#he told the interviewer he was just waking up and had broken his sunglasses the night before

[crimsonblackrose]

.

Oh right, the Carmen dream.

Small callback to TKK1 with the sink being broken and needing the maintenance guy's help....this time Johnny.

Call back to Johnny's own dream, instead of Carmen pushing her way into Johnny's house and kissing him, she grabs his shirt and pulls him into her own apartment and they have the spinning with the lights and kissing.

no sleeves. Miguel and Johnny are playing volleyball, which I think is another Top Gun reference like the flight suit. Okay watched a very quick clip of just the volleyball scene. Starts the same with the spinning volleyball, same song is even playing. The only difference is Carmen's favorite is Tom Cruise's character and Johnny likes Iceman, and she has Johnny more dressed like Tom Cruise's character with the sunglasses. (Though he was shirtless) and I think Miguel is even wearing the same shirt as Rooster (If that's the nickname to the other guy)

The bike is a Kawasaki GPz750, which is wild that Carmen is dreaming of Johnny driving that while carrying the baby. yes it's similar-ish to the movie, but still. Neither baby nor Johnny is wearing a helmet.

I will say her domestic dream is kinda cute.

Aw, she wakes up and tells Johnny she had the best dream and he looks at her blearily like he also just woke up and says 'yeah? Tell me all about it"

Daniel's at home checking his security cameras at the dealerships trying to keep an eye out for Silver attacks. Chozen's the one holding the computer. Has he not told Amanda or his staff? I feel like you gotta warn people.

Amanda's red dress for the charity auction is so cute. It's got a nice red bow at the back.

Daniel: You're perfectly dressed for a day off. (Whispers) keep an eye on the house and the dealership and be ready for anything.

So...you've told Amanda nothing and Chozen is just your what? Security system? Guard dog? I dunno if that's fair to put all of that on him without any backup.

Johnny getting scammed, not realizing that a lot of the jobs posted on signs and telephone poles now are scams.

Her maiden name was brown. See part of me thinks that that was Johnny stealing Bobby's information to use as his own because of his bad credit.

Shannon's been trying to call for 3 hours. But Johnny's been doing job interviews. I dunno Johnny maybe show her that not as a 'she's going to compete with you for the same jobs' but she can tell you that's a scam.

Shannon is getting Robby's stuff so he can stay with his grandparents cabin on Bainbridge island. I guess this means that since the all-vally Robby's been living with Johnny?

So last season and the first time I saw last season I thought Shannon running to Johnny to be like scary rich man alert was maybe a clue she also comes from wealth. And uh...so I googled Bainbridge island and it's in Washington and apparently the cost of living there isn't just higher than the rest of the state (which is already expensive) but higher than the average for the rest of the country too)

It's beaches, hiking, three meals a day. Robby's going to have a great time.

Aw Johnny did research for the lighthouse photo, it's a photo of a lighthouse built in 1856 and is in Narragansett (Rhode Island)

"That's your overwhelmed face"

Shannon reads him really well.

The other clue, other than it smelling nice, his overwhelmed face and taking down the babes was that he was neatly folding laundry.

"The last time I looked for a job no one wanted me."

After high school he...tried...prostitution? I...is that what they mean? Make real money, not a scam, no suit and tie?

The job hunting isn't just because of the baby on the way but because Carmen's dream included a house with a yard.

Shannon sets up Johnny with the 'dork to door service' Aka demetri

The teens are at Splasharama water adventure

Anthony I guess likes Yasmine a little. Yasmine wants to torture him and tell him she asked if he's been working out. Sam says no way.

Sam is reading Wild: a journey from lost to found by Cheryl Strayed which essentially is a memoir travel book about the Pacific Crest Trail, a trail where you hike from Mexico to Canada. Which might be a clue about Sam trying to find herself and ways to do so.

Moon asks how the eat pray love journey is going.

These sweet dorks being so awkward.

I guess Robby told Tory where he was going, so he meets her at the splasharama, the guys around her (Cobra Kai dudes, but the og ones that were originally Johnny's) leave to catch her later. She asks if Robby and Johnny hit the beach and Robby says not that type of trip but they worked through some issues.

Robby asks Tory if she's willing to consider taking a break from Cobra Kai. "You heard what Kreese did and he's not even half as bad as Silver" which I wonder if that's from observing Silver from beside the mat.

Tory tells him not to tell her what to do. She's happy Robby and Johnny got through some of their stuff but she's not leaving the dojo. Instead she wants to do the typhoon, it's got a 5 story drop.

Kyler says Robby's not coming back. Kenny says but he was just on a trip. Kyler thinks he's the new in line for king cobra, but really every time some thinks that they learn they're replaceable.

Anthony I guess likes Yasmine a little. Yasmine wants to torture him and tell him she asked if he's been working out. Sam says no way.

Sam is reading Wild: a journey from lost to found by Cheryl Strayed which essentially is a memoir travel book about the Pacific Crest Trail, a trail where you hike from Mexico to Canada. Which might be a clue about Sam trying to find herself and ways to do so.

Moon asks how the eat pray love journey is going.

These sweet dorks being so awkward.

I guess Robby told Tory where he was going, so he meets her at the splasharama, the guys around her (Cobra Kai dudes, but the og ones that were originally Johnny's) leave to catch her later. She asks if Robby and Johnny hit the beach and Robby says not that type of trip but they worked through some issues.

Robby asks Tory if she's willing to consider taking a break from Cobra Kai. "You heard what Kreese did and he's not even half as bad as Silver" which I wonder if that's from observing Silver from beside the mat.

Tory tells him not to tell her what to do. She's happy Robby and Johnny got through some of their stuff but she's not leaving the dojo. Instead she wants to do the typhoon, it's got a 5 story drop.

Kyler says Robby's not coming back. Kenny says but he was just on a trip. Kyler thinks he's the new in line for king cobra, but really every time some thinks that they learn they're replaceable.

lol at the name of this inflatable Anthony is on

a fun boy. Anthony you're not going to be having fun for long.

The founder is Eva Garcia, her organization helps underprivileged teens.

Daniel recognizes the address, it's where he dropped Chozen off, it's Silver's home.

I really do love that bow

Eva says one of their donors offered his place, and is angling a spot on the board. Which is also what Amanda is trying for. And that is something that's super interesting. Chozen didn't know that this is what Amanda and Daniel were doing. But Terry does say he's got a lot of friends, so maybe he told someone to let him know about LaRusso's signing onto any guest lists? But again how would he know Amanda wants to be on the board or that this means so much to her?

Daniel's clue that this is Terry's home is the red Ferrari with the QuickSilver license plate. Which it's funny that both he and Johnny share that.

That look Amanda gives Daniel and the way she moves her lips and puts her hand on Daniel's elbow.

Terry: I have no intention of ruining her day. Let's just hope something else doesn't.

Terry knows how Daniel's mind works, knows just by being there Daniel will destroy it for him.

Like. Daniel. If you had some chill, Terry wouldn't be able to mess with you, but mongoose brain starts up and it's fight! Have words! Make a scene! He needs, more then ever Mr. Miyagi's calming breathing exercises. But I think because it's Silver he just doesn't do it. He's too on high alert and the trauma just traps him into this !!!! mode.

This is the fake job Robby had when we were introduced to him. And it's the job Demetri got when Daniel closed the dojo.

This company is maybe my favorite Cobra Kai creation. door to door sale dorks/nerds. Who when you tell them what you need show up with like a roll of phones. All unpackaged, like what on earth is that? It's like a guy on the street whose jackets full of watches.

I do like the premise of this company though. You need a new phone but don't know what kind? Your grandpa needs help with a new computer? Call your local nerd and they'll come and do it all. And bring a rolling hanger full of open phones or laptops. I mean if it's laptops would it come in a suitcase then? Of like 50? I'm surprised Robby's friends didn't just hold up all the red shirted Tech nerds they say to steal whatever they were carrying.

I guess Demetri hasn't realized how low on funds Johnny is. He can afford under 50 bucks.

Johnny do you have a nutribullet? You making smoothies? When did you get that?

Miguel you could easily get this job, you've already done all of this for Johnny multiple times lol.

Demetri looks like he's questioning all of his life choices.

Don't cut yourself on the glass. I totally did that, the screen protectors are sometimes also glass and I didn't realize that and went wtf?

A fellow gig-iolo omg demetri.

I love how this goes.

Demetri: Here's a less than 50 broken phone that technically works, (hands to Johnny) Johnny: Does this have rideshare apps? I need to make money Demetri: Spiel about how great it is doing gigs. Johnny: DO that to my phone, hands phone back. Demetri: Okay.

Literally playing phone hot potato.

Johnny: Thanks for being a dork, or geek, or whatever you identify as.

I can't tell if this is actually dangerous or not.

Okay yeah the way he nearly hit his head against the other side and goes head down and doesn't come up, yeah...dangerous.

Kenny: You're only the champ because Diaz got hurt, Robby won as many fights as you did.

Eli seeing a kid and realized he's been recognized as a champ who calls out to him and immediately backs down because he's now a role model. Is kind of a cool growth moment for him.

IS NO ONE GOING TO CHECK ON ANTHONY WHO WAS FLOATING FACE DOWN IN THE LAZY RIVER?! OMG.

They literally don't show us Anthony again in this scene. No one checks on him. I guess, RIP Anthony. Character death: 1

Silver giving Amanda (whose rightfully suspicious) a glass of 2013 Aubert, from his private collection.

They way she drinks, looks at him then looks a way and begrudgingly says 'it's very nice' She is such a team player. She's being polite but also knows at least the basics that this dude is not to be trusted, though not why.

He thinks you tricked him here so you can enact whatever the next phase of your karate super plan is.

Daniel, this is why you keep your partner in the loop. Because this has become a pattern and Amanda is going to stop believing you. Like Daniel literally did this not telling Amanda before enacting plans with Johnny and then found out later only to learn how bad all of it was. With Kreese you two worked together, but now for Amanda it sounds like you reverted back to what you were doing with Johnny, even though "sent his man to rough up my potential hires" is baloney. But because of what you did with Johnny she totally believes Silver. Yes Chozen roughed up Silver's potential hires, but that was after Silver offered them triple to take him down and after luring him into a trap.

Ah yes the terrible gig thing. He's trying to multi-task. Picked up girls trying to get to a party, while also trying to pick up Jimmy Johns.

Cars full of coors

Misunderstands Billy Eilish for billy Idol

Johnny still has the little dog he picked up from Mexico on his dash.

Are yasmine, sam, moon, eli and Miguel not going to actually swim? What's the point at being at the water park then?

Omg. Again? Kids. I'm tired of this. Tory and Robby are literally trying to stop the fight. But Eli misread it.

MVP: lifeguard who tells them they fight they're kicked out.

Also would like to point out we haven't seen Anthony again. He might truly be dead the rest of this episode until they need his character again.

Eli vs Tory on the slides

The charity is called Dreams for Teens

The LaRusso's are number 29

These poor bonsai. RIP

Human character death for episode: 1 Plant character death: 3

Silver is #21

Ah, there we go. He's literally doing this to wind Daniel up. Which I'd like to point out is what Daniel did to Johnny I think back is season 1 or 2, offering free karate classes.

The difference though is Silver and Daniel don't worry about this financially. For Daniel the concern here is that's more people Silver can get his cobra 'fangs' into.

Amanda looking at Daniel. Knowing how this is probably going to mess with him.

"They do sound like a lot of work. I might just use them for mulch."

Terry totally has people to take care of his gardening for him.

Lyle: "Well well well you finally brought me something i actually want"

"Here, take a taquito, it'll make you feel better."

I think this is Lyle's third location, it looks bigger than the other two.

Lyle has three kids, says Johnny will never meet them. i hope this means we do anyway. I want them to like Johnny and for that to drive Lyle up the wall.

Lyle giving Johnny good advice. "Most people hate their job, but once you figure out what's most important, all that other stuff gets a little bit easier because you know you're doing it for them."

He doesn't want to work at pawn shop, let alone own three.

"Maybe your not such an asshole after all." Lyle hand to his chest: "Awww. You're still getting 1 star for touching my food." "Join the club man."

There was a hole in Eli's tube. Kenny handed them out. (Kenny also did not appreciate Robby trying to warn him to get out of Cobra Kai)

Poor Tory. She didn't want to cheat, she doesn't want to be a cheater, people just keep deciding that for her.

Kenny and Eli fight, but Eli for the most part avoids Kenny's attacks and catches his leg and takes an elbow to it only for Robby to push him in the pool.

Miguel rushes up and the life guard gets there.

Does this life guard literally kick ever single person out of the park? Or just the teens???

He's alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Terry is messing with Daniel. He says he told Eva about his wife: "I told her she's a phony, a psychopathic liar, who should never be trusted."

And he points at Daniel who shoves his hand away, and then Silver A+ actor, falls into the bonsai.

Daniel: I did not push him that hard.

Dude you don't say that. You ask him if he's okay, you play up that it was an accident. Hell ask if he had too much to drink. Don't own up to touching him. Let alone push him. Oh, poor Amanda. Her face.

You say, oh sorry, these things happen, I'll fix these bonsai up for you.

Well...Johnny bonsai death count: 2 Daniel bonsai death count: 3

Awww Shannon finally got one of the "I learned something" speeches. "I want Robby to stay with me over the summer. I quit too many jobs because I didn't like them, not thinking about what was best for us. I'm sorry I sucked Shannon."

Robby breaking up with Tory because she's going to stay in Cobra Kai. Then Miguel immediately chasing him down to tell him he's not a good guy and that essentially Mexico doesn't fix anything. Aw, cue Johnny.

Johnny goes to pick up Robby and ends up stopping both Miguel and Robby from fighting but then they both leave him there in the parking lot alone.

Chozen enjoying his day off with Bugles and two yoohoos and emotionally invested in 90 day fiance. Nearly in tears saying "never give up"

Someone turn this into a meme where you change out the show to whatever your 'guilty I'm caught watching my secret favorite show' meme

You couldn't for 1 day put this stupid rivalry aside. I'm afraid were not going to every have normalcy again.

Okay, Amanda, Daniel hasn't clued you in. Silver isn't a rival. He's a guy who pretended to be Daniel's friend, and his teacher, then pushed him in his training to hurt himself, and others, stalked him, and messed with his head. Rival isn't the right word. This is waayyyyy more then a bully. This is like a guy trying to destroy you in every way.

And again, Chozen thinking it's about the furniture store and say 'fight at furniture store, not his fault. My fault. Please blame me'. Not even about that Chozen dear. But Daniel you seriously gotta loop Amanda in. Hell, loop everyone in.

Courtney did so well. She's so mad and upset she's nearly in tears. Like she asked Daniel to keep his promise and Daniel himself even says "You don't know what he's capable of" Like, Daniel, you can't keep all this trapped inside without ever telling anyone, it eats away at you and then causes this awful ripple affect. You gotta take care of some of your trauma. Talk to Amanda about it. Clue her in. She's stood by your side through so much.

this fight makes me sad. Because he's never healed from TKK3. And he hasn't told her about it. And because he started off with fighting with Johnny and saying Johnny was awful and had to be kept away from kids and evil and Amanda realized that Johnny isn't, but then there was Kreese who was, it probably feels like she's got another Johnny around. Because Silver was nice to her face, said nice things about her, and she didn't hear all the stuff he said to Daniel and doesn't know all the stuff he's done. to her the true evil, Kreese, is gone.

She just needs space and she's taking the kids with her.

Which makes sense. And is probably good for them. Sam and Anthony need out of the Valley. No one is okay.

