us, Luffa's a Saiyan, right?   If that's all you needed, then I could have tackled these missions for you.  I'm a Saiyan, too."

"Oh, here we go..." Note grumbled.  She made sure to roll her eyes dramatically enough for everyone in the room to see.

"What?" Beat asked.    "It's true, isn't it?"

"Beat, even I have Saiyan ancestry," Dr. Leggings said without looking up from her computer terminal.   "After a hundred and thirty years of Saiyans living on Earth, it's not as uncommon as you might think."

"She's right," Trunks said.   "We have a lot of Saiyan-Earthling Time Patrollers back in Toki Toki City from the next century.   A few of the stranger ones call me 'Your Highness', but I try not to hold it against them.      Besides, if all I cared about was Saiyan blood, I'd go to my father for help.   So that's not why I recruited you, or Luffa, for that matter."

"Then why did you recruit Luffa instead of coming to us?" Beat asked.  

"Listen,” Trunks said.   “In my timeline, No. 17 and 18 had destroyed much of the world.   Son Gohan was the only Z-fighter left, and he was reluctant to train me.    He needed the help, but he was worried about me getting hurt.    I think eventually he decided he didn't have a choice.    He knew that if anything happened to him, there would have been no one else to defeat the Cyborgs.   But now I understand how his reluctance.    After he... well.... Later on, when I was on my own, I was determined to defeat them alone.   I wanted no part of my mother's plan to use her Time Machine to get help from Goku."

"But, Master, if you hadn't gone back in time," Note said, then you never would have joined the Time Patrol, or formed the Dragon Ball Heroes Team!"

"Exactly," Trunks said.    "Working with Goku and his friends in the past, I learned how valuable it can be to have allies.   It's not just about having extra hands to help with the hard work.   You can learn from each new friend you make.    And they can learn from you, as well.    I think that's why the Supreme Kai of Time created the Time Patrol in the first place.  So it wouldn't be right to keep turning to the same handful of allies every time.  Besides, I need you guys here, keeping an eye on things in Hero Town."

"Well, yeah," Beat said.   "I guess that makes sense.   But it's been so dull around here lately."

"Tell you what," Trunks offered.   "Once things settle down in Toki Toki City, I'll pull a few strings, maybe bring you guys in on a Time Patrol mission.   How's that sound?"

"Really?!" Note cheered.   She jumped into the air and kicked her heels behind her with excitement.    

"Awesome!" Beat said.  

"Don't get too carried away," Trunks said.    "I can't make any promises.   Ultimately, it's up to the Supreme Kai of Time.    But I think we can manage something."    

"I think we're ready for the next session, sir," Leggings said.   "Assuming these coordinates you gave us are valid.   Are you sure we can trust Nappa?"

"She's right, Master," Note added.    "He's bad news.   Just because you're stronger than he is doesn't mean he would have had any reason to tell you the truth."

"Which is exactly why I'm using Hero Lab to access the game world instead of traveling back in time," Trunks explained.   "Our research teams back in Toki Toki City are constantly using time machines to observe historical events, but they can't interact with anything or ask questions, because it might alter history."

"But the SDBH game is a simulation based upon the Scroll of Eternity itself," Dr. Leggings said.    "Meaning it's a nearly perfect copy of the real world, one that you can tamper with and not have to worry about permanently changing anything."

"Of course!" Note said.   "It's like how Sealas used the game to learn what changes he could make to alter history.   He used the game like a practice run for the real thing."

"Only, instead of changing the way things happened in the past," Beat said, "you're using the game to find out how things are supposed to have turned out.   But how does that help you learn anything about Luffa?"

"I asked Shenron to bring me a powerful ally," Trunks said.    "I should have been more specific about the wish, but I was kind of desperate for the help.   Shenron sent me Luffa, but she had no idea what was going on, and neither of us knows how to get her back where she came from.   She talked to one of our historians, and it's starting to sound like she's from some other part of the universe, or maybe from another timeline.   But wherever she's from, she's still a Saiyan, and not a descendant of Goku or Vegeta, like we are.    So I think if I go far enough into the past, I'll find some historical information we have in common, and maybe I can follow that thread back to her home."

"Phew!" Beat said.   "That sounds like a lot of work!  I'm worn out just thinking about it."

"You're not even doing anything," Note muttered.  

"There's no telling what kind of trouble I might run into in the simulated history," Trunks said.   Dr. Leggings has only ever run the simulation in a very narrow time range.   A few centuries at most.   I may end up taking the simulation into uncharted territory, and everything I know about Saiyans tells me that they had plenty of enemies to fight.    If things get hairy, I'll need some backup, and that's where you two come in.   I can't think of anyone better qualified than my two top students."

"Gosh...!" Note said.

"Yeah!  Now you're talking!" Beat cheered.    

Anne handed the Hero Switch back to Trunks.   The device was a powerful computer, but it looked like a black bracelet covered in glowing blue lights and a Capsule Corp. logo.   Trunks placed it onto his right wrist and prepared to activate it.  

"In the game world," he said, "Nappa told me that "Saiya" was a name for several planets colonized by Saiyans throughout history.   The most recent one was destroyed around four hundred years ago.    Hopefully, someone there will know more about King Rehval, or the Camelian Empire, or this Planet Nagaoka that Luffa once mentioned."

"What if they don't know, sir?" Anne asked.  

"Then I'll have to keep traveling backward until I find someone who does," Trunks said.   "Wish me luck."

"Wait, Trunks, one more thing before you go!" Dr. Leggings said urgently.

"Huh?   What's wrong?" Trunks asked.    He held up the Hero Switch on his wrist and pointed at it.   "Everything looks good on this end."

"It's just... are you sure you don't want to wear the Great Saiyaman 3 outfit for this mission?" she asked.  

"I'm positive," Trunks said.   Before anyone could object, he activated the bracelet, and vanished into the game world.    

*******

[12 May, Age 513.    Planet Saiya.]

"You picked a fine time to ask about the weather, stranger."

The Saiyan’s name was Reeque, and Trunks had no idea how old she was.   The small settlement he found on Saiya was it's largest population center, and they directed him to an old hag who lived in the wastelands.   Trunks found her easily enough, but then the blood-wraiths attacked, and they had to take their conversation on the run.   Powerful as Trunks was, his technology and ki were useless against the intangible creatures, and Reeque's warnings were enough to convince him that he should keep his distance.    

"They become solid every seven months," Reeque told him.   "Then we pay them back a thousandfold, but in the meantime, we run and hide until dawn.    They say the storms left them behind, but I doubt that.   Not even Luffa would be so cruel."

She carried a walking stick carved from some gnarled length of driftwood, but Trunks was impressed with how swiftly she crossed the rough terrain.    Her dark red robes flapped behind her back like the wings of some great ugly hawk.    

"I apologize for not making myself clear, ma'am," Trunks said as he hopped over a rock.    "The Luffa I asked about is a Saiyan, not a storm system."

"Well that's perfectly clear to me, boy," Reeque said, "but it doesn't change the fact that you're mistaken.   Only Luffa I've ever heard of is the one my great grandmother told me about.     Wiped out the entire Kingdom of Saiya in a single day.   The smart ones fled while they could.   The rest stayed, but only the hardiest few survived.   The environment here was harsh before Luffa, and it only got worse from there.    Without the supplies from allied worlds... well, you learn to savor the taste of roast blood-wraith."

"Then where did the Saiyans go when they abandoned this planet?" Trunks asked.

"Hell," Reeque said.   "If there's any justice, they went to hell.  Otherwise they scattered across the galaxy.     There was a kingdom on Sadala, but my life wouldn't be worth a zinc coin on that forsaken place.   My parents were banished, and they joined the usurper kings during the civil wars.    Fifty years ago, they tried to rebuild Saiya, like the name alone would restore their fortunes.   But there's nothing left here.  Nothing but blood-wraiths and ruin."

None of this was surprising to Trunks, since Nappa had told him this planet would eventually be destroyed altogether.   He had tried to arrive on Saiya well before that day, but it seemed like the destruction of Saiya had been set into motion long before whatever warrior finally put it out of its misery.

"And King Rehval?" Trunks asked.    "What became of him?"

"Why should you care, boy?" Reeque asked.    "You've come a long way in search of the dead."

"I think he's my ancestor," Trunks said.    "I, uh, I'm trying to settle a dowry on another planet, and they're very interested in genealogies."

"Social climber, huh?" Reeque said.   "Well, I can't help you with that.   Anything else you wanted to know?"

"The Camelian Empire," Trunks said.   "Do you know where I can find it?   I don't need exact coordinates, just a general idea will do.  Er, is something wrong, ma'am?"

She began to make a sort of rhythmic coughing sound from her throat, and Trunks eventually figured out that it was laughter.    "You're an amusing fellow," Reeque finally said.   "When I saw that purple hair of yours, I thought I might be seeing things, but my imagination isn't wild enough to dream up such silly questions.   Oh, I've spent countless nights like this one, running from bloodwraiths, but I think I'll remember tonight for a long time to come."  

"Then you can't tell me about Camelia either," Trunks said.    

"There's nothing to tell, boy," Reeque said with a rasping chuckle.    "The Camelian Empire fell more than three hundred years ago!"

*******

[23 February, 238 Before Age.    Chai I.]

"The ‘Super Saiyan’?   Now what in the world is that, Trunks?"

"It's a legend I heard when I was a boy," Trunks said.   "According to my father, once every thousand years, there's a Saiyan who surpasses the limits of what Saiyans can do.   They're considered the ultimate warriors.   Powerful, invincible, and with an insatiable craving for battle."

Rehval III considered this tale for a moment while admiring the bouquet of his wine.   At last, he took a sip from his glass, and sampled a bite of his fish entree.  Trunks waited patiently at the other side of the table.   The restaurant looked fancier than any Trunks had ever seen on Earth, in any century.   And this was merely a section of a minor administrative building in the Camelian capitol.      

"I'll be blunt, Trunks,” Rehval finally said.    “You seem like the kind of man who likes to get to the point, so I won’t keep you in suspense.   I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I see," Trunks said.    

"Do you believe in this legend yourself?" Rehval asked.  

"No," Trunks said after a pause.  "In my experience there's no such thing as an invincible warrior.  There are extraordinary Saiyans, but not necessarily one every thousand years.    There could be two or three, or a hundred, or none at all."

"I'll tell you what I think," Rehval said.   "I have heard tall tales of ancient Saiyan heroes.   Chanisp was said to have lived about a thousand years ago.    For all I know, they've been saying "a thousand years ago" for centuries.   I mean, a year ago, was anyone saying Chanisp lived 'nine-hundred and ninety-nine years ago'?   Of course not.   The round numbers make for better storytelling, but I deal in precision."  

Rehval paused his meal to point at a gold watch on his left wrist.    "My summit with the Camelian Imperial College begins in three hours and twenty-two minutes, Trunks.   I can't afford to offend the Camelians by rounding up.    Time can be a strict mistress."

"I take your point," Trunks said.    "And I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me."  

"Not at all," Rehval said.   "There aren't many Saiyans in this part of the galaxy, besides common raiders, I mean.   And you're a man of unusual manners and poise, Trunks.   You're exactly the sort of citizen I want in the Kingdom of Saiya.    I think you'd find life very prosperous under my rule."

"I am... interested in hearing more," Trunks said.    "Let's put it that way."

"Well, then, it's a good thing you found me during this gap in my schedule," Rehval said.    "I have all afternoon to convince you to come home with me."

Trunks smiled as though amused by his remark.    In fact, this had been his third attempt to speak with King Rehval III.   An earlier visit to the Camelian capital world gave him access to important diplomatic records, which showed him the exact date and time of an official visit by the Saiyan King.    Trunks found him on the first try, but he was too busy to talk.    Trunks reset the game world simulation and tried again, approaching Rehval three hours earlier, but wasn't able to catch the man's interest.    This time, he figured out that the key to Rehval's attention was to show interest in joining his cause.   Rehval’s Kingdom was the most powerful Saiyan faction in this era, but his subjects made up less than half of the Saiyan population, and Rehval was very keen on getting more Saiyans to rally to his flag.     Even half-aliens like Trunks were welcome, apparently.    

"Where did you say your mother was from?" Rehval asked.    Trunks was pretty sure Rehval had aims for establishing diplomatic ties with Earth, even if he had no idea where it was or if it was worth his time.

"The Yajirobe System," Trunks lied.  "It's pretty far off the beaten path.     But what were you saying about Chanisp?"

"Well, there are lower classes in every society, Trunks," Rehval explained.   "It's not something Saiyans think about much, but other civilizations have demonstrated it time and time again.    The problem is that, in disorganized societies, these lesser citizens don't understand that they have a duty to follow their betters.    And so, in their confusion, they turn to superstitions."

"Go on..." Trunks said.    He took a bite of his salad and chewed thoroughly.  

"They say Chanisp defeated a mighty demon and liberated the entire Saiyan race from slavery.    Did it actually happen?    Maybe.   Was he one of your father's 'Super Saiyans'?    He might have been.   How does any of that prove that there should be another one like him ten centuries later?   Oh, and the cycle just happens to reset in the present day.   So the tale expects us to believe that, at any moment, any one of us might miraculously transform into an invincible, demon-slaying superhero.   How convenient."  

"Well, when you put it that way..." Trunks said.    

"I'm not one to brag, Trunks, but as far as I know, the strongest Saiyan alive is sitting across the table from you.   That's not a challenge, or a demand for respect, just a statement of fact.   I'd have to be stronger to be the king, or I wouldn't be the king for very long, now would I?"

"Makes sense to me," Trunks lied again.   

He only brought up the legend to gain historical context.   Rehval seemed to enjoy discussing it, so that worked to Trunks’ favor, but what he had truly wanted to know was whether Rehval had heard of a golden-haired cryptid running amok in the galaxy.   He had not, which meant that there had been no Super Saiyan in this era, or that the Super Saiyan hadn’t appeared yet. 

"These legends are just stories people invent to convince themselves that there's a way out of their reality.     When the thousandth year passes, they move the goalpost, or invent a new story to replace the old.   'Oh, the Super Saiyan is real, he's just invisible and working in secret, but he really is here to help us all.'   That sort of thing."

"And that's why you're pursuing diplomatic ties with Camelia," Trunks concluded.  "You can't afford to wait for a messiah."

"The Saiyans are at a crossroads, Trunks," Rehval said.    "If our race is going to survive, we need to follow the same well-tread path as the Camelian Empire.    Statecraft.   National unity.   It's not as romantic as your father's legend, but it works.    It's a path that leads to prosperity.    If we all unite as one kingdom, under one law, then we grow stronger as a people.   That means forming alliances, brokering treaties, and all the other minutiae that goes with it."

"Well, this has been a very interesting discussion, but I'm afraid I need to get going," Trunks said.   He stood up from his chair and gestured to the waiter to bring his coat and sword.    "It's been a pleasure, Your Majesty."

"Wait," Rehval said.   "I thought you wanted to hear more about Planet Saiya.   The great society that I'm building there.   I'd like you to be a part of that society, Trunks."

"I'm sure you would," Trunks said as he put his arms through the sleeves of his coat.    "But I've already seen how Saiya turns out, and I'm already a part of the society you envisioned.   What's left of it, anyway."

"I don't understand."

"It's simple.   Your vision isn't all that visionary, Rehval.   No matter how strong you think you are, there's always someone stronger who'll come along to challenge you.   That's not a leader, that's a gunfighter daring someone to come along and defeat him.   I've grew up in a world ruled by strength alone, and you're half-right.   It is a well-worn path, but it doesn't lead to prosperity."

"What do mean you've already seen Saiya?" Rehval asked.   "Who are you?"

Trunks activated the bracelet on his arm, and vanished from the game world.    The simulated Rehval who existed within it was left with more questions than answers, though he would not ponder them for long.    Soon enough, the simulation would be refreshed, and he would have no memory of this encounter.

NEXT: Burning Questions

[woozibby]

Control | Jihoon | Part 1

a.n. originally posted on my shared blog, but moving everything here to my main blog. 

// unedited 

1 | Next 

The static of the radio echoed throughout the room as the blinking computer lights filled your eyesight. Typing away at your computer, the exaggerated sigh left Mingyu’s lips.

“Are you even smart enough to do this?” You scoffed.

You? Smart enough to hack into the opposing mafia’s database to secretly download their mission plan for the next two months. Of fucking course, you were smart enough. You were Jeon Wonwoo’s younger sibling for god sake.

It had been a thing since you were younger that, whatever Wonwoo did, you followed. So you learnt a lot of stuff whilst growing up, but once you found out more about computers and their systems you did everything you could, to learn everything you could.

“Shut Up Mingeww and let me focus” you sniggered, you knew the use of that nickname would just piss him off more.

“I swear to god if you weren’t Wonwoo’s younger siblings I would have decked you by now” Mingyu stresses, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot against the floor. Rolling your eyes, you let the comment pass over your head as you knew Mingyu never would do that, especially not to someone on his own side as well.

“I have to find a backdoor in their systems, make sure if they do even notice that someone’s hacked in that it jumps to at least a 1000 different IP address very ten minutes or so, so it can’t be tracked back to us” You explained, you threw a look over your shoulder at Mingyu and raised an eyebrow. “And let me guess, you want me to try and put some sort of spyware into their system too”

Mingyu blinked for a moment, he almost looked confused- before snapping out of it and nodding his head.

“If you can do it without getting caught then sure” You let out a sigh, before linking your fingers and cracking them in front of you.

“It ain’t going to be easy, but trust me, I’m the one for the job” Mingyu clicked his tongue as he ruffled your hair.

“You really are Wonwoo’s sibling aren’t you?”

“Without a doubt my dude, without a doubt”

“Minghao will probably be by later to check up, Wonwoo is still out with DK checking things out” you hummed, waving your hand up.

That was his queue to leave. To leave you to do what you do best. Hack the shit out of the rival mafia’s database. Mingyu rolled his eyes at you but leaves quietly anyways. Shutting the door behind him, he lets out a small sigh.

“You better get this right kid”

You had spent your whole life in the mafia, yours and Wonwoo’s father was the leader of the South Side Mafia, but when an argument between your father and his right-hand man caused your father to get shot and killed, the mafia got split into two. The side that supported your father and the side that supported his right-hand man.

Wonwoo quickly took over your father’s position, growing up quickly considering he was still only 18 at the time, whereas you were 16 at the time. Wonwoo, for the most part, tried to hide you well from people outside the Mafia. It was safer for you to stay secrete than to be in harm’s way.

You understood that, if anything, staying secrete helped you with your job of hacker/computer expert.

The other side, on the other hand, got taken over by Choi Seungcheol, the too cocky for his own good son of your father’s right-hand man. Seungcheol was handsome, he knew that too well. He had an ego the size of a double-decker bus. Even though it had been three years since the initial split of the Mafia, the war- if you could even call it that- was still ongoing.

After a few hours, you managed to bypass their firewall and not long after that, you bypassed all their sensors. You raised an eyebrow to yourself as you clicked through some of the files. You bite your lip as you continued, the whole process seems too easy.

You loved an easy job, but this? This was too easy and too easy was risky.

You continued on, cautiously of course. Clicking through files and going through walls of security, you start to locate the file of their plans for the next few months.

The door opens behind you, which doesn’t surprise you and Minghao appears beside you with two large cups of coffee.

“Thought you need this” He chuckles, placing a coffee next to you and moving to the small couch of coffee table that was in the room. Humming, you send him a smile and quickly pick up the large cup and sip at it.

“Thanks, Hao” After you place it back down and go back to work. Letting out a sigh, you turn your head to Minghao and send him a look. “Hao, I think there’s something off about this”

He raises an eyebrow and pulls up a chair to sit next to you.

“What do you mean?”

“This was so easy to hack into, this was more than easy, it was easy and quick and for hacking that isn’t always a good thing,” Minghao chuckles slightly, sending you a look.

“You have a way with words don’t you” With a blank you stare at him.

“This really isn’t the time Hao” Chuckling again, he motions you to continue. “Most big organisations, have their things to the most part un-hackable, but your favourite person here isn’t just anyone, so normally things like this can take at the least a day or two to hack into, because of their firewalls and their systems, but do you know how long this took to hack into?” You asked, pointing at him. He raised an eyebrow.

“Half a day?”

“No! Three hours!” You hold up three fingers to exaggerate.

“Maybe you’re just too good at hacking” You laughed, flicking some hair over your shoulder.

“I may be good, but I’m not that good” Minghao keeps silent and I soon continue to talk. “Anyways, this is way too quick to be able to hack in a big organisation like this, especially a mafia”

“Yeah, I understand what you’re saying”

“I think something’s up, I can upgrade the amount of IP address it switches to so it never gets back to us, but I still think something’s fishy about this” Minghao nods, agreeing.

“Upgrade the amount of IP addresses, if you can get what you came for and get out of it, make sure there’s no way to trace back to us” You nod at what Minghao was staying and quickly get on it.

“I’ll get it done before you can say My I”

“Okay then, M-” You cut Minghao off with a laugh and lean back in your chair.

“Done!” Minghao looks at you with a shocked expression and you send him another blank look. “What? You think I couldn’t really do it?” Chuckling, he shakes his head.

“You amaze me every time”

“Well you amaze me too” Turning back to your computer, you finishing doing your final things and kept the machine next to your computer that changed the IP address on. Once you had successfully shut everything off, you turned back to Minghao and smiled at him. “Now where’s my brother?”

Seungcheol raised the cigarette to his lips and took a long drag. He sat with his feet up on his desk and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. To most, this would seem unprofessional, but to the rest of the mafia, this was just your typical Tuesday lunchtime.

Seungcheol was professional when needs are, but on days like today, when he had no meetings some time to himself in the office, well he was going to do it his way.

Jihoon sat across from him, a blood stain on his collar and his gun holstered on his hip. He had unbuttoned his waistcoat once he had gotten back to Seungcheol’s office and leant his head back to look at the ceiling.

Seungcheol leant forward, offering Jihoon a drag from his cigarette with Jihoon declined. Seungcheol scoffed slightly as he chuckled.

“You can kill people, but smoking is what you say no to” Jihoon raises his head to look at him.

“Because you’re letting the stick kill you and you know I only go for the people who deserve it" Seungcheol takes a long drag again and releases it slowly.

”But my younger assassin friend, who can you tell who deserves it or not?“ This time Jihoon scoffs, sending a judging look to Seungcheol.

”Like you’re one to talk, you know I get most of my jobs from you right?“ Seungcheol waves him off as he takes another drag.

”Let’s not think about that right now and let’s just contemplate the meaning of life or something“ Jihoon raised an eyebrow.

”What drugs are in your cigarette?“ He asked, making Seungcheol laugh.

”Nothing is in there, I promise“ He hands out the cigarette ”you can even try it yourself to see" Jihoon just rolled his eyes and denied.

“Yeah, no thanks"

”Your loss“ Seungcheol mutters, leaning back in his chair.

The door swings open and Soonyoung pops his head through the gap in the door. His usual large smile covered his face and his brown hair fell to just above his eyes. Seungcheol moved his feet from off of his desk and turned to Soonyoung’s direction.

”What do you want?“ Soonyoung’s smile for bigger as he laughed.  

"I hate to break the party, but you’ll never guess what our software just picked up” Seungcheol gasped, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk.

“You haven’t"  

”Oh, but Boss, we have“ Soonyoung smirked.

”We caught the fly in the trap“ Seungcheol’s smile dropped and he hissed throwing a hand up in Soonyoung’s direction.

”Come on Hosh, what have I told you about using those codes“ Soonyoung sighed, looking away.

”Not to use them“

”And what do you keep doing?“ Seungcheol asks, pushing his lips into a straight line. Soonyoung just sighs as he replies.

”Using them“ Jihoon covers his mouth as he coughs, looking between the two.

”You were on about Hosh?“ Soonyoung’s eyes widen and he nods his head dramatically.

”Ah yes!! Our systems picked up something earlier and I think you’ll want to see what“ Seungcheol picked himself up out of his chair and raises his hands to the roof.

”Then let’s get going shall we?“ He turned his head to Jihoon. ”Ji, you come with"

Jihoon doesn’t bother to argue and just stands up. Running a hand through his dyed red hair, he waits for Seungcheol’s orders.

“Boys, this might be our day!” Seungcheol cries happily, slapping Jihoon on the back and they follow Soonyoung out of the room.

“Isn’t every day our day though?” Soonyoung asks confused and Seungcheol just sighs.

“That it is Hosh, that it is”

They quickly made their way to their tech room, where Soonyoung was normally centred. Soonyoung was their tech guy, their number one hacker. He could spot a bug from a mile away and decode it and send it back in less than ten minutes. Jumping into his chair and crossing his legs, Soonyoung turns himself to his computers. He started to click on some files before a large black document with a bunch of long different codes in red appears on the screen.

“What’s this?” Jihoon asks, leaning against the back of Soonyoung’s chair.

“Well this you see my assassin best friend is a map"

”A map?“ Jihoon asks, unconvinced. Soonyoung hums.

”Well you see, a few days ago I created and set up this trap, which I call the fly trap by the way,  and basically what it does is it makes it seem easier to hack into our systems when in actual fact it’s all false!“ Soonyoung explained, ”from what I heard about their hacker, they should have noticed this straight away, but for some reason they didn’t, maybe they weren’t as smart as I thought they were“ Soonyoung pouted.

”Just get on with it Soonyoung“ Seungcheol panned and Soonyoung nodded his head.

”On it boss, anyways I basically set up a fake system to trick them and I set up all fake documents for them to take and tada!“ Soonyoung cries, clicking on a few buttons and the screen changes into a large map. ”We are in the process of knowing where they are“ Seungcheol clicks his finger and pats Soonyoung on the shoulder.

”God Soonyoung you’re amazing“ Soonyoung smiles, proud of himself.

”They set up so many IP addresses to bounce around, but so it might take a while to directly locate their main source of tech“

”Damn Hosh, you’ve really outdone yourself“ Jihoon compliments.

”It’s all in a day’s work of Hoshi Prince“ Seungcheol and Jihoon just stare at him.

”You know no one calls you that but you right?“ Seungcheol asks, to which Soonyoung nods his head.

”That’s what makes it even more awesome“ Seungcheol shook his head, before turning to Jihoon.

”If anything comes of this-…” Soonyoung cuts him off with a whine.

“This will work!” Seungcheol sighs, rolling his eyes before continuing to talk.

“Soonyoung here will call you with the address, I expect you to take care of this” Jihoon stays silent, just watching Seungcheol as he thinks.

“I’ll get back to you on it,” Jihoon says, waving him off and turning to walk away. After a few steps, Seungcheol calls after him.

“You know if you don’t do this I’ll just get someone else to” Jihoon sent a look over his shoulder.

“And I said I’d get back to you on it, so see you later”

“So you know what you’re doing?” Wonwoo asks, you simply reply by nodding your head and sipping an ice tea.

“I know what I’m doing brother, don’t worry about it” Wonwoo looked blankly at you. You noticed his fist tightened slightly.

“You know I worry about you and you can’t stop me from worrying” You sighed quietly, placing the ice tea down on his desk. You moved slightly so you were sitting on the edge of your seat and placed a hand on his.

“Won, I’m 19 now, I’m not a child you can trust me"

”I know I can trust you, but I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you“ You smiled as you gently squeezed his hand.

”I’m strong, I can fight off anything“ you giggle, releasing his hand and bringing up your fists in a fighting stance. ”They’re going to wish they never tried to go against me“ Wonwoo laughed, shaking his head before running a hand through his hair.

”You really are our father’s daughter“ Wonwoo chuckles, sending you a smile which you return.

”And you are our mother’s son“ Wonwoo sighs, standing up from his chair and motioning to the door.

”You should get back now and start working“ you nodded your head and stood up too.

”Okay Won“ Pulling your big brother into a hug, you both stand there for a moment before pulling away. ”I’ll get right on it“ He patted your head and smiled down at you.

”I’ll come to see you later okay,“ He says. ”I’ll have Mingyu drive you home“ You roll your eyes and huff slightly.

”Mingyu seriously? Why him?“ Suddenly the door opens and Mingyu enters the room.

”Hey! It’s not like I want to drive you back either, so shut up pip-squeak“ You make a face, sending him a look.

”It’s not like I’m short, you’re just freakishly too tall" Mingyu let’s out a whine, rolling his eyes and looking to Wonwoo.

