therocketgrunt

[quibbs126]

Maybe it’s just me and my fascination with body horror, but I feel like Cookie Run could get a lot of mileage out of it. Considering you know, they’re Cookies

Show us some messed up looking Cookies that are either products of horrific experiments or some sort of disease that horribly disfigures Cookies until they crumble

[pricklenettle]

Beats Per Minute

AO3

Word Count:  9,590

tw: dissection, gore, body horror

Prompt from @ghostlyhabato

Clockwork is not as he seems. Despite saving Danny, he has an ulterior motive for getting the boy to trust him, and a plan that neither Danny nor the rest of the Ghost Zone would be keen on. Somehow, Danny finds out about it. Is he able to stop Clockwork, or is he no match for the Master of Time?

~~~~~~~~

Maddie pulled on the disinfected gloves. Made of thick black rubber, they almost went up to her shoulders. All the better to keep ectoplasm staining to a minimum. She wrapped a long plastic apron around her front. It was bulky and the clear plastic made crackling sounds whenever she moved but it would make for easy cleanup. She chuckled, it wasn’t too different from wearing oven mitts and the pink frilled cooking apron Jack had made her for when she baked cookies.

Jack had already finished his preparations. The pump was primed and humming, the containment tank’s light was on, revealing floating sickly green bubbles behind the glass. There were ghosts floating, suspended in the operational tanks beside it, but this one they’d kept empty. The operation table was unfolded in the middle of the floor, and all the other gadgets he’d invented for dealing with mostly intangible beings were all ready and waiting. He’d moved on to setting out her tools, organizing them side by side on the trays with nervous energy.

She eyed the orderly rows, gangrenous light from the portal bouncing off the stainless steel blades. She smiled reassuringly. “We’ve done plenty of animals, this one will be a breeze.”

Jack bobbed his head back and forth sucking on his teeth in concentration. “I’m not worried, the Fenton Ghost Restraints have held a ghost bear! It’s just strange, is all, how we finally got him. And I don’t like being in such a rush.”

“Well I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I’m certainly not going to let the GIW get their paws on him. They’re probably running through their paperwork as we speak.” Maddie tied her apron around her waist and pulled her hood down, settling the goggles over her eyes. “Alright, ready to get him out of the trunk?”

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵👻

Jack slammed the trunk of the GAV open. The vehicle was off but it wasn’t dark inside, a soft pearly light was weakly emitted from the entity lying on the floor. It wasn’t strong enough to illuminate anything, but it sent an involuntary chill down Maddie’s spine even with all her experience.

Jack hovered over her, a big orange shadow, anxious to follow her directions. “When he’s not flying around causing havoc with the other ghosts it’s easy to forget this guy was a kid when he kicked the bucket.”

Maddie appreciated his comment, it made her realize her thoughts had been slipping dangerously in the same direction. If her mind wasn’t sure, and her scalpel wasn’t exact it would only cause undue damage and wasted time. She analyzed the white scrunched up face, leaking ectoplasm out of a bruised nose and cut forehead, and getting it all over the GAV rug. The sluggish green liquid would stain horribly. Its white hair shivered unnaturally in the still air, and she could feel the dip in temperature when she stuck her hand out toward it.

“Phantom might have been a kid once, or its appearance could be an illusion to make Amity Park residents more likely to sympathize with it, or it could be a branch of the ghost zone itself, reaching out to push into our world like a mindless drone scout. Its ecto-signature is so similar to readings taken directly from the portal, how can he exist so effortlessly in the human realm? Whatever it is, we’ll find out more once he’s on the operation table.”

Jack immediately brightened at the thought of testing their many, many theories. This would open the door for them into a realm famously unknowable since the first cells gathered together in the chemical miracle of life. Dr. Frankenstein had nothing on them. Jack scooped Phantom up. The ghost seemed tiny in his arms. The anti-ecto strips in his orange suit would counteract any intangibility that might let a weakened ghost slip away. He bent so Maddie could stick it with her needle. The ghost's head lolled on his neck. She could see the tendons and bones moving beneath his skin, it was amazingly easy to find the carotid artery. She pressed the tip of her needle to his skin to unload her syringe.  

That was strange too. According to their theories, ghosts were ectoplasmic reflections of things that left an intense emotional stain when they passed on from this side. On the inside many ghosts weren't much different from the blob ghosts that floated through ectoplasm dense air like zooplankton. How many ghosts out there had such realistic articulation? Maddie wanted to bounce on her toes with excitement just thinking about it.

They chatted amiably on the walk back through the house down into the basement. The house was dark, she didn't expect Jazz or Danny would be back for a while. Maddie and Jack tossed ideas and strategies back and forth. Delight roasted warmly in her stomach, she always thought best and most clearly with Jack beside her, and his thoughts added such a unique twist to any of her endeavors. Capturing the number one enemy, dissecting him together in their own lab, all the knowledge they would gain, and staying ahead of the government; tonight was shaping up to be quite the pleasant evening.  

~~~~~┏(-Д-┏)～

Phantom woke up sometime as they were going down the stairs. He made a muffled noise and weakly kicked. Jack squeezed him tighter. "None of that, Ghost scum."

Maddie hurried her steps. "Get him on the table, we have a while yet before he's dangerous again, but I don't want him waking up any more than he has."

Jack laid him on the table almost gently. Phantom tried to sit up, but Jack's hands were firm and heavy. Phantom's mouth worked. It looked like he was trying to use a swollen tongue with a deathly dry mouth. His inhuman green eyes were wide as saucers, they followed Maddie around the lab as she got her notes ready and wheeled the table with her instruments closer.

Jack strapped the restraints around his wrists and ankles. Phantom still hadn't made as much protest as she thought he would against the two ghost hunters that had been chasing him since his first appearance. Perhaps he was more out of it than she'd calculated. Jack was making whatever fiddly adjustments he needed on the machines. He pulled out one of these collapsible gadgets from underneath the table below Phantom's head. The middle piece looked like an oxygen mask, but on either side it was attached to a series of clear plastic tanks and tubes. He lowered the mask over Phantom's mouth and nose. Though ghosts had no need to breathe, the facial orifices were still often the most effective way to introduce a foreign substance. For an instant, Maddie imagined she saw the whisper of condensation pearling inside the dome of plastic over the ghost's mouth. She tensed, but Jack flipped the machine's switch and gas swirled through the tubes to cloud the oxygen mask. The left side was green with gaseous ectoplasm harvested directly from the ghost zone and concentrated into its purest form. It would keep pumping strength into the ghost as Maddie dug around in its insides. It should keep it stabilized even while its body was put through stress. The right side was pale and smoky, a sedative more effective than a hard knock to the head or the quick shots Maddie had been giving him. Even as she watched the green glowing disks of his eyes lowered into acidic slits. Phantom looked even more alien with the machine obscuring the bottom half of his face.

She exchanged a glowing look with Jack. This was the moment they'd been waiting for. She picked up the chalk. She pressed one palm against Phantom's chest. Even through the gloves, she could tell the suit he wore was thick and slippery, black as an oil slick. The body below her hand was surprisingly solid. She paused there, as though sensing there was something she'd missed.

Her heart skipped a beat when she felt it rise under her hand. A hitching inhale, a deep exhale. She sought Phantom's eyes. They were still lowered. Two glowing dreamy crescents. His irises wandered aimlessly underneath his lids. She shook her head. A trick, to put her off her guard. She noted it anyway, having Jack file it under physical characteristics. She'd figure it out when the ghost was opened up.

