#i have all the calculators people sent me this morning and a few images i had saved in my blog

[so-very-small]

i'm actually working on compiling a list of g/t resources - height and proportion calculators, image references to show scale, places where you can get hand or art references from giant tiny angles, things like that! if you have anything like that i could include, please send it my way! i'm trying to make the list as extensive as possible

[barkkletshunt]

Those Worth Fighting For Part four

Have you ever seen a fic update so fast? Four updates in two days?

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part five 

Part six

Part seven

Part eight 

“While I like the idea of them having a red, green, and gold colour scheme going on, don’t you think it would have too much of a christmas theme and take away from the magic of their wedding?” Marinette sat on the same couch as Felix did, across from Kagami and Adrien who, despite their careful appearances, looked frazzled. 

“But those are our favourite colours,” Adrien tried, but Felix held his hand up to stop his cousin.

“Your wedding is in late spring, if you think for a moment that christmas colours are appropriate for that time of year then you need to hand over your fathers fashion industry to me right now.” Felix sipped at his now cold cup of coffee. “If anything, we could do red and gold and have green accents if we used things like leaves and give it a more rustic feel.”

“But that wouldn’t go well with their general aesthetic. They need to look like a king and queen, not a cottagecore couple.” Marinette countered. “I think we could go with a green, gold, and cream theme. That way they both get one of their favourites while keeping with the posh style. Either way, no matter what gold has to be a part of it. That I will not budge on.”

“If we made Adrien’s tie green it would bring out his eyes more.” Felix hummed, looking over at his co-planner. “You have good tastes, Marinette.”

“Why thank you, Felix, your tastes aren’t so bad yourself.” She said back. 

The two planners had successfully gotten their way with the wedding with everything they had put forth. Marinette’s ideas were either on point with Felix’s or close to it so the planning was going a lot easier than either of them had expected. Both had spent enough time with the bride and groom to know their likes and dislikes and due to their fashion background they knew what they were doing. 

They were unstoppable, not that Kagami and Adrien even tried. They saw the fire that was lit behind their companions' eyes and knew better, and it wasn’t like they didn’t like anything their friends had said. In fact, the more the two spoke the more excited Kagami and Adrien felt about the upcoming event. 

“Why don’t we make the groomsmen wear gold ties, just so that Adriens tie doesn’t fade in with the rest of them.” Marinette rambled, showing Felix the designs she had tucked away in her portfolio that she refused to show Kagami. “If you wear green too your eyes will stand out and Adrien is supposed to be the one people are paying attention to.”

“Should the bridesmaids wear green then? If that dress design is anything to go by we don’t want Kagami to blend in with the other girls.” Felix hummed, sliding closer to Marinette without thinking about it. “Can’t have you stealing the show from the bride, you know.”

Marinette’s face grew warm at the compliment, even if it did match her unintentional flirting moments earlier. The added proximity didn’t help, but she could pull herself together. This was Felix, after all, and despite how nice he had been that evening she still needed to see more of him before passing a proper judgement on him. 

The two planners missed the looks between the future Mr. and Mrs Agreste. 

“Well, after the akuma attack today I feel exhausted. I think I shall turn in tonight, since the two of you have it covered.” Kagami said as she stood from her seat. 

“Did you want me to make you a coffee?” Adrien asked innocently enough, but was immediately shut down.

“No, if I have a coffee now I won’t sleep.” Kagami raised her brow at her fiance, wondering if he had caught her drift yet. “And you have business to take care of in the morning. Let’s leave the planning to these two, shall we?”

The blonde man abruptly stood up, realizing what she was getting at. “Oh, oh! Yeah! Of course! They don’t really need our input for any of this stuff anyways, and I’m definitely beat after that sentimonster. We should go to bed.”

The owners of the house bid their goodnights and quickly escaped from the room, leaving Marinette and Felix sitting there dumbfounded. 

“Have, have they always been that obvious in their plans?” Felix finally asked, breaking the silence that had stretched on after their friend's departure. 

Marinette shook her head, “I have only seen them like that once when they were trying to plan a surprise birthday party for me.”

“And how well did that go for them?”

“Adrien ordered the cake from my parents bakery over the phone, but didn’t realize that I was the one taking his order.” Marinette recalled the look of horror on Adrien’s face when he had come to pick the cake up the day prior, and had begged Marinette not to tell Kagami he blew it. “For someone so smart he can be really oblivious, you know.”

“I did live with him for two years, I am well aware of how he can be.” Felix snorted. He shifted positions so he was facing towards Marinette. “I think it actually turned me into a better person, to be honest.”

“What do you mean?” Marinette mirrored his position on the couch. Adrien was an open book to her, she could ask him anything about himself and he’d answer her, and when she asked about his time in England he never said much about it. She couldn’t miss hearing about it from a second party, though. Especially when her friend was the cause of someone becoming a better person.

“Well, as I’m sure you are aware I was a terrible teenager.” Felix started.

“What? You? The man who deleted my love confession and mocked our friends?” Marinette jokingly pushed his shoulder. “I don’t believe it.”

Felix grinned, “I know, I know. I’m such a saint now. I wasn’t sure if you had even recognized me at first.”

“It was a bit difficult without those devil horns you used to wear.”

“Oh those? Those were natural. Grew them myself. Kind of miss them, actually.” 

The two laughed for a moment, enjoying their friendly banter that seemed to come so easily to them. 

“Okay,” Marinette giggled, “tell me how our sweet sunshine child managed to change the demon known as Felix.”

“Well, when he first moved in I was sent into a whirlwind of emotion.” Felix started, “I was still angry that Adrien had abandoned me when my father had died because his father wouldn’t let him call or text us, but I also knew how terrible it was to lose a father even if it was only to a lifetime imprisonment. I had so much baggage that I took it out on him. I think I made the first few weeks of his stay with us hell.”

The blonde man shifted, no longer wanting to look her in the eye as he confessed to his crimes. It didn’t take a trained psychoanalyst to see the regret he felt coming out and causing him to fidget. 

“It was when he transferred into my school and started to get bullied that I changed my tune.” Marinette was shocked. Adrien was so loveable and kind, how could anyone have bullied him? Then it donned on her. He was a terrorist's son. “People would shove notes in his locker with butterflies on it, or draw on his desk, and he’d just smile and say that they must have been doing it because of his fathers fashion symbol being a butterfly. Perhaps he wasn’t oblivious to it, but purposefully ignorant. No one would want to believe their father was the supervillian of Paris after all.”

“It was then that I decided to switch my targets from my cousin to those bullying him, and oh was I ever brutal. I had a few of them expelled for harassment, some I actually got physical with since they assumed I was Adrien. Either way, it was my school and I wasn’t going to let anyone insult my cousin. That was my job.” Felix’s brows pulled together. “It was the fights that got Adrien to step in. He reminded me that the emotions of people were complicated things, and that they were acting out more out of fear than actual hatred towards him. He told me what he actually needed wasn’t another bodyguard, but someone to lead his PR campaign.” 

Marinette remembered when Adrien’s image in the media had changed the first time, when he went from brilliant model to the heir to Hawkmoth's legacy. It had taken almost another full year of Adrien working harder than he ever had before to show the world that he wasn’t a monster, and it still took a live interview from Ladybug herself to convince the rest of the public that there was no way Adrien was involved in any of his fathers crimes nor was he a holder of a miraculous. It had been a wild ride from start to finish, but all considering it only took two whole years to get Adrien back in the world's good graces when the sunshine boy didn’t think he’d ever be able to live it down. 

“I spearheaded Adrien’s redemption. We donated to so many relief funds, I used our similar appearances to go onto talk shows to give a more calculated interviews. I did everything in my power to make people realize how inherently good Adrien is, and it worked.” Felix let out a long breath before turning a kind smile towards her. “But by the time all of that was done I had changed. I had become a person Adrien was proud of, and now I am here planning his wedding with his best friend. Whom, might I add, he talked about almost as much as he did his own girlfriend.”

“Now if you could have told me that, say, five years ago I would have been ecstatic.” Marinette set her portfolio down on the coffee table as she remembered how intense her crush for Adrien used to be. “But I am long over my crush on Adrien.”

“I am sorry about that, by the way.”

“Hm?” Marinette tilted her head to the side, not sure what he was talking about.

“Deleting your confession.” He explained. “It was wrong of me. I was jealous and petty and I’m sorry.”

Marinette wasn’t angry anymore, even if she wanted to be. Felix wasn’t the same as he was all those years ago and neither was she. It was silly for her to hold onto all that anger when he had changed himself so completely. 

“I am, however, not sorry you didn’t end up with my cousin.” He grinned. “Now I might have a chance.”

Maybe not so completely.

“In your dreams, devil boy!”

[spitpr1ncess]

BRUISED BODIES CHAPTER 2 LEVI ACKERMAN X READER

                                               (not my image)

Picking out a beautiful soft white linen dress you hum to yourself, Jools pulled through with your day off but had gotten himself roped into some business so was no longer free, not a huge loss because although you love spending time with him, it’ll be lovely to have some time to yourself. You ponder what you will do, whether you’ll read a book, draw or maybe even write something, you just feel in your soul that you need a break.

Pulling the loose dress over your head you pick out some white ankle socks, never being one to dress for anybody else but yourself, comfort is key and feeling good is the main goal. You glare at the reflection in the mirror staring wearily back at you, you feel more connected this time, yet you’re still unsure about who is staring back. Her eyes are sunken, her knees wobbly and her collarbones protruding in a boyish way. You wave off any ugly, intruding thoughts and slip your feet into the one pair of black shoes you own, you decide you’ll browse the shops before you finally head down to the local park.

Reaching for your shoulder bag you throw a couple of notes in, followed by a little pocketknife you had stolen from your father as a young girl, you can’t be too careful outside, especially wearing the branding of a working girl, everybody knows and nobody respects you except for a select few. You head out, closing the door and turning the key in the lock, you wear it around your neck with an old scrap of garden string.

You pass by Jools seat, occupied with one of the other men Boss employs whilst he was out with whatever emergency he was roped into, you notice that you miss him when he’s not here, the other stranger wouldn’t wish you a good morning on your way out.

Your mind wanders as you make your way towards the large, wooden doors in the entrance and you find yourself reminiscing over how much you’ve moved around, and how this has been your favorite base so far.

You’ve moved around a fair bit over the years as Boss has accumulated more money and has had more to spend on you. You’re currently located in a lard mansion, it has a sizeable forty rooms on each floor, with four floors in total, that’s without including the large ballroom, kitchen and diner rooms and a large lounging area. There is a basement too, full of rooms you’re forbidden from entering and a beautiful surrounding estate, it’s a secure, gated property, of course, so you can only leave with permission, given by Jools, with Boss entrusting him to be responsible with his decision. You’re allowed to freely roam the surrounding land; Boss even keeps a few horses that you and a few of the other girls happily care for. Hacking them on those gorgeous summer days and taking long afternoons just enjoying each other’s company, as an escape from your sad little lives.

You will often spend the summer evenings sat on the grass, allowing the sun to beat down onto your pale skin, allowing you to feel something, head buried in a book, escaping reality and taking ever-so-important time to yourself. The feeling of freedom you get is fleeting, but even that is enough to temporarily satiate your hunger to run away.

You look back over your shoulder and shout out to the man at Jools desk, “I’m going out into town, I’ll be back no later than six, you needn’t worry, I already have permission, it’ll say on my appointments tab on Jools computer!” he grunts, and waves you off, completely disinterested. You think back to the last time you were late home, true, it was an accident, you’d fallen asleep in the meadow and nightfall had come, Boss had sent out a search party, assuming that you had made a break for it and you could tell he was relieved more than angry when you were frog marched into his office and disciplined for your silly mistake. You shudder, thinking about Boss’s thick fingers coming into contact with your tiny throat, you live to please him yes, but it doesn’t mean you have like him.

As a direct result of your falling asleep and having a search party sent out for you, you weren’t currently a favorite between Boss’s men, with all of them being suspicious of you, expecting you to make a break for it at any moment. You were sure they’d had your face ingrained into the backs of their eyelids incase they ever saw you acting “suspicious”. You can hardly blame them but you do with they would stand down, it was exhausting having to calculate your every move, to stay out of the limelight as much as you could.

The streets are dotted with people, all busy and completely engrossed in their own perfect little lives, what you’d give to be able to live like them. A wave of sadness drowns you as you notice mothers and daughters, couples in love and shop keepers attending their stalls in the bright morning light. Your feet subconsciously decide your route as you make your way down the stone high street, enjoying the smells and sounds, the birds singing loud songs was like a beautiful music concert made just for you. You allow yourself to be completely immersed and wonder if you could slip away and never be seen again, if you could have that freedom one day, if you could be one of those mothers with daughters.

You swing a small glass door open and hear chimes ring as you step into your favorite hole in the wall café,

“Olive!” a voice booms from behind the bar as Mr. Benzo swiftly approaches you and pulls you into a bear hug, “we’ve missed you! Where on Gods given earth have you been!?”, you lean into the giant man and allow him to envelope you into a protective embrace, inhaling deeply, and imagining this to be what it is like to have a present father figure.

“Careful with her David! Hug her any tighter and you’ll snap the poor girl in half!” Mr Benzos wife stands a few feet behind, her aged and ring clad hands grasping together at her heartspace, “you’re wasting away my child! They cannot be feeding you! Come, you shall eat”, she gestures gently to a window bench, you are ushered over and take your seat, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the love coming from your favorite shop owners.

Mrs Benzo rushes herself around, building you a hearty spread, she grabs slices of bread, fruits, vegetables and slices of pies, laying them down at your table she grins, “whatever you don’t eat is going home with you”, she sighs, “and you shan’t pay a single penny, you’ll be blown away with the wind one of these days, think of it as an act of service. I mean look at you! Your eyes are so hollow that I’m afraid they’ll disappear into the back of your skull young lady!”. She brushes her finger against your protruding collarbone, you shudder, anxious at the touch of another woman, and at how maternal it was. She senses this and apologizes.

The Benzos know of your situation, they guessed as much after getting a glance at your brandishing. Mr Benzo had taken it upon himself to explain to his wife the full meaning. She had simply been heartbroken, set on spending every one of your visits spoiling and pampering you.

“Mrs Benzo, I cannot eat all of this, I might throw up, my stomach would not hold it!” You place a hand over your stomach and jokingly pat it, she tilts her head and smiles, letting out a small sigh.

“I’ve told you to call me Shirley, child. Enough with the Mrs Benzo. You are a friend here, remember that.” She sits quietly opposite you, watching you eat. Normally it might unnerve you, but her presence calms you today, you allow her maternal stares to engulf you, soaking in her care, allowing her to protect you, Lord knows you need it. David had gone back to serving customers, it was picking up into lunch hour, you hear his warming laugh as he makes conversation with them.

“Thank you… Shirley, it means so much to me, the way you treat me as a human, and an equal. You don’t see me for my brandishing, you see me as me. It’s refreshing.” You feel your eyes begin to ache as though they will cry again. She takes your delicate hand in both of hers, the warmth feels like a hug all over, you can see she has the same familiar feeling in her eyes. For a moment, you are the same. You feel safe. You feel loved. You are loved.

It gets uncomfortable for you to handle all these emotions and you pull your hand back, it’s too much vulnerability, Mrs Benzo understands, she knows it will take time for you to heal from your childhood trauma, and she has the patience of a lion, always willing to wait for you, you smile and continue to eat.

-

You leave Benzos with an abundance of food supplies, you’ll surely have enough to share with all the girls and Jools. Not that he needs it, he has enough supplies to last him a lifetime, after all. Smelling the air and closing your eyes, you turn and walk back towards the shops, enjoying the serenity of the early afternoon. You’re drawn into one stand in particular, a small jewellery stand, you approach quietly and notice a gorgeous emerald ring, it’s like it calls to you, you dare to reach out and touch it.

“You couldn’t afford that with all your life’s savings, silly whore.” A cold, harsh voice sounds from behind you, you turn, furious at the unnecessary comment directed your way.

“You really shouldn’t speak to wome…” you start.

“Do you know who I am? I will have you disappear if you so much as try to continue that sentence.” the cold voice shoots back. The voice grabs your wrist and pulls you close. It hurts, but you are used to being manhandled. You find yourself a little excited. Finally, something different. You slowly take in the voice’s harsh exterior. Smart black shoes, tailored black trousers, crisp and obviously ironed. A tucket white shirt and expensive cuff links. You inhale, expensive cologne, hints of pine and mint, you meet his eyes, staring into your soul, he licks his lips before continuing.

“You’re the little shit that missed her curfew. What on earth are you doing out here? Running away again?” his glare doesn’t falter, in fact, you’re sure it intensifies, your nerves are starting to get the better of you and you note that if looks could kill, you would be driving away in the back of a hearse right now.

“Speak.” The command is clear enough, yet a lump in your throat makes it impossible. You drink in his facial features, sharp and chiselled, like a God. His short black hair with a harsh undercut. It’s styled immaculately, not a single strand out of place.

“Are you a mute, whore?” the man continues, the grip on your wrist tightens, you whimper and plead with your eyes.

“No. You’re hurting me. I’m sorry, I’m allowed out now, I am. I have permission.” It practically falls out of your mouth as a measly cry.

“Do you expect me to believe that? I have half a mind to drag you by your hair back to Boss for questioning. You truly are moronic.” You consider arguing more, but deem it useless, this angry man is obviously set in his ways.

“Fine. Take me back, but I promise you, I can be out here.” You huff and stick out your bottom lip. It doesn’t go unnoticed, as the man slowly lifts his other hand, he rests his palm against your cheek and runs his thumb ever so lightly against your lip, you can sense his distraction and you curse your stupid, pouty lips. His eyes soften for a moment. Then he snaps back to reality.

“You will walk with me now, back to your house. Let’s go.” He loosens his grip on your wrist but does not let go. You begrudgingly begin the awkward walk back, nothing is said until you reach the gates.

The man buzzes the intercom and Jools answers, he must be back, internally, you relax, knowing that this will go a lot smoother than if the other man was still filling in.

“Olive? Is that you?” Jools questions, obviously anticipating your return, but not so early, his confusion is notable.

“It’s Levi. Open the gates.” The man answers back without emotion

Levi. You ponder on his name as you are practically hauled inside. You’re sure you’ve heard it before. Jools meets you at the entrance, he glances to Levi’s tight grasp on your wrist, you see the cogs going at maximum speed in his head and you know that he has assumed the worst.

“What have you done Olive?” His voice is flat but you hear the concern.

“She was out. Wandering around. Flaunting herself, like she is not on house arrest. Touching expensive jewellery, you should really pay more attention Wilkinson.” The use of Jools last name is alien, you’ve almost forgotten he has one.

“Levi” Jools begins cooly, he holds back a snort. “Olive is not on house arrest anymore, although I admire your commitment to your job.” You cannot make eye contact with Jools or you will be beaten for laughing, you are sure of it, Levi drops your hand like you have shocked him, he grunts and addresses Jools, “Wilkinson. Were you not one of Bosses favourites, I would break your nose. You are stupid to let her wander around alone. If I were in charge, I would leash her, like a little dog. A stupid, little dog.” you can tell this was one of his kinder name callings. “She has plans to get away. I can tell, and I’m warning you, she is not to be trusted,” Jools interrupts, his tone is equally aggressive as he bites back,

“Levi, Boss has not tasked you with worrying about the girls. You should go back to your real duties. Olive is my problem, not yours.”, You’re sure there is a little possessiveness behind his voice. For a moment, it is like Levi and Jools are facing off like two aggressive hunting animals, and you are the winning prey. Levi opens his mouth to say something, and then resigns himself, he sighs and turns away to leave.

“I will catch you when you try to run eventually, little puppy. And I will beat the living shit out of you for disrespecting Boss after everything he has done for you. Watch your back.”

He is gone before you can make a snide remark back, though you should know better, Jools would surely step in to protect you here, that you are sure of. You settle at sticking your tongue out in the direction in which he left, Jools laughs heartily.

“You stupid girl. There isn’t a person alive who has spoken back to Levi Ackerman, he is Boss’s right hand man, you should be more careful.” He ruffles your hair playfully.

“There is something about him Jools, that makes me want to provoke him. A feeling that he may not be capable of hurting me.” Jools snorts.

“You really are an idiot,” He pauses, “though there was something about the way he looked at you, like he wants to devour you alive,” he shudders, “creepy.”. Your cheeks blush, you would never say so aloud, but you might fancy the idea of being eaten by Levi Ackerman, Boss’s right hand man.

You breathe in and start, “I’m going to retire to bed Jools, I am tired. Give these pastries and pies to the other girls. Mrs Benzo sent them.” You hand the bag to Jools and smile. “What time is my first call tomorrow?” Jools looks at the screen of his computer, he clicks the mouse a few times and raises an eyebrow.

“10. Seems like Boss is set to be paying you a visit tomorrow. You’d better spend some time making yourself extra presentable tonight Ol, you want to remind him why you are worth keeping, and not discarding…” You shudder, Boss has made it abundantly clear that when you’re no longer deemed suitable as a working girl, he will send you away to be married off, or “dispose” of you, you don’t fancy either of the options and considering your savings are coming along nicely, you won’t have to endure this all for much longer.

“Thanks Jools. Love you.”. You turn on your heels and head back to your room. You spend the evening showering, shaving, sugaring and cleansing every inch of your body, ready for tomorrow, your mind keeps wandering back to a particular pair of sharp eyes and a chiselled jaw. How he would leash you and “beat the living shit out of you.”

You shake away the thought one last time and retire to bed. You close your eyes and pull your blankets up.

“Levi. Ackerman. Huh.”, you drift off to a comfortable slumber, something that happens once in a blue moon.