“Why are you asking me to do this?” Wonwoo laughs, as he watches you both.  

“Because you’re my best friend and their my younger sibling, who else would I want to look after them?” Mingyu rolled his eyes again, before muttering a reply.

“I’m only doing this because you said I’m your best friend” Mingyu grabbed onto your wrist before dragging you out of the room. “See you later Won"

”Bye guys“ he laughs, waving you off and going back to sit in his seat.

”Ow! Ow! Ow!“ You repeat, tugging at your wrist. ”Oh wait,“ you ask, getting Mingyu to sigh and stop, also making him let go of your wrist. ”Can we go to McDonald’s on the way back?“

”Oh my god,“ Mingyu says, it was evident in his tone he wasn’t the slightest bit impressed. Happy that your wrist had freedom again, you skip next to him with a large smile on your face.

”Well can we? Can we? Can we?“

”Maybe if you shut up“

You silently giggle to yourself and link your fingers together behind your back. You and Mingyu silently walk until you reach the main elevator and he clicks the call to buttons. For the next few moments, silence continues until the pleasant ding of the elevator arriving is heard.

The doors part and your mouth drops slightly at the sight.

A young looking man, with seemingly dyed red hair and he, had a pair of large sunglasses that covered his eyes. He had on a white button-down shirt, and black trousers with a black waistcoat to match.

You blinked as he nodded his head to Mingyu and looked at you for a single moment before walking past and heading down the hallway. Your mouth dropped more as you gaze followed him. Mingyu just rolled his eyes and grabbed onto your wrist again.

”Oh come on“ You opened and closed your mouth a few times before turning to Mingyu. He leant over and clicked the ground floor.

”Who was he?!“ You felt your cheeks blush. Mingyu shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest.

”I don’t know, probably just someone to see Wonwoo, why?“

”Because, he was the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen“ you gasp, looking at Mingyu with wide eyes. He scoffs, motioning to himself.

”Sorry, but you must be blind as I’m the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen“ You clicked your tongue and sent him a look.

”Oh hunny, I think you’re going blind“ you patted him on the shoulder. ”I think you need to go get your eyes checked“ He forcefully moved his shoulder and your hand fell.

”No, I think you’re the one who needs their eyes checked“

Wonwoo raised his head at the sound of a powerful knock at his office door. Clearing his throat, he spoke.

“Come in”  The redhead pops his head through the gap in the door and cracked a smile. Closing the door behind him, he sat in the seat across from Wonwoo. “Ah, Jihoon, what are you here for?”  

Jihoon didn’t say anything for a moment, he just silently undid his waistcoat and leant his head back and let out a deep sigh. Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, but knowing his friend, he didn’t think too much of it.

“So, what’s going on now?” Picking his head back up, Jihoon stared at Wonwoo letting out another sigh.

“Soonyoung’s a lot smarter than he seems” Jihoon chuckles, “He’s designed this new tech that fakes a software to make it seems like its easier to hack and with that, he can get passes the IP scrambler” Wonwoo gulped as Jihoon continued. “And you know what that means? He can get original IP addresses and could you take a wild guess at who their first target is?”

“(Y/N)” Jihoon clicks his fingers and points at Wonwoo.

“Bingo” Wonwoo sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I’m lucky they haven’t even noticed that I know you”

“Wait,” Wonwoo says, looking up at Jihoon. “Do they know it’s them, or who they are?” Jihoon shakes his head.

“Not yet, they don’t know it’s them yet and I doubt any of them remember you have a sibling” Wonwoo becomes silent, he had a thousand thoughts rushing through his head at a mile a minute.

“Why are you telling me this?” Jihoon didn’t reply instantly, he just fiddled with his fingers until he found the words.

“Because when Soonyoung finds out their location Seungcheol wants me to do whats in my job description” Jihoon explains. Wonwoo’s hands turn to fists on his desk table.

“Would you, would you do it?” Wonwoo asks, sending a look to his friend.

“You know if I don’t do it, Seungcheol will just send someone else” Jihoon responds, his voice showing all of his emotions.

“You know that doesn’t answer my question” Jihoon stays silent again, a frown covering his face which matched Wonwoo’s. “Jihoon…”

“If there’s a way to get out of it then sure, I would get out of it, but you know how thorough Seungcheol makes everything and how he checks everything, it wouldn’t be easy to get past him” Wonwoo’s face changes from a frown to a smirk.

“But it’s not impossible” Jihoon’s mouth opens slightly in shock, he blinks for a moment.

“Wonwoo, what are you planning in your head?”

“A full fi-...” Wonwoo got cut off by the sudden bang of the door slamming open and Mingyu panting as he stands there. Both suddenly both standing, they turn to him. “Mingyu, what’s going on?”

“(Y-Y/N),” He gasps for breath, “They’re hacking their computer” Wonwoo’s eyes go to Jihoon and he shrugs in response.

“That’s probably Soonyoung, once he has their address he’s meant to call me with the details” Mingyu scoffs, now with his breath back.

“See this is the problem with you and being on both sides, you’ll do whatever you’re told” Jihoon scoffs too, rolling his eyes before spitting an answer.

“I’m here to warn your fucking asses about them so shut your face” Mingyu scoffed again, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Wonwoo hissed.

“This isn’t the time for you two to be arguing right now, we’re going to them and we are finding a way to get away with fooling Seungcheol any way we can” Wonwoo explains, picking up his gun from the drawer and putting it into the holster on his back. “And if either of you tries to argue I’m shooting you myself”

You typed at lightning speed as you did whatever you could to keep whoever was trying to hack you from hacking you. You chewed on your lip as you concentrated and didn’t try to move an inch in case you lost focus.

“Whoever you are you fucking piece of shit-…” You mumbled to yourself until you got cut off.

“Watch your language” You hadn’t noticed the door open and Wonwoo, Mingyu and Jihoon appear.

“Well if this piece of shit didn’t try and hack my computer I wouldn’t have to call them a piece of shit now would I?!” You spat. It was easy to tell you were annoyed- more than annoyed, extremely pissed off. Jihoon chuckled and you raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar chuckle. Only moving your eyes you saw the head of red hair and gasped. “Mingyu, you fucking asshole, why did you bring the hot guy, do you want me to lose focus?!”

Jihoon covered his mouth to try and cover up his laughter as Mingyu rolled his eyes and sent a glare to the back of your head.

“I’m sorry that I make you lose focus” Jihoon laughs, this time making you roll your eyes.

“Not the time hot guy” Jihoon tried not to laugh again and Wonwoo just sighed, facepalming.

“This really isn’t the time for this” Wonwoo says.

“Hate to break it to you big brother, but I pretty much just said the same thing,” you shrugged. “Just different phrasing”

“Anyways,” Wonwoo starts, “Can you stop Soonyoung from hacking you?” You ran your tongue over your teeth in annoyance as you spoke.

“So this bastard is called Soonyoung then huh” A smirk covered your face and you started typing quicker than the pace you were typing before. “You want a fucking show Soonyoung, I’ll give you one”

“Don’t do anything too stupid now” Wonwoo says, making you laugh.

“When have I ever done anything stupid?” Wonwoo raised an eyebrow and sent you a look.

“Do you really want me to answer that question?” You took in a deep breath but responded.

“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t”

The room went silent- well as silent as it could go with how fast you were typing away and you giggled to yourself as you repeatedly hit a few buttons. Mingyu sent a look to the back of your head and looked to Jihoon and Wonwoo, with both of them shrugging in responses, he spoke.

“What are you giggling at?”

“He wanted a show, so I sent him a bunch of jumpscare clips to try and slow him down” Mingyu gave you a stank glare, judging you completely.

“Couldn’t you think of something better than jumpscares?”

“Mingyu,” You started, your tone evident for him to be wary of what he said next. “Shut the fuck up before I spread your internet history online”

“Better do what they say” Jihoon laughs and Mingyu only sends him a glare.

After another few minutes of silence, you hit your keyboard, but still, continue to type.

“No! No! No!” You yell as large black box appears on your screen. You gasp, moving away from your computer. “H-He hacked in, h-how did he?” You stuttered, before trying to do whatever you could to get your computer working again. “I have no control”  

You turn to the three boys and see they mirror the same expression you’re wearing. Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed together and he let out a sigh. Quickly turning to Jihoon, Wonwoo grabbed his arm.

“How long will it be until he calls you?” You didn’t understand what Wonwoo was going on about and just like how he had grabbed Jihoon’s arm, you grabbed his.

“What are you on about?” Wonwoo turned to you and moved his arm so you’d release it.

“Not now (Y/N)” He then turned back to Jihoon. “Well?”

“I don’t know, it could be anytime now” Your eye flicked between the two as your brain raced to try and put together the puzzle of what could be going on.

“We need to do something now” Wonwoo responds

“It’s not going to be easy, you have to know that”

“What’s going on?!” You yell sending your brother the worst look you could muster. “I swear to god if you don’t tell me right fucking now” Wonwoo went pale as he turned to you, you raised both of your eyes and let out a sigh. “Just tell me please”

“Soonyoung, who’s apart of the other side made a new software and that was to catch us- you- in a trap to be able to locate you and to try and overtake us” Wonwoo explained and it left like all the air left your lungs. “They’re planning on killing whoever is behind the screen”

“W-What?”

With that, Jihoon’s phone rang, the loud music blared through the deafening silence. Jihoon took the phone from his pocket and stared at it for a moment before nodding to Wonwoo.

Incoming call; Hoshi Answer Decline

”Who is that? Why is this happening?“ You rushed, but before you could say any more, Mingyu rushed to your side and covered your mouth with his hand. Your cried became muffled against Mingyu’s hand and Wonwoo placed his hands on your shoulders to try and calm you down.

”You need to stay silent, you need to trust me" You went silent, no matter what happened, no matter what your brother said or did you always trusted him. He turned to Jihoon and nodded. Jihoon picked up the phone and placed it next to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Woozi! Dude! I think this has been the most fun time hacking I’ve had in a while!” Jihoon sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Hosh, just get to the point already”

“Oh yeah yeah sure okay, anyways I hacked in and got the address for you, make sure to get it done by the end of the day, you know what Cheol’s like,” Soonyoung said.

“Sure, just send it here”

“Will do, talk to you later” Soonyoung cheered before clicking off the call. Making sure the call had ended, it wasn’t a second later until Jihoon’s phone beeped again and the text from Soonyoung appeared.

“By the end of the day” Jihoon looked at Wonwoo "that doesn’t give us much time“ Running a hand through his hair, Wonwoo starts to mutter to himself.

”We have to find a way,“ Wonwoo says, before repeating it. ”We have to find a way“

With Mingyu’s hand still covering your mouth, you blinked rapidly as you felt your eyes begin to well up. You hated seeing your brother so frantic, especially over you. Especially now over what might be the lead up to your death. Feeling the tears run down your cheeks and onto his hand. Mingyu turns you around and sends you a look.

”Nothing is going to happen to you, don’t worry so much pip-squeak“ Mingyu chuckles to try and brighten your mood, but you just nod.

You already knew who Jihoon was, who he is. It didn’t take long for it to click into your brain after he got the phone call, you knew he was the one they were planning on sending to kill you, but he was here, he had been all this time so sure he wasn’t going to… right?

Everything was going to work out like Mingyu had said. Everything was going to be fine. Wonwoo clicked his fingers and looked at Jihoon with a smile.

”I think I figured it out, I think I know a way this could work“ Jihoon blinks and motions for him to continue. ”Seungcheol will never realise a thing“

Jihoon waited for the elevator to ding once it reached the top floor and let out a silent breath of air as it did. Looking up to the camera in the corner of the elevator he winked, knowing Soonyoung would probably be watching.

Exiting the elevator, he swiftly makes his way to Seungcheol’s office, knowing twice before entering.

Seungcheol was sat like he usually was, his feet up on his desk and a cigarette in between his fingers.”Ah! Jihoon! My assassin friend!“ Jihoon chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he sat down in the chair across from him.

”What are you on now?“ Seungcheol smiled, taking a long drag before puffing out the smoke quickly.”Its new in from out west, it’s beautiful stuff“ Seungcheol laughed, before holding his hand out for Jihoon to take. ”Want some?“

”No thank you“ Jihoon declines, making Seungcheol roll his eyes.

”Always the same old Jihoon“ Another drag. Another puff of smoke released. Sitting up and moving his position, he stares at Jihoon for a moment. ”I notice you’ve dyed your hair again“ Jihoon nods, running his free hand through his hair.

”You know my routine,“ He says simply.

Dying his hair after every kill.

”So that means you’ve done it?“ Seungcheol asks and Jihoon responds by throwing a file onto his desk. Seungcheol chuckled, picking up the folder and flicking through it.

”That what you mean?“

”You’re simply amazing, Ji, this is why you’re the best in the business,“ Seungcheol said, picking up one of the photos and holding up as he examined it. ”Your work is honestly perfect“

”Well, I do what I know best“ Jihoon laughs. ”And this is what I know best“

”It certainly is“

Jihoon silently unbuttoned his waistcoat and leant his head back as he let out a sigh. He sat like that for some time, just thinking. It wasn’t too much time before Seungcheol coughed, making Jihoon lift his head.

”Jihoon, you can go now, I have a new business meeting to attend about the new drugs from out west“ Seungcheol explained, he sent a smirk Jihoon’s way.  ”If you want any, all you gotta do is ask“Jihoon rolled his eyes, which Seungcheol accepted. He declined anyways.

”Seriously no thanks, I don’t care how good the stuff is, you know I don’t do any of it“ Seungcheol hummed, nodding his head.

”I know, I was just testing you“ Jihoon raised an eyebrow.

”Testing me? For what?“ Seungcheol shrugged, getting up from out of his seat.

”Oh Nothing, just nothing“ Getting up, Jihoon stayed silent. He seemed like he should just go by what Seungcheol was saying and take this as his queue to leave.

”Okay then, I guess I best be going…“ Jihoon starts, ”Call me if you need or want anything, you know that dude“ Seungcheol smiles

.”Same back“

Once he shut the door behind him, he walked quickly, without seeming to look suspicious to the elevators and waited for it to arrive. Entering it and clicking the ground floor, Jihoon let out a sigh.

The ground floor soon arrived and Jihoon exited the elevator and left the building, this time running to his dark car that was parked in the car park outside. Getting in and turning on the engine, he let out another sigh and clicked on the fourth-speed dial number on his car phone system.

”Jihoon?“ Your voice called out from through the speaker.

”Pack your things, I’ll be there soon"

[deanstop13billyjoeltraxx]

Superposition

a deancas college roommate AU 

Chapter 10 is up on AO3! Chapter-by-chapter masterlist here. 

Wanting is Enough

“You goin’ home for Christmas?” Dean asked.

They were walking back to the dorm after dinner. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a holiday for which neither Cas nor Dean had bothered to travel home.

“No,” Cas said. “I don’t believe I’m welcome at my father’s house anymore.”

Dean glanced sideways at him as they entered the stairwell. “Why? ‘Cause you’re gay?’ He asked.

Cas shrugged. “If he knows now, from Bartholomew or Hannah, then that certainly doesn’t help my case.” He sighed. “No, when he found out I was attending college and not entering ministry, he told me I shouldn’t come home again.”

Dean held the exit door open as Cas walked onto their floor. “When did that happen?” He asked.

“I kept the entirety of my college application process a secret. Only Anna knew,” Cas said. “She’s the only other sane person in my family. I made the mistake of informing the rest of them about it at dinner sometime in July.” He gave Dean a wry smile as they entered their room. “None of them were particularly thrilled.”

“You told them about the full ride and everything?”

“Yes.”

“And your old man still kicked you out?”

“The same night.”

Dean snorted. “Dumbass.”

A smile tugged at Cas’s lips. “You could say that.”

“Where’d you go after that?” Dean asked.

“Well, Anna was already living alone, down in Norman. She was at the University of Oklahoma,” he added by way of explanation. “I just stayed with her until August.”

Dean nodded. “She sounds cool. What’s she doing now?”

Cas broke into a grin. “She lives in North Carolina, now. She’s a therapist.”

Dean smirked at him. “So your ass is constantly getting psychoanalyzed?”

“I suppose.”

Dean slumped into the beanbag with a sigh. Cas remained at the door, leaning his weight against it.

“What about you?” He asked after a beat. “Are you returning home for Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Dean said, smiling. “Well, it’s kinda complicated. I am going home, like, my actual home. Lawrence. We spend Christmas with some family friends.” Dean paused, looking thoughtful. “They’re really more family than friends. Bobby and Ellen and Ellen’s kid Jo. Bobby and Ellen were both friends with my dad.”

“Will your father and brother be there?”

Dean’s look darkened, if only slightly. “Dad’s not coming. The whole thing started ‘cause he got tired of trying to pretend to like the holidays after Mom died. Decided to pawn us off on his old friends. But yeah, Sammy’ll be there.”

Cas gave him a nod and pushed off from the door. While he was disappointed that Dean would be gone for winter break, he was relieved, too. That was three weeks sans-Dean, more than enough time for Cas to work through his little crush. The solitude would be good, he told himself. Cas figured he could fast-track the five stages of grief, and by the time Dean returned, Cas would be the best friend he deserved. Cas sighed to himself as he rifled through his closet for a towel and a change of clothes. He was grabbing bottles of shampoo and body wash when Dean cleared his throat.

“You know,” he said slowly, like the words were difficult to force out, “You could… I mean, I’m sure everyone wouldn’t mind if you came to Christmas.”

Cas whirled around to face Dean, who was picking at a loose thread on the beanbag.

“What?” He asked, a little too loudly.

“Since you’re not goin’ home,” Dean said. “You know, it sucks to spend Christmas alone. ‘Specially in this dump,” he added, gesturing generally to the small room.

“Are you inviting me to spend Christmas in Lawrence? With you?”

Dean gave a short laugh. “I guess it is kinda dumb. Yeah, nevermind.”

“No, I’d like that,” Cas rushed out. He blinked at his own words. He was supposed to be avoiding Dean as often as possible, not spending three uninterrupted weeks in his hometown.  “It sounds nice,” Cas added weakly, despite the fact that it definitely did not. 

Dean looked up at him. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Dean broke into the biggest grin Cas had ever seen. “Dude, it’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait for everyone to meet you.” Dean stood up with and pulled Cas in for a hug, clapping him on the back twice. Cas winced, letting out a feeble chuckle as he returned the hug reluctantly. He was trying not to notice the warmth of Dean pressed against him, or the absence of it when they parted. 

  “Are you pissed at me?” 

It was the Wednesday before finals started. They were quietly eating dinner when Dean threw the question at Cas, who coughed into his water. 

“What?” He sputtered. 

Dean rubbed the back of his head. “I dunno, man, I just feel like I never see you anymore.” 

Guilt crashed into Cas like a freight train. He had been absent, more absent even than before Thanksgiving. Part of it was out of necessity — finals were fast approaching, and he was intent upon an all-A’s first semester. But the hours at the library were stacked on top of the hours he spent in class and the hours he spent simply staying away from his room. 

“I apologize,” Cas said, and he couldn’t keep the earnestness from his voice. “I’m just feeling overwhelmed. I have two final papers, three exams, and two final projects coming up before the break.” 

“No, man, I get it,” Dean said with a shrug. “You’re busy. Sorry, that was kinda uncalled for. All in my head, you know.” 

Cas wanted to tell him that it was completely called for, that what Dean was feeling was valid, that he was being selfish and rude and a whole number of terrible things for avoiding Dean. But he couldn’t, because that would mean promptly declaring soul-destroying love for his best friend, right there in the middle of the dining hall. “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he mumbled. 

Cas had thought that it was getting easier, being around Dean. He’d basked in the feeling of being not just someone’s best friend, but Dean’s best friend, after Halloween, and that was enough. And while he was still avoiding spending long hours in their room, he felt like he was well on his way to making peace with the unrequited. 

But then, they’d gotten drunk on the night of Thanksgiving. Cas didn’t remember much besides waking up in a tangled heap with Dean on the floor of their room. He’d been successful in extricating himself from the strange embrace before Dean regained consciousness, and thank god for that. But the situation lived rent-free in Cas’s mind. It made things considerably more difficult. 

And then there was the prospect of travelling to Lawrence to spend Christmas with Dean and his family. Cas really hadn’t wanted to spend the holiday alone, and was, on the one hand, thankful for the invitation. On the other, his anxiety was mounting. That trip meant there was absolutely no avoiding Dean for at least three weeks; not to mention the fact that he was meeting the group of people most important to Dean. 

So if Cas was making extra efforts to put space between himself and his roommate, it was not unwarranted. 

They finished eating and made their way back to the dorms. Dean was complaining about his own finals, and while Cas tried his hardest to remain engaged, his heart wasn’t in it. He was angry at himself. Even when he felt like he was succeeding, he was failing. 

“Cas,” Dean said. Cas had just let them into the room, but Dean was standing resolutely in the hallway. 

“Yes?” Cas responded. 

“Are you… I know I already asked, but man, something’s off,” Dean rushed out. “Is — Is this about Christmas? ‘Cause —”

Cas interrupted him. “No, Dean. I’m excited to spend Christmas with you and your family.” 

Dean smiled weakly, but it was brief. “I just — you’re never around, man,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “I feel like I fucked something up somehow.” 

Cas knew Dean well enough by now to know there were things he was trying to say without saying them. His heart broke to know that I miss you was likely one of them. 

“I promise, you’ve done nothing wrong,” Cas said. “I’m just concerned about my finals.” Lie. 

Dean looked at him with skepticism. “Okay,” he said finally. 

Another twinge of guilt soared through him, but he didn’t say anything more, just gathered his things for a shower. Dean still hadn’t come into the room when Cas pushed past him and made his way to the bathroom. 

When he returned, Dean was gone, but Cas saw a notification on his phone. 

DW (7:32 pm)

went out back later

Cas narrowed his eyes at the short message, but typed out a reply anyway. 

CN (7:34 p.m.)

Okay. Be safe. Don’t forget, there’s class tomorrow. 

He sat down at his desk and opened his computer. He tried studying for his accounting final, but the words and equations might have been hieroglyphics for all that he was absorbing them. Cas sighed and pulled up the final project description for his creative writing class instead. 

It was his favorite class by far. In high school, Cas focused on writing short stories, mostly adapted from real life. His notebooks were his confidants, the product of never having a close friend. But now, he was challenged to write other things; poetry, scripts, memoirs. Cas lived for the challenge, finally able to stretch new creative muscles. And while his attempt at drama had received mixed reviews from his professor and peers alike, his other works were well-received. He’d never shared his writing with anyone, and to hear others enjoyed it was something Cas cherished.

But this final project, it was difficult. The professor had tasked them with writing a 1000-word story in prose and adapting it into both a drama and a poem. The goal was to tell the same story in each genre. Cas couldn’t even think of a scene he might want to write, let alone how he was going to move fluidly between genres.

He sighed, and began to list out possible ideas. When it became clear that he wasn’t getting anywhere, he closed his notebook and moved onto something less intense. He reviewed his econ notes for an hour, got started on his final paper for literature. 

After hitting a solid halfway point on his first draft, he checked his phone again. It was already midnight. Cas frowned. Dean was known to stay out late on the weekends, but it was Wednesday. Cas knew Dean had a nine-a.m. history class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He also knew that Dean wouldn’t make it to said class if he was out much later. He sent him a text. 

CN (12:03 a.m.)

Are you all right? 

Cas hit the bathrooms to brush his teeth and get ready for bed before checking his phone. His worry only increased when he saw that Dean hadn’t replied. He sent another text, hoping he didn’t seem too overbearing. 

CN (12:11 a.m.)

Just making sure you’re alive.

He decided that if Dean didn’t respond in the next ten minutes, he’d call, regardless of how ridiculous he might sound. 

Cas paced around the room, picking up what little stray trash they had left lying out. He was about to take out his phone again to check the time when it started vibrating on his desk. He picked it up eagerly, but frowned at the unknown number. Cas considered letting it ring out, but he hit the “accept” button at the last second. He didn’t say anything as he held the phone up to his ear, expecting a wrong number.

His eyes went wide when Dean rasped, “Cas?”

“Dean?” Cas replied, trying to keep panic out of his voice. “What — Why are you calling me from this number?”

“Phone’s dead,” he said, sounding exhausted. “I hate to do this to you, man, but… Just — goddammit — can you come get me?”

“What?” 

“I’m just — I’m at the corner of seventeenth and Gentry.”

“Don’t you have a DD?” Cas asked. Dean had never called him to pick him up from a party. He always made sure someone was sober, or he called an Uber. 

“No,” Dean sighed. 

“Seventeenth and Gentry?” He repeated, and he heard Dean murmur something in affirmation. Cas made a turn for his car and said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up.

Cas tried to drive at a normal speed, but it was difficult. Dean had left abruptly, and while Cas hadn’t thought to question it, it now seemed glaringly out-of-character. Dean had never partied in the middle of the week, and he certainly had never gone drinking by himself. Every red light kicked his anxiety up a notch. 

After the interminable drive, Cas finally arrived at the corner Dean had directed him to, a small bar with WSU flags plastered everywhere. Cas drove past the front of the building slowly, but couldn’t find Dean there. Finally, he saw a phone booth just past the bar’s street parking, and he coaxed the car forward. Dean was leaning against its side, a cigarette in his mouth. He hadn’t brought a jacket, and it was barely thirty degrees out. Cas turned up the heat in the car as he unlocked the passenger door.

Dean put out the cigarette and slid in without a word. Cas hit the gas and started the drive back to the dorms.

Neither said a word in the ten minutes it took Cas to reach campus. The only sounds were the roar of hot air from the vents and the low groan of the engine. Cas kept his eyes in front of him, never once daring to glance at Dean.

When they reached the lot, Cas threw the gear shift into park and folded his hands in his lap. He stared at his own interlaced fingers, willing Dean to speak first, not wanting to ask the question.

Dean didn’t speak, though, just opened the car door and stepped out. Cas saw a light flicker through the passenger window, and suppressed a groan as he realized Dean had lit another cigarette. Typical, Cas thought, and he was suddenly annoyed. It occurred to him that if their places were switched, Dean would be hounding him, demanding that Cas tell him everything, because he always did. Anytime Cas seemed the slightest bit off, Dean was there, asking questions, being the good friend that he was. But now? Now, he expected Cas to leave it alone, to let him suffer with whatever was bothering him. Cas took a few steadying breaths, then turned the engine off and got out.

“Dean,” he said, trying to keep his voice neutral, “What the hell?” 

Dean didn’t answer, just took a long drag, his gaze aimed resolutely ahead. Cas huffed and crossed his arms. 

“You… You can’t just ask me to come pick you up from a bar and not offer an explanation,” Cas said. 

“Sorry,” Dean muttered.

Cas let out a mirthless laugh. “Oh, well, that’s perfectly adequate,” he scoffed.

“What else am I supposed to say?” Dean demanded. 

Cas stared at him, then shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, his jaw set. “I’m going to bed. 

“What?” Dean asked, finally looking at Cas. 

Cas shrugged. “I’m obviously wasting my time.”

Another drag. An exhale.

“My dad called while you were in the shower.” 

The irritation shifted, almost immediately, to concern. “Your father called you?”

“Yeah.” 

“What did he want?” 

Dean tapped his cigarette against his leg. “Mostly to remind me what a piece of shit I am.” 

Cas remained silent, allowing Dean the space to form whatever his next thought might be. 

“I guess…” Dean rubbed his free hand over his forehead. “I guess Sam let it slip that I was bringing you to Bobby’s for Christmas.” 

Cas cocked his head. “And that’s… Problematic?” 

Dean exhaled another plume of smoke. “Yeah,” he said. He let out a mirthless laugh. “He said he didn’t get it, that if I was bringing anyone home, it should be a girlfriend, not…” Dean trailed off. 

Cas felt the blood leave his face. “He thinks —”

“Yeah.” 

“Dean, I don’t have to come,” Cas said. It would be better for both of us. “I’ll be perfectly fine here. I appreciate the offer, I do, but I don’t want to make life more difficult for you than necessary.” 

Dean looked at him, finally, and he was all shadow and exhaustion. “No, he’s not gonna be there. You’re coming,” he said resolutely, and Cas tried not to let the disappointment show. “Plus, that wasn’t all of it. He’s pissed that I didn’t come home for Thanksgiving. Said something about how I was dishonoring my mom’s memory or something.” 

