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navstuffs · 11 months

Text

Creep

Pairing: Vendetta!Leon Kennedy x GN!Reader

Summary: "You are so fucking special. I wish I was special"'; because sometimes love isn't enough.

Warning Tags: MAJOR ANGST!!!, italics represent the past, suicide attempt!!, alcoholism, mention of a suicide note, hurt/no comfort, OPEN ENDING (you chose your own), depression, anxiety, reader needs love, LEON NEEDS LOVE!, leon self depreciates a lot.

Author's Notes: hiii! i had this idea in my head for a while, and the request helped it! this fic is heavily based on creep by radiohead and black by pearl jam and, i hope with all my soul i did justice. i hope you enjoy your reading!

taglist - @nexysworld | my leon's masterlist

As repetitive as one could say, Leon Kennedy is at the bar again. He sits by his usual stool closer to the corner, away from everyone; the one stool bartenders are used to seeing him mostly every Tuesday, Thursday, and sometimes Friday. He orders his regular: a cup of their most potent whiskey. Tonight on duty, Eric, an employee who likes to give special attention to pretty ladies, not rock bottom men like Leon who constantly seek comfort in the bottom of a cup.

Tonight things look different.

Leon looks more miserable than his usual self. An experienced bartender like Eric saw the signs since Leon got in: good bartenders are trained for that. It becomes more evident when Leon Kennedy places a ring before him as he savors his first cup. Eric didn't know Leon was married, not that he should be surprised. An attractive man like that wouldn't stay single for so long. Even if they looked like rock bottom.

"Problems in paradise?" Eric's curiosity speaks loud, or it could also be the fact no lady who looks remotely under thirty is at the bar right now.

Leon gives a sad smirk, the whiskey burning down his throat, bringing that sense of familiarity into his veins. Reaching the high he is searching for will take longer, especially tonight. Leon continues to spin the ring on his index finger as he answers, his eyes never lifting up.

"Yeap."

-x-

Accepting a date with you was Leon's first mistake. He really should have said no that rainy afternoon but couldn't(or didn't want to) due to the hope in your eyes, the rain falling around you making it even more ethereal than ever. For more than he didn't want to admit, Leon somewhat had a crush since the first time you two met. You were a scientist, someone who worked in the same line of the field as him, studying and helping in combat against Bioterrorism. You weren't just any scientist, though. No, you had been studying a cure for the new L-Virus for almost your whole academic career, making that your Ph.D. You were the maximum authority in the area, and if there was anyone who could help with the next outbreak and save humanity, that one would be you.

Leon knew you were just too perfect for him, but he still chose to continue anyway.

He continued after your first kiss, somewhat timid on both sides in front of your doorstep. And by the fourth date, when you invited Leon in, he should have said "no" and should have ended before it could hurt, but he chose to continue anyway. It took three months for you to move in. It was Leon's idea since your work schedule, you could barely see each other, so this would be easier anyway. He also had a bigger house. Your personal touches soon infiltrated his house, warming up his heart even more (he wasn't alone anymore, and it scared him) like the pictures of you two together on various occasions hanging on the walls and numerous, numerous paper works of studies splattered across the house. You were messy, messier than him, but you could always find yourself in the middle of your mess and his, not by organizing but by always finding what was being searched for.

It was one of the main reasons he admired you so much. Maybe you could be the light that he wanted.

And for a while, you were. Seeing you add the Kennedy to your last name filled Leon's heart with love, pride, and certainty that you were his. No one else's. And the first few years, as everyone says, were pure honeymoon bliss. For Leon, at least. Not that they weren't for you, they were, but you started noticing the minor signs as soon as you moved in: Leon never even drank that much during your dinner dates or even every single night. There was no reason to worry that much, he never got highly drunk, as the other alcoholic member of your family.

It was always "It is just to relax" or "Don't worry, it is not every day." He never got violent with you or hurt you, so it should be fine. Right?

-x-

Eric's eyes are attracted to the glass sound of Leon slamming against the bar. The ring is still on the table, and Leon doesn't seem wasted yet, but he never really does. Eric brings the bottle, his trained eyes scanning Leon when Creep by Radiohead starts playing in the bar. Leon seems to snicker, playing with his cup as Eric stands before him.

"You getting close to your limit. Are you driving?"

"Why? Is that your business?" Leon's words are coming out slurred, but he keeps his focus on Eric. Eric lifts his eyebrows as if that was the obvious answer. "I never caused an accident all my years coming here. Do I look like I am about to do something stupid now?"

Eric seems to ponder momentarily before turning the liquid on his cup. This would be Leon Kennedy's last cup, he thinks. Eric turns to leave and attend to other guests, but he stops in his tracks, looking at Leon as he says, louder than the music.

"We never know when any of you are about to do something stupid."

Leon watches as Eric leaves, an undisguisable expression on his face, his lips in a thin line, without replying back.

-x-

You could have blamed how intense your studies were for not noticing Leon's decline, but even someone with half a brain could have noticed at this point. The fact he tried to hide from you after he was hungover. Was it your fault for not realizing Leon drank so much or the choice to not see how much he did before marrying him? Or was it just your crazy schedule that didn't let you stay home to be a good partner? With all your study and knowledge, you didn't see your husband falling apart right in front of your eyes.

It didn't matter, anyway. Finding Leon in front of your house the Wednesday morning before you went to work, his passed-out form at the entrance told you everything you needed to know: Leon had once again not slept in bed.

"We have to talk," You texted him when you got to work. You were late that morning, having to help bring a semi-conscious inside the house and leave him in your bed. He never really answered your texts, not that you expected. He tried to avoid having any type of conversation about it, running away in any way he could find.

When you got home, he was sitting by the couch, at least clean, the beard growing. Leon was lucky, you thought as you sat in front of him, with his beard never growing too much with a few spiky hairs. His eyes never meet yours as you start speaking, explaining you were worried about him, that the amount of alcohol was just too much. You apologize for not realizing that before and Leon's lips do a "Tsk." It is not your responsibility, Leon knew it. He was responsible for his own actions and didn't need your apology. He actually didn't know exactly what he needed, except something to silence the big void inside him. It is not your purpose to be everything to him, and Leon acknowledges that now.

"We can find someone to help you, I am sure, Leon."

"I am fine." He wasn't. He knew. He knew you knew. You gulped, trying to touch his arm, but Leon flinched away, too sick with himself with the look you were giving him. Is it pity? Is it disgust? Love?

"You can't be serious." You whisper. Oh, it is disappointment, then.

"I am. I am fine, okay?" A lie "-you have no reason to worry about." Another lie "There is nothing to worry about." Liar, liar, liar!

You gulped, looking at your own hands, your brows furrowed. You opened your mouth, then closed it, biting your lips. You don't have to know, something rotten inside Leon voiced. You didn't have to know the nights he passed awake after you fell asleep, the thought he couldn't shut his head, the horrors, the pain, the fact his hand seemed to play with the handle of his gun when he was drinking, oh no, you did not deserve to know none of that. You had much more to worry about than with a depressed and useless bastard like him, like saving humanity.

You didn't give up, of course, after that conversation. You became much more attentive, realizing Leon skipped meals (idiot), Leon never slept through the nights (idiot IDIOT!), and Leon left you in the middle of the night to sit in the darkness to do only the universe knows what. Cry? Wish for something better? You started calling therapists, doctors, and anyone who could help and make appointments for Leon (he never went to any of those). You watched helplessly as your Leon deteriorated, the bag under his eyes worse and worse. Was he losing weight? You told him to get a vacation from the D.S.O, but who was going to protect the world? Fuck the world, you answer, fuck zombies, fuck viruses, you are my world!

No matter how further you tried to bring him out or how hard you tried to pull him up, Leon just fell further and further into the darkness. Leon, on the other hand, was just upset and angry he ever dragged you into this mess he was.

-x-

"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life

I know you'll be a star in somebody else's sky, but why

Why, why can't it be, oh can't it be mine?"

Damn good old Pearl Jam, Leon thinks. The bar is almost empty at this point, another employee cleaning around the table. Eric gives one final look at the clock: five minutes to close. He sighs, walking toward Leon.

"We will be closing soon, Leon. Time for you to go."

Eric thinks he will argue against it, but Leon gets up, throwing a good amount of cash in the bar. Eric grabs it and asks, a little anxious, already expecting a loud no.

"Do you want me to call a cab?"

Leon doesn't answer, leaving the bar. He isn't driving, actually, no, that would make him arrive home faster. He doesn't care what happens to him until he gets there: maybe for a twisted game of destiny, he gets hit by a car, someone drunker than he is right now. Leon wishes it is him that gets killed, not some innocent bystander. For more drunk than Leon Kennedy is, the memories from earlier night never left his head. Your face never entirely leaves his mind, actually, even when he is highly inebriated: he is doomed no matter what he does, doomed to remember, sleep and dream about you, like a damn high schooler thinking about her crush.

-x-

"What is this?"

Your voice is shaky as you find Leon working on his motorcycle. Leon didn't look up as he asked back.

"What?"

"This, Leon!" Your voice sounded like you had been holding back tears. You sat for a good ten minutes, wondering how to confront Leon about this and if you have reached your limit.

He saw the paper and recognized his handwriting. Leon gets up, cleaning his hands as you shake in front of him, and Leon knew because he has known you for so long, you are holding back your tears, your lips quivering. You look exactly the picture of the six-year-old you. Your big eyes crying because your dad took your favorite teddy bear from you, your arms pleading for the toy back in your mom's arms. The same eyes, Leon realized. He wanted to feel nothing, but it is impossible when the topic is you, so he broke even more.

"Is this...is this what I think it is?"

"No. It is an apology letter. Much different."

"In case of leaving me? In case you are found dead?"

"Both."

You snorted, rolling your eyes. You turned away, but then you turned back, and Leon deep down knew this was it. This was the moment he had been waiting for since you said you said you loved him. This was it, and it was his fault, not yours, and he hoped you knew it.

"We can find you help. Please, Leon."

You were begging, like all the other times. Leon looked down at the note, the I'm sorry I love you written in shaky hand. He still remembered that night.

It had been a terrible night couple of months in the marriage. You were sleeping beside him, eyes closed, a peaceful expression. He could have woken up and asked for help, but he didn't want to worry you. The pressure in his chest was too much for him to bear, and he couldn't bear the pain that he knew so well (his oldest friend), which pierced his soul and irradiated all over his body, especially his heart. Leon couldn't breathe. He gave you one good look, trying to engrave your image on his head because that was the last thing he wanted to envision before he was done.

When he was far away from you, he grabbed his gun first but then the paper. You deserved that much, at least, he knew that. He wrote those words and sat down there in complete darkness, the gun heavy in his hands as he read it repeatedly. Leon Kennedy was no hero. He places the gun on the table, reading his "I am sorry I love you". Images of you sleeping, you moaning his name, whispering, screaming, laughing, mixing with the ones of you finding him the next morning, you screaming, terrified, holding his body, trying to bring him back to life. Leon gave one good deep breath and another, opening his eyes.

He puts the gun back into the drawer. Then he got up and decided to live another day, joining your sleeping form in bed.

He broke away from that memory, smiling in your direction, a sad smile that told you everything you needed to know. He saw your shoulder drop, and you rapidly turned around and started sobbing, muffling with your hand. Leon didn't need to watch you pack your stuff, didn't run to your shared bedroom, asking for you to stay. He had no right. He simply dressed and went to the bar.

Not because he didn't want to fight for you. Leon Kennedy just wasn't worth it for you.

-x-

It is going home that Leon sheds his first tears. You haven't called him wondering where he is, messaged him, and it is better like that. Leon grabs his phone and types a message to see if you blocked him, but he doesn't send it. What right he had anyway? Leon continues walking home, one step after another.

It doesn't matter what he finds at home, Leon Kennedy is doomed anyway.

#leon kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x you #leon kennedy angst #leon kennedy fanfic #leon kennedy fanfics #leon kennedy imagine #leon kennedy imagines #THIS HURT ME SO MUCH #leon s kennedy

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smoooothoperator · 1 year

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What a Shame

02: Love Story

Driver! Charles Leclerc x Singer! OC (Juliette Morelli)

Exes to Lovers, Forced Proximity, Childhood Sweathearts

Summary: she has to deal with him on her own way, and he has to deal with the consequences

Words: 2.5k

warnings: Lando x OC, charles being stupid, flashbacks are on italics. Love Story

Official Playlist (I will add more songs as I write)

Every interaction is very welcomed!!!!!

Masterlist

previous part | next part

a/n: hi hi loes!! welcome to de second chapter of this beautiful sroty i'm making!!! if you want to be tagged don't forget to massage me!!

🎤

He's here.

Charles Leclerc is here. Of course he is! Why did I never think about it? He is Pierre's best friend. He's one of those drivers that would come to the wedding.

"Shit, shit, shit" I groaned storming out of the room even before Valerie walked in.

"Juliette!"

I sigh and take a deep breath. She saw me, fuck!

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked me worriedly, walking towards me.

"Why didn't you tell me he was coming?" I asked her, hurt. "Why didn't you tell me Charles is Pierre's best man?"

"Because I wanted you in my wedding, Juliette! I wanted you to be here even if he was here" she sighed holding my hands. "Do this for me… Please?"

I look at her taking a deep breath. The last ten years the only moment I thought about him was while looking at the calendar and watching the day when he broke up with me. Every year I wrote my frustrations down in a notebook and those words became songs. And now he's here, standing next to Pierre and clearly not bothered.

"He better stay away from the entire weekend" I said walking back inside, sitting back on the chair and looking at him one last time before moving my eyes to the other side of the room.

The rehearsal of the wedding was quick, they just skipped their vows and the exchange of rings, just doing what they had to do to make sure everything was ready.

"The dinner will be at the restaurant of the villa" the maid of honor said to the few people that came to the rehearsal in the church.

I got up when I noticed his eyes on me, looking away and walking out of the church. The villa is not far from here, just to the other side of the village.

I took a deep breath and looked around, swallowing thickly when I heard him call my name. No, no.

"Oh god, you are Juliette Morelli?" a man asked behind me, making me turn around and smile.

He had curly brown hair and bright eyes, a British accent and a cute smile.

"I am" I smile, looking at Charles for afar walking towards me. "And you are…?"

"Lando Norris" he smiled, walking with me as I started the way towards the villa. "One of Pierre's friends"

"Yeah, I imagined" I nodded smiling.

While we talked I felt his eyes on the back of my neck. I know he's looking at us, I wish I knew what he was thinking.

"I guess you are staying here in the villa" Lando smiled looking at me. "Which room?"

"Oh number 203" I said smiling. "I'm Valerie's best friend, so…"

"Oh? And how is it that you are not her maid of honor? I thought every girl does that?" he frowned, making me laugh weakly and shake my head.

"I'm tired of being a maid of honor, so… Hey, but I'm going to sing at their first dance" I laughed.

"So I'll be at a free concert of Juliette Morelli?" he laughed.

I looked at him and bite my lip. Maybe I can have a little fun with him, just to get Charles out of my mind.

The dinner was a little messy. Kids around, parents trying to control them, Pierre and Valerie nervous and just to add to the mix, Charles was killing me and Landon with his eyes all night.

"So tell me, which song will you do tomorrow?" Lando asked me, leaning on the back of his chair.

"Hm, is a surprise" I smirk. "The only hint I'll give you is that it's a gift I made for them"

"A new song?" he said surprised.

"Yeah" I nod smiling. "I don't think I'll drop it, actually. Is a song I wrote for them and only them"

Lando was someone I could talk easily with. He liked many things and always had a way to start another conversation with me. At least it helped me to not think about him during the dinner.

When people started to go back to their rooms I just got up from the table, going to grab a drink. I just felt like I needed to drink something to stop my own instinct: going to Charles.

"I'm going to grab something to drink" I told Lando, getting up from the chair and looking down at him. "You coming?"

"Oh, I… Yeah" he nodded standing up too.

I smiled and bit my lip, looking at him. Yeah, I could have fun with him tonight.

"Juliette" I heard him say my name, making me stop my steps, freezing.

I wanted to keep walking, to make my legs work. But it was like they were jelly, shaking when I heard his voice. Is deeper than ten years ago, he still keeps that french accent I once loved, but the way he said my name is not the same he used to say it.

"What? You know her?" Lando asked him, surprised. "Dude! You know I'm a fan and you never introduced her to me!"

"Can you leave us alone for a minute, Lando? I have to talk with her" he sighed and I just took a deep breath when I saw Lando walk away.

Well, there goes my chance of having a funny night. Thank you, Charles.

"Don't you dare to hook up with him" he said on my back, making me turn around and look at him, incredulous.

"First of all, who I hook up with is none of your business anymore" I said frowning, looking at him disgusted.

"It is when he's my friend!" he exclaimed, making me laugh.

"Really? The first thing you say to me after all this time is that?" I laughed shaking my head. "How ridiculous"

"Juliette, I-"

"No, Leclerc" I said frowning, pointing my finger at him and making him shut up. "You are no longer my boyfriend. Not even my friend. You don't have any rights to tell who I am allowed to fuck and who I am not. I'm over you"

"Oh, yeah? Tell that to all your Grammy winning songs about me" he said crossing his arms, a mischievous grin on his lips.

"Fuck you, Leclerc!" I exclaimed and walked away.

He doesn't have any right to do this to me. He was the one that ended things, the one that said I was distracting him.

I just walked the way I saw Lands leaving, smiling relieved when I saw him sitting on one of the highchairs of the drinks bar.

"Do you two know each other?" he asked me, making me sigh and roll my eyes.

"Unfortunately" I sighed.

He looked at me and I just turned around, ordering a glass of whiskey and taking a sup of it after the bartender served it to me. I heard Lando humming and saw him nodding, looking in front of him.

"Well, he's looking at you" he said and I just sighed groaning.

"Good for him" I scoffed and looked at Lado, biting my lip.

I saw him looking at me and I just smiled, resting my head on the palm of my hand. He smiled back, taking a deep breath and leaning his back on the bar.

I bite my lip and smirk, cupping his cheek with my hand and leaning on him quickly to peck his lips, pulling away and chuckling.

"You are cute" I said smiling, looking at how he blushed and laughed nervously.

"Hm, you are too" he smiled, biting his lip, licking afterwards. "But why did you kiss me?"

"Oh, because I wanted to" I laughed. "I mean, if you have a girlfriend I'm so sorry!"

"No, no, it's okay" he laughed. "I'm single as fuck"

"Good, me too" I said, making him laugh. "Come to my room"

"What? I… Are you sure?" he frowned surprised, quiet shocked.

"Hey, let's just have fun" I said, nudging his side. "We're two single people at a wedding. Believe me, I know for experience how boring that is"

I looked at him and by the corner of my eye I saw Charles leaving mad, just making me smile at Lando more.

Good. Let's have fun.

🏎️

I wanted to talk with her. To hear her voice, her laugh.

But that didn't go how I wanted it to. I heard her voice, but not while she talked to me but to Lando. I heard her laugh, caused by Lando. I saw her smile, while she talked with Lando.

"Dude, you are staring again" Pierre whispered in my ear, making me jump on the seat and gasp.

"Pierre! Dude, stop doing that!" I exclaimed.

He laughed and it made me groan. My eyes went back to her, sitting with Lando and touching his arm while she laughed at something he said, throwing her head back. That means she's having fun for real.

"Why don't you talk with her?" Pierre asked me, making me frown and look at him.

"Are you for real? You saw how she reacted when she saw me in the church not long ago" I scoffed. "You really want to see her screaming at me?"

"I mean… You kinda deserve it" he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Now you have to deal with the consequences, all by yourself"

I looked at him frowning, kinda hurt with his lack of support, and looked down at the plate with food.

Hearing her laugh makes my appetite go away because I'm not the one causing it.

After some hours since everyone finished their dinner, people started getting up to go to their rooms or to the drinks bar, and I was still sitting on the table doing as if I heard what Valerie and Pierre were talking about.

They are not getting up. She's sitting closer to him. He rested his arm on the back of her chair. She's doing that thing when she feels relaxed, playing with a little strand of her hair and twisting it on her finger. They are sitting too close.

But then she got up and he followed her, looking back at the drinks bar.

Then my legs worked alone, making me stand and walk towards her. My lips worked alone and pronounced her name, and I hated it because it sounded different than when I used to say it.

I heard her heels stopping, how she took a deep breath. I ignored Lando, not looking at him and just fixing my eyes on her. She turned around and I just felt the world stop.

She looks more beautiful than ever. Her eyes are different, they don't look at me the way the used to. Her lips are no longer making that perfect smile she used to gift me. She's skinnier, but her body is perfect, all the curves she had are better and made her look more mature, more adult.

I didn't plan what I wanted to say to her, but it definitely wasn't what I said. I didn't want to argue with her, but watching her with Lando made something grow inside of me that I never felt before. Hearing her say that she's over me, even if I deserve it, made me feel angry, but I didn't have the right to say those things to her.

"I am stupid" I groaned to myself when I saw her walk towards Lando again, watching how she sat on the high chair and talked with him.

But what hurt me the most was when she kissed him.

That's not the Juliette I once knew. That's not the person I fell in love with. She's someone else right now. Someone, even if I hated to admit it, I was destroyed.

I felt many emotions inside of me. Anger, jealousy, pain, anxiety. All the emotions I had buried in the deepest part of my soul are now getting out of that box, coming to the surface and exploding right in front of my face since the moment I saw her a few hours ago.

I never wanted to recognize it, but now watching her with someone else makes me regret what I did to her.

I just walked out of the building, sitting on a bench that was under fairy lights. The place is beautiful, Pierre and Valerie made a great choice with this villa.

I remember when Juliette and I were younger, dreaming awake on the bed while holding each other how our future could be. She used to tell me that she would be my trophy girlfriend if I was her trophy boyfriend. That she would go to my races if I went to her concerts.

I still remember how I played the piano with her when she wrote her songs, helping her with the melody and finding the right notes for it. She was always a genius with words, writing beautiful poems that she transformed into songs.

