#i’m literally clutching onto her at the second one bc she started to escape

[kuroosdarling]

me n my baby lmfao <3

catch us next time hehe 🕴🏼🫶🏼

[drwcn]

I loved your fem lwj take on things. How would thibgs go if WWX was the lady? Other than ppl assuming she stood up for the Wens bcs she jad feelings for WN ( and that Yuan was hers)

Heyyy friend, I think I’ve seen a couple of girl!wwx fics floating around in ao3 so i certainly won’t be the first :P.

Also I completely misread your ask initially, I thought you were asking me what I think would happen if A-Yuan was WWX’s kid, and I was like oh?? But then I realize wait... I can make it worse.  

Today, I decided that my mortal soul doesn’t matter, so here we go. Let’s see how accursed I can make this idea: 

[1]

It started with Jiang Cheng. Jiang Wanyin had set out for the Burial Mount with the explicit goal of throttling speaking with Wei Wuxian, but what greeted him at the entrance of the “Demon Subduing Palace” — more of a cave than anything really — was not his martial sister, but Wen Ning. Well, what had once been Wen Ning.

Black veins ran across his pale, ashen face, down his equally ashen neck , and into the major veins beneath his clavicles covered by the collars of his black threadbare robes. Lifeless eyes, white as his skin, stared into a void the living could not see. There were talismans littering his body, and Jiang Cheng knew that when he spoke to this fierce corpse, he was not speaking to the young Wen boy, but to his mistress who controlled him with her demonic cultivation. 

Wei Wuxian refused to face him. Refused him explanation. Refused him closure.

“Er-jie!” Jiang Cheng screamed into the stony expressionless face of Wen Qionglin. “If you continue to protect them, then I can’t protect you!!” 

There was no response. 

Suddenly, just as Jiang Cheng was about to kick and fight his way into the cave, Wen Ning thrusted out his right fist, and in his grasp was a piece of purple silk. Jiang Cheng unfolded the silk, vaguely recognizing that it had been cut from someone’s robe, and saw what was wrapped within was a slip of parchment.

割袍断义*, the paper read. Tell the world that I, Wei Wuxian, first disciple of Yunmeng Jiang has forever defected (Note: 割袍断义- to rip one's robe as a sign of repudiating a sworn brotherhood (idiom)).

With this, there was nothing left to say. Hurt and furious, Jiang Wanyin threw the piece of parchment onto the dirt ground, grinded his heel down on it, and left the Burial Mount without ever having drawn Sandu. 

Inside the cave, Wen Qing held Wei Wuxian’s hand. “Why won’t you just tell him? He’s your brother; he can help you, you can —” 

Wei Wuxian’s mile long stare seemed to be gazing at something — someone — very far away. Slowly, she placed her other palm over her belly, which horrifically was already starting to round out. “Nobody can help me now, Qing-jie.”

“I can,” said Wen Qing, blunt as ever. “I can make it go away, if you want.”

“No.” A droplet of tear escaped pass long lashes. “No.” 

[2] 

It continued with Jiang Cheng.

On a snowy night, the first winter after Wei Wuxian escaped with the Wen remnants to the Burial Mount, Jiang Cheng was rudely awakened from his slumber by a less-than-stealthy intruder breaking and entering into his bed chamber.

Zidian whipped through the air, lighting the room with her eerie violet glow, before the intruder could think to take one more step. It was a man, judging from his silhouette colliding against the wall and the pained groan he made in response. The very next second, the tail of Zidian coiled tightly around his neck and dragged him across the floor towards beneath Jiang Cheng’s waiting foot. 

The Sect Master of Yunmeng Jiang summoned Sandu, ready to deliver the final strike, but just as his blade sailed towards the intruder’s chest, a pale arm jutted upwards, blocking Sandu’s descent and revealing a pale hand holding a … a... 

Even in the dark, Jiang Cheng immediately recognized the mahogany comb. 

“Jiang — ! Zongzhu —!” The man croaked out urgently, throat still stomped on by Jiang Cheng’s foot. It was - it was Wen Ning?!

Jiang Cheng looked him over. He was pale, yes, but his eyes appeared human. His hair was brushed and haphazardly done up in a farmer’s top knot. He was wearing farmer’s clothing too, probably more inconspicuous for travel than his Ghost General getup.  

“Jiang-zongzhu! P—please!!”

No, impossible. 

“Wei — Wei-guniang—”

Jiang Cheng lifted his foot and dragged Wen Ning up in a split second. “What’s wrong with Wei Wuxian?!”  Wen Ning coughed and shook his head desperately. “No time to explain. My sister asked me to fetch you. Please, you have to come! Wei-guniang’s life is in danger! If you won’t come, I’ll...I’ll have to go to Gusu, and I don’t know if - if -” 

Jiang Cheng followed Wen Ning. 

For speed, they travelled by sword, but even so, dawn was breaking by the time they arrived. The crowd of Burial Mount’s villagers huddling anxiously outside of the Demon Subduing Palace parted for them upon their arrival. Jiang Cheng took a moment to gather himself and square his shoulders. Whatever it was; he was ready.  

He was wrong. None of the dozens of scenario he had agonized over on the flight here could have prepared him for what awaited him inside. 

Wen Qing, pale and drenched in sweat, was near complete spiritual collapse, and without Wen Qing’s spiritual energy sustaining her, the single tenuous thread by which Wei Wuxian’s life hung on would have undoubtedly snapped under the toil and devastation her body had been put through. 