[cyclone-rachel]

happy birthday @mistyautumn !!

~

It’s sunrise, when she finds him on the Tower balcony.

“Good morning, Kara.” he says without turning around and looking at her, and she has to wonder if he saw her in his peripheral vision, or just calculated that she would be there at that time.

(To be fair, he had seen her doing just that- watching the sunrise- whether it was at her apartment, or the DEO, quite a few times- and had joined her, however briefly before their days had truly started. It hadn’t been for a while, though… for a couple of reasons she didn’t want to think about right then.

No point in metaphorically bringing dark clouds over their sunrise.)

“Hi, Querl.” she says standing beside him- and caught a small smile from him, as his eyes met hers. She hadn’t intended on using his real name, but it just happened to slip out- and she hadn’t even heard it in such a long time, she hoped she’d gotten the pronunciation right.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I… I missed you.”

She nods.

“I understand.” she says, and holds her hand out- waiting, as slowly his hands come out from behind his back, where they were so carefully positioned, and one of his ends up in hers. He looks over at her, and she smiles at him.

“I missed you too.” she says.

She missed everything- her friends, this whole city, this whole world, even though she doesn’t know it as well. She missed her apartment, and donuts, and pizza and potstickers and sister nights with Alex and game nights with everyone.

She missed sunrises, and for that matter seeing the sun at all, getting to greet it in the morning and feeling its light. Feeling closer to Rao, to the remnants of Krypton that she holds in her heart.

And yes, she missed him, she realizes as she sees a tear fall down his cheek. She had all along, but seeing him here and now makes her remember how little she’s seen him even before she was thrown into the Phantom Zone.

(And she wonders how much he’s speaking for the past few months too, in addition to this more recent separation)

She especially missed… not exactly this new version of him- but the person he was always meant to be, who he should have been were it not for his father’s need to assert control and prevent him from being his whole self. Truly uninhibited, happy- standing tall and proud in a purple super-suit, greeting the sunrise in his natural Coluan form. Not burdened by secrets or Lex anymore, holding nothing back.

“Ah.” he says, following her eyes as they quickly travel up and down his body. “You noticed.”

“Noticed that your image inducer isn’t turned on right now, yeah.” Kara says, with another smile. “I… haven’t seen much of you like this. You look really good. I’m happy for you.”

“Oh.” He answers. “It’s more than just turned off. I’ve removed it from my person, completely.”

She raises an eyebrow.

“I… have wanted to do so, since I officially rejoined the Super-friends, as it were. But I waited- and thought it would be appropriate to tell you first, since you inspired me to remove my inhibitors to begin with.”

“I did.” Kara realizes. Some of her memories are still a little bit hazy, but she remembers that conversation- hearing the pain in his voice as he recounted his story, and she realized how much his father’s fears had impacted him, and led him to fear himself. Remembered putting as much conviction as she could into her reassurances that he wasn’t like his mother, and would never be.

She’d told him he was loved, and she…

She and the rest of them had ignored him, as he worked for Lex. She’d forgotten- and none of what she’d said had carried over to what had happened next.

“I’m sorry.” She says. “For doubting you.”

“And I am sorry for failing you.” He answers. “Being unable to figure out a way to navigate the Phantom Zone sooner, and unable to prevent you from being sent there in the first place.”

“You did the best you could.” Kara tells him. “Everything is different in there now, and…”

At least it was only a few weeks.

Sometimes, even now in her apartment, Kara has nightmares- that this is just another illusion, and when she does wake up, when she’s pulled out for real, it’ll be another 24 years lost, her family and friends all having lost hope and moved on without her.

She has to keep reminding herself it’s real, that what she sees now is all true. She has her father back, she wasn’t gone for very long, and though Zor-El is different from when she saw him last (and she knows more about what he did, on Krypton) she’s still glad to see him again.

And she gets to wake up and see the sunlight, and talk with one of her friends again.

“I’m sorry.” She says, shaking her head. “You were talking about why you removed your inhibitors.”

“It is alright.” He answers. “There is… a lot of catching up, that we have to do.”

“There really is.”

“And yes- I was telling the truth, about your words being nothing short of magic.” He says. “Well… the subject of myself believing in “magic” as a concept is not relevant. The point is, I came to realize that I should trust myself, after said conversation- that it had been a long time, since the inhibitors were put on, and I was more than capable of self-control, no longer needing them. And whatever happened, you and the others would be there to help.”

“That’s right.” Kara says.

We should have helped more.

“Now… I have indeed become overwhelmed by my emotions. But I am learning to deal with them- in ways that all beings do. Naturally, without needing to regulate them by force.”

Kara squeezes his hand.

“I had to deal with that too.” She says. “You never stop learning it, I guess. But you still try.”

“Indeed.” He tells her. “And because I have removed my inhibitors, I can finally look at myself and not feel ashamed. I dealt with them for such a long time because I thought I deserved them, and tried to do the best I could while wearing them. Now, I see that I can be so much more, and indeed I am- and I want to show that to the world, permanently.”

“But what about the timeline?” she asks. “Wouldn’t people seeing a Brainiac helping Supergirl… change things?”

“Not as significantly as… other events.” He answers, glancing back at the Tower. “That is another conversation. But I have run calculations, and the answer for this particular question is no.”

“Then I’m proud of you.” Kara says. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

She turns to face him, and he turns toward her, expression telling her that he isn’t completely sure what to do next.

“Can I hug you?”

“Of course.” He says, and she does- hoping that this begins to make up for lost time.

But they have a lot of opportunities for that, and this is only the start of a new day for both of them.

And she, for one, can’t wait to continue it.

[xxdragonwriterxx]

🔥The Angelus Mortis (1/2)🔥

A/N: Hey everyone, I’m back! I apologize for the really long wait but I wanted to try something different where, instead of posting one story at a time as soon as I finish it, I wrote five stories and then I went back and edited them in the order I wrote them. It took so long because I’ve been writing a ton in the past week.  Hopefully I can make up for the long wait by giving you guys several stories in the next few days or so. Thank you so much for the support on “Scalding”, I was not expecting it but it makes my really happy to know you guys liked it ❤️. Now, without further ado, here is my next Levi x Reader fic!

Warning: This one is super long so I actually had to split it up into two parts so it wouldn’t be such a huge pill to swallow. I will post the next chapter asap though, so keep an eye out for part two!

