#i promise i'll get back to finishing the phone background project when i have the spoons

[sofasoap]

Lastochka AU - Strange encounter

Pairing : Nikolai x F!Reader ( OC/Mini MacTavish)

Summary: You just can't get a break, can you?

AU to my Lastochka series

WARNING: Mature Theme. Crack Fic. I repeat. Crack fic. don’t take it so seriously. Swearing, violence, death, innuendos.

A/N : The meaningless crack plot continues. Thanks to @siilvan for listening to my weird blabbering on Nik, and @gamergirlbones, here is the crack I promised. Not proof read. I am half asleep. I'll check it again later. * zzz *

masterlist

You crouch behind a dumpster bin, arms wrapping around your messenger bag tightly, panting away, listening to the shouts of foreign languages and footsteps running past your hiding spot. 

For countless times. You wonder why every strange thing has been happening to you, since you moved to this city. Getting picked up by a strange man, who turns out to be your brother’s work associate (with questionable background ), being set up by your best friend with the said dodgy person (well, you have to admit, it turns out to be a decent date. Ok. Pretty good date, you admit.) 

Now you are being chased by mobsters, who want to kill you. 

For reasons unknown. 

“Fucken bitch, think you can get away from us? Hand over the package!!” You made yourself even smaller as you heard the assailant yell out between the alleyways, voice getting closer and closer. 

What package?  You look at the manila envelope inside your bag, is this what they are after? Some business analytic report and boring colour samples your boss requested for the office renovation project? 

Wait. Now you remember. You walked out from the designer’s office, you ran into someone. Both of you dropped whatever was in your hand, apologising to each other as the other person scrambled to pick up the package on the ground, mumbling something incoherent before they scurried away in a hurry. 

The two packages look exactly the same. 

hell damn it. You picked up the wrong envelope. No wonder it weighs heavier than you thought.

Thinking back to your workmate’s joking words when you complain about all the bad luck and strange occurrences you had since you moved here ; 

“ The stars aren’t aligned right, or your chi isn’t matching with this city. Chaos is ruling the universe!” 

Or the goddess of fortune just playing jokes on you.

Banging noises and bins getting overturned snapped you out of self-deprecating musing. Gotta think something fast, you tell yourself, if you don’t want to end up on the news being a dead body floating down the city river, discovered days later. You would rather die from falling out of the helicopter, piloted by Nikolai. 

With a shaky hand and suppressing that fear slowly rising from your stomach,  you fumbled as you dug out the mobile phone from your bag, scrolling through the list of contacts and hoping Johnny isn’t on a black OP mission or middle of nowhere. 

Your thumb came to a stop when you saw a name on the list. Should You? Or should you not? 

Fuck this. Maybe luck will be on your side this time round, you press on the name of the contact, hoping for the best. 

One ring, two rings, three rings. “Come on.. Come on.. Please…” Praying in your mind as you hold your breath while biting your nail,waiting anxiously. 

“Hellllo, my Lastochka, have you finally decided on our third date?” Nikolai purred as he picked up the call. 

Rolling your eyes ,you whispered into the phone harshly, holding back the tears and panic. “There is NO third date if I am gonna die in this dumpster in the next ten minutes!!” 

“Where are you?” You can sense his immediate tone change. He speaks up again before you can notify you of location. “Nevermind, I will just track your phone. Stay where…”  Before he could finish you saw a shadow looming over you, with gun in hand. Letting out a scream and out of instinct, you dropped the phone and deflected the gun split second before the person pulled the trigger, bullet grazing your cheek. Swinging your bag into the person’s groin with all your might, you quickly crawl away as the attacker collapses onto the floor with pain. 

As you scurried away from the danger, you nearly forgot to pick up the phone. Ducking back to retrieve it, you notice the attacker slowly getting up, ready to fight again. Before they had the chance, you gave them another kick in the stomach and harder kick in the head, grab the phone and ran as fast as you could away from the alleyway. 

You didn’t get too far when you heard the sound of gunshots ringing between the buildings, people screaming, followed by a hand pulling you into a broad chest.

Very familiar warm chest and scent. Feeling of safety. Nikolai. 

“Seems I got here in the nick of time.” You feel his chest vibrating as he laughs at his own pun. “But I see you manage to defend yourself with no problem, little bird. Soap had taught you well.”

You would have collapsed on the ground with relief if he wasn’t holding you up with his strong arms. Turning yourself around to lean into his chest, “How did you get here so fast?” you asked. “Did you stalk me again?! Wait, you did, didn’t you? You mention something about tracking..” you looked up at him suspiciously. 

“That is another subject to discuss when your brother gets here next time.” he dismisses you lightly. “So, Are you ok? Why are the local mafia chasing you down??” Pulling you away from him, your body heats up as he cupped your face gently, scanning up and down your body, checking for signs of injury. He frowned as he saw the bullet burnt mark on your cheek, from the bullet barely dodged minutes ago. 

Closing your eyes as let out an exasperated sigh. You quickly recount all the events from earlier on the day. 

“So, here I am, nearly got gunned down, and have something in my possession which I shouldn’t have.” you concluded, fishing out the package from your bag. “I don’t even know what’s in there.

“Well, open it then.” Nikolai nodded towards the envelope, encouraging you to open the mystery package. 

Opening up the seal flap of the package, you took a good look inside. 

“Well, this is definitely not the colour swatch and carpet samples my boss asked for.” you closed the flap again, sighing. “You can have it. I can’t exactly have… that.. Things with me. I don’t know what to do with it.” 

Passing the envelope over to Nikolai, he opened it, eyebrow raised and said nothing. 

“What do I do now??” You muttered as you stood there, totally lost. “They know I had the package.. They are going to try to track me down.” You bit your lip, thinking hard. Should you go back to work? No, that will only bring trouble to more innocent people. Hotel? Out of option too. 

“I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

Did you hear him right?

“What????” you took a step back.  “Wait, wow, hold up! We are not up to that stage in our relationship yet!“ 

“Does that mean we will eventually get there?” He asked with a sly smile on his face, “should I be prepared? Get stuff ready? What would you like?” 

You are mortified, you are just digging a hole for yourself here. “Get your mind out of the gutter! We are talking about serious business here!” you berated him. “So what do you mean by sl.. Sleeping with.. With me tonight?”  you stuttered, face burning. 

“I’ll stay with you, until the situation resolves.” Patting you on the head. “I’ll contact Price later. See what he can do and organise. But in the meantime,  you are stuck with me.”

Honesetly? You don’t know if that is a good idea or not. 

But part of you can’t deny maybe it’s not such a bad idea as you sat on your bed, watch him changing out of his shirt into comfortable loungewear, you secretly gawked at his broad back and the corded muscle, how it flexes when he put one arm through the sleeves, and into another… 

“Should I take my pants off in front of you too?” Nikolai turned around suddenly, a devious smile on his face. 

Caught red handed. Well, not your fault when he decided to change in your room, with you in here. He claims he isn't leaving your side, “Just in case. They might break in any minute.” 

You had to kick him out of the bathroom when he tried to follow you in. “There’s no window in here!!! I will be alright!!” you half screamed and slammed the door into his face. 

“It’s not like I haven’t seen a dick before.” You retorted, giving him a nonchalant shrug, but in fact, you were nervous as hell. 

Nikolai hummed, his expression not giving anything away, and proceeded to remove his pants. You tried to look away, but you couldn’t. Oh, that’s a nice bulge. You noticed as he turned slightly, facing you side on.  You clamp your thighs tight subconsciously, a pool of warmth growing down there. Fuck. should have told him to sleep on the couch, so you could relief your self in private. 

A dip in the bed snapped you out of your daydream. You looked up, his beautiful dark eyes stares back at you. “Cm’ere  Lastochka. Sleep on this side.” he commanded. Leaving no room for argument. He is trying to shield you from the window and door.

Forever a protector. You feel both annoyed and touched by his action. Sick of being treated as a damsel in distress, but you know well that the situation is way out of your control, you would have died if he didn’t come to your rescue earlier this afternoon. 

Switching the bedside table light off, he tucked both of you in, kissing you lightly on the head. 

Not tonight. You are not going to give into your desire tonight. You are still in danger. It’s not time to think about how nice he smells, his large hand cradling your head, how well it will cup your pussy and it is ALSO not the time to think how his dick is gonna stretch you wide….

“You alright there?” he whispered.

“Why do you ask?” you replied, words slightly slurred, eyes half closed from exhaustion from the day’s event. 

“Because you are grabbing onto my shirt. Quite tightly too.” he mused. 

You let the shirt go immediately. Embarrassed, you flip your body away from him, ignoring his chuckle and force yourself to try to fall back to sleep. 

Your eyes shot open to the sound of glass breaking in the living room. Nikolai was already standing by the edge of the bed, back towards you, gun ready in hand. 

“Just as I predicted.” You can hear a gleefulness laced with malice in his voice. A hunter waiting for his prey to show up, ready to toy with them. 

The other side of Nikolai you have never seen before. It sends shivers down your spine. Note to self, you thought, never get onto his bad side. 

Shooting you a brief glance before turning back to face the door, he pointed to the pillow he was sleeping on, “There’s another gun under there. Grab it and stay behind me.” he commanded in a hushed tone. From your previous observation, how your brother and the boys behave, you know better not to disobey him when he is in full commander mode. 

Nikolai yanks the bedroom door open and throws a knife you didn’t notice he was holding into the first intruder’s throat, killing him instantly. You barely suppressed a scream as you saw the body collapsed onto the floor, blood flowing onto the carpet. 

Your landlord is going to kill you. Was your initial thought. How are you going to get rid of the blood stain?!!

The intruders were clearly caught by surprise. They were only expecting you inside the apartment. The other two immediately trained their guns at the two of you, but faltered when they saw who they were up against. 

Nikolai growled at them in a language you couldn’t quite understand, the two stunned assassins nodded quickly, dragging their dead team mate’s body with them as they hastily retreated from the broken window. 

You sighed as you looked at the damaged window. Now how are you going to explain that to the landlord too? Shaking your head, you moved behind Nikolai,avoiding the broken glass on the ground as you joined him peeking out the window, making sure the enemies were true to their word in retreat without causing further problems.

“What did you say to them????” you gaped in wonder, amazed how fast they came, and how fast they went. 

“Easy. I told them you are my wife. And if they lay a finger on you, they will have me to deal with.” You snapped your head towards him,  brain freezed for a second at what he has just told you.  

“This is what I propose, just in case they go and check the marriage registry. We should head to the registry office tomorrow to get married. So what do you say, Lastochka, will you marry me?” 

WHAT. DID .HE .JUST. SAY.

“..... get someone to clean up the carpet first before we discuss marriage please. I am going to lose my bond money because of that.” 

Tag list:

@homicidal-slvt @nrdmssgs @siilvan @roosterr

@preciouslittlecreature @jynxmirage @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot

@glitterypirateduck

@whydoilikewhump

@alypink

@liyanahelena

@caramlizedtomatos

@ashwasherelol

@okayyadriana

[talns-scar]

After some consultation with members of different cosmere discord servers there was agreement among the artists that there should be an attempt to make a dedicated cosmere art tag for content creators. This way it’s easier for those within fandom to find cosmere art, fic, graphics, crafts, etc. 

So from some members of your cosmere art community, I present to you #arts arcanum 

[runwithwolvcs]

You Know I'm No Good - four

First Day

Warnings: mentions of drugs and alcohol, mentions of sex

[photo of Tallulah and Lina]

don't call me kid, don't call me baby, look at this godforsaken mess that you made me

Tallulah was the first one awake in the morning, the sunrise just peeking through her blinds as she laid in bed on her side, staring at the wall. She struggled to get back to sleep and tossed and turned, feeling an uncomfortable pit in her stomach that she decided had something to do with it being her first day at La Push Tribal School.

Starting a new school in the second semester of her senior year did not bother her as much as it should have, what concerned her more was that she was walking into a school that never gets new students, let alone mid semester. All eyes were going to be on her, and she was sure that some of them had already conjured up their own preconceived notions of her. Oh the joys of small town gossip, she thought to herself as she climbed out of bed, grabbing her clothes for the day. She told herself that making friends was not a must here, because as soon as she graduates she will be back in Seattle with her old, real friends, living the life that she wants to live. She could let herself be picky, or else she’ll end up with a Josie, who seems trustworthy on the outside, but isn’t in the end. Tallulah rolled her eyes at the thought itself, if that's how she wants to be then so be it.

Tallulah quickly changed into her black tank and oversized flannel shirt, before pulling on her jeans, she tried to tame her hair without ruining her natural waves into a frizzy mess. She wasn't one for much makeup, especially not for school considering the frequent rain on pacific northwest.

Rushing downstairs to the kitchen, the uncomfortable pit curbing her appetite, Tallulah settled on just coffee, as she poured it into her mug she had grabbed from the cupboard, she heard footsteps entering the kitchen. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Lenna out of the corner of her eye, all dolled up as if she were going to Paris Fashion Week.

“I heard about what Josie did.” Lenna stated as she searched through the fridge, “you’ll get used to it.” This made Tallulah scoff audibly, “get used to being thrown under the bus for doing absolutely nothing wrong beside talking to some guy I’ve never even met before yesterday?” she asked sarcastically, turning to face her younger sister, mug in hand. “No, well, yes. It just means she did something she doesn’t want to get in trouble for, so she throws gasoline on someone else's fire to make it seem bigger than the one she started.” She keeps her eye on the tall, raven-haired girl as she closes the door, “She means well Tally.” I bet, she thought to herself. Maybe this is what sisters do, and she's the one that's being unreasonable. To be fair, she's never had to deal with someone snitching right in front of her face to her mother. At least she had the guts to do it at the dinner table.