There was so much blood, so, so much blood everywhere, and amidst the blood, there was a baby. 

Fuck. 

Jiang Cheng transfused his sister half of his total spiritual reserve over the course of a day, while an exhausted but unrelenting Wen Qing worked diligently under blood-soaked sheets. 

Then at dusk, when the storm finally passed, Jiang Cheng sat at the mouth of the cave with a tiny, perfect little human — a girl, a niece! —  in his arms and cursed Lan Wangji’s name. 

Wen Qing was extremely clear with them: 孩子要是留在这里，养不活。

If the newborn was left to be raised at the Burial Mount, she would not live. And so, because parting was inevitable from the start, Wei Wuxian adamantly refused to hold or nurse the child. Her child. 

I can’t. If I do, I won’t be able to let her go. Those dark eyes burned with more than just the delirium of her childbed fever. For once, Jiang Cheng could not find it in himself to argue.

Thus, he took his niece home and named her Jiang Yan 江曕. The name was not his doing. His foolish, misguided, stubborn sister had stroked her daughter’s soft, baby cheek and whispered it to her as a farewell gift. 

Yan - to be bathed in daylight. In the end, when given a choice, Wei Wuxian still opted for her child to walk on broad sunny road. 

It made Jiang Cheng wonder why, then, she would choose the dark twisted path for herself instead. 

[3] 

It ended with Jiang Cheng. 

The truth was simple: Jiang Wanyin killed his shijie Wei Wuxian. He did. He meant to. 

He killed her. But that did not mean he wanted her dead. 

In one day, he had lost both of his sisters, leaving two orphans in their wake. Jiang Cheng could not ignore the cruel irony of their fate: one’s father murdered by his aunt, and other’s mother murdered by her uncle. 

This was the kind of tragedy fairytales were made of, and if there were anything left in him to shed tears over it, he would.  Standing amongst Nevernight’s carnage, he could not dredge up even a single drop of tear.  

Jiang Cheng didn’t know how he could return home to Lotus Pier to face that cherub face, always so happy, so sweet, so utterly untainted by the world. She had her mother’s smile. Yan'er was starting to learn how to speak. Her first words were da-da. 

Da-da. Die-die. Father. 

He was standing beside her father now. 

Lan Wangji. Devastated. Destroyed. …Deceived.

Jiang Cheng hated him so much, so fucking much that for one insane second, he thought about telling Lan Wangji the truth just to see what would happen. Maybe he would run Jiang Cheng through with his Bichen - that would be a relief now, wouldn’t it? - or maybe he would jump after Wei Wuxian. 

Truly, if he knew, he would. Jump, that is. Jiang Cheng was almost entirely sure. Oh the utter melodrama that would inspire indeed!  

But then... 

Wei Ying birthed you a daughter, a lovely, perfect, blessed little girl, and she carried that secret to her grave. I may be damned by my actions, but you, who have done nothing for her and taken everything, why should you deserve something as sacred as the truth?

Jiang Cheng turned away. 

He was acutely aware that one day Jiang Yan may very well be the literal death of him. After all — 杀母之仇不共戴天 — one cannot tolerate living under the same sky as the murderer of one’s mother. 

Be that as it may, he would raise Jiang Yan well, just as he promised. Unlike his sister, he would not break his word. Jiang Yan was of Lotus Pier, of Yunmeng, like her mother and grandfather before her. That for him, was enough. 

Jiang Cheng clutched Sandu and gripped Zidian. Whatever his fate, he already made peace with it, and the rest was inconsequential. 

One day, he may die, but today he lives, and so as long as he lives, Jiang Yan and all of Yunmeng Jiang will be protected . So as long as he lives, they will flourish. 

[...and in between]

On the streets of Yiling, Lan Wangji tilted his head inquisitively at Wei Wuxian and the little boy at her side and asked, “This child, he...” 

In response, Wei Wuxian patted her chest in a self-declarative kind of way and announced, “Oh this child, I birthed him!” 

He stared at her in shell-shocked silence, his mind racing with panicked thoughts of but that’s impossible — that was just once — even if — the boy is too old to be —

“怎么，蓝湛，不要我们娘儿俩了？” What, Lan Zhan, you don’t want the child and I?

“Wei— Wei Ying—” 

Then of course, she had laughed, and Lan Wangji thought no more of it. 

Just a joke. A silly joke. 