Summary: Erwin finds a dangerous assassin in the Underground while Levi is on a solo mission.

~~~

Erwin sighed and rubbed his temples to try to dispel the headache that was already building there, the message from the Military Police on his desk, mocking him. He glared at it, his eyes scanning over the words again.

Gods they were so incapable. He would never voice his frustrations aloud, but he wished, for once, they could deal with their own issues. Fight their own battles without having to drag the Survey Corps back to do all of the hard work for them. 

Despite his annoyance, Erwin would not have normally been so frustrated, but this situation was different than usual due to the fact that Captain Levi was gone from the base. He had been sent off on a solo mission to get some more information for Erwin on the movements of the violent gangsters that were fighting with one of the Military Police branches.

“What’s today’s headache about?” The loud, chipper voice of his girlfriend, Hanji, made him look up and grunt at her and the stack of finished reports she held in her arms.

“Oh, I just received a message from the Commander of the Military Police. There is a dangerous assassin who has been cutting down the MP’s that venture into the Underground. Apparently, this guy is impossible to catch and incredibly ruthless, known to leave pieces of the soldiers around for the officers to find later. They want us to go down there and find them, put an end to them before they wipe out an entire regiment.”

Hanji leaned her hip against Erwin’s desk and raised her eyebrow at her partner as she listened to the gruesome things the assassin had done.

“Holy shit…, who are you going to send? Levi is on that solo mission,” Hanji said.

“Yeah that’s the problem,” Erwin responded. “I’m going to have to be the one to go. I’m not going to send someone who will lose their life on this mission. There is no need to waste lives on something as trivial as catching this guy. Also, if he’s impossible to catch, the only one other than me who has enough experience with the ODM gear to navigate the Underground would be Levi, who you pointed out is not here at the moment.”

“Well, I’m coming with you then,” Hanji said. “Someone will need to watch your back, and be there to bring you back to the surface if you end up getting your ass handed to you.”

Erwin smiled at her as he shook his head.

“I’m not going to lose this fight.”

“Oh ho ho, tough guy! Such confidence, I can’t wait to watch your ass hit the ground when that assassin shows you a couple of choice moves,” Hanji chortled.

“Your obsession with my ass is noted. Now go get ready, we are leaving in an hour,” Erwin said, his eyes twinkling as he teased her.

Hanji’s laughter bounced around the halls as she exited his office to pack her things and prepare for the trip to the Underground.

__________________________

Levi grumbled lowly to himself as he nursed a glass of whiskey, his silver eyes appraising the other people in the bar in annoyance. The Captain was not normally one to drink, especially back at the base, but after having to deal with some of the most annoying people on the planet, he felt as if he deserved to relax a little.

At least neither Erwin nor Hanji were with him. That was one of the only reasons he was able to convince himself to go into the old bar; not having to worry about Erwin pressuring him to loosen up, or Hanji trying to wrestle secrets about his life out of him while he was drunk.

Levi took a sip from his glass. The alcohol slid down his throat, leaving a fiery trail in its wake to settle in his stomach, the warmth spreading throughout his gut. The whiskey was starting to loosen the headache that was holding his skull captive, allowing the usually stoic Captain to settle a bit more in his seat, enjoying the relative silence of the dingy establishment.

All day he had been forced to fight with violent gangsters, helping one of the Military Police branches arrest the most aggressive ones and scaring away the others. The whole day had been a loud, frustrating, exhausting experience, making Levi almost miss his normal expeditions outside the walls with the Titans. At least it was his last day in this shit hole, finally able to return to the base in the morning now that all of the criminals had been successfully rounded up.

Thinking about the men and women he had helped put away that day, combined with the alcohol that was circulating through his system, made his mind stray back to memories from his Underground days. For the most part, he tried to forget about his past, thoughts about his time down there, only bringing up bitter emotions. It was like reliving a nightmare over and over again. 

He huffed as he tried to lead his train of thought elsewhere to no avail, his mind flooding with images from his childhood, his struggle as he and his friends fought for survival. His mind even dragged up a foggy image of a beautiful face from the dregs of his past before he quickly diverted his train of thought, refusing to think about that face, that loving smile.

Levi didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky when his spiraling thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a woman. She wearing a severe red dress that pushed her cleavage up so her breasts were almost spilling out over the top, her lips pursed as she sat herself across from him.

Levi refrained from groaning aloud in frustration, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the woman in front of him, but also recognizing that a tiny part of him was grateful for her intrusion, distracting him from sinking further into the dark memories of his past. Now, he just had to figure out how to shrug this woman off as she leaned forward, so obviously trying to get into his pants he was surprised there was not a ‘FUCK ME’ sign strapped to her chest.

Levi scowled and pulled away from her when she went to touch his arm. To his annoyance, the woman laughed instead of moving away, her eyes sparkling with barely disguised lust as she looked him up and down.

“Look, I’m not interested,” Levi said bluntly.

“Come on, handsome, it won’t hurt for you to relax, why don’t we ditch this joint?” the woman purred.

Levi rolled his eyes so hard he was worried he’d strained something. The situation reminded him of all of the times Hanji had tried to set him up, ignoring his protests and forcing him to meet women from all walks of life despite the fact that he turned them all down without a second thought. It bothered him to no end, not only because it was annoying as hell, but also because there was only one person he had ever given his heart to, and she was gone. Nobody could ever replace her, it didn’t matter that she wasn't around to love him anymore, he refused to be with anyone else.

He figured some people would probably see this as childish, but he didn’t care. To him, he didn’t have a heart left to give, the organ dying with his lost love all those years ago.

“Not interested.”

The woman pouted but moved closer still, practically leaning into him despite his grimace of disgust.

“You don’t mean that, baby, you look like you could use a good time. Here, let me help you. I know exactly how to make you feel better. Have you ever felt the stars? Because you’re about to…,” the woman said boldly, her hand slowly drifting downward.

Levi stood up so fast he almost knocked the table over. His glare was fierce as he slammed his empty whiskey glass on the table. Piercing her with his sharp gaze, Levi snarled lowly at her.

“Not. Interested.”

Grabbing his cloak, Levi stormed out of the bar in even worse spirits than before, memories of the face that haunted his dreams floating across his mind to tease at the edges of his broken heart. Growling to himself, Levi was only grateful that he was leaving in the morning as his feet carried him back to the shitty inn he was staying in for the duration of the mission.

____________________________

This was a bad idea. Scratch that, this was a horrible idea. Erwin laid on the filthy street of the Underground, hidden in the shadows of an alleyway, holding his hand to his shoulder where a dagger was lodged, gritting his teeth as he fought back the bile that rose in his throat at the pain swelling in his body. 

He had no idea where Hanji was, the pair having been separated when they were attacked out of nowhere. Erwin realized now as he lay in the dirt that he had severely underestimated this man, the assassin who got hired to kill the most powerful soldiers and officers in the military. He had read about his strength, but even with that information, he had not expected the fight to be so overwhelming.

This man was dangerous. Very dangerous. Erwin knew from the reports that the killer worked alone, using wit and cold, calculated cunning to attack in ways that not even the veteran soldiers had seen before.

Erwin’s thoughts were suddenly cut short when he heard a pained shriek, one he immediately knew to be Hanji, and watched in horror as a figure slowly came around the corner, holding the limp form of his comrade in his grip.

Hanji let out another pained noise as the figure threw her right at Erwin, the Squad Leader hitting her Commander, causing them both to grunt. Looking down, Erwin saw that Hanji had a long gash down her side, but it didn’t look very deep and she didn’t seem to have any more wounds other than some bruising. A warning.

Erwin managed to hide his nearly imperceptible sigh of relief at the thought that this assassin was considering sparing them if they only left him alone. He knew that he could never leave the assassin alone forever, but if it gave them the chance to get to safety, he could come back another time with reinforcements. It was only one man. A very powerful man, but a man nonetheless, he wasn’t invincible.

Forcing down the whimper that bubbled in his throat when Hanji moved against his shoulder, shifting the blade in his flesh, Erwin locked his eyes on the figure that was still watching them, the darkness of the alley covering any distinguishable features. The only thing Erwin was able to make out was that the figure looked smaller than he imagined. But the seasoned Commander wasn’t stupid enough to determine his threat level based on size, not when one of his best friends was Levi Ackerman, one of the shortest yet deadliest men alive.

The pair tensed when the figure suddenly started towards them, his arm reaching back to procure a wickedly sharp sword from underneath his black cloak. Erwin’s mind scrambled for a plan but he came up blank, his mind ceasing all thoughts when the figure suddenly charged them, sword held aloft.

Erwin and Hanji closed their eyes, clutching each other as the killer came for them, both of them waiting for the quick sting of pain before death, waiting for their remains to be scattered around the Underground like Easter eggs for their friends to find when they came back to their empty offices and cold beds.

Erwin sucked in a breath when he felt the cold, harsh tip of the sword touch his throat but slowly opened his eyes after a moment when the feeling stayed there, the blade hovering just above his delicate wind pipe.

From this distance, Erwin could tell that the assassin was wearing a mask in the shape of a wolf over his face, his body poised to strike as he hovered over the pair of senior officers, his breathing labored.

“Are you Commander Erwin?” The man suddenly asked, the voice deep and distorted thanks to the mask.

Erwin contemplated lying for a second, but knew he didn’t really have a choice in the matter when the man pressed the tip of their blade a little bit harder against his flesh, even causing a pinprick of blood to bubble up from under the steel point.

“Yes.”

The man hesitated for a moment. It was almost as if he were remembering something, Erwin’s name bringing up memories from another time. The Commander had no fucking clue what that could mean for them, but he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to find out.

The assassin opened his mouth to say something when all of a sudden, several ropes were thrown from the darkness, catching the killer by surprise. He leaped out of the way, dodging the ropes at a speed that could only be rivaled by Captain Levi, almost making it out onto the street before he ran headfirst into a trap of chains, the metal clinking as it wrapped around his lithe form and tightened, forcing his arms to snap to his sides and his legs to buckle.

Erwin and Hanji scrambled into a standing position and smiled in joyful surprise as a familiar Mike, Nanaba, and Moblit rounded the corner. Erwin sighed in relief and Hanji let loose a little cheer as the three other veteran officers surrounded their quarry. The pair had no idea how their friends had found them or even why they had thought to follow them, but neither cared as relief filled their systems.

The assassin snarled at them and continued to struggle against their bounds, his mask making the words coming from his mouth sound nearly animalistic in nature.

“Fuck you!” The assassin roared, somehow finding the energy to fight harder as the veterans leaned down to detain the criminal. The soldiers ignored the assassin as he continued spewing profanities while they made their way towards the stairs, their mission complete.

___________________________

Erwin blinked in utter shock as he stared at the assassin through the bars of the cell they had shoved him in underneath the Survey Corps HQ.

Only, it wasn’t a him.

Erwin could only gawk as the reality of the situation settled in, his eyes roving over the assassin’s (h/l) (h/c) hair, feminine curves, and beautifully angled face. The strongest assassin in the Underground, the one that had been dubbed The Angelus Mortis, The Angel of Death, was a woman.

He never doubted that women were strong, he trained and fought beside a whole legion of strong, battleworn women that could take down anyone in a heartbeat any day. But this woman had come from the Underground. While not impossible to gain strength in the Underground, most women, and many men for that matter, that lived in that cesspool merely ended up rotting away, their legs destroyed by the lack of sunlight and their bodies wracked with disease. Even if a woman managed to avoid the severe malnourishment, most of them were forced into brothels to be used by the wealthy merchants and nobles who decided to flaunt their wealth in the poorest part of their cities.

But this woman had fought. She had fought like an animal, a wolf, as her mask had suggested. She had used her impressive intelligence and strategic mind to avoid getting caught, all while clawing her way to the top of the food chain, making herself such a feared symbol that nobody would touch her. She was cold and vicious but not at all feral, her mind sharp and her eyes clear as she stared right back at the giant blonde Commander, her gaze never drifting from his.

Erwin leaned back as he appraised her. He could tell that despite her strength, her body was severely malnourished and neglected, the lack of proper food and water paired with the intense physical labor she pushed herself through every day, rendered her body weak and thin. Erwin could tell right away that if she were given the proper commodities and nursed back to health, she would be stunning and very powerful.

He had to think about this carefully. He had sent in an after action report to the MP’s telling them that the Survey Corps had done their dirty work for them, and they had already responded with a message telling him to bring her to one of their prison cells the next morning to be tortured to death for her crimes. He knew she probably deserved a punishment like that, she had killed a lot of soldiers, but he felt a strange tugging on his heart, like he knew, deep down, that there was more to her story, something that would make her worth much more than a street rat to be thrown to the dogs.

He had no idea why but he wanted her in the Survey Corps. He knew that she was dangerous, knew that most people would call her insane and then call him insane if he brought this up. But he felt something, like he knew that if he didn’t get her into the military, they would be losing something priceless.

“Are you going to keep staring at me like a perverted fuck or are you going to tell me when I’m being taken away?”

Erwin’s eyes snapped to hers from where they had drifted to her ribs, which were jutting out of her chest prominently. 

“I knew you were going to be testy, sassy even, maybe downright insane, but I didn’t expect someone so close to death to be so confident,” Erwin said, a smirk teasing the corner of his lips.

The assassin rolled her eyes.

“I’m from the Underground, idiot, death is always a constant companion on your shoulder. I’m not scared of death, scared of the torture before death, maybe, if I decide I care enough, but not of death.”

“Is that why you killed all of those people? Because death is your friend?” Erwin asked.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“That is what you said.”

“I only said it is something I am used to, the constant threat of death and suffering, not that I enjoy it. Death is not my friend,” She growled with a sharp glare in his direction.

“So why did you kill all of those soldiers? Besides being hired to, I mean. I’d understand your motivations a little more if you had started killing other people who lived in the Underground, to give yourself an advantage, but you chose soldiers.”

The assassin was silent for a minute, breaking his gaze for the first time since he had come down to see her. He could’ve sworn her gaze clouded over slightly, as if she were remembering painful memories, but the fog in her gaze was gone as quickly as it appeared, making Erwin question whether it was even there to begin with.

“That’s personal,” she said after a heavy pause.

“They didn’t compliment your outfit?” Erwin teased, flashing a smile in her direction when she snarled at him.

“Fuck you.”

“Alright fine,” Erwin said. “Why did you ask about me? About my name?”

“That’s personal too.”

“Well you’ve got to answer at least some of my questions.”

“Why should I care about you and your inquiries?” She asked, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms in a way that reminded Erwin so much of Levi he almost smiled.

“Because it might guarantee you your life,” Erwin said.

“Who says I care about living?”

Erwin was silent for a moment this time as he scanned her with his bright blue eyes again, really taking her in. She was something, he could say that. She was unlike anyone he had ever met before. Even Levi, with his similar distrusting nature and sharp, piercing gaze was never this witty, never this sassy.

“I say you do,” Erwin said.

“Oh really? And what makes you the authority on that?”

“Nothing. You are the authority on yourself, on your emotions and instincts. I am merely an observer in this matter. I can see it in your eyes, I can read it in your posture and spot it even in the methods of your actions. In why you became an assassin, and the best one at that.”

She stayed quiet, watching him.

“I know you want to live. I don’t know anything about the personal shit that went down between you and the Military Police but I’m assuming that whatever it was was crippling, which was why you went to such drastic measures to make it to the top, to do whatever it took to make them hurt and scream. Why you never even attempted to hide the bodies. I know some people claim it was because you are cocky or egotistical, but I know better.”

Erwin leaned forward, his eyes glinting in the dull golden light of the lantern hanging on the wall. The assassin again said nothing but she never stopped watching him, playing into this game they had started, dancing on hot coals.

“Just from the fact that you did all of that. That you chose to fight back against your grief rather than succumb to it, rotting away in a forgettable corner of the Underground, shows me that you want to live. That you want to give yourself a purpose to cover up whatever loss you have felt in the past, and use it to fuel your own future.”

The assassin’s eyes narrowed on him as she pushed away from the stone wall of the cell. “I’m impressed.”

“Not quite so much of an idiot anymore, right?”

She glared at him and the smirk that spread across his face.

“(Y/N).”

“What?”

“My name is (Y/N).”

[renaxwrites]

Hello! I'm anon, who always ask you about Nekoma manager! I have birthday on 20th of July. So can I ask you for scenario about Nekoma manager birthday? Something like: Nekoma team make surprise birthday party? And Miya, Oikawa, Kageyama and others manager fans and friends congratulate her? And if it's possible, can you send it 20th of July?

Manager’s Birthday

(Nekoma’s Manager Pt. 4)

a/n: omg happy birthday!! I don’t know who you are but ily and I hope you have a very great day this year!! Imagine sharing a birthday w Oikawa 👀 the power 😩 hope you enjoy lovebug <3 pt. 1 pt. 2 pt. 3 pt. 5

“Rrrr, it’s not that freaking HARD!! Just swing, snap, GROCK!!” Yaku was on his last nerve as he tried to, once again, have Lev and Yamamoto through their mini tiktok choreo they planned for you.

Your birthday was coming up, and the team wanted to throw you a surprise party! They began planning after making sure you were gone from the gym. The problem was, your special day was already next week, and the stress of party planning was starting to show.

So a plan was set up. Operation: “get-as-much-info-from-y/n-as-possible-to-plan-the-party” was in commence.

You had had a girls’ night with some of the managers from another schools, and it was made their secret mission to extract as much info out of you for this party. But all they got was:

A humble, “Honestly, I would just want to hang out with my friends. It doesn’t even matter where. What matters to me most is my team, you girls, and those who helped me get to this point. I probably wouldn’t even be sitting here if it wasn’t for all these people...”

But after much pleading from the others, you also express “I do miss some that I haven’t seen in a while, though. Like the guys from the training camp! It’d be nice to see them again if I could.”

While you were busy being lost in thought, the girls around the table began relaying your wishes to their respected team. The surprise party was then set in motion.

The night before your birthday, they had practice, but “convinced” you to come the next day:

You: Practice in the afternoon? Why not in the morning? And...why do you want me to wear something “extra pretty?”

Kuroo: So we can greet our manager goddess when the sun is high, and kiss the ground you walk on in appreciation of you being alive another year. Why else?

You: Kuroo, you could have you simply said “just cuz”. Bye.

Once it was confirmed that you left campus, the team began a rundown of the preparations for your party.

“Alright, are all the guests confirmed for tomorrow?” Kuroo pulls out a list, ready to check off tasks.

“Yup! I wrote down the names so we know how many things we need based off of that,” Kai relays.

“Perfect. Yamamoto, how’s the catering?”

“All ready to go, captain,” Yamamoto reports.

“Alright, so Shibayama and Fukunaga, you two can help him with that. That just leaves the music and decor. Yaku and Lev, you two can go with Coach to go pick them up and hang them tomorrow in the morning. Got it?”

“Got it,” Yaku said as he hovered over Lev, who had just been kicked in the rear for almost spoiling the surprise to you.

“Kenma, how’s that playlist coming?”

“It’s done already.”

Kuroo puts the list down in disbelief. “How’d you get her music taste that fast? It takes me weeks just to make a playlist for myself.”

“You’d be amazed as to how many hours of music she sent me after I sent ONE text of ‘can you send some music recommendations?’” Kenma simply states.

“Sounds fair. Alrighty boys, rest up! We have a precious manager to surprise and pamper tomorrow!”

“So you mean to tell me...these boys really went the extra mile to trick me today?! There’s no one here!” you cry out as you walk into the dark and empty gym. “Might as well just turn the lights on...”

You saunter over to the light switch and flick the power on. You almost pass out at the ginormous volume of the “SURPRISE!” that came right after.

“What the heck? You guysssss” you’re on the verge of tears as you take in the image before you. Everyone was here: your team, your friends, the players from the training camp...practically everyone you’ve ever had a conversation with.

Their were endless amounts of “happy birthdays” wished to you. A while later, the festivities were in full swing. Everyone began to mingle, giving you time to converse with everyone there.

“Hoshiumi! Sakusa!” You run up to the players who once stood up for you. “I haven’t seen you in so long! I missed y’all.” You give Hoshiumi a big hug. And knowing Sakusa’s boundaries, he gives you a light pat on the head, which you’ve grown to recognize as his way of a loving gesture.

“Nice to see you too. By the way, go collect your mans, looks like he’s already starting beef with the other setters,” Hoshiumi pointed out.

“‘My mans’? Starting beef? Who the heck-”

You turn to see three pretty setters being separated by Kuroo and Yaku. Way to start it off.

“By the rate you guys are going, I’m baffled you haven’t killed each other yet,” you laugh. Atsumu, Kageyama, and Oikawa all jump a bit in surprise.

One second of silence passes.

Immediately after, the three of them begin talking over each other, trying to get a word in on what their side of the story was.

You hold up a hand.

“I know it’s been a few months, but obviously this issue of ‘wanting to take me on a date’ isn’t going to be solved between you three, is it?”

They stared back at you. So was everyone else.

“Why don’t we take this to the court? What do you think, y/n?” You give Kuroo a look, and you instantly know what he’s brewing.

“I would be surprised if there wasn’t some type of match happening today. Everyone to the sidelines!”

“Alright, so it’s a mini tourney between the setters! The rules are simple. Teams of three, one setter each team. To make it even, Kenma will have his own team too.”

“Why?”

“Shush, Kenma, we’re making it even. It’s going to be a basic bracket. One set. Two teams play, then the other two. The winners play each other, leaving one team standing. Prize? A date with y/n!”

“You’re really selling me off, aren’t you Kuroo?” you point out.

“Not if Kenna’s team wins, kitten. Yaku and I will be on his team, so don’t worry your pretty little head.”

A coin was flipped, deciding that the would face off first. Oikawa with Iwa and Matsukawa on one side. Kenma, Kuroo, and Yaku on the other.

Ultimately, the Nekoma side gave their all, and so did the Seijoh side. However, Nekoma has pulled the win. Oikawa sink to his knees in loss, while Iwaizumi apologized to you profusely for “that embarrassing piece of trash”.

The same situation happened with Karasuno and Atsumu. Kageyama chose Hinata and Tanaka to fight with him. Atsumu had brought his brother along, but also borrowed Sakusa for a third member. (“Atsumu you owe me a month’s worth of hand sanitizer.”)

The tension between the two setters was strong. But having more experience in tournaments allowed Atsumu to pull the win.

As Kageyama walked off the court, you decided to shoot him a text from the other side. He looks down at his phone, then at you, quickly replying.

You did great, Tobio-kun!

Thanks y/n. I’d still like to spend time with you, even if it’s not a date.

Of course! This match didn’t change anything :)

As Kenma and Atsumu’s team were getting ready to face off, a certain owl-head brought you a snack. “They had some popcorn over there, figured it was perfect for this show. Hey AKAASHI! Come over, Y/N and I have front row!!”

“Thanks Bokuto,” you munch on the treat nervously. You’d be lying if you were curious to see how this would turn out.

The match was long. No one minded, as everyone was invested in the ups and downs of each team. But in a shocking play, Atsumu was too quick for Kenma’s calculations. That point lead to their victory.

“Guess you’re on your own, y/n. I’d protect you further but my hunger overrules,” Kuroo shrugs and walks off to get one food.

“So, how’d I look?” Atsumu came over to you, smirking.

“Well, you beat Nekoma. I like to keep my promises, so plan us a date and I’ll go with you.”

“Sure thing, babes.”

“Isn’t it a bit early for nicknames?” you banter with the blonde twin.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it by the end of today. Happy birthday, angelface.”

[flooffybits]

Part of You

Idol: Bae Joohyun (Red Velvet) & Jennie Kim (Blackpink)

Irene and Jennie are forced to stay at home while their girlfriend is out of the country, touring with her group, instead of being at home. They understand, because they have to leave for tour, too. But when your tour is as frequent as yours, they can’t help but miss you more than they do.

“Jennie, come on, stop sulking.” The older girl cooed at her girlfriend when she entered the room, tablet in hand as she walked over to the bed where the Blackpink member was busy rolling and pouting to herself.

Said girl only stopped rolling around the bed and huffed, pout still present as she made room for the latter and then wrapped her arms around her waist to snuggle into her while she whined. “But I want Y/n to come home.” She complained, making Joohyun playfully roll her eyes whilst she patted the younger girl’s head.

“I know you do, and so do I, but she’s still in Europe with the rest of the girls.” She reminded before showing the tablet. “They have a show that we said we would be watching, so come on.” Groaning, Jennie moved so that they were both settled against the headboard of their shared bed.

