#i agree. this IS a bad explanation of persuasion. what about the angst!!!!

[bennetsbonnet]

I was just watching Jeopardy! and one of the categories was classic novels explained badly...

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Jeonghan: Sold (Part Three)

Characters: Jeonghan x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst, loooots of mentions of the black market/human trafficking, people in cages, shock collars, violence, murder, guns, possible minor character death, just a lot of bad things happening here and it's very chaotic lmao

Word count: 3,253

Summary: If Jooyeon and Baekhyun never went snooping around the black market, they would’ve never discovered the human trafficking ring and wanted to help. They would’ve never discovered you inside one of the many cages full of people, and Jeonghan would’ve never went against the alphas and demanded they help. But for you, Jeonghan would do anything, even if it means bringing back trouble from a past he never knew about.

a/n: things in bold are meant to be in english

Previous | Next | Sold Masterlist

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t do it if it were Jooyeon in there. Or Yeji. Or Soomin. Or any of the girls in this household. You’d see your mate laying in a cage, dirty, exhausted, knowing they were being sold off to a pack of mate-collectors, and you’d just let them go?”

That was enough persuasion for the pack to finally cave and agree to help Jeonghan. Those who had mates understood how it felt. The others could imagine how horrible it must’ve felt to see that, and the determination Jeonghan felt to do anything possible to get you out of that situation. 

Junmyeon’s pack was hard to persuade – well, except for Chanyeol – but they eventually agreed to help.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to overtake whoever’s behind the ring, though,” Junmyeon admitted. “We don’t even know how many people are involved.”

“Hanbin will no doubt help us,” Kyung said.

“I can ask Chris, too,” Cooper shrugged. “At least having Felix or Changbin would be helpful.”

“Either way,” Seungcheol interrupted, “we’re going to plan this from all angles. Whether we have four packs or just two – we’re going to make sure we can pull this off.”

“Our main goal is getting Blue out of there,” Jihoon added on, “but we’re gonna try to save as many people as we can.”

Jongdae stopped the explanation, “Who’s Blue?”

“That’s what Jeonghan started calling her,” Joshua explained. 

“It’s the color of her collar,” the boy in question shrugged. “What else am I supposed to call her?”

“That rhymed!” Soonyoung smiled, pointing to Jeonghan enthusiastically before taking Jihoon’s palm to the back of the head.

“Where are these captives expected to go after they’re free?” Sehun wondered. “Just…wander off into the woods? They’ll just get caught again.”

“Cooper and I worked together with an ally of mine to find some safe housing for them,” Kyung explained. “Her and her partners work under the table as werewolf doctors. Besides, the public already views werewolves as horrible creatures so I’m sure anybody would be willing to take someone in who was almost a part of a werewolf kidnapping.”

“And how long do we have to figure all of this out?” Yixing questioned.

“That’s the problem,” Seungcheol sounded a little afraid and unsure now, “...we don’t know. Which means we have to plan this and execute it immediately.”

-

You felt absolute fear watching the girl be thrown to the ground, blood covering half her face. But you didn’t scream or even move. You learned not to. You did anything you were told to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Anything to not get hurt more than you already were.

“Can you be fucking careful?” one of the other men snapped gruffly at the one who’d thrown the girl to the ground by her hair. “If they’re damaged, they’re not gonna pay as much!”

“They already paid half and it was more than enough,” another said.

“But I want the other half in full!”

You knew about whoever had bought you. The men kept saying you were going to be ‘slaves to monsters’, but you were pretty sure they were the real monsters. You’d heard all the stories about werewolves, but you didn’t feel any fear knowing you were soon going to be shipped off to a den of them. However, you didn’t trust any human anymore. Your whole life, all they’d done is hurt you and betray you. None of them were compassionate. All of them just looked for personal gain, and you were somehow always in the crossfire.

Maybe a life with werewolves would be better.

In the cage next to you, you heard a scoff. You already knew it was Saoirse. She seemed to always be doing something to get in trouble, but she was the only person there that you talked to. She was the only human you’d met that wasn’t completely horrible.

“They’re gonna be in for a rude awakening when these cages are empty one morning,” she muttered.

You scooted a little closer to the edge of the cage closest to her, “What?”

Saoirse was the only person you ever spoke to. You wouldn’t necessarily consider her a friend considering the trouble she got herself in, but she was someone that you could keep at arm's length. She’d been nice to you a handful of times, so you’ve gotten her out of trouble with her language barrier in return. You spoke to each other here and there to pass the time and relieve boredom, but that was really it.

She glanced over at you like she just now noticed you were there before she looked back at the scene in the middle of the tent, “Some creatures showed up here last night. They looked human but their eyes were something else, and they promised to get us all out of here.”

You were both speaking quietly so as to not draw the attention away from the men bickering among themselves, but you still kept stealing glances over toward them to make sure they didn’t notice the two of you talking.

“And you trust strangers to save us?” you questioned.

She shrugged, “What reason would they have to come here and find us? And why would they lie about saving us?”

“What reason would they have to save us?” you countered, looking back at her.

She tisked, “Let me have something to be hopeful for, will ya?”

“Hey!” one of the men yelled, making you jump but Saoirse didn’t even seem phased. You whipped your head around while her eyes just glanced behind you to the three men. “Do you two wanna be next?”

You quickly shook your head.

Saoirse never understood what they said, so she just muttered for them to fuck off like she always did, which then angered the men because they couldn’t understand her. Typically, they’d do something to punish her, but today, the man scoffed and waved the issue away.

“The freaks will have a field day with you,” he spat before the three of them left the tent.

