#i imagine it *would* happen a bit with wool‚ probably—it's happened a little bit with the merino socks i have—

[aeide-thea]

like [in re plastic article i posted earlier] i'm currently wearing one of my fave tees that's, god, i don't know, a good five years old now anyway, and it's a triblend which means it's got some polyester in it, and while i've appreciated the way that's enabled it to straddle use cases over the years—e.g. (1) bicycling to class and then (2) looking like a normal person once i got there—at this point it's starting to pill a little, as poly always inevitably does, and getting rattier and less comfy as a result? and like, i guess i'll try using a fabric shaver on it and see if that helps some, but like. not an issue with 100% cotton tees!

[luci-is-a-bitch-x3x]

Obey Me! Brothers react to: Mc turning into their sheep form to comfort the brother when he's upset.

Lucifer's, Mammon's, Leviathan's, Satan's, Asmodeus's (you are here), Beelzebub's, & Belphegor's reactions.

━☆*:･ﾟ✧✧ ♡ ❀ ♡ ✧━

Welcome! to another part of this adventure! The characters may not be how you imagine! I apologize for any poor jokes, bad spelling, and terrible grammar. Without further ado, please enjoy the content. ♡

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Asmodeus's Reaction

Asmodeus cries frequently, sometimes its just him being dramatic, sometimes his crying is warranted, no matter why Asmo's crying he never fails to mention how beautiful he looks while crying. Asmo will sometimes fake cry for attention, no actual tears so he doesn't ruin his make up, but sometimes he'll purposely cry tears just so his mascara while smear. It adds to the dramatic effect. When Asmo's being dramatic he can "cry" over anything: mc accidently hit him? He's already bawling his eyes out. No attention from anyone? He can make up a reason after he starts crying. Asmo has been found a couple of times crying because of how beautiful he is. However, Asmo does actually cry sometimes, over things that are completely fair to cry over. Sometimes he cries due to stress, sometimes he cries due to past memories or mistakes. Asmo is usually cheerful but he does have his occasional self reflecting sad moments. They dont last as long as some of his brothers do, Levi, but they still happen. He usually goes back to being his cheerful self obsessed self again soon after!

The first time Mc finds Asmo crying and he's not being dramatic is not suprising but also is surprising, if that makes sense. Asmo had been doing a lot of things recently: lots of fashion designs to make, lots of modeling, and student council work! Mc knew this and figured he may be stressed, so they headed over to his room with the intent to help. Mc knocks on the door and when they dont get a reply they almost leave, but they can hear sobbing through the door. Mc knocks again before slowly entering Asmo's room, Mc sees Asmo laying on his bed face first crying into his pillow. Asmo looks up when Mc enters the room, he quickly sits up and turns to face Mc. "MC!!" Asmo screeches with a tear stained face. The sudden yelling suprises Mc and they next thing they know there's a *poof* and Mc turns into their sheep form. Asmo gasps when he sees Sheep Mc and then he squeals at the sight of the adorable Sheep. Asmo quickly stands and scoops Sheep Mc up into his arms so he can hug them, and then he takes them to his bed for cuddles, his upset attitude already seems to be improving just by having Mc around.

Sheep Mc doesn't have to do much to comfort Asmo, they just need to stay with him and listen to him rant. Asmo may pet Sheep Mc but he perfers to hug them tightly, not killer hugs like a certain someone, Asmo just finds hugging them more comforting then petting them. When Sheep Mc first starts comforting Asmo, the hug will be tighter than it will be once he's calmed down a little, while Asmo is upset he may cry into Sheep Mc's wool like someone would a pillow. Gross ik but like what can yah do. After calming down a little he'll finally rant to Mc for a bit. Something along the lines of "I keep making new designs for the accessories, but none of them are as perfect as me!" Asmo is seriously stressing, if it is going to have his name on it, then it has to be perfect. This is probably one of the times when Mc realizes that being a perfectionist can be overwhelming and stressful. Talking about why he was upset probably upsets him again, Sheep Mc probably has to comfort him all over again.

Asmo enjoys being comforted by Sheep Mc but he also enjoys Mc comforting him in their human form. He doesn't really care what form their in just as long as its Mc comforting him. After Mc cheers him up, it doesn't matter what form they stay in to him. If Mc decides to go back to their human form he'll make sure to at least get one picture of them as a sheep before the turn back. If Mc decides to stay as a sheep, then they'll do the normal things they do with Asmo, taking pictures for Devilgram, dressing up, gossiping. Asmo's Devilgram is definitely full of pictures of him and Sheep Mc by the end of the day.

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Thats all for now babes! Hope you enjoyed!! ♡ This is not proofread. Feel free to comment or reblog any thoughts or any add ons you have! I don't know why this one took so long, and for some reason I don't really like it, so I'm sorry. TvT I might try and rewrite it sometime but idk. I know my posts have been random, but ive been posting at least two things at once so hopefully that outweighs the wait. Anyways i have more content on the way so Stay Tuned! Stay Safe! & Stay Groovy Scooby!

━☆*:･ﾟ✧✧ ♡ ❀ ♡ ✧━

⟡˙⋆Masterlist⋆˙⟡

[jeannereames]

Your top 5 Alexander the Great moments?

Top Five Alexander Moments

One issue with answering this is to figure out what events actually happened, especially when it comes to anecdotes! Here are four I find either significant to understanding his charisma and/or which explain how he functioned and why he was successful, plus one I like just because I’m a horse girl.

1) To my mind, the event that best illustrates why his men followed him to the edge of their known world occurred in the Gedrosian Desert. While I’m a bit dubious that this trek was as bad as it’s made out to be (reasons exist for exaggerating), it was still baaaad. One story relates that some of his men found some brackish water in a sad little excuse for a spring, gathered it in a helm, and brought it to him. Given his poor physical condition after the Malian siege wound, he no doubt needed it badly. He thanked them (most sincerely), then carried it out where all (or at least a lot) of his men could see, raised it overhead, and announced that until all of them could drink, he wouldn’t. Then he poured it onto the rocky ground.

That gesture exemplified his charisma. And it absolutely is not something the likes of a Donald tRump could even imagine doing—nor most dictators, tbh. They’d be blaming everybody else and calling for heads while drinking Diet Coke, not suffering alongside their people.

This wasn’t an isolated event of that type. While he almost certainly didn’t have time to engage along with his soldiers in every project, we’re told he would drop in from time-to-time, to inspire them and to offer a little friendly competition.

He also dressed like his men for everyday activities, especially early in the campaign. As time went on, some sources say he inserted more distance—probably necessary as his duties exploded—but he still seems to have found time to “just hang out” with his Macedonians on occasion. The claims that he was too high and mighty to do so appears to have been exaggeration (as such accusations often are) in order to forward a narrative that he was “going Asian.” Troop resentment over court changes was very genuine—I don’t want to underplay it (especially as I’ve written about it in a few chapters in this), but it tended to boil up during certain periods/events, then die back again. Alexander was trying to walk a very fine line of incorporating the conquered while not ticking off his own people.

2) Reportedly, he once threw a man out of line because he hadn’t bothered to secure the chin strap on his helm. I pick this one because it tells me a whole lot about how he saw himself as a commander, and what he expected of his men (and why he tended to consistently win).

On the surface, his reaction seems almost petty. It’s precisely the sort of mistake students whine about when professors ding them for it. It’s just a chin strap! I’d have tightened it before I went into battle! (It’s just a few typos; you knew what I meant! Or, Why does everything in the bibliography have to be exactly matching in style? Who cares? What a stupid thing to obsess about!) These objections are all of a piece. First, they’re lazy, and second, they indicate a disconcern with details. In battle, such disconcern can get a person killed. And on a larger scale, for a general, such disconcern loses battles.

One of the striking aspects of Alexander’s military operations was just how well his logistics worked. Consistently. We hear little about them precisely because they rarely fail. Food and water was there when they needed it, as were arrow replacements, wood to repair the spears, wool and leather for clothes and shoes, canvas for tents, etc., etc. All those little niggling (boring) details. If these are missing, soldiers become upset (and don’t fight well). Starting with Philip, the Macedonian military was a well-oiled machine. That’s WHY Gedrosia was such a shock: the logistics collapsed. Contra some historians, he did not do it to “punish” his men, nor to best Cyrus.* He had a sound reason—to scout a trade route.

Alexander understood that details matter. It starts with a loose chinstrap. (Or an unplanned-for storm and rebellion in his rear.) Everything else can unravel from that.

3) Alexander sends Hephaistion a little dish of small fish (probably smelts). He also helps an officer secure the lady of his dreams. And writes another on assignment (away from the army) that a mutual friend is recovering from an illness. While technically three “moments,” these are all of a piece. Alexander knows his men, and is concerned not only for their physical well-being, but also their mental state: that they’re happy. Granted, these are all elite officers, but it suggests he’s paying attention to people. I’ve always assumed he sent Hephaistion the fish because they were his friend’s favorite, and/or they were a special treat and he wanted to share. That he didn’t punish an officer for going AWOL to chase the mistress he wanted but offered advice, and even assistance, on how to court and secure her suggests the same care.

I don’t want to take away from what appears to be his serious anger management problems(!), but little details like those above strike me as the likeable side of Alexander—why his men were so devoted to him.

4) Then we have the encounter with Timokleia after the siege of Thebes. While probably a bit too precious to have occurred exactly as related, I think it may still hold a kernel of truth.

Alexander had a reputation of chivalry towards his (highborn) female captives. If some of that was likely either propaganda from his own time or philhellenic whitewashing later by Second Sophistic authors such as Plutarch (and Arrian), poor treatment of women is not something we hear attributed to him.

Ergo, while the meeting was probably doctored for a moral tail, he may well have freed Timokleia as an act of clemency to put a better face on a shocking destruction he knew wouldn’t sit well with the rest of Greece—who he both wanted to cow yet earn support from. (A difficult balancing act.) Also, if Timokleia hadn’t been high-born, she’d probably have been hauled off to one of the prisoner cages with little fanfare.

Nonetheless, I find his actions surprising given the casual misogyny of his era. If we can take the bare bones of the story as true, and it’s not all invented, Timokleia was raped as a matter of course during the sacking of Thebes, then managed to trick her rapist and kill him by pushing him down a well and dropping rocks on him. I assume this happened when his men weren’t there, but they found out soon enough and hauled her in front of Alexander to be punished for killing an officer. To the surprise of all, Alexander decided the man had earned it and freed Timokleia. One might be inclined to call this overly sentimental, but….

There’s a similar story that occurred much later in the Levant, when two of Parmenion’s men seduced/(raped?) the mistresses/wives of some mercenaries. Alexander instructed Parmenion to kill the Macedonians if they were found to be guilty.

In both cases, we have an affront against (respectable) women. In the latter case, Alexander was (no doubt) working to avoid conflict between hired soldiers and his own men, who—in typical Greek fashion—would have looked down on mercenaries as a matter of course. Some sort of conflict between Macedonians and Greek mercenaries up in Thrace had almost got Alexander’s father killed. Alexander saved him. No doubt that was on Alexander’s mind here.

Yet what both events illuminate is a willingness on Alexander’s part to punish his own men for affronts to honor/timē that involved women. Yes, this is clearly about discipline. But it also shows an unusual sensitivity to sex crimes in warfare: actions that would normally fall under the excuse of “boys will be boys” (especially when their blood is up).

I doubt he’d have felt the same about slaves or prostitutes; he was still a product of his time. Yet without overlooking his violence—sometimes extreme (the genocide of the Branchidai, for instance)—I find his reaction in these cases to be evidence of an atypical sympathy for women that I’d like to think isn’t wholly an invention of later Roman authors. And just might show the influence of his mother and sisters.

5) Last… the Boukephalas story…because who doesn’t love a good “a boy and his horse” tale? Obviously the Plutarchian version is tweaked to reflect that author’s later concern to contrast the Macedonian “barbarian” Philip with the properly Hellenized Alexander. Ignore the editorializing remarks, especially the “find a kingdom big enough for you” nonsense.

But the bare bones of the story seem likely: unmanageable horse, cocky kid, bet with dad, gotcha moment. You can imagine this was an anecdote Alexander retold a time or three, or twenty.

——

* His attempts to copy Cyrus may be imposition by later writers. In his own day, he may have cared more about the first Darius, for reasons Jenn Finn is going to explain in a forthcoming, very good article on the burning of Thebes and Persepolis.

[wordstome]

hi yeah i've been lurking around a bit lately, your writing is ✨chef's kiss✨ (sorry it took a bit, the list might be long 😅)

so moOOoOore deployed!könig headcanons (the setting is still ❄️austrian winter boogaloo❄️)

1. he'll have you meet his mother (definitely a mama's boy) - she has probably knit him the uptenth wool jumper cause it's not easy to find them in his size - she'll also probably tell you slightly embarassing stories of him when he was younger (he'll turn beetroot-red) that you'll end up teasing him about later (affectionately) -she'll also probably bring you food at the most inopportune moments

2. you'll be waken up literally at dawn because you can hear him chop wood outside (big man swinging big axe, mind go brrr) for the fireplace; you'll ask him why does he have to do it at the brink of dawn, he'll claim it's cause it's good for the body (psps it's cause so he can wake up earlier than you and light up the fireplace and surprise you with breakfast, most likely Keiserschmarrn, if you don't know what it is google it it's sooo good)

3. speaking of fireplace...one night he'll snatch you up after you've just gotten out of the shower, lays you on the covers he placed down in front of it and go at it for a few rounds? and then you'll both snuggle up to each other and fall asleep there (if he senses that you're getting cold he'll lift you up, trying not to wake you, and move you to the bed)

4. if he's been a while since he was deployed last he'll definitely be CLINGY™, comes handy when it's winter since he's a portable heater lmao

5. he'll probably drag you out of the house to go hiking, yeah it's snowing, no there's no discussing it, there's no bad weather only bad clothes

6. might get a bit too much in the christmas spirit and have a bit too much Glühwein (mulled wine) and get handsy and slur his words and maybe maybe he gets a bit whiny

7. but also CHILL NIGHTS IN FRONT OF THE FIREPLACE just talking about anything, he'll tell you "stories" about stuff that has happened during his last missions

8. (but it can be applied any time he's deployed) he'll fix the broken stuff around the house, actual handyman, you don't even have to ask him he'll just do it cause he's probably a bit of a control freak and everything has to be working perfectly ok this has been going long enough 😅😅now i'll retreat back into my hole in the ground and maybe come back once i get more lmao ✨

I CAN'T STOP IMAGINING HIS MOM COMING IN LIKE THE ONE FROM MEAN GIRLS WHILE YOU'RE HAVING SEX LIKE "hello darlings I brought you snacks do you need anything? water? condoms?" God I think König would just pass away probably

Dude, Austrian desserts are on xgames mode. I've always wanted to try a sachertorte, and now I have a second dessert to try 👀 And he would wake you up by chopping wood...I can't even be mad at him because I'd just sit and watch him swinging an axe and getting unbearably turned on sldfjskdfjlsd

All of these are canon to me now. Like this is EXACTLY how I imagine him. And all the cozy little domestic ones.....uwhhghghggh I'm obsessed. thank you, THANK YOU for this treat 😭😭😭 god his accent getting thicker and thicker. .. ... .talk dirty to me

[beauzos]

genuinely thinking a bit about a Mother 3 SOBR au and I'm kind of stumped about what Vincent would do for a living. he can't be a fucking banker, they don't have any money, so it'd only be a job he'd get post-timeskip. he's good with numbers, but what kind of job would actually apply in Tazmily? i just don't know. my only guess would be something to do with books otherwise. they. i mean they probably have some amount of books though that's always been a big question mark for me about literature n stuff but it'd cute if Tazmily had like, a little library or something.

i think Mimi would probably just do art. or maybe is a schoolteacher. she'd also 100% be one of those ladies who gets sucked into working at the shitty ass old folks home post-timeskip.

