#idk i just noticed he spoke almost entirely in full sentences and made no (or at least very few) grammatical errors compared to series 1

[unusual-ly]

Robin’s English has improved so much over the course of the series. I’m so proud of him <3

[cosmicpines]

code july day 1 - future

au where jeremie's anti-xana program didn't work, taking place half a year after.

“Do’ya think we should start future-proofing our whole situation?” Odd was the first one to speak out loud in at least a half an hour, his voice echoing around the computer lab.

It was late. Not just “it’s a school night, we should turn off the Playstation” late, but “sunrise is in an hour” late. Ulrich, Jeremie, and Aelita were crowded on the couch – a fairly new addition to the lab that William and Odd had dragged over a mile to the factory after finding it on the street, a several-hour long affair that left them both sore for a week – blearily staring at chunky school-loaned laptop screens with piles of overdue library books on the floor in front of them. Odd and William were across the room, hunched over an oversized posterboard, surrounded by an accoutrement of Odd’s art supplies and printed out sheets of paper. What was keeping them up was potentially world-ending, but not in the usual way; instead of an evil AI, it was a history project due at 10 AM.

It wasn’t entirely their fault they didn’t start earlier – saving the world was a full-time job, afterall – but it’s not like they could give an excuse to Mr. Fumet that he would have believed. As the clock ticked over to 4, the prospect of having to pull the trigger on a return trip to finish loomed over them. They had already done it once, blearily uploading PowerPoint slides to the supercomputer to save them, giving Yumi an apologetic phone call in the morning. She was used to the disorienting resets at this point, having done them for half a year after graduating and moving across the country, but they usually texted ahead of time to warn her. She was sympathetic over the phone – she always was – but she was definitely irritated about having to retake an exam. They didn’t want to put her through that again and, besides, they couldn’t exactly keep the poster board from getting erased to time.

“Future-proofing the fact half of us might fail history?” Ulrich grumbled in response from across the room, leaning against the armrest of the couch. His eyes were glazed over in a stupor as he clicked idly around on the screen.

“Ulrich, are you done with your slides yet?” Aelita spat at him, now that the silent spell was broken, “I want to start stitching them together.”

“Uh… no.” Ulrich glanced at her, subtly turning his screen away from her piercing gaze, “Gimme ten more minutes? I’m almost there.”

Aelita clicked her tongue, probably remembering the last promise of the slides “in ten minutes.” She turned to her left and nudged Jeremie, “How about you – oh my god, Jeremie, can you focus?”

“Huh?” He looked up, and guiltly alt-tabbed back to a blank PowerPoint slide. “Sorry, I was just… I had a breakthrough about the bug in the Skid and I was…” He trailed off under her glare, “Sorry.”

Aelita clutched the side of her head, groaning. “Is it too late to go back to living on Lyoko where I don’t have to care about World War I and don’t need sleep?”

“Me too, thanks.” William muttered at Odd’s side, aggressively erasing a sentence on the poster, “Being XANA’s slave was less painful than this.”

He let out a bitter laugh, then raised his head, half smirk fading at the frozen-in-terror looks on his friend’s faces, “Sorry. Too soon?”

Odd, as he so often did, interrupted the awkward silence before people could make it worse, “Future-proofing us, is what I meant. Thanks for asking!” Nobody humored him as the typing across the room started back up and William started writing again, “Look, I’m just saying; we’re not getting any younger.” He brandished a red marker, filling in bubble letters on the top of the poster, “Yumi graduated. We’ve only got a semester left at Kadic –,”

“Could just all repeat a year like I did.” William grimaced. “And might again.”

Ulrich snorted, “Odd and I are probably on track for that.”

“Cheers,” William said, raising his pencil like a glass, without looking up, “Join the failure club.”

“BUT,” Odd interrupted, “Assuming we don’t! Because this presentation is going to be incredible,” That one earned a snort from everyone in the room (which was fair), “We’ll need someone who can do our jobs if we have to leave the good fight. Lyoko Warriors, the Next Generation! Kadic’s Next Top Lyoko Warriors!” He chuckled at himself, standing up, “We should put an ad in the paper: ‘Want a challenging, world-altering job? Come down to the abandoned factory!’” He hummed to himself, tapping his chin, “Our criteria would have to be strict. Can you imagine getting someone like, I dunno, Johnny? So, Johnny. Please, tell me: what’s your greatest fear? Giant crabs, you say? Why yes, that’s both oddly specific and also a dealbreaker. Next!”

Odd looked up, laughing, waiting for his friends to join in – Ulrich telling him he was being dumb, Aelita offering some other students and joking with him about their interviews, William making a snide remark about how he didn’t get an interview, a silent, but appreciative smirk from Jeremie – but got nothing. Jeremie’s head was buried in his laptop, and Aelita was – Aelita was glaring at him?

“What?” He asked her, but she said nothing, just raised an eyebrow in a you know what’s wrong look. Odd clearly didn’t, and turned to Ulrich for a clue, but Ulrich wasn’t giving him anything; he was just back to sulking, staring at his laptop. Odd ran through what he said again in his head, trying to find the offending phrase, when William punched him in the leg. “Hey –,” Odd started, ready to give a snappy retort, before seeing William was urgently tapping at the poster, where he’d just written something. Odd crouched down to read it.

you’re upsetting jeremie.

Odd glanced back at Einstein across the room, whose face was impassive, just typing away. Looking closer, though, he could see Jeremie had all the appearances of someone trying valiantly to pretend they weren’t upset – hunched shoulders, scrunched up face, not a single glance away from the screen. Aelita had stopped glaring to put a hand on Jeremie’s shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

Ugh. Odd sighed, wondering if he would have to apologize for just trying to lighten the mood. How was anything he said upsetting to Jeremie? He reached over for a pencil to respond to William, scribbling down on the poster.

Can’t he take a joke?

idk. Guess he thinks you’re blaming him.

Blaming him?? For what???? bro when did I even say anything like that??

you didn’t. don’t bro me bro. not my fault

Odd underlined his first bro, giving William a smile. William rolled his eyes before rubbing out their conversation with an eraser. Odd turned back to his coloring job and took a breath, surprised to see it come in shaky. It’s not your fault he’s upset, he thought to himself, pulling the cap off his marker. It’s fine. He leaned over to finish his coloring before noticing his hands were shaking. He clenched them, angrily. It wasn’t his fault Jeremie was upset. He was fine. Not his fault if Jeremie wanted to over-react. He’ll get over it and… where were the scissors?

He dug around their supplies for them, then, picking up a pile of pictures of historic figures, streaked from the bad library printer, took a pair of trembling scissors to extracting them. They were nearly done. One more section and they’d be done. One more and they could go to bed and Jeremie would get over whatever he was upset about and it was fine and it would all go away and it was fine it wasn’t his fault and –

“I’m working as hard as I can,” Odd felt a bit in his stomach open up as Jeremie spoke in a quiet, bitter voice. Odd stared pointedly down at the poster, blinking rapidly to try and assuage the pressure building behind his eyes, “I know we screwed up by not finishing before Yumi graduated, okay? I’m just… It’s a lot to figure out and I’m trying?! Is that not enough for – No. No, I know it’s not enough – I know I’m keeping us from having a normal life and it’s my fault William had to repeat a year and… and I –,” Jeremie’s breath caught, and Odd finally dared to turn his eyes to him, seeing his friend aggressively rubbing his eyes under his glasses, “I – I don’t mean to – look! It’s hard, alright?! It’s hard and I – I’m just so tired all the time and I’m sorry that we’re still awake for this too and that I –,” His voice finally broke as he started crying in earnest, his fist coming down on the side of the couch. Odd wanted to turn back to his work and brush it off, but the guilt clenching his stomach wasn’t letting go.

Hesitantly, Aelita put her hand on his shoulder again, “Jeremie…” but he shook it off again, turning away from her. She persisted. “It’s not your fault. We know you’re working –,”

“And it’s not enough! I’ve been working at this for years and I just I can’t come up with anything to defeat XANA –,”

“You had a lot of other things you needed to do first.”

He didn’t mean to, Odd was sure, but Ulrich’s eyes flickered to William for just a moment, and William’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh, are we doing this now?” William grumbled, dropping his pencil. “Jeremie, you’re fine. Look, I’m sorry. Again. You don’t think I don’t regret every moment that I didn’t listen like a fucking idiot –” Jeremie, despite being wracked with tears, winced at the swear, earning a brief hint of a smile from Odd, “ – and got myself captured? Who then was a thorn in your asses for months? No. I get it. You’d probably be rid of XANA already if it wasn’t for me; you’ve made that crystal clear.”

“That’s not what I –,” Aelita glared at him, “You of all people should understand that I would never blame you for being trapped on Lyoko.”

“It’s not you that is. It’s him.” He jerked his thumb at Ulrich, who glared back at him.

“I’m not,” Ulrich muttered, “Cut it out.”

“Oh yeah? What did that look mean then, huh?”

“I didn’t –,”

“You blame me, and we all know it. You’re just butt-hurt over Yumi still, even though you had plenty of chances –,”

“Okay, that’s it.” Ulrich sat up straighter, “Maybe you’re still using Yumi as a scapegoat in all our arguments, but I’m done with that. Maybe I was an ass to you before because of her, but I don’t blame you for XANA, William. I never have. I was over it before you even joined,” He scowled at the ground, Jeremie’s crying filling the brief silence. “It was probably my fault you got captured in the first place. I wasn’t there because I had to talk to my stupid Dad and it was my job to tell Odd and I didn’t make sure – hell, even before that! Who was it that couldn’t protect Aelita back when XANA escaped from the supercomputer in the first place? If she hadn’t been alone, the Scyphozoa wouldn’t have gotten her, and XANA wouldn’t have escaped, and we would have been done.”

“Come on,” Aelita crossed her arms, turning away from Jeremie to the boy on her other side, “You’re being ridiculous. Half of that isn’t your fault.”

Odd wanted to chime in that it was Sam’s fault she didn’t listen to Ulrich, but his voice was still missing in action, his throat tight and unresponsive.

“I should have been able to protect myself,” Aelita continued, “It wasn’t your responsibility –,”

Jeremie laughed suddenly, hurt and bitter, “Protect yourself how? You couldn’t protect yourself because I was dragging my feet on giving you a proper weapon –,”

“We’ve talked about this!” She said, “We agreed it was more worth your time to work on an antivirus!”

“For a virus that didn’t exist! If I had just double checked –,”

“Double checked what? The faulty data you were being fed? There was nothing you could have done! If you want to blame anyone, blame me. Maybe it – maybe helping me made sense at first, when things were able to be stopped at a moment’s notice. But then even when you got me to Earth it wasn’t over, and things got worse, things got more dangerous – when we realized XANA could escape? That we couldn’t just turn it off with a switch? That – that should have been it.” Her voice dropped as she took a shaky breath, “You should have just let me turn the supercomputer off.”

“You were ALWAYS worth the risk, Aelita!” Odd finally snapped, terror shooting through his heart at the broken look on her face, the implications of her words, “You… you matter to us more than anything! Look, I’m sorry for bringing this all up, alright? I thought we could just joke around about running Lyoko Warrior interviews! I didn’t mean to get everyone upset. And speaking of! Jeez! All of you are such downers on yourselves! There’s like, a billion different things that could have happened!” He held out a hand, ticking them off, “Maybe William might not have gotten captured and instead XANA got Yumi or anyone else! Maybe, I dunno, Ulrich saved Aelita temporarily but then XANA tossed him in the digital sea! Maybe Jeremie could have noticed that Aelita didn’t have a virus sooner, and XANA just made a move sooner! Maybe – maybe – maybe if you had just let Kiwi be virtualized normally and not fuse with me he would have been a great Lyoko Warrior and would have bit the Scyphozoa and killed XANA! We don’t know, alright? I’m just trying to say that – ugh, forget it! Sorry! Jeez!”