Without further ceremony, she chalked the long, skinny capital 'I'.

~~~~~~~ཀ༼ༀ༽ཫ་

The first layer she peeled back was the suit. It was slippery but thick and flexible with the same sort of texture as their own jumpsuits. She took samples to analyze on their own later. When she had time after wading through the solid feast of information laid out before her. To her surprise, there was skin underneath. It was pale and emaciated, but undeniably skin; with freckles, shadows of ribs, and scar tissue. One interesting, but almost completely faded scar branched from its right arm like spiky starbursts to its left collarbone, up its neck, and down its side where it likely extended to its foot. She pressed her fingers to its stomach. It moved like real skin. squishing gently in the gut and slipping over the ribs. She stepped aside so Jack could take a photo of the scarring.

She pressed the scalpel down. Gentle but persistent pressure, and the ghost's best parody of flesh parted easily to reveal dull green muscle. Jack used a cotton swab to dab away the pooling ectoplasm. Maddie was awed. She'd never suspected such detailed insides. She was doubting even more that such a powerful cognitive structure could belong to a harmless child ghost. What child knew the texture of muscle and exactly how they were supposed to lay under the skin? And brought it with them into death? She pulled back this layer with short precise slices.

Now the rib cage was exposed. The bones were blackened as though charred. She pressed a gloved finger against the curve of bone. She scratched her thumbnail against the surface, it didn’t flake like it had been burned or leave a residue on her fingers. It seemed the color had simply been inverted. She passed an arm over her face, sweating in spite of the cold air. She held out her hand to Jack. Wordlessly he placed the saw into her hand.

Tink. Tink. Plunk. Shards of bone hit the tray. Gummy green ectoplasm splattered messily. Maddie dropped the saw next to the pieces of black rib. They were stained all the way through, that being the only noticeable difference from regular bone. Another thing to study more closely.

She'd only taken out the left bottom few ribs so she could get at the organs she could already see pumping underneath it all. They didn't have time to waste on any more. Maddie could practically feel the GIW crawling in her neck hair. She reached into the small hole she'd made, grateful for small slender hands. She'd found the stomach and was groping for a scalpel when the basement door creaked open.

"Mom? Dad?"

It was Jazz. She couldn't see them yet because of the ecto-tank, and a curtain they'd set up before they started. Maddie quickly yanked her arm out, grabbing a roll of paper towels off the table. Jack was sitting in the computer chair, camera hanging from one hand and notebook almost slipping off his lap. He was clearly unnerved. If the ghost could disturb her husband, it would horrify her daughter. She tossed the soiled paper towels to the floor. She cast an analytical eye over the scene, she could admit the child ghost, even with his inhuman features, spread across the observation table looked pretty grisly. Both of them would benefit from a breather.

She pressed a hand to his shoulder. "It's all right, Jack, I'll talk to her. You go get a snack."

He lumbered out of sight, the fudge she hid above the fridge no doubt on his mind. She untied her apron and tossed it aside.

Jazz stared down at them from the landing. She took in their disheveled, splattered state, but it wasn't unlike them to get a little dirty in the normal course of their work. Jazz didn't comment. Maddie decided that she wouldn't even bring up Phantom's capture. Jazz could be a little squeamish sometimes and she had a clear soft spot for that ghost in particular. The ghost that lay half disassembled on their table at that moment. Maddie suddenly felt terribly weary.

She mustered a tired smile for Jazz. "Hey, sweety. Are you hungry? That chili should still be in the fridge."

A normal teenager might have shrugged but Jazz was above that. "I am fine, I just thought you two were going out?"

"Yeah, we were, but what could be a better date than working in the lab together?"

That made Jazz huff. "Whatever you say. I came down here to ask you if you'd seen Danny?"

Maddie cocked her head. "What? Why?"

Jazz looked away, arms crossed with the elegance of a heron, far beyond her years. "I was just wondering. Sam and Tucker were asking. Let me know if he stops by, alright?"

Maddie's eyes narrowed. It wasn't like Jazz to ask them something she could figure out herself. She must be a lot more worried than she was letting on. "Of course we will, are you sure everything's alright."

"Yes, Mom." Jazz groaned impatiently.

She turned to go but Maddie stopped her. "If you're not sure where he is we can help look." she thought regretfully of Phantom in mid operation, but family was really more important.

A pencil line appeared between Jazz's eyebrows. She looked from her to Jack coming up behind with arms full of fudge and what looked like a few girl scout cookies. "No, it's no big deal. And I wouldn't want to tear you away from whatever new weird invention you guys are bonding over."

"What's this about Danny?" Jack asked.

Maddie answered. "Jazz was asking where he was, she's worried about him."

"I didn't say that." Jazz said. "But yes, he isn't answering his phone and he never showed up at Tucker's house."

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, sweety." Maddie soothed. "Danny knows his way around Amity and he's got a clever head on his shoulders believe it or not." Jazz didn't seem to be convinced. There was something else going on, Jazz seemed far too off kilter. Maddie still couldn't believe that Danny was actually in any danger, but it made her uneasy. "Jack? Would you like to go look with Jazz?"

"Huh? Are you sure honey? What about our--- ah, project?"

"I can manage on my own. It'll just come along a lot slower, and I'll miss you. It's okay though, better make sure everything's fine and then you can come back and finish it with me." Maddie was relieved. Jack's stomach was made of strong stuff, not many things bothered him, but she suspected he'd been actually and truly perturbed. It was good he could get a real breath of fresh air.

"Sound's good, Mads!" Jack cried. He grabbed Jazz and whisked her away. "We'll be back in no time."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ

The basement lab seemed eerily silent without Jack's big boisterous presence. She wouldn't lie, he was the one who made things fun. On her own, it was easy to slip into a monotonous, cynical autopilot. It was a shame because the creature she was studying was a priceless treasure.

Phantom hadn't moved from how she'd left him. She tied the apron back on and got back to work. Dread spread through her mind like ink in water. It had been growing all this time, she realized, like a balloon inflating above her head, and now it had got so big it filled the entire lab, leaving no room for her. Her heart squeezed, and a chill passed through her. She gritted her teeth and viscously threw the feeling away. It was just the ghost taking advantage of her loneliness and worry over Danny, affecting its surroundings with what small ecto-field it had left.

She pulled out an armful of intestines and piled them on a tray. The LED lights flickered. The ghost was toying with her, even drugged senseless. She fought the urge to snip the organs out entirely and see just how Phantom liked that. She took a deep breath through her nose and forced herself to keep working steadily.

Out came the liver, the stomach, the spleen, one kidney, she couldn't seem to find the other one. As she rooted around looking for it, she risked looking at the ghost's face again. His eyes were still barely open, the slivers were almost flashlight bright though, probably from the increased density of ectoplasm.

"Don't look at me like that," she said. "You're the one who came out of the ghost zone where you belong. Maybe you don't even realize how destructive you are to our world. Your obsessions, your careless rages, no thought to the humans you've endangered even the days you only fought the other ghosts." She sighed, wondering if the exhaustion of culminated months were visible in the weight of her eyelids. All the complaints from justified ghost attack victims, all the sleepless nights, all the frantic inventions made from scratch to somehow deal with the ghost infestation. The time stolen from other things that were supposed to be more important than ghost hunting. It had started so innocently. A passion project. Now the ever present glow of the portal was inescapable, a literal haunting. Phantom's eyes were blind and reactionless. Nothing but a hollow husk for her to confess to. "I suppose we're at fault as much as you are. After all, you couldn't be here if we hadn't cracked a hole through the universe with our own obsession. Ah, found it."

The second kidney plopped onto the pile. "Looks like everything's here so far. I was starting to wonder if you were an organ donor."

She moved up to the chest cavity. Things immediately became more interesting. She carved out the diaphragm, pushed aside the yellow-green sacks of the lungs (Which were still, to her bewilderment, gently rising and falling like silly balloons) to find the bruised heart nestled in the left lung. It pumped. Miraculously and impossibly, if slowly. And there, squeezed into the right lung's space like a distorted mirror image of the heart, was Phantom's core.

It glowed a gentle white, like his aura. But her view of it was obstructed by strange growths. Tiny crystalline shards clung to it like a hoard of bees pressed to their hive. When Maddie brushed her hand over the prickly growths they came away easily as though they hadn't been attached at all. Before she could catch them, they'd fallen to scatter in the gooey recesses of Phantom's body. They sparkled under the harsh LED light. Maddie cursed, it was going to be such a hassle to pick them all out. She held one up to the light. It was clear, almost iridescent like spun glass, and about the size of her thumbnail. It was covered with uniform spikes, the shape reminded her of star candy, or maybe the garland of hand blown starry night Christmas ornaments Maddie carefully packed away every year. This was the most inhuman thing she'd found. She suspected it would be the only thing. She'd pay good money to bet that when she opened up his hands, every single minuscule bone and tendon would be accounted for. What a strange exception. These barbed star shapes should have caused a lot of internal damage, at the very least punctured a lung. But those were ghosts. They weren't really real in the same sense she was.

She suddenly was reminded of all the reports of Phantom hanging around the old broken down observatory. Sightings on new moons, and clear skies of Phantom just floating, high above. Whenever there was any notable astronomical phenomenon, it was good chances he'd be around. Always staring up.

Maddie dropped the star in the metal tray where it plinked softly. She was grateful for her rubber gloves when it loosed a small static charge into the metal tray. The lights flickered again.

She gathered two handfuls of stars, careful not to let any more fall. Now she could see the core clearly, she couldn't help admiring it. The core gleamed like abalone shell. It was a smooth oblong shape that really did seem perfectly set to mimic the heart. Strange green veins grasping it tight like roots.

She'd seen cores before in the animals they'd dissected, and she'd read theories about them. But somehow, standing before a fully developed core of a strong ghost seemed different. Something awe inspiring, and something she shouldn't be seeing. Her hand hovered over it, her fingers long shadows over the strange alien organ. To use such an unscientific term, it felt brave, and young, and yes there was something about the celestial in how the light moved inside the core. He really did love space, didn't he? It hummed as she drew closer, and her fingers started to freeze with cold. Terror shot from the nerves of her hand as though it was a message from her own brain. Terror and a complicated layering of other emotions. Disturbed she drew her hand back.

Phantom's center. Pure ectoplasm and theoretically, the ghost's memory, fuel, and drive all rolled into one. Without it, there would be no obsession, no shape to take form around. It's heart and brain together. It was one of the reasons why most ghosts didn't need either of those other things.

So why did Phantom?

Maddie stumbled back from the table. Suddenly feeling shaky for no reason she could figure out. This ghost was really, actually messing with her head. For all his quips and puns while awake, all his differences to other ghosts, she'd never thought it would be this biological similarity that she should have expected to find in the first place, to unbalance her.

She dragged back her goggles, blinking in the suddenly brighter lights of the lab.  She resisted the temptation to rub her tired eyes with her gory hands. She looked again at the piecemealed ghost on her table. The star growths looked even more sparkly on her tray now. Like childish dreams in crystallized form.

She looked down at her arms, the gloves stained green to the elbow. She'd just slogged through an (almost) perfectly accurate sample of a human body and she looked it. Ghosts were not supposed to have that. Period.

She jumped when her phone rang. It sounded almost angry as it repeated the chirping, obnoxious ringtone. Unwillingly she turned away from the ghost to figure out where she’d left it. It just kept making that blaring noise. She found it in the pocket of her evening coat she’d discarded in the excitement on a relatively clean bench. She removed one of her rubber gloves so she didn’t smear green over everything. She felt like she was missing something huge. Something so important, she’d almost grasped it before her thoughts were interrupted. What was worse was she didn’t want to admit it, so she was less than genial when she switched it on and snapped, “Hello,” into the receiver.

“Mads!” came Jack’s voice.

Maddie sagged against the bench. She glanced back, still all too aware of Phantom behind her. “Oh, good. Did you find him?”

The unusual silence on the other end was answer enough, Maddie felt her heart rate pick up. “I’m sure it’ll be fine Jack, Danny will be waltzing back before dinner and tease us for worrying.”

“I’m not so sure dear. The kids… Jazz didn’t seem to want me with them, and Sam and Tucker kept whispering. I feel like something’s really wrong. And they know more than they’re telling me.”