She watched as Lenna looked over her outfit, making a face that Tallulah couldn’t quite comprehend, “is there something wrong with my outfit?” she asked, eyebrows raised in challenge. Lenna shook her head, “Nope, not at all. Between that, the tattoos and the nicotine addiction, I’d say you’ll fit right in with a few groups at school. I can point them out if you’d like, I heard dad tossed your vape maybe you can snag one today.” Tallulah shook her head before taking a sip of her cooling coffee, “I can make my own friends, and I’m not addicted” she fought the urge to roll her eyes again as their dad walked into the kitchen, clearly dressed for work. “Tally, Lenny, ready for school? Dakota picked up your sister already this morning, something about a project that's not finished yet” the short laugh that came from Lenna did not go unnoticed by Tallulah, but she said nothing, nodding her head at her fathers question. “I have to go to a tribal meeting tonight with Kira, so it’s going to be pizza for dinner, Lenny can pick it up on her way home from work, right Len?” he asked as he filled his to-go mug with coffee, even though he really wasn't asking, “Tal,” he said, looking directly at his eldest daughter, “I know this has been a big change in just a few days, but you’re doing great kid, but let's keep those rules in mind when making friends today,” clearly referring to something she has no clue about. “So, you mean I can’t skip school and sneak Paul through my window while you’re gone?” she joked half heartedly. She had no intention of ever speaking to him today, but seeing the looks on Lenna and their dad's face was probably the best start to her day she was going to get. She finished off her coffee and placed her mug in the sink, grabbing her book bag from the counter and heading to the front door, yelling ‘kidding!’ over her shoulder as she left, while her dad yelled ‘have fun!’ right back at her.

Tallulah drove in silence to the school, following the directions Josie had shown her during their day out, for once wanting to be early. She wanted to scope out all her classrooms beforehand to minimize the amount of interaction she would have to have with anyone in order to just keep her head down and float by as unnoticed as she could.

As she pulled into the small parking lot there were very few students and teachers mulling around. The school itself was small, only two stories, with a few portables that were quite run down. Nothing like her old school of 5000 students, every hallway crowded and parking lot full every day.

Tallulah parked her car and pulled out her phone from her pocket, checking the few messages she had, despite it only being 8 in the morning. One message was from her mom, wishing her well on her first day, telling her she had shipped the rest of her personal belongings that she may want or need and that she loved her. Tallulah rolled her eyes, she loved her so much she didn’t want to deal with her anymore. She checked some more of her messages and replied to those that warranted them only stopping as the incoming call notification lit up her screen.

A photo of Lina, her best friend, and her graced the screen, she quickly hit accept before placing the phone to her ear, breathing out a quickie ‘hello’. The two haven’t been able to have a conversation in days to discuss the tragedy that had unfolded the night her mom caught her sneaking into her bedroom, the dramatic gasp on the other line made her smile, “You picked up!” Lina all but shouted excitedly, before saying to someone else ‘told you she would’, clearly she wasn’t alone. “Of course I did, Li. Just because I've been shipped off to the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean I dropped out of school.” she said looking at the tiny building, that more students were now filing into. “Besides, I always answer your calls.” she stated, which made Lina laugh into the phone, “Right, right. Well I was just calling to see how you were, Kits here too.” she said and she could hear Kit bid a hello in the background, “and we wanted to invite you to this party that's happening at some club in Port Angeles next Friday. We figured it would give you some time to ask your dad if you can come or plan an escape. He can’t keep you from us forever.” she rambled, clearly excited.

She knew what club she was talking about, they had been planning on going once they had all turned 18. As exciting as it sounded, she knew her dad would never go for it, and sneaking out to Port Angeles and back would be next to impossible. “I don’t know about that, Li, but I'll try. I’m sure I could convince him to let you guys come out here if he doesn’t budge?” she asked absentmindedly, hoping she’d take the bait. Tallulah listened as Lina talked to someone away from the speaker before hearing the phone be passed to someone new, she furrowed her brows at the silence before the new speaker breathed out, “Luie.”

Xander.

The only person on planet earth who was allowed to call her ‘Luie’. The nickname started with him and ended with him. She hated the nickname when he had first started using it, he would say it in such a condescending way. Like he was reprimanding a child, but it grew on her as her relationship with him developed. They had never dated, but everyone assumed they were with how touchy-feely they were with each other. But, they both hated commitment, saying that it was the root of all sadness, and they had enough of that in their life already. As if that stopped them from hurting each other anyways. Xander was all of her firsts, first friend, first kiss, first time drinking alcohol with him, first cigarette, first time sneaking out, and first hookup. It's why she always went back to him after a fight, no matter how bad it was, all her good memories are tied to him.

“Hey, Xan” she said softly, “Are you coming to Port Angeles for the party?” he asked in a nonchalant tone, knowing she could never say no to him. “I want to..” she started, “But no promises. My dads a lot stricter compared to my mom.” Tallulah heard him grunt in acknowledgment. He wasn’t going to beg, or plead her to come like Kit or Lina would, he knew he didn’t have to. “Well, let us know, ya?” he stated, voices in the background signaled that they were most likely getting ready to take the train to school, like she would be in normal circumstances. “Oh, and Luie, have a don’t do anything I wouldn’t do on your first day.” she could practically hear the grin that she knew he had before the line went dead, he wasn’t much for formal goodbyes.

Sighing, she shoved her phone in her pocket before exiting her car, grabbing her bag off of the passenger seat and slinging it over her shoulder. She made sure to lock the car before placing her keys in her bag and grabbing her timetable as she walked towards the entrance of the school. She was too busy trying to figure out what classroom she needed to head to first that she wasn’t paying any attention to any of her surroundings. Hence why she walked head on into someone, dropping the white sheet of paper in the process. Hot hands steadying her by the arms. It felt as if she had walked straight into a brick wall, she would’ve laughed it off if it wasn’t the root of all her problems so far in La Push.

“Are you stalking me?” she asked the older man, everywhere she went, there he was. Paul shook his head with a chuckle, causing the teen to glare up at him. “Well aren’t you a little too old to be hanging around a high school?” she questioned, arms crossing over her body as the heat from his hands had made her realize just how cold it was outside once they were off of her. “Relax, I was just dropping someone off.” he stated, his voice was deeper than it was the day before, like he had just woken up. She averted her eyes from him as she could feel the blush heat to her face at how silly she must have sounded. Of course that's why he's here. She hadn’t realized he had picked up her schedule for her until he read out a name from it, “First period: Miss. Young.You’ll like her, everyone does.” he said while handing her back the slip. She nodded her head, “right, well i should go find her class then.” she mumbled as she took a step back from him, he responded by giving her the directions to the class, which made her want to question how he knew that but Tallulah wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer, so instead, she thanked him and walked away heading towards the front doors, each step closer she filled more and more with dread, wanting to turn around and get in her car and drive away as far as she could.

She turned back to where she had left Paul standing to see him still there, only now he was talking on the phone. His whole demeanor had changed, he looked rigid and frustrated. Before she turned to completely walk through the doors, he caught her eye and gave her a small smile, the feeling of dread dissipating in that moment as she entered her new school.

[ddaehyeon]

。✧ hyacinth; park serim + reader

— pairing: fashion designer!park serim + photographer!reader

— genre: angst, slight fluff, exes au, post-breakup, slightly suggestive (one scene only!)

— word count: 7.1k

— warning: arguments, heartbreak, mentions of anxiety and emptiness

— summary: years had passed since you broke up with serim; life had been continuously patching up ever since. his name had marked several clothing lines, while your studio was well-known in the small city you lived in. who would’ve known that a sight of him on a bus stop would be enough to bring back wounds you thought had long ago healed?

— navi: playlist | video teaser | cravity masterlist

— a/n: my wips suffered from a major slump and this is quite an overdue fic (i also have another overdue fic help) but i hope someone would still at least read this though >< the first ver of this didn't satisfy me and though this ver didn't satisfy me that much, i feel like after rewriting almost half of the fic, this one's better. i'll do my best to pull something better soon!

autumn must be the most magical part of the year. the leaves experiencing a color alteration, scarlets and golds carpeting the ground— a yearly harvest of the earth where everything was gradually being taken away. long gone was the heat of the summer; the chilly evening breeze sure was much friendlier than of winter. the season served as a comforting quilt. it was such a great time for warm drinks that could lift up the mood even for the wariest.

you let go of a breath as you stared at the window, the sun was setting. the color fleshed out in the sky golden, jiving well with the surrounding that was already of the same palette. with an indoor shoot for a seasonal issue of a magazine, it sure was a tiring day. the sound of camera clicks still ringing in your head, along with the hushed talks and chitchats coming from the staff members and the models.

at first, you were hesitant to accept the project. afraid that you’d bump by one of the renowned fashion designers in your region, park serim. but then, you couldn’t just chicken out when a hefty sum was to be paid. the relief you had when you saw that his name wasn’t on the list of designers was almost the same kind of relief you'd have after preventing big trouble from occurring.

“i finished placing back the props in the room.” hyeongjun’s voice was still as bright as it was this morning as if not touched by any fatigue. he was one of the photographers you hired in your studio, offering only fine shots. “i’ll be going home early, just send me a message about what time tomorrow’s shoot will be!”

“thank you, junie.” a smile was on your brim as you nodded on his words, watching him pack his camera and leave afterward.

silence melted in the room as soon as hyeongjun stepped out. alone in your photography studio, you sat on a stool used earlier by one of the models. the room was dimly lit with only one of the umbrella lights open. it was only by then that you realized your thighs were already stiff from the nonstop work earlier. you wanted to go home and just be in the comforts of your bed.

pulling out your phone, you dialed your brother’s number, frowning when it took him quite a while to pick up. was he busy or did he just forget that he was supposed to pick you up tonight?

jungmo would always fetch you by your studio after his working hours concluded. with the two of you living together in the same house, your brother just found it ideal— bringing you to your work every morning and giving you a drive home every evening. it might seem like he was babying you, but it was a gesture you grew fond of.

“y/n?” jungmo gasped on the other line. it seemed like he was outside, music playing in the background which mingled well with the peals of laughter. “shit, i forgot to tell you.”

you raised a brow, questioning his words. “what’s the matter?”

“can’t fetch you today.” you can already envision the pout he had on his lips. “i’m at a party with allen and woobin, catching up with my colleagues. i’ll make it up to you tomorrow, i promise!”

“alright. i’ll just ride the bus then.” it was your turn to purse your lips. you can’t bring yourself to complain about it though. “have fun! just stay in woobin’s apartment tonight, don’t drive!”

“i will, i will,” jungmo replied, a call of his name following. his friends might’ve been looking for him already. “text me alright? get home safely, y/nie.”

at the end of the phone call came another sigh from you. a tightlipped smile braced your lips as you stood to turn off the remaining lights. you retrieved your camera and placed it back in one of the drawers. making sure everything was back to its place, secured; you gave the place one final look. something you’d do every single day before going home. a reminder of the thing you loved the most. a reminder of what could have been.

the sidewalk wasn’t as empty as you imagined it to be, maybe you weren’t used to walking to the bus stop anymore. strangers of different day occurrences exchanged various looks that shared one same element, tiredness.

when the wind blew, fallen leaves danced along with it. the slight coldness making you tuck your hands inside the pocket of the cardigan you were wearing. you loved the cool breeze, but not when you knew you had to stay out on an open shed with it as your companion. cold weather could be your friend, a company for a better evening sleep. but rather a harsh fellow when you had to be alone, when loneliness can easily be injected to your senses.

tracing the path, a memory went to play in your head. way back in college, this was the same sidewalk you’d walk in with your ex-lover. a camera on your hand while he had a roll of satin in his arms. it was such a usual view for the two of you as you talked about how the day went, ranting about the monotonous lectures, gushing over how you missed each other’s company and how you wished that the two of you could get back to your shared apartment as soon just so you can snuggle on the couch.

you glanced at the sky, the cloud hiding the few scattered twinkling stars. a faint smile spread upon your lips, only to disappear when your gaze went back to the bus stop. the male that passed by in a form of fleeting memory earlier was standing right in front of you as if fleshed out from your mind. a lavender-colored paper bag was hanging on his arm, the logo of his product line delicately stamped on the middle. his phone was resting on his other hand, if he was scrolling through sns or texting someone, you weren’t sure.

the magical feeling he used to offer long gone, your stomach twisting into several knots. a cold sensation went down in your spine as a familiar tug came to pull your heartstring. he’s back? what is he doing here? he lives here again?

your thoughts were loud in your head, but none of it was pulled out loud. each word ending up as a lump in your throat. the air was thickening, your heart beating fast, not out of excitement, but out of the clashing thoughts that left you so nervous and confused. it had been years, how come a single sight of him made you feel like all your resolutions are gone? how did a single sight of him become enough to shatter the glass that protected you from the ache that night had caused you?

it was cold. but no, it was no longer because of the autumn breeze.

“serim?” the name was uttered in the same way you would before everything came crashing, yet it held a much weaker tone. you can’t even remember the last time your voice came to wrap around the syllables of his name.

the male turned his head to look at you, a brow raised as he stared at you. no obvious emotion, his eyes held no recognition.

and his reply? it sent a shiver down your spine, your stomach flipping in a horrendous manner.