In time, he would come to realize his mistake. 

~~~

[A/N]: I’m not even a little bit sorry. 

[lilyswritings]

Waitress

author’s note: So yeah, I’m in love with Frank Castle and this has been in my drafts for ACTUAL years. I kinda don’t care if this doesn’t get much love, as this was the first ever reader-insert piece I ever wrote, and I still love it. (Note: though I wrote this literally years ago, I have edited it thoroughly, bc my writing was TERRIBLE. So, yeah...)  Without further ado, please enjoy! (I know I did!)

summary: You’re a waitress at a small diner in Hell’s Kitchen - have been for a while now, as it is the only job you can seem to find. The same faces appear over and over, so when a new one catches your eye you take a particular interest in him and he in you - unbeknownst to you, a turn of events will solidify that interest entirely, changing your life forever.

word count: 2,438 (it’s a longer one!)

Frank Castle x Reader

   “Y/N, honey, you have to actually go out there at some point.” Your co-worker Jen says, her lips curling into a sympathetic smile. You groan, rubbing at your eyes and slipping on your white apron. You had been stupid enough to stay up most of last night reading, which meant you barely slept two hours before you had to come for your shift at the diner.

   "Yeah yeah.” You grumble, causing the blonde woman to chuckle and pass you your notepad and pen. 

   “Now go.” She orders, spinning you around by the arm and pushing you from the back, and you begrudgingly exit the small store room and enter the diner. It’s not very busy, the clock having barely reached 7 o’clock in the morning, but the booths are still taken by a few businessmen, and the counter stools are almost all filled by people itching to get their caffeine fix and be out of there in time to rush off somewhere else. 

   You sigh, grabbing the coffee pot, and do your usual rounds, refilling cups here and there, chatting to some of the regulars, but mostly milling behind the counter with your book, eyes darting from the page to the door to make sure you don’t ignore any customers.

   Finally, the clock reaches 10 o’clock, signalling the three hour mark. Jen waves to you as she leaves to get some rest, since she always takes the late night shift. The frequent coffee breaks have helped you wake up, but you still have two neverending hours to go before you get off for your lunch break. 

   The diner is mostly empty, only two or three tables filling up, meaning you have some free time before one of them calls your name or asks for the bill. You set the coffee to brew, picking up the tattered novel and flipping back over to your page, getting lost in the words. You don’t even hear another customer come in, sit at the bar or cough to get your attention.

   Finally, they clear their throat very loudly, causing you to jump slightly. You dart up, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, and hastily shove the book under the counter and turn to face him. 

   “What can I get for you?” You ask, taking in the man’s rugged features and shady black clothing - including a tugged down baseball cap, ‘hiding’ a nasty black eye. 

   “Just a coffee. Black. Please.” He says, his voice gruff, and you raise an eyebrow but nod, eyes falling from his face to the heavy black coat and the black shirt underneath.

   “Sure thing.” You mutter, turning to the coffee machine and pouring a cup, setting it out in front of him.

   You turn around just as he speaks again. “Sylvia Plath, huh?” Your eyes narrow as you spin around. 

   “Sorry?” You ask, startled, and he shrugs. 

   “You don’t seem like a ‘Bell Jar’ kinda girl, ‘s all.” You shrug in return, taken aback by the fact he is starting a conversation with you - albeit, an odd conversation, but anything to pass the time.

   “It was a gift.” You say nonchalantly, turning to put the coffee pot back and lean on the counter to face him. “My sister thought it would be interesting because I moved to the city.”

   He nods, a small smile tugging at his lips and you narrow your eyes. “C’mon, I don’t look that uneducated, do I?” You ask, and he shakes his head quickly.

   “Nothin’ like that. Just- has your sister read it?” He asks, and you shake your head. “Right... Well, try not to relate too much to it.”

   “Oh, so you’ve read it?” You ask, a tiny chuckle following your question, and he tilts his head. 

   “I don’t look that uneducated, do I?” He mimics your words from earlier and you laugh genuinely, leaning your elbows onto the cool surface of the counter. 

   “Guess not, ...” You trail off, raising a brow.

   “Frank.” He fills in, then you watch his eyebrows tug together and his eyes dart down as he seems to question himself for telling you. 

   “I’m Y/N.” You say, and he nods slowly. “Nice to meet you, Frank. So,-” You gesture to his face. “What did you do, get mugged or-” Your question is cut off and when you glance towards the door, you notice a biker-looking man surveying the diner, and sigh. “I’ll be right back, Frank.” 

   You slip out from the counter, grabbing your notepad, and stand in front of the man. “You can seat yourself, sir.” You say, met with silence as his eyes barely glance over you. You turn around to check for an available booth, but when you turn to face him again something’s changed.

   The world seems to slow to a stop as you take in the gun he holds in front of him, pointed directly at your forehead. “Everyone on their knees, now!” He shouts, and you realize that this is a robbery. 

   “I said NOW!” He says, aiming upwards and firing into the ceiling. You drop the notepad to the ground, eyes wide, and shakily start to lower yourself to your knees when he grabs your wrist. “Not you, darlin’.” The man says, and before you even get the chance to yank your arm away or scream, he spins you around and holds his forearm to your throat, his other hand pointing the gun at your head. 

   “Funny seeing you here, Punisher.” He spits the name out, and you look up to find Frank with a gun pointed at your assailant. Frank, who was talking to you about ‘The Bell Jar’ not five minutes ago. You gulp, your hands coming up to clutch at the arm across your windpipe. 

