#i just wanted to see if my poor little meow meow could catch a w this time but he was left out entirely which is hashtag Rude

[purplespacecats]

me 5 minutes ago: dear lord all y'all need to calm the fuck down about the pirate battle

me now: the fact that pirate battle 2 doesn't include izzy is a hate crime

[circus4apsycho8]

more than a hug. | the batter x reader

Fandom: OFF

Pairing: The Batter x Reader

Warnings: jealousy, cussing

It was no surprise to you that the Elsen were very cuddly creatures. Not only that, but they were very squishy, too. You absolutely loved hugging the cute little guys! Who wouldn’t? They were warm, soft, and sweet.

The first time you had hugged an Elsen was after Dedan had finished yelling at the one. You and your beloved Batter had stepped out of the barn before you found yourself rushing over to the pitiful thing. How could you not? The poor guy looked like he was about to cry.

You were quick to scoop him into your arms. “Hush now. He’s just a mean old man. You did nothing wrong.”

He accepted your hug and buried his face into the crook of your neck. You hear him sniffle a little bit. “Th-thank you…hhh…you’re too kind.”

“You’re welcome,” you mumbled, hugging him a little tighter. You heard your Puppet awkwardly shuffle around, causing a deep chuckle to emanate from your chest. A few seconds later, you set him down onto the ground. The little Elsen had a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Miss, th-thank you and your…uh…friend here for purifying the barns. Even if it didn’t get noticed by the Inspector, we appreciate it…” he teeters off when he notices Batter glaring at him. You smack the Batter’s shoulder and smile down at the Elsen.

“You’re very welcome! Take care of yourself, alright? I think it’s about time we got a move on.” Batter remains silent as you bid the Elsen goodbye.

“I will! Good luck with…whatever you’re doing!” the Elsen wishes before the Batter grabs your hand and drags you behind him.

“Thank you!” you yell, waving at him before turning back to your Puppet.

“Dude, chill. You can let me go now,” you comment. He reluctantly releases his grip on you.

“What was that about?” he demands, looking anywhere but at you.

“He was about to cry, Batter! He was scared! I couldn’t just leave him like that!” you retort, rolling your eyes.

“He would have gotten over it.”

You sigh. “Sometimes a little kindness goes a long way, Batter.”

…

The second time you were cuddly with an Elsen is when you and Batter got stuck in the shopping mall maze. Batter was getting extremely frustrated and you just wanted to get the hell out of that blue hellhole.

So, when you and Batter found a lone Elsen who had claimed to be lost, you declared it was time to take a break.

“I’m lost,” the Elsen said, “I could make a fire with the boxes...to ward off the ghosts...but...that would be too dangerous.”

You immediately began to answer, but Batter pulled you back outside for a moment.

“Don’t answer him.”

You roll your eyes, growing annoyed. He couldn’t just boss you around like that. “He’s lost, Batter. We need to help him get out of here!”

“He can find his way out by himself.”

“Batter. He’s scared. Can’t we bring him with us? It’s only temporary. I can do all the talking, too!” you push, trying to decipher how he’s feeling. Batter frowns at your words, and not for the first time, you wish you could see his eyes. “He might attract a Spectre.”

And it was then and there you knew there was something else wrong. Throughout all of your travels, Batter had strived to attract Spectres so he could Purify them. Hell, he’d even shouted out to them in the smoke mines! So why was he so worried about attracting them now? Especially since they were much weaker here, too?

“Since when are you worried about attracting Spectres?” you grill, folding your arms and narrowing your eyes.

He doesn’t answer for a moment, clearly caught off guard. Shaking your head, you look back up at him. “Look, what’s up with you, man? This isn’t like you.”

“I don’t want him to come with us,” he answers. You don’t buy it, but at the same time you know he’s not going to crack just yet.

With a sigh, you say: “I don’t think that’s all, but I know you won’t tell me. Can’t he just come with us? Who knows, he might be of help!”

He remains silent for a few more moments, then: “Fine.”

You grin before darting back into the room. The Elsen looks up at you hopefully.

“Come on, we can help you get out,” you coo, smiling.

“Wh-what about the ghosts?” he asks.

“We can protect you from them. Trust me,” you answer before offering your hand to him. He takes it gratefully before you pull him up.

“Thank you very much, ma’am,” he replies. You hear the Batter scoff quietly from behind you.

“You’re welcome,” you respond.

“Let’s go,” comes Batter’s voice as he nearly stomps out of the room. You roll your ryes. So much for taking a break.

“Ignore him. He’s always grumpy,” you inform, taking his small hand and pulling him behind you.

…

During your trek through the exasperating maze, you noticed Batter was considerably quieter and tenser. Eventually, you had decided that he would tell you about whatever was bothering whenever it suited him. He seemed to be angry too, if the way he was taking out whatever monstrosity showed itself. It was almost like he didn’t want to listen to you but did anyway. His stubbornness grew to the point where you just allowed him to do whatever he wanted with the battles, so you could comfort the Elsen.

And when, finally, you five reached the Judge, the Elsen quickly thanked you and scampered off while Batter spoke to the Judge. You waved at the unfortunate Elsen before turning back to the conversation at hand.

“Is not this publicity so effective and efficient whilst defying the basics of consumer marketing?” the Judge says once he sees you. The two of them are facing some kind of advertisement painted on the wall.

“For silkier hair: the meat fountains of Alma,” Batter reads, clearly unamused.

“Oh, you can read? Anyway, I am glad to have found you. Maybe you can help me unravel the mystery that fate has placed before me,” the Judge comments. He glances up at you and smiles before trotting over to you. You sit down cross-legged against the wall before he crawls onto your lap. Smiling, you pet his soft fur.

“It turns out that my brother has been living in this area for many years. He has a special affinity for colors of the cool kind. Unfortunately, I have so far failed to cross his path. I have tried to betake myself to the roof of the library, where he resides. However, I found the door closed. Even the long hours of intensive, repeated meowing and compulsive scratching did not do a thing.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Judge. Is there anything we can do to help?” you question, scratching him behind his ear. He mewls in response, flipping over onto his back in a silent request for tummy rubs.

“My request is as follows: if at the bend of a corridor you happen to see Valerie, give him my greetings.”

You nod. “Will do.”

“Okay,” The Batter agrees. “Puppeteer, I’m going to go speak to Zacharie for a moment. Do you mind waiting here while I do so?”

You’re mildly surprised, but you agree anyway. “Uh, no, go ahead.”

“Thank you.” He saunters away, trusty bat in hand with Alpha and Omega following him.

You blink. “That was weird.”

“Eccentric of the Batter indeed,” agrees The Judge, “what do you think is amiss?”

“He’s been acting very…out of character lately,” you muse, “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on.” Is he mad at you? Should you be doing something differently? If so, then why isn’t he just talking to you about it? “I wonder if he’s mad at me.”

“I highly doubt that. Your beloved Puppet could never be angry with you for long,” The Judge responds.

You shake your head, causing the Judge to glance up at you. “I don’t know, Judge. If I did something wrong, he just…he needs to speak up. I guess I should ask him about that, huh?”

The Judge nods. “If you truly believe so, then communication is the sole solution.”

“Alright, then,” you sigh, sifting your fingers through his soft fur.

A few minutes later, Batter reappears in the room, the Add Ons at his side. It was then you realized he didn’t buy anything because you were the one holding the credits.

“You good?” you question as the Judge reluctantly slides off of your lap.

“Yes. We should go,” he answers, although you catch a glimpse of his cheeks, which are…wait, is he blushing? You wonder what the odd merchant had said this time around.

Before you left, however, you approached the masked merchant standing idly behind the counter.

“Ah, buenos dias, dearest Puppeteer. How could I be of assistance?”

“Could I see what you have on you?” you ask. He chuckles.

“Of course, belle femme,” he replies, showing you his wares. You’d grown used to the odd nicknames he gave you.

You ended buying a few Fortune Tickets and some meat, placing all purchased items in your inventory before bidding Zacharie goodbye. Before you can move away, however, the merchant catches your hand in his. You freeze, watching as he lifts his mask ever-so-slightly before he brings the back of your hand to his lips.

“It’s always a pleasure to serve this little ragtag team of yours. Sois prudente, jolie fille.” Releasing your hand, he chuckles at your shocked expression, smirking as he glances at your stunned Puppet.

“Th-thank you,” you stutter before Batter places his hand behind your back and pushes you out of the door.

Once you’re outside, you blink a few times before you’re able to speak again. “Dude. What. The. Fuck?”

Batter shakes his head, probably both at your choice of language and recent events. “Language. I don’t know why he’s…” he sighs.

“He’s so weird. Wait…aren’t you fluent in French? What did he say?” you question.

Batter huffs. “The first nickname was ‘beautiful woman’. The second one was ‘Be safe, pretty girl’.”

Your cheeks grow even redder upon hearing the translation. “W-what? Really?”

He nods, remaining silent as the two of you continue to the park.

“Puppeteer…” he starts, voice soft.

“Yeah?” you ask, looking up at him. He avoids your gaze blatantly.

“I…” he trails off before continuing, “I think we should rest in Zone 0 before going to the park.”

You nod, the exhaustion of getting through the maze catching up with you. “Agreed.”

…

Once you two have reached the abandoned Zone, Batter hurriedly guides you past Zacharie, despite his greeting, and ushers to the upper levels.

“Which floor would you like to stay on?” he questions.

“Here’s fine,” you respond, sliding onto the floor. He hesitates before sitting next to you and dropping his bat onto the floor. You lean your head on his shoulder, causing him to tense up a bit before relaxing.

You hear him sigh again. “I’ve upset you, haven’t I?” His voice sounds uncharacteristically sullen for a man as stoic as he usually is.

“Kind of. I just wish you would talk to me. What’s going on with you, Batter? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

He heaves yet another sigh as you straighten your neck and shift. Batter looks up at you while you move. You end up straddling him with your hands on his shoulders. He stiffens at your gentle touches. From this angle, you can finally see his eyes.

You can’t tell exactly what color his eyes are, so you reach up before grasping the brim of his hat. He catches your wrist gently before you can pull it off all the way.

“Do you mind?” you whisper. “I really want to see your eyes.”

His grip on your wrist loosens before he removes it completely. “Go ahead.”

You smile at him in a silent thank-you before you remove it.

His eyes are a pretty shade of amber. They hold a kind of exhaustion that could only be obtained by fighting for something one couldn’t accomplish.

“Your eyes are beautiful,” you comment, smiling, “why didn’t you want me to see them?”

He bites his lip for a moment before looking away. “I am not entirely sure. I guess I just…don’t want you to see my…my real ones.”

“Your real ones?” you question, tilting your head slightly.

“Yes,” he confirms, placing a hand on your cheek. “I don’t want to scare you.”

“You won’t, Batter. Will you show me, please?” you ask, enjoying the feeling of his hands.

“Very well,” he says, “will you close your eyes for a moment?”

You obey quietly, pressing a hand against his. His hands are much bigger than yours as well as drier and calloused from using his bat so much.

“You may open your eyes now.”

Upon opening them, you find that his amber orbs have been replaced with four eyes. The irises are a deep shade of burgundy while the rest of the eye is a pretty crimson color.

“Whoa,” you breathe, removing your hand in order to trace the skin around his eyes. Even though it’s definitely unnatural for a human, he still looks handsome. “Those are even cooler!”

“You think so?” he questions, still unsure.

“Yes. I mean…I’ve never met anyone with red eyes before. I…I think they look even better than your other ones,” you confess, smiling shyly at him.

He studies your face for a moment before a teensy little smile lights up his face. “Thank you, Puppeteer. Thank you.”

You chuckle. “That’s what you get for having a pretty face. Now,” you lean back a little. “What’s been going on with you?”

His little blush is back, which almost makes you giggle. “Well…it has to do with what I talked to Zacharie about earlier.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I…whenever I saw you hugging the Elsen or just…being affectionate with someone else, it made me angry. I wasn’t sure what exactly why I was; after all, you were just trying to be comforting. I knew Zacharie would have an answer, and he did. He informed me that…I should tell you. I wasn’t sure how. Eventually, he told me that…I was…jealous.”

You chuckle. “If you wanted a hug you should’ve just asked,” you respond, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling yourself to him. Burying your face into the crook of his neck, you smile as you feel him return it with a relieved smile. He loosely wraps his strong arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

You note that he smells like…bubblegum? Not just any bubblegum, but the kind that’s sort of stringy? Like the baseball gum. You chuckle, inhaling his scent.

Suddenly, he slides his hands up to your neck and he gently pushes you back a little bit, rubbing the tips of his thumbs over your jawline. You move your hands to his chest, right over his heart. It steadily beat beneath your fingertips. After that, your gaze sinks down to see his lips: they’re dry and chapped, but still so, so kissable.

The Batter releases a grunt before he pulls you forward, and your lips collide. He’s gentle and slow at first, testing the waters. When the two of you break apart for a moment, you go in for another one again; this time around, it gets a little more heated.

His hands slide back down to your waist, where he pulls your torso to his. You find your hands tangled in his ivory white hair. You feel him running his hands along your curves, to the small of your back, then retreating to your waist again.

You’re pulled back by the need for air. As you gaze into his red eyes, you recollect just why you love this man. He had protected you, tried to help you when no one else would. Even when he did get a little snappy, it was because he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of both the situation and his own feelings. It was there when you were looking at him, you realized he felt the same way.

He breathes your name, brushing a hand against your cheek again. You can tell he’s at a lost for words.

“I had a feeling you wanted more than a hug.”

[pyralyte]

The Pre-Date

Word Count: 3,679 Genre: Comedy, fluff

A/N: I usually don’t write a lot as I don’t have the time to do much of this. This blog is also just a blog for everything random that pertains to my interests and not a kpop or any kpop group specific blog. I won’t be receiving requests, but feel free to continue reading! This was inspired by a conversation between me and a fellow Atiny/Monbebe friend and with the help of my Dungeon Master boyfriend, who writes stories all the time for his Pathfinder campaigns.