“Well, you know how kids that age are,” Maddie suggested almost hopefully.

Jack grunted, clearly not convinced, and muttered something about possession and dangerous ghosts. “I’m almost home in the GAV. I think the kids might have ditched me. Not sure though. Do you want to start our own investigation?”

Maddie was about to respond when Jack cut back in. “Maddie.” He said, a dangerous edge to his usually jovial voice. “There’s a roadblock in front of our street.”

Maddie stiffened and cursed. “No way, it’s been peaceful as the grave down here. Are you sure it’s them?”

She heard the sound of an engine on the other end. “Wait I’m backing up— oh dear, didn’t see that. Anyway, it all looks very official and normal like regular road work. But I’ve never seen those fellows with a mass of unmarked, white vans. Have you?”

Maddie’s lip quirked. She looked up as though she’d be able to see the GIW agents gathering over her head. Did she hear something upstairs or was it coming from the phone?  “No, I can’t say I have.”

Jack hissed. “Mads, looks like they’re unloading some serious, sweet looking machinery. Be careful. Here they come to talk to me. I hope you got as much as you could out of that spook!”

The phone hung up with a beep. Maddie stared at the black screen.

She sprang up over the bench to sprint up the stairs. She shot the bolt too, and then for good measure, slammed down the old rusty lock Jack had invented for their lab on one of those dull rainy days when he was too full of ideas and energy, and then proceeded to never use the overcomplicated thing until now. She flew back down. She pushed tables into defensible positions, clearing her notes away into horrible sloppy piles. She was being so logical she hardly knew what she was doing.

The lockers built into the wall opened with a press of her fingerprint. The mechanism clicked, and she wrenched the door back. She pulled down gun after gun. They were all ecto based, made for hunting ghosts and nothing else, but they’d still pack a punch against a living breathing human. She stuffed what she could into her jumpsuit, and slid the rest under the tables to bump softly against a leg of the dissection table. Net gun and Foamer, Jack o’ Nine Tails, and Anti-Creep Stick™. She brushed her hands over her bazooka before hefting it over her shoulder and joining the rest of the stuff next to Phantom.

Now, for sure she could hear movement upstairs. That’s when her brain caught up to her. She was being so sensible she’d completely missed the fact that she was going to have to hand Phantom over without a fuss.

She and Jack had already discussed it. It wasn’t fun but the GIW wouldn’t give them much choice, and better to abscond with first pickings than die on an unnecessary hill fighting with the government for scraps. Let the GIW take the ghostly leftovers like the credit stealing vultures they were. At least, that’s what she’d said on the drive over.

She was still puzzling over her actions when she heard the doorknob rattle. She cocked her Fenton Bazooka. There was a grunt on the other side and a bang as the door was busted off its hinges in one clattering hit. Jack’s poor invention didn’t seem to work well after all. Maddie stayed silent. They wouldn’t be able to see her or Phantom with the curtain drawn in between them and the door. But with the portal spinning behind her casting unearthly light over everything, they couldn’t miss that this was the place they were looking for.

The first booted foot thudded down onto the stair.

On the table, Phantom stirred. His eyelids fluttered woozily. She stared down at him, a sick feeling rising in her gut that had been steadily growing ever since he’d been strapped to the table. She ignored it. She vastly preferred that than acknowledge the failing of her logic and reason. The green beating heart and pulsing lungs flashed before her eyes. The glow of the core and the crystalline structures that littered his body like an ingested galaxy. What an interesting ghost. She set her teeth, safely out of the way of her tongue to avoid injury in the wild situation that was cautiously stomping down the stairs toward her. She braced her bazooka against her shoulder.

It seemed she’d made a decision without even realizing it. Whatever happened? She was not going to let the GIW steal her specimen.

“Dr. Madeline Fenton.” rumbled a dry voice beyond the curtain. The first man had hit the bottom step. “You are harboring a level seven ecto entity, code name, Phantom at the top of the wanted list. Illegal under the anti-ecto Act. It has been deemed too dangerous for civilian researchers. It will be confiscated immediately and transferred to a more secure site. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.”

“I think I have this quite under control, Sirs.” She said, raising her voice. “But you fellows are trespassing. I’ll tell you once to get off Fenton property.

The deep voiced speaker clicked his tongue. “Dr. Fenton. I expected you to be smarter. You know we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the jurisdiction. We have complete authority to do whatever we want to you and your family. Now use that logic you’re so fond of. We both know you’re not going to threaten your continued work here over a ghost. No matter how fascinating. Hey, I’m sure the higher ups will even clear you to work on him.”

It took a moment for Maddie to sort through which dumb initial went with the voice. “Agent K. We caught Phantom first, fair and square. Me and my husband are perfectly capable of taking care of it ourselves thank you very much. If you take one step more, you’re facing a lot of messy paperwork.”

She could hear his backup gathering behind him. Any hint of personality in his voice went dry. “I repeat, you are harboring a level seven ecto entity. He will be confiscated with or without your cooperation. Come out with your hands in the air or you will be fired upon.”

“Oh, will I just.” Maddie scooped up the Jack o’ nine tails and swept aside the curtain with the barrel of her gun.

The line of huge men in white suits started for just a millisecond at the huge barrel she was pointing at them. That was enough to bring up the nine tails and release streamers of electricity in every direction.

The men screamed and went down like bowling pins. A gun went off, and glass shattered. A stray tail hit one of the overhead lights and it fell with a shower of sparks. Most of the men were down. The smart ones (or maybe just the lucky ones) had managed to doge the electricity and were pulling themselves back together. Maddie tossed aside the spent Nine Tails and fired the bazooka from her hip. Ecto blasts exploded through the lab. White suits were instantly singed and stained with black and green.

Half of the agents still standing hurtled for her barricade of tables, and the other half took shelter behind their swat shields to train weaponry on her. A circle of green light glinted blindingly off the scope of a government issued rifle.

Maddie dove to the side behind the metal counter. Bullets whined in the air. Flat on her stomach, Maddie pushed away the bazooka and crawled over to the Fenton Foamer. She crawled back to the corner of the counter and peeked out to where the first buzzed heads were poking out of their table foxholes. Someone barked an order and the agents climbed over her barricade. She pulled the trigger. Green foam, freezing cold, with the speed of violent elephant toothpaste poured out of the nozzle. It hit the first man in the chest. He toppled backward, and the foam followed, piling on top of the agents with gummy density.

A few had escaped by being quick on their feet or going around the table. She rolled to one knee and threw the Foamer at the first one. It hit him on the forehead with a klonk and he fell like a stone. For the others she pulled two ecto-rays from her suit. Their compact design meant they couldn’t store a lot of energy, but it worked plenty well in a pinch. She unloaded the entire store into their chests. Their steps slowed under the barrage. Then their jaws went slack and they dropped. The two ecto rays were smoking. At a glance, she could see the gauges on their sides were completely empty. She tossed them away and pulled out her phone from her pocket.

“Any luck, Sweety?” She asked, sneaking a look around her counter. It looked like the GIW had retreated for now beneath the stairs. A few barrels were still stuck out like pins, but they weren’t going to come out for a bit. They had to seriously reassess their situation. She crawled back to her pile of weapons.

Jack made a frustrated noise. “I’m still wrestling with these damn goons, no matter what I say they won’t let me through. The guy’s standing right in front of me. He’s talking about all this paperwork and stuff. Have you met him? He’s got this rat nose, and sort of mushroomy, pouchy eyes. He’s dressed up like a construction worker, as though anyone with eyes couldn’t tell he’s one of the ghost secretaries that are always calling you up. Who are they kiddin? I hate dealing with the GIW— Yes I said GIW, are you serious, of course I know what branch you’re from, stop sweating so much, Man. Alright, I’m not mad, this is just getting very frustrating, and you’re not being very helpful.”

“Sorry it’s not going so well.” Maddie picked up an invention, squinted at it, then tossed it back on the pile. Maybe she was fussing, but she was sure they had the perfect tool to deal with this somewhere. “I actually have some bad news.”

“Not more ghost secretaries in costume, I hope.”

“No, no nothing like that. I’ve just decided not to give Phantom up to the GIW.”

There was a moment of silence while she could feel Jack processing this. “Well,” he said, in his loudest too jovial voice. She winced, she could tell his blood pressure had just skyrocketed. “At least I don’t have to deal with this joker anymore.”

“Exactly. I’m going to need a ride. If we can just get Phantom out of the picture, I’m positive we’ll be able to reason with them. Just get down here. You can run the secretary stooge over with the GAV for all I care— wait no, don’t.” Her brain ran, suddenly seeing a way out of this mess. A vision of that beating heart sharing space with the core shoved itself before her eyes and she pushed it away. “You’re going to use the back door.”

“We don’t have one Sweety.”

“Sure we do, we built it ourselves.” She turned to smile sweetly at the quietly spinning vortex built into their basement wall. Her hand closed around the Anti-creep stick and she hefted it absently, reaching for a sort of harpoon looking thing underneath. “I’d use the specter speeder, but it’s decommissioned for repair right now and I need to deal with these fellows, I can’t turn my back for long. But I think we know someone who’s built their own ghost portal.”

“That’s just a guess though, Mads!”

“He’s shown too much interest in ours. He knows the theory and the engineering you put behind the first prototypes. Put that together with the extra ghost sightings around his house and it’s a very, very good guess. Now it’s going to save us. Oop, I think the GIW are starting to move again. Love ya!”

“Good luck dear, show those white washcloths who’s boss!”

Click. She slipped the phone back into her pocket. She looked up, from her crouch she could just see Phantom’s boots pointed up from where they were tied to the table. His gloved fingers hung over the side next to her head, gleaming white.

“What are you?” Maddie breathed.

She needed so much more time with him. She needed to run blood tests, study the heart, see how all these organ structures held up over time. Would they dissolve immediately into formless ectoplasm when removed from the body and the core? And that core. It was almost like it had been shoved into his chest cavity with no thought, which didn’t make sense next to the intricacies pumping and living in a perfect simulacrum of humanity all around it. It was like there was a veil before her eyes. The truth was staring her right in the face. So why didn’t she want to look at it?

She was interrupted by a cold press against the back of her neck. She carefully turned to look into the emotionless face of Agent K and the others who’d sneaked up on her while she’d been distracted. She was furious enough to spit like a cat, but she forced a serine smile onto her lips and leaned back against the observation table. “Sorry about that, K, this subject is just so interesting. Don’t you think?”

“Put your hands up,” K growled.

Maddie’s hand was still on the Anti Creep Stick. She just needed to direct his attention elsewhere. She pointed up to the operation table behind her. “You’re too late, I’ve already opened up the package.”

K stared at the table. Phantom’s pale, dim glow reflected in his sunglasses. His dark skin was gray in the strange, eerie light. Perhaps he was even shocked by what Maddie had found.

Maddie swung the Anti creep stick in an ark, knocking the muzzle of the gun away from her. K jumped. Back on alert in an instant. The gun went off. It exploded like thunder in her eardrums. The floor tiles cracked only a foot away from her. Maddie sprang away, swinging the bat at any of them who dared come close. There was another bang , and Maddie’s leg shot out from under her.

Maddie fell hard. Her skull bounced on the floor and her vision of the lab tipped, sizzled, and spun with unearthly colors. Oh wait, that’s always what it looked like, ever since they’d shot a hole through the fabric of reality.

Maddie blinked, and K was standing above her. He pointed his huge gun at her chest. Maddie leveraged herself up on her elbows to glower down at the hole in her leg. It was seeping a deep, dull maroon. So different, so lifeless in the light of that other world. She looked back up at K.

He was as blank as ever, he didn’t seem to be exulting in his victory, but maybe this aggressive stance was his version of that. “Stand down, Dr. Fenton. We’re taking you into custody along with the ghost scum.”

Maddie gritted her teeth. She was shaking so much she could almost hear her bones rattling around in her body. She felt her heartbeat. Thud, thud , huge and inescapable, more like the steps of a pursuing movie monster rather than the pump that was keeping her alive. This was the thin veil that separated the dead from the living. It couldn’t even be defined as the ceasing of consciousness anymore now that there were ghosts flying through their midst. All thinking, and speaking, and seeking their goals. All twisted up into narcissistic obsessions. She stared at K. Her breath hiccuping between squeezed lungs and that pursuing thump, thump . Where was the line! Where did whisps become spirits, and spirits became joined to flesh, and bodies rotted from the inside out even as you walked through the supermarket buying sustenance for a family who had all started their own timer to their expiration date. From the very instant of birth. Life eating away at you like an acid. When you were clinically dead, how did a defibrillator reattach the soul to a stopped heart. Her eyes were drawn into pinpoints of rage. Her face was twisted with such anger it didn’t look human anymore, wrinkled with pain and sweat, she looked more like an animal pushed to the brink of sanity. Suddenly a tear squeezed out of her eye.