   You’ve heard about the Punisher - who hasn’t? The horrible killer that roams the streets, acting as he pleases and killing whomever he wants. Of course, you’ve always been less inclined to be scared of him - he only kills the criminals, the lowest of the lows, the sex traffickers and the murderers - but despite your lack of fear, he is now aiming a gun a few inches above you, and aiming at someone who could kill you at any second. 

   The Punisher shifts his pose slightly, eyes flicking down to you and then back up at the man. “This has nothing to do with these people. Let ‘em go.” He says, referring to the terrified customers still crouched on the floor. And you, of course. 

   The man chuckles, a low, raspy laugh, that you can feel reverberating in your back, and it makes you shudder. “What, so you can shoot me to pieces once I’m on my own? Not a chance.” He growls, in a distinctly Irish accent, you notice. 

   “Oh my god, I’m going to die” runs through your head, and you find yourself thinking about Jen and her kind, round face - probably at home, asleep, out of harm’s way. At least one good thing came of her leaving you on your own - it’ll probably be one less casualty. 

   Your mind is pulled back into reality as you feel yourself being dragged backwards, towards the storeroom, and you begin to struggle, your nails digging into his forearm. He winces, but shoves the steel end of the gun into your temple, and you loosen your grip. 

   He stops just short of the storeroom door, right behind the cash register, and releases his grip ever-so-slightly. “Get on with it.” He growls, and your eyes dart back over to Frank. His eyes meet yours and you swallow thickly, before your assailant shoves the gun into your temple again and tightens his grip on your windpipe. “I said, get on with it!” 

   You nod, reaching forwards to open the register, making eye contact with the Punisher again. You glance at the register, then back at him, before taking a deep breath. “I can’t- I can’t reach the last few keys.” You say, letting the wobble of fear show through your words, and the man growls in annoyance, before actually releasing your neck.

   In a flash, you duck down, falling to the floor and shoving yourself under the counter. Your head smacks against the ledge as you go, but it’s the least of your worries as a gunshot rings out, deafeningly loud, and then another and another, and suddenly the robber drops down to the floor in front of you. 

   A startled scream escapes you at the vacant eyes staring at you, before you notice the blood beginning to pool under him- and touching the hem of your apron and the tips of your fingers as it stretches towards you. Frantically, you scramble out from under the counter, taking a deep breath as your back hits the glass display case. 

   Your eyes survey the diner and find it empty, save for the Punisher. “You alright, Ma’am?” Frank asks, eyes glancing over you, and you actually find a hysterical laugh bubbling over your lips.

   “I guess so.” You manage, staring down at the blood creeping over the white and black tiles of the diner floor. “I think I’m gonna go home.” You say aloud, to no one in particular, before wiping the blood from your fingers onto your apron, tugging it off and leaving it on the counter in a heap.

   Just as you begin to pass the body, a thought occurs to you, and you reach down to tug your book out from under the counter. “Hold on a minute-” Frank says, reaching out as you start to pass him, but when you actively shrink back from his touch he retreats his hand. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to just- This mighta been a gang thing. There might be more men outside.”

   You start to nod, but find yourself stopping as the shock begins to wear off and a throbbing, white hot pain expands from the back of your skull. When you reach up to touch it, a wince escapes your lips, and your finger comes away red. “Huh.” You say, and make eye contact with Frank again.

   “You should go to a hospital.” He says, and you sigh.

   “And pay with what?” You say, and his brows furrow. “I’m a waitress at a diner, and I just bought a shithole of an apartment. I got maybe $12 in my bank account. If I’m lucky.” 

   Frank watches you for a moment, seemingly assessing you, before sighing. “I could fix that for you.” You raise an eyebrow, and he sighs and rubs his head with his hand, obviously unsure of himself. “Look, if I hadn’t been here he wouldn’t have had to grab you.” He explains, and you raise an eyebrow. 

   Taking in his all black outfit and the bruise peeking out from his shirt that you hadn’t noticed before, you can’t help but let the rational part of your brain tell you that it isn’t a good idea.

   Unfortunately, by the time that thought solidifies, the windows of the diner shatter inwards as gunshot sprays towards you. Frank dives - dives - on top of you, sliding the both of you back behind the counter, releasing his grip as you scramble back from the dead body that sits a few feet away from you.  

   Blinking the white edging out of your vision, you register the concern on his face, and as another few rounds of bullets fly over your heads and embed themselves into the wall behind you, all the newspaper headlines warning you not to let this vigilante take you to his apartment fly out of your head.

   “That, uh, actually seems like a good idea.” You mutter, eyes wide with fear as he pushes you towards the storeroom. 

   A string of colorful cursing makes you turn sharply, and when you find his eyes trained on the growing spot of red on the outside of your bicep, all you can do is mutter, “Oh.” 

   “Come on. I’ve got a- there’s a black van, just next to the dumpsters outside. Is there a back exit?” He asks, and though you’re still staring at your arm, you manage to nod dumbly. 

   “There’s a fire exit.” You shake yourself out of your stupor, shakily pushing yourself up into a crouch and pushing through the store room door, gesturing for Frank to follow.

   Once inside, the two of you rush to the door and you pause, hand over the lever. “Once I push, the fire alarm’s gonna go off.” You state, and Frank raises his eyebrows. 

   “So push.” 