"Hey, I just had an idea" she told me, sitting next to me on the couch with her back notebook and a book in her hand.

"What are you doing reading Romeo and Juliet?" I laughed when I saw the title of the book, grabbing it and opening it to find some lines highlighted.

"I just wanted to write a song, you idiot" she laughed, taking the book away from my hands.

"Remember when I told you that the way we met reminded me of their story?

"Yeah, at the annual ball the prince does" I nodded, smiling at the memory. "Your dad really hated me that night"

"He was just overprotective" she laughed, rolling her eyes. "I just... I just wanted to write a song about us, you know?"

"That's so beautiful" I smiled, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me. "Any ideas? You already have the lyrics?"

She showed me the notebook and I just smiled reading it, falling for her even more.

"Wait, let me add something" I said, grabbing the pen and writing the last verse.

Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.

I love you, and that's all I really know

I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress

It's a love story, baby, just say yes

"Wait, what?" she gasped, making me laugh.

"If this song is our story, it should end this way" I said while playing with her hair. "This is a promise, yeah?"

"It's a promise" she said smiling, looking at me.

I looked up at the dark sky full of stars and smiled sadly. I made many promises to her and broke most of them.

"I am so stupid" I sighed, closing my eyes defeated.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights

#f1 #f1 x y/n #f1 x oc #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #f1 drabble #f1 serie #formula 1 fic #formula 1 drabble #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x you #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine

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magicshopaholic · 1 year

Text

Other People (Seokjin x OC)

Summary: You learn a new trick, while Seokjin discovers something unexpected at Big Hit.

Pairing: Seokjin x OC

Genre: Best friends; angst

Word count: 8.5 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: language, alcohol, mention of diets, mentions of brain surgery, mentions of a car accident (again, Nari is a surgeon, so)

A/N: This got unnecessarily long; I would apologise for it, but I couldn't find a single thing I wanted to delete. It's also two am so I've made an executive decision to not proofread this. I wish I could predict the reaction to this fic but I honestly have no idea. Takes place approximately three months after The Test.

Tagging: @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @dreaming-with-happiness @meirkive @faearchives @margopinkerton @purpleseoul7 @kflixnet (italics could not be tagged; drop a message if you want to be added)

Listen to: "don't know why" by norah jones

seokjin masterlist | main masterlist

It’s cold and rainy in Seoul, even when it shouldn’t be.

The day had started off as a nice sunny winter morning in November, the sun a soft golden, a welcome respite from the low temperature. As noon arrived, so did the clouds. By late afternoon, they were grey and ample, sealing the city in a coffin.

Now, the evening doesn’t look at all like it’s continued from the same morning. The rain comes down in torrents, creating a constant din, loud enough for people to have to speak in slightly raised voices to be heard properly.

Nari stands outside the ER with a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The coffee is losing its heat with every passing second and she tries to gulp it down as fast as she can without burning her tongue in the process.

“What do we have?” Daeun appears from behind her, tying her hair into a ponytail, trauma gown already on.

“Two cars crashed into each other outside the mall,” supplies Nari. “Five victims, multiple contusions, broken bones and at least one head trauma. Coffee?”

Daeun accepts the cup with a nod and takes a noisy sip. “Ah, that’s good stuff. Shit, the rain is bad. I don’t think this will be our only car accident today.”

“Not even close,” mutters Nari, as two more fellow doctors join them. “I just hope we have the room.”

“We don’t,” says Jason, shifting from one foot to another. “Two of the trauma rooms are still unusable from the pipe leakage and the most of the X-ray machines are done after the Wednesday Soccer Team Incident. We have exactly one CT machine in working condition. The hospital is going to have to scrape money off the sidewalk to pay for all those repairs,” he adds, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Good thing they’re hosting a fundraiser then,” says Daeun dryly, just as the ambulance pulls in and the paramedics spill out. “A bunch of rich donors with their cheque books hanging out of their pockets - if that doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.”

Two patients, strapped to a gurney each are then lowered out of the ambulance. All four of them dash forward and tag themselves to a patient, hurrying inside as they listen to the paramedics rattle off their initial assessment and vitals on the field. Nari finds herself next to a woman, possibly in her thirties, with fresh cuts on her face and arms. Her t-shirt is drenched and her jacket has been ripped off, most likely by the paramedics themselves.

“Abdomen is tender so there might be internal bleeding,” says one of the paramedics. “There was no fire but there’s indication that she might have a swollen airway because of the fumes.”

“Alright, we need to get a CT,” says Nari, scanning the ER for an empty trauma room but finding none. “Damn it,” she mutters. “Okay, we’re going to have to keep her here - maybe we can use an ultrasound for now until we can move her.”

“Empty bed over here.” Jason steers the gurney over and immediately hooks the patient up to an IV. “I’ll get the portable ultrasound.”

“I’ll check her airway.” Nari gets to work immediately, trying to intubate the patient, who seems to have passed out entirely. She’s almost done when Jason returns, a nurse and the portable ultrasound machine in tow.

“This better work,” he mutters to her as the nurse begins positioning the patient correctly. “If we can’t find the bleed on this, we’re going to have to get in line for CT, which will take… hours.”

“Here’s hoping,” she agrees, standing back and observing the screen as he moves the transducer over the patient’s abdomen. She sighs and bites her lip when the image comes up clean. “Nothing. Move it to the left?”

Jason obliges, clicking his tongue. “I can’t believe the hospital doesn’t have a budget set aside to fix this stuff. This is a hospital,” he repeats, sounding appropriately frustrated. “Damn it, this bleed is really small. It’s barely showing up on the scan.”

“It has to be there. Here, let me try,” she offers, taking the transducer from him and moving it slower along the woman’s torso. “Do we all have to actually go to this fundraising thing, though? Can’t we skip?”

Jason scoffs. “It’s either dress up and smile at a bunch of rich people or stay here in the ER all night because all the attendings will be at the event. We’re not going to get a night off. The best we can do is make sure we’re all there so we at least have someone to talk to.”

It takes a second to click. “Shit, that’s it.”

“What is? Did you find the bleed?”

“What? No. Sorry,” she mutters, going back to the ultrasound, feeling an encouraging flutter in her stomach. I didn’t find the bleed, she thinks apologetically. I found a segue.

—

It’s hours later when Nari finally gets a moment alone. Sitting at a table in the residents’ locker room, a sandwich in one hand and her phone in the other, she stares at her last chat with Seokjin. It’s a depressing series of heys and what’s ups and not muches, which is all it’s been for months now, ever since they’d last seen each other in August.

It started with superficial questions and forced conversation, half-hearted plans to meet before he had to leave for Europe again, until they dwindled down to monosyllabic answers that Nari found herself too humiliated to keep going, for more than one reason.

For one, it didn’t help her newfound insecurity of being a clingy friend, especially to a man who had made perfectly clear that he didn’t see her as anything but a friend. On top of that, she had no way of knowing what he was thinking. He wasn’t angry; she knew what Seokjin was like when he was angry and if he truly was, she would know.

No, he wasn’t angry. He was… distant. Part of it could’ve been that he was busy, completing an entire promotional activity across Europe. But now that he’s back from their last stop in Japan, Nari knows that they have to get back on track. Being her date to a fundraiser isn’t her top pick, but it might just be the right balance between an organized event where he can’t ignore her and a public enough place that they won’t have to be alone at any point. Besides, if it doesn’t happen now, between his stint in Europe and his tour beginning early next year, she has a sinking feeling that their relationship will stagnate right here.

She swallows, her heart racing slightly. It’s the middle of the night; Seokjin is most likely asleep, which gives her a great excuse to text and not call.

Nari [01:11]

Hey.

She sends it before she loses her nerve, the soft whoosh sounding awfully final. Her stomach tugs uncomfortably with anxiety that she’s only recently started to associate with Seokjin, a strange and new feeling of not being able to expect what’s coming.

She continues staring dementedly at the phone, its screen dark, until she finishes the entire sandwich.

“It’s the middle of the fucking night, Nari,” she mutters to herself, standing up with a groan and stretching. There’s no point wasting her night worrying when she’s probably not going to get a response until tomorrow. She changes out of her scrubs and runs a hand through her unwashed hair, counting herself lucky that she can get a good six hours of sleep before she has to return in the morning.

The rain has slowed to a drizzle now; despite the cold, Nari tilts her head to the sky slightly, welcoming the fresh air. She runs her hands through her hair again, feeling the droplets cooling her scalp as her hair falls around her shoulders in clumpy strands. She doesn’t even make it past the entrance when she feels the unmistakable vibration of her phone in her bag, touching her hip.

Nari freezes. This is unprecedented; Seokjin is never awake this late. Fishing out her phone, she lets out a low breath when she sees a message from him. She can ignore it, to be sure, and deal with it tomorrow morning - but then she would come off as a coward.

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s ridiculously late, maybe it’s the fact that she just spent a better part of the evening fixing a bleed in a person’s abdomen - but the inner voice in her head simply sighs tiredly and goes it’s just Seokjin, prompting her to shake her head and open his message.

Kimbap [01:35]

Hey.

It’s anticlimactic, for sure, but still unexpected. Nari takes a seat on a bench near the parking lot and wipes the droplets off her screen with the sleeve of her jacket, hoping this isn’t going to be another one of their pointless conversations.

But he replied, didn’t he?

He did. Even though it’s the middle of the night. Encouraged, she responds.

Nari [01:39]

Didn’t expect you to be awake.

Kimbap [01:40]

We’re watching a movie at the dorm.

Nari [01:40]

Oh. Which one?

Kimbap [01:41]

Hereditary. I hate it.

Nari [01:41]

Jesus. Then why are you still watching it?

Kimbap [01:41]

There’s a bet and Jungkook is involved. It’s a long story.

Nari’s immediate response of I have time gets backspaced instantly. The honest truth is that she doesn’t have time and he clearly doesn’t want to talk about it. She can’t be sure how well a joke will land right now but she also knows that she needs to respond fast or this is doomed to be another one of their hopeless attempts at a conversation.

All of a sudden, her phone rings and Nari almost drops it. It’s Seokjin, his name blinking bright on the screen. Now fully panicking - because this was not part of the plan - Nari looks around wildly around the empty parking lot, as though hoping for someone to spring out of the bushes and tell her what to do.

The phone is still ringing. Before she realises what’s happening, her thumb does an awkward sort of spasm and lands on the screen, answering the call.

Here goes nothing, she thinks. “Um, h-hello?” she stutters.

“Hey.”

It’s like a football being kicked into her ribcage from the inside. Nari winces, wondering when her anxiety got this severe, to the point where her best friend’s voice is starting to cause her physical comfort. She leans back on the bench and tries to breathe slowly.

“Aren’t you, um, watching a movie?”

“Yeah. But if I’m on the phone, I have a decent excuse to get out of it.”

Oh. Nari feels her shoulders deflate. “Glad to be of help,” she murmurs, chuckling awkwardly. “How - how are you? Are you in Seoul?”

“Yeah, I am. Busy, though,” he adds quickly. “The album’s coming out in a week, so there’s a lot of work going on for it.”

“Right. Of course. How’s that going?”

“It’s fine. Hectic, as per usual. What about you?” he asks after a moment. “How’s the hospital, and the… surgeries and stuff?”

“Same. I mean, hectic. As usual.” Nari closes her eyes and feels her heart sink at the sheer effort this conversation is taking. She can’t begin to think about how they got here and it seems way too exhausting to even try.

“You sound tired.” Seokjin pauses, the sentence sounding incomplete. “Have you - I mean, are you still at the hospital?”

“Going home now. I just got a sandwich at the cafeteria,” she adds, hoping she’s guessed his half-question right.

“Now? I thought you hated the night cafeteria.”

“I do, but it beats the vending machine crap. Have to make do when the jajjangmyeon isn’t an option,” she jokes, bracing herself for his response.

But all he does is chuckle half-heartedly. “Yeah. What’s up? You texted?”

“Oh, right. Yeah.” Nari had barely worked up the nerve to text him about the fundraiser; asking him over the phone was a whole different ball game. “I was just thinking…” She trails off, her eyes widening as her vocal chords stay unwilling to go further.

“M-hm?”

Pull yourself together, woman.

“I was thinking that… we haven’t hung out in a while,” she ventures bravely, her knee jerking up and down. “And there’s a - there’s a thing later this week, so… that could be… you know.” She swallows, wishing Jason hadn’t put this stupid idea in her head in the first place. “... If you want,” she finishes lamely.

Seokjin is silent for a few seconds, during which Nari goes from anticipation to full-blown horror. “I’m sorry, are you - are you inviting me to something?” he asks, sounding confused.

“Um, kind of?”

“Like a party?”

“Well, no. Not a fun one,” she says wryly. “It’s a - there’s a fundraiser. And I have to go and… yeah, I was wondering if maybe you do, too. Since we haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Fundraiser, huh?” He doesn’t sound enthused at all. “Like, for charity? Wait, who’s the charity?”

“We are the charity,” she explains, rolling her eyes. “The hospital. Which means it’s just going to be all board members and senior doctors and other board members - and us. The residents.”

“Huh. Way to make it sound appealing, Nari.”

“It’s not appealing, at all. But it’s free food and booze and I get a chance to get out of my scrubs,” she points out. “Nice dress, straightened hair. And you’ll have to wear a suit,” she adds apologetically.

“Right.” There’s a soft sound and Nari realises a moment later that he’s laughing quietly. It makes her stomach feel uncomfortably heavy.

“What?” she asks, a bit defensively.

“Nothing,” he says, still chuckling. “We haven’t hung out in a while, so your idea was to do so at a… boring work event?”

Nari is quiet for a moment. The fact that he laughed is still prickling. “Well, I’d be open to other suggestions but you haven’t really had the time,” she can’t resist saying. “I work long hours; I don’t really get a lot of other opportunities to go out.”

“Yeah, Nari, I work long hours, too,” he reminds her, sounding irritatingly calm. “But if it’s either that or a hospital charity fundraising event filled with doctors… I think I’ll pick the long hours.” He chuckles again.

You’re a fucking idiot, Nari.

“Got it. See you around, Seokjin.”

“Nari, come on, I was joking -”

His words get cut off when she hangs up, fuming. She puts her phone on silent then, for good measure, and begins storming home in the cold. She won’t respond to any of his calls or messages tonight, the arse, she thinks. But fate must be on her side, for even after she gets home, changes and gets into bed, Seokjin doesn’t call or message.

—

Seokjin reaches the Big Hit building earlier than required. There’s no one in the rehearsal room yet, not even Hoseok, so he decides to get a much needed shot of caffeine from the cafeteria on the fourteenth floor. As he waits in line, he scans the food menu, each item like a gourmet creation.

Have to make do when the jajjangmyeon isn’t an option.

Seokjin sighs and tries not to think about what Nari had for dinner last night, but by the time his coffee is handed to him, he knows he’s a goner. It had taken him every ounce of restraint to not reach out to her again last night, knowing that no good would come of it. But now, in the light of day, he knows he can’t avoid it any longer.

He calls her before he can talk himself out of it. Looking out at the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows and sipping his coffee, he hears her phone ring continuously until it goes to voicemail. He tries not to read too much into it; she’s probably already at work and she rarely answers unless she’s taking a break. It’s better than the other option; the feeling of Nari being angry with him is too foreign for him to consider right now.

He dials her number again to be certain and when it once again goes to voicemail, he clears his throat and takes another sip of coffee for liquid courage.

“Hey, Nari,” he begins, then sighs. “Look, I’m sorry if I was a bit of a dick last night. You just caught me off guard. Honestly, I… I didn’t think you really wanted to hang out with me so when you said you did, it just kind of threw me. And your event does sound boring,” he adds, hoping she hears the teasing in his voice, “but I’ll be there anyway. Suit and everything. I want to hang out with you, too,” he says after a moment, knowing the words don’t even begin to explain the magnitude of how much he wants to see her again, how hard it’s been to distance himself since the last time he saw her. “So… yeah. Text me the details.”

He should be saying something more but he can’t think what. As he looks around, hoping the words will come to him, he spots a figure just outside the cafeteria doors and does a double take. His mind runs through a myriad of memories to zero in on the right one, when he remembers he’s still on the phone.

“Anyway, I have to go. Bye.” Locking his phone and heading out towards the figure, Seokjin pushes his shoulders back and hopes he isn’t wrong. She’s in a slim navy blazer, skinny jeans and very high heels, a sleek laptop tucked under one arm and her fingers flying across the keypad of a Blackberry.

He taps her shoulder with a feather-light touch. “Um, hi? I think I have something that belongs to you?”

When she turns around, face carefully blank, Seokjin is momentarily sure of two things: one, that she is exactly who he thought she was, and two, that her lack of expression can only mean that she doesn’t remember him.

“You do?” A moment later, her perfectly lined lips tilt upwards slightly. “That’s right. What was it again?”

“Um…” Seokjin licks his lips, glad that he didn’t just go up to a random stranger and interrupt her in the middle of what seems to be a very long email. “I think it was a collectible of some kind? Very glamorous. Had a name on the inside?”

Her smile widens. “Do you remember what it was?”

Seokjin gulps but keeps his face still. “Of course. It was… Seulgi.” The relief at her nod is unexpected. “You think I’d forget the person that saved my hand that night? How would I ever hold a mic otherwise? My career might have been over!”

Seulgi laugh, a nice, low laugh. Her teeth are perfectly lined and perfectly white, shining against light bronze skin without a single pore. Her hair is long, straight and black, not a strand out of place. She looks like she belongs on a pamphlet for corporate employees.

Which reminds him.

“Do you - do you actually work here?” he asks. “In Big Hit?”

“Yeah,” she answers, looking only very slightly apologetic. “I thought I recognised you that night as well but I couldn’t be sure. I only just moved to the Marketing team. Sorry.”

“Uh, no, don’t be.” Seokjiin shakes his head. “It’s good to see you. And now I can return the wrist brace to you, too! This is great.”

“I mean, you don’t have to. I told you, I have a bunch of them,” she reminds him, raising her left hand slightly. From under the sleeve of her blazer, a navy blue brace, just like the purple one she’d lent him, peaks out.

“No, no, I should,” he says anyway, shaking his head and glancing at the clock on his phone. There’s a message on his notification tray… “It’s back in my…” He wracks his brain, “... uh, flight. Which I took. The day after you lent me the brace.” He drops his face in his hands when she laughs again, low and husky.

“It’s really okay,” she says, touching his arm before taking a step back. “I actually do have a lot of them. And maybe they’ll help out some other poor soul who’s hurt his wrist.”

“That’s the hope,” he agrees, knowing his ears are reddening. “Man, I really wish I’d known you worked here. I would’ve… I don’t know. Broken the news about losing your brace sooner, for starters.”

“The loss would’ve been easier,” she agrees.

Seokjin bites his lip, preparing to let the awkwardness wash over him but it doesn’t. Seulgi’s warm, despite her appearance suggesting she’s about to walk into a room and fire a dozen people.

“I feel really guilty, though,” he repeats after a moment. “Can I - I don’t know… buy you a coffee? It’s no collector’s edition wrist brace, but still?”

“Oh, that actually sounds good,” she replies, and for a moment his heart skips a beat of relief, “but the line seems long and I have a meeting.” She holds her Blackberry up apologetically.

For the first time, Seokjin notices a Galaxy in her other hand – a personal cell and a work cell. She’s core corporate, he realises, possibly senior management. He doesn’t know why, but it’s slightly intimidating.

“Oh. Oh, okay. Sure.” He nods as she moves past him. “It was good to see you, though.”

“Yeah, you, too. Glad your wrist is better.” With a quick wave, she heads down the corridor and disappears from view.

Seokjin watches her leave, still cringing somewhat over the wrist brace he hasn’t thought about in months. She’d been the only person that night he’d had a normal conversation with - somehow, this doesn’t seem like the best way to show his gratitude.

It’s time to head for practice, anyway. As he steps into the elevator, he opens his messages and breathes a sigh of relief.

Nari [09:14]

[Location]

Nari [09:14]

Friday, 7 pm

—

It’s hours later when they’re finally done with practice. All seven of them, a choreographer and a couple camerapersons are the only ones left. Jimin and Jungkook are still standing, going over their portion of the choreography as Hoseok watches, even though they look like they might collapse any second. Taehyung is spread-eagled on the floor, his bowl hat on his face. Yoongi is sitting in one corner of the room, staring into nothing.

Seokjin feels too tired to move, every single muscle aching. He leans back against the mirror and tries to catch his breath. Next to him, Namjoon is lying on the floor and texting. Seokjin catches a couple of words and immediately looks away; It seems to be in English, so it’s a fairly easy guess who the other person is.

“Any plans tonight, hyung?” Yoongi trudges over and tumbles down on his other side, crossing his legs.

“Not a one,” answers Seokjin. “In fact, I don’t think I’ll be getting out of bed for a while so if you need anything, I’ll respond to you in two to five business days.”

“You need to be at the studio tomorrow morning.”

There’s a pause. “Fine, but apart from that,” he amends, wagging his finger in Yoongi’s face, “two to five business days.”

“There’s also the interview on Friday.”

“Damn it, Yoongi,” groans Seokjin, glaring at him. “Fine, but that’s the last one. I have plans to vegetate all weekend in my apartment,” he informs him, knowing that there’s no way he'll get the entire weekend off, but needing to put across the point, “so just… don’t ruin it for me.” He watches Yoongi make a motion that might be a chuckle and rolls his eyes. “And besides, the interview is on Thursday. So my weekend begins on Friday.”

“The interview is on Friday,” says Yoongi calmly.

“No, it’s not. It’s Thursday. The twenty-fourth.”

“Thursday is the twenty-third.”

“No,” repeats Seokjin, feeling his pulse start to race, “it - it was always on Thursday.”

“No, it’s Friday,” pipes up Namjoon from his other side, not looking away from his phone.

And thus, Seokjin is left to spend the rest of the day in a growing pit of guilt, knowing that he’s going to have to disappoint Nari yet again - this time, completely unintentionally.