The tear was followed by more tears and she suddenly couldn’t stop. They dripped down her nose and chin, and she couldn’t get a grip. She covered her face, trying to push the tears back. She moaned. “No. No, he’s not a ghost. He can’t be a ghost.”

K tilted his head, his face scrunched up in disbelief. He hesitated a moment, dithering, then bounced the barrel of the gun off her stomach. His way of dealing with a sobbing woman. “This is beneath you, Dr. Fenton. You won’t get any sympathy from me.”

Maddie choked. She couldn’t stop crying. It felt like she’d taken her scalpel and ripped open her own chest. Faced with the alternative, she wished that’s what had happened. “It can’t be, he can’t be a ghost. Don’t you call him that,” she whispered through hoarse vocal cords.

K clearly thought she was going through a mental break. And maybe she was. The connections her brain had finally drawn were insane after all. Impossible. But the problem was, she couldn’t find a way to dismiss it. The smell of her lab suddenly filled her nostrils. She’d blocked it out she was so used to it, but now the sharp, off-sweet, citrine, and battery acid smell was inescapable.

“I think she’s lost it, Sir.” a younger voice said somewhere behind her, filled with ugly humor.

K’s mouth just twitched. His voice was even when he said, “Dr. Fenton, it’s clear this ghost has exerted some sort of control over you. The GIW will take you in and make sure you’re safe and uncompromised.” K’s eyes darted up and Maddie had no doubt the tranquilizers were on their way.

She sniffed, pressing her mouth together. There were still globs of salt water tracing their ways down her cheeks, but she somehow managed to stop and return K’s civil gaze for civil gaze. She nodded and lifted her hands, creep stick and all. She swallowed past the phlegm in her throat. “I’ll come.”

K nodded, business like. “You’re a very sick woman.”

“I’m a very sick woman,” Maddie answered demurely, lowering her eyelashes. She didn’t need to look to know that to her right, somewhere beyond Phantom’s operation table, was a bright switch surrounded by hazard tape built into the Ecto-containment tanks they’d built. It was another piece of Jack’s engineering. They all knew to stay far away from that big red button because a careless shoulder bump might release all the ghost’s they’d captured into the air. It was handy when she hooked it up to the ghost portal for releasing Amity’s haunters back into their natural habitat, but that was only when it was specifically programmed to do so, with numerous tubes and wires for the ghosts to travel through. Such a careless design flaw.

She sucked in a breath and let out a calm exhale. She twisted and brought her arm down to throw the bat as hard as she could.

Bang . Maddie fell back thrashing and curling into herself with the force of the bullet punched into her side. She never felt it. She felt like she’d turned to stone, all her bones calcifying, and her hag’s fingers carving into crystalizing claws. She stared up at K, her breath pummeling out of her. He let out a single burst of laughter like a cough.

“Where the hell were you aiming, Woman?"

The other agents around her were not so reserved, they burst into fits.

"Huh, didn’t even take advantage of the chance to knock his teeth in!"

"She missed! She really is some sort of crazy.”

K let them get their fun out, an empty grin chiseled onto his face. Finally, he had to holler to reign his men back in line. He was shouting because the rising roar in the air made it impossible to be heard otherwise. The otherworldly light spun giddily on the ceiling. Agent K spun toward the containment tanks, raising his gun. He spoke something into his earpiece but it was drowned out by the hissing warped sounds of ghosts escaping en masse . K’s men were screaming. There was the pounding of more gunfire, but they weren’t prepared to face this scale of ghostly activity. K stepped out of her field of vision, and Maddie soon saw the spectral tails of the ghosts pouring out overhead.

Two of them peeled off from the rest to hover over her. It was a large cat and a wispish girl, her hair spiraling behind her as though underwater. Their blank staring eyes sent chills down Maddie’s numb spine. Static filled her ears and she couldn’t hear a single word as the girl’s mouth moved indecipherably. She trembled, if they attacked her gamble would fail. The girl closed her mouth, apparently she’d said her piece and soared away, hair and dress gliding behind her like midair streams. The cat brushed its long, incandescent whiskers over her before leaping away in another direction. Maybe they knew she was helpless, maybe they recognized she was already close to their side of the veil. Or maybe they knew whatever they might do to her would be a comfort compared to the pain ripping through Maddie’s soul.

Groaning, Maddie turned herself over onto her elbows. She pushed herself along the floor till she could pull herself up with the counter. Her feet slipped under her and she had to rely almost entirely on her arm strength. When she’d finally gotten upright, she stood there, swaying for a moment. A few ghostly lights were still zipping and flashing overhead, but it was like they’d cleared a space around her and the operation table. She lurched forward, dragging herself along the counter. Somewhere behind her the GIW were still shouting, going crazy over the ghost. Any moment they might regain their senses and come for them again. She was going so slow she couldn’t handle it anymore, she launched herself off the counter and grabbed for the edge of the table. She went to her knees, but it was almost easy to pull herself up. She leaned over Phantom. Her breath rushing out of her and the edge of the table wedged into her stomach.

He was just as she’d left him. Disassembled and strewn in pieces. Condolences ectoplasm and drugs still pumping into him through thick tubes as though he was a balloon they needed to keep inflated. That heart was still thumping though. She waited for it with white knuckles on the rim of the table. A slow, sleepy, throb in time with the inflation of the lungs. Maddie reached over the canyon of his chest, blind to it. All she could see was that his eyes had finally closed and the oxygen mask that sold the lie of the fiendishness underneath. She ripped it off, opaque gas flooding out with a hiss. She wrenched the mechanism Jack had designed away, wishing she could just throw it to the floor. One of the foldable joints cracked.

Underneath was the pasty face, gleaming in the way only ghosts did. But it was so young, why hadn’t she allowed herself to accept the possibility that that was all that the face was. No mask at all. Just young. Phantom had never let them get so close. Of course not, they’d said, it was natural ghost spookishness (hah.) Her hands spasmed and with a cry she pressed her hands against Phantom’s face, pushing back the hair so she could stare at the sleeping boy underneath.

She studied each of his features to exacting precision, but it was no use, she could already see the truth.

“My baby,” she whispered. “My baby boy.”

The eyes opened back up into green, glowing crescents, spiraling with the same unearthly energy as the portal. She let go and the white, ghostly hair drifted back down over his face. She was looking at Phantom, but it was a thin mask indeed.

“Danny, I’m so sorry,” she said, sob catching in her throat.

T̴̡͗̑Ȋ̴̛͕̼͔̭̐̀̚M̴͖̜͌̽ͅÉ̴̞̖̔͂͌̌ ̴̰̯̈Ő̸͖̀Ù̶͖̻̀̐T̷̘̠̓͂̉͒́

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵👻

Maddie first became aware of movement passing before her vision. They resolved into shapes and color, but the ability to understand the messages her eyes were sending her brain stalled.

She felt a hand squeezing hers. It was weak but steady and stubborn. It was cold too, almost freezing.

All of a sudden she felt the bullet wounds again, red hot squeezing in her flesh. She would have staggered, only she couldn’t do that yet. What in the world was happening she wondered desperately.

Now she could hear. There was a ticking like someone had shoved an analog clock right up against her ear, and there was someone speaking. It was a dry, ancient voice. “—being unreasonable. Come, Daniel, must you continue this stubbornness.”

Danny’s voice was staticky like the distortion of a radio transmission from a long way away, and hoarse— but how could she have not realized it was his for so long? “Yeah right Clocky, After all, I am so well known for my reasonableness, good conduct, and ease of use.”

Finally, her brain translated the shapes and colors in front of her eyes. There was Phantom, still lying on the operation table, but now he was fully awake, staring furiously at the strange ghost standing on the other side of the bed. He was ancient, wearing purple robes clasped with a tarnished cogwheel. The skin of his face was so delicate with wrinkles it was transparent, seamed by an ugly jagged scar down his cheek. Eery red eyes gazed down on her son, completely unreadable. He held a strange medallion which he’d draped over what was left of Danny’s chest. Maddie quickly looked away.

How could this ghost talk to Danny so leisurely when he’d been injured so horribly? He needed help, not a lecture. Maddie struggled against the strange numbness that suffused her limbs. He needed a shot of ecto-dejecto first to stabilize his core, which was dangerously exposed, everything needed to be put back together including the missing pieces of ribs she’d taken. Panic rose up her throat like bile, at each desperate tally list she felt like she was going more and more insane. How could she ever fix this? She managed to slowly leverage her mouth open. She sucked in a long breath to yell at this strange ghost. The hand holding hers tightened its grip into a frenetic warning. She glanced down and saw her numb hand, frozen on the bed frame where she’d last left it. Danny had edged his hand to the side, to the furthest extent Jack’s bindings would let him, till he could clutch it over her white knuckles.  

All Maddie could do was look at him, mind spinning with questions. But she kept silent and didn’t try to move anymore.

Before her eyes, the old ghost (Clocky?) became young again. The wrinkles slithered off his face, smoothing away till there were only a few crow's feet surrounding the hollows of his unblinking eyes. His back straightened till he was towering over both of them. Not as tall as Jack, but she was struggling not to feel intimidated, especially with Danny laid out helpless between them. She wanted to wrench Danny away, hide him far away from this ghost.

He spoke. “So, it seems she figured things out in the end. A little too late I believe.”

“But… she regretted it didn’t she?” Clocky didn’t answer and Danny grinned wanly, his pale face almost skeletal. “So you lost. Not this or any other situation you can throw me into will make me agree to your dumb plan.

“You’ll forgive me, but I am not convinced,” was the dry answer. “You forget, I have the patience of ages.”

Danny went stiff. “You’re not going to stop, are you? The Observants are going to notice something’s up with you eventually. Sooner or later they’ll reign you in. They won’t let you take control so easily. But you can’t haunt me forever, of course you could, you're the ghost of time. Well, I won’t let you. I beat Pariah Dark, I’ll figure out some way to make you leave me alone.” Clocky was still silent, face completely blank against Danny’s rant. Danny, desperation evident on his face, said, “what about all that talk about using time responsibly? You can’t be planning what I think you are.”

Clocky tilted his head, studying Danny like a strange but particularly fascinating beetle. “I know you never conceived how far the extent of your parent's cruelty could reach. Their desecration of the dead has already surpassed the sins of their ancestors. With this newest act, I see no redemption, only the sorrow of starting to realize how foolish they’ve been. They’ve already been punished for their hubris.” he touched Danny lightly on the cheek. “And now they must finally begin to face it. Oh no, Daniel, the infinite realms could not be more in tune with my actions.”

“Well it doesn’t matter, I’m not going to be your puppet.”

He sighed. When he leaned forward his robe parted to reveal a window set into his chest, clockwork buzzing beneath. “I have tried to be lenient.”

“Manipulative,” Danny bit out with acid.

“But for time to advance as it should, I need you. It saddens me that I must use such painful methods.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“More than you know, Daniel. I hope someday we shall be able to look back on this trial together and see its necessity. But first you must pass through it. I think soon you shall see your human ties are not worth nearly as much as you put by them. It caused the destruction of one timeline, I will not let it subsume this one.”

Danny shook his head, almost spitting with resentment.

“What parent would do this to their child?” Danny had no answer to that. Maddie felt bits of her heart crumble and she wanted to shrivel up and disappear. She wanted to close her ears and stop listening but she was still frozen, and she wasn’t even the one these words were aimed toward. “Because he cared for you, that boy was injured by his own kind. Samantha Manson and your sister never knew anything could be wrong until it was too late. Jasmine stood in this very room where your being was being unwound and documented, and asked where you could be. Such human weakness. You put your friends directly into danger and they completely failed to protect you when it counted. All while the two who made you were destroying you to your very soul.” He shook his head. “Come with me now, Daniel, and we can put these wearisome memories behind us. I can promise you, You will never feel pain again.”