Odd rubbed at his eyes, surrendering to the frustrated and exhausted stream of tears that leaked out of them. All of them, all of this – he kept trying to play superhero, to pretend that everything was going to be alright like in the movies, but in his heart he had to admit that this was starting to feel futile. Aelita’s virus, XANA’s escape from the supercomputer, William’s capture, Jeremie’s first botched attempt at his anti-XANA program, Franz Hopper’s sacrifice, Yumi’s graduation, their failure to stop space station from falling, Jeremie’s second anti-XANA program getting stolen by the AI, and now the looming threat of their own graduation… he wanted to be joking about needing to interview new Lyoko Warriors, really, but if graduation took them away from the factory… away from each other…

A hand landed on his shoulder, he realized he didn’t need to know who it was to press his own on top of it, to squeeze it and feel loved, as more hands, more friends, found their way to his other shoulder, to his back.

“I’m sorry, Jeremie,” he said, “And everyone else. I didn’t mean to –,”

“Don’t,” came a muttered reply from Jeremie, “We’re all acting tired and stupid. I shouldn’t have yelled. I knew you didn’t mean it.”

Odd let out an exhausted laugh, rubbing his eyes of the last of the tears, looking up and seeing his friends around him, “How late is it?”

“Too late,” Ulrich replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket, “We’ve got… three hours until classes start.”

A collective groan broke the spell over the room. Odd looked under his feet to the almost-finished-poster. Silently, all of them returned to their working positions. Odd kneeled down to finish gluing down the last of the faces to the poster. As the lull of busy work started taking over his mind, William nudged him.

“Sorry, I, uh…” William looked uncharacteristically bewildered, “This must have happened while I was – did you say Kiwi fused with you?”

[sankt-brekker-the-demjin]

You Know, For Research Purposes - Tom Holland x Reader College!AU

Summary: Working on their research project, group mates Miles, Ned, Haz, Betty, Tom and Y/N grew closer together over the course of a few months. Also, how does Cheetos and ice cream taste together? ;)))

Word Count: 2,433

A/N: (gif not mine.) lolz hi! Look what boredom did to me.. I made a fanfic... [first time doing this idk what to do so there's that moving on. Hope u like it! Geronimo.]

Tom ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the strands with force. He banged his head lightly on the table. He looked back at his Lit folder and saw he still had half of it to finish. He closed it and decided he would do it later. Managing the research project and studying for exams were taking a toll on his body and his sanity. He got up and went to the get some water.

It was halfway through midnight. His parents and brothers were asleep on their rooms. Miles, Haz, Y/N, Betty and Ned - his Qualitative Research applied subject classmates were sprawled all over the living room, laptops shoved to their faces, bond papers in hand. It was a typical students' night. The group had gotten together at Tom's house, and planned to stay overnight.

Miles and Y/N have History 1 together, while Betty and Haz had Calculus. But other than that, this was the only classes they all had together. Being in college is no easy feat, proper time management was necessary. 

Ned had assigned each member to a specific part of the paper, and they've been at it since 8 pm. They all have to multitask and manage their time. Tom had almost finished his part of the paper, so he tried to do his Lit homework now.

Tom heard footsteps stomping on the floors. He turned and saw Y/N marching up to him with an annoyed look on her face and was about to speak but he cut her off.

"If you complain about the heat one more time, I'm give you a real reason to sweat," Tom set the cup of water with a smug look on his face.

She halted on her tracks and smacked the paper she brought on his arms. Tom chuckled, but didn't move.

"No, you idiot," Y/N rolled her eyes. "You might wanna fix that paper before you go off scaring people to death with that annoying face of yours."

His mouth twitched in amusement and took the stapled papers from her hands. "So you admit you've been looking at my face."

"You're so full of it," Y/N stepped around him and grabbed another glass, getting water from the tap.

Tom looked at the incorrect charts and tables he had made on the paper. He cursed under his breath. He had been working on it in the wee hours of last night. Spontaneous typing, no pit stops on spelling errors and everything else, just got it done.

"The original file is on my computer upstairs," he groaned. "I'll have to re-do this again."

"You do that," she clicked her tongue. "And I'll just chill here by your fridge for a moment."

Y/N opened the fridge and took the remaining slice of cake laid on a plate.

"That's mine -" Tom protested.

"Not anymore." Y/N ate the cake.

He scowled and moved to close the door of the fridge. Y/N leaned her back on the door. There they were, a few inches away from each other. Tom stood seething; Y/N chewed the cake with an amused expression. She wiped the frosting on her lower lip with her tongue reflexively. Before he realized it his eyes wandered to her lips.

Tom inched his face closer, eyes darting over to her eyes and lips. "If you don't stop biting your lips ..."

"What are you gonna do?"

Tom remained quiet but clenched his jaw.

Y/N chuckled, "You're all talk and no action."

Heavy footsteps echoed on the hallway to the kitchen, gaining both their attention away from each other. Tom whipped his head to the of the voice and shot him a look.

"I told you 7000 times, a chicken is a bird -" Haz bursted into the room with a phone clutched to his ears, pausing when he caught sight of Tom and Y/N. "D'you have a charger I could borrow?" Haz covered his phone with his hands.

"I have one in my backpack." Y/N said.

Haz nodded, talking again to his sister on the phone about chickens. He walked back to the living room, waiting for Y/N to follow him.

Y/N stopped by the table where Tom had been working on, and pointed at his paper. "I can't finish my part if you can't finish yours." Seeing as his paper's original file was on his computer upstairs, she grabbed his laptop without waiting for him to reply. "Imma borrow this ... Thanks."

She went back to the living room, laptop on hand.

"And don't look at my browser history!" She heard Tom call back from the kitchen.

"Wouldn't dare," she countered in a mocking tone.

As the weeks passed, they started collecting data on the field. They went through one institution to another, gathering reports and statistics, and validating it with professionals. Then after that it was all a blur. They submitted the paper to Mrs. Luxley and was graded, only given back to them for minor revisions.

The gang decided to spend that same night they passed the assignment on Tom's house again, just like they did when they were still making the paper. Tom's parents had gotten used to them staying over, and Sam always tried to flirt with Betty when he was around. 

Ned and Haz raced to Tom's bedroom. Ned threw himself on the bed first. "God, I've never felt the bed being this good," he sighed and melted with pleasure. All those sleepless nights they've had finally paid off.

Haz hit him with a pillow. "Move over!"

Y/N laid on the couch, feet perched on top of Tom's lap, getting comfortable. Betty and Miles slept on the carpets of Tom's living room. They just sort of crawled to the floor in delight and just stayed there, too tired to move anywhere else. Haz came back to the living room, holding a bottle of champagne on his hands from the Hollands' cupboards.

He cheered. "Let's celebrate!"

But they celebrated the victory by sleeping out for an entire day spread all over the Hollands' house.

Even though their project was finished, the lot still remained close with each other. They spent times at Miles' favourite diner by the corner of the campus during their collective free time.

And last week, Haz's sister gave birth to a pretty baby girl. Haz invited them over and they all came to join the little house party his sister threw. The group counted on this as the official celebration of their hard work.

It was a Thursday afternoon. Family and friends chatted and caught up with each other in the Osterfield's backyard. Dream by Fleetwood Mac could be heard playing on the living room speakers.

Tom was talking with his dad. Betty and Ned sat at the garden chairs talking to one of Haz's brothers. Those two really were people persons. Miles and Y/N laughed at a hilarious history joke their professor rambled about. Tom tried to pay them no mind, though his glance drifted to them every now and then. His dad eventually noticed the shift in his mood, but decided to ignore it because his mum came to them, carrying Haz's niece. Tom accepted the baby to his arms while his mum and dad went to the kitchen.

Lily, the smol bean's eyes crinkled with joy and giggled. Her chubby little hands reached out to him. Tom stuck his tongue out affectionately her. He turned his head to the low whistle he heard.

"Wow... Daddy," Y/N smirked.

That day was all fun and games, but by the end it they still had school stuff to catch up on. A few weeks later, they decided to cram in the library.

Nothing feels better than suffering with acads together friends.

The group sat in a table by the corner, immersed in their own world. Tom went to the bookshelves to look for an autobiography book his proffesor suggested. Ned was compiling essays on his laptop. Miles was reading a book by Neil Gaiman. Haz and Betty were doing their Calculus homework.

Y/N's chin rested on her hands, staring blankly at her laptop screen. A straight line blinked repeatedly on the ends of the only sentence she typed.

What the fuck |

She just needed a head start on this critique paper. Nothing too heavy, just one paragraph to kick it all into place. That's where it's always hard. The first line. So now she's stuck with cursing. Before Y/N realize it, she's slumped her face down to the wooden table with a light bang. The group lifted their eyes to her, asking if she was alright. She shoved her thumbs up above her head, and they went back to what they what they were doing.

Haz who sat on her right, patted her back. "Same here, sis," he fought back a yawn.

Her eyes felt heavy. Then she groggily looked up to the little 'thunk' dropped on the table.

"Oh, great you're alive," she muttered before setting her face back on the table again.

Tom pulled his chair beside her. "Miss me already? I was barely gone for a few minutes."

"I'm so blessed to be with your presence," she stated in a monotonous voice.

Tom snorted. "Your professor is really gonna give you an A+ with those colorful words. 'What the fuck,' short but sweet."

She looked up and stuck her tongue out. Seeing his face has started to get old ... she tried convincing herself that, though.

They did their business. Ever so often, Y/N and Tom's elbows would brush against each other. Y/N had her earphones on, listening to her shuffled playlist on Spotify. Tom heard muffled tunes, and turned his head closer.

"What are you listening to?" He whispered; his breath fanned the side of her neck that sent chills up her spine.

She didn't look at him and instead continued to write key points to make on her essay. She spoke, her voice low. "This one's called Uncomfortable by Wallows."

He grinned and leaned even closer. "Can I listen?"

From across the table, Ned took 10 bucks from his wallet and shoved it on Betty’s hand. She pumped her fist in a silent triumph.

Y/N shifted her head to look at him, only to find his cute, devilishly handsome face inches away from hers. If she would tilt her head a little... their lips would touch. They locked eyes for a second, before she plucked one earphone and gave it to him.

He cocked his head, liking the song. Minutes passed. The only noises were from turning book pages, soft patter of keys on the laptops, and bits of hushed voices encompassed the area.

An hour later, Y/N felt herself getting hungry and went out to buy food, Betty tagging along. They ate outside since the library was strict on the 'NO eating policy.' Not even other drinks are allowed, only water. The others stayed behind. Then Betty came back to her seat.

"Where's Y/N?"

Betty sat on her chair, "She's outside, still eating."

Tom nodded and felt himself getting hungry, too. He opened his backpack and took a bag of Cheetos he stashed. He stood and said to them he was gonna eat outside. He went out, and spotted her leaning on a pillar, scooping ice cream out of a cup.

"I'm starving," he stood beside her.

"We've been there for ages," she scooped another spoonful of mint chocolate ice cream she got from the shop across the street.

Tom munched on his Cheetos. He turned to look at her happily savoring her ice cream. He moved for Y/N's ice cream cup but she swerved it out of his reach.