Even though it was already late for them, the pair wanted to be able to watch your performance since they weren’t exactly capable of joining you on tour. With how long you’ve been away, this would be the only time they had together where they could see you.

Joohyun was preparing it to the link you had sent them so that they could see the concert live. It took a while of convincing from management, but you were able to make it possible without having the link leaked because it would be a very big question as to why you would have it in the first place.

As soon as the stadium was shown on the screen, Jennie’s eyes was immediately looking for the familiar figure of their girlfriend, despite the dark area. Joohyun was much more relaxed as she waited, grinning as she ran her fingers through Jennie’s hair in a comforting manner.

When the lights finally came to life and the screaming of fans increased, the two girls would feel pride swelling in their chest when you came up with your members. All of you were dressed in black and red clothing, dancing flawlessly, thanks to the countless times you’ve practiced.

They were cheering for you despite only watching from the screen, and when the camera panned over to show a close up of you, they would squeal even more, chanting your name as if they were in the crowd.

There was the change of outfits in between, so they were able to see some of your outfits in some of your music videos that made them more than pleased, especially when it came to performing your latest song.

When it came to special stages, they were holding their breath, waiting for you to make your appearance. Joohyun was no longer calm, frankly, she was just as excited as her taller girlfriend after watching you perform and hearing your voice.

“How are they able to do all that without looking tired?” Joohyun had questioned when she tucked her hair behind her ear, her motherly instincts picking up as she awaited your performance. “Their choreography is harder compared to ours. I’m just amazed that they’re still going, considering their concept is more on pop rock.” Jennie commented as she bounced in her place, making the older girl chuckle at her child-like expression.

When it was finally your turn, they were already giggling like school girls who had seen their crush. “Her outfit is always on point. Their stylist is good.” Jennie would say, making Joohyun laugh at the fashionista and playfully poke her side. “Of course, that’s what you notice.”

Jennie flinched at the poke and lightly swatted her hand away. “I was just saying! Our baby deserves to look the best.” She defended before turning back to watch you.

The moment they did, you were already at the chorus and both girls were blushing wildly because of the way your body moved. Of course, they expected this due to you dancing EXO’s The Eve, but they rarely see you performing songs with that kind of choreography.

Though there were times that your group covered for others with that kind of concept, it wasn’t often for them to see you dancing like that. Even with such a badass image, they knew well enough that you were capable of seducing anyone with a look, if the body rolls and winks weren’t enough proof of it.

They know that you aren’t usually like this. The confident and sexy Y/n was only for the stage, but when you were home, you were their soft and dorky girlfriend.

When the end of the concert finally came, the pair were cuddled up on the bed, the tablet resting between them as your group talked to the people who attended, thanking them for their time and saying goodbye.

But when the camera closed in on you, their brows quirked up at seeing you crouching down on the edge of the stage and talking animatedly to a couple fans. Looking closer, they could see something being handed to you before you gladly accepted it, making the shouting grow louder when you stood up, only to drape the rainbow flag across your shoulders and wrapping it around yourself.

The action made them smile even more, if that was possible. Something they loved about your group was that all of you were very open-minded people and that you never failed to show your support to anyone.

At first, it worried them because Korea wasn’t exactly very welcoming, but the more that time passed, your group has never gotten any form of hate or backlash and they were only left in wonderment as your popularity continued to grow. You may not have been too popular in Korea, but internationally, people knew who you were and that was more than enough.

Though they were a bit upset with the fact that your group still didn’t get your first win. They were sure you would have won when you performed at an award show with your comeback, but for some reason, the win went to someone else, where people found it odd with how the numbers just didn’t add up. Even those who weren’t fans of your group were sure that you would have won and others even did the calculations themselves. No matter how you looked at it, your group should have had your first win that day.

That was why it simply broke their hearts to see you so downhearted with your members. When the question of what your dream was, your answers were no longer “Our first win.” but “To have more fans” instead.

They did their best to cheer you up at that time and you were thankful for their support, but you eventually learned to move on from it. It had only served to make you work harder.

“Can she please come home, now?” Jennie whined as she watched you happily interact with your members. She missed you dearly ever since you had to leave last month. She actually complained that your tour was too long and Joohyun ended up laughing and teasing her for it because they were both away much more than you usually were.

Joohyun smiled at the younger girl and kissed her forehead. “You’re so clingy, Jen. She’ll be home in a few days.” She reminded, knowing that you would probably be filming a bit more before coming back. “But I want her now!” The younger girl protested before she looked to the other. “Don’t you dare make fun of me because I know you miss her, too.”

The latter raised her hands in defense, her eyes filled with mirth as she smiled. “I do, but you don’t see me acting like a baby, do you?” She retorted playfully, making the other pout as she crossed her arms across her chest. “You love me anyway.”

Now that earned herself a small smile from the older girl and a tender kiss was pressed against her lips before Joohyun kissed her cheek.

..

Joohyun wakes up, a little before six in the morning. Though she and Jennie stayed up to watch your performance, her body always woke her up early even when she didn’t need to.

It was something she often hated because she wants to keep sleeping, but at this moment, she was happy to be awake when she saw the text on her phone. Immediately, she pressed the call button and waited until you answered her.

Looking next to her, she giggled with how Jennie was still curled up on her side, one of your hoodies wrapped around her figure whilst Joohyun had another.

Her heart started beating faster when her phone finally showed the light of your hotel room. She was just so excited to see you, so when your face finally popped up, she couldn’t contain the smile that crawled up her face.

“Hi baby.” You murmur with a wave of your hand and she coos at how soft you looked. “Hey, why aren’t you asleep?” She asks quietly. Even with her want to see you, she could never help her motherly instincts when it came to your health.

“I just got cleaned up.” You tell her, stretching on the bed while a pillow was held to your chest. “Also, I was hoping to see at least one of my favorite girls.” You grin at her before a sound comes from the background.

“You called?”

From the screen, Joohyun could see as you playfully rolled your eyes and shooed the person away. “Sorry, that was Bora.” You apologize sheepishly due to your friend’s loud voice after you threw a pillow at her.

“I’m surprised you haven’t switched roommates.” Joohyun muses, knowing your members well enough to know just how playful and loud they could be.

If she thought her members were crazy, she was more surprised when she got to know more about yours.

You laughed at her remark and cock your head to the side. “It’s fine. Bora is fun to have around when she isn’t yelling all the time.” Jennie moved closer into Joohyun’s side as the older girl continued to listen to you. Her fingers moving to run through her soft locks.

“Is Jennie still sleeping?” You ask with a smile on your face. And as Joohyun was about to reply, the younger girl piped up, yawning as she moved so that she could peek at the screen and a sleepy smile appeared on her face. “Not anymore.”

Your smile only seemed to widen at the sight of your two girlfriends. “Good morning, princess.” She takes a while to properly wake herself, and when she realizes that she is talking to you, Joohyun is already grinning at her, stifling a laugh when she gave her a tiny squeeze.

“Y/n!” Jennie bolted upright, the phone coming to her hands when she snatched it from the older woman and both of you giggled before she’s hitting your other girlfriend. “How could you be on call without me?” Joohyun just rolled her eyes while you watch them in amusement.

“Is our Jennie whining?” You teased her but she only answered with a huff. “She’s been like this since yesterday when we were watching your performance.” Joohyun piped up when she rested her chin on the other girl’s shoulder. “I want Y/n to come now. I want her now.” She mocked in good nature while you smile at the two. “Don’t worry, I’ll be home soon.”

They could tell that you were tired, if having to sing and dance in front of thousands of people for a couple hours wasn’t tiring enough. They also knew that you were often one of the people in your group that made sure everyone was alright despite the fact that you weren’t exactly the eldest nor were you the leader.

“Is soon going to be in an hour?” Jennie asked hopefully, the adorable little pout on her lips again while she stared at you and you mentally cooed at your girlfriend’s antics. “I’m sorry, princess, but you know that we still have to film some things and I can’t back out since I’m the one who requested it.”

Damn you for being adorable, Jennie thinks, her pout growing deeper and Joohyun had to laugh before she’s addressing you. “Don’t worry about it, Y/n. We know that you’re busy. We just miss you.” She said, making you nod. “Also, while you’re away, please be careful. I don’t want another call from your members saying that you got lost while taking pictures.”

You just grinned sheepishly at your girlfriend while nodding your head. “I know. The unnies are always making sure that I don’t disappear without telling them, now.” Your love for photography was simply endearing and everyone knew that you loved to take pictures, but the one time you and your group went for a gathering due to a successful comeback, they ended up calling your girlfriends and asking if you had gone home.

It sent both girls into a panic when no one was able to find you, and the fact you weren’t answering made it worse. It wasn’t until the maknae spotted you by a few stalls did they all calm down, but you sure as hell did not hear the end of it with your members, only to have a second lecture when you got home to your worried girlfriends.

Checking the time, Jennie looked at you before she’s raising a brow. “Baby, it’s late.” She mumbled, seeing the way you were trying to keep your eyes open. “You’ve had a long day, and I’m sure that you’re busy tomorrow. You need to sleep.” Joohyun says worriedly and you smile at the pair.

“I know, but I want to hear about your day before I sleep. Did you enjoy the concert at least?”

Immediately, they smiled as they suddenly started gushing about the show, praising you for doing well and complimenting your members as well. “I feel like you intended to be a tease because you know we aren’t there to do anything.” Jennie huffed while shaking her head and Joohyun was crossing her arms. “Is this what happens when we go on tour?” She asked playfully. “You better be ready when you come home.”

But after they spoke, you didn’t say anything in reply. Curiously, their eyes went back to the tiny screen, only to see that your eyes have finally fallen shut and your breathing had evened out.

The peaceful expression on your face made both their hearts melt. It was always like this, and even when Jennie wanted to be annoyed, she couldn’t help but find it cute whenever you fell asleep. Joohyun, despite her worries, would feel a bit better because she’s given a reassurance that you’re able to fall asleep.

“Goodnight baby.” Jennie whispered quietly. “We love you, so much.” Joohyun added while she watched fondly, her hand gently rubbing at the younger girl’s side.

They let the call go on for a while, just quietly watching over you even with it just through a screen, until they’ve decided that it was safe to end the call.

You may not be physically there, but even when you were miles away from each other, there will always be a part of you in their hearts like you were in theirs.

So what if you had to be away for tours? At the end of it all, they were your home and vice versa. Being patient may have been something that each of you had to practice, but in the end, it was always worth it to have your favorite girls in your arms.

[tobesobri]

𝒯his chapter has one of the most important scenes to me at the very end of it. It’s not very elaborate, and may not seem like much to most of you, but I felt like I was truly pouring myself into this story at that point and it was really sort of like therapeutic to write and then chapter five was even more so. But, anyways, thank you so much if you choose to read and an extra special thank you if you’ve messaged me sharing your thoughts, I truly appreciate it ❤️ 

huge massive thank you to the incredible @youresogolden-h for editing ❤️

CHAPTER FOUR: EARLY MORNING LIGHT (4.8K)

Harry and Y/N are friends…. with benefits, but not the kinds you’re thinking of.

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Even before he was fully conscious, he knew she was still there. And not entirely because he could feel her arm wrapped firmly around his chest or her leg overlapping his, but because he didn’t feel that same burning pain in his chest he had the previous morning when he woke and she was gone. 

He would have stayed like that for as long as he could too, if his bladder didn’t have anything to do with it. 

Instead of leaving her in his empty bed, as he squeezed himself away from her, he replaced his body with one of his larger pillows. She stirred beside him, letting out the cutest little irritated groan that made him instantly fall in love with her. Once she seemed to go back to sleep, however, he made calculated movements until he was safely out of bed. 

His brain was a little less foggy by the time he stepped foot onto the cold tile in the bathroom. Eyes still stinging from exhaustion, however, he dragged his body to the toilet. He could still taste the bitterness of alcohol on the back of his tongue and he seemingly peed long enough to get it all out of his system.

When he reached the sink to wash his hands is when he paused. He’d been on autopilot the entire time, barely opening his eyes when it wasn’t necessary to do so. But, when he spotted her things laid out neatly on the vanity counter around the sink he didn’t use, it woke him right up. 

His eyes wandered from her Colgate toothbrush to her bottle of Neutrogena face wash and make-up remover wipes while he washed his hands. And, as much as he tried to fight it after he dried himself off on one of his towels, he just couldn’t be stopped from picking up her small, travel-sized perfume bottle. Immediately upon undoing the cap and bringing the atomizer up to his nose, he was sent right back to last night. To all the times he’d been at all close enough to her to smell this exact scent on her skin. And while it was much more potent coming straight from the bottle, he liked it better on her. 

Shaking his head clear and deciding he was being intrusive, he closed the cap of the little pink bottle and set it back down where he found it. He had to admit, he liked seeing her things on his counter the way they currently were. Like they belonged there. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he liked it so much, but he just knew it gave him a warm, home-like fuzzy feeling. He couldn’t shake it off, even when he’d ventured back into his bedroom and found her in the same position he’d left her in.

Walking over to his bedside table, he checked the time on his phone and realized it was a lot later than he had originally thought. Not that eight o’clock was late, but he assumed it had been earlier with how fatigued he felt. He blamed it on the alcohol.

And then he was tasked with the horrible decision to wake Y/N or to let her sleep. But, he desperately needed coffee, didn’t currently own anything besides the Keurig to make it himself, and didn’t want to leave her to wake up alone in his big empty house. 

So after a quick moment of watching her sleep and trying to find any justification not to disrupt her, he came up short and reached over to gently touch her shoulder until her eyes blinked open and up to him.

The brief confusion was very much apparent and seeing her like that made him completely forget why he was waking her up in the first place. There was a soft tug between her brows like she was ready to yell at him for disturbing her and her lips pouted as if begging him to just leave her the fuck alone. But, once she came to her senses, her features softened and he came to his own senses as well.

“I’m, uh, going to pick up some coffee, do you want anything?” He spoke softly, knowing just how irritated he’d be if someone was yelling in his face first thing in the morning. Not to mention, there was a pretty good chance she, too, had a massive migraine comparable to his own, and he had no intentions of making it worse for either of them.

She simply shook her head and rested it back down onto the pillow he’d shoved into her arms earlier as if she didn’t even need him at all to cuddle up to. With a slight giggle, the second she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, he backed away from her and went about his business getting ready to go outside.

And if you’re Harry Styles, you can’t go out in a shirt with unintentional holes in it and matching ones in your baggy grey sweatpants. He wasn’t sure why he still wore them, given his massive closet and ability to purchase new sleepwear, but they made him the most comfortable and felt familiar after long days; so he held onto them. And Y/N didn’t even seem to care, so neither did he.

But going out in them was a different story, so instead of becoming a news headline for bad fashion choices, he got himself together in his closet. He was too focused on his usual routine to realize Y/N was still right behind him as he slipped out of his sleep clothes and put clean ones on. And when he did remember she was there, after already tugging on some light washed blue jeans and with a white tee shirt in hand to throw on top, he twisted his head around to her. She hadn’t even moved an inch and he wasn’t sure if he cared that she saw him in his boxer-briefs. It’s not like she couldn’t search for him in his underwear on Google Images if she really wanted to. 

He wasn’t sure if anyone would even notice him while he was out, but in case they did, he needed to be prepared. So, once he was dressed, he was back in the bathroom to brush his teeth and make himself smell a lot better than he currently did. He left Y/N’s stuff alone this time even though he was still completely obsessed with it sitting on his counter, and found himself daydreaming about the day she just left things over at his house full time. 

Hell, he’d let her leave whatever she wanted right then and there if she needed to. He had the room and he liked the little reminders of someone besides himself being in his space. 

Right when he was about to leave his room, securing his watch on his wrist as he headed toward the door, he heard her mumble from the bed, which made him stop.

“I didn’t know you had so many tattoos.” 

He knew she was smirking at him before he even turned to look at her just because of the familiar tone of her voice whenever she teased him about something. He never would have considered anything about her voice familiar at all just a few weeks ago, so he didn’t really care that she had clearly seen him putting his clothes on.

“I didn’t know you were a perv.” He shot back.

She smiled and squished her face into his pillow to hide it and he fell a little bit more in love. 

He really needed that coffee.

“Can you get me a hot chocolate… I’ll pay you back.” She shut her eyes again and he was too lost in how much she resembled the cutest little puppy to even say a word about her not needing to pay him back the four dollars that, quite literally, wouldn’t even make the tiniest of dents in his bank account. 

“Do you want whipped cream?”

“No,” she scrunched up her face in disgust and he tried his hardest to stop the massive smile from spreading across his face, but he just loved finding out new things about her way too much. That, and the fact that if he was bringing her something, it was sort of like insurance that she wouldn’t leave while he was out. 

She didn’t take off like he’d feared, but she was already out of bed and put together by the time Harry got back. When he walked through the front door, he half expected her to be sitting in his living room, waiting to get her hot chocolate, pay him the $4.50, and then leave. But, to his surprise, that wasn’t the case.

She had set her packed bag on the end of his bed and pulled one of his small armchairs out from the corner of the room to the center of it so she could sit and stare at the entire view head on. This time, though, it was an early morning view where people were going to work rather than coming home from it. 

By some miracle she’d figured out how to open the curtains, it had just taken her fifteen minutes to do so. And then once she found the right button, on the right remote control sitting on Harry’s nightstand, she played around with opening and closing them because it was just too fascinating and she was just a little bit easily entertained. 

But once the newness of it wore off, she left them open and switched between checking her phone and just staring out the window, like she had been put under some kind of mesmerizing spell. 

Harry found her in that exact position, sitting in one of his mis-matched floral printed armchairs, staring out over Los Angeles like she owned it. Like she was sitting on her throne as the queen of the city. It endeared him to no end because it was just little things like that and like not wanting whipped cream on her hot chocolate and organizing her things on his counter as neatly as possible that said the most about her. He started to wonder if she’d always been like that and he just never took the time to fully pay attention.

Walking up to her, he handed over her drink that had been warming his cold hands because it was that time of year in southern California where it was freezing in the mornings, but boiling by afternoon. 

She took it from him, her eyes following the path up his arm to his shoulder and then finally to his face just to find him staring out the windows like she had been. But once he felt her staring, he glanced down at her just in time to find her trying to shove a five dollar bill into his hand.

He immediately pulled away. “It’s fine, you don’t need to pay me back.”

“But I feel bad.”

He rolled his eyes, not sure if she would hate him for coming right out with the fact that he had millions of dollars and that her five didn’t make a single difference. He knew he would hate himself more if he took money from her.

Sighing, he sat down on the end of the bed beside her chair, blowing on his own hot cup of Starbucks before taking a sip and realizing it still hadn't cooled down enough. The caffeine, however, was well worth the first degree burns. 

“I think maybe we should talk… ‘bout all of this.” He changed the subject, watching as she forgot about the five dollars, tucked it back into her pocket and avoided looking at him again.

Because she had no clue what he wanted to talk about. Was he going to put an end to it? Did she go too far last night? Should she have not said anything about seeing him changing his clothes? Did she snore or talk in her sleep and he had enough of it?

She hid her worries around her cardboard cup, holding onto it tightly with both hands and trying not to let him see the disappointment in her face.

“I mean, um,” he sat forward a little, realizing what he said had a bit of a sour connotation and the cold shoulder she was giving him was well-deserved. “Like, is this going to be a thing every night? And if it is, you can leave some stuff here if you want. Unless you’d rather sleep at your place, but I don’t think Will is that stupid…”

His rambling quickly turned her spirits around because he wasn’t actually telling her to piss off. He hadn’t come to the conclusion that she was using him like she feared. As much as he’d made it clear everything was mutual, she still couldn’t help but think she needed him more than he needed her. 

She was positive he could get anyone else he wanted to cuddle up to at night, so she had no clue why Harry was going along with their arrangement. And after learning about his past relationships she couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing the same thing to him.

“Do, um, you want it to be a thing every night?” She wasn’t entirely sure where the courage to ask him that had come from, but she regretted it when he took a couple seconds too long to answer.

Eventually he did, though, after a moment of looking out the windows just to find a way to tell her that didn’t sound weird. He already knew the answer to the question, he just wasn’t sure if she felt the same way at all. But in the end, he swallowed his anxieties and owned up to how he really felt. 

“Yes.”

Saturday afternoon was spent doing nothing but thinking of when she’d see Harry again. The plans for the night were already set when she’d come home to find Will on FaceTime with Harry, discussing him coming over to work on the album again. As per her eavesdropping, while she pretended to be busy cooking herself a late breakfast, she learned his second album was still in very early stages. He had no concept for it yet, only half a song was written and he hadn’t even booked studio time because he didn’t want to go in with nothing, just to waste everyone’s time. 

It was, to say the least, strange to see the dissonance between how Harry had been with her and how he was on the phone with Will where they only discussed work matters. She couldn’t even remember when he’d last brought his album up to her, or if he ever had. So it made her wonder if he ever talked to Will about the things he’d said to her. Did he tell Will how lonely he was because he couldn’t trust anyone anymore? Or how long it had been since he’d last been close to someone? 

Or were those details he only told her?

Once she had her food on her plate, ready to disappear into her bedroom, Will walked into the kitchen with Harry in his hand and it made her tense up in a way she never had around Harry. Maybe it was the fact that she knew what she looked like on camera and she hated it, and hated the idea of Harry seeing her like that. Or maybe it was because she and Harry had this secret that Will knew absolutely nothing about and she almost couldn’t find it in herself to interact with Harry in any way she used to a couple weeks prior. She knew way too much about him now and pretending otherwise in front of Will would nearly break her heart.

“Is it alright if he comes over?” Will asked, and she glanced down to the screen of his phone, finding Harry in a grey hoodie and his hair in a bit of a floofy mess. It was how he looked when he woke up in the morning, so with that and with his completely blank stare, it comforted her because his face was an exact parallel to her current inner struggle. Trying to remember how little they used to talk, because it felt like years ago now, and act accordingly as to not set off any alarms for Will. 

After a moment, she shrugged and looked to Will again, grabbing her plate and moving herself out of view, leaving him with that simple gesture as her only answer. He was used to her ways of communication, though, and didn’t expect anything less. 

As she headed towards the hallway, she heard Will giggle before speaking to Harry again. “I think that means she’s fine with it.”

Harry and Will sat across from each other at the dining table when Y/N made her first retreat from her bedroom, having spent the entire time since Harry had arrived hiding and trying to come up with any excuse to see him. 

But, when she did make an appearance, Harry was already lost to the stress of song-making that he barely even noticed her. He and Will had been going back and forth on a song for the past hour, a migraine settling itself in both of their frontal lobes by that point. Harry hated everything he was coming up with and didn’t like anything Will had to offer either. 

He’d never experienced a writer’s block this shitty, but he was already over it. He even went to a whole other country to try and combat it, but that didn’t seem to do the trick either.

They’d made little progress on the song Harry was currently working on by the time he finally noticed her. She shut their mug cabinet a little too hard and both him and Will turned their heads toward the noise. Harry, however, stared a little longer, as he watched her make her hot chocolate, letting it take him back to this morning when he didn’t feel a stitch of stress about his music. When he could’ve fallen in love with the way she looked at him from his bed and the way her things seemed to fit perfectly on his bathroom counter. 