   You nod, shoving down the door handle and sprinting towards the only car - the black van - you can see, as Frank throws open the driver’s side door as you slide into the passenger’s seat. 

   He tears out of the alley behind the diner, and you cast one last sad glance at the shattered window panes before Frank turns the van sharply, onto another street. 

   “You alright?” He asks, genuinely, turning to glance at you, and you nod, pushing the strands of hair off your sweaty forehead. The thought only suddenly occurring to you, you roll the sleeve of your white shirt up, just over your shoulder, and stare at the wound.

   “Huh.” You say, and Frank looks over at you, brow furrowed over his eyes. 

   “What? Shit, did the bullet go clean through?” He asks, and you wave him off, realizing he can’t see your side. 

    “Just grazed me,” You say, watching hesitantly as he slumps with relief beside you. “But I appreciate the concern, stranger.” 

   His eyebrows go up now, wrinkling the mottled purples and yellows that form the bruise above his brown eyes- “Wait, why am I noticing his eye color” - before he laughs, actually laughs. 

    “But you’re still in a van with me, heading to a strange man’s place.” Frank says in disbelief, and you shrug.

   “What can I say, I think my decision making has been a bit skewed since I almost got shot in the temple, don’t you think?” Your words have an odd bite to them that you hadn’t intended, and when you slump in your seat, Frank’s hand touches your forearm very briefly, before he focuses on the road so hard he looks like he’s in pain.

   “It’ll be okay.” Frank says - rather, he states - and though you have a hard time believing that, sitting in a vigilante’s car after a gang tried to kill you, you find yourself oddly comforted by his gruff affirmation.

   “I guess we’ll find out.” You mutter, focusing on the brick buildings around you.

[clnriswood]

KAI PARKER X READER

Fragile

request: heyy I really like your writting and I was wondering if you could write a imagine where kai cheats on the reader with bonnie, the reader starts to act weird and everyone thinks its bc of the break up but the truth is she is sick (eating desorder bc she is human) bonnie is mean towards her at the salvatore house and she just yell that she is sick and everyone feels bad for her including kai :) sorry if it is too confusing.

gif cred @mattmoredick

x

Her back was to the door, head buried in her knees, hair water-falling over her closed eyes as she took in shaky breaths. She wore a baggy navy sweater and ripped black jeans, and a hard pang seemed to take over her whole body, like a constant throbbing, dull, ache. She tilted her head up against the oak frame, chewing at her lower lip, thoughts swarming around her head like a thousand rampant bees.

“Hello?!” Caroline chimed from the other side of the wall, making her jump in surprise. “(Y/N), you okay? You coming?”

“Uh, yeah, fine,” she cleared her throat, groaning lightly as she pulled herself from the floor and to her feet, fingers trembling as she pulled open the silver knob.

“Everyone’s here,” Caroline smiled politely when she saw her, “we can walk together.”

The girl nodded, ignoring the way Caroline spoke with her underlying sense of pity for her, something most had taken to doing recently. Their knuckles brushed lightly against each other as they stepped across the dark floors, dark boots clacking and filling the silent corridor with noise. Before they entered the lounge, Care gave her a faint squeeze to her arm, and then they walked in together.

“Hey,” she said, eyes darting over the crackling fireplace, and thick red carpets which were sat upon by Stefan, Damon, Elena, Matt, Bonnie, and…

Her gaze fell upon the boy with his hands curled in his lap, legs crossed, head lifting when she entered, those blue eyes looking just as ashamed as they had the first time she heard the news.

“One week without being attacked by vampires, wolves, witches, ghosts, or whatever hell beast this town has seen, come celebrate!” Elena said cheerfully with a big smile.

“New record,” she laughed lightly, strolling to the table and sinking down beside Stefan and Matt.

The golden red flames sent shadows over their faces as Damon approached them carrying just a couple of his many bottles of alcohol with an eager wink.

“What shall it be?” Matt said, sliding an elegant glass to the girl.

“Oh, nothing, thanks,” she tried.

“You sure?” he raised a brow.

She gave a nod, and Matt glanced at her suspiciously. He seemed to know her feeling more than anyone, the one of being the only human in the group, a human who’d been thrown into this whole messy world of the impossible, which means he did well with looking after her, even though they all did.

“We should drink once for every supernatural monster we’ve faced,” Elena chuckled as she stole Damon’s glass with a giggle.

“That would be one hell of a list, we’d be drunk in two minutes,” Damon said, taking his drink back with a playful shove.

“My particular favorite would have to be literal Satan,” Stefan chimed in with a twitch of his lips, making them all laugh.

“Yeah but those witches have to be the most annoying, am I right (Y/N)?” Kai said sarcastically, eagerly trying to pull a smile from her lips.

“You couldn’t be more right,” she said, her voice lowering seriously, brows knitting in clear unamusement

Kai’s face fell, and he gave a little awkward clear of his throat.

Bonnie, who sat beside him, shot the girl a glare, her dark curls framing her aggravated face.

“Don’t listen to that,” Bonnie soothed.

‘Oh, so I’m a ‘that’ now, am I?’ the girl thought to herself as she toyed with a loose string on her sweater.

“I don’t need you to defend me,” Kai hissed back, which made her feel only a little better.

She felt a hand touch her back, so she raised her eyes to the vampire who sat next to her. His glimmering gaze stared forward, arm lowered beneath the edge of the table so nobody could see. His palm pressed to her back, and he rubbed his thumb against her with the smallest tilt of his head that told her he was there for her.

“Thanks,” she whispered barely audibly, but she knew Stefan could hear her.