Her hesitation last night had not gone unnoticed by him. It was hard to hear but equally hard to respond to, and Seokjin half-hoped that she would find it too hard to go through with actually inviting him somewhere and drop the idea altogether.

But she persisted and while it made Seokjin profusely glad that she still cared, it also meant that he would have to find a way to face her after avoiding her for months.

It doesn’t feel nearly as easy as it sounds, for Seokjin has absolutely no idea what to expect when it comes to Nari now. Part of him still feels guilty for lying to her the day after the wedding; her question had taken him completely off guard and lying about his feelings was the only way he’d been able to think of to avoid the situation getting worse.

It was a mess already but somehow, twenty-four hours later, it was So Much Worse. Somehow, Nari had come to him with a problem he couldn’t ignore. Somehow, he suddenly had to reevaluate his entire life with her in it, and somehow, in less than a day, his short-lived future with Nari as the mother of his child and best friend for life had been created and shattered.

It was hard to think of, and so much harder to talk to Nari about. Seokjin had been on the verge, dozens of times, of just breaking the ice and chatting with his best friend while he sat in cold European towns and watched Taehyung get his heart broken over and over again by Dilara Komyshan.

At least we’re not that bad yet, he’d tried to tell himself. He wanted to tell her, too, that they weren’t that bad, that they were okay, that he just needed some time. But the thought of confessing his surreal daydream, of irretrievably changing their friendship felt like too much of a responsibility - especially if she didn’t respond well. Avoiding her sucked, but it beat being around her with nothing to say.

Still, saying no to her outright, when she’d asked him point blank to accompany him to something was too hard. The fundraiser thing did sound boring, but he wanted to see her, too, so badly. It felt like a missing limb, not being able to talk to her.

Nice dress, straightened hair. And he would have to be in a suit. He shudders when he remembers what happened the last time she was in a nice dress and he was in a suit.

“Namjoon.” Seokjin jogs over to the leader as they’re heading out of the building to their cars in the basement. “About this press conference on Friday.”

“Yeah?”

Seokjin hesitates, already sensing a no-nonsense mood. It hasn’t been the best day for Namjoon; the choreography was a complicated one, he was having to negotiate schedules all day, and if he’s not mistaken, he and Kaya have definitely been having some disagreement all day.

“About this press conference on Thursday -”

“Friday.”

“- I was - yes, Friday -” Seokjin clears his throat. “How important would you say it is for all of us to show up, on a scale of one to… Grammys?”

Namjoon stares. “At least VMAs.”

Seokjin nods seriously, even though it doesn’t help him in the least. “Okay,” he says, changing tacks, “how long do you think it’ll go on?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” Namjoon sighs, scrolling through some document on his phone. “It should be done by six, but there’s a sponsors’ dinner after that - but that won’t be filmed so maybe we can leave early… of course, we’ll need to let management know so they have an exit plan…” He shakes his head and continues muttering under his breath.

“Okay, sure,” interrupts Seokjin, sensing that Namjoon is starting to lose the plot. “But what time do you think the event will actually end? Because I have to be somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Uh… a thing. With Nari,” he adds shortly. To his relief, Namjoon simply raises his eyebrows but doesn’t probe.

“I - I don’t know, hyung,” he says, not sounding apologetic at all. It’s definitely a fight with Kaya. “We won’t know until we get there. Depends on the sponsors. If it helps, it’s happening right here, in this building.”

It does help, a bit, for the location is closer to the Big Hit building than the hospital is. Still, it could be better.

“Look, I just need to tell Nari if I can make it or not,” he says, no longer beating around the bush. “I don’t want to make her a promise I can’t keep.”

Namjoon licks his lips slowly and nods. “I think you’ve been in this business long enough to know the answer to that, hyung,” he says cryptically, patting his shoulder and walking away.

“What the hell does that mean?” Seokjin demands, but Namjoon just shrugs and continues walking away.

He does know what it means, though. But you’re a coward, Kim Seokjin, says the voice inside his head, sounding like Nari’s, as he prepares to text her later that night rather than call, knowing (and somewhat hoping) that she’ll be too busy to answer right away.

Seokjin [20:11]

I have some not so great news.

To his horror, she replies almost immediately.

Nari [20:13]

Bring it.

Seokjin [20:13]

Promise you won’t get mad?

Nari [20:14]

I’m two beers and a tequila shot down. This would be the right time to give me some not so great news.

Seokjin pauses. She’s drinking, which means she got off work at a reasonable time tonight. He should be glad about that, for her, but he can’t figure out what is also bothering him about it.

Seokjin [20:16]

Oh? No surgeries?

Nari [20:16]

Nope, I’m not on call tonight. I was going to go home and crash but the others convinced me to have a drink first.

Seokjin [20:17]

Sounds like more than a drink.

Nari [20:18]

I may have gotten carried away, but zero regrets.

Seokjin [20:18]

Do you have a ride home?

Nari [20:19]

I live half a block away from the hospital. I’m sure most of these guys will crash at my place when they’re too trashed to get home.

Seokjin [20:19]

Are you sure?

Nari [20:20]

Yes. You don’t have to worry about me, you know.

She’s drunk; her transparency makes that clear. This may be the best or the worst time to give her the news, but Seokjin doesn’t think he can continue worrying about this for the rest of the night.

Seokjin [20:21]

Okay. Look, I need to talk to you about Friday.

Nari [20:21]

Something came up and you don’t think you can make it?

Seokjin’s heart jerks. He may not have met Nari much over the last few months, but he still knows her well enough to tell when she’s reaching the end of her tether.

Seokjin [20:22]

It’s a press thing. I can’t miss it.

Nari [20:23]

Of course. Unfortunate that you found out about it only today.

Seokjin [20:23]

No, it’s not that. I actually forgot. I thought it was on Thursday but it turns out it’s actually Friday. It’s my fault - I mixed up the days.

Nari [20:24]

Of course. Some other time, I guess.

Seokjin can picture her scoff, locking her phone and placing it on a bar table, screen down. He scrambles.

Seokjin [20:25]

I’m just saying I’ll be a little late.

Nari [20:25]

Late? Are you sure?

Seokjin [20:26]

Yeah. I don’t know how late but I’ll be there. I’ll try my best anyway.

Nari [20:26]

I’m sure you will.

This time, her status goes from “online” to “offline” and he knows she’s gone. This is a side of Nari he hasn’t seen in years: snide and sarcastic. It’s incredibly rare, requires a mix of things to be going wrong in her life, and has never, ever been directed at him.

Seokjin feels squeamish and guilty and helpless all at once - but he’s also beginning to get mildly annoyed. He’s determined to show up now, if for nothing else than to prove her wrong.

Take that, Nari. He pictures showing up at the event, jogging up the stairs and bursting into a hall filled with white-haired individuals in conservative finery. Nari, in the same leaf-green bridesmaid’s dress with strappy high heels, would be at the end of the hall at the bar, looking victorious at the assumption that he hasn’t shown. The crowd would part then and she would turn, the satisfied smirk fading at the sight of him, late and panting - but there.

The next moment, Seokjin cringes at this ridiculous fantasy. Even the imaginary voice in his head that sounds a bit like Nari snickers.

—

Nari fingers the strap of her dress nervously, feeling rather odd at being this dressed up around people who only ever see her in scrubs. Most of the other doctors seem to be feeling similarly, though, and she tries to coach herself to remember that they’re still the same people - just wearing make-up and cologne.

“Hey,” comes Jason’s voice from behind her, and she turns, glad to see someone she knows. “You - wow, you look amazing.”

“Really?” Nari asks quickly, smoothing down her dress. It’s long and plain black, nothing fancy, with a thin necklace and the only strappy high heels she owns. “It’s not too low cut?”

“Um -” Jason frowns and immediately looks away. “I - I don’t know. It looks - I mean, I didn’t -” He stutters in confusion, his gaze darting around in panic. “I don’t - I mean, should I look?”

“What? No, of course not.” She shakes her head and sighs. “Sorry. I’m just not used to it.”

“Used to what?”

“This,” she says, referring to nothing in particular. “The dress and the hair and the - the make-up. I don’t do it very often.” Looking up to see him still deliberately looking away, she slaps his shoulder. “Damn it, Jace, you can look at me now.”

“Oh.” He makes a big show of slowly moving his gaze towards her, grinning when she chuckles begrudgingly. “Don’t worry, dude. You look great.”

“Thanks. You, too, by the way,” she says honestly, noting the suit and the neatly brushed hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your jaw this smooth,” she remarks, turning his chin slightly.

“A last minute shave in the residents’ locker room changed the game.” Jason rubs his jaw and winces slightly. “Should I be concerned about my skills as a surgeon that I cut myself in two different places while doing it?”

Nari laughs, feeling slightly less nervous. “Not unless you’re the patient. Also, where the hell is everybody else?”

“Oh, Daeun got pulled into surgery - her motorcycle guy ruptured his spleen,” he answers, gesturing to the bartender. “She said she’d be back if it got over in time. Hyeri had to monitor her valve replacement lady to see if she’ll make it through the night. Oh, and Eunji is over there,” he adds, pointing to the other end of the hall.

Nari squints in the direction he’s pointing. “Who’s that she’s with?”

“Her boyfriend, probably.” Jason shrugs as the bartender comes over. “A chaebol type, from what I can tell. Hey. you want a drink?”

“Uh, sure. Beer. Wait, can we have beer?” She frowns.

“I don’t know. Not fancy enough, is it?”

“We don’t have beer,” volunteers the bartender.

“Right,” says Nari. “In that case, I will have a glass of your strongest… whatever is strongest.”

Jason nods seriously. “Two of those. Thank you.”

The bartender raises an eyebrow but nods anyway, going back to mix their drinks.

“So… it’s just you and me?” She leans back against the bar and scans the room. “Wait, do you have a date coming, too?”

“What?” Jason wrinkles his nose. “No. I’ve been on a neuro rotation all week - I haven’t had time to breathe, forget about looking for a date. You?”

“Have I had time to breathe?”

“Do you have a date.”

“Right.” Nari bites her lip. “Not exactly. I mean, I - I invited a friend. Seokjin - you met him, remember?”

“Yeah, of course.” Jason nods as their drinks arrive and they automatically pick theirs up. “Cheers. So why isn’t he a date?”

“Because he’s a friend.” As she says it, a terrifying possibility occurs to her: could Seokjin actually think this is a date? It would explain his random excuse to arrive “late” - if he does at all.

“He is? Really?” He looks mildly curious. “Because that night at Hyeri’s - I could’ve sworn he had a thing for you.”

Nari’s heart skips a beat. “You’re not the first person to think that,” she mutters into her glass, taking a stinging sip of what tastes like scotch. “Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“It’s strong,” he remarks. “But I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head, the painful humiliation of that moment after the wedding seeping into her body again. “Just… he doesn’t. Have a thing for me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really? I mean, because it seemed like -”

“Jason,” she interrupts him, needing this conversation to end. “He doesn’t. Believe me. I’m completely sure.”

For a moment, it looks like he’s going to say something else but then seems to think the better of it. Nari is thankful; reliving that moment is bad enough, but her mind is now also preoccupied with the possibility that Seokjin might be avoiding coming tonight because he thinks she’s asked him on a date - and because he’s nice and can’t reject her outright twice, he’s having to resort to half-hearted lies and work excuses.

It’s a grim thought. She and Seokjin haven’t spoken since he told her he’d try to make it - and she’d been less than gracious about it. It was the alcohol, she’d reasoned the next morning, and despite the annoyance with his flimsy attempts at avoiding her, she’d dropped him a cursory Seriously, don’t worry about it. She’d waited just long enough to get a I’ll still try my best, and tried not to think about it since.

Nari takes another sip of her disgusting drink, not sure which is worse - if he shows or if he doesn’t.

—

“There he is. Jerk.”

Seokjin’s ears perk up at Taehyung’s quiet snarl. He follows the younger member’s gaze and feels his mouth twist as well when he spots the one journalist who had pestered them relentlessly with questions, each one more backhanded than the previous one, ranging from their solo ambitions to accusations of plagiarism.

“Where’s Namjoon?” he mutters, looking around. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t run into that guy without other guests around. Or witnesses,” he adds.

“He’s over by the water,” supplies Jungkook. “I think he’s talking to one of the sponsors.”

“Let’s keep an eye on him, then,” says Yoongi dryly. “Just in case he decides to do something drastic, like get into a logically structured argument.”

Seokjin half-chuckles. He does want Namjoon to come over, partly to keep an eye on him but mostly to check when he can leave. He checks his phone; it’s almost eight. As much as Nari’s last message, days ago, hadn’t seemed at all confident that he would make it, it only made him more determined to show up.

Namjoon doesn’t come over, though. Eventually, Seokjin joins him, hoping to get a moment of his time between guests.

“Maybe you should take a break,” he suggests, after another one of the sponsors leave and Namjoon’s well-practiced public smile fades. “Eat something? Or even have a drink?”

Namjoon smiles wearily. “Thanks, hyung. Maybe later.” He runs a hand over his face. “God, I can’t wait to get out of here. Zoom date with Kaya,” he adds, answering Seokjin’s silent question.

“Then we should leave now,” he says immediately, jumping at the opportunity. “Or you’ll just get even more tired and you’ll have to cancel on Kaya.”

“Are you kidding? It’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to all day,” he replies, shaking his head. “There’s no way I’m cancelling.”

Seokjin responds to this with a grimace; while he would ordinarily find it sweet, right now, this blatant happiness is just annoying. He tries to think of another line of reasoning that could convince Namjoon to bounce, but before he can, two middle-aged people, one man and one woman, join them.

There’s some initial greeting; Seokjin gets through it robotically while Namjoon goes from tired to charming in a microsecond. The topic predictability begins with the press conference that just took place, followed by both guests praising Namjoon for his wonderful answers that he receives with respectful gratitude.

“I’m sorry you all have to stay for the dinner,” the woman says to Seokjin while the other two speak about something else. “You’re so young; I’m sure you all have other plans tonight.”

Lady, you have no idea. But he forces a smile on his face. “We’re happy to be here. Besides, if I’m lucky,” he adds hopefully after a moment, “my plans might still be there after this.”

“Oh?” The lady seems most interested. “A fancy party you need to get to?”

“Something like that. I have to meet someone at an event.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No,” he answers hastily. “Just a friend. It’s a work thing at the hospital she works. She’s a doctor,” he adds for good measure.

To his surprise, the lady nods. “Oh, I know that. It’s a fundraiser, right? Seoul National Hospital?” When Seokjin raises his eyebrows and nods, she smiles in acknowledgement. “I have a couple of friends there, too. Those doctors do such good work - pity they don’t have the money to continue their work in peace. Your friend is smart, though,” she says after a moment, patting Seokjin’s shoulder with a knowing look, “inviting a BTS member to the event.”

Seokjin doesn’t immediately understand. “I’m sorry?”

“Well, they need the money, don’t they?” She chuckles, sounding almost impressed. “Not a lot of people have the contacts to bring in someone like BTS to be a donor.”

Something drops in his stomach. “Oh, I - I think you’ve misunderstood. She’s my friend and we - we haven’t met in a long time because we’ve both been very busy. It’s not a - I mean, I’m not a - a donor.”

The lady looks confused for a moment. “Oh. My apologies. It just seemed like a smart thing to do, you know?”

Seokjin swallows. “Sure,” he says shortly. “But, uh… it’s not like that.” He nods to himself, knowing he’s right. “Nari would never do that.”

—

Nari shuffles through the crowd to where she can see Jason with Eunji and her boyfriend, taking care not to trip in her heels. She sees them turn and spot her as she gets close, but she doesn’t have time for pleasantries.

“Incoming,” she states. All of their eyes dart up and behind her; Eunji is the first one to notice.

“Damn it. Come on, babe,” she commands her partner, taking his hand and setting off. “Let’s go dance before he gets us.” In a flash of a second, they’re both gone.

“Okay, it’s our turn,” she says hurriedly to Jason, placing her drink on the bar and gathering her long dress in her hand. “If Dr Jung gets hold of us, it’s going to be a repeat of the mixer.”

Jason grimaces. “Oh, God. You mean when he tried to recruit each of us one by one by using his holiday calendar as a selling point?”

“That’s the one. Come on, he’s already seen me, but maybe we can still make a break for it!” she whispers dramatically, getting ready to go but stopping when he grabs her wrist.

“It’s too late,” he says gravely. “We’re going to need another plan. Tell me about your craniotomy today.”

“I - what?” Nari’s eyes widen. “Did you not hear me?”

“I did. Now talk to me about something medical,” he instructs. “And make it seem like there’s a problem - like, just talk urgently. Come on,” he urges, shaking her wrist.

“Um - okay, uh, the patient came in with migraines and was having seizures so we did an MRI and found an aneurysm located in the temporal lobe of the brain -”

“That’s great,” he whispers, and Nari notices his gaze slide carefully to the left to watch Dr Jung reach them, before quickly looking back at Nari. “But his vitals still aren’t stable,” he says suddenly, at a regular volume.

Nari’s jaw drops before she realises what he’s doing. “His blood pressure is what we need to observe carefully or he’s going to need another surgery tomorrow.”

“Is there any chance the aneurysm could’ve burst anyway? Even after you clipped it?”

Nari stares, a little thrown by how convincing his acting is.

“Answer me!”

“A little over the top, don’t you think?” she mutters.

“The man is two feet behind you,” he replies, equally quietly, before tugging her closer and placing his hands dramatically on her shoulders. “What if it’s a brain bleed? What if -”

“How dare you?” She interrupts him, jabbing him in the chest. “My aneurysm was clipped perfectly, you son of a bitch!”

Jason’s eyes flicker with this unexpected turn of conversation but he plays along. “We still need to get an MRI to rule out any other complications, like a hematoma, or an air embolism or -” He pauses, craning his neck slightly, “... and he’s gone.” His shoulders relax and his hands slide off her arms.

“No way did that work,” she marvels in a low voice, turning around to check and see that he’s right.

“Of course it did. Nobody interrupts two doctors discussing a patient,” he says absently, rubbing a spot on his chest. “You may need some practice, though. I think you bruised my chest.”

“Don’t be a baby,” she tells him teasingly, asking for another drink and feeling a lot more relaxed than before. “But that was a pretty neat trick.”

“I can teach you many, young ‘un,” he says seriously, casually taking a sip of his third scotch. “But I don’t think we have the time tonight. Won’t Seokjin be here soon?”

Her drink arrives then and Nari takes it with a quiet thanks. Taking a larger sip than intended, she shakes her head. “He’s not going to make it,” she says, swallowing and wincing.

“Oh.” Jason frowns. “Did he call?”

“Nope.” Nari shakes her head, finding it a bit sad how unsurprised she is. “But he’s not going to make it.”

His frown deepens slightly and she’s sure he’s picked up on her change in tone, but she’s thankful he doesn’t mention it.

“Do you want to learn another trick then?” he offers.

Nari smiles, trying to look at the bright side: Seokjin would not have enjoyed this. He wouldn’t know anyone and he wouldn’t understand any of their conversation. A call would have been nice, but things aren’t the same anymore.

She’s here, she has a night off, and she’s not alone. It could be a lot worse.

“Sure,” she answers. “But I’m going to need to be a lot more drunk for the next one.”

—

The ETA on the map says forty minutes. Seokjin has no idea how long hospital fundraisers last, but he needs to try. He exits the building, already tired from the negotiating he had to do to leave early. It’s starting to drizzle, so he ducks into the nearest establishment - a small cafe - as he waits for his car. The traffic outside is ridiculous, though; he hasn’t the faintest idea how long it’ll actually take him to get to the fundraiser.

Nari hasn’t called or messaged, though. Neither has he, he knows, but her last message had implied such a lack of faith in his intention to show up that it had rankled him just a bit. Over the course of the week, it had festered until it’s now more of a challenge than anything else, for he can’t think of a single other reason as to why he’s going to this thing.

For Nari, says the voice weakly, sounding unconvinced. Nari, it seems, neither knows nor cares if he shows up, for all the interest she’s shown in his whereabouts. I’ll try me best, he’d said, meaning it completely, but she clearly didn’t believe it.

Seokjin sighs, mentally so exhausted that he can’t even muster the energy to be annoyed or hurt or confused right now. He’s just about to step back outside when he hears a voice he doesn’t expect.

“Can I get a bottle of water, please?”

He turns to see straight hair and a blazer, mint green this time, with the sleeves pushed up. “Seulgi?” he calls unsurely.

She turns and her eyes light up in recognition. “Hey, Seokjin. How are you?”

“Tired,” he admits. “You?”

“The same. Just trying to find the guiltiest pleasure on the menu to break my diet with tonight,” she says, pointing at the few items on the board. “It’s just been one of those days.”

“Tell me about it,” he murmurs, taking a few steps to stand beside her. “Anything catch your eye?”

“Not really. It’s just sandwiches,” she grumbles. “But I don’t really have a lot of options right now.”

Seokjin is quiet for a few seconds while she gets a bottle of water and takes a long swig from it. “I actually know of a ramen place close by. If you want. I break my diets there all the time,” he tells her.

“Really?” This time he isn’t imagining it; her eyes do light up. “How much?”

“Well… enough to feel like I’ve rebelled against the company for the night, but not so much that I can’t resume it the next day.”

“That’s the perfect amount.”

“Is that a yes?”

Seulgi grins tiredly, reminding him for a moment of Namjoon earlier tonight. “It is.” Her eyes flicker lower and her smile fades. “Oh, wait. You’re in a suit - are you going somewhere?”

Seokjin bites his lip. “I was at the press conference, and the dinner after that.”

“Oh.” She doesn’t look fully convinced. “And you were going… where?”

“Well, now I’m going to get ramen because it’s in my head.”

She cracks a smile. “I’m serious, though. You’re in a suit,” she repeats, adjusting the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t need to be somewhere?”

Question of the hour. But Seokjin knows that even if he does make it through the traffic, this will still be the easiest conversation he’s going to have all day.