Beau would have to actually get a job JHBSD but i could see a few things for him: either he'd be a tailor because it is something he's probably not all that bad at, albeit you can tell Lucas's family has something to do with clothesmaking most likely, at least in terms of wool products ?? but idk. that or he'd continue to just be a cowboy, or a hired hand, in other words, not that i assume with people's small farms (in fact, there's only two real farm areas, Matt and Jill's family and then Nippolyte grows crops outside Osohe) require much help, but it's Tazmily, they'd humor him.

but he'd probably only get hired once by any person. he still wouldn't be all that reliable. i don't think he'd have as bad of a reputation in Tazmily because there just isn't theft, and all i could really say about what happened in Brittlebone is he was an accessory to a theft, he'd probably just not be very good at the job, or flaky, or whatever.

he could still play guitar, though, but it'd be just a hobby like always.

i think Jerome could've convinced the Tazmilians to hire a sheriff even though there's no crime. but because there's no crime, he'd be bored out of his fucking mind all the time. Jerome obviously thrives on chaos and conflict so i imagine his "job" is just him sitting in the Yado all day playing cards because there is, quite literally, nothing for him to do. otherwise, he's probably just hanging around Luis's farm or whatever, cause i'm sure he just goes back to running a farm like he usually does with his family.

i have no idea what Casey would do, but then again, there seem to be villagers that don't actually do anything. like Ollie doesn't do anything, though i suppose it's also through the grace of being in the mayor's family. but it's not clear what people like Paul and Linda or Ed's family do, so i think it's entirely possible he doesn't really have a role either and just kinda bums around Tazmily with Jerome.

i'd say it'd be easy for them to just continue working law enforcement after the timeskip but i almost think Jerome would get shoved out of it eventually. that or he'd also fall for the whole glitz and glamor of the Pigmasks thing. Casey would probably fuckin join too, shit. it's either that or the fucking mines and i don't think either of them would do it. Casey might for a while but he'd get burnt out quick. i don't even think Jerome would buy into the whole "great master Porky" thing i think he was just that bored and he has the right attitude to be a Pigmask, so he falls into it easily.

i don't know if Luis would join, though, and they might not let him since he's an older guy, in his 50s. he'd probably be one of the folks who doesn't get a Happy Box though so he's probably got bigger fish to fry with the house getting struck by lightning or whatever. Jerome would have a Happy Box and enjoy it, Casey would have one and be disappointed that it doesn't help.

Beau would probably have one. Vincent might get one for Mimi's sake.

[cherrybulbasaur]

arthur raising alfred headcanons bc i needed some gentleness in my life:

-arthur taught alfred how to use a bow like he does after he spotted alfred fiddling with it one evening. alfred is not too good at it and proceeds to get discouraged.

-alfred actually picked up a lot of arthur’s mannerisms in their time living together. i can even imagine the very early stages of talking for alfred actually carries a slight accent similar to arthur’s.

-alfred would always crawl into bed with arthur at night and arthur would act grumpy about it but somehow wake up cuddled up with his little guy :)

-arthur used to gaslight alfred into thinking he put alfred’s preferred amount of sugar (a shit ton) in the lad’s tea every morning. alfred would complain about how bitter it was but then would proceed to believe arthur for years until one evening, decades later, arthur drunkenly confesses his ploy.

-they would playfully mock each other to their other colleagues 24/7

-arthur is very protective over alfred in their first years together. piggybacking off of a hc (of the beloved @myrddin-wylt) i believe that arthur took no chances for alfred to fall ill and risk his death (even though it was inevitable, usually) leading to many scoldings for alfred to wear warm clothes in the winter and making sure alfred didn’t go anywhere alone.

-alfred & arthur however do have many impromptu snowball fights that often leads to alfred getting pelted in the face (several times)

-arthur sews/embroiders alfred’s initials onto all of his jackets, hats, gloves, and sweaters. hell, probably even his good wool socks. this is even better if alfred carried on this habit by learning how to do it himself after the revolution.

-alfred quite enjoyed being sung to sleep by arthur as a young child, however, when he grew older, his bedtime routine preferences soon switched to his favorite game— “how many nation questions can he ask arthur before he gets scolded and his lamp turned off on him?” ex.) “so, why do you claim to hate francis but constantly write letters back and forth?” “why don’t we stop talking for a bit, yeah?”

-they have a lot of fun hunting small game and foraging together. arthur teaches alfred what mushrooms are edible, how to distinguish certain trees by their appearance, helping alfred study animal tracks, etc.

-the two shared a lot of clothes (alfred constantly stole arthur’s clothes off the clothesline & arthur would assume the wind must’ve just took them)

-although it may have been seen as “soft” in their era, both alfred & arthur would say “i love you” to one another. arthur would usually only say it when he was leaving for a few days on business while Alfred would say it almost every waking moment.

-no matter what happened between them, they will both always feel at home when with one another.

[cynamonowo]

multiples of 3, datomi <3

i love you so much bestie <3 this is gonna be super long (so under the cut it goes) And. kind of based in my general "aini does not happen & they get to work things out" au lmao

ship ask game

3. What was their first impression of each other?

"oh god who is this man and why is he bleeding out at this shrine" "oh god is that an angel that's going to take me to see baby jesus"

6. How do they make up/apologize after an argument?

hitomi probably talks about what both of them did wrong bc adult communication!!! we're not teens anymore!! on the other hand i think date would first sulk then blame himself before being a grown up too lol

9. What do they dislike most about the other? Why?

for hitomi it's probably just how date can get so focused on his work he forgets to care for himself. as for him, it's probably hitomi's tendency to keep secrets & refuse help

12. Do they have a difficult time when separated from each other, or are they fairly independent?

*gestures in the direction of aini* yeah no i think they're very independent but date can get like that r/ambien "i miss my wife :(" post lmao

15. What songs remind you of their relationship?

oh man... mogło być nic, heart of wool, and boats & birds

18. How do they care for each other when one of them is wounded/sick?

omg date would probably either minimize his suffering bc there's Stuff to be Done, Or be a total drama queen. in both cases hitomi's very exasperated but fond. when she's ill though, date's probably losing his mind and having aiba check on her every other minute while he reads the entire webmd site

21. Do they enjoy domestic life?

very much so! i think that after the resolution route date cuts down on his cabaret club outings bc he feels So Old. and after they start dating they go out sometimes but also like to chill inside, clean/cook together, drink some wine, and watch a movie or smth :3

24. How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often?

actually i think they're more similar than ppl think! both are very determined and family-oriented, have a tendency for self-sacrifice, and like to joke around (hitomi's jokes are more subtle though lmao).i think they mostly differ when it comes to impulsivity - date's that kind of person to act first and think second lol

27. How do they say “I love you” non-verbally?

mm i think it's mostly through doing little things for each other, like hitomi making a cute bento box for date, and him making her tea just the way she likes it (piping hot)

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

gestures above. acts of service i think. a bit of quality time and physical touch as well (date never passes an opportunity to Grab A Boob), but mostly just ensuring the other's life goes as smooth as possible bc boy howdy they've been through some shit

33. How do they flirt? Who’s the worse flirt?

date probably makes a lot of innuendo heavy jokes that hitomi pretends not to understand so he can embarrass himself while explaining lmao but tbh i can't imagine them flirting that much. they don't really need to

36. How do they feel about having kids? Are they in agreement?

"we have two very lively daughters, that's enough lmao" (plus like. i think they only start actually dating after a few years, so both are in their forties & there's much lower chance to have a kid even if they tried. if smth happened they'd probably be happy to have a child together)

39. When and how did they admit that they loved each other? If they haven’t yet, why?

it probably took a veeery long time for them to feel comfortable with saying it out loud (but they knew. they knew), so maybe 2 yrs after getting into a relationship? and tbh i think hitomi said it first & date bluescreened at this. she loves him. she really loves him, despite everything. he's crying.

42. What’s their relationship like with each other’s friends/families?

haha yeah about that. (boss & hitomi text often though. mostly worrying about date. disaster man.)

45. How do they support each other? How do they rely on each others support?

oh i think they support each other by just. being there for one another. doing little things to cheer up the other one, asking how to help, bouncing ideas off of each other. but when it gets Harder i think both of them (mostly date) bottle things up a lot until the other one (mostly hitomi) gets too worried to let that slide.

48. Do they talk about their future together? Why or why not?

:( p sure they'd be afraid of considering an actual future together when you take into account What Happened Last Time (and in aini :// ), so it'd take like. a few good years until they feel comfortable enough to assume they wouldn't get separated again...

[captainexplody]

Chainsaw Freak

‘UrrrrrghhAAARRRRGHHHHHH!’ A long, loud, incredibly painful sounding noise emanates from a corridor. Hospital orderlies push a gurney down the corridor and into a hospital room. They try to get some cotton wool to push into this guys mouth in order to get him to stop screaming, but he just eats all of the cotton wool, so they give him a shot of some sort of liquid. I don’t know what the liquid was, I’m not a doctor or anything, but he takes the shot and starts to calm down. The orderlies all high five each other and rub each others arms in celebration of getting this guy to calm down. Man he was a yap.

Later on, a doctor walks into this mans room, walking to the foot of his bed to read his medical chart. The doctor looks incredibly confused, and then looks at the man, who is beginning to stir. The doctor waits until he is fully awake before he proceeds, and man is he ever going to proceed. 

Doctor Foster: Hello there son, my name is Doctor Foster and I have the pleasure of checking up on you today. 

Chainsaw Freak: Hi!

Doctor Foster: Ok, so I have a number of questions.

Chainsaw Freak: Ask away, doc.

Doctor Foster: Ok so first of all, in your chart, your name has been written down here as ‘Chainsaw Freak’?

Chainsaw Freak: That’s correct.

Doctor Foster: Alright, just checking. Can you tell me your real name?

Chainsaw Freak: That is my real name, doc. I got it legally changed a number of years ago.

Doctor Foster: ... I see. Why would that be?

Chainsaw Freak: I think it sounds better than my old name.

Doctor Foster: And what would that old name have been?

Chainsaw Freak: Nice try doc, but I’m not spilling the beans. If I tell you what my old name was, you’ll write that down on my chart instead of my actual name, which legally is Chainsaw Freak.

Doctor Foster: Yes, you certainly saw through my cunning plan incredibly quickly. I’m clearly dealing with a real genius here.

Chainsaw Freak: You got that right!

Doctor Foster: Speaking of you being a genius, after having checked your charts and also given you an inspection, it appears that you have a number of wounds all over your body.

Chainsaw Freak: Oh yeah doc, I got beat up pretty bad.

Doctor Foster: Do you mind telling me what happened?

Chainsaw Freak: Yeah I was juggling chainsaws and I dropped them all and all the chainsaws cut me up bad. 

Doctor Foster: Why were you juggling chainsaws?

Chainsaw Freak: Because I’m the Chainsaw Freak, YYEEEEEAAAHHHHHH!

The man in the bed tries to throw up the devil horns with one of his hands but the very idea of moving parts of his body is proving to be difficult, so he just groans and moans and doesn’t really do anything. The doctor rubs his forehead with the thumb and forefinger of one (1) hand.

Doctor Foster: Ok. Let’s back up a little bit, lets start right at the beginning. So you renamed yourself to Chainsaw Freak, got your name legally changed, and you juggle chainsaws.

Chainsaw Freak: Well yesterday was the first time I’ve ever tried to juggle chainsaws before. I do different kinds of stunts with them though, sure.

Doctor Foster: You do these stunts as a job?

Chainsaw Freak: Yeah! I film myself doing wacky stuff with chainsaws and upload the videos to Youtube! So then people watch the videos and that encourages me to make more videos!

Doctor Foster: I see. So you must have a lot of people watching your videos if you would dedicate yourself to a risky business like playing with chainsaws.

Chainsaw Freak: Oh yeah, absolutely! I get like, 100 views sometimes! It’s pretty amazing.

The doctor looks a little surprised.

Doctor Foster: 100 views doesn’t seem like a whole lot.

Chainsaw Freak: Of course it is, doc! I mean think about it, how many people are in this room right now? Two! Now imagine multiplying that number by 50, that’s so many people!

Doctor Foster: I mean there’s probably at least 300 people employed by this very hospital. 

Chainsaw Freak looks stunned at such a number.

Chainsaw Freak: Whoah! That’s HUGE! Do you think some of the guys here have watched my videos? Statistically one of them must have, surely. 

The doctor is now fully aware that he is dealing with an idiot.

Doctor Foster: As a doctor I should fully advise you against such a reckless business venture, especially when you’re not actually doing it as a business.

Chainsaw Freak: Hey now, yes I am! I take my job of doing chainsaw stunts very seriously. I’m the Chainsaw Freak, YEEEEEAHHHHHH!

Chainsaw Freak tries to do the devil horns again but gosh-darn it he just can’t muster the strength. 

Doctor Foster: Now. Let me be honest with you, young man. If you come into this hospital again with chainsaw-related injuries, it’s a certainty that we will have to amputate some of your limbs. You have lost an awful lot of blood this time, and from our records that I checked earlier you have been admitted to this hospital and other hospitals before. Your injuries are adding up, Mr Freak, and this is the final straw. Your body will be unable to withstand another chainsaw onslaught. Honestly it’s surprising that it’s managed to hold off for this long. The human body is incredibly resilient. Still, I believe this to be the end of the road, young man. Should you continue on your bizarre path of chainsaw destruction and suffer further injuries, if you are readmitted to this hospital I foresee no future for you except amputation, given how severe some of your wounds already are.

The Chainsaw Freak looks very serious as he thinks about this for a moment.

Chainsaw Freak: Whoah. That’s heavy, man. Like, imagine how many Youtube views I would get if I was an amputee that did tricks with chainsaws.

Doctor Foster: No no, I think you are misinterpreting what I am saying to you...

Chainsaw Freak: Yeah man, yeah! I can picture it all now, me with no arms and legs trying to juggle chainsaws! That’s be so sick, dude! Yeah! I’d be the only guy with no arms and legs that would do chainsaw tricks, one of a kind! I’d be so unique I’d get so many views! Thanks doc, you really put things into perspective for me. Also, you got any other drugs? I am in an extreme amount of pain. 

The doctor sighs as he walks to a cabinet to procure more body-numbing drugs for this young idiot. Imagine going to medical school for as many years as he did just for this. Although the flipside is, imagine being this chainsaw guy. Swings and roundabouts, ain’t it?

[lubdubsworld]

物の哀れ ( ‘the sadness of things’.)

Characters : Alpha! Jungkook x Omega ! OC.

ABO Dynamics.

Genre : Arranged Marriage / Temporary contractual Marriage.

Warnings : Non- Con/ Extremely Dubious Consent . High functioning alcoholism. Genre related consent issues. Implied suicidal thoughts. 

Summary : A recently widowed Jungkook agrees to a contract marriage to keep his company afloat. His grief overwhelms him and it is hard to look at his new wife as anything other than an intruder .

[  Author’s Note :  物の哀れ ~ Mono no aware can be translated as ‘the sadness of things’. It comes from the words 物 (mono – thing) and 哀れ (aware – poignancy or pathos). The ‘sadness’ in question comes from an awareness of the transience of things, as taught by Zen Buddhism. When we view something exceptionally beautiful, we might feel sad because we know it won’t stay so beautiful forever – but appreciation only heightens the pleasure we take in the beautiful thing in that moment. ]

Chapter 1

 Chapter 2

I wrapped the white wool shawl tighter around my shoulders. The night was still chilly and the and smelt faintly of impending rain. Why they would plan a party outside while it rained, was beyond me.

After my little skirmish with Jungkook, I had found Namjoon quickly only to be told that we couldn’t leave for another hour at least because there was a  certain investor who wanted to meet Namjoon . The guy was running late and he had to wait for him. So here I stood, shivering lightly, all while keeping an eye on my husband as he got progressively drunk.

Namjoon’s words made me sigh a little.

“You can’t decide what someone else’s normal is, Namjoon. Especially when it comes to grief.  But the drinking is an issue. And you’re right about the therapist. I know she’s doing her best but I’m not sure if she has the right answers for him. Or even the right tools to help him.”

“I’ve been searching up on therapists who specialize with alphas. There’s one in Itaewon , his name is Kim Taehyung. I really think he could help. He’s an alpha himself.”

“That sounds good. Betas may not fully understand alpha mating bonds or what it’s like when one of them dies. Taehyung may have a better understanding of what Jungkook’s going through.” I nodded, a little hopeful. 

Therapy with the beta lady the hospital had recommended wasn’t really helping Jungkook the way it ought to.

Namjoon hesitated.

“Would you be willing to go with him? Taehyung insists a family member stay in the waiting room just in case...” he asked gently. I turned back to look at my husband, leaning on the mahogany countertop of the bar, fingers curled around a glass of whiskey.

“And I’m the one you want to consider for that? That’s ridiculous. Jungkook hates me.” Did I really have remind him of this salient fact? 

“I’ve offered to, before.  He doesn’t want me there." I sighed as Jungkook threw the drink back with ease.

“That was three months ago though. Things have changed now right?” Namjoon prodded.

I laughed, shaking my head.

“Not between us they haven’t. He’s spending more time with Mina and he isn’t throwing stuff around but he still loathes me.”

“He loathes what you represent: his own shortcomings and failures. Your father wasn’t kind in his approach and you are a reminder of all the things he can’t control.”

How fucking unfair,  I thought playing with the tiny  ring on my finger ( or should i say handcuff really? ), my wedding ring , the platinum band engraved with my husband’s name, a drop of his blood embossed into the metal. 

An archaic tradition, that carried no meaning in modern Seoul but the idea of it was still alive and well. The idea that what we had was a blood bond, imbued in our veins now.  An alpha’s connection with a beta or an alpha mate was usually quite fragile. But an alpha and omega mate bond. That was supposed to be powerful. 