“Guess lunch time isn’t happening…” she muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“You need to stop making things worse for yourself,” you huffed, your voice tired.

Truthfully, you were still feeling quite groggy. You always were, but you’d woken up only a few minutes prior to the girl getting beat for whatever reason the men found to do so. You didn’t want to go back to sleep but it was hard keeping your eyes open.

“I’m not letting shit like this happen to me without a fight,” she scoffed. “If I’m capable, I’ll do anything to stop what’s happening to us. I mean, those people last night wouldn’t have come and offered to free us if I didn’t stay awake.”

“We’re all going to the same place either way,” you finally snapped, sending her a glare. “You’re fighting for nothing and making it worse for yourself – and you almost dragged me down with you. Leave me out of your…righteous bullshit or whatever.”

You rarely snapped at Saoirse, but she still didn’t seem phased by it, “You need to stop letting bad shit happen to you, Girl. That’s why it keeps happening. You don’t do anything to try and fight back.”

“And which one of us have gotten beaten the most?”

Before Saoirse could come up with a snappy reply that you knew she’d have, the tent flaps opened again, and two different men showed up with stale bread. They tossed half a loaf in each cage that everyone would fight over and tear apart like animals. Some hurt each other in the process, so hungry that they were feral for every single crumb they could get, even if it meant scratching and grabbing at each other.

As always, you stayed away in a corner and watched the other six people in your cage dive after the bread tossed in, snarling and yelling and fighting over it. You didn’t get food, but at least you weren’t injured even worse.

“Hey. Girl.”

That’s what Saoirse called you. You didn’t have a name – not that you could remember. So she always called you Girl to get your attention.

You turned your head just in time to see Saoirse tossing something through the bars and into your cage. You quickly cupped your hands to catch whatever it was. A piece of bread half the size of your fist.

You glanced back up at her and she offered you a small smirk before biting into her half of the bread. Nobody in the cage dared fight Saoirse over the portion she’d managed to get because she was infamous for fighting back. They knew fighting against her would be a losing battle because she dared to even fight back against the men holding them all captive.

Maybe it was smarter to fight back like Saoirse, even if it meant worse punishments. But life had punished you so much already, and you were tired of fighting.

As you nibbled on your bread, turning so your back was to your cagemates, you decided one really couldn’t teach old dogs new tricks.

-

The locked gate in front of the flaps to the tent was no issue for Soonyoung before, but the pack needed him focused. So the question stood as the pack planned for the prison break: how to get into the tent in the first place without running into the werewolf traps set around the perimeters?

“Okay…” Cooper began slowly and softly, afraid to speak the plan she was brewing out loud because she didn’t want it to be considered bad or stupid, “what if we had someone on the inside who could unlock the gate? Like…maybe a mouse?”

“A mouse?” Chanyeol had scoffed.

Jihoon considered the idea and shrugged slightly, “I mean, that’s not a bad idea, actually. Small enough the guards probably wouldn’t see him.”

“Where the hell are you guys gonna find a trained mouse?” Baekhyun asked with an incredulous laugh.

Chris simply pointed with his thumb to the boy sitting beside him, “Perfectly trained, right here.”

“Make that two,” Jaesang said as he raised his hand to head-level.

And that’s exactly what step one of the plan was. A tiny gray mouse scurried around the perimeter of the outside of the tent, alongside a dark brown one, going up toward the black iron gate. The outside of the gate wasn’t protected this time, but Felix and Jaesang could see two men inside the gate that were a few feet away from the entrance. 

They shimmied up one of the bars to the latch and together, managed to push it up, jumping down as the gate swung open so they could hurry inside before possibly getting stepped on, knowing they couldn’t see the people who would be following right behind them.

The two guards looked up, their conversation falling silent as the gate swung open seemingly out of nowhere.

“How the hell did that happen?” one of the men asked as they both stepped up to inspect the gate’s latch before closing it. “Did the latch break?”

“No, it looks–”

The man didn’t finish his sentence as his head was suddenly thrown back like he’d been punched in the face. The other guy looked up in surprise, only for his neck to get twisted at an unnatural angle, and with a snap, he fell to the ground. His companion soon met the same fate as a human Jaesang snuck up behind him while he was distracted with the pain in his now bloodied nose.

Seungcheol and Cooper appeared behind the first man’s body, Cooper’s hand on Seungcheol’s back being removed now that they were safe to be visible.

“There’s more guys around the back,” Felix informed them as the rest of the group began rushing in through the front gate. “We’re gonna have our work cut out for us.”

“We’ve got four packs against some humans,” Jinyoung chuckled, clearly feeling good about the odds. “It’ll be a piece of cake.”

“Just don’t get too cocky,” Hanbin warned.

“Cocky’s his middle name,” Kyung muttered before going off with her group to subdue the men keeping the people in the cages.

-

“Alright, get up! Everybody up! Let’s go!”

It wasn’t the first time you’d woken up to a man yelling for you all to wake up, but this wasn’t a voice you’d heard before. This one was softer, but still sounded urgent. Your eyes groggily peeled open as you tried to sit up, your bones and joints stiff and aching. Your vision was blurry so you thought you were surely just seeing things when you saw someone grab ahold of the metal bars and pull them open almost effortlessly. You sat up completely and rubbed at your eyes, only to see someone with blonde hair, yellow eyes, and a kind smile standing right in front of you, his slender fingers wrapped around the bars. He looked like an absolute angel with his perfect teeth, pink lips, and kind eyes that looked right at you. He made your heart flutter.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he said before pushing the bars apart enough to create a gap for the people in your cage to get out.