E A R L Y . E V E N I N G

You come back home to your apartment and find that your roommate had gone out to pick up groceries from the note that was left on the kitchen counter. You laid down your belongings gently before jumping onto the wide sleeper sofa squealing and wriggling uncontrollably.

"AHH!" You hug the closest plush next to you. It happens to be your cat, who is not thrilled and meows in a worrisome high tone. "Ohmigosh! I'm so sorry, Koi!" You let her go before grabbing an actual pillow to squeeze it tight. I can't believe it, you thought. He asked me out! My freaking crush asked me out! Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God! You continue to squeeze the poor pillow, rolling around like a dog in grass gleefully. "Ah, shit," you utter under your breath. You noticed the lipstick stain and mascara smeared on the sandy colored sofa.

N I G H T T I M E

As you wash your face hurriedly before bed, you remember how he asked you out in such a cute way. It was almost too unbearable that you could have made a fool of yourself in front of your crush.

// FLASHBACK // "Y/N!"

You whip your head around to see Seonghwa jogging towards you across the large courtyard on university campus. Maintain composure, you thought. "Hey, what's up, Seonghwa?"

He catches up to you, barely out of breath. To be expected by someone on the dance team. "Y/N, I-I I need to ask you something." He looks away. You think you might have seen a very slight pink undertone just then. You watch him fiddle with a silver engraved ring on his finger.

"Y/N, I..." he takes a deep breathe. "I-really-like-you-and-I-really-promise-to-take-care-of-you-will-you-go-out-with-me!"

Stunned, you unravel each word one by one and realizes that he likes you as well. No, wait. He just asked you out! You stood there, frozen, red in the face as Seonghwa eyes you in worry, his pink tones also becoming redder by the minute. Your scarf covers your mouth just enough to not show how much of your jaw just hit the ground. You slowly come back to reality as his eyes lowered, preparing for a rejecti —

"Yes."

His eyes snap back to look into yours. "What?"

"I said, yes, Seonghwa," you say calmly, trying with all the energy in the world to not quiver your voice with excitement.

"REALLY —" He coughs and clears his throat, changing his demeanor from an excited puppy to that of a cool cat. "I mean, really? You will?"

You nod. Eyes glued to his.

"How about tomorrow afternoon?" he proposes. "I'll take you out to a really nice place."

Again, you nod. "Yes. Let's do that."

// FLASHBACK END //

M O R N I N G

Knock knock knock knock knock.

The faint noise causes you to stir from your sleep. You feel around blindly for your phone, eventually finding it under the pillow you were just sleeping on. Your eyes adjust to the room as light leaks in through the sides of your sun blocking curtains. You squint at the phone bleary-eyed, immediately stunned by the loud light of your device. Through a sliver of what you can see, you turn the brightness down and look at your phone again.

- 9:47 AM -

"Ugh," you groaned. "I bet Sabrina forgot her damn keys again..."

Knock knock knock knock knock.

"Okay!" You shouted. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

You looked for Sabrina's keys but it wasn't anywhere to be found, so to the door you walk, sleepily.

You lazily unlock the door. "Hey, girl, I can't seem to find your k —" You gasped.

Sabrina's usually neat long blonde locks was basically a bird's nest once you saw her, presumably from attempting to pull her hair out in stress. She storms into the apartment, mumbling to herself.

"I can't believe I walked all the way to the salon just to find I didn't even have my Goddamn keys on me," she hissed. "Again." She rummages through the sofa, with Koi running away from the steam coming from her human’s ears. She sighs exasperatingly.

"Was it not in your usual spot?" You ask, rubbing your eyes.

"No, it wasn't! You couldn't find it either?"

"No..."

You help your incredibly stressed out roommate to find the keys in her room, your room, the kitchen, and the living room. Nothing. Then, an unusual idea popped into your mind. You look at Koi. Then to her cat tree. Then back to her. She mewls innocently. You walk over to the tree, eyeing it suspiciously. You reach above, feeling around the top bed. Nothing. The two middle beds. Nothing either. Then at the bottom-most bed, all the way in the back, far beyond sight, you find the coveted silver treasure.

"I found them!" You exclaimed to Sabrina. "I found them in the cat tree!"

"Oh, thank effing goodness!" She sighs loudly in relief. She smooths her hair out while walking over to you. You drop the keys into her outstretched hand.

"Okay, leaving for real this time, Y/N." She walks to and opens the front door.

"Alright, have a good one," you say wearily, walking back towards your bedroom.

"You too. And — oh! Y/N."

You turn around.

"Have fun... with your date." She winks as she closes the door and locks it from the outside.

The date? You wondered. Oh! The DATE!

"I gotta get ready! WHAT TIME IS IT?"

- 10:23 AM -

You sigh in relief. "I have time."

"Mreoooww!" Koi meows at her disgustingly empty food bowl.

"Okay, okay, I'll feed you, Koi."

- 10:35 AM -

Knock knock knock knock knock.

The sound of unexpected knocking, again, nearly made you choke on your toothpaste. Did she forget something else this time, you thought. You walk out of the bathroom, still brushing your teeth. You open the door and —

"Good morning!"

"Good mor —?!" You stopped brushing your teeth and sees a casual yet stylish Seonghwa at the door, carrying some kind of brown paper bag. He beams at you.

You slam the door on him. He can't see me like this! OH, MY GOD, HE CAN'T SEE ME LIKE THIS! You open the door again. HE'S STILL THERE! You slam it. Then open it again. His smile still shining radiantly, with a touch of confusion. Your toothbrush falls out of your mouth. You would let it land on the floor if you didn't remember that it was an expensive electric toothbrush. "Oh, shit!" You try to catch it while it bounces from one hand to the other. When you finally got it, it happens to bounce off your hand once more and hit Seonghwa's chin, leaving a residue. He flinches a bit.

OH, GOD, NO, you internally scream. Not only is this happening right before the real date, but you're obviously not ready. Your bun is a crazy rat's nest, your over-sized off-white shirt with a pink bunny design is awkwardly resting on one side of your hip and the other, loose. Your permanently stained basketball shorts with elastic that has long since worn out reveals your yet to be shaven legs. You quickly eye him up and down before taking cover behind the door. "Damn, you didn't have to be this punctual," you mutter, looking away from him.

"Oh? I figured," he begins, looking down at the bag he is holding, "that you might want some breakfast with me?"

Breakfast? You look down at the bag as he reaches in and pulls out your favorite kind of twisted doughnut. Two of them, in fact.

"Just for you," he says shyly. You salivate at the sight of the treat you rarely get.

"But what about you?" you ask softly, looking back at him through your bangs.

"Don't worry, I've got some myself too!"

You sigh in defeat. "Well, you're already here. I'll just have let you in." You open the door slightly. Just as he was about to walk in, you stop. "But don't look at me!"

He tilts his head to the side like a puppy. Why are you looking at me like that? Stoooop! You hold your composure to keep yourself from melting and clear your throat. "Okay?" you reaffirm sternly.

He nods.

You open the entryway wider for him to enter, albeit a bit hesitantly since you are just now realizing the state of the living room. "Oh, uh," you stammer, looking at the disheveled sofa cushions. "My roommate — she couldn't find her keys so we looked for them." You laugh nervously while closing the door and locking it. You hurried over to the sofa to fix them up before offering a seat to Seonghwa. Respecting your wishes, he looks down at the floor.

"Do you mind if I eat a little of my breakfast while I wait for you to be ready?" he asks. His stomach growls a mighty one. He scratches the back of his head with embarrassment accompanied by a nervous chuckle.

You giggled. "Of course not! Please eat. I, uh -- it, uh, I'll go get ready, but it'll take a while. I-I'm sorry." Your stammering is getting the best of you as you make your way back to the bathroom. But wait.

"My toothbrush!" you gasped.

"Oh, I set it on the dining table for you," he says, pointing to the standing brush.

"Oh, thank you!" You grab it off the table, almost stopping in your tracks to ask how did he manage to catch it, but decided to push that off to the side. You walk back to the bathroom to do your morning routine.

S E O N G H W A . P O V

Sitting down on the sofa Y/N just fixed, he wiggles his silver ring off and sets it on the glass table in front of him to eat his handheld breakfast. He was starving as he got up very early to practice his choreography with his dance team. Wow, her new place looks nice, he thought. He looks at the collection of eclectic cool hues of artwork between yours and Sabrina's that tie the décor together. His wandering eyes became distracted when he felt something pressing up against his leg. He looks down.

"Oh, hi there!" he says sweetly and softly to the calico creature. Koi rubs her head into his shin aggressively. He puts his sandwich down onto the table and bends over to scratch her chin. Her purr fills the room before being drowned out by the rushing water of the shower being turned on. She snaps her head in the direction of the sound. Her eyes grow big and runs off from his hand while making a short trill. He chuckles as he motions to pick up his sandwich again from the table.

- 11:02 AM -

He balls up the wrapping paper and throws it into the empty paper bag. Y/N's twisted doughnuts were set aside on the table. He leans back on the sofa and takes out his phone from his pocket. He flips through his Engstagram feed until he realizes his finger felt odd. He looks away from his phone and thumbs the barren spot of his ring finger. He leans forward to grab the ring off the table when he notices it missing.

"Wh-whuh, what?!" He frantically whispers. He looks around the table, under, and around the sides. His eyes darts around the sofa. Did it get lost here? He feels around for the shiny cold object. He sticks his hands between the sofa cushions and felt some gross crumbs. "Eugh..." He straightens up again with a calm demeanor — just in case Y/N would come out anytime — as his own mind screams at him. How could you lose the ring, you giant idiot! The only thing you had! He scans the living area with one hand on his hip, exasperated. He sighs as he runs his fingers through his full yet luscious raven locks.

Thud.

He snaps his head over to see Koi on sitting on the woolly carpet, green orbs staring back at Seonghwa inquisitively. She slow blinks at him and busies herself by licking her paw. He plops down on the sofa, defeated, with head in his hands. He gives out a loud, long sigh as the sound of a door opening caught his attention.

Y / N . P O V

You come out of the bathroom, hair very loosely curled with light make up on. You roll up the sleeves of your sweater that has been tucked into your partially pleated skirt. You heard Seonghwa's loud sigh and was surprised to see an unusually startled look on his face.

"Eh? What's wrong?" You ask, as you walk over to chair in the dining area to secure your socks. At this point, he has seen you at your worst, so you're just slightly more relaxed in front of him.

"Ah, it's nothing!" says Seonghwa, waving his left hand dismissively with his right hand stuffed in his jacket pocket.

You notice his voice was just a tinge higher than normal. I mean, why would you notice such a thing? It's not like you listen to his voice every night.

Your mind begins to stir up stories as to why he was acting strange. Did he hurt himself? Did he steal something from you? Was he looking at indecent things on his phone? No, his phone is on the table. But... wait... is he going to propose?! You couldn't bear the thought of any of that and shake your head vigorously. No, you dumdum! Why would he do that after just asking me out yesterday? You shut your eyes tight and open them again only for them to fall on a calm but with an edge Seonghwa. They narrow at the sight of him.

"Did you..." you begin slowly, "eat my twisted doughnuts?" You smirk.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "No! They're right here!" He picks them up and briskly walks over to hand them to you. Single-handedly. Your eyebrow raises slightly as he doesn't usually like to give gifts away with one hand, but rather with both hands. Something is indeed amiss. You take the treat out of his hand slowly and decide to yourself that you will do some observational investigation. You look up at him, giving him a thankful smile. His eyes lit up when he sees your face up close and unguarded for the first time today. He blushes and smiles to himself as his eyes fell to the floor, out of shyness.

You sit down in the chair you used earlier to balance yourself while adjusting your socks. The familiar crinkling sound of the wax paper from your favorite bakery makes its way to your ears and instantly, you're hit with nostalgia. You bring up the cinnamon sugar delight to your mouth and take a bite, savoring the taste, with eyes closed. It's been years since you were able to have one of these again. You weren't able to go to the bakery anymore since you moved closer to your university and it was on the other side of the river near your parents' house. Unfortunately, the only transportation you have is your bike.

Your memory lane train derailed when you heard a soft chuckle. You open one eye to look at him. Your cheeks were ballooned with food since you didn't realize you practically inhaled the whole thing.

"Hmmf? Ith thumthing hwunny?" you ask, with mock annoyance.

"You look so cute with your cheeks like that," he points, smiling. "You're like a chipmunk!"

You cross your arms and pout while chewing slowly and carefully. He giggles again and pokes your cheek gently.

"Hmph!" You turned slightly away from him, eyes closed with nose in the air. You continue chewing and swallowing little by little. You covertly open your eye closest to him and see him trying to scan around your living area. He's looking for something. But what? You decided to use the process of elimination.

"Seonghwa," you say flatly.

He snaps his head back to you. Smiling, he replies, "Yes?"

"Are you looking to steal from me?"

"What?!"

"You've been acting strange since I've come out all ready and stuff."

He pauses for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before his eyes meet yours. The lengthy eye contact seems to stretch on for an eternity, growing more and more intense as he brings his face closer to yours. You feel the heat rush in your face along with a tinge of embarrassment since your chipmunk cheeks aren't completely gone yet.

"Yes, I've come to steal from you."

"What the f —!"

"I've come to steal your most precious treasure."

You look at him, befuddled.

"Your..." he points at your chest, whispering, "Heart."

You blankly stare at him. The eternal eye contact returns once again in awkward silence, until he threw his head back in laughter. The look of annoyance spreads across your face as you finally chew and swallow the last bit of doughnut left. You facepalm — while avoiding your eye make up — and stretch your eyes downward as you drag your hand in disgust.

"Ugh!" you groaned. "What the hell was that?!"

Seonghwa continues to laugh heartily. You see him clutching his stomach and leaning so far back in his chair, you almost didn't notice him about to tip over backwards. You frantically get up from your seat and scurry over to him, but it was too late. As he falls, his center of gravity was too low for you to have enough leverage, thus you falling along with him. Your arm is stuck between the floor and his back.