[lonelyvomit]

[queenk00k]

but what if we were pure gold all along? jj maybank (chapter 3)

Summary: After the assumed death of their best friend, the Pogues are falling apart at the seams. With Pope and Kiara getting closer and JJ left with nowhere to go, he finds himself left to his own devices. Feeling lost and rejected, his luck seems to turn when he meets Scarlett - a Kook who doesn’t treat him like shit and has an affinity for partying. JJ gets sucked into her world as she promises to help him forget.

How much longer can he keep running from his demons? And what happens when he starts sharing a bed with one?

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, child abuse, angst, sexual content, drug use, underage drinking.

Author’s note: Hi all, this is my multi-chapter fic I’ve been working on. My oneshots & Rafe series have taken off so I thought it was time to share this one too. Let me know what you think!

Word count: 2K

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

the one where JJ throws caution to the wind (but when was he ever cautious anyway?)

JJ has woken up in pretty strange locations before. The porch steps of the Chateau, the hull of the HMS Pogue, the Boneyard. Nothing was stranger than waking up on a couch in a Kook’s bedroom, who he’d really only spoken to twice. The couch was surprisingly soft, and JJ finds that he actually had one of the best sleeps he’s had in, well, he can’t quite remember how long.

That doesn’t erase how completely fucking weird it is that he not only went home with a Kook but spent the whole night there.

JJ sits up and is quietly thankful Scarlett appears to have been awake for a while; she’s dressed and perched on the end of her bed in a similar position to the night before. She’s also biting her fingernails, chipping away the black nail polish with her teeth. This brings JJ some comfort – she’s clearly feeling as unsettled as he is.

He clears his throat and Scarlett turns to look at him, smiling cautiously. “Hey,” she says. “You feeling okay?”

JJ nods and stands up. “Yeah, yeah I’m good thanks.”

“Sleep alright?”

“Mmmhmm.”

An awkward pause.

“Listen,” JJ says as he moves towards the door. “I really appreciate what you did for me and all but I gotta go. Honestly, I don’t understand why you let me stay on your couch-”

Scarlett scoffs. “You really think that low of me? You crashed your motorbike in the middle of the night and looked another blow from death. What was I going to do? Leave you on the side of the road?”

JJ is taken aback; he didn’t expect her to answer like that.

“You’re a Kook, I’m a Pogue…you know how it is.” JJ shrugs.

Scarlett rolls her deep brown eyes. “That shit is so stupid. We’re not all that bad.”

JJ opens his mouth to reply something along the lines of “well, in all of my experiences-” but the sound of tires screeching on gravel outside diverts his attention.

Scarlett’s eyes widen and she grabs JJ’s arm tightly. He clenches his jaw and forces himself not to wince; she grabbed one of his darker bruises. He gently removes his arm from her grip and Scarlett looks at him apologetically.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just my parents are home. You gotta go, now! Go out the window, quick quick,” Scarlett says as she frantically ushers JJ to the window. JJ’s startled by the sudden change in pace but honestly, he’s pretty thankful for an excuse to get out of there. He’s never felt comfortable around Kooks.

You can hardly blame him.

Scarlett helps JJ push the window up far enough for him to climb through (his arm is feeling pretty busted from the events of the previous night) and he doesn’t hesitate in sticking a leg through to climb out onto the roof.

“Wait, wait,” Scarlett says. “Is that it? You’re just gonna leave?”

JJ looks at her quizzically. “I mean, yeah. What were you hoping for? A goodbye kiss?” He taunts.

Scarlett makes a face at him. JJ can’t tell if it’s disgust or disappointment.

“No. Can I at least give you this?” She reaches into her bedside drawer and pulls out a wad of cash; JJ estimates it to be at least $200.

“And why would you give me that?”

“You seem like you need it,” Scarlett replies, shrugging.

Wrong thing to say.

JJ narrows his eyes and replies, “I’m not your charity case.”

Without giving Scarlett a chance to reply (JJ has an old habit of needing the last word), he scoots out of the window and down the gabled roof of her stupid fucking mansion.

He thinks he’d be content with never seeing her again.

JJ eventually manages to drag himself to his bike and take off towards the Chateau slowly, his bones aching (but not before kicking down the realtor’s sign – if the Camerons have more to worry about then he figured they won’t care if Rose’s frozen smile was kicked in). He’s being more careful on the ride over this time, not willing to repeat the spill from the night before. JJ is lost deep in thought on the way back to the Chateau and before he knows it, he’s riding up the driveway, the bike’s tires kicking up dirt as he skids to a stop.

JJ hates that for a second, he expects John B to emerge on the patio, smiling and holding out a Coors Light, like he’d done so many other times before.

JJ clears his throat and shakes his head, willing the thought of his friend to dissipate. He steps off his bike, wincing, and makes his way up to the house. JJ has every intention of making it all the way inside, but he stops at the steps, lump forming in his throat, and sits down.

Eyes brimming with tears that are close to spilling over, JJ sighs and puts his head in his hands, taking off his cap and throwing it into the dirt.

Where the hell are Pope and Kiara? JJ thinks. It’s been well over a day and a half since he stormed out of the Heyward backyard and gee, fuck him for assuming his friends might come looking for him or something drastic like that.

JJ pulls his outdated iPhone 6 (a hand-me-down from Kiara when hers got updated – pity it didn’t come with her unlimited data plan) with its smashed screen and broken home button.

No texts, no missed calls.

JJ presses the lock-button, so he doesn’t have to look at the Pogues’ smiling faces in his wallpaper, and tries to reason with himself.

Pope told you he was going to be busy with his interview, you shouldn’t be mad at him. That’s fair enough, he warned you.

Nah dude fuck that, he lied to you! He was sneaking off and banging Kiara.

Speaking of Kie, why doesn’t she want to see me? I thought better of her, I thought we were supposed to be best friends.

Her parents have her on lockdown-

When has that stopped her before?

JJ grunts in frustration and picks his hat back up off the ground, jamming it onto his head over his sweaty blonde hair. He clearly wasn’t going to solve anything sitting here.

--

JJ’s new habit seems to be wandering around the island like a lost boy, as he finds himself walking along the beach, kicking up sand with the toes of his work boots.

He’s not sure what his plan is – maybe he’ll run into Kie or Pope or fuck, literally anyone he knows. What JJ does know is that there’s no chance he’ll run into any Kooks on this side of the island, so at least he won’t have to deal with their pompous asses.

Or so he thinks.

JJ makes it halfway down the stretch of beach before he suddenly hears a sweet, but hoarse voice behind him.

“And here I was thinking I’d never see you again.”

JJ whips his head around and fails to suppress his groan at seeing Scarlett in front of him, dressed this time in a red crop-top and cut-off denim shorts. He resists the urge to run his eyes over her – he’s only human after all, and a teenage boy at that.

“Are you stalking me now?” He asks bitterly but makes no attempt to walk away from her.

Scarlett crosses her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes. “You wish, Maybank.”

“What are you doing here then?”

Scarlett sighs and sits down on a sand dune, motioning JJ to sit down next to her. He briefly considers telling her she’s dreaming but hey, once again she’s giving him attention and being nice and honestly that’s all he needs right now. Some company that’s not going to make him feel shittier about his life. So, he relents and sits down beside her in the warm sand.

Scarlett leans back on one elbow and moves her sunglasses to the top of her head as she replies, “less chance of running into Kooks here.”

“But they’re your-

“-my people?” Scarlett scoffs. “Hardly. Only thing I have in common with them is our family money, everything else is completely at odds.”

JJ smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling. It feels nice.

“I’ve heard this story before,” he says. “I’m not much of a reader but “rich girl who’s actually bad ass” sounds pretty familiar.”

Scarlett waves her hand. “Yeah yeah, it’s all true! I even have a dark back story – I’d make a great main character.”

“Let me guess, you’re adopted, and your real family was murdered by some unknown killer.”

“My younger sister died in a car accident, and I was never the favourite child. My parents shipped me off to boarding school, so they didn’t have to deal with me,” Scarlett replies, looking directly at JJ.

It seems an inappropriate time for him to be distracted by how beautiful Scarlett’s dark brown eyes look in the sun.

And yet.

JJ’s eyes widen. “Wait, you’re serious? Fuuuuck, I am so sorry…I had no idea,” he says, grimacing. He’s annoyed at himself – he was just trying to banter, but it’s all fun and games until someone drops a bomb like that.

Scarlett smiles and touches his arm delicately. JJ first notices how cool her hand is, despite the humid day, and then notices she has a fresh coat of dark red polish on her nails.

He tenses, not used to someone being so blatantly touchy like this, least of all a Kook. Scarlett notices and moves her hand back onto the sand, looking at him like she’s about to ask him what the problem is but clearly decides against it.

“It’s fine, honestly. Happened a long time ago and they leave me to my own devices a lot, which makes it easier to do whatever I want.”

JJ nods in understanding. “I get that.”

There’s a comfortable pause before Scarlett abruptly stands up, dusting the sand off her denim shorts. JJ looks at her questioningly but stands up too.

“Enough of this emotional shit,” Scarlett says. “I wanted to talk to you to a) apologise for my behaviour this morning-”

“-it’s fine-”

“-and b) invite you out tonight.”

“Out?” JJ asks.

Scarlett nods. “I think we’re both in need of some fun and some company. Why don’t you come to mine tonight? My parents are out again, and they’ve got a pretty sweet liquor cabinet.”

JJ can’t believe he’s saying this, but he says, “I’ll think about it.”

Scarlett shrugs. “Close enough. See you tonight, or not,” she says and blows him a kiss before turning and walking away down the beach.

JJ stands there stunned for a moment (definitely because of the sheer absurdity of the situation and not because he checked out her ass as she walked away) and thinks over his options.

He’s not sure he wants to willingly wander back into Kook territory for the second night in a row, never mind go into one of their houses.

Although, he thinks to himself. Where’s the harm in spending time with Scarlett for the time being until Pope and Kie come around? Because they will, right?

Besides, Scarlett’s pretty nice, pretty hot and she’s willing to hang out with him and give him free booze. What could go wrong?

JJ’s made up his mind and, perhaps against his better judgement (which was truly shaky to begin with), he finds himself on the roof of Scarlett’s mansion again that night, tapping on her bedroom window.

He starts to worry he got the wrong room or, even worse, the wrong house, when she doesn’t answer straight away but all of a sudden the curtains are pulled back and Scarlett’s excited face appears on the other side of the glass.

She yanks open the window rather haphazardly (JJ suspects she’s gotten into her parents’ grog early), the cool glow of the moonlight making her teeth an iridescent white as she grins widely up at JJ.

“So glad you could make it, Maybank. Let’s get this party started.”

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[rockthingsbymeg]

I wish you would write an au where you have the age your soulmate will be when you meet them tattooed on your wrist. For the reader it says like 40's to 50's and she was kinda nervous that she wouldn't meet them until she was old, but it turns out it's an age gap. This could be for anyone you want and ebd how you want idm 💛

Omg I loved this idea so so much. I'm a sucker for AU's don't know how I haven't written one yet

- so kids get their marks around their 1st birthday. At the party, Y/N's parents are so excited to see the numbers, only to come across 42

- they already imagine that their girl will lead a quite sad, lonely life, but that doesn't mean they're not gonna be there for her

- as a kid, little Y/N is sad that her number is so high while some of her friends have 20, 25 or even 15 on their wrists. She always does her best to hide her number

- as she gets older, it slowly but surely stops being a problem. Y/N sees it as an advantage to live a free, crazy life, that she'll share stories about when she finally meets her soulmate

- except, life is not always predictable

- at the age of 25, and since the age of 14, Y/N's dream is to be a photographer. She had classes, and between working at a coffee shop and a clothes store, she also made some photography works on the side

- one day, one if her uncles calls and asks if she's still into photography, and Y/N says yes in a heartbeat. Her uncle, a sound engineer, tells her he's going on your with a band and that it could be a great chance to make an awesome portfolio, and how the freaking hell would she ever say no to that?

- so 2 months later, she's ready to go on the road with her uncle. She'll be photographing Velvet Revolver's tour

- Y/N does not think much of it, except that is a great photography gig, until she actually runs into one person from the band

- she is walking down a hallway while a bunch of people pack stuff away, when Slash slightly bumps against her on the way

- she nearly spills her drink but manages to balance it again right on time, and Slash pauses his quick walk to check on her

- when they look into each other's eyes (or so Y/N guesses, bc his are covered by sunglasses) everything feels different

-it was too cliche to even be real. Shit slows down around them, sound gets muffled and seemingly nothing else matters but the man standing in front of her

- she brushes it off as a feeling of meeting someone she's been a fan of for a long time, and assures him she's alright, and they both get back on their path

- however, a feeling still lingers inside her, and she's trying to figure it out

- then all of a sudden, she gets a random itch on her wrist and it's like something snaps inside her

- how old is slash?

- a quick search on Google informs Y/N that he's 42... one hell of a coincidence... right?

- Y/N does her best to ignore it all for as long as she can

- Slash, on his side, has the exact same feeling, except he has no way of finding out her age without directly asking her

- he doesn't know who she is, what's her work on the tour... nothing at all...

- then a little light goes off inside his brain. He had seen her talk to Jack, one of the sound engineers, so he quickly takes off searching for the man in question

- as usual, he finds him buried in meters of wire and casually goes up to him, asking if he knows this girl

- Jack smiles and tells him it's his nephew, who came to photograph them while they perform

- he wants to ask the number on her wrist, but the question feels odd, too personal, so he stops himself and finishes the chat and leaves

- the question naggs his mind for days until Duff tells him something

- apparently Y/N had spoken to him, completely out of the blue, asking about what number Slash had in his wrist. So weird right?

- Slash agrees, but he doesn't pay attention to the rest of the convo. Instead, he leaves the backstage room they find themselves in and goes in search for Y/N

- he finds her getting a bottle of water and calls her name to get he attention

- over the last days, Y/N has spent all of her free time watching every single interview she can find of him and every show, trying to see what number there is on his wrist, since duff hadn't told her. No such luck, but she's hopeful

- Slash tells her he knows she's been asking for the number on his wrist, and if he doesn't truly care, she asks what's hers

- she reads right through him, as if by destiny, and says 42

- Slash is silent for a bit, and after a while, unconsciously shakes the multiple bracelets on his wrist and asks her if she's 25, to which Y/N says yes

- there's another moment of silence, but this time it's broken by Slash being called to get on stage by Duff and he really has to go

- they both try to go about normal while he performs but, during his solo, Slash ends up looking to the side of the stage, only to find Y/N looking at him with such an intense gaze...

- he keeps playing. And playing. And playing. The solo goes on for much longer than practiced, but it's so beautiful, so sentimental, that no one else in the band as the courage to play along and ruin the moment

- eventually, the roses of the crowd wake him up and he forces himself to carry on with the show

- afterwards, instead of celebrating with the band, Slash goes to her and they talk. About the numbers and about the feeling they get when they look at each other

- they agree to go on a date the next day, and also agree to keep it low for now. No need to draw attention to something that might be just one hell of a coincidence...

- they don't believe it is, but life has not been kind to them on the romance end, so they'd rather be safe than sorry

------

Thank you so much for this request <3

Wish for a fic!

[moonlightwinterdxxix]

MOONLIGHTWINTERDXXIX! Ready for another request attack!? 🤣 I'm here for Sutabaa Zaimoku identity shenanigans the SEQUEL! 😎✨ Somehow Kara's weird nice guy habits had actually worked?! He got on the good side of a visiting Sutabaa's overseas higher up by sheer luck and when they arrive to Sutabaa for whataver they mistaken Totty as Kara. Will Totty abuse this chance for nepotism to rise from his janitor position? Or will customer Kara unexpectedly arrive in all his glory and threaten this ruse?!