Unless the alpha was still phantom bonded to a dead wife , that is. It was odd thing. Mate bonds had to be mutual to work. So there was no bond between Jungkook and I . We didn’t have any feelings for each other of course. But wearing someone’s blood on yourself changed that . it forced a bond that wasn’t there. It was ancient magic and it worked on my kind. Not on his. 

How fucking unfair because it wasn’t like I could control any of this either? 

I grimaced. I had thought of taking the ring off 

“Ouch.” I said with a smile. Namjoon waved off my self pity with an eye roll. 

“You know what I mean. Even for an Alpha, Jungkook has always held on to his pride. Losing his wife and his company all in the same week probably left him feeling incredibly helpless and your father browbeat him into this whole thing. Of course he isn’t going to be eager to share heart to heart talks with you. ”

I held my hand up. 

“I know all that Namjoon. I was there, remember? And I’m not blaming him for any of that. Trauma makes you do shitty things and I understand that . I also understand that if he was in his right mind he wouldn’t behave the way he does now. But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t change his mind for him. If he doesn’t want to get help, I’m kind of helpless myself, you know?”

Namjoon reached out and squeezed my hand.  

“I’m just asking you this because , he does listen to you at times. I’ve noticed it. He doesn’t outwardly agree with you but he takes your opinions into consideration. And, Heejin you live with him and you’re the one who managed to convince him to start scenting Mina. ”

And God, how exhausting that had been. I had kept at it because Mina was so young and she needed her father’s scent to grow. And while i could be persistent when necessary,  I couldn’t work miracles. 

“Namjoon oppa, “ I said softly, trying to explain myself without sounding like a horrible human, “  I don’t hate Jungkook. Far from it. I want him to get the help he needs and I’m here for him. If you can convince him to go see Taehyung and he’s okay with me coming along, I won’t say no. Mina needs him and there’s nothing I would like more than for him to get better. ” i smiled a little, “ But he’s still going to have to be the one to make that choice. i can’t make it for him.” 

Namjoon nodded.

“ Fair enough. Well,  I’ll talk to him about it. We’ll set something up. Thank you for not refusing Heejinah. I know it can’t be easy for you either. 

I opened my mouth to respond but out of the corner of my eyes I caught a glimpse of someone, staring intently right at me.

 I turned sharply, eyes locking with those of Kim Yugyeom and I stiffened, stepping closer to Namjoon on instinct.  Yugyeom smirked, winking at me. 

I shuddered in disgust. 

Creep.

Namjoon followed my line of vision and swore.

“This motherfucker.” He made to move towards him. and I grabbed his arm, fingers digging into his forearm. The last thing i wanted to witness was an alpha alpha showdown in the middle of a party with me in the middle. 

“Please, no. Don’t make a scene. It’s what he wants.”

“Jungkook has the shittiest friends on the planet.” Namjoon shook his head and I couldn’t agree more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mina’s appointment with the doctor went about as expected. She was right on time with her milestones and I sat in the waiting office for a mere twenty minutes before being called in. The doctor, an alpha named Min Yoongi gave me a small smile of recognition before flipping through the pages of her file.

“ Jungkook didn’t come along?” He asked casually, grabbing a pen and making a note of her weight and length before plotting it on the small graph. She was a little on the smaller side but she was growing well. 

“He’s busy...” i said with a shrug, “ So I still keep giving her the polyvisol supplements?” 

Yoongi nodded, “ The nurse will fill in the prescription for you. Are you sure he’s busy? He called me last night and told me he wanted to come see me?” 

I blinked. 

“He did ? “ I couldn’t quite process this. 

“He wanted to talk about how she’s doing and I told him he could come in for her appointment today.”

I imagined a world where Jungkook actually spoke to me, instead of forcing  me to navigate stormy waters on rotten plywood. Nine more months, i told myself firmly, already digging for my phone. Nine more months and I would be out of this living hell I’d gotten trapped in. 

“Can I try calling him? He’s probably forgotten. I think he might regret missing out.” I begged and Yoongi gave me a small smile, waving me off. 

“Of course you can Heejin-ah and tell him that if he wants I can drop by at the office and talk to him as well.” 

I nodded quickly , moving out to the waiting area while the nurses held Mina, soothing her before getting her ready for her shots. I tried calling him and not surprisingly he didn’t pick up. I called his office next and Jungkook’s secretary picked up the phone .

The woman hated me. 

“He’s busy.” She said curtly.” He’s specifically asked me not to bother him with stuff that isn’t important.” 

Her whiny voice grated on my ears and i bit my lips to keep the irritation in. 

“Since when does his daughter make that list, Ms Lee?” I said calmly and she hesitated. 

“He’s in a meeting right now and-”

“I’m in the hospital with his daughter. I hope you’re willing to take the heat when he finds out that you wouldn’t let me get through to him. “ I said casually. 

It was a twisted version of the truth for sure. Meant to imply that Mina was hurt in some way. But I couldn’t bring myself to regret it much. I had enough on my plate without dealing with twenty year old secretaries who fancied themselves in love with their hot boss. 

 “I... just a moment, Mrs. Jeon.” 

I loathed the name. It wasn’t mine. It was hers and I felt like a thief every time someone addressed me that way.

After two minutes, Jungkook’s  familiarly low and perpetually exhausted voice came out ,

“Hello? Heejin?” He sounded listless and his voice just a little slurred and i groaned. 

“Please tell me you aren’t drunk.” I whispered. 

“I’m not. “ He said shortly. “ What’s wrong? What happened? Is Mina alright? ”

“Did you tell Yoongi that you were going to meet him today?” 

He was quiet for a second. 

“i’ll talk to him.”

He hung up and I stared at the phone. I realized that I shouldn’t have called him in the first place. Should have asked Yoongi to call him himself. What was wrong with me? Even a few syllables exchanged with Jungkook felt like staring into an abyss . 

I moved back to the clinic , just as Mina plaintive wail filled the room. The shots were done. It took us another thirty five minutes to finish filling her prescriptions and for Yoongi to finish examining her. She was already dozing off and I wasn’t supposed to feed her for another thirty minutes so perhaps the nap would do her good.  I had just finished settling her into her Bjorn carrier  when Jungkook’s voice came from the entryway. 

“Is this the way to Dr. Min’s office?” 

I glanced back to watch him . He looked ridiculously handsome in a three piece suit, jacket thrown over his arm and hair lightly damp from the misty drizzle outside. I saw the secretary’s mouth actually drop open and stay agape as she tried to process his questions. i could see the way his beauty had rendered her entirely witless and as someone who had experienced it first hand , i could sympathize, 

But Jungkook was beginning to look annoyed from the lack of response and i decided to give the poor girl a break. 

“He’s waiting for you.” I called out and Jungkook startled. He glanced up at me and for some reason he looked surprised. He always looked surprised when he saw me. As if i was just some monster out of his worst nightmares turning up in odd places . As if he couldn’t quite believe that i did exist in his life now. Unwelcome but impossible to avoid. 

“You’re here.” He said blankly. 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. 

“Yes, i am. I’ve been here for three months now. “ i said shortly, before i could stop myself, “ Mina’s fine.  She just had her shots. I’m going to drive home and put her down for a nap. Do you want me to come with you ?” I pointed at the clinic. 

He hesitated before shaking his head. 

It was all according to script then. Jungkook would never include me in a single thing. Even if i was smack damn in the middle of the room with nowhere else to go. 

“Alright. i’ll see you after work.” 

“We’ll have guests for dinner today. ” He said suddenly. 

I stared at him, confused.

“For dinner??”

“ Sooah’s parents.” 

Oh, God. 

Wary of the extra nurses suddenly filling the room, the little whispers and the curious glances, i kept my smile even. 

“Of course. ” I bowed a little before turning on my heel and walking away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sooah’s parents were, for lack of a better word, selfish . 

They had lost a daughter, so of course i could understand with their need to keep their daughter’s memory alive. But the way they chose to do it was unhealthy and borderline vindictive. 

" She’s growing well.” Mrs. Kim had the same statuesque figure as her model daughter and she held her grandchild with a slightly unsure grip and Mina felt the uncertainty in her grip, breaking out into cries at once. I stayed still, my throat dry from disuse. I hadn’t said a word since they came in. 

We were seated at the table, dinner was done. 

Jungkook sat next to me, staring straight ahead while his father in law tried to engage him in conversation. 

With Jungkook, the grief came in waves. Some days, the waves were small and gentle, like the ones that lapped at your feet on the shore of a tranquil lake. on those days e went about his day as usual, spoke to his friends and signed deals.  And somedays they were big, behemoths carrying guilt and accusation, crashing over his head with a vengeance. 

On those days , he looked like he’d been run over by a two ton truck. 

Today was just one of those days and i could sense it.

The man was going on an on about some charity that Sooah had been involved in as a young girl... Could Jungkook make a contribution in her name?. Could Jungkook pay for a concert of her favorite singer in her hometown..?  Could Jungkook possibly consider contributing to opening a foundation in her name? 

I could feel the urge to scream, grow by the minute.

 Each syllable that spilled out of her father’s mouth was aggravating, the sentences began and ended with her name, over and over over again and It felt terribly like she was standing right next to me, ice cold and dead but real and relentless at the same time. He spoke of her like she was still alive and i couldn’t fathom how that was healthy. How that was going to help Jungkook move on.

 If anything it made it harder for him to move on. 

And in a moment of chilling clarity, i realized  that this is what they wanted. 

They didn’t want Jungkook to move on from her. They wanted him to be consumed by her. In the wake of that realization , i felt anger surge. 

There was just enough hurt and heartbreak and pain and grief in this room without these idiots adding to it. 

“Jungkook is tired tonight, uncle.. Perhaps we can discuss this later.” I said finally, unable to bear it any more.

The man gave me a glare.

“I wasn’t talking to you girl.” He said sharply. I frowned. 

“We’re trying to help Jungkook. “ The woman said sharply. “ Unlike you and your father we do not prey on the weak. “ 

Jungkook shifted at the phrase and I glared at her.

“He isn’t weak. “ I snapped, resisting the urge to add on a you bitch , “He’s grieving . And what he needs is space to process his grief. Not you people trying to shove your daughter into his throat with every sentence. “

“Don’t you dare talk about our daughter!” Mrs. Kim snarled and i felt a headache come on.

“I thought that was why you were here? To talk about her? Or should I say use her as an excuse to get money out of him??  What you’re doing is unfair and awful!! . Jungkook isn’t ready to talk about this and one look at his face should tell you that, if you even bothered looking at anything except his wallet.” I shouted. 

“Heejin, that’s enough.” Jungkook said hoarsely and i bit my lips. 

Of course he wasn’t going to support me even if we were on the same side. Defending him, protecting him was exhausting and it was such a thankless job. i wanted it to end. 

“I think we should call this a night. please, just leave” I said sharply, standing up and reaching for Mina. She glared at me but handed the baby over. 

“You don’t get to make that decision. My son in law is who I’m here to see. You’re just the parasite that’s attached herself to him. You sit there in my daughter’s place and you dare disrespect me this way. ” The woman snapped.

“Its still my house. “ I gritted out. “ I’m married to Jungkook whether you like it or not and so i have the right to ask you to get out of my house.” 

“Heejin, stop.” Jungkook’s voice only made me angrier. He sounded drained and empty and still these leeches wanted to suck him dry. And he was too  blind to see it. 

“I’m done with this” I stood up moving to the small pack and play that sat in the corner of the living room. i placed Mina in and watcher her eyes flutter shut gently. 

i turned back to stare at Mrs. Kim.

“i want the pair of you to leave. Get out before I call security.” 

She gaped at me. 

“you had a wedding... that doesn’t make it a fucking marriage. “ she sneered. “ Its probably not even legal until you consummate it. So go ahead, call the cops right now. You think i wouldn’t take you to court. ??!! ” 

She was spouting absolute nonsense, probably driven by her own grief  but i wasn’t feeling particularly charitable tonight. 

“Why don’t you ask your son in law that? Ask him if the marriage was consummated or not...” I smirked. 

She faltered, eyes wide and disbelieving.

“No. You’re lying ...he wouldn’t.” She turned to Jungkook who looked at me with fury in his eyes. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He said sharply and I scoffed.

“With me? What the fuck is wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong with these idiots that they think they can come here and ask you to sign a fucking cheque when you’re still out here grieving for their daughter?!”

“You don’t know shit about them or her...” 

“I don’t have to. I don’t have to and i don’t care to either. All I know is that i married you and you’re my husband and whether you meant those vows or not, i did. I swore in front of my God and my family and I’m going to keep those promises. I’m going to protect you because I love your daughter . I’m going to protect you because you need to fucking live to be able to care for her. “ 

i turned to stare at his in-laws. They were staring at me, some of the fire dying out and in the span of a few minutes they somehow looked older . 

“You don’t deserve to be here.” Mr. Kim said finally, voice cracking and i exhaled. 

“And yet, here I am. And I’m not leaving. you are.” I said calmly. 

They stared at me for one more second before standing up and moving out of the dining space and into the hallways leading out. 

“We’ll call you later Jungkook-ah...” The man said before walking out of the door and slamming it shut behind him. 

The silence between us grew heavier as the seconds ticked. 

“We can’t decide how people grieve.” Jungkook said softly. 

I stared at him in disbelief. 

“You’re telling  me  that , Jungkook? Or did you forget all the times I indulged you when the only way you could grieve was apparently  by forcing yourself on me.” i snapped. 

His eyes widened , just a fraction before going blank again. 

He took a deep breath and went on. 

“They lost their daughter and they’re hurting. We can’t tell them they aren’t allowed to honor her memory...They’re clearly in pain...”

“Not more than you!” i snapped. “ You’re the one in pain here Jungkook. Your pain is so much more than theirs ..... Or may be it isn’t i don’t know.. But i do know that I can’t sit here and watch them bleed all over you when you’re cut just as deep as them.” 

“You don’t know shit about e!” He roared. “ Don’t you fucking dare talk about my grief like you can understand it...like you actually know what its like to lose the woman who had your fucking heart, because if you did you wouldn’t have agreed to this fucking marriage...you wouldn’t be here in this room with me, intruding on my grief and my pain... “

The sound of his voice made my entire body freeze in fear. I stayed perfectly still, jumping when he crossed the distance between us and grabbed my face, fingers curling around my jaw. 

“ You want to know how i wanted to grieve? I wanted to grieve in solitude!!! I wanted to grieve without some fucking stranger hovering over my shoulder like a fucking plague!”

I exhaled shakily, fingers trembling as i reached up to hold his wrist, my entire jaw throbbing with how hard his grip was. 

“It’s the price you pay for getting your company back. Jeon Jungkook. “ I choked out.” Or did you forget that marrying me is the reason you aren’t homeless on the streets “

He laughed a little yanking me closer and wrapping an arm around my waist.

“You’ve learned to talk back these days...” He muttered , “ I think I preferred the girl who hid in the nursery for the first three weeks of our wedding.” 

“I wasn’t hiding . I was avoiding you. Because your misery was contagious and i didn’t want any of it on me.” I snapped and his hold on my waist tightened. 

“Are you trying to make me angry? ” He snapped, fingers curling on my waist and I swallowed the whimper of pain that threatened. 

“Maybe i am... Maybe anything is better than watching you walk around this house like a corpse. You’re alive so I don’t see why you act like you died with her.” 

He growled at that, eyes blazing as he stepped back enough to stare into my face. 

“You’re right... I didn’t die with her. Although i wanted to...Maybe if i wasn’t such a fucking coward, i would have gone through with it.  .” He laughed and I felt my heart go ice cold at the very thought of it. 

“You didn’t die... So why don’t you get some help. There’s no shame in getting help... Taehyung...”

“I don’t need help. i need to be alone.” He snarled. “ I need to be allowed to cry and mourn my wife the way I want to but you and your father made sure that i couldn’t.”

I sighed, looking away in defeat. 

“Fucking look at me!” He snarled, hands grabbing both my arms and yanking me forward. “ Why won’t you look at me huh?  is the guilt finally catching up?” 

“No. No guilt. Just loathing and resentment.” I snapped back and he laughed again.

“Well too bad. Because you know what? You’re right. I paid for my company with my right to grieve and you...you paid for my name with your right to say no . “ 

I swallowed as he yanked me away from the table, dragging me to the couch in the side. 

“ I never refused you a thing.” I choked out, breathing ragged as he shoved me into the soft leather surface, crawling on top of me at once. “ I only said no when you were drunk out of your mind. When you thought it was okay to fuck me and call me by her name.” 

He made swift work of the buttons of my blouse and I stayed still, arms lying by my side. 