Cas was silent for a moment. “Did you find what you were looking for?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“At the bar,” Cas clarified. He couldn’t tell how drunk Dean really was, but based on that recent revelation, he could guess. 

Dean furrowed his brow. “What?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, I had like three beers. I was planning on going full blackout, but then you reminded me about class.” 

Cas almost smiled at that, because it was almost funny. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Decide to get blackout drunk just because your father incorrectly assumed you were bringing me — bringing a male partner to a Christmas he wouldn’t even attend?” 

Dean frowned. “I don’t — I don’t know,” he said, and he sounded almost surprised at his own answer. 

Cas was treading on thin ice, he knew that. But he kept up anyway. “I don’t want to overstep,” he said slowly, “But, Dean, your father… It doesn’t seem like he’s taken the time to get to know you. The real you, not the version he wants you to be, or the version he projects onto you.” 

When Dean didn’t stop him, he continued. “And you don’t owe him anything, not anymore. You’re here, aren’t you? All on your own. He has no power over you. And, I’m only assuming, but I believe that might terrify him. Because not only do you no longer need him, but you may choose not to want him.”

Cas let out a small laugh. “Believe me, I know how difficult it is to stop putting stock in what your father thinks. It took me years to accept that I had done nothing wrong, that my father was, and always would be, a bigot. I… I’m still working on it, even now,” he admitted. Cas sighed. “But my life has been better, easier, since I stopped trying to please someone who hardly even knew me.” 

Dean’s expression changed, and he blinked. He was still looking in Cas’s direction, but not at him. Past him, at some unknown subject. Cas took a step toward him.

“Dean?” 

“I don’t need him,” Dean whispered.

“Are you all right?” Cas asked, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder. 

Dean let out a huff, overflowing with something like realization. “I never thought about that before. It’s not like he’s ever tried to talk to me.” Dean threw his cigarette on the asphalt and stomped it out. A breathy chuckle escaped his lips, and he wrapped his hands around his midsection. “You know, I used to try so hard to be like him.” Dean tilted his head toward the sky. “I listened to his music, I dressed like him. Hell, I even started talkin’ like him.

“It was never enough, you know? I always fucked up. Sam didn’t get to school on time, or I forgot milk at the grocery store. I just, I dunno. I know he loves me. But I always wanted him to like me, too, you know?” 

“I do.” 

“Oh man, you should’ve seen him when he found out I’d been hiding money away to go to college,” Dean said, laughing darkly. “I thought I was gonna go to school with a black eye for a week.” 

“He hit you?” Cas asked, horrified. 

“What? No, no,” Dean said quickly. “I just thought he might.”

Cas let out a breath. There was one crime John Winchester hadn’t committed. “What do you mean, hiding money?”

“Dad never really had a steady job, not after our mom died,” Dean explained. “That’s why we moved around a lot. When I was fourteen, I started working. Chickenshit stuff, mostly. Mowing lawns and detailing cars until I was old enough to start flippin’ burgers.” Dean furrowed his eyebrows. “The money was supposed to go to rent and food, but I started putting most of it aside, just in case, you know? I had enough for a year of college by the time I was a senior. I figured I could get loans and stuff for the rest.”

“And when you told him, he got angry?”

Dean only nodded, now staring intently at the ground. Cas didn’t say anything more, knowing Dean had probably just unloaded more trauma than he’d even known he had. Finally, though, Dean’s gaze met his.

“But I don’t need him,” he repeated.

“You don’t.” 

“He’s nothing, unless I want him to be something,” Dean said slowly, and his eyes were growing triumphant. “Cas, you’re a genius.”

“If you say so.” 

“You learn all that stuff from your sister? The one with a degree in ‘dealing with crazy fuckers’?”

Cas smiled. “Maybe,” he said. “And therapy isn’t just for ‘crazy fuckers.’”

Dean smirked at him. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you say ‘fuck’.” 

Cas rolled his eyes. “It’s cold out here,” he said. “Let’s go inside.” 

“Yeah,” Dean said. “Yeah, okay.” 

As they walked, Cas felt latent anger curl in his stomach. Dean hadn’t told Castiel much about his home life, not until that night. He understood, now, why Dean could so easily take care of others, but needed three beers and a cigarette to show his own vulnerabilities. In his eighteen years, had Dean ever been told that he was enough? The possibility that he hadn’t awakened something in Cas, some righteous fury.

He chided himself internally. How much of his selfish avoidance scheme had contributed to those feelings of inadequacy? He’d rather burn with the pain of unrequited love forever than let Dean think he wasn’t enough.

When they reached the entrance to their dorm, Cas put a hand on Dean’s arm. “Are you okay, Dean?” He asked. 

Dean let out a long breath. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I’m okay. I really am.” He said it like it might have been the first time he’d ever meant it.

 Cas woke up at two in the morning from a particularly vivid dream. His breathing was heavy with the shock of waking up so suddenly. Dean was breathing slow and even across the room, still entirely asleep.

Cas shook his head a little. The dream had felt so real that it had left a residual burning feeling in his hand. He stared at it, but it remained entirely human.

Abruptly, he remembered his creative writing project. A short story, something he could turn into a poem and a stage scene. A lightbulb went off in his brain.

Cas lowered himself from his bed and hurriedly opened his computer. He had to get this down as soon as possible. Cas replayed the dream in his mind as his computer booted up. He supposed it might be a little strange, to turn this story in as his final project, considering it was somewhat of a self-insert. But it had everything he needed.

Finally, he opened a blank document and began to write the first draft. Cas wrote down everything he could remember from the dream, sights and sounds and feelings. With each word, his excitement grew. He’d never felt this way about a writing project, like the story demanded to be told.

Cas hit word count and kept going, because the story was building itself larger and larger. He didn’t even notice how long he’d been working until Dean’s six-a.m. alarm went off.

Dean groaned and rolled over in his bunk. He said something, but Cas didn’t hear, too intent upon getting the words in his head onto the page.

“Hey,” Dean said, raising his voice. “Stephen King, what the hell?”

Cas didn’t turn from the computer screen. “Good morning,” he said. “How did you sleep?”

Dean groaned. “Like the dead,” he said sarcastically. “How long you been up?”

Cas checked the time. “Somewhere around four hours,” he said.

“Four — you’ve been up since two?”

“Yes.”

Dean blanched and swung himself down from his bed. “Dude, that means you got, max, an hour and a half of sleep.” He made his way to Cas’s desk and leaned over his shoulder. Upon seeing the word count on his screen, his eyes widened.

“You wrote all that last night? Or this morning?” He asked.

Cas shrugged, a little sheepishly. “I got inspired.”

Dean blinked at him. “I’m gonna make a pot of coffee,” he said.

Cas wrote a few hundred more words before finding a good stopping point. He scrolled to the top of his document and highlighted the scenes he wanted to use for his project. Dean brought him a cup of coffee, which Cas accepted eagerly, beginning to feel the first twinges of exhaustion through his inspiration-fueled mania.

“What’re you writing over there?” Dean asked after taking a sip from his mug.

“It’s one of my final projects,” Cas replied. He drank from his own mug.

Dean looked at him in horror. “A five-thousand word essay?”

Cas laughed. “No. A thousand-word short story,” he said.

“What, so you’re an over-achiever?”

“No,” Cas said. “I’m only using the first thousand words for my project. But I just couldn’t stop. There was more to tell.” His cheeks flamed. Talking about his creative projects always embarrassed him.

“What’s it about?” Dean asked.

Cas gave him a sideways grin. “You’ll find out when you read it.”

Dean scowled. “At least tell me what you’re calling it.”

Cas looked up thoughtfully. “I don’t know for sure yet,” he said. “That reminds me…” He turned back to his computer to save the document. When faced with the title option, he faltered. He typed in “The Righteous Man.” That would do for now.

-------------

taglist! @nguyenxtrang @castielsbeeslippers

[fandomoneshots-imagines]

Home (Winchesters x Reader)

Summary: What happens when the Winchesters and the reader return to the readers home, after being gone for a very long time, for a case. A case that sounds very familiar to the reader. What happens when the brothers find out why?

Warnings: violence, cussing, magic

This may become a mini-fic. Haven’t decided yet. Also don’t forget to send in a request!

“So get this,” Sam chirped up from behind his computer. I had to hide my smile behind the lore book I was reading. His go to phrase when he found a case. In the two years that I had been working with the Winchesters, I’ve probably heard that phrase several hundred times. I first started working with them when a coven of witches in Montana were killing cheating spouses, thinking themselves as some kind of heroes for all the jaded men and women who were cheated on. Being a witch myself, I had gone “undercover”. I still hate to think about how close I was to being killed.

“The serial killer has been carving smiles into the faces of their victim, after the victim has been completely drained of blood.” Sam said. This news made me quickly raise my head. I remember something very similar to that happened years ago.

“Where was this again?” I asked, closing the book and setting it down.

“New Orleans,” Sam closed his laptop. “Let’s get going.”

“Laytez liz bong tomps roulette,” Dean grinned slapping the table, while absolutely butchering the popular Creole phrase.

“Dean, it’s laissez les bons temps rouler,” I laughed in an attempt to hide my absolute discomfort. 

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been in New Orleans. I made a promise that I would never return. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to return. It’s that I was forced out of the city and was told I would be killed if I ever came back.

“Let someone else take it guys. Besides, we have to find a way to remove the mark.” I opened my book back up, hiding my face.

“Come on, Y/N. We need you on this. You’re from New Orleans. You can show us around, get us on the inside.” Sam nudged me. I sighed and stood up.

“Fine, but we’re not staying in the city. I know of a place where we can stay.” I sighed standing up. It didn’t take me long to get my things together but I did have to wait for both men. I leaned against baby, still reading the same book as before. A minute later they both came out. We threw our bags in the back of Baby and took off. 

We arrived to New Orleans 17 hours later and in that time there was another murder, “So where is this place we’re staying?” Sam asked. 

“It’s on the other side of the river. Just keep driving.” I sighed looking out at the city I love. 

“I’m stopping and getting some beignets first. Oh, or a po’boy.” Dean jumped up and down in his seat.

“No Dean I can make some for you just please keep driving.” I begged but it was too late. Dean had already stopped and parked in front of a familiar restaurant. Rousseau’s, a very popular bar in the city. Dean jumped out of the car like he was a kid in a candy store. I sighed and slid out as well, whispering a cloaking spell for myself. 

We sat down at one of the tables in the back of the bar, me keeping my back towards the door. The two kept talking about the case and I listened but I mostly listened to the noises around me. I sat up a little straighter at an all too familiar voice. 

“I gotta pee.” I said as softly as I could and quickly walked to the bathroom. I was just about to push the door open when I was spun around and pushed against the wall, a hand squeezing my throat.

“I thought we told you to stay out of the city.” Two dark brown eyes bore into mine, anger very clear. I grabbed onto the man’s wrist, trying to pry it away.

“Marcel, please,” I grasped his wrist. The hand loosened only slightly and his eyes scanned my face. The anger slowly going away. 

“What are you doing back here Y/N?” He asked moving his body slightly closer to mine. 

“Some friends of mine read about the murders online.” I tried to explain and the fury ignited in his eyes again.

“You brought hunters here?” His hold on my neck tightened again.

“I tried to keep them away. I tried to distract them.” I gasped.

“Get them out of this city before Klaus and Elijah find out you’re back.” He snapped and let go of my throat. 

“They’re back?” I rubbed my throat, watching the man I once knew walk away. 

“Klaus has a daughter. The brought her mother here to protect the two of them.” Marcel sighed rubbing his face, “Where are you staying?”

“I was gonna stay in that building on the other side of the river.You remember the one.” I looked up at him. I could see the memories flashing through his mind as a small smirk appeared on his face but quickly disappeared. 

“No good. That’s where I am. I have a group of freshly turned vampires staying there. Unless you want your hunter friends to become food you need to find a new place to stay.” He shook his head. 

“Where the hell am I supposed to stay then Marcel? I can’t stay there. I definitely can’t stay at my home either.” I threw my hands up. I could see Sam and Dean looking around for me, wondering why I’ve been gone for so long.

“I can just compel the hunters,” he started to say but I was already shaking my head. I looked over his shoulder and saw another familiar face, getting a little too friendly to my best friends for my taste. I started to recite a spell, pushing past Marcel, marching up to the table. The blonde’s knees buckled and screamed as she held her head. 

“Everyone I apologize but we’ll be closing a little early today. Please make your way to the exit. All meals are on the house.” An unfamiliar voice spoke up.

“Y/N,” Marcel warned, “It’s not safe to do that here.”

“Oh please, I’m just having a little reunion with my amazing sister.” I growled, she looked up at me black veins running under her eyes turning black, fangs extending down. Dean and Sam pushing their chairs back, drawing knives, “Good you see you again Rebekah.” 

“What the fuck Y/N?” Sam asked, “Is that a demon or a vampire? And what do you mean by sister?”

“Rebekah here is one the first vampires that wasn’t turned by an Alpha but my magic.” I explained pushing my hold on her more, my concentration never breaking, “She is over 1000 years old and yes she is my sister. Our beloved mother changed her and my older brothers into vampires using magic, instead of the alpha vampire.”

“Marcel, is everything ok?” The voice from earlier came over. I turned and saw another blonde woman standing beside my old friend, her hand on his arm. And that’s when my concentration broke. In a flash I was slammed against the wall, a grip that was nearly ten times tighter than Marcel’s held me up against the wall.

“Why aren’t you dead yet?” She snarled in my face making me laugh.

“Oh sister, we always knew Marcel liked me more than you.” I smirked, pissing her off even more. I saw Sam and Dean take a step towards me but a simple shake of my head made them freeze. Rebekah smirked and looked over her shoulder then looked back at me.

“You know, at first I thought they would just be a little tasty snack. But now that I know they’re with you, they’ll die with you.” 

“Everything they’ve been drinking for the past two years has been laced with wolfsbane and vervain. Go ahead.” I spat at her. Before she could say anything else dropped me and held her head in a similar manner as before. Standing in the doorway was a young woman whose lips were moving in a familiar manner and a man standing behind her. 

“Davina Claire, I’ve heard very good things about you.” I breathed heavily. She just gave me a simple nod and her and the man with her left, not saying a word.

“Y/N, you’ve got to tell us. What in the fuck is going on?” Dean yelled. That was his angry voice. 

I nodded and snapped my fingers, breaking Rebekah's neck, making her drop to the ground. The little group crowded around me even though 90% of them knew the story already. 

“My name is not Y/N Y/L/N. It’s Y/N Mikaelson. I am the youngest Mikaelson and before I was born my mother turned my brothers Klaus, Elijah, Finn, and Kol and ever so wonderful Rebekah here into vampires using magic. They weren’t turned with the alpha Eve created, hence the different look. It was over 1000 years ago when it happened. They saw me as nothing but a slave.” I spat at the woman on the floor. “There’s only one thing that can kill them and it’s the wood from a white oak tree. One that they had destroyed soon after they were turned. There are daggers that can keep them in a state of sleep but the dagger must remain or they will wake up. I was tired of how they treated me so about 75 years ago I daggered each of them. The last words Klaus spoke to me was ‘if I ever see you in my city again I will kill you.”

“And that’s why you wanted to stay at the bunker?” Sam asked and I nodded. 

“I’ve seen Klaus before while we traveled. He was in Montana when we met so I knew he was awake, which I’m assuming you did that Marcel after coming back.” I scratched my head. He shrugged confirming I was right.

“Wait, you’re 1000 years old?” Sam asked.

“Actually, I’m 985 but if we’re rounding sure.” I shrugged. I saw Sam’s little nerd brain go crazy on that information.

“So Columbus or Vikings?” Sam asked referring to who discovered North America first. 

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, “Vikings. Columbus was an idiot and an asshole. My family didn’t kill when they...actually never mind they did kill when they got here. But we’ll discuss my adventures another time Sammy.” I winked. 

“Y/N you have to get out of the city.” Marcel looked at me with pleading eyes, “Go to the bayou. The wolves do not have any allegiance to the Mikaelson family.” I nodded and stood up taking Sam and Dean’s hands dragging them to the door. Our friendship was definitely changing after today I could already tell. We were just about to make it to the door when it was shoved open and two nightmares stood in front of me.

“Hello little sister,”

[mysideblogofsurveys]

Survey 11

Who do you want to be tied to for 24 hours? Ah, no one preferably Who do you blame for your mood today? No one in particular Have you ever seen a random dead body? No, I don’t know if I could handle that. What should we do w/ stupid people? Slap them up-side the head. Lol. <---- yes, I like this answer lol How long do you think you will live? I hope for a long time >< What was the first thing you did this morning? Briefly checked my notifications before making coffee and taking a shower

The color of carpet in your bedroom? Its like a gray-ish? like a peppery white/black? Last person you went out to dinner with? Our two friends (J&K) drove down from GA for the Independence Day holiday and we went out to dinner with them (which was nice, we haven’t went out to eat since before this all started) Are you spoiled? Yes but I spoil myself (and I guess my husband spoils me too) Do you drink lots of water? Yeah I do

What toothpaste do you use? I’m honestly not sure..I just pick whatever

How do you vent your anger? Complain to my husband or write in this journal app I have on my phone The last compliment you received? I’m not sure

What are you doing this weekend? I’m not sure yet.

When was the last time you threw up? I actually don’t know, its been a while Is your best friend a virgin? I don’t have a best friend. What theme does your room have? lol I call it “Miscellaneous”

When was the last time you were at a party? Its also been a long time. It was probably my work Christmas Party in 2018? (We didn’t go to the one last year)

Are you a mama's child or a daddy's child? Neither?  I talk to my Mom more though Are you good looking? I guess?  I’d say so-so The last website you visited? Hulu, I’m watching 90 Day Fiance as I write this ><

Who was the last person you took a picture with? My husband but we definitely don’t take enough pictures together.  I was also telling my husband we should have taken a picture with J&K when they were here for the holiday but we’ll see them again in like 2 week so I’ll make sure to take pictures then. Last person you went to the movies with? My husband What did you do/will you do for your birthday this year? My birthday was in May.  Obviously we couldn’t go out but we walked around at this park near us playing Pokemon Go, got to-go pasta and then played Castle Crashers with J&K online. Number of layers on your bed? A few, we have a ton of blankets Is anything alive in your room? Just my husband whos still sleeping Today, would you rather go back a week or go forward a week? Forward a week for sure!  My co-worker is on vacation this week and yesterday was SO BUSY.  I hope it’ll be a little more slow today. What are you looking forward to right now?  WELL, I can’t wait until we can get a house and start a family but something that will actually be happening soon I suppose would be the Pokemon Go event at the end of July where we’ll be meeting up with J&K again. First place you went this morning? Kitchen to make coffee before taking a shower but actually “going to” would be work in about an hour

What can you not wait to do? Get a house and start a family.  What's the last movie you saw? Either Joker or One Piece: Stampede in the theaters and Detective Pikachu at home lol (and IDGAF that I’m 32, I’ve been playing pokemon since I was 10 years old sooo whatever lol) What is your salad dressing of choice? We’ve been having a lot of Caesar salad recently so Caesar dressing What is your favorite fast food restaurant of choice? Burger King or Arby’s but we don’t eat it very often. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Probably Olive Garden or Carrabbas (another Italian restaurant) On average how much of a tip do you leave at a restaurant? About 20% What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Pasta >< What are your pizza toppings of choice? Pineapple and ham (OR Domino's has been out of ham recently so I’ve substituted it for pepperoni) What do you like to put on your toast? Butter and Red Raspberry jelly What is your wallpaper on your computer? On my desktop is a Stardew Valley background and my laptop is One Piece How many televisions are in your house? Three What color cell phone do you have? Its a purple/lilac but I have a black case Are you right-handed or left-handed? I’m left-handed <--- me too :) Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Just Wisdom teeth What is the last heavy item you lifted? Omg so they’re not allowing deliveries up to our floor at work so I had to bring a rolling cart to get 9 heavy boxes from the security desk yesterday and it was a huge pain ugh. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I probably wouldn’t What color looks good on you? I honestly have no idea Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? UM NO.  I wouldn’t last!  My husband on the other hand, would do that easily (he has hot sauce with everything)

What is in your left pocket? I don’t have pockets on my clothes right now Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house? Carpet in the bedrooms, hardwood everywhere else.

Could you live with roommates? Not anymore, I need my own space How many pairs of flip flops do you own? Maybe like 3 or 4 pairs?

Last time you had a run-in with the cops? I got pulled over a couple years ago, and thats really it.

Who is number 1 on your top friends? I dont’ have a top friends?  Isn’t that from MySpace? but my husband probably Last friend you talked to? J texted us last night to let us know they made it back to their place safely (its an 8 hour drive back up to GA!) Last person who called you? My mom on Saturday

[misunderstood-shadows]

The Hunteress: Chapter 5

Warnings: None Word Count: 1856 About: Sequel to Goodbye, I Love You and The Ripper. Alessandra is back hunting with the Winchesters. Something is sparking between her and Sam, but when a new threat threatens the Mikaelson’s she is drawn back into a world she is desperately trying to escape. Edited/Beta-ed: No

Series Masterlist

Sam and Dean stood near the door, both their eyes darting between Elijah and I.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I growled. I was starving, but my fury was overtaking my need to feed. “You should’ve told me the second you knew Mikael and Esther had returned.”

Elijah did not blink. He was stood in the middle of the room, commanding the space in his usual fashion, hand in pocket. “I am here now.”

I rolled my eyes. “A call would’ve sufficed.”

I heard Sam’s rapid heartbeat, and dared a look at him. From the moment I woke, he hadn’t spoken to me. I could sense something was wrong, but Elijah had been too intent on pulling me away from the Winchesters to allow me a moment alone with him.

Now Sam stood, beside his brother, isolated from me. He caught my eye, and managed a small smile. I didn’t want to return to New Orleans with Elijah. I had just escaped, I was on my way to being happy with Sam, and Dean was beginning to accept me.

“You should go.” Dean was set. “Sammy and I can cover our end. If you come back, we can pick up.”

“Of course, I am coming back,” I said softly. I looked between the brothers. “I’ll come back.”

I could see in their eyes that they didn’t believe me.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The Bentley rumbled soothingly beneath us, the scenery outside the window flying by.

“The boy Sam seemed awfully attached to you.”

“I not partaking in meaningless conversation with you, Elijah.”

“This will be an awfully long ride if you refuse to speak.”

“Then I guess that it’s going to be an awfully long ride.”

I kicked off my boots, resting my socked feet on the dash. There was silence, only broken by the sound of the tyres on the highway. I closed my eyes, focussing solely on the sound. The slight chances in frequency, imperfections in the road, even the sound of the engine. Anything to get my mind off the impending sense of dread.

“You should know, Esther is offering a deal.”

I hummed. “What? What more can she do to us?”

“She’s offering to make us mortal. To place us in human bodies, so that we might be purified of the monsters we have become.”

I didn’t answer.

“Alessandra.” Elijah’s voice was soft.

Don’t let him in.

I didn’t answer.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I could smell wolf from outside. Elijah threw the car roughly into park, then got out, leaving me to follow.

“Brother! Niklaus!” he hollered.

I wince, following him through the entrance. A crowd of men and women, the remains of the Crescent pack, milled around, looking unsettled, despite the fact that their scent had permeated every inch of the place.

“You do realize that literally everyone in here has supernatural hearing, right?” Hayley said, irritated. I hummed in agreement, drifting off towards the kitchen but still listening to their conversation.

“Where is my brother?” Elijah asked without answering. The kitchen was mercifully clear, and an I dumped my backpack on the counter before making my way to the fridge.

“I'll check his calendar... Wait, no. Not his wife, so...”

“Hayley, this city is under siege by an army of beasts following my deranged mother's every command. Now, considering it was your people who just declared war on my kind, now's not the best time for your particular brand of sass.”

“Klaus left a while ago. If you want to find him, I can't help you. If only there was a magical device that people used to call people? I don't know, I'm out of ideas. Good luck.”

There was a loud bang, and the sound of laughter echoed in from outside. 

Nobody does Halloween like New Orleans.

The fridge was stocked with blood, as usual, along with a selection of meats and fresh produce. For what seemed like the first time in 1000 years, I wondered what it would be like to eat a normal meal, and actually be able to enjoy it. Yes, I could make myself a steak whenever I wished, but it tasted bland and un-filling.

“Alessandra,” Elijah’s was cool behind me.

“Yes, Elijah?” I asked, not turning from the fridge.

“We are going to Marcel’s. The wolves left a message last night. The time for idleness has passed. Leaving now.”

I sighed, closing the door. “Right behind you.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I could tell from the layer of dust that the Audi needed a good run.

“Can I drive?”

Elijah glanced at me, at the car, then back at me. “Not. A. Scratch.” He threw me the keys and I smiled.

We drove slowly through the crowded streets, dodging day-drunk tourists. 

Once we reached the main highway across the river, I opened up the engine, letting it roar beneath me. Dean swore by vintage muscle, but I was definitely more partial to a good quality sports car.

“What exactly is your plan?”

Elijah looked over the water as we passed over the bridge. “Marcel said that every vampire that exists today is an extension of our family. Each one is connected to us through blood. They may be the only allies we have that won’t turn on us once this wretched war with the witches is won.”

“So you’re going to teach them?” I couldn’t imagine Elijah, in his pristine suit, teaching a group of baby vamps with Marcel.

“We, Alessandra. We are going to teach them.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I could hear them arguing from down here. I sighed, closing the car door a little harder than necessary.

“We don't wanna run,” a woman said.

“I know, and I respect that. But, believe me, there's a big difference between wanting to fight and knowing how to win,” Marcel replied. True enough, but then theoretically knowing how to win, and actually being able to keep your head on in the middle of a battle was also very different.

“So, show us! You've kicked their ass before, I'm guessing you didn't do it alone.”

I followed Elijah up the stairs. I knew from the tilt of his head that he too was listening.

“Umm, yeah, not that I don't dig the whole Karate Kid vibe that we got going on here,” I recognised Josh’s voice. Good to know he was still alive. “But-- how are we supposed to learn to defend ourselves from an army of super-wolves in, like, one day?

The door to Marcels apartment came into sight and Elijah disappeared from my side. I heard the distinctive sound of two bodies dropping to the floor.

“Lesson one.” I could hear the smugness in his voice. “Always be on your guard.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Marcel was speaking to Elijah in the corner while I waited for the two temporarily dead vampires to wake up. I crouched over one, turning his face towards me. young, barely an adult. Did he realise just how long eternity was going to be? Or that he would probably die some horrible, agonising way? Elijah’s charge, Gia, was watching me suspiciously. “So, you’re an Original, too?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“But you’re not a Mikaelson?”

I shook my head. “Just a family friend.”

“What, you just got caught up in their family drama a thousand years ago?” She gave an awkward half-laugh.

“Something like that.” These god-damned vampires are still not waking up. 

“When was the last time you all fed? This is taking far longer than it should.” I saw Gia shrug out of the corner of her eye. “We’ve had to be careful, even over here. The wolves have been crossing the river. Someone got bit just last week a couple blocks over.”

“That’ll have to change. You can fight if you’re not at full strength. Is there a blood bank nearby?” Gia nodded and I stood.

Marcel and Elijah both turned as I approached, ending their conversation.

“They need blood. Apparently, there is a blood bank nearby. I’ll go get supplies and then return here. They’ll need strength to fight.”

Elijah nodded and I turned leaving.

“What’s up with her?” I heard Marcel asked.

I didn’t listen to Elijah’s reply.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The blood bank was barely staffed. A single receptionist greeted me at the door. She was half asleep and a completed solitaire game reflected in her glasses from her computer screen. I was directed, but not escorted to the donation room. I merely ducked into the STAFF ONLY section and made my way to where the bags were stored.

I snagged a bag from a staff members desk, emptying the content onto the floor and then filling it. I sped out so the receptionist didn’t see me.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Elijah, Marcel and I watched as the vampires each tore into the blood bags, draining them and moving onto the next until all the bags were gone. They growled at each other, snatching bags from each other, snarls and growls filling the air.

“Enough!” Marcel roared the minute the last bag disappeared. “Look at yourself! You are out of control. You need to work together if we are win this. Help each other.”

The vampires looked at each other, some looking ashamed, some horrified. Welcome to the world of the shared feed.