@yisongye For #make Karamatsu smile—the Bullied boys now have time to shine outside TVV xD

For those who are new, this is the continuation of this fic here.

~~~

Leaving its slanted position from the angle it was creating from the floor, Todomatsu raised the mop vertically and glared. “Stop laughing.”

“Pfft...! Okay, first you told me to stop talking,” Atsushi confirmed through snorts, shoulders rocking, “now you want me to stop laughing. What do you want me to actually do, Todomatsu? Make up your mind.”

“Leave. Go home. I don’t want you in here anymore. You’re making it a billion times worse.”

“Alright, come on. This is the thing, Todomatsu,” Atsushi said, resting his elbows on the table and raising a smug eyebrow that made Todomatsu want to punch his face so badly. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if you were being casual. Just a casual joe that’s cleaning tables, mopping the floors, doing his job, basically. But wearing your brother’s tacky sunglasses while working is what made you a sight more painful than him himself.”

“It’s his fault this all happened!” Todomatsu exclaimed, spreading a hand. “You have absolutely no idea what he said to the manager, and if you did...! If you were in my shoes, you’ll live with embarrassment for the rest of your life! He told me everything! I didn’t even want to wake up the next day after what he told me!”

“You’re overreacting,” Atsushi said, taking a sip from his latte. “I’m sure it wasn’t so bad. If he was pretending to be you, he couldn’t have possibly broken character enough that he’d make you look like a painful—”

“Then the sun, that glorious sun! Oh, it was the rose’s guardian angel, sending it a spirit for life and the will to fight forward! Oh, and it would now attract all the butterflies that followed a path so similar to it’s!” Todomatsu mimicked, posing with Karamatsu’s flair and voicing the lines with the lowest his voice can drop. Dramatically.

Atsushi burst out laughing.

“H-Hey! Shut up!”

“You’re right! It’s embarrassing!” Atsushi guffawed.

“Oh, wait until then!” Todomatsu snapped, resuming his work as he cleanly ridded the spot where a baby had spilt its mother’s drink. “The time will come when the same humiliation will happen to you. Don’t think that just because you have money and riches your life will be all fine and dandy. I promise that you will find failure soon. Just you wait.”

“Ooh, scary,” Atsushi drawled. “Doesn’t help that you’re wearing his glasses though. Why are you even doing that? To hide your identity? Everyone in the Ward knows of that face belonging to a sextuplet NEET, Todomatsu. That does nothing to your case.”

“Better safe than sorry. It’s better than having my own identity out in the world. Have Karamatsu instead—he’s the one most associated with failure.” He blew a raspberry, rolling his eyes. “You’ll eat your words soon, dumbbell,” Todomatsu vowed, grabbing a water bottle from his belt and spraying the floor. “I swear to Cod, you’ll eat your words and—”

“Todomatsu Matsuno?”

Someone suddenly was in front of the employees’ door of the establishment against the wall, and both Todomatsu and Atsushi were stunned to find a beautiful girl standing there, her eyes shining like those of the universe, all planets aligned and the sun at its brightest.

She had long, wavy brown hair that touched all the way to her waist, a bangs that brushed her eyebrows before parting at the sides, overlapping her ears. She had a large bust, which grabbed their eyes, but she also had long legs that they could see through her khaki pants. A notepad peeped out of the apron of her Sutabaa work uniform.

“Todomatsu Matsuno?” the girl echoed, smiling faintly, almost relieved. “Was that you? Oh, I never thought I’d actually see you! I heard snippets of your interview the other day, and I didn’t think I would be able to see you again. Anyway, I think I need to introduce myself formally to you. My name’s Sen. And I’m gonna be a co-worker of yours for the entire month.”

Todomatsu did nothing else but look at her, cheeks reddening as the sunglasses went askew on his nose.

“I’m the Sutabaa manager from Paris, see? But still a Japanese native,” the girl—Sen, went on. “I recently decided to take a trip back to Japan so I can see how the employees do their tasks here. And I was just in time too. A made a recent notice of the lack of appeal in customer service and entertainment, but I can associate the opposite of that with the fanfaronade you put on. At least, what I just heard right now and the other day. I assume that really was your interview, wasn’t it?”

“Y...Yeah,” Todomatsu breathed.

“Great! Because I think I might be considering lifting your position off being a janitor if that was the case,” Sen told them, taking out her notepad and pen. Her fingernails were decorated with fancied stickers of the Eiffel Tower. “With your flow of words, we might be able to attract more customers to the establishment. Imagine being talked about as that cashier man with a Shakespearean dictionary in his vocabulary. Wouldn’t that spark interest?”

No. Yes? Perhaps? Todomatsu didn’t think a Karamatsu persona would’ve sparked any interest from anyone or anything? Not even an ant’s or a cockroach’s.

And yet...If this meant not being a janitor anymore...

“Of course, only if you don’t mind,” Sen said, jutting down on her notebook. “If you aren’t willing to act so in front of customers, we won’t force you too. But your gentlemanly manner when you speak might make some progress in this building when it comes to getting people to come. It’s a suggestion I’ve already spoken to your main manager about. Now I want to ask you! Are you willing to do it, Todomatsu-san?”

“E-Eh?!” Atsushi squeaked, and Todomatsu continued to stare at her.

Then he blinked beneath the sunglasses. Then his lungs refilled with air, and his imagination lit up with his proud-to-behold Todomatsu Matsuno wisdom. He smirked, transferred the mop to his other hand, using his free one to touch his hairline with two fingers. “Of course, my dear! And I’d be happy to perform more Shakespearean might you give me the opportunity to! After all, I am Todomatsu Matsuno, master of the fine art, a man of theatre through-and-through!”

“Oh!” Sen expressed (cutely to the mens’ eyes), eyebrows rising.

“EEEHHH?!! O-Oi! Todomatsu! What the hell are you doing?!” Atsushi demanded, rising slightly from his chair.

Dropping the mop, Todomatsu slid over to Sen, a finger-gun following the shape of his jaw as he grinned narcissistically. “My, what ever is the problem, Atsushi? Can you not see that I’m being as normal as I can be? I am flattered by this woman’s suggestion, and all I want is to make her feel welcome in these crowded, sorrowful Tokyo streets. You are quite a foreigner yourself, in a way, are you not, sweetheart?” He knelt down, grabbed her hand. “I apologize for the inconvenience, dear. You make my heart melt.” He kissed her hand—it was so soft. Like, so, so soft that it was impossible for something to be that soft.

She chuckled.

Atsushi sputtered.

And Todomatsu wanted to as well. Because he wanted to scream so badly and yank his soul out of his body for the stupid idea he had concocted. Because...Because...BECAUSE LOOK AT THIS! He was posing with that stupid grin of his stupid brother while wearing those stupid glasses and was talking in that stupid accent all because Karamatsu had ruined Todomatsu’s chances for work with a stupid mistake because of his stupid brain and—!

Okay, keep it together, Todomatsu. Look on the bright side. He was a janitor, he was cursed with this hex of Satan since the day Karamatsu left the womb. And this was unacceptable, more than being a baby brother that everyone looked down on! This woman...She could change that. Hell, she could turn him from a lowlife into the manager himself! If Todomatsu followed her guidelines, matched her standards, made himself the appealing man she wanted to view...Yes, this was going to be his debut as the boss of his own life!

And so what if Karamatsu was the key to that?! Karamatsu was the key to success, and no one cared for Karamatsu’s own failure! These NEETs were selfish bastards after all!

Heck, Todomatsu was that desperate! Yes! Yes! But he didn’t care, for everyday he was already dying with the thirst for change! Change in his life, change in his pathetic, why-am-I-alive existence! He had no friends—only acquaintances who would never stay longer than twenty minutes! His life was littered with five matching levels of garbage, sharing his bed and face that made him look as terrible as them! But he wasn’t! And he wasn’t going to be defined like that any freaking more!

Yes! Hell yes! This was the true form of this Todomatsu-sama, the one who will be the first of his NEETy brothers to find love alongside work! So what if he was a cursed janitor?! He was an official graduate from the status that had once colored him at the bottom of the caste system, and this woman was going to be his diploma! Hell yes, he won!

And there was even a plus. This girl was into this, and if he continued this painful persona he might have a chance to actually keep her. No more virginity for this youngest dirty monster, because he was going to be able to smash her and make her his by acting his part as the best boyfriend she could ask for! So what if she was a princess?! A lady of romance and theatrics and the arts?! She was still an unattainable woman who any of these stupid NEETs would pine for for ages! Lifetimes! A keeper to the max despite maybe bad taste in vocabulary, but that was besides the point!

Todomatsu could keep her. Hell, he can keep her. If he was this perfect cashier, he can keep her. Beat the hell out of his brothers, and become the true role model that Choromatsu and Osomatsu were far from being! All because he was a loser, therefore there was no one else he could grab! Because Iyayo and Chibimi were plastic dolls and Kinko was a woman of true culture...Because Totoko hated them like scum and Homura was in love with someone else...!

Hell yeah, there was so much he could gain, this baby demon of the Matsuno hellhole...All he needed to do now was act the part. Act the part.

What would Karamatsu say, and how can it be said for this woman’s attraction? Hm, he needed to summon his inner Karamatsu, if there even was one. Because just like the rest of his brothers, having an inner Karamatsu was like saying that they had a tree growing over their heads. It was impossible. Because having an inner Karamatsu was one of the things they as NEETs did not want to have.

But this woman. She wanted a Karamatsu.

Todomatsu smirked. Fine. For her, he’ll play the part.

“Have you always been a theatrical one, Todomatsu-san?” Sen asked, tucking a few collective strands of hair behind her ear after hiding her notebook and pen again. “Or is this a new thing after graduating?”

Hmm, how was he going to answer this? Should he be honest and tell her that the only thing he’s ever done involving theatre was dunk bird turd on someone’s script, or should he go with the Karamatsu flow and tell her that acting has always been a hobby since the day he could walk? What would this woman want to hear? Todomatsu pondered, forced his brain cells to click and tick and turn their gears...Hmm...

Then—

Todomatsu posed, raising an arm and bending another. “I had no plan!” he announced.

Sen’s mouth formed a tiny circle. Atsushi face-palmed.

“Heh, I’ve always went with the flow of my own wind, dear beautiful Sen,” Todomatsu enumerated smoothly, dropping the octaves of his voice, which wasn’t so hard. He was already gifted to have a deep voice whenever he yelled (something Choromatsu once mentioned to him, that rising, fapping loser), and so mimicking Karamatsu’s original tone wasn’t that difficult as an activity. That, and this woman had never met Karamatsu in person, so he had the safety of a thousand nets and trampolines to catch his sky-high fall.

“Theatrical arts, drama, cherry blossoms in the wind, a heart of blue.” Oh god, Todomatsu wanted to slap himself so hard, wanted to slice his tongue with a cleaver and haul it into the mouth of hell. Speaking Karamatsu was speaking the language of agony. If this was what being the childhood best friend of Karamatsu resulted in, then maybe it was better if none of that ever happened at all. “It was my mind, cured with the peacefulness of my being, that opened my existence in a fantasy worth exploring. The unknown. Skies and trees that breathe the air of purity that is being wiped from this earth. It tears my soul and rips my being into shreds.”

Atsushi snorted, turning away. That goon, Todomatsu was gonna deal with him later.

“Ooh, how poetic,” Sen commented, her hair bouncing as she tilted her head. “How did you gather your vocabulary?”

How did Karamatsu gather his vocabulary? How did Karamatsu gather his vocabulary? HOW DID KARAMATSU GATHER HIS VOCABULARY? When they were freaking kids, Karamatsu wasn’t even able to determine the differences between ‘limbs’ and ‘limbo’! How the hell did he come from that turd of an idiot into a man with a dictionary built into his throat?!

“Heh, by being myself,” Todomatsu answered painfully, trying not to reach over to wipe the sweat pooling behind his ears and running down his nape. “I’m a natural at my strengths, the best of my kind. Because I’m a loner, but at the same time I have my own hands to support me might I fall. Heh, I’m a tower of storms.”

“You definitely are. Very destructive too,” Atsushi chortled, eyes directed elsewhere but the killer’s promise of a glare on Todomatsu’s face.

“Wait a minute,” Sen said, a finger touching those beautiful lips of hers. “Todomatsu-san, have I seen you before? I thought you looked familiar and remembered that I saw someone looking like you yesterday. Were you at the park yesterday taking a swim in the river dressed in a yellow baseball uniform?”

Todomatsu flinched so hard that his soul felt like it had just poked the waves of an ocean made of lava. “No, that wasn’t me! It was a stranger, surely! I hate baseball, always have!”

“Only since today,” Atsushi muttered. Todomatsu was internally sending him two of his middle fingers which tips had holes for bullets.

“But the other day, I thought I saw you too?” Sen asked. “Wearing red this time. Playing at Pachinko? And you had a very large bruise on your face while you left the parlor crying. I assume you lost the gamble after getting into a fight?”

Shit! Damn you, Osomatsu! “Nope! Pachinko is not my turf in the slightest!” Todomatsu lied, puffing out his chest because he felt like deflating into an airless blob of rubber.

“Yet you won yesterday,” Atsushi stated quietly behind his hand.

“And also, in the mixer? I saw someone in pink looking like you leave it recently,” Sen followed up, crossing her arms. “Well, not to defy you or anything, but are you the mixer type really, Todomatsu-san? With your flair and all, your humble personality, I don’t think you need a mixer to determine your acquaintances and your friends.”

“Heh, fret not, my queen,” Todomatsu schmoozed, wanting to stab himself for each ‘heh’ he had to gag out. “This man here is still as packed with friends as a man can be.” Which was half true and half lie. Todomatsu was one with peers, but Karamatsu was a member of the trash gang. Meaning, friends were flies, and peers were the dirty streets that only cats were willing to walk because they too were stupid enough not to understand anything in life.

Sorry not sorry, Ichimatsu.

“Oh, alright then,” Sen said, then bowed. “I guess I was just thinking about your successful interview too much then.”

“Oh, it is quite fine,” Todomatsu fibbed, planting very sweaty hands against his hips. “I am alone in my features—there’s no one else like me at all. If there was, it’s probably a doppelgänger signaling death that looms over me. Therefore I am the one and only, Sen-chan. Todomatsu Matsuno.”

Atsushi turned away, shoulders shaking.

Sen chuckled. “If you say so, mister Matsuno. So, are you up for it, Todomatsu-san? Would you accept my invitation to be a cashier instead of a janitor?”

“Yes, my sweet! I am glad to oblige!” Todomatsu hollered, spreading out his arms. “I shall prepare myself for all the hi’s and hello’s I can offer to any passersby for this fine establishment! Give the word and I shall motion with the swift energy of lightning!” Smirking painfully, he posed, spreading his legs out, resting one of his elbows over his other hand, and he flicked his bangs before sending Sen a finger gun. “Like lightning. Bang.” He inched his fingertip.

Atsushi exploded into full-on laughter.

“Alright then,” Sen said, nervously cutting Atsushi a look as she slowly retreated into the staff room. “I’ll let them know, so wait here. Let me make the arrangements for you, alright?”

“Heh. You are the true Samaritan, dearest Sen,” Todomatsu gritted out with the flawless character of his brother.

Then waving, Sen closed the door behind her.

Todomatsu snapped.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you turd-hole?!” he yelled, gripping Atsushi’s dark collar and shaking him with the mercy of a madman. “Stop making me look as transparent as I already am! It’s bad enough that I need to be that stupid-as-hell brother in order to win back my pride, moron! And don’t question how I can impersonate the goon, and I too want to straight-up murder my past self for ever thinking that being friends with that painful Shittymatsu was a good idea! So shut the hell up!”

“Yo, Totty!” Atsushi called out, still smiling through the force shoving him back and forth. “Why didn’t you just tell her no? You don’t have to put up a Karamatsu everyday if you don’t want to! Be a janitor in freedom! It’s still worth it!”

“And let myself still look like an effing NEET in the process?! Not a chance!” Todomatsu fumed, releasing Atsushi and pouting, folding his arms. “You won’t understand. You have everything already. Why not just be a comrade and let me have this? I know it sucks and it hurts and it’s painful as fu—!” Pausing, he doubled over, and he vomited a waterfall of glitters onto the floor. The Karamatsu was really getting into him.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Atsushi said, shrugging casually as Todomatsu straightened up again, wiping his lips. “If you want to or not, it’s your choice. You’re the only one balancing on your own lifeline. Each choice you make affects you, and there’s no one else that can do anything about it.”

“Meh, I guess that’s true.” Finally, Todomatsu had the urge to pull Karamatsu’s sunglasses off his face to look at. Just the blue of them reflecting the light from the restaurant made him want to snap them and toss them out into the Bermuda Triangle. “Still though. If it makes me get more than what I already have, Imma be up for the challenge. Time to be Karamatsu-niisan.” He returned the shades. “I dunno how long I can pull this off—if I do at all.”

Atsushi snorted. “Wish you luck. How long you can keep this up will color me curious as well.”

