#i kept going back and forth on whether bill counted or not

[offline-nobody]

please give me as many more of these as feasibly possible im begging you

[its-vannah]

Illicit Affairs - Bill Weasley x Reader

A/N: Hey, guys! It's been a few days (almost a week) since I posted. Here's a little something I've been working on. I'm quite proud of it. The perfect amount of angst and fluff. Hope you guys enjoy! Click here to check out my other Bill x Reader fic, All Too Well.

Song: Illicit Affairs - Taylor Swift

Part Two

Word Count: 3,155

Warnings: Cheating, crying, mention of "shagging" (just the word used), kissing, saying goodbye, fluff, angst.

"Look," He said softly, brushing the hair away from your face, tucking a strand behind your ear, "It's… complicated…"

You shook your head, "How is it complicated, Bill? I'm in love with you."

"Kid…"

"Don't call me kid!" You exclaimed, your whole body shaking as tears began spilling down your cheeks. Your fists were clenched by your sides as Bill wrapped his arms around you.

After debating whether or not to return the embrace, you felt yourself leaning into his chest as he stroked your hair. His button-up was stained with your tears, but you couldn't care less. Clinging onto him, you allowed the tears to fall, not caring who saw or heard them. And Bill held you, shushing you softly, before lifting you into his arms and carrying you to bed.

Holding you in one arm, Bill pulled back your quilt, setting you down onto the mattress, pulling the fabric back up over you.

By the time your head hit the pillow, you were fast asleep, your chest rising steadily as you sunk into the sheets. Bill climbed into bed beside you, opting to stay above the covers, his hand sliding up and down your side until he was sure you wouldn't wake up.

When you woke up a few hours later, you couldn't bring yourself to open your eyes. Because deep down, you knew he was gone. You could feel it. The emptiness of your bed without him. Your heart ached for him to be back with you, so you did the only thing you knew how to do: you shut down. Burying your head into your pillow, you allowed your sobs to take control over you. But you kept your eyes closed. You knew that if you opened them, you'd see what was right in front of you: an empty space.

Bill walked up the steps of The Burrow, waving his wand and muttering "alohamora" to open the door. Once inside, he slipped out of his cloak, placing it in the closet by the living room. Slipping off his shoes, he made his way up the creaky steps to his room. But he seemed to have forgotten one important detail: he wasn't alone.

Before he could even reach his room, Fred and George appeared before him, pretending to check an imaginary watch and shaking their heads.

"You're late, Billy." Fred said, placing his hands on his hips.

George snickered, "I didn't think Fleur would be the type to keep you out all night."

When Bill didn't respond, Fred let out a gasp, "Unless…"

"You weren't with Fleur." George finished, casting a glance to his twin before shoving his older brother in his room.

Once the three Weasley's were crammed inside Bill's bedroom, the twins ushered their brother to the bed, forcing him to sit.

"Mind telling us what's going on, Billy?" Fred asked, tapping his foot, "Fleur's a very beautiful girl, what is she- one thirty-forth Veela?"

"No, Freddie, a quarter Veela." George smirked, nudging his brother in the ribs.

Fred grinned, "Even better!"

Bill rolled his eyes, "Are you guys done yet?"

"Not until you tell us what's going on."

"Nothing's going on," The eldest Weasley hissed, "And if something were, it wouldn't concern either of you."

Fred raised his brows, "You see, Bill, it does. Because we know exactly what's been happening. You can thank our newest invention for that. An extendable ear. Quite handy, if I do say so myself."

Bill's eyes widened, "What exactly do you know?"

"Oh, no, we're keeping that to ourselves. No need for you to know."

"None of your concern," George quipped, earning a laugh from his brother.

"Tell me!" Bill screamed, his eyes filled with anger, "So help me Godric if you two don't tell me what you know-"

Fred held his hands up, "Woah, woah, Billy, no need to be so hostile."

"We're not telling you anything until you 'fess up. So go ahead and tell us about your little lady friend."

He sighed, laying back on his bed, "You won't give up, will you?"

"Nope," They answered, sitting on the edge of his bed, "Go on, Billy, tell us."

"It all started in my third year…"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 2

Bill watched as you waved your wand, sending a blast of fire towards a practice dummy, sending it flying back. A smile spread on his face as you turned towards him, excitedly grinning from ear to ear. Before either of you knew what you were doing, your arms were wrapped around one another, holding each other in a tight embrace.

"You were fantastic, Y/N!' Bill exclaimed, pulling away from the hug, "I reckon we'll be breaking through that cursed ice in no time."

"You really think so?" You asked, gazing up at him through your lashes, feeling the heat on your cheeks.

He nodded, taking your shoulders in his hands and craning his head to be at eye level with you, "You're going to do great things, kid."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Seems innocent enough." Fred said, crossing his arms, "But remind me how much older you are than her?"

"Two years," Bill answered, "We met when I was in my fourth year and she was in her second."

"So you were falling for a twelve year old?" George asked, sticking out his tongue in mock disgust.

He shook his head, "No, it wasn't like that. Not then, at least."

"So when was it like that?" George questioned, raising a brow.

"I'll tell you when I get there," Bill grumbled, "Now let me tell my story…"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 2

"Bill!" You exclaimed, rushing over to him to break him free from the ice. His freckled face was turning blue, ice beginning to crawl up his throat.

"Incendio!" You shouted, waving your wand. The ice surrounding him broke away, leaving a shivering Bill who rushed towards you, pressing an innocent kiss to the top of your head as you apologized.

He let out a breathy laugh, rubbing his arms up and down to warm himself, "I'm alright, kid."

"Are you sure?" You asked, voice quivering as you looked him up and down.

Nodding, Bill smiled, "I'm more worried about you, honestly."

"What about me?"

"It's not important, let's get this ice under control, yeah?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You never told us you got trapped in ice!" Fred huffed, his forehead creased, "That would've been so much fun!"

"Believe me, it was not."

George smirked, "But you had someone to warm you up…"

"George! She was twelve!"

He held up his hands in mock defeat, "Continue…"

"In our third year, I told her about this girl I liked. Her name was Emily. I claimed to be in love with her, so I tasked Y/N with asking her if I had any chance with her."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 3

You clenched your fist, brows furrowed in anger as Emily mocked the Weasley family.

"The Weasley's may be good-looking, but that's about the only thing they're good for," Emily snorted, "They don't have money or manners, and there's too many of them to keep track of for my liking. Honestly-"

"Shut it!" You hissed, stomping your foot into the ground, "The Weasley's are the kindest, most welcoming Wizarding Family I've ever met, and I won't take you dragging their name through the ground! Bill Weasley is a better wizard than you'll ever be. He's kind, he's smart, and talented, and he certainly wouldn't disrespect another family! You don't deserve him, Emily!"

She raised her brows, "Maybe he doesn't deserve me."

"He doesn't deserve to be treated badly by you," Anger flared in your eyes as you spoke, "You're just jealous that he's too good for you."

Emily stuck her nose up, "So be it, I wasn't interested anyway."

The two of you walked separate ways, with her heading towards The Three Broomsticks to gossip and you stomping away with your arms crossed, determined to reveal Emily's true colors to Bill.

But unbeknownst to you, he had heard the whole exchange. Although he was devastated that Emily had broken his heart, he was disappointed that she had disrespected his family, but he couldn't help being proud of you for standing up for him. In that moment, his heart beat faster. You and him… Could it… but he shook the thoughts out of his head. No, it couldn't.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Remind me what her name was?" George said angrily, "I've got some Wildfire Wizbangs coming her way and-"

Bill shook his head, "Good luck getting to her. She'll have your names plastered all over the paper. Works for Rita Skeeter now."

Fred rolled his eyes, "I'd like her to have a piece of my mind… no one talks down on the Weasley's and gets away with it."

"Can I get on with it now?"

The twins nod and their brother continues, "In my sixth year, I had a new feeling… something I hadn't felt before…"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Year 4

As soon as Charlie sauntered into The Three Broomsticks, a model of a dragon clutched in his hands, Bill knew he had made a mistake. Your eyes lit up upon seeing the second-born Weasley brother, and you extended your hand.

Charlie looked down at you awkwardly, shaking your hand with three fingers, "Charlie Weasley."

"My younger brother." Bill interupted, tapping his foot aggressively on the floor.

"Y/N L/N." You smiled, returning your hand to your lap.

As Bill watched you and Charlie talk among yourselves, he was hit with a pang of jealousy. So he threw back butterbeer, hoping the sweet flavor would wash over him and throw his jealousy out the window. But it didn't. It got worse. And all he could do was sit there and watch it happen.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You're telling me that Y/N had the hots for Charlie?" Fred questioned, staring down at his brother.

Bill groaned, "She swears she didn't, that she doesn't, but in the moment, I got ahead of myself. I was beyond jealous and I couldn't bring myself to realize why."

"Oh, Billy, you're in deep." Fred laughed.

George let out a sigh, "Keep going, Billy, we don't have all night."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 5

You chewed at your bottom lip, standing before Bill with your hands clasped behind your back. Your eyes were stinging with tears at the thought of saying goodbye to one of your closest friends. You had known this day would come, but you hadn't been prepared for it.

"Bill, I-" But you were cut off when his arms wrapped around you, enveloping you in a bone-crushing hug. You placed your hands on his bag, tears spilling onto his robes as he rubbed circles into your back.

"Y/N, can I be honest?" He asked, his cheeks a shade of pink.

Nodding, he continued, "Out of all the friends I've made here at Hogwarts, I think I'm going to miss you the most."

"Bill, I'm going to miss you, too," You said through the tears.

He pressed a thumb to your cheek, wiping the droplets away before they could fall down your face.

"You'll visit, won't you?" You asked, "In Hogsmeade?"

"I'll be there," Bill smiled, "But only if you promise to visit the Burrow."

You nodded, a sad smile on your face, "I promise."

Bill looked behind him, watching as students moved towards the exit. Looking back at you, he pressed a kiss to your head, "I'll see you around, kid."

"See you…"

Your heart broke a bit that day, watching him walk away. But nothing could prepare you for what would happen years later.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 6

Walking into Defense Against the Dark Arts, you felt a flutter in your chest. For the first time in nearly a year, you'd be able to see Bill Weasley- and you couldn't be happier.

You walked in with a slight skip in your step, Charlie trailing behind you.

Upon pushing the door open, a certain ginger smiled at you, "Miss me, kid?"

Rushing towards him, you practically knocked him to the ground, "More than you know."

It wasn't until Charlie cleared his throat as other students began piling in that the two of you broke away from your embrace, looking nervously in opposite directions.

"Now that the reunion's out of the way, we can move on to the big question: What are you doing here?"

As Bill began explaining, you couldn't help but notice the empty space on his robe. He didn't have his prefect badge anymore. Not that he would, having graduated, but it made your heart sink even further in your chest. Things were changing, too fast.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Not twelve anymore, is she?"

"Shut it, George." Bill huffed, rolling his eyes.

George shook his head, "Really, Bill, two years isn't that bad."

"It's bad when she's in her sixth year and I've already graduated."

"Depends on how you look at it." Fred noted, "So when did you see her next?"

"With dad, actually."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Year 7

"Y/N? Is that you?"

Turning around, you saw a familiar ginger standing behind you, his hair swaying by his shoulders. Within seconds of seeing your face, he was stumbling towards you like a child in Honeydukes, gripping his father's hand and leading him towards you.

After seeing a knowing look on his father's face, Bill let go and cleared his throat, "Y/N, this is my father, Arthur Weasley."

"Bill," You laughed, "We've met."

Turning to Arthur, you smiled, "It's good to see you again, Mr. Weasley."

"Good to see you, too, Miss Y/N."

"So what are you doing here?" Bill asked, searching your eyes for an answer.

You sighed, shaking your head, "It's a long story that I'll explain later. Now, I've got to convince them to allow me in without credentials."

"We can vouch for you, if you'd like." Bill offered, a dreamy smile on his face.

"You'd really do that?"

He nodded, "Anything for you."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Almost forgot she came over on holiday." Fred said, crossing his legs, "She was stunning then, I want to know how she looks now."

Bill grumbled, "She's too old for you, Fred."

"And according to you, too young for you." George quipped, turning to face his brother, "So, tell me, Billy, how exactly did you end up where you are now? You've got the job, you've got a girl, but you keep going back to her. Why?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It had been four years since you had seen Bill Weasley. And now, seeing him walk into the conference room, cuts littering his arms, you couldn't help but take it all in. He had a fang hanging from one year, his ginger hair was combed back, and he was dressed far nicer than you had remembered.

Once his eyes met yours, he made his way towards you, slipping into a seat beside you as one of the Head Auror rambled on about protecting Gringotts.

The two of you stole small glances at one another during the meeting, which seemed to last for ages. When it was all said and done, your chairs were mere inches away from each other, your hand slipped in his. It was innocent. At least, that's what you kept telling yourself.

It wasn't until you started getting frequent owls from Bill that you started wondering if the two of you had something more.

Your first kiss had happened fast. Bill was going on about Gringotts and how little budgeting they had, on the brink of hyperventilation, when you had pressed a kiss to his lips. You hadn't expected him to lean into it, but you had been wrong. Before either of you knew what was happening, you were pushed up against your desk as he deepened the kiss, your hands running through his hair as he held your face in his hands.

When he had pulled away, he muttered a small goodbye and left without another word.

Not even a month later, he was galivanting around Diagon Alley with Fleur Delacour on his arm.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"That was your own bloody fault, you twat!" George exclaimed, whacking his brother in the stomach.

"Oof!" Bill groaned, propping himself up, "It was a mistake, alright? A big one."

Fred was silent for a moment, a rarity for him, "Which part?"

"What?" Bill asked softly, a frown on his face.

"Kissing her or leaving her?"

He shook his head, "Leaving."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When you saw Bill a few months later, you could hardly be in the same room as him, let alone look at him. He kept waiting for you to meet his gaze, so he could ask you to speak with him privately, but you never did.

It was until the meeting was over that he barred you from leaving, begging for you to hear him out.

You told him he had a minute to state his case and then you were leaving.

So he used that minute as best he could, "I'm in love with you, Y/N. I always have been. Granted, it took me a while to figure it out, and an even longer time to admit it, but I can't not be with you. We make sense, kid. So few things make sense."

He allowed you to process the words. And next thing you knew, you were kissing him all over again. You knew it was wrong- he was with Fleur. But in that moment you didn't care. He loved you like you loved him. And that was all that mattered.

So when a few months later, he hadn't called things off with her, you were starting to get nervous. You hated the secrecy and betrayal of it all. You felt bad for Fleur, you ached for his company, and you felt sick thinking about the two of them together.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So are you going to call it off?" George asked with a sigh.

"I dunno," Bill admitted, "I love Y/N more than anything. But I'm scared I'll screw it up again."

Fred rolled his eyes, "You already have. You're shagging the both of them!"

"Fred," Bill warned, "Not now."

"All I'm saying is that you have more history with Y/N. Mum likes her more, anyway. You're her golden child, she'd want you to marry her."

"We're not getting into marriage right now, Fred."

He nodded, "Exactly, not now. But Fleur's a beautiful woman, too, and she'll be waiting for a proposal. You can't keep seeing the both of them. No wonder Y/N's a mess. She's having to share you. And poor Fleur doesn't even know! Look, I'm a bit of an arse-"

"A bit?" Bill interupted, receiving a glare from his brother.

"But I wouldn't do that to a girl. Any girl. Make it right, Bill."

The twins left shortly after, leaving their words behind. Bill layon his bed, staring up at his ceiling and then at his nightstand. A picture of you was haphazardly framed on the top, a bright smile on your face as you drank butterbeer.

He had to make a decision, and he had to make one fast.

[t00turnttrauma]

persona-jmk

I’ve been on a serious Janoskians kick lately. I reference a few things that they’ve done in their career here. I’ll have a link list for the vids that I’ve referenced I think I can still quote them word for word. Also, my friend pointed out the group with a set of twins to another group with a set of twins pipeline that I followed and I had to write this out too.

warnings: mentions of throwing up, pepper spray, needles and tattoos

Ice Cream, Milk challenge, Tattoo, Pier 

You had earned a reputation in Hollywood. Whether it was a good one or not, it was in the air. You’d done things that you weren’t proud of, but it kept your name in the tabloids, drove up viewer counts, and kept your bills paid so you couldn’t really complain.

“Today,” you grinned, trying to ignore your group member Christie poking at the back of your knee. “We’re going to eat one gallon of ice cream.”

Christie and Gina took turns explaining the rules of the challenge. The first person to finish their tub of ice cream would win the challenge and take the name of Champion for the week. You were a little nervous, knowing that you were sensitive to dairy.

A similar video from years ago had driven you to stardom. Attempting to drink three liters of milk in less than an hour was the worst decision you’d ever made. Your digestive system was shot for two weeks and would cramp randomly when you saw or drank straight milk. With blue lips, at age 16, you tried to pull through the pain and discomfort of so much dairy at once. The moment you lost it, the camera was right in your face. Laughter echoed and you instantly felt comfortable again. Despite being face to face with a camera after being so embarrassed, you laughed it off.

You grabbed the camera to point it towards you. “My birthday is coming up.” You panned it down to your feet. “Someone buy me new Vans.”

Christie laughed, brushing her fringe to the side before losing her progress on the concrete.

It was a light joke, but instead, a new pair of shoes arrived at your front door the following week. Remembering the joke, you were a little turned off. Someone had figured out your address and sent you a pair of shoes identical to the ones that were stained blue. Your phone buzzed with a phone call from Gina and Lucy’s shared number.

Lucy’s voice came through with excitement threaded through her sentence. “We got monetized after the milk video! So, I bought you new shoes.”

The monetization of the channel was life changing. Not only had you been getting more and more play time, but money was coming in quickly. Most of it went straight back into production. New, higher quality cameras and other filming equipment was purchased. Lacy took it upon herself to continue editing the videos. Her work would save money on hiring someone else. Eventually, the five of you were invited to talk shows as the newest, fastest growing channel in the last three years. Despite still being in high school, you, Gina, and Lucy transferred from traditional classes to online courses that you could do from home. Instead, you were doing them on plane rides back and forth from Los Angeles. Once you turned 18, you finally had permission to move out. While your parents thought that you’d spend your college funds on college rather than moving to a rental house in the middle of the city.

You thought about how you made it, mindlessly scooping ice cream into your mouth.

“I hate Y/N,” Bea cried to the camera. “She says nothing the whole fucking video and she’s just standing there with a fucking smile on her face.”

You stayed quiet, only smiling in response. Eventually, you realized that standing in the Los Angeles sun while eating ice cream wasn’t the smartest idea. You backed into the wall and leaned against the back of the house. For a change of scenery, Bea and Christie offered to set up in the alleyway behind the house.

“What are you doing over there, Y/N?” Lacy mocked.

You went into character. “I’m fucking eating, what are you doing over there?”

Eventually, everyone but Lacy had lost their ice cream and the challenge. You all said goodbye to the camera before cleaning up your mess besides the vomit stains on the concrete. You stared at the mess for a moment before waving it off. You would pull the hose over the fence after your stomach had settled. Lacy went straight to edit, taking her laptop into the bathroom.

You curled into your bed, leaning over the edge and dangling over a wastebin.

*

Sam laughed at the video, twisting side to side in his swivel chair.

“Are you even eating yours?”

“Of course, I’m eating mine!”

Danny let out a laugh. “This is so gross,” he said, but couldn’t look away from the image of Gina throwing up in the middle of an alleyway.

“But isn’t it kind of funny, Dan? I mean here they are, risking their reputations to entertain idiots like us.”

Sam knew it was gross, but he couldn’t stop watching. He was in middle school when he first heard of their channel. He checked them out because he’d seen a photo of them as an advertisement for their newest appearance on a talk show. Sam waited patiently for their uploads each week. He remembered almost every video. He’d watched these young women pepper spray each other and perform skits on MTV. It was like Jackass but funnier to him.

The band had nearly met them once. There was a massive party in Beverly Hills that they were invited to. Sam spotted Gina, his long-time celebrity crush, and planned to walk over and say something. Instead, he convinced himself that he was too tame for her antics and rather than make a fool of himself, he’d be better off not walking over.

“I’m fucking eating, what are you doing over there?”

Danny lost it. He was unable to breath through his laughs. “I love her attitude.”

His girlfriend walked in at that moment. Kenzi sat on the other side of Danny, catching herself up. “I love these guys! Their silent library series was so good.”

Josh rolled his eyes. “That was a series way before they came along.”

The mood dropped. “Yeah,” Sam said. “We know. They just revived it and made it even better.”

“You only like them because you think they’re attractive.”

Mackenzi turned the laptop around to the first frame of all five group members standing in the video. “You’re going to tell me that you wouldn’t tap at least one of them.”

Josh only shook his head. “I think that they’re cheap entertainment.”

The singer hated those YouTube videos with a passion. Like he said, he found them cheap and boring. He found the content gross as at least one person vomited in the ten minute videos. He also looked at the skits they’d done. He felt that they were loads better than the challenges but they were often dropped in the middle of a series. Josh couldn’t get away from the group. They were on billboards all over the Valley and ads on his phone because he shared a spotify account with Sam. Even their music annoyed the hell out of him. 

“Well YouTube is free,” Danny interjected.

Josh rolled his eyes again. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just a quick fix for entertainment and you’re left with nothing. Read a history book or something of substance.”

Sam booed his older brother who left the room with his laptop in tow. Knowing that he was just moody, the little brother forgot about him. He scrolled through the recommended videos as Kenzi asked Danny which member he liked the most. Instead, he just shook his head. “I refuse to answer that question.”

Sam pointed at the brunette on the screen. “My favorite is Gina.”

The three of them sat around the computer, watching video after video. When it got to the tattoo video, Sam winced.

*

You always hated that challenge. The moment that Lucy and Bea offered the idea, you were ready to run from the room. Gina was on board immediately. The three sisters had full sleeves on one arm. Christie was a little hesitant at first, but her boyfriend was covered in art. She had a few but could barely handle the pain so they were smaller pieces on her wrist and shoulder blades. The four of them struggled to convince you.

While filming you stayed in the back of the crowd, nervously waiting your turn. Christie was first, peeling her flat off and getting the bottom of her foot prepped. The buzzing of the tattoo machine echoed through your brain, rattling in your teeth. You were tattoo free. She dropped out after about a minute, tears streaming down her face. She hopped to the couch, examining her newly inked sole.

Lucy panicked and dropped out in the last second, disqualifying herself from the competition. Gina took her turn, screaming the entire time. The tattoo artist laughed, knowing that you were doing this for views and would drop out when absolutely necessary. She did one full line from her feel to the end of her toe. She went on to do another line right next to it. The second line went about halfway through her foot before she stopped him.

“I’m done,” she whispered, rolling off the table and crawling to sit next to Christie.

During her turn, Bea sobbed. She hugged the trash can to her chest. “I hate that needle!” She cried. The artist backed away, concerned and he hadn’t even touched her skin. She apologized, giving him the green light to go on. He barely did two inches before she dropped out.

“Y/N,” Bea taunted, “your turn.”

You nervously took your hood down. Despite sweating like crazy, you refused to take off the plush fabric in fear of showing off your sweat stains. The artist removed your shoe, commenting on how you were shaking. The camera dropped for a moment.

“Do you still want to do this?” The artist asked.

You nodded. “Just go for it.” You hadn’t won a challenge in weeks.

He held your ankle still, pressing the needle into your skin. You let out a cry, gripping the armrests of the chair. Your teeth clenched around the wooden stick they’d given you. You fought through the pain, trying to ignore the shooting bolts running through your foot. You cried and only felt relief for a moment before he went in for a second line. At that point, everything was a haze and you were unsure of what was happening around you.

“I can’t!” You cried, grabbing your foot.

He cleaned you off gently, muttering words of encouragement. The other girls came close to film the outro. Gina started with the message about liking and subscribing before Lucy made a joke about being the winner. You let Christie measure your lines, adding them together.

“Y/N won this week’s video,” Bea said, shaking your shoulders. The four of them whooped and cheered until the camera cut.

*

“I could never,” Sam shuddered. “I don’t think I ever watched past the first tattoo either.”

Danny closed the dying laptop. “I think I could do a tattoo normally, but on the bottom of my foot?”

Kenzi lost interest in the video about halfway through. “They all follow me, and you guys on Instagram.”

Both boys immediately checked their follow lists, finding all five members of their favorite channel. Danny was the first to ask if he should invite them to the party they were planning later in the week. If was their annual blowout in Malibu. Sam immediately sent Gina a message. His fingers gave his brain no time to think about it. It wasn’t until he looked through her photos that he felt like an idiot. Out of her twenty most recent posts, nineteen of them were with her long-term boyfriend Cody. Almost immediately, he received a response from her account.

Can I invite a few friends? Five of them to be exact

Sam responded: Duh! We’ll see you out there on Friday

He also gave the address. He broke the news to his siblings next. Jake had no idea who Sam was talking about. Knowing that more people were coming, he was abuzz either way. He added more alcohol to the lists of groceries to buy. He and Jita were going later in the week to set up everything at the house. As it was a rental property, they were going to move any expensive and/or fragile items to safe spots.

*

You were a little nervous when Gina broke the news of the party. Of course, as insane as you were on the internet, labeled as the craziest group member, it didn’t translate into the real world. There had been parties thrown at your shared home. They often ended up with a police raid for noise disturbance, a few citations here and there, but that was your brand. That’s what you’d been known for.

You were also known for being the person to jump off the Santa Monica pier, arrested and detained for arguing with an officer in Amsterdam, and streaking through LA for a music video. It was a little embarrassing at times. When you were approached by people on the street, they often recognized the things you’d done first instead of your name. 

When Friday rolled around, you dressed in the most casual clothing you could and drove separately. You arrived before everyone else in your group, so you waited for all of them. The house was huge and from what you could see, a giant window let the living room look over the Pacific Ocean and what was probably a private beach. Walking up the driveway, you could tell that the others regretted wearing heels. Your Vans were comfortable on the hike up and you debated going in. Christie, Lucy, and Bea let themselves in, scattering through the crowd. While you would have looked for the host, it was nearly impossible to find anyone. You held onto Gina’s hand, whose other hand was in Cody’s as he led both of you through the crowd.

“Gina! Y/N!” A voice called as a hand landed on your free one.

You turned, met with the man who’d sent the invitation. “Nice to meet you!” You shouted over the music, letting Gina go. She kept going. You followed Sam through the crowd and into the den. The music had quieted down and he was able to talk to you normally. 

“Can I just preface this by saying that I’m a huge fan?” He gushed. “I mean, I’ve been watching your channel since middle school.” 

You blushed a little, looking around the room. You recognized a few faces, but they introduced themselves anyway. 

“I’m Danny and this is Josh.” 

“I’m Mackenzi, Danny’s girlfriend,” she smiled, shaking your hand. 

Another woman came up. “Jita, Jake’s girlfriend.” 

You smiled at all of them. “I’m Y/N, no one’s girlfriend.” 

Laughter erupted and you instantly felt more comfortable. “The other girls are around here somewhere,” you said. 

Jita exited the room, spotting Jake in the sand trying to do a handstand. You were left with the four of them, grilled with exciting questions. You answered them as best as you could, trying not to speak for the others. 

Sam set his drink down. “What was your worst experience?” 

You sighed and kicked off your shoe. “Tattoo challenge. Hands down. Everyone else has multiple tattoos but this is my one and only.” You peeled off your sock. “I got my trophy right here.”

Sam marveled at the two lines on the bottom of your left foot. “That was real?” 

“We never faked a challenge. The snakes were a close second to the worst thing I’ve ever done.” 

In that video, whoever could stay the longest in a kiddie pool surrounded by dozens of non-venomous snakes won. You were trembling the entire time, delivering snarky remarks about the others being scared. You’d gotten a lot of hate for the video. Your stereotype was not always loved by fans, especially when you picked on Lucy and Gina.

“Why do you do it?” Josh asked. 

This was the first time he’d spoken all night and his tone came off as accusatory and almost mean. You’d been asked the question before by Ellen, Ryan Seacrest, and even Oprah. During those interviews, you had an answer rehearsed, but now you were stumped. 

“I-I don’t know. It just sort of happened.” 

He didn’t seem to like the answer and excused himself from the room. Sam apologized, explaining that he was far too close-minded to enjoy content as enlightening as the stuff you put out for the world to see. You brushed it off, having dealt with criticism before. Usually, though, those comments were nothing too bad, rather digging on your appearance or choices. Josh’s question was a real head scratcher, and you were going to give him a real answer. 

As Sam’s starstruckness died down, you found it easier to slip away. You walked through the house, making conversation with Bea by the beer pong table for a while. Eventually you found Gina and Cody playing Just Dance with Jake and Jita. Christie was talking to a guy, subtly waving you away. Lucy was in a smoke session on the deck, joking with someone who looked like Zendaya but probably wasn’t her. You couldn’t tell and you felt weird staring, so you left. You tiptoed around a couple that was making out on the stairs down and going into the sand. With a water in your hand, you were able to relax and sit on a blanket someone had left behind. 

You listened to the waves crash against the shore. The moon was absent tonight, but you still stared out into the sky. Counting stars was how you passed the time. You had about fifty in your mind when someone appeared beside you. 

“You’re sitting on my blanket.” 

You looked up to see Josh Kiszka standing over you and peering down. You stood up and dusted the sand from your jeans. “I'm sorry. I thought it was-” 

“We can share.” 

He sat down and held out a plate of pretzels to share. “Can I re-ask my question from earlier?” 

You nodded. “I thought of a better answer.” 

You explained it all to him, lore, if you will. It was fun at first. The first few videos hadn’t done so well. They were simple challenges like trying to eat a jelly donut without licking your lips or who could drink the most slushie. When kids from school found your channel, it was tough. While your following online was growing, kids at school made fun of you. Because you’d thrown up in front of millions of people on the internet, they gagged when you walked past. They would also quote things that you would say in the videos and hurl the insults you’d used. Gallons of milk were left in front of your locker in the mornings. The internet was almost an escape but the more you uploaded, the worse the teasing became. While the bullying and teasing worsened before you transferred to online courses, the love from strangers had only grown over the few months before you left your hometown the first time was attractive. Before long, you had your persona that you played into during the video: mean friend but that’s just her love language.

Josh was in awe of how you spoke. He disliked the videos because he was turned off by the constant swearing, cheap entertainment, and occasionally gross content. He was able to follow along with your mini-rant and he understood where you were coming from. Your rant then moved into how vulnerable you are. The world has seen you in every emotion from fear to pain to anger to happiness. He hadn’t thought about it that way. Also, he always saw you as this aggressive person, always insulting your group mates, but in the last ten minutes, you’d complimented each of them at least three times. Josh admired your genuine self, completely forgetting about the persona you’d created online. He sat with you, giving you insights of his life and experiences with fame. 

The two of you were more similar than different and conversation came easily. Once it lulled into a comfortable silence, he placed his hand over yours. “Do you want to go out to dinner sometime?”

[duuhrayliegh]

A Friend of Yours - pt. 3

pairing: bucky x reader

warnings: TFATWS SPOILERS!!!!!, language, canon lvl violence, soft!bucky, some suggestive content, it’s ten thousand words so i’m sure i missed something, just lmk and i’ll tag it accordingly babes.

word count: 10,246 (i may have gone a little overboard)

a/n: this is the last part, unless y’all want more. i’m rlly proud of myself w this series, granted MUCH of the content was already written for me, nonetheless, here you go. i hope y’all like it <3

read A Friend of Yours - pt. 1 and A Friend of Yours - pt. 2

p.s.: my requests and tag lists are open!!

check out my m.list here!

xoxo ray

The Wilson family house was adorable. Two stories with chipped blue paint on the walls and yellowing white on the columns. You had beat Sam there, so you decided to just look around for a few minutes before meeting Sarah and the boys. You walked out to the dock in front of their house, admiring the water, how still and calm it was. You were staring into the distance when you heard small footsteps from behind you.

“You know, it’s rude to sneak up on people.” You weren’t sure which boy it was, but you were trying to present a non-threatening front.

“You know, it’s rude to invite yourself onto someone else's property.” You were surprised when you heard Sam’s voice respond to you. Turning quickly to face the man with the confused expression. “I thought you wouldn’t come to the States because of the whole Enemy of it thing.” He walked away from you, gesturing for you to follow as he picked up your abandoned duffle. “He’s not here if that’s who you’re looking for.” You shook your head as you crossed the threshold into the living room.

“I’m not here for him, although he would be a much welcome bonus.” The two of you shared a laugh. “But no, I’m here to help you however I can.” Sam’s eyes narrowed, wondering if he should question your generosity. Your eyes must have given away your desperation for a home because he decided against it.

“Okay, but if you’re here, you’re gonna work. We’ve got a lot of shit to get done if we’re going to fix this boat up.”

“What boat?” You smiled at him as he began explaining what was going on. He just skimmed the top of what was really happening, but you could tell he was worried even though he wore a good facade.

“Get changed into some clothes you don’t mind getting messed up.”

“Am I going to be doing, like, manual labor?” He gave you a ‘duh’ look to which you groaned, “So, shorts are out of the question?” Sam had already walked into the kitchen before replying.

“Only if you want to freeze your ass off!” You changed quickly into a pair of ripped mom jeans that you cinched with a belt at your waist and a white short sleeved shirt.

“Do you have an overshirt I can borrow?”

“You mean, a flannel?” Sam shot back as he exited the room.

“Yeah, an overshirt.”

“No. A flannel. Come on, say it with me, flannel.” He tossed one your way, which you put on the rolled the sleeves up to your elbows.

“It’s an overshirt, Sam. I’m not seeing the issue.”

“Y/N, it's a flannel. Just say flannel, why you gotta make it all fancy?” He walked out the back door and onto a wooden bridge that led to the marina the boat was docked at. He didn’t let the flannel thing go the whole way over, making you laugh loudly and shake your head. As you walked up the dock, you could see several people helping Sarah and Sam with their boat.

“This is all you guys?” You were amazed, you hadn’t seen togetherness like this since before Aunt Peggy died. “Wow.” You said mostly to yourself as Sam walked you up to the woman of the hour.

“Sarah, we’ve got another one. Sarah, Y/N. Y/N, Sarah.” You stuck your hand out for Sarah to shake, which she did kindly. “I’m going to work on getting some of the siding off the boat. Sarah, Y/N is all yours.” He darted off, leaving you with Sarah.

“What ya got for me, Sarah? I’m here to do whatever you need.” She began instructing you to help with cataloging everything that people were bringing. Whether it be rusty spare parts or a couple twenty dollar bills, Sarah wanted to know and she wanted a record of it. A truck pulled up next to the boat and Sam got out hugging the men that exited it.

“Tommy, Carlos, man, this is amazing.” They exchanged a few more words before one of them asked the inevitable question.

“How do we get it off the truck?” A loud scraping sound emitted as the pallet was taken from the truck bed. Bucky lifted the bundle of parts over his head effortlessly, dropping it on the ground. He turned to the group of three men staring at him.

“You’re welcome.” You laughed as you approached. Bucky hauled a gray and black case onto the truck bed, speaking to Sam about it. Suddenly, one of the pipe fittings went out of whack, causing a steady stream of air to escape on the boat. Sarah stopped in front of it on the dock.

“Sam!” She was holding her clipboard as she watched Sam try to stop the leak with a crescent wrench. Bucky walked up next to Sarah, saying hi before telling Sam he was doing it wrong.

“Men. They even mansplain to other men, can you believe that?” You said from beside Sarah while Bucky finished fixing the leak. You tilted your head to admire him, “But we love to watch them work, huh?” She laughed as you wiggled your eyebrows at her. Bucky and Sam turned back to you and Sarah and Bucky’s eyes widened when they landed on your figure. Sam walked toward the front of the boat as Bucky stopped to introduce himself to Sarah.