“No. I don’t need to be anywhere.”

—

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to drop a review :)

#seokjin x oc #seokjin x reader #seokjin fanfic #thebtswritersclub #btshoneyhive #bangtanwhq #bangtantheatrenet #bangtanbathhouse #bangtanoasis #micdropnet #hyunglinenetwrok #k-vanity #wkcnet #bts jin fanfic #bts jin angst

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highwaytothedangerzone502 · 4 months

Text

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 34

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 2505

Warnings: Talk of suicide, swearing

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Innocent Cry Pretty

****

Ghost

Rooster had been more than ready to follow Hangman and punch him for what he'd said to Ghost and Juliette; the latter barely stopped him, threatening him with staying over at her mother's house for the night if he followed through with his desire. Rooster reluctantly refrained from going after Hangman.

Ghost convinced the couple she would be okay, that she'd expected him to retaliate against her for what he'd revealed last night. What she hadn't expected was for him to bring up her videos. She'd been so careful not to show her face, to blur the background to hide any notable features of her room, to hide her dog tags under her shirt and out of sight. So what gave her away? The songs? The timing of the songs? The guitar? Surely, other people had similar blue guitars. And how could Hangman even recognize the one he gave her? It'd been so long ago.

Ghost twisted her ring anxiously on her finger, staring at the guitars on her wall, debating whether to post a new song as an apology or delete the account altogether. She leaned toward the latter.

A knock on her door brought Ghost out of her thoughts. She hurried to answer it, wishing Hangman would be there to try and work things out but knowing better than to hope for such a thing. Her life wasn't one of the romance novels she loved so much. Hers was more of a tragedy...

When she opened the door, Coyote greeted her. Ghost immediately inquired, "How is he?"

"Struggling, trying to shut me out. The usual when he's upset," he replied, stepping inside with a backpack. "How are you doing?"

"Had better days."

"I figured. Listen, I can't stay long. I just needed to bring something by. And for the record-" Coyote opened his backpack and dug around before taking out a battered box- "you didn't get this from me."

"What is it?" Ghost asked, removing the lid. A bunch of letters, neatly organized, rested inside. Each envelope had her name on it in familiar handwriting.

"Hangman planned on giving you these when he realized he couldn't voice his apology. He wouldn't answer me truthfully about why he never followed through, but I think he got scared about how you'd react. He told me he got rid of them, but I knew better. I still believe he should've given them to you. I'm not sure how much Hangman told you last night, but if there are any holes or questions, maybe these will answer them for you."

Ghost stared at Coyote, unsure whether she should read the letters. Hangman had kept them from her for a reason. Even if he had been scared to give them to her, if he hadn't been the one to deliver them to her, there had to be a reason. Hangman was mad enough at her already. Ghost hated to add to that anger by reading the letters without his consent. Still, she had a question. "Why letters?"

Coyote shrugged. "I don't really remember. Just that it had something to do with a movie. I should get going, but call me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Coyote. For checking on him."

"Of course. And really, I know you have Princess and Rooster, but I'm here for you too."

"Hangman feels he only has you. I can't take you away from him."

"I'm your friend too, Ghost. Don't forget that," he told her firmly. Smiling appreciatively, she hugged Coyote tightly, a gesture he willingly returned. Ghost missed his bear hugs. "I want you two to work this out."

"Me too. You have no idea."

Coyote kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Ghost bid him goodbye, waited for the door to shut, then turned to the box of letters. She grabbed the top one and stared at it, mulling over the pros and cons, the right and wrong, of opening it.

It's addressed to me. Hangman intended to give them to me. Reading one wouldn't hurt... would it? Throwing caution to the wind, Ghost grabbed the box and sat on her couch before opening the first letter. It was dated the day after the accident:

Ghost-

I'm not sure how to talk to you right now, so I'm resorting to these letters. It's easier to write what I'm feeling than to speak it. So much has happened in such a short amount of time, and all I can think about is seeing you die, seeing Ghoul die, and how I'm to blame for it. Saying sorry will never suffice or bring Ghoul back, but to the deepest parts of my soul, I am sorry. I am sorry for hurting you; I am sorry for taking Ghoul away from you and Coyote; and I am sorry that I haven't been able to see you again. I did try today, but the moment my foot stepped into sickbay, images of you dying- mixed in with those of Mom and Ghoul- stopped me. The three of you all died when I entered your rooms, and I couldn't risk it happening again. Logically, I know it's stupid. Logically, I understand they're simply horrific coincidences, but if there's even a chance that they're not mere 'coincidences,' then I can't see you until you're out of the hospital. That way, you can't die on me a second time because I can't lose you, too, Ghost.

I'll try to see you again tomorrow.

Forever and Always,

Texas

Ghost's hands trembled. She should've stopped reading them after the first one like she said she would, but curiosity got the better of her. Ghost pulled out the second letter:

I've decided to write you a letter a day like Noah did to Allie in The Notebook. I remember watching that movie for the first time with you, and the letter idea always stuck with me. Not sure why, but it looks like it's coming in handy. Maybe this could be our own Noah and Allie story, but rather than it being us falling back in love, it's us falling back into our friendship because God knows it's going to be different now. I tried to visit you again, but the same thing happened. I can't cross the threshold into sickbay. All I want to do is see you, but even if I could get the courage to do so, what could I say to you that would even begin to mend what I broke? If your pain is anything like what I see in Coyote... I can't bear the idea.

Forever and Always,

Texas

Ghost wiped away a tear, smiling at the reference to The Notebook. She had wondered where he got the letters idea from, and now she knew. It had been her favorite movie for so long before she finally watched Pride and Prejudice, but it still held a dear place in her heart.

Ghost moved on to the third letter:

Coyote said you requested to see me today. I told him I would with every intention to follow through, but like yesterday and the day before, I couldn't do it. The weakling I am, I let my fears get the better of me. If you ever end up reading these, please know that my lack of visits has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I can't bear to see you in pain, let alone pain caused by me, and I can't stop seeing the memory of you dying every time I even consider visiting you. You can call me cowardly for it, and you'd be right. One day, maybe I can overcome this, but that's not today, and I'm sorry. I wish I could be better for you.

Forever and always,

Texas

Ghost read through more and more letters. All were relatively short, usually repeating the same things, but she could sense the despair and hatred for himself in each one, the next letter always turning slightly darker, more depressed. She found the one about a quarter of the way through that made the tears finally cascade silently down her face:

Word got around about my apparent ability to kill people when I step into their hospital room. Bradshaw- damn him- joked about me being some sort of hangman. Well, now that name's stuck, and whether I like it or not, my callsign is no longer Texas but Hangman. Nothing like being reminded that you killed your two best friends every time someone says your name. If they only knew about my mom... It's a fitting punishment for me, though. I did kill you and Ghoul, and I know I'm pretending like I've moved on in everyone's eyes, including yours, but I'm not okay Ghost. I'm so far from it. The trial is about to start soon. Why it's taken them this long to get to it, I don't understand. The waiting is the worst, especially because I know I'll see you then, see and hear your pain... if I don't look at you, it's not because I'm uninterested. It's because I'm not strong enough to do it.

Forever and Always,

Hangman

A few weeks later, the letter became even more pained, more desperate:

It was so much worse than I imagined. Seeing you, I mean. Hearing you recount what happened reopened the wound I'd so carefully stitched together. Each word felt like a knife slicing open my skin, deep enough to hurt but not enough to kill, even though death would've been a less painful option. But you defended me. After everything I did that day, after everything I've done following it, you still defended me. It's given me the courage to finally talk to you. Once this is over, that is, since we're both witnesses and not meant to speak to each other until after the trial, but I will. I will finally talk to you, tell you why I haven't seen you, why I haven't been able to talk to you. I hope you understand. If not, I get it. I left you alone during a horrible time. If that ends up being the case, then know I love you, Ghost. I always have and always will, and if you ever decide to give me a second chance, I will be waiting for you.

Forever and Always,

Hangman

More weeks passed, and the letter said:

I'm not sure why I'm continuing to write these letters. Maybe a part of me thinks I'll get the nerve to send these to you and that you'll read them and magically forgive me for all the wrongs I've done to you. But I know those chances are slim to none. The look you gave me when I tried to approach you after the trial closed told me as such. I've seen you enraged, but not at me. Not until today. How you kept from throttling me in that moment, I'll never understand. I wish you would've, if not to put me out of my misery. It's getting worse each day, and I don't know how to pull myself out of it... and that scares me. I think I might need help, but if the Navy believes I'm mentally unfit, they'll pull me from flying, and that's the one thing keeping me sane right now. I don't know what to do, Ghost. All I do know is that I wish you were here.

Forever and Always,

Hangman

After that letter, Ghost had to take a break from reading them. How could she have been so blind to his pain? How could she not recognize that his response to her accident was a trauma response from his childhood? Sure, she'd been wrapped up in her own grief, but that badly?

It took an hour before she could bring herself to read more. One after the other, each one wrenching her heart and tugging on her heartstrings until it threatened to suffocate her. However, the last letter was her undoing.

It's been a year since everything went to shit. It's been a year since Ghoul died, a year since we stopped speaking, a year since the last time I felt any form of genuine happiness. It's been harder and harder each day since the accident to get out of bed, go to work, put on a smile, and pretend everything's okay, but I barely made it today. It was weird. I'd actually been doing okay once I got out of bed and got in the air. It was when I landed, and my phone decided to remind me of my memories of the day that it all went to shit. I stupidly opened the reminder and saw a selfie of you, me, Coyote, and Ghoul, our last picture together before I killed y'all. I skipped lunch, and I'm skipping dinner to write this letter because I'm tired. I'm tired of the guilt, I'm tired of being alone, and I'm tired of hating myself. I can't keep doing this. I can't stop thinking of how easy it'd be to go down to the hangar right now and jump into the black waves. I'd be dead before anyone noticed I was gone. I'm not sure what's stopping me right now. Maybe because Coyote is on board, and I don't want to hurt him more than I already have, but even then, he has friends outside of me here. He has Phoenix and Payback, to name a couple. Who do I have outside of him? These letters will never make it to you, so maybe that's why I feel I can say all this. If these letters truly were meant to get to you, I would never voice half of these things. You've been burdened enough because of my decisions and actions, and I wouldn't dare add my own personal issues to them. God forbid, however, that these letters do find their way to you, if there are two things I want you to take away from them, it's that, first and foremost, I love you. Unequivocally, unabashedly, wholeheartedly in love with you. Second, I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused. It was never my intention.

Yours, Forever and Always,

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Ghost set the letter down and buried her face into her hands, sobbing at the depths of Hangman's despair, that'd he'd been in so much pain without anyone to turn to that he trusted. As close to Coyote as he'd been, Hangman hadn't felt he could go to him for what he'd been enduring, and Ghost understood Coyote had been the only one left for Hangman. Ghoul had died, Ghost had ended their friendship, and that was it. No wonder Jake felt so alone. No wonder his mind had gone down such a dark rabbit hole.

Ghost wiped away her tears and turned her gaze to the wall of guitars. She'd toppled over the edge with a song. Maybe she could start mending their friendship back with one...

****

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sortofanobsession · 2 years

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To Cry for the Moon Part 10 (Moon Knight x Female Eternal!Reader)

Author's Note: The one is going to be tough, but I promise it will pay off. We actually do have a plan for this story.

Please do not take, copy, or translate without talking to me first. Reblogs, likes, and comments are encouraged. But anything else please message me first. I work really hard on these, I was a writing apprentice for a comic book writer and learned this craft despite having issues I had to overcome, like essential tremors, a mild reading disability, and aphantasia. I put my heart and soul into everything I write. Thank you.

The story idea, and most of the voicemails to Steven & Marc were written by @jupitersmoon167 (the original post I saw is here!) Also realized I should probably add content warnings, so I did and tagged them. If you think I missed a warning please send me an ask. I try to tw tag even the tiniest thing so no one has to suffer if I can help it.

Y/N = Your Name. Y/N/N = Your Nickname. Reader pronouns She/Her. Story is 3rd person POV. Italics are the reflected alter talking.

Tag Requests are Open just message me.

Tagged: @rosaren2498, @yuugenmomo, @faefanatic, @urlocallsimp @assassinsasha23, @queenariesofnarnia, @rmoonstoner, @crypticruler, @animelover18, @philiasoul, @distinguishedmakerpandapatrol, @22carolina08, @preciousbabypeter

Primary Pairing: Steven Grant x Eternal!Reader, Marc Spector x Eternal!Reader, Khonshu x Ma'at!Reader

Content Warning: Mental Illness, Injury, Death, Violence, Fighting

Word Count: 2k+ (for those curious the whole fic wc is 17,332. And it is nowhere near done lol)

WIP Series Masterlist

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 11, Part 12

Part 10: Seemingly the End

After getting off the plane painful memories came rushing back. Y/N had not been back here since the Eternals separated. It was a painful memory but she pushed through it. After taking a short trip to a small city, Y/N pulls out her phone. She makes one last call before they venture too far from the jungle-surrounded city to have signal. She calls Steven and isn't surprised to hear his outgoing voicemail again.

“Screw the theatrics, I don’t even know if you’re even going to get this. We’re in the middle of the god damn Amazon because Druig thought it would be a grand fucking idea to place his cult here of all places. He’s a stubborn bastard, but if we’re gonna pull this off we need him. I'm sorry, Marc, Steven. I am so sorry. Osiris can tell you what is happening, all Khonshu has to do is ask. Khonshu was more right about me than he could have ever known. And well, I meant it earlier when I said you should talk to your dad, you uh, never know when he’ll kick the bucket, so to speak. I miss you guys, I wish I could talk-” she lost signal as they got further from the city. She hoped enough of the message went through. She put her phone away and took to the air to attempt to narrow down Druig's commune location.

Her feet touch the ground as they near the modest commune. She could feel the people around them. Their hearts are kind and welcoming. She watches the people around her as the others talk. They all feel like good people. She can feel their loyalty. It's quiet and content. Her focus is drawn and she feels herself truly smile for the first time since leaving London when Druig finally walks out.

"Please," Druig says with a smirk, "Make yourselves at home."

He studied Y/N as she got closer. "Who do I need to control off a cliff for taking the stars from your eyes?" Druig asks as she finally near him.

"Wouldn't kill him, or them, if you did, but you'd probably still enjoy it," Sprite told him. Druig raised a brow.

"Doesn't matter," Y/N says, knowing it was so much more than her issues with Marc and Steven. "It's good to see you." It wasn't a lie. She always missed Druig. He was more her brother than the others. Druig could always understand how overwhelming her powers were. How being surrounded by people was a blessing and a curse. He could feel the minds around him like a constant buzz. Y/N always felt the same thing but instead of minds, it was hearts. Having to sit back and watch the wars and conflicts as time went on weighed on her heart as it did his mind. They had an understanding of things that the others just couldn't comprehend. The heart and the mind were vital to human existence after all. The only difference was he could control minds, she had to judge hearts as is. And honestly, he thinks he was given the easier task.

Druig rolls his eyes but hugs her, he didn't need to read her mind to know how broken she was. "Told you that you should have come with me. They would have loved you. No one would have broken your heart." He gestures to the members of his commune.

"Ask me again after you talk to everyone else," she tells him.

"I might just hold you to it." Druig grins.

"I might just let you." Y/N hugs him again.

Druig chuckles as he pulls away, and goes to the main hall with her just behind him.

She knew he was stubborn but she had hoped he wouldn't resist them so much. He gets under everyone's skin so easily sometimes. And Ikaris made it easy. It didn't help Sersi's phone went off. It made Y/N want to check hers, but she knew she wouldn't have anything. Marc didn't want anything to do with her. No need to waste the battery. Instead she reached out with her powers to feel the community Druig had cultivated for years. They were so content. It wasn't easy knowing if the team failed, these people would die. Her attention was drawn back by Ikaris saying Druig was wasting their time. Druig hadn't agreed to join them. She wasn't really surprised. She had been hopeful, but not unrealistic.

Y/N follows Druig out. "You told me to ask you to stay again," he says.

"I did," Y/N replied.

"Would you?" He asks.

"Not if it means I'd just have to stay here and watch them all die without trying to stop it. Osiris and Isis believe we can stop it. I have let them down enough ready, I have to try."

"And you're here to convince me to help," he states.

"I'm here because I missed you and I would feel better if you were there. Is it so bad I wanted to see one of my best friends one last time before we all might die or get reset? Yes, I was hoping you would help us, but I'm not going to make you."

"You still wouldn't join me, would you? You love your human too much, the one that broke your heart. You could always bring him."

"His mind would drive you up a wall. They have at least 3 personalities and Khonshu in their head."

"Sounds crowded," Druig admits. "But does sound amusing. Haven't had a new challenge in centuries."

"If you want a challenge then join us, forcing a celestial to sleep, I don't think you could find a bigger challenge."

"I see what you did there," Druig says, shaking his head.

"And you know me too well to know I can't just let humanity end because of Arishem's lies. I've always been willing to die for the truth, only this time I genuinely might."

"Try not to," he says. Before they can say much more, they hear Sersi shouting. Deviants. Deviants had found them. Y/N takes off running, summoning her wings as she did. She flies and joins Kingo in trying to buy the others enough time to get the villagers clear of the fight. As Kingo focuses on keeping one of them busy, Y/N tries to keep them away from where Sersi is leading the people. She shouts for Sersi when the other Eternal is hit while trying to fortify the building. Y/N immediately launches a round of feathers at the beast to draw it away from her friend. Her attacks are joined by rifle fire and her heart sinks when she sees a number of villagers under Druig’s control shooting at the beast. She goes to volley another attack when Druig jumps over the deviant and shoots at it.

“Seriously?!” She shouts as she drops down to block the creature's tail as it swipes at the humans. Her wings took the brunt of the blow. She hopes that Druig is paying enough attention so that she doesn’t end up with a bullet in her back while trying to defend his people. She doesn’t even have enough time between blows to get a hit in. She focuses everything she has on staying ahead of the deviant's tail. She was starting to think that splitting her powers may have actually been a mistake when she feels herself losing her footing. Unable to get into the air was limiting what she could do. She tries to summon a blade but the deviant shifts faster than she can, wraps its tail around her leg and slams her into the dirt, before she can get her wings back up to protect herself, the jaws of the beast latch onto her side. Ripping a scream from her as it does.

The only reason it doesn’t kill her is that Sersi traps it in a metallic tree and Druig pulls her out from the shocked creature’s gaping maw. She pushes him away. She doesn’t have the energy to tell him how stupid he was being. She left Sersi to talk sense into him. Y/N took to the sky to get a better chance for an attack. The pain in her side was unbelievable, but she focused on attacking as the deviant broke free from its improvised cage. She’d never been so glad to see Ikaris in her life when he shows up to take on the deviant now heading for Druig. He took the beast out swiftly with his eye beams, before going after another. She tried to give him aerial support, but it was becoming harder and harder to build up enough energy for an attack. She feels water hit her as Sersi battles a deviant by hand. Y/N is just as shocked as the rest of the group when Sersi transforms the deviant into a tree.

Y/N begins to feel her wings fade and flicker, and her vision grows fuzzy around the edges. She knows she won’t last much longer. Her heart is beating too fast and the bite on her side has already soaked her shirt and jacket in blood. She knew her phone was probably smashed in her pocket. There went her chance at telling Steven and Marc goodbye. She tries to lower herself gently to the ground but her knees buckle and she falls. She hears shouting and feels hands on her. They move her and she stares at the tops of the trees. She wishes she could see more of the sky. She loves the sky. She loves flying. It felt natural. She wishes she could see the moon, one last time. To know that maybe, just maybe she'd get to say goodbye. She tried, but all that came out was a choked sob. She wanted to tell them all that she would see them in the next life. It wasn't until hands gripped her face and brushed back her tears that she focused on the figures now blocking small bits of the canopy.

She tried to reach for them and her blood-soaked hand was pulled into Sersi's own. She shook her head at Druig as he tried to help her. Her other hand gestures for them to come closer. They do. She summons up as much energy as she can. "Save them for me."

"We will," Sersi says.

She leans her head up with the last strength she has and bumps Druig's forehead earning a sad laugh. Her head drops back down but he returns the gesture.

"You've got nothing to worry about now," he says. Her strength is gone, she closes her eyes and knows it's over. A fleeting thought of goodbye and then darkness.

Druig was on his feet as soon as he knew she was gone. He looked at the destruction around them and the blood on his hands. Sersi squeezes the limp hand in hers before she stands up. She needs to think. She has to call Steven. Sersi feels another piece of her heart shatter. But before she can do anything she's called because Y/N isn't the only loss. Gilgamesh had fallen defending Thena. And Thena was inconsolable.

Egyptian Underworld

Osiris hears shouting. He approaches the scales as the chains of the plate holding the feather break. He picks up the feather and it feels wrong. Very wrong. Too much like a normal feather and the ethereal glow dims slightly. That was not good. He gently sets it aside. "Time to intervene," he says and gestures for Anubis to follow him as he opens the gates and they pass through. Summoning their avatars he opens the path to Y/N. "Oh little feather, what did you do." He nods at Anubis who has his avatar carefully lift Y/N and they return to the temple. "Fix her up as best you can. Her master may have forsaken her, but we shall not. Teach those Celestials that they have no more power over death than we do."

Osiris was quick to retrieve the feather of truth, encouraged by the slight glow that it still held. It was her, she had told him. Now he would use it to put things back the way they should be. A devoted goddess like Ma'at deserved at least that. If she was too far gone and beyond his reach, he would have Anubis do what he was best at, what he was worshipped for. But Osiris felt it would work. They would not be saying goodbye to Earth. It was not their time yet.

Ruins of Druig's Commune

"Where is she?" Kingo asks as he goes to retrieve Y/N to place her alongside Gilgamesh.

"What?" Druig pushes past him to find Y/N's body gone.

"You're sure she was dead?" Ikaris asks and earns a vicious glare from Druig.

"Yes," Druig spat.

"Maybe an animal-"

"Don't-" Druig warns.