~~~

One week. It was one entire week of painful dialogue and flamboyant posing. It was one week with Todomatsu being responsible for those awful sunglasses that Karamatsu had been looking for whenever they came back home after days under Akatsuka Ward’s sun. It was one week of heh’s and hm’s, and each time Todomatsu wanted to throw a fit and dump on a table the same way Ichimatsu would. He was angry, he was embarrassed, he just wanted to end his suffering with a knife to the chest or whatever lame shtick.

“You’re doing great, Todomatsu-san,” Sen would tell him, and it was kind of true. Customers did seem very satisfied with Karamatsu’s dialogue floating to their ears, and it made Todomatsu question humanity in its intelligence. It was either he was dumb or the world was dumb, and he voted for the latter due to his excessive pride. That, and he needed reassurance of something, because working as a cashier mimicking his older brother didn’t deduce the NEETiness he felt like was still sewn into his system.

He didn’t answer any questions from anyone else though. If it were Aida and Sachiko that were close by in their shifts, Todomatsu would be able to cut away the sheets of Karamatsu’s ghost long enough for him to be normal, the same Todomatsu ‘Totty’ Matsuno that the two baristas knew. As for his brothers, he was always mopey when taking orders from them if they ever came, and they always left Sutabaa with knowledge only on the purchased drink rather than the persona that broke loose with other customers. Todomatsu was glad of the stupidity of Jyushimatsu and the lack of comment from Ichimatsu.

And then...The day came.

“One strawberry latte for Nishimiya,” Sen announced, scribbling the name on a large cup with a black marker.

“Heh. Blueberry cheesecake for Shimizu,” Todomatsu added, wanting to let a large portion of glittery vomit escape his throat again. “Kindly help yourselves to table four, my dear. You wait there for the meantime—your hunger will be satisfied momentarily.” He lowered his sunglasses, winking. And when the customer smiled at him in appreciation, it was obvious she didn’t notice how much pressure Todomatsu had to put into his muscles just to make himself appear his way.

“Right, Totty, right?” Sen left the table, handing the cup to him. “I’ll be on my break now. Can I leave it to you?”

“Heh. If that may assist thy fatigue, I’d be willing to move mountains for you.” Shoot, shoot, SHOOT! Just kill him already, Akatsuka-sensei so he didn’t have to do this bullhooey anymore! But this ‘bullhooey’ seemed to deem him fine for now as Sen bobbed her head, entering himself into the opposite room as she closed her door.

The bell above the Sutabaa entrance chimed.

A sigh.

Time stopped for Todomatsu, and for a moment there was nothing he could do but transform into a frozen block of ice. But his recovery was swift, and before notice Todomatsu took off his sunglasses as a pair of leather-sleeved elbows propped themselves on the counter.

“Good morning, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu said, smiling sadly at his brother. Sadly? Why sadly? Shoot, that meant he was going to blow up into painful monologuing territory that will be sure to either end his life, or Todomatsu’s. Bullsh—“I’d just want a coffee, please. Extra sugar, maybe?” Karamatsu went on, devoid of joy.

Todomatsu gulped. “Ah, right. Wh...Why are you here, Karamatsu-niisan?” His gaze darted through the area, hoping for no familiar faces to question him and his conversation with his lookalike brother. Thank goodness the timing had Sen leaving for a while before anything else bad could happen, because Todomatsu swore to Cod, bad stuff was indeed going to happen.

“Need a little time to think, perhaps?” Karamatsu said, lowering his own blue sunglasses. It was a fun thought, Todomatsu imagined, to continuously rid Karamatsu of any of his glasses by breaking them in half or tossing them into a gorge, but a spare would always find themselves on his face the following day. Wonder how many he had tucked in their closet? His entire allowance, most likely. No wonder he has only his 10% chances of winning in pachinko.

Karamatsu continued, “Because there was this very beautiful woman, and for a while I might’ve called her mine, but...” He gripped his elbows with opposite hands, fingers sinking into his sleeves, “she rejected my confession,” he squeezed out.

Todomatsu remained unfazed. Alright. So? Todomatsu didn’t give a dang about Karamatsu’s tragic love story. “So you thought that coming here to mope would be a good idea? Why not just follow Osomatsu-niisan in Pachinko or go fishing with Choromatsu-niisan?”

“Heh. They had their own activities planned for this lonely afternoon,” Karamatsu told him, and Todomatsu felt the horror of old English penetrating through him. “And is it wrong that I wanted to spend time with my dear littlest brother? I missed days where we trekked the world solo. I guessed that maybe time with him again would lift my soul from the pits in where it has fallen into. Crammed with skeletons...O-Oh, Totty! My heart is weeping, my brother!” He extended his arms and tightened them around Todomatsu, pulling the younger man towards him before sobbing on his shoulder.

Todomatsu went rigid, praying to everyone in the skies listening not to have anyone barge in during this absolutely humiliating moment of Todomatsu’s probable fall from grace.

“And she was a delicate flower too!” Karamatsu wept, clinging to Todomatsu with all his might. Cod, the counter edge was digging into Todomatsu’s stomach...! “Beautiful and compassionate and oh! Such an ideal diamond, brother! And yet I was not anything to her!” He wailed, breathing jagged as he mashed his face onto Todomatsu’s collar, letting it absorb his misery.

“Ugh! Keep it down, Shittymatsu!” Todomatsu hissed, prepping his hands over Karamatsu’s chest in preparation to push him away. “I’m at work, for crying out loud! And what kind of idiot customer walks up to the cashier to cry? Are you that stupid?”

Thankfully preserving the need for Todomatsu to do the deed himself, Karamatsu released his younger brother, leveling Todomatsu’s gaze with confusion setting as the emotion in his tear-filled eyes. “Umm...Cashier? I thought you were a janitor?”

Oh, Cod-damn it. Todomatsu cringed. Karamatsu didn’t know yet, couldn’t know, will never ever know...! If he knew who knew what kind of shtick Todomatsu will have to put up with and what kind of life he will forever be living with regret and—!

The staff room door opened. “Totty! I think I forgot my wallet here and—” Sen paused, staring at the brothers before flinching. “Oh! Sorry! I didn’t think there was a customer! Please, carry on, sir! You...!” Her eyebrows furrowed as she trailed off, gears clicking in her head. “...look exactly like Totty. Are you brothers? And he’s got a leather jacket and...Huh?”

Karamatsu blinked, thick brows curved questioningly. “Yes, I’m his brother. And are you...? Totty, are you alright, my dear brother?”

Holy crap! Cod, crap-crap-crap! Todomatsu felt his blood run dry. “Ah, yeah! Karamatsu! Sen-chan! I, um, heh!” He suddenly grabbed Karamatsu’s wrist and dragged him off, not waiting for anything else as he led Karamatsu out the Sutabaa door and outside the building to its side. Behind a wall, where no one sale might see them. Might. Because no one important was going to need glancing at a pair of brothers that looked closest to being members of slavery in the caste system.

Which they were, mind you. But not Todomatsu, if Karamatsu decided not to screw things up.

“Huh? Todomatsu, what’s going on?” Karamatsu asked as Todomatsu parted his grip on Karamatsu, massaging his temper and tingling veins for tranquility that didn’t want to come.

“Look. I can explain some other time, but for now, just effing follow my lead, got it, niisan?” Todomatsu ordered lowly, cautious for stares. Sen, the manager, Aida, Sachiko, or any of their foolish brothers. “I am the cool one, you’re the same loser as you always were. Picture yourself when you were eighteen, or just think about your heartbreak. You’re a goner from life. And you have no idea how to speak with your normal, flashy speech patterns.”

Karamatsu was nothing but confused. “Eh?”

Scoffing irritably, Todomatsu snatched the glasses from Karamatsu’s face and put them on himself, then proceeded to take off Karamatsu’s leather jacket from his brother’s body. That stupid shirt had the painful man’s face on it...! Alright, he can find a way around that. All he needed to do was be creative. Karamatsu was already an actor of some sort, so there was no need to...! Bah! Freaking heck with it! Making up stories was never difficult when you grew up as a liar!

Todomatsu flipped the leather jacket over his own shoulders and lifted his chin at Karamatsu.

“Todomatsu?” Sen called out. “Are you two over here?”

Just in time. Todomatsu elbowed Karamatsu’s gut, and after a grunt from him, Todomatsu said, “Follow. My. Lead. Or I’m going to burn all of your clothes before you even blink again.”

“Eh? Uh, ‘kay,” Karamatsu hesitantly agreed.

“Totty? Ah, there you two are.” Sen made herself visible as she stepped out of the corner turn. And being able to now see them openly, she stopped walking, for good reason. “Um, is this a bad time?”

“No, not at all,” Todomatsu said, speaking with an impression of his brother as he tried to wave a hand with dismissal. Cod, he could already smell the cologne. “It’s my brother here. It’s not much, but I find it quite unruly of him to root through my clothing without my permission. I’m just trying to set him straight for it again. Apologies, Sen-chan.”

“Eh?!” Karamatsu half-gasped, only faltering when he saw the stiletto aimed at him in Todomatsu’s glare. “Ah, yeah, sorry about that,” he said lightly, timidly. “I was, uh...Going through a phase? I wanted to be, uh, like him.” He pointed at Todomatsu limitedly. Todomatsu jerked his head slightly. Doing great, you lame actor. Karamatsu-niisan.

“Ah, I don’t think I should be here then,” Sen amended, backing away from them with a light flush and an apologetic smile. “If this is something personal, the last thing I want to do is walk in on your talk.”

“Heh, we’re fine, my dear. Kindly decrease your pressure on our situation,” Todomatsu soothed in a baritone, Karamatsu’s jaw lowering beside him as his eyes dilated. “We will report back to the main cafe shortly. My brother here, must only receive a brief scolding. We will be fine, such as we always can be. Right, my dear brother Karamatsu?”

Karamatsu sniffed, taking his palms to the corners of his eyes. “Cod, you’ve adapted so much...!” he sniveled proudly, and defeatedly, to Sen’s ears. “I’m so proud of you, Totty!”

Todomatsu felt a vein bob under his skin. When they were alone, he was going to kill this man.

But for the meantime, he said, “Oh, do not weep, brother! Forgiveness is always a virtue in our bloodline! I will not hold your prejudices against you! Instead, come into my arms as I will blanket you with comfort that will leave you spellbound in my affection!” And as much as he didn’t want to do it, Todomatsu spread out his arms, which were immediately touching not the air anymore but Karamatsu as he threw himself against Todomatsu’s chest.

“You sound like me! I’m so happy!” Karamatsu cried, though gratefully softly enough for Sen not to hear.

“Can it, niisan,” Todomatsu hissed in reply. “If you mess up the act none of us will be able to walk this earth again without regret dragging our ankles. Just continue being this emotional and we’ll be fine. Make me look cool here.”

“Okay, brother. I...Wait...If you’re acting like me and telling me to make you look cool...” Karamatsu hiccuped. “Does that mean you think I’m cool?” he sobbed out desperately.

Todomatsu choked, his entire body warming as his face fell red. “N-No! You’re not cool! There’s a reason for all of this and I—!”

“I’ll just leave now,” Sen said, wagging her hand as her shoes planted themselves on the ground behind her. “You two sort yourselves out. I’ll be glad to cover you for a bit, Totty, if you need time to settle things out.”

“Your heart truly was mantled from Hephaestus’s golden chamber,” Todomatsu rasped, his body and mind matted with sequins on wounds.

Karamatsu buried his head in deeper, squeezing Todomatsu tighter as Sen dipped her head and vanished from sight. Only then did Todomatsu grind his teeth together and shove Karamatsu off him, making the older man stumble back and catch himself by a pillar, blinking wetly at Todomatsu.

“Okay, enough,” Todomatsu said tersely, eyelids weighing down unamused as his arms interlaced parallel to his torso. “Karamatsu-niisan, can you please not tell anyone of this, ever? I’m gonna tell you everything, but swear to me that all this is to be kept between us. If anything comes out, your head will be what our brothers will see at the dinner table later tonight.”

“Of course! If there’s a secret, I promise of sealed lips that I would take with me to my tombstone!” Karamatsu vowed, a fist connecting to his left breast. “Reveal all you need to, my brother! I await your words.”

“Cod, that’s so painful,” Todomatsu wheezed, then cleared his throat afterwards, lowering the sunglasses for solid eye contact. “I was given the chance to become a cashier because they thought I was you. Or at least, you were me, but I think you might have an idea. They really liked your speaking patterns from the interview, and wanted that to be the first thing that customers heard when entering Sutabaa. So assuming I was you, and wanting to rise from a crappy janitor, I pretended to be you so that I can achieve that higher position. It’s my rise in the caste system, honestly. It’s all I ever wanted.”

“T...Totty...” Karamatsu breathed.

“Iya-ya, it’s not much,” Todomatsu promised, gesturing for emphasis. “But I thought it was the only shot I got. I understood you enough that it wasn’t really hard to be like you, so that was the least of my problems. But of course, it was painful as hell, since the entire week had me trying to be someone I’m not. I guess I...I...” Then the realization, for the first time, hit him, and he wrinkled the leather jacket in his hands, smacked it to the ground, and turned to walk away.

But then there was a hand clamping around his wrist, and Karamatsu had stopped Todomatsu from going any further with his promising hold. “Oi. You aren’t going without finishing that sentence, Todomatsu,” he said sternly.

“They like you more than me,” Todomatsu spat out brokenly.

Karamatsu’s reply was his muteness.

“Think about it, niisan. If it were just you trying to be me before, it would’ve landed me as nothing but a plain old janitor if nothing at all,” Todomatsu blabbered, a finger pushing up the shades as he averted his gaze to his feet. “But when you broke into you, I got the chance of being a cashier again. And now the only reason I’m keeping the job is because I’ve been trying to be you. If I were being me, what would I even be contributing to society? Nothing. Maybe that’s why I lost the job in the first place.”

Karamatsu was still holding him firmly.

“Never mind. I’m babbling nonsense you won’t understand. Sorry, Karamatsu-niisan.” Todomatsu used his free hand to rescue his eyes from the blue lenses that were casting his surroundings in aqua. Then he took Karamatsu’s other hand and pressed their surface on them, securing his fake identity with its true owner once again. “I’ll just return to work now. Pretend that you finally won over me so that they don’t ask why I’m me instead of you.”