“Everyone is to follow me and Tallie,” Marcel directed. “There’s an empty lot outback that we’ll use.”

Single file, calm and sated with the feed, the baby vamps made their way downstairs, tailed by Marcel, Elijah and I. Once outside, they formed a semi-circle each looking expectantly at us.

I stepped forwards.

“Who’s done any sort of fighting? Boxing, martial arts?”

A few men raised their hands confidently, grinning at each other.

I gestured for them to step forward and they did, all smiling smugly at me.

“I don’t want to hurt you, little lady,” one said.

I heard Marcel and Elijah step back behind me.

The other two vamps circled behind me. I watched the one in front of me; his eyes darted between the men behind me, then his right foot slid forward. I ducked a sloppy punch, spinning out and sending the other two crashing into each other.

In less than a second, I was ten metres away. “The wolves will not stand around and wait for you to attack! you need to move. Push off with everything you have. You are vampires. You will not tire. Do not half-ass your attack.”

And then the lesson began. Elijah gestured to Gia, and she followed him back inside for private training while Marcel and I took the rest of the group. They were sloppy and hasty in their attacks, Marcel and I easy dodged them.

“Again!” Marcel shouted.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I smelt wolf before I saw Hayley and a man approach. I glanced

She nodded at me, but didn’t stop, leading the man upstairs. I left Marcel and walked off to the side, where I would be able to hear.

“We need to talk,” she said.

There was a slight scuffled, then Hayley said, “We're not here for a fight. Just hear him out.”

“Speak. I suggest you be succinct,” Elijah said, sounding tightly restrained.

“Please,” said the man. “I need your help.”

[grandtheftstarship]

Way Out There (Leonard McCoy x Reader) [Songfic]

A/n: So this started off really small for the song and then it ended up going nearly 1000 words on after the song ends... oops. You don’t really need to listen, the lyrics just relate to the idea of the fic and are written in, but Lord Huron is a bop and I really recommend it :) If you want to play the song, start the music at the bolded sentence. 

Summary: [y/n] finds out that the Enterprise crashed on Altimid and rushes to save Leonard, her boyfriend.

Word Count: 2226 Warnings: none :) Posted: Tumblr, Wattpad Requested: no

Link to Way out there by Lord Huron.

U.S.S Enterprise Missing.

The headline mocked you, grinning evilly from the page. Your eyes brimmed with tears, one person on your mind.

Leonard.

He was on the damn ship, and if you weren't recovering from Andorian Fever you would be too. Your chest tightened with grief at first, then loneliness then anger.

You readjusted your heading, now walking briskly towards Starfleet headquarters instead of the local Starfleet medical center. You knew Commodore Paris personally, she was a family friend, so hopefully, you could get in quickly and easily.

"Lieutenant {y/f/n] to see Commodore Paris," you told the receptionist, rapping your fingernails on the marble countertop.

"She's in a briefing, but they will be on break in a few minutes," she nodded at you, returning to her computer.

You thanked her and paced lightly in the adjacent waiting room. Five agonizing minutes later, the Commodore and several other Starfleet officials left the room, heading for the small cafe across the street. You rushed to her side, greeting her quickly.

"Do you have any information regarding the Enterprise?" you asked hastily. "Do you know who attacked them?"

"Nothing yet," she replied. "Do you have someone out there?"

You sighed looking down. "Yes. My boyfriend, Doctor Leonard McCoy."

"I see," she patted your shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," you returned, fire burning in your eyes. "Commodore, I'm requesting a ship to go after them."

"Are you crazy?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "I'm not letting anyone out there until we can confirm a safe way through the nebula."

"But Ma'am-"

"No, [y/n]," she said firmly. "Your request is denied. It's not safe."

The commanding officers returning to the briefing room caught her attention.

"I have to go now," sympathy softened her face. "I'm sorry."

She removed her hand and walked back towards the open door. You looked on after her, the heavy feeling of defeat settling in your chest.

Then a crazy idea hit you. An idea so insane, it fell into Jim Kirk crazy. And it could 100% get you fired.

I'm a long way from the land that I left

I've been running through life and cruising toward death  

If you think that I'm scared you've got me wrong

If you don't know my name, you'll know it now

I belong bodily to the earth

I'm just wearing old bones from those that came first

There are many more flames when mine is gone

They will build me no shrines and sing me no songs

Upon leaving the now empty waiting room, you made your way hastily towards the shipyard. You knew that there were a few small scout ships that were manned by one pilot. Filled with a newfound determination, you knew you would do anything to save your boyfriend. You swiped your keycard at the entrance. It was late and you didn't have much time before officers working there noticed a stray engineer attempting a case of "Grand Theft Starship". You tiptoed on board one of the survey vessels, shutting the door and getting straight to it.

I'm a long way from the one that I love

I've been tending old flames, lamenting what was

Drifting in a land time forgot

If you think that I've changed, you know me not

I belong bodily to the earth

I'm just wearing old bones from those that came first

I been unraveling since my birth

Gonna wander out there and see what I'm worth

Find me way out there

There's no road that will lead us back

When you follow the strange trails

They will take you who knows where

If I found a way to stay with you tonight

It would only make me late, for a date I can't escape

The vessel hummed to life, panic spiking through your core. You worked quickly, getting systems online like there was no tomorrow. As you engaged the thrusters, you began hearing the confused shouts of Starfleet officers trying to get you to land. Once you finally left the atmosphere, you cursed Bones and his stupid job. Rescuing his ass was so going to get you fired, and when you found him you were going to give him a piece of your mind. You were able to reprogram the maneuvering capabilities of the small vessel so you could get through the nebula unscathed. At warp three, you carried on.

Navigating through the nebula was one of the hardest things you had ever done. You managed to get through with only small damage to the hull, but your victory was short-lived. You eased the craft out of the cloud, jaw hitting the floor.

Find me way out there

There's no road that will lead us back

When you follow the strange trails

They will take you who knows where

If I found a way to stay with you tonight

It would only make me late, for a date I can't escape

Two nessels were floating aimlessly in front of you, the destroyed body of the ship not far from them. Tears brimmed your eyes as the saucer was nowhere to be found. You were distracted from your astonishment by the small beep of your sensor.

You couldn't believe your eyes. Your scan of the planet below showed you three groups of life forms. One was large, seventy-five to one-hundred or so life signs, while the other two were much smaller. You decided on landing near the group of four, praying the small dots on the screen were your friends and crewmembers.

"Keptin!" Chekov shouted, scrambling over the rocks towards Jim, Scotty, and Jaylah. "There's a scout ship heading straight for us."

He slowed down to catch his breath, having caught the captain's attention. "It's federation, sir."

"Are you sure?" he asked, moving towards Chekov and his tricorder.

"Yes sir," he replied, pointing to the small figure on his tricorder. "I am picking up Starfleet frequencies."

The low hum of your thrusters and the low crackle of you entering the atmosphere drew the group's attention from the small device. You maneuvered the stout vessel to a bare plot of land not far from them, landing softly on the patch of rock. Jim led his miniature crew towards your stolen ship, all anxiously waiting for the metal hatch to open and reveal who was behind the sudden change in dynamics.

The door thudded open whilst you finished shutting down the power to save the small amount of fuel you had left in case you needed it. You nearly threw yourself out of your chair when you finished, anxious to see who was outside.

"[y/f/n]?" Chekov gasped, rushing to the front of the small pack. "Боже мой, это действительно ты!" (Oh my god, it's really you!)

He rushed forward, nearly tripping on loose stones, and tackled you in a hug. Pavel was your best friend, besides Bones of course.

"How are you doing? How did you get here? Are you okay- are you still sick? You should be recovering-"

"Slow down!" you laughed, nudging his shoulder slightly. "I'll explain everything, but you have some things to tell me too, mister."

"Okay, so here's what went down," he began, already waving his arms around enthusiastically. "Basically, I was expertly navigating through this nebula when these teeny little ships caught my attention-"

You smiled at the captain, waving slightly as Pavel babbled on about the attack while leading you across the jagged terrain.

"That would explain the torn up ship floating about up there," you nodded towards the sky. "Thank god this planet is class M. I can't even think about how horribly worse this could have gone if you had crashed on a planet full of toxic gas or something."

"It is already quite a terrible situation," he followed your eyes up into the wispy clouds. They reminded you of those on Earth. "I mean, the attackers took all the crew members that managed to get into their Kelvin Pods. If I had used mine any earlier, I would have been taken as well."

You shuddered at the thought.

"Who are you?" an unknown voice spat from behind you, the hostility dripping from the spoken words catching you off guard.

"This right here is [y/f/n] [y/l/n]," Scotty clapped you on the shoulder. "The best assistant chief engineer one could ask for."

"Aw, shucks," you punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I try."

"[y/n], this is Jaylah," Scotty gestured to the white-faced alien, looking a little ruffled. You waved.

"Is this another one of your mates?" she asked, a little less harshly. Scotty nodded.

"You betcha."

By now, your little group had reached Jaylah's house. They explained to you how it got there, how Jaylah found it, and why nobody else had stumbled across it.

You brushed your fingers over the ancient technology. "Wow."

"There's not even a sickbay?"

Jim shook his head. "Nope. Bones would be pissed."

You giggled. "Speaking of, where is he?"

You knew instantly something was wrong.

"Jim," panic rose in your chest. "Where is he?"

He avoided your eyes.

"H-He's fine, right?"

"We don't know where Bones or Spock are," Jim said finally. "They were in the turbolift when the saucer was separated."

"We will find him, [y/n/n]," Chekov patted you on the shoulder. "Somehow, one way or another, we will find him."

You, Chekov, and Scotty worked for the next several hours to reprogram the transporter modules to allow a person to be beamed aboard.

"Done!" you called from underneath the transporter pad, a low hum of electricity proving your statement.

"Ура!"(Hooray!) Pavel cheered.

"Well done, lass," Scotty congratulated you as he helped pull you out.

"It was nothing," you replied, brushing yourself off. "I mean, you guys helped too."

Pavel interjected before Scotty could respond. "Hold on, I'm reading some... life signs?"

You and Scotty hurried to the panel he was looking at, and sure enough, two life signs blinked back at you.

"Beam them," Scotty muttered.

You turned to him. "What?"

"We can beam them here!"

"But what if they're hostile?" Chekov asked, fear flashing through his eyes.

"Then we'll... beam them back?"

"Wait, there are more coming!" you pointed back to the screen.

"What if they're crew members?"

"That wouldn't make sense, lad!"

When the two of them started arguing, more signs of life began appearing.

"What the hell," you murmured, locking on to one of the signals. The transport sounded a bit more static-y than you were used to but as you and the boys turned towards the pad, a familiar face greeted you.

"Lieutenant [y/l/n]?"

"Spock?"

Before you could hug him (even if he protested), he hobbled off the pad as urgently as he could.

"You must beam the doctor out of there."

Without missing a beat, you thrust yourself back at the panel and locked on.

Once the strange noise faded, you felt your stomach drop in relief.

"It feels like my innards have been to a barn dance," Leonard said, looking a bit green.

"These old transporters were mainly used for cargo, but a bit of maintenance did the trick," Scotty explained, slapping him on the shoulder. "Sorry, we had to beam you one at a time, to avoid being... misplaced."

"I couldn't imagine a worse scenario," Bones looked around the room before letting his eyes fall on your worried-slash-relieved complexion.

Your legs moved on their own accord, propelling you into Leonard's waiting arms. He held you so tight you weren't sure how much longer you could breathe.

Suddenly, he pushed you out of his arms, brows furrowed in a grimace.

"What the hell, [y/n], you're supposed to be recovering!"

His face melted back into worry and he pulled you back into his embrace.

"I'm so happy to see you, love."

You giggled. "I'm so happy you're safe."

He then, more gently this time, released you from the hug and grabbed your hands.

"I'm still mad at you for trekking all the way to this goddamn planet," he scolded, wearing worried and frustrated expressions simultaneously. "Thank god you weren't on the ship or I'm pretty sure I would have died from a damn heart attack."

"I'm fine, you big silly," you reassured him. "But, I'm pretty sure Spock isn't."

His face paled. "Shit."

He placed a quick, chaste kiss on your lips before rushing off to treat his patient.

You smiled sweetly as he rushed off, simply ecstatic he was alive and well.

[thisnerdsadventures]

the last two weeks

Just two weeks ago, my friends and I went out to Yamato’s for the first time. 

It was sponsored by our dorm, so we racked up a nearly $1000 bill. We had a great time, but the end of our brunch came, and a few of us took a walk to the common for a Bernie rally, and the others went to the BPL to study. Afterwards, we all wound back on campus, and went about our Saturday doing the usual psetting. The current source of stress was the cup of grapes situation that spiraled wildly out of control, but in hindsight, it seems so inconsequential now. Eleven days ago, my friend and I went to Harvard for the day to decompress from everything. It was a beautiful day - the sun was out, we were wearing our light jackets. We went for ramen for lunch, shopped at a shoe store, and searched hopelessly for hand sanitizer. I had promised to work on my UROP but felt I deserved a day off, as I had been working tirelessly for a while. We walked around, taking it all in, I talked about how I was excited for our dinner on Friday and going to Michigan later in April for a conference. It looked like things might get better. The next day, the rumbling started. Harvard sent an email forbidding international travel. We had heard of the situation intensifying in Italy, but we were still nervously waiting to see what would happen. There were crisis-related rumblings on top of the usual school stress and all the things that had not gone well this semester, and just like that, the next day, MIT took it a step further and cancelled all large major events and banned international travel.

This was the first shock. Just earlier that day, I argued with my friend about her decision to back out of our spring break Spain trip due to coronavirus concerns. But now, five hours later, I sat on the ground in my friend's room as the shock passed over me. Every group chat was nonstop. What about CPW? What about Senior Ball? What about Springfest? Our spring break plans were definitely in the gutter now. Every question sent chills and dread down my spine. I heard someone ask whether commencement would still happen, and I cracked, not being able to face this eventuality that I prayed wouldn't happen. The rest of the day was gone, lost to the questions and stress and emails that ensued from this notification. But there were still personal conflicts. Personal problems, academic stress bubbling up to the surface for weeks, and it was coming to a head. Our dinner just over a week ago nearly didn't happen, but luckily a few of us still went to Harvard for a wonderful time. Our conversations surrounded how Harvard followed our footsteps just a day later on cancelling major events and how changes were so drastic. We contemplated whether the policy would be extended and whether our summer plans would be affected, but decided that that was too far in the future to worry about. So we ran across Harvard in the 30 degree night, snow falling from the sky, enjoying our time, not knowing what was to come. I spent what would be the last weekend preparing for a case. I prepped nonstop and thought I did really well on it in class, just this past Monday. It was a beautiful Monday, we biked to Panda Express with nothing but light jackets and we wished that every day could be like that, feeling like summer had come early in Boston. The situation outside was worsening, and we were watching closely to see what would happen. My friends from LA were trying to convince me to go to San Diego with them for a couple days now that my Spain trip was definitely cancelled. Over Twitter, we found out Princeton closed first, demanding it's undergraduates not come back from break, but i went to bed that Monday early, to prepare for a full day of research to come Tuesday, as my Tuesdays usually go, unblocked to make progress on my research. When I woke up Tuesday, there was something wrong. I knew from the blast of notifications from every group chat on every social media account I owned. My Harvard chat was 100+ messages deep by 9:30am from their closure and eviction of undergraduate students. I sat up immediately in bed and opened the other group chats, trembling. Another group of my friends were already organizing storage and coordinating travel ideas in the case that we would also be following suit after Harvard. 

I dashed to my computer to access all the other texts and call my dad, who was still awake in Taiwan. He told me to calm down and to wait. But just 30 minutes later, a screenshot leaked, confirming our worst fears - we would also be leaving campus in just a week, moving out for the semester. all classes would be online. My stomach dropped. In my attendance-based class, 2/3 of the class was present, and most were on their phone, checking for updates. We all anxiously waited the rumored 1pm email that would make it official. Everyone knew at this point, and seniors were feeling it all now, the shock, the grief, the celebration already of 4 years on campus. My friends and I cracked open a bottle of wine and took pictures on Killian with the hundreds of other students partying until 5pm. At 5pm though, the email released. It was official. All undergraduates were to move out in a week.

My floor exploded - flights frantically booked. What about storage? I called my mom and she was on it - Sunday afternoon flight booked, same one as my friend. And there was nothing to do except stare out the window of my friends room into the Boston skyline and finish off my wine bottle. And like many of my graduating peers, I realized that my senior year was done, and that I had not even a week to say goodbye to my home and to my friends. I started sobbing, nonstop. I hadn't cried like this since high school. My head of house started up a video call to the whole dorm, and hearing them talk logistics made me cry harder, and when I thought I stopped, I checked my phone and found an email from my professor berating the administration and acknowledging our irreplaceable loss. I cried again, harder. would commencement happen? Even if it did, my dad wouldn't be able to fly into the country. I continued to sob at the thought. After two hours, I eventually found my way to my friends bed where I fell asleep next to her until dinner, and with my eyes no longer swollen from tears, I wandered down to the dining hall with them. We saw other seniors, who had also been crying, judging from the redness in their eyes and cracks in their voices. The pain felt numb for me at this point. My friends stuck around for a bit, and we played some video games. No one on the floor was working, as we all had too much going on in our heads. The house team worked tirelessly to organize storage, and few of us slept that night. We stayed up chatting in the lobby about our families and going home and afterwards lied in our beds, sleepless, staring at the ceiling. The next day, I had just one class to go to, as large classes had been cancelled already. The campus was buzzing with yesterday's events. And in that class, we said our parting goodbyes, and many of us teared up yet again. But we laughed so hard too in that class, as we shared stories from our case just two days ago and for a moment, we forgot our pain. We took a class photo before we parted ways. After class, we lined up for an hour, each and every student, to personally thank our professor. 

My senior friends and I shared many meals together, and we parted, saying we'd see each other once again before we left. I watched my best friend take her swim test and watched as giant friend groups of other seniors came and cheered on their friends, fulfilling their last graduation requirement. To watch everyone support each other in these trying times brought warmth to my heart. I went home and ate dinner with my floor family, as we sat on the windowsills and drank boba and ate grilled cheeses. I was exhausted though, so I planned to go to bed at midnight, but I received a message from my best friend - she no longer was leaving on Monday, she was leaving in just eight hours.

I ran to maseeh and helped her pack until 5am. We packed up her curtains and I held her as she cried because she thought her parents were going to help her pack up her last year, just as they helped her screw in her curtains at the beginning of the year. I helped her store her stuff in the student center and we threw out bounties of trash and food. After I left, I knew with a sinking feeling that I wouldn't see her again for a while. And she cried a few more times and left early Thursday morning. When I woke up, she was gone. So I started cleaning and packing. The first boxes arrived in the green living room. In cleaning out my room, I found stuff from my first days of freshman year, my 8.02 exams, my chemistry notes, old electronics projects hidden away in boxes. And it was finally the end of my road, and so it was time to say goodbye to them. I spent so long mindlessly throwing stuff out, I had forgotten to leave McCormick until I finally went down to the lobby to hang out. And I hung out there for two hours, talking to everyone and anyone. I did a boba order for the ballerz, and my floor did yet another free dinner, so we once again ate together, laughing over the copious amount of free food on the kitchen table. Five or six of us returned to chatting and laughing about studying at home with family around in someone's room. A friend of mine invited us over to play Smash at BC, so we went and played a couple rounds. We returned to slowly packing until 11pm.

Things had been looking ok, as my dorm had dropped large amounts of money in buying everyone nice food. But when everyone received the emergency message from MIT telling us to leave by Sunday instead of Tuesday on Thursday night, the dorm exploded. Group chats started going off endlessly, with rumors of students already being sick or being quarantined on campus. I ran to my friends room, where she was already on the phone with her family, rebooking her flight for Saturday. "Just two days?" I thought to myself. "Not even two days I have left now with her and everyone and this home." She hung up the phone and started spilling rumors of Boston Logan closing on Monday. I melted to the floor, having a full panic attack. The dorm’s chat, another dorm’s chat, and every friend group chat started inciting even more fear and panic with each additional rumor. My ears were buzzing and my vision was blurring as I continued sitting on the floor. GRAs were woken up and started doing rounds on each floor, even though it was well past midnight at this point, to check on all the residents, many of whom were gathered in clusters around the floor. I went downstairs to talk to my GRA when I received a text from my friend. Chills ran down my back - "California might shut down within 24-48 hours." I did the math. The flight I rescheduled to just an hour ago was in 45 hours on Saturday afternoon. I felt another panic attack creeping up on me, so I ran off to talk to my friend. I went back up to my floor, where people were still yelling in the kitchen. She was off to the side, frantically still talking on the phone. Once I had calmed down a bit, I pulled her aside and told her about these messages, and she confirmed them in another group chat, showing me essentially a screenshot of a screenshot of a message in an unnamed group hat. Speechless, I stood in the hallway with her facing me. I guess she didn't know what else to do but hug me and reassure me it would be ok, because we had hit the point of simply not knowing what to do but say "I'm so sorry" to each other, as if it would ease the pain. I stayed up till 4:30am packing. My other friend called me, imploring me to change my flight to Friday, just 12 hours from then. I asked her bluntly, acknowledging my lack of family around the country - "if I can't go home, where am I supposed to go?" She promised I could stay with her in Texas and I stared back in disbelief, that we would reach this point of possibility that we would have no place to go, but that people would be so nice to open their homes to others who simply had no other place to go. I stared at my hopelessly unpacked room, the half consumed cider on the desk, and my sheer exhaustion, which had been kept awake by adrenaline. I called my mom again, who I'm sure was also was sleepless and asked whether our neighbor had also changed her flight. She said she didn't know whether they were able to change it. The next morning, two people woke me up two different times. Early in the morning, I fought for laundry machines and finished up most of my packing. That afternoon, I hung out in the lobby with my friends again and screamed out the window on a beautiful day as we blasted BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY into the courtyard. My dorm had a senior sendoff, complete with a senior gift and confetti, and a walk to Pomp and Circumstance, which was touching, considering we might not get commencement at the end of the year. But having everyone there to celebrate our little community and watch us walk to receive our fake diplomas and take senior pictures meant a lot to me.

Shortly after, I went up to the penthouse to watch the sunset for the last time. I had watched so many sunsets on top of that rooftop, as it was my goto spot when things went wrong. And things had never quite gone so wrong as this time. I looked at Fenway, where I went to my first Red Sox game, and Prudential, where my favorite gelato place is, and over to the right where BU is, where my friends and I run along the Esplanade. Every building, I could pin a memory. I watched the cars run down the bridge, where my friend and I pulled an all-nighter and watched the most beautiful sunrise. I watched the river slowly churn along and thought about how much I would miss seeing this every day. To think that just two weeks ago we had been yelling at each other about taking grapes out of the dining hall, that we were angry at each other for doing A or not doing B or saying C, all these problems were so inconsequential now. When you have just a few days left with the people you love, you remember that being around them and laughing and smiling with them is the most important thing, bottom line. I wrote letters to my friends to thank them for being them and sealed them into envelopes for the next day, and returned downstairs to store my stuff in the storage pod and eat dinner. Afterwards, we lied on our bare mattresses and laughed until 2am. My friend returned from maseeh also late that night, her eyes red from saying goodbye to her senior friends. I said good night and see you tomorrow, for what would be the last time for a while. That last morning, I said goodbye to so many people. It didn't really feel like goodbye, or maybe it hasn't set in yet. I watched my first friend leave in her Uber, and I hung out with my other friend until she left just an hour before me. And then it was my turn to leave, as I said goodbye to all the GRAs and my area director, promising I'd be back. And I took that one last walk out the front door. Halfway down the driveway, I took one last look back at the building I called home for four years, a place that had changed so much since I entered it four years ago, but has also changed me so much too. I thought about where I met my friends for the first time, the midnight piano in the GLR, the many nights spent talking until late night in 4 and 5 west. But the car was waiting, so I turned back to my ride to the airport, and I gave my friend one last hug and watched her wave as I drove away, down Memorial Drive, one last time.

[thelostcatpodcast]

THE LOST CAT PODCAST TRANSCRIPTS: SEASON 1: EPISODE 10: GHOST

SEASON 1: EPISODE 10: GHOST

Episode released 3rd October 2014

http://thelostcat.libsyn.com/episode-10-ghost

One night there came a knocking on my ceiling. There was a ghost in my house. And dear listener:  I must tell you what happened when I met it.

THE LOST CAT PODCAST, BY A P CLARKE. EPISODE 10: GHOST

There was a knocking on my ceiling. And a strange sense of otherness in the room. This took a while to notice as, what with owning a cat for so long, I can sleep through strange noises in the night and even things deciding – for reasons entirely of their own - to sit on my chest deep in the depths of the timeless dark.

There was a knocking, and  a presence. I felt it at first, what with my cat being lost for so long, as a sense of belonging.

Now this knocking was quiet and muffled as I strained to listen to it over the noise of the city, but once I noticed it, it was clear enough. Regular, repeating and, I swear, ever so slightly getting louder.

“Right then,” I said, and went to the room directly above me. But there was no-one in. all my house-mates were out. I turned on all the lights and looked in all the cupboards. The upstairs was deserted.

I returned to my room and there again was the knocking ever so slightly louder and, I swear, more rapid than before.

I checked my phone and I found I had signal on it, so I phoned a friend, who told me it was late and that I shouldn’t bother them.

“It’s nothing,” they said. “I’m certain.”

“But the knocking is getting louder.”

“Go to sleep,” they said, and hung up.

Was I really going to phone the police over a banging on the ceiling?

I banged on the wall with some frustration.

“Oh knock knock yourself!” I said.

And then…the knocking moved.

I stood up, moved my chair, and then stood on it, craning my ear at where I thought the knocking was coming from. I realised that, with my ear up to the ceiling, in between the knockings there was a hum. There was detail here. There was information. As the knocking moved slowly from the back wall to the centre of the house, I recorded it with a microphone.

I fired up my computer, put the audio file into my software, turned the volume way up and yes, the hum warped and moaned like thick liquid. It did have a pattern. It was deliberate. It was communication.

I regrouped, and restated what I knew:

There was a noise being made in my empty house. It was being made by someone. The noise was getting louder. The noise was getting faster. Soon it would be loud and fast enough to be heard clearly in my room. The solution presented itself quite clearly.

With my hands pressed against my headphones, I turned up the volume 1000%, and I sped the recording up one hundred times. In this way, I looked into the future. With my hands pressed up against my headphones, this is what I heard:

“I am dead. I am dead.”

Over and over, always the same thing.

“I am dead.”

I snatched off the headphones and threw them from me. I turned off the software. I turned off my computer. But in the silence of the room, I could now hear the hum clearly between the knocks, getting louder and getting quicker.

Now you may ask, dear listener, why I didn’t leave. Well, months of searching for my cat had instilled certain enthusiasms in me. Maybe I could find this ghost?

The voice said:

“I am dead…help me.”

I phoned my friend again.

“What?”

“I have a ghost in my house,” and I explained to him what happened.

“Well then: talk to it you doofus.”

“How would I do that?”

“Doofus. How did you hear its messages?”

“Oh. Yeah,” I said.

I recorded myself and then slowed it down 100x so that the ghost could understand me. I listened to the voice again.

“I am dead. Help me.”

And I said: “Who are you?”

“I am lost.”

“I am sorry. But I can hear you. Please keep talking.”

“Thank you. You are kind. Can you help me?”

“I want to help you. What is your problem?”

“I am dead. I died alone, and no one found me. I do not know where I am.”

“How can I help though?”

“It is so nice to hear a voice. Keep talking so that I may find you. When I find you I will not be lost. And then I can tell you my story. Please…let me tell you my story?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Thank you. I will tell you my story. I will tell you when I find you.”

So I waited for the ghost to build up its strength, and perhaps its confidence, opened a bottle, and had a nice glass of wine…

<music begins: Lost, written and performed by A P Clarke>

Oh Lord won’t you help me find my way

I’m lost as in a deep forest

With no stars to guide me, no moon to light my way

Oh Lord won’t you help me find my way

for i’m lost, lost, lost.

I know i’m not as bad as some

I still have food on my table

and a bed at night, friends to keep me right

I know i’m not as bad as some

but i’m lost, lost, lost

Deep in the heart of these dark, dark woods

there’s nobody here by me

and the one who blinds me, who hides the paths and binds me

Now deep in the heart of these dark, dark woods,

there’s nobody here but me.