"Are you okay?!" You look down at him only to realize how close his face was to yours once again. Actually, even closer. He looks up at you with a soft gaze that could melt your all worries away. The apartment around you fades and all you see is the two of you. He lifts his arm up next to your head and gently tucks your soft locks behind your ear. His gaze lowers to your lips, then back to your eyes again. You're lost in the world that which his eyes held, slowly leaning in closer to —

"OOF!" A creature has landed on your back and pushed herself off to jump onto the table, which causes you to fall sideways onto the cold tile floor. You turn around to see Koi casually sniffing the wrap the uneaten doughnut is in, turning her head to look at you, slow blinks, then walks away, with tail high in the air. You roll onto your back, feeling a little dizzy, but somewhat defeated.

"You alright?" Seonghwa asks softly next to you.

"Y-yeah... I'm okay." You turn your face away from him to hide your red cheeks when you see something glinting in the shadow at the base of the cat tree. You tilt your head against the hard floor. Ow, that was a bad idea. You rub the slightly sore spot with your free hand. You gently tug your arm underneath Seonghwa and feel the weight being lift off your almost numb limb as you pull away. You get up carefully due to your skirt and walk over to the cat tree. You kneel down in front of it and feel inside the bottom-most bed. A slick yet cold texture grazed your skin. You went over the same area to feel it again and curl your fingers around it to pull it out. You open your hand and wondered, how did this get here? Seonghwa looks at your hand holding the ring and gasps. "It was there?! It was in there?! How—why—"

"Koi is like a magpie," you say while inspecting and cleaning the ring, "she likes to steal shiny things, particularly silver looking items."

You get up from the kneeling position you were in and walk over to him. With the ring in between your index finger and thumb, you place into the palm of his outstretched hand.

"Honestly," you chuckled, "I'm surprised you haven't managed to lose this in a year or so."

"It was..."He blushes. "It's because I've liked you for such a long time and this was the first and only gift you had given me."

"Oh!" You feel your cheeks heat up. "Well, I had given you other gifts too since then!" you pout.

He laughs as you walk over to the entry way to put on your chunky sole shoes. "Yes, but this is the only thing that isn't edible."

"Ha, well, you were practicing so hard, you needed to eat 24/7!" You finished tying up the laces on your shoes. You get up and grab your mini backpack off the sofa, along with your keys. "Let's go."

"Wait!"

You halt and turn to look at him. "Did you lose something else too?" you mused.

He slowly walks over to you and holds your shoulders. He scans over you and stops at your eyes, holding your gaze long enough that your cheeks begin to feel hot again. You’ve been blushing a lot today.

"I've always wanted to say," he begins softly. He leans in to your ear. "You look so beautiful."

Your whole being starts to feel like it's melting upon hearing those sincere words. Even after a couple of years of knowing him, hearing it like this from him, it felt like utopia.

"H-h-haaa, um, look, I swear if it's one of your cringy jokes again," you protest to protect yourself from completely dying. "C'mon, let's go!" You lock arms with him and drag him out of the apartment.

B O N U S × K O I . P O V

Sitting on top of the cat tree, she watches Y/N and that strange man leave, locking the door behind them. She hops down to the floor and makes her way into the kitchen. On her way, she finds a silver hair clip left behind on the floor where her human was just laying. She picks it up by the mouth and continues on. She jumps up on the kitchen counter and to the top of the fridge. She lays her newly acquired precious silver on a small mound of other miscellaneous silver objects. She trills in satisfaction.

[miss-tc-nova]

The Cat’s Meow - Jumin Han x Fem!Reader Pt 15

We’re almost done! Just 3 more chapters and 2 bonuses (this included)! 

Part 15: So Close

                “Yeah, no. I’m sorry, but that is definitely not her,” I say, ambling along the glass wall. “Excuse me?! Of course I know what cat I’m looking for! I’m her veterinarian! And unless there’s some new evolutionary trait or some bullshit that changes the color of a full-grown cat’s eyes that I don’t know about, that’s not her! Good bye!”

                It’s times like this I wish flip phones where still popular so I could slap it shut; instead I have to settle for jamming my finger against the red circle on the screen. Heaving a sigh, I look out at the city below. Elizabeth has been missing for a week now but we’ve been doing all we can to find her. In an attempt to shift some of the tension away from Jumin, we put my personal phone on the fliers and commercials, especially since I was still quarantined to his penthouse for the time being. I hate it, but after speaking with Jumin and Luciel about it a bit more, I had to admit that it’s probably safer for me here.

                In consequence, I had to arrange for the other vets to take over my shifts at the clinic, which is probably the issue that hurts me the most. And Jumin reprimanded me for thinking of it, but Corrine, Yoosung, and Luciel have been given strict instructions of what to do with the clinic should I be unable to return to handle my affairs for any reason.

                Looking at my phone again, I see the picture of the imposter. With a snarl, I move to throw my phone across the room when the door to Jumin’s room opens. The heir hesitates before stepping into the room.

                “Should I come back later?”

                I let out an exasperated sigh and lower my arm. “No. It’s fine. Just assholes try to get the reward with imposter cats.”Jumin’s face falls. I close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his waist. “We’ll find her.”

                He dips his head to press a kiss to my forehead. “Thank you, love.”

                Life with Jumin is still weird, but we’re not at odds with each other so it’s enjoyable. There are still lines drawn to keep our relationship from racing over the edge to crash and burn; such as not sharing a bed, especially when Jumin mentioned no sex before marriage. We did disagree about me going to work once and he did keep his promise to attempt to restrain himself; seeing him struggle with that, I had to step back and talk to Luciel. But Jumin’s trying and that makes me happy. That doesn’t stop him from going to work however…

                “Will you be alright being here alone?” He asks the same question every morning.

                “I mean, I’d prefer to go to work too.” He frowns. “But you know…”

                Large, warm hands cup my face gently. “I don’t want to keep you trapped here, but I need you to be safe.”

                “I know, I know,” I sigh. I try to give a reassuring smile. “That’s why I’m here, safe and sound.”

                “I’ll call around lunch time,” he hums, suddenly pinching at my cheeks. “That should give you plenty of time to decide if you want me to send flowers or chocolate.”

                Jerking from his grasp, I pout. “Jumin! What did I say about your random gifts?!”

                “So…Chocolate then?”

                “No! Bad Juju!”

                He frowns at the pet name. “Fine. No chocolate then.” I fold my arms with a triumphant grin to which his eyes roll; nevertheless, he’s smiling. “Alright, I need to get going.”

                “Okay.” Tiptoeing, I press a warm kiss to his lips. They’d become much calmer and more domestic since that first night, but they still never fail to turn my stomach to mush. “I love you,” I say almost dreamily.

                He chuckles. “I love you too. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

                After seeing Jumin off to work, I sit down to do a little of my own. Just because I can’t go to the clinic for work doesn’t mean there’s not emails, phone calls, and social media to tend to; so I get to play with that while fielding idiots trying to trick me for Elizabeth’s reward money.

                It’s just about eleven o’clock when I get a text message from an unknown number.

                ‘Hey, is this the cat?’

                I set the phone aside, rolling my eyes. However, I get a second message that turns out to be an image. Grumbling a bit, I open the message and let out a gasp. The very creature I’d been scouting for peered back at me from the screen. Repeatedly, I tap at the call button until the phone finally rings the mysterious number. With my heart pounding in my chest, I pace back and forth.

                They answer and my breath hitches in my throat. “Hello?”

                “Hi! Uh, hello! The cat! You have my boyfriend’s cat!”

                “Ah, yes. The white Persian. She’s a sweet little thing. I was so worried when I found her cowering in some bushes near the park.”

                “Oh thank god! Thank you so much!”

                “So can you come pick her up now?”

                “I’ll send someone for her immediately.”

                “Um, no.”

                I freeze. “Huh?”

                “You’re _____  _____ right? The vet that Jumin Han is dating right? I don’t think I’d trust her with anyone other than you or him.”

                On the surface, the statement sounds fair enough, especially with the reward money up for grabs. However, there’s a little voice in the back of my head whispering ‘No.’

                “Oh. I see.” But Jumin’s in the middle of a meeting. He’d never answer… “Okay. I can come get her.”

                “Perfect. In the park down the road from C&R? Twenty minutes?”

                “Yeah,” I say without even thinking about it. “I’ll see you there.”

                “Great. See you soon.”

                Hanging up, I look down at the number until the screen goes black. I take a deep breath, grab the envelope of reward money, and head for the door.

                “Uh! Dr. _____! Is there something I can help you with?” the guard asks when I stroll out.

                “Uh, no. I’m good,” I tell him, heading for the elevator.

                “W-Wait! You’re not supposed to-”

                I stop him there. “Someone found Elizabeth and I have to go get her. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

                “But-”

                Huffing, I fold my arms. “Do you want to tell Jumin we missed a chance to get his cat as soon as possible?” He hesitates and I step into the elevator. “As soon as I pick her up, I’ll be right back!”

                Just outside, I pause, looking back up at the building, remembering my promise not to go out. Sorry Jumin. But I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

                I catch a cab to the park; I’m five minutes early, but that gives me a moment to contemplate what I may have just done. Pulling my phone out, I dial Luciel’s number.

                “Hellooooo! What’s up, _____?”

                “Hey, I just…wanted someone to talk to.”

                “Huh? What’s wrong?”

                I laugh nervously. “I uh…I left Jumin’s house.”

                “WHAT?! Why?! What are you doing?!”

                “Someone found Elizabeth but he won’t release her to anyone but me or Jumin and he’s busy.”

                “SO YOU WENT OUT BY YOURSELF?!”

                “Yeah, I know it wasn’t smart,” I agree. “That’s why I called you.”

                “And what do you think I can do from here?!”

                “Well if anything happens, you can-”

                “Dr. _____.” Glancing back, I see a man in a black jacket sitting on a bench waving to me. I’m very interested in his peculiar green eyes, but I’m more interested the cat walking across his lap.

                “Oh, he’s here.”

                “Woah woah! Don’t hang up!”

                I take a second and agree. “Alright. Just give me a minute.” Leaving the phone on, I put it in my pocket and approach the man. “Hi. Thank you so much for finding her.”

                He gives me a warm smile. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it. “It’s no trouble at all. I’m sure the entire country is looking for this poor cat.”

                I scoop up the cat and she immediately begins rubbing her face against mine. Happy to have her safe, I nuzzle back. “Oh, Elly, I missed you,” I coo.

                The man stands. “I hate to intrude on the reunion, but I brought her here for a reason.” The look in his gentle eyes turns sharp.

                “Huh? Oh, right.” I reach into my pocket for the envelope. “The reward. You can count it if you want.”

                “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m not interested in the reward,” he says, stepping closer.

                Matching him, I take a step back. “What?”

                I see a small group of strangers turn and head straight for us with intent expressions. He offers his gloved hand. “Dr. _____, I need you to come with me.”

                Jumin was right; his cat had been taken and those people wanted more. Without giving him a warning, I take off. I cling desperately to Elizabeth while tearing my phone from my pocket.

                “LUCIEL!”

                “Run! You’re almost at C&R!”

                The adrenaline is rushing through me, fueling my sprint. “I’m so sorry! You were right!”

                “Shut up and keep running!”

                Shoving my way through the busy sidewalk, I bump into nearly everyone in my panic. I’m too terrified to look back and I can feel the fear tightening my throat.

                My foot suddenly catches on an uneven section of the sidewalk. My elbow smashes into the concrete and the rough surface scrapes up my arm. Most importantly, to my horror, my grip on Elizabeth loosens and she takes off.

                “ELIZABETH!”

                Without even thinking about it, I race after her. A screech fills the air and it’s too late. The car barrels through, taking my legs out, and rolling me over the hood. A blunt pain spreads through my skull when I make contact with the black top; everything goes fuzzy.

                My phone lays just in arms reach, cracked screen showing Luciel’s face. It’s faint, but I can hear him screaming my name. My hand quivers violently as I reach for it, but someone else picks it up. Peering up, I see the man with green eyes that almost seem to glow with malice.

                “Dr. ______ is unable to come to the phone right now. But we’ll see you soon.”