He was quick to scoop you up before the other six people in your cage trampled you to get free. But as soon as you were too close to the bars, your collar went off with a continuous shock that had you letting out a strangled yell.

Jeonghan was quick to grab the collar by the black box and rip the blue collar from your neck. 

Unfortunately for the wolves, it was chaos trying to free these people. Of course, they were panicking trying to run away and weren’t going to listen to those trying to guide them safely outside the tent and to freedom. Some were guided out and made it to those waiting at the perimeter to guide them toward the safehouses they had set, but others were ignoring all instruction and running for their lives, getting hurt or killed in the process. Some of them ran out, clutching their necks as they were shocked to no end as they tried to make their escape. 

Jeonghan wasn’t focusing on that. His only job was to get you out and get you back to the house as quickly and safely as possible. Once he had you, he was supposed to run for it, and that’s exactly what he was doing, dodging other captives and wolves as he ran for the exit with every wolf he ran passed covering him so he could make a safe escape with you.

As you were being carried out, you saw another man prying open the bars of Saoirse’s cage. She immediately leapt out and followed where the man was pointing to, running to follow after you and the strange man who was carrying you. Her eyes caught yours over his shoulder, and she seemed to brighten a little and give you a knowing smile as if to say ‘I told you so’.

The man jogged through the gates before he bolted for an escape.

“Jihoon!” he called. “Cover me!”

Jihoon stopped what he was doing as soon as he spotted Jeonghan, then his eyes looked behind him to see a guard chasing after them. His eyes glowed to life as he held his palm toward the man before flinging him backward toward the tent, his back hitting the iron bars of the gate.

You looked around, seeing absolute chaos around you as giant wolves tore apart men, and captives ran for their lives or were shot down. Then you looked behind you to see Saoirse still running behind you.

If you weren’t looking at her, you wouldn’t have known the scream that came from her mouth was hers before she hit the ground. You could see blood staining the back of her shirt, the pool of it spreading. 

“Saoirse!” you cried, reaching your hand behind the man.

He skidded to a stop, turning to see who you were yelling for. He looked over at Jihoon again, and the alpha nodded, running toward the girl. 

Jeonghan didn’t wait to see what would happen to Saoirse. He couldn’t wait. He had to get you home. He had to get you to safety. So he turned back around and continued running the way he had been.

While he was focused on your safety, though, you were fixated on Saoirse’s. Sure, she was trouble, but she was the closest thing you’d ever had to a friend. So while Jeonghan ran, you watched over his shoulder to see what her fate would be.

-

The scream cut through the tense air. Everyone had clamped their hands over their ears, eyes closing tight as if it could help drown out the scream. Mingyu’s eyes were watering just from the sharp noise.

Finally, it died off, leaving everyone to look to Eunjin standing in the doorway of the den, hands still holding a plate of food like nothing happened. But her blue eyes were locked on the girl at the end of the hallway, clinging to the back of Jeonghan’s shirt with fear in her eyes. Eunjin’s eyes were glossy and filled with tears, and the two wolves who had been left behind to take care of the mates began to panic.

Eunjin was staring at you.

“What happened?” Joshua asked urgently as he rushed over to her. He stood in front of her, gently gripping her upper arms and searching her eyes, but it was like he wasn’t even there to her. It was like she was still staring through him at you. “Eunjin? Did you hear something? Do you sense something? What is it?”

The three wolves waited for her response, but they knew her scream woke up every single mate upstairs and they would no doubt be down to ask questions soon. Immediately, they feared the worst. One of their own had died. Hell, maybe you were going to kill them. That wouldn’t have caught Eunjin’s attention like that. She would’ve sensed or heard something more significant than that.

And you were even more confused than anyone else because that was the first thing you experienced after Jeonghan opened the door.

It felt like time was frozen until Eunjin’s lips quivered and she said in a whisper, “I have a bad feeling again…”

The small group looked around at each other with a mix of worried and grim looks. They all knew what that meant. It was a feeling she got when she had met Hansol before. She screamed when she saw him, and then Jiung died and things went downhill with Kyung. 

Then three pairs of golden eyes were on you, along with Eunjin’s blue eyes that sent a shiver down your spine for reasons other than her screaming at you.

But Jeonghan didn’t care. He didn’t care if you brought death or something, if he were honest. Maybe Eunjin just sensed death associated with you because of what had happened. He’d make up any excuse in his head for you. He’d defend you in front of his entire pack if he had to. All he wanted was you to be safe, and now that he had you in his arms, he could make sure you always would be. And he’d never let you go.

»»————-　　————-««

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[butmomilovejin]

Day 1/365

Prompt: “Never heard of that being used as a murder weapon before.”

Genre: Angst, Mild crack

Summary: Jungkook had never felt fury like that; uncontrollable. You, having been his best friend for the best part of the last decade, meant so much to him and he couldn’t stand the thought of you being uncomfortable under the hands of some gross loner at a party. After he had taken his anger out on his target, he ends up at his boyfriend’s front door

Warnings: Mentions of sexual harassment, Violence, Yoongi tries to make light of a bad situation? 

WC: 1.4k

It was 2 in the morning and Jungkook was not where he should be, in bed, asleep. No. He was walking the streets of Seoul, pace rapid, as his legs carry him without him knowing, to Yoongi’s front door. 