“who are you?”

for a moment, the air caused such a nauseous feeling— thin and hard to inhale. it was only three words, yet it was powerful enough to serve as a punch in the gut.

how can he forget?

how can he forget how the two of you first met?

not that it was a very momentous event, just a regular struggle faced by two college students that needed someone else to accomplish a project for a major subject. there were no butterflies involved, nor did sparks fly the moment you met. regardless, up until now, that day burned fresh in your mind.

“i know someone from that department,” woobin said without even looking at you, his eyes focused on his book. though you weren’t sure if he was really paying attention to the words written there as he kept on diving in the conversation every now and then.

“and who might that be?” the dreadful task of having to pair up with the design department had been inhabiting your mind ever since it was given to you. pressure rising as you saw your other blockmates having no hard time getting themselves out there and communicating with the department they weren’t really accustomed to. you still have a month and a half, you were sure you can still make it. it was just a photoshoot anyway, featuring your partner’s designs.

“park serim,” woobin finally answered as if he had to think hard of the person’s name. “i think no one had asked him to become their partner, he’d be available to do it.”

desperate to get over with the task, later that day, you found yourself by the catwalk the design students would take. it was a path that connected their building to the main gate directly. your building wasn’t exactly far away from theirs, but still of a different building. with their building equipped with supplies and machineries for final products, yours were of computers, lightings, and screens.

you stared at your phone, his instagram profile opened. earlier, you already took the pleasure of checking his works out and without much filtering, him as well. he sure does love taking pictures of himself; something that could work perfectly with him being your subject. once satisfied, you left him a dm that was probably one of the most awkward sentences you had ever typed in the entirety of your life.

a notification popped out as you look at your screen, which was shortly followed by another. it was only of common courtesy to follow him before asking him for a favor right? you did that before messaging him and now he followed you back and replied to your dm. unlike you, he didn’t spend much time wandering in your profile. well, as if he had so much to look unto aside from the sceneries and some stories posted.

‘you were the person woobin was talking about? i’ll be out in two minutes. see you in the catwalk.’

it wasn’t too long of a duration, you allowed yourself to simply jump from a social media to another, mindlessly scrolling and liking some post every now and then. only lifting your head up when a wave of students began getting out of the establishment. most were holding mannequins with unfinished clothing attached to them, some were holding rolls of fabrics you weren’t sure what to call.

with squinted eyes, you tried to look for him among the crowds. woobin said that serim was a fashion design major, so he’d probably be holding the same thing as the other students that came out.

and he was.

leaning on his shoulder was a mannequin, asymmetrically dressed in silk. it wasn’t sewn yet, only supported by sewing pins. an arm wrapped around a roll of what seemed to be linen of pastel blue color. there was also a paper bag hanging on his arm which seemed to have some extra fabric and maybe some other supplies.

you walked towards him with a wave to which he gave you a confused look at first, the frown melting away when he realized that you were the one who messaged him not even an hour ago.

“you’re y/n?” he asked, merely to confirm.

you nodded your head and offered a hand in carrying the paper bag. something he didn’t refuse to. “so…” unsure of how to bring up the means of meeting with him after his class, your voice trailed.

“what do you need anyway?” he supported your words as he traced the path of the sidewalk. “take pictures of me or take pictures of the clothes i make?”

“both.” a chuckle left your lips, laced with nothing but sheer abashment, at the same time mentally cursing this project. you were okay with taking pictures, but the negotiation that comes with it wasn’t a task you were so used to doing.

serim hummed, saying an almost inaudible ‘i see’ before taking a big step and stopping in front of you to do a curt observation. his gaze trailing from toes up to your shoulder. “i’ll agree to do it, if you’ll model for me for a project.”

blinking your eyes multiple times, a baffled frown came to mask your countenance. “what?”

“i need a model that will wear the dress i’m doing by the end of the semester,” serim uttered nonchalantly, proceeding to turn his back to you and resume walking. “that would be quits.”

“i’ll do it,” you said, despite still being hesitant. having close to zero knowledge about how such a presentation would work, you were so close to disagreeing. but then again, it would only be a good way to repay him, right? and perhaps the other fashion design students would ask you of the same thing if you try to team up with them.

turning to look at you, there was a curve that formed on his brim. “that’s a deal then.”

how can he forget how the two of you confessed to each other?

two months. it took two months of random meet ups, daily conversations, and occasional hanging out to get to know each other. the awkward messages of checking up on each other’s side of the project turned to asking about each other’s day, sharing rants about academic life or life in general. the occasional hanging out turning to planned dates and spontaneous ones when the two of you both have the time to spare.

you’d usually stay in his unit as he worked on the dress for his project, a clothing that perfectly suits your figure. late night talks induced by the slightest energy given by coffee the two of you had clung into in hopes of being able to finish what was due.

it seemed like time flew by and before you knew it, you were in the backstage. serim was pacing back and forth, more nervous than you were. he wasn’t the one that was going to the stage, but sure his body was restless.

“are you alright?” you asked him once the two of you were left alone in the dressing room.

this was enough for serim’s movement to come to a halt. even when his eyes landed on you, it was obvious that his mind was floating. in fact, it even took him hot seconds before he was able to commit to a verbal response. “i am.”

“you are?” a smile broke out of your countenance which was eventually followed by a chuckle. “are you sure with that?”

your laughter was adequate to ease his nerves a little, a curve appearing on his lips. “i am.”

one of his classmates who was in charge of the flow came knocking to the door, signalling that you should be on standby.

“i’ll do my best,” you said, walking toward the door. it would be a definite lie to say that you were not at all nervous. a deep breath taken before twisting the knob, stopping when serim called you. it was covered with a bit, yet noticeable hesitation that it made you cock a brow for a moment.

“good luck.” it was all that he uttered, along with a gesticulation of him raising both fists. though serim’s mind spoke of different words, words he had little courage to let go of. at least not yet at that moment.

you gave him a smile, nodding your head afterward. “thank you.”

and off you go.

roaring crowds and camera clicks; the auditorium set up for the use of the fashion design students as they exhibit their works through their chosen models. formerly, you’d find yourself among the crowds, snapping pictures and admiring the clothes done by the other students. but this time, you found yourself clothed in a floral print silk-blend asymmetrical dress designed by serim himself.

the lights were blinding, being always part of the photographers, you were quite accustomed with how you were part of the persons behind the camera lense. serim was in the dressing room, watching the runway from the screen that displayed the live broadcast. some of your friends were among the crowds, your older brother even telling you before the show started that he’d be sure to take pictures of you.

fortunately, the few days of practice didn’t go to waste, no major mistakes happened when you modeled serim’s design. perhaps the only problem was you were a little stiff, something too trivial for some audience to notice.

as soon as you stepped by the backstage, serim’s proud smile welcomed you. unable to rest in the dressing room once he saw you getting out of the stage, he practically ran to meet you behind the curtains.

his eyes were filled with adoration, not just for the dress he finished making, but for the overall beauty you radiated. without much thought, he walked closer to you, soon wrapping you in an embrace. tight, yet gentle.

“you did well, y/n,” serim whispered, not letting go.

a soft chuckle was heard from you, your cheeks burning. “you did well,” you corrected. “please, it’s your design.”

“thank you.” releasing you, a smile lingered on his visage. “i’ll make you a better dress in the future.”

“you don’t have to, but thanks,” you replied before the two of you sunk into silence. regardless of how the surrounding was of heavy music and cheers, peace had found its way to emanate in the dimmed part of the area.

no words spoken, yet feelings poured when serim leaned closer. his lips easily capturing yours enough to make your heart pound in your chest, louder than it did while you were in the catwalk.

serim broke the kiss, his lips still close with yours. his eyes were of another glow when he uttered a set of words, familiar yet foreign. “i love you.”

once again, you were under his spell. soft kiss turning into a sloppy one once he guided you to a more secluded area. it would be such a waste to rip the dress off given that it was an original design, yet as the person who sewn each part of the clothing you were wearing, serim had his way to resolve the small dilemma.

the surrounding was silenced, your body frail under each of his touch, breath taken away, chest heaving. sure, it was a night you won’t be able to forget.

how can he forget about how the two of you practically lived with each other for years?

the exuberance exuded while the two of you carried several boxes into an empty unit you called home. maybe it wasn’t really about the place, but it was who you were with. his arms served as a shelter. his hand caught tears of both happiness and sadness. his lips pressed affection that no one else could offer. everywhere with serim was of comfort, of tranquility— a home.

living with another person, being under a single roof wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to adjust to. throughout the first few months of living together, your head was filled with memories of sheer trial and error as the two of you tried to learn the curves. this included adjusting for each other or at least compromising for what the other likes that the other doesn’t. silly mistakes became such a fond memory.

the smell of burnt food that wafted in the air when the two of you decided to stay on the balcony while cooking dinner. astonished by the stars and the almost endless stories that passed on both lips the meal you were preparing was left neglected. that night, the two of you shared bitter food of dark exterior, quite hard to swallow. but the laughter that filled the house after the incident lifted up each other’s mood. despite the bad-tasting meal, it was probably one of the best dinners you had in that apartment.

it didn’t end there. who would forget about the laundry disaster that rendered one of serim’s white long sleeves saturated with colors you weren’t sure what to call. the mixture of forget-me-not blue and azalea pink stood as the most distinguishable pigment along with the other colors. serim only let out of a chuckle at what occurred, even joking that maybe the two of you could start a business of dying white clothing in such a way.

the best memory thus far was a late-night run by the convenience store when the two of you were chasing a morning deadline. a grumbling stomach that broke the mutual silence the two of you exchanged, along with a suspecting look that ended up with laughter.

“let’s buy some food,” serim suggested, removing the tape measure from his shoulder and settling it to the mannequin.

you hit save on your laptop, the editing could wait for a few minutes.

pulling yourself off the chair, you gazed at him with a smile. it wasn’t a surprise that he had the same beam, as bright as the morning, regardless of how the evening was already crawling onto the whole city. sometimes, you wondered how a simple smile could give you so much energy. what kind of magic does a beam flashed by the person you love hold?

a few snacks picked up by the convenience store; a bag in his hand, your hand on the other as the two of you walked back to your unit. the evening sky and the soft gush of wind amplifying the peacefulness provided by the city. no words were exchanged, yet the silence was enough of a word.

deadlines momentarily escaping the mind as you allowed yourself to be engulfed by his presence. his soft voice breaking the silence, the phrase that left his lips drew a curve on your lips. “i love you, y/n.” you weren’t looking at him, but you could perceive the smile he had. “so much.”

“i know,” you replied.

serim’s steps became slower as he looked at you, waiting for the actual response. with a tilted head and shining eyes that reflected your figure and the street lights, his gaze didn’t waver.

a chuckle left your lips, finding yourself lost in his eyes for a moment. “i love you too, serim.” you squeezed his hand, cueing him to continue walking. “so much.”

sighing out of content, a radiant smile decorated his lips.

at that moment, the two of you wished nothing more but just to be next to each other for as long as life would grant you.

how can he forget about your first anniversary?

it wasn’t grand, just the two of you sitting by the balcony. the bouquet he bought abandoned on the dinner table as the two of you gushed over plans you were sure were realistic enough to be achieved. your eyes twinkling with mirth, a lifetime with him sure was the ideal one you’d want to spend.

“y/n,” despite being just beside you, serim called.

you looked at him with a brow raised, catching his eyes on yours. “mhm?”

a smile simply spread onto his lips before he broke the gaze. his hand seeking for an item inside the pocket of his hoodie, a small box retrieved afterward. there, a necklace sat. the pendant was of a ring that was not entirely decorated with fancy stones, rather a lone blue sapphire stone was on it.

“the pendant is a promise ring,” serim explained before scooting closer to you. his hand reached for the back of your head while the necklace rested on your skin. he locked the jewelry on your neck, pressing a gentle kiss on your forehead after.

you were silent the whole time, not because you didn’t like the gesture. but because you were sure words wouldn’t be enough to express the satisfaction and light feeling that was blanketing your heart.

serim had a faint smile as he admired the necklace for a moment. just like you, his heart was in an ocean of peaceful joy. lifting his head to look at you directly, he gave your lips a light peck. “i’ll buy you a better one once we’re ready for it.”

“thank you.” your countenance mirrored the same expression serim had— of joy and serenity. “i love you so much.”

“i love you too.” serim leaned in for another quick kiss, swift yet lingering. “i can’t wait to spend a lifetime with you.”

the evening droned on and on with the two of you staying by the balcony, exchanging conversations about the future. two hearts in one home, seemingly able to find the path where both can hold each other’s hand. minds filled with dreams where the other can also be spotted. a considerably spacious studio apartment became the foundation of your plans and dreams.

aspirations that soon became the neglected cause of why your relationship with him gradually crumbled down.

how can he forget about your very first fight?

gazes that held no definite emotion, silence that cut through the air— it was all an unfamiliar experience, hard to swallow. something that you weren’t able to forget easily as it was the first time you’ve ever seen serim with such a cold expression.

the coaster of shows on the television had long passed, a few recaps played. something that wasn’t really able to get a hold of your attention. your mind drifting elsewhere and the few notifications appearing on your phone were the only ones that managed to pull you out of your daze momentarily.