"Druig," Kingo starts.

"Then we have to find her," Sersi says.

Sprite and Thena stay with Gilgamesh while the others search and find nothing. No signs of tracks, no trace. Nothing. They eventually decide that they had to give Gilgamesh a proper send-off. And Sersi still had something she needed to do.

Once Sersi was able to clean her hands she found her phone and found Steven's number. She calls it. They don't answer, though she wasn’t surprised. They probably thought Y/N had borrowed her phone to call. So she left them a message she knew would destroy them if and when they do get it.

"Steven, or Marc, it's Sersi, I…I hate having to do this in a voicemail. I would rather do this in person, or even in a real phone call, I…if we had more time I would do this in person, but we lost Y/N. Part of me hopes Khonshu knows, she always found it annoying when he boasted about knowing all that happened under the moon." Sersi let out a shaky laugh. "She…well, she fought to the end. She loved humanity, she loved you all. She loved you, both of you. She would want you to know."

Sersi hung up and just hoped the message got through. But she would find a way to reach them, to save them, and all of humanity. Druig was onboard now. They would end this for all of them. Their deaths would mean something.

Temple of the Gods

The first thing that registers to Y/N's mind is the cold. She feels cold, the cold stone beneath her makes her shiver.

"Welcome back, Ma'at," the voice of Isis' avatar says. "The goddess will be glad you pulled through." Y/N goes to speak but is hushed. She hears footsteps approaching followed by a whispered conversation she cannot process. Y/N finally opens her eyes but puts up no fight as she is lifted. The avatar of Anubis sets her back down but this time on a soft blanket that the goddess' avatar gently wraps around her. "You have been through quite the journey, and you need rest. Sleep now."

The next time she wakes Osiris is there, his avatar looms above her as he updates her on what has happened. Her family had lost another soul. Gilgamesh had fought and earned a warrior's death and were it up to Osiris he would be rewarded in his afterlife. Sadly, Gilgamesh, like Ajak, was beyond his reach.

"But your feather saved you," he told her. "Your commitment to serving humanity in this life and the next is what brought you back. Your strength will hopefully return with time, but your heart beats again, and when the time comes you will show the Celestials that we gods are not to be underestimated. He sat the feather gently beside her, the faint glow although weaker than before still shown. "You have earned more time, feather. I know you will use it wisely."

She wakes again in a bed with soft light shining through the open window. "You are safe," the voice of Osiris' avatar spoke. "You will find everything you need in this room. Bathroom, if you feel like you have the strength is through there." He gestures to an open door. "You are safe here. Osiris will summon you when the time comes."

"I need to call my family, to call-"

"If you wish to help them you will not waste your energy," another voice spoke. She recognized the avatar for Horus. "You wish to join your friends again to fix things, do you not?"

"I do," she admits.

"Then do not waste your energy or tax your healing system with concerns that won't matter. You do not yet know if you can join them or if they will succeed. Why make them suffer your death twice?"

"And Khonshu has not graced us with his presence, even Taweret is surprised, but no need to worry the old bird over things he cannot change. Heal first, then you can right your wrongs."

#To Cry for the Moon Fic #eternals!reader #moon knight eternals crossover fic #eternals x reader #egyptian gods x eternals!reader #marc spector x eternals!reader #marc spector x y/n #marc spector x female!reader #marc spector x reader #steven grant x y/n #steven grant x female!reader #steven grant x reader #khonshu x reader #tw: death #tw: violence #tw: fighting #tw: injury #tw: mental illness

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snippychicke · 2 years

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For the Sake of a Smile --Ch. 10/Short

Peeps, I have a migraine, but I really want to post this you guys as I do every Saturday. So, I'm not putting the energy into doing my usual formatting, but I promise the chapter is just a great as always. (I wrote it long before the migraine hit this morning, and @avellanas-nutty-empire edits make it 10x better)

So, without further delay, Chapter 10 and Short 10; all in one post!

(Will be posted to AO3 later; I don't have the focus to work on the html tags for all the italics)

Professor Dantlion looked like an average demon; cheerful, friendly, plain brown hair and eyes, and seemed approachable enough - if it wasn't for the fact he was the teacher's supervisor and had a dark aura just…hanging around him.

Or maybe that was your own paranoia.

"I had a meeting with Lord Sullivan," He started after formalities. "And it seems you were never actually initiated as Babyls Faculty."

You blinked, confused. Sullivan hadn't mentioned anything about being 'initated' when he announced he found a job for you. What did that even entail?

"Oh, don't worry!" He tried to reassure, seeing your face pale. "We're not as archaic as Jackapo's initiations. No blood rituals or life-or-death fights."

"Oh, okay," You squeaked. Your thoughts hadn't even drifted towards it being that dark or gruesome.

"I know you're not technically a teacher, but Lord Sullivan asked for me to be your supervisor, so we'll be taking you out to the Brawl Inn tonight."

"Wait, what?"

----

"It'll be fun, sweetheart," Sullivan tried to reassure you when you ran to his office after Dali left the library.

You however, were not reassured. You continued to pace the span of his office.

"Fun? I-I’ve never had fun at any after work gathering in my life. All my coworkers are demons while I am human, or have you forgotten?! Then you add alcohol into the mix which only spells certain disaster! I still can't remember much from that one drink at Walter Park! And that was one! With just Balam and Kalego! God, what if Raim and Momonoki finally corner me for girl talk?"

"There's no need for such language," Sullivan chimed, sounding vaguely disapproving - though you didn't really hear him.

"What if my drunk ass admits everything? Can you imagine how bad that could end; not just about me and Balam, I mean everything, dad! The fact I'm human, or that Iruma's human! It could not only end with my death, but his too, and--"

Sullivan stopped your frantic pacing with a gentle hand on your shoulder, his dark eyes meeting yours from behind his glasses.

"Nothing is going to happen, my dear. You'll be safe. I not only trust you, but the other staff as well. You'll see how devoted the teachers are, and the fact that Dali accepted you as one of his own proves that he believes you are worth this honor."

You took a few deep breaths; hoping, wishing what he said was true. Sullivan knew them best, he knew what was at stake. You could trust him on this at least, right?

"And I just love it when you call me dad!" Sullivan broke the moment as he quickly pulled you into a hug with a happy squeal. "You really do see me as your father, just like Iruma sees me as his grandfather! Oh, I'm just so happy!"

"Really?" You half-heartedly complained at the sudden change of topic as well as mood, though you didn't fight the embrace. Sullivan's open paternal affection would always be something you secretly cherished.

And maybe a change is what you needed.

"Absolutely, my sweet little princess! You two mean so much to me! And I would never, ever, put you in a situation you couldn't handle."

With a groan, you wrapped your arms around his slender frame and allowed yourself to relax and accept the comfort he offered. Because considering how much he fussed over Iruma, and in a way yourself as well, you had to admit you had to believe him. Which meant you weren't getting out of the initiation, no matter how nervous you were.

But, if other teachers were going to be there… would Balam be there too? You knew he would protect you, but you also worried about everything else that came with being around him.

----

"Kalego!"

The demon in question looked up from his book to Balam, who looked as excited as he sounded. Which - considering the giant demon had been distracted from his grading by his phone, Kalego presumed it was something you had done or said; per the norm, nowadays.

"Hmm?" Kalego grunted in acknowledgement as he continued his work. Spending the evening with Balam holed up in the Prep room sounded much more appealing than attending the teachers' celebration for another successful Harvest Festival. Calming instrumental music was drifting from the radio, and he had found a rather interesting blend of wine to sip on after sharing a decent meal with one of the few people in the Netherworld that didn't annoy him.

Even if Balam's interest was focused on you to the point Kalego doubted the other demon realized how much his time was spent either talking to, or about you. But he was such a love-sick hellhound that even Kalego couldn't be annoyed by his antics. It was as adorable as it was pitiful, even to him.

And to be completely fair, he did enjoy seeing his comrade happy. You were rather close to being added to the short list of people Kalego could tolerate after work too.

As soon as he figured out the conundrum that surrounded you and your son.

"Dali is going to be her supervisor," Balam explained, furiously typing on the small keyboard of his phone. "And he plans on formally initiating her into her role as Librarian tonight."

That caught Kalego's full attention. Not only did Sullivan relinquish that kind of authority over his daughter, but also allowed Dali to oversee your rite? That was a surprising turn of events. He had figured the chairdemon would have insisted on having that privilege for himself. But…

"Tonight?" Kalego asked with a frown. "Aren't the other teachers celebrating the end of the Harvest Festival?"

Balam's excitement faded, and Kalego could almost see the forlorn expression behind his mask as Balam's broad shoulders slumped. "I know you didn't want to go, but…"

No, he hadn't. Kalego hated social events with a passion. And Balam had reluctantly decided to stay with him versus attending the event, mainly because of his own social awkwardness. But now that Balam knew you would be there, and the fact it would also be your initiation rite…

The taller demon gave Kalego a pleading look, silently begging for him to change his mind. Kalego cursed internally. Devi, he didn't have a choice at this point.

"I suppose we should go then," He conceded with an aggrieved sigh. "Even if just to protect your future intended from the rest of the faculty."

The tease caused Balam to blush heavily, far too flustered to even stammer a defense. What Balam saw in you, Kalego couldn't understand himself. But the fact he was interested in you, inherently meant to Kalego you were worth protecting - if even just for Balam's sake.

Why the demon couldn't find someone who could protect themself was beyond him. And why you were so weak compared to your father and son, Kalego was determined to figure out.

-----

Brawl Inn was a small building in the wasteland not far from the town of Babyls. You dismounted Podargos, giving the nightmare a loving pat on the muzzle before tying her to the fence where there was fresh water and feed (fresh ground meat and other things you did not wish to think about) already set out by the Inn staff.

Sullivan assured you no matter what state you were in later, Podargos would get you home. And you had to believe him, she always seemed gentle and sure of herself. She was the first you had ridden, and never needed any correction as soon as you told her 'home.'

Still, your nerves twisted your stomach as you stood outside - trying to psych yourself up.

This wasn't going to be like back in the human realm. Your demonic coworkers were far better than your human ones had been. Oddly enough, they weren't as vicious or cutthroat, or prone to backstabbing. You vaguely remembered Kalego's comment that forcing others to drink was against their rules.

You didn't know if that meant subtle challenges as well or not, but it was still reassuring.

Yet here you were, unable to open the door and enter. You could hear boisterous talking and laughter coming from inside.

Was Balam already here? He said he could have escorted you, but admitted he also had to convince Kalego to attend, so you had reassured him you could manage. You imagined he was going to have a hard enough time with Kalego.

The sound of flapping wings caught your attention, and you looked up in time to see Kalego and Balam arrive. Seeing a demon's wings was always a shock, considering most of the time they were hidden, and you couldn't resist a moment to study the two's own pair. Kalego's was dark and glossy skin, large yet lithe. They were a pair from a typical legend, whereas Balam's…

Were dark green feathers, with a span that was nearly as long as he was tall. You knew you had seen them before in the chaos of Walter park, but you hadn't been able to appreciate them.

Granted, you couldn't exactly appreciate them now either; because as soon as the two landed, their wings folded back into virtual non-existence.

"You weren't waiting for us, were you?" Balam asked after greeting you cheerfully by name.

"No, I, um, just got here," You explained awkwardly. It wasn't quite a lie, you hoped only a few minutes had passed while you were having a moment.

"Let's get this over with," Kalego sighed, pushing past you towards the door. Balam's arm wrapped around your mid back, providing warmth and safety that you had unknowingly needed. The confidence you needed to face the rest of the staff seemed to flow from him into you.

If he was here, you knew you would be safe.

Inside the bar was dark with just a few candles lit to offer a trace amount of light. You pressed closer to Balam's arm - some instinctual part of you terrified as a robed figure stepped out of the shadows and held out a hand towards you. "Welcome, you who strive to fill the role of the Librarian of Babyls…"

"Must you really be so dramatic?" Kalego growled, interrupting the deep voice. "Seriously, Dali, she's already worked in the library for a few months."

There was a pout on Dali's face as he pulled back his hood. "It's tradition, Kalego. I thought you of all demons would respect that."

"There's hardly a need for theatrics with this one," Kalego shot back, gesturing sharply to you. "At this point it's a mere formality."

"You're just jealous you didn't get the role to scare her." Robin stepped out of the gloom, pointing an accusing finger at Kalego. "Or you would have jumped at the chance!"

Kalego huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't be ridiculous."

Someone grumbled about the effect being ruined, and with a snap the lights flared to life. More of the teachers lowered their hoods and chimed their own thoughts of how things should have went.

"Are they always like this?" You whispered as the argument--bickering, really-- continued.

"Well, not usually…" Balam admitted quietly. "But typically one is initiated when they first start. You're a bit of a special case."

"Can we just hurry up and get this over with?" Elder Morax complained rather loudly. "I thought the main event tonight would be celebrating!"

Dali sighed, conceding he had lost. "Very well. Please, step forward." He gestured to you, and Balam's protective touch became a gentle nudge forward.

You hesitantly stepped towards Dali and a dark crimson circle flared to life with dark symbols carving themselves into the stone floor. The magic was near palpable, making the hair at the nape of your neck raise as your heart quickened.

"The teacher of Babyls is a sacred role," Dali started, his usual demeanor shifting into one far more serious. "As is the role of Librarian. To guide and guard the treasure of Babyls, its students, is the highest honor. Do you pledge your life to protect them above all else from the enemies that may target our treasure?"

This wasn't some meaningless pledge. You could feel the magic waiting for your answer, to make sure that you held true to it if you swore. Not just Iruma and his classmates, but all the students.

It made you hesitate and think - was this really what you wanted to do? You highly doubted you could just up and quit after an oath like this.

Hell, it was better than the fishery. And you had to admit; while the Misfit class held a special place in your heart, you were fond of all the students. Being a librarian at Babyls? There could be worse fates.

"I swear," You answered, meeting Dali's eyes firmly, and instantly felt the magic snap into place. The odd sensation took your breath away as the symbols flared a fiery red beneath you. There was a strange notion that maybe you hadn't sold your soul to Sullivan after all…

But instead hd just signed it over to Babyls.

A thunderous applause broke out from the surrounding teachers as the circle faded into nothing, and before you could blink, Balam had swung you off your feet, lifting you until you were sitting on his shoulders. You clutched to him, stunned by the sudden change as you looked down at everyone.

Smiling. Cheering. Even Kalego had a faint smile on his face.

You knew you had made the right choice.

----

You may have had limited experience with human coworkers, but your demon peers were nothing like the human counterparts. Where you had been defensive around your previous coworkers, feeling as if you had to constantly prove yourself and be on guard, here you didn't.

They easily accepted the fact you didn't want any alcohol, and in fact had many recommendations on non-alcoholic drinks instead. Despite being new and a bit of an outsider, you didn't feel excluded.

Actually, quite the opposite. In a blur of events, you had been dragged from Balam's side to a seperate table across the large room, where most of the female teachers had gathered. Not just Raim and Momonoki; but Suzy, Furcus, and Tsumuru too.

"We actually have a full table now!" Tsumuru cheered, being echoed by the others.

"I have to admit, I do love what you've done with the library," Furcus admitted, the older woman smiling softly at you, looking rather tired. "Through the years, no one's really paid much attention to the organization of it."

"A lot of the students have enjoyed the new study spaces," Tsumuru added, making you flush from the attention. "I've even seen an increase in grades, which I can't contribute to anything else but the library's renovation. I was so excited when Dali said you were being initiated! I can only imagine how you'll help in the future!"

"Those cubbies also make for good make-out spots," Raim added with a wink, making you flush even more. "Or have you and Balam found that out already?"

"W-we aren't courting, despite what the rumors say," You stated with a bit of a stammer, deciding there was no way to avoid the topic - so you were going to face it head on. With blunt honesty.

"What?!"

It wasn't just Raim and Momonoki giving you incredulous looks as you had expected - it was all of them. Even perpetually calm Suzy and Furcus looked surprised.

"No, that's just not possible!" Momonoki protested. "J-just look at you two! It's obvious!"

"It's more obvious than her crush on Kalego," Suzy chimed, gesturing to the blue-haired teacher who blushed yet nodded in agreement.

"Exactly! How are you two not courting?"

You rubbed your face, willing the burning sensation to fade from your face. "Look, it's… it's like this. We fell into an easy friendship--camaraderie," You corrected, seeing their odd looks, "...because of mutual interests. And his skinship is a perfect match for my own…issues. But that isn't to say we're romantically interested in each other."

Raim frowned and leaned on the table, "I am a succubus, remember? I can literally taste the attraction between you, so don't give me that devibullshit."

Wait. Could Succubi do that?

The others were nodding, so you had to assume they could, and that Raim wasn't lying.

"I mean, I-I am kinda… interested… in him…" You admitted, casting a glance to the table across the room where the other staff were. They were by far louder, so you doubted that anyone else could overhear the infamous Girl Talk you had been dreading.

Yet almost sensing you were looking at him, Balam shifted to look at you - head tilted to express his concern. You smiled slightly and gave a small wave, letting him know you were fine.

Even if you were internally dying of embarrassment.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled and returned your small wave before his attention was caught by Robin invading Kalego's space once more.

"Are you telling me - that you two are mutually interested in each other, but not courting?!" Raim virtually seethed. "Have you even said anything?!"

You blinked, startled by the severe expression on her face. You had no idea she - or the others - had been so invested in the relationship between you and Balam.

"I haven't done this before, okay?!" You shot back after a moment, put on the defensive by her tone. "This is unfamiliar territory for me!"

"But, Iruma is your son," Furcus added, a frown gracing her face. "You can't have children without mating."

"T-that, was…" You trailed off, fear flooding through your mind as you worried about being caught in your lie. You had built a backstory, but hadn't quite explained it to Iruma - and you weren't sure what he had said about the matter. What if he had said something that would contradict you? What if it planted seeds of doubt in their minds?

Devi, if only adoptions were normal in the Netherworld. But you had seen it yourself at Walter Park; most demons were demonish in that aspect.

"Is the rumor of his father true?" Tsumuru asked as your pause became stagnant. "He's really not present?"

"It was one of those… unintended things," You awkwardly excused, not completely sure how deep a hole you were digging yourself. But surely demons had one-night stands? And maybe decided to keep any child conceived afterwards?

"I've had plenty of those," Raim sighed dreamily, destroying any doubt. "Though, you know there are plenty of… remedies for afterwards."

You shrugged your shoulders, "Yeah, but… Iruma's one of the best things in my life so I don't regret anything."

"While that is adorable," Momonoki interjected. "Our main concern should be that our dear librarian hasn't courted before, and we all know Balam hasn't either. They're both helpless! We need to help them!"

Raim hummed, "You just want a real-life romance novel to play out before your eyes, don't you?"

The other demon turned a bright shade of pink.

"That is totally besides the point!"

"You guys," You whined. "It really isn't that big of a deal. Balam and I…we'll figure it out."

Suzy patted your hand reassuringly. "I'm sure you will. But if you ever need some advice, feel free to ask. I courted many a demon back in my day before deciding to pledge my life to Babyls."

Raim nodded, "Absolutely. I would be happy in giving you a few pointers and tips on seduction. Together, we could have that giant of a demon wrapped around your finger." She smirked while twirling her own hair around her graceful fingers, making you blush deeper.

Furcus snorted, "You say that as if he isn't already."

Tsumuru nodded, "You don't have to be a master at psychiatry like myself to know he has it bad."

"And," Raim continued in a staged whisper, leaning over the table closer to you. "Once he's wrapped around your finger, you can finally wrap yourself around--"

---

The evening became livelier as Robin and Dali pulled out games like Bingo and Charades, along with some Netherworld games you had no name for but ended up laughing until your ribs hurt.

Partly just because of the anitics of the others as they drank more and more while you stayed sober. But, you had a feeling you would have ended up having a good time regardless. It truly was nothing like your previous experiences; you were thoroughly enjoying yourself.

To probably no one's surprise, you ended up once more next to Balam; and all too aware of the 'supportive' gestures from your female colleagues, ranging from subtle thumbs up and winks to awkward gestures that you had no idea what they meant - but seemed vulgar anyways.

You could only pray Balam hadn't noticed them or the fact you would suddenly pull his attention elsewhere in an attempt to keep him from noticing. If he had, he kept silent and just rolled with your antics while helping you with the games you were unfamiliar with.

While also more or less compelling Kalego to participate as well, which made you giggle as the other demon grumbled half-heartedly. Having fun and being happy filled you with a sort of boldness, leading you to tease Kalego.

Kalego would take it in stride and subtly return the teasing with light-hearted taunts. Which - judging by Balam's excited reactions as the two of you bantered back and forth - meant Kalego had officially accepted you into the fold.

"Is it really okay to leave Robin with everyone?" You asked hours later as you left with Balam and Kalego. At least half a dozen of the other teachers were passed out inside the inn, and you felt guilty at Kalego's offhand comment about it being the newbie’s responsibility to get them all home.

"He arranged it and allowed Dali to partake as well," Kalego replied with a snort. "He needs to take responsibility for his actions."

"Considering most of them live in the teachers' dorms, he won't have that much difficulty," Balam assured, his hand combing through your hair thoughtlessly. "Are you okay with returning home?"

The nightmare in question - still patiently waiting at her post - snorted and pawed a hoof as if insulted by Balam's implication.

"Podargos will make sure I get home safe and sound," You said, giving him a reassuring smile. "Dad and Opera trained her well."

Yet despite the reassurance, Balam seemed reluctant to let you go. His hand brushed your cheek softly as he held your gaze. Was his thoughts wandering the same path yours now wandered, thinking of the possibility of a romantic relationship. Or had the wine he and Kalego been sharing still affecting him?

(Granted, for as much as they both drank, you were surprised they were seemingly unaffected.)

Everyone seemed so sure that Balam held such romantic feelings for you that it filled you with hope - but at the same time, you were still so lost on what to do next. Was it unfair of you to wait for him to make that next move, or was he waiting for you?