“ Are you telling me you want this ? You expect me to believe you want my hands on your body?” He sneered, fingers moving up to grip my hair. “You don’t want this and you don’t want me....Just like i don’t want you either. i’ll never want you. ” 

“You don’t want me.??.. You have a funny way of showing it..”  I scoffed , staring right into his eyes rolling my hips up into his  , greeted by the hard press of his length against my thigh.   “ And to be honest i don’t give a damn if you’re still in love with her , all I want is my name on your lips if you want to get off with me. Because I’m not just a toy you can use to replace your dead wife. I have  a name and you should remember it.  "

He growled again, fingers squeezing hard against the back of my head till my scalp felt like it was on fire.

“I hate you. “ He said clearly. “ I hate you and everything you’ve done to me.” 

“Everything I’ve done to you? Oh you mean save your life? Taek care of your baby girl like she was my own? Give you the chance to rebuild your entire career.? Turn you into multi millionaire again?  Good. Hate me. The feelings mutual. “ I snapped. “Now if you hate me so much why are you still here? Get off me.” 

“I’m not going anywhere, wife.” He sneered. “ Because like you said, I’ve paid for this.” He drawled, reaching down and squeezing between my legs. “And I’d be a pretty bad businessman if i don’t collect from my investments.” 

Before I could retort, he pulled back, just enough to grab me by the waist and flip me over on my front. I flinched when he grabbed my arms, yanking them back and trapping my wrists together in his fist at the base of my spine. My cheeks pressed into the leather couch, sticky and uncomfortable. 

i heard the sound of his zipper, the clink of his belt buckle. 

Coward. 

I shivered when he pushed my skirt up.

“Don’t enjoy this too much, yeah?” I snapped, “ You hate me remember?” 

“Easy enough to forget its you when I don’t have to look at you.” he retorted. 

He slipped one arm under my waist, lifting me up just enough for him to yank my panties down. 

“Just remember , you don’t get to blame the alcohol for this .” I sneered. “ You’re sober and clear headed and you’re hard for me. “ 

Somehow that seemed to bother him.

He stopped . 

I could feel the hesitation in his limbs. 

It made me laugh. 

“You know Jungkook, i took you for lot of things but a coward wasn’t one of them.”

“What the fuck does that mean huh? I should put you in your fucking place for how insolent you are with me... ” he pressed down on me and i gasped when I felt his chest pressing into my back, his face inches from my own. I flinched when he sank his teeth into the mating mark on my neck. 

“it means that if you’re going to do this, if you’re going to talk big about putting me in my place like the big bad alpha that you are, at least own up to the fact that you’re attracted to me. ” 

“ You forget your fucking place, omega.”  he hissed, voice sharp and furious against my ear. “ Another word out of that mouth and i won’t be responsible for what i do.” I gritted my teeth when he curled his fingers around the inside of my thigh, parting my legs and settling in between. 

He pushed into me in one strong thrust and my eyes flew open in shock. 

“Fuck.... why are you so fucking tight...” He groaned and my shoulders began to throb as he fucked into me, setting a punishing speed that left both of us panting . We were too fucking would up for it to last any longer than a few minutes and yet, i could feel pleasure swell inside me, wetness seeping out of me and onto the leather couch beneath us. 

I wondered just how fucked up this whole thing was. Just how much damage were we doing to each other?? But it was hard to care too much about it, because even if though it was a terrible way to talk things out at least he had talked. It was nothing new....nothing earth shatteringly enlightening but he had said it all out loud and that made a difference. 

“You think you can come into my life and dictate how i fucking live.” He grunted against my ear, fingers tightening on my hair. “ it pisses me off.” 

“Everyone dies, Jungkook. People die and they leave loved ones behind but Life goes on. It has to go on. You can’t just pause life to grieve. Mina needs you.” I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears, the adrenaline from the argument fading and my body threatening to go limp as he drove into me at the same punishing pace. 

He didn’t respond, fingers closing around my throat and squeezing lightly instead.

“Save your platitudes before i decide that the warmth of your body isn’t worth the grate of your voice on my ear.” He snapped and I whimpered when he stilled, spilling into me. 

He stayed pressed up against me. breathing harshly against my ear and i waited till both our breaths evened out. 

“It’s not selfish to move on Jungkook. You aren’t insulting your wife’s memory by wanting to move on.  “ I said softly. ” Someday your heart and mind will agree with me. Whether you like it or not. That’s just how pain works, Jungkook. One day it’ll pack itself up and walk out of your heart in the middle of the night. You just have to hold on till then.” 

He didn’t reply, merely drawing himself up and off me. 

Once i heard the door to his bedroom slam shut i dragged myself up , thighs shaking and sticky. I grimaced at the mess on the couch. I stared at the packet of baby wipes on the table nearby and shuddered. That just felt wrong. 

I’d just have to go grab a washcloth from the bathroom. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On that weekend, we had another dinner to attend, this time with a few investors from out of the country or so Namjoon told me. 

Although we didn’t talk about what happened and he didn’t try to touch me again, things were subtly different. 

Something had changed in the way Jungkook behaved with me. There was a little less of the usual zombie like indifference and he actually seemed to be avoiding alcohol actively. It was a welcome change. But to make up for it, Mina went into a growth spurt. Which meant ten minute naps every hours or so with wailing sobs in between. 

i was exhausted. 

So much so that Jungkook told me that he didn’t want to pick Mina up from Seokjin’s place till the next day. 

It was a little past one in the morning when I finally trudged into the apartment. Jungkook wasn’t black out drunk but he was definitely a little loose limbed, eyes just a shade more glassy than usual.

“Tonight went well. I’m thinking the guy from Macau is definitely going to consider investing.” He muttered, gripping the door frame and taking off his shoes.

I toed my own heels off, feeling upset and bereft.

“Why would you tell Jin oppa that we’ll get Mina in the morning? She’s not used to being away the whole night.” I complained, feeling jittery and nervous because the house felt so empty and strange .

I didn’t like the idea of being alone with Jungkook without the buffer of his daughter between us. The house felt foreign, the walls seemingly closer together , the space to cramped.

Jungkook dropped his keys in the bowl and tugged on his tie, watching me carefully.

“It’s too late and Jin hyung said she was already asleep. He’ll drop her off in the morning. Just relax. Would you like a drink?”

I stared at him. 

What now? 

He looked nervous and a tad worried.

 Swallowing , I shook my head, turning on my heel.  

“I’m going to bed.” I was almost at the door to the nursery when he grabbed my arm, seemingly moving faster than I could breathe.

“Wait, Heejin… “ He stopped, worrying his lip between his teeth before sighing, “I… I need to say something..” He finished and I exhaled sharply.

I tugged on my arm but he wouldn’t let go.

“Jungkook , let me go.” I said sharply. “ I’m not in the mood tonight . You aren’t drunk now and I’m running out of reasons to excuse your actions.”

His hold on my arm relaxed but he didn’t let go.

“Namjoon hyung told me about that new therapist.... Kim Taehyung?? . I don’t think it’s a good idea.” He said roughly.  

I sighed, defeated. It was expected and yet it stung. I wondered if perhaps I was just beating a dead horse at this point. But Mina deserved to have a father who loved her with all his heart and Jungkook’s heart was so filled with grief it had no place for his daughter. If there was any chance I could help change that, I would take it.

I tugged my arm away again and this time he let go.

I tried to smile encouragingly. it was hard because i was all out of comfort, my own exhaustion too overwhelming at the moment.

So I took a deep breath and reached out to lightly touch his arm. 

“Listen, no one’s asking you to make a decision tonight, Jungkook.” I tried to smile a bit more widely but it probably came out as a grimace, “ Just sleep on it and think about why you think it isn’t a good idea. Taehyung’s an alpha and he may understand you better. Think about it and you can let Namjoon know later.”

He didn’t reply, merely staring at me till I began to feel a little hot around the collar.

“Well, Good night then.” I made to turn away but he grabbed me again, this time by my wrist.

“Wait.”

Patience wearing just a little thin, I stared at him, waiting as he requested.

“I’m sorry about what I said that night. At the party last week. About you not being her mother.   I shouldn’t have said that.”

It was the first time he had apologized for anything.

It took me a second to even remember what he was talking about. 

“Alright. I’m not mad. And I understand why you said it. Its fine. And you’re right. I’m not her mother and I should be more careful. ”

He nodded and then stepped back.

“ I’m sorry. For a lot of things. ”  He bowed awkwardly and I could only stare at him, shaking my head. The apologies were somehow both welcome and abhorrent to me. 

They were the kind of apology you would offer a stranger. And that made them insincere because I wasn’t a stranger. I’d been through too much these past few months, to be treated that way. 

For now I could only accept them at face value. 

“ Its alright. Just go to bed Jungkook. And listen to Namjoon oppa . I know you don’t trust me but you should trust him. He only wants what’s best for you. ”

I sounded twenty years older than I actually was and grimaced.

"There’s one more thing. Can I... I need... “ He stopped and stared at the floor. 

I felt a huge sense of foreboding rise up at that. 

“Are you going to pull the i paid for your body card? “ I said bitterly. “ You made it very clear that i can’t say no. I don’t see why you’re bothering to-”

“You can say no.” He said softly. “ You can say no.” 

And then he looked up at with limpid doe eyes, shining with all the stars in the galaxy and I wanted to sob at the unfairness of it all. 

“ And if I say no, where will you go? To a brothel? you’ll come back smelling like another beta or omega and you can’t come near your daughter till it fades. Which is what? A week? “ 

Jungkook didn’t say anything and I felt helpless. 

“Is that why you sent her away tonight?” I demanded and he looked genuinely surprised. 

“What? No. Of course not . i just...You looked exhausted. I thought you’d like a night off. And just... I don’t want to have sex. Can you just sleep with me. I just... I don’t want to be alone tonight.” 

“What’s so special about tonight?” i rolled my eyes already moving to his bedroom instead of the nursery. 

He stared at me for a few seconds, eyes empty in the dark of the hallway. 

I waited a whole minute before sighing. This was excruciating and my heels hurt from wearing heels all evening. i wanted to curl into the air mattress on the floor of the nursery , possibly lie sleepless till dawn and then drive down to pick Mina up from Jin’s place. 

“Jungkook , let’s just go to bed and forget-” 

“Its her birthday.” 

I barely heard him, his lips barely moved and his voice was so low. 

I stared at him. Not sure if I’d misheard. 

“What?”

“Its her birthday. “ He repeated. 

“You can say her name.” i said calmly. “ You’re not betraying her by saying her name out loud in front of me.” 

He went a little stiff at that and i wanted to kick myself for the remark. What a hypocrite I was. I’d reprimanded Namjoon for trying to dictate Jungkook’s grief and here I was , doing the exact same thing. 

“I’m sorry. God, Jungkook... I’m sorry. i shouldn’t have said that.  i didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me.. I... of course you don’t have to be alone. Should i call Namjoon oppa? Or Jimin?” I asked gently. 

“It’s Sooah’s birthday.” He was still staring at the floor, apparently he hadn’t heard a word I’d said. 

I had a sudden flash of memory, remembering that Jungkook used to sing. He had sung at his wedding seven years ago. Serenaded his wife as she walked down the aisle. I had been young then but i remembered thinking how evident his love was in every syllable sung .

Something i could hear even now, in the way he said her name. 

“Okay. What would you like to do? I... I can make seaweed soup.” I said softly. “ We can go see her if you like?” 

He stared at me. 

“I want to go alone.” He said finally. 

I hesitated. 

“I’ll drive you. i’ll stay in the car. You can’t drive.” I reminded him. 

Jungkook’s driver’s license had been suspended after one too many traffic violations. I drove him around often . 

He didn’t reply, staring out of the huge bay windows and i sighed. 

“Alright... Why don’t you go change  into something more comfortable yeah? i’ll get the soup going and we, “ i bit my lips, “ , I’m sorry, And you can go see her.  “ I smiled, before moving to the kitchen and grabbing the dried seaweed. I soaked it in cold water, before getting the beef, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper and the sesame oil from the cupboards. 

Ten minutes later, the soup was boiling away and I peered out at the door leading to his bedroom. I was still wearing the cocktail gown and my head was beginning to throb. I oved to the nursery and stripped quickly, slipping on my white t shirt and a pair of pink corduroy shorts. 

I would be in the car anyway.  By the time i finished taking off all my make up, the soup was done and Jungkook was slumped over the counter. He looked drained, more so than usual . In fact he looked notably worse than how he was ten minutes ago. 

Torn between the urge to draw him into my arms and the helpless knowledge that he would absolutely hate me touching him , i merely hovered near the stove, pouring the stove into a small airtight container. 

On a whim I moved to the cupboard  in the corner that housed all the crockery and threw it open. 

“What was her favorite bowl?” I said casually, staring at him. 

He blinked, staring at me like i was speaking a foreign tongue. 

“Her favorite bowl , Jungkook The one she always drank or ate from?” 

He swallowed but leaned his palms down on the granite countertop, levering himself off the tall stool of the kitchen island and making his way over to me. I stepped back, giving him space to peer into the depths of the black marble shelves. 

He finally stuck a hand in and drew out a pale yellow and mauve bowl , a little worn but intact. 

He held it carefully, running his fingers gently over the bowl, savoring the surface his wife had once caressed with her own fingers. I watched as his lips curved, a pale pale imitation of a smile but a smile nonetheless and I felt my breath catch in my throat. 

This was probably the first time he’d smiled in the three months i’d known him. 

My heart began to pound, a steady staccato that began rising in volume and i willed myself to stay calm. 

“I..uh.. I can wash it for you.” I said softly .

The smile disappeared as quickly as it had come and he stared at my outstretched hand like it was a snake . 

Face almost eerily blank he cleared his throat. 

“I’ll do it.” 

i watched as he moved to wash the bowl under the spray from the faucet and finished clearing up the kitchen. i grabbed a small bag to keep the sea wood soup in and held the bag open when Jungkook finished washing the bowls. He grabbed a fresh kitchen towel and carefully wiped down the moisture before wrapping the bowl in the towel and keeping it inside the bag, carefully. 

I smiled and zipped the bag shut. 

“Lets go shall we?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I sat waiting in the car, staring out into the darkness of the parking lot, while the rain poured torrents outside the glass windows of the car. I felt unaccountably alone, like I was the only human being left on the planet. 

It had been a little past an hour since Jungkook had disappeared into the building that held his wife’s ashes. I wasn’t sure if i should give him a call. Had he fallen asleep in there. 

I told myself I would wait another hour and if he didn’t come out, I would go check on him. 

I dozed lightly against the window, exhaustion beginning to creep in. I wanted to sob at how tired i was. I could have gotten a full nights sleep, something i hadn’t had since the day I took Mina into my arms. 

But then, i remembered the tiny smile that had sprung up on his face and i grinned despite myself. That was progress wasn’t it? It definitely was. I was sure that if only Jungkook could be convinced to go meet Taehyung , the alpha therapist, things could get so much better for him. I wanted to have him at least halfway to being ..... capable of handling his own daughter, before i left him. if not the worry alone would eat me alive. 

I was just getting ready to perhaps climb over the console and nap in the backseat when my phone rang. 

I glanced at the dashboard, frowning. it was two thirty in the morning. 

Who?

I grabbed my phone from the bag and my heart leapt to my throat. 

“Jin? What’s wrong? What happened to her?” I could feel my heart threatening to give out, any number of terrible possibilities running through my head in a vicious loop.

“nothing happened, Heejin , take a deep breath... She’s just running a fever. it was quite low earlier but its hitting 101  now and I’m getting a little worried. I’ve given her cold baths and kept a wet towel on her but it doesn’t seem to be coming down.” 

“We’ll be there in ten minutes! “ i said quickly.

“I’m sorry, Heejinah, i don’t have any experience with babies and-”

“it’s alright...thank you for calling me oppa!” i hung up , already fumbling with the door and stepping out into the rain. i was soaked through in three second flat. What a day to wear a white t shirt. 

I ran quickly, stumbling a little on the gravel pathway and hoping to God i was going the right way. I ran into the foyer, the poor security guard falling asleep over his desk glancing up at me in sympathy. 

“there was a man here earlier?”

“Second floor third room.” He said casually.

I nodded, already rushing for the steps. I climbed the four flights of stair in two minutes, my heart threatening to give out. I found Jungkook in the room , kneeling on the floor and he looked at me in shock that swiftly turned to anger.

“Jungkook-” i gasped because the run up had robbed me of my breath. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He moved so quickly I could barely blink before he was right up in front of me. 

“Jungkook, I... We need...” I tried to draw a breath in but before I could form the words he grabbed my arm, so hard that I whimpered in pain. 

“I told you i wanted to be alone, what the fuck is your fucking problem?!” He snarled.

“Jungkook-” Before i could finish, he yanked me just a bit closer to him before shoving me out of the room with his wife’s portraits and the small ornate vase that held her ashes. 

it wasn’t that hard. 

He didn’t push me in a very brutal way. 

In fact it was probably with lesser force than what anyone slamming a door would use. 