“Totty.”

Todomatsu exhaled softly. “Hm?”

“Is that why my glasses have been disappearing all week?”

“...yes.”

“So I guess...It’s best you have your own pair, right?” Karamatsu chuckled, handing back his sunglasses. “You still need to pretend to be me, right? And I still need to pretend to be someone else?”

Todomatsu inclined his head, surprise painting him. “Eh? What do you mean? I’m giving you back your identity, you dimwit, trying to live with mine. Are you so agreeing that it’s better I fake myself instead? Is that how much I suck to you?”

“Far, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu stated steadily. “It’s because I learned before that you can learn when you pretend to be someone else. By being in someone else’s shoes, you come to realize how much there is to love about yourself. Is that not true? Is my painful personality not something you cannot stand? It is, and that’s why you even think of yourself as better than me. The last thing I want is you to think of yourself so lowly because of my accomplishments.

“Todomatsu, you were sick the day I came to the interview as you. But remember, that was the second interview. Sutabaa managed to accept you once, and was willing to do so again after you dropped out when we humiliated you. If they had seen you for who you truly were, then I’m certain that they would still be ready to welcome you again as the real Todomatsu Matsuno as you are.”

“Then...Why did you want to give me these...?” Todomatsu gasped out, trailing his thumbs over the dark blue lenses of the shades.

“I wanted to teach you that lesson,” Karamatsu said, shrugging casually with a small smirk. “But I just explained the mechanics in my agenda, so there’s no use for that now. I think it’s best you just return to Sutabaa again as yourself instead of a clone of me. Because, brother. You’re surprisingly good at it.”

“Gee, thanks,” Todomatsu said, his heart finally softening free from whatever claws had once gripped it. “I’m sorry I threw your jacket like that.”

“There’s always the laundry. Don’t worry about that.” Karamatsu laughed. “Come now, brother. I still have my coffee in the waiting, do I not? Please treat your brother to something to warm his insides from the Antarctica waters in which it has drowned.”

“Ugh, fine,” Todomatsu said, but not harshly, before looking down at the shades. “Are these really mine now though? I think they match your face better than mine. And I think they will miss you if they were gone.” Grinning, he hung the sunglasses from Karamatsu’s top, then stood back with satisfaction, hands pressed to his waist.

“Heh. Thank you, Todomatsu,” Karamatsu said, chuckling.

Then together, they went back to the entrance of Sutabaa, opening the door as Todomatsu cried out, “Sen-chan! We’re back! And we have a coffee pending for—!”

“Oh hey, you two!” Osomatsu greeted, hands in the pocket of his hoodie as he stood in front of the counter, Sen at the other side. “I was actually gonna ask where you were, Karamatsu! I heard you were working here in Sutabaa and I was curious to know if it was true!”

Todomatsu and Karamatsu gaped in unison. “Eh?!”

“But I guess I was wrong,” Osomatsu said, rubbing his nose with a finger. “Totty’s wearing the uniform. Now you make me wanna ask about the rumors: why was I hearing of a Sutabaa cashier who uses Karamatsu slang every time he gets an order? I didn’t wanna believe it, and I still don’t, but maybe I should be realizing that since it’s both of you involved! Of course Totty would have the best impersonation other than Jyushimatsu—you two were besties as kids, right? So it’s safe to say that you were looking up to Karamatsu for a while, Totty!” Osomatsu laughed.

Todomatsu’s stomach coiled. “B-But—!”

“Is that true, Todomatsu-san?” Sen asked, frowning a little.

“It’s gotta be, right?” Osomatsu continued. “Totty would do anything to get what he wants. If being a ‘Karamatsu’ would help him in his salary, then he’d do it. Just like he’d lie to other Sutabaa employees that he was from a university so big when all he was was a NEET. It’s simple—he’s a demon for a reason.”

“Wait,” Sen said, frown deepening. “Does this mean that it wasn’t Todomatsu at the interview? But Karamatsu?”

“Hah? Totty never went to any interview,” Osomatsu exposed obliviously, unaware of the jaws on the floor from the two brothers standing next to him. “Ha-ha! Sen-chan, right? You’re making me laugh here! Don’t tell me you mistook Karamatsu for Totty! I mean, I might, but they’re brothers, so identity thief shenanigans is a thing and so cheating is not hard!”