Oh Lord won’t you help me find my way

I’m lost as in a deep forest

With no stars to guide me, no moon to light my way

Oh Lord won’t you help me find my way

for i’m lost, lost, lost.

Lost, lost, lost.

We had a good long chat, me and the ghost. She seemed nice if, understandably, very sad.

“I had a dog, not a cat,” she said. “It died, but that is OK. It is what dogs do.”

Very soon I was only having to speed up my voice around 50 times. The ghost would be here soon. I did the sums and they said we would achieve syncronisation in roughly 15 minutes. My friend phoned back:

“Well?”

“I’m talking to her now.”

“Told you! Where is she?”

“Well I don’t know yet.”

He sighed. “Right, look: How many microphones have you got in your house?”

“I dunno, four maybe.”

“Coz maybe you can triangulate…”

“Oh my god! I can find her!

“There we go.”

With my friend’s help I hooked up my phone to display the rough direction of the signal. My friend said he was certain it would work and, to be fair, it seemed to. Using the phone as a translator as well I went out in to the house to look for the ghost.

“So, what have you been speaking about?”

“Well, we’ve spoken about how she feels, and about my cat.”

“Oh come on, this is so typical of you. This is a ghost! A genuine connection to another plane of existence. We can get so much primary research here!”

“OK, I promise. You ask the questions, and  i’ll pass them on. OK?”

I tried all about the ground floor, but the signal was definitely taking me upwards. I started up the stairs.

“Hello? Hello? Are you there?”

“You can call me Emily.”

“Hello Emily.”

“I am so happy to be talking to you. Thank you so much. What are you doing right now?”

“I am walking through the house.”

“I used to love running through the house when I was young. It was so rare that I was allowed to, because the house was so full.”

My friend said: “I’ve heard that ghosts are really just electromagnetic recordings of traumatic or heavily repeated actions. What do you think about that?”

“Did you hear that, Emily? What do you think?”

“I think your friend is being silly.”

“I don’t think recordings can have conversations,” I said to my friend.

“Alright, fair enough.”

On the empty upstairs landing, the signal was still taking me upwards, so I moved the dusty ladder and climbed towards the trap door attic.

“I did love it so when the house was empty, and I could be alone. I had five sisters, you see, so it was hard. Often I would find places to hide, so I could be alone. I found all sorts of places.”

“OK, next one,” said my friend. “the research is unanimous on ghosts having a special connection to cats, which is why cats are so often see as the heralds of the supernatural. Right, got a good feeling about this one.”

I could hear Emily sigh. “I am afraid of cats. I have been silent until now because of your cat. It’s a nasty one too.”

“Yes,” I said. “Yes, it is.”

Up in the attic it was dark, and cold and thick with dust. But the signal was getting stronger, and was leading me to the back of the house. I climbed over golf sets and rocking horses. I inched myself around boxes around precarious stacks of chairs whose legs threw jagging shadows upon the inside of the roof from the light in my phone.

“I feel you are getting close.”

“I’m coming,” I said.

I had to crawl beneath a wardrobe and, on the other side was the flume of the chimney, running up the brickwork of the back wall.

“OK, OK, I’ve got a site up that says ghosts are actually souls trapped in parallel universes, stuck in quantum shifts. If you can help them, you can bring them back into phase with this universe.”

“No, I am dead. I am pretty sure of that”

“Your internet is pretty dumb,” I said.

My friend swore.

“I’m sorry?”

“Nothing, do not worry. Please, keep going.”

“I feel I will be with you soon. I am so very excited. It has been so long and I can tell you my story.”

“I look forwards to it.”

I moved the light of the phone about and, In between the flume and the wall was a gap. There was a crawlspace. I hunkered down, and climbed in.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Just keep talking.”

“I found one hiding place so special no-one ever found me there. I used to love hiding there.”

In the pitch black I inched forward. Wall rivets stuck out from the brickwork. The wall bulged in at one point, half collapsed, blocking off the space.

I asked my friend: “Anything else?”

“You’re breaking up.”

“Any other questions?” I asked.

“Yeah, look, I found one site. It says that if a ghost tells you how it died, you die yourself, and it is released.”

“That sounds daft,” I said.

“Yeah, what can I tell you.”

I lifted myself up on my tiptoes to see if I could see over the blockage in the crawlspace, snagging myself on one of the rusted screws. I was sure I could see something pale in the darkness ahead of me, beyond the collapsed wall. But then the floorboards creaked in weakness beneath me and I had to drop down.

“Well, Emily,” I asked. “How silly is that idea?”

“I am so excited to be meeting you,” she said. “I want to tell you what happened when I hid in my hiding place.”

“Emily tell me, is that nonsense?”

“I want to tell you my story.”

“Emily, tell me that isn’t true.”

“I am dead…and you can help me”

“Mate, I am running towards you right now. I am five minutes away. How long is left on the counter?”

I checked the phone as I freed myself from the crawlspace. It read 150 seconds.

“I am so close. I can almost feel you.”

I pushed the wardrobe out of the way and toppled chairs everywhere. I ran towards the light of the trap door but got tangled in the rocking chair and fell forwards. I put my hands out but one caught a nail and recoiled. I collapsed and fell through the trapdoor, landing on the side of my ankle.

I think I screamed but could not hear it over the hum now huge and heavy in the air.

“I am so happy. I want to tell you my story.”

I crawled down the stairs, trying to reach the door. Hand over bloody hand I made it to the ground floor, propped myself up on the bannister and then my phone beeped to say the countdown had reached zero.

And I saw a young lady appear before me, dim and vague like the edge of your vision. The phone to my side was shouting at me but I could barely hear it over the hum. She walked towards me and spoke to me, and I put my head down and put my hands over my ears.

And all of this because I lost my cat. All those adventures taken and people met: imagine it all coming to this.

She came right up next to me, hugged me and told me her story:

“I hid in the gap between the walls and the chimney, but I slipped and the wall collapsed around me.  screws in the wall went in to me and so every movement was an agony. The bricks would not budge, no matter what I did. I shouted for a day, until my voice was gone. I scratched at the walls until my fingers were gone. I smashed my head against the brick until my eyes were gone. I cried until I was dry. And finally my legs gave out and I collapsed. The screws went deep into me and pierced my heart. I moved no more, and there I stay… and this is how I died.”

The ghost had done it. She had told me how she died. And she would be released, and I would die in her place.

Now you are probably wondering, dear listener, how exactly did I escape? I didn’t. I am dead.

And now, so are you.

THIS HAS BEEN EPISODE 10 OF THE LOST CAT PODCAST, WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY A P CLARKE. COPYRIGHT 2014.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING.

Links

thelostcat.libsyn.com

twitter.com/LostCatPod

thelostcatpodcast.tumblr.com

facebook.com/lostcatpodcast

soundcloud.com/a-p-clarke/sets/the-lost-cat-podcast

apclarke.bandcamp.com/releases

[threeteentrio]

Control; Mafia!Jihoon

♡ Group/Member: Seventeen - Lee Jihoon/ Woozi

♡ Requested;  ‘ Mafia!Au + woozi from seventeen (or any au works) !!!!! ‘

♡ WARNING; Mentions of death, murder, swearing.

♡ Author: @joyfuljihao

♡ Notes;  I haven’t actually done like one-shots/scenarios in YEARS, so i’m quite used to writing multilpe chapter fics, so if this isn’t 100% what you like/ best qaulity, i promise i’m doing whatever i can to improve my writing! Also, i put Jihoon as having red hair in this because i honestly loved his red hair and that’s all i have to say...

This can lead to maybe a series if you guys want, make sure to tell me! :) // UNEDITED

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |

The static of the radio echoed throughout the room as the blinking computer lights filled your eyesight. Typing away at your computer, the exaggerated sigh left Mingyu's lips.

"Are you even smart enough to do this?" You scoffed.

You? Smart enough to hack into the opposing mafia's database to secretly download their mission plan for the next two months. Of fucking course, you were smart enough. You were Jeon Wonwoo's younger sibling for god sake.

It had been a thing since you were younger that, whatever Wonwoo did, you followed. So you learnt a lot of stuff whilst growing up, but once you found out more about computers and their systems you did everything you could, to learn everything you could.

"Shut Up Mingeww and let me focus" you sniggered, you knew the use of that nickname would just piss him off more.

"I swear to god if you weren't Wonwoo's younger siblings I would have decked you by now" Mingyu stresses, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot against the floor. Rolling your eyes, you let the comment pass over your head as you knew Mingyu never would do that, especially not to someone on his own side as well.

"I have to find a backdoor in their systems, make sure if they do even notice that someone's hacked in that it jumps to at least a 1000 different IP address very ten minutes or so, so it can't be tracked back to us" You explained, you threw a look over your shoulder at Mingyu and raised an eyebrow. "And let me guess, you want me to try and put some sort of spyware into their system too"

Mingyu blinked for a moment, he almost looked confused- before snapping out of it and nodding his head.

"If you can do it without getting caught then sure" You let out a sigh, before linking your fingers and cracking them in front of you.

"It ain't going to be easy, but trust me, I'm the one for the job" Mingyu clicked his tongue as he ruffled your hair.

"You really are Wonwoo's sibling aren't you?"

"Without a doubt my dude, without a doubt"

"Minghao will probably be by later to check up, Wonwoo is still out with DK checking things out" you hummed, waving your hand up.

That was his queue to leave. To leave you to do what you do best. Hack the shit out of the rival mafia's database. Mingyu rolled his eyes at you but leaves quietly anyways. Shutting the door behind him, he lets out a small sigh.

"You better get this right kid"

You had spent your whole life in the mafia, yours and Wonwoo's father was the leader of the South Side Mafia, but when an argument between your father and his right-hand man caused your father to get shot and killed, the mafia got split into two. The side that supported your father and the side that supported his right-hand man.

Wonwoo quickly took over your father's position, growing up quickly considering he was still only 18 at the time, whereas you were 16 at the time. Wonwoo, for the most part, tried to hide you well from people outside the Mafia. It was safer for you to stay secrete than to be in harm's way.

You understood that, if anything, staying secrete helped you with your job of hacker/computer expert.

The other side, on the other hand, got taken over by Choi Seungcheol, the too cocky for his own good son of your father's right-hand man. Seungcheol was handsome, he knew that too well. He had an ego the size of a double-decker bus. Even though it had been three years since the initial split of the Mafia, the war- if you could even call it that- was still ongoing.

After a few hours, you managed to bypass their firewall and not long after that, you bypassed all their sensors. You raised an eyebrow to yourself as you clicked through some of the files. You bite your lip as you continued, the whole process seems too easy.

You loved an easy job, but this? This was too easy and too easy was risky.

You continued on, cautiously of course. Clicking through files and going through walls of security, you start to locate the file of their plans for the next few months.

The door opens behind you, which doesn't surprise you and Minghao appears beside you with two large cups of coffee.

"Thought you need this" He chuckles, placing a coffee next to you and moving to the small couch of coffee table that was in the room. Humming, you send him a smile and quickly pick up the large cup and sip at it.

"Thanks, Hao" After you place it back down and go back to work. Letting out a sigh, you turn your head to Minghao and send him a look. "Hao, I think there's something off about this"

He raises an eyebrow and pulls up a chair to sit next to you.

"What do you mean?"

"This was so easy to hack into, this was more than easy, it was easy and quick and for hacking that isn't always a good thing," Minghao chuckles slightly, sending you a look.

"You have a way with words don't you" With a blank you stare at him.

"This really isn't the time Hao" Chuckling again, he motions you to continue. "Most big organisations, have their things to the most part un-hackable, but your favourite person here isn't just anyone, so normally things like this can take at the least a day or two to hack into, because of their firewalls and their systems, but do you know how long this took to hack into?" You asked, pointing at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Half a day?"

"No! Three hours!" You hold up three fingers to exaggerate.

"Maybe you're just too good at hacking" You laughed, flicking some hair over your shoulder.

"I may be good, but I'm not that good" Minghao keeps silent and I soon continue to talk. "Anyways, this is way too quick to be able to hack in a big organisation like this, especially a mafia"

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying"

"I think something's up, I can upgrade the amount of IP address it switches to so it never gets back to us, but I still think something's fishy about this" Minghao nods, agreeing.

"Upgrade the amount of IP addresses, if you can get what you came for and get out of it, make sure there's no way to trace back to us" You nod at what Minghao was staying and quickly get on it.

"I'll get it done before you can say My I"

"Okay then, M-" You cut Minghao off with a laugh and lean back in your chair.

"Done!" Minghao looks at you with a shocked expression and you send him another blank look. "What? You think I couldn't really do it?" Chuckling, he shakes his head.

"You amaze me every time"

"Well you amaze me too" Turning back to your computer, you finishing doing your final things and kept the machine next to your computer that changed the IP address on. Once you had successfully shut everything off, you turned back to Minghao and smiled at him. "Now where's my brother?"

Seungcheol raised the cigarette to his lips and took a long drag. He sat with his feet up on his desk and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. To most, this would seem unprofessional, but to the rest of the mafia, this was just your typical Tuesday lunchtime. 

Seungcheol was professional when needs are, but on days like today, when he had no meetings some time to himself in the office, well he was going to do it his way. 

Jihoon sat across from him, a blood stain on his collar and his gun holstered on his hip. He had unbuttoned his waistcoat once he had gotten back to Seungcheol's office and leant his head back to look at the ceiling. 

Seungcheol leant forward, offering Jihoon a drag from his cigarette with Jihoon declined. Seungcheol scoffed slightly as he chuckled. 

"You can kill people, but smoking is what you say no to" Jihoon raises his head to look at him.

"Because you're letting the stick kill you and you know I only go for the people who deserve it" Seungcheol takes a long drag again and releases it slowly.

"But my younger assassin friend, who can you tell who deserves it or not?" This time Jihoon scoffs, sending a judging look to Seungcheol.

"Like you're one to talk, you know I get most of my jobs from you right?" Seungcheol waves him off as he takes another drag. 

"Let's not think about that right now and let's just contemplate the meaning of life or something" Jihoon raised an eyebrow.

"What drugs are in your cigarette?" He asked, making Seungcheol laugh.

"Nothing is in there, I promise" He hands out the cigarette "you can even try it yourself to see" Jihoon just rolled his eyes and denied. 

"Yeah, no thanks" 

"Your loss" Seungcheol mutters, leaning back in his chair. 

The door swings open and Soonyoung pops his head through the gap in the door. His usual large smile covered his face and his brown hair fell to just above his eyes. Seungcheol moved his feet from off of his desk and turned to Soonyoung's direction. 

"What do you want?" Soonyoung's smile for bigger as he laughed.  

"I hate to break the party, but you'll never guess what our software just picked up" Seungcheol gasped, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk. 

"You haven't"  

"Oh, but Boss, we have" Soonyoung smirked. 

"We caught the fly in the trap" Seungcheol's smile dropped and he hissed throwing a hand up in Soonyoung's direction. 

"Come on Hosh, what have I told you about using those codes" Soonyoung sighed, looking away. 

"Not to use them" 

"And what do you keep doing?" Seungcheol asks, pushing his lips into a straight line. Soonyoung just sighs as he replies. 

"Using them" Jihoon covers his mouth as he coughs, looking between the two. 

"You were on about Hosh?" Soonyoung's eyes widen and he nods his head dramatically. 

"Ah yes!! Our systems picked up something earlier and I think you'll want to see what" Seungcheol picked himself up out of his chair and raises his hands to the roof. 

"Then let's get going shall we?" He turned his head to Jihoon. "Ji, you come with" 

Jihoon doesn't bother to argue and just stands up. Running a hand through his dyed red hair, he waits for Seungcheol's orders. 

"Boys, this might be our day!" Seungcheol cries happily, slapping Jihoon on the back and they follow Soonyoung out of the room. 

"Isn't every day our day though?" Soonyoung asks confused and Seungcheol just sighs. 

"That it is Hosh, that it is"

They quickly made their way to their tech room, where Soonyoung was normally centred. Soonyoung was their tech guy, their number one hacker. He could spot a bug from a mile away and decode it and send it back in less than ten minutes. Jumping into his chair and crossing his legs, Soonyoung turns himself to his computers. He started to click on some files before a large black document with a bunch of long different codes in red appears on the screen. 

"What's this?" Jihoon asks, leaning against the back of Soonyoung's chair. 

"Well this you see my assassin best friend is a map" 

"A map?" Jihoon asks, unconvinced. Soonyoung hums. 

"Well you see, a few days ago I created and set up this trap, which I call the fly trap by the way,  and basically what it does is it makes it seem easier to hack into our systems when in actual fact it's all false!" Soonyoung explained, "from what I heard about their hacker, they should have noticed this straight away, but for some reason they didn't, maybe they weren't as smart as I thought they were" Soonyoung pouted. 

"Just get on with it Soonyoung" Seungcheol panned and Soonyoung nodded his head. 

"On it boss, anyways I basically set up a fake system to trick them and I set up all fake documents for them to take and tada!" Soonyoung cries, clicking on a few buttons and the screen changes into a large map. "We are in the process of knowing where they are" Seungcheol clicks his finger and pats Soonyoung on the shoulder. 

"God Soonyoung you're amazing" Soonyoung smiles, proud of himself. 

"They set up so many IP addresses to bounce around, but so it might take a while to directly locate their main source of tech" 

"Damn Hosh, you've really outdone yourself" Jihoon compliments. 

"It's all in a day's work of Hoshi Prince" Seungcheol and Jihoon just stare at him. 

"You know no one calls you that but you right?" Seungcheol asks, to which Soonyoung nods his head.

"That's what makes it even more awesome" Seungcheol shook his head, before turning to Jihoon. 

"If anything comes of this-...” Soonyoung cuts him off with a whine.

“This will work!” Seungcheol sighs, rolling his eyes before continuing to talk.

“Soonyoung here will call you with the address, I expect you to take care of this” Jihoon stays silent, just watching Seungcheol as he thinks.

“I’ll get back to you on it,” Jihoon says, waving him off and turning to walk away. After a few steps, Seungcheol calls after him. 

“You know if you don’t do this I’ll just get someone else to” Jihoon sent a look over his shoulder.

“And I said I’d get back to you on it, so see you later” 

"So you know what you're doing?" Wonwoo asks, you simply reply by nodding your head and sipping an ice tea.

"I know what I'm doing brother, don't worry about it" Wonwoo looked blankly at you. You noticed his fist tightened slightly. 

"You know I worry about you and you can't stop me from worrying" You sighed quietly, placing the ice tea down on his desk. You moved slightly so you were sitting on the edge of your seat and placed a hand on his. 

"Won, I'm 19 now, I'm not a child you can trust me" 

"I know I can trust you, but I just don't want anything bad to happen to you" You smiled as you gently squeezed his hand. 

"I'm strong, I can fight off anything" you giggle, releasing his hand and bringing up your fists in a fighting stance. "They're going to wish they never tried to go against me" Wonwoo laughed, shaking his head before running a hand through his hair. 

"You really are our father's daughter" Wonwoo chuckles, sending you a smile which you return.

"And you are our mother's son" Wonwoo sighs, standing up from his chair and motioning to the door. 

"You should get back now and start working" you nodded your head and stood up too.

"Okay Won" Pulling your big brother into a hug, you both stand there for a moment before pulling away. "I'll get right on it" He patted your head and smiled down at you. 

"I'll come to see you later okay," He says. "I'll have Mingyu drive you home" You roll your eyes and huff slightly. 

"Mingyu seriously? Why him?" Suddenly the door opens and Mingyu enters the room. 

"Hey! It's not like I want to drive you back either, so shut up pip-squeak" You make a face, sending him a look. 

"It's not like I'm short, you're just freakishly too tall" Mingyu let's out a whine, rolling his eyes and looking to Wonwoo. 

"Why are you asking me to do this?" Wonwoo laughs, as he watches you both.  

"Because you're my best friend and their my younger sibling, who else would I want to look after them?" Mingyu rolled his eyes again, before muttering a reply. 

"I'm only doing this because you said I'm your best friend" Mingyu grabbed onto your wrist before dragging you out of the room. "See you later Won" 

"Bye guys" he laughs, waving you off and going back to sit in his seat. 

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" You repeat, tugging at your wrist. "Oh wait," you ask, getting Mingyu to sigh and stop, also making him let go of your wrist. "Can we go to McDonald's on the way back?" 

"Oh my god," Mingyu says, it was evident in his tone he wasn't the slightest bit impressed. Happy that your wrist had freedom again, you skip next to him with a large smile on your face. 

"Well can we? Can we? Can we?" 

"Maybe if you shut up" 

You silently giggle to yourself and link your fingers together behind your back. You and Mingyu silently walk until you reach the main elevator and he clicks the call to buttons. For the next few moments, silence continues until the pleasant ding of the elevator arriving is heard. 

The doors part and your mouth drops slightly at the sight. 

A young looking man, with seemingly dyed red hair and he, had a pair of large sunglasses that covered his eyes. He had on a white button-down shirt, and black trousers with a black waistcoat to match. 

You blinked as he nodded his head to Mingyu and looked at you for a single moment before walking past and heading down the hallway. Your mouth dropped more as you gaze followed him. Mingyu just rolled his eyes and grabbed onto your wrist again. 

"Oh come on" You opened and closed your mouth a few times before turning to Mingyu. He leant over and clicked the ground floor.

"Who was he?!" You felt your cheeks blush. Mingyu shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"I don't know, probably just someone to see Wonwoo, why?" 

"Because, he was the most beautiful person I've ever seen" you gasp, looking at Mingyu with wide eyes. He scoffs, motioning to himself. 

"Sorry, but you must be blind as I'm the most beautiful person you've ever seen" You clicked your tongue and sent him a look. 

"Oh hunny, I think you're going blind" you patted him on the shoulder. "I think you need to go get your eyes checked" He forcefully moved his shoulder and your hand fell. 

"No, I think you're the one who needs their eyes checked"

Wonwoo raised his head at the sound of a powerful knock at his office door. Clearing his throat, he spoke. 

“Come in”  The redhead pops his head through the gap in the door and cracked a smile. Closing the door behind him, he sat in the seat across from Wonwoo. “Ah, Jihoon, what are you here for?”  

Jihoon didn’t say anything for a moment, he just silently undid his waistcoat and leant his head back and let out a deep sigh. Wonwoo raised an eyebrow, but knowing his friend, he didn’t think too much of it. 

“So, what’s going on now?” Picking his head back up, Jihoon stared at Wonwoo letting out another sigh.

“Soonyoung’s a lot smarter than he seems” Jihoon chuckles, “He’s designed this new tech that fakes a software to make it seems like its easier to hack and with that, he can get passes the IP scrambler” Wonwoo gulped as Jihoon continued. “And you know what that means? He can get original IP addresses and could you take a wild guess at who their first target is?” 

“(Y/N)” Jihoon clicks his fingers and points at Wonwoo.

“Bingo” Wonwoo sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I’m lucky they haven’t even noticed that I know you” 

“Wait,” Wonwoo says, looking up at Jihoon. “Do they know it’s them, or who they are?” Jihoon shakes his head.

“Not yet, they don’t know it’s them yet and I doubt any of them remember you have a sibling” Wonwoo becomes silent, he had a thousand thoughts rushing through his head at a mile a minute. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Jihoon didn’t reply instantly, he just fiddled with his fingers until he found the words.

“Because when Soonyoung finds out their location Seungcheol wants me to do whats in my job description” Jihoon explains. Wonwoo’s hands turn to fists on his desk table. 

“Would you, would you do it?” Wonwoo asks, sending a look to his friend. 

“You know if I don’t do it, Seungcheol will just send someone else” Jihoon responds, his voice showing all of his emotions. 

“You know that doesn’t answer my question” Jihoon stays silent again, a frown covering his face which matched Wonwoo’s. “Jihoon...” 

“If there’s a way to get out of it then sure, I would get out of it, but you know how thorough Seungcheol makes everything and how he checks everything, it wouldn’t be easy to get past him” Wonwoo’s face changes from a frown to a smirk. 

“But it’s not impossible” Jihoon’s mouth opens slightly in shock, he blinks for a moment.

“Wonwoo, what are you planning in your head?” 

“A full fi-...” Wonwoo got cut off by the sudden bang of the door slamming open and Mingyu panting as he stands there. Both suddenly both standing, they turn to him. “Mingyu, what’s going on?”

“(Y-Y/N),” He gasps for breath, “They’re hacking their computer” Wonwoo’s eyes go to Jihoon and he shrugs in response.

“That’s probably Soonyoung, once he has their address he’s meant to call me with the details” Mingyu scoffs, now with his breath back.

“See this is the problem with you and being on both sides, you’ll do whatever you're told” Jihoon scoffs too, rolling his eyes before spitting an answer. 

“I’m here to warn your fucking asses about them so shut your face” Mingyu scoffed again, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. Wonwoo hissed.

“This isn’t the time for you two to be arguing right now, we’re going to them and we are finding a way to get away with fooling Seungcheol any way we can” Wonwoo explains, picking up his gun from the drawer and putting it into the holster on his back. “And if either of you tries to argue I’m shooting you myself” 

You typed at lightning speed as you did whatever you could to keep whoever was trying to hack you from hacking you. You chewed on your lip as you concentrated and didn’t try to move an inch in case you lost focus. 

“Whoever you are you fucking piece of shit-...” You mumbled to yourself until you got cut off.

“Watch your language” You hadn’t noticed the door open and Wonwoo, Mingyu and Jihoon appear. 

“Well if this piece of shit didn’t try and hack my computer I wouldn’t have to call them a piece of shit now would I?!” You spat. It was easy to tell you were annoyed- more than annoyed, extremely pissed off. Jihoon chuckled and you raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar chuckle. Only moving your eyes you saw the head of red hair and gasped. “Mingyu, you fucking asshole, why did you bring the hot guy, do you want me to lose focus?!” 

Jihoon covered his mouth to try and cover up his laughter as Mingyu rolled his eyes and sent a glare to the back of your head. 

“I’m sorry that I make you lose focus” Jihoon laughs, this time making you roll your eyes.

“Not the time hot guy” Jihoon tried not to laugh again and Wonwoo just sighed, facepalming. 

“This really isn’t the time for this” Wonwoo says.

“Hate to break it to you big brother, but I pretty much just said the same thing,” you shrugged. “Just different phrasing” 

“Anyways,” Wonwoo starts, “Can you stop Soonyoung from hacking you?” You ran your tongue over your teeth in annoyance as you spoke. 

“So this bastard is called Soonyoung then huh” A smirk covered your face and you started typing quicker than the pace you were typing before. “You want a fucking show Soonyoung, I’ll give you one” 

“Don’t do anything too stupid now” Wonwoo says, making you laugh. 

“When have I ever done anything stupid?” Wonwoo raised an eyebrow and sent you a look.

“Do you really want me to answer that question?” You took in a deep breath but responded.

“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t” 

The room went silent- well as silent as it could go with how fast you were typing away and you giggled to yourself as you repeatedly hit a few buttons. Mingyu sent a look to the back of your head and looked to Jihoon and Wonwoo, with both of them shrugging in responses, he spoke. 

“What are you giggling at?” 

“He wanted a show, so I sent him a bunch of jumpscare clips to try and slow him down” Mingyu gave you a stank glare, judging you completely.

“Couldn't you think of something better than jumpscares?” 

“Mingyu,” You started, your tone evident for him to be wary of what he said next. “Shut the fuck up before I spread your internet history online”

“Better do what they say” Jihoon laughs and Mingyu only sends him a glare. 

After another few minutes of silence, you hit your keyboard, but still, continue to type.

“No! No! No!” You yell as large black box appears on your screen. You gasp, moving away from your computer. “H-He hacked in, h-how did he?” You stuttered, before trying to do whatever you could to get your computer working again. “I have no control”  

You turn to the three boys and see they mirror the same expression you’re wearing. Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed together and he let out a sigh. Quickly turning to Jihoon, Wonwoo grabbed his arm. 

“How long will it be until he calls you?” You didn’t understand what Wonwoo was going on about and just like how he had grabbed Jihoon’s arm, you grabbed his.

“What are you on about?” Wonwoo turned to you and moved his arm so you’d release it.

“Not now (Y/N)” He then turned back to Jihoon. “Well?” 