He didn’t know what came over him. Earlier that evening, when you had told him about what that guy had done to you at a party the night before, touching you up as you wriggled to escape, you hadn’t expected him to explode like that, rushing out the door before you’d even finished your last sentence. Jungkook rang the doorbell for what felt like hours. No sign of movement in the house. Reaching into his pocket for his phone, he sees almost 100 missed calls from you over the past few hours. He continues to ignore them though as he unlocks the phone and goes straight to Yoongi’s contact. The phone rang... and rang... and rang... and Jungkook had begun searching through his messy pockets to try and find something to pick the lock with. But finally, just as it almost went to voicemail, a groggy sounding Yoongi muttered a confused ‘Hello?’ on the other end of the phone.

“Yoongi! How could you not hear the doorbell??” 

“You’re at my house?” He was now gradually waking up due to the rushed tone of Jungkook’s voice.

“Yes, now please let me in my saliva is turning into ice out here.”

“Nice mental image thank you, but the door’s open just come in.”

“Oh, ok- wait you leave your door unlocked at night?” 

“Locking doors is for the weak; now come inside before you get hypothermia.”

Jungkook tested the handle on the door and sure enough, it was open. He heads to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, listening to the soft movement of Yoongi’s footsteps he walks down the stairs, clad in his dressing gown and glasses, hair a mess, strands in every direction, not that Jungkook’s was any better.

Yoongi sits at a stool in the kitchen and looks at JK’s back as his hands grip the sink, white knuckles protruding, Yoongi seemingly not phased at all that his boyfriend was at his house at the witching hour, looking rather handsomely disheveled.

“Well, aren’t you gonna ask me why I’m here?” Jungkook asked, now facing Yoongi.

“No, I figured you’d tell me without prompting anyway.”

“You- Fair enough. Well where do I even START?”

“Why don’t we start with why you’re not at Y/N’s having your movie night, which by the way, still upset I didn’t get an invite.”

“It’s tradition between us! You can’t come it’s OUR time.”

“Kook... I’m joking,” Yoongi says as he guides the younger to the living room and sits him on a sofa across from himself, “What happened babe?”

The pet name causes Jungkook to look up lovingly to Yoongi. 

“Well, ok, so I was with her and she seemed a bit- I don’t know. She seemed kind of off-ish, I knew something was up when she didn’t even suggest Cat in the Hat for our movie.”

Yoongi nods along but he doesn’t know you nearly as well as Jungkook and has no idea how that would give the impression there was something wrong. Regardless, he acts like he understands as Jungkook continues on.

“I asked her what was up and she was very reluctant to tell me but eventually she gave in. She was harassed last night at that party we were meant to go to. I wish we never ate that week old pie, we would’ve been there if we weren’t spewing everywhere”

“Harassed?” Yoongi asked, trying to the pinpoint the important parts in between Jungkook’s rambled monologue.

“The guy was touching her up even when she was trying to get back to her friends. She said she was fine about it last night, because she was so drunk, it barely registered in her brain, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all day today.”

“Well, technically yesterday, its 2am.”

“Dude... shut the fuck up.”

“Did you just friend zone me, we’ve been together for 2 years bro.”

“I love you bro.”

“I love you too bro, anyway please continue.”

“Oh yeah, so I basically stormed out, started running before I even knew who it was, realised I didn’t know who I was after, went to her friends Instagram and saw him and Y/N in the back of the picture, figured out who he was, turns out I went to school with the prick, found his Insta and, through that, found he still lived with his parents, knocked on the door, his dad opened the door, I politely asked for his son-” He took a deep breath before continuing, “He called him down, I grabbed his collar and dragged him outside and ruffled him up a bit, a lot actually, but then his dad came out with a whole ass bat and I grabbed the banana in my pocket I was saving for movie snacks and smacked him in the head with it before he could get me with the bat then he fell down and I ran away, oh my god have I killed an innocent old man?”

“Uhhhhhh,” Yoongi is unsure of what to say as Jungkook was now pacing around his living room, “Never heard of that being used as a murder weapon before.”

Jungkook gave him a death stare.

“Whew, if looks could kill. Listen Kook, you did the right thing, it was a BANANA, as strong as you think you are Mr Gym Lad, you’re not strong enough to kill a man with just a banana. What about Y/N though? You didn’t even say anything before you left?”

Jungkook had calmed down a tad now and was perched back on the sofa. He shook his head to the question, suddenly feeling bad that you were probably at home worrying when, most likely, you had just wanted comfort from him about the situation.

“Call her Kookie. Lets get in my car, you call her, and I’ll drive to her place.”

Jungkook agreed instantly, Yoongi was always good at grounding him. 

They did as they said and Jungkook held his phone to his ear as it rang, after some further persuasion from Yoongi, as the car rolled through the harsh lights of the street lamps, roads completely bare of any sign of life. Contrasting the call to his boyfriend, the phone hadn’t even rang once before your voice was on the other end.

“KOOK WHAT THE FU-”

“Hey...” He says quietly, a bit embarrassed of the drama he had caused.

“What did you do?” You said, relieved that you could hear his voice.

“Me and Yoongi are on our way over, I’m like 5 minutes away, we’ll talk about it then.”

You sigh, “Ok Kookie, you want hot chocolate?” 

He smiles slightly for the first time since stepping foot in your apartment earlier that night. “Do you even have to ask?”

“I’m making one for Yoongi too, does he want cream and marshmallows?”

“You want cream and marshmallows on your hot chocolate babe?” Jungkook holds the phone away from him as he directs the question to Yoongi, putting you on loud speaker.

“Obviously.”

“Ok, see you soon.” You respond before hanging up.

They buzz your apartment and you let them in instantly. The minute the door opens, you run to Jungkook, hooking your legs around him as you hug him closely. You had been worried all night he might have done something stupid on your behalf and gotten himself hurt or, more drastically, imprisoned.