Sen stared. So did Karamatsu. Todomatsu felt his entire body burn into ashes.

~~~

Todomatsu’s butt slammed on the sidewalk from the force of the hands that had previously shoved him out of the building.

Karamatsu immediately went to his side. “Totty! Wh-What did they tell you, my brother?”

Todomatsu clicked his tongue. “I got fired.”

Karamatsu’s face fell.

“Welp, all in a day’s work, right?” Osomatsu said, spinning his heels and going ahead. “Hey, I won a bit in pachinko, by the way. Wanna try using that in some of the races? We might get half as much if I use my detective brain again to read between the lines!” He laughed. “Just like I did with you two idiots.”

Todomatsu ground his teeth. He really was surrounded by demons.

[amberandmetal]

Are you strange like me?

Written for: @youngmoneymilla​s 5k challenge Squares filled: First kiss for @buckybarnesbingo and Touch starvation for @marvelfluffbingo (there is fluff at the end, I swear that counts!) Prompt: “I think there’s a flaw in my code/These voices won’t leave me alone/Well my heart is gold and my hands are cold (Gasoline – Halsey)” Pairing: Bucky x F!reader Warnings: Angst O´hoy. There are PTDS elements, anxiety and panic etc but not too much (and there is fluffy flufflfuff at the end because that’s just the rules, mkay?), mentions of war and being kidnapped, touch starvation mentioned. Rating: Teen and up Word count: ca 3,5 k Summary: After the war you need somewhere to belong, and The Avengers need someone to make them look good. A/N: Yeah, this got a life of it’s own. Not really how I initially planned it but I’m happy with how it turned out. I’m surprised at myself for keeping it clean (seriously, who am I?) I have little to no knowledge of military jargong and workings so if there are any mistakes please let me know and I will fix. English is my 2nd language and this is unbetad so all mistakes are mine.

    Tony’s brown eyes felt just as enigmatic and piercing even through the television screen, whiskey and liquid intelligence peering at the interviewer from behind thick sunglasses slid down to the tip of his nose; and on the side of him, smaller, grey, bland, were you, looking every bit as uncomfortable as you had felt.

You grabbed the flesh between clavicle and chest, kneading and scratching the skin where the weight of your medals had hung only hours ago, where the echo of them still made it hard for you to breathe.

    “She’s a perfect addition to the team and she’s been adapting beautifully. We’re really proud to have another veteran amongst our midst,” Tony clapped a proud hand on your shoulder and flashed the camera one of his legendary PR-smiles “we’re lucky to have her.”

    “Ugh.” You clicked the TV off and turned around on the couch, laying with your face towards the cushions.

    The Avengers had been in deep water after the latest attack on New York, more and more of the masses forgetting what they’d done for them — and where they would be if they hadn’t. Acting- and calling them out for the destruction and desolation. Anger fueled by fear leading them in a search for a focus point to target their pain. The team needed to make a move to get in the people’s good graces again.

    And then there were you.

    After the war nothing had been the same. Before when you closed your eyes there had been darkness and calm behind your eyelids, an ethereal vastness that relaxed you, allowed you to breathe before opening them again. A refuge in your daily ongoings.

    After there had been nothing but gunsmoke and ash, billowing from the depths you stared into each time you closed your eyes. Wretched stench of putrefied flesh simmering in the smoke and seeping into your skin from behind your eyelids, digging tunnels in your fibers, filling your nose and mouth with dry sand and bile.

    You gasped, back shooting out from the couch as if you could escape the waking nightmare sticking to the inside of your skull. It burned at your temples like electricity.

    The official statement was that you were a normal soldier, a gunner, that had been captured and held captive, then somehow managed to not only break yourself out, but the other seven soldiers stuck in that hellhole beside you as well; and you’d gotten mighty decorated for it.

    You scoffed. Decorated, sure, and forced to lie.

    There had been nothing normal about you, or what happened. No one spoke a word of the special ops you’d been a part of, or that the people that had held you captive had neither been Al-qaeda or even the Taliban. It had been Hydra. The Nazi science division that you’d been told in school had been taken down by Captain America.

    Cut off one head, and two will take its place. Uh-huh, yep.

    That was not the only lie you’d been told, or been forced to tell. The seven other captives were more like hundreds, hundreds of lives that you’d left behind when you managed to flee with only a small group as the others were left being tortured and experimented on. Their screams stayed with you, a never ending echo in the hollow of your mind.

    The other seven —among them a woman named Grace, a fellow american with black hair and even blacker eyes, and a smile that refused to be beaten down— had been taken down during your escape. Grace had clutched her chest as the blood from it sprayed across your arm, she’d fallen, roaring at you to go, to run, to ‘fucking save yourself, damnit!’. You’d gotten out with only a bullet wound through your right hand and left shoulder, and a newfound weight in your chest.

    According to your Officer the public didn’t need to know that the people you saved didn’t survive, only that you had freed them.

    “Remember, Sergeant. You gave them the gift of dying free. That’s quite something.”

    Yeah well, they didn’t look free, and it sure as hell didn’t feel like a gift.

    Survivor’s guilt your shrink called it. Whatever.

    You kneaded the spot where your medals had hung. The Medal of Honor and the Prisoner of War among others. You shuddered; revulsion tumbling in your gut. It was a torment wearing them- but it was, as they say, a necessary evil.

    When you’d returned you couldn’t, just as many others, get back to your normal life; a decade of training and war had taken a toll and you weren’t the same. The trauma clung to your spine like a ball and chain slowly turning your vertebrates into lead. It had made a home for itself there in your back, cozying up in the hollow where neck meets skull, safe where you couldn’t reach.

    You had been tethering on the edge of insanity when you’d finally broken down and pleaded with your Captain to let you back out there, and thankfully, blissfully, he had —albeit a bit reluctant— agreed. But it wasn’t the same. Suddenly you couldn’t work with your group, too on edge, too hyper aware and too concerned by your teammates safety. Once you were back your team had started out on a small mission, delicate but nothing you couldn’t handle — or that’s how it should have been. You had once been like a well oiled machine and now you were falling apart. So you got discharged, told it just wasn’t a good fit anymore, which was a “real shame considering.”

    So The Avengers needed too look good, and you needed a place where you could belong. And nothing gets you back into America’s good graces as a decorated veteran.

    So here you were.

    Here you were..

     ~~~

    The sound of opening and closing doors followed by laughter made your ears perk up. Steve and Bucky back from their morning run, from the sounds of it. Steve’s laughter easy and full and Bucky’s quieter, more of a chuckle —  deep and tense. Always so tense.

    Bucky had adapted relatively quickly to life at the compound, but he still kept mostly to himself. Steve, of course, had made it his life’s mission to draw the old Bucky out, teasing and joking with him, taking him back to Coney Island, practically dragging him out of his room for Team bonding nights (usually movie nights, but sometimes you played video games, and one particularly memorable evening Clint had persuaded the entire team into playing Twister. He lost. Every time), yet it never felt sincere from Bucky’s side. He did try. You could see it in the shape of his stance, the frustration burning in his eyes in spite of the broad grin he managed to apply for Steve. Still it looked less like two friends hanging out and enjoying down time together and more like a frightened animal trying to appease it’s rescuer.

    You had no idea if anyone else noticed it, but you had a pretty big clue that Steve had caught on. Every once in a while Bucky would look away, trying his damndest to laugh at one of Tony’s jokes, and something arduous would set in the blue of Steve’s eyes like stone.

    Both men came through the doors, sweat darkening their clothes and making them glisten in the morning sun.

    “Good run?”

    Steve almost jumped.

    “Oh, hi Y/n. Yeah, Bucky still aint got shit on me though.” he laughed and shook Bucky’s shoulder playfully. Bucky flinched slightly at the contact, but quickly managed to correct himself, quirking the corner of his mouth in a half smile and raising his hand in greeting.

    “Language,” you admonished with a wink before letting your eyes land softly on Bucky and offering a small smile “Morning, Buck.”

    He huffed a little, a twitch in his smile: a mirroring sensation in your chest.

    Steve looked between the both of you with a raised brow.

    “Yeah, okay. Gotta hit the showers! You too, punk— you reek.”

    Something light flashed in Bucky’s eyes and his smile grew almost sincere.

    “Do not gimme that, you’re the punk. Always were.”

    “Yeah, but that was before I hit my growth spurt!”

    You snorted at the same moment Bucky did, sniggering under your breath.

    Steve looked absolutely delighted.

    “Some growth spurt..” Bucky mumbled following Steve towards the elevators.

      ~~~

    The anxiety was a physical thing. It was birthed out of every patch of skin where you had been touched, ebbing out like crests until you were covered in it — sticky and suffocating, viscous and disgusting, and you were painted from tip to toe.

    You cursed yourself under your breath for not thinking it through. The PR-people had of course wanted you to wear your dress uniform and you had simply refused, thinking ‘no, no anything but that. Going naked would be better than that’ and after some coaxing from Tony and Miss Potts they had relented. What a mistake it had been.

    Now there you were, locked in your room in a gorgeous gown that showed more skin than not, after a night of having been passed around like a basket of breadsticks.

    Smile for the camera.

    Oh hi, hello, why yes I am she, yes I did save those soldiers.

    Handshake.

    Anything for my country.

    Laugh.

    Oh yes, they have been treating me real nice.

    Hugs.

    Touches.

    Gooseflesh.

    Panic.

    Bile.

    Two hours were all you could take and when Pepper had called to a toast you saw your chance and took it. Now your clothes pooled in a trail on the floor leading to your bathroom as you hurried into the spray.

    The daffodil-yellow loofah quickly worked up a lather, the sudds slightly pink and smelling of strawberries and cream, a welcome softness after the sharp and biting too harsh reality of the party. Scrubbing up and down your body your muscles started to untense, the coating of dread coming off like shedded skin. A sigh escaped your lips: you could breathe again.

    Of course, you had agreed to all of this, to help, to be this shining face and PR circus for the team, because it also meant that you in fact were a part of said team. Skillset-wise you were absolutely up to par with both Barton and Romanoff and they all seemed genuinely happy to have you. But this.. facade, was the price you had to pay, and you gladly did — did not mean it didn’t hurt to do it though.

    Hair washed and every inch of your skin thoroughly scrubbed pink you got out of the shower, wrapping yourself in a big fluffy robe, sighing at the comforting slide of cotton against your bones.

    You exhaled loudly, slumping down on your bed, ignoring the trilling ringtone of your phone in favour of the fluffy pillows that gave way for your weight like a hug. Pepper would have to wait.

     ~~~

    Tap, tap, tap.

    A soft knock on your door snapped you out of focus. Not in the mood for company you hesitated, even though knowing fully well who was on the other side of that door. Metal on metal gave a much sharper sound than flesh.

    “Bucky?” you opened the door ajar.

    He looked a bit sheepish and apologetic, hunched in the empty corridor.

    “Hey, Y/n… you okay?”

    You shrugged, but then looked him over. He was doing a good job of holding it together but you could see the signs: the nervous tapping of his fingers against the wall, his skin a shade paler than usual and his eyes flickering from point to point, not stilling for more than a few seconds.

    “Are you?”

    Abalone eyes flitted to yours — so bright, so sharp.

    “Of course,” he tried for a smile “I just wanted to check on you. You kinda took off like somebody burned ya.”

    You huffed.

    “Yeah, well.. I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was for-.. for everything.”

    Nodding he ran a hand through his hair, a scent sent wafting. Your skin turned effervescent.

    “You wanna come in?”

    There was no mistaking the gratefulness softening his gaze.

    You backed up to let him in, careful to lock the door behind him.

    He sat down on your bed, his eyes snapping across your room and his fingers tapping away at his thigh.

    “Howd’ya manage to make it so… homey so fast?”

    You followed his gaze to your walls, the paintings and curiosities covering them, the shelves with figurines and too many plants, the bookcase littered with books and notebooks and the deep teal coloured couch with more cushions than actual space for sitting.

    You plopped down next to him, careful of keeping your robe from slipping.

    “I don’t know, I just can’t stand cold walls.”

    A beat of silence followed, hardening the air. Always this damn feeling when he got close, every time.

    “You write?” he asked, pointing at your notebook lying open on your nightstand.

    “Sometimes,” you hesitated “mostly to clear my head. My shrink down at the VA suggested it.”

    “Oh, that’s right.. I forgot - Steve told me but I guess it slipped my mind. A lot o-”

    “of new information.”, you finished in unison.

    He chuckled and scratched at his neck, making strands the shade of dark rosewood fall and shield his face. The close proximity made your skin tingle.

    “May I?”, he gestured toward the open pages “or maybe you can read me something?”

    There was something vulnerable there, something sweet and wistful — somber.

    You reached for the notebook and scooted closer and Bucky shot up like he had been burned.

    You peered up at him.

    “Why do you do that?”

    “I- fuck, I’m sorry. I-”

    “Why? I mean I’ve seen you.. even when Steve touches you, you flinch.”

    Bucky looked taken aback for a second but then seemed to slump, a tired exhale leaving his lungs like it had been forced out of him.

    “It’s that obvious?”

    You backed up a bit.

    “Tell me.”

    “Why do you care?”

    “Because I do.”

    He looked hesitant for a second.

    “I haven’t been touched in a.. positive way, in a long time. Truth be told I’m starved for it, all I want is to feel that connection, I mean it’s all I dream about when it’s not the nightmares.. but-”

    “Then why?”

    “- but when it’s sudden, when I’m not ready for it. It burns. It’s too much, too fast and it’s unsettling. I hate it. It’s like getting what you want but not on your own terms and the sensation on my skin gets overwhelming.. and.. fuck, yeah I think that’s the gist of it,” he wrought his hands together, looking away “I’m sorry, I’m still adjusting.”

    He looked so beautiful, even like this. Even in pain and confused his presence took up the room, changed the atmosphere into whatever it was that was Bucky. The scent of him in your nostrils, bergamot and cedar, and the heavy weight of him dipping your bed, and you so badly wanted to inch closer, to reach out and touch, feel if he’s as warm as he looks, giving him something of that that he craves, being a balm to soothe, to hush, to lull.

    “So.. if you were ready for it?”

    His eyes blinked up to yours.

    You got closer, sitting on your knees with an outstretched hand, close enough to touch without in fact doing so.

    “…if you know I’m going to touch you, if you can.. ready yourself then maybe, it won’t feel like that?”

    His eyes got soft then, filled with something you couldn’t find a word for, and he turned on the bed to face you fully.

    “That’s very sweet of you, doll— mind if I call ya that?” you shook your head “mind reading me some of your texts?—  is it poetry?”

    You smiled, shy and full lipped.

    Spreading open the book, you flipped to where you had been writing last and pulled it into his lap, careful as to not touch.

    “Here.. it’s kind of morbid but..”

    “Yeah, hush. No self deprecation, that’s my thing. Let me make up my own mind about it.”

    You chuckled but conceded.

    “MJ?”

    “Mary jane.”

    You chuckled at the confusion still present on his face.

    “Marijuana.”

    “Ah.”

    You looked on closely, nervous as he read once, twice, three times.

    “You hate it,” you said “I get it, it’s a bit extreme and maybe not what you’re used to but it’s just my thoughts going haywire and shit you know a-”

    “I like it.”

    “Huh?”

    “I like it. Is this how you feel? The PR thing? Everything?”

    “Basically, but it’s just thoughts, words on paper. Emotions. It’s still worth it.”

    He nodded, going back to read it a fourth time.

    “It’s unusual, I’ll give you that but, it’s .. beautiful in it’s strange way.. and very- very relatable,” he looked up, face suddenly so earnest and open it was almost startling “especially the last part,” he huffed and a hint of bitterness momentarily crept into his voice  “I can safely say I know what it’s like to feel like there’s a flaw in my code..”

    A breath. Shaking himself out of it.

    “I don’t really write myself but, I can see myself in this. In your texts. A lot of this- I mean I’ve had similar thoughts,” he smiled.

    The hard air around you grew thick, hanging around your heads like cottony molasses. You looked up from your text, eyes scanning the shape of him. Something urgent took root somewhere close to your solar plexus.

    “Can I touch you?”

    He was stock still for a moment or two, but then he nodded.

    You scooted a little bit closer, your movements slow and cautious; tentative. The back of his hand was a contrast of soft and rough against your palm. Soft hairs and raised scars.

    A deep yet quiet groan sounded from somewhere buried inside him —  you looked up just in time to see something in his features breaking.

    “Is it too much? Should I stop? I -”

    He shook his head.

    “No.. please.”

    Your heart sped up — a cassette set on fast forward. You opened the cuffs of his sleeve and set to gingerly and very slowly roll them up to his elbow. His breathing turned heavy and deep: an odd mixture of tension coupled with relief.

    Stretching your fingers you splayed your hand out over his skin, calmly stroking: his hand, wrist, forearm. You were so close now, so near, the warmth of him was a tangible thing against your exposed skin. A crescendo beat hammered in your chest.

    “Can I kiss you?”

    Surprised, you met his gaze. Abalone shells, sea glass beneath water, thunderclouds and liquid silver and every other simile that came to mind and none of them did his eyes justice. A chilled tingle enveloped your skull and flooded down your spine. You nodded.

    “Let me.”

    You slowly moved, put your hand on the side of his neck, revelling in the sigh you got in return, gasping when he mirrored you.

    His lips were dry, plump, warm. A soft cushion against your own. You opened to let his lower lip in between yours, letting your tongue taste for the first time. Salt and metal, twilight and heat.

    His metal arm came up behind your back, pulling you in with a metallic whirr until you were flush against him, and you gave out a sharp whine.

    He immediately let go.

    “Shit! Did I scare ya? I didn’t think—”

    You blinked at him, then heat flushed your cheeks.

    “Yeah, no.. not what happened, Barnes.”

    He quirked an eyebrow, and you simply grabbed his arm and put it back around you, allowing a tiny moan escape your lips to get your point across.

    The chuckle that elicited from him was deep and disbelieving.

    “Better than scared I guess.”

    “You guess?”

    He grinned and surged back to claim your mouth; the smile growing against your lips genuine enough to taste.

[harveywritings92]

Batboys scenario: Secret Model Girfriend. 1/2

The following is a non profit fan based story Batman, Red hood, Nightwing etc. belongs to DC Comics please support the official release.

_

I gain no profit from this nor do I own anything other then OCs  and whatever sprouts from my imagination. Thanks for reading!

Batboys Scenario 1: secret model girlfriend.

Boys are dating a nerdy, clumsy and very plain looking girl, not knowing she's a very gorgeous model they've been obsessing over and one day they're invited to a shoot to meet s/n [Stage name] and let's just say the boys say some pretty hurtful shit, needless to say they get the biggest shock of their life when the model sounds an awful lot like their girlfriend!

Dick Grayson: Kori got him backstage he was so giddy about meeting [S/n] he has a lot her posters on his old bedroom back at the manor and a few cleverly hidden magazines hidden back at his and Y/n apartment, His girlfriend has no idea he's here...His eyes wonder around the set ladies of every shape and various stated of dress eye him, some flirtatiously, other curiously and few could care less.

You meet a lot of attractive men in this industry so the more seasoned models have learned *not to flatter yourself, chances are he's just window shopping or fishing for attention.* Then she came into his view [s/n] she looked more stunning in person than on paper.

She wore a dark blue cover dress over a white bikini, her short/long glossy hair was flowing, her plump red lip were curled into a friendly smile that brighten the room her eyes were covered by sunglasses, Dick felt butterflies in his stomach as the [y/height] woman approached the he caught wisps of her perfume in the air...