“I don’t know, it could be anytime now” Your eye flicked between the two as your brain raced to try and put together the puzzle of what could be going on. 

“We need to do something now” Wonwoo responds

“It’s not going to be easy, you have to know that” 

“What’s going on?!” You yell sending your brother the worst look you could muster. “I swear to god if you don’t tell me right fucking now” Wonwoo went pale as he turned to you, you raised both of your eyes and let out a sigh. “Just tell me please”

“Soonyoung, who’s apart of the other side made a new software and that was to catch us- you- in a trap to be able to locate you and to try and overtake us” Wonwoo explained and it left like all the air left your lungs. “They’re planning on killing whoever is behind the screen”

“W-What?” 

With that, Jihoon’s phone rang, the loud music blared through the deafening silence. Jihoon took the phone from his pocket and stared at it for a moment before nodding to Wonwoo.

Incoming call; Hoshi Answer Decline

"Who is that? Why is this happening?" You rushed, but before you could say any more, Mingyu rushed to your side and covered your mouth with his hand. Your cried became muffled against Mingyu's hand and Wonwoo placed his hands on your shoulders to try and calm you down.

"You need to stay silent, you need to trust me" You went silent, no matter what happened, no matter what your brother said or did you always trusted him. He turned to Jihoon and nodded. Jihoon picked up the phone and placed it next to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Woozi! Dude! I think this has been the most fun time hacking I've had in a while!" Jihoon sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Hosh, just get to the point already"

"Oh yeah yeah sure okay, anyways I hacked in and got the address for you, make sure to get it done by the end of the day, you know what Cheol's like," Soonyoung said.

"Sure, just send it here"

"Will do, talk to you later" Soonyoung cheered before clicking off the call. Making sure the call had ended, it wasn't a second later until Jihoon's phone beeped again and the text from Soonyoung appeared.

"By the end of the day" Jihoon looked at Wonwoo "that doesn't give us much time" Running a hand through his hair, Wonwoo starts to mutter to himself.

"We have to find a way," Wonwoo says, before repeating it. "We have to find a way"

With Mingyu's hand still covering your mouth, you blinked rapidly as you felt your eyes begin to well up. You hated seeing your brother so frantic, especially over you. Especially now over what might be the lead up to your death. Feeling the tears run down your cheeks and onto his hand. Mingyu turns you around and sends you a look.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, don't worry so much pip-squeak" Mingyu chuckles to try and brighten your mood, but you just nod.

 You already knew who Jihoon was, who he is. It didn't take long for it to click into your brain after he got the phone call, you knew he was the one they were planning on sending to kill you, but he was here, he had been all this time so sure he wasn't going to... right?

 Everything was going to work out like Mingyu had said. Everything was going to be fine. Wonwoo clicked his fingers and looked at Jihoon with a smile.

"I think I figured it out, I think I know a way this could work" Jihoon blinks and motions for him to continue. "Seungcheol will never realise a thing"

Jihoon waited for the elevator to ding once it reached the top floor and let out a silent breath of air as it did. Looking up to the camera in the corner of the elevator he winked, knowing Soonyoung would probably be watching.

Exiting the elevator, he swiftly makes his way to Seungcheol's office, knowing twice before entering. 

Seungcheol was sat like he usually was, his feet up on his desk and a cigarette in between his fingers."Ah! Jihoon! My assassin friend!" Jihoon chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he sat down in the chair across from him.

"What are you on now?" Seungcheol smiled, taking a long drag before puffing out the smoke quickly."Its new in from out west, it's beautiful stuff" Seungcheol laughed, before holding his hand out for Jihoon to take. "Want some?"

"No thank you" Jihoon declines, making Seungcheol roll his eyes.

"Always the same old Jihoon" Another drag. Another puff of smoke released. Sitting up and moving his position, he stares at Jihoon for a moment. "I notice you've dyed your hair again" Jihoon nods, running his free hand through his hair.

"You know my routine," He says simply.

 Dying his hair after every kill.

"So that means you've done it?" Seungcheol asks and Jihoon responds by throwing a file onto his desk. Seungcheol chuckled, picking up the folder and flicking through it.

"That what you mean?"

"You're simply amazing, Ji, this is why you're the best in the business," Seungcheol said, picking up one of the photos and holding up as he examined it. "Your work is honestly perfect"

"Well, I do what I know best" Jihoon laughs. "And this is what I know best"

"It certainly is"

Jihoon silently unbuttoned his waistcoat and leant his head back as he let out a sigh. He sat like that for some time, just thinking. It wasn't too much time before Seungcheol coughed, making Jihoon lift his head.

"Jihoon, you can go now, I have a new business meeting to attend about the new drugs from out west" Seungcheol explained, he sent a smirk Jihoon's way.  "If you want any, all you gotta do is ask"Jihoon rolled his eyes, which Seungcheol accepted. He declined anyways.

"Seriously no thanks, I don't care how good the stuff is, you know I don't do any of it" Seungcheol hummed, nodding his head.

"I know, I was just testing you" Jihoon raised an eyebrow.

"Testing me? For what?" Seungcheol shrugged, getting up from out of his seat.

"Oh Nothing, just nothing" Getting up, Jihoon stayed silent. He seemed like he should just go by what Seungcheol was saying and take this as his queue to leave.

"Okay then, I guess I best be going..." Jihoon starts, "Call me if you need or want anything, you know that dude" Seungcheol smiles

."Same back" 

Once he shut the door behind him, he walked quickly, without seeming to look suspicious to the elevators and waited for it to arrive. Entering it and clicking the ground floor, Jihoon let out a sigh. 

The ground floor soon arrived and Jihoon exited the elevator and left the building, this time running to his dark car that was parked in the car park outside. Getting in and turning on the engine, he let out another sigh and clicked on the fourth-speed dial number on his car phone system.

"Jihoon?" Your voice called out from through the speaker.

"Pack your things, I'll be there soon"

[samthewrestlingfan]

BELIEVER: Part 4

LOVEBUGS! <3

Thank you for being so patient with me about getting this update out!

Please enjoy Part 4 of BELIEVER! 

...issa good one ;)

(18+ only!)

Characters: Finn Balor/OC

Warnings: Angst, Smut, Occult, Aggression.

Taglist: @wrestlingbabe, @alexahood21, @caramara3, @camm-wow, @isawthesights, @blondekel77, @panda-girl1999, @wweburnitdown, @nickysmum1909, @thirstiswet, @meremaidqueen, @thedeboniardevistation, @soulofaravenheartofawolf

"Finn. what are you gonna do?" I followed his quick pace down the hallway to Hunter's office.

He ignored me. "Finn, please talk to me." I begged.

"Finn!" I shouted. He stopped and turned around, revealing eyes as black as the ocean.

He brought his face close to mine and seethed, "I'm doing what needs to be done."

Keeping it short, Finn barged into Hunter's office. "You better have a good--"

"Shut up." Finn growled.

I stood in silence and in fear, not of Finn, but of what could happen if he continued to speak to HHH like this.

"This was delivered to Ella's room last night." He threw the box containing the heart onto the desk.

Hunter covered his nose at the odor. "Who sent this to you?"

"Well it wasn't fuckin' Santy Claus, that's for sure." Finn snarked.

I stepped forward to place my body between them, "Hunter, Wyatt has come completely undone. He's stalking my every move. I don't know what else we can do."

Finn spoke without looking at me, "You could let me kill da bastard for starters."

I instinctively backhanded his arm, "You're not committing homicide on my behalf just so you can get yourself locked up... or worse."

As much as I would love my Wyatt problem to be eliminated, I couldn't risk something happening to Finn because of me,

Finn rolled his neck muscles around and took deep breaths to calm himself. As his breathing steadied, I felt Balor trying to make his way to the surface.

"Enough! At this point, I don't care how he's dealt with..." Hunter spoke, "Just make sure you do it quietly."

A dark smile spread across Finn's face as Hunter continued to speak. "I'll handle your absences from TV, don't worry." HHH looking into Finn's eyes, "I expect this to be handled, Balor."

A sinister chuckle escaped Finn's lips as he smiled ear to ear, "Done."

Finn gripped my hand, ushering me toward the door, when I felt someone else coming. "Wait..."

I heard the click-clack of heels approach the door. In a moment, Stephanie blocked our only exit. "Not so fast, you two."

Stephanie moved to Hunter and took his side. "Wyatt is a much larger problem than we originally anticipated."

Steph pulled a piece of parchment out of her back pocket and unfolded it, placing it on the desk for all of us to see.

My eyes read moved over the paper, growing wider as I realized what I was reading.

"Soul Apperation?" I questioned. She nodded, exchanging a worried look with HHH.

"Ella, he called you Abigail all those weeks ago because to him...you are Abigail." She pointed at a particular paragraph;

The soul that is to be restored needs a vessel. One whom is gifted, and powerful. The vessel must not belong to another, for if the soul residing inside should fight...you will lose. Once the ritual has begun, it must be completed. If it is not, the soul to be restored will be lost  forever, cursed to wander the depths of hell for eternity.

I looked up to her, "Am...Am I the vessel?" I asked, voice shaking. Stephanie nodded, placing a hand on my hand, "He wants to put what is left of Abigail's soul inside you. This way, she would have your power, your body...she could manifest again."

I looked to Finn, "What do we do?" I asked hoplessly.

Finn put a hand on mine, "I'm going to do whatever I need to do to keep you safe, Ella." He put his hand behind my neck, pulling me into him and placing a long kiss on my forehead.

and in that moment...I believed him.

I felt it. I felt the desire to keep me safe surging beneath his skin. I felt the pain, and the anger he felt when he thought I might be in danger. I felt his love, his genuine love for me.

---

I stood under the stream of scolding water trying to rinse away the past few days. I had actually finished showering  15 minutes ago, and just couldn't seem to leave the sanctuary of my steamy hotel bathroom.

Your mood has lightened significantly, wouldn't you say?

I scoffed at the voice inside me, "Considering I have a homicidal warlock after me? I'd say I'm feeling pretty calm."

The voice laughed, You still don't understand, do you my dear?

I turned the knob to shut the water off. "I guess not, why don't you enlighten me? And for the love of God please, no more riddles."

I heard a sigh, The Queen has been reunited with her King.

My body froze as I wrapped the towel around myself. "Wha-what is that suppose to mean?"

Ella, he has been waiting for you. For centuries Balor has searched for you. In every decade, in every one of his lives. He has searched for his Queen. You are his Queen, Ella.

I stumbled back, bracing myself on the edge of the counter. "i-I don't...I-I can't be--I'm not a Queen."

You are not a Queen, Ella. You are his Queen. A demon King needs his better half--his equal. In every past life you have ever had, you have been his, but for centuries he could not find you. Until now.

"I am no demon!" I shouted, quickly shielding my mouth so Finn wouldn't hear.

I never said you were. You are now what you have always been, and yet you are more than ever before.

My head was spinning, and it probably didn't help that it was about 1000 degrees in my bathroom.

I quickly opened the door, slamming it shut behind me, and leaning against it.

"You okay? Thought you drowned in there, Love." Finn chuckled as he packed his duffel bag.

"What? Oh I'm fine, I was just relaxing. Needed some air." I quickly and breathlessly spoke.

Finn zipped his bag up and walked to me. His eyes searched mine for a moment, before he placed his hands on either side of my face.

"Ya don't look that relaxed, Babe. What's wrong?"

With his touch on mine, I saw the jolts of electricity bouncing between our skin. "Huh," I thought to myself, "That's new."

I was suddenly very aware I was in nothing but a towel. "Uhh, nothing. I'm okay. Finn. I promise." I lifted my hand to stroke his cheek, and beard.

Finn turned my palm towards him and kissed it gently. "You're so beautiful, Ella." He whispered while his hand thumbed my cheek.

In that moment, it was as if time stood still. I felt a chill rip through my chest and felt my eyes shift to the bright emerald they usually are.

Finn dropped his hands to my waist and placed his forehead against mine. "An ceann a bhfuil mo anam."

A small smile filled my face, "What's that mean?"

Finn returned the smile, "That you have my soul. For as long as you'd like it, it's yours."

My eyes found his, and before I knew it, his lips found mine. "Ella..." He breathed.

"Shh, I know. I know." I let the towel fall to the floor as Finn lifted me into his arms.

He brought me to the edge of the bed, laying me down on it. Finn lifted his shirt off and threw it behind him, then returned his attention to me.

"You're perfect, Love. Every inch of you." He ran both hands up either thigh, causing goosebumps to cover my skin. "Let me take care of you, Ella." Finn gruffed in a tone so sexy, I thought for sure I'd come right then.

I nodded, shaking at his touch. He kissed my lips, moving to my jaw, down my neck, dipping to my breast taking my nipple in his mouth and nibbling it gently.

Finn placed hot, wet kisses down my stomach, and right above my pussy. His tongue darted out over and over against my clit, and I can't lie, the boys got skill.

"Finn...oh my God." I moaned his name into the dimly lit hotel room, feeling him smile against me. He worked my clit and brought me right to the edge, then stopped, winking at me as he retreated.

He moved so he was stood in front of me, "I've been wantin' this for so long, Love." Finn spread my legs with his knee, and looked at me with hungry eyes. I nodded, giving him consent, and he pushed forward into me.

"Fuck's sake, Els." Finn chuckled causing me to blush. Finn held my hips down and drove his cock into me. "Ella you're so tight, Love." Finn leaned down placing his chest on mine as he fucked me. He moaned in my ear before flipping me over.

"Finn, fuck..." I groaned as he his my spot over and over again. He snaked an arm in front of me as he pounded me from behind and rubbed my clit fiercely.

"Finn, Oh my God, I'm gonna come!" I shouted into the pillow. He brought his mouth against my ear, and spoke. "Come for me, Love."

On his command, I felt my lower abdomen explode, and elation take over my whole body. God damn, Finn was fucking amazing. Literally.

"Oh fuck, Babe." I felt Finn tense up, and explode inside of me. He kissed down my spine as he slid out of me, collapsing on the bed.

As our breathing steadied, he pulled me into his arms. "That was amazing." I breathed.

Finn laughed, "Waaaay more than I ever could have imagined. And believe me Ella, I have imagined that about a thousand times."

I slapped his chest and stood to my feet. I found a PC grey shirt and threw it on. I noticed Finn staring at me from the bed, "What?" I asked with a smile.

He shook his head. "You're so fuckin' perfect. That's what."

---

"I'll be right there, I'm just gonna check out." I said to Finn as I waited in line in the lobby to check out.

"You're sure?" He asked.

I nodded, "Go on Hercules, load up the rental. We've got a lot of driving to do."

He laughed hesitantly, unsure of leaving me alone was a smart move. "5 minutes. Promise."

Begrudgingly, Finn left with the bags, and before I knew it I was up. "Checking out of 128 please."

I tapped my fingers at the receptionist as she typed on her computer.

"You're going to get him killed, ya know."

I turned around quickly to see Alexa. I scoffed in her direction, "Why do you always show up when I'm in a good mood? Do you sense the joy and just have to ruin it?"

She laughed sarcastically, "Listen I'm just trying to make sure your booty call doesnt get murdered because of you."

I felt my blood boiling in my veins. "Alexa I warned you. Stay out of my business or else."

She put her hands up in defense. "Look Ella, we both know Finn is smitten as a kitten for you. That's great and all, but don't you worry about how vulnerable that makes him?"

I recoiled slightly, "Enough."

Of course, she continued. "You Ella. You are what makes him weak. He'd do anything to keep you safe, with complete disregard for his own life or anyone else's."

My whole body relaxed at her words. "Do you really want Finn's blood on your hands if--when something happens to him?"

"Ma'am? You're all set." The receptionist inturrupted my daze.

"Thank you." I said, quickly grabbing my credit card and ID. I left Alexa standing there, smug look and all. Was she right? If something happens to Finn because of me, I could never forgive myself.

I walked to the car, hopping in the passengers side. "Ready, Beautiful?" Finn asked with a smile.

I forced as normal a smile as I could, "Yup, let's get going, Handsome."

Finn pulled out of the parking lot, placing a hand on my thigh as he drove. I placed mine on top of his and squeezed it.

I don't know what's going to happen when we see Bray, but Finn isn't going to lose because of me.

I'll bet my life on it.

Translation:

An ceann a bhfuil mo anam: The one to have my soul.

[serensama]

To Realise

A mini celebration for 2000 followers! Thanks Everyone!!!! A Soulmate AU where they only realise they are Soulmates when they say/read/hear each other’s names out loud followed by an immediate overflowing of emotion sparking inside of them. Instant realisation.

Yoosung:

-       He was already running late. This was not the first impression he wanted to give to everyone! He was in University! He was intelligent! He knew how to set a simple alarm!

-       … in theory yes, in practise… not so much… hence the lateness…

-       It also didn’t help that he couldn’t remember which lecture theatre he was meant to be in- which meant he had to stop and scan for his name at each door on the floor… four down three to go…

-       Kim Yoosung… Kim Yoosung… Kim… nope not that room!

-       When he got to the final room (because of course it had to be the final room) he managed to find his name… but his eyes were mysteriously drawn to another name, his mouth wrapping itself around the syllables before he knew what he was doing…

-       “M… MC?”

-       His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, his knees went wobbly and his head felt light and fuzzy, yet so damn clear at the same time. Yoosung stilled himself, bracing his arms against the doorframe to insure he wouldn’t fall flat on his face.

-       What was happening to him?

-       He had never felt this way before- was he coming down with something? He touched the back of his hand against his forehead and sure enough he was warm and sweaty.

-       Though, granted, it could have been because he had been running for the last fifteen minutes and trying not to burst out crying because he was going to be late- not because he was sick and dying.

-       His stomach fluttered and his mouth ran dry… no, he must be getting sick. Maybe he shouldn’t have eaten that pizza that was left over… from three days ago. He really needed to start cooking more.

-       Yoosung clamped his eyes shut and forced himself to breathe deeply, he could get through this. It was only one hour. He could do this.

-       Opening the door, the newly blonde haired student waltzed into the theatre only to have the entire room turn to face him.

-       Great. He must have been later than he thought he was.

-       Only to have them all shrug and continue on with their conversations.

-       Yoosung turned to his left to where their professor was meant to be standing, only to see it empty- the teacher was late? He wasn’t the last one to class? Finally! He managed to catch a break!

-       Running a hand through his sweat soaked hair and laughing as he wiped his palm on his jeans, Yoosung shook his head at how stupid he was to worry so much… besides, chiding himself made it easier to forget the uneasy feeling coursing through his veins.

-       It wasn’t a bad sensation, just… different. Good. Like little bubbles of pure emotion streaming through his blood. Why he felt happy and excited and nervous all at the same time…  he didn’t know. Weirdest case of food poisoning he ever had that was for sure-

-       He began to scan the rows of seats for the easiest spot to slip into and found one close to the middle just on the aisle without anyone sitting in between him and the girl on the other side, the really pretty girl laughing with her friends…

-       Yoosung pressed his blunt nails into the flesh of his palm to wake himself up from his unintentional staring. He took in a bolstering breath and psyched himself up just so he could sit down, it’s not like the cute girl had noticed him or his existence or anything. It would be fine.

-       Edging into the chair and adjusting the fold up side table he began to unpack his books and pens, only for his latest guide for LOLOL to slip out from between his textbooks.

-       The girl next to him caught sight of the bright colours from the side of her eye and turned around, her eyes focused on the cover of the magazine before they shot up to look him in the eye.

-       She was stunning. And she looked disgusted with him.

-       “Tsk, another one of those computer geeks who do nothing but sit in their dark little apartments and fall in love with fictional characters,” she sneered as her friends cackled behind her… clearly none of them had grown up any since graduating from high school. Yoosung sighed and was about to shyly excuse himself when-

-       “Yeah, that’s right! We sit in our apartments and fall in love with fictional characters who still have far more depth and strength of character in one pixel than you could ever have in your entire being… Girl- did you regress into your 7th grade form over the holidays after graduating- it’s cool if you did, I’d like to study you for my psychology lab- I’ll entitle it, ‘Dumb bitch, scared and out of her league, forgets how to act like a decent human being.’ Know what? Just leave- you’re not appreciated here- we wouldn’t want to infect you with our geekiness.”

-       Yoosung turned around to see a girl with big earphones and an even bigger hoodie sitting forward giving the first (not so cute anymore) girl the most menacing glare he had ever seen, bar the ones his mother wielded.

-       The group of girls huffed and tried to retort under their breaths before packing up and moving rows.

-       Headphones girl clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she made up her mind; she slung her cross-body bag over her shoulder as she clambered over the seats to sit next to Yoosung. The girl slightly winded from her almost-argument and her repositioning, offered the blonde boy a crooked grin- one he returned without hesitation.

-       “So… LOLOL boy- you gonna let me look at that guide? I was meaning to pick one up today after class but since you have one right here…” she eluded as she quirked one eyebrow up to test if he caught her drift. He did. He handed her the guide.

-       “H-hey… thanks for before… I didn’t know what I should say, if I should say anything at all-” “No sweat LOLOL boy-” “Hahah are you going to call me that forever?” he asked, laughing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

-       The girl eyed him critically from behind the pages of the guide.

“Pretty much, yes.”

Yoosung chuckled as he twirled his pen through the tips of his fingers, happy to feel the earlier wash of illness and emotion wane into nothing but a sense of peace and calm. “Well, can I at least have a name to call you? Butt-Kicking Classmate is kind of a mouthful.” “And yet so apt-” “Yes I understand this but-”

-       “MC. My name is MC.”

The waning was nothing but the calm before the storm, the eye of the tornado- and Yoosung was the poor cow stuck up 1000 feet in the air and she… she was the tornado. The boy sat back as he burnt up, his cheeks flaring as he bit his lip to not shout out from the sheer heat that he endured. Why did this happen every time he heard her name? Or said her name? Or even thought of her name? It was infuriating! “What should I call you if not LOL-” “Yoosung. Kim… Kim Yoosung.”

-       He had heard a soft gasp from behind the pages of the guide and he didn’t miss the way her hands trembled, or how wide her eyes had become. Slowly but steadily, MC drew the magazine down past her chin until her entire face was visible to him… that fluttering in his stomach, that fuzzy but clear feeling- it all came rushing back one hundred-fold.

-       “Yoosung… Kim… you say?” she asked, her once confident voice all but whispered.

-       He had never heard his name sound so beautiful.

-       “Yes, Yoosung Kim…” he confirmed with the smallest of nods of his head, watching as she swallowed some saliva and captivated in the way her throat moved as she did so. He was entranced by the way her mouth seemed to want to do a thousand different things, smile, talk, laugh, scream… so damn expressive.

-       MC clicked her tongue once more as she was wont to do when she made an important decision and put the guide back down on his desk before leaning forward, completely invading his personal space. Not that he was complaining. In fact… she could invade it more. It didn’t seem close enough.

-       “Yoosung Kim… I’ve been looking for you, for a long time,” she smiled, her warm hand resting atop his, a flash of electricity passing through their touch. “You have? Why? I’m just me, little old Yoosung…”

-       She threw her head back and laughed and to him it sounded like bells chiming.

-       “Yes, you are little old Yoosung, but from today - you are my little old Yoosung…” she pointed out as her pointer finger booped him firmly on the tip of his nose. “Well if I’m yours, th-then you’re mine!” he answered his chest puffing out slightly- why had he said that? When did he become so damn brazen? Was he going crazy?

“Hahaha, duh! If you’re my Soulmate then I’m your Soulmate- so of course I’m yours!”

“….. Soul… soul what?”

-       His parents had never told him anything about Soulmates, didn’t prepare him for what was to come. He was hit by a truck and completely floored.

-       The truck was named MC. He didn’t want to get up.

-       “Care to explain?”

-       MC stared at him completely dumbfounded, her mouth agape and her eyes even wider than before. She inhaled and nodded, resigning herself to the fact that the love of her life was completely innocent and that she did indeed have to teach him everything.

-       It was going to be so much fun.

-       “You see when a man and a woman love each other very much-” “MC I KNOW ABOUT SEX I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SOULMATES!” he hissed loud enough for the two rows surrounding them to snigger at. “Sex? Who said anything about sex? Geez, I say soulmate and you’re already trying to get into my pants-” “MC!” he whined, his amethyst eyes large and pleading. Of course, she acquiesced.

-       “Forever Yoosung. It means that you and me, until death do us part, no matter what… it’s me and you.”

-       He took a moment to process this, that he had literally no choice in who he fell in love with- that fate intervened and made sure that he had someone to love and someone to love him in return for the rest of his life… it was just so much to take in…

-       MC entwined her fingers with his when she noticed what she assumed was struggle painted on his face. This, he was going to have this, forever.

-       It didn’t matter that he had just met the girl, that he knew nothing about her- his body knew before he did. He already loved her.

-       He smiled and squeezed her hand back.

-       “Okay… I think I’m okay with that.”

Zen:

-       His first motion picture…

-       He was beside himself. He couldn’t believe that his agent had managed to get him this part! It was meant for a more well-known leading man and an unknown actress but they had fallen in love with how well he had read for the part and how well his headshots looked against the actress’s.  

-       He hadn’t been told who they had chosen, it wasn’t like it really mattered at the end of the day- the girl was an unknown, fresh faced and new in the show business role. She had never acted a day in her life but the casting director had seen her on the street and she had just the aesthetic he was after- it was just pure dumb luck that she was natural at acting.

-       He had planned to talk to her at the read through but she had lost her voice and couldn’t attend… it wasn’t until they were both there for the first physical run through of the scenes that they actually met…

-       “Oh hi! You must be-” “Yeah! You’re the actress playing MC right?-”

-       He didn’t get to finish his sentence, nor did she.

-       She was whisked off to fit some costumes and he… he couldn’t breathe.

-       The moment he said MC, his lips started to tingle and an odd buzzing sound rang in his ears. His cheeks felt flushed and his heart beat raced. He couldn’t understand… he had said that name more than a thousand times whilst reading the script, not once did he ever feel that way. It must have been her. Seeing her and her face must have just solidified his character’s feelings inside him of course. That must be what it was.

-       When she finally returned and they shook hands he could have sworn that he felt his own heartbeat beating in time with hers, palm to palm, one solid beat.

-       Damn it he needed to focus and not get too lost into the character… his character was the love-sick fool not him! He was a professional! He had only met this girl! He-he

-       … she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.

-       FOCUS!

-       He had to thank whatever it was running through his system because he had never felt more “on” than at that moment. Every line he delivered to her felt authentic and organic, like he truly meant it. Looking around it was obvious that everyone else on set agreed, absolutely transfixed on the couple centre stage.

-       He could feel every word she was saying to him like it was scripture; that every word of love and devotion that she spoke had the power to let him walk on air… and god he really wanted to try.

-       …

-       He must have been a better actor than even he gave himself credit for, making himself believe that he was already half in love with the woman in front of him…

-       He didn’t even want to stop rehearsing until the Director had called out three times for them to finish up, he was just a ball of energy and wanted nothing more than to release that through this amazing acting he and this actress were performing, he didn’t want to lose momentum.

-       He didn’t want to lose what he was feeling…

-       “H-Hey! MC! Did you want to go and get some lunch with me?” he had asked before realising that he had called her by her character’s name. He felt the blood flood his cheeks as he forced himself not to slap himself or just die from embarrassment. He couldn’t be that far gone into this role to already be thinking of her as her character… this is how idiots fall in love with co-stars… “I’m so sorry, habit, I didn’t mean to call you MC-”

“And why not? It’s my name too,” she smiled as she rested her hand on his bicep, the muscle there twitching instinctively under her touch.

-       Shit.

-       Zen was no fool. He knew what this meant. He knew, deep down, that he wasn’t that good of an actor to fool himself- damn it- he was already half in love.

-       The only half evidently. She seemed completely unaffected… unless… had she said his name yet? No, she hadn’t. Only his character’s name!

-       “How silly of me! All this time I’ve never introduced myself properly! Hello MC, my name is Zen, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he beamed offering his hand out to her.  

-       Please

-       She smiled and took his hand and laughed as he flipped it over to kiss the back of hers.

-       “Oh! Hahah- wow! Um… yes, yes it’s lovely to meet you too Zen… Zen.”

-       He watched in rapt fascination as her fingers curled around his almost painfully, how her eyes widened and how her jaw fell and closed but fell back down- as if she were trying to desperately find the words… or simply remember how to talk.