“where’s serim?” for the nth time that day, you asked. the room was quiet with only a few chatters from the screen in front of you. the evening was growing older and older, but you haven’t received any message about serim's whereabouts. neither had he sent you a message the whole afternoon.

worried, you opted to stay up and wait for him. even prepared a meal that can be easily heated so he can have something to eat once he arrives in case he hasn’t eaten anything yet.

with the door clicking, you were quick to get off the couch. the faint footsteps signaling you right away.

“you’re finally home,” you said, a smile easily located on your brim. only for it to melt away at the sight of serim’s stern look. his gaze piercing through, enough for chills to trace your spine.

he walked past you, not even offering you the regular hugs and kisses he would do every time he’d arrive. all that was left were cold stares. something you attempted to break. and heck did you regret doing so.

“why haven’t you been answering your phone? have you already eaten?” the worry you had accumulated coming through in waves of questions.

a sigh was emitted out of his mouth as he went to get himself a drink. it seemed like a verbal response was not an option for him since he continued to ignore your questions. at this point, it was as if there was no one else in the room. it was like you weren’t there.

“did something happen, serim?”

a minute. it was all it took for the entirety of your relationship to come to an unknown turn. the curve strange, it crawled to the skin with such a frigid touch enough for your stomach to flip horribly.

“can you give me a break?” serim hissed, a glare shoot in your direction. his voice growing power word after word. your breath was taken away, how can words suffice to make you feel so small? he placed his glass on the sink, the item almost meeting its demise. he turned to look at you once again. “can’t you see, i’m tired?”

“i waited for you.” the words spilled out of your lips, disappointment hugging your tone.

“who told you to wait for me?” serim snarled and before you knew it, you were already standing on the same page. similar expression, different cause. yours were anchored in concern, while his were of fatigue from the whole day of heavy workload. those seemed to have lulled both of your senses, blinding each other.

“oh well, i was just worried about you because you didn’t send me a message the whole afternoon up to this point.”

“do i really need to report my actions to you?”

“no, but you have to at least tell me if you’re going home late.” your voice gradually softened, a tear held back.

no, you can’t cry. no, not in front of him. no.

“i was worried,” you broke out. but it wasn’t enough for his fumes to dissolve. like gasoline poured into flames, each of your replies only intensified the exasperation boiling in his stomach.

“i’m going to rest.” serim sigh was audible as he stormed off to your room, leaving you with tears in your eyes.

a minute.

it only took half a minute for everything to fall out of its order. that fight wasn’t the last one and each passing day, the unit you once called home was stuck with unfamiliarity.

it was no longer a home.

how can he forget about that night?

cold meals by the table had your eyes fixated on them. the date encircled in red, a supposedly special day that turned bitter. different from how you used to spend it before—of laughter and warm touches— serim wasn’t there. he was far too involved with projects that your shared unit only became a short shelter. words were barely exchanged, yet alone gazes. you still sleep on the same bed as him, but no warmth was offered.

you weren’t sure which was better, to continue living with him even if it felt like you weren’t living with him or to have him gone in your life for real. regardless of the turns that occurred, the continuous erosion of your relationship, you couldn’t find it to yourself to let go. still tied by your attachment to the former serim.

a sigh left your lips, desolated gaze trailing on the table. you tried. but it seemed like those attempts were futile. it takes two people’s efforts. you can’t revive a relationship alone.

switching place, you went to the living room and sat by the couch. the place dimly lit by a lone lampshade. the city lights filtering through the window. the air gradually thickened around you, it held your throat in a vice grip. the photographs displayed by the shelves were foreign to you, despite how it was simply you and serim. it was like you were staring at completely different people. smiles had long been taken away, touches had melted, flutters subsided— all that was left was a terrible feeling of helplessness. something that seemed to guide you to nowhere. you were lost.

before, you were sure of how the story was to be written. how the chapters were to unfold. but right now, you weren’t even certain what would be on the next page. it was like the next ones were torn from the spine, gone. oh hell, you weren’t even sure what page you were on right now or if the story was bound to be written in the first place.

serim’s arrival went unnoticed at first. only until you heard the clink of the glass meeting the sink did you turn in his direction. an empty gaze was earned and for some reason you found yourself offering him a faint smile. a small gesture packed in pain that was quick to course through your senses.

sighing had become his way of greeting. dark circles under his eyes and the disheveled look emanated how his work had been weighing him. but your mouth was closed regardless of how you wanted to speak of reassurance and praise. it was strange, the inability to speak of warm words around him. why were you so held by fear?

“serim,” you called, breaking the floating silence.

he looked at you, eyes deep like he was examining a piece of fabric. it was enough for your stomach to churn. the stillness continued after your call. you weren’t sure how to continue it; it was as if his name was unnatural in your tongue. not only was your breath sucked, but also all the possible words had dissipated.

yet again another sigh as he tore his gaze away, stepping towards the bedroom. “i’m so tired, y/n,” he uttered, setting a line for you to not cross onto. “very tired.”

resurfacing on your brim was a smile. your eyes weren’t exactly skillful of lying though as tears soon gathered on it. heart hollowed in emptiness as if a scream would echo on its wall. likewise, your voice decided to betray you— shaking. “serim, i’m getting tired too.”

for a swift moment, serim tried to come up with an answer. but just like you, comforting words seemed to be an unfamiliar language. even aware of how a look would be inadequate, he only stared at you. his eyes don’t speak of words nor radiated comfort— it was vacant. lowering his head, he carded his fingers on his hair before letting go of a breath.

serim finally stepped inside the bedroom.

and that was how the two of you parted ways.

how can he forget about you?

it went on and on in your head, the question continuously striking.

a gush of autumn breeze pulled you out of your daze. serim was still looking at you, his eyes slowly lightening with recognition. a few blinks and he spoke. “oh, wait.” he tilted his head to the side. “y/n?”

you weren’t exactly sure what kind of answer to give, but you gave it your best to offer a faint smile. “yes.”

still— despite how other people were walking on the sidewalk and how vehicles passed by the road, the surrounding seemed to come to a stillness you didn’t ask for. denying and pushing away the feelings you’ve long ago tried to bury and made yourself believe that you’ve healed from only brought a new wave of pain. as if you were its child, sadness came to hug you.

just in time, the bus arrived as if to save you from further drowning in emotions you didn’t wish to engulf you in. to your surprise, serim also boarded in. while you chose to sit somewhere just nearby the driver, he went to the last row.

usually, your rides on the way home were the most relaxing ones. a time to just stare at the window and watch the night spread into the city. it will always be accustomed by jungmo asking you on and on about how your day went and also sharing about how his day went. but your brother wasn’t around for that kind of support right now. and you can’t blame him for it. you can’t blame anyone for this unexpected meeting with the person you never knew you’d ever meet again.

the ride was sickeningly slow, all you wished was to get home and allow your voice to echo in your room. to release the emptiness if it was even possible to empty something that was already vacant. the sky held no comfort. its color dissipated and all that was left was an empty canvas that like a broken record, played memories. it was silly how despite those quick memories popping in and out of your mind, questions still managed to penetrate.

serim was living in another city, why did he ride the same bus? was he to meet his new lover? maybe to meet an old friend?

or did he perhaps mean to meet you? this was a guess you despised. the hope it brought that maybe an answer for all the questions formed that night were to be given tasted bitter in your mouth and offered restlessness in the heart.

an urge to talk to him surfaced, but then you asked yourself why. why would you want to talk to him? for what?

despite being curious about the reason why he left that night, a certain fear crawled onto your senses. the fear of knowing.

what could knowing his reasons possibly bring you?

the time when the two of you loved each other wasn’t of the best timing. two newly graduates seeking career growth, wanting nothing but to achieve various goals. those were dreams drawn with the other person placed as a part of it. however, during the process of achieving those, that same person where the aspiration was rooted gradually disappeared from the mind. the path the two of you promised to take together came at crossroads and you ended up taking something different from what he preferred to go to.

at first, there was a powerful yearning that made the two of you grow more fond of each other. but it was slowly replaced by numbness towards it, making love such a foreign word.

you understood. but it wasn’t something you had fully accepted.

a familiar shed came to flash on the window, your stop nearing. and when the vehicle finally came to a halt, you gave serim a final glance. he was looking at you, not moving from his seat. dismissing the contact, you walked down the bus and began tracing the sidewalk with heavy steps.

disappointment curled into your stomach when you arrived near your house, realizing that the recurring questions will not be answered. however, fate played its game. anxiousness arose when once again you heard your name wrapped around serim’s voice.

you turned to look at him, his lips hesitant to let go of a word.

serim was also in deep thoughts, mind all over the place despite how he already had the resolution to talk to you, not to explain and justify himself, but to apologize for the damage done.

“i’m sorry for that night,” serim began, the initial words already clinging into his chest, weighing down. “i should’ve been more honest with you and trusted you more with my struggles.”

there was nothing serim wanted but to prove himself worthy of you. achieve things that could make you be proud of him and deem him as someone who deserves you. working up to late hours, diving into designs in order to perfect his craft. the thing was, he forgot that you already loved him even when he was simply that serim. that you loved him as park serim.

blinded by the goal, the mean diminished. as he was too caught up with it, he was no longer striding towards it for you, but for himself.

“it was selfish of me to decide for something we both should be deciding for. i left that night thinking it was better that way without even considering how you will feel,” serim continued, his voice weakening. he lifted his hand as if to hold you, but stopped midway. it fell to his side as he breathed in. “i’m sorry. i’m really sorry.”

“i was hurt, but you were probably hurt as well.” the way those words left your lips ever so calmly surprised you. “it wasn’t the most pleasant experience, but i hope we both learned from it.” a smile became evident on your visage. “promise me one thing serim, do not make the same mistake with your future lover.”

“i will not,” serim replied.

both of you never really imagined the end of your relationship and as the page of it was torn years ago, an ending was deemed impossible to earn. closing a book would never be that easy, but some stories were meant to end— yours included.

“also, this is for you.” serim handed you the paper bag he was holding. “i told you years ago that i’ll make you a better dress, and here it is. i figured that i wouldn’t be able to keep the promise laced on the ring i gave you before but i at least want to have one of my promises kept.”

you looked at the item for a moment before turning to serim once again. “thank you.”

“i also want you to know that i truly loved you.”

never at once did you doubt serim’s love for you. the thing about it is that people will grow and know love from a better perspective. know how to best keep it. know how to best show it. but it will not change the fact that back then, you felt that it was love.

serim had a single flaw and that was to hold everything to himself to the point that those created a wide gap between the two of you. the distance far enough that reaching his hand became impossible despite how you wanted to hold him.

and maybe during that time, parting was the best solution. and up to this point, it was too.

“it’s nice seeing you again, serim.”

“likewise, y/n.” a genuine smile crossed his lips. “goodbye?”

“goodbye.”

tonight, you gave him a piece of your heart. it was his, to begin with. whatever he was to do with it— keep it, throw it, crush it— it was a decision for him to make. keeping something that shouldn’t be there would only bring further destruction, it’s way better to have an empty spot in your heart rather than keep a damaged one.

the breeze embraced you. the goodbyes uttered were to serve as a beginning. there were new questions that formed and you knew there were tears that were yet to be spilled. but it was a start. opening a buried wound would never be pleasant, but it was way better to open it yourself than have it bare you.

staring at the newly planted hyacinth in the neighboring flower bed, you let go of a sigh. they will bloom in the spring. and you hoped that you would experience the same.

[her-blueberrycheesecake]

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Contains curse word/s, first part is more of angst flashbacks

Word Count: 3,401

“Just do what you want to do, Mark. I don’t want to give any shit anymore.”

Mark furrowed his brows down at your words. He’s clearly taken aback with what you had just said. He’s been trying to talk with you for the past 5 or 10 minutes. You just don’t know anymore. You don’t know how long he’s been bugging you to talk because your mind is in a fog of negative thoughts, with pain, anger, sadness.

This whole ordeal is taking all of your energy to be calm. You’re just so emotionally exhausted after having another week of silence between the two of you. You live on the same roof, sleep on the same bed, yet you both feel so far away from each other now.

“This is your way to work things out now, Y/N?”, Mark finally said after being silent for almost half a minute. His voice is low. You felt that he was hurt from what you just said to him. But you just don’t feel anything right now. You felt numb.

He continued to talk with you in a calm voice, “I get it that you’re tired. But you’re not the only who feels exhausted in here, Y/N. It’s been almost two w-“

“Yes, Mark. Two. Fucking. Weeks.”, you cut him with a louder voice now. “What’s your plan?”

Mark responded with a silence. He’s sitting on the bedside with his hands on his head, facing the window while you sat on the other side of the bed facing the wall.

“I- I don’t know…”, he answered after being quiet for a few more seconds, taking a deep sigh.

You were waiting for him to talk, but you felt a sharp pain in your chest when you heard his response. Not expecting for him to be at lost now with your problem.

He wasn’t like this before. You think to yourself. Now you feel your eyes starting to water. You just want him to wrap his arms around you just like before, after you both had a fight. He always knows how to resolve things between the two of you. He always tries not to do or say anything that might upset or hurt you. And if he did, he always knows how to comfort you. For the four years, 10 months that you’ve been together, he always knows how to make you feel better.

But he isn’t like that anymore.

“I felt like this isn’t a home anymore, Y/N...”, Mark continued. “This... This whole situation. This whole set up. This doesn’t make me feel like home anymore.”

You felt a drop of tear fell on your cheek as he continued to speak. His words echoing in your mind sends air to your head. You wanted to shout. You wanted him to stop talking. Yet, you sat still on the bedside, freezing. His words just passed through your ears.