He chuckles lowly as he sets you down. You walk to the kitchen and like little ducklings, they follow.

You hand out the hot chocolate and sit at the dining table, waiting for Jungkook to explain. Both you and Yoongi look at him expectedly and he finally begins his explanation, fortunately much calmer than the first time he had recited his story to Yoongi.

When he was finished, you go to wrap your arms around his neck, “Thank you,” you murmur into his hair as he keens to your hug, “But next time you wanna start chaos, take me with you.” You unwrap your arms to give him a hard flick on the back of the head, causing Yoongi to snigger and Jungkook to sheepishly rub the back of his head.

“Now, I know its late, but can we watch The Cat in the Hat?”

The boys share a look before agreeing and curling up with you on the sofa.

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

AN- Ok! This is my first work of this year! I want to do one every day this year, it won’t always be possible but I will try my best! Yoongi could be seen as a bit insensitive in this one but I wanted to portray the dynamic his and Jungkook’s relationship has. If you enjoyed please leave me some feedback to help me improve and motivate me, like and reblog! 

[aiimaginesbts]

What You Never Had: Chapter 14 (Final)

Seokjin x Reader (ft. Jimin, Taehyung and Namjoon)

Genres: Royalty AU, angst

Word count: 3,197 words

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 (M) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 (M) | 13 | 14 (Final)

A/N: Sorry for the really long delay! Work has been at the forefront for many months now, up to the point my health deteriorated. Hopefully I can write more frequently until the end of this series, at least!

Also, thanks Ann @godsavemefrombts for beta-ing this!

Disclaimer/Copyright

_________________________________________________________

“Are you sure about this?”

Instead of answering him, you rushed forward, not even bothering to give him the withered look you shot him the first time he asked you that question at the inn. Jin knew full well that you wouldn’t have dragged him out in this foreign country where you could barely make your way through without getting lost if you weren’t sure beyond a doubt. But you supposed that he had more than enough reasons to worry. Even though the crowd was dwindling as the moon replaced the sun, getting lost or separated from your Royal Guard was the least of your worries. You could get caught, and get your entire party into trouble. Worst yet, you could have been wrong, and this trip would have been for naught. Ki Joon had to be there, otherwise you might not be able to save all those innocent people from being sold to slavery.

Spirits renewed by the reminder of the people you were fighting to protect, your steps hastened towards the main square. Jin, who had pointed out the general direction to you earlier, kept up with your pace effortlessly. The lights that illuminated the square spilled out into the darker alleyway you were coming from before the place itself came into view. As you stood at the edge of the square, you tried your best to peer into the narrow paths between the buildings without appearing conspicuous.

“Do you see him anywhere?” A shadow fell over you as Jin stood next to you, slightly in front of you to shield you from strangers’ view.

“Uhm,” was your unconvincing response as you continued to peel away every nook and cranny that your eyes could reach. Even though the lanterns put most of the square into view, the light didn’t extend far into the alleyways. The man you thought you’d seen in the daylight was obscured now, hidden in the shadows of the night. Still, you’d risked both Jin’s and your safety to come out here, so there was nothing to do but to take another step forward. If Ki Joon had remained in the same spot you saw him in earlier, he couldn’t be too far down the alley, but you couldn’t remember which one he was in, and he wasn’t in the first two that you checked. It was hard to ignore the frustration and concentrate through your hazy memories of the afternoon. Your glimpse of Ki Joon had been fleeting, and you were starting to question if you’d really seen him after all.

Luckily, the third time was the charm. As you’d thought, the light from the square still extended far enough into the narrow path to touch the man you’d been looking for, if only barely. Like the other beggars you and Jin had passed by, the man, already sitting on the dirty ground, stared at it, shielding his face from view. But you already knew who he was, and you weren’t about to waste precious time. Cutting to the chase, you squatted down next to him and whispered, “What are you doing here, Ki Joon?”

His head snapped up in surprise upon hearing his name in a place far away from home. At first his shaggy brows met in a frown, then lifted in surprise as he matched you and Jin with his memories. You could see the recognition dawn on him, and when he turned his gaze away shamefully, your already pained heart squeezed in agony. For all the pain you felt when you looked at the state he was in now, you knew it must have been indescribably more torturous for him. But he couldn’t run away as you were sure he wanted to; not with the stump where his right leg had been.

It was just as you’d feared. No, actually, it was worse than you could have imagined. You’d expected Ki Joon to be taken by those people he owed money to, but you didn’t think that he would be left in such a horrible state. Just in this small space, you could see many others who were in the same situation. Disfigured, with nothing to their name, lurking shamefully in the shadows and forced to beg for money that would undoubtedly go into their captor's pocket. It made your blood boil, heating up your resolve. However, Ki Joon was reluctant to reveal any information on the people who held power over him, and it left you frustrated with no idea on how to persuade him. He had nothing else to lose. He had already lost everything he’d had, and he wasn’t willing to help you and risk parting with his only remaining possession; his life. You bit your lower lip, wondering what to do, when Jin crouched down beside you. The warmth of his palm on your arm reassured you that he would solve this.

Sure enough, less than an hour later, you and Jin were rushing back to the inn. The location of the pirates’ hideout was traded with the solemn promise that Ki Joon’s involvement would remain an absolute secret. It was too late for him, and his sisters were probably beyond saving as well, as chances that they were already sold to a foreign country was high. Yet Jin knew just the right buttons to push, reminding Ki Joon of the lives he could save, innocent women and men that didn’t have to end up the way his family did. Shaking your head to yourself, you wondered if you could have gotten the information out of him, even if you’d known his family background. Jin’s persuasive powers impressed you, but you had other things to worry about.