“Sarah--” His eyes flicked to yours, “Y/N.” Then he quickly followed behind Sam.

“Oh, what was that, Y/N?” Sarah teased, two can play at that game.

“I don’t know, what was your thing about, Sarah?” You said her name like Bucky did to mess with her. She shoved your shoulder away and pushed you back to work.

You had to admit, watching Bucky do domestic type things with his metal appendage did things to you. Just knowing that he was comfortable enough to be around Sam’s whole family with his arm fully on display, made you happy.  The sun was beginning to go down, and you were sharing a beer with Sam and Bucky. Bucky hadn’t spoken to you directly since he got there and it was starting to irk you. You thought that you had something, but maybe not. Bucky rose from his position on the boat, clinking his bottle with Sam’s, claiming he needed to find a hotel room so he could catch his flight tomorrow.

“You’re just gonna set me up like that, huh?” Sam joked.

“I just don’t wanna make it weird for your family.” But Bucky’s eyes caught yours as he spoke.

“Just stay here, man.” Sam began a rant about the people of the town, ending with, “Plus we already got one freeloader for the night, what’s one more, right?”

“Oh goodie! Are we going to braid each other’s hair and play Seven Minutes in Heaven, too?” you teased Sam, but Bucky stiffened.

“We can do whatever you want.” Sam said, then he pointed at Bucky, “Just don’t flirt with my sister. Cause if you do, I’ll have Carlos cut you up, feed you to the fish.” Bucky made a face at Sam before smiling again.

Later that night, after you had all eaten dinner and the kids had gone to bed, you contemplated what your next move was going to be. You were sitting in one of the patio couches outside, a blanket wrapped around your legs, watching the stars reflection in the water. Bucky walked out on the porch, a pair of sweats-- that he had to borrow from Sam because he didn’t pack anything-- slung low on his hips, his blue Henley stopping just before the waistband of his boxers.

His gaze met yours and he approached you as if you were a wild animal and you were going to run away if he made any sudden movements. Your legs had been sprawled across both cushions of the couch, so instead of letting you change positions, Bucky just lifted your legs and then rested them on his lap. His left hand was rubbing back and forth just above your ankle.

“Is there a reason you’ve been avoiding me, James?” He ignored your question all together, opting to ask his own.

“Do you remember when we first met?” You thought back to the first time that you ever saw him. Chained to a chair, hair hiding his face from nosy onlookers.

“Uh, yeah. You were being treated like an animal, caged in a glass box. Why?” His left hand never stopped its motion on your leg.

“When you first started staring at me, I was absolutely positive that it was out of fear. Then when I actually looked at you, you were curious.” You nodded your head, recalling the emotions.

“That was a stressful day.” You could sense that Bucky didn’t need your input to get to where he was going.

“Then, when we were in that stupid tiny blue car that Steve had crammed us into,” he paused to laugh at the memory, “I was sure in that moment, that I was never going to see you again.” His gaze hadn’t left his palms on your legs, refusing to meet your eyes. “And when I saw you in Madripoor, I was positive that it was just someone who looked a lot like you. It couldn’t have been you, I wasn’t that lucky.”

His left hand gripped your leg as he spoke, “But then you started talking and I would’ve known that voice anywhere. All I wanted was to be close to you.”

“Bucky, you almost broke my arm because I sucker punched Zemo.” He shushed you.

“All I wanted was to be close to you, but I’m also a violent person.” He brought his head up, locking his steel blue orbs with yours. “Then you kept talking and you were so smart. So beautiful.” His metal hand left your leg to cup your chin. “Every word out of your mouth mesmerized me, even when you were kind of insulting me.” His thumb stroked your jaw, traveling up to your bottom lip. “And God, the way you said my name.” Your nostrils flared and your brow raised.

“What? James?” You trapped your bottom lip in between your teeth, giving Bucky reason to pull it out with his metal thumb. Your tongue shot out to wet your lips out of habit and Bucky shot you a glare.

“Doll. What’re you doing to me?” He dropped his thumb back to your cheek as his eye flicked over your face. He brought his hands down to your waist, holding it tightly and pulling you closer to him. Your ass now rested against his right leg, and he transferred his grip to wrap around your blanket covered thighs. A squeal escaped your lips without your permission, making your face contort.

“When we were sitting at the bar in your gallery I wanted nothing more than to smother you with all my love and affection.” Your heart rate increased, you want that too. “I’m glad I wasn’t able to though.” Your stomach dropped, a feeling of rejection washing over you. You began to pull away from him, wanting to escape his touch. He gripped your legs tighter against his body, “At that time, I wasn’t what I should be for you. I’ll probably never be exactly what I should be for you, but I’m selfish enough right now that I don’t care anymore.” He twisted his upper body to face you.

“What are you talking about, James?” A visible shiver ran down his spine as you said his real name. He brought both his hands up to grip your face. The cool air added to the temperature difference of his hands.

“I’m talking about this.” It wasn’t a half a second later that his lips were on yours. It took you a second to respond, but you did with fervor. Your hands traveled to his neck to show him that you wanted this too. His fingers fanned out, cupping behind your ears to bring you impossibly closer to him. His tongue traced your bottom lip, seeking entrance which you denied playfully. He brought his thumbs to rest on your chin, applying pressure as he asked again. At this point, you didn’t care about the pardon, or Karli and the Flag Smashers, or Sharon and the Power Broker, or even Sam, Sarah and the boys. You could only focus on James’ lips that were molding so perfectly with your own. You eventually had to break apart, your fingertips coming to rest on James’ kiss swollen lips. You locked eyes with him again, his pupils blown wide, and the two of you laughed.

“Oh, that.” You traced his lips while holding his stare. “Is that why you haven’t been talking to me?” He nodded quickly, gaze drifting down to your lips again. He leaned forward wanting to steal another kiss, but you stopped him. “That’s not okay behavior, James. You can’t just not talk to me because you’re frustrated with yourself.” He hummed a noise of assent, kissing your fingertips on his lips. His palm came up to keep your fingers pressed to his lips as his eyes roamed your face. “What does this mean, James? You aren’t just going to get my hopes up and then walk away right?”  He pulled back from you, a look of disappointment crossing his features.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you feel like that would be a possibility.” He took a deep breath, “After my time in Wakanda, after Shuri de-programmed me, I thought I finally had a group of people I could trust. Then, Ayo was able to remove my arm within the blink of an eye, but not the way that they had when they were tweaking it.” He rested his body against the back of the patio couch. “My therapist had been telling me that I needed to trust someone, and up until that point, I did. I thought I had people who fully trusted me as well.” He looked over at you, silent tears racing down his cheeks. “This clearly isn’t a good excuse, but I felt like you wouldn’t have trusted me either.” Your hands came up to his face, wiping away his tears.

“James, I’ve known of you for years before I met you. Remember how Sharon said I did that report on you in high school?” He nodded as much as your hold on his face would allow him to. “Well, that’s when I first fell in love with the idea of you.” His eyes widened as you continued speaking. “Then, I was lucky enough to meet you and it felt like everything fell into place. After Sharon and I ran off to Madripoor, I wasn’t sure if I was going to see you again, and I was okay with that because maybe you were better left as an idea.” You laughed as you looked down at your lap, dropping your hands from his face. “Then I got dusted during the Blip, which is a whole other thing and then Sharon said that you were in Madripoor.” You shook your head then faced him, eyes locking with his red rimmed pair.

“I would love to fall in love with you. And right now, I want nothing more than to let the trust we have for each other grow into something more.” A wide smile spread across his face and he bared his teeth at you, scrunching his face at the nose.

“I want that too.” He leaned forward slapping a sloppy kiss onto your lips, which you returned with equal intensity. When Bucky pulled back from you to catch his breath, he left his forehead resting against your own. Your breaths synchronized and he patted his hand twice on your outer thigh, signalling you that he was going to get up. “We better get some sleep.” He stood in front of you, offering you his hand. You smiled as you entwined your fingers with his metal ones.

Luckily, Cas and AJ were kind enough to share a room tonight so you could sleep in the other. Bucky’s hand never left your side as he walked you up the stairs. Once you had reached the closed door, he wrapped his arm around you, twisting your body to face him, back pressed against the cold wood of the door. He pushed his whole body forward, molding your bodies together as his hands hooked into the waistband of your sleep shorts.

“I’m glad that we talked, Y/N.” He pecked your lips, pulling back afterwards to stare at your face.

“I’m glad we did too, but what are you doing?” A nervous laugh left your lips and Bucky’s eyes followed the movement.

“You’re just so pretty.” He leaned forward kissing your cheeks, “I’m happy,” A kiss to your chin. “that I’ll be able to,” one to your nose, “call you my doll soon.” His lips lingering on your forehead before bringing his chin up to the top of your head, pulling you into him for a hug. You brought your arms up to wrap around his waist, your face pressed into the spot where his neck and collarbone met.

“Am I not already your doll?” Your question was muffled against his skin, but he heard you.

“Not until I specifically ask you. You can be mine without being my doll, but I want to wine and dine you before I feast.” Your brows raised again and your lips rolled inwards.

“Before you feast?” You were holding back a laugh, so Bucky pulled back, his hands gripping your shoulders, face serious.

“Feast.” He reached behind you opening the door. He gave you a quick smooch before pushing you into the empty room, alone with your thoughts. You had a harder time falling asleep that night. Bucky, on the other hand, had no problem, sleeping like a rock with a smug smile on his face.

You woke up to the sound of eggshells being cracked and forks hitting the sides of ceramic plates. Walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, you saw Sarah working over the stove while Cas was scrambling eggs. Sarah heard you coming down, ever the always aware mother.

“Hey, hope you’re hungry, ‘cause you aren’t leaving this kitchen without eating somethin’.” She watched as you peered into the living room, searching for Bucky’s imposing figure. “I think he’s down at the dock with Sam. They left real early this morning and girl, I swear to God if they’re messin’ with that water pump, I’m going to strangle the both of them.” You laughed, taking the plate of scrambled eggs that AJ was holding out to you.

“Did you tell them that the water pump wasn’t the issue?” She nodded as she stirred the eggs in her pan. “Then you know that they are, Sarah.” The two of you shared a laugh as Cas and AJ sat down to eat, as well.

“Y’all better hurry up before you’re late for the bus.” The boys quickly shoved their remaining food into their mouths, rushing out the door after kissing their mother goodbye.

“How do you do it?” Sarah’s head tilted, wondering what you were referring to. “Being a single mother and managing a business? Does it all get to be too much sometimes?” She could tell you were genuinely curious, so she sighed.

“It’s definitely challenging at times, but thankfully I have a good enough relationship with AJ and Cas that we’re able to get through pretty much anything. After we lost their Dad, I was all alone and scared. I’m still scared a lot of the time, scared that I’m going to mess them up, you know?” She paused a second to recollect her thoughts. “It’s just by chance that we live in this amazing community that helped me whenever I needed a little bit of assistance.” The conversation between the two of you fizzled after that, perhaps it was too heavy a topic for breakfast to handle. You followed her to meet a group of people at the marina, but the journey there wasn’t silent.

“So, I have a question, but you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. Although I feel like if you don’t answer it, you’re kind of answering it.” You encouraged her to ask whatever she wanted to. “You and Bucky are a thing, right?” You coughed, unsure of how to answer. “That’s all the confirmation I needed.” Sarah smiled at you as your mouth struggled to form words.

“We are, but we aren’t?” Sarah gave you a look making you roll your eyes. “I don’t know he said that he was excited to see where this was going and then we kissed, so yes?”

“Oh, he looks like a good kisser.”

“Right? Just like he’s got the bone structure and lip plumpness ratio down to a T.” There was a brief moment of silence before the two of you burst into a fit of laughter. The walk down the marina dock wasn’t a long one, so you were able to see Sam and Bucky hunched over a pile of scattered parts.

“Uh-huh. No. No.” Sarah’s head began shaking as Sam was arguing with Bucky, who wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, his eyes were roaming your figure, lingering on your face. His eyes darted to Sam before he greeted the two of you with a wave of his hand.

“I told you specifically that the water pump was not the problem, and yet, here you are.”

“Yep, Samuel.” Bucky teasingly berated, taking Sarah’s side.

“You’re in just as much trouble, you by-stander.” Your voice lilted into a playful tone as Bucky made a shocked face at you.

“In our defense, we were supposed to be done long before you woke up.”

“I don’t come up to the sky to tell you how to barrel roll, so don’t come down here and mess around with things you don’t understand.” Your fist came up to your mouth.

“Oh, that’s a-burn, Bird Brain.” You pointed a finger at Sam, clutching your stomach with your other hand as Sarah swatted the two boys away. Bucky stopped next to you, wrapping his metal arm around the front of your body, delivering a soft kiss to your temple. He left with Sam, arguing the whole way to the house while you stayed with Sarah, reassembling the water pump.

By the time you had gotten back to the Wilson house, Bucky was hauling his backpack strap onto his shoulder. You slowed your approach, holding your open palms in front of you, confused as to what Bucky was doing.

“Where are you going?” He turned to face you, a smile spreading over his face. His metal arm wrapped around your waist again, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“I’m heading to New York, I’ve got some stuff to wrap up there. I want you to come with me.” You were taken aback, what about Karli and the GRC?

“We haven’t finished this whole thing with the Flag Smashers, or Walker. Bucky, we can’t just walk away from our responsibilities.” Bucky’s hands clasped around your shoulders.

“We aren’t, Y/N, I promise. Sam has Torres doing something with some signal do-dads and he’s going to call us the second he gets a lead.” He spoke calmly and you thought it over. At least he wasn’t trying to run away again, he was accepting that he had a real role in this. You could feel a shift coming, you weren’t quite sure what it meant, but you were hoping it was a good one.

“Okay, let’s go to New York.”

The two of you hadn’t even been in New York maybe twenty minutes when Sam texted Bucky that he had a line on where Karli was. Supposedly she was heading a takeover of the GRC meeting in Lower Manhattan. If being in New York as a wanted person was nerve wracking enough, now you were going to be surrounded by hundreds of government officials and some of New York’s finest. Bucky was on the phone with Sam, talking through the plan when your phone buzzed. Pulling the device out of your pocket, you saw Sharon’s name pop up.

“Heard you were having a bit of trouble with Karli again. Don’t worry, help is on the way, dear.” Your eyes rolled, still not over your argument before.

“You don’t need to be here for this Sharon.” You paused for a second, your left hand resting on your hip. “How did you even hear about this? Sam just now called Bucky, and I guarantee that he didn’t call you first.” Sharon chuckled on her end of the phone.

“You underestimate my reach, Y/N. I’ll meet you outside the building.” Your jaw clenched.

“Sharon, you said you didn’t want to help. What the hell changed that you’re so willing to put yourself in the middle of all this shit?” She was silent on her end.

“I figured you would want me there.” Well, shit what the fuck were you supposed to say to that?

“Lower Manhattan, keep quiet.” You hung up the phone before she could say anything else. You hated not talking to her, and being mad at her was next to impossible. This was your way of saying ‘I forgive you,’ and you knew she would understand. Bucky didn’t say anything as he watched you push your phone into the pockets of your jeans. He could tell something was off, but he could also see that you definitely didn’t want to talk about it right now. Instead he jerked his head for you to follow him, leading you through the streets of Manhattan.

The two of you could see the red lights illuminating the streets, letting you know that you were here. Bucky turned to you, holding his hand out to you, a single earpiece laying in the middle of his palm. As you took it, his hand drifted to your jaw, lifting it to face him. He placed a sweet kiss to your lips before nodding for you to stay behind him. You pulled the brim down on the hat you wore as you stuck to Bucky like glue. He led you through the barricade, one of the soldiers addressing him accordingly.

“Sergeant Barnes.” You made a face beneath your cap, holding back a laugh as Bucky came to a stop in front of you.

“Oh, Sergeant Barnes.” Bucky looked at you over his shoulder as his skin twitched. Your eyes widened. “Does that turn you on, James?” He wasn’t able to answer because of an interruption by Sam’s voice in your ears.

“By the way, I called in some backup.” An agent approached the two of you while Sam kept speaking. “Also, please remember that I can hear everything you say, Y/N. And I don’t need to know what makes the Tin Man tick.” You laughed at Sam’s statement as a twinge of pink ran up the back of Bucky’s neck.

“Excuse me, sir. Are you supposed to be here?” The agent’s hand came up to his hairline. A click sounded as the agent’s face began to glitch. “It’s me.”

“Sharon, what the hell are you doing here?” Sharon pointed an accusatory finger at you.

“Why didn’t you say that to her? The same people who want me in the Raft, want her there too. Or did you forget that?”

“Do I hear Sharon?” Sam asked as he listened in on your conversation.

“Unfortunately.” Bucky grumbled back.

“Hey Sam. I thought I’d get the band back together.” She threw a wink at you as she stepped closer to Bucky. Sam said something else to her, but you had zoned out to watch Sharon. “I hear pardons aren’t all they’re cracked up to be anyway.”

“Depends on the therapist.” Bucky said as he backed away from Sharon and closer to you.

“They’re going to move on the building soon. Be ready.” Sam brought you all back to the task at hand, switching into Captain mode. Bucky nodded to you and Sharon.

“Go with her.” You made a face at him, about to protest when he cut you off. “I don’t care. Stick with her, Y/N. Don’t get arrested though. We’ve got a date.” He wrapped his arm around the front of your waist, like he did at the Wilson house. He pressed a kiss to your temple, staying a little longer than necessary and giving your hip a squeeze before he released you. You heard glass break above your head as Sam crashed through one of the windows upstairs.

“You guys are going to have to do something. Don’t let ‘em out of the building.” You walked behind Bucky to enter the building, the metal detector going off for both you and Sharon. You shared a look with the woman.

“Oops.” Bucky pointed at a guard in tactical gear while he stepped forward.

“He’s one of them. I’ll get the evac.” He left before you could stop him, leaving you and Sharon to deal with the man he pointed at. The both of you followed him to the parking garage, where he was standing post next to two black armored vehicles. The two of you were waiting behind a pillar as you debated what to do.

“We need to stop him.”

“If we take him down now, they’re going to be suspicious and we are going to get arrested. Cool your jets, Y/N.” Your nostrils flared at her tone, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Why didn’t you tell Sam you were already coming?”

“What?” Sharon seemed startled by the question as if you didn’t catch the slip Sam said earlier.

“Sam said that he called in backup. I’m assuming he meant you because we’re the only four people he knows. So why didn’t you tell him you were already coming, or already here or whatever?”

“I didn’t think it was important.” She said dismissively, you could tell she wanted you to drop the subject, but you wanted the truth. Throwing a glance up to the guard, you saw him helping the GRC officials into the vans.

“Damn it Bucky, you had one job.” Bucky ran past you, grumbling a response as he loaded his weight onto a motorbike.

“We aren’t done with this, Sharon.” You pointed at her before she walked away from you. You watched as she ran into the guard then apologized profusely to him. When you caught up to her, she clicked a button in her hand, releasing a noxious gas in the guard’s face. You saw his skin being bubbling and sizzling.

“How’d you do that?” Your eyes hadn’t left the man in the car.

“Mercury vapor, amongst other things.” The two of you continued walking out of the garage, a helicopter started taking off from the helipad on the top of the building.

“Sam, that chopper’s about to take off.”

“Bucky!”

“I don’t fly, man. That’s your thing.” Sam groaned in the earpiece and then you saw him shoot out the window again, chasing after the helicopter. You walked alongside Sharon, following Bucky’s path after the NYPD vans. You got to the barricade just in time to see Scruff holding one of the cars back from falling off a ledge. You were too far away to be able to get to him in time to help, though. You stood next to Sharon as he was ripped away from the back of the car. Your heart dropped as your gaze went to Bucky, who was standing directly underneath the car that was about to crush him.

The crowd around you was holding their phones in front of their faces, at an angle that all they could see was the back of the NYPD van full of GRC officials screaming for help. As the car slipped farther and farther down the platform, your stomach churned more and more. Suddenly, the car stopped, hovering over the opening in the ground. You could make out Sam’s new wings on either side of the car. He pushed forward, lifting the car back to a safe position and then moving away, allowing the crowd to see him fully. The star on his suit glinted proudly as he stood still for a second. The crowd erupted in cheers for the savior. A man to your left cheered for ‘Black Falcon,’ but the man beside him corrected him before you had the chance to.

“No. That’s Captain America.” Red Wing left Sam’s suit to undo the locking mechanism on the back of the van and the GRC officials evacuated the vehicle quickly. Sam turned in the air, removing his shield from his back and throwing it at the Flag Smashers below, knocking them off their feet. At some point, you began moving toward the edge of the platform, ready to help and away from Sharon.

An explosion went off to your right, causing you to search for the source. Puffs of smoke were being thrown in the pit where Sam and Bucky stood and you could see Karli getting away in the confusion. Bucky’s voice rang through your ear.

“Hey. We’re underground. We entered the tunnel on William. Heading south.” You searched for Sharon so you could join up again, but you couldn’t find her. You could hear Sam telling Bucky that the Smashers had split up, and you knew that Bucky would’ve gone with Scruff to keep an eye on him, the unstable bastard. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Sharon crouched behind a stack of pallets, and your brows furrowed. She began whistling and then you heard Karli’s voice.

“Dovich? Is that you?” Sharon emerged from behind the stack, holding her gun in front of her.

“I’m disappointed in you.” Karli brought her gun up as well, speaking to Sharon as an old friend.

“That’s what I was gonna say.” Sharon brought her hands up in surrender, and your head tilted, what the fuck is going on? “You know, when you first came to Madripoor, you reminded me of a young me. I took you in, gave you an opportunity, and you betrayed me.” Oh hell no.

“Because you wanted to control a world that hurt you.” Karli lowered her gun but all her senses remained in overdrive. “But I wanted to change it. I’m not interested in power or an empire. I have bigger dreams.” Sharon scoffed, looking around, her eyes darting over where you were hidden behind a stack of boxes. Could it really be? Was Sharon really the person that you thought you knew?

“What, like this?” She stepped closer to Karli. “Come back and work for me again. All of you. We can make a difference together.” Sharon was trying really hard to convince Karli, but she wasn’t having it.

“You just want me because you need your muscle back. Without us Super Soldiers, how much power does the Power Broker really have?” Motherfucker. You zoned out a bit, trying to decide what to do. A male voice began speaking in French causing you to refocus.

“Four times, or--” You could see Batroc’s gun pointed at Karli and Sharon’s face was indifferent.

“I don’t do blackmail.” Sharon gripped her gun tighter, raising it quickly to shoot Batroc. Karli panicked and shot Sharon in the process. The gunshots were loud enough to give Sam an idea of where you were all located. You came out from your position, gun gripped in your hand as you stood closer to Sharon. Maybe you could salvage this situation before Sam got here.

“Karli, calm down.” You kept a tight hold on your pistol as you talked. “Look, I get it. You’re scared, but I’m going to need you to put the gun down.”

“I’ll put mine down when you do.” You could hear a slight shake in her voice. You tilted your head at her apologetically.

“You know I can’t do that.” You cast a glance at Sharon who was clutching her stomach, attempting to stop the blood flow. Karli gulped as she raised her gun again.

“Well, I can’t have any loose ends now, can I? You taught me that, Power Broker.” She sneered at a groaning Sharon. A blinding pain began radiating from your shoulder and your hand immediately when to the area. The force of the bullet knocked you off your feet, slamming your head into the ground.

“Shit, what the fuck Karli!” You could make out Sam’s figure coming up from behind Karli. You saw him process Karli standing over one dead body and two injured ones. The wheels began turning and he started speaking.

“So, what’s next, huh? You kill ten this time, then, what, a hundred? Where does it end?” He stepped closer to an agitated Karli. “Please, let me help you.” He kept his voice calm.

“Don’t try and manipulate me.” Karli approached Sam ready to attack. Their fight continued as she pushed Sam backwards.

“I’m not gonna fight you!” She knocked Sam down to the ground, with the swing of a metal bar.

“Stay down!” She shouted at him. You pushed yourself to your knees, adrenaline pumping allowing you to get to Sharon to help hold pressure on her stomach. You watched from over Sharon as Sam rose to his feet, holding his body in a fighting stance.

“I can do this all day.” She launched herself at Sam, throwing his body back into a bunch of cinder blocks. Sam held his shield in front of him, protecting from her punches.

“Fight back!” She shouted as she delivered blow after blow. Sam ducked low, grabbing onto her torso, using his thrusters to send the both of them flying. Karli used the momentum to push off the ground, to bring Sam up to the ceiling. You sat back on your knees, worry lacing your features.

Sam held one of her hands to his chest as she continued throwing the other into his shield. She gripped the top edge of the shield, using it to gain leverage. She pulled her hand away from his chest, tossing his body forward. The shield slipped from Sam’s arm and he laid on the ground, recovering from her attacks. Karli leant down to pick up her gun and you pushed yourself to your feet, ready to tackle her.

She raised her gun, aiming it at a now shieldless Sam. Karli hesitated, staring at Sam before committing to her cause, ready to kill Captain America. You were steadily creeping forward as she debated, but you could see the moment she decided to pull the trigger. Just before she could, a gunshot sounded from behind you. A gasp left your lips as Sam ran to hold Karli.

Your head whipped around to see Sharon leaning against the stack behind her, gun still smoking. Sharon shook her head at you as she holstered her weapon. Sam lifted Karli into his arms and carried her away from the both of you. You stood a good three feet away from Sharon, hand on your gun in the waistband of your jeans.

“When were you going to tell me that you’re the Power Broker.”

“What the hell are you on about now, Y/N.” Your brows raised and your mouth opened in shock.

“I was fucking here when Karli was talking to you, dumbass. Is that why you shot her? ‘Can’t have any loose ends,’ she said you taught her that, Sharon. What the fuck?” Sharon laughed at you.

“You’re imagining things, Y/N.” She rose to her feet and began walking away from you.

“Sharon, don’t fuck with me right now. How long have you been the fucking Power Broker?” You followed her up the tunnel and out to where you could see Sam lecturing a Senator. Sneaking around to a medical bag, you grabbed two pieces of gauze.

“I’m not the Power Broker.” Sharon rolled her eyes at you, leaning against a car behind the ambulances. You were about to say something else when you saw Bucky and Sam approach the two of you. They took in the two of you, an angry look on your face and an annoyed one on hers.

“You’re blocking my light.” Sharon bit out to Sam.

“We got to get you to a hospital.” Sam told Sharon as Bucky walked up to you, pulling your gauze away from your shoulder, checking your bullet wound.

“It’s through and through and you know they aren’t going to listen to you.”

“It’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me all week.” Your eyes glared at Sharon as you spoke. How long has she been doing this behind your back? Someone called for Sam’s attention.

“I think he’s talking to you.” Sharon said, turning away from the newcomer’s view. “Look, I’m sorry for how things ended down there.” Your jaw clenched but you remained silent. “For what it’s worth, the suit looks good on you.” She played a good victim, that’s for sure.

“Alright, can we get out of here, please?” Bucky wrapped his arm around your waist, leading you away from the ambulances and news cameras.

“I didn’t forget my promise either, guys.” Sam nodded at the two of you before turning to do his Cap duties. Bucky remained silent beside you, content with just being in your presence again.

He led you to his apartment, bringing you to the bathroom where he pulled out a first aid kit. He placed it on the countertop, placing his hands on your hips and lifting you onto the granite.

“You’re gonna need to take your shirt off.” He flipped the top of the kit open, searching for what he needed.

“Trying to get me naked already? At least take me to dinner first, Sergeant.” You winked as you peeled your shirt off. Bucky glared at you then quickly looked at your shoulder.

“This is going to hurt, just so you know.” He didn’t give you time to say anything else before starting to clean the hole in your shoulder. You hissed as stings radiated from the wound, cursing under your breath as he blew on it. “Alright, here we go.”  Bucky began stitching, returning your body to its former glory in his eyes. “How’d you managed to get shot?”

“I was attempting to get Karli to drop her gun.” You debated on telling Bucky what you learned about Sharon. “Who do you think the Power Broker is?” You asked gauging his reaction. His attention never wavered from his task. He soon finished with the front side of your shoulder, backing away and telling you to face the mirror. Bucky leaned forward, his hips pressing against your ass as he set to work on the exit wound.

“I have my theories. What about you?” You looked at the granite below, tracing the different lines, not answering for a few minutes.

“Mm, not really.” Was it naive to keep the knowledge to yourself? Probably, but this way you could deal with Sharon on your own and not have to involve Captain America.

“Y/N. You lived there for years, you’re telling me that you never encountered the Power Broker? Never worked for him before, procuring a particular art piece?” You shook your head as you felt him start to wrap your shoulder.

“No, I made sure that all my dealings were as clean as the illegal art trade could be.” Bucky nodded, closing the first aid kit and placing it back under the sink. He walked out of the bathroom and into his kitchen, pulling out a bottle of Advil. He shook two tablets into his metal hand and gave them to you along with a water bottle from the fridge.

“Take these and then go lay down. You need to sleep so your body can heal.” You could tell something was bothering him. You reached out to grasp his metal wrist.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Hmm?”

“Nothing. I’ve just got something to do.” You nodded.

“Do you want me to come with you?” His head shook back and forth in denial.

“No, I need to do this alone. I’ll be back soon. Whenever I get back you better be asleep in that bed.” He pointed at the door to his room. He walked up next to you, wrapping his arm around the front of your waist and giving you a kiss on your temple. “I’ll be back, doll. I’ve just got a few things to wrap up.”

He left soon after, leaving you alone in his barren apartment. It was easy to see that he hadn’t made it his home. Probably feeling like he had no reason to, no ties to anyone here. Makes it easier when you have to bug out in a pinch. You walked into his room, searching for a shirt to wear to bed. Finding one of his shirts hanging in his closet, you pulled it over your head after removing your bra. You took off your jeans, trading them for your sleep shorts from your bag.

You climbed into his bed, waiting for his scent to envelope you, but it never came. Has he ever actually slept in this bed? So you laid there, unable to fall asleep, too many thoughts swirling in your brain. How long has Sharon been the Power Broker? Did it start when you first got to Madripoor? Or was it after you were dusted and she was there alone for five years? None of this changed the fact that she needed to be stopped. The amount of influence she had was too great. Your phone buzzed on the nightstand next to the bed, so you rolled over to pick it up.

Court hearing with the Senators tomorrow at 8 A.M. for you. -Sam

You thought about the possibility of being welcome back into your own country and not being treated like a criminal. Thought of the possibility of going to work for the government again. Of working with Bucky and Sam. Of being with Bucky without having to look over your shoulder all the time, and it made you smile. Your phone buzzing brought you out of your trance.

Also, you and Bucky need to come to my house tomorrow. Sarah’s throwing a party, they got the boat finished so we’re celebrating.

That made your smile grow, you were happy for the first time in a long time. The lock of the front door clicked and you jumped out of the bed, grabbing your knife, ready for an attack. You waited behind the door to Bucky’s bedroom, then swung it open. Your hand came up to the intruder's throat and your mind switched out of attack dog mode when you saw Bucky’s raised brow.

“Is there a reason for this?” His eyes were red and he had tear stains on his cheeks. You flipped your knife back down and placed it on top of your jeans.

“Sorry. Are you okay, James?” He shook his head and you opened your arms to him. He walked into your embrace, before exhaling harshly into your uninjured shoulder.

“No, but I will be.” He backed away for a second, taking in your form. “Didn’t I tell you that you were supposed to be asleep when I got back? Also, is that my shirt?”

“Yes, you did and yes, it is. Do you have an issue with that, Sergeant?” He quickly shook his head back and forth, leaning down to pick you up by your thighs and tossing you onto his bed.

“Not at all, doll. You look better in it than I do.” He smiled at you as he stripped down to his boxers before climbing into bed with you. Bucky tossed his arm over your waist, pulling your body into his. He sighed contentedly, basking in the way you smelled.

“Sam got me a hearing for a pardon.”

“Oh yeah? When’s that?” Bucky’s voice was muffled because he had buried his face in your neck, peppering small pecks there.

“Tomorrow morning at nine. Are you going to come?” Bucky thought on it for a moment, before shaking his head.

“I have one more thing to take care of.” You nodded.

“They got the boat fixed and Sarah invited us to the party. Sam says we have to go, it’s tomorrow too. I don’t actually know what time though he didn’t say.”

“Alright, I’ll pick something up to bring after I finish my thing.” You turned to face him, a smirk plastered on your face.

“So, Sergeant does it for you?” You giggled as he groaned and removed his arm from your waist. His hand came up to run through his hair, scratching his head

“Are we doing this right now, Y/N?” You released a cackle of a laugh, nodding in response. “Oh that’s how you’re gonna play this?” He attacked your sides, beginning to tickle you causing you to react accordingly. Somehow, he managed to end up on top of you, in between your thighs. He stopped suddenly to watch as you writhed and giggled.

“What?” You started getting self-conscious, afraid that there was something on your face. Your hands came up to hide your face from him, but Bucky wasn’t having it. He took your hands away from your face by trapping your wrists beside your head. “What? Why are you doing that?” You questioned, only halfway serious.

“You’re just so pretty.” He leaned forward, his lips meeting yours in a gentle kiss that soon turned into something else. His hands traveled back down to your sides, resting on the bare skin showing from your shirt having ridden up. The temperature difference shocked you enough to make you gasp, giving Bucky the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue in your mouth, escalating the situation.

Your hands came up to the back of his head, holding him in the kiss, guaranteeing that he wasn’t going anywhere. They made their way down his body to rest on his shirtless back. He pushed forward with his hips, the fabric separating the two of you becoming increasingly annoying. Bucky pulled back slightly, nudging you to open your eyes. There was a silent interaction between the two of you in that moment, neither of you was ready for anything intense, so the momentum slowed, but the energy level remained.

Bucky’s hands never left your body that night. Exploring and memorizing every ridge, every stretch mark, every piece of you that made you, you. You drifted your fingers over the scarred skin next to his arm, tiny feather touches that made him hum. Falling asleep in his arms was the easiest thing you ever had to do. And for Bucky, being able to hold you as you flutter asleep was beautiful. He watched as your face relaxed and all the tension left your body, allowing yourself to melt into his embrace. Bucky didn’t like to admit it, but he was a touch starved human being. All those years in and out of cryo and isolation gave his body plenty of reason to crave genuine human touch. And to have a human as charming and annoying as you was a dream come true, his doll.

You woke up before Bucky the next morning. You looked over at his face, tranquility lacing his features, unburdened with no glorious purposes. He was just your James. The two of you had separated sometime during the night, so you scooted closer to his frame. His metal arm is thrown across the pillow behind your head, giving you perfect access to his neck and chest. You glanced at the clock across the room, the hands telling you that it was seven thirty in the morning. If you wake him now, you could have at least thirty-five minutes of bliss, plus some heavy petting if you both were feeling cheeky.

You leaned forward towards his neck, placing tiny kisses from the base of his ear to the puckered skin of his shoulder. You were so focused on your task that you didn’t recognize the change in his breathing pattern.

“Good morning, doll.” If you could melt into the mattress, that would’ve done it. His fucking rasp grated you into a fine powder of a human. You hummed at him, not stopping your kisses, instead climbing up to his jaw and then to his lips. He turned his head and playfully laughed. “Nuh-uh, we’ve got morning breath, ya nasty.” You groaned, retreating from his figure completely.

“Fine, we will brush our teeth together and then come right back to this bed and you will love me, damn it.” Bucky laughed at you as you drug yourself into his bathroom. This was the type of bliss you wanted, and you only wanted to share it with a particular metal armed super soldier. It didn’t take long to brush your teeth, and you pushed on Bucky’s back to get him into the bed quicker. When he did get back into the bed, he was grumbling.