But,

Jungkook was six feet two. He weighed a 170 pounds. 

I was a hundred pounds wet and barely came up to his shoulders. 

And it was just my luck that the wall opposite to the door had a large concrete and granite horse figurine placed right in front of it.  

I crashed into the torso of the equine, my bones rattling inside me and I whimpered when my wrist made contact with the hard surface, bending a bit out of place. 

I slid to the floor in a wet lump, trying to catch my breath and process what had just happened.

Jungkook stood frozen by the door horrified as he stared at his hands, as thought he couldn’t quite fathom what he had just done. 

A sharp burning pain began in my sides and I gasped out.

“Oh, fuck.” I swore. 

Jungkook moved to help me up but i was already crawling away from him, scrambling to my feet, ignoring the ache in my side.

“I’m sorry.” I said softly, holding both my hands up. “ It’s Mina...she’s running a fever. We need to go get her.” 

“Heejin-ah, I’m...”

One more apology and i would officially lose it, i thought slightly hysterically. 

“its my fault.” I said sharply, “  I should have probably tried calling you from the car instead of barging in like this but Jin called and i got worried...I wasn’t thinking straight so I’m sorry about that... I think we should go get her as soon as we can.” 

“Did i hurt you?” He demanded , reaching out for me again and I nearly fell again trying to move away from his touch. 

“No.. No I’m fine.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure, we don’t have to go the doctor.?  “ He asked nervously, watching me carefully wipe down her body with the slightly damp wet cloth. I nodded, carefully squeezing the water out before dipping the towel in water again. 

“She’ll be fine. Her fever’s come down and with babies this young, its safer to care for them at home than to take them to a hospital.” I said casually, 

 “I wasn’t talking about her.” He said stiltedly. 

I blinked, staring up at him in surprise. 

“What?”

“I think we should go to the doctor. You fell hard. ”

“Jungkook what are you even on about?” I said crossly, steadfastly ignoring the pain in my sides. It was sharp and unbearable with every breath I took in but I was too terrified to go to the hospital and have them tell me I’d cracked my rib or something. 

Partly because that would be so inconvenient. 

Partly because Jungkook would probably go back to being a guilt ridden shadow of himself if that happened. 

“I’m going to call Yoongi hyung.” 

Before I could protests some more he was already on his feet, moving to the living room.

Yoongi arrived thirty minutes later , annoyed and sleepy, dressed in a soft white t shirt and stone wash jeans. 

“It’s four thirty in the morning , she better be dying Jungkook..” He rasped out near the front door and i flinched at the murderous tone to his voice. 

Suddenly , i hoped desperately that my ribs had cracked. 

Yoongi stepped in , staring at me . He took in the mess of quilts i sat on and sighed. 

“Come here and take your shirt off.” He said gruffly. 

I blinked, feeling blood rush to my face. Was he always this handsome? Hating the very unwelcome flutter of nerves, I moved to stand in front of him, grabbing the hem of my t shirt .

But the movement jolted my rib and pain sharp and lancing shot through my side. I yelped and dropped my hand again breathing harshly which only seemed to make things worse. 

I swallowed and Yoongi blinked, reaching out to gently grip my elbows. 

“Hey...relax ... “ He said gently. 

I felt the press of a warm chest at my back.

“Let me help hyung.” Jungkook’s voice rumbled through my body, his chin brushing the top of my head and he bent over me from the back, fingers gripping the hem of my shirt and carefully lifting it up to just above the curve of my breasts. 

Yoongi was staring at Jungkook over my shoulders expression unreadable. 

“So you do know how to act after all.” He commented drily and I heard Jungkook inhale sharply behind me. 

“Hyung...” He said sharply, and Yoongi merely rolled his eyes. 

“How did this happen?” He ran slender fingers all over my skin, feeling each dent and dip carefully. 

“I ..uh.. I sort of fell into a statue? It was made of concrete and quite heavy.” 

His face shifted into a frown. 

“Jungkook , tell me you didn’t push her.” He said sharply and I jumped a bit.

“No...he didn’t.” i said sharply and Yoongi ignored me , staring right at the alpha behind me. 

“I didn’t mean to.” He said finally.

“You broke her rib, kid.” 

I groaned in defeat. Behind me Jungkook stiffened.

“It was an accident.” I said sharply and Yoongi gave me an unimpressed look.

“If i had a won for every wife that told me that.” 

“It was my fault and-” I shut my mouth. I did sound like the poster child for abused wife in denial. 

“Relax... I’m not going to send your handsome husband to prison.” He chuckled. “ This time.” He added, giving Jungkook another glare. 

“It won’t happen again. ever. “ Jungkook’s voice shook a little. 

I sighed, already imagining the self flagellation that was probably going on inside the alpha’s head.

Yoongi’s voice drew me out of my head. 

 “Its not a break. It looks like a crack which is easier to heal. But i still want you to come in tomorrow. We’ll get it x rayed. Its going to take a couple of months to heal.” 

I gaped.

“Months?” 

“As long as you take it easy you’ll be fine. Now where’s the little one?” 

Yoongi dropped off a small bottle of pediatric paracetamol and told me to keep an eye on her temperature before bidding us goodbye. 

Once the door closed behind him, Jungkook turned to me , eyes wide and lips parted. 

“If you apologize , I’m going to throw this  at your face.” i said calmly, fingers closing over the neck of the ceramic vase on the table. 

Jungkook blinked. 

“I’m sorry. “ He said nonetheless and I sighed, pulling my hands away. 

How fitting. Neither of us could act out of character. 

Jungkook couldn’t stop blaming himself for everything under the sun. 

I just couldn’t bring myself to hurt him in any way. 

“Just go to bed , Jungkook. I’ll be fine.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : As always the pain is here and probably going to get worse. But Jungkook seems to be turning mildly human so let’s see if he can keep that up. Also handsome pediatric doctor Yoongi as second lead because i like to torture myself. 

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[egcdeath]

an apple a day

pairing: soft!ransom drysdale x reader

summary: it seems like an apple a day couldn’t keep the doctor or ransom away.

warnings: sickfic, a lot of fluff, brief mention of throwing up

word count: 2k

author’s note: join my taglist if you’d like! all feedback is appreciated <3

Ransom

U busy?

4:37 PM

Ransom

😏🍆😈

4:38 PM

Ransom

Wow ignoring me?????

5:24 PM

Ransom

Bitch

5:34 PM

Ransom

🙄

5:36 PM

A frantic pounding on your front door pulled you from a bizarre dream within your feverish slumber. You peeled the slightly damp cloth that rest upon your face from your sweaty skin, and lazily tossed it to the floor before audibly groaning. 

“Coming,” you whimpered out, hoping that it was loud enough for whomever was at the door.

“Fuckin’ better be,” a voice grumbled as a response.

You rolled over slightly, whole body sore from the sickness that was currently ailing you, and willed yourself to get off of your sofa. Swinging your legs over the left side of the piece of furniture you managed to get up, and sluggishly made your way to the door, ignoring the ache of your neck from resting it on an arm rest.

It seemed like with every step you took, your sinus headache throbbed harder between your eyes, and your fever cooked you a bit more from the inside out.

After what felt like a lifetime, you got to your door and opened it, only to be greeted by your… well, you didn’t really know what he was to you.

“Christ, Y/N. You look like shit,” Ransom commented, raising his brows. “Did you get hit by a car or something?”

You gave him a blank look, and said nothing. 

“Is this a bad time?”

“What do you think, dickhead?” 

“You’ve had better days,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Okay, goodbye,” you rolled your eyes and slammed the door on him, finding yourself slightly out of breath as you lethargically shuffled away.

You collapsed back onto the sofa, and reached for a blue tissue box that sat on your coffee table. Did that even happen? Did you imagine Ransom coming to your door? Or was that part of your fever dream?

Settling back, and pulling a wool blanket over yourself, you began to doze off once again, not really having the energy to do anything else.

Ransom

I’m s-word

6:12 PM

Ransom

I’m not gonna say it

6:13 PM

Ransom

But you know what I mean

6:15 PM

Ransom

I’m coming back over baby

6:17 PM

You hadn’t even noticed the vibrating of your phone, as it was currently lodged under a mountain of pillows and cushions. It also helped that you were asleep once again.

This time when you woke up, Ransom was in your apartment, rambling about some encounter he had while he was out dealing with the public for you.

How was he even in your apartment? You felt like you missed a few steps.

“Sit up,” he commanded, setting down a plastic take-out bag, along with the spare keys you kept under your welcome mat on top of your coffee table, before dragging a seat from your kitchen into your living room. 

The seat finally came to a stop in front of you, and you listlessly sat up. You watched as Ransom wordlessly opened the bag, revealing a massive container of a clear broth soup, and an equally large baguette.

“Am I dreaming?” You asked aloud.

“Why would you be dreaming? ‘Cause I did something nice? Or because I’m that hot?”

“Because I have a high fever that’s making me delusional,” you told him, and his brows furrowed once again. 

“Let me see,” he mumbled, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead, and humming in thought, “Yeah, you’re pretty hot,” he agreed.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” you mumbled, a random churn in your stomach suddenly taking a huge blow out of you. 

“Hey, I did a good thing for you. Don’t get bitchy with me now,” he snapped, narrowing his eyes slightly at you. 

You sighed as a response, and Ransom gave you a little smirk before going to open the lid of the soup container. 

“Open up wide, Beloved,” Ransom said in a playful tone. If you had the energy, you’d shoot something sassy back at him, but you were finding yourself in less of a state to do so with every passing moment. You simply followed along with his orders, opening your lips so Ransom could deliver a little spoonful of soup into your mouth. 

“Mm,” you audibly reacted to the liquid, “did you make this yourself?”

“Hm, you must be sicker than I thought,” he chuckled and dabbed the edge of your lip where a droplet of soup was left behind. “I picked it up on my way back over.”

“It’s really good,” you hummed, “feed me more.” 

Ransom scoffed fondly, “you’re lucky I like you.” He began, dishing out another spoonful to you.

You paused to chew on a softened carrot, “you should’ve known that sick me’s demands of you were gonna be a lot more.”

Ransom rolled his eyes, and went back to feeding you. You were both quiet for a moment, maintaining a heavy eye contact while he fed you, until out of the blue, your stomach turned. 

Your mouth filled with saliva as you realized what exactly was going on, and you rushed off of the couch with an obscene swiftness, just barely making it to your bathroom before you were emptying your stomach into it.

Ransom quickly showed up behind you, making his presence known by lifting your hair out of your face, and rubbing supportive circles onto your back. He cringed as he listened to you heave into the bowl, and when you finally leaned back, he used a thumb to wipe away the few tears that had begun to slip down your face. 

“You okay?” he questioned, squatting down to your level.

“Just peachy,” you choked out hoarsely.

“Maybe you’ll feel better after a shower?” he suggested, flushing your sickness down the toilet while you attempted to catch your breath.

“Okay, yeah,” you began hesitantly.

“I’ll stay in here if you want me to make sure nothing bad happens?”

“You just wanna be a perv,” you weakly giggled.

“I’m just trying to be a supportive… I’m trying to be supportive,” Ransom found his way back up, and turned on the shower’s nozzle.

“Mhm, I’m sure,” you began kicking off your sweatpants when you heard the water begin to putter down, and gestured for Ransom to help you lift off your sweatshirt once he was facing you once again. 

“I can’t believe you’re using up the last of that energy to have an attitude with me,” Ransom pulled you out of your shirt, then helped you up and began to direct you toward the shower. 

You were more or less silent from there on out, focusing on maintaining your balance in the slippery room. Your brain seemed to become increasingly cloudy with every extra puff of steam. You leaned against the slightly warm tiles of your wall as you attempted to get through the genuinely hellish shower for a few minutes before deciding it wasn’t really worth it, and stumbling back out. 

“Was I right? Did it help?” Ransom asked after your period of silence, handing you some fresh clothing that he’d grabbed from your closet sometime between the time you got in and out of the shower. 

You shook your head, “shower kinda made everything worse,” you muttered, pulling a new shirt over your head. “My head is killing me. I think I just need to be in a dark room, or go back to sleep, or something.”

You sluggishly pulled on the rest of your clothes, then sniffled as you walked out to your bedroom. As you made your way to your bed, you pushed aside a mountain of tissues from earlier in the… day? Week? With all the sleeping you’d been doing, you genuinely

couldn’t tell what time or day it was. You slipped into one side of the bed, and grabbed a pillow that you promptly hugged. 

Ransom slipped into bed beside you, a bottle of cold medicine in hand– when did he leave long enough to get you cold medicine?– and watched the tissues on your side of the bed fall onto the floor in a slightly disturbed manner. Yeah, he was definitely getting sick after this.

“Open,” he ordered, and you happily obliged, opening your mouth a bit so he could pour some medicine down your throat. You dramatically gagged, then wiped the corners of your lips.

“Gross, Ran,” you muttered, burying your face into a different pillow. 

“Well, it’ll probably make you feel better. I brought you water for a chaser if you’d like. You probably need to stay hydrated, or some shit like that.” 

When did he get water?? Probably when he was getting the medicine. But that would’ve taken him like, five minutes. And getting in bed didn’t take you that long. Right?

You were pulled out of your confused internal monologue by a pink plastic straw being brought to your lips, and you instinctively drank from it. You weren’t completely sure if it was all mental, or the medicine was kicking in extremely fast, but you were starting to feel a little loopy. Maybe time was being weird again because of your sickness. 

“I feel like I’m dying. You and your stupid showers made me die,” you whined, pushing away the straw.

“I was only trying to help,” he insisted as he set the drink down on your bedside table.

“I’m your second murder victim,” you continued.

Ransom paused and looked down at you with raised brows, “what?”

“Y’know, I saw what you did to that delivery girl who was bringing me soup. You better clean that body up before I get better, ‘cause ‘mgonna be pissed if I have to do that myself.”

“Okay, I don’t know if you’ve been seeing things the whole time, or if the medicine is rewriting your memories. Either way, I think it’s time for you to go to bed,” he chuckled.

“You’re right. Night,” you hummed before turning on your side and closing your eyes. It was pretty much lights out from there.

——

When you awoke, it was to the piercing bright light of a laptop screen that broke through the darkness of night. You had to blink a few times for your vision to focus, but… was Ransom in bed next to you? Looking at a WikiHow article? If you weren’t completely mistaken, you could make out a faint How to Help A Sick Person Feel Better: 8 Steps (with pictures).

You sleepily reached out and grabbed his wrist, letting him know that you were finally awake. He quickly clicked out of the tab, pulling up his Twitter feed instead. 

“Hi,” you greeted. “Why’re you being secretive?”

“I’m not,” he huffed.

“You are.”

“You’re still delusional from the medicine.”

“Probably. But you’re being secretive. And you’re bad at it.”

“Whatever,” you could practically hear the eye roll in his tone. 

“It’s late, Ran. Why’re you still up?” 

“I just wanted to, y’know…” he trailed off.

“To…?” you pressed.

“I wanted to make sure nothing would happen to you while you slept,” he rushed out. “Happy?”

You swooned aloud at this, “you are such a sucker. Put that laptop down and cuddle me.”

Ransom said nothing, but set the device into your night stand, and wrapped an arm around you, “‘re you feeling any better?” he mumbled as he relaxed into you. 

“Kinda. We’ll see in the morning,” you slipped your hand down on top of his, and Ransom promptly moved it.

“You’re already pushing it tonight.”

“You’re always such a dick,” you scoffed with a laugh. “Goodnight, asshat.”

“Goodnight, you sick bitch,” he quipped back.

——

When you awoke in the morning, you couldn’t help but to notice how much better you were feeling. No headache, no nausea, a little fatigue, but hey, you just woke up, and that was to be expected. 

As you sat up and glanced to your right, you found a pink-nosed Ransom with a box of empty Kleenex sat in his lap. 

“Oh great, you’re awake,” he began in a nasally tone. “Since you wanted to get me sick, it’s your turn to take care of me,” he tossed the empty box at you, the cardboard falling softly onto your lap. 

Something told you that this was going to be a long day. 

[oswaldsleftbicep]

I know this is weird but i need to know a very important question:

How do you think the boys would smell like?

what the boys would smell like

fun fact: i almost got a job at bath and body works. another fun fact: i kinda have a synesthesia where i can look at a photo or think about something and just,, be able to smell it?? usually it happens randomly and i can't control it :/

genre: other

cw: just my usual bs

Lucia

❧ cinnamon and apples,, maybe it's just the hair color but that's the vibe; definitely uses a crisp apple body wash or shampoo

❧ fresh linen; rich boy always has nice clean clothes, although he does the smell test sometimes to see if he can get away with wearing that same shirt for just one more day

❧ related to his clothes, his fancy coat thingy smells faintly of real leather, as do some of his accessories and his scabbard if he's wearing it

❧ again with the clothing but he smells like tide laundry detergent, the one all the college kids use; my first ex used it and he always smelled soooo good lmao

Levy

❧ old books,, you already know this, he spends so much time in the library he probably soaked up the scent lol

❧ saltwater; you know when you go to a coastal shore and there's that nice sea breeze that's so refreshing but also kinda musky?