It had been a couple weeks since her whole world had come crashing down on her. Malachai Parker, the person who she’d loved with every particle of her being, who she would do anything for, who had promised to fight for her like she would for him, had crushed her beating heart into shattered fragments in a matter of seconds. She didn’t know where she went wrong, what made him do it, but apparently she wasn’t good enough, but Bonnie Bennet happened to be. She could remember it so vividly, the utter regret in his face when he cried to her, the tears that flowed down his pale and sunken face.

“I’m s-so sorry, I wanted you to hear it from me first, because after what I’ve done, the least I can do is be honest with you…”

Her eyes had glazed over, the rest of his muffled pleas for forgiveness sounding like they were coming from underwater. She hadn’t cried, not in front of him at least, because she wanted to seem like she wasn’t hurting, like the person who gave her will to live hadn’t just set her spiraling and gasping for oxygen. But he had.

“Food’s ready!” Caroline skipped into the room, vamp speeding around and filling the table with colorful delicacies of her homemade cookies, casserole, potatoes, macaroni, and various other things.

The aroma filled the whole room up, and while the mystic falls gang dove into the food like rabid animals, the girl clutched at her stomach, instantly feeling sick from the sight before her and the smell that filled her lungs. Everyone stacked the goods onto shiny silver plates and filled the room with chatter, but she just couldn’t bring herself to touch the food. Her eyes flickered over and caught to the forlorn looking heretic’s bright blue ones. He stared at the plates and then back at her, and repeated this look a couple times before the realization dawned on him. He knew her, he knew her so well that there was no doubt in his mind she had no intention of eating.

“Hungry?” Elena nudged the girl out of her daze and picked up a plate.

“I’m fine,” she responded with a forced smile.

“C’mon, you’ve barely touched any of this stuff all day,” Elena cooed.

“I’m fine,” she smiled.

She hadn’t touched any of that stuff all day, not really all week either, not really all month, but nobody seemed to notice, not except-

“You should eat,” Kai soothed quietly, like his whole life depended on her doing so.

“I said I’m fine,” she fired back softly.

Kai’s head sunk, “that’s what you always say.”

“Excuse me?” she flared.

“Am I lying?”

“Shut up, Malachai.”

He grimaced, face scrunching at the word, one she only used when she was really upset, ‘Malachai.’

The group were starting to notice the quiet feud between the two, Bonnie looking especially displeased, to which Kai muttered softly, “may I talk to you a minute?”

She didn’t want to, but not doing so would risk Kai opening his mouth too much, so she gave a long sigh and purse of her lips, “outside.”

Bonnie opened her mouth, then decided better, the two brushing past the now quiet group and into the empty corridor.

“What?” she snapped the second she turned to face Kai.

He was wearing a ripped jean jacket over a black tee, brown locks pushed smoothly atop his forehead, his arms folding.

“That’s all you have to say?” Kai said.

“What do you want me to say?” she swallowed the lump in her throat and diverted her gaze from his.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed, I’m not stupid. It’s gotten worse, and you always wear those sweaters so nobody will notice,” he said, sounding genuinely hurt.

When she didn’t respond, he raised his fingertips to her arm, his silver rings gliding over her flesh and raising goosebumps.

“Don’t,” she muttered, pushing his hand away.

He shook his head, “please.”

“Why would you care anyway?” she looked back at his sad blue eyes.

“Stop doing that,” he begged softly.

“Doing what?”

“Isolating me, talking about me like everything we had together before just vanished when I…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath. “I made a mistake, okay?” he said, voice breaking as a tear rolled down his cheek. “And I’ll hate myself for that forever, just like I’ll love you forever.”

Her heart raced, jaw set as she trembled lightly beneath his gaze.

“But even though I fucked up and lost what was most important to me, whether you ever forgive me or not, I need to know you’re alive. And at the rate you’re going at, it won’t be too much longer,” he wept quietly. “So please, I’m not asking this for myself, but I could never handle it if I just stood back and let it happen, you need to take care of this, and I want to help you, (Y/N). I already lost you once, I don’t think I could do it again.”

He brushed her cheek lightly, the contact making her shiver, his expression softening, “I’m begging you.”

She wiped roughly at the tear that had escaped her eyes, giving a loud sniff and tiny nod, “okay.”

And she didn’t stop him when he pulled her into a hug, she nuzzled into his neck, his hands sliding into her hair and holding her to him like she would sink if he let go. His familiar and warm scent embraced her, and she didn’t try to stop when she cried this time.

“I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered, pulling away, her eyes red.

“Can I?” he started.

She lifted the edge of her sweater, and Kai’s face dropped, his breath coming suddenly heavy when he saw her underfed front and her ribs that stuck out. He’d seen this before, but never like this, never to this point, and it strung a chord within him. 

“I’m gonna help you get through this, I promise,” he squeezed her hand, his eyes wet.

“I can’t do this alone.”

“You won’t.”

. . .

After enough time had passed that they’d regained their composure, they gave a nod and entered the room together again. The group was a little tipsy, huddled before the fading orange embers, their bellies bubbly with alcohol and food.

“You’re back,” Damon gave a faint smile, “done clawing at each other’s throats?”

“Think so,” she smiled faintly.

“Shame, I’m gonna miss the reserved and mopey act,” Bonnie grumbled.

“What?” the girl laughed nervously, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I said,” Bonnie started, “you’re little heart broken facade to get everyone to take pity on you because of Kai.”