"Get your own," she swatted his arms away.

A thought crossed his mind. It reminded him of the last time they did this at his kitchen, over a slice of cake. And how they've been so close...

For the past few months, he's gotten a strange feeling whenever Y/N was around. Like there's an electric buzz in him, his heart would warm up at the sight of her. He couldn't stay away from her, and he wants to know her better, and feel her and just be there right beside her. He couldn't explain it.

Tom grinned at the memory, chucking a piece of Cheetos on his mouth. He stepped forward. "D'you wanna know how Cheetos and mint chocolate chip ice cream tastes like together?" he leaned closer to her face; his breath hot against her skin. His gaze shifted down to her parted lips. "You know, for research purposes..."

"Hmm?" She held her eyes up on his own gleaming brown ones. "Probably good. Anything's good with mint chocolate ice cream."

"Yeah?" His hands reached out to move the strands of her hair away from her face. "Wanna test it out?"

She shrugged.

Tom found his hand on the back of her neck and slammed his lips to hers. Y/N's eyes fluttered shut. He tasted full of that cheesy goodness. And her, a heavenly taste of vanilla and the aroma of mint. Her arm stretched out to keep the ice cream cup away. She parted from his lips to set the cup down onto the pillar. He wrapped his arms to her waist, pulling her flush against him. With her now empty hands, she ran her fingers on his soft brown curls. She tugged at the strands, eliciting a low guttural sound from him muffled by her mouth on his.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead on hers, breathless. "We should get back inside to do ... stuff."

"No no. Don't care." She pulled the back of his neck and closed their distance again. He chuckled.

Y/N loved the way their mouths danced to a rhythm, flavors mixing together from the forgotten taste-testing session, now a different kind of session.

A hand still on her waist, the other cupped her cheeks and tilted her chin to give him more access. She wrapped both her arms around his neck, welcoming warm the feelings burning inside her.

They parted, but still inches away from each other. Y/N bit his lower lip. Tom hissed in surprise but she kissed it better.

"So ... what do you think?" He murmured in a low voice.

"Mmm, I like it." Cheetos and ice cream forgotten.

"Yeah?" He grinned at her. "Me too."

Seconds lapsed. Neither of them moved, still stuck in a more romantic version of a staring contest.

"I like you." Tom's heartbeat raced.

She grinned back at him. "I like you, too. Like 3000. I like you that much."

-

Roll the end credits.

[peachysnips]

Bang Chan x reader (smut)

hi. this is purely self indulgent smut because i am in love with a certain mr bang chan and i’ve been in one of those moods 😏 lately and needed an outlet.