                The pain, the fear, terror, all of it fades along with my grasp on the world.

~~~~~

                My body aches; every muscle feels stiff and resists movement. Fighting against the stasis, I let my eyes fall open, taking in the pink tinted room around me. I groan, pushing myself off the bed to sit up, and take in the princess room that I’m in. I’ve never seen this room in my life, and a glance out the window at the vast garden below doesn’t give me any clues to my location either. And then the memories of what happened come back, sending me on high alert.

                Before I can make another move, the door at the end of room opens. In steps a beautiful woman with long, golden hair and sharp, green eyes. She’s familiar but I can’t place where I’ve seen her face before.

                “I’m so glad to see you awake,” she says warmly, in a sweet way that doesn’t quite hide the venom beneath.

                “Where am I?” I’ve got nothing. It’s at least the third story, my body is very angry to be moving, and I know I saw guards outside the door, so there’s no escape. My only potential weapon is the vase of flowers on the table and I’ve got nothing on me but my dingy clothes. This is not a favorable situation if she decides to become hostile.

                “This is Magenta; a paradise for the lost and downtrodden.”

                “A paradise that kidnaps people?”

                “I apologize for the rough treatment, but we were getting nowhere with Elizabeth, so I needed something better.”

                “God, I should’ve known better,” I hiss.

                “I’m glad you ignored Luciel’s warnings,” she says, mocking me beneath that honey.

                “Why are you targeting members of the RFA?” I’m trying to work through the logic. “They’re just a charity organization.”

                Even though she wears a smile, her eyes narrow. “My dear, those five people together could achieve the impossible. I want them, not the organization I’ve already thrown away.”

                That clicks. “You’re Rika. You’re Rika! You’re supposed to be dead!”

                “That’s right. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman that melted Jumin’s heart.”

                “What are you going to do with them?”

                “They’re going to help us reach eternal paradise.” Before I can add another question, she produces my phone from her pocket. “However, seeing as you’re not as important to me as Jumin, I’m growing tired of this conversation. And it would save me a lot of trouble if you’d give him a call and tell him to join us.”

                I stare at the phone and back to her face. She’s got a ‘check-mate’ sort of look on, meaning I probably can’t do anything other than call Jumin with that device.

                “You want me to call him?”

                “That’s right. I’ve got coordinates for you to give him for him to meet us. Jumin’s a bit strong-headed; he’d try to get around doing what I ask while still getting his way. On the other hand, I’m fairly certain he’ll do anything as long as it’s you asking. And if you can convince him, I’ll let you join us in paradise too,” she sings. “Doesn’t that sound nice? Forever in paradise with Jumin?”

                I hesitate. “And if I don’t?”

                “Oh, I think a few bottles of our elixir will persuade you to join us. In the meantime, I’ll call him myself and he’ll come all the way here to rescue you. But I would very much prefer you convince him to come without a fight.”

                I look to the phone again and take a deep breath. The thing feels so heavy in my hand. Turning it on reveals the picture I’d set as my background: the picture of us in cat ears on Jumin’s birthday. And when I unlock it, I find only the phone app still available and only Jumin’s number in the contacts. My hand begins to shake as I press the call button. With a sniffle, I put the phone to my ear.

                He answers almost immediately. “_____?!”

                “Hey, sweetheart,” I say softly, trying to keep my voice steady. “How-How’s Elly? Did you find her?”

                “She’s fine, but that’s not important right now. Are you alright? Where are you?”

                As always, I give a nervous laugh. “I don’t know about alright. And…I don’t know where I’m at. But they want me to give you coordinates to meet at.”

                I look to the blond. I know some of her story: Jumin liked her but she chose V, she started to lose herself to depression, and then V claimed she committed suicide. She can’t be all there; she can’t be stable. In this state, she can’t be safe to be around.

                He snaps me back to the conversation. “_____! What are those coordinates?!”

                “Hey, Jumin?” My voice is steady as I look this woman in the eye.

                Apparently, I’ve caught him off guard. “Yes?”

                “I love you.”

                “I love you too, but this is not the time for that. Please. What are the coordinates?”

                “I’m sorry. I can’t give them to you.”

                Rika’s eyes widen with rage.

                “What?! _____!”

                I try to keep away from the woman coming at me. “Don’t trust her! She’s not your friend anymore! Rika-”

                A hand strikes across my left cheek and sends the phone to the ground. I lunge for it, only for Rika to stomp her heal through the screen, killing the machine. With a monstrous look of fury, she looks back at me.

                “It seems you’ve chosen the elixir then!”

                Now, I may have had a chance against Rika. We were similar in size, but the two men she called in: they easily dragged me away into some dungeon. They’d barely walked away when the man I’d met at the park walks into view. In his hand is a tray of bottles, each filled with a teal liquid.

                “The Savior says you were uncooperative,” he says with no emotion in his voice. “I am here to help you.” He steps inside, setting the tray down. Bottle in hand, he towers over me. “Don’t be afraid. We will guide you to the eternal paradise.”

[thinkyoureholy]

The Game Played Right [1]

[Requested by anon]

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Pairing : Kim Junmyeon / Reader

Genre : Angst, Fluff, Smut, CEO! AU

Words: 2.2k

Pt 1. Pt 2. Pt 3. Pt 4. Pt 5. Pt 6. Pt 7. Pt 8. Pt 9. Pt 10. Pt 11.

A/N: surprise surprise ya girl wasn't able to stay away for too long. Pls my brain couldn't have it I can't be without doing something I was losing my mind. So new series...yeee🙌🙌 new chapters will be uploaded every Tuesdays unless stated otherwise the week prior, hours may vary. I hope you all enjoy, especially the anon who sent in the request!😘

-Junmyeon's P.O.V-

I sat back as I watched him throw the papers to the floor angrily. I wore a bored expression as I watched him throw his little tantrum. I knew he was under a lot of pressure but seeing him act this way was both annoying and embarrassing. My father was always an ill tempered man, its the number one reason why I left the family home as early as I did. He wasn't very pleased with my decision but once he saw what I had to offer after I graduated college his attitude changed entirely. I worked my way up and became the CEO of the company he owned, a company that dealt with all sorts of technology. Though he didn't want to give his seat up he eventually allowed me to take the reigns, only just now showing his anger with me. You see I've been single since I came to the company, I had no time or desire to dive into a relationship. A relationship would take up too much of my time, it was too much of a distraction. But apparently that didn't look good at gatherings and so people began to talk.

“Do you have any idea what people are saying?” My father asked angrily.

“I could care less what they're saying.”

“Well you should care. Our stocks are decreasing little by little, it's not enough for it to be a problem but in a few years? This company will cease to exist.” He said in a low voice, “Our investors are pulling their money want to know why? It's all because of you.”

He paused as he stared me down before sighing heavily. He took a seat, pulling a cigarette out and lighting it before taking a drag. I narrowed my eyes at seeing him do so, hating the smell of it.

“They think your incompetent, and I'm not talking about your work ethic. They haven't seen you with a woman since you started working here and they-”

“Why the fuck is my private life any of their business?” I asked in frustration, cutting him off.

“Watch that fucking mouth with me, boy.” My father said, his voice dropping several octaves as there was an underlying threat in his words.

I scoffed, combing my fingers through my hair, “What is it you want me to do then?”

I knew he only came all the way here to give me an order. He's never shown up to my office, not once since I've been CEO has he set foot in here. I narrowed my eyes at the look on his face as he took a particularly long drag of his cigarette.

“Find somebody, anybody. I don't care who but do it quick...or else I'll do it for you.” He said before leaning forward and putting his cigarette out on my desk.

I set my jaw and clenched my hands into fists in irritation, watching as he got up from his seat. He didn't say another word as he walked out of my office, not even bothering to close my door. I cursed under my breath as I reached over for the phone on my desk, pressing the number that connected me with my assistant.

“Heejoon… get in here, now.” I said through gritted teeth, not even bothering to wait for his response as I hung up.

The old man was trying to control my life again but I'll be damned if I let him.

-

-Y/N's P.O.V-

I stirred in my sleep, feeling something fuzzy going across my face. I raised a hand sleepily, swatting whatever it was away. That did nothing as I felt it again. I groaned softly before opening my eyes, blinking a few times before seeing big greenish yellow eyes staring right back at me. He opened his little mouth and meowed softly, nuzzling his head against my cheek as he tried to get my attention. He had successfully had it the moment I felt his fur against my face in my sleep but I wanted to mess with him a little. Cats, him especially, are only cuddly with you when they want to be or they want something from you. And judging by how the sun was barely peeking through the horizon, my blinds barely hiding the ray of light he wanted me to feed him. I smiled softly, reaching up and petting the top of his head.

“I know I know, Angelo, I’m up.” I said, my voice still hoarse from just waking up.

I yawned before stretching my limbs, sitting up. I sat in bed for a few seconds, staring blankly at my bedroom door and sighed heavily before getting up. This was my daily routine. Get up at five a.m, feed Angelo, get ready for work, eat breakfast, go to work, work an eight hour shift and come back home and repeat the process all over again. It’s not that I hated how my life was at the moment but I couldn’t help but feel bored with it. Some would argue that I had what most people wanted; a nice home, a job that pays well, a loving pet at home, good friends, etc. But it was all getting old real fast. I was doing the same thing over and over again, never getting to do something I wanted to do because this set schedule was already ingrained into my brain.

I sighed heavily as I closed my front door, walking straight over to my car before getting in and driving off to work. I was about halfway there when I suddenly decided to go to a cafe about ten minutes from my job. I thought I could use a nice latte before I started my day. I walked into the cafe, stumbling upon a scene that made my jaw drop. A man in a suit was standing in front of the cashier, talking to the poor girl in a low but firm voice, as if he was reprimanding her. He pushed his coffee cup towards her, demanding for her to make him the coffee again. She apologized profusely, immediately taking the cup back but she was shaking so bad she spilt it behind the counter, the hot liquid covering her hand. I wanted to go over to help her out but her supervisor was quick to do so as he ushered her away, again apologizing to the man. The man said something I didn’t quite catch but he was quick to turn on his heel and start to exit the cafe. I caught a glimpse of his face on his way out, irritated with the fact that he was so handsome. I didn’t have time to say something about his behavior as he walked out, my attention being brought to a man rushing out of the restroom. My eyes shined with recognition as I watched him hurriedly run to the door, barely getting out a hello to me.

“Lee Heejoon!” I yelled after him, surprised to see him opening the car door to the rude man that just left the cafe.

I watched with my mouth agape as they drove off, dumbfounded by what I had just seen. Well...this was an eventful start to my day.

-

“He's gonna fire me if I don't find someone…” Heejoon sighed out, taking a sip from his drink.

I furrowed my eyebrows, still not being able to wrap my head around the whole purpose behind all this. His boss, rude cafe guy, wants him to find him someone to pretend to be his girlfriend to keep up appearances at gatherings. What I didn't get is why not just hire some escort or something. I mean from what he's told me his boss said anyone would do.

“Just hire some escort…” I said, having no interest in this topic whatsoever.

“No.” He said firmly, shooting me down immediately.

I shrugged as I took a sip from my own cup, choking on the liquid at his next sentence.

“Can't you do it?”

“W-What?!” I asked incredulously, my eyes wide, “No...Joon what the fuck?! I'm not doing it.”

“Please?” He practically begged, “He's paying twenty grand each day he calls you in.”

I choked on air this time, taken aback by the amount. Hearing how much he'd pay I was starting to rethink saying no. I made a decent amount of money from my job, it was enough to pay for my necessities and splurge on myself every once in awhile. I was smackdab in the middle of middle class, maybe even slightly higher. It's not like I really needed the money but...it'd be nice to have it, y'know, in case of an emergency.

I shook my head at those thoughts, “No.”

“Y/N please.” He pleaded with me, “I don't want to lose my job.”

I frowned at how desperate he sounded. It seems like a serious issue but was I really willing to get paid to pretend to be someone's girlfriend?

……

I straightened out my pencil skirt as I stood up, fidgeting with a button on my blouse. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I sighed out heavily, glaring at Heejoon as he opened the door to his office. He didn’t even bother to look up from his computer, signalling for me to take a seat in front of his desk. I looked to Heejoon but he just shrugged his shoulders before leaving the two of us alone. I took hesitant steps towards him, awkwardly sitting across from him as I waited for him to finish whatever he was doing on his computer. While he was busy in his work I took the time to get a better look at him. Yeah I saw how handsome he was at the cafe but seeing him now was a whole different story.

His hair was perfectly combed up and out of his face, all but one strand of hair that had seemed to go out of place during the work day but even that hair laid perfectly against his forehead. The top button of his shirt was undone as his tie hung loosely further down, lowered past his collar bones. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, exposing his forearms as he worked. The longer he typed  the more prominent the vein on his forearm got. I could feel myself staring for too long as I swallowed harshly, distracting myself as I looked around the room.

“What do you do?”

The sound of his voice startled me, my mouth running dry as I didn’t quite catch what he said. He noticed this immediately, a heavy sigh leaving his lips as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He stayed silent for a few seconds before asking the same question.

“I’m an architect.” I answered, watching as his eyes widened at my answer.

“Why do you want this job if you're an architect?” He asked, sounding sincere with his curiosity.

“I-” I cut myself off from continuing, remembering that Heejoon said not to mention anything about knowing him so instead I made up a lie, “I...I have a lot of debt and I don't make enough to pay it all off as quickly as I'd like…”