The inspiration really hit when she left, when his heart didn’t feel like it was about to burst, but rather it felt like she’d taken pieces of it into her bedroom with her. 

He had no fucking idea why she had this weird hold over him. Maybe it was because they’d jumped straight into a very intimate relationship. Maybe it was because she knew more about him than most and she still seemed to like him just the same. Maybe it was because the entire time since he’d met her, he’d wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and he was slowly chipping away at all those little details. But, there was still so much more to learn and he was so incredibly and stupidly infatuated. 

With little regard for everything telling him not to get carried away, he still found himself flipping to an empty page in his journal and jotting down new ideas. Ideas that had stemmed from her. About how she made him feel. About her coconut-scented hair and her insecurities and the way she always had the right thing to say even if there weren't a lot of words coming from her mouth. It all seemed to just flow out all at once.

The next time she appeared was a little more distracting than the first. Because not only had he and Will finally made some kind of breakthrough, but she was also heading to the bathroom with a robe in hand. It made his heart race, wanting time to go faster so he could curl up next to her and breathe her in as soon as possible. He wanted to feel her soft skin under his fingertips and get lost in her hair again. His thoughts made it nearly impossible for him to focus on work anymore after that. 

So about twenty minutes later when she was tiptoeing back down the hall with her hair wrapped in a towel, he told Will he was too tired to continue writing. And with everything saved onto Will’s laptop, they cleaned up. Will organized everything into a neat pile and Harry put his stuff away into his backpack. While Will finished cleaning up the kitchen as well, Harry helped himself into the shared hall closet where they kept all their spare blankets and pillows. He had made his own makeshift bed on their longest couch in a matter of a few minutes, not that he’d actually be sleeping in it tonight, but Will didn’t need to know about that.

He faked it for as long as he could hold out; until the apartment was completely quiet and long after Will had disappeared for good into his own bedroom. But the entire time he waited, wide awake and flipping mindlessly through social media apps, he craved her touch like nothing he ever had before. 

Though he had a really unhealthy obsession with caffeine, somehow, he wanted her more than that. More than the sweet, nostalgic taste of his mom’s oatmeal cookies and more than the best plate of paella he’d ever tried; one that had really changed the game for him when he was in Spain a few weeks ago. He’d craved that fucking pasta dish every day up until now, when there was something he wanted even more than it. 

He made a mound of pillows on the couch underneath a blanket to make it seem as if he was there just in case someone woke up in the middle of the night. Then, quiet as a mouse, he tiptoed down the hall and knocked on her door just after ten-thirty. However, when she left him standing in the hallway with no response, he suddenly worried that she might’ve been asleep or that she didn’t want him in. Or maybe she just hadn’t heard him, so he knocked again.

She ceased his worries when she appeared on the other side of the door, her silhouette fitting in perfectly with the cozy surroundings of her bedroom. Her room looked lived in and he guessed that’s why he liked it so much. She wasn’t exactly a minimalist and so, no matter how many times his eyes wandered around her room the few nights he’d spent in her bed, there was always something new to look at. 

Like her growing collection of stuffed farm animals or the picture frames on her bookshelf he never got a chance to fully examine. 

This time he was in her room hit him worse than all the others because there was a soft glow of candles burning in the background and he could hear the faint sound of lullabies playing behind her. It took all the strength he had in him not to pull her into bed right then and there.

She stepped aside when he didn’t say a word, and they really didn’t have to say much to each other at all by this point. Not that words were overflowing from her mouth to begin with, but it was nice to just be at a point where they could silently accept each other. 

Where he could step into her bedroom and not feel like an intruder as he sat on the edge of her mattress.

“Were you asleep already?” He finally asked, softly so as to not wake anyone through their paper thin walls, once she shut and locked her bedroom door.

“You think I sleep with candles burning?” She said matter-of-factly, and he was unsure of her tone but when he saw the slight hint of a smile on her face, he relaxed again. Her sarcasm was another thing he had to get used to. 

He watched her as she put the flames out, the last little bits of light in her room sizzling into complete darkness until his eyes fully adjusted to the new light. Most of her movements were masked by the music coming from a speaker he couldn’t quite locate. It wasn’t very loud, nor was it anything he’d ever heard before, but it calmed every single nerve in his entire body enough to crawl under her blanket and make himself at home.

She joined him soon after, falling right into place beside him except this time, they faced each other. She kept a safe distance, too worried about her breath smelling to get any closer to him than she already was. 

“You should set an alarm. So you’re back on the couch before anyone wakes up.” He figured she was right; it was the logical thing to do, but he also knew he would hate waking up in the morning and having to leave her. Still, he pulled his phone out and set it for five a.m. No one would be awake before that on a Sunday morning. Once he was done, he twisted around to put his phone on the side table closest to him before settling back into her.  

It was quiet between them for a moment as they just stared at each other because neither of them knew how to make the first move. She didn’t want to be as forward as she had been, and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her. Even if they’d done this a few times already, it would still take time getting used to it. They weren’t dating, they were hardly even friends. Being this intimate with each other didn’t happen without some degree of doubt.

She took a deep breath out of her nose, as if she was giving in first and carefully sought out his hand underneath the blanket. Once she found it and had his hand in her own, she scooted closer to him and wrapped his arm around herself like a blanket. He giggled lightly at her before he repositioned his arm a little bit, to get comfortable and to accommodate her own arm wrapping around him. He felt her tense up like she hadn’t ever done before and he worried that she was uncomfortable or that he was holding on too tight.

“S’this okay?” He questioned, easing up a little bit.

Her eyes were squeezed shut as she nodded, “Yes.” 

He didn’t quite believe her, not with the way she seemed almost in pain, and how she had yet to melt into him like she normally did. Still, she reached up slowly and carefully wrapped her arm around his neck instead, bringing herself even closer to him.

It was almost like she was forcing her body to let it trust him. To let go of her past and be there in the present with Harry. It was an all new position they’d never slept in before. It was closer and she had to be more open; more willing to let him hug her and to feel his much harder chest moving against hers. To let him fall asleep in the crook of her neck if he wanted to. There was just so much more that she wanted to trust him with and eventually she did. Eventually he felt her muscles relax and her breath became less erratic.

“I don’t really let anyone touch me.” She confessed into the darkness around them to his unspoken question. With both their eyes closed and in safer territory, it didn’t bother her to tell him, and she really couldn’t deny there was something about Harry that made her want to reveal all her secrets to him. Maybe it was that he seemed to genuinely care about them that got her to spit out things she’d never peeped to a single soul on earth before. 

He was quiet for a moment even though inside his head it was a mess. Why didn’t she let anyone touch her? Had someone hurt her so badly she didn’t let herself experience closeness anymore? Or was she just like that? Just didn’t enjoy it very much? So many possibilities raced through his mind until he finally rubbed his hand over her back softly and took a deep breath in of her familiar perfume, the clean scents on her skin and in her damp hair.

“Let me know if it’s too much, okay?”

She nodded against him and instead of pulling away like he expected her to, she cuddled even closer to him, finding a spot against his collarbone that comforted her more than she could have ever imagined it to. And then she was falling, both asleep and maybe something else too, but it all felt the same.

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[strawbrrysun287]

Office Chaos #1

Hi everyone!! Recently I got into writing again and decided to cross post on here and AO3! If you take the chance to read it I hope you enjoy it <3 This will be part of a series of one shots! Happy Reading <3<3<3

If there was one thing Seokjin could safely say, it was that he was a confident gay. He would always throw a wink or a kiss to baristas, those who held the door open for him, or just anyone within the distance of him if he was feeling particularly playful.

That being said he was also openly gay. In no way shape or form was he afraid or worried about showing the person he truly was. Be it soft pink off-the-shoulder sweaters, a pair of heeled boots that made his bum look like it was carved by the gods (fun fact: it was), or even a black shirt with pastel lettering literally saying (I’m Gay, Suck It).

This was amazing for his social and love life because there was no confusion platonically or sexually. However, a certain middle-aged squat ugly fuckwad who was too dense to realize sooner Seokjin’s sexuality despite all the signs decided to fire him solely for Seokjin giving a customer, a fellow gay, his number.

In his defense, the customer was cute, was hitting on him, and was even interested and gave his own number to Seokjin as well. So all in all, who could blame Seokjin? He was young, horny, and single.

But back to the original issue. He was fired for being himself which led him to where he is now. Walking down the busy streets of Seoul heading to some gaming design company for an interview as a personal assistant to the CEO. It was a major jump from a barista to PA but he had experience… in high school, he was student council president, led three clubs, and even fixed their student budget so that way they could throw a fun concert/overnight party for the graduates.. Okay, maybe that one was a little selfish. It was still experience though! College didn’t exactly go as planned but he still was involved in the radio station and another club… although he couldn’t for the life of him remember what the club was about.

As he arrived in front of the building he could feel his heart beating against his rib cage just the tiniest bit more. He was confident though, he could do this. It would be a breeze. Throw a wink or kiss at whoever was interviewing him, talk about his experience, talk up himself and his abilities, then leave with the job and start the following Monday.

Walking inside of the building left him just the slightest breathless. Fuck. Who designed this building? Who PAID for the building? Or the interior decorating? As he tried calculating it in his head he vaguely heard someone clearing their throat but didn’t pay it any attention. After a few more minutes he finally snapped out of his calculations when the throat-clearing wouldn’t stop. He was two seconds from shoving a glass of water down the person’s throat only to look around and realize the throat-clearing had been directed at him.

With a guilty smile flashed towards the main receptionist, Seokjin finally made his way up to the desk gripping the strap of his bag even tighter.

“Kim Seokjin? I’m here for an interview with a Mr. Kim? For his personal assistant?” Despite the flash of nervousness when he was caught staring into space he quickly put the confident smile back on. The receptionist seemed less than pleased though.

“Elevator down the hall to the right. Floor 35. Park Jimin will help you from there. Try not to stare off into space again, yes?” With a sinister smirk, the lady lifted her hand just to point down the hallway and Seokjin took that as a dismissal which is exactly what it was. It didn’t stop him from mumbling down the hallway the whole time though.

“Honestly? With that kind of attitude, it’s amazing someone hasn’t dumped their coffee over her by… accident... “ Once inside the elevator he hit the button for the 35th floor and listened to the boring music as the numbers flashed above the elevator doors showing what floor it just passed. Once the doors opened for the 35th floor he took a deep breath and stepped out.

Immediately he noticed an adorable guy, younger than him with bubblegum pink hair and the cutest smile when his eyes crinkled. Okay, maybe this place wasn’t all bad. That was until he heard a deep voice shouting, seemingly the pink-haired man’s name if the way his head snapped over was any indication, and then there was a body colliding with his sending him straight to the floor with the other man on top of him.

“Kim Taehyung!! You need to watch where you are going!!” Pink-haired guy’s voice rang out. Seokjin wouldn’t be surprised if the entire floor didn’t hear the shrill yell. Which seemed plausible as there were four other heads that poked out from different rooms like little peeping parrots. Well, this was turning out to be quite the impression to leave on the people he would hopefully soon be working with.

“Sorry, Jiminie! But!! We got the house! I just got the email and we can close on the house today but we have to be there within the next hour!”

“Taehyung I swear on Yoongi’s new laptop th-”

“Don’t be swearing on my things Park Jimin! I will skin you alive!!” A voice seemingly coming from nowhere yelled in offense.

“... that you better be telling the truth or else I will make you sleep our on the balcony for the rest of the week.”

“It’s real. Like really real. The realest real you can really real kind of real! But we have to GO. NOW!”

“Okay okay! Fuck. I gu-.. Oh… Hello there. I uh… kinda forgot you got thrown to the ground in the process. I hope you aren’t injured? No injuries right? Taehyung can’t afford to be sued we are closing on a house today. Uh… if I make Namjoon Hyung give you the job would you be willing to forget this entire mess? He still owes me because of that ridiculous picture I took of him a few weeks ago when he decided to get shit-faced.”

It was official. Seokjin clearly hit his head too hard on the floor and now he was in some kind of dream drama. Shouldn’t the drama involve some super hot guy? A best friend who has his own issues but they support each other no matter what? What about the chaotic couple who he questions how they are still alive? Well… he might have found the chaotic couple. But that didn’t mean anything else. Once he realized he was being spoken to he had to blink a couple of times in order to clear his head and only vaguely caught the end.

“You… you would force your boss to give me the job just so I don’t sue the guy who knocked my ass to the ground? What if I tell you I wasn’t planning on suing him anyway? Although it did kind of hurt but if you could still get your boss to give me the job that would be fantastic and I would kiss the floor you walk on because this job is desperately needed and I’m too handsome to be walking from building to building begging for a job.”

Finally getting up from the ground he rubbed the back of his head where it hit the floor before fixing the wrinkles in his shirt. As he finished getting straightened (HA) out again another deep voice that was almost addicting echoed from down the hall along with heavy footsteps and deep down Seokjin just KNEW that the person coming towards him was the big boss. AKA the one who would hopefully be signing his checks if he got the job. Before he could utter a single word bubblegum hair spoke up again.

“Namjoon Hyung! This is Kim Seokjin, your new personal assistant. Long story short, Me and Tae got the house but in his excitement he kind of barreled into your new assistant here and sent him hurtling towards the floor, and because I’m a good honest person I told him I would assure him the job.”

Namjoon stared at bubblegum hair, Jimin?? In what seemed like absolute boredom like this was a daily occurrence. Well then again, it might be. Things were already more than a little chaotic but chaos is where Jin thrived.

“Jimin. You can’t just give people jobs because Taehyung knocked them down. You have so far given away a car, an apartment, a date, a fashion shopping spree, and part of your investment in the company which I was thankfully able to get back all because Tae didn’t watch where he was going. You know, apologizing in a HEARTFELT way will do the job nine out of ten times.”

“Okay you may speak some facts but I already gave the job to Seokjin and I already read over his resume. He seems like he can tolerate you well enough and you need an assistant to start ASAP because Tae and I have to go sign for the house okay hyung? Make sure you show him the ropes and don’t fuck it up! Bye!!”

With that Seokjin and Namjoon stared as Jimin dragged Taehyung along into the elevator with a cheeky smile and flirty wave before the elevator doors closed on the image that left the pair sputtering.

“Well… I guess they won’t be back till tomorrow afternoon. At least all my morning meetings are finished so I shouldn’t have to worry too much. Ah. Kim Seokjin-sii I apologize for the uh..”

“Chaos?” Jin supplied with a cheeky grin of his own.

“I suppose that is the best possible term for what happens on the 35th floor. Since Jimin already gave you the job I am in no way able to deny it and if I’m being honest I am in desperate need of an assistant as all my paperwork is piling up and I’m not sure where the mailroom is or where the place I normally get coffee from is and the coffee here is made by my director of media and he makes it as black as his soul is what he says at least and no amount of sugar makes it any better.”

And that’s when it happened. When Jin went from being the confident flirty gay to the shy flustered panicked gay that he always read about in stories. Namjoon smiled and he had dimples. Fucking dimples. There was no way the man standing in front of him was real. Tall, handsome, successful, understanding, kind, big hands, muscled if the fabric fighting for its life stretched over Namjoon’s biceps and thighs were anything to go by, and he had fucking D I M P L E S. Who did this Kim Namjoon think he was? God? Actually, that may be true. It wasn’t until he realized he was about to suffocate did Seokjin exhale the air he was holding in before stuttering out a hasty reply.

“Assistant? Now? Like now now? Me? For you? Coffee? I’m good with coffee and with paperwork. Yeah. I can 100% do that for you, Mr. Kim. And there is no need for formalities you can just simply call me Jin as I will be working closely with you. With you. Closely. Working. Yeah. Now?”

Seokjin knew the second the last syllable left his mouth that he was an idiot. A certified idiot who shouldn’t be allowed to be the personal assistant for a business of Namjoon’s caliber but like hell, he was going to give up the opportunity to get to know the taller man and completely wow him. Fuck was he even gay? It didn’t even matter. He could figure that out later down the line but first…

“Just tell me where to sign Mr. Kim and we can begin our new… partnership as boss and assistant. I promise I’ll do everything to learn the ropes quickly to help make your life a little less hectic.”

“Namjoon is just fine Jin. Even though I’m your boss I like to keep a close relationship with those who work close with me. You will find everyone on this floor is on a first name basis and the chaos is real and alive everyday.” And there were those fucking dimples again.

Maybe Seokjin needed to send a gift basket to his homophobic ex-boss because this new adventure at Kim. Co was going to be fun.

Chaos and all.

[slasherwife]

hey hey hey ✨ how are you? ♥ ️me? new request hihi so i'm good. Why not a fic with either Loki or Geralt where after a long time they meet Reader again, but each thought the other was dead pwease ♥️✨

“My Heart Returns...”

LokixReader

by jena marie

Summary:

Reader and Loki reunite after several years of thinking one another were dead. Warnings: mention of suicide, extreme angst, death, but fluffy ending uWu.

thank you so much for sending in requests @seutarose pLEASEE send in more! i’m so bored haha 😊💜💜🌸🌸

I wrote one for Loki since dis boi has only one fic so here you go!! 💕💕💕💕 it’s kinda itty bitty long (i kinda went crazy XD) but i hope you like it!

It was like an eternity without passion. Without affection, caring for nothing. His eyes, empty. Lips, always open yet never moving. His gaze was the stare of a snake, piercing yet flat— like he stared right through anyone who dare to draw his gaze. Empty as he was, the only person who could ever really make him talk was his dear brother. Thor visited him regularly, which was at the cottage on the beach where Loki and his love were supposed to live, undisturbed and peaceful. He built it before returning to Asgard, where he fought his older sister and escaped with Y/n. She was put in a different ship, but he sent messages about the cottage that they would live in with great joy and compassion.

The first stage of Loki, a troubled, timid, yet calculating boy turned man. The second, overturned with greed and envy, pushed to torture and murder and take. Then the third. It was born out of an image that Y/n had saw in him. As she described him, he was nothing short of an angel, composed out of pure light. Because what Loki let her see, he never revealed to others. He was only ever kind to her, only ever a gentleman to her. Only ever himself with her. Vulnerable. He saw what she was— something innocent, capable, maybe naive, but could see nothing but love and kindness in every person’s eyes. If anything, she was the angel. Even from her first breath, she was so sweet. He didn’t know where she came from, it was like he was manipulating his family, and betraying his people, and all the sudden this woman with a soul woven from flower-petals and diamonds, and galaxies for bones came into his life and loved him like he was the only thing that mattered. In what world, what universe or dimension is that sensible?

Now she’s buried somewhere. Thanos, tearing through the galaxies and stars came to where she was put, taking care of the old folks and children on a separate ship, and demanded her an answer to every question he asked. He knew about Loki’s lover, since Thor and Frigga couldn’t shut up about her since they found out she was courting the prince of Asgard. They made sure everyone knew, which was of course before Thanos was even heard of within a 20000 light-year radius.

She was cooperative. Not warm, not kind, but cooperative. That was until he asked where Loki was. Her lips were open, ready to answer, but then she closed them.

Five minutes of more refusing silence passed, and she was dead on the floor. Blood pouring from her back as her skin whitened and her eyes paled.

It was something Thor never wanted to tell him, but he found out anyway. No man or woman wants to hear what Loki did that day.

Then Thanos found where Loki was anyway.

All she remembers is waking up in a field of yellow flowers, and being immediately comforted. But if she remembers further, she also recalls hearing a piercing cry, a scream. Loki’s scream in a void of darkness, before opening her eyes against the sun of the tulip field.

Then, waking up in the field. She was on Earth, and she asked everywhere of what had happened to the ship set off for Earth, a few hundred light years away. No one knew. And it never arrived. That only meant one thing. Her love was lost. Without a proper funeral, he was gone.

She stayed on Earth for several months, like a tortured and lost soul, waiting for someone who she couldn’t name.

It was like she could still feel him, feel that he was close. Yet the truth kept punching her in the gut whenever she felt hope.

That was, until she saw him. Thor had come to visit her grave. He reasons that he never brought up your name in his presence, let alone suggest that Loki visit your grave— because when he even spoke of you indirectly, his eyes twist into complete agony. His expression as if someone had lit him on fire. He missed you indefinitely, irrevocably, and so immensely that every second of the day was misery. The only reason he didn’t end his life was because he wanted to stay strong for you, and it was hard.

Thor watched, thinking that he was hallucinating, seeing her grave dug up and her casket empty. He went searching, and found Y/n by a lake, having lost a lot of weight, only fed by berries and grass. Her dress was torn, caked with mud. And yet, her beauty still glowed like the brilliance of a thousand suns.

They embraced, and Thor took her to Loki after she had washed and put on a new dress.

The joy and relief was unexplainable. The flowers in her bones were immortal, ever glowing and ever living.

Loki opened the door to their home he had built with his own hands, and he saw his heart and soul standing in front of him, looking up at him with those e/c eyes, with wonder and love. She broke seeing him, and it was like her body had a mind of its own. She practically threw herself at him, sobbing with her arms wrapped firmly around his neck. He was stunned. In shock. His heart returned to him. Loki saw that the moment they saw each other for the first time in years. He almost went into a panic attack, smelling her scent and feeling her soft hair under his chin. He was hyperventilating, eyes wide, running his hands all over her squeezing her tightly with tears in his eyes. He didn’t know what to do.

He thought he was having another hallucination, and yet couldn’t convince himself. She was iridescent. Years and years and years of pent up despair and loneliness spilled out in that moment. Tears spilled endlessly the first hour, and she clung to him like he was her lifeline.

Once they made their way inside and the tears were gone, they held each other for hours. No words, just touch. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck, and he was wrapped around her in a giant teddy-bear hug. The sun went down and they slept like that.

In the morning, they started to talk. Small things. Simple things. They were confessing their love for one another like there was no tomorrow. And so much touching but a little toned down than the day before. Not sexual in any way, just pure love.

They never looked at each other the same way again. If you thought he looked at her sweetly before the incident, this is nothing compared to that. His eyes fill with nothing but hearts as his eye brows arch and his heartbeat picks up. They’re always touching when around each other. Good luck getting him to focus when she’s around.

They seemed to never leave their cottage. Loki was glad there weren’t any people around, because he wanted her gaze all to himself. They walked along the shore, talking endlessly about anything and everything, laughing, kissing, hugging. They put every love story to shame. They weren’t seen for months, and yet they were so happy with each other that they didn’t care that they were practically shutting everyone else out.

But above all, when Loki heard that Y/n was dead, he died with her. But when he saw her again, it was like his own soul was hiding, buried underneath empty liquor bottles and painkillers. All the torture was washed away, like it never existed.

And now he can talk with passion again. He can care about things. He can think. He can live, laugh, and love with her by his side, forever.

[abraxos-is-toothless]

Undercover- Throne of Glass AU (4)

And here we go with another chap! This is actually one of my favourites so I hope you enjoy it:))

Undercover Masterlist.

Full Masterlist.

This gif will have to do🙂

—————

Manon didn’t come back until late in the evening, a blank and dead mask across her face. There were still remnants of blood on her hands and on her clothes, as if she liked having it there, and liked seeing it. Dorian was on his feet in an instant, moving to her side but he didn’t touch, just letting his hands hover until she nodded in consent. They disappeared up the stairs not long after and Aelin didn’t bother to go and talk to them, she’d find out what she needed in the morning. Gavriel had checked over Yrene as soon as they’d got back, clearing both mother and baby to be just fine. Everyone had let out a collective sigh of relief at the words. The twins had taken over from there, not letting Yrene out of their sight, Fenrys making joke after joke to try and distract her while Connall followed her around the house, fluffing pillows, getting her drinks and hitting Fenrys over the back of the head when he said something rude.