“I— I can’t. I can’t leave them.” To her horror a wobbly tear gathered in her brave, brave boy’s eye. It overspilled the corner of his eye and traced a line into his ear. And then more lines fell like the tracks of a river on a map. His pale green eyes were completely obscured by a film of liquid. “They’re my family, I don’t want to leave them. Please, Mom.” His gaze flicked to hers and then quickly back to CW. “She didn’t know.” He composed himself, sucking wet air in as though each breath was as difficult as running a marathon. His eyes drifted down, their light dim. He looked exhausted. His voice was tiny. “Please don’t do this to me.” Maddie felt his grip on her hand weaken.

Clocky sighed and leaned so far over Danny it was like he was hunched again. He brushed white hair away from Danny’s forehead. Maddie wanted to grind her teeth. That was her job. A tiny voice in the back of her mind reminded her she might have forfeited it forever, but for now she could pretend she was still worthy to touch her son.

Clocky’s voice lowered into a soothing whisper. “You know you have the power to end this with a word. I’ll always be watching.”

She could feel Danny slipping away into unconsciousness in the returning creep of cold numbness. She felt like the world was growing gray and distant.

Clocky’s voice wasn’t just low, it was muffled as though through layers of felt. “Only call my name and I will be here. But I want you to remember what comes next.”

As Danny’s fingers slipped away from her own, and she fell away into the still nothingness he’d pulled her from. As gray wool like thunderclouds crept over her vision and dissolved into shapes and colors that she couldn’t comprehend, she saw the ghost tenderly lay the gear shaped medallion inside Danny’s chest cavity.

Nestled right alongside his core.

[craftartz67]

Martinez Headcannons:

•full name is Daniel Angelo Martinez(also goes by Dani)

• He has about 8 sisters,1 older brother and is the youngest. He was practically babied his whole life,also has about four niece’s that he absolutely adores

•Dani is really good with kids and people in general,and I mean good.He adores babysitting his nieces and loves to teach them about what he does at work and sometimes brings them to the precinct.He has a soft spoken voice when talking to kids or people.

•He loves animals,especially dogs. He has a Labrador retriever named Ace(decided that he would be the one who adopted him).Daniel loves to pet any animal that he can(makes sure to ask the owner first)and makes sure to bring treats with him just in case. all the police canines adore him.He does not like any animal abuser and had once punch some in the face for it.

•I see him as a trans man in my au(female to male).He is also pan/poly and has donated money to the LGBTQIA community. Bruce has also donated large amounts of money. Three of his older sisters,including his mom and uncle are also apart of the community. He came out as trans to his family at the age of 6.

•Dani loves to cook,especially blueberry sweets,since those are Bruce’s favorite. He likes to experiment with different dishes and enjoys making some of the foods his grandma used to cook for him.Bruce also loves to taste test his food. Bruce loves the blueberry cookies the most.

• The police station adore him,he is literally a ray of sunshine. He even brings in some sweets he’d bake for his fellow officers.He is everyone’s favorite,despite him not knowing that. They tease him from time to time,if anyone ever hurt him, the whole entire station will definitely be throwing hands(especially Bruce)

•He has met Selena. She goes to the same cafe as him ☕️ and helps out at the same shelter he works at(they actually get along pretty well even though they think differently at we’re the funding should go to,cats or dogs)other than that they actually enjoy each others company

•Alfred and Dory absolutely adore him,especially since he is such a good influence on Bruce.When he figured out that Bruce is Batman,Alfred is not all that surprised(he was going to find out eventually,he might not look it but he’s pretty good at deduction skills)it was a small thing but the chin does not lie.Alfred is also glad that he isn’t the only one to take care of Bruce and smiles softly when seeing Dani bandaging Bruce’s wounds

•Daniels father was not a good person,even hurt his mother once.When his father found out that he was trans,it got worse(good thing he out of the picture).His Uncle acted more of a father figure to him than his father could ever be

•He and his sisters are all half Latino,half Italian,and has a little bit of british but not that much

• Since he is such a trusting guy, Daniel is the one guy in the precinct that all the female officer can rely on and trust they even include him in girls nights. Trust me when I say he would throw hands if anyone tried to mistreat them or being bias(sometimes he doesn’t even need to punch the person,he knows his fellow officers could kick there ass)

•When he gets anxious especially if it’s a cause of his diphoria of his body, he will clench his hands to together in a tight fist(Bruce and his sibling are the ones that help comfort him and helps remind him that he is great just the way he is)

•When Daniel’s sister and brother found out that Bruce Wayne is dating him, they all get super protective(his brother and mom especially). Trust me when I say Dani’s mother can get super scary especially when it comes to her babies

•He actually enjoys drawing from time to time(is good at is,he likes to draw Bruce when he’s not looking)and likes to read books,mostly books that are historical ,horror,scientific and even reads romance

•Daniel knows that Bruce can take care of himself,even though he’s Batman but he makes sure that Bruce gets plenty of rest, makes sure his make up is cleaned up and eats. they than like to cuddle and watch movies together

•There have been times where he has been seen trying to fight more dangerous villains out of his league ,mostly because he gets tired of seeing them hurting innocent people. He also likes to be sassy when encountering them.has a sassy attitude when insulting them(some villians are scared of him,since they know what would happen if they ever tried to harm him)

•Bruce is so close to breaking his code,He manly wishes that Martinez would stop trying to fight people more bigger than him(I mean is actually pretty short especially compared to villians like Falcone,Gordon and half of the entire police station.He’s a short king 👑)

•Not Surprisingly,he actually gets along well with the female villians and has even been invited to hang out (Harley and Ivy enjoy his company).Daniel even punched joker in the face one time for mistreating Harley and can see that there relationship is toxic(decided to base it off of the dc comic ) Personally though he know that Ivy and Harley like each other and think that there cute together

• Forgot to mention that all his sibling have left Gotham to pursue their own dream jobs and is proud of every single one them

Bonus:

The Martinez Family

Elijah(Ally,33yrs)- Actor

Elena(Ally,32yrs)- Doctor

Lucia(Les,31yrs)- Police Officer

Bianca(Ally,30yrs)-Fashion Designer

Andrea(Bi,29yrs)- Fashion Model

Gia(Aromantic28yrs)-Teacher

Emma(Ally,28yrs)-Vet

Britt(Ally,26yrs)- Artist

Charlie(Ally,going to be 26 soon) - Hairstylist

Alicia Marinez/Mom(Bi,45)

David Martinez/Uncle(Gay,42)

Alfred Pennyworth(Bi,40)

Daniel is gay and 25yrs old(based on the real actors age)

Bruce Wayne is Bi and 31yrs old

@wixiany @1n-bl0om @and-so-he-rambled

[electricsockhead]

💓 jenelope headcanons 💓

side notes:

1 -> it’s established relationship cuz idk how to write f-t-l with them 😖😖😖

2 -> this is set in like seasons 1 & 2, so there’s no kids and jj is still media liaison

3 -> please come talk to me about them!! idc if you’re seeing this posts 6 months after I posted it or 12 years (if I’m still active) PLEASE COME TALK TO ME ABOUT THEM 🥺🥺🥺

4 -> Trigger Warnings:

brief mentions of SA! (talking about their job)

possible displays neurodivergent traits! (if you’re neurotypical, this trigger is not for you, it’s for those in ND community who get triggered by stimming and mentions of breakdowns. also, the only reason “possible” is added is because I’m not neurodivergent (nor a doctor) so I have no personal experience with with these, and I don’t know if they’re considered neurodivergent traits. if you’re neurodivergent im 100% willing to listen to your opinions and thoughts on this!!!)

jj loves falling asleep over penelope, and loves holding one of her hands and just fiddling with her fingers (interlacing them, kissing her knuckles, etc)

Penelope always played with jjs hair when they do that, and she loves trying to make a braid with just one hand. sometimes she tangles jjs hair a little and they laugh 🥰🥰

when JJ is having a bad day she sits cross-legged on one of Penelope’s desks and just fiddles with Penelope’s toys

occasionally throughout the day penelope will go over and just hold her waist and rest her head on one of JJ’s thighs and JJs hand automatically goes to her head and starts fiddling with her hair

On days where she can’t stay in Penelope’s office she takes one of the toys with her and is fiddling with it all days and doesn’t let go for too long

On those days when they get home they cuddle and sometimes if it was really bad jj will break down and cry into Penelope’s shoulder and Penelope just comforts her through it 🥺🥺🥺

sometimes she also gets really touch averted so they’ll just sit next to each other while jj sobs into her hands, and Penelope just sits with her so she doesn’t feel alone 🥺🥺

On game nights they always have so much fun and they rarely bicker over the color/object of the players because penny will always go for the smallest or pink one and jj will always go for the one with more texture or blue one (ex. on the life game, penny gets the pink car and jj gets the blue one, or monopoly, jj gets the Statue of Liberty because it has a lot of bumps and she runs her fingers through them all the time because it calms her down and helps her feel grounded, and penny gets the hat because it’s small and sometimes she likes to just run her fingers through the “hem” — they rarely ever leave their pieces on the board which causes them to forget where they were but it’s ok cuz they always have fun 🥰🥰)

On their days off, they like to go on picnics and jj takes care of the setting while Penelope takes care of the snacks

jj always picks somewhere with a body of water, usually a river but they live nearby a lake and sometimes they go there as well

she absolutely loves seeing the water just move on the river or just stare at the cute ducks on the lake

Penny always has cookies and extra money in her bag cuz she knows jjs gonna want to get ice cream

at dinner time, usually penny cooks, but jjs always with her, sitting on the counter and trying to help out (even tho penny said not to worry, and that she likes to do it by herself, and also to give jj a break from always working), and when she has nothing to do (or nothing in her hands to fiddle with) she’ll set the table extra nice with candles and wine

jj loves when they’re too lazy or too tired to cook anything so she just makes ham and cheese sandwiches for them and they sit on the couch and watch TV.

Penny loves putting on romantic dramas or romantic comedies while jj likes putting on western/action movies (it gives closure she never got as a kid 🥺💔)

One thing they can’t watch is horror because then the next day they can’t really do their job right because they just keep going back to the movie that depicts what they only see the aftermath of (like yeah they see the dead body and they’re informed of sa, but if a movie is graphic enough that it’ll depict it, then the next time they hear a victim was SAed they’ll be able to picture it and it just makes the job a lot harder to do 🥺💔)

On a lighter note, they have movie nights every Saturday and a lot of times they settle for Disney movies, and they’ve watched lady and the tramp so much that they know a lot of the dialogue

They also sometimes like to put it on mute and make up their own dialogue, and they always have so much fun with it

They have this little plush toy they keep in between them, so when one has a nightmare they can cuddle it while also cuddling each other (like if jj has a nightmare, she’ll get cuddles from penny, with the plushy in her own arms)

every morning they wake up half an hour earlier then they’re supposed to so that they can be lazy in bed and steal sleepy kisses and still get up in time and not be late for work

they never tried to hide their relationship from the team, but they weren’t necessarily public about it.

Hotch was the first to know, and he’s like “there’s fraternization rules against it, so no one on this team should be in a relationship” but then pulls them aside and he’s like, I don’t know nothing, I ain’t see nothing, but if hypocritically there was something, I’d be happy with it, BUT I DONT KNOW NOTHING (aka, he supports their relationship, but doesn’t want them to get in trouble 🥺🥰)

the next to find out is Morgan and he’s * o f f e n d e d * that his bbg never told him and she was like “you never asked 🤷” and he’s like “yeah, fair point” (obv. he also supports it)

When Elle finds out she’s like “hot.” And they both blush, but she’s supportive and it hurts them more then anyone else when she leaves because she’s the only other queer woman they’re close with, but then when Emily joins, she can smell the gays a mile away and it brings them a bit of comfort

When Spencer find out he’s also * o f f e n d e d * they didn’t tell him, but he gets super excited and buys them a bunch a Pride stuff for them because he knows they might not use it so he gets an excuse to have gay shit lying around his house (🚪🚪🚪)

Gideon never really payed attention to their “friendship” but when hotch offhandedly mentions it he acts like he already knew, and doesn’t make a big deal out of it (let’s be honest this man is an ally ☺️☺️)

as time progresses, they become more and more open about it, and occasionally will display copious amounts of PDA, and the team finds it absolutely adorable because they’re so happy for them 🥰🥰

the end ☺️✨

if y’all don’t mind, I’m tagging @geeky-son-dr-reid and @gleaminginthespotlight 🥺 ilysm

[tonystarkbingo]

3 Prompt Summaries Game

reunions, masks, body worship - suggested by @polizwrites

@polizwrites - Now that Rhodey was full time military, Tony hadn’t seen him  in months.  They  made plans to meet up in Key West  during Fantasy Fest  —  wearing masks (and very little else), they could finally indulge  their own fantasy of being a couple in public.

@psychiccatpanda - Rhodey took the kids trick-or-treating on his own because Tony had been called away on business again.  When they get back, Tony's home and has set the place up for a Halloween party for the kids and their friends. When the kids' friends go home and the lights go down, Rhodey takes his time welcoming his husband home.