“I don’t know why we’re getting back in bed, we’re already up now.” He smiled as you glared at him. Bucky’s back was leaned against his headboard, so you swung your leg over his thighs, straddling his lower half. His hands rested on your waist as you brought yours up to the sides of his face.

“You frustrate me.” You said with a loving smile and tone before pecking his lips softly as he laughed. “What time do you have to leave for your thing?” You played with the strings of your sleep shorts as he answered you.

“Around eight-thirty, it takes me about thirty minutes to get there and it doesn’t open until nine.”

“I’m gonna be leaving around then, too. What do you wear when you’re going in front of senators to be pardoned for stealing a metal frisbee?” Bucky huffed a laugh, pulling you closer to him wrapping his arms around your back. “I’m thinking a crop top that says “Fuck You,” would that be too obvious?”

“Yeah, that one might be a little on the nose.” Bucky checked your shoulder as he spoke. “Your shoulder looks good, no infection, thanks to me.” He plastered a wide smile on his face afterwards. “Do you know what time Sharon’s hearing is?” You stiffened slightly at the mention of Sharon.

“Uh, no. Sam just told me my time and I haven’t talked to Sharon.” Bucky’s head tilted.

“Everything okay on that front?”

“Not really?” You went back and forth on what to tell him. You didn’t want to give him the extra burden of knowing what Sharon was. “We had a fight a few days ago and neither one of us has cooled off about it, so that’s a bit rocky.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” You shook your head, so Bucky just held you tighter. “Okay, you don’t have to.” He held you for a few more minutes, before backing away. “Alright we need to get ready.” You groaned, slackening your body, making everything about you dead weight.

“No. I don’t wanna.” You sounded like a child.

“You sound like a child.” Oh you whore, get out of my head, butt munch. Bucky said, pushing your body off his. He walked to his closet as you laid spread out like a starfish on his bed. Bucky had already picked out a shirt and put on pants whenever he walked back in and you were still laid on his bed.

“You’re gonna be late.” He leaned over your head, appearing to you upside down. His arms were resting on either side of your face, dropping down he pressed a kiss to your lips. “You’ve got to get up, Y/N.” He went to the other end of the bed, where your feet dangled off the edge. He grabbed your ankles and pulled you, you slid off the bed, taking the comforter with you. “Oh my god, this is pitiful, Y/N. You’re a grown woman!” Bucky shouted at you as he left the room.

The two of you parted ways after you got dressed, but not before Bucky wrapped his arm around the front of your waist and placed a kiss on your temple. You wondered why he did that so much, but you weren’t going to argue with the attention because you loved it. You walked up to the extravagant building that was bustling with people. Everything was white, you always wondered why that was. White represented innocence and America was anything but innocence. You ended up wearing your casual clothes for two reasons. One, you were being pardoned, why couldn’t you be comfortable for that? And two, you had somewhere to go after this and that was just as important as this court meeting to you. Walking into the courtroom, you took in all the faces in the seats. Your name was called immediately, so you approached the podium.

“Ms. Y/L/N, on behalf of the United States Intelligence Community, I’d like to offer you and your family our sincerest apologies.” You wanted to scoff, but you bit your tongue. “You’ve always been an incredible asset to our country. Today, we begin to set things right. We begin to repay some of the debt that is owed to you.” You bowed your head.

“Thank you, Senator. It’s been a long time coming.” You could see the Senator’s jaw clench, not used to being brushed off.

“And we’d like to offer you a full pardon. There might be an opening in your old division. Is that something that you’d be interested in?”

“Actually, Senator. I would like to thank you for that opportunity, but no. I’ll be working with Captain America.” The man’s whole body seemed to twitch.

“You aren’t authorized to make that kind of decision, Ms. Y/L/N.” This time you did scoff.

“Yeah, okay. Well thanks for the pardon.” You tapped the podium twice, leaning to walk away. “This has been great, I really feel like we’ve both said our peace. See ya later, Senator.” You walked out as you heard him calling your name. You pulled your phone out, dialing Bucky’s number.

“Hey doll! How’d court go?” You started walking to where you and Bucky had planned to meet after you got done with your respective tasks.

“Oh great! I’m working with Cap now.” You could almost see Bucky’s face.

“Wow, how’d you manage that?” You smirked.

“I can be very persuasive when I want to be, James.”

“Oh is that so, Y/N?” You could hear his smirk as he spoke. “Maybe you’ll have to be persuasive with me one day.” You laughed.

“James, I don’t have to be persuasive with you.” You caught sight of Bucky walking down the street with a store-bought cake in his hand. You held up your pinky finger wiggling it for emphasis, “I’ve got you wrapped around my finger.”

By the time you got to the marina that docked Paul & Darlene, you were buzzing with excitement. Bucky was giggling at your antics, you were practically bouncing in the passenger seat. As soon as Bucky got out of the car, Cas and AJ latched onto him. He went along with them, playing as if he was going to slam the cake into their faces. You walked past Bucky, hugging everyone who greeted you. Once you reached Sarah, you sat down on the picnic table for a second before taking off again. You stood to the side as you watched Sam take picture after picture with pretty much everyone from town.

Bucky stood next to you, chuckling about everyone’s reaction to Cap being from their hometown. One woman almost knocked Sam flat on his ass when she hugged him, a huge smile stretched over her face. You went back to the table Sarah was at, taking a seat next to her. Suddenly Bucky climbed on top of the table, holding his vibranium arm out with two children dangling off it. He was talking animatedly with his other as he told a story about Sam. You had zoned out just staring at him with the kids.

“You know, this could be you.” Sarah said as she leaned next to your ear.

“What could be?” You made a face at her.

“The kids, the community.” She looked over at Bucky, “That hunk of a man over there.” You slapped her shoulder softly before humming.

“I’ve thought about it, but that’s a two person decision and I don’t think either of us are at a point in our lives to raise another tiny human.” Sarah nodded, her features disbelieving.

“Just don’t let that one get away.” Her finger was pointed at Bucky who was playing with the kids at the edge of the dock. Bucky must’ve felt your gaze on him because he looked up, removing his dark sunglasses to lock eyes with you.

“Oh I don’t plan on it.” You smiled at her. You joined Bucky and Sam as they stood in front of Paul & Darlene, taking in the sunset reflecting on the water. Bucky wrapped his arm around your waist, pressing a kiss to your temple. You definitely don’t plan on it, you thought to yourself as you leaned into his embrace.

**********************

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[lisbonsteresa]

You’re Once (In Any Lifetime)

🥳 🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAY( @eddiediaz)!!!!  🥳 🥳  (little late is better than never fingers crossed. a little something for my drew crew bestie who i have never yelled at, cajoled into watching a show, or threatened with a knife emoji. hope you like the...kind of au of the au of the - let’s just call it the 7th generation of an au 😘)

                                 ___

“She’s lingering again.”

“Call a spade a spade Bess.” George grumbled as she entered the kitchen with an armful of dirty dishes. “At this point she’s loitering.”

Nick glanced up from where he was reviewing that month’s order form at the prep table with a slight grin. “Don’t know if you can go that far. I mean she did pay for her dinner.”

“Oh please,” George shot back with a roll of her eyes. “It’s been 45 minutes since she paid her bill and she’s still nursing that iced tea like it’s a long island.” As if she knew they were talking about her, the redhead in the corner booth looked up from her glass and gave a small, unsure smile across the sparsely-seated dining room in their direction. She did not receive any in response.

“What I don’t understand is why she keeps coming here, of all places. I mean it’s not like our food is good.” An offended grunt came from Bess’s right, and she spun around to see the Claw’s cook pressing a burger to the grill with a wounded expression. 

“Oh no, Charlie,” she backtracked frantically, hands held out in a feeble attempt to placate the older man. “I just meant compared to what they must have at the yacht club.” 

Charlie gave a noncommittal shrug, apparently forgiving the unintended slight before moving down the line where he hopefully missed Bess’s whispered  “Or anywhere else…”

“Guys, come on.” Ace cut in, voice calm and measured even as he scrubbed determinedly at a rusting lobster pot. “It’s not like we don’t have other customers keeping us here. What’s so bad about Nancy lingering a bit?” 

“The fact that she’s not just ‘Nancy’, Ace.” George admonished as she tipped her dishes into the full sink in front of him, raising the water level until it sloshed dangerously close to the edge. “She’s Nancy Hudson. You know how the hill-toppers treat us townies -”

“When they’re not wheeling and dealing in back rooms to screw us over while they’re sitting pretty in their ivory towers.” Nick interrupted, his attention still on the sheet in front of him.  

“Exactly.” George gave her boyfriend an appreciative look as she leaned up against the prep table next to him. “And now what, I’m supposed to be happy that one of them deigned to grace us with her presence?” 

“Yes, and I had to take her hill-topper order.” Bess lamented, pouting near the line window until she noticed Nick looking at her with raised eyebrows. “What?”

“You know you’re a hill-topper, right Bess?”

She turned towards him, her expression scandalized and defensive. “That is completely different, Mr. Multimillionaire.” (Nick held his hands up in amused defeat). “I only just became a Marvin; I wasn’t born and raised a hill-topper, unlike some people.” 

“Besides,” she glanced back across the dining room with an insulted wrinkle of her nose, “the Hudsons and Marvins are long-standing enemies; it was humiliating to have to serve one of them.”

“The Hudsons and Marvins, maybe, but not you and Nancy.” Ace countered, leaning the lobster pot against the back of the drying rack before reaching into the increasingly murky water to start on George’s dishes. “You two barely know each other.”

Bess paused, playing with her necklace and staring into space as if considering this fact for the first time. “Well, I guess that’s true…"

“And she’s been spending her gap year here in town volunteering and helping Hannah Gruen set up a scholarship with the Historical Society.” Ace continued with a glance over his shoulder at Nick.

“I mean, that’s great, but -” Nick stopped, eyes narrowing “wait, how do you know that?”

Ace’s hands paused their motions, just for a fraction of a second, before he resumed rinsing a plate and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Must’ve seen it in the paper somewhere.” He muttered offhandedly. “And -”

“And nothing.” George cut him off, crossing her arms across her chest with a scowl. “A few good deeds don’t change the fact that this time next year she’ll be 300 miles away with a full ride to some Ivy League school just because of her last name, and the rest of us will still be stuck here cleaning grease traps in an old clam shack.” Ace’s shoulders tensed more and more with every word that left her mouth. “And since when did you start defending Hudsons anyway?”

“I’m not defending the Hudsons, I’m defending Na-” Ace spun around to face the room and froze, realizing that his raised voice had turned three sets of interested eyes in his direction. (Well, four, if you counted Charlie.) “I’m not defending anybody.” he continued after a beat. “I’m just saying you can’t help who your family is, and at least she’s trying to be better than hers. It wouldn’t kill you guys to try and see that.” 

No one said anything - this was the most upset any of them had seen Ace get since the time that nor'easter put a tree branch through Florence’s windshield. “Anyway, dishes are done; I’m gonna take my break.”

He tossed the towel that had been slung over his shoulder down onto the counter and stomped down the steps towards the storeroom. The back door slammed shut a moment later, and the others turned back towards the dining room to see that Nancy had at last abandoned her iced tea and was heading towards the exit with the air of someone in a rush trying very hard to appear relaxed.

“So…” Bess began, her eyes flicking back and forth between Nancy’s booth and the door. “when do we tell him we saw them making out by the loading dock last Thursday?”  

“I say we make him sweat for a bit.” George said with a shrug as she straightened and headed out to clear the table. “Serves him right for thinking he could keep something like this from us.” Bess and Nick shared an amused smile behind her, then got back to their own work.

If any of them noticed that Ace arrived back from his break 20 minutes late with his hair in disarray, they kept it to themselves.

                                   _____

“Great. I’m going to be picking seaweed out of my hair for a week. Thanks a lot Bess.”

Bess paused her efforts to wring out her dress to shoot an incredulous look in George’s direction. “I’m sorry, how is this my fault!?”

“It’s my birthday George!” Came the response in a mocking imitation of the Brit’s accent. “Just close for inventory George! It’ll be fun George!” 

“Well excuse me for trying to enjoy a nice beach day!” Bess shot back. “How was I supposed to know we’d be attacked by that kelkey-whatever??”

“Kelpie.” Nick corrected, stopping the bickering for a moment while all three turned their attention towards the redhead kneeling in the sand and frantically running her hands over a soaking wet and slightly dazed Ace. “That’s what you called it, right?”

The second Nancy realized she was being addressed, her hands dropped from Ace’s body like they had been burned. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, a kelpie. They’re Scottish horse spirits that drag their victims underwater and devour them. That silver necklace Bess had was its bridle, and -” she paused, looking around to see the others staring blankly at her. 

“Sorry.” Her voice sounded almost sheepish. “I volunteer over at the historical society a lot, and there’s some…interesting stuff in their archives.” Another moment passed. No one’s expression changed.

“…Anyway the bridle can be used to control it, so I think it attacked you to try and get it back. And since you didn’t know what it was, it just seemed easier to grab it and toss it then try and explain why it was making the giant horse spirit angry.” She finished with a weak grin, as if she’d been explaining the weather and not the most terrifying thing most of them had ever seen. 

No one spoke for a while longer, and then Bess’s quiet  “Oh.” broke the silence. “Well…okay. For a second I thought you just really didn’t like my necklace.” 

The tension broken, the others looked at her with varying levels of amusement before she let out a gasp and turned to address Nancy directly. “Wait my cousin Cassidy gave me that last night! You don’t think…”

“I don’t think she knew what it was.” Nancy replied with an almost fond smile. “When the historical society got the request to put the necklace in one its deposit boxes, the record just said it was a Marvin family heirloom; brought over aboard the Governance.”

“And the kelpie followed it all the way here?” Nick asked, eying Nancy sideways as he tried to shake water out of his ear.

She shrugged. “There are some records that say kelpies are bound to follow their bridles, wherever they go. They can’t leave the water though, so it could have gotten into the bay and then…gotten lost, I guess.” Bess was already nodding along as if everything Nancy was saying made perfect sense. “We didn’t realize the necklace was anything out of the ordinary until Cassidy came to request it and Hannah thought she recognized it from her research.”

“Well good thing she did, or this might’ve been Bess’s last birthday.” George smirked. “Never thought I’d say this,” she continued, ignoring her friend’s offended huff and turning towards Nancy, “but I’m glad you were around, Hudson.”

“Thanks.” Nancy sounded like she wasn’t sure whether she should be flattered or insulted by the statement. “I was looking for you guys, actually. When we realized what the necklace was, we called Cassidy and she said she’d given it to you for your birthday, and since you were coming to the beach Hannah and I were worried that getting it too close to the water might -”

“Wait, how did you know we’d be at the beach?” Bess interrupted.

Nancy stilled, her eyes darting over to a still-groggy Ace then back to the others so quickly that they might have missed it had they not been watching her so closely. “I must have overheard it the last time I was at the Claw.” Her voice was measured; almost deliberately calm. “When it’s slow there your voices tend to carry.” 

Bess and Nick gave each other an uneasy sidelong glance at Nancy’s implication, while George’s expression grew into something approaching begrudging respect. “Anyway,” Nancy stood, brushing sand off her pants and looking anywhere but in Ace’s direction, “I should get back to Hannah and let her know everything’s okay. See you around.”

She turned and started heading towards the parking lot, and Ace watched with worried eyes as his friends had a rapid fire non-verbal conversation. Bess nodded towards Nick, who responded with a shrug. They both looked over at Ace with small smiles, then turned to George; Nick with one eyebrow raised in question and Bess with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes. George glanced at Ace before letting out a labored sigh and rolling her eyes as she called down the beach: “Hey Hudson!” 

Nancy turned, hands twisting in the strap of the messenger bag. “You wanna meet us at the Claw after we get cleaned up?” George asked. “We’re closed for inventory - it’d be a good place to talk about all…this.” (Bess cleared her throat pointedly.) “And we have cake for Bess’s birthday.”

The smile that bloomed on Nancy’s face was beaming, even at a distance. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

                                 ______

It had been three weeks since the kelpie incident, and for all intents and purposes, Nancy had settled in as the fifth member of their little group. She and Bess had gotten along almost immediately, despite some awkward encounters when they had run into family while together. 

Nick had warmed to her considerably once she started helping him with his plans for a youth center in town. (It certainly hadn’t hurt that she’d ‘misplaced’ her grandfather’s application for the building on Spring St. until Nick’s bid had already closed). 

And while George and Nancy bickered almost constantly, they (usually) did it with smiles on their faces. If asked, they might not call each other ‘friends’, but they were definitely heading in a good direction. 

The first Friday afternoon of July found them sprawled out across the dining table of Nick’s loft, brainstorming ideas for that year’s ‘Still Summer at the Bayside Claw’ event. (Or rather found most of them. Truth be told, Bess’s focus might have been more on her online shopping.) They’d been working for an hour or so when a noise like the rapid honking of a clown nose suddenly interrupted the conversation.

“Shit,” Ace muttered, grabbing his phone and snoozing the alarm, “I’m going to be late for Shabbat.” He gathered his things in a rush, exchanged a quick “Bye” and kiss with Nancy, then froze. 

His eyes moved rapidly between the others - Nancy’s wide-eyed panic; George’s look of shock and disgust; Nick’s eyebrows shooting up his forehead; Bess’s almost giddy expression - before seeming to make a decision.

“Uh…Nick,” he croaked out before anyone could react any further, making his way over to where his friend was sitting with an air of forced normalcy and kissing him like it was something he did every day. “thank you for having me.”

“See you tomorrow, Bess.” He continued, leaning over and giving her a peck on the cheek, causing a giggle to escape her barely-maintained composure.

He turned towards the other end of the table, eying George the way an antelope might eye a lion. “George -”  

“Don’t even think about it.” She cut him off with a glare.

“Right. ‘Course.” He glanced around the room one last time as he backed towards the door, eyes skipping over Nancy as if he was afraid of what his expression might reveal if he focused at all on her. “Um, have a good night everyone.” And then he was gone, the door slamming behind him as his rapid footsteps echoed down the hallway.

A minute passed in complete silence, then another. 

Nick looked absolutely mystified, his fingers stuck halfway to his lips like he couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened. George’s grimace was slowly turning into an amused smirk, and Bess looked seconds away from breaking into complete hysterics.

Another minute passed before Nancy, staring at the table with a face almost as red as her hair, broke the silence. “So…how long have you guys known?”

“Since before the kelpie incident.” George answered bluntly, while Nick shook off his daze and turned his attention towards Nancy and Bess took a calming breath and tried to bite back her laughter.

“Oh.” 

Nancy’s eyes darted between the table and the door as if trying to decide if it would be worse to try and explain herself or just cut her losses and run. “Ok, well, we were going to tell you, we just -”

“You can relax Nancy.” Nick cut in, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the touch, but finally turned to see an understanding smile on his face. “You wouldn’t be here right now if any of us still had a problem with you.”

Bess nodded rapidly, reaching across the table to cover one of Nancy’s hands with her own. “You make Ace happy, and that’s what really matters to us."

A wobbly smile began to grow on Nancy’s face, before she blinked and turned towards George with apprehension and a bit of challenge in her eyes. 

George’s expression stayed firm until Nick cleared his throat and gave her a pointed look. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but the grin she gave Nancy was genuine.“Plus I guess you’re not horrible.”

That pulled a laugh from Nancy, even as she blinked back touched tears she knew George would make fun of. “Thanks guys. I really appreciate that.”

(To say Ace was confused when she walked into the Claw the next morning and kissed him in the middle of the dining room would be an understatement, but he definitely wasn’t complaining.)

[citydreamgrls]

they were roommates part seven

a weasley twins x fem!reader fic

summary: she had nowhere to go, fleeing home to pursue something along the lines of freedom, so being welcomed into the entrepreneurial twins life was a whole world of new experiences waiting to happen.

an: i was looking through my older posts and saw someone who said they really enjoyed my ‘adoptive daughter’ one shot ( thanks <3 ) and they also mentioned that they wanted it to be a full fic, like a proper story and all, so like i’m thinking about it. if i was gonna do it, would you guys prefer to see an extended ‘the adoptive daughter’ where i kind of drag it out more, and extend the storyline past that one shot. or would you rather just a completely new fic, no previous plot lines whatsoever? 

words: 6,279

After the night on the rooftop, things began looking up for all three of the people living in Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes. Fred started acting like his usual self, now with the knowledge that he and y/n stood a chance together. George enjoyed having his two closest friends back in their right minds, and overall, no one was breaking in.

“So what could you possibly have to complain about!” Ginny guffawed, earning some glances from other customers inside the cafe she and y/n had stopped at one sunny afternoon.

The girl giggled, blushing at the brief attention before lowering her voice.

“I’m not complaining, I’m very lucky.” “Of course you are, not only was Bill in love with you- now Fred is!” The youngest Weasley was yet to calm herself over the news that her best friend was still going to be in with the family.

“I was only saying how I needed a bit of a break from the boys-”

“Spare me the lies- you couldn’t keep away from me for more than a week could you!” Ginny laughed, her head throwing back in the process.

It was true that y/n longed to see Ginny whenever they were apart, the girl and Hermione acting like her long lost sisters when they got together. But since she and Fred had gotten a little closer than friends; the loft seemed more cramped than ever. Not to mention that the twins had been pranking her all week long, showing no mercy to her begs for them to stop.

“Here she is!” The redhead announced, making Hermione frown at her friend before noticing the empty wine glasses on the table.

-

“I’m not that late am I?” She joked, taking a seat at their little table before ordering another round for them all.

“Oh no, Gin was just very excited to get started.” Y/n giggled, the alcohol only rouging her cheeks slightly.

“I can tell, your laugh was echoing down the alley,” ‘Mione smirked, leaning back and taking a sip of her own with a relieved sigh. “It feels good to have a break.”

“I haven’t stopped practising in months, this feels like an early christmas.” Ginny mused, reminding them all of why they were gathering in the first place.

Upon learning that y/n had the afternoon free, Ginny had raced over to the loft to take her own, sending an owl to Hermione telling her to sack off work so they could go for drinks. The desk maniac had grumbled, not one to walk out on a whim, but gave in when she thought back to how long it had been since she had seen the girls.

“Perks of being the head of your own department,” She grinned, eyeing up the girl beside her. “And how did you convince tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee to free you?”. Y/n ignored Weasley's look of confusion and giggled.

“I already had the afternoon off, luckily.”

“And Fred loves you.” Ginny slurred, calling the waiter over yet again.

“What!” Hermione squealed, having not been caught up since the girl and Bill decided not to pursue things. “When did this happen?”

“He doesn’t love me, Ginny, you minx.” Y/n slapped her friends wrist lightly.

“Oh he so does!”

Hermione frowned, remembering the conversation she and Fred had shared back at the burrow, how devastated he’d been just at the sight of the girl with Bill. If only she could reveal all that he’d told her, then y/n would know the truth. But Hermione knew all she could do to help was urge her into seeing what was obviously already there.

“He’s been looking after me, since the incident- then there was this thing on the roof the other night.” She explained to her friends.

“Not to mention you guys kissed!” Ginny piped up, and the look of shock on Hermione’s face was purely comical.

“Oh come on it wasn’t like that!” The girl defended, not wanting to rush into the idea that her feelings for Fred were reciprocated. “I kissed him.”

Hermione pulled her work blazer off and rested it on the back of the chair, preparing for what could only be an intense afternoon of grilling their new friend for details. That was as long as Ginny had anything to do with it, and Hermione would never say it, but she too lived for the same kind of gossip.

“Did he kiss you back?” She sipped on her wine politely, all the while watching her over the glass.

“Well- yeah but-” “Then he likes you!” Ginny squealed, positively ecstatic at the situation, her nose wrinkling up as she couldn’t stop smiling. Y/n admired how fearless the girl was as she gazed upon her hopeful sister-in-law.

“Oh will you just drop it,” The girl jokingly whined, rolling her eyes.

“Not until I see you in a wedding dress my girl!” She announced.

-

The three girls spent the rest of the day sharing stories and gossip, most of their time was used up discussing whether Hermione’s new secretary was pregnant or just ate really weird food. In the end they never came to a conclusion, Ginny having gotten side tracked when the other two had tried explaining what a Jaffa cake was to her.

By the time they paid the poor waiter, who seemed traumatised in their drunken company; the sun was just setting and they stumbled through the alley to drop y/n off at the twins’ front door.

“S-see home safe…” She giggled, leaning against the door and falling a little when the last customer tried to leave. “Oh sorry!” She tried to call out, but the three women were already in an unstoppable roar of laughter.

“You’re no safer in their company than ours!” Hermione tried to argue, gesturing to the two men inside, who had stopped what they were doing to try and comprehend what on earth was going on outside.

“And we’re sober!” Ginny cried. “Oh no- we’re not sober- they are.” She corrected herself, propping her head onto ‘Mione’s shoulder with a sweet giggle. The redhead’s eyes closed momentarily, before opening when her crutch decided to move off.

“See you soon y/n!” Hermione waved, dragging Ginny behind her, who tried to give her best goodbye given the state she was in.

“Better retrieve little miss clumsy before she breaks a bone.” George scoffed, seeing the way the girl struggled to open the front door. Fred could only smile, glad that she had agreed to go out with Ginny, not that their sister would have let her decide regardless.

“Come here you!” He laughed and helped her inside, she slumped against his side slightly with a giggle.

“Missed you twooo…” She drawled, sprawling her body against the counter once she was let down by the man at her side.

Fred kept a subtle, watchful eye on her, noticing the way she swayed back and forth and was in danger of smacking her head against a nearby shelf if she chose to fall backwards.

“Our sister is a bad influence on you.” George grinned, ruffling her hair as he counted up the cash from the day’s earnings.

“She’s gr-reat.” The girl blushed, turning her head to smile at Fred, even if her eyes were tightly closed.

“Did you know that Ron still sleeps with a teddy?” She blurted out, catching both men's attention as they plonked her down on a stool. Her drunken body was more of a caution than they cared to admit, so decided to keep her out of the way as they cleared up.

“He does?” George laughed, dumbstruck by this new and incredibly embarrassing piece of information about his youngest brother.

“Yeah. Hermione told me all about it- ssays that he throws a ffit whenever she tries to hide it from him.” The girl couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she slurred her words.

“That’s brilliant! He’s never gonna hear the end of this.” Fred shook his head in disbelief as he swept the floor around the girl’s feet. Her laugh was like music, sounding out in between small rambles of her time with the two girl’s. It seemed to make time pass faster.

“All done?” She asked, cocking her head like a puppy when Fred stopped in front of her.

“Yes darling, all done. Come on, let’s get some food in you, you must be starving-” The girl nodded silently, like a peaceful child, as he gave her a piggyback up to the loft, basking in her tiny squeals of excitement.

-

As y/n sobered up over multiple slices of pizza, Fred enjoyed the moment of blissful solitude he felt from the rest of the world. Curled up on their sofa, the girl was the only thing important to him. She would look up every few minutes to check that he was still there, despite the fact that he had a permanent arm sloped around her shoulders. He didn’t mind, she was cute.

George was just happy for things to be back to how they were. The three of them all getting along, with an endless supply of boozy evenings in the kitchen and dance parties late into the night whenever they felt like it.

Y/n had brought more life into their lonely loft, and for that the twins would be eternally grateful. In fact, as George peered over the other two he longed for her to stay with them forever, fearful of a future where she wasn’t giggling on their sofa, or watching the lights with stars in her eyes, or dancing in the kitchen, or helping little kids play pranks on their parents.

Things were finally… normal.

-

“He’s always the first to crash.” Fred scoffed, hearing his brother’s snores from down the hall. The girl in his loose arms laughed, the feeling flowing through her body onto his own.

“At least he was polite enough to do it in his own bed this time.” “That’s true, I have back pain from the amount of times I’ve had to carry him from the sofa.”

Since the night on the roof, both Fred and the girl had become much more relaxed around one another. The man finding comfort in holding her, in one way or another whenever they were together. It made things easier that she visibly brightened up whenever he did so, her little cheeks warming as she would play with her sleeves to distract herself.

As it was they were laying back on the sofa, Fred propped up against the arm to serve as her chair so she could see the stars better.

“I did say we could go onto the roof, they’d be easier to see from there.” He reminded her, his face rested on her shoulder.

“I like it here,” The girl smiled, sinking even deeper into his chest with a happy sigh.

After some time the pair fell asleep, their faces still positioned up to the living room’s windows as they breathed lightly against each other. Fred’s body wrapped around the girl’s, as she rested beneath the blanket she’d grabbed about an hour earlier.

The man’s body twitched, a small grumble leaving his parted lips when he felt a sharp twinge in his lower back, one that woke him from his slumber. The girl followed suit, mumbling something about heading to bed, but making no move to do so.

“Come on,” Fred sighed, giving in to the pain the sofa was causing him, and stood up to hold out a hand for the girl.

He gave her a long hug as they stood alone in the dark room, only the light from the kitchen giving them some clue of the nearby obstacles. The girl’s arms stayed around Fred, unwilling to let go, almost as if she could tell that he too didn’t want her to go.

“Y-you could sleep up here if you want?” He asked quietly and cautiously, not wanting to spook her with anything too serious. The girl looked up, into his nervous eyes, and nodded.

“Yeah… but n-not because I’m scared or anything-” “Oh yeah of course not.” Fred nodded, a small smile on his lips.

“I just want you to know that I want to stay because I want to, no other reason- you know?”

Fred laughed at how she rambled before him.

“I think so… but you lost me somewhere in there.” “Shut up.” She grumbled, hiding her smile badly.

The two of them went up to Fred’s room, resting in one anothers hold just as easily as they’d done on the sofa so many nights before. Y/n pushed past the memories of his bed, not wanting to remember the circumstances under which she was last in there.

Instead she focused on the man beside her who, despite his tired nature, couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep until she did in case she needed him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” He whispered, her face appearing better as his eyes adjusted to the pitch black room. “I’m glad I stayed.”

A large hand rested upon the girl’s face, the skin smooth and warm as she closed her eyes beneath his touch. She couldn’t help but hold her breath, feeling the intensity between them growing as he ran his fingertips slowly over her face and onto her jaw.

Fred’s lips felt even better as he pressed them against her neck with restrained passion, the short gasps from the girl only urging him to finally give in to his desires with every passing second.

When the man leant up, pulling away from her skin, he saw the way her eyes shined as they locked into his. She greeted him with a small smile, still in awe of the moment.

“You okay?” He whispered, worried that she was having second thoughts.

“I’m great.”

The girl took his face in her hands, holding tight so she could keep him as close as possible while she kissed him, properly this time. With no regrets, no second thoughts, and not even a glimpse of hesitation, she finally let her body take over.

-

George sat at the kitchen table, his mug of coffee hovering over his mouth as he watched the clock on the wall; wondering when either one of the missing pair were going to turn up before the shop opened. His question was answered when the sound of Fred’s door closing echoed throughout the loft, followed by a quiet curse.

“Ah! Caught you!” He shouted, making the girl jump out of her skin as she attempted to creep through the living room.

“Oh… Georgie- I-uh I didn’t realise you were awake.” She stuttered, halting at the door when she remembered she was covered in Fred’s old quidditch jersey.

“Well, we do open in twenty minutes.” He smirked, nodding at her appearance.

She looked down at herself with a nervous laugh.

“I-I was just borrowing this for… um… for-” “Cut the crap. I already know.” George laughed, deciding that he’d teased the poor girl enough for one morning.

Y/n just rolled her eyes and sat down across from him, stealing his toast from the plate.

“How did you know?” She asked, crumbs falling onto her lap as she curled up in the wooden chair with bleary eyes.

“Well first off you two aren’t exactly subtle with the lovey-dovey gazes at one another.” He scoffed.

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” She argued playfully, taking his coffee too and taking a large, well-needed, gulp.

“No, I suppose it’s not-” He gave in, the smirk still painfully strong however. “But the sound of you two going at it all night, that kind of gave it away.”

The girl choked on her mouthful of toast, close to spitting it out at George’s blunt words.

“Oh god.” She sputtered out, grabbing his drink once again to settle her surprised coughs.

“I mean- really! Did you both forget that magic exists?” “Was it that loud?” She seemed to be surprised, even at her own capabilities.

“Please- don’t make me relive it.” George groaned, dodging the girl’s light slap as she leant over the table to strike him.

“What are you shouting about-” Fred froze in the doorway when he noticed y/n was still wearing his clothes, even after she’d told him she was sneaking down to change before his brother noticed.

“Gig’s up freddie boy! You’ve been caught!” George announced, throwing his hands in the air like he was at an actual quidditch game, which was very fitting.

“Oh y/n! Come on! He saw you?”

The girl scoffed along with George.

“Do not blame me, he knew well before I came down.” The girl defended herself with a smile, hiding her face behind the coffee cup which she had now claimed as her own.

“What? How?” Fred asked, seeing his brother’s face drop slightly.

“Please- not again.” He begged, this time blind to the girl’s smack on the back of his head as she moved to the sink.

“Right drama queens,” She teased, “Long day ahead of us, huh?” The girl winked at Fred, making his brother groan out in playful disgust.

“I have to live with this now- OW!” Fred was much better at hitting his brother, knowing where it would hurt most.

-

“So, where are you two gonna go on a date?” Ginny asked, leaning against a shelf of electric shock shakes that the girl was stacking up.

“It’s not like that Gin- we’re taking things slow.” She told her friend, making sure they were out of earshot of the man in question.

“Boring!” The youngest Weasley wasn’t one for subtly, especially when she had more free-time on her hands while on break from quidditch practices.

“Ooh what about somewhere really romantic- like paris!” The redhead exclaimed, startling some passing customers.

“What’s in paris?” Y/n laughed, passing it off as a joke.

“Umm- what’s not in paris more like.”

“I’m not in Paris.” George stuck his head between the two girls, making them jump in shock. Ginny shoved him away slightly.

“Get lost, no one wants you to third wheel their date.” She complained.

“You and Freddie are dating? I thought this was purely casual.” He frowned.

The girl whipped round.

“It is casual, but Ginny’s got it in her head that we’re on the road to marriage or something.”

“Well duh, eventually you will be.” Her friend scoffed, acting as though she was the only one in their right minds. “We should go shopping, I saw this perfect dress down at Madam Malkins’ the other day- I could get it for you.” “No, you’ve done enough for me-” The girl tried to protest, but Ginny was too lost in the idea to stop rambling on about Paris and new dresses and romantic restaurants.

“I’ve seen her like this before,” George whispered, seeing the look of fear on the girl’s face as she saw no way out. “Sometimes, if you back away very slowly, she doesn’t even notice that you’re gone.” He explained, grabbing her wrist and taking her away very slowly.

It turned out George was very experienced with Ginny taming, and they managed to get away unscathed.

“That’ll keep her busy for at least twenty minutes.” He laughed, from the safety of the counter, where he could pretend to be busy if she tried to hassle him.

“What? The sound of her own voice.” “Honestly, it’s a strange sight- but she can entertain herself like no one else.” He laughed, reminiscing on times when he’d find a six year old Ginny Weasley interviewing herself in the bathroom mirror like she was writing an article for the prophet.

“You’re a lifesaver Georgie.”

“What are we hiding from?” Fred whispered, poking his head between the two just as George had done earlier. It garnered a similar reaction, with both jumping at the sound of his voice.

“Little miss chatterbox over there.” George sighed, slumping into the stool that laid behind the till.

“Oh yeah, it’s best to let her wear herself out when she’s like this.” Fred nodded, putting down the boxes he’d been carrying. “Has she mentioned paris yet?” He asked.