“How are you going to explain your source of information?” Jin asked, his long strides letting him keep up with your brisk pace.

It wasn’t a difficult question. Just tweak or omit some of the truth to conceal your relationship with Jin. You’d done this before, and it worked like a charm. Still, a frown twisted your face upon hearing it. Before this, keeping this secret made you nervous, but still the thrill and your love for Jin made you excited. Not that your passion for him had dimmed any, but continuing to keep your feelings for him a secret from your family now felt like sticking a dull knife into your stomach. The secret was out ⁠— to one of your brothers, anyway ⁠— and this wasn't a game you were playing for fun. This was reality. And Jimin’s disapproval was more painful than you could ever have imagined. The weight of your emotions threatened to crush you, but once again you pushed it away. There was no time to dwell on your personal issues.

“Y/n?” Jin’s tap on your shoulder was soft, full of worry, but it was enough to make you jump in surprise and out of your internal war with yourself.

“Let’s just say you found out from your own investigation. Is that alright with you?” You hated yourself for continuing with this charade, but what else could you do?

“I suppose that’s the best solution,” he mumbled thoughtfully, probably working out the details in his head. Unlike you, Jin had more of a grasp on reality. After all, that was the reason he was so reluctant to admit his feelings for you when he found out you were a princess. However, you managed to convince him it didn’t matter. If he found out that you were having second thoughts about it now, how much would it hurt him?

Upon learning what Jin had unearthed, Namjoon quickly called the other princes to his room. You left the door to your room open, stayed on alert and took the opportunity to join in once they gathered, since you’d separated from Jin after you got back to the inn make it seem like he’d ventured out alone. Most of what Jin relayed to the princes were the truth ⁠— taking the initiative by going out himself, he discovered a familiar face, and extracted the location of the hideout from one of the pirates’ many victims. It was a warehouse close to the wharf.

“All ready to make their getaway,” Namjoon almost spit out angrily.

“But the cramped location will make it easy for us to trap them, even with our limited numbers,” Prince Taehyung pointed out. Wasting no time, a heated discussion on capturing the criminals ensued, regardless of the growing darkness of the night. You listened closely, feeling anxious and helpless in the face of tactics that you were unfamiliar with. Yet you didn't want to move even the slightest bit, afraid that you would be chased away before you could find the perfect timing to have your say.

In the end, they were already wrapping up when you got the chance to say anything. Namjoon had called for two of his men to verify the pirates' hideout, and you finally found your voice. "I want to go too."

"No." Your eldest brother's rejection was quick, decisive, and expected. A quick look at Crown Prince Taehyung immediately told you not to depend on his support either; he was purposefully avoiding your gaze, clearly agreeing with Namjoon even though it seemed like he felt bad about it.

You knew that you wouldn't be allowed to come. The past few hours made it obvious that you were out of your depth. Not only would you be unable to provide any assistance, you would probably just be a hindrance to them. It would be dangerous, and you could hardly fight under those conditions. Still, you couldn't help but feel deflated as the men strode out of the room, until Jimin laid a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Don't get yourself down. You've been plenty of help already tonight," he said softly, then swiftly left before you could respond. It took a few moments for his words to sink in. What did he mean by helping tonight? Did he see you leaving with Jin to look for Ki Joon? Grabbing your skirts into your fists, you tried to calm yourself and figure out what this meant for you and Jin. Clearly Jimin knew that you had something to do with Jin discovering the coveted location; there was no other explanation for it. However, he had chosen to stay quiet on the matter instead of revealing you to your eldest brother.

Did Jimin approve of your relationship with Jin then? Not that you'd ever explicitly told him that your ties with Jin ran any deeper than that between a princess and her guard, but he knew something was up, and he didn't seem to like it, even just now. In any case, Jimin had decided to keep it to himself, for now at least, and that gave you a tiny bit of relief. That, coupled with your exhaustion from the journey, allowed your body to succumb to a few hours of sleep.

Detailed planning and relaying orders could only be done in the late morning, after the men Namjoon sent out returned with confirmation that the warehouse were full of goods and people, both criminals and victims not far from being sold off as slaves. Still, all things considered, making their move when the sun had set was extremely quick, thanks to all the arrangements the princes had thought out before even coming into the country.

The emotions going through you as you saw your brothers, Jin and Crown Prince Taehyung off with a small group of men was familiar, yet more intense than before. It was painful to be closer to their fighting grounds than ever before, but remain completely useless. This time, with Jin leaving with them, you had more people to worry about too. More to lose. Left with Ji Eun and two guards, you remained awake that night. At first you'd expected — hoped, more like — that long wait would bore or tire you enough to sleep, but your heartbeat only got more intense with each tick of the hand of the clock on the wall. You could feel the tiredness, the weariness of your eyes, but you kept staring at it anyway. There was no helping it.

The man that Namjoon sent to scout the warehouse returned first, as light had started to diffuse into the inky night. You were grateful to the Crown Prince, who'd clearly sent the man at the earliest opportunity to assure you that they were all right. Indeed, he rushed to the inn with good news. Your group's small and hushed arrival delayed the news from reaching the criminals, and thankfully the princes' prompt action caught them by surprise. No one was convinced that everyone involved had been apprehended, but with the shipping date being so close, the warehouse had been extremely busy. You only hoped that the leaders were among the large number of people who were caught.

"It will be a while before they return. The local authorities were arriving just before I came here," Namjoon's messenger informed you.