oneshot - word count: 1.4k

warnings?: almost public touching?? idk you’ll see,

~~~

it was your scheduled movie night with your boyfriend chan and his band mates but because of various things only jisung and changbin were joining the two of you tonight. you were sitting comfortably on the couch, your back against chans chest with one of his strong arms draped loosely around your waist. jisung sat on the loveseat with changbin on the floor leaning against it. the two boys sat on one side of the room with you and chan on the other which gave you just enough privacy to tease your boyfriend without his friends noticing. the boys all sat fully engrossed in the movie but you had other thoughts running through your mind. slowly turning your head to peek a look at chans face you saw he was paying his full attention to the screen so you slowly inched your hand towards his thigh and for now, just rested it there. you watched him carefully, gauging his reaction and after you saw that he payed no mind to your wandering hand, you decided to move just a fraction closer to where you were actually headed.

a small smile came onto your face from the risky but exciting feeling flowing through you as you continued moving up his thigh, now rubbing small, gentle circles into his skin which was only covered by thin grey sweats. you stared ahead at the screen, pretending to be interested in the movie when you could see your boyfriend in your peripheral vision finally react to your touch. he turned his head to look at you but you just carried on ‘watching’ the movie in front of you, not once halting your ministrations on his now upper thigh. you waited for a particularly loud fight scene to come on when you decided it was finally go time, without any sort of warning you moved your hand straight up and squeezed his cock through his sweatpants - now that got a reaction alright. you heard a sharp gasp which quickly switched to a low groan right beside your ear and you knew you had him. the arm that was around your waist dug it’s fingers roughly into your side which only made your thighs squeeze tightly together. you could feel his hot breath against your neck as he whispered in your ear

‘just what do you think you’re doing, huh? and right in front of my friends too’

the way he spoke in that serious voice you knew you were in for it, which made your pants grow even wetter. you shifted your body so you were sitting up and slightly angled towards him to give you better access to his now half hard member. you used your fingers to slowly palm him through his pants earning a quiet

‘f-fuck’

from your boyfriends mouth. he looked you dead in the eye and mouthed ‘no’ but you simply smiled cheekily at him and continued your movements against his now fully hard cock. in the background you could hear jisung and changbin laugh at something on the screen and you momentarily halted your movements to see if they were going to turn around but then got back to it when you saw they were still watching the movie.

chan once again squeezed your waist and when you turned to look at him the look in his eyes was fiery

‘you’re just looking for a punishment now babygirl’

at that you craned you’re neck down to his face, whispered a ‘yes please’ and without breaking eye contact you pushed your hand past the waistband on his sweats and grasped his thick manhood in your hand, only getting to pump it twice before he pulled your wrist right out of his pants and grips it harshly when he stands up off the couch and pulls you after him. jisung turns his head to look at the two of you with a confused face ‘where you guys going?’

chan still doesn’t let go off your wrist as he comes up with an excuse while trying to keep his voice calm

‘y/n just needs to get some air, we’ll be back in a little bit, dont worry’ jisung just shrugs and turns his head back around.

chan quickly pulls you after him into your shared bedroom and almost slams the door behind him. you stand by the side of your bed, waiting for what you knew was coming

‘you have been so bad tonight - what a thirsty little slut you are, touching me with my friends just a few feet away’ he came over to you and when you reached up to kiss him he turned his head away which made you whine in protest ‘like i said, a very bad girl’ he puts his hands on your shoulders and pushes you onto the bed, you stumble slightly and almost fall back but manage to catch yourself on your elbows. you stare up at chan innocently

‘i’m not really sure what you’re talking about’ at that he fully pushes you back onto the bed, grabbing your legs and pushing up your skirt exposing your clothed heat.

‘look how fucking wet you are, you’re loving this aren’t you’ he then pushed your soaked underwear to the side and flicked your clit with his thumb sending a jolt of electricity through your body. an involuntary moan escapes your lips and you close your eyes as your head falls back. he continues drawing lazy figure eights on your clit already drawing you close to your first orgasm and just as you’re about to come he retracts his hand and stands up ‘chan what the hell!’ you exclaim in shock having been denied the opportunity to finish. he starts to move away from the bed when you whine out ‘no please, i’m sorry baby.’ you look at him with desperation in your eyes as he slowly makes his way back over to you unable to resist when you look at him that way. you sit up and pull on the waist band of his sweatpants pulling them down and letting his dick spring free, the head now glistening with precum and the tip an angry shade of pink. ‘imma make you feel good, promise’ you mumble already grasping it in your hand and despite this being a supposed ‘punishment’ he didn’t have the willpower to stop you when you were so needy for him. you put the head of his cock in your mouth, flicking your tongue over the slit a couple times before taking almost the entire length down, letting it hit the back of your throat and causing you to gag slightly. chan grabs your hair into a loose pony tail and pushes your head down onto his rock hard member, lightly fucking your mouth as low hums of pleasure escape him. you hold onto his hips as leverage as he pushes his hips into you. then as you feel his movements get somewhat sloppier he pulls out of your mouth and tells you to lay on your back

‘i don’t want to come just yet baby, i want you to feel me inside that little pussy’

you do as he tells you and spread your legs wide open exposing yourself to him. he takes no time in lining himself up with your entrance and pushing his entire length in in one go and both of you let out moans at the well awaited contact. he sets a steady pace, brushing your walls in a delicious way causing you to arch your back right off the bed. small moans come from you as the orgasm that had been chased away previously came back at full speed, but much stronger this time. as chan continued fucking you roughly into the bed you knew you were very, very close. with him not far behind he reached down between your bodies to rub your clit in time with his steady strokes and before you could comprehend what was happening your orgasm hit you so hard that your eyes practically rolled back into your head. chan kept fucking your over sensitive hole chasing his own high and shortly after his hips started to stutter, loosing his initial rhythm he was shooting hot spurts of cum deep into you. a deep, drawn out ‘fuck y/n’ was all he could manage before collapsing beside you on the bed he pulled you close to him, both of you now desperately trying to catch your breath and recover from what just happened. when you could finally manage to speak a coherent sentence you looked up at him and after giving his damp chest a quick peck said ‘wow, maybe i should definitely tease you more often’ to which he scoffed and teasingly replied ‘yeah, maybe’.

A/N i realise that in some parts i switch between tenses but i’m working on it sjsj english ain’t my first language also this is longer than anything i’ve ever written for my english class but that’s because i’ve felt very inspired by chan lolol. praise and/or criticism greatly appreciated x

[terresdebrume]

Witcher of the rings - Snippet 8

Previous snippets: In the tag

Note: You know, when I thought of this verse I wasn’t planning on spending that much time talking about the nature of orcs but, idk. Jaskier had a point to make, and I’m betting Legolas, gimli and Aragorn will want to follow up on geralt’s enigmatic one-liner so I guess we’re not done with the topic.

Ping list: @formerlyknownas-delight @theheirofashandfire @somedrunkpirate​

(As always, let me know if you want on or off the ping list^^)

“It seems I spoke of your recovery too hastily,” Boromir says when Jaskier bends down to puke again, “I apologize.”

It’s hard to give someone any kind of reassurance when you’re heaving your guts out, even if you’ve reached the point where it’s more bile than anything else, so Jaskier just continues to focus on not falling knees first in vomit while Boromir, hand uncovered, rubs soothing circles over his back.

He disposed of the Orcs’ corpses a while back, tossing them into a natural ditch barely deep enough to hide them. It’s good that dawn is coming because there’s no way Jaskier would have agreed to camp here after that.

“Sorry,” he manages after a long while, grateful to find he hasn’t pissed himself during the skirmish, “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

Boromir, in the process of passing him some water, freezes, something not unlike a frown marring his expression. Jaskier doesn’t notice it right away, too busy washing the foul taste out of his mouth, but when he does, he can’t help but frown right back.

“What? Do I have puke on my face?”

“No, no,” Boromir reassures, as if coming out of a trance like state, “I merely…I must admit I am surprised that this should be the source of your distress rather than simple fear for your life.”

“Why,” Jaskier asks, brushing a stray patch of vomit off his shirt with a disgusted grimace, “didn’t you feel something more when you killed someone for the first time?”

“Of course!” Boromir exclaims, clearly offended. “I am a soldier, not a heartless murderer! But an Orc is something, not someone.”

“On what basis?”

It is very clear, from the look on Boromir’s face, that this question never occurred to him. Jaskier would scoff but, well. Dol Blathana.

“What do you mean?”

“Well I’m no expert on Orcs, but from what I understand so far, they have their own language. They’re capable of independent thought, as evidenced by the fact that one of them tried to flee—”

“As for that,” Boromir scoffs, looking a little surer of himself, “Orcs are cowardly creatures.”

“Yet the others fought,” Jaskier points out. “And beyond that…three of them wore ornaments none of the others did. If they’re mindless beasts, why the trinkets? They didn’t seem to have a utilitarian purpose.”

“You seem to have noticed a great deal of details for someone who narrowly avoided having his throat bitten off.”

“My brain works in mysterious ways,” Jaskier shrugs.

In all honesty, he wouldn’t have spared attention for that detail if he’d been in charge of what got noticed at the time, but he did see it and he can hardly un-notice things, can he?

“You haven’t answered my question,” Jaskier reminds Boromir after a while, less gentle than he’d have thought. “Why are Orcs not people?”

“They were made,” Boromir says, and he sounds kind of subdued now, like he’s not entirely sure of what he’s saying. “Ages ago. I doubt you wish to hear the full tale, and in any case, I am not well versed in it…but the first Orcs were Elves. Taken, tortured and twisted until they became—”

“So was Geralt,” Jaskier says without waiting for the end of that sentence.

There’s already a fierce burn of anger in his arms and ears, and he doesn’t actually want to fight with Boromir. Not over something he wasn’t aware of, at any rate, and certainly not while he could potentially leave Jaskier alone in the wilderness (he really didn’t enjoy the trek back down from Cainghorn).

He can’t just ignore the rhetoric or the parallels either, though, and so he keeps talking:

“He was a human boy who got taken like countless others, and fed potions that put him through indescribable pain until he emerged a Witcher.”

There weren’t many books on Witcher in the Oxenfurt libraries but Jaskier, boiling with rage at Geralt’s abandonment and looking for whatever kind of witchery potion turned them into gigantic asshole, read quite enough of them to learn about the statistics, and the very simple process of taking Witchers’ emotions out: beat them until they stop crying. That’s how Jaskier learned to keep going through almost anything, too—brief vomiting breaks aside—and a fact that explained a lot of things about Geralt. He’s not ashamed to say that knowledge played a significant role in his ability to go through Elrond’s council without ripping into Geralt all fangs bared.

Right now, it’s also a fact that makes him cast sympathy where he would never have expect to bestow it.

“He sees better in the dark than we do, hears better than we do, is used to a much more violent life than we lead… But he can’t have kids. From the sound of it, not a problem for Orcs.”

Boromir, when Jaskier focuses enough to pay attention to his face, is gaping. Frankly, Jaskier doesn’t blame him.

“I don’t know,” he says, fully aware that his attempt at levity is falling flat, “maybe I’m wrong. I certainly don’t have the kind of experience with Orcs that I have with Geralt, but it’s kind of hard to ignore the similarities here.”

“Orcs destroy everything they touch,” Boromir points out, and Jaskier sighs through a wince.

“When I met Geralt, the whole Continent knew him as the Butcher of Blaviken,” he says, then he sighs again: “look I’m not going to lie and say I’m fond of Orcs myself. That lot certainly didn’t inspire confidence. I’m just saying, just because everyone assumes a thing is true doesn’t make it so. And for the record, the way you talk about Orcs? Where we’re from that’s more or less how some people talk about Elves.”

Boromir nods, as if dumbstruck, and Jaskier manages a bit of a grin. He still feels shaky and pale, but not like he’s about to topple to the ground anymore which, hey. Progress. With an effort, Jaskier straightens up, staring that the way the sky pales in the East, and says:

“We should probably get going. You’re not exactly at your fastest yet, let’s not waste time.” “What you said,” Boromir tries instead of starting to walk, “about Geralt—”

Jaskier holds a wince back. In retrospect, yeah, that may not have been the smartest thing, detailing how he could be considered like a weird sort of Orc. Still, now the deed is done, and there’s nothing Jaskier can do but warn:

“Yeah, about that. I can’t control how it makes you feel about him but I’m warning you: if you ever start disrespecting or badmouthing him where I can hear, I will be hitting you in increasingly painful places, are we clear?”

“You forget I wear armor more often than not in these troubled times.”

“And you’re underestimating my stubbornness,” Jaskier replies with none of the teasing Boromir put in his tone. “I’m extremely serious on this, Boromir. Geralt has many faults and the gods know I’m fond of railing against them, but the circumstances of his transformation can’t be held against him and I won’t tolerate any attempt to do so.”

For a long moment, Boromir says absolutely nothing, just stares at Jaskier in a way that makes him want to squirm and look away. He doesn’t though. He makes himself keep looking instead, forcing his hands still by gripping the strap of his lute case as tight as he can, until at last something shifts in Boromir’s expression and he murmurs:

“I do believe, master bard, that I may have underestimated your fondness for the man also.” He smiles then, in a more normal tone, adds: “I shan’t hold Geralt’s painful past against him, of that you may be assured. Even were I now convinced of his inferiority, which I am not, it would be shameful of me to speak ill of one to whom I owe my life. Come, master Jaskier, we have a long way yet to Edoras, and much to discuss of philosophy and what makes a person a person. I must warn you, however, that I am not quite ready to attempt befriending an Orc yet, and I shall travel with my sword at the ready.”

“Yes, yes,” Jaskier manages through a surprisingly tight throat, “you big burly swordsmen are all the same: overly fond of swinging your blades around.”

Boromir snorts, not sounding nearly as scandalized as he did back when they left Imladris, and Jaskier grins.

[secretobsessionstuff]

Alexi at work (idk if he has a job oops) with an upset stomach, but he assumes it’s just indigestion that will resolve itself shortly; it doesn’t. Micah’s had an awful week and Alexi doesn’t want to bother him, so he doesn’t say anything. He manages to make it to bed, but in the middle of the night, he wakes up with what he thinks is the need to burp. He does burp a few times which wakes up Micah, but when it happens again it’s vomit.

Sorry about the wait! Thanks for understanding, it made me a lot less stressed about getting this story out! 

----------------------------

Fifty minutesleft. Less than an hour. Alexi could make it that long. He could push through tothe end and then he wouldn’t feel guilty as he got home. Besides, it was justan upset stomach, probably from the fast food that the team had ordered earlierfor lunch.

As theysat around the large table with their own computers, discussing the finishingtouches for the latest project, Alexi was quiet. He was listening to theconversation and approving the design, but he didn’t give many suggestions. Hewas slumped back in the chair with both his hands resting on his stomach. Helooked a bit too comfortable, given that his coworkers were all focused on thetask at hand, but he didn’t care what people thought. He was tired. It wasFriday. His stomach hurt.

Alexiexhaled slowly and deeply. He wished he could jump-start his stomach to startdigesting his lunch, but that didn’t happen. His belly lay idle, keeping thegreasy food in one huge brick in his gut. He was happy for the loudconversation because it masked the sound of his rumbling tummy, though it did nothingfor his discomfort.

Whenquittin’ time finally came around, Alexi was first out the door. It felt betterto stand and walk around even if his energy was sapped. He got a few strangelooks from his friends who had definitely noticed his lack of participation,but Alexi was gone before they could comment on it. He sat in his hot car, notmoving for a moment, then willed himself to concentrate for the ride home. Astime went on, his stomach-ache became a simple annoyance, until it fully resolveditself by the time he got home.

He calledout a ‘hi’ which was met with the sound of typing from the other room. Alexipoked his head inside the office and found Micah fervently hitting the keyboard.His boyfriend was lost in the writing process and probably wouldn’t come backto reality for a while. Alexi gave him a kiss on the top of his head and leftthe boy alone. All week he had been religiously writing and working, and workingand writing, with no breaks in between. As soon as he got home from the restaurant,he locked himself in the office, trying to meet his self-imposed deadly. Alexi wasn’tabout to disrupt his rhythm for a chance to cuddle.

Luckily,Alexi’s appetite had returned just in time for dinner. He wasn’t starving likehe normally would be after a day at work, but he was hungry enough to go searchingthrough the freezer for something easy to make. Micah was the one to normallymake dinner because he was a much better cook than Alexi, so it was no surpriseto anyone when the only thing Alexi could make was frozen pizza. It was edibleand filling and that’s all that mattered.

It was a quietand boring night. Alexi had eaten his dinner alone, while Micah had stuffed hisface in between sentences. Alexi was sprawled out across the couch, rubbing hisstomach which again was feeling overly full and kinda gross. The food wastumbling around in his body and making him feel bloated.

Eventually,Alexi gave up on waiting for his stomach to settle and went to bed feeling likehe had just eaten an entire pizza. He stopped by the office and just watchedhis boyfriend work for a while. He looked so tired, with his shoulders startingto drop and his back beginning to curl painfully from sitting too long.

“I’m goingto bed,” Alexi said, which made Micah jump in surprise. Apparently, his stealthwas better than he thought. “You should take a break.”

All whiletyping, Micah shook his head. “It’s only ten and I need to finish this.”

Alexisighed. “Don’t stay up too late. Goodnight.” As Alexi began to shuffle away, hestopped when Micah called after him. He back up and rested his head against thedoor-frame with his eyes partially closed.

“Are youokay?” Micah asked. He had actually taken his eyes off the screen and was nowlooking intently at Alexi. It was far too early for the boy to be tired, but helooked like a walking corpse.

Alexi chewedhis lip, debating with himself about what to say. If he admitted to feeling bad,then Micah would worry all night and not get anything done.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?You look a bit –”

“I’m just tired”

The rightchoice had been made because Micah turned his attention back to his computerslowly.

As Alexiclimbed into the cold and empty bed, he didn’t feel like he had made the rightchoice, but it was necessary to help Micah. It would be okay in the morning.All he needed was a good night’s sleep. He wrapped himself in the blankets andfell asleep to the sound of Micah hitting the space bar every few seconds.

                                                             …

Late inthe night. Alexi woke up feeling much warmer than when he went to bed becausehe was now profiting from Micah’s body heat. It was almost three…good at leastMicah had gone to bed at a reasonable(ish) hour.

The badnews was that Alexi’s stomach felt like it had been inflated to the point of apotential explosion. Every inhale was risky, for it felt as if he would burstat any moment. Alexi sat up and rubbed his palm across his distended belly. Itwas aching beneath his touch. He could hear and feel the organ groaning indiscomfort.

Hesitantly,Alexi allowed himself to burp. His nausea was intense and made him afraid thatmore than air would come up. The first burp was little but painful. It didnothing to lessen the sick feeling in his gut, though it did trigger a secondburp. This one was deep and prolonged. It erupted from his mouth, causing himto slap his hand across his face to keep quiet. Next to him, Micah stirred.

Alexi was unableto stop the next belch from crawling up his throat. it escaped him with a loudand wet sound. He moaned and hugged his sour stomach.

The sheetsshifted and tangled as Micah stirred again. He hummed and extended his arm towardsAlexi, finding his thigh and gripping it weakly.

“What’s goingon? he said, with his eyes closed and his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Nothing…”Alexi said a little too quickly in between burps.

Hearingthe pain in Alexi’s voice, Micah lifted himself onto his elbows. It was dark,but he could hear his boyfriend’s heavy breathing. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.Go back to sl–” His sentence was cut off by a thick belch that came from the pitof his stomach. Something warm had touched the back of his tongue, but heswallowed it back down. Alexi groaned; he wasn’t going to last much longer.

By now,Micah had fully sat up with his back resting against the headboard. “You don’t soundwell, Lexi.” He turned his phone on, using the screen light to illuminate the darkroom. Droplets of sweat cling to Alexi’s temples, slowly dripping down his chin.His hand was cupped over his mouth. “Do you feel sick, babe?”

Alexi couldn’tanswer because his belly was seizing. He burped sickly into his palm, but it turnedinto a gag that had him lurching forward. A rush of warm vomit filled his mouthand coated his hand in sick. The force of his next heave caused him to uncoverhis mouth which sent a gush of puke splattering across his blanketed lap.

“Oh, Lex!”Micah exclaimed in surprise. In the dim light he could barely see the poorstate of his boyfriend, but he didn’t need to because he could hear it andsmell it. Micah placed his hand on Alexi’s back, and with the other hand heheld his curly hair away from his face. “I’ve got you, babe.”

“S’cuse…”Alexi hiccuped and jolted forward as he spoke. “…sorry.”

In rough circles,Micah rubbed Alexi’s back as he quivered. “No, no it’s fine. Don’t worry aboutit.”

A smallerwave of vomit shot past Alexi’s lips as his stomach wring itself out.

“There yougo,” Micah cooed. “You’re okay. Don’t worry.”

Clearly, Alexi’sbelly was in no mood to work properly and instead just rejected his dinner, andeven a small bit of his lunch. He retched and spat until it felt like there wasnothing left in him, and finally he was able to steady his breathing.

Alexisniffled. “ugh I’m a mess.”

“That’salright babe. You’re just sick.” Micah said once he had turned on the light. “Ithought you looked pale before.”

“Yeah…”Alexi said with his head down.

“You liedto me. You should have told me you felt unwell.”

“I’mreally sorry.”

Micah pettedAlexi’s hair, ensuring that no vomit had gotten in the locks, not that it matteredmuch because he’d be taking a shower. “I know that I’ve been busy and stressed,but that doesn’t mean I stop worrying about you.”

Alexi didn’tsay anything. He felt like a child being scolded. Honestly, he wanted to just hugMicah and make it all better, make himself feel better. He was surprised whenhe felt a kiss on his shoulder. “Let me clean this up for you.”

[danandthereader]

Pls give me more vampire Dan (maybe another vampire tries to get ahold of the reader and Dan fights them idk)

A/N: Oh of course, lovely ! I’m always happy to write more Vampire!Dan. ♡ I’ll take your prompt about the fighting and work with that - it immediately give me inspiration and I ended up really liking this end product. I hope it’s cool that this is a little late. Think of it being posted like the Grumps playing Halloween games in December, doing a sort of Nightmare Before Christmas thing ! Thank you so much for your patience, and I hope you liked it. Heart you !

BY MY HAND

Your world had always been very open-ended and full of theories and guessing games. From the time you could truly understand what was going on around you, you had questions in your brain about everything.Your questions had lead you to some worthwhile answers, and some you wished you had never learned in the first place. You knew that things that were not always entirely human - like werewolves and vampires - existed alongside the normal folk. You also knew that things not of this world at all - faeries and pixies were the big two - popped in and out as well. Yet the line was drawn and religious figures - demons and angels, succubi and incubi, even ghosts were proven to not have any real ground. And for the most part, all of them lived together in a state of co-existence.But the legends and stories didn’t come from nowhere. Sometimes children did go missing because they were whisked away to the fae realm, or people were turned into something without choice. Far and few between, maybe, but it happened. Not many who experienced those sorts of things first-hard got to tell the tales themselves.

As you lay on your side, staring up the grandiose staircase at the two gentlemen going at it, you couldn’t help but wonder which side you would end up on at the end of this. The fight itself hadn’t been going on for very long, even though time, for them, was irrelevant, more insulting and violent words than actual action. But the vampire on the right - taller, older, with graying hair and calloused hands, proof that he had been turned much later in his life - had gotten a hold of you, and that’s when everything picked up. Daniel - sweet Danny, with his hazel eyes and chestnut curls, the one who had been turned and kept his soft features for eternity - had jumped to your rescue, and down the stairs you were tossed like a doll.Shifting, you internally took stock. No broken bones, some aching ribs, a few bumps, maybe a big bruise or two. Nothing serious. Slowly, you sat up, repressing a groan. Your eyes fell back to the two of them, struggling but not, Dan’s fist in the other’s hand; even from the bottom of the stairs you could see the smug grin playing on the gentleman’s lips. Dan tried with his other hand, but before he could land the blow, he was shoved back, and he hit the ground. You got to your feet as quickly as you could, no plan in mind other than to stop your love from getting hurt. The man took two steps, and planted his foot square on Dan’s chest, effectively leaving the boy breathless.They were talking, but you couldn’t hear it from this distance. Mouths were moving, hands had wrapped around ankles, and you were slowly climbing the red velvet staircase. Sure, you weren’t a vampire, but you couldn’t just do nothing, even if your side did hurt like a mother and you had no weapons on you.“… And once I take your manor, I’ll take the town…” He pushed harder into Dan’s chest. You could feel that, your chest constricting. And once the town is mine, the streets will run crimson, and every single human will either be dead or my next meal.” There was so much resentment, but so much triumph, in the intruder’s tone; it made your free hand ball into a fist. “Brian, this isn’t - That’s the last thing you want to do,” Dan replied, breathless, hurting in more ways than just physical, you realized. Your step faltered. Did he know this guy? “I know you. Hurting people, it’s not-” He was cut short. “You used to know me. Now I’m as much a stranger to you as I am to your friend here.”The acknowledgement made you jump a little.

The older vampire - Brian - ginned, all sharp teeth and murderous intent. “Didn’t think I noticed them after I tossed them down the stairs?” he asked, mocking, not looking at you. “They smell so good, Daniel. I can see why you like them so much.” Danny complimented you on your scent every once and a while, and from him it was sweet; from the other it made your skin crawl. “Maybe they’ll be the first I have after I impale you on your banister…” Your eyes narrowed. “Touch me and you’ll only taste your teeth,” you replied, a strong sentence you never thought you’d say. He only grinned wider. “Oh, they’ve got spice! You know I’m always for a little kick.” Kick. How tempting that was.“Brian I don’t want to hurt you,” Dan began, eyes shining red, the frustration getting to him. “But you’re making it really hard not to snap your foot in two right now.” Brian laughed. “You wouldn’t,” he replied, so sure. “I was always the killer one, not you.” His head tilted, resentment dripping off of him. But there was something else, something even you could feel. “Do you need a reminder?” Ruby eyes widened just a bit. “Brian-!”The threat was cut off, his for moving quick as a blink, from above him to in front of you. Stumbling, you tried to get back, but he caught your elbow before you could get too far, making you jerk violently. “No - you - motherfucker -” Your words were broken up by your struggle, which died out when you felt the ground fall away from your feet. Looking down, your stomach dropped. Right. Vampires did the levitation thing. “Choose your next words carefully, darling,” he called with a sickeningly coy sort of smile. Looking to you, he added, smile growing, “And I don’t mean you.” He looked back to Dan, far enough below that you could get hurt if Brian decided to let go. You were also above that infamous banister he spoke of a moment ago, broken at the tip with a dangerously sharp point. “So, my dear friend, what will it be?” Though Dan seemed at a loss, almost desperate, you were fuming. “Try to fight, lose the love of your current life, spend eternity alone?” Pause. “Or will you finally give in and let things go back to the way they used to be?” If this was how it used to be, it was no wonder Danny wanted no part of it.“ Hey!” Your voice rang out, capturing both men’s attention. “Yeah, you.” A slap of Brian’s wrist made him look at you, eyebrow cocked. “ I know you heard me earlier.” Your voice had raised now, pitched a bit. You weren’t a bargaining chip, not a prize to be won or a toy to be played with. “I said let - me - go!” Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, you let go of your body weight and the both of you dropped. He hadn’t been prepared for that.