Another silent set of minutes passed after Mark talked. You tried to keep a steady voice before speaking.

“This isn’t going to work anymore if you felt that way, Mark…”,you said as another drop of tear fell down, and another, and another.

“I cannot force you to stay just because I want to. Tha- That’s not right.”, you continued to speak as you struggled to succumb to your sobbing.

“I still love you, Y/N…”, Mark responded with a low voice. You heard him sniff through his words. You close your eyes to stop yourself from crying harder, knowing that he’s already in tears too.

“I... I do. I still do love you, Y/N…”, he continued to talk.

“But it’s not enough for you to just feel that..."

You paused for a few more seconds, gathering all your thoughts.

"How about me, Mark? What would I do with your words if I can’t even feel it anymore?”, you spoke to him again, now staring at the floor. You’re thinking, how does him saying he loves you brings pain rather than happiness?

“I’m sorry, Y/N… I know I’m lacking these days. I’m failing to fulfill my promises to you. And I cannot stand to see you getting sadder and sadder each day because of me... I’m sorry…”

You don’t know how or what to respond to his words anymore. You hated to hear him saying sorry to you. You took a gulp to suppress the feeling of pain in your chest.

~

Your mind wandered around the time it all started. Mark was struggling to keep focus on his work as stress after stress took part of his job as the director of photography. There were much more projects than usual that was assigned to their production company. The conflict in the situation escalates more when one of their models backed out in the middle of their shooting. You’re just not sure if it was the model or the agency who pulled back. You cannot remember exactly Mark’s ranting on you that day. They already finished half of the set, shooting and editing for two days. They cannot hire another model that day because of their packed schedules which cannot be postponed or re-scheduled. That’s how they came up with the idea of choosing Mark as the substitute model since he already has a background when you were still studying. Mark is still kind of having second thoughts about it because he is aware of how it will add up on his already messed up work schedule, yet he chose to take a go for it because he said, he doesn’t have a choice though. Because it’s either he agreed on it or they will pull out the project and end up with no payment, in which they already had spent a big amount of money. The project came out more successfully than they could ever imagined, resulting to Mark being scouted as a model to some more projects. Tripling, even quadrupling his work in a regular basis.

You watched how Mark’s lifestyle changed over the past three months due to his work. Although you don’t have any problem with it, at first, aside from him not being able to go home regularly and not contacting you to at least let you know. You loved and supported him in every path he took.

A simple and common problem that almost each couple usually go through in their relationships. But that “simple and common” problem quickly arises when you tried to communicate with him about it. You don’t know what have gone wrong, or what did you told him so wrongly for him to change his habits in your relationship. That in the blink of an eye, you didn’t even notice that he just suddenly felt so far away from you. Catalyzing in a cleft in your almost five years relationship.

You tried to talk it out on him for some times. But you had your last straw almost two weeks ago when he suddenly snapped out of you.

“Y/N, can you please drop this out now. I’m already burned-out from working. Are you not getting tired from this? Because I am.”, cutting you and answering another phone call from his co-worker, before storming out of the living room, “Yes, Jae.”

You were left dumbfounded with his words. That moment did scarred you so bad. That’s for sure. You just don’t know him at all.

And that only proliferated the gap between the two of you. Taking you to the situation you are in now.

~

You’re now already bawling, trying to speak clearly as your breathing heaves, “I... I’m not happy with this anymore, Mark… I tried. I tried so hard. I tried so many times to reach out to you. To understand you. I feel like… I don’t even know you anymore…”

Y/N's P.O.V

It's 5 in the morning. Your alarm sets off. Just another normal working day, you think. You opened your eyes but didn't get up. You just stayed in your bed for a good 40 minutes. Laying on your back, you unconsciously fiddled your fingers at the big space beside you.

Thinking. Deep. Eventually losing yourself with the flashbacks in your mind.

You took a deep breath as you found yourself thinking about him again.

Thinking about how you used to wake up next to his pretty face as he snuggled you, showering you with sweet pecks all over your face, preventing you from getting up.

Playfully tickling your sides and you softly patting your hand to his cheeks to stop him.

His deep, soothing voice starting your day, “Good Morning, my angel”, smiling sweetly, as he rubs his tall, pointed nose to yours, always send butterflies to your stomach just by hearing his voice.

God, even his nose is just as fine as his whole being.

Thinking about how two were so happy before, the life you had with him for the past 4 years and 11 months. You both know, including every people around you, thinks that you are an absolute match for each other. You felt that no one and nothing will ever break you.

But with your current situation, you knock your self-thoughts. Leaving you always ending up in to thinking, how did it ever end up like this?

You lightly shook your head to clear out from all these thoughts taking over your mind. You suddenly look at your table side, glancing at the picture of the two of you that you still keep. Clicking your tongue and closing your eyes, you tell yourself, "Wake up now Y/N. That was 2 months ago.", as you take another deep sigh.

You got up from your bed. Walking towards the big stand mirror just beside your bathroom door to check your face and the bags under your eyes that you gained from all these sleepless nights, lightly tapping your face when you suddenly saw the familiar shirt on the floor. You're not even surprised anymore to find some of his left-over things in your apartment that you two used to share. You roll your eyes while shaking your head, "I'll have to clean this room eventually".

You recapture why you haven't even moved any of his things, not even an inch. You didn't even take a chance to pick up those random things he left.

Just once.

Just that one instant when you tried to clean your room from his belongings.

Right. Because when you did that, one week after he left, you didn't anticipate to have a severe breakdown. You are still afraid that you might helplessly bawl again in your bedroom floor just from the lingering scent he left. You remember that day so clearly. You didn't manage to get up from the floor. Didn’t touch any food. You just drank water. You didn't even shower. The definition of a complete disarray.

You're afraid to find yourself being a mess again from all the crying, from all the pain you felt you think that might not subside. Not even a little. You don't want to miss another day of work. Because the last time that occurred to you, you missed three consecutive days just to pick yourself up. If it wasn't for your best friend, Damica, you really thought you wouldn't have the strength to get up for the whole week or the next.

That's why you said to yourself, yes, it's a mess. But you chose not to gamble yourself for this again. You'll have to clean it up though one day. Just not today.

~

You were in a haze as you took your last 15 minutes break at work when you felt a light pat on your shoulder, distracting you from your wandering thoughts.

"Hey, Y/N. We're going to K-Town later to crash after work. You good?", Yugyeom said with a small smile and slightly raises his brows.

You paused to think for kind of long seconds.

Oh, right. K-Town.

Something that reminds you of Mark again.

You felt your chest ached a little bit more when you heard that place. A torture you always feel day by day.

You two would always go to K-Town every other week to spend your Friday nights after work to enjoy the start of your weekend together and of course, to release stress, just drinking and eating. Even if almost all of your friends have gone home, you and Mark would stay for some more time. Just talking about anything and everything. You two would sometimes come home at 2 in the morning. If you enjoyed the night so much, much later than that. After you got off the cab, he would sometimes drunkenly tell the driver, already eating some of his words, "Hey sir. Thank you for dropping me and my beautiful wife home safely.", as he tightly wrapped his arms around your waist, with his head leaning on your shoulder and plants a soft kiss on your neck.

You quickly blink to wake yourself up from the memories to respond, "Uhmm... I'll g–".

"Ow come on, Y/N. It's already Friday. It's been I-DON’T-KNOW HOW MANY WEEKS since you came with us.", Bambam cut you while kind of pouting as he felt that you might reject their invite again.

He is right though. You can't even remember anymore when was the last time you spent time with your friends. All that you can remember is how long you and Mark have called it off. But hey, you have to break yourself from these thoughts of Mark. You think to yourself.

"I was about to say I'll go when you cut me off Bam",you respond with a chuckle.

With your response, Yugyeom and Bambam was clearly surprised and hugged you tightly while screaming of excitement and happiness, sandwiching you between your two tall friends.

"YES!!! At last!!! She's herself again!!!", Bam said loudly as he was jumping. Not caring about your other workmates already looking at the three of you because of their noises. You just shut your eyes tightly and pursed your lips as you felt a little embarrassed, yet in a good, funny way.

"Yah yah yah! Get back to work. You still have an hour before you can leave.", the three of you were kind of startled with your boss' voice. Finally releasing you from their tight hugs.

"Ah, Sir Park! You have to come with us too later!",Yugyeom said to your boss as he playfully teased him by nudging his shoulder.

"Why? Are you going to treat us now?", Jinyoung replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Ah~ Stop it Jinyoung. Y/N's already coming with us. You should come too.", Yugyeom responded.

"Yah! This little pu– That's SIR PARK for you.", Jinyoung told Yugyeom as he jokingly attempted to hit him with his hand.

Looking at you now with Jinyoung's bit confused reaction, "You're really coming Y/N?"

"Yes, SIR Park.", you replied with a sweet smile. "That's why you should come too.", nudging at his arm with your elbow.

Jinyoung was one of Mark's college close friends. While Yugyeom and Bambam were one of the active members of the organization where Mark and Jinyoung are both officers. That's how you got close to them. Them, treating you like their sister, and you treating them as your brothers.

Yugyeom and Bam walked back to their working stations to finish the remaining hour of their work. Jinyoung walked back with you at your desk with his arms crossed to his chest, carefully analyzing your face.

"Are you sure you're okay now?",Jinyoung asked straight with a low, quieter voice so that only you can hear his kind of a personal question. "Let me just remind you that you can always file for a vacation leave, Y/N. Don't push yourself too much."

Your eyes opened slightly at his words. But you managed to compose yourself and put a still reaction. Just how you always react. Like nothing was wrong.

Blinking, you smiled at him, "Yes, Jinyoung. I am fine. Thank you for being such a considerate boss.", trying to put a light tone to every word you said to make the conversation less serious.

"I am not telling you this just because I am a considerate boss. I am still your friend, Y/N. Yugyeom, Bam and I.", Jinyoung replied to you.

You only answered him with a smile and nodded. Implicating that you acknowledged Jinyoung’s comforting words. Because you still don't know how to react or respond properly to your friends after checking up on you, after learning about how Mark and you suddenly broke up. Even you, yourself. You’re still dumbfounded at what happened to your almost-perfect relationship. You’re still at lost.

~

It's only 8 in the evening when your friends got high from drinking. You're only watching them while munching some fish cake at your table. Jinyoung, like the usual older brother to you, advised that you don't drink tonight and you just agreed. You just really didn't feel like drinking tonight. You only want to spend time with them after not being yourself for the past eight weeks. You're giggling at their weirder antics that shows up when they have alcohol in their systems. They just eccentrically yell something, sing some songs that you can’t even recognize if those songs really exist and dance that made you laugh even more.

"Yah! Jinyoung! How about you take off that padding cyclings!", Bambam yelled to Jinyoung as the surrounding's becoming louder, causing you all to crack at how shameless he is for bugging Jinyoung when he got kind of drunk.

"How about I break your chopstick legs, huh?!",glaring, Jinyoung retaliated, causing you to burst in to laughter again.

Your eyes were already tearing up from laughing when suddenly you heard a familiar laugh. You know that laugh too well. You felt a sudden cold chill in your spines. That soft laugh even though he's already laughing his lungs out. You force yourself not to think of him this time, but it's no use. You already know him like the back of your hand. And like a natural reflex, you looked for him. You start to find at who's laughing with that familiar voice. The laugh that you can listen to even though you're sleeping. You're already picturing his face. His perfect set of teeth. His cute canines. The laugh that you always love to hear. That voice.

You thought, Maybe he's here?

Obviously, he knows that you're always here every other week.

Maybe he came back.

You stood up from your seat and looked harder for whose laugh it belongs to. You rubbed your eyes and wiped your glasses at your shirt, squinting your eyes and extending your neck to look sharply. Scanning keenly the noisy surroundings, the people around you.

But he's nowhere to be seen.

There's no Mark here.

He is not here with you tonight.

He is not with you anymore.

You felt another known sharp sting in your chest.

And that pain you felt intensified when you heard Yugyeom tell you all in a loud voice, probably because of the drunken state he is now, “Whoa! Look at Mark hyung!”, holding his phone up, pointing at a posted photo of Mark on his Instagram that he uploaded a few minutes ago. You really tried not to look, but your eyes automatically glance at Yugyeom’s phone when you heard Mark’s name.

You bite your lip and swallowed to conceal your uneasiness and eagerness to see his face again. You felt your mouth dried when you saw his photo.

He became much, much, much more gorgeous than you could imagine.

You thought that he already has the most pretty face you’ve ever seen in your entire life.

Small face, high nose bridge, small alluring lips, his beautiful teeth that accentuates his whole features, and those doe eyes that brightens up his face when he smiles, your most favorite.

Just… his whole appearance is the vivid representation of an ethereal beauty.

Although it is a black and white photo, you can still see how much more gorgeous he has become. He’s now the cover model for a very well-known fashion and lifestyle magazine. He’s wearing a black leather beret and a black tank top, reflecting at a what you think is a window or something, flexing his side profile. A pure beauty. He really is made for this; you think to yourself.

You felt colder. Empty. You told yourself in a small voice, "...Manhattan must be really nice then."

So, here it is guys! My apologies for the late post 🙏🏼 But here it is anyways hehe. Thank you for those who are waiting and still want to read 😊

Also just a thought, I won't promise to put all GOT7 members in this AU unless they fit the characteristics I feel needed in this story.