@somesortofitalianroast - It was 5 years since Steve Rogers had last seen Bucky Barnes, when Barnes left in the middle of the night after they had sex for the first time, leaving the country the next day for a lucrative job, and Steve heartbroken. It had been several years since Steve had thought of Barnes, though he’d recognize the man anywhere, even behind a domino mask at a masquerade ball. Just seeing Barnes made his blood boil, and he wanted to charge across the ballroom, slap the man silly, and then worship every inch of the man’s body. Too bad he was at the ball with clients and there was no way he could do that without losing a very important contract.

@darthbloodorange - (ShrunkyClunks) - He waits in the shadows of an old warehouse, a mask obscuring his identity. No one could know he was here; not only would his reputation be tarnished, but that of the Avengers as their leader. But there was something about the dark assassin that drew him in. Barnes treated him like no other in this world. Treasured him, possessed him, worshipped him. Not like a hero as the world did, but as a man and lover.

Keep reading for lots more!

cookies, mermaid, dancing - suggested by @somesortofitalianroast

@somesortofitalianroast - Darcy didn’t bake for the Avengers all the time, and she never made her mermaid cookies, since they were complicated and she needed to pay attention to the details when icing them with fancy icing. So it was a big deal when she made them, the sort of thing that made you want to dance in the kitchen.

@gavilansblog - Luca AU where Tony introduces mer-people Steve and Bucky to cookies and dancing

@deehellcat - Morgan's eighth birthday party featured a mermaid theme, cookies with sparkly decorations, and dancing.

@psychiccatpanda - Bucky Barnes never dreamed he'd ever be put in charge of kids.  Who'd want the Winter Soldier for a babysitter?  But this little girl - Tony Stark's little girl - stared up at him, waiting for a reply.

He was pretty sure the last time he'd been this nervous was when he came back to the States after Wakanda.  "Yeah, we can do that.  Sounds like fun."

Which was how he found himself not-quite elbows deep in blue-green frosting for the ocean reef cookies they had baked (that he had baked) while Morgan spun around the kitchen dancing in her mermaid costume.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony looks at the tray of raw cookies in dismay. Whoever had designed the mermaid cookie cutter clearly had no concept of the baking skill of the average parent. 

He had managed to press out all the pictures without causing more damage than the occasional lost arm or misshapen head (and a couple of 'defective' cookies are always required for taste-testing straight out of the oven). But the process of transferring the cookies from the bench to the tray had caused the raw dough to stretch and fold and tear; leaving figures better described as some sort of vaguely-humanoid aquatic eldritch horror... 

Impatient, Morgan clambers onto her stool and gasps in delight. "Look, Daddy! The mermaids are dancing!"

@darthbloodorange - (Thundershield) - Thor set out on his boat to the middle of the lake. A smile on his face and a song on his lips. People feared the lake and the creatures that dwelled within. He didn't see why. Peering over the edge of the boat, he watched the mermaids dance. His eyes drawn to one in particular; the blond with the silvery-blue tail. He unwraps the cookies and sets them on the edge of his boat, hoping to draw the merman close again.

picnic, dragon, promises - suggested by @psychiccatpanda

@deehellcat - Steve and Bucky slip away from the village every chance they get to spend time together. Their favorite place to picnic is perilously close to a rumored dragon's lair, but they dare it for its beauty. imagine their surprise when one night as they stargaze and promise forever to each other, a dark shadow flies overhead then lands nearby. It's the legendary dragon, who greets them and offers to witness their solemn vows. (spoiler alert, the dragon is Tony, and I'm not sure what his relationship to them would end up being.)

@psychiccatpanda - Tony hated picnics.  He'd been on so many for photo shoots with his mom and Howard, then for Stark Industries, and the occasional summer charity event.  Picnics sucked.  There was either too much sun or not enough, not to mention bugs, screaming kids, or other couples making out. 

"You promised, Tony," the love of his life reminded him.  "And I got you a surprise." The surprise was a kite in the shape of a dragon. Suddenly, the day was looking better.

@somesortofitalianroast - Steve was walking to a picnic on the beach when he found a baby dragon, abandoned on the side of the road. He picked it up, intending to take it to the local fantasy animal shelter, but as soon as he touched it, he knew he would never be able to let it go. Which is why he was standing on the dunes, murmuring promises to the dragon in his arms.

@rebelmeg -  pepper sighed.  "tony, you promised you were gonna stop doing that." pointedly looking away from her, the red and gold dragon roughly the size of a large dog pointedly opened his mouth, and stuffed the donut hooked on his claw inside.  puffs of smoke emitted from his nostrils and he chuckled in a rough, growly way when a sandwich in a baggie smacked him in the back of the head. 

"we're never going on a picnic when you're shifted again, this is ridiculous."

@darthbloodorange - (Stucky, Fantasy AU) - Steve walks up to the den of the dragon; his once best friend and lover. Baskets of meat in hand, and his heart weighted heavily in his chest. He'd kept his promise for over 70 years, and he wasn't about to break it now. "Bucky, it's me. I know you remember me. You're in there somewhere, I feel it," he says in his elvish tongue. Within the den comes a mighty roar, seeming to shake the very core of the mountain. But Steve is not dissuaded.

bread, defenestration, jingle - suggested by @rebelmeg

@rebelmeg - standing at the window and very calmly eating her sandwich, natasha watched as clint climbed out of the bushes underneath and went streaking for the street, where an ice cream truck was driving past.  the second he'd heard the jingly song, the idiot had flung his own sandwich in the air and literally dove out the window.  wondering if he'd realize he didn't have any money on him, nat smirked.

@psychiccatpanda - (WinterIronHawk implied) To be fair, Clint had not thought about 'costume integrity' or the fact that the Christmas elf pajamas did not count for much in the way of bodily protection.  On the other hand, though, he'd just been planning on eating as much of the freshly baked panettone bread as Bucky let him get away with while they waited for Tony to get home.  Getting thrown through the  window of Tony's Malibu house by some Hydra experiment had not been on his radar at all. (Not Bucky - to be completely clear, he was cute and Clint didn't think mean things about people who baked him a nigh-endless quantity of sweets.)  At least he managed to keep the hat with its little bell that jingled cheerfully as Clint sailed through the air.

@darthbloodorange - Stony (probably a 5+1 fic) - Tony frowns as the familiar jingle of his phone drew him away from kneading his sourdough. He groans when he sees who it was that was calling. He nearly doesn't answer, but Barnes almost never calls, so curiosity gets the better of him. "Stark," the man greets, voice as gruff as ever. "What do you want?" he grumbles. "Arm's acting up again. Accidently threw your husband out a window. He's hanging on about the 26th floor? Thought you should know." "Damn it!" Tony cries, armour assembling around him quickly. He wishes this was the first time Barnes' arm had thrown an Avenger out the window... but it wasn't.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony likes bread as much as the next guy, but he is this close to swearing off the stuff entirely. He tenses as Clint moves behind him, his humming looping into yet another round of the jingle for the local bakery. He snaps. "Clint! If I hear another note I swear I will throw you out this window! And not send the suit after you." Clint grins, opens his mouth and... shuts it again. Silent.

Werewolves, Gardening, Hurt/Comfort - suggested by @darthbloodorange​

@somesortofitalianroast - (preserum!steve/werewolf!bucky) When he moved into the house, Steve was looking forward to growing a garden, with a large vegetable patch, all the herbs, and some flowers for the colors. He wasn’t expecting to get overheated. He certainly wasn’t expecting the werewolf to bound out of the woods to take care of him. He’d think he imagined the entire thing, except the werewolf stuck around. Still taking care of him.

@tehroserose - Steve and Tony had retreated into the woods. Obadiah had taken over Tony's birthright, and Hydra had encroached on Steve's home of Brooklyn. They met there, and lived off their wits. Tony did most of the smithing for the various exiles, while Steve gardened vegetables that were rare and valuable. They were content, and while they wished they could save their homelands, there was no real hope of doing so. No hope until one night, when Steve was doing one last check of the garden before going to sleep, he found a big, bleeding wolf.

@rebelmeg - "right here, honey," pepper pointed to a spot in the dirt, and tony padded over, pawing at the spot a few times before starting to dig.  "yep, that's enough." she stopped him when the hole was deep enough, then held out a hand for the flower morgan had cupped in her hands, cradling the ball of roots and dirt with care.  "see, now it's perfect!  you wanna take a ride on daddy now, morgan?  i  think he's getting bored with gardening."

"yeah!"  morgan jumped up with a shout, and scrambled up onto the werewolf's back with no problems.  "go, daddy, go!" with a woof, tony took off at a run, morgan holding tight to his fur as she giggled, and pepper smiled as she watched them.  tony hated going through a transformation during the full moon, the pain of it pretty extreme, but they'd found a lot of ways to make up for it.

@psychiccatpanda - Tony had avoided Barnes since Steve had brought him to the compound.  The werewolf had done the same.  Howard hadn't had anything good to say about weres in general, but everyone knew wolves were the worst.  It was part of the reason that part of the Avengers had been politely asked to leave Wakanda.  Opening the door to his patio, Tony caught the shine of eyes and Barnes scrambled back from what he'd been doing.  Tony scanned the patio and only saw a trowel, some loose dirt, and a flat of plants - wolfsbane. "Doesn't that stuff give you blisters or something?" Tony asked, knowing that it was probably true.  "How about you come in and wash your hands and tell me what you're up to."

@darthbloodorange - (Ults Stony) - After Steve is infected with Lycanthropy, Tony took him to one of his parents' houses out in the country. Everyone expected Steve would get over it, given time, as he did with the vampirism. But the lycanthropy sticks, appearing to have fused with the serum. While SHIELD's scientists look into a cure, Tony stays with Steve. Growing bored of the overly-manicured, emptiness that was the green fields surrounding the country house, Steve takes up gardening as his current mission. Tony watches, completely enthralled, as Steve slowly transforms the area around the house.

letter, basket, book - suggested by @rebelmeg

@jamesbuckystark - Someone left a basket on Tony's doorstep containing a book, a map, and a magnifying glass. Inside the book was a letter dated 1942. He's curious to find out what this means

@tehroserose - Morgan put down the letter. It was the last one. Her father had written her one for every birthday and potential special occasion. This one was for when she became a mother. She couldn't have them hidden away, they were on a basket on her dresser in her room, but that didn't make them any less bittersweet. He left her behind. To save the world, but he had left her. 

 She went to sit in the rocking chair next to her child's crib and began to read the children's story her mother had allowed all those years ago. "Iron Man and the End of Thanos". Any children she had would know their grandfather.

@somesortofitalianroast - When Bucky decided to become a librarian, he thought it would give him access to all the books all the time, in exchange for maybe some shelving. He didn’t realize how much work went into collections development and management, nor how much time was spent looking books up for patrons on their own system when asked if the library had a particular book. Boring and frustrating. He just had to stick it out until he paid off the worst of his student loans. Until the day the letter arrived on his desk, sitting next to a gift basket from a local fancy food store. A letter letting him know that the gift basket was from his secret admirer.

@jacarandabanyan - After waking from the ice, Steve took to reading voraciously to catch up on what he'd missed. Despite Tony's offers, he never did come around to a screen reader, though, and instead opted to keep a pile of books on his bedside table. When the pile of books got too big, he had a whicker basket to put the overflow in. 

 Tony feels like the two of them can't have a conversation outside the heat of battle without devolving into arguments and personal attacks, so he takes to slipping notes into Steve's books. Over time, the notes get longer and longer, until it would be more proper to call them letters than notes.

@rebelmeg - tiny!tony is digging through a basket of new books the jarvises got him, a mix of kids books and textbooks and novels.  as he digs, one of the books falls open, and out falls an envelope.  the letter inside seems to be written in code... but he's also pretty sure that's his mama's handwriting.  a grin spreading across his face, he sits down next to the basket and starts working out the code.

@darthbloodorange - (Stucky? Witch/Fantasy AU?) - Steve sits in his chair by the window and opens his favourite book. With careful hands, he pulls out the letter from his mother, which he'd been using as a bookmark, and carries on where he'd left off. Library, his familiar, jumps from her basket into his lap and curls up, butting her head against his hands. Despite the warmth and happiness he felt here, it wasn't complete. A part will always be missing until Bucky returns.