The fall was short, but there was no impact to speak of, at least for you. Someone had, instead, caught you in their arms, tucking you into their chest and rolling on the ground with you to keep you safe.When you peeked up, a ‘fro of curls was there to greet you. But Dan wasn’t looking at you, and the expression his face was a fine mixture of pain and resignation. Following his gaze, you couldn’t help but gasp softly. On the banister, skewered through the stomach with no blood to speak of coming from the wound, was Brian, not even twitching.It took you a moment to realize that you had done that. You hadn’t just saved yourself, or Dan, but the whole town. You were a hero.You’d never been a hero before.

[certifiedskywalker]

Retirement - Cassian Andor

Anonymous said:

Either Cassian or Poe x reader ( or maybe both if you have the time idk I don't want to pressure you) with an age gap? and like their really hesitant to start anything because of it but they like each other so much? Thank you, I love this blog so much!

AN: For the sake of keeping proper, the age gap would be like eight years. This also takes place after Scarif and cassian is horribly out of character. sorry

The idea of resting and retirement had never entered Cassian’s mind. The thought alone made him feel old, but when he meets you, he feels young again.

Love was not something Cassian Andor often thought about. It was far down on his list of concerns, the Rebellion being at the top. He was often too busy to even think about romance, let alone gamble entering a relationship. Completing missions and destroying the Empire were in his greatest affections; he had no room for anything or anyone else.

That all changed after Scarif. Cassian soon had too much time to think about how the Rebellion had taken over his entire life. He was bedridden the in medbay, yelling at doctors and nurses whenever they tried to help him. He didn’t want their help. He wanted his droid counterpart, he wanted to know if Bodhi and Jyn made it out alive. What became of Baze and Chirrut. No one told him anything. The last nurse he asked said she couldn’t tell him, she was told not to. Cassian, had he not been plugged to machines, would’ve attacked in anger. That nurse left his charge after the incident, but his main doctor remained.

“You’ll be under the care of a new nurse,” Doctor Balif said, trying to met Cassian’s eye. The captain had his head turned against the pillow, his gaze on the door. He wanted to leave. “She is young, Andor, take it easy on her. The more care you allow her to give the quicker you’ll be up and moving again.”

At that, Cassian locked eyes with Doctor Balif; his brown eyes cold and hard.

“Are they alive?” He asked, his voice hoarse with disuse. He rarely spoke unless he was yelling at medical droids and nurses.

“Captain, your allies conditions are to be kept quiet. Even you can not know. The Empire has-”

“The Empire has been weakened, by my allies.” Cassian interrupted, his anger very apparent in his tone. “I don’t need a new nurse, I need to find them and go now.”

“Captain Andor, you’ve done enough for the Rebellion,” Doctor Balif shouted, his voice rising. “Now is the time to consider your life outside, after the Rebellion. Like you have said, the Empire is weakened and it won’t last much longer. What will you do after it is gone? What about retirement?” The doctor’s questions struck a cord in Cassian, as he was stunned silent. Balif let out a sigh and rubbed his tired looking face.

“You’ve been at this for too long, Cassian,” Balif said quietly, “it is just something to consider. You deserve rest, I tell you that as your friend, not your doctor.” With that, Doctor Balif left Cassian’s room. The war-hardened man felt his heart ache.

Balif was right, but retirement made him feel...old. Cassian had lost track of how many years he had spent with the Rebellion, fighting for it without mercy. It felt that, finally, Cassian Andor had, had enough of the killing. While he waited to meet his new nurse, he fell asleep; getting the rest he wholeheartedly deserved.

“Captain Andor?” Cassian’s eyes opened slightly at the soft voice. It almost reminded him of Jyn’s, but when he opened his eyes, it wasn’t his ally. The new nurse. “Sorry to wake you. Doctor Balif told me that I have to switch out your IV. It will only take a moment.”

“Al-alright,” Cassian said groggily, “you’re the new nurse?” As he sat up in his bed, you had walked over to grab the new bag of fluid. He couldn’t help but notice how young she looked with her soft features and soft smile. She was definitely younger than himself.

“I am,” she said with a smile. It was a bright, sweet smile; one that Cassian wished he had the pleasure of seeing before being sentenced to the medbay. She quickly exchanged the fluid, Cassian’s eyes never leaving her focused expression.

“What is your name?” He asked quietly. Her eyes moved up, her gaze locking with his own. For a moment, Cassian felt that his breath was caught in his throat. Her doe eyes were a pleasant contrast from the brutality he had known.

“Y/N,” she said softly, another soft smile on her pink lips. Cassian nodded, looking away, almost bashfully, from her gaze. “I-I hope you’ll find my care adequate,” she said awkwardly, bringing a gruff chuckle out of Cassian.

“You’ve heard about my past nurses haven’t you?” He looked up at Y/N, a slightly embarrassed smile on his thin lips.

“I have,” she said, “I was warned about. But you don’t seem like the cranky old man they described.” She shot him a playful smile and Cassian felt almost laughed again.

“I don’t know about that,” Cassian said, feeling his age. Y/N smiled and walked back over to his bedside. “Retirement is a choice I could make for myself now. Doesn’t that make me old?” Y/N smiled and shook her head, her hair shimmering with the movement.

“It just means you are worthy of rest and, from what I’ve heard, are you definitely worthy. And brave.” Cassian smiled, a true smile, as the words left her mouth. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Captain Andor,” she said as she turned to leave his room.

“Y/N,” Cassian said, bringing her attention back to him for a moment, “you can call me Cassian.” She smiled a toothy grin and nodded as she went through the door. Cassian leaned back on his bed, feeling a little anger in his heart release into nothingness.

A few weeks passed and Cassian found himself with a growing affection for Y/N. She was young and didn’t treat him as the other nurses had. She treated him like a human being, not simply just a patient. Flirts were thrown about meaninglessly between the two, until it wasn’t meaningless.

A tension, romantic in nature, started to form between them. Cassian felt it just as much as Y/N did. The girl tried her best to remain professional, but the way he would look at her would send shivers through her. Flirting turned into deep conversations, that would sometimes last late into the night. Doctor Balif would check in, noting his change in overall mood.

“I don’t know what you’re doing, Y/N, but keep it up. Cassian will be out of here soon if his vitals remain this stable.” Y/N nodded, smiling softly. “He also seems to hold you in a high regard,” he pointed out, making the girl blush.

As the days went on, Cassian’s feelings only grew; but their age gap became more apparent as well. He would tell Y/N war stories that she had learned about in school a few years ago. Cassian grew hesitant to tell her of his feelings. The eight years between them and the fear in his chest started to take it’s toll. Until one night, where Cassian asks about his friend again.

“They always claimed they couldn’t tell me if they were alive,” Cassian said sadly. “I haven’t heard from them since.”

“Cassian,” Y/n said, placing her hand on his. He looked up and met her eyes, seeing a seriousness in them that wasn’t characteristically Y/N. “They’re alive.”

Cassian felt tears well up in his eyes, his hand moving to grasp Y/N’s. He brought it to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against the skin on top of her slender hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered, “but won’t you get in-” Y/N shook her head, silencing him.

“I am suppose to help my patients, even if that means withholding information from them. But you, Cassian, are more than my patient. I,” she paused, “I care for you.”

Cassian swallowed hard, “Y/N, I do to, but it’s not…I’m here for Force knows how much longer and you’re young.”

“Your vitals are more stable,” she said softly, “your stay in the medbay won’t be forever. And the age…” she trailed off. “You have been fighting for a long time, Cassian,” she said after a moment of thought, “you don’t have to fight this.”

“I won’t,” Cassian said softly, holding her gaze, “I’m done fighting.”

“I hope you don’t mind the retirement celebration,” Doctor Balif said as he led Cassian down the hall. He was finally free from the medbay, open to go and do whatever he pleased. Balif guided him into a room where, much to Cassian’s surprise, was full of people.

Jyn, Bodhi, and the rest of the Rogue One crew were there; looking about as worse for wear as he did. So was Y/N. The young nurse rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Hello mi amor,” Cassian said into her hair. When Y/N pulled back, Cassian leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips. Baze let out a happy shout and Jyn smiled at her friend. Y/N pulled back and pecked his cheek.

“C’mon, your friends have missed you,” she grabbed his hand and led Cassian over to his crew. Bodhi gave him a small hug, as did Baze and Jyn. Chirrut gave him a nod.

“You’ve freed yourself from your prison, Captain. I commend you.” Cassian nodded at the blind man, looking over at Y/N. She was smiling, laughing at something Baze had done to make Bodhi blush. Jyn Erso even dared to smile too. Maybe retirement wouldn’t be too bad after all.

[supersugatrash]

Welcome. First time with BTS?

A/N: Annyeong! An update that didn’t take me half a year to post? That doesn’t sound right. But I’m telling you now, so nobody can call me out on my bullshit, I’m also going to work on some other stuff before the next chapter comes out. Y’kno, keep myself from feeling drained just looking at the story. Remember, though: It’s not over until I say it is and we’ve still got ways to go until the end.

Story Summary: You wish your life was normal again, but you know it will never be the same. Not with what you’ve experienced since joining one of the most dangerous Gangs in Seoul: Bangtan.

Genre: Gang/Mafia!AU

Included: Reader, Hoseok, Jimin, Yoongi, Namjoon

Word Count: 6,681

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

Warnings: Strong Language, Violence (towards every character, including reader), Explicit Medical Procedure (idk it’s not the nicest topic to read about. Just a head’s up, yo) – You have been warned.

Part 13

When the dreaded morning came, you woke up in Yoongi’s bed with him fast asleep next to you. You never said your goodbyes the night before, but maybe it was better that way. Maybe it was easier for both of you if you simply… left. After all, you had an even more dreadful conversation with Hoseok ahead of you and you didn’t need to add to it with a heartache you never asked for. You quietly slipped out of his bed and made your way to your suitcase, quickly grabbed a few pieces of clothing and dressed up, before you carefully made your way towards the door. “And where do you think you’re going this early in the day?” Shit. Yoongi, still half asleep, propped himself up and looked at you expectantly.

“To go make some coffee for us and breakfast in bed?” you smiled awkwardly, the handle of your bag clearly in hand and frozen in your position as you were about to grab for the doorknob.

“Want me to pretend to sleep so you have time to come up with a better excuse?” he had now raised an eyebrow and was visibly annoyed.

“I’m sorry, okay?” you finally let go of your suitcase and walked over to the bed. “I… didn’t want to have to say goodbye to you, leaving for a while is already hard enough as it is.”

“I get it.” He said, looking out the window without any emotions in his eyes. You sat down next to him and put your arms around his body, feeling the icy wall surrounding him slowly melt down under your touch. At that moment you realised, you were no better than Namjoon. He had done the same thing five years ago and it broke your heart. You didn’t want anyone else feel that pain because of you.

“This isn’t goodbye forever, Yoongi.” You rested your chin on top of his shoulder and hugged him just a little tighter. He turned his face towards you and left a loving peck on your forehead. “I know,” he whispered as the two of you sat there in silence.

---

With a heavy heart, you said your goodbyes to the people that took you in when you needed help the most and sat down in the passenger seat of Jimin’s car. “Nervous?” Jimin looked at you with his kind and caring eyes.

“A little bit.” You forced a smile.

“Don’t worry, Y/N.” he firmly grabbed your hand. “You’re a strong woman now and nobody can take that from you.” With one light squeeze he let go and started the ignition, before driving off, further away from the city and the people you deeply cared for.

The car ride was quiet as you glanced out the window, not a single vehicle passing you far and wide, nothing but fields wherever you looked and tension building up inside of you. After an hour’s drive on a long and lonesome road, you took a turn onto a narrow path and entered a small forest area. “This is where Hoseok lives?” you broke the silence with a confused look on your face. “He likes to be on his own.” Jimin shrugged and continued on.

As you slowly approached a run-down cabin, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Was that really such a good life to live? “Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to him?” As the vehicle came to a halt, he took off his seatbelt and turned towards you.

“No,” you sighed, trying your best to sound convincing “I’ve got this.” You hadn’t gone through all of your training for nothing and you weren’t going to give up your new-found confidence because of a small obstacle on your path.

“I worry a little about what I’ve created.” He chuckled before he exited the car, picked up your suitcase out of the trunk and walked towards the sturdy wooden entrance while you took one last deep breath, followed him closely and knocked on the door.

Silence. There was no sound coming from inside for about two minutes when you knocked again. Still, nobody answered.

“Hoseok hyung?” Jimin shouted, his voice echoing through the woods.

“I don’t think he’s –“ before you could finish your sentence, the door in front of you opened ever so slightly. Hoseok stood right in front of you, an intimidating aura surrounding him as he looked down on you through the crack.

“What is she doing here?” he glared at Jimin, who in return lightly pushed you forward, urging you to speak up.