I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible. Stay safe ya'll! -n. wang 💖

COVER, PROMPT

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 2 (working in progress)

CHAPTER 3 (working in progress)

[phoenixplume117]

Today's Decisions, Tomorrow's Consequences Chapter 14

Alya called for Trixx while Nino dialed Max's second line. To be expected, it just rang, as Pegasus was fighting on the live feed of France 24 from Paris. Suddenly, he grabbed his head and started screaming. Queen Bee rushed to him, and they fled.

Suddenly, the scene switched to Nadja who looked… off, "This is Nadja Chamack, TVi anchor reporting for France 24 international news. Thank you for tuning in. This is an Emergency report; please stay inside and take cover. The akumatized victim known as Painreign has invaded Paris once again."  She looked intently at the camera as if reading a teleprompter.  “Painreign's akumatization is psychic in nature; he telepathically makes his victims believe they are hurt.  He does not physically harm them, however, some doctors believe if the pain is strong enough, it could lead to seizures or heart attacks.  I cannot stress the need for Parisians to stay indoors!  As you can see, Pegasus has been rescued and taken from the battle by our Queen Bee.  So far the list of victims has been Forte, Monkey King, Viperion, Fidélité, and now Pegasus.  We still have not seen Ladybug or Chat Noir." Her iris' shifted the slightest bit and herface implored the camera, "Chat Noir, Ladybug where are you?  Please, come help us!" She looked like she was about to say something else, but suddenly, the scene shifted to three anchors behind a desk.

"That was live from Paris. This is France 24, international news from France, for live coverage of the attack on Paris.  Thank you Mme. Chamack," the North Asian woman in between the men said and snapped the pile of paper in front of her on the desk.   "We will be returning to Mme. Chamack after a word from our sponsor." Suddenly, a Renaun zipped across the screen, taking the anchors with it and showing a race track.

Nino tried calling Pegasus again, but no answer.

Adrien transformed while Marinette called Queen Bee.

"Marinette!  Where the hell are you!?"

Ladybug looked at everyone else, "I got QB!" She spoke back into her phone, "Are you still with Pegasus?"

"Yes!  I'm trying to get him as far away from Painreign's influence as possible.”

"Just find a safe place and take off his glasses."

"What?"

"Trust me, I know you already know who he is," she could hear them in the background.

"It's okay, Max, it's okay. I promise, you're not actually hurt. LB said to take off your miraculous."

Marinette couldn't hear what he said, but she did hear the anguish in his voice.

"Give them to me, or I'll take them off you myself.  We don't have time for this bullshit.  I don't care what you're wearing."

Marinette heard laughing and grumbling.

"I'm sorry, but next time, put something on. Thank god it's summer."

Marinette couldn't help herself, she had to ask, "Um, is he naked?"

QB's laughter came through the line but Max's deep voice cut her off, "NO!"

QB snorted, "He's wearing boxers and a white t-shirt."  Max groaned.

Kaalki had had enough of the Bee torturing her chosen and flew close to the phone, "Ladybug, as always, Max is fabulous. I only need to know: if he transforms again, will he be fine or…" she let the sentence hang.

Marinette smiled. It was terrible timing. but Chloe and Max needed this, they never really healed after their breakup.  "I'm not sure. I hate to make him try it.  Kaalki can you hear me?"

"Yes, of course I can, I have superb hearing, who do you th-"

"Kaalki, focus. Are you hurt?"

Kaalki seemed to be assessing herself, "No, I don't believe so."

"Alright then. I would say try. Chances are he should be fine."

Max transformed, and for a moment, everything seemed fine. Then the screams started again, and Queen Bee snatched his Miraculous off his face, abruptly tearing his transformation from his body and pulling Kaalki from the Miraculous.  QB wasn't laughing anymore as she leaned over and tried to comfort Max. She spoke into the phone, "Did you hear that?"

Ladybug nodded and spoke softly, "Yeah… I did.  Now, I'm going to have to ask you to do something you aren't going to like."

"It's fine, I already knew you were going to," Queen Bee said. Handing the phone to Max, she held his pince-nez glasses to her face as she called out, "Pollen-"

"Chloe?  Don't detransform," came the tinny voice over the line.

Queen Bee's hand touched her miraculous.  "Okay?"  She said unsurely. After all, only Adrien and Marinette were actually capable of powering multiple Miraculous without being too overwhelmed.  

Max's voice came through loud and clear now; he was obviously holding the phone now, and his voice seemed to carry a world of worry, "Ladybug are you sure?  Couldn't it cause brain damage or something?"

Marinette honestly didn't know what it would do, but she had a sneaking suspicion Chloe could handle multiple miraculouses. She knew if Kaalki was carrying the compulsion that Max believed he was hurt, then Chloe would need Pollen to combat it.  Ladybug's authoritative voice reassured him, "The best we can do is try, but I have the utmost belief in Queen Bee's abilities." She turned to Adrien who had transformed while she'd been on the phone, "I need the coordinates for this location," she said and was about to say more but heard Queen Bee in the background.

"Kaalki,transform me!"

"How is she?" Marinette asked Max.

"Woah," he said.

"Max!" she insisted.

"I'm fine!" Chloe replied.

"Alright, then Royal Rider, come get us at 45 Boulevard De La Garoupe, Antibes," Chat said.

"Uh," came Chloe's voice from the background.

"It doesn't work like that," Max said, "Do you have the coordinates?"

"7.137133 by 43.561014," Chat said looking down at his stick's GPS screen. 

"Give me that," Royal Rider said and suddenly her voice was louder. "Go home, get some rest, I'll check on you later, okay?  Actually, we're really close to Kim's; go there."

"Are you kidding?" Ladybug heard in the distance. "He'd never let me-"

"Enough!" Ladybug interrupted, “We don't have time for this. Max, stay wherever you are. If you want, Rider, come get us. Carapace and Rena are here too."

"Hold this," there was some background shuffling then, "Okay, I'm here, where are you?" 

Carapace, who'd been tapping his foot impatiently, looked at Rena, who had been avidly watching the news. Rena saw Nadja, who was back on screen, slowly and emotionally deteriorate before her eyes.  "She's here," he said holding his hand out to her.

Rena held his hand and stood as they all ran up the stairs and out of the house. Chat called out a verbal command for the alarm to engage.   "Guys," Rena called out as they ran through the garage, "I think Nadja was hit! When we get there, I'm going to take care of her first."  

Ladybug nodded, "Sounds good.  I can tell you from experience, though, journalists will usually fight you."

Rena blushed, "Sorry," she said as she shut the external garage door.

Royal Rider stood arms crossed, tapping her fingers on her opposite bicep, looking at the Mediterranian waters.  Her suit was very similar to Pegasus' with one exception, all the leather straps were gold.  Her black hair was braided the way Chloe always wore it now, across her head falling in front of her shoulder.  What was most stunning was the tiara of gold horseshoes at her brow with Pollen's comb proudly in the middle of the crown, acting as an anchor and holding it into Rider's hair. While Pegasus had short wings at his ankles, Rider had thin gold folded wings from heel to knee.  Her venom filled spinning top was strung from shoulder to hip while her fighting horseshoe was on the opposite hip. Most noticeable, though, was her skin. She was white.  Not human white, but paper white. As Queen Bee, she was black from her hair to her toes with only three stripes of yellow around her middle and one stripe through her hair and completely blue sclera with yellow irises. Her appearance showed people where she stood even if it were dark.  It had been necessary when Ladybug gave her a second chance at the bee miraculous, and it worked; no one realized the black hero was Chloe.  Chloe hoped with the pince-nez sunglasses, people still wouldn’t guess her identity. She spoke up when she felt everyone had investigated her suit long enough, "Took you long enough.  Chat, you guys really need to repaint your fence. When was the last time it was painted, the 90's?  You're going to bring down the property values.  'Very tacky,' " she finished in English.

Rena, who'd been about to compliment her or at least thank her, rolled her eyes, "Seriously?  Let's go!"

Rider put her hands on her hips, cheeks warming. "I have a little problem; I'm not Max, and I can't just calculate locations in my mind. Even with the miraculous' abilities, I can only get the basic idea of Paris' coordinates. I have no idea how to get down to the specific location."

Chat sighed with irritation, pulled his stick out and snapped his GPS app open. After a few moments, he gave the coordinates of the Eiffel Tower.

Rider opened the portal, and Carapace hopped through first, running to help the civilians crippled with pain, followed by Rena who ran to help Nadja. Chat turned to Rider, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

He nodded back and walked through the portal.

Ladybug looked her up and down. "I need you to tell me the truth, are you hurt or tired?"

Rider shook her head and laughed, "I'm seriously fine. Let's go; Paris needs help."

Ladybug looked unsure, but looking through the portal, Chat was staring at her with a worried look on his face, so she hopped through to him.

Rider walked through last and the portal snapped shut behind her.  

"Ladybug! I missed you!" Painreign said, floating over to them.  

He was dressed like a horror version of a doctor.  Most terrifying was the replacement of his head mirror with a rusty rotary saw blade. Suddenly Ladybug realized he must have had negative experiences with mental healthcare before they met the first time, because this had been his costume the last time, too. After he'd been de-akumatized, he'd been taken to Saint Anne's and diagnosed with acute schizophrenia with moments of paranoia and delusions of grandeur.  She never thought about the fact that he had probably been diagnosed with something before their first encounter.  She didn't think she could hate Hawkmoth more before, but this.  This was horrible. Who could do this to someone so deeply and mentally ill?

Hawkmoth stood behind a chimney with Mayura by his side.  "Those fools!" he said, "They should have just stayed away!"

Mayura peeked around his shoulder and around the chimney, "Do you really think getting closer will make a difference?"

Hawkmoth reached down and held her hand, "Him having that akuma is pointless. I can't control him, and he has no intention of bringing me their miraculouses."

Mayura nodded, but he still hadn't answered her, "Do you-"

"Yes, I believe if I get close enough, I'll be able to rip the akuma from him since I wasn't able to pull it away before or even communicate with him."

"Have you tried communicating with him?" She asked.

He tried again, but it was like standing in an empty room filled with white noise. He shook his head, "Nothing."

Mayura shook her head, "How did he get the akuma?"

Hawkmoth looked down at her, "It was supposed to go to nurse who was tired of being used as a weight lifter by everyone in the building." He sighed, "He wasn't even in the building; he'd left for the day. I'm just out of practice.  That or this man's will was just that strong.  I just thought it was a perfect opportunity-Adrien would be safe since he was out of town."

Mayura nodded; she'd thought that before.  If people wanted an akuma, they would go to them regardless of if Hawkmoth had intended that person to be the original user or not.

"How are you?"

Mayura, who'd been staring off into space as she thought, snapped her attention to his face, "I'm fine," she said, and she was. Now.  It had taken a while for her body to fully heal, but since Gabriel had fixed Duusu's Miraculous, she was fine when she used it.  It never kept him from worrying, though.

Hawkmoth looked down at her deciding if she was telling the truth. He settled on yes. Yes, she was telling the truth based on her posture and smile.  "Okay," he said. He turned back to the man and commanded his akuma to return to him, but nothing happened.  He tried again, but no positive result.  He tried to communicate with the akuma, and yet again, even though he felt like he was speaking to no one, he spoke anyway, in case his commands would be heard.  "Painreign, do you hear me?!"

Mayura held his hand tight as if somehow she could lend support to him and strengthen his connection to the man.

He shook his head.

"Nothing?"

Chat held Ladybug tight, feeling her shivers and hating that they'd been forced to come; she wasn't ready to be here.  She probably wasn't even over last night's ordeal, and now, she was supposed to do this?  He leaned forward, "I'm right here, Ma- M'Lady."

She nodded once, and in her head, she repeated, We're not alone, We're not alone, We're not alone. Maybe if she repeated it enough. the memories would fade.  He was one of the most intelligent villains they'd ever gone up against.  He'd used his ability to make her think her arms were broken in different places to prevent her from using her yo-yo.  Ultimately, she'd done it but the pain had been astronomical.  And he'd 'broken' one of Chat Noir's femurs, literally forcing him to bow to him.  Once incapacitated, he'd easily been able to tie them up and take one of her earrings.  But he didn't know how to work the screw backs, and he'd eventually just ripped it out.  Ladybug's eyes glazed over at the memory that woke her up sweaty and chilled at the same time for months after.  She had to treat him fairly. She had to say to herself, remember he is a victim! Desperate to keep the tremor out of her voice she spoke, "Painreign, this is not the way to get my attention.  You are hurting the people of Paris."

He spoke as if he never heard her, "Ladybug, may I have your earrings?" He floated toward her as if on a magical zipline.

Ladybug's reflexes were slow. Chat jumped down from the tower and slid down his pole with her in his arms, but Painreign was faster and was ready to meet them at the bottom. Chat quickly extended his pole again, and they quickly jumped to another level, running apart from one another along the side of the tower. They were grateful they occasionally climbed the famous landmark for fun, giving them the advantage of knowing the structure's design.

Painreign screamed his fury and flew up toward Ladybug, but suddenly, a fog engulfed the level Chat and she were parkouring through.

Chat suddenly heard a cry. "I can't keep up," Ladybug said as she fell. She had managed to throw her yoyo and safely dangled from it a little over a meter from the level below.