Devi, he'd probably end up waiting forever if he was. You don't know if you possessed the boldness to take that next step without his lead.

"Shichiro," Kalego called, interrupting the moment. "Shall I leave you two alone? I would like to be home before dawn."

"Still feeling that last glass, Kalego?" You couldn't help but tease despite the warmth spreading across your cheeks and his implication. Or, at least the one your mind readily supplied.

His eyes narrowed slightly, though you hoped it was in good humor. "I applaud the fact you restrained yourself from drinking all night. I hate to see what the school would be like if everyone witnessed you crawling into Shichiro’s lap to sleep."

"You two…" Balam sighed as you seethed in embarrassment as the dark-haired demon smirked.

Fine, two could play at that game. "Well," you drawled as you turned back to Balam. "Since Kalego apparently needs help finding his way home--"

"I do not--" Kalego hissed, though your attention was once more captured by Balam as you reached up and patted Balam's cheek without thinking.

The giant demon quickly bent down so you could reach easier, and - well, the temptation to run your fingers through his hair was too much for you to resist.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" You finished softly as your heart thumped in your chest. Just a few small strokes and Balam's eyes had fluttered shut as he leaned more into your touch. He looked so happy, so content, so utterly cute, you gave into impulse and leaned in closer to press a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Goodnight, Shichiro." You whispered as you pulled away before nodding at the other demon. "Kalego."

Kalego returned your nod, but you didn't dare look back at Balam to see his reaction. You instead turned to Podargos, somehow managing to undo the knot keeping her tethered with shaky hands before pulling yourself up in the saddle.

She was already galloping when you heard the flutter of wings unfurling and the two presumably taking their leave as well. You gripped the reins tightly, grinning to yourself as the wind whipped around you. You did it! You initiated affection with Balam, and now all you could do was pray it hadn't been too subtle of a hint. Because damn, your heart was hammering heavily enough as it was.

Short Ten

Silence hung over the two demons as they flew, though Kalego knew it wouldn't last for very long. Before they reached the first trees of the forest, Balam finally broke the silence with a whisper "She kissed me…"

Kalego sighed, "I saw." He was happy for him, truly was. But why did you have to finally end Shichiro's doubts tonight? He was already mentally worn out from a long week, plus the hours of forced social interaction.

He wanted to go home, have a long hot shower, and sleep. That is all he wanted at this point.

"And called me Shichiro!" Balam's awed whisper turned into giddiness, and Kalego could easily imagine his companion blushing furiously despite the sky dark, moons barely providing any light. There were only two demons (himself and Opera, of course) outside his family that called Balam by his given name. Everyone else was too terrified of the gentle giant to take such liberties.

"I was there for that as well," unfortunately, Kalego added mentally. He was actually surprised it took you this long, to be honest. After all, you had the whole Misfit class calling you mom now - if rumors proved correct. He had figured you had been using Shichiro in private for weeks now.

Apparently not.

A flap of feathered wings and Balam was gliding next to Kalego, the tips of his wings about brushing his. "Thank you, Kalego, for changing your mind."

Part of his aggravation faded away, and Kalego nodded slightly. "It wasn't too terrible, I suppose." The finest wine money could buy, all from the Chair demon's own account. The food was surprisingly decent for a dive bar, and there had been a few amusing moments.

The moment of peace shortly faded as Balam all but giggled. "I can't believe she actually kissed me!"

Kalego decided he should have taken a bottle of wine home with him after all.

Hell, if he was going to endure this… "So, what are you going to give her as an offering when you ask her to court?"

There was a flutter of wings as Balam faltered mid air with a choked noise, making Kalego smirk.

-----

Opera calmly poured Lord Sullivan's tea, though their mind was full of unrest. You and Iruma had become close, and they acknowledged both of you as members of the Sullivan family, and therefore under their protection.

"Not to question your decision..." Opera started as they finished. "But is it wise to have her sworn in as a Babyls teacher?" A human under the Oath of Babyls? Old, ancient magic that bound a teacher to the school and their duties - how would it react to a human? Would it be the same, or cause you to suffer?

"You said it yourself," Lord Sullivan stated calmly as he picked up his tea cup. "Evil is stirring, even here at Babyls. Iruma will be well protected between his ring and his classmates, though I plan to ask Barbatos Bachinko to continue to tutor him. However, my dear daughter does not have his power or allies. Even if she becomes Balam's intended, the Oath will force him to put the students before her. But, if she is sworn in as a sort-of teacher…"

"Then the others will see her as one of them, even if her identity is revealed," Opera finished as they realized Sullivan's true intent. "They will be more inclined to protect her as well."

Sullivan nodded before smiling, "Plus, she really is as antisocial as Kalego. She could stand to use a few more-- what do they call them? Friends? Humans are social creatures after all…"

#welcome to demon school iruma kun #mairimashita! iruma kun #balam x reader #balam shichiro #kalego naberious #suzuki iruma #lord sullivan #opera

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a-world-of-whimsy-5 · 1 year

Text

Pairing: Fëanor x Námo

Themes: Angst

Warnings: None that I can think of

Word count: 1.5k words

Summary: After passing onto the Halls of Awaiting, Fëanor hopes for an audience with the Vala who loved him once.

A/n: Words in italics are for communication via osanwë.

Turn of the moon – a full lunar month.

This post was inspired by this little exchange in the tags between @cilil and myself.

Rules and taglist form here.

The great hall and throne room were painted to look like the vastness of the night sky. Tiny blue and white jewels all over the domed ceiling glittered with a light of their own. Fëanor had walked—no—flitted from hall to hall until he reached the vast and cavernous chamber his lover favored when meeting the fëar of those that awaited judgment.

He sighed and looked at the ceiling. The jewels were of his making and given as a gift. He remembered Námo's smile when he walked in and saw them glittering like stars. It was a rare and beautiful thing. Fëanor treasured that memory dearly.

My lord Fëanor. Nienna had come up behind him. The Valië of mercy, pity, and mourning was all shimmering silver mist. She did not take on a physical form in her brother's halls. Not unless the occasion demanded it. You have come to this hall yet again.

And I will do so again and again, most gentle lady, Fëanor said softly and respectfully. Nienna was beloved by her brothers, and they would not take kindly to any insult to her person. And Fëanor did not wish to add to the miseries already plaguing him. Until lord Námo is ready to receive me. I have to try, my lady. I have to try for another chance.

The air around him stirred. Nienna drifted closer. The mist shifted as if it was taking form. Fëanor felt something warm and comforting caress his cheek.

He does not wish to see you, she said tenderly. Her voice was as soft as a kiss and tinged with great sorrow. Not now. Not ever. My brother cannot bring himself to forget what you did. He will never forgive you for what you did. He does not wish to give you another chance. Not even I could sway his thoughts on this. I am so sorry.

There is no need to apologize, my lady. The fault is all mine. Fëanor turned his attention back to the throne room. Námo looked resplendent in the inky black and violet robes he wore. A silver circlet crusted with amethysts sat amidst a black hood. A sheer grey veil concealed his face. His favorite hound, Gorgumoth, slumbered by his feet. But I must try.

Nienna accepted his choice. Then I will stay with you.

They stayed hidden and watched. Fëa after fëa drifted up to an imposing throne carved out of a single large block of black stone. Their words were barely louder than a whisper. Námo listened, patient as always, before pronouncing his verdict. Some accepted his words with gladness. Others grew mournful. Námo would counsel them before one of the Maiar that served him guided each fëa onto the Halls of Awaiting for cleansing and reflection.

Time did not exist here. A turn of the moon could have come and gone and they would not have noticed. They waited and listened, watching as one fëa after another came and went. Námo seemed to tire. His veil fluttered, and his robes lifted and fell as if he was sighing. Fëanor stirred, hoping Námo was done and he could finally have an audience with him. Gorgumoth's ear twitched. He opened his eyes and sniffed at the air. The hound caught wind of something he did not like. He turned his attention to the shadows, where Fëanor and Nienna were. He lifted his head and bared his teeth, his growl echoing off the walls like thunder. The other fëar quailed at the sound.

Námo turned his attention to the shadows. He placed his hand on Gorgumoth's head. The hound quietened in an instant.

"Beloved sister," the Vala called out into the dark. "You have a friend with you."

Nienna urged Fëanor to go with her. Make haste, she said, and pulled him with her as she drifted down the stairs. You will not receive another opportune moment like this.

Námo rose and made his way down the steps. Nienna changed her form and walked up to him, dipping into a deep curtsy when she reached the throne. Fëanor stood a few paces behind her. He did not hear what they were saying, but brother and sister looked at each other intensely. Námo made a sound of disgust and turned, his eyes filling with rage when they rested on Fëanor. The slain elf trembled and lowered his gaze out of fear and respect.

"Please, brother," Nienna pleaded softly. "All he asks is for a chance to talk to you. Please! For my sake."

Námo sighed softly. His fingers brushed her cheek as if he was wiping away a tear. "I never could deny you for long," he murmured, and removed his crown. "Very well. I will hear him out."

Nienna curtsied again. She took the crown off her brother's hands and went to several ornate chairs beneath the throne. When Fëanor raised his eyes, she already had taken a seat, the crown safely on her lap. It was a sign that while she acted on Námo's behalf, her verdicts did not carry the same weight as his. They could be overturned at any time. Námo's Maiar came to her. Gorgumoth silently padded over and stretched out beside her. The fëar peacefully formed another line, all waiting for her to hear them out.

"Walk with me, Fëanor, son of Finwë." Námo turned sharply on his heel and strode out of the throne room. Fëanor had little choice but to follow him through one silent corridor after another.

He wanted to weep. He trembled when he could not. There would be no tears, none came to fëar, but he mourned all the same. Fëanor, son of Finwë. That was what Námo called him. Once, in another life, it was "my own heart."

You tremble, Fëanor, son of Finwë. Námo did not turn or look over his shoulder. To do either was a sign of forgiveness, of a softening in his stance. Námo could not do that, no matter how much it pained him. And it did wound him more than words could say. Fëanor had been his other half once. Where Námo was stoicism personified, Fëanor brought with him every emotion imaginable. If Námo was the ice, then Fëanor was the inferno that threatened to burn the world to ash. And he nearly did. And Námo could not bring himself to forget or forgive. He looked straight ahead and tried to harden his heart. What troubles you?

You. Fëanor kept a steady gaze on Námo's broad back. He tingled when memories of that back trembling beneath his fingers came unbidden. I know I wounded you, and...

Wounded me? Námo whirled, his eyes ablaze with pain and black fury. Long-buried sorrow and rage bubbled to the surface. You dare speak of such a thing? You who stole and murdered and encouraged others to do the same? You who forgot what we meant to each other and shattered every hope, every dream?

And Námo was not done. I would have helped you. He touched the corner of his eye. There were no tears. What tears he had left were frozen in his heart. Had you come to me, I would have gone to the others, and we would have found a way. Why? He asked, his voice thick with sadness. Why did you not come to me? I know how much you loved your father. I know how much the silmarils meant to you. Even more than me, I think.

Why indeed. It was a question that had plagued Fëanor for as long as he could remember. Why did he not go to Námo when Melkor murdered his father and made off with the Silmarils? Why did he not seek the aid of others instead of being consumed by his arrogance and need for vengeance? Fëanor did not have an answer. All he had was shame and sorrow and guilt engulfing him. Námo was right. Fëanor valued the silmarils even more than the love Námo bore him. He could not bring himself to look Námo in the eye.

I wept for you. Námo looked into the distance, despair coursing through him like mighty waves when he caught glimpses of what could have been. Yes, he nodded when he sensed Fëanor's shock. I wept for you. Many were the tears that were shed, and how I mourned your fate, how it crushed me to pronounce your doom. Watching you spiral into a world of darkness and chaos was more than I could bear.

My own heart, Fëanor inched his way closer, slowly and respectfully. He stopped when Námo flinched and backed away. Through the veil, he could see Námo's countenance contorting in pain. Is there nothing I can do to take away your pain? There must be something, surely. Please tell me. For the love we bore each other...

Love. Námo said bitterly. He thought of what they had, of what could have been. He wanted to weep over a future that no longer existed and how it all pained him so. He had to end the conversation and leave, lest his frozen tears finally break free. I knew love. The love in your fierce heart, in the flames that burned bright within every fiber of your being. It warmed every ounce of my spirit and filled me with so much hope, a ray of light for me to grab onto even in the darkest of times. That light is hidden from my eyes now. The words came out like a strangled sob. I cannot see it, no matter how hard I try.

Fëanor reached out to him, his despair as keen as Námo's. So much had been destroyed, and by his own doing, no less. My own heart, I...

Never call me that again. Námo turned away just as the first bitter tear fell. And never seek me out again. We are finished.

Fëanor could only watch him leave, silently damning himself in the darkness that crept in after Námo's departure.

tags: @cilil @asianbutnotjapanese @fictionfordays

#Fëanor #Námo #Fëanor x Námo #Fëanor angst #Námo angst #angst #the valar #the ainur #the silm #the silmarillion #fanfiction #writeblr #💫whimsy's plot bunnies #💫a world of whimsy writes

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freevoidman · 4 months

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hi! sorry to bother you but me and a few friends are very curious about the tags you left on the ffxiv translation post about Hien's response to Yotsuyu's abuser. im really happy to hear he doesn't say "well i can't condemn him for using her as a sex slave" but do you remember what his response is then?

its totally fine if you don't! none of us are that familiar with jumping between the dubs so we dunno if they have the ability to completely add new shots/lines, or if he does speak there but says something completely unrelated.

thanks for your time!!

You know I typed out a whole response saying "god I wish I could remember the exact context here but I can't, here's a whole summary of what I remember I hope this helps" and then I FOUND THE QUEST with the EXACT DIALOGUE IN ENGLISH thank you FFXIV wiki.

The quest is specifically Elation and Trepidation, during the 4.2 quests. General context here is that you just learned one of his soldier, Jifuya, owned a brothel and "employed" Yotsuyu before she rose to power. He is clearly terrified and guilt-ridden upon seeing her (which yeah, fuck that guy) and Yugiri and Gosetsu move him to a different post so that he doesn't have to see Yotsuyu.

When you finish the quest, you talk to Hien, who was caught up on the entire situation by Gosetsu and Yugiri. He then gives you the standard three text-bubbles worth of dialogue to close the quest. The dialogue is as-follows, and the italic section is what I was remembering in the tags:

Hien: I thank you for your help in the search. Gosetsu has told me all that transpired. Hien: I would not presume to defend the life Jifuya led before he joined the Front. Nor will I condemn it. Frankly, it is not my place to judge. I will only say this: the Jifuya I know has ever been a man of courage. That he should feel driven to flee bespeaks the depth of his terror. Even now, Yotsuyu casts a shadow over the realm... Hien: But the question of what is to be done with her must wait. The Empire is on the move once more.

From what I've seen of other translation talk about XIV, the italicized lines are not present in other languages. French, German, and Japanese all have Hien commenting on how Jifuya is terrified of Yotsuyu, but they do not have Hien saying... all of that.

Which is like, horrific, because imo that section just MURDERS Hien's entire characterization. If Hien really does want to change Doma for the better so that the circumstances that lead to Yotsuyu's traumatic life don't happen again, why wouldn't he condemn Jifuya's actions? He is exactly in the place to judge, he's now the guy leading the entire nation!

To be clear: I'm not fluent in the other translated languages (I wish there was a Spanish version, but alas), so I'm relying on the information given by others. If this turns out to be wrong, then I would be more than happy to learn that! But either way, this line exists in English, and it really killed any excitement I had towards Hien's character.

#ffxiv #hope this helps you and any discussions you have!#and hopefully I'm not. completely wrong about this haha #again I would be MORE than happy to be wrong #I just don't know for sure if I am unfortunately

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twilekd · 6 months

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#TWILEKD — an independent, private, and highly selective original character from the STAR WARS franchise. Please check out the carrd before following. Below 21* dni.

blogroll. @lmperiums (sw multi), @grandmcff (tarkin)

CARRD. / PROMO. / PINTEREST. / VERSES.

* disclaimer: if I knew you before the 21+ rule you are fine to follow, but for new followers the 21+ is enforced.

I. This blog is private and follow backs may take me some time to do. I also tend to prefer a low follower count as I like having a clean dash, for it helps with my mental health and related. I ask also that if you are a personal / non-RP blog to not reblog my threads, as it messes up my notifs. Likes and asks however are totally fine! Onto other things my activity is very sporadic and I am normally mobile bound so I rarely get to my laptop. That aside on weekends I usually am not on Tumblr, as I'm out hiking, traveling or spending time with my partner. I have a life outside of Tumblr and do this for fun!!

II. No drama allowed. The block button exists for a reason, and it is something I use. If we break mutuals I will hardblock, if only because with how dysfunctional tumblr is it makes it easier than softblocking and doesn't cause any awkward refollowing on either side. I ask that if you are a bigot of any kind and fit general dni criteria to not follow me. I also refuse to write underage, incest and rape scenarios. Hate anons will be deleted, as will ones wanting to stir drama. Leave me out of it, or DM me personally if you have an issue.

III. I rarely use icons / fancy banners if only because I am mobile bound and things always look a bit off to me on it. I also rarely use fancy font / colored text for accessibility's sake. However I do use a mix of subscript, italic, bold and large text. I tend to prefer writing multi-paragraph replies but please, do not feel that you have to match my length nor my format! That being said sometimes it takes me a while to reply to threads due to issues with my hands, so some replies may take a little while to be responded to but know I rarely drop threads. I ask though to please not pester me for replies.

IV. Unless discussed prior all relationships are in their own universes. I ship with chemistry and do enjoy talking ooc about our muses, as it helps me get an idea of things and how our muses may (or may not) get along! On the topic of NSFW it is something I am not really interested in, but I am not opposed to it. Full blown NSFW will NOT BE WRITTEN ON THIS BLOG. So if that is all you are here for, then please leave. If we do end up getting to a point like that in a thread I ask we do a fade to black sort of thing.

** Little NSFW asks are fine, however I rarely reblog those. Thank you for respecting my opinion on this.

V. Hi! My name is Werner (or Iggy) and you may know me from my old Piett blog (admrl) or my old Tarkin blog (grcndmoffs). I have been in the Star Wars fandom / RPC for a few years, but only recently have returned to it. Truthfully Star Wars is a big comfort to me, and it is very nice to be back here again. Onto other things, my Discord is @fishfrye if you wish to get into contact with me. I only ask that you tell me who you are if you add me so I know! My Tumblr IMs are open to all who may need anything or need someone to talk to, as is the anon feature. Just please do not abuse that feature, for I will turn it off if it is and that just ruins it for everyone.

VI. This being said onto triggers. I tag triggers as 'trigger /', and know that very dark and triggering content will be present on this blog. Mun does not equal muse, and I ask that if you EVER need anything tagged to please let me know. I tag everything I think could possibly upset someone, as I wish for my blog to be a safe spot for all. Thank you so much for reading this far. Ily

CREDITS.

mobile header - @/niixzee

carrd - @/giantstrength

icon border - @/carestuff

promo - @/supersources

banners - @/jessource

#werner / 26 / they

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introspectivememories · 2 years

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not to be nsfw on main but i need nomad!steve with his beard getting absolutely plowed by bucky. in wakanda or whatever. and i need them to be so disgustingly loud, that t’challa has to come over and be like “you two need to move farther away. we have 70 noise complaints from this week alone.”

#it's what my bby steve deserves #and bucky #also they can't show their faces in the markets for the next two weeks cause every time they go everyone keep giving them Looks #steve walks in with a limp and one of the older men mutters 'jeez what i wouldn't give for some supersolider stamina?#aviwe my love they went for two weeks! imagine if we could still go for two week?'#bucky who has learned xhosa by then just laughs and when steve leans over and asks to know what he said #bucky whispers it in his ear and the entire market watches as steve turns fire-engine red #'bastard!' steve says slapping bucky on the shoulder face burning in mortification ' 'oh let me hear you doll' he said #'you make such pretty noises baby' i can't believe they heard us!'#and buck who so in love with this impossible impossible man #can do nothing but laugh #i wish i could add italics to the tags #stevebucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #t'challa #comic.rambles

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a-simp-20 · 2 years

Note

Hi there!!

First off, Happy New Year!! And I came to know that it was your birthday a few days ago too, so sorry for being late but I wanna wish you a very happy belated birthday too😘😘😘💖💖

Since your requests are finally open again, and since I had said last month that I'd request sth when you did open , could I request some Kento fluff (maybe with a teensy bit angst if you'd like!) where it's like, they somehow happen to meet completely randomly and hit it off and are all friendly and everything, but the both of them start harboring feelings for each other but neither wants to confess bc they're nervous? And then it's fluff in the end?

Thank you💖

💕Confessions💕 [Kento Yamazaki X Reader]

AIB Cast Masterlist

Note: - Yay! I was going to find your user but I forgot what you user name was!, so glad you're back!. Also thanks for the wishes! And happy 2022 to you too!

- yellow + Italics +[] = [Song Lyrics]

Characters: Kento Yamazaki, Y/n, Suda Masaki, Dori Sakurada, Keita Machida (maybe I'll add him to the masterlist too-)

Summary: You met the actor Yamazaki Kento so suddenly at a summer festival. You two became close and started to get feelings for each other..but both are too afraid to confess!

Warning!: jealous! Kento, Yelling (from kento to reader)

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Word Count: none

Tags: @hyunsuks-beanie another Kento fic!, thanks for requesting friend!..i tried doing the angst and i really like how it goes! And nice request! (Also sorry if it took too long! I've been busy with school! 😭)

Enjoy!~

{-YOASOBI. Tracing That Dream}

[Beautiful flowers decorating the night sky The light tightly enveloped the city sound]

"Okay, guess I'll see you next time"

"Sure Kenken..see you soon"

"Okay, bye and have a good night rest"

[Beep]

You sighed and put your phone on your bed side drawer. You settled yourself in your bed, looking at your rooms ceiling thinking about your feelings for the young Actor that you just met a month ago. You would always wonder on how you two became friends so quickly, usually normal celebrities would just walk away if they ever bumped into their fans they would instantly walk away while apologizing..but Kento was different, he instead talked to you through out the whole intire hour as the time passes by.