@psychiccatpanda - Whoever had suggested they stay at this rickety, 'quaint' seaside hotel had apparently never seen any island murder movies ever, Tony thought with disgust.  The wood floors creaked and the building made weird noises at night.  Combined with the crashing waves, it was not what Tony called relaxing.  Somebody knocked and Tony assumed it was the room service snack he'd ordered.  Instead, he found a basket with a book tucked inside.  Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

"That's not ominous," Tony muttered to himself, flipping through the pages. Then he saw the letter tucked inside.

[leggomylino]

Vibe So Hot | Han Jisung

Genre: Fluff, Comedy

Pairing: Han Jisung x fem!reader

AU: neighbor au, prank war au

Word Count: ~11.7k

Warning(s): mild language (censored)

A/N: inspired by the song “Vibe So Hot,” Priscilla Ahn

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

-〤〤〤-

There were times when you weren’t really sure about Han Jisung. 

The day you moved from your parent’s house into your new home, life was a dream. A delight. A living fantasy. You and your closest friend of twenty-odd years had been visualizing it for ages- a home for just the two of you, where you could make and break all the rules you wanted, eat dinner out of the cookie jar, throw paint and crayon all over the walls, and dump all the grease, homework, and leftover brussel sprouts down the garbage disposal that you wanted. It would be your kingdom with the two of you at equal pedestal on the throne, and no one could say or do anything about it.

While your visuals and ideals did change over time, what with hormones and taxes and a general understanding of how the world worked, you and F/n never stopped dreaming of the day you each held one half of the kingdom between your fingers. One half of freedom. It was a blissful, beautiful Tuesday morning. Exactly five months ago. Birds chirping in the small tulip trees. The sweet spring breeze ruffling the surrounding azaleas. The simple but water-efficient sprinkler system the two of you had worked a summer job to afford that was...spraying…...coke… 

...Yes, it had been a beautiful Tuesday morning. And also the arrival of hell next door.

“HAN JISUNG!” you yelled, banging on your neighbor’s front door. “Han Jisung, I know you’re home!” You stamped your foot. “Open this door right now!”

It was now five months later. Five months since you’d moved into your dream home, something small and sweet and affordable that you and your friend worked hard for years to achieve. Just something small to start the two of you out, while you finished up school and figured out what the heck the two of you wanted to do with the rest of your lives. 

It had easily become five months of back-and-forth hell. “HAN JISUNG!!!”

Click. The door slowly creaked open. It was dark inside, far too dark for 2 pm, like something out of a horror movie.

Oh, but you weren’t falling for another one of his tricks. Not this time. “Han Jisung, I know you’re there…” You called...weakly. “C-Come out this instant. I know it was you who stuffed cereal into the birdfeeder and left glue on the door handles. I was almost late for work this morning and F/n is stuck on the back porch.”

There was no response. You agitatedly sighed, running a hand through your hair and taking a handful of strands with you thanks to the faint remainder of krazy glue that simply wouldn’t come off.

“Han,” you called, poking your head inside. “Han? Han Jisun-”

The moment you stepped inside, a loud whrr! resounded, your body hoisting upwards. You spun around in the flimsily thin netting, falling into a fetal position backwards.

Han and a few of his cronies came out cackling at your expense, watching you gently spin and sway in their ridiculous trap. “I caught Y/n!” one of them cheered. “That’s 1,000 points.”

Another scoffed. “You didn’t do anything,” he said, blowing long blonde locks out of his face. “The points go to me for setting up the...project.”

“Shouldn’t they go to Han?” Yet another asked. “It’s his house.”

You rolled your eyes, attempting to adjust. Han tromped over proudly and swung his arm around the boy. “Exactly!” he cheered, pinching his cheek. “I’m glad you see it my way.”

The kid squinted his fox-like features in disgust, shoving the ringleader away from him. Han merely laughed, smirking up at you next. He sent a flirtatious wink your way. You scoffed.

“S’up, gorgeous?”

“Drop dead.”

“Ouch,” he playfully winced, pretending to take literal damage. “Didn’t like the glue, or the cereal? I told Hyunjin no one wanted his bland raisin garbage. But,” He shrugged. “He insisted it was good for the birds. The raisins, anyway-”

“Screw you,” Goldilocks groaned. “Shove off, I never said I ate the stuff. I just said it was better than wasting Lucky Charms or something actually good.”

“...Yeah, so there’s that.” He spared a passing eye roll before putting back on his deceitfully charming smile. Disgusting. “What brought you to swing by? Just dropping in?”

The other boys laughed again, causing you to turn an annoying shade of pinkish-red, some cross between coral and rouge. “I don’t have to tell you anything!” you snapped in your anger.

Unfortunately, Han Jisung needed to know the facts. “Then...how am I supposed to help you? Oh, oh! Hold on a minute.” He simpered. “Are you maybe trying to tell me that you came by unannounced because...you wanted to get caught up in my web?”

Han’s crew all made catcalls and whistles along with nervous smiles and suggestive expressions. The nerve of him. You fought yourself into an upright position, clawing angrily at the seams. “I meant you already know what you did wrong! Get me out of this stupid thing and get over to my house so you can fix it.”

“Oooo,” A freckled-faced boy you recognized as Felix cooed. He’d often been a leading officer in many of Han’s classic pranks and schemes. “I think she wants you bro.”

The heat on your face was intensifying, whether from rage or embarrassment, you didn’t care. Your prison shook. “That’s not what I-”

“Well then,” Han (classically) interrupted. “Guess I better get over there and fix it.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a salacious manner, padding around the clamour of boys and taking the stairs three at a time like a gazelle. When he reached the top, he revealed a rope from around the corner, lowering you gently...at first.

After three careful tugs, he dropped the rope entirely. Your eyes went wide, screaming as you fell--

...Right into Han Jisung’s arms. The boy glided down the stair rail and caught you at the last possible second. “Plenty of time to spare,” he insisted, showing you his teeth.

You slapped them away, wrestling your way back to your feet. “...You’re such an asshole, Han Jisung,” You dusted yourself off, smoothing out your attire single handedly. “I--”

...You yanked your hand down. Away from his face. Hard. Harder.

It was stuck. Your hand was stuck to his cheek. Krazy glue.

“OW! Ow ow ow okay! That hurts! Sh*t!” He cursed. You rolled your eyes, kicking his leg. 

“That’s what you get for gluing my door! Now come on!”

To make things less awkward, you gripped his left ear, yanking him like a mother would a misbehaving child. The others crowded around and followed, laughing as—

The door slammed in their face. “OW!” You heard Hyunjin yelp. His watered-down image through the distorted window showed him covering his nose, the other two goons frantically asking if he was okay.

...Well, Felix did, anyway. Fox-face merely stared and shook his head a little. “Let’s go. You’re cleaning the glue off both doors and changing out the birdfeeder. If you screw it up, you’re buying me a new one.” A harsh gaze fell over your shoulder. “After you unstick F/n!”

Han grunted, his groans and whines a feeble echo of white noise along with the ridiculous passes he occasionally made on the way over.

-〤〤〤-

After spending an hour and a half watching Han unstick glue from around your house (after unsticking your hand from his face) and taking a trip down to the hardware store for a new birdfeeder that 100% came out of his pocket, you sighed, trudging yourself through the front door and collapsing onto the nearest sofa by a front-facing window. You leered, observing Han shuffle up his own walkway and exchange harsh words with his friends before they all piled inside.

That bastard. He was always coming after you, ever since you first moved into the neighborhood. After the first week of assaults (from moving day) you’d asked the other neighbors if any of them had any bad experiences from house 117, but they all gave a generally same response: “Who, Han Jisung? Oh, heavens no! He’s such a nice boy! A little quirky, sure, but such a nice boy! ...Are you sure it wasn’t a raccoon or a stray cat?”

Heh, yeah. Like a stray cat was capable of impersonating your friend to have the locks on your house changed. Didn’t they have to do security checks for that stuff?!

Speaking of locks, the sound of keys ricocheted from your left, and you turned your head to see F/n enter...very strangely. They looked spooked, their eyes wide as they turned their head this way and that, creeping into the house like an Egyptian wall painting.

“Is the cost clear?” they asked. “Is he gone? Nothing’s missing? Nothing’s amiss?”

“Relax, F/n,” you said, scratching your head. You desperately needed a shower, but that had been rather hard with the pipes spewing nothing but Mr. Pibb for the past three days. It’d apparently be a fourth until they cleared out. “The menace is gone, back to his evil layer. I made sure he cleaned up his mess and got him to replace your grandmother’s birdfeeder.”

F/n scowled, back to normal as they tromped into the room, throwing their bags down. “She made that birdfeeder from scratch, Y/n. With her own two arthritis riddled hands, that birdfeeder may as well have been an ancient relic. It was one of a kind.”

“I know, I know,” you insisted, peacefully trying to calm them down. “Just relax. I got it under control and taken care of.”

“You said that last time. Now look at the place.”

You looked around. “...It looks spotless. Han actually did a really nice job with that extra work he put in.”

“Well it wasn’t before! ...Wait, you let him into the house?!”

Whoops. “Only to do some extra chores. To make up for outside. And many other times he’s screwed us over.”

Your friend grabbed the sides of their hair, practically seething. They regarded you like you’d gone insane, and they were just on the brink. “Y/n have you lost your mind? Are you stupid? I thought you were smart! What was that 3.5 GPA for?!”

“Hey, GPA isn’t everything. It’s just a matter of getting on a teacher’s good side and paying attention. Also, I’m aware that...that may have not been the best move. But it’s fine!” you insisted, now following your friend into the kitchen. “I was watching him the whole time. He didn’t leave my line of sight once!”

F/n opened the fridge, glaring perplexedly. “...Not once?”

“......” 

You thought. Oh wait...well…

You smiled sheepishly. “...Actually...ahaha...he may have asked to go to the bathroom once…”

F/n’s jaw dropped. “And you let him?!”

Your hands found their way into the air. “What was I supposed to do, F/n? Follow him into the bathroom? That’s creepy and gross and uncalled for.”

Your friend grabbed a beer from the fridge, slamming the door shut after. “No, Y/n. You tell him to go next door and use his bathroom.”

“But what if it was an emergency?”

“I think he can hold it.”

“But what if he couldn’t?”

They paused just beside you, giving you a harsh glare. “After all he’s done? I’d say that’s a real shame and another mess he’d have to clean up.”

“F/n--!”

“NO, Y/N,” Your friend of twenty-odd years turned to you, making it halfway back to the front door. “You don’t get it! It has been five years--”

“Five months.”

“...It has felt like I have had my guard up for five years. I can’t relax in my own home. I can’t relax at work, I can’t relax at school-- I can’t relax anywhere!” They polished off the beer, crumbling the can and tossing it aimlessly into the kitchen. You ducked, the can soaring over your left ear and colliding with a kitchen cabinet. “URGH!”

They grabbed their bags, beginning to march out. You were faster, sliding on sock-clad feet across Han-polished floors to beat them to it, blocking the exit. “F/n, listen. Please. I agree it’s bad, but I think you’re overreacting just a little.”

“Overreacting?! …” S/he crossed his/her arms, glaring at you skeptically and in disbelief. “Okay, fine. Which bathroom did he use?”

“Huh?”

“Which bathroom?”

You swallowed, thinking again. “...Uh...the upstairs one.”

F/n deadpanned. Cold and hard. “Great. Thank you for that. All my school supplies are up there. My office and workspace is up there. That’s where I sleep, Y/n.” You blinked. 

“You sleep in your office?”

“URGH!”

They pushed you aside, storming into the wide, open world. Hysterically you followed, snagging your keys off the side table by the front door and making sure to lock up behind you. “F/n- ...F/n wait…! Ah, stupid locks…!”

“Don’t follow me, Y/n!”

“WAIT!”

“I SAID DON’T FOLLOW ME!”

From the corner of your eye, a silhouette of dark brown hair and overly-white teeth made its way toward your property line. “Hello F/n, Y/n.” The careful fall breeze blew the shade from his eyes, where evil and mischief still resided. “Having a little back and forth banter, are we? A disagreement, perhaps?”

Han-bleeping-Jisung. Your vision narrowed, a scowl aimed directly at him. When he was around, it’s all you could focus on. Your senses heightened, and not in a good way. He couldn’t be trusted.

You shouldn’t have let him into your house. Your sensors were picking up on something. He seemed too happy for someone that was just forced into doing chores in a house that wasn’t their own. And willing so…

A hot vibe was residing along the back of your neck, between your shoulder blades. A sinking, sensationally bad feeling. “What can we help you with, Han?”

“Oh,” he piped, brows raised. “We’re on a single name basis now. That’s rare.”

F/n cast him a dark look and continued down the sidewalk to their car. You sighed, trying to relax and having little success; F/n was right, it was hard to remain calm with a hellion next door. “What do you need?”

Han Jisung shoved his hands in his pockets. “Need is a strong word. I need a lot of things. Food, water, air--”

A groan escaped your lips. “Fine. Forgive me. What do you want?”

“Hmmm…” He smirked, listing his head. “I want a lot of things, princess. Depends what you’re referring to.”

You’re pretty sure you could hear the gag coming from F/n’s car as they started the engine, shifting into reverse. Han chuckled, letting you know he heard it too.

“Alright, fine.” He held his hands up in surrender. “You caught me. I came to warn you.”