Her heart sank, cheeks flaring red as her fists balled tightly at her sides.

Kai brushed his fingertips lightly against her hands, “breathe.”

So she did.

“Nothing to say?” Bonnie snapped, “now you choose to be quiet?”

“Please, stop,” the girl hissed through gritted teeth.

“Why? You and Kai suddenly go back to the way it was bef-”

“She said stop,” Kai warned, his eyes darkening and voice dropping the way it always did before he snapped someone’s neck.

“There’s more to it than you know, okay?” the girl stammered softly.

“I’m pretty sure I already know everything there is to it, thanks,” Bonnie said.

Stefan, Damon, and the others all watched in silence, though none of them seemed keen on aiding Bon, in fact any one of them looked just about ready to snap a neck or two.

“Can we just stop talking about this?” she begged.

“Sure, until the next time Kai does something stupid and breaks you all over again,” she challenged, her jaw set.

“I’m going to say it,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to,” Kai squeezed her palm gently, Bonnie’s eyes catching the gesture.

“Say what?” she snapped. “Do i-”

“I’m sick.”

The whole room went dead silent aside from the crackling fire which chewed hungrily at the burnt logs.

“What?” Caroline breathed in shock.

“I’m sick, okay? I can’t eat, or when I do, I can’t keep it down. I’ve been in so much pain recently but I didn’t want to drag anyone into my own mess so I just didn’t say anything,” she rambled, turning to Bonnie, “is that what you wanted to hear? That I was in the hospital the other week, or that I have no energy and yet I’m doing this to myself?!”

“(Y/N),” Bonnie said softly, instantly feeling ashamed of herself.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this before….” she trailed off, eyes falling to the soft red carpet.

“I’m going to help her,” Kai said.

Everyone stared blankly at them, then, after a moment of silence.

“Me too.”

Caroline had piped up softly.

“Me too,” Stefan said.

“And me,” Elena chimed.

“All of us,” Matt nodded.

“Guys, it’s okay,” she reassured.

“No it’s not,” Elena murmured, “we’ve been so focused on everything happening in our lives and in Mystic Falls that we were letting this happen.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“And it’s not yours either,” Matt soothed.

Bonnie stood, her lower lip trembling  “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things, I’m so so sorry. Not just for this, for everything. I was so angry at myself that I was trying to project my shame onto you, when I should’ve been there for you instead.”

The girl nodded, “it’s okay, why not forgive two people today?”

“(Y/N),” Bonnie said.

“I want my best friend back, Bon.”

“Me too,” she smiled weakly.

She felt Kai’s rings brush her hand, and then his fingers were laced through hers, comforting and familiar like she’d remembered. Then he brushed his thumb over her skin, his blue eyes feeling like home when he looked at her, and suddenly she wasn’t so scared.

[sequoiann]

❧ y.jh | assassin!au

pairing; seventeen jeonghan x reader

genre; bulletpointed, assassin!jeonghan, fluff, mentions of blood

collab with; @kpop–fics

notes; @lunarjihoon here’s the assassin au for jeonghan !! i got noticed by you omg ///honored honored honored i luv you lots too bb !!!

jeonghan,,, 

the trickster of the team 

like, he could fool around with everybody  

and some people get annoyed sometimes like jEoNghAn be serious for once

but! 

the pros of jeonghan being a lying ass

he! is! experienced! as hell !!!

like he can tell who is lying lol

and can see through everyone’s telltales

like some members could be lying about,,, anything 

he WILL detect lies 

there was once

his team had accepted a new member who was really good at barehanded fighting

and they almost sent that new member for a major mission thingy bc he really wanted to do it ?? for some odd reason ??

but jeonghan just whacked that guy’s ass out of the team bc he found out that he was a spy from another rival’s team

and jeonghan instantly became recognized as an ace member of the team

ok so

one time

both you & jeonghan were dispatched to the same mission

and you are aware that you were going to have to go against him

since his bunch of men weren’t the most… secretive ones 

their security on their mission plans aren’t very well protected, you would say

that was the reason your boss sent you out tbh

your boss knew that you would be able to get the job done

so basically

you just,,,

snitched the documents while jeonghan was sneaking around and looking for the exact same ones you got HAHAHA

and he was about to freaking shoot you bc oh my god how dare you ???? go against ??? the almighty ????? yoon jeonghan ???? mE ????

but you were fast

like really fast

like really really really fast

that was your specialty

fast and swift and stealthy!!

you disappeared really quick with the documents and jeonghan later got blamed for not succeeding in the mission 

oops?

so jeonghan’s preeetty damn pissed @ you lmao

and ever since that plot-twisting, history-changing, tables-turning event

jeonghan became vvv determined to accomplish more missions to make up for the mistake 

it wasn’t really his fault but he was just

sO fiLLED wiTH vEnGeAnCE

so his boss was glad ofc

like ha i mean

jeonghan voluntarily completing tasks?

definitely not something that was common : )

and so, jeonghan was put on the mission to steal a blueprint that another company possessed 

by coincidence, you had to too

your company really needed those blueprints so off you go !!

it was not an easy start tho

you were still working with snipers from the damn stone age 

like,,, 

you were pretty sure the thing was about to fall apart 

you got so frustrated bc thispieceofshitwasmakingsomuchclankingnoises

you were pretty sure you looked ,,,,, kinda ,,,,,,, suspicious ,,,,,

so you dumped that shit aside 

you still had mini hand gun hidden on you so all’s safe yo

you entered the building disguised as a janitor 

you tied & locked the real janitor up in the storeroom aha

the collection of uniforms you have as an assassin was no joke tbh

but hey

who knew janitors could get in everywhere without being questioned