that caused Dick to stall for moment. It was familiar he quickly pushed that aside and introduced himself. Y/n being the ever good actress she was used her s/n's [accent], They hit it off pretty well they talked about the show and her up coming tour and eventual somehow got on to relationships. "So.. Kori says you have a girlfriend, what's she like?"

the model asked as the raven haired snorted, not his cutesy 'OMG I thought you'd never ask!~' snicker this was a sarcastic snort. "Oh...yeah, she's nothing special... pretty boring really." Kori and S/n both gawked at as he continued. "It's not serious, I'm only with Y/n because of a dar-" he was suddenly cut off by a seething Kori "Richard! that is Y/n!" she snarled ready to pummel him.

Dick's stomach suddenly felt like it was full of sand a lumped formed throat as the familiar little hiccups his girlfriend would make when she was trying hard not breakdown crying filled the very quiet set. he swallowed hard as S/n took off her wig and sunglasses letting her natural hair fall over her face, as her teary e/c eyes looked up at him in betrayal,

 before Dick could say anything she pulled the keys to their apartment off her key-ring and threw them at him before running off sobbing, Kori went after her while all the other models gave the flabbergasted man the evil-eye, now Dick really was living up to his name sake.

Jason Todd: Artemis was your bodyguard when she wasn't with the outlaws, Jason got curious where the amazon was getting her extra cash from and followed her. to say he was excited was an understatement, S/n was he dream girl, 

he had her posters,magazines and a few of her interviews saved on his phone, he used to and still does have a few inappropriate dreams about her, So, when he saw the Amazon talking the the Model who was in a red  bunny girl outfit; Jason was over the moon.

While Artemis was very against the idea of letting Jason meet S/n..."He's going to hurt you." she said in hush tone, But you brushed it off saying that you've known Jason since before he was the hood and knew he wouldn't do anything! 

Sure, he's S/n fanboy, but he loves you...Or so you thought! It's seemed like a normal interaction he asked for S/n's autograph and talked about her her travels and shoots then...got bad, Fast!

One second Jason was talking about his time in Japan talked about the cherry blossom festival how the petals reminded him of pink snow, the model felt a little off by this...he never talked to Y/n about this maybe thi...no, she was being silly! 

"Oh, I've always wanted to go during that time, but scheduling is a bitch." She suddenly Jason's hand on hers the model cocked a brow looked up at the raven haired man, He said he was in the country for an escort mission got to spend a few night in a traditional hotel in the mountains...it was pretty relaxing.

"And it just so happens they gave me a free trip for two the next time I was there, how about it?" he smirked as S/n pulled away from him "Artemis tells me you have a girlfriend why d-" Jason's smirk immediately dropped then S/n mentioned Y/n who was hoping Jason was just joke flirting with her alter-ego. 

But was soon throw out the window along with your broken heart! "Oh..her..Yeah, she a real prude, just dead weight" Y/n felt her anger boil over as he continued talking shit about her.

Y/n didn't even realize she punched Jason in the face, till she heard a crunch, and felt pain erupt in her left hand that was now broken. When her vision cleared she saw Jason on the ground clutching his now broken nose looking up at her shocked. "What the fuck? You broke my nose!" he snarled as the model took off her wig and sunglasses and his eyes widened in horror and awe as his girlfriend glared down at him tearful and angry.

"Fuck your nose! and fuck you!" she spat before running off, Artemis looked between them both before helping Jason up as she glared the raven haired man in anger and disappointment. "I told her this was a bad Idea..." the amazon huffed as she gathered Y/n's things and went looking for her, all while Jason just stood there too stunned to move as his mind kept repeating...

*Y/n is S/n...Y/n is S/n,*  Y/n his small mousy (ex) girlfriend who he's known and trusted since his Robin days, was the pin-up model glaciers would sprout a pair of legs for, and earn a degree in linguistics just the for the off chance that she'll talk them?!...and he just fucking ruined it!

Tim Drake: Stephanie who found out S/n's true identity by accident, was the one who convinced Y/n to tell Tim about her other life, he was getting suspicious about her business trips, and late night phone calls...However, every time she had the opportunity to say something she'd chicken out or something would come up for either Y/n or Tim leaving it for another day of cancelled plans or Tim giving her the silent treatment for standing him up.

Then she came out of her bathroom to find Tim going through her phone! "What are you doing?!" The h/c demanded the raven hared man lips formed a tight line. "Who's Grant?" he huffed ignoring her question. "Nobody, just a co-worker!" she hissed trying to snatch her phone back but Tim kept it out of her reach. "Really? then how come I've never met him?" his eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

"He's been overseas the last few months, It's a lunch meeting we're discussing filming locations?" Y/n said wasn't a complete lie she did say she worked in a photography industry, And Grant was a fellow model who also doubled as location organizer for the firm, But Tim was still skeptical he could tell she wasn't being truthful.

"Really, Just a co-worker?"

" Is that a problem?"

"Yeah..actually you're my girlfriend, why hell is he calling you his sweetheart and baby?!"

"Sorry, I didn't realize my friends needed your permission to call me nicknames!"

Y/n snapped as Tim's jaw set indicating he was furious. "OH! So, now he's a friend, what the hell happen to just a Co-worker?!" The raven haired man demanded as the h/c flinched at his raised voice, This wasn't fair this wasn't fair at all! "I don't see that the big deal is, I don't give you shit for hanging out with Stephanie or Cassie?!" She huffed bringing his exes into the mix big mistake..."Well at least I can trust them!?" Tim seethed shoving passed her.

"What are you talking about?!" Y/n demanded she already knew where he was going with this. "I know you're cheating Y/n, So just save us both the god damn time and just tell me!" Tim snarled as Y/n looked affronted she knew it was coming, but it still stung that her Timmy would assume that she was sleeping around!

 "Fine! You want the truth Tim? Well here it is, I'm S/n!" She said crossing her arms as Tim gave her a once over a sneered. "The model?...Right, If you're gonna play around at least make up a better lie then that..." He spat storming out of her apartment... leaving a sobbing Y/n in his wake.

Later while on patrol with Spoiler, Tim let her know that he and Y/n broke up when the blond demanded why? He told her how he went through Y/n's phone and found her texting Grant and how the H/c had the audacity to lie and tell him she was S/n the pin-up girl! "Tsk, can you believe her?" he snorted then noticed how nervous Steph suddenly got.

"Uh, Tim she wasn't lying..." the blond said meekly as Red robin looked at her incredulously. "Wh-What you mean?" he asked feeling clammy all of the sudden, Stephanie explained that Y/n pulled a Hannah Montana and really was S/n..Grant is gay and her set manager they really were just co-workers...

She was actually going tell him in the morning before she left for her meeting, But he had to be jealous,distrustful and nosy...then the reality slowly crashing down on him like bucket of cold water... He broke up with Y/n over nothing, he went back to her apartment intending to apologize, but it was locked down tight and Y/n was gone...

Adult! Damian Wayne: Y/n was bored she was stuck at home playing Skyrim and eating junk food, "Well I can't be having a worst time than Dami." she mumbled to herself, her boyfriend Damian Wayne was stuck at some conference in Bludhaven...the poor guy. After doing the thieves guild quest line, the h/c got bored and decided to watch some TV when she switch over she was met with a Vicky Vale live at a Wayne charity gala...

*Gala? Damian never mentioned a Gala.." Y/n was confused as she saw Dick,Tim even Jason on the screen with dates...Did Dami lie? She though for a moment. No, he's up-tight but Damian isn't a liar...The h/c stomach dropped when she saw her boyfriend on screen with some d-listed blonde wrapped around his arm.

Y/n's face contorted into anger as she shut the TV off, What the hell! why didn't he tell her about the gala?...She looked at her reflection from the floor length mirror, She was wearing her big glasses, no make up and a Transformers t-shirt...Was Damian embarrassed of her? the h/c felt tears welling in her eyes then shook her head and wiped them.

She'll show him! But first she needs a date! Y/n pick up her phone and called her friend Robbie Reyes (ghost Rider)."Ey, Robbie! It's N/n are you still in Gotham?" The Latino man confirmed that yes he was still in the city. "Good, there's this charity thing downtown and I need a date." 

She smirked as the mechanic said he'll go but, he doesn't have anything to wear. "Oh,don't worry about that I got you covered." Y/n already called her stylist and the formal wear shop they got there the same Time Robbie did.

by the time they were done getting dress S/n and Robbie Reyes looked like a Hollywood couple. She in a dark purple gown with gold flowers decorating the front and dipped low in the back, and Robbie was in dark tux with a matching purple shirt and gold tie.  

"Remember, I'm only doing because we're friends...And you promised an autographed poster to Gabe." the Latino chided causing the model smile that's Robbie always big teddy bear when it comes to his little brother! "Don't worry I haven't forgotten.." She eyed him int the tux and smirked Y/n was Robbie was fine.~ "Y'know you should clean up more often! you'd be a real chick magnet...you could use a girlfriend."

the man next to her snorted and rolled his eyes annoyed "You sound like my brother..." he sighed as they pulled into the Hotel parking lot a few men whistled in amazement at the black 69 Charger. the Valet took Robbie's keys eagerly, but not before the Latino gave him the 'don't hurt my car!' speech causing Y/n to roll her eyes...Men and their cars, She doesn't get it and never will, She looped her arms around his left arm as Vicky Vale zeroed in on them.

"Oh, speaking of late arrivals S/n has just arrived with a Bad boy!~ could love be in the air in Gotham?" The reporter questioned as S/n fans booed or cheered as as the 'couple' walked along the carpet. "Is it always this bright and loud?" Robbie whispered in the model's ear cringing as some girls squealed at the little interaction and the camera flashes went off around them.

"Yeah, but it get's pretty quiet once you get inside." She whispered back to the camera's it looked like they were flirting, as the blond reporter asked about their relationship, "Sorry, everyone but, Mr. Reyes is just dear friend of mine, he's got more important things going on then dating at the moment." The [fake/h/c] explained with a tight smile Robbie confirmed causing Vicky to pout as the two got inside.

Robbie was immediately blindsided by a man Y/n recognized as Jason Todd who started asking the mechanic about that sweet 69' outside! the two men started mingling and talking about cars.

 while Y/n rolled her eyes and wandered the ballroom the model surveyed the room for Damian and found him and his little tart...Taking a deep breath Y/n made her way over to them, when she got close enough to hearing what they were saying.

her heart hurt as the man she loved told his fake entourage how plain and frigid she was not worth bragging about! Dick who knew about S/n looked very uncomfortable and disappointed in his little brother. then he noticed you and looked stunned to see you there, Damian must told them you were sick or something... feeling more determined Y/n stood up straighter and spoke.

"Really now, because an hour ago you were telling me how much you loved me..." She hissed in her normal voice Damian stiffened shoved his date away and whirled and looked around in a panic.

 "Down here love." She said in her S/n accent his green eyes looked at her bemused as his date and 'Friends' all looked at Damian like he grew three heads. "Dude, your dating S/n??!" One of the men said befuddled remembering all the crap he was saying about his girl...they all pictured some librarian spinster type! Not one of Gotham's top desirable women.

"More like he was...oh, here take this I don't need it anymore." she huffed taking off the necklace he'd giving her for their anniversary and handed it to Damian, She got close enough for him to see some of her natural h/c peeking out from under her wig and the outline of her contact lenses. "I...But." Damian still in shock tried to figure out how to talk,

 It was too late he dug his grave and he dug it deep. "It's been fun, Now if you'll excuse me I gotta find my date and go..." She said calmly and walked into the crowd disappearing in the sea people, Damian snapped out of his stupor and followed after Y/n just in time see her get in a black muscle car with an unknown male and drove off into the night....  

[stratus-skye07]

Sense Of Love [One] | Minho

Blinded By Fame

[Masterlist]

MINHO

Reaching a certain point in your career you start to think about how you got to this point. Sitting and thinking about the aftermath of winning my fight which will lead me to the championship. A place I’ve been to once before, only this time I’ll win.

Before leaving the building, I have to do my post match interview. It’s not my favorite part of the job but attention is on me and I have to make myself look even better than I already do. I put on my five hundred dollar sunglasses as I approach the podium with multiple microphones aiming at me when all the cameras begin to flash like crazy. Multiple hands go up as the question begin.

“Mr. Choi, how do you feel about the outcome of your fight?”

I shrug my shoulders at such a unoriginal question, “Sore but it came out as expected.”

“You’re going into the finals against Lee Chin-Hwa, are you going to be training even harder for your fight against him?”

“No, if it’s not broken then don’t fix it. I’ve been zooming through the tournament with no problem and I’ll win the same way.”

“You made it this far last year but you ended up losing the finals, aren’t you worried about coming out with the same outcome?”

I’ve tried very hard to forget last years finals but being reminded of it has given me a bitter taste of it. “I have all the confidence that won’t happen this year. I’m done answering question.”

Leaving the building gave me a sense of relaxation with the match being set and done. I worked my ass off just to get back to this point once again. I rose to the top last year but along with bad decisions I ended up losing in the finals. I’ve chosen to not take that path again this time which means nothing will hold me back from winning this year.

Onew, my manager, is driving me home while I take in the ease from be able to finally go home. I browse through the news outlets about tonight’s match and everything good has been said about my win. The only thing that articles tend to focus on is my attitude outside of fighting. Like being a professional fighter means I have to be nice.

Scrolling through more things I notice an article about me and the currently famous model, Jung Bohee. Which reminds me.

“Onew, can you contact Bohee and ask how her schedule is looking. If she’s not too busy let her know that I need to have another meeting with her.”

He nods, “Sure, but how many more meetings are you planning on having until you seal the deal with her?”

“Don’t start that again. You know I don’t have time for that. Meetings with her is as close as I will get to anything you’d want from me.”

“I’m only suggesting.”

“Well don’t, that’s not what I pay you for.”

“Yaah punk, I’m older than you. Just because I’m your manager doesn’t mean you can drop the honorifics and be an asshole to me!”

I plug my headphone into my phone and drown out his annoying rants about being my hyung. We may have grown up together but he’s still under my payroll. I can’t deny his loyalty though. No matter how much of an ass I am to him he still sticks around to put me in line.

My music gets interrupted by a phone call. The name on the screen reads Don’t Answer. I slide the red icon over letting my music come back on. That’s the twelfth time this week they’ve called. They can keep calling but my answer will still be no.

Once I get dropped off at my home, I immediately go to the bathtub to soak my body in before going to bed. It helps ease all the tensed muscles I used for tonight. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I reach the counter and look at myself in the mirror.

I touch the bruises on my face and sigh, “If I was meant to be a fighter why was I born with such a handsome face that gets hit sometimes? What a shame. Well at least I don’t have cauliflower ears.”

Noticing my phone light up I see the familiar number that I wasn’t expecting to see so soon. Duty calls though.

I guess that meeting is happening sooner than I thought.

Y/N

Closing time at last. The last customers heads out of the shop. I lock up the door and turn the sign to say closed. There’s still cleaning that needs to be done which comes down to my loyal employees. The same employees that are huddled over watching the T.V. that hangs in the corner of the wall.

“Can’t believe I lost a hundred bucks on this fight. I was so sure Minho was gonna lose.” Key groans in disappointment.

Taemin pats Key on the back, “Hyung, maybe you should retire in the life of gambling. You’re sense for betting is getting worse.”

“No, if it’s not broken then don’t fix it. I’ve been zooming through the tournament with no problem and I’ll win the same way.”

Key scoffs, “I really wish someone would knock him out.”

I grab the remote from the counter and shut the T.V. off, “If you two are done freeloading off our pay-per-view,” I hand a rag to Key, “The windows need cleaning,” I hand rubber gloves to Taemin, “and the dishes need washing.”

“Yes, ma’am.” They both say in unison. Key and Taemin have been working at my cafe, Hope Cafe, for as long as I’ve owned it.

Key and I went to school together growing up.  When I first took over the cafe when my parents passed away he offered to work part-time for a little while but that ended up turning into years. His real name is Kibum but I call him Key for short. Whenever I’m not around he takes care of the cafe for me.

Taemin, our youngest, came to work when in his final year in highschool. Currently, he’s majoring in music and film at the university. I’ve advised him that it would be fine if he chose to quit to focus more on school but he continues to brush off my attempts and work.

I finish wiping down the tables and placing the chairs on top of the them to mop the floor. Before I start mopping, I begin carrying out the large trash bags from today. As I’m about to pick them up, Taemin comes to lift them with ease towards the dumpster in the back of the cafe.

“Weren’t you doing the dishes?” I ask.

He smirks, “I finished besides you’re too small to be lifting these and you shouldn’t over work yourself.”

“I can handle it, Taemin.”

After tossing the bag into the dumpster, Taemin stares at me for a few minutes, “How are your eyes?”

I scoff, “Not this again, Taemin. You know that I haven’t had an attack for almost a year now. I told you I’m fine. Is that the reason you don’t quit this place and focus on school?”

“You’re the reason I managed to get into that school, noona. I can’t leave you behind to work twice as hard and put your health at risk.”

“I don’t want you to use me as an excuse to slack off at school. Would it put you at ease if I went to the doctor?”

He slightly pouts, “Maybe.”

I pat him on the back, “Okay, eomma. I’ll go see the doctor if that makes you feel at ease.”

MINHO

The sun blinds me for a split second as I wake to find that it’s morning. Hearing movement in the bathroom, I quickly realize that it’s time to get up. I get out of bed to put on sweatpants as the familiar slender figure appears.

“Leaving so soon?” I ask her.

Bohee smirk as she sits on the edge of the bed to put her heels on, “I have a shoot in two hours or else I’d stay longer.”

The articles about us are wrong. We’re not a couple, we’re just each other’s stress relievers. I met Bohee at a charity event and we hit it off, physically anyway.

“Have you seen the latest news about us?”

She nods, “It’s not a bad idea, don’t you think?”

“I told you from the start this would never become anything more. Why? Are you starting to get feelings for me?”

“No, but you can’t deny that our popularity certainly rose from all the speculations. Wouldn’t you want to try?”

I sigh, “I have other things in mind to get people talking about me.”

She comes up behind me to wrap her arms around my torso, “You’re no fun. Then how about doing a photoshoot with me?”

“I’ll think about it.” I break out of her embrace, “You’re gonna be late.”

After my interesting morning and long day of lounging around watching fight highlights, I meet up with Jonghyun for some late night training before calling it a night. Jonghyun has been my trainer since I started fighting. Him and Onew are the only team I need to compete.

We go through numerous workout routines along with practicing my strikes and kicks before finally taking a break.

“Are you sure you’re ready for the finals?” He asks.

“What are you doubting me already?”

Jonghyun shakes his head, “It’s not that, but after what happened last year I just wanna be sure nothing like that happens this year.”

“It won’t. You can count on it. I have no intention of leaving that venue without the championship.” Both Onew and Jonghyun know the truth behind my loss at the finals last year but neither of them ever talk about it with me directly.

“It’s not like it’s for my sake. I just don’t want you to get hurt in anyway shape or form. You’ve worked extremely hard just to get back to where you are now.”

I scoff and rise to my feet, “You think I don’t know that!? I’ve been the one to push myself after hours.” Not wanting to get into an argument I head towards the treadmill, “You can go if you want. I’m gonna run for awhile.”

“Alright,” Jonghyun walks towards the exit, “don’t stay so late.”

I continue to work out for a few more hours before the tiredness began to set it. It was already getting late so I lock up the gym and head for my car. Reaching my car, my phone begins to ring. I read the number and immediately press the red icon to decline the call before putting it back in my pocket.