-       “So… it’s true what they say…” he trailed off as he drew her closer with a simple tug of her hand still within his, “About when you meet your other half…”

Swallowing deeply and finally blinking her burning eyes MC shook her head and took a step back, though, she did not withdraw her hand. “What do they say?” she asked her voice trembling as much as her body was.

“That when you finally say your Soulmate’s name- nothing else in the world sounds as beautiful. That nothing else tastes as nice as the name of your Soulmate on your tongue. That the mere thought of their name is enough to bring tears to your eyes…”

-       She stared at him completely astonished by the ardent proclamations of this- stranger-

-       “No one says that,” she whispered as she licked her lips subconsciously her eyes fixated on his, content on watching him worry at the plump flesh. “Not out loud…” “They should… So- um… lunch?” she asked finally pulling away and bringing her hand to her chest, her other hand cradling it almost tenderly, her fingers tracing the still- warm parts of her skin that he had held.

-       They talked about anything that came to mind, their pasts, their dreams, their favourite food and their mutual aversion to cats. “A cat scratched my face when I was three and although I think they’re beautiful, I just… I just can’t.”

-       Soulmates were made to be a perfect fit after all…  

-       Once they got back on set the tension between the two was so thick it was practically humming- everyone could see that something had happened over lunch.

-       During a pivotal scene, where they were about to finally separate ways forever and part with a kiss…  

-       MC was looking at Zen, tears brimming in her eyes –geez what a talent- merely four lines away from their kiss and-

-       … and she dropped her script and crossed the stage to kiss him. Completely unscripted. Completely inappropriate.

-       It was perfect.

-       “-But Director, they’re not meant to kiss yet-”

“Shhh… she’s absolutely right! The character wouldn’t be able to wait, she wouldn’t want to waste a moment with talk when these two people are all about action! Have the scriptwriters add it right away-”

-       Zen smirked as they continued to share their first kiss with more than fifty random people around them. He didn’t care, the Director was right. They didn’t want to waste another moment- and suddenly- Zen didn’t mind being one of those idiot actors who fell in love with his co-star.

-       “Okay guys we get the point, we should probably move on… guys?… guys?!”

Jaehee:

-       It wasn’t particularly easy being kicked out by your Uncle and Aunt… she didn’t have anyone… and she didn’t want to touch what little was left of her inheritance from her parents so- she figured it would be better if she found a part time job.

-       That way her mind would be occupied at all times and she could indeed earn some money.

-       Besides… working with coffee wasn’t a bad thing. Being a barista wasn’t a bad thing, even if it did mean she was practically drooling at every order she made, she figured there would be worse cons to a job… like being a slave to a tyrant who overworked you and never appreciated you- she shuddered. She never wanted to end up like that!

-       It was a particularly busy day being the first weeks of winter, everyone would run in just wanting a cup of something warm to hold to help them heat up against the chill in the air, the poor brunette was already run off her feet. She was barely even looking at the customers in the eyes as she pushed their orders across the counter.

-       Wiping the sweat off her brow with the back of her arm, Jaehee took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Soon. Her own break would be soon. Just the next order to do and she would be free for 30 glorious minutes.

-       Pulling the last ticket off the machine so she could read her colleague’s sloppy writing a little easier, she memorised the order and proceeded to make it perfectly. Pouring it out into the large cup Jaehee took the receipt again to make sure she got the customer’s name right- MC…

-       She nearly spilt the drink all over herself.

-       That name. She’d seen it a thousand times before. Written it a thousand times before.

-       But this time- this person’s name… it made her heart skip a beat. It made her heart feel full and happier than it had for the longest time. It made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. It made her think of a home, a real one with her and this MC.

-       All from a name.

-       Jaehee finished writing the name down on the cup neatly and carefully put the pen down. She licked her lips and inhaled and called out in a voice she hoped didn’t shake too much, “MC?!”

-       “Oh here!?”

-       Jaehee looked up to see an angel in a trench coat and beanie. Her skin kissed with cold, nose and cheeks rosy and eyes bright. Such beauty right in front of her. “Um… may I please have my order um… Jae-Jaehee?”

-       The two women looked at each other from either side of the counter, the noise and hustle and bustle of the small coffee shop completely going unnoticed by them.

-       Jaehee pushed the cup to the middle of the bench only to be met in the middle by MC’s hand, her gloved fingers wrapping themselves around her quivering digits.

-       “I… this is…” she stammered unable to look away from the other woman’s eyes, her own honeyed irises large with disbelief.

-       She couldn’t be that lucky… to meet them… to meet her so early in life…

-       “It is,” MC answered her pink cheeks turning red as her lips curled into a stunning smile.

-       “B-but I don’t believe in-” “I’m standing right here.”

“Nothing good ever happens to me-” “Right in front of you.” “I have a break now-” “Let’s have a coffee.”

-       For the first time since she started working there, Jaehee took her break front of house… with a customer no less… and no one batted an eye when 30 minutes turned to an hour. Then an hour into an hour and a half- the girl had never smiled like she did right then; who were they to take that away from her?

-       They did however yell at her when she accidentally kept writing and calling out MC’s name for every order for the next day.

Jumin:

-       Soulmates? Preposterous. His father had spent his entire adult life looking for his soulmate, convinced that every pretty woman who batted their eyelashes at him and feigned to feel a strong connection to him (his money) was the one. This obsession with finding his Soulmate leading their family to shame and their company to ruin.

-       Well. Not. Him.

-       He didn’t believe in such nonsense. Not once did he find a woman worth spending time with let alone believing them capable to be the other perfect half of your soul. That would be the day.

-       All throughout high school he had one vapid girl after another clawing at him to say their name, hoping that he would feel the twinge in his heart and for butterflies to zoom out of his butt or some ridiculous notion like that. By the first month of school he refused to call any girl by their name and insisted on labelling everyone “Hey you there” or “Female student in front of me.”  

-       By the time he entered university, word had gotten out that Jumin Han just hated the idea of anyone being in love- because who would so vehemently refuse to even try to find their Soulmate? Who would look down on others just for trying to find a little piece of happiness? He was just an angry, lonely man.

-       Not that they were entirely wrong on that assessment… but not entirely right either.

-       Though, he didn’t let something like public opinion of him falter his course or his ideas- Jumin never thought much of other people’s talking of subjects they had no idea about. He took great pleasure it picking apart their arguments and making them sound like fools.

-       Probably why he made such an excellent debater, Captain of the team in fact.

-       In his final year of University, they were finally pitted against their rival school; not once in all the years he had been on the team had he had the chance to face off with the national champions- he was always called off to sit in with his father’s meetings or off sick; but not this time. This time he would meet them, crush them and reclaim the title for his school.

-       He had tried every avenue to find out what they could about their new Captain but everyone was on lockdown, no one would talk and all means of electronically hacking their systems to find out who they were, were completely barred. He didn’t want to cheat, it would sully his victory- no he just wanted to be prepared. Know their history, their grades and whatnot- let it never be said that Jumin Han didn’t do his homework.

-       The day of the debate arrived and sure enough familiar faces lined the opposite team- except one. A pretty girl he supposed, hardly what he would call imposing with her sweet smile and her intermittent waves to the crowd in front of them. Hardly Captain material, he’d be surprised if she was first chair… but wait- what was she doing sitting in the Captain’s chair?

-       Good Lord.

-       This was going to be too easy.

-       Jumin barely heard the announcer listing off his teammates but he paused when he heard her name. It cut through him like a hot knife through butter, seared onto his brain.

-       MC.

-       He felt nauseous, a cold sweat forming on his upper lip as his steel grey eyes raked over her smaller form.

-       She looked just as shaken as he did; her hands ringing together ripping the tissues trapped between her fingers.

-       He thought he was going to faint- what was this feeling? He mouthed her name and the feeling of illness slipped away only to be replaced with a wash of warmth? A silly tingling in his blood that seemed to be singing her name in his ears. His mouth was dry and his throat on fire, his palms lined with a sheen of sweat and his heart beating in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know what was going on, he didn’t understand.

-       He watched as MC calmed herself all the while keeping her gaze focused on him, her cheeks burning up the longer she stared. She ran her tongue along her lower lip and he had never been so charmed by a muscle in his life.

-       Jumin she mouthed, maybe to him, maybe to herself- he didn’t know- what he did notice however was the way her hand clutched at her blazer just above where her heart would be. She didn’t look like she was in pain but she wasn’t exactly the same grinning woman he had seen moments earlier.

-       Indeed, it seemed that Jumin could barely tear his eyes off her, he couldn’t pay attention to his teammates, he couldn’t take notes- he could only focus on her. Just how far had he fallen? Over hearing a name and seeing a pretty face? Get it together Jumin!

-       Except he couldn’t. Every time he tried to rebut an argument he would instinctively look back at the opposite team and his eyes locked onto hers and he’d be lost. Each time he’d make any headway with his points he’d want to say her name instead, and of course, everything came out all tongue tied.

-       Thankfully for him, her performance wasn’t much better, she was a blushing mess but still- a coherent blushing mess.

-       Jumin’s university went home empty handed that year after all.

-       But not Jumin, not this time.

-       He wouldn’t lose twice in one day.

-       “Hello there, good performance today.”

“You too.”

“I’m Jumin Han-” “I know. I’m MC-”

“I heard, yes.”

-       Her teammates were calling for her to hurry up and get on the bus and she was about to call back to them but was cut off by the suddenly confident opposing Captain, “Please go on ahead- I will take MC home.” They looked at her and she in turn looked up to him and shook her head at his cavalier and brash assumption. He was just lucky it was the correct one. “It’s fine guys, you heard what Jumin said- he’s going to take me home.”

-       The silence in the auditorium was deafening. Jumin never spoke a girl’s first name and he certainly never let someone who just met him call him by his first name… unless…

-       Jumin fiddled with the cufflinks in his sleeves trying to buy time before he had to speak again. MC picked at imaginary lint at her skirt in hopes that the man would continue his initiative.

-       “I… I don’t know how any of this works… in fact until about an hour ago I was certain it was all a farce,” he admitted his eyes firmly fastened on her right shoulder, “but if… if it’s really what it seems like is it- what it feels like it is- I would like the chance to understand it all. Understand everything about you.”

-       MC smiled, even if she wasn’t his Soulmate, after that heartfelt speech, she would have bribed the stars themselves to realign just so she could be. “I don’t know how this works either- my mother told me it might happen one day, to just pray it would just happen before I got married to someone else who I thought was my Soulmate… is it… I mean… you felt it too? When you heard my name?” she questioned her eyebrows arching up as high as they would go. “The pull? The need to keep saying my name over and over again? Tell me it just wasn’t me.”

-       Jumin’s lips quirked to the side in an amused smirk, this girl was adorable. She could have asked to have his heart out on a platter and he’d have freely offered it, but all she required was the confirmation of his budding feelings from him.

-       Just too easy.

-       “I did. I feel it now. I have no choice but to believe in all this-” “Prove it.”

“Uh…how?”

“Scream my name out into the audience, let everyone hear it! Let everyone hear the name on the tip of your tongue, the name that your heart beats to now!” she goaded him, an excited grin on her face.

-       Jumin stared at her in shock- again another easy request… he didn’t care what people thought of him after all. Shrugging nonchalantly Jumin opened his mouth to swallow a gulp of air more than ready to scream out her name-

-       Only to have two delicate hands cover his mouth and a giggle that was not his own reverberating on his chest.

“Damn it! I didn’t think you’d actually do it! You’re crazy! I believe it, I believe you!” she guffawed, burying her face against him, her body heat and laughter seeping into him and offering a warmth that he had never felt before.

-       He liked it.

-       He wanted more.

-       “So… perhaps it wouldn’t be out of line for me to ask you out to dinner?” he asked looking down at the crown of her head. “O-Of course not!” “Tonight?”

-       The tentative slip of her hand in his was answer enough for him.

Saeyoung:

-       He was a good, diligent worker and that was all that mattered to the Agency.

-       He barely ate, he barely slept, barely did anything but exist and work.

-       The perfect agent.

-       Then they brought her in.

-       606.

-       Quiet and withdrawn but brilliant. She could code almost as well as he did and she could hack into places faster and without a trace better than him. She slept less than him. Ate less than him. Was less than him.

-       She wasn’t going to survive, she would burn out and become useless to the Agency and she would have to be disposed of.

-       … and even as far as he had come, as low as he had gone… that didn’t sit right with him. He chose this life, but someone that hollow did not. Someone that broken had been torn away from a good life, a happy life.

-       He imagined her having younger siblings who missed her, parents who searched the streets with her picture in hand begging for information, friends who no longer spoke to each other because the memory of her haunted them.

-       He wasn’t going to let the agency steal a life that didn’t belong to them.

-       It all started with innocent emails; just him asking how she was, sending her funny jokes or pictures, bantering and bitching about work in such a way that no one would be able to crack down on them for… make her smile. Make her strong. Don’t let her break.

-       606 soon became the life of the office… which didn’t say much because it was literally just him, her and Vanderwood in the small room. She was laughing and smiling and radiating joy- her work improved… the Agency was very happy.

-       707. Stay back tonight. Help me with an assignment?

-       Of course, 606, whatever you need.

-       That night when Vanderwood had finally gone past his threshold of exhaustion, the older man peeled himself off the chair and bid “the children” goodnight.

-       She kept typing, she kept on finishing her work for another 20 minutes as he sat there dumbfounded as to why she had asked him to stay back when all she was doing was literally more work. That was what tomorrow was for!

-       He was about to pack up and leave when she threw him a piece of paper.

I’m leaving. Tonight. Come with me.

-       He looked back up at her, there was nothing on her face to discern that she even sent him the message- or even blinked. “So… you in?”

-       Of course, 606, whatever you need.

-       He nodded. She kept typing.

“Come and see me in my room then?”

-       Aahhh, so that’s how she was going to hide it- she was going to pretend they were going to sleep together. That was something he often found weird in the Agency- they didn’t care or discourage the formation of relationships between agents- probably believed if you got attached they could always use the partner as insurance or worse, incentive. “Yeah, I’ll meet you in there.”

-       When he arrived she was in full combat gear, she was ready to fight her way out if needed. They went over the plan over and over again, whispering directly into each other’s ears so that not even the bugs in their rooms could pick up what they were saying. Also with occasional moan or shudder it seemed like they were just making out.

-       Her room was just above the route the laundry trucks would ride out from and she had managed to make contact with one of her friends from the outside- come midnight she, they, would jump down and escape this hell hole. They only had one chance to do this- the other agents on duty would notice a paused truck and would respond immediately.

-       The clock ticked by and before they knew it, it was 11:59 and the faint rumble of an engine could be heard, the soft hiss of the brakes beneath her window.

-       “In case I die,” she uttered, her face stoic and unmoving, “I want you to know- my name, it’s not 606. They wanted me to forget but I will never forget. My name is MC.”

-       It was like a punch to his chest, the sound of her name. It ignited something in him that he never thought he would have the chance to feel, to experience. Not there. To find her there amongst all the sin and evil that they do, he knew how to spot a miracle when God sent one.

-       “You’re not going to die MC, I promise,” he replied as he held her to him in a bone crushing embrace, “I promise.”

“Your name, 707- if I die, I want to know your-” “Didn’t I just say that you weren’t going to die MC?” he chuckled as her helped out of the window, “I, Saeyoung Choi, promise you.”

-       The look on her face as she said his name would have been enough to take him to his grave. To see her face light up with joy and surprise as if someone had turned on a light inside of her, that would be one of his most treasured memories.

-       His sharp ears caught the sounds of rushed footsteps down the hall.

-       He pushed her roughly before she was ready and heard a loud snap of something when she fell onto the truck. MC was bowed forward, holding onto her right foot that had landed awkwardly and bent inwardly- her face contorted into silent screams.

-       Saeyoung made the sign of the cross as he backed away from the window to do a run up. God please- I just found her- don’t take her away from me.

-       He landed beside her, coiling his arms around her protectively as he laid her down to see the damage to her ankle- it was bad but nothing that some doctor couldn’t fix.

-       He beamed down at her, cupping her face tenderly…

-       As he tried desperately to ignore the barrage of agents chasing after the both of them.

-       Saeyoung gently caressed her features with his fingers, desperate to feel everything under his touch, etch it into his mind.

-       “You lie down here and keep safe okay? I’m going to go and hold them off-” “No! You can’t do that! They’ll torture you to death!” she cried sitting up, screaming out in pain as she accidentally moved her foot. He shushed her, looking forward to see that they were nearly clear of the base… she was so close to being free. “Shh, shhh- it’s okay MC. It’ll be okay. I promise,” he reassured her, his eyes crinkling so much that little droplets of tears dotted his auburn lashes. “No it won’t be-” “I’ll find you. I promise. I’ll find you.”

“Saeyoung!”

-       He jumped off the truck and refused to allow himself to look back at her- if he did, he would never be able to leave her side.

-       MC ignored the searing pain rushing up her leg to twist her body to watch her Soulmate’s noble sacrifice. One man, two, twelve men on him… he had no chance.

-       “Saeyoung!” she croaked, her voice stifled by her despair.

-       You promised…

-       707: WAIT

        Yoosung: Why?                 Zen:??         707: Think someone entered the chat room;;

        Jumin: MC…?

-       Saeyoung smiled to himself as he traced the location and turned on the camera.

-       Promised I would find you.

  Saeran:

-       He had been searching for months under her orders. Months and no one was right. He was about to give up hope, that he would have to send in one of their own to infiltrate the damned RFA… but then she appeared.

-       Like a gust of wind on a scorching day or the breath of air coursing through starved lungs- she blew into his life and turned it upside down.

-       He would follow her and watch her from afar. He would tap in and listen to her conversations- not because he was interested in what she was saying- he just wanted to hear her voice.

-       Her friend was laughing on the other line, “Oh… MC… you’re too much!”

-       Saeran fell to the floor, his knees smarting from the hard concrete. No- NO!

-       He crawled underneath his desk and curled up into a tight ball, his arms hugging his knees as he lightly rocked back and forth. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, made him jittery and on edge. No- he was warned against this. Was told that if he ever felt this that it was wrong, that he should only love the Saviour and their cause. That the call of someone else was evil, that it was the work of the corrupted

-       But he was already corrupted, no matter how many times they drugged him and made him try to forget- he knew he was… but MC-

-       She was perfect, absolutely perfect.

-       Unfortunately, the Saviour agreed.

-       It was hard to have something of your own in Mint Eye, something private, something sacred.

-       He had to get her back.

-       They had sent her to infiltrate an organisation full of desperate and lonely people- the most kind and innocent person sent into a den of wolves to feast upon. He had to save her.

-       He was frantic, he sent her conflicting messages- wanting to scare her away from Mint Eye but wanting her to stay away from them- especially Saeyoung. If any of them saw even half of what he saw in her… they would steal her away.

-       Finally the Saviour said it was time to claim their prize back, that since he was so good he could take her for himself- keep her safe himself. He was so happy. But when he got to the apartment, as he scaled the building and broke through the window to reach her… she was not as happy to see him.

-       She was screaming. She was backing away from him. She was afraid.

-       He couldn’t think straight- this wasn’t right. She was supposed to be happy to see him, to come with him willingly. Wasn’t that what Soulmates were about? The moment he knew her name-

-       That was it… he knew her name but she didn’t know his… to her he was…

-       “I’m from Paradise. You don’t know this but you were invited too… I know it took some time for me to come for you… now let’s go together… you look scared, don’t be. I won’t hurt you… endless parties, overflowing love, joy without pain… I’ll save you… You invited someone? Maybe… Luciel Choi?”

“MC- Are you hurt?” “I-I’m fine!” “I… I don’t know who you are… but let go of her!”

-       No. Not Luciel. The actor. The pretty one. Of course she would fall for the pretty one.

-       “No.” She’s mine. She’s meant for me.

“If you don’t, I’ll have to use force to protect my girl.” I don’t want to do this. “You move a single inch, you see this switch here? I’ll press it.” I won’t.

“What do you want?!”

-       The truth then.

-       “To escape this place safely with the RFA planner… If you don’t want to activate the bomb you better stay still. Just watch as I take… “your girl” and disappear.”

-       The pain in his arm paled in comparison to the ache in his heart when she pulled away from him to run into the arms of another man. Away from him. Always away.

-       Never his.

-       Meant to be his.

-       “My name… My name was Saeran.”

V:

-       It was the school for the rich and gifted.

-       Some more rich and others more gifted.

-       Most loved it there. Some merely tolerated it.

-       One person hated it.

-       Brought in through a scholarship to show how the school was “giving back to the community”, bringing in the charity case and parade them around like their latest trophy.

-       Well this trophy didn’t like the case she was put in. She didn’t like the people who thought they could polish her up and make her shine to their standards. She didn’t like them at all.

-       Especially those that shone the brightest- it hurt to look at them, like the sun- blindingly beautiful but dangerous.

-       None shone more so than V.

-       Pfft.

-       Who the hell named their child V? What pretentious jackass does that?

-       Wasn’t it enough that he went strutting around with his best friend, waving and talking to the more common folk? Wasn’t it too much that he went around taking photos of people and landscapes and saying pompous things like “everything is beautiful and everything is art?” Wasn’t it over the top that he had the gall to act all sweet and kind and look like some sort of bronzed Greek God? WASN’T IT?!

-       MC breathed in trying to calm herself. For the better part of the last six months she had spent it running, hiding and keeping her distance from him. He seemed hell bent on seeking her out and trying to talk to her- well she wanted nothing from him! No help! No charity! No pity! Just to be left alone.

-       During a study period, she was cornered by none other than that trust fund kid’s best friend, super-mega trust fund kid the first, Jumin Han.

-       He chose the desk right next to hers although almost every other desk was available, which only meant he wanted to speak to her.

-       “Why do you hate V?” he asked so bluntly she was surprised by it. She sat up from her prone position laying along the desk and twisted slightly to face the man to her left. She propped her head on her hand and gave him a long, pointed stare.  

-       “I… I don’t know. I just do. From his perfect hair to his perfect persona to, god even his name pisses me off! V! There are just some people that you’re not meant to get along with and he and I are obviously not meant to be besties,” she huffed as she rested the front of her torso back down against the desk, resting her chin atop her crossed arms.

-       “I told him,” he clicked his tongue as he shook his head ruefully, crossing his arms like a disappointed adult to a child… or small pet. “I told Jihyun that you were certifiable. Who hates someone just because of what they can see? Without even getting to know them?”

-       Her fingers dug into the worn wood of the table beneath her.

-       Jihyun… now that was… that was a name she liked. Her breath escaped her lungs as she whirled around so fast she almost lost balance on her seat. That name made her feel soft and fuzzy and loved- she had never even met him and she was already in love with him. Jihyun, a good and noble man who wanted nothing more than to love and care for the woman he loved and to be loved and cared for in return. A man who would make them such horrible breakfasts on Sunday when they were married that they would inevitably go out and eat at a restaurant- yet he never stopped trying. Because he loved her and one day he wanted to get it right. A man who would stay in and read the paper to her as she lay in between his legs and slept on his chest- he wouldn’t even move at all for fear she’d wake or be disturbed.

-       She loved that name.

-       Her heart beat faster and suddenly she couldn’t control her extremities, her legs were bouncing up and down in excitement and her hands unsure of where to place themselves, every place awkward compared to the thought of her hands being linked with his. It didn’t feel right- to be on her own, not now she knew his name.

-       “Who?” she meekly asked the ebony haired prince next to her. He was fiddling with a loose thread on his blazer sleeve, pulling at the strand until it came out completely. “Jumin- who?” she repeated hoping that her insistence would be enough to show him how important it was for her to know who this man was.

-       He gave her a perplexed look, thoughtful eyes glided over her form as if he were trying to ascertain whether she was joking or not. His eyes widened and his mouth pressed into a thin line when he quickly realised that she wasn’t asking in jest, she was completely serious.

“Jihyun… Jihyun Kim is V’s real name. The man you so ardently hated?” he answered, his mouth twitching up into a wry smile.

-       Damn it.

-       MC violently pushed herself back from the desk with both hands before she started running to the last place she had seen V- Jihyun. He was entering the dark room just as she was heading to the study hall. The light was on meaning he was developing something… she should be patient…

-       … but all those months… all those wasted months- how could he forgive her? She didn’t know but she had to try!

-       The light flicked off and she knocked, waiting for him to call out that it was okay and that she could come it. She slowly opened the door and closed it behind her.

-       Less than five steps away was Jihyun, pulling down some developed photos.

-       He was right. Everything was beautiful. Everything was art.

-       He was art.

-       And she was just some dumb pedestrian trying to look at the piece and critique it without having all the history and facts behind it, not knowing the mastery it took to create it. The love that went into it. Fool.

-       He turned to her and she swore that the blue of his eyes was just that little bit bluer, the tone of his hair that much deeper and his lips, full and perfect and so ready for her to kiss she couldn’t believe there was ever a time she wanted to slap his smile off. Now she’d do anything to keep it there forever.

-       What’s in a name? Everything. What did Shakespeare know?

-       “I… I’m so sorry,” she cried, prostrating herself in a deep bow.

-       Startled, V set aside his print and pulled the bowing woman up and forced her to look at him. “What for? I’m not aware of anything you’ve done that would warrant an apology,” he replied good naturedly, his kind smile warming her to her bones. “I have been terrible to you and only because… for some unknown reason- I couldn’t stand your name. What it stood for, what you seemingly stood for,” she confessed, her cheeks burning under the harsh lights.

-       V reached behind her and turned on the dark room red lights once again- to save her from embarrassment.

-       “I know- it’s okay MC, you don’t have to explain. I know my name is the problem,” he admitted with a careless shrug. MC gawked at him, how could he know? How could he possibly know?! “I’ve known since the first day when I felt the bond but you did nothing but run away from me- I knew that my name was faulty and that although you may be my Soulmate- that I simply was not yours.”

-       All this time, he thought he was the problem. That she didn’t love him because his name was faulty, that he was faulty.

-       Her heart shattered and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She almost ruined this man, she continued to pile hurt upon hurt on him and now there she was telling her how much she loved him… well… that was what she wanted to do, whether or not she could do it not was the other question.

-       “No… I… I was just stupid. I thought your name was V, not Jihyun. There was nothing wrong with your name- there is nothing wrong with you. I… just, wanted to let you know that. You’re amazing. You’re perfect and I want to get to know you, just as you are.”

-       Even in the dark, the brightness from his smile could be seen.

-       “You do?” the hope in his voice evident, taking the first steps to close the gap between them. “I do. I want the chance to know the real Jihyun,” she beamed. “I would love nothing more than that, MC,” he replied, encircling his arms around her body. -       Well what do you know, they were a perfect fit.

[thinkyoureholy]

Stay

[a/n: I made myself cry writing this cause Yoongs is my ult so like....pls don't murder me. I swear this has a happy ending]

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Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Angst

Words: 4.7k

“You gonna drop by the dorm later?” Yoongi asked, sounding hopeful.

I laughed and shook my head even though he couldn't see it, “Well how else do you think Namjoonie is getting home?” I retorted teasingly.

“Yah! Whose ‘Namjoonie’?” Namjoon said reaching over to pull on my ear.

I whined and tried slapping his hand away but was unsuccessful as his grip around my ear tightened.

“NAMJOON!” I exclaimed, finally getting him to let me go.

I heard Yoongi laugh through the phone, amused by Namjoon and I’s antics, “Alright babe I gotta go, enjoy your date with your best friend.”

After saying our goodbyes I put my phone away, focusing on the ice cream in front of me. I heard Namjoon chuckle as I basically shoved the ice cream into my mouth.

“What does hyung not feed my baby sister enough?” Namjoon asked teasingly.

I kicked his shin under the table lightly and he laughed, raising his hands in a form of surrender. No matter who I dated Namjoon always went into over protective brother mode. He even got angry at that fact that Yoongi and I were dating when we first told him, he glared at Yoongi non stop for about three days. Now he knew how I felt whenever he would bring someone over to meet me. I never liked any of his past girlfriends, thinking he could do way better but I never meddled in their business.

“He takes great care of me thank you very much.” I retorted, pushing his shoulder lightly.

“It's just himself he doesn't take very good care of…” I added, losing my appetite as I thought of what Yoongi forgets to do whenever he’s working on new music.