everyone just side glances you 

and at the corner of your eyes 

you saw another janitor 

and a million question marks just erupted from your confused head bc ????? i just locked you up ????? wha ???

you were afraid to get recognized so you quickly hid 

and apparently the other one hid too 

??

why would she

you stare at her for a while and you ,,, realize ,,,

!!!! IT’S A HIM NOT A HER

WHAT’S HAPPENING

THERE’S ONLY ONE JANITOR IN THE BUILDING??

ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION

ok no that’s not happening

you’re y/n

the strong, independent woman

but you were still confused

but when that male janitor raised his head to look at you

!!!

“SHIT” 

and you literally flew to the office 

cause you realized you had competition

it was the same guy as before oh lorD why you do dis to me

jeonghan ran too, although he didn’t recognize you yet

and he ran obnoxiously loud.

like wtf jeonghan are you an assassin or a freaking rubbish truck

you were so scared you were gonna get caught before you got there

but you managed to get to the white, bulletproof glass office first and you slammed the damn door in his face and locked it

jeonghan knew it wouldn’t be of use to shoot the glass so he didn’t, and just disappeared elsewhere

you didn’t know where and didn’t have time to care

your janitor cap was over your head and covering your face well so good job, janitor costume!

a guard was in the room obviously ,,, and he was much bigger in size than you were

but no one would leave the blueprint alone

it’s safeguarded 24/7

so he punched you square in the face,,, even though you had tried to defend yourself 

you thought your nose caved in oh my god

you quickly retrieved yourself and pulled out your gun, shooting him twice in both his knees

he fell and groaned and screamed and blood was just everywhere

i mean, it was a common sight to you. 

he pulled out his walkie-talkie and mumbled a few unclear words of “the office, i need backup!” 

but you snatched the walkie-talkie out of his hands and stomped on it

and it lost connection

you quickly found the blueprints which were in a locked safe

and the guard had the key dangling from his pocket so 

you just,,,, took it 

and your face was throbbing from the punch tht you received and you were aware that you were bleeding

and just at this moment, jeonghan jumps in through the window

you clutch the file of blueprints and try to leave through where you came from

but jeonghan just pulls you back from your collar and when you jerked back,, yoUR CAP FELL

you come face to face with jeonghan before you could comprehend what just happened

and you two just stared at each other for a few seconds 

.

.

.

“IT’S YOU”

“NO IT’S NOT WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT” 

jeonghan literally grabs your arm and twISTS it professionally and you yelped & dropped the fuckin file bc IT HURTS BRO

he picks it up with his free hand while is other hand was still holding your hand in its half-twisted position

and you kick him in his stomach but he wasn’t really affected by it

but you manage to untwist your arm and twist HIS arm 

and you were pretty strong so you two just

fight.

like really.

and you won. 

you pulled a whole bookshelf down onto him and escaped

jeonghan was delayed so !!! 

but he alive don’t worry

but the next few weeks 

no matter which mission you had accepted or been tasked to do

from taking out the major of a city to stealing a jar of nutella 

he would be there 

competing to be faster 

like honey i’m not letting those two incidents juSt enD thErE

yes this man holds grudges

so! 

in the span of one month 

you had gotten used to his company 

everywhere you were, 

he’d be there. 

watching. 

and then attempting to fuckin’ murder you.

ok not really but ya’know.

but,,, 

this day, he wasn’t there 

and that made you subconsciously sad

you mentally chided yourself like

get yourself tgt, y/n. he’s your rival what are u doing 

but he really wasn’t there

he didn’t appear for the next 6 missions or so

and you got worried.

like genuinely worried. 

and you oddly started failing more missions that you did before like you couldn’t focus omgfdskjhl

you did better even with jeonghan competing with you wtf

you got scolded a lot by your team but that didn’t really matter to you.

so this once

you were on a usual mission in the middle of the night

AND YOU GOT BEATEN UP REAL BAD BY THE GUARDS

you would usually be able to handle that number but your limbs suddenly weren’t coordinating to fight back

and suddenly

this ,,, black hooded figure ,,,, just joined into the mess and the guards were all down a minute later.

you were sitting slouched on the floor, panting, bleeding. 

that hooded figure turned to you and pulled down his mask and pushed back his hood

jeonghan.

he was panting too, and when you saw him, you just,,,,

broke out in a smile.

he smiled too asdfghjkl

“did you miss me?” 

you rolled your eyes like pfft miss you? what nonsense

but deeeeeep down inside

like really deep down

you did

he knelt down in front of you and kind of just ,,, stared at you ,,, even though you were aware that you looked like a hot mess

“i thought you said you were good at fighting,” he chuckled, although internally he was upset to see you in such a state

you laughed. “i am.” 

he shakes his head and helps you up and you start questioning him

“where were you for the past 9 missions?” 

he smirked like 

“ hey you counted ”

but he doesn’t answer your question

mostly because he can’t 

bc he was assigned to kill you 

he just 

couldn’t bring himself to it 

that lead to him avoiding you

he wanted to keep up this little rivalry 

and honestly 

so did you 

but jeonghan got kicked out of his team bc of his “incompetence” 

basically, bc he kept letting you win

he would’ve been killed honestly 

but his brotherhood with his team was stronger than you’d think

so they trusted him to keep their society a secret and had let him off

and he ended up joining yours

so yes, everyone else can imagine what happened

you two became partners :”) 

and it was the best thing ever

you both just looked after each other and everything felt safer