“So you have been ignoring my calls.” I roll my eyes at the annoying voice I’ve been avoiding to hear. I turn towards the ringleader being followed by his two stooged bodyguards that I never bothered learning their names, “To be honest Minho, I’m a little hurt. I thought we were friends.”

“I’m sorry you’re bad at taking hints, Hyun-Ki.”

He fake laughs, “How do you deny offers before even hearing the pitch first? Now that’s bad deal making.”

I shrug my shoulders, “Something tells me that I’ve already heard this idea before and let me tell you right now that I’m not doing it. So you can stop calling me and find some other poor rookie to sell that idea to again.”

“Minho, listen to reason.” He point to his group, “There are three of us and one of you. We’ll manage to convince you one way or another.”

I drop my gym bag in preparation of what’s going to have to happen next. I’ve never backed down from a fight and that’s not going to change just because of the odds. Things with this group will end dramatically if it has to.

“The answer is still no.”

As soon as I finish my sentence, Hyun-Ki’s fist connects with my jaw. It throws me off balance but it wasn’t enough to do a whole lot of damage.

“Why do you insist on doing things the hard way.”

I return the hit with a punch of my own which knocks him down. “It makes things more interesting.”

Everything goes crazy once Hyun-Ki’s little helpers get involved. One of them goes for my mid-section to tackle me down but I manage to keep my stance. The other comes at me, charging for my upper body but I punch him to give me a split second to handle the first stooge. I ram my elbow into his back then a knee to his face to get him to let go of my waist. I swipe under the second guy’s feet to take him down.

Everything takes a turn for the worst when the last thing I see is Hyun-Ki tackling into me like a football player. My vision blurs once the back of my head makes contact with the windshield of my car.

I try to shake off the hit but I get way too disoriented and my vision starts to fade in and out. Looking up I barely see the three figures standing over me.

“It didn’t have to go down like this, Minho. If only you did one simple thing like you did once before, we wouldn’t have had to ruin a perfectly good window.”

“What do we do with him?”

“Eh, leave him. If he lives or dies, it doesn’t matter to me. He’s learned a lesson either way.”

It got quiet all of a sudden. Everything looked foggy and unrecognizable. I feel so numb to the point where I can’t move a finger to pull myself up. This was really it. This is how my short pathetic life ends. All I can say is I wish I lived it better. The night gets darker and colder with no hope of surviving through it.

Suddenly, I begin to see movement through my foggy vision. A silhouette of a woman. She’s talking to me but I can’t hear anything. The muffled noises grow faint as my eyes grow heavy and then I  see nothing at all.

Y/N

Over the years I’ve grown used to going to Dr. Park that it’s almost like going to the dentist for check ups. I truly believe that I’m healthy but those around me that know my past constantly tell me to see the doctor for review of my eyes. Just for their comfort I do so.

Dr. Park does his routine check of shining a light in my eyes and using a microscope to zoom into my corneas.

“So what is the diagnostic?”

He smiles, “Your eyes are in healthy condition. You’re vision is still in good shape. Have you been having any issues?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve been doing well in reading things from a distance and close up.”

“You’re still wear your glasses though?”

“Yes, I sometimes get paranoid that I’ll strain my eyes so I still wear them at times.”

He nods as he looks through his notes, “Tell me Y/N, when was the last attack you had?”

“Almost a year ago. I haven’t had one since.”

“That’s good to hear. As long as you continue to live a peaceful life like you are now then there should be no change in your vision to worry about.”

“Can you write that down? My employees seem to think differently of me working and volunteering.”

He chuckles, “At least they care enough to do their work for you. You shouldn’t be complaining with employees like that.”

“I don’t complain but I’d rather not be dealt with like a fragile child. I wanted this operation so I wouldn’t be treated any differently.”

“Of course, I can’t really say anything since I began treating you when you were a child so in my eyes I still see you as that little girl that came to me all those years ago.”

I nod, “I’ve grown a lot since then, haven’t I?”

“You’re young, you still have more years to grow. Just continue the way you’ve been living and do your best to not overstress yourself. You have friends that care so don’t be afraid to lean on them for help when you need it.”

“Thank you again, Dr. Park.”

After the numerous check ups I’ve been having, each one has come out the same positive outcome. I begin to think that it’s safe, my health is set in stone and I can live without worry about what might happen within the next year. Yet, I hate to have that little piece of doubt that still lingers in the back of my head. I hope to one day not worry so much.

The sun has finally set as I walk back home. There was construction going on at my usual route so I decide to take the long way past one of the local gyms. I don’t really like to walk past there since a lot of the guys that workout there try to hit on me but it’s night time and the place closes. It still makes the places more creepy just walking through in the dark.

I shake off the creepy thoughts that make me feel uneasy as I nearly reach the end of the building where the crosswalk is. Suddenly, I hear a loud crash that scares me to a stop. I look at my surroundings in hopes that there isn’t some sort of driveby happening around the corner. I peek my head around the building. No one was there but one single car in the parking lot.

I continued to walk as if nothing was wrong. It’s not until I walk past the parking lot when I see legs sticking out from the side of the car. The window is completely smashed with the glass shining on the black pavement. Getting a little closer, I see a man lying there not moving.

I run over to him, “Sir, can you hear me?” His eyes flutter and his hand reaches out for me to take his. I notice blood pooling around his head when I begin to panic even more. “Hang on,” I take my phone out of my pocket to call for help, “I need an ambulance.” I give the operator my location and turn back to the man.

I lean back to look around for anyone near but the man pulls on my hand to keep me close. I squeeze his hand for reassurance, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

MINHO

I could barely stay awake long enough to focus on where I was. I remember being in a car then the ceiling was moving but I couldn’t see where I was going. I kept trying to look for that silhouette that first came to me before I completely lost consciousness.

I begin to reach for that familiar hand again in hope to not be left alone but I feel nothing gripping my hand.

“Minho?”

I immediately recognize the voice, “Onew, where am I?”

“You’re at the hospital. What happened?”

“I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone at the gym like that.” Jonghyun’s voice comes from the other side of me.

I struggle to open my eyes from the brightness of the room, when I do nothing is clear. I give it a moment for my eyes to adjust but no matter how many times I blink they remain foggy.

“Onew...Jonghyun…where are you?”

“We’re right in front of you. Jonghyun is on the other side of you.”

I look around to see nothing but the lights and shapes of whatever is in the room but everything is unclear. “Why can’t I see you guys?”

“What do you mean you can’t see us?” Jonghyun worried voice asks.

“I mean I can’t see anything.”

The panic starts to set in once my vision never changes. It looks as if my eyes were being covered by multiple layers of saran wrap. The shock was almost enough to distract me from the hellish headache I have.

Onew called the doctor in to report the fact that I had no vision. My heart was racing the entire time I was waiting for him to bring the doctor in. Not being able to see who was coming and going made the wait even worse.

I hear multiple footsteps coming in, “Mr. Choi, I’m Dr. Chung. How are you feeling?”

“Besides the massive headache and the fact that I can’t see anything I’m just relaxing and having a grand time. Thanks for asking.”

I feel a nudge on my arm that must’ve been from Jonghyun since he has been standing on my right side this entire time, “Seriously, Minho.”

I wave him off as Onew starts to speak to the doctor, “Dr. Chung, can you please explain what’s going on with Minho?”

“Of course, it seems that the impact of the blow that Mr. Choi experienced to his head caused his brain to bounce off the front and back of his skull. We took CAT scans which shows contusions to the occipital lobe.”

I scoff, “Can you explain that in simpler terms?”

“The occipital lobe controls vision so it’s not unusual for it to cause temporary blindness. In your terms, your brain is bleeding but it’s not life threatening. They’re like bruises.”

“How long is temporary?” Onew asks.

“It’s hard to say. His brain should heal in a couple days, the maximum would be a few weeks but nothing past a month.”

I start chuckling at the sudden twist of fate that life has given me, “What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

“I recommend that you see a counselor until your vision comes back. There’s a place we suggest to our patience. I can have the nurse give you the information.”

I shake my head, “A counselor? No thanks, I’m not that bummed about it.”

Dr. Chung clears his throat, I can imagine him losing his patience with me but I don’t care since I was screwed anyways. “Not for your emotional state. I mean a counselor to help you manage and get through your daily activities like normal until your brain heals fully.”

“That would be a great help for Minho since he lives alone and likes to live independently.” Jonghyun adds a lot of emphasis in the fact like it would actually help.

“I have another question.”

Dr. Chung hums in response, “Go ahead.”

“The person who found me. Are they still here?”

There’s a silence until the doctor awes, “The young lady that accompanied you here? She stayed for a short time but once she discovered that you were okay she left. She looked very pale so it was probably best for her to leave.”

“Did you by any chance get her name?”

He hums, “No, I’m sorry. She did seem very worried about you though. When you came in, she refused to let go of your hand. Perhaps she was your guardian angel.”

[Two]

[my-emotional-self]

Let Me Protect You Chapter 2/?

Pairings: Chris Evans x OFC Emilia

Chapter: Two

Word Count: 2,206

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Swearing

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Self-Harm, Mentions of Domestic Abuse

Summary: After Emilia’s fiancé cheats on her, she moves to California to live with her brother Eric, who just so happens to be good friends with Chris Evans. Follow Emilia and her roller coaster life through heartbreak, love, and emotional trauma. Will Emilia choose to let Chris into her heart, or will she remain broken and alone forever?

Emilia’s P.O.V

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn was by no means your idea of fun.  You were a night owl, the dark always felt soothing to you.  It was harder for people to get a read on you, especially since you wore your emotions on your face easily.

You stretched your muscles and were pleasantly surprised to see they didn’t ache too badly.  You could also feel the tightness in your wrist, knowing the red lines will scab start to scab within a day or two. Giving yourself a small smile, knowing you had accomplished what you needed; to keep your emotions at bay a little.

Getting your duffle bag, you pull on a new pair of underwear, loving the way your boyshorts hugged your ass.  You were always happy that you had curves.  A decent size butt and C cup breasts.  Maybe one day you would work on trying to tone your stomach and thighs, but not now. Right now you had one thing in mind, getting to LA, seeing your brother and starting over.   Finishing up your outfit, you put on a long sleeve dark grey t-shirt, and some dark wash distressed skinny jeans.

After checking out of the hotel, you jump into your jeep and hit the open road once again.  Only 14 more hours to go.

 Chris’ P.O.V

“Hello?” I ask as I answer my phone, not at all happy to see the name on the screen.

“Hey baby! What are you up to”? My ex Minka asks me.

“Minka, I’ve asked you repeatedly to stop calling me that, or any pet name for that matter.  We are no longer together anymore, so stop trying, please” I huff out a sigh.

Ever since I became single again after my last breakup a few months ago, Minka has been trying to wiggle her way back into my heart, and my bed.  We’ve been so on and off over the years, I know I would gain nothing from it if we tried again.  

“I can see you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.  I was curious as to what you were up to.  I guess I will see you on Friday at Eric’s party then” she spat out then quickly hung up.

I roll my eyes at the thought of having to see her on Friday at the party.  She has always been the jealous type, even though we aren’t together anymore.  Anytime she sees me talking to a girl, she goes ballistic.

Speaking of girls, I know Eric’s sister Emilia will be arriving today.  I couldn’t sleep much last night, Emilia on my mind and what her ex fiancé did to her.  I don’t even know the girl and for some reason I can’t get my mind off of her. What she looks like, what her voice sounds like.  All those thoughts kept running through my mind.  I’m excited to meet her on Friday.  

I always like trying to meet new people who are just normal and out of the spotlight.  It makes me feel like an ordinary person when I’m around them, and that is what I’m looking for now that I have a few months off.  No projects or movies, just a few interviews here and there in LA.

 Emilia’s P.O.V

Pulling into Eric’s driveway, my heart is beating out of my chest.  I haven’t seen my brother in almost a year.  I’ve missed him so damn much.  We were so close growing up; he was my protective big brother.  I’ve always needed someone to protect me.  Not much in a physical way, but more of an emotional and mental way.  That is the kind of person I have always drawn myself to.  The kind of person to help me overcome the strong feelings that always seems to tear me down.  Charlie was like that, even though he cheated on me.  

There was another problem I had, that I know really worried me now that I was in LA; trusting people. I’ve always had a big heart, which in turn has me trusting people so easily.  But like usual, that is my fault.  I’m always to blame and I’ve come to terms with that.

“EMILIA!” I hear my brother yell as I get out of the Jeep. “I’ve fucking missed you little sis”.

“Oh god, it’s so good to see you Eric” I manage to say as we embrace and tears stream down my face.  

His hugs are the best and I can always get lost in the protectiveness of them.  This, this is where I feel safest.

“How was your trip” Eric asks as he helps me grab my bags.

“Long and tiring, but has helped me calm down a bit.  You know how driving always does that to me.  Just give me an open road, blast some music and sing along at the top of my lungs and my problems disappear”.  

“Well I am so relieved you made it here without any problems.  Both dad and I were constantly texting and calling each other freaking out a little bit.  Let’s get inside and I will show you around the house and you can get settled in the guest house.  After that, we will order some pizza, drink some beers, and catch up like old times. I took tomorrow and Friday off work, and Friday I’m throwing a party here so you can meet some of my friends”.

Eric showed me around his house, and fuck, was I ever impressed.  He has been doing well out here and I am so proud of him.  While the house isn’t a mansion or anything, it’s very beautiful.  A modern house with all the updates you could imagine.  It’s a three bedroom, four bathroom house.  Enough bedrooms to have his drunken buddies stay over if needed. However, the best part about the house is the pool outside.  Growing up in the land of 10,000 lakes, I was always swimming.  When I was younger, I always wanted to grow up to be a mermaid.

I start unpacking the few boxes I was able to fit into my jeep.  It was mainly clothes, and a few personal belongings.  All my other things were being shipped by my father and would be here by tomorrow or Friday.

As I unpack, I stall as a thought pops into my head. Wondering if I had the courage to tell Eric about my secret I have been hiding ever since I started dating Charlie.  The pain.  I always welcomed pain in any form to help with my emotions.  Wanting to feel anything other than the nagging guilt, the guilt of being alive.  Or the embarrassment of always doing something wrong.  Charlie would get mad sometimes and you knew it was always your fault.  Maybe you forgot to clean up to kitchen, or forgot to put the laundry away and instead it got wrinkled.  The pain, in your eyes, was welcomed though.  The strength he would use to grip your wrists and arms.  Sometimes a smack across the face.  At least if Charlie hurt you, you wouldn’t have to hurt yourself.  

After debating about it, I decided to let it go and not tell Eric.  He was always my protector, and telling him would not only make him mad, it would make him incredibly sad, and I just couldn’t do that to him. Especially since he is opening up his house to me.  I would just pretend as if it never happened.      

An hour later you were lounging on your brothers’ couch eating pizza and drinking beer.

“So, now that I’m here, are you going to reveal who you are a publicist for?” I ask as I stretch and get more comfy on the couch.  

“Frank Grillo”, he responds with a smile on his face.

“Seriously?  Dead fucking serious, don’t you lie to me Eric. Fucking Crossbones himself’?

I’m honestly a little shocked he never told me before.  He knows how much of a huge fan I am of the Marvel Universe; Captain America specifically.

“Hey, you never once asked before”, he chuckles as he raises his hands in the air. “In all honesty, Frank is such a great guy.  Super down to earth, you would really like him Em”.

“Wait, are you saying I get to meet him sometime?”

“Well yeah, he’s coming to the party on Friday.  Even though I work for him, we are pretty close.  He is one of my closest friends out here”.

I sit and fidget with my beer bottle, peeling at the label.  I wonder if he has met any other cast members from Captain America.  I can’t help but give a genuine small smile thinking he has met Cap himself, Chris Evans.  

“I know that smile Em, what is it you want to ask me?”

“Who all have you met from the Captain America movies?” I question as I raise my eyebrows.

“If you’re talking about Chris Evans, then yes, I have met him before”.

“DUDE! What the fucking hell.  How could you not tell me this before?”  I grab a throw pillow from the couch and throw it in his direction.

Eric throws his hands in front of his face to deflect the pillow I had thrown him.  “Because you never asked, plus, I didn’t want you mad at me knowing I met him while you were stuck back at home”.

My brother has met Chris Evans before.  Damn, what a lucky son of a bitch.  I don’t want to press any further asking if he is friends with him, or if he only met him once or twice.  I would be getting my hopes up, and I don’t want to be disappointed anymore with myself than I already was, so I decide to just drop it.

I found out Eric had yet to see Stranger Things, and after explaining to him the brilliance of the show, we decided to get comfy and watch it.  I got the big couch all to myself, while Eric took the smaller loveseat.  I was dead tired from driving so much today.  I could feel myself slipping in and out, until finally I succumbed to the darkness.

 Chris’ P.O.V

I spent the last hour searching all over for my favorite pair of sunglasses.  Sure, I had a few different pairs, but these were my favorite pair.  My mother had gotten them for me for my birthday last year.  Thinking back to when I last wore them, I realize I left them at Eric’s house.  It was dark when I left, it would make sense that I didn’t think about wearing my sunglasses.

I notice it’s only 10p.m on Wednesday night, I’m sure Eric would still be up.  I pick up my phone and give him a call.

“Hello?” I hear Eric say in a rather quiet tone.

“Hey man, sorry, did I wake you?”

“No I’m still up, but Emilia is sleeping on the couch right now, I just don’t want to wake her.  She had a pretty long day with the drive and everything.”

“Shit, sorry about that. I was wondering if I left my sunglasses over there last night.”

“Yeah, I have them here on the counter.  Why don’t you stop by if you aren’t busy and grab them.”

“Are you sure, I don’t want to trouble you or wake Emilia.  I can always grab them tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it. She is passed out, even though she’s a light sleeper, I don’t think a tsunami would wake her up at this point.”

“Alright, I’ll be there in five minutes” I say as I hang up the phone, grab my keys, and head over to his house.

As I get out of my car, I see Eric is already standing on the steps out front.  He must not want me ringing the doorbell and change waking Emilia up.  I don’t blame him, she’s had a long day and deserves some rest.

“Come on in, we can head out in the backyard and have some beers” he says as we start walking towards the kitchen.  

I look to my left and see Emilia fast asleep on the couch, the blanket bunched up at her feet.  I didn’t know what I was expecting when I first saw her, but I wasn’t expecting her to take my breath away.  She was beautiful, in such a natural way.  She had beautifully pale skin, and I could see a few freckles scattered across her cheekbones and her nose.  Her red hair really standing out against her pale face, and her lips pursed out a little.  Although her eyes were closed, I could still see the dark circles she had under her eyes. Poor girl has had it rough the last few days.  

I hear Eric sneak up behind me.  “Be careful Evans, if you wake her up, and she finds you looking at her when she is half out it from sleep; be prepared for some kung fu moves and screaming.”

We walk out to the backyard with a few beers in hand, and talk about the party on Friday, and just enjoy the crisp air of an early autumn night in LA.

 A/N:

I didn’t really like how I ended the chapter.  I’m sorry about that.  But I still hope you all enjoyed it!! Thank you for reading!!

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