Aelin had sent Elide and Lysandra of to Ren’s- Lorcan offering to go along with them just in case, something she snorted at because he clearly liked to ogle her second -, asking them to gather all of the latest intel on that fucking bastard Arobynn and anything they could find on Cortland. Sam. She had loved him, once upon a time, and she had thought he’d loved her but that had all gone to shit hadn’t it. It took her a while after, to admit that she was wrong about him, that he hadn’t cared at all. And now, now, he was helping that sadistic prick, knowing exactly what he wants from Aelin, just like he’d known all of those years ago. He’d pay, by her hand; she’d make him pay for what he had done and was likely yet to do.

She had left everyone to their own devices and had come outside to sit in the stupid garden swing Lys had forced them to get years ago. It must have been about an hour since she’d come outside, everything now dark and the sky clear enough to look at the stars, when Aelin heard the slide of the door and she looked up to see Whitehorn stepping outside. He really was a beautiful man and the sight of him always made her mouth dry. He had a tattoo along the left side of his face, and when they’d been sparring that morning, she’d found it flowed down his neck to the left side of his chest and down his left arm. Aelin had enjoyed their fight immensely, watching him all sweaty and bare chested, calculating pine green eyes tracking her every move. When she’d brought their hips together, she hadn’t expected him to falter like that, nor had she expected to feel a certain part of him to react to the touch. Perhaps that little fact would benefit her; after all, just one time couldn’t hurt, could it?

She came back into herself when the swing shifted and he sat beside her; there was an irritating tingly sensation between her legs, causing her to cross them over as she turned her head to look at the man. “Is there something that I can help you with, Whitehorn?”

He looked her over from top to bottom, noticing her now crossed legs and how she rubbed her thighs together, and smirked when their eyes met once more. Looked like someone was very sure of himself wasn’t he? “No, ma’am, just checking everything was alright. You have been out here for quite a while.”

She rolled her eyes, knowing it was most likely Aedion who’d sent him out here. Her cousin always checked on her when she did this, coming outside to clear her head and gather her thoughts, but she bit his head off every time. “Yes, I’m fine. And what did I say about the ‘ma’am’ business?”

He laughed lightly and Aelin felt something flutter in her stomach when he followed it with a whispered, “My apologies, Ace.” She felt her face heat up and so she tipped her head back, focusing on the stars and looking for shapes so he wouldn’t see. Suddenly the swing started to sway and she squeaked a little, internally cursing herself. She was meant to be feared by everyone, not acting like a sissy girl. Whitehorn laughed again and she couldn’t help meeting his gaze once more, watching him lean back, one arm over the back of the swing and his fingers just grazed her shoulder. God, it was ridiculous how much she wished it was more than just a light touch, that they were touching everywhere, preferably without clothes on.

“If we’re going to be insistent on the names thing, then please, call me Rowan.” Fuck, his voice. It was low and soft and she started imaging what it would feel like if he spoke against her skin. Aelin dragged in a deep breath and ignored how shaky it was when she let go of it to answer.

“If that’s what you want, then Rowan it is. May I ask you something?”

He nodded once, just a dip of his chin. “When we left the Westfall’s earlier and left Manon with the scumbags, your guys looked a little sick but you, you barely even flinched. I would have thought in our line of work, one gets used to the death part.”

She watched as a cold mask settled over his face; that light hearted smile gone and eyes turned vacant. Now she wished she hadn’t said anything. “You had said it in that room yourself, they were rapists, abusers and traffickers. They also thought about killing a pregnant woman, a child. They got what was coming to them in my opinion.”

Humming, she tilted her head from side to side slightly before saying, “Valid point, but then your comrades would agree with you. So I’m thinking that something has affected you more than them, yes?” Rowan’s face turned from blank to furious at the question and he swore under his breath, getting up from the swing and shoving his hands into his pockets, keeping his back to her. As much as she wanted to know the story, to know why he had reacted as he did, she found that she couldn’t help wanting to comfort him. “Hey look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry and you don’t have to tell me.”

One of his hands came up to push through his hair before he rubbed his face, and then he twisted back to face her, now looking a little sad and sighed. “You really want to know?”

Aelin thought he was going to storm off inside, not actually spill secrets. Safe to say she was very intrigued now.

oOoOo

Rowan felt like someone was tearing his heart through his chest as he watched Ace. Watched as she stood too, walking to his side slowly and tilting her head back to look at him, smiling gently as she nodded. Fuck she looked amazing, her haired piled on top of her head with a few wayward strands caressing her cheeks. Her turquoise eyes glinted in the moonlight and looked like they were sparkling. She was fucking magnificent and he sure as hell should not be thinking of her like that. He pushed all thoughts of her to the back of his mind as he began telling his story, the story that changed his life forever.

“I had been best friends with this girl since I was little. Her name was Lyria. We grew up together, we did absolutely everything together. People always said that we were ‘joined at the hip’ or whatever.” Ace’s eyes stayed focused on his face but he felt her hand come up and touch his arm- his left arm for crying out loud -and softly run her hand up and down. He closed his eyes, shocked by the comfort her touch gave him, and then opened them once more to continue before he lost all of his nerve. “We always got the same question of ‘aren’t the two of you dating yet?’ and yes we had tried once but kissing her felt as though I was kissing my sister, if I’d had one. She was the same and we agreed to never speak of it.”

Ace laughed a little as her hand stopped to rest on his forearm and so Rowan brought his right one up to place it on top. He ignored how good it felt to touch her, ignored the fire it tried igniting in the pit of his stomach. “One day we ended up at a party together, both got absolutely piss drunk, and fell into bed together. Neither of us had actually remembered the sex, for which I was grateful, but we could piece bits together and we were both naked the next morning.” His breath started getting shaky and he gritted his teeth at the onslaught of emotions. He hadn’t actually talked about this, not really and it fucking hurt. The woman in front of him could tell clearly, moving to take his hand in both of hers and squeezed gently.

“Months later, she turned up at the house, barging into my room as she usually would and threw something at me. It was a pregnancy test...” he trailed off, eyes closing again and tipping his head back, much like Ace had done not even ten minutes ago. Rowan heard her suck in a sharp breath and rub her thumb across his knuckles.

“You don’t have to say anymore, it’s alright, Rowan.” She whispered it quietly between them, words drifting off into the night air. He shook his head quickly before dropping his head but keeping his eyes closed. He didn’t think he could look at her for the next bit; he didn’t want to see the pity in her eyes. In all honesty, he had no idea why he was telling her anyway, she was his fucking enemy. Yes, he could say it was to get close to her, to gain her trust but he didn’t have to tell her something so deep and painful. So why the fuck did he even feel like he wanted to tell her all of it?

“No, no...” Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. “We may not have been a couple but she was my best friend and I told her I’d stay with her, that we’d do it together. One day she’d been so, so excited for some reason and I was confused but when I asked her, all Lyria did was lift her tshirt up. I was confused until I saw what made her so happy. She had started showing, and you could see that wonderful little baby bump. We had things to do that day, but after that, I said we’d meet up later.” Rowan was crying now, but he hadn’t realised he was until a soft but slightly calloused hand started brushing the tears away. “Several hours later, I got the call that she’d been in a car accident. By the time I got to the hospital it was too late, both Lyria and my baby were gone. I was angry and hateful and my other best friend, Lorcan, suffered from the fall out. To this day we still don’t know what happened, but were told by her father, who was driving, that someone purposely drove at them and that his car had been tampered with.”

He was openly sobbing now, chest wracking with each one and his hands were shaking. He’d never get to know his baby, never get to watch them grow up, take their first steps or hear their first word. There would be no watching Lyria come into herself as a mother, no chance of them to be the parents they had wanted to be. Everything had been ripped away from him in a second, and the worst part was that there were still no answers. Rowan was enveloped into Ace’s arms and she tucked his head into her neck while whispering into his ear, all comforting things and rubbed one hand up and down his back. She smelt of jasmine and lemon verbena which clouded his senses and being in her arms felt so, so fucking good but it should have been wrong. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her slim waist, just breathing in that intoxicating smell. He had no idea how long they stood there just holding each other, but eventually there was a click and the sound of the door sliding. They pulled apart abruptly and put enough distance between them to not look suspicious as Connall’s voice called out “Yo Boss! There’s someone on the phone and apparently he won’t speak to anyone but you.”

“Alright Con, I’ll be right in! And enough with the ‘Boss’ for fucks sake!” Connall just laughed before sliding the door closed, leaving him and Ace alone once more. He was about to say something, anything but she beat him to it, clearing her throat gently.

“So um, you just take your time and come in when you’re ready. Also for what it’s worth, the pain of losing people gets better, you still feel it but it’s not a crushing wait after a while. I’ll see you back inside Rowan.” He stared after her as she walked back into the house, eyes tracking down to her ass before he caught himself, clenching his hands into fists. When he was finally alone, he didn’t know what to do with himself. This mission was simple. Get in, get close, get information and then bring them all down. But right now, he didn’t fucking want to do any of that and he wanted to hold that woman in his arms again. She felt so good and it was like she belonged with him at that moment. He was screaming at himself internally for letting his guard down like that, for letting her weasel her way in. If he didn’t get control of himself, of his traitorous brain then he was screwed.

So utterly and catastrophically fucking screwed.

—————

If you want to added/removed from the tag list just let me know and I’ll be happy to do so!!:))

Tags: @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares @fancyclodpaintercookie @empress-sei @acourtofterrasenandvelaris @tswaney17 @queen-of-glass @thesirenwashere @awkward-avocado-s @b00kworm @http-itsrebecca @eatmysandwiches @poisonous00 @flowersinvegas @julemmaes @mu-si-ca-l @spyofthenightcourt @sis-it-dont-add-up  @mad-madeline-ace​ @df3ndyr @jesstargaryenqueen @notyournymphetish

[theparanormalperiodical]

31 Celebrity Ghost Stories You NEED To Read On Halloween Night (Or Any Time Of The Year, Screw The System)

*Puts on old professor glasses*

For generations we have been in awe of the celebrity.

*strokes beard*

For generations we have trodden their paths, followed their scents, and watched with wandering eyes exactly what they do - and all in the name of escapism.

Since the conception of humankind we have sought to understand what makes the rich and famous both rich and famous. Our philosophers decode mannerisms, our magazine editors calculate their every mistake, and the rest of us simply gaze up at the stars wondering how, why, and what we share in common with the glorified among us.

But you see-

*walks across the Ted Talk stage*

-they are just like us.

They make mistakes, they compare themselves to others, and yes, they even suck in their stomachs when trying on their new TopShop crop top and then shove it in the back of their sock drawer convinced their lower belly will always have too fat.

But even more than that, they have experiences with the paranormal.

*pulls up a chair and sits on it backwards cause for some reason people think it looks actually idk how people think it looks but whatever back to the imagery*

And so, on this Halloween night, we celebrate what brings us all together - no matter how much cash nor clout one has.

Shall we?

Miley Cyrus

During her 2009 Europe tour, Cyrus stayed in a flat in London - a flat that she claims was haunted.

"It was seriously so terrifying. It used to be an old bakery and they turned it into an apartment building, and I was having really crazy dreams and really scary things, and one night my little sister–it sounds crazy to tell you–but she was standing in the shower and all of a sudden I hear her scream.

I run in there and the water had somehow flipped to hot but it was still...It wasn’t like the water had just changed, the knob had turned but she hadn’t turned it and it was burning her.”

In the same bathroom Cyrus was convinced she saw a little boy sitting on the sink whilst she was showering. A series of other unexplained events took place until they delved into the family history of the bakery: it was passed down for generations from father to son. Cyrus believed she saw the last son to be left the bakery.

Cher

Turns out Cher doesn’t just believe in life after love but life after death, too.

The music legend herself is convinced that her late husband, Sonny, who died in 1998 is still making his presence known to her.

She claims his spirit has a habit of turning lights on to remind her he is there and often does this to her chandelier - even when there is no power.

“I love ghosts, I prefer ghosts to some people.”

Anna Nicole Smith

This late Playboy bunny was known for her bombshell sex appeal and scandalous career - but what about her forays into the supernatural?

"A ghost would crawl up my leg and have sex with me at an apartment a long time ago in Texas. I used to think it was my boyfriend, and one day I woke up and it wasn’t. It was, like, a spirit and it—woo! [miming a ghost flying from her bedsheets]—went up!

I was freaked out about it, but then I was, like, 'Well, you know what? He’s never hurt me and he just gave me some amazing sex so I have no problem.'"

When the interviewer asked her whether it was merely a dream Smith replied that it was happening every single night.

Kesha

Just like Smith, Kesha’s own experience with the paranormal is rather more sexual.

In her own words she went to the “bone zone” with a ghost.

"I don't know his name. He just started caressing me. It was a sexy time, it wasn't, like, sex."

Emma Stone

Back in 2014 Stone revealed on a late night talk show that the spirit of her grandfather often leaves quarters for her to find.

In fact, she claimed her family has a history of the small change - and its legacy clearly goes beyond the grave.

La Toya Jackson

Michael Jackson’s death is one of the most striking moments in modern history - but it turns out the King of Pop might also be the King of the Paranormal.

La Toya often claims she feels strong presences in the Jacksons’ childhood home and frequently shares about the supernatural activity coming from MJ’s old room. Many visitors, staff members, and family members have heard tap dancing coming from the room, even when they didn’t know who it used to belong to.

It was in this room that Michael would tap dance for two hours every sunday.

Susan Boyle

Boyle often recounts that she lost several members of her closest family within the span of a few short years and felt abandoned by her family. But in a 2011 interview she claimed she sees her mother’s spirit around her house, believing it to be a reminder from beyond the grave that she is not alone.

Megan Fox

"I was just in Mexico at my hotel and it was a bedroom, living room, bedroom...I had pre-ordered breakfast for 7:30, and at 7 a.m. I hear them come in with the table, I hear them pouring the coffee…

30 minutes later, at 7:30 I went in there, no table, no coffee, no food, no nothing, no one there. Door bell rings, I open the door, it's room service with my food...Brandy the nanny comes out later and says, 'Why did room service come at 7 when we told them to come at 7:30?' So you can't tell me I'm crazy, because two people heard it."

Ariana Grande

This paranormal enthusiast was visiting one of the gates of hell - Stull Cemetery - when she felt a sudden surge of negative energy around her. Flies suddenly appeared in the car and she smelt a strong odour of sulphur.

Both are symptoms of dark, demonic energy.

As they drove off she ‘apologised’ to the spirits for disturbing the peace and took a couple of pictures of the area before they left. She saw clear demonic faces in the image. When she tried to send it to her manager as proof of the strange goings on, the picture couldn’t be sent.

Why?

Because it was 666 megabytes.

Joan Rivers

This comedian’s old Manhattan apartment might be worth $28 million but it's far more famous for the supernatural entities within its walls than its price tag.

In one iconic episode of Celebrity Ghost Stories Rivers claims she even brought in a voodoo priestess to help a former resident, ‘Mr Spencer’, pass on.

Marilyn Manson

Just like Rivers, Marilyn Manson told his own paranormal experience on CGS. But his story had less spirits and more, you know, Satan.

Pressured by his peers into reading demonic incantations in a supposedly haunted basement, Manson claims he then heard demonic whispers around him asking if he believed in Satan.

Alyson Hannigan

Hannigan might be known for her Wiccan ways on the TV screen in Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but her encounters with the paranormal aren’t just captured by our favourite streaming services.

Back in 2003 Hannigan claimed she lived in a haunted house - but she believes the spirit is friendly.  

“My friend saw him first one night. She said, 'I don't mean to alarm you, but I just saw a man follow us out of the house.' “

"Later that night I saw this silhouette of a man standing in the bathroom doorway. I was like, 'Sweetie, what are you doing?' I thought it was [fiance] Alexis [Denisof]. But then I looked and Alexis was asleep next to me.”

Nicolas Cage

Yes, the most memed actor in Hollywood has faced a series of paranormal experiences, too. In 2007 Cage purchased one of the most haunted houses in America in a bid to get inspired to write the latest horror novel.

He bought the LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans, a house belonging to one of the 19th century’s most infamous serial killers.

Many believe the slaves tortured by Delphine LaLaurie still haunt the mansion. Perhaps Cage heard the wails and moans of her victims, or maybe he felt the demonic presence rumoured to have taken part in a murder of a tenant in 1894?

Demi Lovato

Lovato often makes mention of her beliefs in the paranormal - especially when it comes to her haunted house in Texas. She claims a young girl named Emily haunts her home in the South, and has even mentioned that she was a childhood ‘friend’ when she was growing up.

But this tale has to be the most terrifying:

"One of my friends, Tucker, came over one time and he asked, 'So your house is haunted?' I said, 'Yeah, just watch. Something will happen. Something always happens.' We started to watch a movie when all of a sudden a laptop in my kitchen started to play a movie also. It was a black screen before, so it was a question of who turned it on and hit play.

And after that Tucker texted a friend saying, 'I think this house is haunted, a movie just turned on by itself,' and there was a 'glitch' in his phone that kept texting him back the word 'definitely' over and over again. That happened about 30 times."

Peter Jackson

Jackson might be known for putting mystical and magical creatures on the big screen, but he’s seen similar things in real life, too.

"One night I woke up and there was a figure in the room. She was really scary—her face was like a silent scream. She glided across the room and disappeared into the wall." He told Fran in the morning and she said, "'Was it the woman with a screaming face?’ We had never spoken about it. 

She had seen the same ghost two years earlier. So I do believe in some energy, a spirit or a soul..."

Kendrick Lamar

From one famous rapper to another:

Lamar told Home Grown Radio that he had a dream about Tupac Shakur - a dream he believed conveyed a message from beyond. In the dream Tupac told him “Keep doing what you doing, don’t let my music die.”

Keanu Reeves

He’s one of the internet’s favourite celebrities - but what isn’t so famous about this Matrix star is his paranormal experience from when he was living in NYC.

"I'm probably like six, seven years old, we'd come from Australia. Renata, [our] nanny, in the bedroom, my sister is asleep, she's sitting over there, I'm hanging out. There was a doorway and all of a sudden this jacket comes waving through the doorway, this empty jacket — there's no body, there's no legs, it's just there. And then it disappears..."

The nanny saw the exact same thing.

Adele

Ghost nuns are not only on-trend but also terrify-ing. Adele can testify to that. In 2012 the singer moved into a plush Sussex mansion which used to be a convent.

A couple creepy noises later and she hired around-the-clock security to protect her against the paranormal activity. Who knows what she might’ve seen in her new $6 million home?

Matthew McConaughey

McConaughey claims his Hollywood mansion was haunted by an unhappy female spirit by the name of Madame Blu.

"I was not even under the influence and she was there. She wasn't that happy, it didn't seem like she was going to be much fun to hang around or have in my house, so I went ahead and stood my ground. I opened the door and said 'You can move around all you want but I'm not going anywhere.'"

"For weeks everyone that came to the house said the same thing: 'There's someone down in that hall, there's somebody down in that hall.'"

Ryan Gosling

Most of the celebs that made this list whip out their charming ‘lil spooky story to pique interest in their latest career venture. Gosling’s story, however, is actually pretty f*cking scary.

One day, in his childhood home, he saw a ghost of a young boy.

"He just sat. And I knew from a very young age that he was a ghost, too. He scared me. I told my mother, but she couldn't see him. Nobody could. And I learned to live with that. I had to…

Then, a few years later, [my mother] thought she saw him, then almost right away my cousin saw him, and then my uncle. And we were outta there in fairly short order."

Laura Linney

Linney is one of Hollywood’s most cherished actresses - and even on the stage she has witnessed something from the other side.

She became a believer in the paranormal after working in the Belasco Theater on Broadway.

"I had forgotten this, and I was doing a play with Jane Alexander, and I turned to Jane Alexander, and I looked up to the upper balcony—there are two balconies there—and the upper balcony you can only get in from the outside, and those doors were locked; and I looked up, and there was a woman standing in the front row looking over with a blue dress and blonde hair.

I just thought, 'Well, hello!' I looked back at Jane, and I looked back up, and she was gone. I went to the house manager and I said, 'Joe, I think I saw a ghost.' And he went, 'male or female?' I said, 'female.' And he went, 'blue dress, blonde hair?'"

Megan Mullally

Another famous ghost that haunts a famous face features on this list. But this time the paranormal activity described by Mullally is certainly the most tragic.

She claims she lived in a house haunted by the spirit of Nicole Brown Simpson who was murdered in 1994. She believes that only when her husband watched the American Crime Story series about her death did the strange occurrences (most of which were odd and unexplained sounds) settle.

Kristen Stewart

Only last year our very own Bella Swan opened up not just about her own experiences with ghosts, but her own spiritual connection with other people.

“If I’m in a weird, small town, making a movie, and I’m in a strange apartment, I will literally be like, ‘No, please, I cannot deal. Anyone else, but it cannot be me.’ Who knows what ghosts are, but there is an energy that I’m really sensitive to. Not just with ghosts, but with people. People stain rooms all the time.”

Carrie Fisher

Carrie Fisher lived an extraordinary life. She was one of the few a-listers to openly discuss her struggles with mental health and drug use before it became so accepted in mainstream society. Unfortunately, these topics would haunt her in a rather more supernatural manner, too.

Following the overdose of a friend sleeping next to her in her mansion, Fisher claimed she would often feel their presence around her.

"Lights would go on and off, and I had this toy machine, that when you touched it would say, 'F*ck you! Eat sh*t! You’re an asshole!' And it would go off in the night, by itself, in my closet.”

She later hired an exorcist to cleanse the house of the spirit.

Halle Berry

Whilst filming Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Berry would experience intense paranormal activity she believed was down to her dress.

A dress formerly owned by the woman titling the film.

"I'd come home and the housekeeper would say she'd heard my vanity chair moving upstairs in the bathroom. When the film was over, I desperately wanted to keep her dress, but it had to go. And then everything was fine."

Lady Gaga

Just like Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga has had her own dealings with the spirit of an icon. But instead of rap legend Tupac, she got the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen.

"Right after he died, I wrote 'Born This Way.' I think he's up in heaven with fashion strings in his hands, marionetting away, planning this whole thing…

I didn't even write the f*king song. He did!"

Melissa McCarthy

Comedian Melissa McCarthy revealed in 2016 that she believed in ghosts - and gave insight into where her beliefs came from.

"I grew up on a farm and I didn't have any real friends,

I have a very strong belief that people are out there, because I was certainly talking to someone in those barns. Otherwise I'm just crazy. I really strongly believe in ghosts."

Jessica Alba

In 2008, Alba told US Weekly about her own encounter with the paranormal when she was a child.

“I felt this pressure and I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t do anything

Something definitely took the covers off me and I definitely couldn’t get off the bed, and then, once I did, I screamed, ran to my parents’ room and I don’t think I spent many nights in that house ever again.”

Jenna Bush Hager

The White House already has a reputation for its paranormal activity (Abe Lincoln often makes a reappearance during times of crisis) and this former first daughter has evidence to support such a claim.

"I was asleep, there was a fireplace in my room and all of a sudden I heard 1920's music coming out. I could feel it. I freaked out and ran into my sister's room. She was like, 'Please go back to sleep, this is ridiculous.'"

Lucy Liu

This Charlie’s Angel - like so many of the people included in this article - claims she had sexual relations with something supernatural.

“I felt everything. I climaxed. And then he floated away.”

Bella Thorne

"I was lying in bed when I saw a shadowy, silvery figure of an old woman creeping across my room, then it slipped into my closet…

I panicked and ran out of bed and swung open my closet door only to see she was in there. But she was gone. I was sure I had seen her ghost! It was really freaky."

Do you believe ‘em?

If you liked this post be sure to like, reblog, and hit the follow button! 

Got your own paranormal experience to share? Head on over to the peoplesparanormal.com to read real ghost stories and submit your own!

Happy Halloween, lads.

[youarejesting]

Quarantine.3

[Masterlist] Pairing: BTS x reader (i don’t know if this will have ships or just friendship or what I am just letting it run its course) Genres: friendship, drama, romance Rating: All Summary: Your brother works with a few BigHit dance teams and whilst having permission to accompany him at work the city shuts down banning anyone from stepping outside for a whole WEEK while they disinfect the streets. If you step outside you might get arrested, shot or poisoned by the chemicals they are emitting through the city. Words: 3.1k Announcement: I have 901 followers this. I can’t thank you guys enough. Stay safe. (this has a tiny inspiration from the movie exit and that is that they can’t go outside that’s about it)

[Part 1]  [Part 2] [Part 4] [Tag Yourself Here]