"I wonder how he feels about me..in the summer festival.."

[1 Month ago..]

The sound of the festivals chimes and music passes your ears as you sat there alone wearing a Kimono and holding a wish paper that you bought from the shrine "Good luck huh?" You say to yourself, looking down at the tiny scroll that say's "Good luck: you will find good luck for this year's summer, and may find your true love"

You sighed and got up the bench that you sat on, still holding the tiny scroll in your Hands. You are not alone at the festival, you Were with your two big sisters and their husbands..which was awkward. At first you didn't actually wanted to go to the summer festival, but your mom says that you needed some fresh air so you just go for it.

Now you're here alone, both of your sisters said that they forgot you were with them and just went back home, "Why am I still here anyways?, with this useless wish paper that has nothing but words of hope in them."you continue to walk through the festival, seeing people with their friends and family doing festivities and buying warm food, you kept walking as you almost made it to the exit until you bumped into someone "Ah! I'm sorry, i didn't know where i was going" You say and looked up to see a tall figure with a plastic bag that had a gold fish in it and a wish paper in his hand "Ah it's okay, i was just going in to return this fish..turns out my niece didn't wanted it" He chuckles and you realized he's Yamazaki Kento, a very handsome and clean man "Ah! You're- I'm sorry I should go-" "No wait!..i- well..i-" "Kento!" Someone yells at him from behind as another man that is shorter than Kento and looks way more calmer than the nervous Kento that is in front of you "I've been looking for you everywhere, oh and By the way your brother and his family said they have to go home since their daughter is tired" It was Masaki Suda, another famous Actor you knew that is close to Kento Yamazaki for a very long time now.

"Oh! Sorry! Are you Kento's friend??" He asked with a soft smile on his face "Oh uh.. No we just happened to bump into each other that's all Suda-san" Dori says smiling at him "Ah~ i see, well since the three of is are all here..why not we all get to know each other and i'll treat us all for Ramen?, i know it's sudden but-" "It's okay!- i mean i would love to" You said smiling.

[Present..]

It is already morning in a blink of an eye. You got off your bed and got ready for work, it's a Coincedince actually that you got a job because of Kento, you now Work at his friends Egency that he introduced you to him back in 2021. After getting ready and preparing your bento you got out of your house and locked it behind you. After locking your house you made your way to the bus Station, it wasn't that far from your housing complex.

After waiting the bus finally came and you got in then payed for your bus ride, told the driver where you were heading and went to sit at any spot available inside the bus.

[A few minutes later..]

You got out of the bus as you finally made it to Amuse Inc. A very tall and high building, a incorporation of famous and new Japanese actors and actresses/Stage Actor/actresses and more. You got into the building and went inside the elevator "Wait! Don't close the door!" You heard a male voice say as you pushed the '< >' button as the man got inside the elevator as the door's closed "Oh it's you!, Kento's Friend right?" The man said and you looked up To see the Actor Sakurada Dori "Oh..uh hey!.. Yeah I'm his friend, I'm glad I got a job here because of him.. And you! You too Mr.Sakurada" "Don't call me Mr! I feel old now.." He says frowning while stretching his face, the door opens to your floor "Uh- I gotta go yeah sorry" "Oh yeah sure! Say you wanna hang out with me and Kento after we Shoot?" "Yeah yeah sure!" You yelled while walking "Alright! I'll let him know! Bye bye!" You didn't heard what he said as you got your desk and started working on some files for the models, and some magazines you need to read then take notes of, and other stuff that the company gave you.

You sighed to yourself as you worked at anything that they gave you. You couldn't even focus because he was stuck in your mind ever since last night's conversation with him. He couldn't leave your mind, you so really want to confess your love to Kento but you feel anxious whether if you want to confess to him or not. Than you suddenly remember on what Dori asked you, if you wanted to spend the time with him and Kento this Afternoon after they shoot for their new series that they are both in and you realize that you accepted Dori's Offer.

After that it was finally time for you to go and meet up with Dori And Kento at the studio. Dori texted you to come out of the building cause he and Kento decided to pick you up from the agency to the studio. You got up from your desk and packed up your things as you went inside the elevator to go to the first floor.

The door of the elevator opened as you got pit of it. You were now in front of the building as you searched on which car they were in until you heard someone call your name "Y/n! Over here!" A very familiar voice shouts as you saw Dori waving his hand from inside a car on the back seat of the car as Kento's head also poked out of it in the other seat of the back of the car that was back of the passenger seat. In the car there are two back seat's, one in the usual spot and one at the very back. You went you went towards the car as you got in it sitting right next to Kento, the other seat right next to Dori was occupied by his other friend that is from another agency Keita Machida. Both Dori and Kento were still in their characters costumes except for Keita cause his character wasn't supposed to be in today's shoot, he just decided to come along to hang out with the three.

"So where are we going first?" Keita asked the three, Dori responding to his question "Well maybe we should eat first! I'm hungry!" "Uh..Dori you just ate rice with meat and an egg..aren't you full?" Kento asked "Well I have separate stomach for more food Yamaken!" He chirps with a wide grin on his face "Seeing you with you hair down with hair gel and piercing's on tour face while smiling is weird Sakurada" Keita chuckles "Hey! Watch it I love my face covered in these cool looking piercing's! Don't you agree Y/n Chan?" Dori asked looking at you with a smile "yeah! You look great Dori" You say giggling. Kento was right next to you just looking at how great if you and Dori would become a couple, seeing on how both you and Dori's liking's are the same..Kenro felt something weird inside him. His chest started to hurt as he looks at you then to Dori then to you again, seeing you smile on hearing Dori talk hurts him.

He shrugs it off for awhile as you all made it to the restaurant on where the three of you decided to eat at. The restaurant was more like a shop than a fancy restaurant itself, but hey at least it had food!. The four of them sat together facing the other person, You were sitting right next to Keita and right in front of you was Dori, Kento beside him. This made Kento more hurt and furious, but he just acted like everything was fine to him even though it wasn't "So what do you guys want to order?" You say finally not being anxious anymore on talking to the three boys "How about curry?, that sounds great right Yamaken?" Dori ask him as he pat's Kento on the back "Oh yeah! It sounds great." Kento says smiling a bit "Then I'll have the same" Keita says and so do you.

Kento called for the Waitress near them and ordered the curry's that you all want and your drinks. The four of you began waiting for you food and drink's to arrive by talking about your day and work, you looked at Kento and saw that he wasn't speaking anything, a frown was on his face "So Kento, how was your day at the shoot?" You ask him with a warm smile on your face as he looks up at you and the other two boy's "Oh, it went well. Playing as the Main character can be hard sometimes but, it's also quite fun too" He say's smiling bit.

The food and drinks finally arrive as they were placed on the table. The aroma of the curry immediately hit's you as your stomach growl's and Kento chuckles, you blushed and smiled at him and went back to look down at your curry as you grabbed your spoon to scoop the delicious looking food "This is good!" Dori chirps happily and continues to eat the curry.

After eating it was already evening and the four of you made a choice to walk at a nearby park. The driver stopped at a Park that was filled with lamp posts and a cement oath that led to several house looking decks to cover yourself if there were to be raining "Wanna go for a walk?" Kento asked you and you just nodded "Don't mind us! We'll be just wandering around here!" Dori yells as he went to another path that was the right "Same here!" Keita say's and went to the right path of the park, leaving just the both of you to Go straight ahead.

The light of the lamp posts shining you and Kento's path, since it was already night time. You and Kento continue to walk through the cold night under the moonlight that is shining above the both of you "Kento, I saw you looking upset today..i was just wondering what's going on? You can tell me anything." You say as you stopped at your tracks as Kento stopped right in front of you, as he turned around "Oh you noticed?.. I- it was nothing" "Are you sure-" "YES I'M SURE!!" He yell's and you froze on the spot, you never seen him luke this before or even yell before "I'm sorry for yelling at you it's just..hard to say it to you on what i was thinking.." He say's and cover's his face and he crouches down still covering his view from you.

He didn't want to see you, or even hear your voice from what he just did. He Yelled at you, the woman that he likes the most that he thinks likes his close friend that is also his neighbor "Kento." You say with a hushed voice as you approached his crouching figure, you crouched in front of him as you gently open both of his hands from his face. You met to see his face, eyes reed and puffy from crying in silence as he looks up to see your soft expression

"Kento.."

"Y-y/n, i'm sorry the truth is that i was jealous on seeing how talkative you Were towards Dori." He say's with a smile on his face "Damn i feel like a total kid now..crying over a simple thing, just like how my big Brother reacted when i was given all the attention because I was still young and he was older..but hey he learned that having a little brother isn't that bad" He chuckles and so did you "Okay number one why are we talking about your brother now?.. And second, I don't like Dori if that males you better Kento" You say and smiled at him.

This time you smiled at Him and not someone else, He made you smile this time. He finally done it, and he thinks to himself if he wants to confess now to later,"Kento" You say his name that made him snap out of his thoughts, as you got up and hold out your hand for him to grab. He grabbed your hand to stand up until you hugged him as he said those final words that you barely could hear if the words he said were true.

"I'm in love with you..Y/n"

[look up,

Final of the fireworks is now here wrapping over two

World of no sound in the silence, you speak “I’m in love with you”]

#Kento yamazaki x reader #kento yamazaki x y/n #kento yamazaki fluff #kento yamazaki angst #kento yamazaki fanfic #a simp 20 #fanfiction

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togrowoldinv · 2 years

Note

Congratulations on 1,000 followers friend! you are so amazing and so deserve this!

for your prompts, how about 49 and 45 with wanda and gn reader?

Thank you so much! 💙 This is my favorite celebration fic I've written so far. I hope that you enjoy it!

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Italics are flashbacks

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"Did we really accidentally get married in Vegas?"

1,000 Followers Celebration Masterlist

When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you notice is your pounding head and a warmth next to you. You turn over and Wanda is curled up in the bed. Both of you are fully clothed.

But it’s not your bed, it’s not her bed, and you aren’t even dating Wanda.

You blink a few times to try and process what’s happening and Wanda stirs awake next to you.

“Y/n, what happened?” she asks confusedly, and you just shake your head. “Where are we?”

“I have no idea,” you answer. You both sit up and try to put the pieces together. Your mind flashes back to the one conversation you remember from last night.

Wanda looked good. To be fair, she always looked good, but she got especially dressed up for the Stark Gala. You found yourself unable to keep your eyes off of her.

“Hey y/n,” Wanda said as she approached you. “You look amazing.” She hugged you and left a lingering kiss on your cheek.

“You look gorgeous, Wanda. You are gorgeous,” you told her. The two of you always flirted with each other, but these were just genuine compliments. Something in the air felt different.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Wanda asked, not even five minutes after she’d entered the gala.

“Absolutely, I do,” you said and took her hand to leave the party.

And that’s the last thing you remember until waking up here.

“Where did we go when we left?” Wanda asks, she runs her hand through her hair, and you catch sight of a gold band on her hand. You look down and see a matching one on yours.

“Wanda?”

“Hm, yeah?” she asks, still groggy from her sleep.

“Rings. We have rings,” you say, and her eyes go wide. She gets out of the bed and sees a notebook on the table with the hotel you’re apparently in’s name on it.

“And we’re in Las Vegas,” Wanda adds.

“Did we really accidentally get married in Vegas?” you ask the mostly rhetorical question.

“I don’t know if it was an accident. It’s starting to come back to me, and I think we wanted to do this,” Wanda says. “At least I did.”

“I think you’re right and I did too,” you say.

You walk to her and take the hand. You feel the coolness of the wedding band against your palm. Getting on one knee in front of her, you look up to see her smiling at you almost goofily.

“Wanda Maximoff, my beautiful wife, will you go on a date with me?”

“Yes, yes of course I will!” Wanda replies and you stand up to hug her.

You kiss her lips and you two savor the moment. It’s the first kiss you two remember sharing and it could not be any more perfect.

Tag List: @gracebutnotgraceful @i-wished-for-you-too @nataliaromanova-widow @be-missed @mythosphere-x @hehehehannahthings @likefirenrain @madamevirgo @milfloverslut @yelenabelovaisthebettersister @mrswidowjohansson @alotofpockets @wandassitcom @marvelwomen-simp @maia-lightwoood @xxromanoffxx @ggrangerdanger @peanutbutterprincess @exhaustedfangirl @when-wolves-howl @marie45019 @inluvwithfictionalwomen @sammi1642 @itsyourgirlmalise @jujuu23 @kacka84 @the-night-owl-blr @strangegardentaco @avatarsnips

#togrowoldinv celebration!#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff fluff #wanda maximoff

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sergeantsporks · 2 years

Note

Hey! Do you have any writing tips/things you wish you'd known as a beginner? I'm trying to learn and any tips would help a lot fldkjfdkf

Sure!

1) make sure your dialogue tags/actions stick with your correct dialogue, and that you separate the next person's dialogue/actions. For instance:

"What are you doing?" she asked

He shrugged. "I don't know."

(Good!)

"What are you doing?"

She asked. He shrugged. "I don't know."

(Poor)

or "What are you doing?" she asked. He shrugged. "I don't know."

(Technically okay, but separating the two on separate lines makes it easier to read)

2) Make sure you know and use all of the right speaking punctuation. There's a lot of rules, basic ones:

If your character ends their statement with a "?" or a "!" before a dialogue tag, the tag is not capitalized. If you end with a period, the next sentence IS capitalized. If you want the tag to go with the sentence, don't end the sentence with a period, end it with a comma. For example:

"I don't like this." she said. (no) "I don't like this," she said. (yes) "I don't know," she set down the vase. (probably not) "I don't know." She set down the vase. (probably correct)

If your character is finishing a statement, then dialogue tag, then another statement, you end the dialogue tag with a comma, then do the quotes. If the two lines are separate sentences, then the sentence is capitalized. If it's a continuing statement, then the sentence is NOT capitalized. If you're not sure which you want, read it in your head without the dialogue tag with where the inflections are. Same goes for statements ending with ? and !

"We don't know," she said, "we don't know anything." (Reading the sentence in your head, delete the dialogue tag: We don't know, we don't know anything)

"We don't know," she said, "We don't know anything." (Reading out as one sentence: "We don't know. We don't know anything."

"Who are you?" she asked, "Where did you come from?" (two separate sentences)

"What is that?" she asked in a sneer, "and where did it come from?" (one sentence, the dialogue tag could also just go at the end and put the two together, that's just personal preference)

3) Italics and adverbs are good used in the right places

4) Remember character voice when you're narrating/using expository text: if you're describing something from their perspective (as opposed to an omniscient one), and their regular dialogue wouldn't use a huge, complex word, then probably their perspective description wouldn't either.

5) You don't need dialogue tags after every line of dialogue, establish who spoke first, who spoke second, and then, as long as you follow other dialogue rules, you just need to throw a couple in every once in a while for longer back and forths so the audience remembers who's talking without having to go back to the beginning to track the conversation. Or, if your character is performing an action with their dialogue. It gets trickier the more characters you add into the conversation.

6) Pronouns, oh my gosh. My general rule of thumb is I think two to four pronouns referring to them before you say their name again (sooner if you're dealing with multiple characters/objects with the same pronouns). For instance:

Gerald ate the orange. He wasn't usually fond of oranges, but he'd make an exception today. After all, it was his special day. Gerald threw the peel in the trash. Time to go.

OR, use another descriptor of them.

Gerald ate the orange. He wasn't usually fond of oranges, but he'd make an exception today. After all, it was his special day. The tall man threw the peel in the trash. Time to go.

Anyway, those are the main ones I can think of, good luck with your writing!

#writing #writing advice #asks

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glitxhwayventeen · 2 years

Text

Heart Like Yours

Joshua: Chapter 5 (Stay With Me- Part 2)

Characters: Joshua x female reader

General Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, angst central, water, obsession implications, murder mentions, mental illness, mob violence mentions, pain (mental mostly tbh) mentions, death mentions, made up universe, Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: Okay my friends, here she is. She’s a bit of a mess and doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense, but she’s up. I’ve had a REALLY bad week but i figured everyone could use a bit of a distraction from their mundane lives. I also sit this chapter in two and decided to add a chapter because i couldn’t concentrate enough to put it all in one super long chapter so🤷🏻‍♀️ Let me know what you guys think

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold- Dialogue Italics- Thoughts Green- Creature Speaking

Tag List- @studioreader @imtotallydef

Heart Like Yours Masterlist

You found yourself surrounded by trees and Wilderness. You weren’t sure how far you had gone from the pack, but you didn’t think it was far enough to lead you so astray. You just wanted some much needed space from Joshua. You had felt like you were suffocating with him being around you. Yet you also had never felt so alone. He hurt you. Badly. You just wanted some space. You should’ve known better.

Because now you couldn’t recognize any familiar trees you knew you should’ve passed on your way up the mountain. Nothing smelt very familiar either. In fact it all smelt rather… sulfur or death like to you, which you found strange considering you were in the woods and not some Wiccan shop surrounded by vials and potion ingredients.

You had smelt plenty of weird shit in your long existence, yet you had never smelt the essence you now smelt roaming freely in the air. It was eye watering and yet so… intoxicating.

Usually, the forest was very welcoming towards you and you quite liked being outside. Normally, it felt like a second home to you and it was very warm and inviting. But something about the atmosphere around you just felt so very off. You couldn’t really explain it, it was more of a feeling or a pit you got in the middle of your stomach.

You felt so calm but still so lost. Everything was getting colder and damper and a rather mysterious fog began to emerge itself from the hallowed ground in the distance.

You also noticed that there weren’t any sprites around. Given that again, you were basically in the middle of everything that was supposed to be good and natural and would normally be considered their home, you found it rather peculiar that they weren’t there to greet you like they usually were...

But you figured it was best to just shove your worries aside before you found yourself running back to the man you were doing your best not to break down in front of.

You missed Joshua. You wished you could’ve just ran into his arms and bawled your eyes out instead of running away into the deep dark scary tree line. Seeing him just hurt. Him not wanting to mark you hurt worse than watching the people you grew up with get slaughtered in front of you.

Because for once you were supposed to have someone that would love you unconditionally and for wolves, marking their mates was the binding step, the final step. The step to show you that he would spend every second until his last dying breath loving you with everything he had.

Except that for some reason, he didn’t want to mark you.

You sighed deeply and looked to the twigs under your feet and realized that they made an odd hollowed sound you couldn’t quite place. Suddenly, you could hear a melody you hadn’t heard before.

‘Come to us so we can convey’

It came so softly, you almost weren’t sure it was real.

‘Sad you came yet glad you’ll stay’

Yet it was so reeling, you couldn’t help but follow it to it’s origin.

‘We can make your pain go away’

Little did you know, the origin would end up hurting you more than the man that was supposed to love you.

“Don’t worry Shua hyung, I’m sure she’ll be back soon. She just needed to cool off.” Seokmin did his best to comfort his older brother.

“Yeah Hyung, I’m sure she’s alright. Just because we haven’t found her, doesn’t mean something’s happened to her.” Channie did his best to coax a small smile from him, but only received a rigid frown of concern in return.

Joshua hung his head down in his hands. His attempt at explaining to you why he didn’t want to mark you had failed. You running off was a clear sign of that. And now they had looked everywhere for you and couldn’t find you. It was getting dark and Joshua was getting worried. Hyunwoo was getting fussy and the boys were getting tired. You were still relatively new to the area and didn’t know much about where you were. You didn’t know about the dangers around you. He did. That’s why he was so worried for you.

They could still somewhat smell your trail, but just when they thought they had found you, your scent would leap to the other side of the mountain, almost as if your essence itself was toying with them.

Joshua could still feel you and the pull was still near them, but both were growing fainter by the second. He just had a feeling that something bad was happening to you. He couldn’t just sit idly by and let it happen. He had to do something. He couldn’t let anything happen to you. He couldn’t let his nightmare become a reality.

So he bolted up from his earlier sitting position and focused his thoughts solely on you, causing the pack to all turn to him in curiosity.

He tried to remember your voice and how much he loved to hear you hum a song from your childhood whilst you did some random chore that needed to be done. He tried to think about that lovely homey smell you gave off and how he’d do anything to be able to pull you in for a loving hug.

But mostly, he thought about the visions he had seen over the past few days of you dying and how much they terrified him, and he began hoping, rather praying, to be able to pick something of yours up that would lead them to you.

After several long seconds, his heart had seemed to find you as it picked up its speed and started thumping loudly, almost as if it was trying to leap out of his chest. He found you. And something was wrong. Very very wrong.

“She’s this way!”

The nap time lulls seemed to lead you to a relatively large lake. But you were positive it wasn’t the lake the boys had meant to take you to earlier. This one seemed much farther from the destined one that was spoken about to you before.

‘Safe with us you always are’

It had such beautiful glistening stones around it that seemed to shimmer brighter and brighter with every step closer you took.

‘Don’t worry dear’

The water looked as if it was a crisp shiney blue that almost resembled your human eye color. It was so surreal.

‘You’ve not strayed too far’

The fog had started to fall back to lay just at the end of the furthest area from your current spot on the opposite end of the small body of water.

The closer you got, the more you realized that the fairytale music sounded almost like an actual person was singing. But what human would be this far out? Who could possibly have that pretty of a voice?

‘We’re here for you’

It was a voice so clear and so angelic that it made you never want to shy away from it. A voice so sweet that you swore it could kick start world peace. It was a voice dipped in honey and thrown out to shine amongst the stars.

‘We are your friend’

You decided you wanted to get closer to it. You had to get closer to it.

Just a dip in wouldn’t hurt right? Just your feet? How bad could it really be? Waters clean. Waters safe. Waters healing.

At least- that’s what the song kept telling you…

‘We’re here for you till the very end’

“Shua hyung, how do you even know she’s out over here. You said it yourself, you were having trouble feeling her pull. Maybe it’s the lake fucking with you like it likes to do with some people.” Wonwoo suggested, doing his best to keep up with his brothers and their insanely frantic speeds.