“How did you know?” Y/n gasped, eyeing him up suspiciously.

“Oh she cornered me earlier, honestly I thought I’d never get away-” He huffed at the memory, “I ended up knocking over a lamp just so I could have a reason to get away.”

Freddie handed a dustpan and brush to his brother.

“That reminds me, cleanup on aisle two.” He teased, giving George a playful smack on the back as he sloped off to reluctantly do Fred’s dirty work.

“You’re cruel,” The girl grinned, leaning into his side like it was second nature to them.

“Don’t deny it- you love it.”

She looked up at the man with a wide smile, one that he would have to dream of every night if it hadn’t been there beside him when he woke up that morning.

“I know we said casual-” The girl started, instilling a little fear in them both. “-so this isn’t me asking for a date, don’t worry. But there is somewhere we could go. She offered up with a hopeful look. “If you wanted to watch the stars, that is.”

Fred leant up against the back wall, his body about a head taller than the girl’s as he smirked down at her.

“Are you telling me that my beautiful roof isn’t enough for you?” He teased, clutching his heart like it had been stabbed by her words. “I’m hurt!” “Well- if you come with me then we can decide which is better, yeah?” She smirked and Freddie couldn’t help but give in to her perfect little face.

“Of course darling, oh- watch out, Ginny’s clocked us.”

Fred scurried away, ducking his head, and leaving the girl to fend for herschel against his sister’s constant stream of date ideas.

“Traitor!” She called after him, huffing in defeat when Ginny whipped out a dress catalogue, flicking through to show her all the pages she had marked. Where had she got that from?

-

Once the shop served it’s last customer, and the twins forcibly removed their little sister from y/n’s side, all three of them settled in for the night. George, being the secret granddad he truly was, went off to bed early with complaints of back pain. That only made the teasing easier.

“I was the one doing heavy lifting too!” Fred called after him from the kitchen, cleaning up their dirty plates.

“We are all painfully aware- given how often you mention it.” The girl laughed, rolling her eyes as he bared his teeth to her. “Play nice.” She sneered, jumping out of the way while the man tried to flick water onto her with his wand.

Once their miniature water fight ended with a truce, the girl wrapped her arms around Fred’s waist, nuzzling her head into his back with a comfortable hum. The man smiled to himself, one hand conducting the dishes before him and the other rubbing gently over her fingers.

“So,” He started, his voice rumbling through his body. “You gonna tell me where we’re going later?” “Nope, it’s a surprise.” She giggled.

“Or a kidnapping- it sounds like a kidnapping.” He insisted, teasing the girl as she spoke.

“I promise that I won’t kidnap you, especially since you and Georgie were kind enough to not be creeps when I moved in.”

“I wouldn’t speak too soon darling.” Fred warned, finally setting down his wand and grabbing her body to hold her properly.

She wrapped her legs around him, leaning back to get a good look at the man’s face.

“What?” He asked her.

“Nothing. I’m just looking.”

“Well, I don’t blame you.” He scoffed, planting soft kisses onto her cheeks and all over her face, basking in the squeaks of happiness that she made with each one.

-

It was well past midnight when the girl finally convinced Fred to leave the loft, their make out session having gotten a little heated once they moved it to the bedroom. At least this time one of them remembered to cast a silencing spell, the fear of another lecture from George becoming a real threat to the couple.

“I’m coming- chill out,” Fred laughed, seeing the girl waiting in the middle of the living room with a nervous tap in her feet. “Let me just grab a jacket.”

“I’m getting impatient Freddie,” She whined out, excited to show him her favourite spot.

The man chuckled as he took her hand, giving her one last look of pride before they disappeared from the loft with a flash of air. Y/n had never apparated before she left home, but the twins had been eager to teach her how, seeing as she had enjoyed it much more than the floo line.

“Where the hell is this place?” Freddie frowned when they landed in the middle of a wooded clearing, only the sound of rustling leaves to be heard around them. The man spun round, taking in the serenity of this place compared to the bustling city.

“This is Godstone cove,” The girl explained, taking his hand again and leading him through the woods, closer to where they could see the moon shining through the trees.

“This is a forest y/n.”

“I know this isn’t the cove, but there is one- come on!” She pulled him, still just as impatient as when she had been waiting for him to leave.

As the moon’s light became brighter, the trees began to dwindle away, revealing a small patch of patch in front of them. The water licked across it gently, barely making a sound. Fred stood watching the sky’s light ripple over the waves.

“Here we are.” She announced, taking a seat on the sand with a happy sigh. Fred followed suit, his eyes locked on the stars above them. She was right, it was a perfect place to watch them.

“How did you find this place?” He asked her, an arms fixed round her waist as they laid back on the sand.

“My aunt took me here when I was younger, it was the closest thing to a beach that I’d ever see.” “You never mentioned an aunt.” The man’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper, as if they didn’t want to disturb the peace all around them.

“I only knew her for a short time. She was my father’s sister and she was great, she’d always bring me presents and play with me- but she travelled a lot.” “Why did she leave?” It was like he already knew, he knew something had gone wrong.

“I don’t remember much about it-” She started, hesitantly, but still with a welcome smile on her face. Just the memory of her aunt, even the unpleasant ones, still filled her with warmth. “But she and my father got into an argument, a bad one, and she said something about leaving the country for good.”

“And your father didn’t like that?” “I think he hated the idea of being away from her, not being able to look after her when she needed it. Except it came out as hatred… which only pushed her away even more.” “I’m sorry y/n,” He held her closer, knowing that talking about her family had never come easy to the girl.

“She brought me here the day before she left, our last adventure, that’s what she’d told me.” Her little chuckle still sounded sad. “Then that was it, my parents never spoke of her again- even if I tried to bring her up, they would just tell me to forget her.”

The water sloshed against the small wooden pier beside them as they laid in each other’s arms.

“You know my family loves you.” Fred said, out of the blue.

“They’re all brilliant,” She beamed, thankful that they had brought her such kindness.

“Well then you don’t need anyone else, as long as you have us… and you always will.”

When the girl looked at him her eyes sparkled, maybe because of the stars, or maybe because of the threatening tears. But she didn’t care, she no longer wanted a family that outed her for being curious or one that planned her life to the day.

She had Fred, and that was all the girl could ever ask for.

“I love you.” The man blurted out, still staring deep into her soul. The girl went to respond, a few seconds later, to which he just interrupted. “-No, you don’t need to say it back, I don’t expect you to, I just wanted you to know- that’s all.”

“Freddie?” She asked with a grin, loving the way he rambled when he was nervous.

“Yes darling?” “I love you.”

-

The pair laid together for hours, watching the sun rise and drifting off  to the sound of rippling water. Freddie watched her sleep for a while, the orange glow of the waking sky lighting up her cheeks as he stroked them.

When they finally awoke together it was early enough for them to head back to the loft and still get some rest before the day began. Freddie held her, still drowsy, in his arms and apparated them back to his room, vowing to return to Godstone cove with her again when they next got the chance.

George had woken them both at 8 o’clock, with a less than lovely song about them shagging. Despite the fact that by the time Fred and y/n had made it back, neither of them would have been conscious enough to do so. Still it worked to get them out of bed, even if it was to hit him into silence.

“Ron said he’s gonna drop by today, something about dinner at the burrow.” He explained, rubbing his messy hair from his face, ignoring the scowl’s that Freddie was sending him.

“Oh yeah Hermione wrote a couple days ago to tell me, said Ron keeps forgetting to let you guys know.” The girl explained, watching the toaster with hopeful eyes.

“So you knew as well?” Fred asked.

“And didn’t tell us either?” George finished.

Y/n just laughed and leant against the counter.

“Well then what would be the point of Ron?” She proposed, to which both men amazingly agreed. “Your poor siblings.”

“Hey, you’re practically part of the family, remember- don’t think you’re excused from our teasing.” Fred scoffed.

“God don’t I know it.” She groaned.

“Ahh y/n as part of the family,” George dramatically stated, “does that mean you’re sleeping with your sister now?” He asked his brother.

“Fucking hell Georgie-”

“What’s wrong with you!” “Disgusting!” They cried out, the girl barely needing to move in order to place a good whack on the back of his head.

The man grimaced but basked in the chaos his off handed comment had created.

“Don’t even say that, she’s my girlfriend for merlin’s sake!” Fred chimed, unknowing of what he’d just announced in front of the other two.

All of them froze, George holding his mug still in the air, the girl with her hand ready on the fridge door and Freddie gripping the cereal box in one hand. All the while contemplating asking Hermione if she could help him find another time turner, just so he could avoid this tense silence.

The toaster popped up, jump-starting all three of them again, as if they had been reset.

“I am?” The girl finally spoke up.

“W-well… unless you have a problem with that?” Freddie joked, half cursing himself for not being a little more serious.

“You can run now, it’s not too late.” George whispered, but to whom it was unclear.

“Shut up George!” Both of them responded regardless, making it very clear how the girl felt.

“I don’t have a problem with that, I love you… remember?” She smiled, a little glint in her eye as she did.

George groaned, throwing his head onto the table with a thud.

“I can’t take you two!” He cried out.

“Then get laid!” The girl said sweetly, catching them all off guard. “Come on you two, stop gawking and get downstairs, we’re gonna be late opening.”

-

The night that everyone gathered at the burrow had been a celebratory one of sorts. Molly Weasley had been over the moon to see Fred so happy with the girl, after the confirmation that Bill wasn’t upset about it of course, and Ginny was using up her last evening of getting drunk before she was back to practising for the quidditch world cup.

Everyone else humoured the occasion, which had ended with a pile of empty firewhiskey bottles and some pitchy karaoke from Arthur and George. It hadn’t been a surprise that they ended up back at the loft in a pile of limbs, none of them anywhere near sober enough to stay standing while they apparated home.

“Leave him!” Fred wheezed, seeing how his brother hadn’t waited a single second before falling asleep on the hard wooden floor of the living room. “You know he’s impossible to wake when he’s like this.” The girl giggled, but agreed, letting his leg hit the floor after trying to drag him to his room.

“Come on, I’m exhausted.” The man groaned, taking her hand.

“Yes well that’s because you and Harry insisted on having a race around the house.” “Which I won, I’ll have you know!”

“Only because you jelly-legsed Harry- that’s right, I saw you do it!” She accused, with a smug grin on her face.

“Let me have it, just this once?” He pleaded.

“Fine… I’ll be up in a minute, I wanna get some clean pyjamas from downstairs.” The man nodded at her words, silently stumbling up the set of stairs to his room.

Y/n chuckled to herself, giving George another nudge as she passed him and lit her wand to shine the way down through the shop. Her room was untouched, given that she barely spent any time in it now that she slept with Freddie most nights. A part of her felt bad, but it was sad being away from her boyfriend when he was just a short walk from her.

Once the lamp was switched on she saw the unfamiliar owl at the window, its little beak too quiet to be heard as it tried to tap on the glass. Hurriedly she opened it up, taking the letter from between its beak and frowning.

The hand in which the letter was written made the girl’s stomach drop immediately, a feeling of impending doom washing over her as she slipped the parchment from the envelope with shaky hands.

Y/n, this nonsense has gone on far too long. Your Father and I have spent months tracking you down, and if this letter EVER finds you then just know that we are extremely disappointed. Though I’m sure that is a fact you must be aware of already. We request you return home immediately, from wherever it is you are holed up. You are too young to be alone in this world, there are all sorts of people who wish to pray on you.

As if it is bad enough that you have run away like some sort of delinquent, you have put a stain on our family name. Forever more will we have the reputation that our daughter cannot be controlled, however do you wish to find a husband that way? Who would want you when you’ve already been exposed to the smog of a spinster’s life, absolutely no one respectable, that’s who.

Now you will come home at once or else we will have no choice but to take more forceful measures to make sure you’re returned to our care. This is non negotiable, you will be punished, I will see to it.

Mother.

Why hadn’t it been a howler? The girl wondered, peering over the words with her eyes unwilling to blink between each letter written down. She had heard about the punishment from the twins, of course, and presumed that she hadn’t received one because she was always home. Maybe her mother was trying to lull her into a sense of security, hoping she would take her advice and just go back home to be punished like it seemed to be her parent’s wishes. The twins could help her understand it better, the girl thought, well Freddie at least, seeing as he was the only one alive.

She grabbed a change of clothes, and held onto the letter, lighting the way once again with her wand when there was a knock on the shop’s front door. The girl turned, pointing her wand to a figure who stood outside, in the alley.

“Neville?” She asked, frowning at the man, who had a look of worry on her face. She neared the door, a polite smile on her face, despite the fact that it was the early hours of the morning and all she wanted was to sleep. “What are you doing here?” She asked as she opened the door.

“Oh god y/n… I’m- I’m so sorry.” He stuttered shakily, turning his head a little to reveal the man crouching down at the edge of the building.

The alley was dark and it was a struggle to see much, but y/n couldn’t miss the glint of silver that reflected the moon. It had been a quick flash of light, enough to draw her eyes down, where the man held a blade threateningly towards them both.

“Now now, don’t make a scene sweetie.”

Taglist :  @hufflrpuffforfred​

[moondustaeil]

cynosure ⌖ lee jeno

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ✧☾.·:·.cynosure

⠀ ⠀⠀ about

⋅  genre : contract killer/gangster!au : romance, fluff, angst

⋅  characters : Jeno x fem!reader and ot21

⋅ word count : 17k (yes, it’s a lot)

⋅  warning : violence, use of weapons, gambling, kidnapping, betrayal, blackmailing, timeskips, murder, blood, character death, roughly based on bap’s skydive. Don’t read if you’re not ready

⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ⠀

⠀ ⠀⠀ synopsis

⋅  Contact-killer Jeno finds himself lurking between twenty possible perpetrators. One mission-based game with only few chances to save y/n, if it’s not too late that is. Only one gets to be the last man standing, but who will be the lucky cynosure?

suıǝ 

“Lee Jeno”

The voice of unofficial leader Taeyong made Jeno look up from the tiled floor. It was the strictness of the voice that required him to pay attention. “What?” He asked.

“I just did the casting but if you’re uninterested, don’t bother to come. You know what that means, right?” Taeyong asked, his white hair falling in front of his eyes as he tilted his head to the side. Not that Taeyong expected an answer, and not that Jeno was willing to give the answer even if it was expected from him. All twenty-one members were aware of the one unwritten rule, perhaps a little selfish to remember that one but forget the remaining ones. Everyone knew, and yet there was one person who felt like reminding everyone. “More money for the rest” words said by no other than wiseacre Doyoung.

A silent sigh threatened to escape from Jeno’s lips, but the word “money” kept him hostage despite not being interested in a new robbery. “Just give me my task please,” he said while his eyes traveled from Taeyong to the other nineteen people around him: wearing the same black outfits, carrying the same uninterested attitude, and still it was him who got called out. “Easy. You and Yangyang, clean up after the rest leaves.”

“Cleaning up your mess? Am I a trashcan or something?! All I’ve been doing in the past weeks is clean up behind your dirty ass, wiping blood from floors like I’m cleaning snot from a baby’s face” Jeno opened his book of mental complaints, letting them flow out mindlessly. It wasn’t exaggerated as in the past few weeks he had only been paired up with younger members, given the task to make proof disappear as stars disappeared from the night sky. 

“Audition for a different part next time, loverboy” Taeyong shot back upon hearing the complaint about his casting method, his words gaining strength from Donghyuck who was making soppy kissing noises in the background. When was the teasing finally going to stop? Did he prefer scolding instead? Yes, he did. At least scolding wasn't as hard to ignore as bratty behavior. "At least I'm not lonely" Jeno quietly protested despite feeling lonely in the group of twenty other young men, no one seemed to take his side and those who considered taking it were silenced. 

Laughter followed after his words. These were his friends, his enemies hidden behind a tight string that tied them together. This was neo culture technology, and he belonged to the limitless set of demons. 

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

"I'm not from NCT, I'm a part of wayV" Yangyang insisted as he pointlessly raised his finger in the air to prove his point.

Jeno couldn't help but let out an annoyed sigh at the younger boy. After nearly three-quarters of an hour, he was tired of the constant boyish behavior... Little did he know he acted like that too around older members.

"That's the same thing, just not in public. You're even lucky you got in, I bet no one else wanted an annoying orange" Jeno shot back. Pacing back and forth in the dark alley, shadows didn't even follow him as there was no light to give him the double life. "At least I didn't get stuck in a group named dream, with some other teenage kids. Speaking of, when are you going to graduate?"

Jeno swallowed thickly when he heard the question, his focus changing from the annoying boy to the content of the things he said. It was ridiculous to fear a simple graduation while he risked his life at least once a week. No one in the dream team dared to urge a word about graduating, scared it would speed up the process.

Where would he go once he graduated?

Perhaps his rank would be higher as he moved into another unit. Or this was the end of his young life in the environment, or even in the world. Time would give him an answer, though he preferred not knowing the answer to that question.

Dream was a wonderful unit as the name already stated. Wonderful enough to make it sound like they were a clubhouse rather than a gang.

"I don't know" Jeno answered truthfully, his eyes lowering towards the black earpiece in the palm of his hand. With a sigh, his fist clenched around the piece of plastic. "We should focus on the mission now. Even if we're just the blood wipers, I want to know what's going on" he said, moving the earpiece from the palm of his hand into his ear.

Yangyang was quick to follow the lead despite his natural reaction of following his own nature. The millennium kid had made his official debut to the gang in 2019, January to be exact. The training he was required to follow before that date didn't prepare him much for the real job. When he wasn't being annoying, or rather, when he was feeling insecure, he would follow the lead of older members. And apparently, this minute had hit a certain level on his insecurity meter.

Gunshot

The sound seemed to break the talk Jeno and Yangyang had between the two of them but in reality, it was the earpiece that separated their vocal connection momentarily. Nothing but footsteps and some incomprehensible words falling from voices he didn't recognize.

Gunshot

This time things seemed to get more frantic. The quiet footsteps seemed to turn into a nonexistent escape route and he could hear Taeyong yelling something to the rest of the team.

"Take the money"

Protests followed after those words, the same voice from before begging for either his life or the packs of money. But between gangs: there was no such thing as concern for justice, peace, or respect for each other. Humans were no people, they were animals hunting for the prey. 

Gunshot

That was the cue. The third gunshot existed but ended just seconds after its birth. "Go" Jeno announced to Yangyang, pushing the boy out of the alley as he followed behind.

Multitasking between looking around to check surroundings and listening to the other members leaving the site was hard, surely when he had Yangyang to watch over as if he was a toddler from barely two years old.

Time ticked by as the members did their own tasks, as many members left the site: Yangyang and Jeno entered the site, Doyoung and Kun took out their earpieces from their hideout. That's how neo culture technology worked: alone together. Each with an own task, all for one pot of money.

Between the identified color of blood and forgotten bills of green gold. Jeno found himself with one earpiece dangling on his shoulder, replaced by his phone that was currently pressed against his ear.

"I'll be with you soon" he spoke into the phone to break the silence you had offered him. It wasn't an awkward silence until you connected the soppy sounds together with him not saying much, someone else's blood was getting erased from the floor but would drip from his glove-covered fingers instead. "Just be safe, not quick," you said in a soft tone, hushing yourself just in case the walls had ears.

Jeno couldn't help but chuckle softly at your worried nature, totally ignoring Yangyang and the task that he was given. "You know me," he said into the phone, already knowing which answer you would give, and he was waiting for those exact words. Your reply followed not long after, the smile audible as you spoke, "That's why I said it."

"See you soon, y/n"

ıǝʍz

The pearly white silk protected your skin from the fitted sheet that covered the mattress. Smoothly and without friction, your sleepy body turned itself forty-five degrees.

Heaven seemed to live its secret life in your bedroom: no sounds, no such thing as too much or too little. The symbolic golden spoon-fed you and Jeno, in reality, it was made possible with money from robberies and killer contracts.

A soft sniffling sound turned heaven a little bit cold, your eyes opening from your own sounds. Your side felt uncomfortable now that you turned to it but felt the bones through layers of skin, yet, your body had no intention to make you comfortable again.

Next to you was your boyfriend, Lee Jeno, your first and hopefully last. The naturally dark roots fell over his closed eyelids, shielding him away from the miracle of a new day. His broad shoulders half-covered with the sheet, the other half showing up from where the same sheet was crumpled together.

The peaceful feeling made you blink slowly, on the verge of falling back into a light slumber. Until, in the midst of blinking, your eyes noticed the lonely dot on the sheet.

As red as love, shot through the arrow of Cupid.

Sobered up from your drowsy moment, your body untangled itself from Jeno's. Your face hovered close enough to the red dot to see that the dot no longer seemed a dot: whatever it had been before, its wetness had seeped into the sheets overnight to create something that changed the circular form if you looked close enough.

The heap of sheets suddenly felt like a rag covered in blood, and you were in the midst of it. That little dot, that tiny little dot, made you feel even tinier than the few inches it was.

"Lie down, it's cold" Jeno's voice interrupted your silent investigation. A crime scene unfolding as you still had to check whether the blood was from either of you or not, but the map with possible hints was quickly thrown overboard when your boyfriend made his appearance.

Your body was frozen in its position, your lips tightly pursed together which prevented you from giving an answer to your boyfriend. "y/n?" Jeno asked, his eyes finally opening when he realized you weren't lying down with him again. His brown eyes were greeted with your silk-covered back, your shoulders tense enough to make it noticeable. "What's wrong?" Out of worry, he sat up as well, his arm lazily slinging around your shoulder as a sign of comfort.

"Please talk," Jeno said, the hand on your shoulder pushing you into his arms but your muscles wouldn't allow that. It was then that he noticed you were staring at something, his eyes angling themselves the same way as yours in order to see what you were looking at. And that's when he saw it,

the droplet of blood on the Virgin-white sheet.

As used as Jeno was to blood and gore, he found himself staring at the little dry patch for a few seconds. Unlike your mind, his wasn't focused on finding answers to questions, he just stared with a black expression displayed on his face.

"Whose blood is this?" You asked him, your arm pushing his arm as you immediately wanted an answer. Even if it was a lie, an answer was an answer. Jeno licked his lower lip before he separated the upper and lower part to start speaking "It's mine" he uttered out, the two words coming out slow even though he finished speaking after one second.

You looked away from the blood, instead, looking at your boyfriend. A question mark seemed to be written on your face, though, it was only a symbolic sign for your confusion. "Yours?" You asked him, eyes begging for an explanation instead of your words. "Mine. When we were cleaning up the scene I cut myself on a bayonet. I forgot about it and just went to bed"

Jeno's words made you throw off the sheets as fast as possible, not that you wanted to get rid of the little droplet, but if he was telling the truth, you had to clean up the wound for him. "Fuck, Jeno" you whispered in shock as the fitted sheet was now not only white but also had a red gradient in it. The patches were still partially wet, and those that weren't had started to discolor. 

Jeno's eyes didn't follow yours this time, knowing well enough what was going on near the end of the bed. "Let me get everything to clean it up," you said quickly, not waiting for a reply as you got up from the bed and ran around the place to get the first-aid kit.

Minutes after, you found yourself and Jeno sitting on the clean side of the bed. His back pressed against the soft headboard while you sat on top of your pillow, his arm resting in your lap while you took care of the wound. While you cleaned the wound, your tough contract-killer boyfriend had winced due to the stinging of the alcohol in his open gash. He should have been used to it by now, it was something monthly as sometimes they stupidly got hurt during their robberies.

"I should have told you, but you were asleep. And it was past midnight" Jeno tried to explain to you, looking at you rather than the open wound. He wasn't the type to look at it continuously, which probably was surprising seeing his profession. "You should've" you answered to his words, not giving him more attention since you didn't want to mess up and make the cut worse. "I will next time," he told you, but mostly himself. A spoonful of lies that he swallowed down, he wouldn't wake you up in the middle of the night for a stupid cut.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Jeno opened his eyes again for what felt like the second time that day, in reality, it was the second time that day. Tiredness had taken over his body after the crime scene cleanup, or two of them as he could suddenly remember how you cleaned the cut this morning.

"y/n?" He asked out loud, scanning his surroundings momentarily but was quick to conclude that you weren't there with him.

As tired as his body was, he sat up and got out of bed. Replacing his lazy sweatpants by the usual black outfit, not forgetting to layer over the bandage on his arm. No one had to know he got hurt, not even Yangyang knew as he had mistaken Jeno's blood for that of the enemy.

He called out your name again as his steps quickened once he was out of the bedroom. Panic spread through his body as he became aware of his hate for you living in your own apartment instead of at his hideout with the others. No one could protect you, apparently not even him when he was around.

"calm down, Jeno" your voice called out from the kitchen, immediately he followed the sound of your voice, and more than that the scent of fresh breakfast. The frown he unknowingly had on his face was replaced with a look of relief. "I'm calm" he answered, steps slowing down until he was able to reach out to you.

His arm wrapped around your waist in an attempt to pull you closer, or an attempt to apologize for not telling you about the wound. "You didn't even say good morning" he complained in a more playful way, needing affection as he did feel a bit down after what happened and the way he was treated by the others. "It wasn't exactly a good one," you said, trying to smile despite your feelings. Was it disappointment? Or were you just worried about him?

"I know, sorry" Jeno mumbled, his head meaning towards your neck before he placed a tiny kiss upon the skin. He could imagine that waking up to heaps of blood wasn't the most pleasant thing, he didn't have to imagine it though as he had gone through it together with you.

Your standard answer laid on the tip of your tongue, it was only a matter of seconds before your lips parted and you let the words escape. "It's fine" were those words, words that you used weekly if not daily. Jeno knew that it wasn't fine, and you knew that Jeno knew. Yet, neither of you protested against those words.

"I love you, you know that right?" Jeno asked you, his lips trailing towards the side of your face. You had a hard time not smiling, but as soon as his lips were placed against the corner of your lips, those corners curved upwards. "I know" you confirmed, your head lightly tilting to enjoy the warmth of his lips against your skin. "I love you too," you said back to him, finally turning your head for a small peck upon each other's lips.

Breakfast took place on the sofa, the two of you sitting intimately close to each other while having some minor talks. Talks about your life rather than his, because he didn't want to put you at a risk by giving you too much information.

"Why don't you live with us..." Jeno started his sentence but never got to finish as you held up your hand and finished it off for him. "It's a lot safer?" You asked, using your index and middle finger as quotation marks.

He nodded as soon as you finished what he started, nervously tugging on his lower lip with his teeth. "It's a lot safer and we would see each other more," he said. You would say yes because you would see him more, but you still said no because it wouldn't he safer at all. Moving in with him would mean that you stood in the midst of chaos, safe, but one mistake and the circle pulled you in as a guest.

"I don't know, I'll think about it," you said with a tiny smile on your lips, which disappeared due to the frozen reaction of your boyfriend. "Please do," he told you, putting down the finished bowl of cereal before he leaned back.

It seemed like he didn't care after that. Though in his mind war was going on: could he manipulate you into living with him? And did he do it for your safety or just because he wanted to be close to you?

ıǝɹp

Jeno [ 9 : 19 am ] : good morning x

The small hand of the clock had moved itself upwards while Jeno waited for a response, he hadn't heard the seconds tick by but was aware of how slow they were passing.

"Why aren't you awake yet?" He asked himself out loud, unaware of the members that were in the same room as him. Though it was Renjun who decided to get up and make his way towards his friend: as quiet and savage as he was, Renjun cared deeply and was ready to fight anyone who hurt his friends.

"What's wrong?" Renjun asked, his eyes on Jeno rather than his phone to give the man his privacy. Jeno's response was silence for a few seconds, but after a short sigh he decided to speak up. "y/n isn't answering my texts. She was busy today so she can't be sleeping" he said, slamming the phone against his free hand in frustration and worry.

Renjun couldn't help but smile to himself at Jeno's contradicting words. "Did you hear what you just said?" He asked, trying not to laugh because it was cringeworthily adorable to see Jeno worrying so much about you. Jeno didn't reply as he didn't see the point, he knew well enough what he said: you were busy so you couldn't be sleeping, which meant something must have happened to you.

In his head he was already imagining how another gang broke into your home and killed you without mercy, yet, he saw your alive form in his imagination.

"y/n is busy, that means she can't reply to you because she's doing other things. You said so yourself" Renjun pointed out, snapping Jeno out of his filthy imagination. Perhaps Renjun was right but that didn't stop Jeno from worrying about you, and yes, he had reasons to worry about you.

In the meantime Chenle had also joined, his read resting on Renjun's shoulder as he was listening to the conversation. "I think Renjun is right about that. y/n is probably busy, you just said that yourself so why are you expecting her to reply?" the youngster inquired. It wasn't a real inquiry as the two other boys were just trying to make Jeno see the context of the situation and the reason why you weren't replying to a simple morning text.

In their eyes, it had been merely one hour that passed by, in Jeno's eyes it was like you hadn't messaged him all week. It couldn't be ignorance, you would never purposely ignore him, not even on your worst day. The image of someone killing you continued to live on his thoughts.

"I bet you're right" Jeno concluded, his phone dropping on the little coffee table in the middle of the living space. His lips carried a fake smile, unable to kill his thoughts despite the tries of his dream team.

Everyone could see the smile was fake. Even Hendery who was on the other side of the room could see the fabricated facial expression. But no one spoke up about it: not even Renjun and Chenle who had been trying to guide him through the thorny path just seconds ago.

The minutes continued to pass by, it seemed like time had no motive to move forward, perhaps it even wanted to move back to another moment in its big fragment album.

When Taeyong walked in, the time had seemingly decided it was time to follow the leader. "I got our next mission" he declared, holding the big white envelope between his index and middle finger like he was proudly showing it off to the twenty guys in the room.

He opened the envelope, handing everyone a little bundle of white papers. The Korean writing on it revealing who they were supposed to kill, whether they had to take money, and if they could elegantly kill the person or if it would be a bloody job.

"We're killing this man for our mission. He's forty-one years old, one of the better people for his age... At least in his job." Taeyong quickly described as his own information sheet was thrown on top of the table, he knew his victims before they were even his. "Just a bullet through his skull, as elegant as possible. Clean up the scene and that's the job" he continued his plan, it became clear this wasn't a twenty-one people job. A maximum of five people could be assigned to this, otherwise, they would become their own victims.

"Price tag is 100.000 for the hit. Divided by the dream team who will do the job. Jaemin will lead the team and cast the others" Taeyong said, giving a bod as a sign that was all they had to do. Though behind the five-person job was a broader network: people who were always waiting somewhere close in case things got a red code, others who stayed at the hideout but listened through their earpiece and updated on possible information as they kept control over the surrounding streets.

Jeno glanced at his bundle of information. His eyes on the little picture of the man he was supposed to kill, unless Jaemin cast him in the cleaning team again, but he wasn't going to let that happen this time. His eyes needed only one scan over the text to get the man's name and situation, not missing how he had a daughter of nine years old and a son who was merely five. Information about a wife or partner wasn't included but guessed the man had no time for love or his children seeing his profession.

"Jeno, can you come with me? I need to speak to you" Taeyong asked seriously, his eyes on Jeno who still seemed caught up in reading the mission. Jeno looked up slowly but his eyes quickly shifted when the youngest, Jisung, snatched the papers out of his hand and threw them on the table. "Go," he said, trying to do his best on impressing the others even if he had been a part of the team for years.

Jeno nodded his head slowly, getting up from his seat and followed Taeyong towards the empty office space. Once both were in, the door was closed and silence filled the space like furniture was supposed to do.

"Something wrong with you?" Taeyong asked, his arms crossed, and yet his posture seemed open enough to trust him. Jeno shook his head at first: not ready to tell him how he was worried about you, and not ready to tell him even more than just that. "Nope" Jeno answered, his casual speech making him lore suspicious. And Taeyong who saw the tiniest details knew Jeno was giving false information.

"I'm just worried about y/n" Jeno admitted, breaking eye contact as he knew Taeyong could look through him. "I knew this would happen, that's why we don't have girlfriends," Taeyong said, though the tone he said it in didn't match the words, it was sounding more caring than the words truly were. "She didn't reply to my text earlier. It's been over an hour, almost two hours, and she still didn't reply" Jeno continued off where he left earlier, leaving Taeyong’s words in the dark.

"And why are you so worried? Usually, you're too busy to even notice she didn't answer." Taeyong stated, his eyes narrowing as he needed Jeno to specifically tell him what was going on behind the scenes. Perhaps he knew what was going on, but preferred to hear it from Jeno's lips instead.

"because someone sent me a picture of her while she was outside."

ɹǝıʌ

"So you're not staying the night?" You asked Jeno just to be sure, but the way he was preparing his gun didn't make it seem like he would stay the night. Your eyes picked up how he shook his head in response, his lips pursed not to spill more secrets about the contract he had signed for tonight. You would be the one killing him if you heard he was going to kill someone who had two young kids and still half of his life to live. You just didn't understand his job, which was the reason talks about that were nonexistent.

You nodded in response to his little signal, your phone clutched in your hand as you tried to hide a bit of the frustration. Fighting about this wasn't common, but arguments were as for him it was just a delete button that he had to press, while you saw it as killing real humans who had something to live for.

"And I'm going out with Dream after that" Jeno said quickly as he looked up at you, hoping that part would make you smile a bit. And to his surprise, that smile appeared on your lips. "Finally some time for yourself" you commented just as he expected you to. For some reason you always liked to see him doing his own things: going out with his friends, exercising because he loved doing so, going outside without a gun hidden behind his zipped up jacket.

You stood up and let out a silent sigh as you stepped towards your boyfriend. Once he was close enough, your arms wrapped around his body from behind, engulfing his body as you wished he would be safe tonight. "Be safe" you whispered, your nose pressed against his shirt to take in his homely scent.

"Always," Jeno said, his hand brushing over yours as they connected on his stomach. He noticed your smaller fingers under his, his hands standing out more due to the veins and the silver ring around his finger. As a promise he would be safe and come back to you, he slipped the thick band from his finger onto yours. "See if as a promise for now," he said, his body turning towards yours to look into your eyes. You looked surprised, still tense but he could also see a bit of relief upon your face. "You should take my necklace as a piece of good luck," you said, your hands reaching behind your neck to unclasp the piece of jewelry. Once you removed it from yourself, you carefully put it on on him.

"I love you" he whispered as he smiled, the relief you had on your face, reflecting onto his as well. He was more worried about you than himself: even if he stood at a bigger risk to get killed in the mission. "I love you too," you said back with a smile, your hands resting behind his neck where you just clasped the necklace.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your lips, showing you indeed how much he loved you. His arms snaking around your body to hold you close: the fear of losing you still played in the back of his mind even though this time he had managed to hide it well from you.

"I should go now, I still have to get to the hideout and get the others" Jeno whispered against your soft lips, hesitating as he was trying to pull away but the warmth kept his lips glued against yours for a few seconds.

It wasn't him who eventually pulled away as you did, leaving his lips completely after one last peck. "You really should" you whispered as your body separated from his, the lack of warmth making you wrap your arms around yourself. Jeno nodded in agreement, knowing if he didn't leave now, the mission could go horribly wrong even if it was only a few minutes late.

"you don't need to tell me to be safe, I already know," he said with a small smirk on his lips, knowing you wanted to tell him those words once again. You let out a small laugh, your boyfriend knew you a little bit too well. "Still, be safe. And have fun with the boys later" you said, a soft and calm smile on your lips as you tried not to worry too much about your boyfriend... Even if he a part of the best gangs and contract killers, that didn't mean others couldn't make him a victim.

His hand brushed over yours as he walked past you, his presence leaving out of the door as soon as his body did as well.

The fortune-teller in your minds was right, troubles were on the way, even if you hadn't believed now. You would be a believer by the end of the day.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Jeno held the old-fashioned glass with liquor in one hand, the ice cubes within it making a slight ringing sound as the glass was moved towards his lips again.