Again sleep evaded you, leaving you pissed. Ready to destroy your brother's clock because it just kept ticking. Unable to take it any longer you left the room strolling through the hallway like a zombie. You moved through the building to many floors you knew you definitely should not have been on but you were ready to use your foreigner card. The one that allowed you to walk into restricted areas. All you had to do was look at them and say.

‘I am sorry, I don’t speak Korean’ and when they try to translate it to you, ‘I am sorry, I didn’t know I can’t read any signs’. This was a great way to feed your curiosity and get in some snooping. The fifth floor was full of recording studios. It was quiet, the whole building was still. Yet here you were walking in some mang slippers that were way too big for your feet. As you walked passed the doors you heard a faint sound coming from inside a studio.

Finding the studio named ‘Genius Lab’ emitting such a beautifully inviting melody you were met with the stark contrast of the studio door. Trying not to laugh, there was a doorbell, a keypad lock and there was a mat that said ‘go away’ with a cat giving the middle finger. Someone didn’t want people to enter. You kept walking along but ended up at the stairwell heading up another flight. 

The sixth floor looked different. It was like a high-end office; the floors were buffed and it was so open, it made the other floors look like a shed and the basement like a hole in the side of a mountain. You knew it represented the tiers of people in the business so it was probably right that you spent most of your time underground. You didn’t step onto that floor going back down to the fifth. Slowly watching your feet as you retrace your steps along the corridor. Startled you fell back as you received a door to the face. 

“ah joesonghabnida, ah sorry sorry” he couldn’t stop laughing. Feeling so tired you just laid there on the ground staring at the ceiling, but this to him was pure comedy. 

“Are you okay?” He called, you blinked eyes barely open, he stepped over you and walked around until he could crouch by your head. Yoongi looked absolutely stunning above you especially when he was amused. What you didn’t know was he thought you looked equally beautiful below him. “Are you sleep geodgi… Ah, I mean sleepwalking?” 

“I wish I could sleep” your voice was more like a croak from the lack of use, “I haven’t slept in days and it’s making my head hurt”

He straightened you up onto your feet and he walked with you back to where you were supposed to be staying. He wished you good luck and continued on to the BTS meeting room.  You laid there trying to meditate, count sheep, anything but it wasn’t working. The air seemed stale and it was too quiet. His laptop on his desk had a blinking light and you couldn’t sleep. 

The next morning you walked down the stairs slowly gripping the rail not trusting yourself. You had been like this before, usually, able to stay awake for two whole nights but when the third night came you would pass out. Everyone had gathered around on the first floor talking about something. 

Leaning over to a young man, he was short and stocky. His hair looked odd as it fell limp against his face like it had been cut for a specific styling technique but you assumed everyone was living without their hair and face products. “what are they talking about?”

“They got an alert today saying that the Information centre had food supplies. The Yongsan Health centre has our supplies for this area. But they need a volunteer to go collect the supplies for this building, they are just calculating how much they would need and no one wants to go”

The people awkwardly shuffled, they were scared. Whether it was lack of sleep or because you felt like you had been freeloading on their supplies, you found yourself stepping forward to volunteer, “I can get the supplies” The man looked relieved handing you the suit. You looked at them and began putting it on, some people helped you. Looking out over the crowd you saw Jungkook and Hoseok the two looked confused for a second pointing at you before running off.

Assuming they were going to get your brother you quickly asked for a map of how to get there. They drew up a map and handed you a long-range walkie talkie. With a deep breath, you sealed the suit and started the breathing piece. It took a long time to get through the streets and you followed the instructions, it was going good until you came across something that wasn’t on the map. 

“Hello, this is y/n, I seem to have come across a small intersection that wasn’t on the map. There are two parallel streets going diagonal to my right. Is it the first or second street that I am supposed to take when turning right” you waited and there was no response. “Okay, can I ask that you put, mister y/l/n on the walkie talkie or even Kim Namjoon as I am comfortable talking with the two?”

“Hello, this is Kim Namjoon. Your brother is both pissed and restrained at the moment. How can I help?” “Okay the map says turn right but there are two streets to my right, can you tell me exactly which right am I to take the first or the second?”

“Uh… Okay, I will check the map for a second, Jimin, hold this?”

“Hello, friend” Jimin’s voice came through the radio

“Annyong, Jiminie. Eotteohge jinae?”

“Joh-eun”

“That’s good, I am just standing in the middle of the street, I am bored”

A sweet song came through the radio and you listened and felt your body swaying. His voice seemed to fog up your brain but it made you feel special that he was singing for you. Trying to ignore the discussion in the background on what street to take. You decided to just start walking. You were wasting time and the air filter. Trusting your gut you headed down the first and looked at the map if this was the case you would reach the centre on your right.

“That’s a really pretty song Jimin, what is it about?” Grinning as you had found the place, you listened to Jimin speak flustered. You stepped inside the building and handed over the form. They wheeled over a canvas wagon with a long handle, the whole thing was the size of a single bed and up to your hip.

“Uh, it is about my love for you” Your cheeks turned pink, “I can be uh… whatever Jimin you want me to be?”

“I want you to be you Jiminie, that’s the Jimin I like the best. The one that is real. Not filters but natural Jimin.” Turning to the people and asking specifically if they had any extra products that weren’t foodstuff and they looked at you, you did some bargaining and you left with a few extra things. Jimin had become too flustered and handed the walkie talkie to an equally flirty Seokjin.

“Hello, It is I handsome Jin. I am here to cure your loneliness” He said making an exaggerated kissing sound into the walkie talkie. You felt like the lack of sleep and the situation was making you goofier and more giggly. They sent you off, you pulled the wagon along it was heavy and you were getting more and more tired. It was hard to pull the wagon down the street and you were outside the building. 

“My loneliness is killing me, and I, I must confess that I still believe still believe”

“Ya! Spears! Britney Spears?” he laughed into the device as you rounded the corner walking down the main street the building insight.

“Okay hello again, we figured it out it is the first street,” Namjoon’s voice came through the walkie, laughing as you had already gotten back to the building. You pulled the wagon inside and everyone turned excited, some cheered and whistled while others were talking about the bravery of westerners. You pulled off the top of the suit taking in the open air, feeling a little dizzy. 

“Something tells me she already knows that Joonie,” Hoseok laughed patting your back, Namjoon sighed in relief. Almost tackled by your brother, you tried to stay upright while he looked you over for any injuries. He scolded you openly in front of everyone but you were too busy stepping out of the suit. Wrapping your arms around him, “You were scared I get it, but I am fine, relax it’s over”

Eating lunch, you finished quickly heading to the basement for a shower, wheeling a heavy wagon across the streets of Yongsan was tiring and left you sweaty. When you opened the door, however, you saw the glorious figure of Seokjin, he was not wearing a towel but was thankfully facing away from you. Apologising and shutting the door, your mind flooded with images of his shoulders. How could they be so wide you wanted to hug him, hold them in your hands and rest your head against them. 

He stepped out and grinned at your pink cheeks, He thought you looked cute all pink like that. Throwing you a wink as you ducked past him. The shower was perfect, your muscles relaxed and you were feeling cleaner already. Washing your hair, it sounded as if the door to the bathroom had opened but when you peaked your head out there was no one there. You continued showering, hearing the noise again. Again it was no one. 

You tried to ignore the noise, hearing it a few more times. Until Jimin’s voice called out. You only understood Jin’s name the word hurry and shower so you assumed he was complaining about how long Jin was in the shower for. Before you had a chance to respond he spoke again and the shower stall door pushed open. Jimin was staring at you shirtless. Having just enough time to wrap a towel around yourself you knew he had gotten a glimpse of your body. He was frozen staring back and forth between you and the bathroom and with one singular apology, he left the room. You quickly finished up getting dressed and went to the storage room to hang out your clothes. 

Taking the elevator upstairs you were walking back to b/n’s (brothers name) office. As you passed the Bangtan meeting room you heard laughing. You had missed Jimin’s recount of exactly what had transpired memories replayed in his head. He had given details about the way your hips curved and the likeliness of your breast feeling like soft pillows. You only heard him groan in what you thought was in embarrassment “I can’t look at her in the eye again?”

“It’s fine, so you saw her naked, Jin just said she saw him naked” You knocked on the door and Taehyung answered his face splitting into a boxy grin, his imagination working overtime with only what he had heard from Jimin.

“The shower is free, please tell Jimin it’s okay, I am not mad or anything” Sighing you gave a wave which he returned grabbing your hand and giving it a squeeze before walking away you heard laughing.

“She isn’t mad, maybe she likes you and that’s why she doesn’t care if you saw” Taehyung teased his friend. “She looked really tired?” “Yeah she hasn’t been sleeping” Yoongi added “On the plus side we don’t have to practice if there is no tour in the foreseeable future”

“And what if there is a cure tomorrow” You smile at the playful bickering but don’t stay any longer as you aren’t an eavesdropper” 

Stepping into b/n’s office you sat at his desk trying to find your favourite sleep music. Hoping that if you found it you might have a chance at sleeping. You spent hours trying to find it but couldn’t remember the name, only the picture. You gave up heading to dinner. You were dragged over by Taehyung to their table. He sat you across from Jimin trapped between Taehyung himself and Jungkook both amused. Eating together Yoongi asked you if you had managed to get some sleep and you shook your head and almost fell over.

“I guess I am a fussy sleeper, but I like when it is dark and there is like air moving across my face and there is this sleep music I use. It's like one tone and it really helps me sleep” they listened, relaying their sleep habits.

“I like to sleep holding someone” Taehyung frowned “but the others don’t let me”

“If you need a cuddle buddy Tae, I like cuddles” you leaned over resting your head on his arm tired. His heart sped up and a few of them felt almost jealous at this statement. After dinner you walked upstairs going to try and sleep again, hoping that the adventure had tired you out. Reaching the top of the stairs, your head began to spin. Before you could topple over backwards you felt a hand on your back. Jungkook led you away from the stairs sliding his arm under yours and behind your back he watched your head fall forward. 

“Are you okay?” He caught you as your legs gave out and carried you in his arms. 

“I think she might have passed out,” Jungkook said as he stepped into the meeting room.

They walked over to see you asleep ahead resting against Jungkook’s chest. Clearing off the couch he lowered your body onto it. You looked so tiny in Jungkook's arms and when they tucked you in, you curled up even smaller.

“Hmm with the light out the storage room is pitch black and I can see about the sound maybe her brother might know and I can recreate it” Yoongi hummed looking around at Jimin who gestured to the air purifier

“We have this, do you think that could work”

“That might work,” Namjoon said.

“Jungkook and I will carry her to the basement?” Hoseok said collecting some bedding and watching Jungkook carry your body against him to the service elevator.

“Words, I never thought I would hear from you?” Yoongi laughed. They laid out a futon and your sleeping bag and they positioned the air purifier so it would create a small breeze across your face. Your brother remembered the name of the music you listened to and they moved a set of speakers down to the basement and started playing it. The moment it played your body relaxed under the Sleeping bag and you rolled onto your stomach they left you to your peaceful sleep. 

It was refreshing. You were dreaming that you were walking next to someone but every time you looked over their face would change. It was a mix of all the bangtan boys. You woke confused, it was pitch black and you didn’t know where you were, that was until you caught a familiar scent. You moved across the room and turned on the light. Looking back you felt a warm sensation, the boys had done all this for you. Checking the time you had been asleep for several solid hours. 

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 4] [Tag Yourself Here]

[thestarkerisobvious]

The Thing That Lives Under The Bed

                  art by @starker-stories​          story for @mrstarksbaby​

                                                              Chapter Two:  Fifteen

4:  Masters.  Rivals.  Lovers.

Bit by bit Peter pieced it together, from the stories he heard while nestled in Tony’s arms to the multiple pilgrimages to libraries in the long Spring and Summer when Tony was gone.  

Simeon the Elder was the only name Tony produced that appeared in any history books, and was said to have died on September 2nd, 459 AD, although Tony claimed to have “vexed” him for more than a decade.  But his stories of Bishop Berthwald, that had tasked him to do it, made it sound like he had served in the “realm of men” for decades, maybe even a century, before that. Tony’s sense of time made it difficult to calculate.

It was in the monastery that the books existed to “Conjure” him to the realm of men,  although sometimes he described them as scrolls.  Certainly they would have been copied into books by the second century, Peter’s research said.  

It was hard to say what surprised Peter the most, that it was a monastery full of Christian monks that had summoned the demons to earth in the first place, or the fact that Tony’s main job had been to watch over the henhouse.

“But there were many of us then, so many.  We had different tasks.  All of us were conjured to protect the monastery against raiders, but when the walls were finished there was little need for that.  Some of us built bridges, others great towers.  Many spread themselves over the oceans to bring back news of oncoming storms.  Some could travel over borders and spy in the courts of kings…”

But what kings, and what borders Peter could never determine, nor could he find the name of the monastery that Tony spoke of.  Whatever names he knew were not the names that were recorded in history.  

“We were so strong then, we were so well-fed.  Entire fields of cattle were dedicated to our consumption, and the bodies of apostates and heretics and enemies.  And we feasted upon the vapors from the infernal regions from which we came,” Tony had explained one night as he held Peter in his arms, Peter’s back pressed against Tony’s chest. Peter had no idea what “vapors from the infernal region” tasted like, but he remembered how Tony’s arms had tightened and his mouth began licking and kissing against Peter’s shoulder, neck, and ear.  Whatever that kind of feeding was, it made Tony hungry just thinking about it.

“Many times a year.  Walpurgisnacht, All Hallows Eve, the night before the Christ mass.  That magic is long lost, it was lost before the monastery fell. But it was good.  Many spirts still roam the earth at All Hallows Eve, seeking someone who knows the ritual of the Great Feast.  I was so strong then.  I took the form of a human and lived feigned that way for years, even in summer months, made strong with that power.  Brother Herman disguised me as an acolyte and kept me in his monk’s cell for years.”

“To do what?”

“To be his lover.”

Peter was glad he was facing away from Tony then, he didn’t want the man to see his face just then.

“How did you escape?  From Brother Herman?”

“I did not escape.  I did not wish to escape.  Simeon the Elder had broken with the brotherhood and left the monastery, and I was summoned to find him.  When I reported he had become a stylite with dozens of disciples the Bishop was furious. I was sent to vex him.  I lived at his side for nearly a dozen years…”

“Wait.  Is that how he lived on a pillar for so long?  With magic?”

“No.  People. The people provided him with everything he needed.  They came from miles around to see him.  They would have brought him anything, provided him anything.   My poor sorrowful scholar.  He joined the monastery because he craved solitude.  He left the monastery because he craved solitude.  He climbed to the top of the pillar certain he had found solitude – and an entire village worth of people formed around the pillar to celebrate his solitude.  How he suffered.”

This was the first time, Peter discovered, that Tony had learned the trick of causing an emotion in a human, then feeding off the emotion.  He would frighten Simeon with terrifying images, then feed upon the fear.  Or give him erotic dreams and feed upon the morning guilt.  (“Oh he loved it when I played the shy novice, craving touch but not knowing how to ask for, how he loved teaching me the art of touch, over and over and over again,” Tony murmured, his lips brushing against Peter’s neck.  Peter pretended not to notice.)  Or drain the man of his fear of large crowds so much that he would forget he feared large crowds, only to descend into the village that had grown up around his pillar, be filled with hatred and fear, and then ascend the pillar to feed Tony once again.

“For twelve years you did this?”

“I cared for him so.  Drank the pain and diseases from his body and took away his desires to hurt himself. He fed me in questions, so many questions.  We spoke, we disputed, we discussed for hours under the night sky.  Berthwald desired him to return to the monastery, return to his bed.  I did not wish him to go.  The brotherhood despised his constant questions.  I loved them.”

“Did you… disobey the Bishop?”

“I could not disobey; Berthwald’s magics were too strong.  But he never directed me to convince Simeon to return to the monastery, only vex him until he returned.  I only did what I was told.

“I convinced him to throw himself from the pillar, this I was tasked to do.  But I was not tasked to let him fall.  I protected him, only let him break a few bones.  Feasted on his pain.  Nursed him back to health.  For so long we lived this way,” Tony said lovingly.  Peter wasn’t sure if he was jealous or horrified.

“Until the Bishop made you kill him?  That’s just terrible!”

“I took him gently.  Took all the light from his mind, so that he would not suffer.  I loved him so.  But not as much as Berthwald.  When I returned to report of his death the bishop fell into a fit of grieving.  He cast me into the ground.  And there I stayed.  The next time I was summoned it was to the shores of the new world, and I was the servant of Ebenezer Post.  

“But that’s so wrong… he was in love with Simeon, and he made you kill him, and then punished you for killing him.”

Tony shrugged his shoulders.  It was strange, feeling that gesture as Tony held him close.  He had felt it often.  Tony seemed to take every decision the monks at the monastery made as a matter of course.

“If only he had stayed with the order until Michaelmass of that year he left, of was the year after?  Each of us were forbidden to harm any of the monks that dwelled within the monastery.  That was powerful magic, bindings of that caliber were almost impossible to break.  It was a common thing among us, for the monks to send us out to kill other monks.  “To creep into the beds of rival lovers, or beloveds that had fled their beloveds.  If a spirit was fed and powerful, we could consume the entire body, making it disappear right under the blankets before the sun rose.”

“It need not be painful,” Tony said, when Peter shuttered in his arms. “If they did not wish their beloved to suffer.  First you must consume the light from their brainpan,” he said tenderly, combing his finger’s through Peter’s hair.  “Then the light from their organs, one at a time,” he put his hand over Peter’s heart, then ran in slowly downward.  “Unless you were told to make them suffer.  Then you did it in reverse…”  

“Stop,” Peter snapped, and Tony removed his hand from where it was caressing over his stomach, and moving lower.  

Of course, he had wanted Tony to stop talking, not touching him…

But there was no way to tell him that, so they just stopped talking altogether.  It was a tactic Peter took many times that winter.  When things became too complicated, he just close his eyes and went to sleep, letting Tony feed again. The feedings had to happen nightly and lasted for hours.  Tony said it was because Peter wouldn’t let him prey on the animals that lived nearby.  

But it was winter, and mostly the only animals Tony asked for were the cats and dogs.

That was why Peter only allowed Tony to take them back to the dream of the castle a few more times.  Tony couldn’t really feed there anyway.  When they were there they spent most of the time exploring the castle hand in hand, Peter telling Tony every detail of the book Dracula, Tony describing the monastery he had lived in and the similarities of architecture.  But they always wound up back in the ornate bedroom, and Peter wasn’t entirely comfortable there.  There always seemed to be voices there, echoing in the other rooms, solemnly intoning things Peter didn’t want to hear.  Besides, Tony always seemed to want something there, something Peter didn’t understand and was afraid to ask.

Besides, Peter reasoned by daylight, why did they have to meet in dreams at all now?  They spoke just as easily awake as asleep.  (And that, secretly, was the reason he didn’t allow Tony to take him there anymore.  Things had changed the night they spoke in the castle, changed drastically. When Peter went to sleep Tony could barely speak in sentences of three words, when he woke up Tony was speaking in paragraphs.  All because of what they had done in the dream.  If they did something else in the dream, what else would change?)

It had been February 2nd when Tony was strong enough to climb upon to the bed.  In very short order winter began fading away and longer days made Tony weaker.  Night after night he would cling to Peter, sometimes to hungry to speak, feeding from his wrist or his fingers for endless hours. Tony would appear to him shirtless, and Peter would wear his short-sleeve pajamas wrapping his arms around Tony’s frail body, giving him all the skin-to-skin comfort he could manage. (Peter wanted to take off his own shirt.  Every night he promised himself he would, but when Tony arrived he always chickened out.)  Soon they realized there was no helping it, Tony would have to go back to darkness to sleep until the fall.  

“I should have been yours until Walpurgisnacht,” he moaned.  “As you grow older you will be stronger.  As you grow stronger, I will grow stronger. Read the books that make you cry, the ones that make you laugh, the ones that make you angry.  You must feed me so much when I return to you.  I’ll grow strong.  I’ll stay.”

Those were the nights that Peter found himself holding Tony and not the other way around.  Stroking his hair and his face and kissing his forehead.  Squeezing him tight, tangling their legs together, holding him until his arms ached.  Letting Tony lap his tongue into his mouth for as long as he wanted.  Promising Tony, over and over, that he would eat a lot and exercise constantly, making himself strong for when Tony finally returned. “And I’ll read a lot, I’ll read so much, lots and lots of books to make me sad,” he promised.  “And books about the endangered animals, and animals going extinct, they make me so angry.  I’ll read them all, I promise.”

“Will you cry for me?” Tony whispered.  It was almost April, and his voice was becoming very faint.  He licked a long wet stripe up Peter’s cheek and over his eye.  They both grinned at the joke.  They had both agreed that, when Tony was licking his face, crying was impossible.

“I’ll try,” Peter whispered against Tony’s mouth, parted his lips willingly when Tony’s tongue sought him out.

It was difficult, in those moments, to remember that Tony wasn’t really kissing him, but merely feeding.

Especially when Tony’s hand cupped his face with gentle tapered fingers, or combed those fingers through his hair.

Especially when Tony held him close.

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

Peter turns 16 soon.

But for that chapter you will have to wait until next week.

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

Master Post

[phoenixtakaramono]

Finders Keepers

Ch6 Preview: _cynosure

“Hey, hey!” Jack demanded. Coffee nearly splashed out of the mug when he slammed it down on the aluminum surface of the folding table which’d served as his workstation, the mug nearly avoiding his pocketwatch. “How come it’s front and center—next to me?”

The sigh that answered Jack through the comm sounded weary. And it hadn’t been the first, nor the last, time it’d been heard.

The days after the assassination attempt had passed by like a whirlwind. Each time Jack rose with the morning sun, he’d woken up to a hunger gnawing within him. It was a bloodthirst that demanded to be satiated and an all-consuming compulsion to piece together the new puzzle set in front of him. Security had been tightened. Rhys and the loaders had been seen following him doggedly. Even past acquaintances Jack had met intergalactically had actually commed or ECHOed him.

While he basked in the sudden attention, the cynical part of him understood that the demonstrations were ultimately superficial and self-serving. He’d find memos around the Hyperion offices of Opportunity advising him to take insurance against further security risks, and he’d crumble the paper into tight, little balls. Robots that were sent as human proxies ended up being riddled with bullet holes once Jack got tired of their constant nagging.

It was just unfortunate that there had been no survivors to interrogate. Everyone who’d been in that room had been either too skilled or lucky, shooting down the terrorists. Even so, it’d been interesting when he had the bloody corpses examined. They might have been disguised in Hyperion yellow, but he’d thought the make and model of their combat gear resembled the disgraced Crimson Lance soldiers and assassins. That theory only fell to the wayside when the coroner showed him the mess of organic tissues and inorganic parts soldered together in an amalgamation of bioware that made up their anatomies.

To Jack’s recollection, he didn’t remember any surviving Lance units being anything but human. Cybernetics was controversial across the galaxy, with few brave enough to undergo the augmentations. All sorts of laws and restrictions existed to restrict the installation and use of it. Few were willing to amputate their limbs or have cyberware technology implanted into their muscle and nervous system—even with sensory performance improvements and advantages. The only exception to that he could think of was his enforcer, Wilhelm, who wanted to be more cyborg than man.

All and all, the failed assassination attempt had been spun into publicity story—of how it was only due to the presence of the great and mighty hero who had saved his cohorts. Handsome Jack was the hero who overcame all odds to fight for his people. Terrorism was no match for their hero.

Maintaining such notoriety, however, wasn’t without its downsides. He’d been met with begrudging respect and disdain as he spun his web to ensnare the wealthy or the influential and to keep them from taking the next shuttle out. He’d even contributed his own credits—Hyperion’s finances—to the emergency relief funds generated to aid any victims and to rebuild the corporate offices. Of the brave cynics who’d questioned how truly safe their developing utopia could be if such an attack occurred on their soil, Jack made sure to silence and have examples be made out of them, whether it have been through arrests, blackmail, bribery, hefty fines, or even their deaths. The rallying cry of his supporters, with the underbelly of Hyperion propaganda blaring constantly and the societal pressure of its loyal citizens and classism, served to help drown out the majority of his dissenters. It was clear to most that the Hyperion CEO was running Opportunity as a modern totalitarian dictatorship, but Jack thrived in the knowledge of his absolute authority—a far cry from his past. This city would be his magnum opus—one of his three surviving legacies.