Chat scooped her up and continued running and leaping, trying to assess the situation but not finding any clues. His mind raced. Just seeing the man made him see blood, so much blood, Mar- no, Ladybug had been covered in blood the last time they'd seen him.  Seeing him didn't make him angry; it made him scared.  He didn't want her here. He wanted her far away and safe.  Once he'd taken care of the situation, then she could come. That would be much better.  He never wanted to see her suffer like that again. 

"Ladybug, do you have any ideas?" He asked.

Ladybug looked over his shoulder at Painreign, trying to assess him and watching for any type of clue, but she didn't get anything from the man. 

She shook her head, "None." 

Everywhere Painreign looked, there were Ladybugs.  He reached for the closest, "Gotch-" but she disappeared in a poof of smoke.  He spun around; she'd been real, he knew it!  He'd seen it!  He saw her again and flew after her. "Ladybug wait!  I won't hurt you," he said reaching for her hand as she ran from him, but once he touched her she blew away.  "No!" He yelled then twisted and ran for another, but every Ladybug disappeared as soon as he touched her, and soon, he was screaming. 

He saw Chat Noir at that moment.  "You!  How dare you touch my Lovely Bug!"

Chat started moaning with his lips pressed together.

Ladybug looked over her shoulder. "What did he do?  What hurts?" She jumped out of his arms, not paying attention to the greater threat.

"LB!" Chat yelled at the same time she felt Painreign's hands at her ears causing her to stiffen in fear.

"I'll be gentle this time. I know how to take them off properly. Or if you like, you can take them off," Painreign offered reasonably.

Before she could say anything, Chat crawled around her legs and panted up at him, "No, stop, don't, you can have my ring. Stop, just stop, touching her!" He gasped between nearly every word.

Painreign shook his head, pitying Chat who was beginning to sweat. "I don't want your ring, silly." He turned to Ladybug, "I want 'the pretty bug,' and I will be Mr. Bug!"

Chat looked up to Ladybug with a stunned look in his eyes; he'd been Mr. Bug only a handful of times, but it was kind of shocking that it would be anyone's life goal.  She looked terrified.

"How's your back, Kitty Cat?" Painreign asked with a wicked look on his face, clearly punishing Chat for touching the woman he loved.

Chat tried to remember he was fine, that it was all a trick. Unfortunately, he kept remembering an article he'd read that said there was no such thing as mind tricks when it came to pain. Pain was part of the nervous system which was powered by the brain.  So no matter what, the pain was real. This was why addicts who needed pain killers were never lying about their pain.  Thinking that way wasn't helping him at all, but he couldn't help it. He tried to remember how in some countries, people would get up and walk home after having a major surgery.  Pain was literally all in the mind, or at least the nervous system.  After their last battle with Painreign, he'd researched pain and nerves.  Everything he'd learned just made the situation worse.  

"It's fine!" he gritted out, but by now, he was laying on the floor at their feet, watching Ladybug's eyes fill with tears of fear.  Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a brown leather suit with yellow stripes coming, and then, her venom filled top shot out.

Suddenly, Royal Rider was on her hands and knees screaming, and her top fell uselessly at Ladybug's feet.  Rider's head was hanging down, and she was looking at her legs as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.  

Chat twisted the best he could with his "broken back," and saw the look on her face, "Thighs?"

She whimpered and nodded. "I can't move."

"He did the same to me last time."

"And you carried her?!"

Chat would have shrugged if he could have.

"Must be love," she said between whiny breaths.

Painreign snuggled Ladybug, holding her arms down and preventing her from using her lucky charm. "Here we are, darling. Now as I was saying, please let me have your earrings.  I did say 'please'."

Ladybug shivered she saw a flash of purple from the corner of her eye, then heard Hawkmoth's commanding voice.

"Painreign, you're in grave danger! You've had that akuma too long, and it becomes poisonous to the carrier after so many hours. You must let it go."

Painreign looked at him, "No! You're trying to trick me!" But the last time he'd only had the akuma for an afternoon, this time he'd had it over a day already.  What if he was right…?  Painreign let go of his tight grip on Ladybug to scratch his arm.  

Ladybug threw her arm up shouting, "Lucky Charm!" and her yoyo came down with a purple purse. "Huh?!" She'd never gotten anything other than red polka dotted items.

Ladybug looked at Hawkmoth. He had a frown on his face, but then he smiled. "Mayura, get their miraculouses!"

Mayura jumped from out of nowhere on top of Chat, and Ladybug kicked her in the side.  She grunted from the impact, then bounced back, going for Ladybug's ears. 

Ladybug twisted, hitting the woman with the purse.

Hawkmoth went back to persuading Painreign that the Akuma was slowly poisoning him.  Logically, he knew it was the best way to set off the man's paranoia, but it made him feel ill to hurt someone already so mentally ill.  He told himself he was doing it because if he didn't, the man would harm more people.  The unfortunate truth was this, something needed to be done.  "Painreign?  Are you starting to feel itchy?  That's not a good sign."

Painreign looked at him with fear and he felt like a monster, "Get it out!" the man screamed and clawed at his arms, but thankfully, the white lab coat saved his skin.

Ladybug had Mayura tied up with her yoyo and brought her over to Hawkmoth, "I believe this belongs to you."

Hawkmoth looked at the purple purse trying to figure out what clue the purse was pointing to. He knew it was meant for him, but all he could think of was that it looked like the old pockets he'd learned about in college when he'd taken fashion history.  He turned to the lab coat and realized lab coats had double pockets.  Exactly like historical pockets.  He kicked the man, but the akuma had made Painreign quick.

Painreign whined, "Why isn't this working?!  Why aren't you hurt?"

Hawk Moth laughed, "I am the one who owns those powers. They won't hurt me unless I give them permission and I didn't."  While he spoke he kicked out again intentionally missing but following through with his cane and hitting his mark, stunning him long enough that he was able to reach into the lab coat's pocket where he found a puzzle piece. He tried to gently pull the akuma from it, but it wouldn't budge.  He tried again, this time without being gentle. He imagined ripping it from the cardboard side with a force strong enough the wings could tear off the butterfly, yet it still didn't work. He turned to his enemy in red and held up the puzzle piece to her, shocked at his own action. "I can't get it out."

Ladybug looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. "Are you helping me?"

"Give me Mayura."

Ladybug snapped her yo-yo back and pushed Mayura to Hawkmoth. He threw the puzzle piece at her, and she picked it up and snapped it in half all the while watching Hawkmoth distrustfully. He had his arm around Mayura's waist and bent to pick up Painreign. Before Ladybug could stop him, he'd picked up both of them and jumped from the tower.  Ladybug cleansed the akuma before Hawk Moth could call it back, then she looked at Chat and Rider, who were still in pain. Would the purple Lucky Charm work as compensation?  She looked down at the purse and tossed it high, hoping for the best as she yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!" She nearly wept with relief when they swept across the city, starting with Chat and Rider.  

She fell to her knees and kissed Chat Noir. "Thank god."  She felt his hand on the back of her head and his arm around her back, and wrapped herself around him. She could faintly hear Rider speaking to her.

"I hope you know the whole world is watching," Royal Rider said plopping onto her back and laughing in joy at not being in pain anymore. She looked at the drone recording the embracing heros and snapped her top at it, causing it to crash to the ground beneath the tower. She smirked; the world would never catch her making out with her boyfriend while they were in disguise.

Nadja Chamack was being carried away from the Eiffel Tower in Rena's arms as fast as she could run, trying to get the reporter outside of the circle of influence.  Apparently Nadja had suffered multiple "injuries."  Yesterday, Painreign had 'broken' her leg and today he had 'broken' both of her clavicles, which was why she was in tears and why her hands were in her pockets.  She told Rena she had refused to go home last night, saying she didn't want to scare her teenage daughter. Nadj stayed at work and when she'd been hit with another psychic blast today, she refused to go off air, telling her cameraman to put her hands in her pockets for her. 

Rena kept running, listening to the story in awe of the woman.  This was what she wanted to do.

"Aaah!" Nadja sighed in relief and went limp. Apparently, they were out of Painreign’s area of influence.

Rena looked down. "No more pain?" she asked.

Nadja shook her head. "I feel fine now," she said.

Rena set her down. "Okay, I'm going back to help," she said and turned back to run toward the tower.

Nadja chased after her.

Rena turned around, "No pain at all?"

Nadja looked up and said, "Ladybug must have fixed everything."

Rena agreed and bounced forward.

Nadja yelled, "Can you take me back?"

Rena turned around running backward, "Sorry! One way trips only; I'm not an UBER."

Nadja jogged toward the tower irritated with the heroine.

Ladybug pulled away from the kiss and rested her head on Chat's shoulder, running her fingers through his unruly hair.

"It went a lot better this time," Chat said.

A laugh burst from Ladybug's lips, and she nodded against his shoulder.

He ran his hand up and down her spine, calming her frayed nerves. 

"Let's get out of here guys.  I'm about to lose Kaalki and I don't know how it affects Pollen," Rider said, jumping up and tossing her top to let it pull her away from the tower.

Chat looked over the side and saw Carapace arguing with the news crew. He called down to his friend to notify him they were leaving.  Ladybug wrapped her arm around him and tossed her yoyo after Rider, following her to wherever she'd left Max.

On the street below, Carapace watched the footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir's embrace being broadcast on France 24's international live feed.  "You cannot broadcast that!"

The cameraman laughed, "We've been waiting 10 years for something this juicy!"

Carapace groaned, "They haven't even been fighting crime for 10 years."

The cameraman laughed with joy at being the first to catch the couple in a romantic situation in years.  "Besides, it has already been shown."

"Once!" Carapace shot back. "No one needs to see it again!"

The cameraman shrugged. "The feed is saved at the office. Sorry, Man," the cameraman said without remorse.

Carapace looked up seeing Rider and Ladybug leaving, "Sorry not sorry is more like it," he said, then ran after them.

The cameraman shrugged and replied to no one, "True."

Rena watched the Paris rooftops as she ran toward the Eiffel Tower and once she spotted the two women's cords pulling them in the other direction, she turned to follow them.  After a couple streets she caught up with Carapace.  "Oh, babe, what happened?"

"You won't believe it."

"I'm sure," she said, scooping him up and bounding up structures until she was on top of the buildings where she could more easily catch up with the rest of the group. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

Carapace wrapped his arms around her neck like a princess. "Dude, trust me. You will not believe what happened today."

"Carapace!  What happened!"

"Hawkmoth saved the day."

She would have stopped, but she needed to get wherever everyone was regrouping before she lost her powers.  She'd created a field of Ladybugs before she ran to help Nadja, hoping she could do it all in her allotted 10 minutes, but her time was dwindling down.

"Rena?" Carapace asked.

She kept running, "Why?"

"The only thing I can think of is guilt."

"Guilt?! The man has terrorized this city forever!  He's akumatized babies!"

Rider yelled, "Rena! Over here!"

Rena jumped two buildings then set Carapace down. Looking around to see if it was safe, she pushed past her friends and stood against the chimney, feeling her disguise fall and along with a disgruntled Trixx into her awaiting hands. "A little close, don't you think?" the kwami snapped.

"Sorry," Alya said checking her pockets realizing she had nothing for her exhausted friend. 

Everyone else looked guilty; looked like no one was prepared or had spare.

Ladybug sighed. She listened, but her earrings hadn't started beeping yet.  She tossed her yoyo skyward using her second Lucky Charm hoping for kwami goodies. "Lucky Charm?" The yoyo came down with a box from her parents' bakery, and once she opened it,Trixx zoomed inside, tearing into a pink macaron.  

Moments later Ryder's pince-nez sunglasses and tiara beeped their final warning, and Kaalki and Pollen both went directly to the treat box, ignoring Chloe who blushed as she was exposed, wearing her pajamas after torturing Max. 

"Nice outfit, Chlo," Max commented.

"Shut up," she replied not unkindly, feeling her face warm, and she crossed her arms.  "I was with Zain, we were watching a movie." 

"If you say so," he replied.

Her head snapped up, and she turned to him, "You know what I was doing!  You came and got me!"

He burst out laughing then reached into the box, but Kaalki snapped his fingers with her tail, "Not for you," she said after swallowing a bite of Les Galettes d’Avoine.

Chloe smiled at him, and said in a haughty voice, "Those are only for real heros.” She reached forward for a treat but was interrupted.

"No, my queen," Pollen said nibbling a croissant that smelled like honey.

Max smirked. 

Suddenly, someone climbed up the side of the building. "Oh, my gosh, are you guys alright?!  Chloe, Max, where are your clothes?" Fidélité asked. She was Barkk the dog kwami's chosen.

Chloe smiled at her old best friend, "Yeah. Are you alright now?"

She nodded then looked at Ladybug and Chat. "Everyone saw that, you know?"

They both looked confused.

"The kiss."

Ladybug blushed and said, "It was bound to happen eventually."

Alya spoke up, "Yeah, but was it bound to happen days after Marinette went to a ball with him?"

Chat spoke up then, "There weren't any cameras inside."

"Plenty of people were there though,"  Max said.

Ladybug shook her head, "Marinette danced with Adrien too."

Max turned to her, "That makes it worse Marinette, not better."

Ladybug swallowed. It was one thing to be told everyone knew, but it was another to have it confirmed.  "Maybe everyone will think he's cheating on her?" She said in a small voice.

Chat looked at her a bit hurt; she was throwing him under the bus, but was it the only way she could save her identity?  "How is that a solution?"

Chloe looked at him, "How isn't it?"

Alya nodded, "He's right. Chat Noir might be a flirt but he has good character.  He'd never cheat on his girlfriend."