"Does it take that long to clean up?" Renjun asked with a deep sigh as he glanced at the entrance, waiting until the door opened and the two youngest dream members walked in. But nothing seemed to happen, even if they had been waiting for half an hour already. "Jisung might have gone home, he can't drink anyway" Jaemin answered, an oversized wine glass standing in front of him which made the red liquid cover a part of his face.

Jeno didn't answer as he kept on glancing at the bar, his eyes on the man who seemed to sit there and enjoy his drink alone. "who is he?" Jaemin asked curiously as he tried to catch a glimpse of the man's face. Even though Jeno didn't come alone, he stood up, took his glass, and looked apologetically to his friends. "I have to talk to him, we just know each other," he told Jaemin who didn't seem satisfied with the boring answer.

Jeno went over to the bar and placed his glass down, catching the eyes of the man by just his manner of doing so. "Jeno," the man said with a slight smile on his lips, welcoming Jeno to sit next to him and talk for a little while. "Didn't expect to see you here. You dropped out before we knew it" Jeno said soft, his hand resting under his head in an attempt to look more interested than curious about the ex trainee.

"I wanted to make it alone in the world. More money for myself, fewer chances of getting caught." The man said, his wise words leaving an impression on Jeno even though he wasn't planning on leaving NCT just to get more money. "How about you? Are you still part of NCT?" He asked but already guessed the answer as he remembered Jaemin and Renjun from the few times they had seen each other while training.

"I am. I think I found my place there" Jeno answered with a smile, it felt sentimental to smile while thinking about his group of friends even though they were killers and did other things that no one was supposed to do. "You seem like you belong there, NCT is getting big. You deserve to be a part of it" He answered, his hand loving to Jeno's back to give it a little supportive pat.

Jeno's eyes shifted to the entrance as the door opened again, revealing not only Jisung and Chenle but also the other sixteen members. "I should go," he said to the man as he quickly got up, not wanting to be guilty of talking to someone else who did the same as him. He stood up but instead of going to his friends, he first went to the back of the club to try and call you.

His fingers were quick to find your contact within the list as the amount people that he saw outside of his gang were limited as well. The sight of your contact name already made a smile appear on his lips, he was just in love with you.

The beeping tone made him expect that it would last no longer than a few seconds. At this time of the night, you probably weren't asleep yet, in fact, you were probably waiting for his call. It was like a routine built up for nights when he wasn't going to be around you and yet when he wanted to update you.

"y/n?" He asked as he heard his line being connected to yours, the smile on his lips already prepared for what you were about to say. Slowly the corners of his lips tired themselves out when silence was his only reply.

Jeno repeated your name once again, the phone pressed tightly against his ear like that would make him hear the silence better. "Hello? y/n?" He asked, this time louder in case you hadn't realized you were on the phone with him.

Without realizing, he swallowed away the worries that collected in his throat. His heart seemed to beat slightly faster and out of slight panic, his fingertips quickly made an end to the one-way conversation. Yet, he kept the phone in his hand just in case you would call him back right away, or just to call your number again within a short time.

His feet to him back to the bar as he saw his glass still as filled as before, though, not awaiting for him as much as an unfamiliar black envelope did. The young man he had talked with minutes ago was gone as he had never been there, or like he had been replaced by the envelope.

Jeno's hands were curious and grasped the clasp envelope from the bar and between his two fingers, scanning the paper case for a handwritten message or name. Though only the black color greeted him from every angle possible. It didn't take long before the flap was undone from its glue and opened up.

Nervously his hand stuck inside the paper wrapper, gripping onto anything that his fingers could sense. He felt tense as his hand slowly revealed itself again with all of the collected documentation.

A picture was flipped between his fingers, his eyes unprepared for the image that was burned on the retina just seconds later.

"y/n" he whispered quietly as he stared at the picture of you. Jeno's eyes went over every little detail of the picture: your eyes closed but not entirely, your hands that weren't in the picture but from the angle of your arms they weren't really placed comfortably and your knees that were pulled up towards your chest like you were freezing. Something definitely was wrong.

Wildly Jeno began to look around in the club, searching for the culprit as the envelope couldn't have flown itself to here. His eyes began to examine all of the people around: the members who seemed all occupied in their own thing, a small group of girls who were just having a drink, the people on the dance floor acting drunker than they actually were. But where was the barman? Jeno was about to suspect him until he saw the man return with a few bottles of champagne.

The other documents in the envelope were forgotten as he went to his group, more specifically, Taeyong as he would know what to do. The urge to not say anything and go straight to your apartment overpowered him: anyone was a suspect, even his best friends.

Rational thinking didn't seem to pop up into his mind, straight away leaving the place together with the evidence. Even though he came with the others, he was stupid enough to run all the way to your apartment.

His veins were filled with dynamite

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Steganography

A message within a file, that was what Jeno was staring at. The message had been revealed on the back of your picture, or the picture of you. His eyes scanned each syllable slowly even though, together they would form words that would turn into sentences once they were put together.

Invisible ink. Just those two words didn't sit well with him, and then he wasn't even thinking about the odd fragrance that was now stuck to the picture. Did he ever use invisible ink? No, but he knew people who used it. And those people were a little too close to him.

"It's do or die."

Jeno mumbled as he read out the words, staring at the unfamiliar handwriting until something else caught his eye. In the right corner of the picture was an address written, together with a very specific time. The place he knew all too well: another dark alley between a couple of houses that were open for rent, but no one was willing to live there because it was infamous to be a dealing place or even worse than that.

The words on the back of the picture slowly turned invisible again, so slow that Jeno didn't even notice how they faded before completely disappearing. He didn't need to see them again: it was printed in his mind like the image of his first kiss with you.

He turned his wrist and checked the time, mentally checking if it was close to the time that had been asked of him. "Shit" he silently cursed when he saw that in fact, there were only a few minutes left before he was supposed to be at the given address. Without thinking twice, he bolted from your apartment and started to run the way to the alley, hoping he would get to meet the person who had you captured, but wished it was you who just tried to pull a prank on him together with one of his members.

Though his wish wasn't granted, he didn't need a genie to tell him the wish he made was impossible, he knew it as soon as he stood in the middle of the alley, being over five minutes later than planned. It didn't feel like you could be there, this probably was one of the places you wouldn't even go because you knew what went on once innocent people found themselves in the midst of the gangs.

Silent footsteps made Jeno want to turn around, getting tense at the thought of someone being behind him. His fingertips reached behind his jacket, merely touching the grip of the gun but was interrupted by someone roughly pushing him forward against the brick wall.

Jeno's breathing sped up, perhaps a bit of fear jolted through his body and made his hands tremble so much that the light grip he had on his gun turned into non-existent. Out of habit, his head slightly turned to look behind him but as a result, his head was pushed against the wall roughly.

"where is y/n!" Jeno said loudly, his voice breaking the wince he was about to let out after getting his head bumped against the wall. The sound of a gun cocking made Jeno's eyes get darker, and just like he expected, the cold object was placed against the side of his head in order to keep him still. He was focused on that and that only, wanting to hear every little sound so that he could defend himself when things got out of hand.

Once more his head got pushed against the wall, his forehead falling to the side after it came in painful contact with the stone wall. It was like the world stopped spinning for a while, but once it did, he could hear footsteps running further from him.

His hand instinctively went to his forehead, soothing the possible wound in rough rubs before he turned his body around. Relief washed over him for a mere amount of seconds, until the real realization seemed to hit him: he still didn't have you in his arms, nor did he know who actually led him here. While continuing to rub rough circles over his forehead, his body bent over the lying black envelope. Once again the envelope greeted him without name written on top of it.

His bloody hand was quick to open the new piece of evidence or a new clue towards you, shaking the envelope upside down until its contents fell to the ground. A bundle of A4 papers faced him: more specifically a file that looked similar to how Taeyong received files of those they had to delete off of the world.

The handwritten text over the file screamed out his name before the picture did, the message was clear enough without the picture, and Jeno was willing to comply.

"Kill the informant"

ɟun̤ɟ

The sound suppressor attached to the muzzle of Jeno's pistol faded out most of the noise as a bullet was shot through the informant's skull. Blood spattered against the half-open window but left some small evidence upon Jeno's black coat.

He pulled his gun back as soon as he had reached it a few seconds ago, hiding it behind the long coat that was already in possession of a half confession. His eyes went to the man once more and the heap of files that were waiting on the seat next to him, minus the file Taeyong had taken with him when he left the place a few minutes ago.

A new mission for NCT, perhaps the last one now that Jeno had pressed a delete button in front of the informant's eyes. But he didn't care about that fact: he followed the path of the person who had you and didn't care how different that path was from the path he wanted to follow. Any path where you were on, was the path he would walk on too.

He stepped away from the car and left the place delict, no time for cleaning up messes as Taeyong would have made him do, no one would find out it was him. The man had more enemies than clients, and those clients were left in a dark hole while enemies were on a lovely display. His eyes went from left to right to check the surroundings, walking out in the open street once he saw no one else was around.

His hands were kept in his pocket before it was the two little devils that made people suspect him of unclean actions. He unknowingly wiped the bit of blood in the inside of his pockets, making the little hiding place feel uncomfortably moist and his hands perhaps bloodier than they had been before he put them there.

The walk to the hideout was longer than Taeyong's car ride, of course, as Taeyong drove past the speed limit. Wasn't fast driving a privilege of being a gang member too? Probably not but there was no reason he would keep the speed to its original limit at midnight. If he had known Jeno would be behind him, he would have given the younger member a ride, but that was the secrecy in friendship. No one needed to know Jeno was behind the murder of the informant and no one needed to know that Jeno was on the hunt for you.

"Jeno is back from his girlfriend. Did you get laid again, lucky boy?" Ten teased as soon as he saw who walked inside, it wasn't hard to guess as only one member was missing from the hideout, and as usual, that member was Jeno. Jeno dug his hand deeper into his pocket in an attempt to hide the blood on his hands and sleeves, clenching his fist in anger when Ten started his endless teasing.

No one could do it like Ten, sure Haechan was the biggest brat out of them, but there was no one as manipulatively teasing as Ten. The sweet smile he carried on his lips while he was at it made people want to punch him straight into the face, but it's what the boy did best. "I didn't," he said, holding himself back from saying that he hadn't been around you since you'd been kidnapped, but he wisely shut his mouth before the tea boiled over the pot.

"Admit that you did. You're such a pussy" Ten shot back and rolled his eyes, a laugh escaping from his lips as he seemed to see a flustered look in Jeno's eyes. Protective sub-leader Kun gave Ten a shove against the shoulder in order to stop the Thai man from provoking even more "stop it" he whisper-yelled although it was loud enough for Jeno to catch the words from a distance.

Jeno looked away, missing one last smirk that Ten gave him. He was about to go to the room he had for himself in the hideout, luckily he was the one who didn't have to share a room as his roommates would have easily found out what happened behind their backs.

"Meeting time" Taeyong announced right before Jeno was about to walk away from the others. A fake hum left his lips as Jeno turned around again to face his group. "Can I change first, I've been running from y/n's place to here and I'm sweaty" he said, making up the excuse without thinking twice about the unathletically long coat that covered his body, and the fact that there was no droplet of sweat running down his defined facial features.

"An hour. You all get an hour and now stop complaining" Taeyong answered unexpectedly, making Jeno get away with the lies he told and he wasn't planning on waiting another few seconds so that Taeyong could realize the lies. He went to his room at a fast pace, his hands urging to take off the coat before he even entered his room.

The bedroom door closed behind Jeno, shielding him in his own little cocoon for a maximum of sixty minutes. His mind ran overtime while Jeno tried to empty it from all thoughts: his layers of clothes getting taken off like a book revealing all of its secrets.

The blood-covered coat got its original spot back in his closet but with rolled-up sleeves, and the gun back in his drawer where he would always keep a gun out of safety. Despite it being after midnight, the reflection of the mirror picked up how he changed into a pair of black jeans and a white shirt. So formal for no one and nothing.

He picked up his phone from the bed before sitting on the spot where his phone lied before. His fingerprint unlocked his device so that his eyes didn't have to stare at the picture of you and him for too long, he didn't want to be reminded of the fact that he wasn't able to protect you. Even though he didn't want that, he found himself scrolling through heaps of collected messages to and from you.

Text messages that had been keeping souvenirs alive from even before you disappeared: messages that had been kept into his phone for months, messages that he would read whenever he felt down but couldn't reach out to you. Each time he scrolled past a sugary sweet message, he smiled at the memory of even sweeter memories with you.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Jeno brought his hand up to his eyes as soon as the feeling of being awake brought him back to reality. A cold but painful material scraping over his skin as he was in the process of rubbing his eyes, which made him pull away and open his eyes faster than the light allowed him to adjust to the new situation.

He opened the palm of his hand, still a little drowsy from the abrupt awakening, making something fall from his hand and onto his lap.  A silver necklace chain leading the trail to the charm of your necklace and his ring dangling from it as well.

His fingers tightened around the silver, lifting it in the air to examine it. His eyes soon enough fell to the charm that had been yours until you gave it to him as a sign of good luck, he would have smiled at the memory if it weren't for the ring dangling next to it. The same ring he put on your finger just a little over a day ago.

As the band twisted itself around the chain, Jeno's eyes continued following each little movement it created. He could clearly remember the way he slid it onto your finger like he would when he proposed, he could even remember how he said something about a promise.

The tight grip became a clenched fist as realization seemed to spread through his body, eyes never tearing away from the necklace. Looking at it wouldn't give him an answer to the simple question in his mind, but at least he received a hint. The hint that would open a new path towards you: and he was going through every little obstacle to get to you.

His fingertips began to thread around the little chain, consuming it within his first until only the little clasp was left to see. He could feel the charm leaving its print in the palm of his hand due to how hard he was squeezing the material, the pain was nothing compared to anything he had ever felt, but everything was nothing compared to losing you.

"it's one of us," Jeno told himself quietly, knowing very well someone - the culprit - could be listening from outside the door. His footsteps were loud as he approached the door and swung it open rather roughly which made it slam against the plain wall.  The hallway didn't seem as empty as it always had been, perhaps because he knew someone had been in his room the moment he fell asleep.

A hesitant step was made, glancing right, and left to get a better view of the hall. Even though he couldn't see anyone, it was hard to convince himself that no one was here: the others could be in the main space or in their own rooms, perhaps even out of the house. But out or not: it was one of them.

With forty minutes left before the new mission meeting would start, Jeno dashed from his room to the common room, his head wildly spinning from one side to the other to get a glance of those that were in the room. After a brief glance, he had managed to count all twenty people that needed to be there but still, his eyes weren't able to detect the perpetrator.

"Something wrong?" Jaehyun asked, immediately receiving Jeno's eyes on him. Jaehyun looked as confident as usual, especially with the deck of cards in his hands like he was sure that he would win the game already. Around the same table as him sat Taeil, Mark, Hendery, and Doyoung waiting for the cards to be dealt. "You look as if you've been visited by a ghost" Hendery pointed out, laughing at his own words even though they weren't funny. "Grab a drink and join us, we're not playing for money this round" Taeil said after silencing Hendery's loud laughter by just giving him the slightest slap on his thighs.

Without responding, Jeno used his eyes to go over everyone once more before he turned away and went back in the direction of his room. Not one of them looked like they were capable of kidnapping you but at the same time they all looked like suspects in his eyes: the words Hendery said nearly made it sound as if he had been in the room, and Jaehyun's confident glance gave away a little too much pride. Members who hadn't said anything seemed a little too quiet to be innocent.

Jeno reached to his room again and sat back at the same spot where he found himself falling asleep earlier. The piece of jewelry tightly clutched in his hand as his mind was drifting towards you again, the pretty memories overshadowed by the feeling of betrayal. Twenty possibilities but who was the hidden cynosure?

⋅ ⋅ ⋅ (this involves a listing system with flashbacks so don't read if you don't want to)

Taeyong and Ten "It would be better if I was the leader," Ten said to Taeyong, a smirk on his lips as the younger boy provoked even more by sitting on top of the desk. His fingertips lingering over a couple of files that laid around, hoping to get burned before anyone would see them. "I don't think so, you'd kill one of us" Taeyong answered Ten, not caring if the words were straightforward, everyone knew it was the truth. Ten could kill either of them for the leading position, but in reality, all of them would. "At least I wouldn't withhold money as you do, Taeyong"

Taeil "I get the first shot, I'm the oldest" Taeil announced as shots were being poured into the tiny glasses, more than half of it spilling past the mini-glasses but everyone seemed to blind to notice. "So that's one of the benefits of being the oldest?" Xiaojun asked in a rather playful way, though was not prepared to receive the attention of a pair of serious eyes. "If you'd only know my benefits, you'd feel poor."

Johnny, Jaehyun, and Mark "Do you think we should mislead him?" Mark asked with a tiny devilish laugh as he looked at Doyoung in the distance. Jaehyun's half-smirk didn't disappoint, showing off his sweet dimples but the smirk was what made it mischievous "I think we should" he said to Mark but looked at Johnny. Johnny twirled the car keys around his finger while he listened, of course, he was willing to mislead Doyoung, anything so that it wasn't him who had to clean up the blood. "Get out. We're leaving."

Yuta "Do whatever you want, I don't want to be a part of this" Yuta said as he raised his hands, instead of surrender it was a sign of how he wasn't going to participate anymore. The body of a man who wasn't meant to be killed hanging over the table as his last breath had been let out minutes ago. Some furiously began to clean up the mess in order not to get caught, but Yuta only watched as everyone worried. He sat on his knees, picking up some fallen money and shoved them into his pocket behind everyone's back.

Kun and Renjun "Tell my parents that I'm dead," Renjun told Kun, his expression staying blank as he said the words. Kun shook his head almost right away, sighing in disappointment. "Why would I do that?" Kun asked, glancing around the room to see if anyone was around, no one seemed to be around but walls still had ears. "They have been calling me non-stop and they don't need to know I like killing people for a living!" Renjun exclaimed, nearly showing his phone to the older member but stopped himself as he didn't want to give too much private information. "You shouldn't like killing people, Renjun" Kun said, trying to keep his voice down as the light footsteps seemed to come closer to them. "You shouldn't either, yet you did it for fun before joining us, right?"

Doyoung, Jaemin, and Haechan How was it that Taeyong's office was opened in the early hours of the morning? Did he leave it behind like that after he drank too much and forgot about the secrets that he was supposed to keep? "Look at the money" Jaemin whispered as he pulled Haechan inside of the office without hesitation, the pink-haired boy saw no problem in going inside to take the money. "Doyoung?" Haechan asked with a smirk as he saw an older member being nosy, or more than that, taking the bills of money out of the desk drawers. "Aren't you supposed to share with us?" Haechan asked, faking more interest while he looked at Jaemin with a slight smirk. Caught in the act. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed, nosy kids?"

Winwin The gunshot made everyone in the scene look up, but Winwin didn't seem to catch their eyes, his attention was on the prey and the prey only. The young man that was barely older than him limping in any way that was free to go, but a hunter wouldn't let his prey escape, right? Another gunshot filled the silence of the room, blood splashing right before the man's body hit the dirty ground. "Winwin, stop," someone told him, but Winwin had no intention of stopping himself. He went up to his victim, kicking against his body before the third gunshot left its mark on the man's forehead.

Jungwoo and Jisung "How are we supposed to set this up, Jungwoo!" Jisung screamed worriedly as he looked at the scene in front of him. Used bullets covering the floor but no victim in sight, simply because the victim no longer was a victim after he ran from the scene. "I don't know, just make fake blood and tell Taeyong he's been killed!" Jungwoo said, his voice filled with worry but also disappointment in himself. Jisung was about to speak and tell Jungwoo it was an impossible idea, but before he could even start, Jungwoo had already laid a new idea upon the table "we'll just kill someone else"

Lucas and Yangyang "We could easily disappear now" Yangyang whisper-yelled to the other WayV member, the hideout quieter than ever before as they were the ones who stayed there to lead everything and watch over from their position at home. "And what? Let the others get killed in this mission and have no money. The one who survives will hunt us down" Lucas said back, trying to make Yangyang change his mind. Though the youngster was hard to convince when the genius ideas took up a certain amount of space in his brain. "Don't say you don't want to. You kill everyone and I take the money" Yangyang said, licking his lip as if the thought only made him horny. "How about you kill everyone and I take the money" Lucas answered.

Xiaojun and Chenle "Let's burn down these files," Chenle said as he collected all of the papers that he found, all files of people who had already been robbed from their existence in this life. Xiaojun gave Chenle a look and got up from the chair "hang on, I have something else that needs to get burned" he said as he quickly ran to his room, took the object he wanted erased and returned. A couple of minutes later the two of them stood by the fire, watching evidence burn. "So what did you throw in there? Chenle asked, curiosity taking him over. "Invisible ink, needed it once or twice" Xiaojun answered casually.

Hendery Hendery's gun was aimed at Ten, or more specifically at his head like he was about to end the man's career before it even reached its climax. "Do you wanna die?" he asked, his finger on the trigger which made Ten reach his hands up in surrender. The power that Hendery felt made him spin some degrees to end up at another possible victim "do you wanna die, hm?" he asked Mark, a maniacal laugh slipping past his lips as he was unable to hold himself back. Power was a great thing, was it not?

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

"So in front of you, you will be able to see the new mission," Taeyong said as he motioned to the papers in front of every member, laid out unlike usual which made Jeno glance from bundle to bundle just to see if his was any different from the others.

Before falling out of tone, he held up the bundle of papers just like the others. He pretended to be interested in what he was reading, but his eyes not once read the text that was typed down in black syllables. Another sense of his was working hard on its job, despite the fact that it had to be hidden.

Invisible ink. Or at least the scent of invisible ink imprinted on the last page of the little bundle, probably the last page as it drew less attention than on the first one.

Everything Taeyong said went in one ear and came out of the other one, but this time Jeno was smart enough to sometimes reply with a hum, yes or no. From what he understood: there were no people that stayed at the hideout, no one to clean up the mission as it was too serious to waste time or leave members. A lot of money was promised, but only if the mission went exactly like it had been asked of them.

"When is the mission?" He heard Winwin ask Taeyong, the blonde-haired boy already mentally preparing for the fun he would have. Though at this moment it wasn't Winwin that Jeno suspected, suspect number one carried a different name.

Xiao Dejun

Why was Xiaojun his first suspect? Because he had seen Xiaojun burning the bottle of invisible ink together with Chenle. But Chenle didn't matter in the story as he hadn't been the one saying he used the bottle of invisible ink.

Jeno glanced at Xiaojun from time to time, each time his eyes got darker as he felt his heart beating faster. Luckily Xiaojun was too busy with pretending to listen to their leader, pretending, just like he seemed to pretend to be everyone's friend while he was the devil in disguise.

"Tomorrow," Taeyong said shortly, since it was included in the file and Taeyong wasn't the type to waste his time answering stupid questions. "But leave. I don't want to see any of you in this room, I have things to take care of" he said, urging everyone out by using his strict voice.

Without holding himself back, Jeno stood up from the chair and disappeared from the eyes of the others. The file was tightly gripped between his fingers, not noticing how he was crumpling the paper out of anger. Footsteps and voices followed behind him: he could recognize Lucas speaking Chinese to Hendery but had no idea what they were telling each other.

He quickly opened the door to his room, and as fast as possible slammed it shut once he was inside. It was as if outside his room a war was going on: all suspects but no one who dared to admit their deeds, despite doing it for a living pretty much. His mind traveled further, to the point where he started to imagine all twenty members being against him and coming up with the plan to kidnap you. Though, he still had some trust in a few of them… his dream team belonging to those few.

A couple of minutes later, Jeno found himself in his bedroom, reading the message that had been written over the last page of the bundle. It was faint but Jeno could see it clearer than it actually was. The set of numbers was not just a set or a code to decipher, it was a phone number presented to him. It had the same amount of numbers as a phone number and started with the right combination to belong to the country.

Jeno dropped the papers on the bed and frantically began to look for his phone. The sheets on the bed getting messier with each rough roam his hand did around the limited space. "Fuck" he cursed silently as he remembered, and not a second after, fished his phone out of his back pocket.

The faint number had stopped showing itself but Jeno needed no reminder, his memory was still fresh despite the many thoughts ghosting through his mind. His fingertips pressed each digit carefully, almost making sure that there was no chance to make a mistake in the phone number. Lastly, his finger hit the call button before he tightly pressed the phone against his ear.

"…Jeno"

Your voice made Jeno sit up straight even though in nervousness, he stood up from the bed, ready to come and get you wherever you were at this moment. He nearly forgot that you were kidnapped and unable to randomly leave whenever you wanted, even though, it had never been confirmed someone kidnapped you.

"y/n, it's me, Jeno" he whispered into the phone, using his second hand to shield over the phone. One of his feet kept on turning from left to right as the bundle of nerves in his stomach was slowly getting bigger, it was already a good thing it couldn't explode.

He listened to your breathing while you listened to the sound of his voice and cherished it for the shortest seconds in your lifetime. "Jeno, I'm sorry" you whispered silently into the phone, it seemed like you were close to the phone one second but further away from it the next, so, Jeno could guess that you were shaking and unable to control your voice. "Don't be sorry y/n, you're going to be fine. I'm going to come and get you once I figure out where you are" he said to you, trying to calm his voice so that you would calm down as well.

"You have to do something for me. There's a mission" you said to his surprise, another mission, the sound of that only made him more nervous as there were once again chances that he would fail. No one told him what it meant if they failed, but there was that little ugly spark that told him exactly what would happen if he did. "What is it?" he asked, taking a deep breath to prepare himself.

"You have to…." you started but halted before you said anything more, the words getting stuck at the tip of your tongue. You wanted to say them but you could feel the guilt washing over yourself before you were even able to pronounce the name of the person that would be dead within days. "You have to kill Taeyong."

Jeno swallowed thickly when he heard what mission number two would involve. His ears heard it right as the voice in his mind was able to repeat the words over and over again until the name Taeyong would no longer exist in his mind. "Taeyong?" he asked you softly, keeping his voice as quiet as possible just in case someone was listening from the next room or just out the door. Perhaps Taeyong was the kidnapper and just wanted to see who Jeno would choose for at the end of the story.

You let out a soft noise as a sign he was right when he said Taeyong. Jeno knew you were selfless enough to think that they should kill you instead of Taeyong, but also knew you deserved another chance to live which was why you didn't tell him to choose Taeyong.

"Who did this y/n? You have to tell me everything you know" Jeno asked, he had no idea if his previous guesses were genuine. By now, he had already suspected everyone at least once, but he couldn't put the label on when he couldn't even guess properly who was capable of doing something like that. "D-did you hear me wrong?! I said kill Taeyong, not Taeil, not Jaehyun. Between. Between now and tomorrow" your voice stuttered over each word that passed your lips, clearly, this wasn't your original message.

Jeno was quiet for a little while, to let the words sink in, yet, he couldn't help but hear footsteps on your side of the line. The shaky breaths you let out against the phone, making it clear someone was around you, and that someone was monitoring your words. "Between?" he asked silently, praying the speaker wasn't on so that it was only you who heard him instead of one of the twenty possible options he had in his head. "Exactly," you said back to him, almost letting out a sigh of relief when your hint had been successfully delivered to him.

"Listen to me y/n. I will get you out of there, I will do anything to save you" Jeno said in a softer voice, knowing now that the message had been delivered, there wasn't much time left for you to talk to him. He wanted to continue speaking to you for hours, but he was wise enough to know how time was money, and in this case, time was a bigger chance to lose focus and get caught. "Be safe" you whispered soft, tears were streaming down your cheeks as a gun was placed against the side of your head, it cost you a lot to not scream and get killed that second.

"Always" Jeno whispered back into the phone, hearing how you were crying silently from the way you said the words. He wished he could embrace you and tell you that all was over, or better, that all had been a bad dream. Though he could pinch his skin over and over again, and open his eyes in the same dimension. His mouth opened to speak again, but the abrupt beeping tone made him close it again.

Not Taeil, not Jaehyun.

Between.

Suspect count: six

sɥɔǝs

4:59 am

A sleepless night and yet Jeno found himself being filled to the brim with adrenaline and nerves, more than energetic, he was left restless after what happened some hours ago.

Jeno would lie if he said that his mind had ever stopped producing thoughts in the past hours, the thoughts only doubled themselves until he went over every possible suspect and worked out a fitting theory for them. But outside of the possible suspects, there was also the fact he was going to shoot a bullet through the skull of the person that gave him a new chance in life. Lee Taeyong.

He forgot for a moment between his six suspects, there was also the leader he was so fond of, that exact same person that gave him his life here. If he killed Taeyong, what was going to happen to NCT? What would happen to each one of them? They were nothing without Taeyong, despite WayV leader Kun's presence.

His thoughts momentarily got killed when the office door opened and after a second was slammed shut once again. What followed after were Taeyong's footsteps going through the common room and towards the door that led outside, darkness out the hideout made his plan entirely possible right now.

Jeno was silent enough as he followed behind Taeyong, knowing the older male wouldn't have one single idea that someone was keeping up with the pace of his footsteps. The walk outside began to get darker with each step further from the hideout: darker because of what was going to happen but at the end of the tunnel, there was a light that would lead Jeno to find you again.

The thought of finding you seemed to speed up the pace of his footsteps, or perhaps it was because he saw Taeyong sneaking between a small street that had old buildings on either side. The dark figure of Taeyong was still easy for Jeno to recognize, though easy to recognize didn't make him an easy target. Together with Ten, Taeyong was one of the better people in his profession, followed up by Jisung who had the skills but had too much of a soft heart to eliminate people from the earth.

A tiny grin was hidden on Taeyong's lips, his tongue running past his lower lip as the sudden catch and shoot game revolved around him as the head character. How did he figure out Jeno was behind him? Simple. There had been twenty pairs of shoes at the door whilst no one had left the house, and then again, which loser that wanted to play a game like this left the light in the common room on at that hour of the day?

Taeyong's feet quickened once again, the straight street making it easier for him to get lost in the darkness like he was an almost invisible shadow on the cold ground. Not even two meters away was his little game buddy: nearly like they were sitting next to each other in the PC room, two different views in one single game.

Though Jeno was left one step behind as the narrow street no longer seemed to give him little hints on where Taeyong was, absorbed in the darkness which almost made it seem as if he was alone here if it weren't for the strong presence that Taeyong left behind wherever he went.

Jeno quickly moved further into the little path he knew Taeyong followed, a mix of emotions filling his heart but no space to let it out in this narrow place. His fingertips wrapped around the gun that he had been hiding in his coat pocket, and with one little finger flick, the safety barrier was now turned off. His only worry: where was Taeyong?

"What game are we playing, Jeno?"

Two pairs of footsteps came to halt right at the same moment, a crossover making it seem like two cars wanting to go over the intersection at the same time, and neither of them were playing it fair.

Jeno thickly tried to swallow away the bundle of nerves he had, his hands gripping tighter in the pocket of his coat, his index finger on the trigger as still, he was prepared to play the game until he made it to the finish.

"I don't think we're playing here," Jeno said as he slapped away Taeyong's hand that was dangerously close to his shoulder. Though his hand retrieved as soon as a sharp object came in contact with the tender skin, the cold metal only meant one thing: a knife.

Jeno slowly turned his head to the right to see Taeyong standing there, the knife in his hand paying a little bit too much attention to the exposed bit of skin on his collarbone. "That was still tolerable for a first hit, right?" Taeyong asked, the grin on his face never disappearing. Jeno had to keep in a wince: feeling the blood seep from his hand onto the ground, the contrast of the warm blood running over his cold fingers only made his head spin more.  "I don't think you know what tolerable is, how would you know? You kill people for a living" pushed past his lips, mentally hitting himself in the face to keep him from getting distraught by the thought of you or the wound on his hand.

"And you do? If I'm correct you're the one who came with a plan to kill y/n's ex and never told her about that dirty little secret. I bet guilt never tasted as sweet as when the bullet hit his non-existent heart" Taeyong pointed out, his tongue running over his teeth as he was trying to make his words more intense. Now that Taeyong said the words, Jeno felt the bittersweet lies on the tip of his tongue. The only gunshots that were memorable to him, combined with the facial expressions of your ex as soon as he knew his end was near, the way he didn't smile in the end which only brought more peace to Jeno's mind at that time. "I didn't kill him for the laughs, I did it for y/n" he protested before Taeyong could continue to dig into the past, a past where there were more truths than lies, at least that was when Taeyong did the digging. "Ah, I get it. You did it for the money so that you could buy y/n the necklace, paid by the money of her ex… You're right, that's real love"

Jeno's hand moved as he tightly gripped the gun and pulled it from his pocket. "I'm sorry Taeyong, I'm going to eliminate you," he said, his words faster than his actions as his finger managed to quiver over the trigger whilst he brought the gun up towards his leader. A loud laugh left Taeyong's lips, the heel of the knife hitting against the gun as a sign there was no way the gun was going to get unloaded by the end of the little game. "Why is that? Out of all twenty possibilities, you choose me?" he asked a little more seriously than before.

The tip of the knife pushed against Jeno's exposed collarbone, drilling into the skin before the younger male had a chance to stop his leader. "Say it" Taeyong spat out, his eyes getting wider as he saw a wound under the tip of the knife. The cold caress wasn't going to end anytime soon if Jeno kept his lips pursed like that. "I'm going this for y/n," Jeno said, his lips no longer pursed which made a wince leave his lips before he could stop himself. Why did this hurt more than getting shot by the enemy?

"True, I nearly forgot, that makes it tolerable"

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Unknown [ 9 : 42 pm ] : failed

Jeno's eyes were greeted with the six lettered word on his iPhone display, after exactly fifteen seconds the word said goodbye and faded out on the screen. The tight grip on his phone seemed to fade along with the brightness until the little device made a soft landing on his lap.

He ran his fingertips through his black hair, all possible scenarios colliding in his mind, but there was no conclusion to take at the end of the day.

After the early encounter with Taeyong, his suspect count had gone down to five. There was no way Taeyong could be a suspect: who would ask to get killed by a younger person, especially the leader of the gang. It was like he scribbled over Taeyong's name in his mind and didn't bother looking at the scribbles once more.

Without realizing, his fingertips went up to his neck, ignoring the plaster-covered wound on his collarbone as he delicately touched the necklace around his neck.

His fingertips caressed over the little charm dangling from the silver chain, feeling the initials of your name but also his own name at the back of it. Love gifted to you with money from your ex-boyfriend, he no longer could deny Taeyong was wrong when he said those words earlier.

Next to the chain was the ring he had given you with a promise, his own ring as it didn't feel like you. It felt like his ring, that he simply gave to you together with a promise he couldn't keep. His finger slid between the silver but pulled back before it could steadily test around his finger.

Unknown [ 10 : 08 pm ] : immediately

The phone lit up again as soon as the same number sent another text to Jeno's number. This time Jeno didn't hold the phone in his hand while reading it, from his lap, he had an excellent view over the text even though he didn't want to see it.

Before the standard fifteen seconds were over, his phone's brightness decided to stay together with a new message addressed towards him. This time more than one word, more than just stupid pieces that didn't bring him closer to you.

An address.

Jeno glanced at the time on his phone and let out a sigh as he realized this was the moment he had to choose: D-day which basically was a mission where a lot of money was involved together with the entire team, or saving you from the hands of one of those teammates. How was he even meeting up with one of them when not even in an hour, they had to be at a completely different location for the endgame.

He stood up from the bed and immediately started to collect a heap of objects he could possibly use in this momentum. A gun without silencer as he was done with little games, his phone just in case he would receive more hints than just the address, and of course his usual coat that would somehow have to replace a bulletproof vest.