❧ he's definitely got a lighter scent to him too, something that offsets his rough demeanor, like a light green apple or powder scent, probably from his shampoo or body wash

❧ horse stables, but not too strongly; i work around horses and yeah they can smell terrible, but when the arena is empty and clean and there's just the smell of sand and horses and hay, it doesn't smell too bad. i say this cuz he likes to ride his horse so i'd imagine the smell would linger a bit on his clothes

Mefy

❧ yankee candle's "midsummer's night"; i remember this smelling so good, like the vibes on a warm summer night, it also reminded me a lot of a cologne

❧ evergreen or pine trees, idk which is which but it's the one the always make candles for around the holidays

❧ candle smoke; do you see the candle theme here lmao, he gives witchy vibes and candle smoke would for sure be involved

❧ he definitely wears some kind of rich cologne, something along the lines of bath and body works' bourbon, something very "manly" and yummy smelling, but he only wears very little of it, enough so that when he walks past you're like "ooo yum" but it's not overpowering

Oswald

❧ soil and cut grass; mans works in a garden, you know he's got that earthy smell to him

❧ flowers; he always has a fresh bouquet of flowers in his cabin and he keeps the petals he plucks or the ones that fall of to make potpourri

❧ sweat obviously, he does manual labor for a living, he's gonna get sweaty; he also has a very faint metallic smell, it's probably his jewelry, but it could be something else too iykyk

❧ ofc he's gonna wash up to get any unpleasant smells off, and i feel like he'd use goat's milk soap, something natural and fragrance free

Kaim

❧ tea obviously, he drinks so much of it and makes it all the time; he prefers the more classic teas, like earl grey and black, over the more fruity ones, but he always ends up smelling like some kind of tea

❧ linen and wool; he keeps his clothes fresh and clean but he doesn't use any fancy detergents so they just smell like the materials they were made from

❧ wood and metal polish; he does a lot of cleaning and polishing things, ofc he's gonna carry the scent of his cleaning products

❧ he's not much of a sweet tooth, but he'll often pop a spearmint into his mouth, whether it's to freshen his breath, boost his blood sugar, or have something to moisten his throat, he'll go through at least five mints per day

Mikael

❧ merlot; it's a red wine i serve a lot at work and it smells very good, very grapey and classy. it's risky business drinking wine while wearing all white, but i could see mikael sipping this drink while lounging around

❧ he probably uses a body wash that's advertised as smelling like the ocean but it's not a saltwater smell but rather something kinda sweet smelling?

❧ menthol or mint tea; very soothing and healing scents but also very fresh and keeps you alert. it's most likely from him drinking mint tea or having some kind of essential oil noel made

❧ warm cotton textiles; ya know when you get your bed sheets out of the dryer or you've had a towel lying in the sun all day and it smells very warm and comfy, perfect for curling up in and relaxing for a nap? he's got that smell to him, which contrasts interestingly with the mint

Ricardo

❧ axe body spray a men's cologne that's very spice oriented, or just straight up spices. it's generally a very strong smell but on him it just works well??

❧ gunpowder, obviously, mans fires guns for fun, so the smell will definitely linger in his hair, hands, and clothes

❧ i don't see him as much of a tea drinker, but coffee on the other hand, i could totally see him drinking. it lingers on his breath in the mornings but in a not gross way ya feel?

❧ leather from his clothing and accessories, he doesn't use a fragrant laundry detergent so the leather smell is much more apparent

❧ an extra cuz i feel like these examples are too little, but he probably also smells like wood from an older bar, as well as whiskey or brandy, some alcohol with a bit of spice to it

Noel

❧ this one's gonna be super specific but ashland's "freshwater pearl" candle, it's a very sweet smelling candle, kinda like if you were on a beach and there was a candy factory right next to you with its windows open; it'd probably be his shampoo or something that smells like this

❧ a plain white candle, or beeswax, something non-fragrant but clean smelling? almost like goat's milk products; he'd need something not super strong smelling so he'd be able to be stealthy n stuff

❧ his clothes smell like he got them from a thrift store, you know how everything has its own scent and it all just blends together? like you got some stuff with strong detergent, you got some stuff that smells like a grandma's basement. it all smells very worn-in and a lil musty but that's part of the charm

❧ essential oils; he uses what he grows in his garden to make medicines and oils to be used in first aid or just as a daily thing. some days he'll have lavender, the next he'll have eucalyptus, and then maybe some citrus

Lucas

❧ honey. he just looks like he uses honey scented everything, or at least uses honey in his skin and hair care, and it's not an overly sugary smelling honey, just something natural and the slightest bit bitter

❧ bold rock cider, another drink i serve regularly. it just smells like apples, but not as sugary as apple juice. it's very crisp and fresh and makes me feel like i'm in an orchard in a flowy outfit having the time of my life

❧ he strikes me as someone who'd like to bake, and he'd have a bit of a sweet tooth, so he'd smell like sugar cookies and snickerdoodles, he smells like he's been working in a bakery all day but in reality he just got done making a batch of his famous soft sugar cookies yumyumyum

❧ this one's a bit abstract, but a meadow in the middle of nowhere. there's no air pollution, all you can smell is the grass and the trees and the pure, unobstructed nature around you

Kurt

❧ citrus oil; a lot of the birdseed i've used includes oils from oranges and lemons and since he likes birds i imagine he'd have that lingering smell to him

❧ butter cookies, or just baked sweets in general. he'd the kind of kid who cannot have his tea without some baked treat to go with it, in particular some cookies to dip in his tea

❧ dust and cleaning supplies; he does a lot of cleaning a tidying up, and although he's been doing this for a while, he's still a kid and is bound to get stuff all over him and his clothes. he's tried to clean a duster in the wrong direction and ended up with dust all over himself, he's held a bottle of cleaner the wrong way and ended up with half the contents all over his hands and sleeves

[runawaymun]

Hi there! You said you take requests. I'd be happy with an imagine about Elrond x reader drinking tea together (h/c). It could be a herbal tea or just something ordinary. Pretty please! Ofc if you feel like writing it. (If not it's ok too~)

Elrond x Platonic!Reader - Cozy

genre: hurt/comfort/fluff warnings: none, except for enough saccharine fluff to give you cavities for: @ramyun-monster reader pronouns: neutral/they/them

You would think that Imladris, of all places, would be conducive to a good night’s sleep. The air off the mountains is almost always cool and crisp, the roar of the Bruinen contributes pleasant white noise, the crickets sing in the rose gardens, and time itself seems to flow unhurried and unhindered. Still, tonight, you’re finding it difficult to relax. Your thoughts keep wheeling around in your head without any particular pattern, bringing up unpleasant memories and lambasting you with all the things you’re putting off: the little tasks that need doing, the appointments you have to keep. 

It’s pointless to keep lying in bed glaring at the ceiling (even if it is a really beautiful ceiling). Plus, you’re developing a headache. You peel back the blankets and drag yourself out of bed. The library sounds nice. You’ll head there and try and relax, and hopefully later you can try sleeping again. It isn’t terribly late yet. The moon is still low. You’ve got time.

As an afterthought, you grab your journal from the desk by the window. Maybe if you write down everything that’s bothering you, you can stop thinking about it. The floor is cold under your bare feet, and you slip into a pair of house-shoes before heading out of the guest room you’re staying in.

You take the stairs down to the first floor and find yourself in the library in no time at all. It’s empty this time of day save for the librarian --a dark-haired Noldorin elleth who you think (if you’re remembering correctly) is named Iûldis. She gives you a good-natured wave but doesn’t try to make conversation. You return her wave and head past the towering bookcases of ancient tomes and scrolls to a secluded corner that you’ve grown to love.

The library smells of ink and parchment and vaguely of petrichor sifting in from the open windows. You stop on your way to pick out a book to peruse. The corner you like is comprised of an intricately carved cedar desk and a ridiculously plush reading couch flanked with matching reading chairs. It’s the couch that you settle into tonight, placing the little book on the end table and curling up against the armrest to write. 

A pleasant half-hour goes by, but you’re still no sleepier than you began and only marginally less scattered. You set aside your journal in favor of the book. Outside, clouds obscure the moon and rain patters on the terrace. The air turns chilly with a new easterly wind. You shiver and tuck your legs up a bit tighter. That pesky headache still hasn’t gone away. The cold is giving you goosebumps but you’re reluctant to go back to your room just yet.

You catch a whiff of lavender and lemon balm just as someone sets a teacup on the table by your elbow. When you look up, you’re met with a soft smile, warm gray eyes, and an expression that hovers halfway between concern and humor. 

“Riveting reading?” Lord Elrond asks. He’s holding his own cup balanced on a tray in one hand and he has a book tucked under his arm. 

Before you can get up to give him a bow he puts a hand out to stop you. 

You hurry to say: “I didn’t hear you come over, my lord. I’m sorry.”

“Do not be.” He has a thick blanket slung over his arm, and he holds it out to you. “It is a bit cold for you tonight, is it not?” 

You blink and take it, wrapping it around your shoulders and snuggling into it. It’s fluffy and pleasantly heavy, just the right thickness. “A little, yes. Thank you.”

He inclines his head with a little smile and gestures with his teacup to the reading chair next to the couch. “May I join you?”

The first dumb thought that accosts your tired brain is why? Thankfully, you stop yourself before blurting it out loud. He probably has a million things to do so you can’t imagine why he’s bringing you tea and blankets.

...And he’s still standing there, patiently waiting for your answer.

“It’s your house,” you say. You can’t keep the surprise out of your voice. 

“So it is. Still, I find it polite to ask before imposing myself on someone else’s reading.” 

“You’re not imposing,” you say at once. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of an imposition. If you’re honest, you’re absolutely delighted that he’s here asking to join you, offering tea. Ever since you came to Imladris and he offered for you to stay, you’ve admired him. But you’re practically a nobody, and definitely a nobody when compared to him, so you’ve never really worked up the courage to do more than say hello or a few jumbled sentences to him. This opportunity is way too good to pass up.

He sets his tray with its steaming cup of tea on the table between you and takes a seat in the reading chair, placing his book on his lap. There are two spoons on the tray and a few ginger biscuits on a pretty plate and a pot which, as he opens the lid, proves to be filled with honey.

“Would you like some in your tea?” 

You still can’t really believe this is happening. You nod.

He spoons a little bit of honey into your cup and lets you stir it in. Adds some to his own, and says warmly: “I always find that a little bit of lemon balm and lavender is the perfect cure for restless nights.” 

The two of you drink your tea and demolish the biscuits, listening to the rain make music on the roof. He asks you some questions about yourself and where you’re from and seems genuinely interested in your answers, so you’re happy to give them, and he even answers some questions about himself that you’ve been dying to ask him for ages. The time passes by, the rain lets up, and you finish your cup of tea. Before you know it, you’re getting tired. You’ve forgotten all about everything that was bothering you earlier and your headache is completely gone. 

He bids you goodnight with a knowing smile and you go back to your room with that heavy wool blanket wrapped around you like a cloak --and you don’t find it at all difficult to get to sleep. 

[solarwonux]

Wildflower || Lee Chan

chan x f!reader

w.c: 3.0k

warnings: smut, thigh riding, car sex, drinking, mentions of weed

note: another repost aaaa I’m sorry but good news my semester had ended so now I can finally sit down and write. Anyway, enjoy let me know your thoughts

p.s listen to wildflower by 5sos while reading this if you’d like.

p.p.s my requests are open so if you’d like one send them in hehe,xx

masterlist

The flames of the campfire burned making your eyes sting in discomfort. You blinked rapidly trying to regain the moisture back in your eyes but your efforts were deemed as unsuccessful. You sighed, placing your head on top of Chan’s shoulder, feeling him shake as he laughed at something Jun had said. The arm that was securely wrapped around you got tighter, making the butterflies in your stomach erupt, just like they did everytime you were in his presence.

“You okay?” He glazed over at you, his cheeks flushed pink from the wine he had been indulging in all throughout the night. “I’m fine, my eyes are just a little dry.” You assured him, giving him a slight nod of the head. “I have some eye drops in my car if you want them.”

“God, yes please.”

Chan grinned and leaned down. He placed a soft kiss against your forehead before turning to face his friends, who had started poking fun at Chan, making all sorts of childish remarks. Chan rolled his eyes and grabbed a twig from the ground before throwing it at Soonyoung who was making kissy faces at the two of you like a five year old.

“You guys are so annoying.” He chuckled. He removed the blanket he had placed over the two of you. The cool wind of the ocean breeze hitting your arms making you shiver slightly. “Sometimes you just make it so easy for us.” Jeonghan said pointedly tilting his cup of wine in the direction you two were sitting in before bringing it up to his rosy lips and chugging it down.

“Whatever, we’re going.” Chan stood up and threw the blanket onto Joshua’s lap, who’s face lit up as he rushed to cover his body with the thin wool. “We’ll be back in like ten minutes.” He pulled you up by your arms gently and pecked your lips once you were at eye level with him.

“Ten minutes huh, so you’re like a hit it and quit it type of guy.” Jeonghan joked, sending the rest of the boys into fits of uncontrollable laughter. “We’re going to my car to get eye drops…I really hate all of you.” Chan groaned, pulling on your arm, silently asking you to follow him and get away from your friends as fast as possible. You trailed behind him laughing, listening to how they now decided to take it upon themselves and gossip about yours and Chan’s sex life. Each one making insane claims, only making Chan’s steps get faster causing him to trip every few steps due to the sinking sand surrounding your bare feet.

“I bet getting eye drops is like code for sex now a days.”

It was unclear, in your wine filled haze, how the two of you went from desperately searching for eye drops to now making out in the back seat of his car.

Eye drops.

That was the only purpose of your trip to the nearly empty parking lot. But when he couldn’t find them mumbling curses as he tore his car apart, finally realizing that Vernon had probably taken them after they had smoked a week ago. He gave up, staying silent for a few seconds before pulling you into the back seat. One you had familiarized yourself with after years of dating and sneaking around. Your scent etched in between the cracks of the old leather seats, a thought that always managed to turn your insides into mush.

“Mmm…we should go back.” You mumbled clinging onto Chan as you pushed his head further into your neck. He hummed nodding his head slightly as he desperately sucked a love bite onto the skin of your collar bone. “We should, but I don’t want to.” He raised his head, smirking, hooking his thumbs around your belt loops and pulling you onto his lap. “I have a few propositions for you.” He smirked and brought your shirt over your head revealing the white lace of your bra. “So innocent.” His fingers delicately traced along the lace detailing, as you waited for his so-called propositions or genius ideas as he sometimes liked to call them.

“Why don’t we try that thing you mentioned the other day over lunch last week?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively and if your body wasn’t already feeling hot due to the alcohol coursing through your veins. The memory of your lunch date last Monday would’ve surely done it. “Here. Where we can get caught by our friends or worse the police?”

“That’s what makes it more exciting.” He winked and unbuttoned your shorts. His fingers teasing the seam of your matching panties waiting for your go ahead. It made your heart sore knowing that after years of dating he still waited for your approval. “Fuck it let’s do it.” You raised your body and brought down your shorts, hitting the back of your head in the process causing a loud laugh to erupt from Chan’s lips.

“Stop laughing and help me.”

“What did you want me to do? Look at you like you’ve sprung a third head?” He helped you take them off and threw them over the front seat. “You’re right I prefer you laughing.” You nodded before straddling his thigh and hooking your arms around his neck. He hummed and placed an arm underneath his head smugly before grabbing hold of your hip with his other one.

“Go on baby girl, I’m giving a free pass to get off on my thigh.”

“Like I need a pass anyway.”

“Hmm…I guess you’re right. I succumb to you in every possible way. All you have to do is open your mouth and ask.” Chan brought his arm down again before reaching over and placing his thumb against your bottom lip. He tugged on it making you open your mouth before inserting it, your tongue swirling around the calloused digit making him groan. “I miss seeing your mouth around me but I guess that can wait, now move baby.” He gave your hip a light tap before inserting his hand in between the waistband of your panties and groping your ass cheek.

You opened your mouth in an inaudible moan, his thumb falling out of your lips and onto your chin painting it with your saliva. You moved your hips experimentally, testing the waters scared that the fantasy you had been creating in your head wouldn’t be as pleasurable as you had pictured. Only to be proved wrong when the friction of his bare thigh against your panty clothed core sent a jolt of pleasure through your body.

“Back to my propositions. If you can come undone on just my thigh, I promise I’ll fuck you until your seeing stars.”