“I…” you tried to find the right words, struggling as his eyes pierced right through you. “I need your help.”

“With what?” Hoseok continued looking back and forth between Jimin and you, “Haven’t I made it clear that I want nothing to do with you?”

“Hyung you are being too harsh; she’s done nothing to you.”

“Think whatever you want. I’m not taking part in the little pity party you and Yoongi hyung seem to be throwing for her.” He turned around and was about to close the door on you again, when that voice inside your head started yelling at you.

“I’m not leaving until you let me in.” You pressed your hands against the wood to keep it open, “I’m standing here, with the only belongings I have left, asking you to give me a fighting chance to survive out there.” Hoseok had a cold expression on his face as he looked you directly in the eyes and you noticed the resistance on the door weaken ever so slightly. “Please, Hoseok-ssi, I really need your help.” You pleaded, and no matter how much or why he resented you, something inside him prevented him from shutting you out completely.

“Fine.” He kept his scornful attitude towards you, but still let you and Jimin enter.

When you stepped inside, you observed two things.

There were guns everywhere and boxes full of ammunition piled up in the corners.

This was the home of someone that was haunted by loneliness.

The furniture was completely worn-down, it almost looked like you had entered a second-hand store, as you noticed the sink filled with unwashed dishes and a single mug on the kitchen counter. No pictures were hung up on the walls, no sweet mementos collected on shelves and you started to wonder if he had made any good memories in the years he had lived there, but you would have never dared to say those things out loud as he led you to his old leather couch.

“What do you need help with?” he asked as he slumped onto his armchair.

“Y/N needs to learn how to use a gun.” Jimin answered in your stead and quickly earned a threatening glare in return. “I asked her, didn’t I?”

“Jimin has taught me how to fight, but I have no idea how to shoot.” As terrifying as it was, you made sure to keep eye contact with Hoseok as you spoke. He was silent as he contemplated declining your request and you started feeling sweat collecting on your palms more and more with every painful second he waited to finally reply. “You know this can get extremely dangerous, right?”

“Yes,” you whispered, too afraid to tick him off. He said nothing for what felt like an eternity, brooding in his chair as he took your situation into consideration. “Okay then. You can stay here until your training is complete.”

You sighed in relief. You had overcome the first hurdle, but you knew this situation wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. “The second I feel like I’ve taught you everything I can or you mess up, you’re out.”

“Thank you, Hoseok-ssi.” You smiled at him and he kept a straight face, but you already knew it would take a while to get on his good side.

“There something else you need, Jimin-ah?” he looked expectantly at the man that was quietly sitting next to you the entire time.

“No, that would be all.” Jimin smirked proudly as he glanced over to you.

“Good, then go back to your place.” Hoseok stood up and walked over to the door, earning a confused look from both of you. “She is now under my supervision and I can’t have you slowing us down because you’re distracting her.”

Without putting up a fight, Jimin followed Hoseok to the door, but waited a second for you to catch up. “If you need anything, I’m just one phone call away.” He whispered as he took both of your hands in his. “And remember to keep that attitude. You are a very strong and independent woman, Y/N.”

“Thank you.” When you embraced Jimin one last time, tears started welling up in your eyes. Everything was going to be different from now on, and you were already longing for the kindness Jimin and Yoongi had shown you when you lived with them. But you needed this change of pace, you still had a long way to go before your growth was complete. When the two of you finally separated, you watched him walk away, before he drove off back into civilisation.

Once you stepped back inside, Hoseok closed the door behind you and walked towards his desk as he spoke. “There are a few ground rules here. Listen to what I say or you will get shot.” it didn’t seem to be much of a rule rather than a threat, “Don’t talk to me unless told otherwise.” You knew you would quickly break that one, “And for the love of fuck, don’t tell me about your problems. I don’t care.” He started rummaging through the drawers.

“Got it.” The words left your mouth quicker than you could think, because at this point you knew it’d be nothing more than an empty promise. “But I have to ask –“

“What did I just say about talking to me?” he picked up a handgun and turned around towards you.

“That I shouldn’t?” you reflexively held up your hands and hoped he wouldn’t make due on his promise to shoot you.

“Then why the hell are you already breaking that rule?”

“Because I want to know why you hate me.” You talked as fast as possible as you squinted your eyes.

“That’s none of your business.” Before you knew it, he was standing right in front of you and you carefully opened your eyes again as slowly put your hands down at the sight. The look on his face wasn’t that of a man that was about to kill you, he simply looked… sad. It was a look you hadn’t seen on him and it made him look like a lost child. His eyes gave away that he wanted to say something, but his stubborn mind wouldn’t let him. His momentary display of weakness passed in the blink of an eye as he placed the weapon into your hands.

“This is a standard M9 9mm pistol. They’re used by most armed forces, film and TV.” You were shocked by his methods. You knew nothing, yet he let you hold a real weapon without a warning. “Since you used to be a nurse, I’m sure you’ve treated many people with gunshot wounds and, if my guess is correct, almost all of them were 9mm.”

He wasn’t wrong. Whenever you had a shift at the ER you would see those same bullets being recovered from your patients’ wounds. “And you want me to use this thing?”

“God no.” he rolled his eyes at your question and replaced that very real gun with a surprisingly authentic, but lighter, imitation. “I’m not willing to get killed or treat your wounds because of your own stupidity. We’ll start with this replica.”

He quickly tugged the original one in the back of his pants and walked outside as you quietly followed him to a big open area behind his house. He left you standing on your own as he walked over to a wooden bench where he placed three empty beer cans on top, before he came back to you. “Now try to shoot the cans, show me what I’m working with here.”

You simply nodded and awkwardly held up the fake pistol with both hands, trying your best to aim at the targets. Quickly you noticed that it was much harder to shoot than it looked as you missed every single object. “This is gonna take a while.” Hoseok sighed and hung his head in disappointment as he was already getting annoyed by the entire situation.

“First, let’s talk about your pose. Place the foot of the firing side back and turn the supporting foot towards the target” He walked towards you and roughly placed a hand on the small of your back. “Stand up straight.” His digits pressed into you as he moved along your body and his breath on your neck sent shivers down your spine, before he stopped at your elbows. “Stretch out the strong arm and bend the supporting arm.” It was hard to concentrate on what he was saying with him standing so close it felt as if his musky scent was mocking you.

“I also noticed you close your eyes the second you pull the trigger. How do you think you could hit anything when you can’t see what you’re shooting at?” he took a step back from you, somehow leaving you feeling with a want for more. “This time, try to take a deep breath when you shoot.”

You did as he said, one deep breath as you pulled the trigger, hitting the bench just below your target. “Higher.” And again, you barely missed. “More to the left.” Bingo.

Your eyes widened as you started jumping up and down. “I did it!” you yelled in excitement.

“Next one.” Hoseok instructed, not impressed in the slightest by your accomplishment. As you repeated your actions, the only thing you heard from him were more commands like keep your position, aim lower, eyes on the target or stop wasting my time with stupid questions as you slowly but surely hit one can after another all by yourself. He made you repeat the process until your aim was steady, placing the objects back on the bench until not a single one of your shots missed. He never gave you a break and you continued shooting until the sun started setting. “That’s enough for today.” He said when the day had come to an end. “Tomorrow we’ll continue with a real gun.”

“You think I’m ready for that?” you asked as the two of you stepped back inside the desolate shack.

“You have to. I’m not wasting more time on you then I need to.” He walked towards the kitchen and started boiling water. Still, you couldn’t understand his hatred towards you. Was it something you said or done? Or did he really just see you as a threat to his family? Whatever it was, you didn’t dare to ask him as you sat down on the couch and looked at your phone. You had two missed calls from Yoongi and Jimin and multiple unread messages. At least someone cared about your well-being.

“You hungry?” you barely caught Hoseok’s words as you stared at your screen. “Oh, uhm… Yes, I am.” You quickly answered when you pressed a few buttons to see what the two men wanted from you.

12:04PM: Hey, Y/N! :)

12:04PM: Just checking in to see how things are going with hyung.

12:10PM: …

12:15PM: I’m taking the silence as everything going alright.

1:21PM: Yoongi hyung is already acting differently. – –

1:21PM: Please come back quick, he’s unbearable without you. TT

1:22PM: Stay safe!

You smiled when you noticed he had written you merely an hour after he had left and you hurriedly replied.

6:37PM: Everything’s fine Jimin-ah!

6:37PM: Hoseok-ssi is making dinner now.

6:37PM: He still doesn’t seem to like me much though.

6:38PM: I’ll see what I can do about Yoongi. ^^

6:38PM: Make sure to be careful too!

And with that, you continued to the other messages you had received from Yoongi that were much shorter and indirect about his true motive, just like him.

3:42PM: Yo, it’s Yoongi.

3:42PM: Just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

4:11PM: There’s this shirt that looks like it could be yours.

4:56PM: Want me to bring it over?

You started beaming and as you were about to message him back you heard Hoseok yell “Tell your guard dogs to stop harassing me already.”

6:39PM: Hoseok-ssi says to lay off his back. ^^

6:39PM: Pretty sure I took everything with me. Are you sure it’s not yours? ㅋㅋ

6:40PM: Thank you for looking out for me, though. We’re doing fine.

6:40PM: Have you eaten yet?

After a few minutes and no replies from either of them, Hoseok came back with two bowls of instant ramen and two pairs of chopsticks.

“Here.” He placed the meal on the coffee table in front of you, before he sat down in his chair and started eating the steaming hot dish in silence. You didn’t dare picking up a conversation with him, wondering if he would ever be in the mood to talk to you normally, and were thankful he was nice enough to prepare food for you as you carefully chowed it down.

Once Hoseok had finished his bowl, he placed it in the sink with the other unwashed dishes, grabbed a bag, his mask and a jacket and walked straight towards the door. “I’m heading out for the night. Take the bed or the couch – I don’t care – just don’t touch any of my stuff. I’ll see you for your training in the morning.” Without waiting for a response, he left you to yourself in the eerily quiet cabin he called home.

When you had slurped down the last bit of broth you stood up and walked to the kitchen, thinking about what you could do with the rest of your day. It was still rather early and the shooting practice didn’t nearly take as much out of you as training with Jimin, so going to bed was not an option. You looked around, seeing the mountain of dirty dishes that had been sitting in the sink for what you assumed months and got to work. He had let you live with him for reasons unknown and you wanted to repay his kindness in some way, cleaning up for him was the least you could do.

Half an hour later, the sink was finally freed up and the tableware had found their places in the respective cupboards once again. When you checked your phone and noticed it hadn’t even been eight, you got started on sweeping the floor. When in Rome, right? But even after you had finished your next task, you were bored out of your mind and felt the energy in your body still going strong. Your day was certainly missing the exercise you had gotten at the warehouse.

Eventually, you decided to step into the lion’s den and quickly glanced over the mess that was his bedroom. Unwashed clothes were lying on the floor or had found a place on a chair that was standing in one of the corners and against better judgement, you chose to clean everything up. Within about ten minutes, the ground was free once again and when you were about to take the pile to the washing machine, something small and shiny fell out of the pocket of one of his pants.

Under further inspection, you noticed a necklace with a golden rectangular locket attached to it, contemplating if you should open it but quickly deciding to let it be. After all, he did tell you to not touch any of his belongings. You carefully put it on his nightstand and banished any thoughts of it from your mind.

When his home looked once again like someone had actually been living there, you felt exhaustion finally setting in. You decided to take a shower and made yourself comfortable on the leather couch with a blanket you had found while cleaning up. After a few hours of tossing and turning you still couldn’t sleep, your mind occupied with the mysterious locket. You shouldn’t have even known about its existence, but you could no longer fight your curiosity and quickly stood back up.

There was this strong sensation in your heart that told you finding out whatever was inside it would help you get a step closer to Hoseok opening up to you. As you stood in his room, the necklace in hand and a lingering feeling of guilt in the back of your head, you carefully separated the two pieces. On the left side was a picture of a frail-looking woman, presumably in her mid-twenties, holding a toddler in her arms. You didn’t know why, but you somehow had the feeling you had seen that boy before. Obviously, he grew up to become Hoseok, but you were sure there was more to it that you didn’t quite understand.

You noticed there was a small, skilfully folded, note stuck into the right piece and cautiously took it out before reading the few words that were neatly written on the old piece of paper.

I will always love you, Hoseok-ah.

-          Mom

Your heart felt heavy and you had a lump in your throat, thinking about how Hoseok must have led his life. Was that woman still alive? After a minute of being deep in thought, you heard a car drive up to the cabin. You quickly put the note back in its place and the necklace in the drawer of the nightstand, before crawling into Hoseok’s bed and pretended to sleep, with just enough time to catch your breath.

The door to the bedroom flung open with a loud thud as Hoseok stepped inside with a hand pressed tightly against his thigh. Not caring about you he looked around for a second, confused why his room looked much neater than before, limped towards his closet where he grabbed a plastic container and walked out again.