The very basic things such as eating and sleeping come last to him when he’s composing new beats or writing lyrics. I’m always worried he’ll land himself in the hospital because of how little he takes care of himself. In the three years that we’ve been together I've seen him on the verge of passing out from exhaustion more times than I’d like.

“He’s eating isn’t he?” I asked Namjoon quietly,keeping my head down.

“Y/n...you know how stubborn he is…” Namjoon said with a sigh.

“Make sure he eats at least twice a day please? You're with him for most of the day in the studio.”

“What kind of dongsaeng are you huh? You don’t care if your oppa is eating?” He questioned accusingly, somewhat teasingly.

I tsked, reaching forward and pushing his head to the side, “You attack food like it's your last meal what are you talking about?”

He smiled his signature dimpled smile, nodding agreeing with me, “I’ll make sure he eats don’t worry now hurry up and eat that ice cream before it melts, I didn’t buy it for nothing.”

I laughed and did as he said, going back to joking with him about his dancing.

……

“When’s your next day off?” I asked him as I turned a corner to get to the dorm.

“I don’t know but I’ll let you know and we can all go out with the guys...it’s been awhile since we all did something together.”

I nodded and turned one last corner, stopping in front of the building. I was confused as I saw Jimin pacing outside, looking as if he was trying to get through to someone on the phone. I looked at Namjoon curiously before getting out of the car and walking towards him with Namjoon at my side.

“Jimin what’s wrong?” Namjoon asked, grabbing onto his shoulders to stop him.

“Hyung! Why-why haven't you answered your phone? We’ve been t-trying to call and-and it just kept going straight to voicemail. I-I had to stay h-here and wait for you while the others went-”

“Chim, hey Jimin listen to me. Breathe okay breathe.” I cut him off, grabbing onto his shoulders to get him to look at me.

“I-I….Yoo-Yoongi hyung...h-he-” Jimin stuttered out stopping mid sentence, failing to fight back the tears that started streaming down his face.

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Yoongi’s name. My breath hitched in my throat as I grabbed Jimin’s face in my hands, wiping the tears off his cheeks with my thumbs.

“Calm down okay? Just tell us what’s going on.” I told him in the softest voice I could manage.

“Yoongi hyung...he-he got in an accident on h-his way home.” He whispered through his tears.

I stared at him, hoping this was all a sick joke as I let my hands fall to my side. This--This can’t be happening, no way. I just talked to him less than an hour ago. I felt my breathing get heavier, slowly starting to hyperventilate as my body started shaking. I took a step back from Jimin, ignoring the way Namjoon called out to me as my eyes glossed over with tears. My knees buckled from under me but Namjoon was quick to react as he grabbed me, supporting my body with his own.

“What happened?” I asked in a whisper, afraid that if I talked too loud I would completely break down.

“T-They said some guy ran a red light and--and rammed straight i-into the side of hyung’s car...the car flipped o-over multiple times before finally stopping.”

“Where is he?”

Jimin stayed quiet for a second too long and that’s when the tears started falling freely down my face. I looked at Jimin desperately wanting answers as my heart felt like is was being crushed under a 1000 ton dumbbell.

“Where is he?!” I screamed, causing both Namjoon and Jimin to jump at the sudden change of volume.

“He’s at the National University Hospital.”

I untangled myself from Namjoon’s arms as quickly as I could and headed towards my car. Just as I was about to open the door I felt someone grab my wrist. I turned around quickly and tried shaking Namjoon off but failed as his grip tightened.

“Let me go. I n-need to get to him...I-I need to know t-that he’s all right.” I said full on sobbing now as Namjoon hugged me to his chest.

“Give me the keys.”  He said in a calm voice.

“What?”

“There's no way I’m letting you drive in your condition.”

“But-”

“Just get in the back with Jimin.” He stated firmly, taking the keys out of my hands.

Jimin immediately came to my side and ushered me to the back seat, sitting next to me and closing the door behind him. Namjoon backed out of the driveway, driving as fast as he could to the hospital.

I had managed to calm down as much as possible, Jimin having a tight hold on my hand as he tried soothing me. I knew he wasn’t in any better condition than I was, the shaking of his whole body was a dead give away. I had no idea how Namjoon held it together but by how tight his grip was on the steering wheel I knew he was hanging on by a thread.

……

I felt my whole body pumping with adrenaline as I basically jumped out of the car, not wanting to wait for Namjoon to properly park it. I heard Jimin jump out after me, yelling for me to wait up as I ran inside the hospital. Immediately finding the front desk I ran to it with all the strength I had and spoke in the steadiest voice I could muster.

“I’m looking for a Min Yoongi.”

The nurse at the desk nodded, typing away at her computer, “He’s on the fifth floor but ma’am-”

I didn't wait for her to finish and ran to the elevators, Jimin hot on my trail. When one opened up Namjoon had caught up, all three of us anxiously waiting to get to the right floor. As the doors to the elevators opened on the fifth floor I ran out, immediately heading to the waiting room they had on each floor. Once inside I saw the rest of the boys; Seokjin pacing around the room, Hoseok had his head down as his leg kept bouncing up and down anxiously, Taehyung was staring down at his hands and I could see his body was shaking slightly, and Jungkook just stared at the wall in front of him blankly, his face void of any emotion.

As soon as I walked into their line of sight they all noticed me, their heads shooting up in my direction. Namjoon walked over to Seokjin, wanting to calm his hyung down as Jimin went to Taehyung as he saw how shaken up he was. I stared at Hoseok as he got up and stood in front of me, silent tears rolling down his face. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out but a sob as we threw our arms over the other. We held onto each other tightly as my own tears fell from my eyes, the complete and utter despair I was feeling getting to be too overwhelming.

“Where is he?” I asked, voice loud enough for the others to hear.

“He’s in surgery right now but we've been here for two hours and no one’s told us anything yet.” Seokjin said, his voice slightly shaky.

At that Jungkook suddenly got up, startling all of us as he knocked over the chair he was sitting in when he got up. I went after him as he rounded the corner, stopping when I saw him slumped down on the floor with his back against the wall.

“Jungkook…”

That was all I said as I sat down next to him, his shoulders started to shake as a sob went through him. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, hugging him tightly, letting him cry on my shoulder as I felt tears of my own fall out of my eyes once again.

“What if--what if Yoongi hyung doesn’t make it? What if-”

I cut him off as I grabbed his face in both of my hands, “ Stop that. He’s gonna be fine, he has to be…” I told him my voice breaking at the possibility that I might be wrong and he might not make it back to us.

“He has to be okay.” I said through a sob as I thought of never being able to see him smile.

I might never be able to hear him laugh at the stupid things I said, I might never get to hear his voice; hear him say he loved me, hear him tell me to slow down when I was talking too fast because I was excited. I might never be able to hold him as close to me as Jungkook was right now and that broke something in me and my chest felt like it was caving in on itself. Worst of all he might never hear me tell him how much I love him, how he has changed me into the person I am today, how I thought I could never love another human being as much as I loved him.

Before I knew it Jungkook had brought me in for another hug, my face buried in his chest as I sobbed. I felt his own tears hit my shoulder as my body shook in his arms. I scrunched his shirt up in my hands, hearing multiple footsteps running towards us. I refused to look up at the boys, crying it all out as Jungkook rocked me back and forth in his arms.

-

Twenty minutes later and we were all back in the waiting room. I was laying across two chairs, my head on Namjoon’s lap and my feet on Seokjin’s lap. Jungkook and Taehyung were sitting on the floor in front of me and Hoseok and Jimin on either side of Namjoon and Seokjin. It's like the boys had created a small wall around me with their bodies, in any other occasion I would’ve simply laughed but now I couldn’t find it in me to do it.

I managed a tiny smile as Namjoon kept running his hands through my hair. Being my best friend and all he knew exactly what to do to calm me down and to keep me calm. I knew that not only was he worried about Yoongi, he was also worried about me, knowing how much Yoongi meant to me. I combed my own fingers through Jungkook and Taehyung’s hair, alternating between the two every few minutes to help keep me distracted. They didn’t seem to mind as they both leaned their heads back.

We all stayed like that for another two or three hours before a doctor walked towards us.

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the look on his face, that was the one look you never wanted to see on a doctor after treating one of your loved ones. We all stood up once he was in front of us. It was a miracle we all still managed to remember to bow to him respectfully.

“He’s...gone through a lot. He had severe hemorrhaging in his abdominal region, a few broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. He also sustained a severe hit to the head with the impact causing internal bleeding but we stopped it before any permanent damage could be done. Any other non life threatening injuries such as a broken arm and a broken ankle were dealt with accordingly.” The doctor stated, filling us in on his condition.

As he spoke I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly. Everything he listed off had me gasping for air. I had started leaning further into Namjoon as the doctor’s list progressed. I grew worried as the doctor paused, avoiding eye contact for a few seconds before continuing.

“It’s hard to say at the moment but...we’re not to sure if he’ll make it through the night.”

At that I felt like everything collapsed around me as I sank to the floor, staring blankly at the floor as tears streamed down my face. In the back of my mind I heard the doctor say something else before leaving, his words from before echoing in my head. My whole body shook, a sob leaving my mouth. This couldn’t be happening, just a few hours ago I was on the phone with him, talking about the most unimportant things. Just yesterday we were sitting in my apartment, lounging around on the couch enjoying each other's company.

~Flashback~

“Yah hyung~” Jungkook whined, trying to take back the popsicle Taehyung had snatched out of his hand.

Taehyung however refused to give it back, running to the other side of the room. No one really payed the two of them any mind, too focused in their own things. Hoseok, Jimin, Namjoon, and Seokjin were too immersed in their own conversation that they didn’t even notice the two younger ones fighting.  I laughed as I followed the pair with my eyes, probably being the one looking at them.

“How’s school going?” Yoongi asked from beside me, tapping the side of my head lightly to get my attention.

“Mm as good as school can be. You know I don’t really like going.” I told him, grinning at seeing him roll his eyes at me.

“It’s not like I can become a famous idol like someone. I won’t say any names but I’m looking at him.”

At that Yoongi let out a mix of a scoff and a chuckle, a shy smile overtaking his features. I loved how soft he got whenever I said something about him being an idol.

“I’m not famous…” He mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Oh yeah?” I shot out, taking out my phone and opening up twitter, “Would someone that’s not famous have this many fan accounts dedicated to him? I think not.”

I showed him all the accounts that were as they liked to call themselves “Number 1 Yoongi stans”. I grinned at seeing his cheeks tinge with the slightest bit of red.

“Little do they know that I am the number one Yoongi stan.”

He rolled his eyes once more, pulling me closer to him as he planted a small kiss on my forehead. I laughed lightly, snuggling further into his side as humanly possible.

“Yah, lovebirds you in on this game or nah?” Jimin called out to us, waving the controller he had in his hands.

I smirked, grabbing it out of his hands, “Only if Guk agrees to not be a sore loser when I completely demolish him for the third time this week.”

“Please, I let you win.” He scoffed.

“Boi you are in for a world of hurt.” I shot back at him, choosing the guns and attachments I’d be using in the round.

~End of flashback~

I shook that memory out of my head, shakily walking over to him. I didn’t want to see how broken he looked, how fragile he’s become. The others had decided to let me have a few minutes alone with him, thinking it’d be best to wait outside. The closer I got to his bed the closer I felt to completely breaking down. I was shaking like a leaf on a windy day, afraid of what I’d see. Finally reaching him I let out a choked sob at seeing him.

His head was wrapped in bandages, a cast on his ankle and his arm, and bruises and scratches all over his body. I took shaky steps closer to him, reaching out a hand but quickly retracting it. I brought my hands up to cover my mouth, muffling my cries as I took in the mask on his face, the thing helping him to breath since he couldn’t do so on his own. The only thing that reassured me that he was alive was the constant beep of his heart monitor.

“W-why…”I said softly through a whimper, taking the hand that wasn’t in a cast in both of mine.

“Why you...of all people.” I cried out softly, reaching a tentative hand to gently skim over his cheek.

His pale skin seemed to have paled more, if that was even possible, the once snow white skin color of his turning a ghastly color almost to the point of translucency. I looked over his face, scared at the thought of never being able to look into the dark brown eyes I fell in love with. Even now I missed the way he looked at me, missing the soft and gentle look in his eyes. It’s only been a few hours but I already miss his voice. I miss how much lower his voice got when he just woke up or when he was feeling incredibly sleepy. I miss the way he would tease me about my unspoken and constant competition against Jungkook. I missed how he wordlessly intertwined his fingers with mine, bringing me closer into his side. I missed how he smiled every time I’d bicker playfully with Namjoon. I missed him. I just wanted him to open his eyes, at least that way I’d know that he was still with me.

“I...love you...please,” I whispered, bringing his hand up to my lips, “D-don’t leave, please I-I can’t do this o-on my own.”

“You know a blue jay can’t fly without her wings.” I added, referring to what he would call me, a nickname only he used.

I felt more tears stream down my face, quickly wiping them away at hearing someone knock on the door. I kept my head down, not wanting them to see me cry any more than they have. Only three people were allowed in the room so two of them made their way inside. I didn’t know who it was but by the way one of them wrapped their arms around my shoulders from behind, resting their chin on the top of my head I knew one of them was Seokjin. He always did this when I was upset, his warm embrace enough to calm me down. I raised one of my hands to tightly grab onto one of his arms, looking up to see that he had walked in with Hoseok.  

“Hyung...wake up...please.” Hoseok said softly, his voice breaking.

“Yah...you little punk why are you keeping us waiting, huh?” Seokjin shot out, trying to lighten the mood but even without looking at him I knew his was on the verge of tears.

They didn’t stay long, wanting to give the others a chance to see Yoongi. The next ones to come in where Taehyung, Namjoon, and Jungkook. I rose an eyebrow at the three of them, knowing we were going over the limit of people that could see him at a time.

“Jimin refuses to come in...maybe you could talk to him? If--if something happens he’ll…” Namjoon trailed off, not being able to finish his sentence.

He didn’t have to though because deep down I knew we had to be prepared even if I didn’t want to admit it. So with one last look at Yoongi I set off to find Jimin. I didn’t have to go very far, finding him on the balcony that connected to the waiting rooms in this ward of the hospital. He was sitting with his head in his hands, the slight shake of his shoulders telling me that he was crying. Quietly, I made my way over to him.

“Mini…” I called out softly when I was close enough.

He looked up at the nickname he only allowed me to call him. He tried giving me a smile but it ended up as more of a grimace, a sob leaving his lips. Immediately and without thinking I knelt down in front of him, bringing him in for a hug. With me kneeling in between his legs I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling him bury his face in the crook of my own neck and wrapping his own arms around my torso. He clung to me like a child would with his mother. I literally felt my heart breaking for what felt like the millionth time that day at hearing his sobs. His cries were so heartbreaking to hear, he was literally gasping for air in between each sob.

I had thought I had no tears left in me but I was proved wrong as a few slipped out of my eyes as I held Jimin tightly. I knew how much Jimin cared for his other members, literally going out of his way to comfort them if they were upset. So seeing one of his hyungs on the verge of practically dying must’ve really broken something inside him. His hold on me kept getting progressively tighter and tighter, his face never leaving the crook of my neck.

“He’s gonna be fine.” I said softly, running my fingers through his hair, trying to get him to calm down even a little.

“Jimin listen to me…” I trailed off, pulling back slightly to look him in the eye.

I placed my hands on his face, wiping his tears away with my thumbs, “Yoongi is going to wake up and he’s going to walk out of this hospital better than when he came in. He is going to go back to the dorm and get right back into producing and writing songs. In no time he will be back on that stage and singing along with the rest of you. He’ll be okay, do you understand? We’re going to have him back.” I said, speaking not only to him but myself.

I also needed to believe that he’d open his eyes, that he wouldn’t have any permanent damage and he’d be the same man I talked to no less than four hours ago. I had to believe that the man I loved would wake up.

“Jimin, Y/n!”

My thoughts were cut short as Taehyung ran over to us. Jimin and I immediately got up, thinking the worst as we took in Taehyung’s panting form.

“Yoongi hyung...he-”

I didn’t stay long enough to hear what Taehyung had to say, immediately taking off. I ran as fast as I could towards his room, ignoring the nurses and doctors that gave me weird looks for running in the hospital. I finally got to his room and without thinking I burst through the door, my heart getting caught in my throat at what I saw. I let out a whimper at seeing Namjoon holding onto Yoongi’s hand tightly but that’s not why I started crying again. No, what made me burst into tears was seeing Yoongi hold Namjoon’s hand just as tightly. Taking a few steps forward I saw his beautiful brown eyes already looking in my direction. The same pair of eyes I feared I’d never see again. Without thinking I ran the short distance over to him, Namjoon having moved away by then.

I sat down on the chair next to his bed, desperately holding onto his hand with both of mine. I clung onto his hand like my life depended on it.

“I hate you...so much” I managed to say, looking up at him to see his own eyes were filled with tears.

“I’m...sorry.” He said in a whisper, finding it a bit difficult to speak because of his injuries.

“I thought, I-I thought you--you were g-going to-” I cut myself off as another sob wracked through my body.

Yoongi moved his hand in mine, silently telling me to loosen my hold. As soon as he was able to move his hand he brought it up to my face, wiping the tears off my cheeks. I turned my head slightly to place a small kiss on his palm, my eyes never leaving his.

“Come here.”

I hesitated for a few seconds before doing as he said. I laid my head on his chest, draping my arm over his stomach gently. I felt his hand on the back of my head, gently stroking my hair. We stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company that is until I felt him shaking under me. Alarmed by this I went to sit up but was held down by Yoongi. He refused to let me go, his hold on me only tightening.

“I’m so s-sorry. I-I thought I’d never get t-to see you again.” He cried out softly, his voice hoarse.

By how his body was shaking I came to the conclusion that he was crying. I've only seen him cry about two times in the span of our three year relationship. He always told me he hated the idea of me seeing him crying, not because he thought it emasculated him but because he never wanted me to see him at his weakest. He never wanted me to witness him like that. Even if I told him seeing him like this only made me love him more he was as stubborn as ever.

“I-I’d never forgive myself if I left you here by yourself.” He continued, his tears having calmed down a bit.

I raised my head to look into his eyes. I reached forward to wipe the streaks his tears left behind on his face, “I’d bring you back and kill you myself if you left me,” I joked hoping to get him to smile, and it worked. He let out a chuckled but winced half way through it due to the strain the simple act put on his body.

“I love you.” He said, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked directly into my eyes.

As I stared back at him I saw the familiar twinkle in his eye, the soft and gentleness I knew he only reserved for me was still as present as ever. His mouth formed that gummy smile I have adored since the moment I met him. Him being near death made me realize that if he was no longer here I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I would go crazy with just the thought of him leaving. I’ve grown so attached, so in love with the man that is Min Yoongi I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if he wasn’t by my side.

“Min Yoongi don’t you ever leave me.” I stated, trying to play it off as a joke but the look in my eye must’ve given it away.

“I love you too much to ever leave you.” He said softly, a small smile on his face.

“I love you too...please don’t scare me like this again.”

“I won’t I promise.”

[austirecica]

The Sudoku Puzzle (A Star Trek Christmas oneshot)

Characters: Jim Kirk, Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, Spock

Word count: 1831 words

Christmas was just over at the USS Enterprise, and everyone was trying to live off the seasonal vibes in welcoming of the Terran New Year. Some were already taking down the decorations, sauntering around the ship, deep in sleep from the spiked eggnog, or comparing gifts from the gift exchange from the party last night.

A particular Jim Kirk, the captain of the Enterprise, had made his way to the quiet area of Sickbay. The automatic doors opened wide, and he passed through to get to the chief medical officer's room.

The door stood ajar. Kirk peeked inside the room to check if the doctor was in, and sure enough, a slouching figure was inside.

"Knock knock," he sang. Leonard McCoy barely looked up to see the newcomer, but he gestured for him to get inside with a pen.

"Merry Christmas, Bones." Kirk smiled to him, but once again, he didn't look up. He gave out a grunt in reply and scribbled something with the pen.

"So, how was the Christmas party? Was it as good as what the rest of the crew has been saying?" The captain asked, settling on the chair in front of the desk.

Bones furrowed his eyebrows over something he was looking intently on. "Yeah, sure, it was good, I guess..."

Kirk frowned. "You seem pretty focused on whatever you're doing there, I suppose I should just come back later..." he trailed off, eyes inspecting on the thing that Bones was hunching over. "Whoa, is that a book?"

McCoy looked up momentarily and blinked, before casting his eyes on the book once more. "Oh, this? Yeah, it's a sudoku puzzle book given to me by a yeoman last night on the exchange gift."

"Looks interesting," Kirk gaped at the vintage looking paperback, admiring the tanned side pages, how it elegantly aged.

Bones scoffed. "'Interesting' is the last thing I would describe a sudoku book, Jim! This motherf—" he hesitated. "I mean, this damned book is making me more stressed than looking over your medical records!"

"Wow, so it's that bad, huh?" Kirk reached for the book and fanned its pages. "Come to think of it, it looks thick as hell. Thick books and a certain doctor don't mix well."

"Unless, of course, if it's for chucking it to your head, then I'll be blending with them in perfect harmony." Bones sneered. "But hey, look at the puzzle that I'm at right now," he went over to Kirk and flipped through the pages to get to the current puzzle. When he found it, he pointed it with a pen. "This is causing me too much trouble, and my brain hurts already."

"But Bones, it says 'easy round'." Kirk pointed out.

"'Easy' my butt—!"

"And it's puzzle number one."

McCoy threw his hands up in the air and scowled. "Who cares? That sudoku book is the bane of my existence!" He slumped in the chair, scowling even more.

"Aw, cheer up, Bones," Kirk placed the book back on the desk. "It's Christmas, so get in the holiday spirit! Maybe we can place a bet on...."

But Jim's words became unfocused as Bones was thinking about something.

"... and maybe even get a bottle of Romulan ale—" Kirk continued, but trailed off as he saw the expression in the doctor's face.

"Oh no, you have that look again." Kirk sighed, leaning backwards to the backrest.

"Look?" McCoy tried to shift into a look of innocence. "What look?"

"Cut that out, Bones, angelic faces don't suit you." Kirk said, and rested his chin on his right hand. "What are you thinking?"

The glint on McCoy's eyes shimmered like the brightest star in the galaxy, and he leaned forward, placing both hands on his desk. "Where's the greenblooded hobgoblin right now?"

"Oh, Spock?" Kirk flicked his eyes up in thought. "He's probably meditating right now, or maybe at the science station. Why are you asking?"

The smile that slowly filled the doctor's face creeped the hell out of Kirk, and he wanted to bolt then and there. "Do Vulcans actually do sudoku?"

The idea dawned on Kirk, and his eyes widened. A slap on his own forehead could be heard before groaning. "Oh no."

•

"I do not know what 'sudoku' is."

Ha! McCoy thought. It seemed like a good idea to get Jim to bet on Spock finishing the easy level of the sudoku puzzle book. While McCoy bet that Spock will take a day to finish, Jim had enough faith in his first officer to bet that he'll finish it within half the day. He thought of the possibilities. If he won the bet, he'll have fifty bucks easy, and plus, he could use this as an advantage. Whenever he and Spock would argue, he could use this failure to bring him to embarassment.

Ah, yes. McCoy giddily thought. The perfect grand master plan by Leonard Horatio McCoy.

While Spock was inspecting the vintage paperback, McCoy put on a smug face and tried to explain the rules to him.

"The rules are easy. There are boxes there, nine per line and column. The only thing you have to do is to fill up those lines and columns with numbers one to nine. The only tricky thing here is that no two numbers should be in the same line, or column, and they shouldn't be intersecting."

Spock cocked his head a bit, and slowly nodded. "Fascinating."

"All you have to do is to solve everything in the easy part of the book." McCoy smirked as Spock examined the pages.

"Is there a time limit for this, Doctor?" Spock asked.

And there it is. McCoy wanted to laugh right then and there, but he controlled the urge.

"Anytime, Mister Spock. But I would really love it if you finished it by the end of the day." He drawled over the words.

The first officer seemed to be deep in thought by this, and he straightened himself up in his chair. "Very well. I will take the challenge."

McCoy gleefully watched Spock pore over the book, and he started to backtrack to the turbo lift. "Take all the time you need for today, Commander!"

The lift opened, and he entered it grinning. It closed again, and he smirked.

"Take all the time you need."

The lifts opened to the floor that led to Medbay. As he walked out, he nearly skipped along in merriness. Christmas was really here, and he could feel it.

"You look happy," Kirk remarked. "So he took up the dare?"

"Yup," he said, popping the 'p'. "I'll see you later, Jim, and I wanna see the money in your hands when you get to Sickbay!"

"Oh yeah?" Kirk challenged. "I'd better see yours on the desk!"

And Jim disappeared into the lift, heading to the bridge. Meanwhile, McCoy pranced through Sickbay doors to his office, where he leaned on his chair and lifted his feet up on the table.

A nap should do while he waited for the Vulcan's downfall. McCoy's mind was filled with thoughts of how Spock would get into the room disappointed (or frustrated, whatever, he still had the same facial expression anyway) and how he would put the book on his table. He would see how Jim would hand over the fifty bucks (not much, but it would have to make do), and say that he was right all along. He imagined the day where he would use the events of this day into play, and how he would see them blush in embarassment (Jim was hella easy to embarass, but Spock? Hell yeah, he would pay to see that).

"Computer," McCoy asked. "Time?"

'0940 hours, Doctor McCoy.' it responded.

"Excellent."

He enjoyed the moments of peace before slowly drifting off to unconsciousness.

•

"Doctor?"

McCoy groaned in complaint before shifting a bit.

"Doctor."

"Hmm... oh—!" He woke up, eyes blinking fast to adjust in the light.

What greeted him was the sight of the captain and the first officer before his desk, and McCoy shook his head to wake himself up.

"Oh my God, I slept that long?!" McCoy panicked and tried to sit up straight. His back cracked. "Ow— is there any patient that went to Sickbay while I winked off?"

"None yet, Sleeping Beauty." Kirk grinned. "Besides, Chapel would have gone here if you guys had a patient."

"Okay," McCoy said, and placed his hands together. "So? Where's the sudoku book?"

Spock handed over the sudoku book to McCoy, who inspected the easy round pages. "Here you go, Doctor."

"Not bad, Mister Spock," he said, shooting him a smile. He turned to Kirk next. "And where's the money?"

"Ah, well, you see..." Kirk looked at Spock, and he caught his eye.

"The sudoku book may be hard for any person to solve—"

"Uh huh, but what has this got to do with the fifty bucks?" McCoy asked.

"— but it was very easy for me to solve, Doctor." Spock continued. "Computer, what's the time?"

'1000 hours, Mister Spock.'

"Impossible!" McCoy exclaimed.

"And guess what," Kirk interjected. "Look at the rounds after 'easy'."

McCoy skimmed the pages after the easy round, and he was very shocked to see that all the pages have been answered. There was not even an answer page to help him (Yeoman Rand cut it out and told him to answer everything first before she would give it).

"You see, Vulcans do not feel embarassment, but I believe humans have more than adequate experiences with them, am I right, Doctor?"

McCoy blushed a deep red. Twenty minutes. That was all the time Spock took to answer.

But wait— "What about the answer sheet? Maybe your answers are wrong. The bet is still not off, Jim."

Spock answered for him once more. "Ah, but we consulted Yeoman Rand for the answer sheets. We scanned it to a computer, and all the answers were right."

This was it. He shouldn't have let his hopes high. He said it too soon. Very, very soon.

"I believe you still have a debt to pay, Bones," Kirk smirked, and held out a palm. "Pay up."

McCoy groaned and tapped his pockets. His eyes slowly widened when there was nothing there. Damn it, he forgot to withdraw the credits when they were on shore leave.

"Ya hear that?" McCoy asked.

Kirk and Spock stilled in confusion. "No...?" the captain said.

"Over there!" McCoy pointed to left, and when the two high ranking officers followed his finger, he dashed to right and ran at full speed. "See you later!"

"Oh what—?!" Jim glared playfully and chased after him at full speed. "Get back here, you illogical punk!"

"I believe that is my line, Captain!" Spock called out and ran after Jim.

"Bones!" He called out angrily (but again, in a playful manner, and Bones cracked in laughter. Even Spock managed to smile a bit, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

The holiday spirit wasn't gone yet, and the laughter could be heard all throughout the ship. But perhaps it was only an echo.