Chan snickered watching your face contort in blissful pleasure as you started to confidently move your hips. He nosed at your neck before licking a strip up the shell of your ear making you whimper. “Does this make you feel good?” He teased, a smirk evident in his voice as he bounced his leg up. A choked moan escaping your chapped lips joining the heat in the air, while you shamelessly started to grind down on his thigh.

“G-God this is better than I imagined.” You threw your head back resting it on the seat in front of you. “I don’t know what’s better, hearing you say you’ve imagined this or watching it happen in front of me.” His bottom lip found its way in between his teeth. He clawed at your hips guiding you into a steady rhythm before taking his free hand and inserting it in the front of panties making you gasp.. He guides his fingers lower, gathering your slick before taking them out and bringing them up to his lips, lapping them sensually while you watched with hooded eyes.

“I want to feel you inside me, please.” You sat up and tugged at his shirt before bringing it over his head. “Please baby I want to feel full.” You dug your nails into his chest feeling the tension build up in the pit of your stomach.

“You will, once you come.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close. He kissed your cheek before undoing the clasp of your bra, letting the straps fall down your shoulders. “It’s amazing how I don’t have to do anything for you to fall apart.” He boosted, taking your earlobe in between his teeth. You moaned out loudly as he started bouncing his leg and pushing you down on him even further.

“Let go for me baby.” He whispered in your ear before leaving open mouthed kisses down your neck. He bit down on your collar bone making you cry out as your body shook. Your orgasm washed over you in waves, sighing out his name. Chan let out a satisfied hum as he held your body close, whispering sweet nothings in your ear. You panted as your head fell in the crock of his neck. You sighed happily and ran your hand down his toned stomach, playing with the knot of his swimming trunks.

“That was the hottest thing ever love, we should do it more often.”

If there was one thing you would never complain about regarding your boyfriend was the fact that he always kept true to his promises. But if there was one thing that you could complain about was how truly evil he was when it came to giving you what you wanted.

You hated it.

“Channie stop fucking around and just get on with it.” You groaned as he pressed the head of his cock on your clit.

“Patience is a virtue honey.”

“Well my patience is wearing thin, if we take any longer the guys are going to come looking for us.” You arched your back as he ran his cock down your pussy lips, making you clench over nothing. He pulled back and spread your arousal along with his precum over his angry head, giving himself a few tugs before positioning himself at your entrance again.

“Frankly I am a little offended that you’re thinking about other men, while we’re in such a compromising position.” Chan says as he slowly starts to push in, your heat taking him and wrapping around him deliciously. Even after years of dating he still had such an overwhelming effect on you and he knew that. It made his chest swell up with pride knowing he was the only one that could make you feel the way he did.

“You always take me so well, always so tight. It’s like you’re made for me sweetheart.” He groaned once he was fully sheathed inside of you. Chan leaned down and captured your lips with his, swallowing your whimpers as he slowly started moving. He kept his pace, giving you time to adjust to him knowing fully well that it had been awhile since the two of you had had some alone time.

“B-Baby…f-fuck. You can move a little more.” You mumbled against his lips, clinging onto him. Your nails blissfully digging into his shoulder blades making him moan. He picked up his pace, his mouth trailing down the navel of your breasts, mumbling sweet sinful phrases, etching them into your skin. You arched your back, pushing yourself further into his mouth as he started hitting the mushy soft spot inside of you. Impressed that he had wasted no time in finding it, proving to you once again that he knew your body as if it were his second skin.

“Angel please let me cum inside of you.” He begged his kisses on your skin getting more desperate as well as his thrusts, causing the little coil of pleasure to form in the pit of your stomach. And as much as you didn’t want this moment to end, to stay underneath him in the cramped back seat of his car. To beg him to make you come undone over and over until your body couldn’t handle it anymore. You knew you couldn’t. It had been well over ten minutes.

“Hmm…are you sure?” You placed both of your hands on either side of his head pulling him off your nipple. The loss of his mouth disappoints you but you need to see his face. Needed to see the pleasure he was feeling painted over his perfect features. “Are we ready for that?” You let out a whimper as his thrusts got slower yet harder, making it a point for you to really feel him inside you. To take in how the head of his cock hit your g-spot. To feel the ridges and his veins pulsing against your soft velvety walls, indicating that he was starting to get close.

“More than ready…p-please I want to fill you up with my cum.” He begged resting his forehead against yours, his mouth opened with pleasure. His hot alcohol induced breath fanning your face making chills run down your spin. You nodded, your whimpers getting more desperate as he started to rub his thumb along your clit in moderate circles. The pressure increased as the two of you desperately started to chase your highs. The heat of his car wrapping like a blanket around the two of you making the intensity of the moment even higher.

It made you feel as if the two of you were back in high school and sneaking around with one another. Making out in the same seats during lunch time choosing each other rather than your food. It brought back memories of all the nights underneath the stars at the abandoned football field, listening to him spew random facts about space. And the first night the two of you made love to one another by the lake on a raggedy old blanket his grandma had given him for the holiday season. It was overwhelming to have him this close to you always. To feel him and every inch of his body knowing very well you were the only one that was able to make him come undone the way he always did. And it sent you to the moon.

“C-Channie I’m close.” You breathed out. Your hands moved down his back, pushing him deeper into you. Trying your hardest to feel him closer than what he already was. He moaned out your name like a prayer, his thumb on your clit getting faster as well as his deep thrusts. The dam that had been kept away broke and you felt your orgasm crash harder than before.

“F-Fuck me.” Chan moaned his head falling into your neck as he came undone, painting your walls with his sticky substance. He thrusted into you a bit more, your walls milking him out as he mumbled sweet praises against the shell of your ear.

“I already did.” You joked, a low laugh escaping his lungs as your chests heaved against one another. “I have a proposition for you now.” You whispered snaking your hand up his back and resting it against the back of his head.

“Okay, what is it?”

“We should do that more often.” You giggled. He raised his head giving you a smug look before cupping your chin and bringing it up so his lips were hovering over yours. “How about a round two and we call it a night.” He proposed giving you a chaste kiss before rubbing his nose against yours.

“I think that’s the greatest idea you’ve had all day.”

Chan held onto your hand tightly as the two of you slowly made your way back to the beach camp. Your body was exhausted and you could tell Chan’s was also. Which made you laugh as sometimes the two of you liked to think you had the same stamina you had when you were younger. Each time you were proved wrong but neither of you liked to admit it.

“Finally, we were starting to think you guys got kidnapped.” Seokmin said as he leaned forward roasting a marshmallow.

“To be fair DK and Hoshi were the only ones that thought that. The rest of us knew exactly what was going on.” Vernon spoke, taking a bite out of his s’more, groaning in disappointment when the melted marshmallow fell out of the confinements of the cracker and onto his chin.

“We were looking for eye drops, which by the way I know you took.” Chan sat down on one of the empty lounge chairs. He pulled your arm gently before circling them around your waist and bringing you down onto his lap. You smiled shaking your head as the lewd comments started to filter in.

“I knew that was code for sex.”

“No it’s code for actually looking for eye drops.” Chan gazed over at you. “Right baby?” He sent you a playfully wink making you laugh. No matter what came out of your mouth next, the teasing would never stop. And you knew they would be bringing up the eye drop story as they were now deeming it, until the day you took your last breath. So you shook your head and gave Chan a quick peck before turning to face your friends.

“Chan’s right we were just looking for eye drops.”

[hermannsthumb]

hello i adore your fics <33 could you write something during the war where newt & hermann sleep/cuddle in each other's beds whenever they're stressed (but are still incredibly repressed)? no pressure obv!!

SURE THING!! getting back in the prompt game!!! been working on longer fics and some regular work this summer so sorry ive been spotty with writing 👀 I'm aiming to get through a bunch of these at 1k words each

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

Newt isn't necessarily expecting the knock on his door a little bit past midnight, but he can't really say it surprises him. Hermann was more on edge today than usual, getting pissed at Newt for stupid little things (like finishing off the coffee creamer that Hermann doesn’t even like in the lab fridge, or humming along a little too loudly to his iPod), discreetly taking ibuprofen for what Newt knew was a bad headache, swearing under his breath and erasing his entire chalkboard every time he made the tiniest calculation error. It’s the culmination, Newt knows, of a majorly stressful week—another kaiju attack, multiple mandatory Shatterdome personnel meetings about the kaiju attach, reports on the kaiju attack and the mandatory meeting due, Hermann hoarding the weight of where the deployed jaeger failed and pushing himself to fix it all, immediately. Newt’s not sure he saw Hermann have a full meal (ie, something more substantial than black tea and a cigarette) once all throughout all of it. He’s not sure he saw Hermann sleep somewhere other than his desk either, or even change his clothes.

So, no, Newt isn’t expecting it, because expecting it means it’s something they do (which they one hundred percent don’t), but he showers early that night, and he changes into a big t-shirt along with his boxers instead of just the latter, and he makes sure his spare pillow is fluffed and placed delicately on his bed. Just in case. And all of it in time for the timid knocking at 12:13 am.

Knocking which isn’t even finished before Newt swings open his door. “Hey, dude,” he says, leaning casually against his doorframe.

Hermann stands in front of him in pajamas, his pillow tucked under his right arm, his toothbrush clenched tight in his left fist. His pajamas are old and clearly well-loved: blue plaid, hanging slightly off his frame, missing the third button from the top. He hasn’t worn this pair over to Newt’s bunk yet. Newt recognizes his thick wool socks, though. He teases Hermann for wearing socks to bed every single time. (Not that Newt is keeping track of what Hermann wears on the super and totally random times he comes over.) “Good evening, Newton,” Hermann says with a terse, polite nod, like they just bumped into each other on the street, or it’s pure coincidence that Newt happened to be behind this very door that he decided to knock on. He peers around Newt into his bunk. “Oh, have you tidied up?”

“I picked my dirty laundry up,” Newt says, by which he means he dumped it all onto his desk chair to deal with later.

“It’s a sight better than it usually is,” Hermann says. "I can actually see your floor."

He clears his throat.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” he continues. “I know it’s rather late.”

“Nah, not at all, I’m always up now," Newt says. It's kind of a lie. He's asleep by now on normal nights (barring when he really needs to pull an all-nighter in the lab), but he kind of had an inkling he'd need to stay up an extra hour or so. It's weird how well he knows Hermann sometimes.

"I was taking a walk and thought I might stop by," Hermann says.

Hermann’s eyes drift over Newt’s shoulder, over to Newt’s bed. Newt made sure that his sheets were fresh, too, and he's stripped his bedspread back enough for them to peek out invitingly. Newt’s become shockingly more hygienic since this became a whole totally not-thing. Hermann shifts his weight a little more heavily to his cane. “Very good,” he says. “Er. Well. Considering we’re both awake, I wonder if I might come in to—talk. Or some such thing. I’m having…difficulty sleeping.” He clears his throat again. “Insomnia.”

Newt feigns surprise. “Oh, man, really? Of course, totally come in!” He opens his door wider. “My electric kettle is already boiling if you want tea or something. I mean—I turned it on so I could have tea, but there’s enough water for two people. I wanted a lot of tea,” he adds.

(Newt bought the kettle for Hermann after he almost had an aneurysm when Newt tried to heat up water in the microwave for him.)

“Tea would be nice,” Hermann says.

While Hermann shows himself in, Newt steps over to his bookcase and begins rifling through his tea collection for some of the herbal decaffeinated stuff he keeps on hand for the completely random occasions Hermann drops in. Honestly, though, all of Newt’s tea collection is also kind of for Hermann. Newt is generally more of a coffee sort of guy (barring boba tea, which rocks), so his tea collection kind of just sits there gathering dust when Hermann’s not there. He quickly fixes a cup of herbal tea in Hermann’s favorite of Newt’s mugs (a sturdy old MIT mug, big enough to fit two regular cups) and turns to find that Hermann has already made himself at home in Newt’s bed. “Thank you very much,” Hermann says.

Hermann is taking up the right side of the bed, his own pillow and Newt’s spare propped up beneath him, his cane propped against the wall. It’s the side he always takes. Newt has started thinking of it as Hermann’s side, actually, and has stopped bothering to return items that Hermann routinely leaves on the bedside table because of it—his spare glasses cleaning cloth, a half-finished book he’ll let Newt read along with him over his shoulder, a notepad he’ll sometimes scribble random equations down in. Newt’s own stuff (a lamp, his alarm clock, his glasses) looks barren without Hermann’s at this point. Newt’s kind of afraid to decide what that means.

He hits the light and slips into the left side of the bed. He tries very hard not to look at Hermann's delicately crossed ankles, because it's cute and it makes him feel disgustingly warm and affectionate inside, which is totally not how he should be thinking about his fussy lab partner. “Did you want to talk about anything?” he says.

“Mm,” Hermann says. His arms are crossed across his chest, too, very prim-and-proper. “Not particularly. It’s been a miserable week, is all.”

He drinks his fill of the tea, then sets both his mug and his glasses onto Newt’s side table. Newt doesn’t have to be asked to pull back the bedcovers for him or to gently drape them over Hermann when Hermann makes himself sufficiently comfortable on the mattress. He especially doesn't have to be asked to wind his arm around Hermann’s side, nudge his knee between Hermann's legs to prop up his left, and draw him snug up against his chest. Hermann showered, too—he smells like the same PPDC-standard soap Newt uses, and his short hair is still damp and tickles Newt’s nose. Immediately Hermann sags against him, like all the tension is leaving his body. Newt feels him sigh softly. A moment later, Hermann squeezes his hand. “Thank you, Newt,” he says. It's so quiet Newt thinks he imagined it for a second.

“Sure,” Newt says.

Maybe they’ll talk about it eventually—Newt knows they probably won’t—but the truth is that Newt never sleeps as well as he does with Hermann in his bed, too.

[dodo-begone]

See's Dodo and anons reaction to last ask.

Me: externally blushing like crazy. Internally AAAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHA *squealing noise s*

Well you know what they say the show must go on.

Wilbur was the first of the royals to really notice, after all most of his time with you was spent inside in the library since he had convinced his father to allow him to teach you instead of hiring teachers, but you never had less than two layers of clothing on even when indoors you had a large shirt and coat on. Even if it was winter now you were first brought to the castle in summer but you attire remained the same a shirt two sizes too big and a coat also large on you it was a small wonder you didn't suffer form heat stroke, maybe it was a case of those being the only clothes you owned well that wouldn't do it would be a poor showing if visiting diplomats thought they treated their (new sibling) guests with such little care and honesty buying you a new wardrobe didn't even make a dent in his personal finances. Still it was strange that both you and Tommy insisted on your new clothes being a size or two too big and also made of lighter cloth not the wool that was so common for winter attire but at the very least your and Tommy's insistence meant that he got to choose the colours of the outfits in return. Of course the main colours were white and a navy blue you were a member of the Royal (family) Court now it was only right you wore their colours, still the insistence on lighter materials for your clothes did worry him a little the winters were harsh he didn't want his (sibling) little brothers friend getting sick maybe he should bring this up with the others maybe they would know why you never took off that coat.

Techno hadn't noticed the whole coat issue until his twin pointed it out but now that Wilbur had he couldn't stop noticing it. Even when you spared with him you didn't take off the coat heck you never wore armour saying that armour only slowed you down, you had even balked, gone pale when he offered you enchanted iron armour turning down the gift and walking swiftly away. At first he and chat had felt rather rejected (sibling rejection arc, pog, e, e, Technosad) after all you had even if reluctantly accepted Wilbur gift of a new wardrobe but you were rejecting his gift, he had wanted to give you armour so he could teach you his style of fighting but you didn't want that apparently. Though now he thought about it your and theseus's apparent insistence on lighter fabrics and the rejection of the iron armour might not be as coinsidental as he might have thought, after all he had seen you shivering a few times when you thought he wasn't looking but you had refused the much warmer wool for cloth so it wasn't just you being stubborn did, did you have some sort of skin problem or other ailment that caused you pain or irritation if you wore heavy clothes or armour. Oh of course you would go pale at the idea of wearing iron armour if that was the case plus it would explain the constantly wearing a coat since you probably didn't want them to know out of misguided fear of their reaction after all he had seen how superstitious some peasants could be about such conditions from his time training new soldiers. Theseus would know you did have such a condition after all you were practically joined at the hip, but it was getting very late, tomorrow he would find Theseus and ask if he knew the reason why now he needed to find his father.

Tommy most certainly did know the reason why you never wore armour and always had a coat on. He was currently sat on your bed, both of your backs to the door, preening the reasons why you letting out quiet chirps as he helped straighten and re-aligh your feathers, after all your wings didn't exactly appreciate being covered by your coat the whole day he couldn't even imagine how much worse your wings would have been if Wilbur hadn't listened and just gotten a heavy wool coat. He remembered when your wings first came through a few years ago when your friendship was still new, you had been complaining about a rash that had suddenly appeared on your back a few days prior only to fall to the ground in pain mid sentence, he was honestly grateful that his family didn't keep track of their potion supply considering how many regen potion you needed when your wings came out leaving rather large exit wounds on your back, if he wasn't able to get those potions he didn't even want to think about what could have happened to you. Now you were here though and he couldn't let anyone know about your wings if even a servant or stable boy saw it would trickle back to his brother and his dad if Philza found out he would never let you leave, you would become as trapped as him maybe even more so due to his dad's instincts. Unfortunately since both of your backs were to the door neither of you spotted the winged watcher peering through the cracked open door.