He narrowed his eyes before sitting back in his chair, seeming to believe my lie, “Are your hours at work flexible?”

“They could be.”

“Your name?”

“Y/N.”

“Your social status?”

“My what?”

He frowned at my answer, the gears in his head turning as he examined me with his eyes. I said and did nothing as he scanned me from head to toe, only starting to fidget when he stared for longer than I thought he would.

“Well, it's not like it matters really at least not with a face like yours...” He said under his breath before standing up, “You've got the job then. You can address me as either Mr. Kim or Junmyeon, though you should call me Junmyeon in front of others to make it seem like we're close but when it's just the two of us I don't really care what you call me. Now, we have a meeting to attend, let's go.”

“N-Now?” I stuttered out, rising from my seat as he was already starting to fix his shirt.

He said nothing as slipped on his suit jacket, giving me another once over, “Your clothes will have to do. I'll have Heejoon get your measurements and everything before you leave, send you some new stuff to wear for different occasions.”

And with that he left, leaving me in the office standing like an idiot. I stared after him, seeing Heejoon pop his head into the office and gesturing for me to follow. I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the man I didn't know if I wanted to call my friend anymore.

“What the hell did you get me into?” I whispered to him roughly as I passed by, watching him shrink back at the anger in my voice.

My gaze turned to Junmyeon as I felt his eyes on me. He raised his brows before gesturing to the open elevator. I gave Heejoon one last glare and went to join him in the elevator.

What the hell did I get myself into?

[thejokersenigma]

Loki Laufeyson x Reader - Cat’s Eye’s - Part 3

I haven’t written any Loki for a while, so I thought I’d take the day to write the next part! I came up with this random idea late last night after 24 hours with barely any sleep so it could be completely mad, and too weird, but I felt like giving it a go! haha

I’m still not really sure where I’m going with this story, I feel like I’m just writing a lot of oneshots that slightly link up... I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if I ever actually come up with much of a plot haha

Let me know if you want to be tagged in anything.

REQUEST ARE ALWAYS OPEN!

MAIN MASTERLIST

CAT’S EYES MASTERLIST

“Meow.”

You heard the sound from above you, making you glance up at where Kali sat watching you anxiously. “Look if you're gonna be a literal scared-y cat and not help me, then keep your opinions to yourself and stay up there on guard.” You told her, your hair whipping around your shoulders and into your face and you wished you’d had the common sense to tie it out of the way before you started.

“You can understand that thing?” Came the other voice above you. You lifted your head again to see Agent Clint Barton looking down at you.  

“That ‘thing’ is Kali and she’s my oldest friend.” You muttered, returning your attention back to the open panel in front of you.

“And you understand her?” Clint continued to question in disbelief.

“When you've been with her as long as I have, trust me, you understand her.”

“And how long is that?”

“Since I was about nine, I think.” You said nonchalantly, your mind mostly of your work.

Clint furrowed his brow as he glanced between you and the cat sat at his feet. “Aren't cats only supposed to live till they're like ten or something?”

“I think the average is twelve.” You corrected him, not bothering to lift your head from where you were busy. Clint continued to watch you, waiting for further explanation that didn’t seem to be coming - your concentration elsewhere – so he let the conversation drop, glancing down at the black and brown cat who sat patiently by his feet, watching her owner below. It wasn’t his business if your cat was three or seventy-five, but it didn’t look old though.

“Can you toss the pliers?” You asked, breaking into Clint’s thoughts and he now bent to the small collection of tools next to him, sliding the pliers under the small gap between the glass pane barriers to where you could reach them.

“Thank you.” You sang, reaching up for them. You were glad you had managed to convince him to help, you weren’t sure you could have pulled this off otherwise – you knew Kali would have been annoyingly stubborn about helping you in an attempt to discourage you. It was easy to persuade people than cats.

You hadn’t specifically gone looking for Clint, but in hindsight you conveniently running into him as you snuck your way up the tower had been perfect. Even more perfect was, when you had found him, he’d been arguing with Tony. You had found the two of them talking heatedly in the centre of one of the many corridors and had quickly ducked behind the nearest corner - not wanting to be seen if you could help it – to listen in. You’d only managed to catch the end of the conversation, but it was clear Tony was being stubborn over something that was annoying the other man to no end. It hadn’t taken long for you to recognise the second man, having brushed up on you ‘Avengers’ knowledge ever since you’d worked out they were everywhere in this tower. This was clearly Agent Clint Barton known mainly for his archery skills and unique, custom-made arrows.

He’d be perfect to help. And he clearly had a grudge with Stark.

You hadn’t had to wait too long before Tony’s phone had gone off and your Uncle had chosen it as a good enough excuse to walk away from the Agent. Barton had yelled a few curses at the billionaire’s, but Tony had simply ignored him, luckily heading in the opposite direction to where you crouched.

“How much longer you gonna be?” Clint called over his shoulder, his back to you as he leaned on the balcony barrier, one ankle crossed over the other.

“A little bit longer, why?” You frowned, also not bothering to look over.

“’Cause we've got company.” He murmured, folding his arms.

You snapped your head up to the agent. “Who?”

“The adopted brother.” Clint muttered, sounding less than pleased.

“Loki?” You asked in disbelief. Shit. “Where is he?”

“Living room.”

“Well, go distract him!”

“And just how am I supposed to do that?” Clint murmured back at you, turning his head only slightly as he spoke, keeping up his appearance of chilling on the large balcony.

“I don't know,” You called up to him with a shrug, “Head him off somehow - tell him a joke - shoot him with an arrow.” You suggested. “I don’t care.”

“Fine.” He grumbled, “But you owe me more than just my rope back.”

You rolled your eyes as the agent now pushed himself off the railing and headed to the glass balcony doors. It hadn’t taken much to convince Clint to help you. You had caught him in the corridor the minute Tony was no longer in sight and had quickly explained your plan before you begged him to let you use some of his equipment. Barton had liked the idea of messing with Stark but put up a fight over the risk you would be putting yourself at. You had stood firm though, simply stating that no matter whether he aided you or not, you were still going to do it. That hadn’t left the agent with much choice and he’d reluctantly agreed to help you – even offering to stand guard.

“Meow.”

“I told you,” You huffed at the electrical panel, “if you - wait what -?”

“What in Odin’s name are you doing?” Exclaimed the all too familiar voice above you and you felt your stomach drop.

“Uh –“ You stuttered, glancing up at where Loki stared down at you over the metal railing. You flickered your eyes between the electrical panel and his pale face. “W- What does it look like I’m doing?” You tried lamely, attempting to buy yourself time as you came up with an excuse.

He raised an eyebrow at your pathetic question. “It would seem you’re trying to get yourself killed.” He told you. “I can see no other reason why you would be suspended over the side of a balcony and talking to your creature…” He muttered, now glancing down at Kali. You also dropped your attention to the cat, surprised to find her now winding herself around Loki’s legs, rubbing her head against his boots. You scowled at her. Traitor.

“What is it doing?” He asked, baffled.

You sighed heavily. “It means she has terrible taste in people. Or gods.” You muttered. Loki glanced back at you, knowing you had just slighted him, but still confused. You groaned, rolling your eyes, “It means she likes you – she wants attention.” You muttered bitterly, glowering at Kali as she obliviously continued to wrap herself around the god. Someone wasn’t sleeping on your bed tonight.

Loki continued to watch the creature’s odd behaviour for a moment before he glanced back down at you, finding you had now returned your attention to your work. He scowled, checking around him before leaning over the railing again. “Will you come back up here before you kill yourself.” He muttered crisply. “Or worse.” He added.

“What’s worse?” You asked, conversationally, not lifting your gaze from the wires you now attempted to unravel.

Loki glowered down at you “Oh, I can think of a few things...” He growled down at you. When, still, you made no move to do as he asked, Loki lifted his head to glance out over the city that sprawled miles towards the horizon. He let out a short, sharp breath before dropping his gaze back to where you hung from Agent Barton’s enhanced rope below him “Please.” He stressed through gritted teeth at you as though it was painful. “Your Midgardian fragility is making me uneasy.” He confessed.

“And what do you care if I fall? I though you don’t care about Midgardian lives?” You said, sharply withdrawing your hand when you accidentally managed to shock yourself on a piece of the panel.

“I don’t.” He agreed. “But that’s exactly why I’ll be blamed if you do so decide to fall to your death.” He pointed out. “Stark’s got recording devices everywhere - between me and the ‘dear agent’, who do you think he’ll believe responsible for snuffing out a petty Midgardian life?”

“Well you’ve got me there...” You muttered sarcastically, rolling your eyes. You suddenly frowned, glancing up at Loki, “What happen to Barton anyway? He was supposed to be distracting you.”

Loki’s lips twisted into a sly smirk. “Well he distracted me…” He muttered, glancing back at the balcony doors, “Just the wrong me…”

You frowned - momentarily confused by this - before you remembered the research you had also done on villain currently stood above you, it had been reported that he was able to create illusions. This man just kept getting scarier and scarier.

You turned your gaze back to the wiring in front of you. “Well – uh – look, tough break.” You shrugged, trying to not think about the fact you had a powerful, murderous god stood above. “I’m not coming back up till I’m done.”

“Done with what, dare I ask?”

You pursed you lips, glancing up at the villain again, the wind also whipping strands of his hair, though most of it was safely tucked behind his ears. Something in you oddly wanted to tell him, though you weren’t sure why, and you had to wonder if it was some of his weird magic. He was a bad man after all, a murder, a liar, a manipulator. Yet he didn’t want you to fall to your death, a small voice in the back of your mind pointed out. Yet that had only been to save his own skin. Still, it had to say something that he wasn’t such a cold-hearted killer that he murdered people willy-nilly without care for the consequences…

Ok, now you really were just clutching at straws.

You scowled you at Loki. “You’ve got to promise not to tell Tony,” You stipulated, “- or Pepper,” You added. “- or anyone that would in turn tell them.”

“So, keep it a secret?” He summed up, raising an eyebrow at your poor attempt at words.

You thought about this, “Yes.” You nodded.

Loki sighed impatiently. “If I do, will you hurry up?”

“Possibly.” You allowed.

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

“Cross your heart?”

“What?” Loki asked, bewildered.

“Cross your heart?” You tried again.

“You want me to cross my heart?” He frowned.

“Yeah, you know… ‘Cross my heart and hope to die..." You hinted, then saw the blank look on his face. “Oh, you don’t know it…” You realised. “Well its –“

Loki a hand over the railing so it was visible to you, opening his mouth to stop you. “I can tell this is going to be long story,” He interrupted, “so could we perhaps not do it whilst you are handing off a ledge?” He questioned.

“Oh – right – yeah.” You nodded, embarrassed, “Well, basically, just swear you’ll maim or kill yourself if you tell anyone.” You summed up quickly.

Loki raised an eyebrow at this. “Seems a bit barbaric...” He mused. “But fine.”

“Good.” You nodded, happily, glancing back at your work. “Hey, could you pass me my screwdriver, I think it’s rolled away.”

Loki seemed to falter at your request, but then glanced around, noticing the small pile of tools and crouching next to it. “This?” He asked.

“No, that's a spanner.” You corrected.

“This?” He asked, picking up another tool.

“No, that’s my blowtorch.” You sighed in exasperation, closing your eyes, and the next thing Loki knew, a tool was being batted towards his foot by a black paw. Loki glanced up at the cat in surprise, staring into the creature’s eyes for a moment before he warily reached for the ‘screwdriver’. He straightened slowly, still watching the beast who just sat there, swishing its tale innocently, watching him back with the same intrigue.

Loki broke away from the blue gaze to lean back over the railing. “This?” He asked down at you.

“What?” You blinked, dazed. “Oh - yeah.” You took a deep breath, your current position making your head spin more than it usually and even a bit nauseous. You reached for the screwdriver nonetheless as Loki handed it down towards you, trying to act normal, but your fingers still felt numb and somehow the tool slipped through your fingers, plummeting towards the earth. “Shit.” You muttered to yourself as both you and Loki watched it fall rapidly out of sight.

“You know, that could be you in a minute.” You heard Loki point out above you.

You glanced up at him. “Gee! Thanks for that cheerful thought!” You snarked. “I should have a spare one somewhere.” You observed and, without being asked, Loki ducked back behind the barrier, this time knowing what he was looking for and not needing the cat’s aid.

You took this one from him more carefully, ensuring you had a firm grip.

“You know, you may well have just impaled someone with that tool.” Loki pointed out breezily, now leaning casually on the rail, looking out over the city, clearly having resigned himself to waiting for you to finish.

“Well, aren’t you just the concerned citizen?” You muttered sarcastically. “But, don’t you worry, I thought these things through,” You reassured him with a smirk. “Directly below is a metal awning, even if it did manage to go through that, it should slow it down enough to reduce any real damage.” You shrugged. Loki raised an eyebrow at you. “Most it'll do is probably make a loud noise and scare some pigeons…” You muttered as you set to work on unscrewing one of the bolts.

Loki lifted his gaze to the cityscape again, the sun directly above them shining off the hundreds of windows. “Are you going to tell me what you’re doing then?” He asked out at the horizon.

“Oh right, yeah.” You remembered, glancing up over your shoulder at him as you placed the screwdriver on the very edge of the balcony, posting it safely under the gap at the bottom of the glass pane. “Long story short, I'm hacking the tower.”

He raised his eyebrows at you in surprise. “And this requires dangling yourself off the edge of said  tower?”

“Yep.” You nodded, then gasped as you shocked yourself, sucking your finger. “Stark has all the security in the world on the inside of the tower,” You explained, shaking your injured hand, before reaching for the pliers in your back pocket. “But, once again, he underestimates my determination.” You said, shaking your head as you now cut through a wire.

“So, you’re...?”