Recently awoken Ji Eun sighed from the seat next to yours. "This is a mess."

"We knew this would happen," you reminded her with a small smile. This really was the best case scenario you could have hoped for. Of course, once the pirates' activities had been brought to light, it would be impossible for any of you to hide your presence in this country, whether your country was on good terms with it or not. The most pressing concern now was to ensure that the nobility that had been involved with the criminals to fill their pockets would be exposed and have no influence over the subsequent investigations and trials. However, it was mostly out of your brothers' and Crown Prince Taehyung's hands now. All you could do was hope that the criminals would be dealt with and given proper punishment.

It felt like this day had gone on forever. No, not this day. Not even this week. Your emotions had been stretched out for so long that even the physical effort to make your first journey into a hostile country didn't feel half as taxing. But it all finally came together. At least most of it. You were still unsure about the direction that you and Jin were heading towards, now that Jimin was aware of your relationship, but your brother's silence was all that you could ask for at the moment. It wasn't perfect, nowhere near it, but you were content for now.

You didn't hold back on your joy at seeing the princes back after their long absence, sorting things out with the authorities of the city and the country, no doubt. Your brothers hugged you without reservation, and in that elated moment you could forget the tension between you and Jimin. All you could give Jin was a happy smile in the presence of the others, but that was enough, especially considering your guilt towards him stemming from keeping the fact that Jimin had seen you leaving his room from him.

Dealing with the mess that had accumulated; with the pirates' illegal activities, the people with influence colluding with them, helping the victims, as well as you and your brothers' unauthorised entry into the country took most of the month, but it passed by like a whirlwind. It was tiresome, but the fact that none of you were held hostage was a miracle in itself. You supposed you had Prince Taehyung to thank for that. While Amaryll and Zinnis were quite hostile with each other, it wouldn’t do them any favours to be at odds with Delphina. The journey home was relaxed, more enjoyable, as you had the freedom to move about and not stay confined within the carriage all the time.

Little did you know that you were already late in your return to Amaryll.

Three days after crossing the border, Prince Taehyung’s group and yours split to head towards your respective destinations; you and your brothers back to the capital while Prince Taehyung continued north towards his home in Delphina. At the end of the long week, the sight of the castle lifted your spirits. You couldn’t wait to lay down on a bed — your own bed — once again. The issue with Jimin and Jin seemed less significant now, and you were more than ready to put it on the shelf for the moment while you recuperated from the arduous journey.

However, no cheerful smiles welcomed you home. The solemn men that greeted you upon your arrival made the air heavy with tension. That same tension intensified when one of them relayed orders to meet the King even though your feet had hardly touched the ground. Namjoon and Jimin alighted from their horses and joined you by the carriage, both as equally flummoxed by the urgent summons as you were. “Ji Eun, please see to it that my belongings are brought to my chambers,” you instructed her quietly, hardly registering her silent nod before heading towards your father’s study with the princes.

Your presence was announced, and you were admitted inside without delay. The King sat behind his desk with an expression that spoke wordlessly of seriousness, tinged with sadness. It reassured your worry of being summoned to be scolded by some unknown mistake that you’d done. At the same time, it gave rise to new concern regarding the matter that had to be conveyed immediately upon your arrival. Your brothers’ postures were stiff, probably wondering the same thing you were. None of you were kept waiting for long.

“You did well in your mission to capture the pirates,” your father began, confirming that you were not in any trouble for the way you handled the problem. “I regret summoning you without allowing you any time to rest, but I have urgent news must be addressed at once.” All three of his children nodded as one, steeling yourself for it. It was clear that whatever the King was going to tell you, it was not going to be pleasant. He took a deep breath and paused, as if gathering the will to say his next words. “Zinnis has declared war against us.”

It took a moment for you to digest the news. You frowned, then clenched your fists in anger.

“I suppose it would have been foolish to expect them to be grateful for our recent assistance.” Namjoon, on the other hand, took it more calmly than you did. Almost as if he’d expected Zinnis to do exactly this, despite the role the three of you had just played in capturing the criminals nesting in their port.

“Quite,” your father agreed. “Well, it is not as if we have not been preparing for this. The timing is a little unfortunate, but we will simply have to rush things a bit. That is why I have called you here as well, y/n.” His gaze settled upon you, and your body tensed in anticipation. Your heart beat faster even as it grew heavier, as if your instinct was warning you before you even heard what he’d had to say.

“You are to marry Crown Prince Taehyung.”

________________________________

Continued in Part Two: Of Two Hearts

[wordsablaze]

4/6: To Explain The Dead

Five Times Diego Gave Klaus A Lift … and the one time he returned the gesture in his own way. Enjoy!

A/N: More canon angst and not-canon childhood because I can :) Sorry for the lack of Ben but I didn't know how to include him properly! He's in the next chapter though, fear not! Klaus and Dave though... 

Klaus finds and loses Dave overnight - in the eyes of the world, anyway - and not even Five, who's an expert at time travel, can guess exactly what had happened.

Truth be told, Diego can't properly work it out either but he knows something downright terrible has to have happened because Klaus doesn't say anything sarcastic in his attempt to be persuasive and justify using him as a chauffeur of sorts.

Of course, this only serves to worry Diego because he recognises that look of loss - he'd seen it in both Klaus' eyes so many times when they were younger and in his own reflection recently - so he agrees yet again and the two of them leave in Diego's car, this time with a substantially lower number of half-hearted jabs at one another's lifestyles.

Klaus doesn't make a single joke as he drives, choosing only to stare out of the window with a dim sadness in his eyes.

It's completely unlike him.