By this time, Ladybug's earrings were beeping insistently, and she was looking around for a place to escape to.

Chat whispered in her ear, "Might as well let it go. Everyone already knows anyway."

She turned, finding comfort in his features, but she just couldn't agree. "Guessing isn't the same as knowing."

Chat shook his head, "You know Alya and Nino will confirm it."

Her shoulders fell, and she nodded once, letting him hold her as she told Tikki to de-transform her.

"Told you," Chloe said to Max.

"I didn't disagree. I just said, ‘she was a statistical anomaly,’ " he replied.

"Can you speak like a human?"

Tikki looked around at all the people then back at Marinette. "Are you sure this was a good idea?"

Marinette shrugged her ignorance. "If it's bad, I'm sure Bunnyx will yell at me. But honestly, they already know, and I'll be gone soon anyway."

Tikki sadly floated down to her friends and grabbed a macaron, settling down to listen to the latest kwami gossip.

Max turned to Chat Noir and said, "I suppose you actually are Adrien then?"

Chat shrugged without answering.

Max smiled, "Kind of hard denying it considering the four of you were at Adrien's house."

Chat smiled, "Mari invited me since we're dating."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Adrikins. I heard you verbally lock your house on your way out, and I know Gabriel has all his homes set up with biometrics.  If you weren't Adrien, you couldn't have verbally locked down the villa."

Chat narrowed his eyes at the blond. "Who do you think you are telling Zain about us?"

She looked surprised then a little ashamed, but she did have her reasons. "It's sma-"

He wasn't finished, yet. "No! You don't get to make those choices, and you certainly don't get to make them alone.  No one is allowed to make choices without the group taking a vote, and I'm sorry if you guys don't like it, but LB’s vote and mine will have more weight."

Everyone looked surprised, and most of all Marinette, as she took a step back out of his arms but still holding his hand.  His face showed a frustration born of years of being left in the dark, just expected to soldier along.

Trixx nudged Alya's shoulder, and Alya nodded.

Chloe nodded to Chat. "I understand; I should have discussed it with you two first.  You're right, but when he told me he'd been chosen, or whatever, since he doesn't have a kwami, my first thought was, ‘He could help us!’ "

"How?" Chat replied. "He's in the US, we're in France, and there's an entire ocean between us."

Chloe held one arm toward Max and the other toward Kaalki who was still enjoying her oat cakes with Tikki.

Chat blew out a frustrated breath. "Chlo, why?  You lost your miraculous once because of this, why would you tell him?"

Chloe shook her head, "He knew."

Chat was taken aback, "How?"

Chloe shrugged, "He said he always loved superheroes, and when he found out Paris had real ones, he followed the stories.  When we first met, he knew I was Queen Bee."

Marinette shook her head, "That's not possible."

Tikki swallowed, "Actually it is."

Chat looked at the red kwami, "How?"

"The reason no one here knows isn't because your suits are such good disguises. It's because there is a magical glamour that prevents people from guessing your true identities," Tikki told him.

Fidélité looked as confused as the rest of them felt. "So why did he know?" she asked.

Tikki looked up at the redhead. "I think he lives outside our circle of influence.  I'm not sure how big it is, but that is the only thing I can think of."

Fidélité looked at Marinette and Chat, "That's not good, especially with France 24 broadcasting us internationally. It doesn't matter for most of us, but Chloe and Adrien are all over the internet. Chloe yawned and said, "So are Nino and Alya, and now Marinette is going to be all over the internet."

Pollen smacked her sticky lips and turned to Tikki and Kaalki. "We should do this again."

"Indeed," Kaalki said, taking another nibble.  She was so ladylike that she took forever to eat.

Tikki nodded and watched Pollen float to Chloe.  "Pollen, what did you think about Chloe's decision to tell him about us?"

Pollen smiled and said, "I trust him.  He reminds me of Wang Yong, remember him?"

Tikki nodded. "Ziggy's chosen, that was a long time ago."

Pollen agreed, "I would say more, but I don't think Chloe should hear it."

Tikki hummed her agreement, then said something in their language.

Pollen replied, and they conversed back and forth for a few moments.

Tikki looked thoughtful, "We really need to talk to Sass and Plagg about this."

Chloe looked at the two kwamis, "What, can't I know? What's that supposed to mean?"

There's more on AO3

[the-writing-dump-bin]

Okay, so um, this is gonna have a couple parts. I don't have a title for this, but it is a Jotaro/Female Reader fic. This first part is SFW but it will get into N*SF*W in later chapters.

*UPDATE: Title is now called "Whirlpool"*

You were starting to lose hope.

Interview after interview and still no call backs.

You had put your resume out at almost anything since moving to the city. Having a few meetings, you thought the interviews were going well. Nope. It always ended with a handshake and a 'We'll call you if you get the job.'

But those calls never came. Your savings were dwindling fast.

Sitting in your apartment, you wondered if you should just take a job at a fast food restaurant in the meantime. Or better, maybe move back home where everything was familiar and comforting.

You had no friends here. Not yet anyways. You had been so wrapped up in finding a job that you didnt feel like going out to bars or clubs; the rejections making you depressed.

One Wednesday afternoon, you got a call from an unknown number.

Usually, you dont answer numbers you didnt know, but you picked it up anyway. "Hello?"

"Good afternoon, is this Y/N?"

The voice was so deep; definatly a male. It sent a chill down your spine. "Y-Yes..." You said cautiously.

"My name is Jotaro Kujo, I am a marine biologist. I saw your resume at one of the places I had visited recently. You are looking for work, yes?"

Your eyes darted around the living room. This was extremely unexpected. "H-How did you see my resume?"

"I had a meeting with one of the places you applied to. Your resume was sitting on top of a stack of papers, I ended up taking it."

"Isn't that wrong?"

"Probably. But I am looking for help and thought maybe to call you. Would you be interested in coming in for an interview?"

Your breath caught in your throat.

You had been on many interviews, but for some reason, this was different. This Jotaro guy swiped your resume from someone else desk and called you. He claimed to be a marine biologist, which intrigue you. You didn't have any background in that field but you knew enough to get by.

When you didn't say anything for a moment, Jotaro asked if you were still there.

Coming back to reality, you agreed to the interview. What else did you have to lose?

"Great. Are you available tomorrow at 4pm?"

"Yes."

Jotaro gave you the address to his office which was down at the local college. You guessed he taught a couple classes there. "See you then." He hung up.

Letting out a breath you didn't realize you were holding, you bounced with excitement.

"I need to find something to wear!"

---

You shook with nerves as you held onto the door handle. This was the place, since on the door his name was written.

Opening it slowly, you crept inside.

The room looked bare save for the large desk in the corner. There where a couple of bookshelves, but even they were empty. Are you sure this was the place? You looked at the door you came through again.

"You must be Y/N."

That deep voice again.

You turned your head to see a very tall, broad shouldered man in a black, long sleeved turtleneck. He also wore white pants; a white hat sitting atop his head. He came into the room from the other door that you noticed that was off on the side. That must be his real office.

"Y-Yes." You extended your hand in greeting. "Thank you for inquiring about me."

Jotaro seemed to hesitate for a moment before shaking your hand. Maybe he wasn't comfortable touching strangers.

His turquoise eyes looked at you, as if studying you what kind of person you could be. But that only made you blush, making you a little more nervous than you actually were. Finally, he shook your hand.

"Right this way."

He grunted, showing you to his office that was through the door he came.

*Wow*

You thought as you looked around the room. The walls were full of his accomplishments and pictures he had to have taken of sea creatures. The office seemed a little cramped as his large desk took up a lot of space. There was more room in the first room they were in, why choose this as a work space?

"Please, sit." Jotaro waved a hand to the empty chair opposite of him on the other side of his desk.

You did as instructed, taking in his features as you did. He couldn't have been any older than twenty-nine. Your eyes went back to the plaques on his walls. He's done so much at such a young age.

"Tell me about yourself."

Jotaro's voice brought your attention back to him.

"Oh, um. Well, I moved here from my hometown in hope of starting something new. I like to follow though and get my tasks done. I graduated top of my classes in high school and college. I'm very organized with projects, making sure that it exceeds to one's expectations."

Jotaro nodded his head a little and wrote on a piece of paper. He noticed you wringing your hands. "No need to be nervous."

Embarrassed, you tucked your hands under your legs. "I'm sorry. It's just, I've been on a lot of interviews and they all fell through."

Jotaro was silent for a few minutes, shuffling through some papers he had on his left until he found what he was looking for. Your resume.

"You don't have a lot of references here. But I see you took classes in zoology."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've only really done side jobs while I was in college just to get by and save up for when I moved. I want to work with animals; I loved going to the zoo as a child and since then, I knew I wanted to work with them."

"So you know about marine life, too?"

You shrugged. "Enough to not sound dumb." You chuckled nervously.

Jotaro moved his hand over his mouth, hiding the smirk you had given him with your answer; he didn't want you too see his expression.

Composing himself, he rose from his chair, motioning for you to follow him.

Coming back to the first room, he stopped next to the empty desk.

"I'll give you a chance. This will be your space, you can do with it what you want."

Wait, what?

He just said he was giving you a chance? He was hiring you?

You looked at the desk. Seeing that you were the first thing people would see when they come in, you realized you were being hired as a secretary.

It wasn't something you were thrilled about. But you decided to take it anyways; Jotaro was the first person to offer you a job let alone hire you right on the spot. You accepted, gratefully.

"Thank you, Mr. Kujo! I promise I would do my best!"

"Good. I will see you tomorrow morning."

He shook your hand again and you parted ways.

Back at home, you cried tears of happiness. You finally found a job.

Though you had no idea how to be a secretary, you figured you could just wing it. It would be a learning experience, but just like everything else you've done, you would do your job with dedication.

---

"Good afternoon, Y/N! Is Professor Kujo in?"

You smiled at one of the other teachers that worked at the facility. "Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Westin, let me see if he's ready to see you." You buzzed Jotaro's phone. "Mr. Kujo, Mr. Westin is here to see you."

There was no answer, but Jotaro's door opened and he emerged, waving him to come in. Mr. Westin followed, shutting the door behind him. "Did you get that report from the lab back?"

Jotaro handed him a folder.

Mr. Westin nodded. "Great work, Jotaro. Are you ready for the field work coming up?"

"I will be." Jotaro grunted. "Y/N has set up hotel and anything else I needed."

"She's a helpful little angel, huh? Since she came around, your work has been flourishing."

Jotaro flicked his eyes toward the door. Just on the other side, you sat at your desk. His work load had gotten lighter in the last six months, thanks to you. He had been able to work and focus on what was important while you took care of the minor things.

Sometimes you had brought him lunch when you knew he was too wrapped up in his work to even stop to eat.

He was to be leaving in a couple days to do field research on ocean life on the coast of California for over two weeks. But something about you not being there nagged at him.

Remembering the other teacher was talking to him, he said, "Yeah. She's been a real big help."

Mr. Westin nodded and said his goodbye to you, leaving the office.

Looking up, you noticed Jotaro leaning against the door frame to his own office with his arms crossed. He was looking at you but not saying anything. That didn't surprise you, he was a quiet man. But his stare made you a little uneasy. "I-Is there something wrong, Mr. Kujo?"

The way you addressed him made his stomach do flips. It was an interesting feeling. One he hadn't felt before. "Did you make the preparations for my trip?"

"Yes, sir. Its all right here, I finished it this morning. Your flight leaves at 7 am Friday morning and your hotel is booked. Food is all taken care of and there was even some money left over if you wanted to do any shopping." You looked back at him. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Jotaro strode to your desk in just three steps; those long legs taking him anywhere in a flash.

"There is. Call and change the itineraries to two people."

"Two, sir?"

"You heard me. Call the airline and add another person. Call the hotel and add another room. Make sure everything accommodates for two."

"S-Sure. May I have the name of the second person so I can make sure they get everything they need?"

Jotaro turned back towards his office, saying your own name.

"Wait, what?" Your head shot up at him. "Me? You want me to go? What does a secretary like me have anything to do with this trip?"

Jotaro kept his door open as he sat back down behind his desk. You stood and followed him in. Before you could say anything, Jotaro spoke first.

"You have grown from the nervous girl that walked through here six months ago. During your interview, you said that you strive to get your tasks done and do it with dedication. I've seen that you've proved that."

You blushed. You never really got that kind of praise from your other bosses.

"You wanted to work with animals, correct?"

You nodded.

"Well, then, come with me on the trip. Learn more about marine life."

What an amazing offer! But you couldn't help but think he was really just bringing you along so you can do his minor tasks. "Thank you, Mr. Kujo, but again, why do you want to bring a secretary?"

He interlocked his fingers and brought his hands up to his face; his eyes staring at you intently. "The word 'secretary' for you leaves a bad taste in my mouth. From now on, you are my assistant. You will still have your duties as you've had, but I'm taking you on this trip to help you learn more about marine mammals."

You couldn't find the words. You were thankful for his kindness, truly. But you weren't sure about going. You started wringing your hands again.

"Yare Yare Daze." Jotaro muttered. "If you don't want to go, just say so."

"Huh? No, I mean. Um..." You decided to go for it. What harm could it do? You developed a decent friendship with your boss, and he was offering this paid trip to you. "I-I'll go."

Jotaro did his best to hide his excitement; keeping his expression neutral. "Then get to work on getting yourself on the itineraries and take the day off tomorrow to pack and get some rest. I will see you at the airport."