“I just know okay! You guys can bitch and groan all you want but I’m bringing her home even if it kills me!” Josh snarled at the younger wolf, causing his features to retreat a bit even through their fast pace.

“Joshuji we get that you’re worried. But have you ever thought that maybe she just doesn’t want to be found or needs some space? I mean the heart feeling thing could’ve just meant she tripped over a rock. You don’t know.” Hannie tried to reason with his brother to no avail.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help his brother, he did. He just wasn’t sure it was a good idea for him to be all but smothering you when you were as upset with him as you were. Jeonghan had already had Mingyu and Seokming home. Poor Hyunwoo was upset his plan to get you and Shua back together had failed and he was also getting tired.

He figured it was best that one of the stronger boys took him back to the house to watch and protect him, Seokming went along because he wasn’t wanting to infuriate you. It all was for the best though, he wouldn’t be too good in a fight, he was more of a lover than a fighter. Thanks to them, Jeonghan could stay out with his love crazed brother all day.

Joshua stopped dead in his tracks to turn around and face his pack, causing a pile up of mean to hit his chest and fall to the floor, “No you guys don’t know! You don’t know what’s out there! And you don’t know how this feels! None of you do! She’s my mate. MY MATE! I know what I’m feeling is trouble. She needs me so I’m going to save her no matter what! She can hate me all she wants when she’s safe! No either shut up and follow me or go home because no one is stopping me! No one!”

The long winded dialogue sent Joshua’s chest to huff and puff and his nostrils to flare in order to regain some much needed air.

His pack just stared at him doe eyed. They’d never seen him so upset. They’d never seen him so determined or mad before. He had a glint behind his eyes that told them immediately, he would more than likely snap anyone who tired to stop Him’s neck without a second thought. He meant business.

With that, he turned back around and started his trot to you again, more determined than ever to get to you than ever.

As your delicate feet touched the water, a ripple began to wave throughout the pond starting from what seemed like the dead center of it. Out of instinct, you quickly pulled your foot back to land and got into a defensive stance, ready to protect yourself from any and all oncoming danger.

And sure enough, right before your very eyes a vibrant white, almost ghostly, figure with webbed features emerged from the water sitting on a rather large rock.

‘Hello there,’ the creature calmly spoke to you in the same mellifluous voice you had heard only moments ago.

You could feel your heart rate begin to race as the strange creature began looking at you with a tilted head, ‘Why have you withdrawn from our dwelling my darling?’

“O-Our dw- dwelling?” You gulped just loud enough for the serpent to hear you.

And almost as if on command, multiple other fish like beings began to pop themselves out through the waters surface to join the main one you had been communicating with on its rock.

‘Yes dear. We’re a family here. One must trust those who help them heal their own heart now yes?’ The seemingly angelic being now lulled to you as it started to put its body back into the water, causing your inner wolf to raise the hair on your neck.

The creature began to make its merry way to where you were on the land, causing you to flinch.

“S-stay back,” you stuttered as you slowly replaced back while never turning your body away from the creatures that be.

“I- I’m w-warning you. Stay- stay away from me!” You tried your best to sound stern, but something about them made you want to quiver back and curl into a ball.

It was truly the strangest thing…

‘Now now brave girl. No need to be frightened. No one will hurt you here,’ it spoke again, this time causing a rather painful strike of ache to hit your heart at its words.

No one will hurt you here. All anyone does is hurt others. It’s all a lie. Just a crushingly cruel lie.

“Leave me a-alone! Whatever you are, you’re not something I want to be around! I want to be left alone!” You attempted to sound more confident in a way that even had you yourself believing your words. But it was all just another lie.

“Just leave me be!”

‘Oh dear, you poor thing.’ The monster with a sugary sweet voice cooed as it waded its way to meet you on land, ‘Someone’s hurt you and broke your trust before, haven’t they?’

You looked down at your feet in shame for a moment, only for one moment, but it seemed it was enough to give the beast its answer.

‘I see. We’re sorry to hear that darling,’ the creature spoke in a sympathetically tone, ‘Did you love him? He must have really had you caring for him for a strong creature such as yourself to be so wounded.’

The bluntness of the kind beings question seemed to force an answer out of your mouth before it could communicate what was happening properly to your brain, “Y-Yes. I did. I still… I still do. He’s my soulmate.”

You had tried to stop yourself from responding, you really really did. But something about the floatatious creature made you want to tell the truth. It made you feel almost… safe.

‘It must have hurt you greatly when he did whatever it was to lose your faith in him my dear,’ It batted its almost tentacle eyelashes at you.

“It did.”

Some part of you knew you should be running around. Or attacking the mythical being. Or both. But you just could bring yourself to. It made you feel warm inside to talk to it. It was so soothing and caring, it’s voice made you feel as though you were wrapped safely in a blanket of trust.

‘It’s terrible when the ones who are supposed to love us break us isn’t it?’ It reasoned, seeking to somehow aid your tired heart.

You nodded your heart wearily, still subconsciously trying to make sense of it all.

‘Was it your first love?’

Your heart sank into your stomach, “He was supposed to be my only love…”

You felt defeated. Like all the life and love that had once existed within had been sucked out and you had no way of getting it back. You felt hopeless. You felt numb. You felt cold.

The creature waded itself closer, almost concreting itself right in front of you before it spoke again with sorrow lacing just voice, ‘That must’ve been a bitter betrayal dear. We can feel your pain. We can feel how cracked your sweet heart truly is. You’re hurting greatly.’

All you could manage to do was stare at its legend like eyes in awe as you took in it’s luring voice, “What would you say if we could make it all go away for you? If we could take away the pain and replace it with happiness?’

It reached its hand out to you, signaling that if you were to take it, it would help you. Something about it made it’s words believable. Something about it made it seem like it actually cared about you. Like it could actually take away your torn heart and repair it…

So you began to reach your hand out back to it, wanting more than anything for all your heartache to disappear. But just as you touched it’s watery warm hand, you heard a voice that made you run away in the first place.

“(Y/N)! Stop!”

Right when you turned your head to see Joshua and part of the pack pop their forms out of the woods, and before you could think to even respond to him, you felt yourself being dragged under the water.

(Updated 1/28)

#seventeen #seventeen au #seventeen angst #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen smut #seventeen x reader #svt au #joshua hong #joshua #svt joshua #hong jisoo #seventeen joshua #svt jisoo #seventeen jisoo

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sortofanobsession · 2 years

Text

To Cry for the Moon Part 14 (Moon Knight x Female Eternal!Reader)

Author's Note: This one got long too. I just kept adding to it, even while doing the final edits. There will be another part, maybe two, after this one, so @jupitersmoon167 and I are not quite done yet. The first 13 parts had 27725 words. That doesn't include this one, or the next one(s). So hopefully you have all enjoyed those 30k+ words.

Please do not take, copy, or translate without talking to me first. Reblogs, likes, and comments are encouraged. But anything else please message me first.

Y/N = Your Name. Y/N/N = Your Nickname. Reader pronouns She/Her. Story is 3rd person POV.

Italic text is the reflected alter talking. Bold Italic text is sign language for Makkari.

Tag Requests are Open just message me.

Primary Pairing: Steven Grant x Eternal!Reader, Marc Spector x Eternal!Reader, Khonshu x Ma'at!Reader

Content Warning: Mental Illness, mentions of death (but this one is mostly fluff)

Word Count: 3K+

WIP Series Masterlist

Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 15

Part 14: Recovery

"Hello, Layla," Y/N says as she and Marc approach the Domo.

"Hello, Y/N," Layla greets her back.

"Taweret never told you they revived me, did she?" Y/N asks.

"She has been busy, I assumed that had to do with whatever Osiris and the others had going on, and which I guess was you. It's crazy how easily this could have been solved but Taweret had her tasks and Khonshu is too stubborn to admit he can ask the others. You were apparently the only one he liked it seems."

"Hathor is okay with him," Y/N states. "Especially after what Harrow and Ammit did to her avatar. Taweret is too sweet to abandon her tasks if she thinks they are important. Though she will defy them for the same reason. She can be a paradox. My family fill you in?"

"Yes, but I am starting to wish I would have called upon her. Probably would have saved us all a lot of hurt." Layla says.

“Well, you were a bit busy with this situation,” Y/N gestures to Steven.

“Hey!” Steven says, offended.

Layla laughs. "Glad you're back, these two were insufferable for the last few days. And don't take this the wrong way, but it's your problem now." Steven just shakes his head but Y/N laughs.

"I have to return the feather, you guys up for a trip to the temple?" Y/N asks them.

"Make a good shortcut home, so I'm in," Layla says.

"Y/N/N, we already told you, we go where you go, but I'll let Marc take this one, later gators," Steven says and gives Y/N a quick kiss and lets Marc front. Layla just laughs. The trio let the others know and Y/N calls on her powers to open the path to the temple.

Temple of the Gods

They step into the temple and see both Isis and Osiris with their avatars.

"You did so well, little feather," Isis says through her avatar as she goes and embraces Y/N.

"Never doubted you could do it," Osiris adds from where he stands.

"Come with me, feather," Isis says. Y/N looks back at Marc. "Don't worry. We will not be long." The pair of goddesses leave.

Osiris begins to speak again, drawing Marc and Layla's attention. "And somehow you, Spector," he looks at Marc, "You just keep proving we underestimated you the first time around. You may be broken, but you have done more for the world than most of us or our avatars have in a long time. We cannot thank you or Ms. El-Faouly enough. You both have now saved humanity twice."

"You brought Y/N/N back," Marc answers honestly. "And last time, you brought us back. It was the least we could do."

The three of them talk until Isis and Y/N return. Y/N's armor is gone and replaced with a flowing white gown with gold trim and jewelry, befitting of an Egyptian Goddess.

"We reward those who serve to protect and better humanity," Isis says. "An outfit of a true goddess, so much more fitting than that armor."

"And a savior of all humanity," Osiris adds.

Layla laughs at the lovestruck awe in Marc's face.

"I'm out of here," Layla grins. "I'll stop by your flat and feed the cat. I have a feeling you two might be busy for a while."

"Thank you, Layla," Y/N says as she nears them. Marc is holding his hand out to help her as she steps down. "You helped us even when you didn't need to. It means a lot to us, all of us. The gods, the Eternals, us," she gestures between herself and Marc. "I don't know how to repay such a kindness."

"You died to save the world," Layla points out. "Seems pretty fair that I kept him alive. Just don't let him undo that hard work."

"I will do my best," Y/N assures her.

"Call me when things settle down. We still have to get that artifact back," Layla tells Marc.

"Oh, Makkari said she would get it,” Y/N tells her. “She is really good at that."

"Alright then, guess my job is done. See you guys later." Layla waves before disappearing down one of the tunnels.

A gust of wind signals Khonshu's arrival. Isis grins, holding her hand out to Osiris. The pair of gods and their avatars joined hands and leave the three to their reunion.

"Hello, Khonshu," Y/N says. She sees how the god remains as still as a statue, as if frozen as Tiamut is now.

"Go on, bird, we know what you want to do," Marc sighs, bracing himself for the weirdness that was Khonshu taking over his body. The god didn't have to be told twice.

"Ma'at," Khonshu says, reaching out through Marc and brushing a strand of hair back that had fallen in her face when he made his wind-filled entrance. "I told the worm you were too strong a warrior to truly be gone."

"It was painful, and you did lose me for a bit, but you must have faith in the other gods, Khonshu. I know you have had your quarrels with them, but they have seen that though somewhat misguided at times, you do truly care for humanity. More importantly, a little birdy told me you took over being my justice," she grins at him. "Hard to take over something you have always been, Khonshu. You never stopped, even when I had to. Even when the others banished you for it. You were the one that, despite the sometimes less than ideal methods, always did what you could to protect the innocent and hold the guilty accountable. Though I do hear that you have leaned more into half-truths and manipulation, and my dear, dear friend, you know we cannot have that. My justice is honest and true. Now that I have returned, I expect you to be on your best behavior. Don't worry, I shall remain beside you. I will make sure you stay on this path. We shall do what we should have done before and traverse it together. The other Eternals understand. The gods of other cultures may no longer dwell on Earth, but we do. We have fought too hard for humanity to give it up now. Join me?" She holds her hand out to him but stops as he mirrors the gesture. "But, only if you four can learn to play nice. No worm, no pigeon, no lying. This won't work unless everyone agrees. Marc and Steven are onboard. Jake may take time, and yes, I am aware of your little pet project. He has every right to share in what they all have as much as Steven and Marc do. It will be something we work on. All of us, together. Can you agree to that, my friend, for me?" She offers her hand again. "I will be with you, like I am with them, for as long as time and the cosmic powers allow."

Khonshu seems to weigh his options, but it was more for dramatic effect than actual contemplation. To have the cooperation of his avatar and Ma'at back at his side, he would agree to almost anything. But he had a reputation as a god of substance that he has maintained despite banishment and imprisonment. So he sighs.

"I suppose those are acceptable terms," he says and accepts her offered hand.

"Good, because I have so many things to tell you," she smiled. "We have centuries to catch up on. And your new look is quite fearsome. I'm sure you enjoy using it to your advantage, don't you," she comments on his time-battered frame. "But I won't lie, it's oddly fitting. Gaunt, yes, but reminds me of the full moon on a clear night, powerful and looming. Watching all that passes below them."

The old god takes pride in her praise, and comments, "And you are just as fierce and majestic as always.”

"I'm just lucky both the deviant and Ikaris aimed at my torso. Hurts like hell but makes the damage easier to cover."

"I can only hope their deaths were painful," Khonshu says, his tone full of anger.

She squeezed their joined hands. "Well, Marc will have to tell you about Kro’s death. As for Ikaris, it was probably searingly painful, even if it was short and self-inflicted. The sun does not have compassion, especially that close. An arrogant coward throwing himself into the sun, seems poetic and stupid. So it's very Ikaris."

"I could think of better punishments, but at least no one has to endure his insufferable judging nature,” Khonshu admits. “Yours is the only judgment that matters."

"Always did have a soft spot for me, haven't you?" She surprises him by giving him a kiss on the cheek. "As have I. Now shall we give poor Marc a break and take our leave?"

Despite his hesitation, he agrees. After all, they have centuries to discuss, and he doesn't need his avatar for that. They also have an infinite amount of time. He and his avatar would keep her from falling to anyone or anything again. They wouldn't make the same mistake again.

The Domo

The pair, now accompanied by Khonshu, return to the rest of the Eternals. The Domo was in need of repair. Despite Phastos insisting he could handle it, they all did what they could to speed up the process. It wasn't until the Domo was back in the air and both Steven and Marc were sure all her injuries had been tended to that they got a moment to relax. Khonshu vanishes after Y/N assures him that after they rest up, she will tell him everything he wants to know and more.

"I want to meet him," Y/N says once they are secured in her quarters on the Domo. And before he could respond, she adds, "Jake, I want to meet Jake Lockely."

Marc hesitates but nods. A few moments later, an unfamiliar heart beats within a body she knew so well.

"Hello, Jake," she says. He nods but says nothing.

"You have hidden from me, but you don't need to." She tries to assure him.

"You judge criminals," He says.

"And you see yourself as one?" She asks. He remains silent. "Smart enough to not lie. Good call, but the thing is, humanity is not as black and white as Khonshu may like to think it is. Good people do bad things to protect the people they care for. Bad people can still do good. I have seen humanity grow and change for over 7,000 years. Your heart, and mind, as Druig may think, may be dark, but that is only because that is all you allow yourself to be. You stay in the shadows and only come out to do the things too hard for Marc and Steven. You protect the others. You protect the system. But that is not how things have to be. Jake Lockley, you can have as much a say as Marc and Steven do. It is as much your body as theirs. You have kept them safe for so long. Why not step out into the light and embrace the potential you have? You can free yourself from darkness, all you have to do is open yourself up to them, to us." She places a hand over his heart, ignoring how he tenses at the touch. "I can feel that you carry the burden of the system. Your heart is not evil. You are not evil. You are the guardian of the good in the system. Why not enjoy the benefits for once?" She stands there, hand against his beating heart, refusing to back down. She loved them, all of them, every broken piece. Jake was part of that. She’d prove to him that there were people he could trust. That he could trust himself. All he had to do was start by trusting her. “Khonshu already trusts you. I trust you. All I am asking is that you think about it. You don’t have to do more than you already do if that is what you want.” She moves her free hand to his wrist and places his hand over her own heart. “But I am here for you, all of you. Know you are with me, with us, mind, body, and heart. All you have to do is try.”

"I will try, mi corazón," he says.

"Good," she smiles at him.

They settle in at Ajak's farmhouse in the immediate aftermath of the failed emergence. All of them were trying to figure out what they were supposed to do now. Y/N was thrilled to meet Phastos' family. Ben was kind and caring. Jack was innocent and adorable. She wanted to just hug him and protect him from the world. A thought that Ben found funny and Phastos could relate to. Phastos found it less amusing when Y/N showed Jack the stolen artifact Makkari had retrieved for Layla and Marc.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Y/N smiles as she gently sets the decent-sized stone tablet on the kitchen table for Jack to see. She watches as he looks at the carefully carved stone surface. The hieroglyphs cut deep enough into the surface to have not been erased by time. “You can touch it if you are careful, it’s heavy and very old.”

"What does it say?" He asks as he runs his fingers along the aged stone.

"It talks of a beautiful city, a golden city, that has been buried for thousands of years until not so long ago. 3,000 years under the sands. This comes from a time when a king turned his back on all gods but one. Aten, the sun god. Though the only Sun god I know is Ra and he gave his powers to many. Amun, becoming Amun-Ra. Horus becomes Ra-Horakhty or ‘Ra-Horus in the horizon’. Even his daughters, Sekhmet, or one of my personal favorites, Hathor. She’s lovely and she would adore you. Though I’m sure most of the goddesses would. Don’t you think Steven? Especially Taweret." She turns back to Jack when Steven agrees. “I’ll have to send you one of those adorable Taweret plushes they have at the gift shop. Her hippo form just looks so adorable as a plush. My statues are all pointy and with metallic wings.”

“He’s a little old for stuffed animals,” Phastos says.

“Well, Steven will find him something more fitting, then. He’s good at that. Taweret is a protector of women and children. It seems appropriate. And unless you want my statue in his room you should just accept the lovely, bejeweled hippo goddess. And yes, I plan to spoil your son. I have a new lease on life, and I’m going to enjoy it. That and I can fly and even fast travel like in video games thanks to the temple.” Steven genuinely laughs at the idea of treating the temple like a shortcut to Chicago. He tries to ignore the anxious thought that his father wouldn’t be that far away.

“Don’t focus on that,” Marc’s reflection in the nearby kitchen window states. “We’ll deal with that when Y/N makes us because we both know she will. We’ll just put that off for as long as possible.”

So Steven shakes it off and focuses on the here and now.

“Fair enough,” Phastos admits.

"What else does it say?" Jack asks, he carefully taps at the tablet, earning a laugh from where Steven sat across the table.

"It describes the movement of a pharaoh, the father of King Tut. Have you heard of King Tut?"

"He was the boy king that like everyone knows of, right?" Jack asks.

"Yes," she nods. "The Pharaoh Tutankhamun, usually called King Tut, had an unusual father. It describes when his father, Amenhotep IV, changed his name to Akhenaten to honor the only god he found important, Aten. And he left the traditional center of power in Thebes to create a new throne in the golden city, he called Akhetaten, pretty much named after himself."

"He named it after himself?" Jack asks, shocked.

"Swapped an ‘n’ for a ‘t’ and called it good. Real rude if you ask me. I worked hard with the Ennead, just to have this guy decide the rest of us weren't important. Jokes on him though, we are still here, and the pharaohs are long gone. I don’t see him at the Temple of the Gods. Guess he backed the wrong god, didn't he?"

“Can I see the temple?” Jack asks.

"And history lesson is over," Phastos says.

“But Daaaaad, it’s educational,” Jack says as Phastos attempts to usher Jack out of the room.

"Do you even know how hot Egypt is? That temple was made thousands of years ago. You barely leave the air-conditioned house on hot summer days.” When Jack is gone Phastos turns to the Egyptian goddess. “Really, Y/N? That was the moral of that story?"

"I could have told him about the criminal-filled frozen sands of the duat. Steven knows all about those, don't you, love?" She turns to Steven.

"No, I will not tell a child about fighting zombie-type undead monsters that trap the souls of bad men in the underworld. That's too scary."

"Their scales didn’t balance. Phastos and I made those scales. But I’m sure Jack would love it. What kid his age doesn’t like zombies?" Y/N teases.

"The kind that knows the world almost ended. The kind that knows half the universe disappeared for 5 years. So, nope, not happening. How is it that the guy with a bad case of DID, no offense, Steven,” he says to Steven. Steven just shrugs, wondering where Phastos was going with his comment. Phastos continues, “Is still the best babysitting candidate here?"

"It's because he is the nurturing alter. The other two are an ex-mercenary that became Khonshu's avatar after being left for dead in the desert and a limo driver from New York that has a tendency for murder. I can see why you like the gift shop employee best."

"Y/N/N,” Phastos starts, “I love you, but you are almost as bad as Druig."

"Well, at least you still love me," she grins.

"It is a burden, but I do," Phastos jokes. "But they," he gestures to Steven. "They can keep you."

“Fine with me,” Marc’s reflection says.

"Marc agrees, that works for us," Steven says.

Phastos shakes his head but smiles. He’s happy Y/N has someone who adores her as much as Steven and Marc seem to.

#To Cry for the Moon fic #moon knight eternals crossover fic #eternals!reader #female!reader #marc spector x eternals!reader #marc spector x y/n #marc spector x female!reader #marc spector x reader #steven grant x y/n #steven grant x female!reader #steven grant x reader #eternals x reader #egyptian gods x eternals!reader #khonshu x reader #tw: mental illness #tw: mentions of death

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