Diego wants to ask about the haircut and the dog tags and the army-style jacket and the unfamiliar tattoo but he doesn't because he can't visualise how he wants to phrase it so he can't form the right words. He's not sure he wants to know the answer, really, he just wants some kind of explanation and for Klaus to be as okay as he can be, all things considered.

He remembers Klaus fitting the role of the rebellious teenager and getting a small tattoo one night without telling anyone - only a small number four on his shoulder - but he also remembers their Father somehow finding out and forcing Klaus to get it removed, despite how painful it had been for him. The thing Klaus' current silence reminds the most of, though, is the way he'd snuck into Diego's room to escape the furious ghost of the tattoo artist who had inked the small digit onto his skin and paid a hefty price for it.

Klaus doesn't even say anything when Diego brings up the fractured jaw incident, which usually results in at least an eye-roll and a retort relating to knives or his police training. What's worse is that he actually gives Diego a straight - in only one meaning of the word - reply instead of his regular fabricated responses, and that means genuine trouble.

He thinks that maybe Klaus will explain as the silence drags on but, unlike when they were younger and a longer drive meant a better chance of an honest explanation, Klaus stays uncharacteristically solemn.

When Klaus makes him stop the car outside a Veteran's cafe, his suspicion that something is majorly wrong with this picture is confirmed because there's no way his brother had managed to take part in an actual war without any of them knowing. More importantly, there should have been no way he could miss something as important as that.

He almost drives away as well but as soon as he spots Klaus quietly sobbing with his hand gently pressed to what must be a photo on the wall, he turns the engine off.

Which ultimately serves to prevent his brother from getting roughed up by veterans more confused than he is.

Diego might be cool and collected inside the club but there's no way he'd be able to tell you what the conversation had been because he only really comfortably breathes again once they get outside.

Klaus glares at him through red-rimmed eyes as soon as they're under the sky instead of a roof. "What was that for?"

Diego sighs. "Klaus, you've got to be honest with me here. How much have you taken?"

Raw hurt erupts in Klaus' eyes but it's quickly replaced with angry defeat. "Oh, of course, I've taken something. Not like I'm capable of expressing actual emotion, is it?"

He then waves a hand dismissively even though Diego had only opened his mouth, and continues: "I'm always taking things to spite you, isn't that right? It's not that I'm genuinely running from my head or anything, nah, I just decide to- to poison myself! Yeah, I just decide to poison myself for the sake of it. But my deepest, most sincere apologies for the hassle it so clearly seems to cause you."

Diego blinks.

Ouch.

He can feel the pain radiating from Klaus and he so wishes Ben could have been here because he'd always been so much better at helping Klaus than Diego could ever be.

"Oh, drop dead," Klaus mutters bitterly, then glances up sharply, regret laced in his tone when he adds a small but authentic, "Sorry."

"Thank you," he says after a second, still not talking to Diego but rather, addressing the space next to him.

Diego takes a deep breath. "How have you gotten so tanned since I last saw you? You never used to even go outside unless the moon was up…"

Klaus glances at him with his eyes narrowed, clearly still sceptical. "You'd never believe me if I told you."

That hits hard.

Diego used to be one of the only two people in the world Klaus would go to with his problems and secrets because they were the only ones he trusted. Instead of wallowing in guilt and self-pity, however, Diego shrugs slightly. "Try me."

Even Klaus seems shocked. But he nods. "I fought in The Vietnam War for just under a year."

Oh.

It can't be drugs because Klaus' stories were never consistent when he was high and he seems too fixed on this for it to be mindlessly contrived anyway. Diego just breathes for a moment, reconsidering the shorter hair and the new but somehow fully healed tattoo, as well the dog tags and the military jacket, before making his decision.

"I believe you," he declares softly.

Klaus' eyes light up and suddenly Diego is enveloped by relief and gratitude and love - he didn't even know it was possible to physically feel any of those things. Klaus has oddly warm skin and Diego makes a mental note to check that out later but he then pushes that aside in favour of wrapping his arms around Klaus, both alarmed at how little of him there is and grateful to be holding him like this again.

"Thank you," Klaus whispers and, this time, he is talking to Diego. "Oh, thank you so much."

"You can thank me after I buy us waffles," Diego replies, coughing to clear the lump in his throat.

Klaus grins at him as if they're both ten years old again and Diego finds himself ignoring the fact that the world is possibly ending in favour of recalling the best waffle place nearby.

Taking shotgun this time, Klaus ignores the seat belt and leans forward onto the dashboard, acting as a map until they get to the only place that sells three different kinds of waffles and, if Klaus orders Ben's favourite as well as his own, well, Diego isn't going to stop him.

Instead, Diego tells Klaus more about Eudora Patch and almost feels bad for the guilt Klaus shows but he doesn't get to actually regret opening his mouth because Klaus clarifies that it's not his fault, it's just that he hates seeing the dead increase in number, so Diego carries on talking and reveals more than he'd ever thought he could.

It's not like he's the only one, Klaus ends us rambling about beautiful hair and strong arms and an emotional soul for what might be far too long in the opinion of anyone else. It's a good thing Diego loves hearing his brother lecture him about whatever with genuine excitement replacing the constant tension in his voice. And it's an even better thing Klaus feels the same way right back at him.

Old habits die hard, he'd surmise later.

No better time to share some brotherly bonding than whilst the end of the world is approaching, right? And no better place to carry out said bonding out than in the replica of the car they'd formed those bonds in and the sweet little bakery they'd loved for the entirety of their sour childhood.

like/reblog but don’t repost, thanks!  Masterlist