Cynosure

His footsteps were loud as he ran from his room into the common room, barely put on his combat boots, and with a loud slam left the hideout.

He didn't even notice how his team members had been staring at him as if he was a fool, but no one was willing to help a fool. Though rather than not willing, it was the case of not being able to as Jeno hadn't shared the context with anyone.

The person who knew the most was walking amongst them, and surely that person wasn't lenient enough to help him.

"Where is he going?" Jungwoo asked as he sipped from his late-night coffee, knowing there was not one chance to yawn during the upcoming hours. The sweet taste of sugar in coffee made him blind to the bitter situation his younger member found himself in. A dart was thrown between Jungwoo and Doyoung who was about to reply, hitting the board with a light thud. "Going to y/n, get some dick before we get our victory," Haechan said as a giggle pushed past his lips, eyes never breaking contact with the dart that found itself pinned right in the middle of the board.

"he knows the rule: if he doesn't participate. More money for the rest"

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

The soles of Jeno's shoes seemed to get worn out a lot faster than usual, these days he seemed to live in the black pair of combat boots. But today they felt exceptionally worn out compared to yesterday.

The combat boots helped him to run through narrow streets. Streets he had never seen even though he found his way through them with ease. Both left and right seemed to end up in the same streets if it weren't for the little name tags and numbers upon the brick walls of the building.

His footsteps faded out as he tried to pause his running. His breathing deep even though he wasn't out of breath or tired from running. His eyelids covered his brown eyes as he tried to recall the address in his mind, even though he was sure he knew, he wasn't confident in trusting himself.

Silently and without a word, he repeated the address inwardly. Once. Twice. And when he lost count because he was so focused, he knew he could continue with his mission.

He picked up his pace again, needing only a couple of seconds before he was at his maximum speed once again. His eyes wildly drifting to everything suspicious around him: every little letter on white tags and every number next to a door. Wasting time was something he didn't do when the first few letters didn't match with the address in his head, he no longer would spend time on it.

It was like he was running through a maze where every little path ended up somewhere in the middle of nowhere. His feet were finally starting to get tired and painful from the neverending fight against time and a stranger that actually was his teammate.

Jeno ran past another little path, scanning the surroundings rather than the tag that was right in front of his eyes. As soon as he wanted to look in front of him again to continue, his eyes met the name from up close. Two steps passed the little street, his feet came to an abrupt halt.

This was it.

The tip of his shoe was dragged against the ground whilst taking a step back towards the little street to his left. The big two steps from seconds ago, became small and slow steps to make himself more camouflaged in the darkness.

He turned his body to the street before he was able to take his first step towards the new path. The repetitive setting staring at him as he felt like the main character, especially when his eyes didn't meet with any of the suspects.

"I'm here, what do you want from me!?" Jeno shouted loudly as his first step forward happened right in the middle of his sentence. His eyes didn't see anyone around, yet, he had yelled out to anyone willing to hear him.

This time it wasn't him getting stared at, his eyes moving clockwise around his surroundings. The houses that seemed to be evenly abandoned like the others, the shards of glass lying on the ground between the cobblestones, the bags of trash collected against one home which made the smell less than pleasant.

Why was he alone?

After hesitating due to his thoughts for half a minute, he started the path further into the street. The stench of the bags of filth filling his nostrils more and more with each step that he took.

It was like the odor took over more than half of the thoughts in his mind. The thoughts he had disappearing rather than being replaced by other thoughts.

Your fragrance.

Jeno swallowed away the fictitious thoughts until the odor solemnly remained.

His nose attempted to identify the strange mix of scents unknowingly. His footsteps following the progress by taking tiny steps towards the place where the scent was only getting stronger.

A molecule of your fragrance contested with the unfamiliar but unpleasant odor as he got closer to the bags of trash. The stench seemed to lose its battle as Jeno limited himself to the molecule of you around him.

Other senses helped him to find more particles of you: his hands spread in order to feel something in case you were close, his ears ready to focus on the sound of your voice, his eyes moving from spot to spot.

You were the cynosure.

His vision stopped at a low point that seemed to catch his eye due to the little details that didn't match with similar positions. Between the different colored trash bags, he could see a white piece of fabric sticking out slightly.

Kneeling down, Jeno started to investigate the piece of fabric from up close. Luckily the ground managed to keep him steady upon seeing the little droplet splattered on the white fabric.

The droplet of blood on the Virgin-white piece of clothing.

As used as Jeno was to blood and gore, he found himself staring at the wet patch for a couple of seconds. Fragments of time seemed to travel through his mind, taking him to one specific moment.

The time the two of you woke up together, his blood resting between both of you after he got wounded during one of his tasks.

This time, the blood wasn't his.

His fingertips no longer delicately wanted to touch the piece of evidence. Instead, his hands started to roughly move the trash bags out of the way.

His fingers were hurting from the dirt they pushed aside but it didn't stop him from moving the last few to the middle of the street. For some reason, his eyes hadn't seen the slow reveal that happened with the removal of each bag, perhaps because he feared what hid underneath them.

On the other hand, his eyes had no choice but to watch the result unveiled. A lump of air got trapped in his throat when the sight wasn't what he predicted.

Around him, the world continued to spin and he felt dizzy living in that frame of time. Together with the rest of his body, his skin felt numb to the salty tear that fell from his eyes and onto his cheek.

"y/n" Jeno whispered as his hands roughly grabbed your white-clothed shoulders, shaking them which only gave him a fabricated response.

Seconds silently ticked by as Jeno waited, or hoped for a short response to push itself past your lips. His hands remained upon your shoulders as he waited, the grip tightening with each second that ticked by. "y/n c'mon" he nearly begged, the last bit of hope soon making space for grief.

A loud wail left Jeno's lips as you had no response to give. Your lips parted but not one word escaped from them, yet, Jeno continued to stare at them as if you would move them to speak any second.

"I'm so sorry" Jeno whispered through the sobs that left his lips, making the words incomprehensible as they had to make space for his emotions. His hands were no longer tightly attached to your lifeless body, instead, he found his fingertips trembling inches away from your face. Too scared to caress the face he had kissed hundreds of times.

His head hung low, allowing the tears to fall onto the dry ground. A cough left his lips once he managed to catch a glimpse of the large red spot that coated the upper half of your heavenly-white outfit, under the lace he could see how the elegant prints had been colored in by your blood. Despite dry heaving, he held the coughs quiet, giving his cries the full freedom.

Your fingertips that seemingly were holding onto something non-existent were resting in the middle of your lap, placed like an old doll. Jeno took your hand in his, ignoring the liquid that was no dripping between the connection you two had. He brought your hand up to his face, making it rest against his warm cheek as he continued to free his emotions from their cage.

"y/n" Jeno whispered quietly, your fingertip brushing against his upper lip as he quietly moved your fingertips to place them where he would want to feel your love. The way your thumb would move over his upper lip and slowly run over his cupid's bow in the process. His lip pouted merely, pressing a little piece of affection upon your cold skin. "Sorry for not being able to keep the promise" he whispered to you, swallowing as he felt the silver chain of the necklace nearly burning through the pockets of his pants.

He pulled out the little piece of jewelry, staring at it with hatred in his eyes. How could a stupid piece of jewelry ruin his beautiful moment with you? His view changed as he remembered the ring was his promise to you, held in his hand as it gave him a chance to make a new and lasting promise.

"always" Jeno whispered, remembering quite a few times where he had used the word to indicate that he would be safe, and each of those times always took the second meaning that he would come back to you. He detached the ring from the necklace, holding it between his thumb and index finger. Delicately, he slid the ring back onto your finger, sealing the promise with the gesture.

Tears fell from his eyes, cleaning away bits of your blood away from his cheek. Blood could be washed away, but pain couldn't. Around the heart filled with love, a layer of pain had coated itself.

Always.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Unknown [ 10 : 58 pm ]  : game over?

Jeno furiously wiped under his swollen eyes as the brightness made him incompetent to read the message that had been sent to him. Though rather than retrieving his eyesight, he got rid of dried-up tears upon his skin.

His eyes read over the two simple words that formed an unneeded question together. In his eyes, it was obvious that the little game had been played, and he was chosen as a first place in being a loser. His game had cost him more than his life was worth, and no matter what price he paid, there was no second chance in which he could prove he deserved to win.

That's when real life and memories started to collide again in his head, not like they did before by ruining him even more, but by realistically telling him there was a mission to finish. D-day was what they called it, and now he realized why it was named that beforehand.

His exhausted pair of feet continued a further unknown trail once more. Silently, he called himself crazy for doing this after what happened, but it felt like a dedication to you... Even though the knife of hope, had already gone through his heart to tell him off.

A couple of minutes after his watch had announced eleven hours passed noon and one hour before midnight, he found himself in the unknown place. The oversized garage door merely opened, but he still managed to crawl underneath it until it left a little tear in his jeans.

It was still around him, no voices that would usually shout at one another for the next stage to finally start. Jeno looked around, trying to be noiseless as he walked further into the seemingly empty storehouse. It was Yuta's long hair that managed to catch his eyes first, but once he looked past that, he noticed the circle his members were positioned in.

Jeno took an unexpected step towards his members, causing someone to uncover himself from behind the large columns. The stranger wearing a combat helmet together with a completely matched black outfit underneath, yet, the black lettering on the uniform gave away that they were faced with authorities.

Within seconds, a dart was tossed towards the police. Jeno was quick to move due to his reflexes but noticed the person that was meant to get hit, wasn't so lucky. The first gesture set the rest into action as more police members revealed themselves from hidden positions, making eyes of the NCT gang widen at the unannounced reveal of the authority.

Gunshot

Jeno's eyes were quick to follow even if he wasn't able to see the bullet until it had been planted in the enemy's shoulder, yet, he turned back to Chenle and smirked at him as praise. His own gun safely stored the pockets of his outer layer of clothing, his hand already on the trigger for the moment he had to pull it out.

Bullets seemed to fly around everyone, lacing them in a spiderweb that they could hardly escape as every bullet was aimed towards one of them. Though, bullets didn't plant themselves in his skin when he moved around just like everyone else did.

"Taeil!" Jungwoo's voice echoed through the hall as his soft voice was suddenly louder than ever before. The tall boy dragged his older friend towards the nearest wall but was instantly killed by a bullet going through his vital organs. His body falling right over Taeil's as the two first victims were eliminated by the enemy.

Jeno barely heard what was happening over the noises around him, he had heard Jungwoo's cry for Taeil but his eyes hadn't picked up how his clan now existed of fewer people than before. He pulled Jaemin aside roughly, shooting at an officer who immediately landed on the ground seconds after the shot was fired.

Right in the middle of the place, between large columns and higher placed people, Jisung found himself crouching over his best friend Chenle. Tears pooling in his eyes, but before they fell, it was his body that hit the ground.

"Shit, Jisung is down." Jeno heard in the background as he looked towards Renjun who was torn between his two youngest friends or continuing to fight for whatever was left. He was about to move to the center to get to the two boys, but it was Lucas who took over the job. Unfortunately for the team, temporary informant Renjun had lost the battle when his eyes had lost focus of what the mission really was.

Jeno rested his back against the column, his eyes taking a little too long to figure out who was going to be his next target. The role of one of his possible targets had been swapped around, as one second later, a gun was aimed at him. His hands reached up in the air, shakily trying to keep himself steady against the column. "Sorry" he mumbled but his voice easily disappeared between the bullets and shouts of other members. His fingers already went up to his shirt before the bullet was planted on the left side of his body, immediately coating his black clothes with a layer of blood.

A cough left his lips, immediately triggering his gag reflex as a spoonful of blood dangled down his parted lips. He slumped down against the column despite his fingertips trying to scratch the material in order to keep him standing. His head was pounding, between all of the sounds around him, he faintly managed to hear you telling him to be safe.

Always.

⋅ ⋅ ⋅

Monochrome

One shade of black, one tint of white, ten different palettes filled with grey. That was what Jeno's eyes detected when they opened for what seemed like the first time in months. He could only state in front of him, the surroundings not revealing themselves as their dull colors refused to show him what was going on.

An unexpected grunt slipped past his lips when he tried to set his body straight against the cold support in his back. That's when the pain had announced itself and he finally became more aware of the things around him. His hands were coated in blood, as red as love was supposed to represent.

Red was the first real color his eyes saw at that moment, turning the pallette of grey into a never-ending set of colors samples when he looked up from his hand and to the open space around him. His lips held a silent sound of surprise back when the colorized truth came to life.

Exactly nineteen of his teammates on the floor, recognizable by their hair colors, facial features, or body types. A few other bodies scattered around, people who didn't know but were hidden behind protective helmets in order to keep their identity safe. He could see Taeyong lying on the floor, facing him and his eyes were still opened like he was staring into the soul of his younger member.

Jeno licked over his lower lip, unexpectedly drawing in the taste of blood with his actions. His mouth already had an odd taste but knowing the red liquid was covering his tastebuds made him spit it out. The remains ending up right at the corner of his lips, not further than where it had been seconds ago.

"Thought your heart would have been crushed by now," A voice said which made Jeno look up, his eyes weakly scanning the person in front of him even if he could recognize the voice without seeing him. He swallowed thickly, struggling as the metallic taste of blood was pulled further into his body. His lips slowly parted again, some dried blood hidden within the cracks of his lips. Words were mouthed, not spoken as not one sound broke through the momentum.

Instead of speaking, Jeno weakly presented his gun, holding it up a few centimeters as he was too weak to hold it higher. The meaning behind the gesture was unclear, even for himself: did he give himself over to the game, did he want to live in peace and willingly lost because of it?

The older man kneeled in front of him slowly when he saw the gesture Jeno made, seeing it as an offer even though it was a perfect opportunity. Because as the unspoken rule said, who participated got more than the others: and he was the only participant left.

Beneath the black unbuttoned shirt, Jeno could see the bulletproof vest upon his skin. A simple trick that twenty other people had forgotten about despite it being something classic in the world that they lived in.

"any last words?" He asked Jeno, turning the gun around in his hand so that it was aiming at Jeno. Whilst he waited for Jeno to answer the question, his hand helped the gun to find the right angle. Jeno didn't even notice how his hand was lifted up and wrapped around the gun, his index finger resting upon the trigger.

Be safe

"Always" Jeno silently said as his tired eyes stared at the man who once was his friend. Jeno felt a finger over resting over his, immediately feeling the tension if the trigger getting more intense. But gave himself over to the feeling before it even came.

Images of you flashed through Jeno's mind as he tried to find relief in his future, a future he didn't have unless it was with you somewhere in a dream in a dream. Unknowingly his eyes went over the number and name engraved on the gun, yet, in his mind, he read the numbers of your anniversary and your name right next to it.

Gunshot

The cynosure of no eyes was left standing alone between dead bodies, the gun dropping on the ground as he stood up and gracefully walked away from the game he finished playing. Gameover.

960201, Kim Doyoung

Author’s note: 

Helloah, you have reached the end of cynosure! I hope you liked the fic despite the perhaps sad ending (I didn’t cry). I decided to write this in celebration of 5K followers: thank you for 5k, it seriously means a lot to me to know that people like my writing and look forward to reading it!

Anyway. I hope you liked cynosure and if you have any feedback/questions about the fic, I’ll gladly respond  <3

[mostlycompetentwriter]

“Carpe Diem” - Domesticated Sequel

F/M Pairing: Felix x OC (original character)

Genre: Strangers to Lovers AU; Sequel

Warnings: mild language; but it’s mostly fluff again!

Word Count: 2.5K

Summary: Felix loves his brother, and he loves his brother’s wife as well. But there are times when he feels left out and lonely when he watches their interactions together, and maybe he’d like to experience love for himself with the right girl...

Thalia: the goddess of festivity

Felix really didn’t like the idea of a monogamous relationship. Because they often demanded too much of his time, and those commitments restricted his preference for one-night stands after picking up a pretty girl from the bar. 

But perhaps Felix should reconsider his entire philosophy (after all, he does have a masters degree in the subject) because standing in the middle of the modest lobby of Y/N’s office building, Felix couldn’t help but wonder why he had ever believed such stupid things.

“I’ll call you later,” Thalia promised him with a gentle kiss - the current subject of his most intimate fantasies.

Felix smiled against her lips since he was apparently whipped for one girl (and one girl only) despite his past decisions. “I already miss you,” Felix replied, and he was grateful that Thalia found his cheesiness funny.

They had already been on several dates together (even though Felix couldn’t understand why she kept agreeing because he was so unbelievably shy and awkward), and Felix was growing more and more enamored with the concept of a long-term romance with flowers falling in the background while swelling music crescendos when they kiss for the thousandth time. 

It was the perfect description for their relationship, and he met Thalia at one of the bars he frequented, and she instantly caught his attention with her flirtatious smile and infectious laugh. She also looked beautiful while wearing tight skinny jeans and a low-cut blouse that left very little to the imagination. They wound up together in the sketchy bathroom behind the building, and Felix had never been with someone who managed to unravel him from head to toe in such a short amount of time.

It was the first occasion where he had ever asked for the other girl’s number, and she had stolen his wrist and scribbled the numbers on the back of his hand before kissing the daylights out of him.

When he got home that night, he immediately questioned Chan on the topic of dating, asking him a thousand questions on how best to impress a girl: “Did you pay on your date with Y/N or did you split the bill?”

But Chan had looked at him like he had grown another head, and Felix realized that he would have to put in a lot of effort to make an impression.

Because Thalia was worth it, and she was just so pure like one of his favorite Greek mythology characters come to life! 

“Be good for me,” Thalia said, pulling him out of his memories and back to the present moment.

Apparently, Thalia was meeting someone who worked in this enormous office building - the same one where Y/N suffered under the direction of Seo Changbin, but that was a story for another time.

“My sister-in-law works here,” Felix remarked. 

“Oh?” Thalia grinned as she examined the space around them. “What a coincidence.”

“But I also enjoyed our lunch together,” Felix said, and he was suddenly crowding Thalia against the elevators despite the onlookers observing their interaction.

“Thank you for walking me here,” Thalia said, and Felix watched with a heart full of affection as she waved at him before the elevator doors closed on them.

And Felix was on cloud-nine for the rest of the day, checking his phone repeatedly as he waited for Thalia to contact him again. 

“Are you waiting for the new PlayStation trailer?” Chan eventually interrupted his obsession, ruffling his hair before joining him on the couch.

“No!” Felix protested, and he shoved his phone away before reaching out for one of the controllers. “You wanna play?”

“Sure,” Chan said. “I’m not on call tonight.”

“Good,” Felix said. “I can kick your ass in Fortnite.”

“Whatever,” Chan scoffed, and he started jabbing his thumbs into the buttons while doing whatever he could to avoid Felix’s attacks. “You’ve had more practice than me!”

“You just suck,” Felix informed him bluntly, narrowing his eyes in concentration as he focused on the screen.

It was actually nice to spend some time with his brother and keep his mind off the persistent question of whether or not Thalia might call him before the end of the night.

“You two are so loud!” Y/N complained when she walked into the living room.

“It’s called intense focus,” Felix replied, chuckling when he managed to hit Chan’s character yet again.

“Hey!” Chan exclaimed, and Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Dinner is almost ready,” she said, tossing a towel over her shoulder before leaving the room and muttering something about boys and their games.

But just when Felix was about to win another round, his phone started going off, and he immediately hit the pause button so that he could look at the screen with a gasp. “Oi,” Chan shouted. “What the hell are you doing?”

“This is important!” Felix insisted, and his eyes drank in every word of Thalia’s message:

FROM T:

T: Would you be interested in having dinner with me and my step-brother tomorrow night? I really want you to meet him!

There was a series of X’s and O’s at the end that had Felix’s heart spiraling out of control. “Oh!” Chan grinned. “Is that your secret admirer?”

“Chan!” Felix whined. “She wants me to have dinner with at her brother’s house,” Felix said. “Holy shit! That means this is serious, right?”

“Congratulations, mate,” Chan said while slapping him on the shoulder. “I think you’ve got yourself a serious relationship!”

“Who, Felix?” Y/N scoffed when she re-entered the room. “I couldn’t help but overhear everything, but I’m having a hard time believing it.”

“She’s amazing,” Felix swooned. “I’m a total romantic now!”

“Felix settling down for one girl?” Y/N questioned. “I never thought I’d see the day!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Felix frowned. 

“Nothing,” Y/N song-songed, and she invited them into the dining room where Felix played around with his food while he thought about his impending date.

“But what should I do about her brother?” Felix asked, looking back and forth between Y/N and Chan. “He might hate me!”

“Nobody could hate you Felix,” Chan said. “Just be yourself.”

“But with better manners,” Y/N inserted. “And maybe a nicer attitude-”

“Okay, I get it,” Felix huffed. “I need a lot of work.”

“We can practice right now,” Y/N suggested. “The table is set, and we can pretend like I’m Thalia and Chan is her brother.”

“What, like role-playing?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” Y/N said. “That’s step number one.”

But Felix had the impression that this might take most of the night, and since he was more determined than ever to sweep Thalia off her feet, he allowed his brother and Y/N to teach him everything there was to know concerning the complicated art of being a model citizen and a top-tier boyfriend.

But despite the practice, Felix was a ball of nerves as he paced outside of Thalia’s apartment. His mind was focused on too many things at once: Did he look okay? Was he supposed to bring something? What if her step-brother was some kind of wrestler who could beat the hell out of him?

Yet, Felix could’ve never foreseen in his craziest dreams the unforgettable moments proceeding his gentle knock on the door when Thalia answered with someone standing next to her:

“Felix?”

“Changbin!” Felix squealed, and Thalia shot them both a confused look as she stood next to the entrance.

Oh, god, the wrestler would’ve been better!

“Do you two know each other?”

“Yeah,” Changbin said with narrowed eyes. “We do.”

“There’s...some history,” Felix said, and Thalia didn’t seem certain of how to address this sudden development.

“Well, you can come inside,” she said, and Felix flinched when she offered him a chaste kiss because Changbin was eyeballing the fuck out of him and Felix could barely remain standing. “I’m just finishing up in the kitchen! Make yourselves comfortable in the dining room.”

Felix nodded, but he watched her walk away with a feeling of dread. “I can’t say that I saw this coming,” Changbin said. “Tell me, Felix, what are your intentions with my sister?”

“Uhhh...” Felix couldn’t believe that his brain was failing him in that moment, but the shock of seeing Changbin had rendered him nothing more than a blabbering idiot. “She’s really cool.”

“Right,” Changbin snorted, and Felix quickly darted around him in the direction of the dining room because this was not what he rehearsed last night in the dozens of scenarios he practiced with Chan and Y/N.

“I made your favorite, Felix,” Thalia said when she brought out a tray from the kitchen. 

“Thank you,” Felix said, and his tone was barely more than a whisper when he caught Changbin’s glare from across the table.

“I’m so glad we could do this,” Thalia said, and she sat down at the head of the table to look between them. “So, you must tell me how you met.”

“College,” Felix said, and he knew that was a vague answer, but Changbin was more than willing to pick up the pieces.

“You remember that girl I dated Freshman year, T?” Changbin asked, and he spooned himself a generous portion of food.

“Of course,” Thalia said and she rolled her eyes while looking in Felix’s direction. “It was so sad, babe. Changbin was dating this girl he liked and another man stole her away!”

“That’s not true!” Felix exclaimed, and Thalia startled at his harsh tone.

“Felix?” she murmured. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Felix said as he held tightly to his fork. “I just remember things a bit differently.”

“I bet you do,” Changbin retorted before turning to Thalia again. “Bang Chan is Felix’s brother.”

Thalia’s eyes immediately widened at the revelation. “Oh, so that means...”

“Yeah,” Changbin growled. “His sister-in-law is Y/N.”

Felix could feel his heart thundering inside his chest, and the table was silent thereafter, but Felix couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Y/N had meant by “worst possible scenario.”

Felix was certain that the universe was playing some sort of practical joke on him, but he never liked being the punchline. 

After he left Thalia’s apartment, she called him to apologize for everything that happened. “Maybe we shouldn’t see each other for a few days,” she said, and Felix had felt his heart break in half.

But he respected Thalia’s opinion, even if Y/N was growing tired of his dejected behavior as he lazed around on the couch. He had explained everything to Y/N and Chan, and they were both shocked at the revelation of Changbin being Thalia’s step-brother. “What are the chances?” Y/N said. “It must’ve happened after we stopped dating.”

“Well, everything’s ruined,” Felix said, and he didn’t bother to change his poor attitude because he had never felt this sad before over losing another girl.

“You care a lot, Lix,” Chan had tried to explain to him. “You really liked her.”

“Yeah,” Felix agreed, but words weren’t enough to help him.

But actions always spoke louder, and Felix never anticipated seeing Changbin on the other side of the door when Y/N demanded that he greet their unexpected visitor. “Perfect,” Changbin said, and he pushed Felix inside so that he could shut the door.

“Felix, who was it?” Y/N asked, and she paused in the middle of the foyer when she noticed Changbin standing there. “Changbin?!”

“Glad we’re all on the same page,” Changbin said, and he glanced at Y/N for a moment before looking at Felix. “My sister isn’t one of your playthings, Felix.”

“I know,” Felix growled, but he wasn’t able to say anything else because Chan had wandered into the room, and he was immediately confrontational as he sneered down at Changbin.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to give Felix a warning,” Changbin said. “He needs to stay away from my sister!

“Isn’t that funny? It’s all come full circle right, Seo?” Chan snarled. “I’m married to your ex-girlfriend while my little brother is sleeping with your sister.”

“Well, we’ve only slept together once..” Felix said, but both Changbin and Chan shot him a glare.

“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Y/N intervened. “Changbin, you and I were never going to stay together! And our personal history shouldn’t have any impact on what you think of Felix and Thalia being together.”

“It doesn’t,” Changbin said. “But I remember what Felix was like in college.”

“What? He can’t change?” Y/N retorted.

“He’s too immature!” Changbin insisted, and Felix crossed his arms over his chest because he just about tired of Seo Changbin’s interference.

“Listen to me,” Felix said. “I like your sister a lot, Changbin, and I would never do anything to hurt her! She means more to me than those bad decisions I made in the past, and I’m not about to let you ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me!”

Felix took a deep breath following his exclamation, and he was proud of himself when Changbin averted his gaze. “I still don’t like it,” Changbin muttered.

“Well, it’s not your decision to make,” Felix said. “I’m coming to meet your sister tomorrow, and she’ll decide where we stand!”

It was a fierce declaration, and Felix had never felt more assured that he was finally doing the right thing.

FROM T:

We can meet in Changbin’s office building.

Felix received the message a few hours after he had sent a heartfelt plea to finally have a chance to speak to Thalia again. He really missed her company, and Felix was determined to fix everything and return their relationship to how it was before the drama with Changbin. And he was willing to meet her on whatever grounds she requested, even if that meant Changbin’s office building.

He arrived early because he was nervous, but Y/N offered him a few words of encouragement while he waited around her desk. Thankfully, Thalia didn’t keep him waiting for long, and she walked down the hallway with a glaring Changbin glued to her side. “Felix,” Changbin said, and he was still looking at Felix like he was the worst person in the world.

“Can Thalia and I talk alone?”

“What gives you the right?”

“Changbin,” Thalia inserted, and she gave her brother a knowing look.

And Felix raised a suggestive eyebrow at Changbin who scoffed and returned to his office while muttering about his misfortunes.

“Thank you for meeting me,” Felix said, and he guided them both to a pair of futons next to the windows.

“Well, I really missed you,” Thalia said, and Felix couldn’t stop his smile after hearing her sincere sentiment.

“The break is really hurting me,” Felix said. “I just want to be with you, Thalia, and I don’t want a past that doesn’t even belong to us get in the way.”

“I know,” Thalia agreed softly, and she finally leaned in to offer him a gentle kiss. “I guess this is our first test as a couple.”

“It won’t always be perfect,” Felix said. “But I feel like I’m willing to endure anything if it means being with you.”

Thalia giggled at his sweet words. “Let’s keep going, then, and see where this takes us.”

“I like the sound of that,” Felix agreed, and their next kiss was far more passionate - a solemn promise that cemented their status and invited a future full of endless possibilities.

[meigh-day]

Trapped [Bakugo x F!Reader] - Part 2

———————————————————–

Title: Trapped

Pairing: Bakugo x F!Reader

Includes: Swearing

Status: In Progress

Word Count: 1.5k

Previous Next

———————————————————–

It’s a Secret

"Y/Nnnnnnn...." The upbeat voice of your co-worker greeted your ears as she sauntered into the shop. You stood near the counter, rag in hand as you cleaned the displays. Ryo was several years older than you, already in her second year of university. Despite your initial effort to be formal with her, Ryo made it very clear early on that when it was just the two of you she just wanted you to be casual. You didn't take much convincing, it was nice to be able to relax around her.

"Hmm?" You only pause a moment, making sure to look over at Ryo to indicate you were paying attention. It had been three days since the exam and you had been anxiously passing each day in reflective thought. Replaying the Practical Exam in your mind, wondering if what you had done was enough and thinking of a number of different ways you could have re-done each and every action you had taken during the test. Needless to say the stress of it all was clearly displayed on your features and Ryo was sharp as ever.

"You look like shit...." She muttered coming to a stop next to you. Ryo was about three inches taller than you and, in your opinion, pretty. She kept her bright blue hair short, just long enough to tuck behind her ears but kept wavering back and forth between having bangs and growing them out. Right now she was in the middle of growing them out again.

"Gee... thanks Ryo..." You let out a scoff as you return to your cleaning duties. At the moment you were wearing the store uniform which really just consisted of an apron with the company logo embroidered on it and your name tag pinned to the top, under which you wore your normal street clothes. Today you had on some jeans and on over-sized sweatshirt, a fairly standard outfit for you if we are being real. No one would ever accuse you of having anything resembling style but, despite the longing glances you gave the cute outfits at the mall, the main reason you wore the clothes you did came down to a lack of funds. The last time you had purchased something new was just before your grandmother had passed. Since then you settled for wearing the clothes you already had and only replacing them when absolutely necessary. Thankfully you hadn't grown too much so aside from shoes, you could still fit into all the clothes you already had and with your excellent mending skills, you hadn't had to replace much of anything.

" Y/N... I dunno why you are so worried. If I had a quirk like yours you better believe I'd be going places. But no such luck... nooooo not for ol' Ryo...I get saddled with some lame ass quirk." She huffed, kicking the corner of the metal display causing a few of the pre-packaged items to shudder off the self and onto the floor.

"Ryo..." You stop your cleaning and crouch down to pick up the fallen snacks. "It's really not that bad. Think of all the things you could do with your quirk."

"Oh like what?" Ryo looked down at you, an expectant look on her face. Her quirk let her hover off the ground but the snag was she couldn't get any higher than two feet. She had tried for years to increase the height but no amount of training had helped.

"Uh, well you can reach things up on the top shelf...and--" A bag of peanuts drops onto your head, Ryo's reaction to your less than stellar opening.

"Stop right there. Is that's the best you can come up with, I don't want to hear the rest."

"Oh come on Ryo..."

"No... no. It's ok... honestly." She offers you a smile as you stand, snacks piled in your arms. "I came to terms with this fact years ago Y/N." You return her smile but it doesn't feel 100% genuine on your part. Honestly, you wished there was something you could do or say that would magically make her quirk develop beyond what it was, but even you knew that was impossible.

"I'll just have to live vicariously through you...." A smirk slides onto her lips as she drapes an arm across your shoulders. "If there's anything I can do to help you just say the word!"

You let out a soft laugh, a genuine smile on your lips. " I will, but don't worry about me too much. You have a crap ton of your own work to do Ms. University Student..." One by one you place the snacks back onto their proper shelves.

"Yea yea..." Ryo pulls away from you, finally heading to the back of the store to get ready for her shift.

Several minutes later you are standing face to face with an irritated looking Mr. Okuda. He owned the store but aside from counting the money and providing lists of duties, he didn't actually do any of the work. Mr. Okuda was a grumpy and demanding man in his fifties. You knew he had a son but he rarely if ever spoke about personal matters. He didn't give a damn about his employees lives outside of work but would happily use any information he could to get them to do what he wanted. Somehow, he had found out how hard up you were for cash and had no qualms about making you work extra hours at all hours of the day and night. If it was up to him you would work all day everyday and school be damned. Fortunately for you he was 'kind' enough to not interfere with your school schedule. That did not stop him from making you work immediately after school and into the night occasionally. If you weren't so desperate for the money you'd have told him to pound sand, but you would work day and night as long as you had time to go to school.

"L/N, I need you to come in tomorrow night. Taichi can't make it." Without waiting for your response he turned and waddled to the back of the store and disappeared into the office. Taichi was his son and he was a good for nothing freeloader who rarely actually showed up for his shifts. The rare occasion when he did show up, he did nothing but stand behind the counter and read magazines all the while eating whatever food he wanted and paying for none of it.

"...asshole..." You mutter under your breath as you head to the back. Ryo met you halfway there, donning her own apron.

"I don't know why you let him treat you like that Y/N. If it were me I'd tell him just how hard he can fuck off."

"Yea well.... I need this job. "

Ryo watches you a moment as you start to move past her, shaking her head. "I can't believe your grandma makes you work so hard... you better not be giving her all your money Y/N." You glance up at Ryo as she grips your upper arm, a look of concern on her face.

"Ryo..." Lying wasn't something you were fond of doing but you had never been able to come out and tell anyone the truth. Your parent's had died ten years ago and, until a year ago, you had been living with your grandmother. She didn't have much and when she passed away you were left with nothing but for few knick-knacks that she had been fond of. As for family, well she had been the only relative you had left. After she passed away you had been lucky enough to find a small apartment of your own as well as this job.

"Don't worry. I save as much as I can... I just help with bills and stuff. She's... been sick." No one knew the truth and you intended to keep it that way. You just wanted to live as normal of a life as you could and you didn't want to worry anyone. Besides, you were perfectly capable of surviving on your own. It had been over a year and you had managed to keep this job and still do pretty damn well in school.

"Hmm..." Ryo had that look on her face like she was about to try and pry but by some miracle a customer needed help. You took this opportunity to scurry away into the back, grab your things and leave as fast as you could. She could be relentless when it came to getting information. You were fairly certain she could make anyone talk whether they wanted to or not, maybe a career in law enforcement would suit her. The thought had you chuckling as you exited the store, offering Ryo a quick wave along the way. She had intended to pry, no doubt about it, but a needy customer had occupied her time and before she could free herself, you were long gone.

[kinghoranshit]

Tell Me A Lie (NH) Ch 6

Word count: 1997

Warnings: swearing, minor assault 

The following day was spent mostly indoors. Niall had more writing to do and it gave me the opportunity to finish editing. That was until Niall insisted we go out to take photos. He took us to all the popular spots, including the angel wings, and honestly it was fun. Very cliche, but fun. 

He had a few people recognize him and ask for a photo. That was a bit bizarre. He was so nonchalant about it though. 

After we got back, I went upstairs to lay down. I definitely needed time to recoup before going out again; especially if the crowds were going to be large. Clubs in Iowa aren’t necessarily wild, they could be but not in the way I assumed LA was. And the college I went to, Wartburg, was in the small town of Waverly which only had a couple bars and only one allowed under the drinking age kids. I didn’t really party until my final year when I’d realized I hadn’t experienced that part of college and it led to some terrible relationships.

Granted, I knew that life wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies; Wartburg wasn’t my first choice. It induced a lot of my anxiety nowadays, despite having it before it all went down. I could be negative about it, but it made me stronger in a way. 