While Jack was happy to have things back to a semblance of normalcy since the incident, he was helpless to resist the lure of the stars. Being back on land was appreciated, but it never felt real to Jack. His trips seldomly lasted long; relearning to walk again in the force of the planet’s gravity, regaining his balance and getting his motion sickness under control—they were all great initial adjustments to his routine that he disliked undergoing regardless of whichever homeworld he was visiting. Catching up on current events, pop culture, and life in the time he’d been away made him feel like he was an alien—surreal as it was. Days could have him questioning his sanity: if he could’ve been the only one on this godforsaken, crummy planet with the self-awareness that they could be living in a simulation and everyone around him had been replaced by robots. Those startling moments of sobriety felt like being doused headfirst in cold water, popping up in the most inconvenient of times such as board meetings or over his favorite mealtime, instantly souring his mood.

Those were the times he got trigger-happy. It was a clear indication, when even the return of his taste buds couldn’t keep him satiated any longer, that a trip to the docking bay was long overdue.

He’d even find himself taking comfort in the company of actual machines than with his fellow humans. If he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was back in that world of the transcendently magical and deeply prosaic, with its familiar smell of outer space—vaguely resembling rusted metal—cocooning him. Space was a symbol of liberation from earthly concerns, from petty squabbles and from flapping lips. Pandora was full of bandits and the impoverished, all of whom loathed him just as much as he despised them. The uneducated words that came out of their mouths made him want to bash his head against the wall. The closest sanctuary he could make on this planet that was similar to the floating moonbase Helios, where the wealthy gathered and ambition reigned strong, was Opportunity.

The narrow pale features of his Vice President, Jeffery Blake, was peering back at him through the floating projection. A healthy dose of caution had always tempered the businessman’s mannerisms—an epitome of professionalism—but even he seemed visibly aghast by Jack’s disapproval in this conference call. “Sir…,” Jeffery said slowly, “as I’ve said, we’ve run it by our focus groups. This one was especially well-received—”

So even you’re walking on eggshells? That was the thought that flitted across Jack’s mind.

Jack groaned, slapping his hands on the table. “Pal, you’re not listening to me!” He jabbed his finger at the projection, making it fizzle slightly before Blake’s face reformed over his index finger. He exclaimed, “Look. What do you see? Why am I being overshadowed by my own tinman?”

Like every other propaganda poster displayed at the Living Legend Plaza, on billboards, and even back at Helios, Jack had a team of artists who knew the emphasis of every design was to memorialize the Hyperion CEO in the moment of a heroic exploit. Whether the stories were true or not, no one dared to question the legitimacy—especially not after the examples Jack had made out of his doubters in the past.

Sensing the eyes on him, he finally deigned to glance over his shoulder. The plastic covering of the seat squeaked under him in his readjustment.

If looks could kill, then Jack would be buried twelve feet under with the glower Rhys had been directing at him for the last few hours. Plugged into the charging port, Rhys was currently sitting motionlessly in the back with its arms crossed, strapped into place as all of Jack’s other knickknacks to avoid having his belongings float around. The brown synthetic hair was in disarray, still windswept from the small pandemonium Jack’s arrival had caused at the private spaceport on Pandora. While Jack wouldn’t say what the android had exhibited at the spaceport had been signs of anxiety, it certainly hadn’t seemed pleased with the amount of camera flashes and the throng of bodies that had crowded around them since their arrival. It especially hadn’t liked being ordered out on an errand to retrieve a case of imported alien cigars for Jack and his new buddies to smoke in the first class space lounge.

To Jack, Rhys was becoming more and more capable day by day—even if it did exhibit a lingering attitude problem sometimes, coded into its systems. Despite the personality package of the android’s mysterious predecessor that he had Rhys install into its own noggin, Atlas’ resentment of him seemed to have endured despite the megacorporation having long since been disbanded.

“No, sir, it is merely sharing the spotlight—with you. Everyone knows that you are the hero. After all, how could they not? A mere machine standing next to the rakish, devilish Handsome Jack? You’re the protector; not that robot.”

Jack grunted, removing his gaze from his android.

One thing Jack did like about that stoic man, besides being a damn good salesman, was that the man somehow knew what to say—or what not to say—to get the best results. He somehow intuitively knew how to transverse the landmine that was Handsome Jack, offering fawning words and publicly putting on a show of respecting the Hyperion CEO. Even now Jack could sense the calculating air behind that crafty expression of his.

“It’s unfathomable that you’d be in any way overshadowed anyhow.” There was an evenness to that deep, calm cadence which soothed wounded pride. The man didn’t even give the impression that he knew he was walking on tightrope. With a slight smile, Blake continued, “We are selling an image to the people of Opportunity. What planets need is heroes of today. A fresh face doesn’t hurt your image; in fact, it strengthens it. Besides, the added benefit is that now everyone knows Rhys belongs to you, sir.”

The more Jack listened to his parasitic compliments, to the words drifting into his ears like silk, he could feel a taut smile beginning to split his mask from ear to ear. He’d wanted to reach through that projection and smash Blake’s face into the table. Even though he knew he was being manipulated with honeyed words, Blake’s logic and attempt to appeal to his ego did make Jack subside a bit.

The recliner creaked as Jack sank back into his seat, his arms folded over his chest. His scowl remained on the metallic gold constellations on the blue ceramic mug, with its Dads Need Space Too seemingly mocking him. He could see his own mask reflected upside-down in the black coffee, the rehydrated beverage still full to the brim. No matter how many years had passed, no matter the innovations and technological advancements, the cheap, universally standard freeze-dried coffee still sucked in comparison against the freshly brewed cups that could only be acquired planet-side or at select space stations. Grumbling under his breath, he flicked the plastic straw, sending it careening to the other side.

Safety was priority. Similar to the dehydrated meals of somewhat liquid consistency and the soluble drinks that the Hyperion dietitians had vacuum-sealed into the standard-issued pouches for his flight, the lighter items that Jack had brought had velcro in the back to adhere them to the walls. He didn’t have to look to see his storage locker was full of Pandoran snacks and souvenirs.

By the time that the call with Blake ended, he was pinching the bridge of his nose, exhaling through the mouth of his mask. His foot was tapping a jittery tune against the floor, clattering loudly in the hollow shuttle as the hologram displayed comms he’d made that had gone unanswered.

In the silence that followed the absence of voice, the whirr of machinery permeated the enclosed space, along with the crackle of the comm system as the shuttle cruised among the stars. It was times like these that punctuated how infinitesimal they were in the vast emptiness that consumed them.

The shuttle they were flying in was privately owned by Handsome Jack himself, estimated to be between the cost of the massive space station that was Helios and the cost of at least a quarter of the emergency escape pods that lined that station. Designers and engineers alike, in the dawn of Hyperion’s startup, had tried their best to include enough terrestrial comforts to inspire even the weariest of souls to want to stare into the void that was outer space. Given the weight restrictions and limited space on any interplanetary vehicles, designs had to be lightweight and flexible, serving multiple purposes in low-gravity. But unlike those compact spherical pods, an optional artificial gravitational field had been installed inside the computer modules and ventilation systems—which’d meant squishy human CEOs like Jack didn’t need to tether or strap themselves down to something in order to avoid floating under zero-gravity conditions. It hummed in the background, a constant companion and white noise.

Jack could hear the crack of bones shifting as he flexed stiff fingers. It was a painful sort of awareness; his joints ached and he could get tired so much faster. However much he liked to joke that he was born for the stars, reaching for once unreachable heights, traveling in space reminded him of how he wasn’t as young and sprightly anymore. He’d gotten used to it, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

It was also only in a private moment like this that he could admit to himself, that as much as he loved hogging the spotlight, isolation could sometimes be a blessing in disguise for him. Yet despite the serenity, Jack’s foot was still restless.

“Shit….” Jack knew himself very well. His eyes shot to the monitor, fixating on the photo hovering on the side. His eyes traced the face of a dusky-skinned woman with piercing eyes and the curve of that sable dark hair which curled up entrancingly against sharp cheekbones. It was one of the few photos he’d captured where she hadn’t been wearing her smirk like her prized cowboy hat, like an accessory. After several more minutes, he declared, “Fuck it.”

And he jabbed his thumb on her name.

The familiar beep, beep, beep of the outgoing call rang hollow in his ears. His thoughts were brewing into a black storm, cresting in the restless energy that threatened to spill over as he laced his fingers tightly under the metal clasp over his chin. “C’mon. Pick up. Pick up.”

Beep. Beep. Beeeeeep. Click. “Howdy there; Lawbringer and Sheriff of Lynchwood here.” A strong voice bled into his ears like smoke, making his nails dig grooves into his knuckles. “Nisha if I know you; Ms. Kadam if you’ve got nasty business with me. Only leave a message if you’ve got something important to say—”

Crack. The table clattered under the fist that slammed down onto it. “Shit,” he said, bowing his head. “Nisha.” His features contorted. Anguish coated his voice. “Why are you ignoring me now? I just...fuck, I just want to talk….”

His hand was throbbing in pain. His resentment flagging, he lifted his fist to inspect why he felt a little wetness. And another curse slipped out once he saw what it was that he’d hit. It was his pocketwatch.

He snatched it, bringing it up closer to eye level. The metal prongs which’d protected the dome couldn’t withstand the impact, the glass having splintered into pieces. The once phosphorus blue glow in the center, which contained his bio-data, granting him full security clearance, had dimmed into black. The DNA inside was contaminated; there was no way he could salvage this.

A voice drifted into his awareness. “...Jack?”

Jack could merely stare down at his broken watch in silence. He felt like a disembodied spectator that couldn’t speak; he could only listen. It was as if his brain was suffering a massive short circuit and struggled to compute. Plip plip plip plip. The liquid seeped between the cracks of his fingers.

Click. Jack heard a strap being unfastened. Footsteps soon clanged on the floor, advancing toward him. He felt a deft touch on his shoulder. “Oh, your watch….” It was phrased as a casual observation, non-judgemental and nonchalant. “Yikes. Give that here. Lemme see.” A pale hand reached down and Jack watched long fingers close over the broken watch.

It was only instinctual; as Rhys’ arm retreated, Jack’s head followed the movement like a gravitational pull, stopping only when he caught sight of the frown on the android’s features as it saw Nisha’s image on the screen. Heterochromatic optics darted from the projected image and refocused on his owner’s possession on his palm. As Handsome Jack’s android, it’d known the timepiece’s functions. Jack had let it analyze its properties before.

“...It may have been an accident, but I’m glad I don’t need to break out the emergency first aid kit.”

Jack nearly jerked back when Rhys reached for his hands, fearless and unafraid.

Rhys’ gaze had transferred over to him, and he watched the awkward tilt of his lips as he squeezed Jack’s fingers. In a charitable tone, he was entreated, “You don’t have to tell me what’s been on your mind, if you don’t want to. But I’d like to help you repair this. It’ll take some time, but may I?”

Staring wasn’t quite the word he’d use to describe what was going on in the moment. Jack’s eyes rested, not unblinking but slowed, locking onto the strange human gesture. Rhys held his gaze but instead of the expected icy hostility, the android almost radiated sincerity.

At a loss for words, Jack pulled his hands back, slipping free from the discomfort of the moment.

“Jack?”

He propped his right fist slowly up against his jaw, and soon the left fist joined. For a moment, he remained silent, ruminating on Rhys’ features. Up close, even he could freely admit to himself that the person Rhys had been modeled after had been somewhat photogenic. Jack wouldn’t say the man had cut a dashing figure—he certainly didn’t look like a model even in the renders, nor was he a pretty boy like the financial advisor Jack had stationed at the VIP Tower of the Handsome Jackpot casino—but Rhys was passable by most societal standards. Well defined, with a sharp jaw and angular cheekbones, tall and lean. (Although his looks were maybe somewhat average in comparison against the ruggedness of Handsome Jack himself, he couldn’t fault the man for being born inadequate.)

While Jack suspected the original Rhys might’ve been prone to bouts of fretting and insecurity from how he’d sounded in the audio logs, Jack saw none of that in the confident way he’d held himself and even now being simulated by this android. In a way, Jack had seen a little bit of his past self in the man that he was learning Rhys might have been, struggling to air respectability to his peers and to be recognized.

“...Y'know,” Jack remarked, “you’re really not that bad of a guy.”

“Uhh.”

He waved his hand cavalierly in the air. “Yeah. If you think you can do me a kindness, go for it. Send it to the best watchmaker I have in my contacts.”

“Got it.”

Putting the computer on sleep mode, Nisha’s picture fizzled out as he gestured for Rhys to take a step back. With a quizzical look, it did as it was told and merely watched as Jack straightened up, wiping the liquid off on his jeans. He ignored the pinched expression it formed upon seeing the small dark stain.

He snapped his fingers twice above his thigh. “Eyes up here, tinman.”

Brown and gold optics leapt up to meet blue and green.

In feigned arrogance, Jack advanced forward toward it. The little rise in the corner of his mouth was a familiar smirk that he’d heard others lament as appearing sinister. “Stand up straighter. I wanna check something.”

“What do you—?”

“Ah!” Jack slapped his hand over its mouth, stopping it from answering. “I didn’t ask you for your opinion now, did I? Now shut up and lemme do my thing.” Without asking for permission, he swept his hand from the top of his head to Rhys’. There was a couple millimeters of empty space between his palm and that coiffed synthetic hair, a negligible difference in reality but it was enough for Jack.

It didn’t matter that he was wearing his high-heeled boots instead of his go-to sneakers. He was taller.

SUMMARY: By some miraculous twist of fate, Jack stumbles across an Atlas android hidden smack dab in Hyperion headquarters. Obviously, what is he going to do with it? Keep it for himself, of course, because as the saying goes, "Finders keepers, losers weepers." What he didn't anticipate was the clusterfuck he'd find himself in, when he discovers the valuable model he'd been hoarding has a hidden backstory. There is more than meets the eye. (It's a sort-of tie-in to the Borderlands and Tales from the Borderlands universes. This is another attempt at an AU, although I hope to pay homage to elements from canon.)

Ship: Handsome Jack & (android) Rhys Strongfork

(A/N) - Ch 1-5 of Finders Keepers can be found on AO3, written by PhoenixTakaramono. For everyone that’s still following this story after my extended hiatus, thank you very much for your patience! If you feel like you’ve read this preview before, you’re not wrong. I’ve made a few revisions, but keep in mind that this preview may or may not reflect the final edits in the final draft of ch6 which’ll be uploaded to AO3 once it’s been complete. This has admittedly been one of my more troublesome chapters to write, but finally I can see the light on the horizon.

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1831 Friday 7 October

6 55/.. 10 25/..

Fahrenheit 67°. and fine sunny but windy morning now at 7 35/.. - breakfast at 7 55/.. - pretty damp little place - au 1re [premiere] in front - but ruz de chanssée at the back - single house - the 2 windows opposite each other shewed the inequality of the ground - pretty rustic verandah in front and windows opening on to the ground -

Off from Freshwater gate Inn at 8 40/.. very steep up the down - all walked - I took George and close along the edge of the cliffs and walked 40 mins. [minutes] before we turned inland to the top of the down and the carriage came up with us - the white Freshwater cliffs (white and high and precipitous) are certainly very fine, but not so fine as the Dover cliffs - sea very rough - wind very high - had it been to the sea instead of from it, there would have been no walking on the seaward declivity of the down -

Drove along the open down as far as just turning down upon the little scattered village of Brook - left a little below us (right) at 9 50/.. a good looking brick house inhabited by Mr. Howe, Lord of the manor, and there seemed to be a few straw thatched cottages - all the village that we saw - at Mottiston at 10 - neat brick farmstead and 5 or 6 straw thatched cottages and a picturesque wood? steepled little old church -

At Brightstone or Brixton at 10 1/4 - very scattered pretty straw thatched well-gardened village - stopt at the neat yellow-white washed Inn to water the horse at 10 20/.. - neat little church just beyond the Inn, and a few neat cottages for small gentry? there seemed a neat good brick Squire's house at a little distance (left) a little out of the centre of the village - far the prettiest village we have yet seen, and really pretty - walked round the little churchyard and off again at 10 1/2 - the coast seems low from Brook to some distance beyond Brixton - St. Catherine's hill, the highest land in the island stretches finely ahead of us like a long barrier against our getting any much farther - the preventive watch tower and the light house look like 2 great gate posts as we rise the ground out of Brixton -

At 10 40/.. Westcourt a large brick gable ended ivy covered house, and Shorwell picturesque good little village with neat little old church - alight at the neat little old church of Chale at 11 3/4, and, leaving the carriage to go over St. Catherine's hill and thro' the village of Niton, took George and a young woman guide and turned down the cliffs and to Blackgang chine at 12 - merely a little cove or circular hollow in the black indurated clayey cliff - the little stream or ripple that falls from the top lost in rain before it gets to the bottom, tho' the depth it falls may be 60 or 70 feet Brannon's guide says 70 feet (the girls father says 55 feet) instead of 500 feet according to one of my guide books - really Blackgang chine is no great thing - but taking the whole height of the cliff to the top of St. Catherine's hill above the broad shelf or undercliff in which the chine is worn (and the water only runs over the chine) the height cannot be above 500 feet if so much - for it is not the highest part of the hill that is over the chine - Brannon mentions Chale and walpan chines as partaking of the character of Blackgang chine - Chale the girl said was nothing not near so big as Blackgang and walpan above a 1/4 mile to the westward quite out of our way and we must go along the sands to see it, and the water was too high and the sea too rough to admit that - besides the cliff was lately so fallen away the chine was nearly destroyed -

Blackgang Chine c1910, the chine has since been destroyed due to erosion [Image Source]

We then walked along the cliffs to the aluminous-chalybéate spring called Sandrock spring - really a pretty strong chalybéate [according to Wikipedia: “waters, also known as ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron”] and plenty of the water - the present building over it quite new - the old one fell away last winter by the slipping of the cliff - then to the neat little cottage above the spring (a sort of dispensary) just under the Sandrock cliff - would not live there - there may be another land-slip as in 1799 - the Sandrock cliff begins a very little to the westward of this Sandrock spring cottage - the cliff very curious - in their horizontal strata where rooks and ravens, sea gulls, and falcon-hawks build their nests - fine, sea views - a little too hazy for the peep of Portland race from the point between Knoles and Buddle's farm -

We passed along there and came out upon Sandrock hotel at 1 - very pretty 2 story house with rustic jasmine and ivy covered verandah along the ground story, windows opening on to the ground - the house too on an eminence with very fine sea view - the prettiest hotel I ever saw anywhere - my Leghorn bonnet hat being all blown out of shape - my false hair taken off and put into the crown of my Leghorn - the driver having gone at once to the stables, and neither of my servants being in sight I can imagine the people wondered what I might be - I did not think them civil enough - looked about - wrote my pencil notes and walked off - went down to the stables to speak about the road etc. wanted a guide - the ostler would recommend a boy (who it turned out was his own son and I afterwards had him to a little beyond Mirables cottage, but he wanted me to pay the ostler, and I would have nothing to do with paying ostlers, so walked off - and at a little distance some neat little Lodging houses, and a few good comfortable cottages -

The village of Niton 1/4 mile off - but not worth going so much out there and back out of my way, so took the boy and walked forwards along the undercliff carriage road - soon came to the Orchard general Sir Willoughby Gordon - approached by a sunk road about 4 feet high rough large stone walling and top-planted slopes above - (there would be something of this sort on entering trough of bolland wood to Shibden) - the house a modern gothic 2 story high with a small castle tower or 2 quite in a hole - invisible till quite upon it - would not live there for all the island - but must look prettily upon the sea from the other side and may have pretty little grounds like Mirables, Mrs. Arnold's very pretty cottage which we soon afterwards turned down to see - she being gone out, a man we found in the grounds shewed us over them (very pretty - bowers of magnificent ivy growing over old shrubs and scraps of wall), and the neat little dairy, and the house too - really a cottage - some of the rooms surely not more than 7 feet high - very very low - but verandahs, and ivy covered covered windows and gables, and really very pretty - but no such cottage for me to live in - give me loftier and larger rooms - more elbow and more breathing room -

Sent back the boy a little beyond Mirables, and sauntered on (Cameron and George and I) by ourselves - just peeped in at the windows of the very small church of St. Lawrence not more than 20 feet long by 12 broad probably the smallest church in England - and the carriage over took us at 3 about a mile from Ventnor, and we all got in - Steep hill at 3 1/4 - we all walked up the hill -

St. Lawrence Old Church - built in the 12th century and considered the smallest church in England until a 10 foot chancel was added in 1842 [Source]

Ventnor hotel at 3 23/.. - a neat, new, remarkably comfortable tidy-looking house, 2 storys, the lower 8 windows in front the 4 lower opening upon the ground - the house on high enough ground - not much wood about it - but beautifully diversified hill and down, and very picturesque pretty little scattered hamlet - the curious sandrock cliff seems to end at Ventnor, and a very high steep down to fence off the more irregular sloping undercliff - horse tired - so that we do not get on very fast - at 3 40/.. St. Boniface cottage (left) very pretty straw thatched gentlemans cottage - from here go down a steepish hill into a deep beautiful finely wooded dell or valley and come out upon the pretty little village of Bonchurch at 4 -

Go into the little church which Andrews (large guide page 96) thinks one of the oldest in the island or in England 'the entrance of the church is a beautiful and perfect Saxon arch; the portico is clearly of Norman architecture, being added after the conquest' - the church is not much larger than that of St. Lawrence - from this church walked the land slip (another land slip, a sort of chaos prettily and picturesquely planted with forest copse wood) to Luccomb chine which was shewn us by the proprietor of one 1/2 of it who happened to be standing by - has a neat little cottage (Luccomb chine cottage) 2 little sitting rooms and 2 bedrooms and 2 servants ditto and little kitchen stable and barn for coach house and a nice little pretty garden at the head of the chine with private way down it to the sea, - that he would let for 20/. a week now, and lets in the season for 50/. a week - season from May to now - but bad carriage road to it thro' the farm yard of a farm belonging to Mr. Atherly M.P. for Southampton - the front door of the cottage opens into Mr. A-'s [Atherly's] property that is entailed and cannot be sold - the man calculates his cottage at £22 a year has above 20 acres land with it and some cottages that altogether bring in above £40 a year and would sell the whole for £1200 - all these cottages too poky and stuffy for me - the Chine merely a pretty cleft in the cliffs down to the beach, - green and pretty well wooded - but really these Chines do not deserve to be made much fuss about - they are convenient passages to the sea - a sort of large Lord Bute's gaps as at Highcliff - the chine a mile from Shanklin -

Luccombe chine in 2008 [Image Source]

Walked up the hill to meet our car - could not find it - walked to Shanklin there at 5 20/.. and the carriage not being arrived had to send after it - the very pretty Inn quite full - but Mrs. Williams very civil and got me a little lodging near - very comfortable - very pretty picturesque village - a good deal taken with it - could not resist going down to see the chine - a pretty wooded glen - prettier than Luccomb because topped by the neat gable ended white house of general Viney, and a pretty little bay and good sands below - fine hard sandy clayey cliffs shut in the bay - the winding down to it in traverses is pretty, and altogether Shanklin is a pretty little -

Met a couple of men who had been digging up sand eels - bought the whole lot of one of them (2 or 3 score, I think at least) for 6d. [pence] - gave him 6d. [pence] additional and he took them to the Inn and I ordered them for supper - back at 5 50/.. 2 basins (above 1 1/2 pint) of boiled milk but ate merely a mouthful of bread at 6 - then settled accounts and began this journal of today - at 7 my sand eels ate 5 or 6 and 20, and drank as much boiled milk as before with about as much bread and then finished journal of today -

The 5 miles walk from Sandrock hotel to Vintnor along the undercliff is really very fine the perpendicular wall of sandrock cliff left - the sea right - the gentlemens cottages and grounds - the finely varied prettily wooded and undulating undercliff, form a charming whole - once or twice looking only at the Sandrock cliff and the planting along I was reminded (a very miniature likeness) of the Gorge d'ortessa - but altogether, sea and all, I doubt if there are many finer walks in England or anywhere than these 5 miles of undercliff - the chaos from between Bonchurch and Luccomb chine and the copse wood among it reminded me for a moment (miniature likeness) of some of the tremendous chaos on descending the Splugen towards Chiavenna -

Gorge d’Ordesa in the Ordesa y Monteperdido National Park, Spain [Image Source]

We met a Lady and gentleman at Bonchurch just returned from the chine of whom I inquired the way - the lady's ecstasies about the beauty of the wood leading to it - never saw anything so beautiful - I should be well repaid etc. etc. made me think how well it is to enlarge on ideas and accomplish one faculty of admiration by sights on ampler scale than we can have at home - very fine day - had just finished the above of today at 9 10/.. - came to my room at 9 35/.. - Fahrenheit 69°. now at 9 50/.. -

[Margin] From Ventnor to Bonchurch very pretty especially from Bonchurch cottage thro' the wooded valley -  

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/14/0129 - SH:7/ML/E/14/0130