Philza was on his way to his newest (child) guests chambers after his eldest two had come to him with worrying news about their newest ( family member) permanent. Wilbur told tales of light clothing even in winter while Techno quiet shared his own worries of them being ill and hiding it from them but to him those weren't the signs of illness no they were signs that you were like... no he should get excited it was probably an illness after all his investigations had shown that it wasn't just bandits that ravaged his nation but hybrid hunters a particularly disgusting breed of bandit that targeted hybrids to sell as pets or in the case of winged hybrids to harvest their wings as decorations. That infuriated him after all he had founded this nation to be a safe haven for hybrids but due to his own negligence they were hunted down, if you were like... him it would be a small miracle that you hadn't been taken by those hunters. Reaching the room in question open a crack he went to knock when he heard a soft chirping pausing he looked through the crack to see his youngest preening his (baby bird) guest's wings, rushing back to his own chambers he could just hear chat cawing ( baby bird, dadza, dadza, protect, keep, baby bird) he couldn't keep the massive grin off of his face as it all came together. Of course you didn't wear heavy clothing you had been hiding your wings it would mangle your feathers if you wore heavier clothing over them, the iron armour was rejected because you couldn't wear it full stop even with your wings out your bones wouldn't be able to take the weight since they were partly hollow, oh he had a little bird to teach flying and how to properly preen. His emotional high crashed though as he realised that you ran your farm alone, were you alone when your wings came through, its was the worst pain on could feel wings slowly ripping their way out of your back plus you could easily bleed out or get an infection if the open wounds weren't taken care of properly, oh you poor dear no wonder you were so attached to Tommy he was the only flock member you had. No longer though he would look after you he knew his sons had grown to care for you as much as they had Tommy, his more bird like instincts rejoiced at the thought of a fledgling joining his little flock.

Ender-anon

This is quite a bit longer than I thought it would be also first time writing hybrid reader.

sorry i took so long to answer this!! This just rlly intimidated me and anxiety went brrrr- but anyways lemmie get into this ask!!!

YOU FUCKING DESERVE THE RECOGNITION MAN UR STUFF IS SO FUCKING POG

god i rlly love royalty aus, did i ever mention that??? i just lOVE- ANYWAYS

So Wilbur's curiosity about your clothing choice only lead him to believing that what you wore was all you could afford in your previous life. He wasn't exactly wrong. And even with the new clothes you got when you moved into the castle, you refused to wear them. It was rather peculiar. Wouldn't you want to get out of those nasty and worn rags you called clothes? But you were new to the castle. He went with the presumption that the shock from the change was frightening. You must've kept your previous clothes as a safety blanket of sorts. Though after a few nasty looks sent your way over your apparel and your very obvious discomfort about it, he decided to take the executive decision to give you clothes that fit your taste and the taste of the court. Your choice to have oversized clothing confused him, but Tommy's insistence just made him presume you were self conscious of your body. To be fair, he wasn't half wrong but he was.

At the rejection of his gift, his and chat's disappointment were more than evident. Was his twin better or something? Like you accepted his gift, although reluctantly. But you still accepted it. And yet you didn't accept him. Looking back on your fear of the armor, he thought more into it. Yes the skin issues was definitely something to consider, but maybe trauma? No, trauma of armor would be strange, right? Maybe you had a family member who wore armor yet died in front of you despite their armor being worn to protect them. Or some other fear. Yea, the skin issue would be much more reasonable, actually. He'll just bring it up with father, let him know of the possible issues with their new family member.

One of the activities you two did on the daily was straighten out your feathers at the end of the day or when they were bothering you. Though the latter only happened when you two were in private. Nobody could know your secret, after all. It was for your protection and to preserve your freedom. At first, when your wings were coming in, he was absolutely terrified for you. What the fuck was going on? This isn't normal! Oh god oh fuck what is he suppose to do?! With an oversupply of potions thanks to the paranoia of attacks on the family and accidents during training, it was beyond easy to take what he needed for you. If anyone was questioned about it, he could easily say that some trainees took some.

OMG ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME FUCKING CRY WITH THIS PHILZA PART?! BEACUSE I WILL CRY THIS IS SO MF CUTE- I JUST CAN'T I LOVE SO MUCH- I CAN'T ADD ANYTHING TO THAT PERFECT- I COULDN'T RLLY ADD ANYTHING TO WHAT YOU SENT ME AND I APOLOGIZE. I JUST LOVE AAAALLL OF THIS

[tamagoincident]

To Lure a Bird

arthur morgan x reader

summary: The Van der Linde Gang plans to rob a train, too bad you hit it first. You, being the reasonable person you are, coerce rough-looking men to run a job with you in exchange for the stolen money, and everyone gets more than they bargained for.

chapter: 1/10

link: AO3

Chapter One - A Mutual Enemy

On the evening you first heard of the Van der Linde Gang’s presence in Valentine, you stood at the bar of Smithfield's Saloon disguised in men’s clothing. Not a typical Friday for you, as you tried not to make it a habit of sticking around places where reckless men became more reckless the further they disappeared into their cups. But years ago you’d helped the bartender, a giant man named Ernest, drum up enough money to pay off his debtors, and he held you in the highest of regards ever since. It was the only place you could drink without being disturbed. Ernest made sure of that.

“What’ll it be, the usual?” he winked at you, his large hands already reaching toward the whiskey.

You smiled and nodded.

“I have information you might want to hear,” he continued, pouring the liquor into a glass and sliding it towards you. You caught it easily.

“Oh?”

“There was a young lady here last night. Overheard her talkin’ to some fancy pants New Yorker who kept braggin’ ‘bout the luxury train he’ll be taking back to the North. She seemed awfully intrigued,” Ernest said. “And get this, it weren’t the only instance I’d seen her, neither. Few days ago she’d been traipsin’ around the outskirts of Valentine with a bunch of scary lookin’ out-of-towners.”

“Figure they’re planning on robbing the train?”

Ernest shrugged. “It’s easy pickin’. You know how naïve high society can be.”

Maybe easy enough for a one-person job, if done quickly and with care. You’d only robbed a train once with two people you used to run with. You didn’t run with them anymore. It hurt you to think of it.

You held up your glass for a refill and leaned forward, brimming with interest. “Tell me more about this train.”

—

The train tracks rattled underneath Arthur’s feet.

“Get movin’,” he said to Sean, pointing towards the trees hidden in the darkness. Arthur climbed atop the wagon they’d rode in on and placed in the middle of the tracks, which bore five hundred gallons of oil. He widened his stance for balance and pulled a bandana over his mouth and nose. “Here she comes.”

Arthur squinted against the blinding brightness of the incoming headlight, cocking his rifle as it approached. The train’s horn bellowed into the night.

It saw him. Good.

It came to a hissing and screeching halt. A uniformed man stormed out from the front cab. “What's goin' on here? What's—aw hell,” the engineer wailed, kicking the dirt underneath his feet. “Not again! Gettin’ real tired of this shit.” Behind him, a shadow of blurred movement. Charles, ready to strike him unconscious.

Arthur jumped off the wagon. “Hold it!” he yelled to Charles, who paused his assault and instead restrained the man with a pistol aimed at his head. “What d’you mean, ‘Not again?’”

“If y’all are trying to rob us, we’ve already been hit,” he wheezed.

“You’re bluffin’.”

“You and your boys are more than welcome to board and check. Reckon it’s a waste of time though.”

Arthur swore. “Let him go, Mr. S.”

Charles let go. The engineer stumbled forward, sputtering and coughing. In between heavy breaths he said, “Happened near the Heartlands. Strange feller in a mask robbed us blind and then pointed a shotgun at me, gruntin’ at me to start the engine or he’ll call for his gang to kill everyone on board.”

“Why in God’s name would he do that?” Arthur said.

“Beats me. But now that I think of it, he was probably expecting y’all. Here, he gave me this—” he moved to reach into his coat pocket, but ceased upon the chorus of rifles cocking. Sean and John had appeared to find what the holdup was.

“Don’t move a goddamn muscle,” Arthur growled. “Mr. S., if you could kindly grab whatever’s in that fool’s pocket.”

Charles complied, plucking out a wad of paper. He handed it to Sean, who read aloud:

Don’t want the loot, only your attention.

Have your lady informant go back to the saloon and talk to the bartender.

He’ll tell you where to find me.

Cause any trouble and you won’t see a cent.

Sean laughed bitterly, waving the note in the air. “Got us good, didn't he?”

“Give me that, you idiot.” Arthur snatched the note and tilted the lettering towards the train's headlight. “Goddamn it—”

A bullet whizzed by Arthur’s head. The engineer dove to the ground for safety.

“Get on your horses!” Arthur yelled to the gang and whistled. Once in the saddle, he spurred the horse on and rode hard into the trees, past the storm of bullets, and evaded capture.

He was the last to arrive back at camp, after making sure he hadn’t been followed. He passed Dutch’s closed tent and found Sean blackout drunk near the fire. John sat close by, clearly on the same trajectory as the Irishman, with the amount of empty beer bottles at his feet. Arthur cleared his throat. “Where’s Charles?”

John glanced up, eyes bleary and lined with red. In the firelight he looked small and exhausted. “Asleep.”

“You should be too.”

“Well, I ain’t,” John mumbled tipping the beer to his lips and draining it. He tossed the bottle aside with a crash.

“Need me to tuck you in Marston? How ‘bout a bedtime story?”

“Real funny, Arthur."

Arthur sat down across from John, allowing the sound of crickets and snuffling horses to fill the silence between them. When he spoke, his tone was softer. “Don’t think I’ve seen you this shaken. Not even when you was freezin’ your ass off after them wolves got to you.”

John’s gaze dropped to his lap. “I’m a bit rattled, s’all. I got a bad feelin’, Arthur.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you think the law showed up a little too fast?”

“Maybe,” Arthur said. “I’m more curious about the son-of-a-bitch who knew we was gonna rob that train.” He turned, pulling the note he’d stashed into his saddlebag and brandishing it.

“See? You’re worried too. S’not just me.”

“I’m not worried,” Arthur cast the notion aside. No use in admitting to being worried unless there was really something to lose sleep over, especially in front of John, who looked like he was fixing for an excuse to leave again. Arthur didn’t want to be the person to give him one. He would gladly take a bullet before he watched Abigail’s face twist back into sorrow and disappointment on account of John flying the coop.

“We gonna be okay, Arthur?” John asks.

“Can’t tell the future anymore than you can, Marston,” Arthur said, crumpling the note in his fist. “What we can do is find the bastard who pulled the wool over our eyes, and deal with the rest as it comes along. I’ll talk to Mary-Beth tomorrow. Ask her to go back up to the saloon.”

John watched as Arthur tossed the paper into the fire, the edges curling into black.

—

You waited across the tracks from the abandoned trading post in Roanoke Ridge, taking shelter behind a sturdy tree (you’d almost hid behind one crawling with poison ivy vines, what a sight that would have been). The instructions you’d given Ernest to pass on had been clear: Whoever is sent must be on time and arrive alone. You checked your pocket watch. Already a half hour late. Out of desperation you remained a few minutes longer. The sun was almost at its peak in the sky, and you were getting hot with your scarf obscuring the lower half of your face. You cursed yourself for wearing such bulky trousers and long sleeves.

In your mind, the heist had been preferable to wasting away in the heat. With a little theater and luck, you managed to rob the train heading north. You still couldn’t believe your good fortune. Keeping your voice low and husky, the passengers and engineer had mistaken you for some hardened outlaw. You’d threatened them with your non-existent gang that was supposedly trailing close behind. In reality, the only thing riding alongside the train was the horse you’d borrowed from Ernest.

You scanned the landscape with binoculars, on the precipice of calling it a day, when you saw a pair of figures ascend the hill behind the dilapidated structure. The taller of the two was wearing a fading grey shirt that you imagined was once white, which stretched across his broad shoulders. He staked a far contrast to the companion at his left, a leaner man with dark hair that extended past a deep scar on his cheek. Both looked tough and mean. Exactly the type of men you’d hoped for.

Though two against one, the odds weren’t good if things went south.

You dropped the binoculars and reached for your rifle. Steadying yourself, you squinted through the scope, drifting down the length of their bodies until their dusty leather boots came into view. You cocked the gun, exhaled, and took the shot, aiming inches away from them.

“Shit!”

“Thought I’d said to come alone,” you called out. “If one of you gentlemen doesn’t get going, the next two bullets will be right in the forehead.”

“Jesus Christ,” the dark-haired man yelped. “Is that a woman shooting at us?”

“Woman or not, doesn’t change the fact she’s got a goddamn rifle!” the other fired back. “Alright, miss, my friend here is gonna get on his horse and leave. Ain’t that right, Marston?”

“Rode all the way out here for nothin’,'' he complained loudly and whistled. When his horse came around, he placed his foot in the stirrups and swung his leg over the saddle. “If you ain’t back by sundown, I’ll come lookin’ for you, Arthur. Hear that, lady?”

Arthur waved a dismissive hand. You waited until the horse disappeared behind the hills before coming out from the brush. At this distance, you could discern more of his features. The first of which you noticed were bright blue eyes that writers and painters alike had mused over for centuries.

He directed them at you. “There,” he said. “Happy?”

You lowered your rifle. “We’re off to a poor start, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t want no trouble. Just didn’t know what we was walkin’ into,” he said, moving closer, hands up slightly as if to not appear threatening. “You were real vague in that note of yours.”

You reaffirmed your grip on your rifle. “That’s close enough,” you said. Any closer and he’d eclipse you, your neck within snapping distance of those strong hands.

“Then, how about you tell me how this is gonna go?”

In the days leading to this moment, you’d thought of the ways you were going to approach this. Never did you imagine getting this far. “Do you have any idea why I may have invited you here?”

“To gloat, perhaps? About beatin’ us to that train?”

An involuntary upward twitch at the corner of your mouth. “Not quite, sir. I value my time and yours, so I’ll keep it short. I need you.”

Arthur pointed to himself. “You... need me?”

“Yes, you.”

He dipped his head, obscuring whatever expression he was making beneath the brim of his hat. Rubbing his neck, Arthur said, “Can’t imagine why you’d need me, lady. Accountin’ for the fact you don’t even know me.”

“I’ll rephrase. It’s not you I need exactly, it’s somebody like you. And your friend, for that matter.” You paused. “I used to have partners, too. One is dead, the other is in need of rescue. She was kidnapped. I want to hire you to help get her back.”

“Why not go to the sheriff? Seems a hell of a lot easier than getting up to all this trouble.”

“The sheriff?” you scoffed. “You really think he’d risk himself and his men to help me save a working girl from outlaws? Most likely he’d look into my background, and then I’d be arrested before I could even blink.”

“So all we gotta do is save your friend from her kidnappers and what, you’ll pay us?”

“You’ll get the money from the train, and I’ll throw in seventy dollars on top of that,” you said.

“What’s the catch?”

“Pardon me?”

“The catch,” Arthur repeated. “Seems too easy.”

“Didn’t say it’d be easy. Are you familiar with the O’Driscoll Boys?”

A spark of recognition. He was, in fact, familiar. “Yeah, I heard of ‘em. Your friend Emma… them boys captured her?”

You nodded. “A former client of hers runs with that gang. He found us in a hotel room, shot Henry, and knocked me out. When I came to, Emma was gone, and I was alone.”

“Under ordinary circumstances, I’d be glad to help,” he said. “You see, there’s someone I’d need to run this by and he’s already got it out for their leader, Colm O’Driscoll. This’d be the perfect excuse for him to do something goddamn stupid.”

“Please. If you’re familiar with them, you can imagine how awful it must be for her. I’ll even give you half the money upfront,” you said, decocking your rifle and slipping it back over your shoulder by its leather strap.

“Can’t promise nothin’, but I’ll talk it over with some people tonight. Meet me at that saloon in two days, same time. If it goes in your favor, I’ll take you to see the man who makes all the decisions.”

“Are you going to make me wait again?” you asked.

“You’re the one asking for favors, miss.”

“I’m offering a job.”

Arthur’s lips set into a hard line. “A job that might get us into a world of trouble, adding fuel to a fire that’s been burnin’ for a long time now. Frankly, you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

And because you didn’t want to push your luck, you fell silent. You watched him call for his horse and mount it.

“I’ll be on time,” he mumbled as an afterthought, and rode off in the direction he came.