I rolled over onto my back and pinched the bridge of my nose. The frontal headache was slowly showing itself. I found my pill pocket and dragged my feet to the bathroom to use water from the sink. Then I rifled through my clothes to find my black elastic harness, white boxy tee, dusty blue satin skirt, ripped sheer tights, and black oxfords. I switched out the outfits before I somewhat settled on a focus on redoing my hair and makeup; I left it down, straightened it quickly and created a couple small braid strands, and did a darker ombre on my lids with winged liner. 

“Holy… shite,” Niall breathed as he waltzed into the room wearing a blue suede trouser and jacket set with a white crew and brown boots. 

I took a step back from the body mirror and turned around to observe what he was wearing. “How did we manage to match but not match at the same time?”

“It’s the blues for sure,” he replied. 

“Right.” I turned back around to assess myself once more, deciding whether or not I needed any last touches. Niall came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso. His head rested on my shoulder. 

“You look great, Kelly.”

“Would it be cheesy to get a mirror couple selfie? The fans would eat that up.” 

His laugh vibrated against my back. “Use my phone.” 

Niall held his phone out, keeping one arm around my torso. I stuck with a normal smile, that was before he surprised me with a kiss on the cheek. My expression scrunched up as my body curled inward. I couldn’t stop the giggles at the ideas that crossed my mind. 

“Hold on, crouch down by my legs. I’m gonna take a fit pic and pretend I don’t see you.” 

He had a hard time keeping a straight face, but we managed to get a couple good shots. “I know what I’m posting.”

Niall smiled as he flipped through his. “Me too.”

A minute later, there were Twitter and Instagram notifications from him. I opened it up to see he had attached a normal picture of me smiling and then one of me scrunching up my face as he kissed my cheek. The caption was ‘A night out dancing with this beautiful woman . Don’t get many of these lately . Love you babe <3”. 

There goes the flutter in my chest again. Fuck. I mentally cleared my throat and moved my slightly shaky finger to like each post, then replied with “Love you too Nialler <3 <3”. As we slipped out into the night, I created my own posts. I chose one where Niall was looking right up at me and captioned it “Tonight’s fit feat. Niall. You’re my number one admirer. I love you always <3”.

I threw my phone into the temporary black, mini crossbody; I’d also thrown my wallet in it. If I’d worn jeans, I would’ve just put them in my pockets. My sight traveled to the blurred lights outside the window of our Uber’s car. There was definitely a vibe here; I could see why people loved to live here. 

“What’s the first place we’re going to?” 

“It’s a standard nightclub. Nothing over the top.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

My jaw dropped when we finally got inside. If this was standard, then I don’t want to know what the bouche nightclubs were like. The dance floor was enormous, dancers had their own little stages sporadically around it. I had to force myself to not stare at the beautiful women covered in glitter. I noted the bills in their straps. Maybe I’ll leave a tip for one of them at some point. Niall pulled us through the crowd of people and we stopped in front of the bar. 

“What do you want?”

“Sprite and apple pucker.”

He nodded and faced the bartender again. I tried to not let the loud music overwhelm my mind. Niall lightly touched my arm and I looked back at him, in a small daze from observing the place, and everything and everyone in it. I sort of felt out of place; like I wasn’t really there. The feeling was too familiar, and I didn’t like it. 

He set a clear square glass in my hand. I gave him a small smile and took a sip of it. The bubble popped on the top of my throat while the alcohol burned down. Niall had a Guinness in hand and took a swig of it. 

I took a few more sips of the jolly rancher drink, observing once again, and I kept close to Niall. His presence, and sweet drink, made me feel somewhat better.  

We found a nearby table to chill at for a bit. Let the alcohol soak in. I’d eventually gone to get refills for us. My eyes landed on one of the blonde dancers and she looked directly back at me. She smiled, turned to me, and reached a hand out. 

“Dance with me!” she yelled. 

I looked at her slightly dazed.

“Go on,” Niall encouraged.  

I tried to not cough on my own spit. “Y-you’ll be fine for a few?”

“Of course. Go!”

I handed him my clutch, then let the dancer guide me up onto the platform floor. I swayed back and forth slowly, letting myself get lost. I recognized the next song, Tumblr Girls by G-Eazy feat. Christoph Anderson, and got giddy. I allowed myself to sync deeper with the music. My hips swayed more, and I brought my arms above my head. 

The dancer closed in even more, resting hands on my hips, and grinded on one of my legs. 

“You’ve got some moves! What’s your name?” 

I flushed. “Lauren, and you too. You?”

“I’m Flora! Is that your boyfriend?”

“N-” I cleared my throat and nodded. “Yeah!” 

She laughed. “Well, he seems to be enjoying this.”

Heat ran deeper in my cheeks and I glanced over my shoulder to see Niall watching. He had his elbow resting on the table, hand under his chin. His beer bottle hovered over his privates. 

I bit my lip, laughing under my breath. “I gotta admit, I’m having fun too.” 

After a couple more songs, I decided it was time to get off the stage. No one else seemed to be getting invited by the dancers to join them up there, so it was awkward now. I grabbed a ten out of my wallet and handed it to her. 

“You are absolutely stunning Flora. Thanks for the fun!” 

Flora kissed my cheek, then winked. “You too, babe.” 

“That didn’t break any rules, right?” I took deep breaths to calm my high. I wanted to keep dancing for sure. Just not on show for everyone else. 

He shrugged. “I won’t tell. Come on, I want a turn.” He reached his hand out and I smirked. 

The music pace changed to something by ILLENIUM. I started to bounce with the rest of the crowd and did dumb arm movements. Niall busted a laugh, following my pattern. A few songs later, I had the urge to pee. It was immense. 

I gestured towards where I remember seeing a restroom sign. “Gotta use the girls’ room. Be right back.” 

I hurried into one of the stalls and relieved myself. I washed my hands and looked into the mirror, just as a girl who looked to be about a year or two older than me came out of a stall. 

She looked at me deviously. “You look familiar.” 

“Don’t we all in these places?” I laughed, slightly nervous. 

“Yes, but no, you look familiar for a different reason.”

“I’m sure I do.” I busied myself with drying my hands. Then I exited without saying another word. 

On my way back, a stranger touched my butt then pulled me into their chest to grind. “Shake that ass for me.

Without really thinking, I batted the hand away and turned around to throw a smack. “Fuck off!”

The guy glared. “What the hell, bitch?” 

“You touched my body without consent! You’re the bitch!” 

“Whatever,” he scoffed. “Your loss, baby! I got a date to get back to anyway!” 

I didn’t bother giving a proper response. By the look on his face, I knew I wasn’t the only one who would give him shit for violating boundaries. 

“What was the crack with that fella?” Niall asked, gesturing in the direction I came from. 

“Nothing.” I shrugged. 

He shot me a look. “You look pretty flustered, Kelly. Everything alright?”

“Yeah, can we just go home though? I-I’m tired.”

“Of course, yeah.”

Niall’s hand found mine. On our way out, the same guy glanced in our direction as he grinded with a different girl. A smirk spread on his lips, his hands tightening on her hips. There was a phantom feeling and I swallowed. I subtly ran my free shaky hand over the back of my skirt and looked away.

The night air was much cooler now compared to the inside of that club. We paused momentarily so Niall could call for another Uber. Niall wrapped his arms around me, resting his head on top of mine. A few minutes later, a Rover pulled up to the side and Niall approached to confirm it was for us. Then we both got in. 

Niall’s hand didn’t let go of mine until we were back in the house. I couldn’t lie, I was grateful for it. I let go though. 

“Wanna watch a movie?” he asked. 

I nodded. “I’m gonna get pjs on first.”

I couldn’t look at him before I left to go upstairs. I went for my oversized tee and floral shorts, and paused momentarily in the middle of the room. Finally, my feet moved toward the living room. 

Niall was propped on the couch with a blanket and when he saw me, he opened it up for me to snuggle into. He enveloped me in his arms before he hit play on the movie he chose. My brain wasn’t registering much of it. I focused on the warmth of Niall. The sturdiness of his body. He was a firm base. 

“That guy touched my butt and grinded on me without consent. I don’t really want to talk about it, but I also don’t want to brush it off.”

He tightened his arms around me, snuggling his face closer to mine. “I’m sorry that guys are so shite. You didn’t deserve that.”

I subtly shrugged, then whispered, “At least I’ve got you.”

I could hear him smile. “Always, Kelly.”

We both fell silent again and returned to the movie. 

Next part: Ch 7 (to come...)

[Masterlist]

[mrsalwayswritex]

Heart to Break

A/n: Not my gif, my bad. So I pulled a few of these from my franken-prompt list, I was only able to credit two prompts but they are:

“Why cant you just look at me for one goddamn second!” from /melamemea “I can’t be mad that I gave you my heart to break.” from /ericks-mala-actitud

all prompts used will be bolded!

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

word count: 3800

warnings: Cheating, Swearing

The moment you heard his name behind you, the urge to run away was stronger than anything you ever felt in your life. Your companion for the evening, your best friend Joe, heard it as well and his eyes softened quickly, his hand reaching across the table to hold yours.

“Do you wanna leave?” He asked softly, trying to meet your eyes, but you shook your head.

“No, I’ll be alright.” You gave him a weak smile, patting his hand with your other, “Thanks for being here with me.” You heard his deep laugh and your eyes closed on their own, drowning in the sound.

“Where is Marie?” You heard someone ask him, and you shook your head at Joe. You couldn't do this. It was not alright. “She stayed home tonight, told me to go out without her” You heard Ben answer, and your stomach turned. Home. 

Joe, sensing the panic that was rising, stood quickly, throwing down a few bills for the drinks and grabbed your bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He rubbed his hands down both of your arms, walking behind you as you shuffled towards the door with your head down.

Chancing it, you lifted your head in the direction. Bad idea. Your eyes locked with his and his jaw dropped, he pushed himself off the bar and took a step towards you but you held up your hand, waving him off. Joe put his hand on your lower back and halfway pushed you out the door. Once outside you collapsed heavily against the wall, unwanted memories flooding your brain.

-

Four Months Ago

You almost couldn’t contain your excitement. It had been weeks since you had seen Ben, him being off on location filming for a new movie. Tomorrow morning he would be home and you couldn’t wait! You had been to Ben’s apartment a few times since he left, mostly to relax in silence, but also when you missed him too much you liked to sleep in his bed. Today however, you were going over to set up the apartment in the cutest way, as you had some big news for him.

You shuffled down the hall towards Ben’s apartment door, struggling slightly with the large box you were carrying, setting it down outside of the door. Sliding the key into the lock easily, you pushed the box inside with your foot. The first thing that you noticed was that the lamp next to the couch was on. ‘Hmm.’ you shrugged, waving a hand at it, obviously you had left it on earlier this week when you came by.

Humming to yourself, you sighed happily as you looked around the comfortably decorated room. Ben had asked you to move in right before he left and you told him not until the two of you could live together, you would wait for him to come home. Tomorrow. Your brain squealed and you smiled at the box you had brought with you. Taking one final look around the room, you walked over and tore the lid off of the box.

That was when you saw the next strange thing. Ben’s soft leather jacket was hanging on the hook. You swore he took that with him when he left. Mind immediately losing it's train of thought when you see his sneakers as well. Once your brain clicked into place your heart soared. Ben was home early. Since you hadn’t thought to listen to the quiet apartment, thinking it to be empty, you assumed he was asleep, and crept quietly towards his bedroom.

What you heard coming from behind the door made you grin wickedly. “Oh, f-fuck yes.” Your hand flew to cover your mouth quickly. “Jus’ like that, baby” you heard Ben mumble softly, your hand on the doorknob, totally prepared to bust your boyfriend jerking off, a smile planted on your face. “Shit, Marie.” Your playfulness gone in an instant, blood turning into ice in seconds. Hand frozen on the doorknob, you put your ear to the door, hoping that your ears were just playing tricks on you.

Then you heard it. Moaning. A woman moaning.

The tears pooled in your eyes quickly, hand still covering your mouth.

Ben was cheating on you.

In the same apartment he had invited you to live in with him, weeks prior.

Ben was cheating on you.

Your other hand slid around your stomach, hoping to self soothe.

Ben was cheating on you, and you were pregnant.

Squeezing your eyes shut quickly, you felt the dam break as the tears flowed freely. You didn't know what came over you, what possessed you to do what you did next.

You turned the knob, pushing the door open in one motion.

Opening your eyes to see the naked back of Marie, Ben’s makeup artist, straddling your boyfriend’s hips, his hands gripping her hips tightly.

“What the-” Ben's voice shouted, you watched him peek his head around Marie’s naked form. “Shit.” He breathed out, recognition washing over him. “Y/n, wait..” 

Hearing him say your name broke you. A sob ripping from your mouth, keeping one hand around your stomach, other hand flying back to cover your mouth. Your eyes flicked back and forth between the man you love and his makeup artist. The one he told you that you didn't need to worry about.

Shaking your head quickly, biting back another sob, you ran towards the front door. Ignoring Ben as he screamed your name, hearing his footsteps following behind you, you still didn't stop. You didn't stop until you were staring at the box you had brought with you, filled with various decorations you had bought to reveal your pregnancy. Anger flared inside you and after ripping open the door harshly, you maneuvered the box into your arms, slamming the door behind you, catching a quick glimpse of Ben’s naked form before it closed.

-

Present

When your brain snapped back to the now, you were greeted with the worried eyes of Joe, crouching in front of you. His hands were on your shoulders, gripping tightly. “Y/n? Are you back with me?” When you blinked at him a few times, he let go of your shoulders, hands extending to help you up. “You kinda disappeared on me for a minute there.” He watched with a smile as your hand absently rubbed softly over your growing stomach.

“I'm sorry, Joe.” You sighed, smiling down at your belly. “We just got a little lost in thought.” Putting a hand on your lower back, you let Joe pull you up so you were standing. This belly of yours was growing more and more every day and making it increasingly difficult for you to do little things, like standing up on your own.

“How long has it been?” Joe asked quietly, you didn't need to ask him to elaborate, you knew exactly what he meant. “Have you seen him since?” You shook your head softly. “Does he even know?”

“Based on his face when he saw us walking out? He knows now.” You smirked sadly, secretly hoping that you had ruined his whole evening. “I haven't seen him since he was underneath his makeup artist.” You spat out, wincing slightly as you felt a sharp kick to your side. “Hey, your daddy is an asshole, it's best you learn that now, little one.” You pointed your finger at your stomach, feeling another kick in response. “Don't you talk back to me like that, I am your mother.” Joe laughed at the scene, laughter dying in his throat when the door opened and Ben walked out.

“Y/n?” He asked taking a step towards you, as if he was seriously questioning whether it was you or not. Scoffing loudly and rolling your eyes, you turned your back to him. “Please talk to me.” He pleaded, taking another step forward. Joe put a hand out to him sadly, stopping him from coming any further. 

“Hey, let’s take this slow, okay?” Joe whispered to his friend. You knew that you were being selfish, keeping Joe to yourself. You wouldn't have even met Joe had it not been for Ben.

Ben got angry at Joe’s reaction, pushing his hand away. “Why can’t you just look at me for one goddamn second!” He shouted at you, putting his hand on your shoulder and spinning you around to face him, but you kept your eyes to the ground. “Can you give us some space, mate?” Ben spit angrily at Joe who was indeed hovering.

“Y/n?” He leaned his head back towards you, waiting for confirmation before leaving you alone.

Still looking at the ground, you nodded slightly. “It’s alright, Joey. I'll be alright.” You whispered, “Just a few minutes won’t hurt.” Joe nodded his head and ran his hand down your arm before stepping back inside. “What do you want, Benjamin.” You sighed, finally meeting Ben’s gaze, but he wasn’t looking at your face, his gaze was fixed on your swollen stomach. You wrapped your hands over it, clearing your throat. “Well?”

“I think we have a few things to talk about, yeah?” He glanced at your face for a second, eyes dropping back to your belly. “That being one of them.” He pointed at it, “Is it mine?” He questioned softly and you scoffed. “Joe’s?” At that you let out a bark of laughter.

“Are you joking?” You looked at him amused, “I almost wish it was Joe’s, just so you could see how it feels.” You scoffed again.

“Do you hate me?”

You smiled at him sadly, reaching out to touch his coat collar before pulling your hand back quickly. Sad acceptance washing over you turned to anger quickly. “Did you at least think of me?” You asked him bitterly, snorting at his confused expression. “When you were having sex with her?”

“Don't be like that, this is hard for me, you know?” He grit back.

“You think that this is easy for me?” Raising your voice louder, taking a step back and gesturing wildly at your stomach. “I came over that day to set up the place so I could tell you we were having a baby. I wasn't expecting to see you and your goddamn makeup artist who,” Your voice went high pitched and mocking, “I ‘don't need to worry about, love” you mocked his accent and he flinched back. “But I'm positively delighted to hear that you two are happily living together now. Tell me, Ben, does she enjoy the place we decorated together? The couch that we bought and broke in all in one day?” The tears were threatening to escape your eyes again.

“Y/n, please don't be like that.” He huffed this time, you raised your hand to cut him off.

“So how long were you two a thing before that day, huh? Was I excited to tell you I was having your baby while you were off screwing her in what was almost our bedroom?” The thought came to you quickly, pushing the air out of your body. Ben shook his head.

“Just a few times before that, honestly.” He rubbed his hand over his face, looking back at your stomach. “We’re really having a baby?” He reached his hand out and you let him touch the growing bump, you watched his face light up when you felt the kick under his touch, and that made the tears slip out.

“No, Ben, we are not.” You spoke softly, taking a step back effectively removing Ben’s hand. He looked at you with a mixture of hurt and confusion. “I am. You have Marie.” 

Ben’s jaw dropped open, “You’re kidding me right? Are you seriously that mad at me that you would keep my child away from me?”

“I can’t be mad that I gave you my heart to break, Ben.” You touched his face sadly, walking over to the door, opening it to signal to Joe that you were done here. “I won’t keep them from you, but I also will not play happy family with you.” You looked at him sadly, rubbing your belly. “You lost that right.”

“Them?” Ben’s eyes widened into saucers. You nodded at him with a small smile. “Y/n, wait please, let me fix this.” He reached for you but as soon as Joe walked out of the building, Ben’s face softened. “Please,” He begged.

“There isn't anything left to fix, you made sure that you shattered it to pieces that day.” You linked your arm with Joe’s and he smiled at you, touching your stomach freely and you could see the anger on Ben’s face. “Goodbye, Ben.” 

“Y/n, please wait.” He begged again, but this time you didn't turn around, you walked with Joe away from the man you loved again. 

“So?” Joe asked you as you wiped your eyes on your sleeve. “What are you going to do?”

“I can't play house with him, Joe.” You sighed, “It’s up to him now, sadly. It's his choice on what he wants from here on out. He can be a dad, or he can be someone who gave me the best goodbye gift in the world.” You smiled down at your stomach again. “At least something good came out of it.”

-

Months went by, Joe by your side the whole time. Ben made his choice clear the day after you saw him at the bar. He called you at least once a day, his first call telling you that Marie was gone, done and over with. It’s a start, you had thought to yourself that day. Every day after he would call you, begging to come over and talk, and today was the first time you agreed.

You were just starting your ninth month of pregnancy and you were much larger than the last time the two of you had seen each other. Ben’s face broke into a huge grin when you opened the door.

“You look absolutely beautiful, y/n.” He breathed out, standing in your doorway, holding a large bouquet of carnations, your favorite of course. “Gosh, there really are two of them in there isn't there?” He chuckled, looking at your comically large stomach.

“Either that, or i'll be giving birth to a minivan.” You chuckled, grabbing his hands and putting them on either side of your stomach, watching his face light up at the kicks he was feeling.

“Do you know what they are?” He questioned, handing you the flowers and dropping to his knees in front of you, putting his face on your bump. He looked up at you and smiled when you nodded your head happily. “You do?” His eyes lit up.

“Ben, these babies are coming any day now, of course I know what they are.” You smiled at his waiting face, “Oh did you want to know too?” You asked dramatically, Ben shaking his head so fast that you had to put a hand on his forehead to stop him from giving himself whiplash. You grabbed his hand and placed it on the left side of your stomach, “This little one over here is our baby girl,” Putting his other hand low on your right side, “and this is our son.” The word our slipping out easily, and you knew Ben caught it.

“We’re having one of each?” His eyes shone with wonder as he looked up at you, hands still held under yours on either side. “And you said ‘our’, does that mean I can be a part of this?” He questioned slowly, his smile growing when you nodded.

“If you want to be, I'm gonna need all the help I can get.” You whispered softly, “But i'm not ready for us to be us again, I don't know if I ever will. But I want our babies to have both of us around.” 

Ben nodded slowly, processing the new information. “I swear, y/n, I will be here as much as you will let me.” As if on cue, you felt a wetness seeping down your legs and your eyes widened. 

“Well now seems to be the best time to be here Ben.” You waddled towards your bedroom. “Cause it's time.” Ben followed you confused, as you pulled off your wet pants. 

“Time for what?” He asked slowly, leaning on your door frame as you pulled your shirt over your head too, tossing it aside. 

You smiled at his ignorance as you pulled a long loose dress over your head, it had taken you what felt like twenty minutes to put those pants on, not doing that now. “It's baby time, Ben.” Your smile grew as you watched his face light up again, clapping his hands together. 

“Oh, OH! Ok! What do you need to do now? Do you have a bag packed? Do you need me to pack it?” He fired off questions, you raised your hand to stop him, laughing at the crazed look in his eyes.

“Relax, Benny, all you need to do right now is take me to the hospital.” You walked over and struggled to reach the straps of your bag. “I lied, I need you to pick this bag up then take me to the hospital.” You grunted as you kept trying to reach the bag. Ben was quick to run beside you, easily picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Ok, shoes and hospital.” You nodded at him, Ben instantly running to your closet, you laughed again. “There is nothing in there that I can wear right now, Ben. Relax and help me to the damn car.” You slid on your sandals, the only thing that fit right now, and shuffled towards the door.

Ben held your hand in the car as another wave of contractions hit, yelling along with you when you screamed. Ben was trying to drive calmly but you knew that he had no idea what he was doing, it seemed like it was his first day driving and you had to laugh at him. He would look over at you and smile brightly and then start honking at the car in front of him.

“Relax, Ben.” You whispered again, rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand. “Wait, why am I telling you to relax? I'm the one having TWO babies..” Your laughter causes him to laugh too. When you finally reached the hospital, Ben pulled right up front, jumping out and helping you into the hospital and in no time, you were in a bed, machines being hooked up to your stomach. The moment the fetal heart monitors were on, Ben’s jaw dropped. 

“That’s them?” He took a step forward, hand hovering over your stomach.

“Well it's not yours, that's for sure.” You smiled at him, grabbing his hands and pushing them fully onto your stomach. “It would be a lot louder.” You assured the nurse with a laugh.

“How long have you two been together?” She asked with a smile and Ben looked at you uncomfortably, waiting for you to answer.

“Two years.” Your gaze locked on his, he smiled brightly at you, grabbing your hand and kissing your knuckles. 

“That's sweet.” The nurse cooed, explaining next what the plan was for this birthing process. You listened closely but you knew that Ben’s attention was on you. When she told you that she would leave you two alone, you looked at Ben.

“You meant that?” He asked nervously.

“Well we were together for two years, but it's too complicated to explain it, so I just went with it.” You waved him off, ignoring when his face fell a little. “We aren't going to magically get back together, Ben. You know that. But I do want you around, you can crash in the spare room at my place if you want, so you can be close to them.” Ben didn't say anything but nodded his head. “You knew the deal Ben.” You sighed, dropping your head back on the pillow.

“I know, I know,” He sighed, but he didn't let go of your hand. “I would love to stay with you, if you're sure.” When you nodded his smile came back slightly.

-

After what felt like hours and hours of pushing, the nurse was finally bringing over your new bundles of joy. “What are their names?” Ben asked you, wiping a tear from his face as you told the nurse to give one of them to him.

“Alexis and Benjamin.” You winked at him as his smile grew wider. “I had middle names picked, but I thought maybe you’d like to help with that part?” 

“Benjamin Wade.” He nodded his head and you smiled in acceptance. “Alexis Louise.” He tested, shaking his head. “Alexis Rose.” He looked at you again and you nodded.

“I love those,” You smiled at him, then looking down at the small baby in your arms. “Hello, Benjamin Wade, I'm your mama.” You cooed at the little boy you had created, “and this is your daddy.” You held up the bundle so that Ben could see his face.

“Alexis Rose, This is your beautiful mommy, and I am going to the best dad I possibly can to you and your brother, I promise.” He leaned forward and kissed the little girl on the forehead and your heart nearly exploded with the sweetness.

You loved the sight in front of you, and your heart swelled happily seeing a father and his daughter, but nothing you could see could remove the image of Ben and Marie. We can make this work, right? You asked yourself, tearing your eyes from Ben, you looked down at the small wide eyed baby in your arms. We can make this work for them.

Ben watched you holding his son, and when he looked down at his daughter, a fresh wave of tears flowed down his face. How could I have ruined this? He shook his head lightly, hating himself for what he did. Hated the fact that you two could be enjoying this moment as a happy family, but instead he felt like he was on the outside looking in. He looked at you fully, seeing your messy hair and smiling like he was looking at the face of beauty itself, I will fix this.

“I promise to make it up to you too,” He whispered suddenly, leaning forward and placing a kiss on your forehead as well. “I'm so sorry for everything, I truly am, and I promise to be by your side every day, for them and for you.” He sat on the edge of your bed, gripping your hand tightly in his, “I promise.”

[therainroguefanfiction]

🎂 To Myself (Arashi Fukada)

[art by Lushia on deviantart]

Genre: Fluff, Slice of Life, Birthday

Word Count: 1,655

Pairing: Reader x TYL! Arashi Fukada

World: Katekyo Hitman Reborn (11^ Famiglia)

Prompt: Valentine’s Day #4 by thefakeredhead

Author’s Note: I think this is the first time I’ve ever written for someone else’s original character, but it was super fun! This was written for @zeno290​​’s birthday featuring the original character, Arashi Fukada, created by @kiralushia​! Arashi is from the 11^ Famiglia webcomic, which I highly recommend you read (webtoons | @the11thfamily​).

Thank you for giving me the chance to write for one of your wonderful characters, I hope I did her justice! ^~^)/ I also feel the need to mention that I’m only on chapter eight, I believe, so I’m going by what I currently know!

━━━━━━༻ 🎂 ༺━━━━━━

You stood in front of the mirror, readjusting the outfit that you were wearing to make sure you looked presentable. Today was your birthday and your boss was taking you and the rest of the family to a nice restaurant in order to celebrate.

You glanced at the clock. The reservation is set for eight o’clock and it was only just now turning seven, but you were feeling a bit worried because your girlfriend was currently in a meeting. The eleventh family was meeting up with a rival family so that their boss, Nozomi, could try and create peace between the two families. They had been at it for an hour already and something told you that they were no closer to finding a resolution.

Arashi was going to be late for dinner, you just knew it.

Your cell phone chimed from its position on the dresser, the familiar tone letting you know who was calling without having to check the ID. A smile came to your lips as you answered it, the cool glass against your ear. “Hey, Arashi. How’s the meeting going?”

“I want to shoot them all,” she huffed in annoyance. “These guys have zero respect for Nozomi!”

You chuckled as you pictured the face she must be making. “Just don’t get blood on your clothing. The reservation is for eight so you probably won’t have time to get changed.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” she laughed, the sound like music to your ears. “I love you for enabling me.”

“I love you, too,” you responded softly.

“Ugh, the break is over, we have to get back in.” She clicked her tongue, clearly not looking forward to rejoining the meeting. “I’ll see you soon, Y/N!”

“Okay,” you ended the call, sliding the phone back into your pocket. With one final look in the mirror, you grabbed your keys and left the apartment that you shared with the red-head.

━━━━━━༻ 🎂 ༺━━━━━━

You stepped into the restaurant, taking in the quiet atmosphere. From what you could see, there didn’t seem to be any others inside and you briefly wondered if your boss had rented out the entire restaurant for the night. It was definitely something she would do for her beloved family.

The waiter smiled at you. “Hello! May I have your name, please?”

Upon giving him the information, his back straightened and his smile widened.

“Ah, the guest of honor! Please follow me.”

You stepped around the wooden podium into the dining room, eyes scanning the empty booths and tables. Candles lit up the room, their flames dancing across the walls like people at a club. Situated at the very back of the room to the right was a large round table where most of your family had already made themselves comfortable.

Boss was the first to notice you, hopping up from her chair and throwing her arms around you. “Happy birthday, Y/N!”

You couldn’t help smiling as you returned the hug. “Thank you, big sister.”

You settled down beside her as the others exchanged happy birthdays with you, asking how you were feeling and if your day had been kind to you. It had, of course. Any day that you got to spend just lazing around with Arashi was a good day, after all, but you spared them the details, simply letting them know that yes, your day had gone well.

When the last of the family had arrived, boss sent you a weary smile as the waiter approached to take the group’s order. “Do you want to wait on Arashi?”

You kept your lips in a firm line as you glanced at your phone. No messages or missed calls. “No, she will be a while.”

She didn’t seem happy about this but she nodded, offering you a smile and a pat to the shoulder. “I’m sure she will get here as soon as she can!”

“Is everyone ready to order?” The waiter questioned with a polite smile, pulling out a pad of paper and clicking the pen. Being the guest of honor, you were allowed to order first, choosing your favorite dish and drink before passing it on to the boss, who did the same. The waiter nodded once everyone had given their orders. “It will be out soon, I’ll be back with your drinks in just a moment.”

You tried to focus on the strange conversation that your family was having, but you found yourself staring out the window at the darkening sky, dotted with glittering stars against the dark velvet. Despite trying to keep yourself in good spirits, you felt a bit down. It was your birthday, after all, and yet the person you loved most was MIA.

You knew how much she loved Nozomi and the eleventh family, her loyalty unshaken no matter what happened and, while you would never make her choose between your love and the family, you still wished that she had decided to stay with you rather than running to her family. She didn’t technically need to be there for the meeting, Nozomi had said so herself, but Arashi had insisted.

The night wore on and your boss did the best she could to keep your mind off of your missing girlfriend by engaging you in conversation about various items. She tried to avoid family matters, no wanting to impose such things on your birthday, but it usually ended up back there in the end, not that you minded. You loved your family and wanted to do what you could to help your boss succeed.

In that respect, you could understand where Arashi was coming from and you briefly wondered if you would leave her on her birthday or not. So far, your boss had made sure not to bother you on Arashi’s birthday, so the situation had never presented itself to you. You couldn’t honestly say whether you would leave or not and that bothered you.

“The food was delicious!”

“Top tier, for sure~”

“I’m stuffed and ready for a nap.”

“Same here.”

As the boss pulled out her wallet to pay for the bill, which several of the members tried to dissuade her from doing to no avail, she sent you a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I’m sure she has a good reason for not showing up.”

You nodded, not commenting on the subject. “Thank you dinner, big sister.” And then you turned your gaze to the rest of the table, where your beloved family sat, sending you smiles of love and respect. “Thank you all for coming, I appreciate you being here.”

“Of course!”

“We’re happy to be here, happy birthday again!”

“We got free food, too – ow! Why’d you smack me?”

“Idiot~ Happy birthday, Y/N!”

“Rude. I mean, it’s true, but rude.”

You chuckled as the two started to bicker back and forth playfully, your woes temporarily forgotten as they bumped into the table, tipping off the jug of water and creating a panic among the other members as they tried to stop it before it could run off the table.

━━━━━━༻ 🎂 ༺━━━━━━

The apartment was dark when you pushed open the door, kicking your shoes off by the door. You were certain that you had left the hall light on so you wouldn’t come home to darkness, but perhaps it had slipped your mind. You used your phone to light up the hall, hand fumbling for the light switch.

It clicked as you flicked it on, but no light flooded the hall. With a frown, you flicked the switch a few times, but nothing happened. Had the light blown out? Wrinkling your nose, you decided you would fix it tomorrow, too tired to care at the current moment.

You feet padded across the wooden floor as you headed for the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothing, but when you opened the door, you felt your body freeze up. The room was bathed in the flickering of candlelight, daffodil petals scattered across the floor. Movement from the corner of your eye had your gaze shifting to the side where Arashi was standing up from the wingback chair.

You felt your heart pick up speed at the sight of her silhouetted in the soft light, her dress fitting her body perfectly as her red locks contrasted against the black. She looked like a goddess in your eyes, but she always did no matter what she was wearing. Even after dating for so long, she was still able to take your breath away.

Arashi smiled sheepishly, her cheeks painted with a soft pink hue. “I’m really sorry I missed dinner. Can you forgive me?”

The sour mood you had felt quickly dissipated at the sight of your beautiful girlfriend, a smile slipping onto your lips as you crossed the distance between you. “It’s okay, I understand.”

“The truth is…” she shifted, turning her gaze to the floor. “I didn’t want to go there with your family. I wanted you all to myself…”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” you questioned softly, resting your hand on her warm cheek, forcing her brown eyes to meet yours.

“Because,” she pouted, tugging on the end of your shirt. “I knew you’d stay home if I said something! And after your boss went through the trouble of reserving the restaurant…”

“You knew about that?”

“She told me she was going to.”

You chuckled, wrapping your arms around her waist protectively, lips finding her cheek as her hands clenched around your shirt. “You’re right, I would have stayed home with you. Big sister would have understood, you know. Next time, it will be just the two of us, okay?”

Arashi’s face lit up and she nodded. “Okay!”

With a smile, you brought your lips to hers, loving the way her arms wrapped around the back of your neck, his fingers clutching the base of your neck to deepen the kiss.

Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all~

━━━━━━༻ 🎂 ༺━━━━━━

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[desdemonafictional]

2020 Fanfic Year End Summary

Hey ho let’s go

Nev does these every year and I think they’re interesting, so for the first time I’m gonna give it a go too. I feel like this has been the longest fucking year--the Zine feels like it was two years ago and last January feels like it was ten years ago.

I’m gonna answer some questions and do a little reflection on the year 

This year I technically finished Icarus with 2k words of a 36k story, and after that I went on to produce 197k words not even COUNTING the stuff from GPAU which I do not know how to divide up for 2020. 

That’s 23 fics in one year, 8 of which were cowriting projects. This year has been, objectively, insane. By comparison, in 2019 I produced 17 fics and at the time I thought THAT was doing pretty impressive work. Now it’s not my best year by sheer number of titles--2018 was an oil boom while I was into JTHM and I actually put out 25 fics that year, some of which were short oneshots and some of which were two- or three-shots. But in terms of words? 2020 knocked them all out of the park. Which is absolutely something I owe to my amazing friends who let me ride around in their brains like the parasite I am.

In 2018 I started cowriting with Chokopopo, in 2019 I started cowriting with Neveralarch, and in 2020 I just did a fucking ton more of that with no looking back. It’s so incredibly motivating to have someone to show your progress to! And to have someone to hand the project over to when you’re stuck. If I hadn’t had Nev to bounce off of, most of this fic wouldn’t have been thought up at all, let alone finished. And don’t even get me started on GPAU! Choko and Zephyr and me have done such amazing things with “Welcome! Everything is fine”, and I can’t wait to be able to wrap that up and leave it for posterity.

I switched job positions around July of this year, and it’s changed the way I produce fic. Not sure if it’s good yet or not. I was never actually under a stay at home order this year because I work for a state agency, so to a degree I’ve missed out on the ways that quarantine affected other writers. I think I was fortunate?

Best Title 

Ahhh this is tough, I put a lot of effort into my titles this year--I promised myself in 2019 I was going to stop using song lyrics for fic titles because they make songs loop in my brain and it’s self inflicted torment, which is a promise I... mostly kept. “Dress Your Idol in Gold and Ashes” is the one I put most effort into probably, because I kept toying around with it trying to find something that was evocative of the right pagan imagery, and also the idea that got me started on the fic was a passage in a text book about the daily dressing of an idol statue in ancient Egypt.