Your heart was racing. Was he mad? You barely caught a glimpse at his pale face, but something was definitely wrong. As quietly as possible, you got out of bed again and snuck towards the door, creaking it open just an enough to peek through.

You saw Hoseok taking the box to the old kitchen island you had spent a good while cleaning as he sat down on the chair in front of it. He was rummaging through the box and pulled out scissors, tweezers and gauze, which could only mean one thing. He began cutting through the leg of his pants, pulled out his belt and put it in his mouth before moving the tweezers closer to his bare thigh. It was when he started groaning in pain as his shaky hands moved the metal object around in the open wound you could no longer sit back and watch. “Uhm… Hoseok-ssi?”

He flinched as he suddenly heard your voice and accidentally jerked the hand with the tweezers. He let out a loud Fuck as he pounded his fist on the counter, squeezing his eyes shut in agony, before he turned around and glared at you, filled with rage. “What do you want?” he hissed through his teeth, still biting down on his black leather belt.

“Please, let me help you.” You slowly approached him, as if he was a wild animal you were trying to tame.

“I’ve got it.” He turned away from you and continued trying to patch himself back up. It pained you to watch him hurt himself and you hated not being able to do anything about it. Another minute passed as he finally got a hold of the bullet in his thigh, his whole body shaking as cold sweat started collecting on his forehead. He tried to pick up a needle and had a hard time threading it when you finally had enough.

You walked over to him, and took the two items out of his hands, but this time he didn’t put up a fight. It was then when you saw how bad the injury really was. You glanced at the fabric of his pants, drenched in blood and the wound he had opened up further with his unsteady movements. As you carefully stitched him together, hoping the wound won’t get infected, he let out groans and took in sharp breaths. Once everything was bandaged, you could see the colour coming back to his face and you gave him a caring smile.

“Thanks.” He said with a cold face as he stood up and limped over to his room, leaving you standing by yourself.

Instead of finally getting some rest, you put everything back in the box, turned the kettle on and walked over to the fireplace, where you kneeled down as you tried to get it going. You couldn’t have slept after all of that. Finding out about a little piece of Hoseok’s past and wondering who had shot him, your mind was all over the place.

“What are you doing?” Hoseok came out of his room as he put on a fresh sweatshirt and for just a second, you got a glimpse at his toned and scarred upper body.

“I just thought it was a little cold, but I don’t really know how to work this thing.” You sighed as you stood up and watched him walk over. While he was busying himself with the fireplace, you headed back to the kitchen and made yourself an herbal tea when he asked for a beer, which you gladly took out of the fridge and handed it to him as you sat back down on the couch, holding the steaming mug with both of your hands. The cosy fire he got going changed the entire mood of the place as the crackling warmth took over the silence. To your surprise, he sat down in his armchair and he looked… different from his usually brooding – somewhat threatening – personality. He looked vulnerable and simply tired.

“You want to know why I dislike you?” Taken aback by him breaking the silence, you kept quiet and nodded.

“You probably don’t remember this,” he sighed as he stared into the fire with a blank expression, “but we’ve met before.”

“We have?” you furrowed your brows, trying to figure out what he had meant.

“It was a long time ago.” He took a minute as he thought back to the moment the two of you had met, “I was about nine, homeless and rummaging through garbage in an alley behind a restaurant, when two girls walked past me.” Your eyes widened and you knew exactly where the story was headed as you were taken back to that day when you saw a poor boy scavenging for food in a dumpster.

You remembered spending the day with a girl you hadn’t known very long and on your way back home your fateful encounter with Hoseok occurred, not knowing it would change your lives forever. You remembered the girl stopping in her tracks when she laid eyes on the young boy, only to walk over and yell tactless things at him. She told him how disgusting he was, kicked his shin and spat on his face as he was cowering on the ground in tears, all the while you let the scene play out in front of you. Helplessly you stood there, unsure what to say or do as you looked at the boy’s face. You thought you would never forget him, the sight of his pleading eyes staring right at you, but you did.

“I’m so sorry Hoseok-ssi.” Nothing but a mere whisper escaped your lips as you stood up from your seat and walked over to him, took his hand in yours and looked at him with tears welling up in your eyes.

“Don’t be.” He paused and took a sip from his beer before he looked at you, his expression a mixture between anger and sorrow. “I don’t need your apology anymore. I’ve hated you for a long time, because you were weak. I saw the horror in your eyes as you decided to not stand up against a bully. You knew right from wrong, but chose the easy way out.” A dulled beeping sound was interrupting the sombre atmosphere, but you had no idea where it came from. With a blank expression, he pulled his hand away from you and stood up, before he walked away from you towards his desk. “But you’re no longer the same you were back then and neither am I.”

He picked up the gun he had shown you earlier and quickly made sure the safety was on before he finished his beer with one long swig, came back and placed the weapon in your hands with a serious expression on his face. “Which is why we’re getting out of here together. Now.”

“What’s going on?” you looked at him in confusion.

“Those fuckers followed me.” He darted past you, as fast as he could with his injured leg, to put on his mask and flung the same bag he had carried earlier over his shoulder. “Get down and stay close to me.” He started crouching as he walked to his bedroom and you followed his lead. The two of you made your way to the window, where he quickly glanced outside to check for enemies, before he quietly opened it and crawled out. Without a word, he produced another pistol from his bag and motioned for you to continue on.

Instead of leading you to his car, you snuck further into the woods. “Why are we going this way?” you whispered, trying to keep your voice as low as possible.

“I have an escape vehicle hidden here.” He hissed as he kept crouching. “Now’s not the time to ask questions.” You nodded, even though you were unsure if he was able to see it in the dark as you quietly followed him further in.

Five minutes of silence and you were at a small clearing. You could already see the car as your heartbeat slowed down again. You never saw anyone around and you also didn’t see the man behind you, holding his gun up in your direction. Bang

The gunshot echoed through the forest and the sound of birds fluttering their wings as they scattered through the night. You looked around and saw Hoseok’s distorted face as he held up the smoking pistol in the direction of the man that was now lying on the ground. You crawled towards Hoseok as you noticed him clutching his chest. “Shit, Hoseok-ssi!” the blood was glistening in the moonlight as it quickly covered your hands while you pressed them against the wound. “Please… Please stay with me.” Tears filled your eyes as you pleaded, but he didn’t respond.

You felt his chest rise weakly, there was still life in him, but you knew there wasn’t much time. Hurriedly, you tucked the pistol in your pants and started dragging him towards the vehicle, letting out a relieved sigh every time you heard small moans and groans coming from him. Once you had made it to the car, you started looking through Hoseok’s pockets, desperately trying to find the keys when you heard slow footsteps dragging on the ground.

You turned around, your attacker was still standing, one hand on his lower abdomen and a gun in the other, when your instincts kicked in. Never did you think you would have to kill a man, but the need to protect your friend’s life and your own changed everything. In one swift motion you pulled out the gun you had carried and took a deep breath as you pulled the trigger. The world around you started slowing down as you aimed for his heart, watching the stranger’s fingers mimicking your own.

A piercing pain was rushing through your upper arm as the man fell to his knees. His eyes wide open as the blood seeped through his shirt. A deep rage overtook you and the tears were running down your cheeks as you shot him again and again. You took out every bit of anger that had built up since the day your father died. Every gang you had crossed, every injury you had endured and every last bit of the emotional damage this journey had caused you let out while you continuously shot the man, screaming and crying until the very last bullet was fired. You were breathing heavily as you stood there for a second, taking in what just happened.

Quickly you wiped away the tears with your sleeve and picked up the keys, before you carefully hoisted Hoseok in the back and started driving off into the night. His breathing was flat, but at least he’s still alive you repeated over and over to ease your troubled mind. Your hands were shaking as you dialled the number of the only person you wanted to talk to.

“Hey, Y/N. What’s up?” Yoongi answered his phone casually.

“Hoseok-ssi… I… Yoongi…” you stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence as you raced through the woods, trying to find an exit to get back to the city.

“Calm down, Y/N. Take a deep breath.” Yoongi’s voice was concerned and you heard rustling noises coming from his end.

“Hoseok-ssi… he’s been shot.” You cried as you put him on speaker and kept your eyes on the empty road.

“What?” he yelled and you heard the sound of an engine being started. “Where are you?”

“I-I don’t know…” you looked around for any clues, but you only saw trees. “I’m trying to get to the practice.”

“I’m on my way. I will call you right back, I just have to inform the others.”

“Please hurry…” you whispered and after a moment of silence, he hung up.

After a few minutes, you had finally found your way out, but you were still driving through fields. Nothing seemed familiar, everything looked the same, but you still continued on, determined to get to your destination at all cost. When you had finally made it to the country road, your phone started ringing. Without checking the caller ID, you picked up and to your surprise it wasn’t Yoongi that had called.

“Y/N?” Namjoon said with genuine concern as he spoke. “It’s going to be all right. We’re on our way.”

“I-I don’t know where the fuck I am, Namjoon.” You started yelling, too agitated to think clearly. “There’s fields everywhere, Hoseok-ssi is dying, I can’t see any lights from the city, I –“

“Breathe, Y/N.” his calm tone cut you off. “You are not alone. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“How am I supposed to stay calm? This is too much, I can’t do it, Namjoon.”

“Yes, you can. You are strong, Y/N. Just keep driving and you will get to us. Everything will be fine.” You didn’t know why, but for some reason you believed him. You believed that you could make it back on your own, you believed that Hoseok would pull through and you believed that Namjoon was right there with you. Or at least, you really wanted to.

Twenty minutes later, the fields started dying down and Namjoon was still on the other end of the call keeping you level-headed. You were terrified, but the tears finally died down when you suddenly noticed the big city appearing in front of you. “I’m here!” you screamed, relief taking over as you noticed your body relax and your grip on the steering wheel loosen just a little bit.

“We’ve got everything ready for the two of you.” He let out a sigh. After ten more minutes of speeding through the streets, you had made it towards the practice, where Jimin, Yoongi and Namjoon were already waiting outside of the building. You hurriedly pulled up the car and as it barely had stopped, Jimin opened the back door where Yoongi and him pulled out an unconscious Hoseok. 

As you jumped out of the vehicle, Namjoon was already waiting for you as he pulled you into a tight embrace. “I knew you would make it.” For just a second, you forgot about everything as you felt the comfort of his arms wrapped around you. All of your worries were washed away with just a single touch, but the moment didn’t last long as Yoongi shouted your name. The two of you quickly separated and you ran after them and the thought of Hoseok dying was back on your mind. You had no intention of giving up on him now, your determination as strong as ever as the five of you ascended in the elevator to the practice, where he was swiftly placed on a stretcher and wheeled into the infirmary.

You put on a fresh pair of gloves before you grabbed a stethoscope to check for a heartbeat, which was getting slower and slower by the second. You also noticed the breathing dying down fast, so you picked up a laryngoscope to find his vocal chords and inserted a flexible plastic tube into his throat. “You have to help him breathe, press this approximately every six seconds.” You attached the bag to the tube and handed it over to Jimin, who was equally as terrified as he was fascinated by you, and he immediately obeyed.

You took the clean pair of scissors off the table and started cutting Hoseok’s shirt open, trying to find the wound through all of the blood. After a second of searching, you noticed it was on the right side of his chest and used a patch of gauze to wipe some of the red fluid away. With the spotless tweezers and steady hands, you carefully started removing one bullet fragment after another, letting out a sigh when you noticed they hadn’t penetrated deep enough to damage his lungs. After you cleaned out the rest of his wound and neatly sewn it shut, you bandaged him up and sat down, waiting for the smallest sign of recovery.

A minute passed. Two minutes passed. It wasn’t looking good for him. Everyone had gathered around in anticipation and when the next minute had begun, you concentrated heavily on his chest as it suddenly started rising and falling just a little bit stronger. Your head fell into your hands at the sight as tears were once again running down your cheeks, you couldn’t believe he was still pulling through somehow. “We’re all proud of you, Y/N.” Namjoon squatted in front of you as he grabbed both of your hands and held on to them tightly, looking at you with a reassuring smirk on his face.

“I-I’m just s-so happy he’s alive.” You sobbed, finally letting all the events of the night settling in.

“And it’s all thanks to you.” Yoongi placed a hand on the small of your back as he spoke to you in a soothing tone.

“How long to I have to keep going?” Jimin asked nervously and you realised you had completely forgotten about him. “Oh god, I’m so sorry.” You jumped up and tumbled back one step, almost falling over. “We just have to hook him up on the machine.”

“Relax a bit, we’ve got this.” Namjoon slowly pushed you back down with a caring smile as Yoongi quickly performed the action, relieving Jimin of his duties.

“You should lie down, dear.” Seokjin looked at you with a concerned expression and you didn’t hesitate to follow his suggestion. You quietly wandered to the patient’s room and sat down on the bed, not having a care in the world, as the exhaustion knocked you out right away. Nobody dared to speak to you, nobody dared to ask what happened, but they all worried about your well-being as they let you sleep off those past eventful hours.