“Well, I spent a few days mapping where these panels would be and then deciding the perfect one to gain access to.” You explained, “All it takes is a bit if tinkering…” You muttered, twisting the cut wire back into place. “And.... Done!” You declared, now reaching for your phone in your back pocket. You unlocked it and typed in the necessary codes. “Rudimentary,” You commented at the screen, “but it'll do for now. The rest I can do at a desk.” You murmured, pocketing the device again. You shifted uncomfortably, the rope starting to cut into you now, and began to position yourself to climb back up. “Could you – uh - help me up?” You glanced up at Loki who was still watching you. “As you’re here?” Loki rolled his eyes but dropped his arm down to you anyway, gripping your forearm with one hand and pulling on the rope with the other.

You were halfway up the balcony when you caught movement behind the glass balcony doors. Shit. “Put me down! Put me down!”

“What?” Loki demanded, glancing down at you bewildered.

“Just put me back down!” You whispered urgently. “Now!” Loki furrowed his brow in confusion but lowered you back to your original position anyway.

“What are you doing out here?” You heard a woman’s voice question Loki suspiciously.

Loki straightened up quickly. “Agent…” He muttered turning around and leaning casually back against the barrier to hide you from sight, feeling something brush up against his leg as Kali slipped behind him. “I’m simply enjoying the view…” He drawled lazily.

Natasha Romanoff eyed him disbelievingly. “Right, sure….” She nodded, her eyes flickering out to the city scape and then back to him. “Uh - You haven’t seen your brother, have you?”

You gasped quietly as something heavy fell onto you head, but then a familiar black tail fell in front of your face and you breathed a sigh of relief.

“I'm afraid I have not, agent.” You heard Loki inform the agent politely. “May I suggest the kitchen?”

Romanoff lips twitched with forced humour, but she still was clearly not convinced about Loki’s innocence. Before she could say anything else though, Agent Barton stepped through the balcony doors. “Oh uh –“ He paused taking in the scene in front of him and, where you were hidden, you silently smacked your head against the side the balcony. “Uh-“

“Clint?” Romanoff turned to him with a frown. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, I just came to – uh - find you!” He declared, glancing over at Loki who kept his face blank, then down at Loki’s feet, wondering if you were still hiding.

“Oh?” Natasha asked, sceptically.

“Uh – yeah – do you mind?” Clint asked, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder back into the tower.

“Uh… Sure.” She nodded shortly, glancing back at Loki warily before following Clint back through the glass doors.

Loki watched the two agents leaving, leaning forward and craning his neck slightly to follow them until the floor was completely empty again. Once he was confident they were gone, he turned back to find you already pulling yourself back up the balcony, the cat perched contently on your head. Without you even needing to ask, Loki reached down to help you the rest of the way, his god-like strength making the job a lot easier. Kali made the most of the new bridge this formed and scrambled up Loki’s sleeve before lithely jumping back onto the balcony.

You swung your leg over the railing and dropped onto the marble, slightly out of breath from the climb. “Phew, thank you.” You smiled gratefully up at Loki, straightening out your clothes, “I officially feel safe to say – that was terrifying.” You laughed giddily.

“Perhaps that will stop you from repeating the activity again any time soon.” He muttered down at you.

You glanced up at him, feeling your cheeks warm. “Perhaps.” You smirked. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve had a few too many close calls today, so I think I’d best be getting home.”

Tags for Everything: @beautifulbows924 @arkhamsurviour @sheldonsherlocktony @thatwriterizzy @jemjem-chan @white-chocolate-mocha-fan

Tags for Loki: @hakuoyuki @frostymoon11 @vanyali07 @ernesto-deserved-it

Tags for Cat’s Eyes: @marvelfan18 @lillyrosegirl @sydthekid1518 @markusstraya @cassiopeia-barrow @leleleish

[ilvsyzj]

Chapter Nineteen: Mission #1- Finding Toothless’ Partner and Finding Sophia and Rich Secret.

Mission Day #0

     When I asked my questions none of the boys spoke. They just stare at the floor. It’s was like they had a secret that they were afraid to tell me. But the Healers were there and they explained it to me. 

Sarah: Before you came into Sky’s life. Sophia always thought that Sky would be hers. But the Goddess had a different plan for her. When Sophia went to the Oracle Mansion on her 18th birthday. It wasn’t Sky that became her soul mate it was Rich. When she saw it wasn’t the person that she has been dreaming about ever since she was a little girl, she got really upset. She and Rich never got out of the Friendship Phase. Because Sophia thought that Sky wouldn’t find his true soul mate. So, all she had to do was show up at the Oracle Mansion when there is Soul Mate Searching Party. She try to flirt with Sky and even try to get into his pants. But Sky just stopped her in her tracks before she could go even further. Sophia, thought Sky was playing hard to get. But he wasn’t. Sky doesn’t like Sophia at all. He only pretends to be friendly with her because we all have to work together as a team. But the truth is Sophia isn’t a really nice person. If she can’t get what she wanted then she will stop anyone from having what she wants. Sophia never said anything to you for a whole week is because she knows that Sky is going to defend you. But when Sophia found out that you were Sky’s soul mate, she became really jealous and would come up with plans to make you either sick or hurt you. But the boys could see through Sophia’s plans and by the time you come downstairs everything is right. For example, when you and Sky is suppose to exercise on Sunday nights. The treadmill that you use is raised up 40 degrees higher then usual. Vicky usually exercise on Sunday nights. So, Vicky will lower your treadmill back to your normal level. When you’re about to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sophia always put rat poison in your food. But Charlie would always swap it out for a fresh plate. All of these things are done by Sophia because she is jealous of you and mad at the Goddess for not being  fair. As for why Sophia want to join King Eric. Well, that’s because King You had send her family into exile. Why Sophia’s family is in exile is because Sophia’s family were a bunch of robbers. They say they would change and not steal from anyone else. But since Sophia’s family are poor they have to rob others so they can survive. Sophia’s family tried to rob the Royal Family. But instead Sophia’s family killed something that was very dear to the Royal Family’s heart. That something was Frankie. Frankie was only 3 years old when he died. CCTV caught Sophia’s brother Max stabbing Frankie in the heart. So, Sophia traded her freedom to have her family to be exile while she stayed and train hard to become a Healer. Sophia wasn’t suppose to be a Healer. Because Sophia doesn’t have to the power to heal. But the power to kill. King You knew Sophia doesn’t have the healing power, but she traded her freedom to become a healer so that her family doesn’t have to die. Sophia’s freedom was to leave Sky alone and stop flirting with him. King Eric accepted Sophia’s family and they became hunters. But Sophia’s father wouldn’t leave his only daughter behind so he made a deal with King Eric, and that deal is to become loyal to King Eric. By becoming a hunter for life. If Mr. Gong did that then King Eric will get Sophia back to her family. Of course Sophia heard this and accept, but she has to stay in our team for a bit longer. Because King Eric wants to take over Mythical Kingdom. Sophia is the perfect choice to be their mole, and King Eric offered Rich the same plan. At first Rich didn’t want it but King Eric told Rich that he has a way to free Lee from prison. So Rich became the second mole. King Eric never liked the Mythical Kingdom and whomever becomes the strongest Royal Couple will be the end of King Eric. 

Jazzy: What is a strongest Royal Couple?

William: It’s called the Yin Yang Royal Couple. It is very rare. No one has come close becoming the Yin Yang Royal Couple. It said that the Yin Yang Royal Couple will bring peace to Mythical Kingdom. 

Jazzy: Oh. Well, now that we all know that there’s two moles on our team. We’ll just leave it be. Tomorrow we will get Snow and if they keep up with their stupidity then let them. 

Sky: What are you saying?

Jazzy: If King Eric wants to take over Mythical Kingdom. Let him. We just have to train hard and defend Mythical Kingdom. I don’t believe we can’t defend our home. So for now, we’ll just pretend that we don’t know about Rich and Sophia’s secret. I don’t want them to run away from us. I want to catch them red handed. But right now it’s not the time. Keep training hard and let them leak information to King Eric. 

Jeff: What if King You finds out about this?

Jazzy: -looking around the house and out the window- King You already knows about this. If he disapprove of what I’m planning then Sebastian would come and stop me on his behalf. Sebastian is King You’s advisor and he is also our guard who keeps an eye on us. The entire might not have any CCTVs but I have a feeling that there is CCTVs. Its just tinier and we can’t see it. But its there. I may not say much most of the time, but I can sense things. Before any one knows. Also, I’m not stupid as most people think I am. I may not tell you all what I’m planning, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a plan. My plan is to train hard and act like we didn’t find out about their secret. Let’s just through this last 4 weeks. 

Brandy: What if they attack first?

Jazzy: They won’t attack. It’s too early. My gut is telling me that they would attack later in the year. Also, King Eric doesn’t want Yin Yang Royal Couple. King Eric wants something bigger. Something that no one knows about. He thinks getting rid of Toothless and Snow, he would find what he’s looking for. Because King Eric thinks that Toothless and Snow is the key to something bigger. 

Sky: Like what?

Jazzy: Who knows. But it has to do with Mythical Kingdom. Something inside Mythical Kingdom. But we can’t just go charging in. That will be too dangerous. Training is our only option. 

Charlie: You’re not going turn into a monster are you?

Jazzy: -laughing- No. But first Toothless, you really stink. You need a bath. A real bath. 

Toothless: Finally. 

     I took Toothless to the bathroom and gave him a good scrubbing. 45 minutes later Toothless is back to his old self. I also cleaned up the entire house. Because it smell like a dumpster. 2 hours later the house was back to normal. We didn’t get to bed until 2 am. Tomorrow morning we will continue our journey to Hunters Island. 

-End of Day 0-

Mission Day #1, Getting Snow.

     The next morning we all had coffee and breakfast. Put on our walkie-talkies and set out. Toothless stayed at home with Sky and everyone else. While I, Will, Mike, Phil, and Sam went to the island. The new plan is for Mike to make the rest of us invisible. I knew that King Eric will move Snow into a different location, to make everything a little bit difficult. But that’s okay. I’m familiar with Snow scent so finding her wouldn’t be so hard. But I want to test the hunters. I know that King Eric is going to let us rescue Snow without attacking us. But after hearing what was said last night. I too want to test them. 20 minutes later we found Snow, she was in a cage sleeping. The poor thing was super skinny and scare. But when Snow knew I was there to help her and not hurt her. Since I don’t have the key to unlock her cage, I actually used my fire power to open the cage door. I was more surprised that I didn’t melt the entire cage. Mike used his invisibility to cloak Snow. We went back to the house without any problems. None of the hunters or King Eric came after us. This mission took no more than 30 minutes. I try to give Snow a bath which she didn’t like and she almost scratch the crap out me. So, I ask Sky to help me. To my surprise Snow like Sky and quietly let him bath her. 

      I left the bathroom and went to get my phone. I want to find out more about Yin Yang Royal Couple. So the best person to ask was Siri. That’s what I did. 

Jazzy: Hey Siri!

Siri: Yes. 

Jazzy: I need more information on Yin Yang Royal Couple. 

Siri: Yin Yang Royal Couple is a very rare couple. In a thousand years there was only one pair couple who have reached this stage of life. It was Goddess herself and her lover. Yin Yang Royal Couple is very powerful, they have the ability to heal anything that they touched. To achieve this stage you first need to find a soul mate, then you need to find a black cat and white cat, and then you need to have the Mating Mark. Once you have all these things then you have to keep training. The more you grow the stronger you’ll be. That’s all the information I have on the Yin Yang Royal Couple. 

Jazzy: Thanks Siri. 

Siri: No problem. Princess.

    Well, I have one black cat and one white cat. I have a soul mate. But I don’t have the Mating Mark yet. Also, I’m not strong enough. But my gut tells me that the Yin Yang Royal Couple is Sky and I. Why? Because Snow wouldn’t have allow Sky give her a bath, and Toothless wouldn’t have cuddle me every single day. 

Sky: Why were you asking Siri about Yin Yang Royal Couple?

Jazzy: Eek! -jumping out of my skin-

Sky: Sorry. 

Snow: Meow?

Jazzy: Because I want to know more about it. But Siri didn’t give that much information. All she said was how to become a Yin Yang Royal Couple. And that the Goddess and her lover reached the Yin Yang Royal Couple stage. 

Sky: You think its us?

Jazzy: That’s what my gut is telling me. Toothless has been cuddling me for a week and half now. Snow, would only let you bath her. She almost scratch the heck out me. I think Toothless is my Yin and Snow is your Yang. Siri also said that the harder we train the stronger we get. The only royal I know is you. And Siri won’t stop calling me Princess every time I thank her for something. Unless you’re going to tell me that there’s more than one royal member on our team. 

Sky: No. I’m the only royal. The boys are from noble families. Their families were middle class families that rose to the noble ranks. When I become King the boys would become Lords. Same with the girls. 

Jazzy: Well, that’s that. -smiling- Snow really likes you. 

Snow: I apologized for almost scratching you Princess. I don’t really like the way you were bathing me. You were scrubbing me too hard. 

Jazzy: I’m sorry. I was trying to get the stink out, and scrubbing you hard was the only way I can get it out. But if you like Sky can give you a bath when you need it. And I’ll give Toothless a bath when he needs it. 

Snow: You’re not mad Princess?

Jazzy: Why would I be mad. :) If you don’t like something that I’m doing please let me know. I’ll be happy to change it. I just want you to feel comfortable, loved, and be safe. Nothing else. :)

Snow: Okay. 

Jazzy: Hey Siri! 

Siri: Yes. 

Jazzy: Why am I being called a Princess?

Siri: Because you’re soul mate is a Prince. 

Jazzy: Oh. Is that the right title I’m suppose go by?

Siri: Yes. Your current title is Royal Princess Jazzy Tam. 

Jazzy: Do all get that title when you’re dating any member of the Royal Family?

Siri: Yes. 

Jazzy: Thanks Siri. 

Siri: No problem. Princess. 

Sky: I could’ve answer that question for you. 

Jazzy: Yes. But I have a feeling that you might tell me some weird answer. 

Sky: Like?

Jazzy: Something like you’re a prince and that automatically make me a princess. 

Sky: -laughing- That’s the answer I will give you. 

Jazzy: Ugh! -playfully pushes Sky away- 

    While Sky and I was talking Snow went to Toothless bowl and started eating his dinner. Drank his water and now she is sleeping. While Sky was fooling around. 

Toothless: -biting Jazzy ankle- 

Jazzy: Ow!

Toothless: Hungry. Thirsty. 

Jazzy: I put food in your bowl. Also there’s water in your water bowl. 

Toothless: Snow ate and drank it all. My bowls are empty. Feed me now! Or I bite. -going for Jazzy’s ankle again-

Jazzy: Okay! You crazy cat. 

    I refilled Toothless’ bowls. Toothless happily ate and drank. Snow finished cleaning herself and looked at me. 

Jazzy: -smiling-

Snow: Sorry. I was too hungry and thirsty to wait any longer. 

Jazzy: -smiling- That’s okay. Tomorrow is Friday. Sky and I will go shopping for you. 

Sky: Snow, I made you an appointment to see a vet tomorrow morning. 

Snow: -hissing and growling- 