“Broke My Last Glass Jaw” gets special mention because I named it after an essay that I wrote in undergrad for my African American Lit course, in which I broke down themes of the spoiled american dream via the lens of 90′s rap.

Worst Title

“Take one for the Team” is definitely my laziest title. It’s just super self indulgent kink fic, no character arc or anything, so I couldn’t find a good image or phrase to bring in for the title. Also I remember I really wanted to post it quickly, since it was a response to some art I was looking at, and I wanted the artist to see. I’m sure I could have done better with the title.

I did end up titling “Fear and Delight” after a song but I forgive myself because I literally only wrote the fic because the song existed first.

Best Summary

Some of these summaries I wrote and a some I did not, but of the ones that I wrote I think.... “ I'm All Full Up on Yesterdays, Don't Sing Me No More Blues” is the best one. It launches you directly into the action, while preserving the surprise reveal at the end of chapter 1. I actually wrote chapter one with this summary in mind, so it was baked in there from the start.

Jazz turned in his seat, cube at his lips, just in time to spot the white pursuit vehicle steaming and panting in the doorway. “Jazz of Staniz,” the enforcer shouted, “surrender the matrix and come quietly!”

Jazz knocked back his drink. “Well!” he said to the open-mouthed bartender, “time to split!”

Worst Summary

I mean, summaries are hard for everyone, right? That’s the thing we all universally struggle with, I think? I usually end up liking mine, and this year I was less afraid to just let a section of the story speak for itself. Anyway the worst one is “ Broke My Last Glass Jaw” by virtue of the fact that I had to come back months later and add another line because I wasn’t satisfied with how it was reaching audiences.

After the war, Impactor is at loose ends.

(They were friends once, weren't they? After all this time, Impactor wonders if Megatron hasn't managed to forget.)

I really wanted that one line to say it all, but honestly it requires a lot of trust in me as the author and most of the people who pass by the fic in the archive aren’t gonna know me from adam. The second line clarifies what kind of story it’s going to be in terms of tone and theme.

Best First Line

I’m pretty ambivalent about most of my first lines. Since Nev already pointed out the first line in “ Apotheosis”, I have to admit, it is pretty good. It gets off to a real jaunty start.

“Excuse me,” Starscream said, striding down the steps of the senate chambers with his cape flaring out behind him, “get your cowcatcher out of his face, you tin-plated amateur despot, he’s with me.”

I also like the audacity of a run on sentence that is the opening to “ Desecrate You”

Ratchet clicks the video because it was auto-recommended, and because First Aid is always dropping hopeful hints that he wants her to watch his show when he’s supposed to be grading papers, and because something about the title (“This is Definitely a Hoax! None of this is Real! Short Cut Footage Episode”) makes her wonder why the hell someone who runs a Ghost Hunting youtube channel would bill their own hard work as a hoax right out of the bag.

Worst First Line

Definitely the least interesting is from “Tantric Sex, and Other Mysteries of the Divine”. I guess it’s another fic where I was really eager to get to the meat of the fic, and so I just went back after I was done with the fic and wrote a paragraph of bare bones setting context so we could move on already.

It’s game night at Swerve’s, and Nightbeat is out in the thick of the crew for once, getting the lay of the land.

I have the same problem in a few fics, which probably arises from the fact that when I read a fic, I often skim the first paragraph or so to see if I really want to commit to the read. So I sometimes write like I’m expecting the audience to do that too. I probably need to work on that. Man, I even did it in Sexy Staycation.

Best Last Line

I like endings! I usually have a good gut instinct for where stories should end, and how to pace that, and what image I want to close the fic on. Often times I’ll be writing a story and feeling really lukewarm about it, and then the ending will come to me, and I’ll feel totally won over by it. That happened with my Suicide Squad fic years ago. So this is for the most part me picking the best of the things I already like. “Broke My Last Glass Jaw” has a good pithy one; I like how it isolates this moment as a moment of choice, and how it’s also ambiguous whether he will change because of this or whether he’s doomed to go back to his predetermined pattern.

And despite the unguarded door and the empty inviting streets beyond, where no one wants or expects anything of him but his feterless bitter trog onward into the next waiting prison cell, Impactor lays down, and Impactor does.

Special mention goes to “ The Sky Dark in its Eclipse : Orange Light Remix”, because the ending section is one of the big changes I brought to the remix, and I’m really happy with how it alters the shape of the narrative and also how it changes the focus of Rung’s arc. Most of the actual words in this fic were written by Choko in 2018, so this is like a collab in slow motion--I changed loadstone moments mostly, some of the framing, all of the backstory, and updated the setting for Cybertron. But the ending is all me.

On the morning of Intro to Psych finals, while Hot Rod hums and taps and scrolls back and forth through his test on the front row of the testing hall, Rung will sit behind his desk and brush the dust from the rotors of his fateful archetype, and start the long process of putting the pieces together once and for all.

Worst Last Line

Again, I like my endings, so this is really the worst of the best. The original ending line I wrote for “ All Our Urgent Restless Sighing” was:

Deadlock’s finials twitched. “...I am a reasonable amount of interested,” he said, “in this topic.”

And in the beta process, Nev came back in and added the line about Ratchet and cuddling, which was a big hit with the readers it seems like. So clearly I benefitted from some help there haha!

Looking back, did you write more or less than you thought you would this year?

you know what, I definitely wrote more than I thought I would. I didn’t see “Don’t Sing Me No More Blues” coming at all, and that was once a month for most of the year. I was hoping that I would be able to write a few things outside of Transformers, because I always worry that my long spans of hyperfixation are driving away my longtime readers... and I did manage to get one hxh thing written that was good, and one hxh thing started that is mediocre so far. So I guess I’ll call that good enough.

 What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, just your favorite.

hmm I’m really proud of the Pharma chapter me and Choko put together for GPAU--the body horror, the tragedy, the lotus eater machine plot. But even though that felt like a whole ass story of its own, I guess it’s only a chapter at the end of the day. So my favorite story would be “Apotheosis”. It’s just SO much, and we had SO many things we wanted to do, and somehow we managed to do them ALL. Corpses! Children! God! It’s got everything! The only thing it doesn’t have is the idea that literally started us plotting out the fic. And that was “ritual public sex with Starscream and Rung”. Oh well. Maybe someday. Probably not.

Okay, Now your most popular story

Ha! I tend to view the success of a fic more based on its bookmark ratio than its hit count, but by the numbers, unsurprisingly, “ Don't Sing Me No More Blues” is my most popular fic of the year at a whopping 3k hits and 113 bookmarks. Well, it is jazz/prowl which means it has a built in audience of considerable size, and it also updated seven times this year which increases its net range, so no surprise. But I think people also just really vibed with it--it’s very much a product of the times we are living in, and I don’t think it could have been written in any year except for 2020. 

“Dress Your Idol” has 58 bookmarks, by the way. I’m extremely proud of that fic for having such a high bookmark to view ratio. I guess the people who did read it liked it a lot.

Story most underappreciated in its Time.

Okay nothing is as under-exposed as the stuff I produced in JTHM, so I’m definitely not complaining. It’s hard to think about leaving TF because TF is such an enthusiastic community. That said, “ Neggnog Cozy” did not get eyeballs. I’m not surprised, it’s short and it’s gen, and Thundercracker doesn’t have the built in audience of say Starscream. Still, I thought it was really funny and cute and I would have liked it if more people would have given it a chance.

Story that could have been better

Oh, “ Melusine Among the Tombs” for sure. I went into that with only the first chapter planned and immediately after realized that I had no idea where the fic was going and also I had lost my grip on canon characterization after a couple years going rusty in other fandoms. I plan to finish it eventually, but I need a better plan than “wing it???” first.

Sexiest Story

I wrote SO much weird kink this year. Like. Shout out to past me for writing some pretty spicy JTHM fic, but this year I really leaned into how weird you can plausibly get with an all robot all alien cast. 

“ The Sensual Machine” is the most unabashedly horny because it was written specifically for a weird kink themed zine that I was an editor on. “Desecrate You” is also quite horny but I almost exclusively wrote the frame device for that, so I don’t get sexy credit lmao. “Fear and Delight” was a big hit with all the hxh readers and I think it has an element of sexiness more so than pure horniness--its has a kind of glamour and style to it.

Most fun story

“Starscream's Sexy Staycation” is by far the most unabashedly comic and sexy and silly and low stakes. It has one of my favorite kinks, a beautiful stupid moment of Ratchet suffering, and Rung calling safeword which is something new and fresh and I want a lot more of it in the world.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

“ Lacunae” was given to me as a yule gift prompt with the express intention of explaining who the fuck Carmilla’s mother was, and what the deal is with Carmilla as well. This would have forced me to reevaluate my understanding of the novel except for the TEENSY insignificant fact that I realized I had never finished reading Carmilla, somehow, and ended up reading it for the first time in December in preparation for yule. So uh. Hmm.

I think “ Don't Sing Me No More Blues” made me think about Prowl in a different way. I wasn’t really expecting him to be this hard-edged idealist when I started out on the fic. He was originally going to be much more like the autistic coded Prowl of “The Cop and the Cryptid,” one of my favorite fics ever. Also, I started writing the fic about a month before the riots and police protest kicked off in America this year, and it really caused me to zero in on how Prowl being part of a system like that affects his relationship to the world and other characters.

Hardest Story to Write

“ Elegy for Actaeon of the Hounds” took me a total of six months to write from start to finish. I don’t know why. Well, It’s partly because there are three involved sex scenes and sex scenes are actually very difficult and time consuming for me to write. It’s also partly because I kept wanting it to have a character arc, and I kept getting stumped on how to handle that. Beauty and the Beast plot lift? Have Rodimus be a rabbit? Eventually I settled on the version that kept the cast tightly cinched down around Megatron and Rung, and I’m happy with the result.

Easiest Story to Write

When we were writing “Apotheosis” it felt like we were on FIRE, we were so productive and we started three other projects between us while it was in motion. But “Take One For the Team” was absolutely the most fun to write, it basically wrote itself

Most Overdue Story

“Champagne in the Final Days of Rome” was based off a conversation I had with Nev pretty early on in our friendship--Discord says it was June 2019, so that’s uhhh ten months between discussion to actual writing? And it still didn’t turn out to be the fic we were originally outlining, haha.

Oh god you know what was really the most overdue? The last chapter of “Icarus; or, Look Who's Digging His Own Grave”. It was literally a year, January to January, between chapter 12 and 13. For a while I thought maybe I was just going to have to leave it there, without resolving the time loop problem at all.

Did you take writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

Writing for the zine was a big risk. I remember Nev had to reassure me at least twice that what I was writing wasn’t too weird or off-topic or embarrassing to be part of the project. Now, of course, I’m very happy with it. But my god I was nervous to post something that was like.... straight up actually bimboification applied to one of the most popular toy characters of all time.

What I learned from this is that people love horny shit, are READY to take a chance on a weird fic when its in the right wrapping paper, and when in doubt you CAN sell people on a kink they’re not really into by making the kink actually a reflection of a character arc. Are you writing this down?

Do you have any goals for writing in the new year?

Finish GPAU!!!!!!

I’d like to FINALLY sit down and do some hard work on my original fiction. I’ve been kind of waiting for the tf hyperfixation to wane so I could move forward, and I think that process is in motion now. But who knows. If Rung shows up in the new comics I might get nerfed again.

Other than that I’d like to write at least one fanfic that isn’t TF, and I would like to get this really crunchy Rung/Pharma fic off the ground so I can make some people CRY

[adrenaline-roulette]

Four Eighths

Pairing: Four x Eight (Reader) Word count: 2K+ Warnings: Swearing, that’s really the only one for this chapter, I’ll change the warnings as necessary for each part. 

*Disclaimer, I really don’t know anything about the world of computer hacking and such, but I tried my best! 

Chapter one: Finding yourself

                                                  Well hello there! Look, I’m embarrassed and ashamed to admit this, but it’s taken me up until this past weekend to finally getting around to watching 6 Underground.

Now let me tell you, that shit was intense, hilarious, amazing, and my golly gosh, Ben Hardy has stolen my heart once again! There I was, thinking that he couldn’t get any more attractive after playing Roger, but no! I was oh so very wrong!

So basically, I fell down a rabbit hole of Four x Reader fics, and then while I was driving to work the other morning, I had an idea of my own for a story, and now here we are! I’ll let you all know now, this first chapter is basically just introducing Eight, but as of chapter 2 (Which will likely either be out tonight or at the very least by the end of this week), we will begin to get into the actual plot, and lets be honest, the smut. (We all want it, don’t pretend you don’t!)

I’m hoping you all enjoy this, and I would love to hear from you if you do!

@everything-isfucked, my sister from another mister, this goes out to you (You had better like it!)

Anyways, on with the show!!!

⫷⫷⫸⫸

Chapter one: Finding yourself

When your friends had asked you to join them for a night out on Friday, you had lied and said you had already made other plans. It wasn’t entirely a lie, however to most people, by saying you had plans, one would think they would involve you going out, and interacting with other people. This however, was not the case. To an extent you were interacting with people, actually no, let’s rephrase that, you were interacting with other people’s money.

Technology was your forte, everyone knew this, whether they understood the extent of your knowledge in the field, that was another question entirely. During school, all your subjects revolved around computer sciences, and it was to no one’s surprise when you had selected a degree in this exact field. Though you quickly found your assignments to be mundane and repetitive, designing a fully functioning website? You did that in your free time when you were seventeen! Create an app which allowed users to stream Netflix onto two screens at the same time? You had one upped that assignment with ease, your app allowed people to stream Netflix on one screen, YouTube on another screen, Or you could split screen, and have both playing at the same time on the same screen. Needless to say, while you professors were impressed with your abilities, your classmates were often found to be leering at you, snarky comments about how ‘because of you getting such a high grade, everyone else’s got dropped lower because they couldn’t compete.’ To you though, this wasn’t a competition, it was just something you loved to do! Of course, after years of doing the same sort of thing, your interests inevitably began to change. You knew the ins and outs of most apps and websites by now, you had studied them relentlessly when in the process of developing your own. So really, how hard would it be to use their coding against them, wreak a little havoc from the inside?

You had started off innocently enough, getting into your friend’s social media accounts, tweaking things in their settings just to get on their nerves. Slowly you built up to larger scale hacking, such as remotely logging into your professor’s laptop, not only finding the answers to the next five tests your class had, (Which you promptly made several copies of, selling them to your classmates online for $100 each) but also retrieving a few passwords that could have been far stronger than they were, (There’s a reason why most websites tell you if your password is weak, it’s to try and stop people like you from figuring it out!) With the passwords at hand, you were able to grant yourself access to anything you wanted in relation to your professor.  His bank account details? You had them. The password to access his bank account?  Well that just so happened to be the same password he used for his emails, which, oh look, you had that too! You had the ability to transfer all of his money from his account and into yours, something which you found yourself unable to do, despite his flawed internet security, you had no issue with the Professor, and although your moral compass was severely lacking by now, it was still strong enough to sway you away from robbing the man.

Your moral compass could only last for so long though, bills were piling up, your tuition fee was astronomical, add on top of that, your rent for the small apartment you had decided to stay in, to both escape your parents, and to avoid student housing, well the landlord had just upped the cost by $150 per week. You had a part time job, but the shifts had been dwindling as of late, and your savings account had reached dangerously low levels. Anyone else in your situation would do the same if they knew how, you told yourself as you found yourself diving deeper into a list of names you had found after weeks of searching. The list played host to the names of multi-millionaires  who were so called, ‘off the grid’. The people who were in hiding for one reason or another, the people who even the government didn’t know about, and definitely the kind of people that you, a broke student, should have nothing to do with, or know they exist.

All you had to do was select a name, just any name, then came the hard part, snoop around and find everything you need to grant yourself access to their bank. It was one thing to find the details needed when it was your Professor, but a totally other thing when it came the people on this list. These were the kind of people who had passwords to protect their passwords, passwords! Your eyes scan over the list one final time, before stopping on a somewhat familiar name. “What are you doing here?” You hum out, cocking your head to the side as you make up your mind, this is the person.

It took close to three weeks before you had retrieved all the information you required, and in that time, your savings were now obsolete, but that didn’t matter, it was Friday night, and you were about to make yourself filthy rich! “Sorry mate, it’s either this or I move back home.” You smirk, spinning back and forth on the black leather computer chair, your eyes sparkling as you look over the enormous number which was the balance of this strangers account. You knew what you were doing with this part, quickly you entered in  the necessary details, answering each and every security question with ease, before it finally came time to transfer the money to your account. “Just a bit to start with.” You decide, removing a few of the 0’s you had added for the amount you would transfer, “Can’t have the banks getting suspicious.”

                                                                               ********

The man stared at his phone, eyes narrowing into slits as he glared at the ever-changing bank balance. He hadn’t noticed it at first, I mean there was always so much money in there, how was he supposed to remember exactly how much he had? But the balance was dropping rapidly now, not by enough to cause him any concern, but surely enough to get on his nerves. There was nothing he could do to stop this though; he could hardly walk into his bank and demand they track down whoever had somehow gained access to his account.

No, he would have to solve this problem himself, surely it couldn’t be that hard to track them down, right?

                                                                              ********

Hacking was one hell of a slippery slope. One minute you were stealing someone’s money, and the next, you were assisting a group thieves who were robbing an exhibition which had come to the City’s largest museum. The exhibition was a collection of Georgian era clothes, and jewellery, which had been travelling across the globe, displaying some of the most exquisite pieces of fashion the world had ever seen. So far, the collection had made it three quarters of the way through its journey, and it was set to remain in your city for two months, before being packed up and moving on once again.

You don’t know whose idea it was for you all to use walkie talkies to communicate, but you felt like a child playing spies when you were handed yours that night. You didn’t give yourself the chance to think about that for too long though, as you quickly logged on to your set up, having situated yourself in a hotel which stood right across from the museum.  Usually it was packed with tourists, though after offering to pay triple the price for a room with a view of the museum for the night, miraculously the staff had found you an empty room. You had spent the entire afternoon lugging your bags up to the room, all your computer components securely housed in each bag. None of the hotel staff had paid you any mind as you brought up you twelfth and final bag, simply turning a blind eye to the oddity of the situation.

“Okay, I have eyes on the security guards.” You announce through your walkie talkie, eyes trained on one of the monitors which mirrored what the security cameras inside the museum saw. “Foxtrot, you need to go left up ahead. Romeo, stand still, don’t move until I say so, there’s a guard right near you.  Lima, you are getting way too close to a camera up ahead, either turn right now and go another way, or wait a few moments for it to pan back the way it came.”

This situation was stressful as hell, but the adrenaline which pumped through your veins kept you going, igniting a fire within you which begged for more. The trio in the museum listened to your every word, obeying each command as they crept closer to their target. An oval room near the far left of the museum, in this room there sat twenty pedestals, each playing host to necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets. Glass boxes encasing each item to keep them safe and protected. Not for much longer. “I can hear footsteps Quebec.” Lima whispers to you, and you frown, looking back to your monitors, scanning for anyone who may be approaching. At first you missed it, your eyes moving on to the next screen, but quickly they dart back, landing on a guard who had been up until a few minutes ago, permanently positioned near the bathrooms.

“Fuck, yes I see him. Foxtrot, Romeo, your path is clear for the rest of the way, but stop when you get to the doors of the oval room, don’t go in until I say so.” You watch the two figures nod their heads in understanding, before making their way as instructed. “Lima, go back the way you came, see if you can get into the storage closet at the end of the hall, I’ll tell you when to come out.”

“Quebec, we’re here and ready to go in.” Foxtrot announces, as you watch Lima close the closet door behind him, the guard who had been closing in on him none the wiser.

“Okay, here’s where it’s going to get loud.” You announce, turning to a new computer, fingers gliding across the keyboard at lighting speed. Delving deep into the security system for the museum, you finally stop when a window pops open, requesting an override password.  You had three chances to get this right, and you had four theories of what the password was. ‘Incorrect password’ the window reads, before you enter your second attempt. You hold your breath, waiting for the same message to appear, though this time it doesn’t. “Thank fuck.” You mumble, typing in the code needed for your distraction.

The fire alarms blares to life, a loud siren sounding throughout the entire museum. The security guards do just as you had expected, they all leave their posts and make their way to the front desk, all trying to find out what had caused the alarm to begin. It wouldn’t take them long to come to the conclusion that the alarm had tripped itself, but it would give your team long enough to smash and grab what they could. The sound of three hammers simultaneously smashing glass in the oval room is obscured by the alarm, and you watch as your masked teammates snatch up jewellery left, right and centre, shoving the items into their backpacks “That’s the last of it.” Foxtrot informs you, throwing the bag back over his shoulder.

“Okay, this is where we go blind, I’m cutting the cameras now, anyone who looks through them will see you arrive, but will never see you leave.” This is the tricky part, not only for your team who have to navigate their way out of the museum through the back entrance without your eyes to guide them. But also for you, who must now cut the security cameras for the entire museum, and then for the street cameras from the buildings out the back of the museum. You don’t have to do all the cameras outside, just enough to give your team room to make a clean getaway, leaving no trace of them to be found. You swipe your phone unlocked, resting it on the desk beside you, hitting shuffle on your playlist, Nutbush city limits playing at full volume. Smiling, you get to work, the song adding to the exhilaration of what you had just done.  Sure, not many people would be proud of robbing priceless artefacts from a museum, but hey, each to their own.

As you finish with the last building, its cameras shut off, your music drowns out the sound of the hotel door clicking shut softly. “Alright, you have a camera free street ahead of you. I’ll see you back at the rendezvous point for my cut.” You sign off on the walkie talkie, switching it off, after hearing an affirmative from your team on the ground. “Fuck yeah!” You cry happily, clapping your hands together three times, taking a moment to congratulate yourself on pulling off something that was this large scale.

“I wouldn’t say fuck yeah, in fact, I was leaning more towards fuck you.” Comes a voice from behind you, causing you to leap to your feet in surprise, spinning on the spot to face the stranger in your room.

“Who the hell are you?” You shriek, hands grabbing blindly at the desk behind you, searching for something you could use to defend yourself with.

“I’m the man you’ve been robbing for the past few months. I’m also the man who is going to kill you for doing so.”

Your fingers wrap around a solid object, and you lift it before you, holding it up in self-defence. You realise too late, that the hotel provided paper weight you were wielding, was nothing against the gun that was pointed directly at your chest.

Chapter Two My Masterlist

[boldly-ho]

Another Life - Chapter 15

Fandom: What We Do in the Shadows 

Pairing: Vladislav x Reader

Series Rating: E

Word Count: 2043

Chapter Summary: Look, ok, I don’t want to come up with a summary because I hate coming up with summaries and it’s my birthday so I’m not going to  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

A/N: Noncon/dubcon mentions. As always, cross-posted to AO3.

You sat in the lounge, alone, scrolling through your phone, not knowing where the rest of your flatmates were. They were in the house, yeah, but did they really spend so much time in their rooms? Deacon certainly couldn’t, at least. You’d found out that the small hall closet you had thought was his room, was in fact his room.

It was better not to delve into the question of were they were and what they what doing. You were pretty sure you’d heard unfamiliar voices in the house, earlier.

Rapid footsteps thundering down the stairs pulled you from your thoughts. A woman half ran, half fell down the stairs into the lounge. She was only partially dressed, wearing just her jeans and a bra. She looked around frantically, eyes darting back and forth between you and the door. Apparently settling on the door, she ran towards it, choosing to ignore you in favor of escape.

She reached the door but couldn’t open it, struggling with the locks in her panic. You watched from the couch, frozen just as you had been with Nick. How did this keep happening? The loud footfalls of someone upstairs, running down the hall, brought your gaze to the stairs in anticipation, just as it did the woman’s. She abandoned the door, running to you, grabbing your hand before you could react.

“Please, please, don’t let him kill me! He’s going to kill me! You have to get me out of here!”

The fear and desperation in her voice tugged at your gut. You stared in shock at her wide, pleading eyes.

As Vladislav literally flew down the stairs, a sob escaped the woman’s throat, and she squeezed your hand with a surprising amount of strength. Her anxiety was contagious, and you found yourself growing irrationally fearful as he approached.

Unlike the woman, Vladislav was fully dressed. As he landed on the floor, he smiled gently at her, ignoring you entirely.

“Are you okay? You left in a rush.” His soft smile was disarming, small enough to hide his fangs, but show off the gap between his front teeth. His voice sounded different than usual. Softer, calmer, but somehow more commanding.

The woman’s grip on your hand loosened. You held on tighter in response. She blinked and looked around, less in panic now, and more in confusion. “I don’t… I want to go home.” You couldn’t tell if she was talking to you, to Vladislav, or to herself.

Vladislav chuckled, taking her available hand in his. “No, you don’t.” His voice still held the same melodic cadence. It was almost intoxicating. “You want to stay. You want me, and you want to come back up to my room.” She was nodding as he spoke.

“Let’s go back upstairs,” she breathed. All traces of fear had left her body. She stood tall, leaning slightly towards him, thrusting her almost exposed chest in his direction.

She was being hypnotized, you realized, and it was working all too well. The change in her demeanor was absolute. What could that feel like? Did she know she was being manipulated?

She started walking towards the stairs, but you gripped her hand tightly, not wanting her to die. She kept walking, though, yanking her hand from yours as she went. You stared after her as she traipsed up the stairs, to meet her fate, looking back to Vladislav, who held a finger up to signal he’d be a moment behind. As she rounded the corner and disappeared from your line of sight, you wondered, not for the first time, if it hurt. Being killed by a vampire. You’d never asked. You hoped not, for her sake. Who knows. Maybe in her hypnotized state, she’d even enjoy it.

That thought gave you a strong emotion, though you couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

“Sorry about that. She was hypnotized, but it lapsed and she realized what was happening,” Vladislav apologized.

“It’s fine,” you said, more out of habit than of it being the truth. “Does hypnosis not always work?”

“Not always.”

“Does she know she’s being hypnotized?”

You weren’t sure why you were asking. You were curious, of course, and you actually wanted to know, but you’d been curious about it before and not said anything. It felt as though you were only asking in order to delay him from going upstairs, from returning to the woman. It was pointless, anyway. You couldn’t delay him forever.

Vladislav shook his head. “No, she doesn’t know. Or, if she does, she doesn’t remember afterwards. Apparently, it’s like spacing out, and then you think whatever ideas were planted in your head were your own.”

“Oh.”

He was fighting back a smile, looking very much like a young boy who’d gotten away with placing a ‘kick me’ sign on the teacher’s back.

“What?” you asked, suspiciously.

“I’ve hypnotized you before,” he admitted, not nearly as sheepish as he ought to be.

You sat straight up on the couch. “What! When? Why?”

Vladislav held his hands up in surrender. “It was early! The first time we met. It’s not like I knew you, yet.”

“What for?” You pursed your lips, unsure of whether or not you should be angry.

“You were asking all sorts of questions about Petyr. I convinced you that you weren’t interested in meeting him.”

You pensively chewed the inside of your lip. You supposed that was fair enough. If you had insisted on meeting Petyr, and that soon, it could have led to a number of problems, both for you and for your flatmates. Still, it made you uncomfortable to be so manipulated, out of control even of your own thoughts. “Okay,” you ceded. “Well, don’t do it again.”

He looked deeply into your eyes, staring for just a moment too long, saying, “Never again.”

You broke off eye contact. It was beginning to feel too intimate. “Thank you.”

“I should probably get back up there,” he told you, gesturing to the staircase.

“Vladislav?”

When you didn’t continue, he prompted you. “Yes?”

“I-“ You stopped yourself. What could you say? ‘Don’t do it?’ ‘Let her go?’ You couldn’t ask that of him. He had to eat. He had to kill her. It was absolutely not your place to stop him, and even if it was, how could you?

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

You watched him as he left, eyes still glued to the stairs long after he’d left them.

You eventually wondered what was going on. She had been topless. Had he gone upstairs and immediately killed her? Or were they doing something else? Was she still alive? The house was big, and with the notable exception of Nick, they usually killed their victims quietly. You weren’t even sure how often it happened.

At any point the sun was down, there was a chance you were under the same roof where a murder was taking place.

You picked up your cell phone and resumed scrolling.

~

You hadn’t told Dawn what had happened, so she’d put the incident entirely behind her. You hadn’t ruled out telling her at some point, but you weren’t even sure exactly what had happened. A coincidence seemed highly unlikely, though. You’d recognized the man. Missed him, even. You must have known him. He was somebody from your missing year, somebody important. And after talking to him, Dawn had lost all memories of the conversation.

Just like you had lost all memories of the past year.

That had to mean something.

But what?

Maybe your memory loss wasn’t natural. Maybe it wasn’t related to trauma or repression. Maybe it was forced on you. Maybe the man had caused it.

You didn’t know how that could be possible. The only thing you could think of was drugs. But what kind of drug could make you forget your memories? And how could it have made you lose a whole year, and Dawn only a half hour?

Still, something had made Dawn forget her memories in a way very similar to how you had lost yours. That man must have something to do with it. But how?

You sighed in frustration. You were stuck in a loop.

You wondered how long it would take you to knock on every door in Wellington. He must be behind one of them. It was a stupid idea. Even if you somehow, magically, happened to find him, what’s stopping him from erasing your memories again?

Not a single thing, probably.

~

You laid in your bed, staring into the dark, unable to fall asleep. Your flatmates wouldn’t kill you. You knew that. They were your friends. And even if they weren’t, they needed another flatmate to pay the bills, and you did that. They weren’t going to eat you.

You’d already been hypnotized, though, and you had no memory of it happening. They could hypnotize you at any time, and you’d have no idea. They could be hypnotizing you every day, and you’d have no idea.

They weren’t, of course. Why would they? Vladislav had just done it the one time, and he had promised you he wouldn’t do it again. You had no reason to doubt him.

You wondered what it felt like; you couldn’t recall. Had you known it was happening in the moment only to forget after the fact? Had you felt manipulated? Out of control? Or did you not know? Did it feel as though the ideas were your own?

It couldn’t have been that bad, you supposed. Though you didn’t love the idea of feeling out of control of your own mind, being hypnotized really hadn’t affected you. It certainly didn’t seem to bother the woman who was probably dead by now in Vladislav’s bedroom.

Did he use her? He must have. It was one thing to eat her; he had to eat her.

‘You want me.’

That’s what he had said to her. That’s what he made her think. She was cowering in fear at the sight of him, but after three words, she climbed up the stairs to his bedroom, wanting to give herself to him.

Three words.

He could do that to you.

He wouldn’t. He would never. It would be hideously cruel. Evil. He was your friend. He wouldn’t.

He could.

You’d never know. You’d think you’d wanted to. Actually wanted to.

That’s what that woman had thought.

‘You want me.’

You wondered if you could be hypnotized by proxy. You heard his words. But they weren’t directed at you. He wasn’t talking to you, and you knew it. But could you have been hypnotized, too?

No.

You weren’t hypnotized.

You couldn’t be; you didn’t want him.

Still, you found yourself thinking being hypnotized in a such a way wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. As much as you naturally disliked the idea of your mind being out of your control, manipulated, you found something appealing about the idea in fantasy. Free to… to be…

You shouldn’t even fantasize.

Even if this wasn’t a sick and twisted reality for a number of people he then killed, he was still your flatmate. You shouldn’t… couldn’t…

You wouldn’t.

For someone so frustrated with the concept of not controlling your own mind, you couldn’t seem to redirect your thoughts. And so, as your hand moved under the sheets, you pretended it was someone unfamiliar you were picturing.

You pretended you weren’t pretending you were in a certain room, with a certain person, who didn’t have dark hair, and hazel eyes, and a warm laugh, and-

Guilt and desire and self-loathing mingled in ways you didn’t entirely despise.

When you finally fell asleep that night, your dreams were disturbing. She sat at the foot of your bed. You recognized her, though you’d never actually seen her.

Kura.

She was smiling widely, just as she did in the missing person poster her family was still posting all over Wellington. You stared at each other for an eternity when, suddenly, she had changed. She was covered head to toe in blood, and her constant smile now seemed insidious. Fear and guilt raced through you as she opened her mouth, and the word, instead of coming from her throat, echoed loudly in your brain.

COMPLICIT.

[honestgrins]

Someone stakes Caroline and she wakes up with wings. She asks Klaus and Bonnie for help

Oh, Hell No

Curled up on the sofa, Caroline kept her hands tucked into her folded knees, lest she set more curtains on fire. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me,” she whispered, terrified.

Bonnie seemed just as scared, but that might have had more to do with the translucent wings extending high over friend’s head from where they sprouted on her back. Or, maybe it was leftover from the panicked phone call about a stake to the heart and a determined pack of vampire hunters that were wildly unprepared for her to wake up pissed.

She’d still been covered in their blood when Bonnie arrived, Enzo and Kol in tow.

Why they had to call Klaus, she wasn’t sure, but Caroline couldn’t help but feel relieved when he swooped into the hotel room they’d hurried her to. While Kol and Enzo left to procure blood bags and Bonnie took care of her, he’d been on the phone with murmured conversations almost nonstop. She lost count of the different languages he slipped into, though it helped to take her mind off the danger she’d found herself in. Or the wings she now had, apparently. “Vampires not dying, fine. I can wrap my mind around that. But these?” Her head shook, even as she held herself unnaturally still just so she wouldn’t have to feel them move. “It’s too much.”

“I know,” Bonnie soothed, not sure whether or not it’d be safe to touch her in this keyed up state. “Kol has some theories that Klaus is tracking down. You know he won’t leave you up to chance.”

As though to prove her point, he suddenly appeared in front of her, phone tucked away. Kneeling, he brushed a thumb under her shadowed eyes. “You need blood now, sweetheart. Starving this new side of you won’t make it go away.”

“You don’t know that,” she answered mulishly, knowing he was right. The growing hunger inside her felt different from the incessant thirst of vampirism, even stronger than when she first turned all those years ago.

Klaus winced. “I’m sorry to say I think I do. Drink,” he ordered, holding his bare wrist in front of her.

As hard as it was not to lurch forward, Caroline shrunk away instead. “No.”

“Sweetheart, there’s no going back. Only forward. Let me help you.”

She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, then bit harder at the ring of gold in his eyes. Her voice was small when the admission came forth. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Smirking, he reached with his other hand to trace the new, sharper angle of her fangs. “I dare you,” he teased, his own fangs sliding into place.

His blood always tasted good, but something about it this time left her rearing back before she could get lost in the pull of his veins. “Klaus,” she gasped around a greedy gulp. “What am I?”

“Witches have been trying to destroy vampires for a long time, love.” He glanced over her wings, pleased to find them looking stronger with even just a bit of his blood. “They’ve employed a number of spells and allies, one of which interested my father to an alarming degree. A natural hunter for this accursed being he had let us become.”

“What?”

“It’s rare enough to go unheard of for centuries at a time,” he continued, walking behind the sofa to massage the tender patch between her shoulder blades. “Something of a recessive trait in family lines. Would you care to guess why your father seemed overly loyal to the founders council and its mission?”

Blinking, she wasn’t loving the dramatics. “Klaus!”

“I suspect the hunters who staked you,” he ground out between clenched teeth, “had been following Bill Forbes’ career close enough to suspect a more active gene. By killing you, they aimed to release you.”

Fear clawed at her throat along with the desire to tear Klaus’ whole arm off with her teeth. She was so hungry. With a dignified gulp, Caroline forced herself to ask. “Release what?”

His fingers dared to brush the bony spikes, and she wanted everything - but nothing so much as the truth. He smiled like he could hear her whole being focus on the contact at her back. “The demon inside you, love. One that feeds only on vampires.”

What the hell?!