Jazzy: Snow, you been in that cage for Goddess know how long. We need to make sure you’re okay. We want you to be healthy. And not sick. No one likes going to the doctors. But everyone needs a physical check up every now and then. I would’ve go with you but I have report to write. You’ll be find. Also, Sky will buy you nice water bowl and food bowl. Let me know what you like eat and I’ll make it for you. -smiling- 

Snow: Promise?

Jazzy: Mhm. -smiling-

Snow: Find. I’ll go. But I’m not going to be happy about it. 

Toothless: You’ll be find Snow. -jumping up to the bed- 

     Snow turned up her nose at Toothless, and curl up in between Sky and my pillows. I sense that Snow didn’t like Toothless that much. But I know they will be friends in no time. I went to shower and then start writing my report and catch up with my homework. I was so busy that I didn’t noticed that there was a knock on our bedroom door. Sky opened it and it was Mike. 

Sky: Dude, you’re not suppose to be on this floor. 

Mike: I know. But none of you answer your phones. So, I have no choice but to come knocking. 

Sky: Well, make it fast. What is it? Or we all going to be in trouble. 

Mike: Dinner’s ready. 

Sky: You could’ve scream that. We could’ve hear you. 

Mike: We have done enough screaming this week. 

Sky: True. We’ll be right down. 

Mike: Mhm. 

     Sky and I went downstairs to eat dinner. Then we did our usual routine and then we went back to our rooms. I finished the report and my homework. Sky was reading, Toothless and Snow was sleeping. I was about to go to bed when the alarms of the house went off. Snow freaked out by the sound, Toothless went on high alert with his hissing and growling. Sky and I ran downstairs with everyone else. We went outside and found the King himself trying to turn off our sensor alarms. Mike went to turn it off. 

Sky: Dad? What are you doing here?

King You: -sheepish- Sorry, I forgot the pass code. I’m here to talk to you guys. Sebastian isn’t at his usual spot. He probably went to eat dinner. 

Sebastian: -running towards us- Your Majesty! What are you doing here?

King You: I’m here to talk to them. I forgot the passcode. Sorry for tripping the alarm. 

Sebastian: Oh. It’s my fault I wasn’t at my spot. I was taking a shower. 

King You: It’s fine. Go finish your shower. I’ll just talk to the young ones. -smiling-

Sebastian: Yes, your majesty. -bowing- 

     Sebastian went back to his house to finish his shower. The King and the rest of us went back inside the house. Charlie gave King You some tea to drink and we all sat down in the Common Room. 

Sky: Dad, is something the matter?

King You: King Eric, contact me and he said that for now he wouldn’t declare war on Mythical Kingdom. But in the future he will declare war with us. 

Kelly: What?! Why?!

King You: Because King Eric still wants the Ultimate Prize. But he said that you guys got Snow, so he’s letting us with a warning. King Eric also said that Mythical Kingdom don’t have the Ultimate Prize, because he couldn’t feel it’s energy yesterday when he and his army was here. But he said that in the future the Ultimate Prize will be at Mythical Kingdom. 

Jazzy: -confused- Sorry. I don’t understand. What is the Ultimate Prize?

King You: The Ultimate Prize is not a what. It’s a whom. 

Jazzy: -confused- Huh?

King You: To simply put it. The Ultimate Prize is the Yin Yang Royal Couple. 

Jazzy: -shocked- What?! King Eric is after Sky and myself?! 

King You: Mhm. 

Jazzy: Why?

King You: Because if King Eric doesn’t destroy you and Sky. Then he won’t win. The Ultimate Prize is the heart of Mythical Kingdom. With it everyone and everything will be at peace. The Ultimate Prize is very powerful. The Oracle said that the Ultimate Prize is the only thing that would heal everything that is hurting. But you and Sky hasn’t have that much training. So, King Eric decided to give you the chance to train and grow. Then in the future he will have an even fighting field with you. 

Jazzy: What did I ever do to King Eric? For him to hate me so much. 

Kelly: Because you’re Sky’s soul mate. You two are the Royal Couple. 

Jazzy: -angry- That’s a stupid excuse. If I ever heard one. 

Sky: Ever since I was a kid, all the dark forces are after me. I rather die if it would make the dark forces stop looking for me and my love ones. 

King You: That’s why I never told Sky to Oracle Mansion when the Soul Searching Party. Because I didn’t want him to find his soul mate. Because I didn’t want both of you be the focus point of King Eric. 

Sarah: You’re protecting them. 

King You: Mhm. 

Jazzy: Your Majesty. You’re not being honest with me. Please tell me the whole truth. 

King You: Okay. The Ultimate Prize is the Yin Yang Royal Couple. The strongest couple there is. They are the guardians of Mythical Kingdom. A thousand years ago, Goddess and her love were the first Yin Yang Royal Couple. They would protect, heal, and fight what is right for Mythical Kingdom. All kinds of dark forces will always come after them, and try their hardest to bring them down. Each year there would be millions of wars between Mythical Kingdom and the dark forces. Each year more and more mythical creatures die along with the humans. But each time the Goddess and lover would defeat all the dark forces. After the wars Goddess and her lover would use their power to rebuild and heal everything and everyone. The sad thing about the Yin Yang Royal Couple is that when they use too much of their power, they become very weak and it takes them months or years to be fully recharge. The last dark forces was the ones take down Goddess and her lover when they were at it weakest. It was King Eric’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather who took down Goddess and her lover. 

Jazzy: Please don’t tell me that for Sky and I to be fully recharge is having sex after each war. 

King You: -laughing- Goodness no. The Queen and I don’t want a million grandchildren. The only why for Goddess and her lover to recharge was to go to the Healing Spring. They were about to go to the Healing Spring when they were attacked. The Healing Spring is the most powerful source of healing for anyone who need an emergency recharge. But if you use the Healing Spring too much it can lose it’s power. That’s why we don’t use the Healing Spring that often, because we have healers. Now, I don’t know how the Goddess and her lover use their powers to heal and rebuild things. But the Oracle did tell me that Goddess herself has the power of fire and her lover’s power is ice. Their combine power is wind. Also, the Goddess always have a black cat following her, and her lover always have a white cat following him. When the Goddess and her lover died, the black cat and white cat disappeared. When all four of them were gone Mythical Kingdom went down hill from there. 

Sky: Jazzy, and I aren’t safe. King Eric is waiting to attack us when Jazzy and I are strong enough. What if we don’t train? Would King Eric still come after us?

King You: It doesn’t matter. Whether you train or not. King Eric will still come after you. The only way King Eric won’t come after you is when you both chose not to use the Yin Yang Royal Couple powers. But I’m calling his bluff. To be honest with you all, King Eric isn’t going to stop hunting you both down until he destroys you both. Then we have to wait for another thousand years for a new Yin Yang Royal Couple. By then we will all be hunters or slaves. 

Kelly: -angry- That’s not fair! 

William: Kel, life isn’t always fair. 

Kelly: -angry- Well, we can protect them. We’ll train harder and we will protect Sky and Jazzy. If King Eric wants a war, then he’ll get a war. 

King You: You can’t always protect Sky and Jazzy forever. What are you going to do? Hide them in a cave for the rest of their lives. 

Jazzy: No one can protect Sky and I forever. But what King Eric doesn’t want is something that has to do with the Yin Yang Royal Couple and R.M.C. Hey Siri!

Siri: Yes. 

Jazzy: What happens when the Yin Yang Royal Couple and R.M.C. combine together?

Siri: When the Yin Yang Royal Couple and the R.M.C. come together they become the Ultimate Power. They are called Yin Yang Royal Mythical Court. A very powerful team that can help rebuild and heal everyone in the Mythical Kingdom. And destroy King Eric and his army. King Eric is most afraid of the Y.Y.R.M.C. Any questions?

Jazzy: No. Thanks Siri. 

Siri: No problem. Princess. 

Jazzy: Okay. Let’s get through the next 4 weeks. Sitting around and moping around isn’t going to help. If King Eric is afraid of Y.Y.R.M.C. then lets show him that we are not weaklings. Let him watch and see how strong we can be. 

Sarah: Can we actually do this?

Jazzy: We can do anything when we put our hearts into it, and never giving up. -smiling- 

Sky: Mhm. Okay, we have classes tomorrow. 

King You: Actually, you don’t have classes tomorrow. Because you’re on a mission. 

Sky: But we finish our mission. 

King You: I know. But after a mission you have the right to rest. So Sebastian already collected Jazzy’s report. I’ll be looking forward to be reading it. So tomorrow, just relax and do whatever you want. In the future there will be more missions to come. So don’t give up.  

Sebastian: Also, you don’t have to do any chores this weekend. 

Jazzy: Eek! -jumping out of my skin- 

Sebastian: Sorry. 

King You: -laughing- 

Jazzy: Can I make an request?

King You: Go ahead. 

Jazzy: From now on Sebastian can’t pop in and out while we’re in this house. He has to make some kind of sound. I don’t want him scaring me until I graduate. Or I might turn him into a toad. 

King You and Sky: -laughing- 

Jazzy: At least a toad would make some noise. 

Sky: Seb, you better do as she says. Otherwise, I think she will turn you into a toad. 

Sebastian: Yes, Princess. 

King You: Alright, I’m going home. Otherwise the Queen might think I’m with one of my mistresses. 

Everyone: Goodbye Your Majesty. 

      After the King left, Sebastian went back to his own home, and we went to bed. 

-End of Chapter Nineteen-

[annemayfair]

Parting Ways. [P.2]

@picchar @thatcalamity here’s the ending o w o

[Words: 2,348]

Oran opened his eyes.

The ceiling in his bedroom seemed closer, but there still remained a darkened spot where Rowan’s spell once hit. Oran always remembered it, having stared at it for a few years now. Light painted bright yellow squares as the sunset shone through the windows. He had slept long enough.

After washing off the grime of his tired and exhausted sleep, Oran kneeled before a large wooden box with smooth sides, packed to the brim with pillows and blankets. Honeybun slept, her belly with pink nipples exposed, and ready for the pups to suck on them whenever they pleased. Tiny squealing potatoes with squiggly thin tails rolled around in the box, some of them with eyes still closed. Oran noticed one that couldn’t get on his belly after rolling on his back, and picked him up gently.

“Good morning,” he greeted the tiny pup, kissing him on the head. The puppy made a sound much closer to a meow, and wiggled its tail. “Be a good boy.”

He placed the puppy next to Honeybun, petted the head of a sleeping mabari, and checked the plate right next to the box. It was empty, and Oran made a mental note to ask servants to keep her fed and happy.

Oran didn’t remember a time when there wasn’t a Rowan or a Gylys waiting for him outside his bedroom, with a mischievous look on their faces, with toys hidden in hands behind their backs. They weren’t here this time, however, and for the first time Oran truly realized how bizarre this wing of Redcliffe castle felt without the Guerrin kids in them. He never remembered this hallway being so quiet, with no stomping or running or laughing or yelling. And no barking of several adolescent mabaris.

There was, however, a baby crying.

He made his way to the biggest nursery, farthest from the staircase, and pushed the door open. A tall thin woman dressed in heavy red velvet rocked a crying baby, the babe’s head on her shoulder; her straight blonde hair disappeared in folds of her dress.

“I was told that Vints don’t care about their children,” Oran leaned against the doorframe, crossing his hands over his chest. “I thought you’re supposed to find an elf for every need he has.”

The woman turned around, hushing at the baby and patting his back. Her dark brown eyes pierced Oran straight to the doorframe, but then a slight smile bloomed on her lips as she waddled towards him. Her walk was unsure and somewhat clunky, but that is to be expected of a woman who just gave birth.

“Only if the child is not a mage, unwanted, or a kossith,” she told Oran, approaching him. She then kissed the baby’s head gently, and played with the tiny palm held between her fingers. “He drank dill water earlier, but it’s not helping yet. Tummy ache.”

“Oh, you poor little pup,” Oran stroked his nephew’s bald head, feeling the cotton-soft hairs that appeared to be as light as his mother’s. “Maybe next time eat a bit slower, right?”

Young Eamon interrupted his crying to burp, and his mother hurried to get a spare cloth her son could use if needed. Oran watched her fuss around for a few minutes, held the babe as she placed the cloth around her shoulders, and fondly listened to her coo and talk to the child.

“I’m glad you feel well here, Gaia,” he told her. “Gilbert is a lucky man.”

“He is,” she did not protest, whirling around the room, trying to cheer the baby. “And I’m glad everyone knows it.”

Oran kissed Gaia’s hand before departing downstairs. He wondered into a small inner garden where Ysenda used to teach Gylys about flowers and plants that could kill. He and Gilbert would hide under the bench sometimes, pretending that Nan was an archdemon’s scout, trying to find them. Of course, Nan always won, and the boys cried as Ferelden’s fate was forfeit.

Redcliffe, unlike his Rainesfere, felt more like home. It was built to be a home, despite looming over the nearby town like a menacing giant. Guerrins were here to stay from the start. Oran listened to the sound of rustling leaves with his eyes closed, counting how many bedrooms there were in his new homestead. Embarrassingly small bedrooms with unwelcoming windows and cold fireplaces, low in numbers and uncomfortable, pressed against the Main Hall, were abominable at best. If he ever wanted to have a family there, renovations were in order.

“Finally up,” a voice made Oran jump. “Good evening, Oran.”

“Good evening, mother,” he rose to his feet.

A tall woman in a dark blue dress made her way from the opposite side of the courtyard. His mother remained as beautiful as her portrait above the main hall’s fireplace, but the years stripped away the fresh pinkness of her skin and fullness of her shoulders. And, of course, on her portrait, there are no dark blue veins around her mouth and eyes. The taint did not touch her when she was Nathyara Mac Eanraig.

But now she was Nathyara Guerrin, Victor of the Fifth Blight, Ex-Commander of the Grey in Ferelden, Arla of Redcliffe, and a mother of the Five Guerrins. Her black hair grayed at the temples and whole locks were now always ash in color, and her spiky gaze got muted with age. Oran moved to greet her, kissed her hands, and she placed her skinny palm on his cheek.

“When did you arrive?” He asked, escorting his mother to the bench.

“This afternoon,” she replied, sitting down and fixing the folds of her dress. “You were sleeping, and covered in puppies. I took the liberty of placing them back in Honeybun’s bed.”

“I was wondering how they got back there,” he sat beside her.

For a while, the two of them stared at the sky above them. Oran heard laughter and hurrying footsteps of servants who prepared Gilbert’s study for when he shall arrive.

“How did she look to you?” Nathyara broke the silence.

Oran’s memory invoked the shape of Fenlin in bright sunlight of the day of her wedding. Her white hair, braided like divine halo around her head, was illuminated into yellow of the liquid gold. She smiled a lot, and laughed, and she seemed to be the happiest woman in the whole wide world.

“She was perfect,” he finally said. “They both did. They looked so… natural together. Just the way newlyweds should be.”

He never knew if his tone was too sad, or if his face fell as he spoke. But as he did, his mother’s hand gently squeezed his, and when he looked up at her, he saw compassion. He lifted their joined hands and kissed his mother’s hand.

Then he let himself go. His smile and fake normalcy fell, his shoulders sank, and he felt the corners of his mouth go low. Suddenly his throat was dry. And he shouldn’t have been this way, not on her wedding day, not now, and not ever. But something tugged and gnawed on him from the inside, and this little moment in the garden seemed to be the only opportunity of letting it all out.

And he knew he shouldn’t take it.

“But you were there, as well,” he nervously laughed it off. “Wouldn’t you say that the couple was adorable?”

“I think I enjoyed it,” Nathyara said with a shadow of indifference in her voice. “It was a luxurious reception I wish your brother hadn’t negotiated. Seems a bit too extravagant than both of them were comfortable with. Certainly too much wine and saffron broths.”

She shivered, and Oran chuckled. His mother carried a deep disdain for the red aromatic that she developed during her youth in Orlais. He never quite understood it, but then again, he did not eat saffron for years every day.

Both of them watched the rising wind pick up few dried leaves and carrying them away. The summer neared its end, and soon the trees and grass around these parts would turn to rust color, as the peasants would harvest their crops. Castle would be filled with people and their produce, and even this courtyard will briefly be serving as a brewery. Oran wondered if he’d see it soon.

“You’ll learn to live with it.”

“This is not for long, they’re going to be imprinting in no time,” he tried to deflect the implication.

“You did the right thing.”

And then Oran started thinking. It did not surprise him that his mother, whose intuition was nigh unnatural, saw what was going in his heart. He wondered how she spoke with such conviction and understanding, if she… if she went through it herself. But that is impossible!

Right?

“Why?” He asked his mother in disbelief. “Whom and when?”

Nathyara softly chuckled, leaning back on the bench. Her relaxed pose and a dreamy smile on her lips reminded Oran of family evenings when she scared Rowan with stories about the darkspawn near the fireplace, with their father, hugging Gilbert and Gylys, played along.

Was she unhappy then as he is now?

“A fortnight passed after the Ostagar when we made camp near a stream,” Nathyara began her tale. “I took the first watch, and Rythlen slept curled up in her tent. I prayed for her safety, for seeing her reinstalled as Teyrna of Highever, no matter the cost. I believe my mood was quite grim, and it was easy to catch on.”

Oran listened to her intently.

“The boy Warden who survived with us woke up and started chatting me up. Just talking, making bad jokes about two dwarves in a drag and so on. But it helped,” a smile bloomed on the lips of the old Warden. “It helped to distract myself from losing a family again. It helped to chase away bad thoughts and the dread of failure. And on the second night, as we spoke, I felt a needle pierce my heart.”

“Alistair,” Oran said quietly.

“Alistair,” echoed Nathyara. “When I first saw him, I thought that Cailan simply changed his armor to fit in with the soldiers. You know, to mingle. But then I discovered they were different. Very, very different.”

“Of course, we were busy,” she continued. “Mending a broken kingdom and reviving ancient treaties is no easy task on its own, but we had men and almost everyone run after us as we traveled. But there remained a needle in my heart, a small needle that pushed me to joke around with Alistair. It pushed me to tease him, to make him laugh and blush. But then it stopped when I saw Rythlen’s eyes when they talked. How could I do this to her? How could I put myself above her, and take what she wanted?”

Oran, not controlling himself fully, formed his palms into fists. He knew what his mother spoke of. He truly had been there, and he remained there in a way.

“Even when they walked hand-in-hand and kissed behind everyone’s back, sure nobody saw them, there was this voice in my head,” Nathyara’s voice started to crack. “At first, it kept saying: “Nathyara, you could spend your life with this man”. And I thought I could. I imagined myself in his arms, my head on his shoulder, feeling the beating of his heart with my hand. And then the voice in my head said: “Nathyara, you want to spend your life with this man”. And I did. And when it wasn’t my duty on watch, I imagined his eyes on me, looking at me, desiring me. But that never happened.”

Oran’s hand landed on his mother’s shoulder as he hugged her, and she hugged him back.

“She was so happy on her wedding day,” Nathyara’s voice was barely audible. “Dressed in laces and silks, smiling at him, nearly singing because of how happy she was. And I got to hold the crowns, and announce them King and Queen of Ferelden.”

Nathyara wiped away a tear in her eye, and Oran pressed his lips against his mother’s forehead.

“And then I learned to live with it,” she said simply, shrugging off her momentarily sadness.

“Are you happy with father?” Oran asked her. He needed to know, he must know. “Do you love him?”

“Do I love him?” She repeated the question. “After thirty-five years of marriage, what is the point to ask if I love him?”

“It’s the only thing that matters,” Oran told her.

She drew back from him, sighing. She stared to the right as she thought before finally answering:

“I gave that man thirty-five years of my life and raised him five children,” she said with a smile in her voice. “My desires became his, and his hopes became mine. We fought together, we starved together, and we celebrated together. And never, ever in our lives we hated each other. So yes. I suppose I do love him.”

She looked up at her son, placed her hand on his cheek, and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“My beautiful, noble son,” she kissed him again. “Why must you suffer so.”

“I just need to learn to live with it,” he replied to a question she did not ask.

They talked some more, about this and that. But the mood simply wouldn’t lighten up. Oran caught a servant girl and instructed her to keep Honeybun fed. Nathyara reprimanded two men who nearly dropped a mahogany table. In the end, Oran stood up, and excused himself.

“When will you be leaving?” Nathyara inquired, standing up herself. “I assume you’re going to abandon us soon.”

“In a day or two,” Oran answered. “I have a plan for the hold; the treasury keeper might not like it, but I need a house, not a hold. Besides, when else will I have an opportunity to build an entire house?”

He waited for a while, before adding:

“If I may, mother, tell Gilbert to find me a wife. I’m tired of waiting.”

[mystic-headcanons-r-us]

RFA: Walks In To Zen’s Shower

[Warning: May contain spoilers, read at own risk]

I elaborated all the point-form scribbles from random scribbles that I typed in my notepad awhile back. Here’s RFA members + V + Saeran’s reaction with MC as Zen’s S/O. It’s my first attempt, hope you guys like it! - Mod Yoo.

Scenario The RFA is having a post-celebration for yet another successful fundraiser party from the night before. This time it’s Jumin’s turn to be the host. As expected of the corporate heir, he had already hired some of the country’s top culinary professionals as the occasion’s personal chefs, to collaborate with his private chef to serve up a special luncheon. Halfway through the luncheon, Saeyoung “accidentally” spilled not 1 but 2 cans of Dr. Pepper (he brought a carton over, very surprising) that he furiously shook in an attempt to prank Yoosung, who somehow manage to pull off a quick dodge since boy plays sports, and the drinks unloads ALL onto Zen’s back, he didn’t anticipate it cos he’s busy feeding MC. Saeyoung let out a quick yelp and took off running after Yoosung while Saeran ponders about having such a dorky twin. Groaning with frustration, Zen is left with no choice but a bath to get rid of the sticky, sugary mess he’s in. “Feel free to utilize one of my guest bathroom, it’s all yours.” Jumin said sniggering but continued: “I’ll have Driver Kim get a new set of clothes, it shall be ready by the time you’re done cleaning up.” Barely able to keep himself from yelling at Saeyoung and Jumin, Zen mutters quiet thanks and excuses himself from MC to go in for a shower. *Personally, I feel like Zen would be the type of guy that takes long bath, to ensure every inch of his perfect skin is taken care of; plus, he’d totally make full use of those luxurious products simply laid out in Jumin’s guest bathroom.*

Yoosung

He was so determined to hide from Saeyoung.

Ends up going into the bathroom that Zen is in.

Doesn’t realize that someone is inside until he hears a soft humming.

Then he caught a glimpse of a male silhouette from the shower curtains.

His eyes widen, raised both his palms to cover his mouth in a frantic attempt to stop himself from screaming.

Luckily, Jumin’s guest bathroom is too huge for Zen to hear someone came in.

He runs back out to the luncheon still trying to deal with the fact that he just saw Zen’s fully naked silhouette.

Found a spot beside Saeran and pulled him into a tight hug just sat down staring into blank space.

Somebodyhelpthissmolbean.

Saeyoung

Oh dear. Here comes the devil himself.

He was nearby when Yoosung ran out of Zen’s bathroom, he picked up on smol bean’s footsteps.

He pinpoints the exact location cue secret agent 707 and wastes no time to check the guest bathroom.

Immediately recognized Zen from the humming, he dipped his hands into the depths of his jacket’s side pockets to pull out a spy cam with size of a lentil seed oh god no Saeyoung WRYD.

He’s trained to be nimble. Easily presses the camera onto the best spot.

Tiptoed out of the bathroom before Zen could realise.

Rejoins the group as if nothing happened.

Sends a cheeky wink to Yoosung once their eyes met. 

This man boy. Really.

V/Jihyun

This kind soul probably just wanted to wash his hands after he’s done eating.

Slowly walks into the guest bathroom that Zen’s in.

Although partially blind but soon realises that he’s in Zen’s company when Zen starts humming in the shower.

He’d probably feel a little awkward but rationalises that he’s just here to use the tap for a bit and would be out in a jiffy.

Zen is aware of V walking into the bathroom from the sound of V’s cane tapping.

Considering V’s vision, both of them naturally let it slip.

Pleasejustgoandgetyoureyesfixedangelslikeyoushouldntbelikethis.

Jaehee

She enjoys wine but is such a lightweight drinker. 

Jumin’s eager to have everyone try out the limited-edition bottles of wine sent as gifts to him by the personal chefs.

This woman never says no to her source of moolah. 

She would’ve started rambling on by now. But damn, those wine tastes great heavenly. 

Before she realises, she’s had more than enough. 

Effect of those alcohol kicks in on her.

Politely excuses herself and leaves to the washroom. Staggers into the nearest bathroom “Lucky I don’t have to walk further.” Or so she thought.

Gets bewildered in a nanosecond when her ears pick up a super familiar tune *cough* Zen humming his own songs *cough*.

“ZEN?! O-oh my God!” Mentally scolds herself for being so careless. Probably also says a silent prayer to thank God 

Fumbles in her weak drunken attempt to escape.

ThoughtsofImaginesZenbeingcompletelyundressedisTOOdistracting.

Slipped on her heels. Black belt judo martial artist managed to quietly catch her own fall. 

Saeyoung, unbeknownst to her witnessed the entire process on his phone came up to help this poor soul. 

She feels blood boil to the tip of her head when Saeran thesmexyhacker shows her the video clip that his twin had recorded.

Praysfor707.

Elizabeth the 3rd (Bonus <3)

Struts into Zen’s bathroom and sat on the marble tiles like a queen.

Humming Zen starts to sneeze uncontrollably. “That’s odd.” He thought.

Gazes towards Zen’s direction.

“Meowwws~” 

Zen peeks out from behind the shower. “O-ooh c-crap-p! So this is why!” He hisses.

“HAN JUMIN!”

Slowly struts her way back out upon Zen’s screaming.

Queen pussycat does not want to get caught in no commotion. 

Seeing her leave, Zen blows out a long sigh of relief.

Islegitsecretlyflatteredthatthefurballlikedhisvoice.

“I wish I could sing for Elizabeth.” He thought as he goes back washing.

Jumin

He’s already well on to the 3rd bottle of his elegant wine.

Faintly hears Elizabeth's meows echo from spacious bathroom. "Maybe she’s just bored.”

Hears Zen yelling his name immediately after. MC unaware as she is occupied caring for Jaehee.

Cat dad’s alcohol-flushed face instantly livid. 

Shot up from his chair and strides toward his guest bathroom.

Flung the bathroom doors open with widened sharp eyes scanning for Elizabeth. 

Charged towards a yelling Zen whosenakedshowerbodstillinitsfullglory and clutched on his bare shoulders without regard.

“WHERE’S ELIZABETH THE 3RD, ZEN?”

He totally catches Zen off-guard.

“H-how would I know! S-she just walked out. L-let go of me. NOW!” Zen croaked.

Turns and storms out of the space. 

Zen thought, “W-what t-the heck just happened? H-how is he unfazed by my this beauty?! Trust fund jerk should just make that fur ball his wife.”

MC

Checks her watch and realizes that Zen has been away for more than an hour. With all the distraction he got, it’s no wonder.

She knew that he enjoys lengthier baths, but has always taken about 1 hour.

Walks up to Jumin who is walking back from the bathroom with Elizabeth the 3rd in his arms.

Seeing how the corporate heir appears so relieved, “Jumin, is everything okay?”

“Yes, MC. Thank you. Go on ahead and pick up Zen’s new clothes at the door. Driver Kim has offered to bring them up for you.” Jumin spoke calmly.

nicemcisnice Expresses gratitude and apologizes for inconvenience caused to Jumin and Driver Kim, she heads to the guest bathroom to find her husband still washing up.

Quietly walks to the nearest counter and lays all the new attire on the countertop. She also grabs a fresh towel, folds it up nicely, places it on top of his new clothes.

Caught by surprise when a pair of wet strong arms wrap around her waist from behind.

“Care to join me, my little lady?”

MC is flustered but soon turns to face her husband.

“I’ll wash you real good when we’re home later, my beautiful beast. Now please finish up quickly, it’s not fun without you at the luncheon dear.”

Saeran

Quickly finds and enters the nearest bathroom.

Muttering Inaudible grumbles and curses.

Saeyoung had just managed to spill gravy onto Saeran’s hands and pants when he tried to mess with Yoosung’s food again.

He’d witnessed a lot in Mint Eye back then. (peoplegotstrippedtotheirbirthdaysuitswhiletheywererepeatedlytortured, anytimethe“Savior”orderedbrainwashing).

He couldn’t care less even after knowing Zen is in the same bathroom.

Zen becomes aware when he hears Saeran running the tap water. 

Saeran spits out, “Just MYOB and we’re both good.” before Zen could start.

Guess some things are just difficult to change when you’re angry.

Scrubs the fabric with soap and warm water to lift the gravy stains from his candy peach thismanlovessweetswhat’dyouexpect colored chino pants.

Blows a soft sigh of satisfaction when he succeeds. It was actually the first of many birthday gifts from his twin brother

Coolly exits the bathroom. 

Glares at Saeyoung who goes on, “I’d always buy you another gift *threw in a wink*!” 

Punches Saeyoung in an attempt to hide his own embarrassment.

Rika (the -ending- bonus)

Assuming that she is mentally healthy and didn’t do all those bad things. weknowwhatshedidbutslet’sjustalltakeitasifeverythinghasbeennormal.

She’s also a fan of Zen’s talents just like Baehee.

But isn’t as strong-willed.

Faints the moment she realizes that the most beautiful idol shares the same bathroom .

Her handsome, teal haired fiancé nearly stumbles and falls on her when he walks into the bathroom wanting to check on his beloved fiancée.

He panics, but calms down after he determines from her pulse that his woman’s life is not in danger.

Stifling a chuckle, soastonotalertZen this angel probably got all the right guesses about the sequence of events that had taken place.

Her fiancé sweeps her up bridal style, walks to a couch in the living room and gently takes a seat with her still in his arms. Careful not to wake her up from her peaceful slumber.

When she woke up, she tells him the story of her dream where she saw Zen in his performance, spicy jalapeños maybe?.

“I’m glad you had a good dream, my stunning sun,” he said in a chuckle.