“Warn me about what?”

“......” He pursed his lips. “...I may have gotten a bit carried away and...well, I couldn’t resist, really. But I was thinking and, maybe it was in bad taste. Since Hyunjin did break your grandmother’s bird-thing.”

A rustling came from the bushes. “That wasn’t me! That was you!”

Han cringed, turning over his right shoulder. “Shhh!”

You faltered, zoning in on Han’s shrubbery. “Who is that? Is that Hyunjin hiding in your flowers?”

Han rolled his eyes, tossing...some junk from his pockets. A coin or something. “I told you not to say a word!” 

Blonde hair revealed itself from the viburnum bushes on Han’s property. “Cattywampus.”

“I SAID TO SHHH!”

Hyunjin scoffed. “Oh, so when we’re playing Scrabble, it’s not a word. But now that we’re probing Y/n for information, all of a sudden, it’s a word!” 

The air left your lungs, quite dramatically, and you took a step back farther into the safety of your porch. “...What is he talking about? What information?”

Tensions spiked like never before. Han simply groaned. “Dammit...thanks a lot, Hyunjin.” He turned to you with a sour face. “Yeah, okay, whatever, just...I wanted to know when your birthday was.”

He shrugged, trying to pull off the most innocent, blow-it-off look possible. You weren’t buying it. “What were you saying before? What did you do to my house?”

“Oh yeah,” He clasped his hands behind his back, sending another classic trademarked wink your way. Hyunjin freed himself from the viburnum flowers, along with Fox-face, who’d gotten himself tangled up in the next-door rose bush; he tripped over an illy placed hoolahoop and ran into Hyunjin, the two of them taking turns removing literal thorns from their sides. “I left you a present inside.”

I left you a present inside.

I left you a present inside.

He left you a present inside your house. A surprise. A bad one. You had invited him into your living space, your relaxation hub where relaxation was scarce, and gave him just enough alone time to leave something behind.

Something terrible. Something rotten.

Han Jisung was no longer looking like Han Jisung to you; what you saw before you was his true form: a plotting, overzealous, sadistic little impish demon of a man, no...a demon pretending to be a man. Someone like Han Jisung couldn’t possibly be human. There was no love at all in his heart.

“F/N!” You yelled, chasing after them as they drove down the street. “F/N, WAIT! STOP THE CAR! PLEASE!!!”

You could feel Han Jisung’s eyes as he trailed you all the way down Maple Street, his friends watching as F/n hit the brakes a hundred feet shy of the stop sign and let you clamber in the back. 

“Step on it.”

S/he nodded, slamming the accelerator and getting the two of you safely out of Dodge. “I’m going to a friend’s house. I have to return a few things I borrowed before Han Hellion ruins them,” They looked over their shoulder. “Where are you headed?”

Your eyes glared proudly through the rearview mirror. F/n drew back, nervously looking between you and the road unassured.

But there was nothing for it. They could yell and pitch a fit at you later. Today, this very moment, everything was going to end.

“The craft store,” you said. “And you’re coming with me.”

“What?”

“We’re taking our house back.”

“......”

The car rolled to a stop at the cross section of Water and Runway Boulevard. If it was the friend you were thinking of, F/n would have to make a right here. Your local craft store was the opposite direction.

With a unanimous nod through the rearview, the two of you made a left down Water Street.

-〤〤〤-

Hobby Lobby had to be your favorite store, next to Fye’s Music Records where you occasionally went for your music collection and your favorite restaurant. ...Though a store wasn’t really a restaurant, and vice-versa.

You and F/n scoured the many aisles of arts and crafts, decor and gifts, candles and knick-knacks, searching high and low for everything on a messy-scribbled list the two of you put together in the parking lot. Revenge was going to be so sweet. Total bliss.

“Buckets?” A young employee repeated back to you. “Yes, let’s see, they should be near the back of the store, on the right-hand side. If you pass the glitter and pipecleaners, you’ve gone too far. I believe they’re on Aisle 13.”

“Thanks,” F/n said, grabbing your wrist and dragging you behind them. They almost seemed more excited about this whole revenge-war than you did. “Aisle 10...Aisle 11...Aisle--”

S/he stopped, pale-stricken. “What is it?” You tried peering around the corner. “What’s wrong? Are they sold out or somethi--”

Your heart nearly stopped. There, in the middle of the aisle, stood Lee Felix, perusing a wide selection of glitter glue. A bucket (not a basket) hung from slack fingers, carrying a barrage of other craft equipment as well as a plastic bag from the Home Depot next door.

Some kind of rage was flooding through your system. You could sense it in F/n as well. The two of you were in sync, fed up with the Hellion Clan’s crazy antics and batsh*t ideas that only brought you pain and suffering. Enough was enough.

You practically shoved your friend aside. “LEE FELIX!”

Felix jumped, startled, frantic, eyes zooming in on you like a deer in headlights.

Then, unlike a deer in headlights, he ran.

“AFTER HIM!” F/n cried, shoving the list in their pocket. S/he ran farther towards the front of the store to block the entrance, while you followed in hot pursuit of the freckled boy’s trail.

Your phone buzzed as you ran, and without taking your eyes off your target you shuffled it out of your purse, slamming the receive button a little too hard. “What?!”

“He’s going towards the back of the store! He’s heading for the emergency exit!”

You gave a quizzical look toward your friend’s voice coming out of your phone, then back at your target’s backside. “What? How do you know that? Where are you?!”

“Look up. Aisle 1. Holiday crafts.”

Carefully your eyes scanned the tops of the shelves near the entrance, and after doing a double take on a statue you found F/n squatting among some Santa Claus and Christmas angels, a pair of high-grade binoculars in their mits.

You had no idea when they’d gotten those. “Where did you get those from?! How the heck did you get up there?”

“That’s not important right now! Just SEIZE HIM! He’s getting away, run faster!”

With an aggravated grunt you hung up, shoving your phone away and pushing your legs to hit the tile twice as hard. Some twenty feet in front of you Felix squeaked, making a surprise turn down Aisle 2 and knocking over a stack of decorative boxes. You cursed, calling forth your skills from high school gym to hurdle yourself over the monstrosity and skid to a temporary halt before barreling down the half-storage half-Christmas decor aisle. 

“He’s getting away!” F/n yelled. “Move!!!”

“Why don’t you help me?!” You called back. Felix made a 90 degree turn, charging farther back into the store in the opposite way you were anticipating; unless…  

A store manager suddenly appeared at the end of the aisle, holding her hand out to stop you. “Excuse me, I don’t think so; there’s no horseplay allowed in the store.”

Though she tried to grab you, you dodged like a badass, perrying right, then left, then spiraling after a mop of retreating orange hair down Aisle 7. “Can’t! Sorry! I’ll pay for this later!”

“I’m sorry?!”

“Hold that thought!”

The sound of static and muffled voices crackled behind you as the manager called for backup, but you didn’t care. This would all be over once the little coral pipsqueak was in your grasp; you’d make sure to make him sing everything that was going on.

“LEE FELIIIIIX!”

Somewhere on the opposite side Felix squealed, either running into something or barricading another path to ensure his freedom. You slid to another halt, straining your ears to pick up on the sound.

Maybe you could sneak up on him. You were getting pretty tired, and running all over the store wasn’t a very good strategy for either side. Tiptoeing down Aisle 6, buttons and sewing equipment, you held your breath, carefully peering down both directions of the aisle.

Empty, minus a mom and her kid. You dropped down on all fours, crawling to the next aisle-- except--

“Ow!” you hissed, pricking yourself on something sharp. It was a discarded sewing needle.

It gave you an idea. After sucking on the injury a moment, you snagged the discarded object, pinning it to the side of your bag. 

You hopped to your feet and gathered the strongest thread and yarn you could. After diving into a pile of fabrics when a few security guards walked by, you got back to work setting up your ingenious idea. A little thread here. Some fabric there. A weight right here…

You quickly sewed (loosely) a few strips of fabric together, finally finishing your creation. “Sorry, this aisle is closed right now,” you said to a few customers, spreading slime over each end of the hall. It was showtime. “I’m ready,” you told F/n, uttering the words through your phone.

F/n had done well to keep their disguise as an oddly-put Santa, peering through their binoculars when no one was looking. “Okay. I sort of lost him after the cops started lurking by here. Let’s see…”

Another curse left your lips. “He didn’t leave, did he?”

“No, I didn’t hear the doors open or close. He’s gotta still be here somewhere…..aha!” Their cry made you jump. “Found him!”

“Where?!”

“Opposite side. Aisle 18. He’s hiding around the picture frames.”

“Dang it,” you groaned, “I need him over here!” You looked around hesitantly. “Can you get him over to this side? I’m on Aisle 7. Additional Sewing and Craft Supplies. Fabrics, yarn, etc.”

“I’m scared to leave my post, but…” F/n sighed. “...I guess if you have a plan, I can chase him that way.”

“Great, okay. Hurry.”

“Roger.”

You hung up, taking another deep breath. Waiting. Ducking when the cops circled back around.

Suddenly, you heard a familiar battle cry from the other side of the store, followed by a man’s scream. The security guards and management started racing that way, but by the time they’d get there the source would be long gone…

Because he was headed straight for your trap. You scaled to the top of the aisle, keeping low with a blanket of fabric over your head as you watched Lee Felix weave in and out of craft stands and passing customers, buzzing toward Aisle 7 like a bee to a honey hive.

“RwARGH!” F/n cried, their Santa disguise flying with a full-powered shove. Felix went plunging for the nearest aisle, your aisle, and the moment his sneakers hit Elmer’s Color Slime Kit, he slipped, spinning out of control right into the giant DIY net you created. Yes! Score!

“HIYAH!” You screamed, jumping off the aisle shelf and tackling him. Gave over. You’d won. 

Felix squirmed and fought with all the strength he had left in him, his abs, his arms, his quads, but alas, twice his body weight from you and your friend combined was more than enough to stop him. He gave out with a long sigh just as an employee rounded the corner, crying for assistance.

You were out of time. Tying his hands behind his back and bundling the rest of the fabric around him, your friend threw a couple twenties from their pocket at the young man before the two of you slipped out the emergency exit.

“You’re going to tell us everything!” You demanded, carrying his torso. Felix scowled, rolling his eyes. Despite his obvious anger, he was sweating bullets and looked rather afraid. 

“I’m not telling you anything. You made me drop my stuff.”

“You can go back for it later. F/n, open the door.”

F/n shook their head, placing your captive’s feet down and unlocking the back of their car. “Nuh-uh. He’s riding back here.”

“In the trunk?!” The boy cried.

“In the trunk.”

F/n was dead serious. You stifled a laugh, even if it was kind of mean. Felix whined and bowed his head as the two of you placed him inside, F/n smacking a bow on his head that’d stuck to them during the chase.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

The two of you slammed the door shut.

-〤〤〤-

The moment light hit your captive’s eyes, he squinted, groaning from the bumpy ride (as F/n insisted on hitting every speed bump and pothole). Lifting the boy on the count of three, he made sure to cry out for help- “HAN!!! HYUNJIN!!! JEONGIN!!! I’M OVER HERE!!!”- but, as it was expected, F/n simply dropped the boy on the driveway and threatened to stomp over a...delicate area...before smirking at his wide-eyed response and stuffing the bow in his mouth.

“Um, F/n…” You muttered, hoisting your prize up the porch steps, “don’t you think maybe you’re being too-”

“Don’t,” they warned, casting you a glare. “I’m not being too anything. These jerks deserve way worse.” They shifted Felix’s weight in order to allow you room to open the door. “Besides, it’s not like we’re gonna torture him or anything. Just ask a few questions.”

Felix gave a sigh of relief.

“...We can figure out what to do with him after that.”

...He took a sharp breath, beginning to sweat.

Inside the house the two of you tossed Felix onto the couch, running around the lower level to gather equipment before shifting him to a dining room chair. You were adjusting his bindings when the phone rang, F/n scampering off to answer it after sharing a look.

They smirked at the familiar caller I.D. “Y/n and F/n residence,” S/he answered in an overly-pleasant tone. “How may I help you?” Quickly they pulled the phone away, placing it down on speaker. The two of you, and Felix, glared at the voice coming out from the other side.

“We know you have him,” Han’s voice echoed throughout the living room. He sounded serious, demanding almost, sending a shiver down your spine. That was new. “What do you want?”

“Oh, what do we want?” F/n asked. They scoffed, peering out the blinds on the opposite side of the fireplace, just next to the kitchen. Directly at Han’s estate. “That’s something you don’t hear everyday.”

Han huffed, sounding disgusted. Suddenly, Felix erupted, spitting out the bow you’d forgotten to secure. “HAN! HAN I’M OKAY!!! BUT I LOST THE STUFF AT--”

Frantically you pounced, stuffing a fistful of Kleenex in his mouth. A chorus of anxious whispers filled the other line from Jisung and his goons, before Han silenced them and got back to business.

“Felix, if you can hear me, it’s okay. I need you to take one for the team right now until I come up with something.”

Ironically and unneeded, Felix nodded, as if Han could see him. You and F/n rolled your eyes. 

Suddenly, a loud splat! sent them squealing backwards. 

Your jaw dropped, watching rotten egg dribble and creep down your immaculately-just-cleaned window. Felix chuckled, falling on a sour note after you elbowed him. When two more assaults hit, you ducked for unnecessary cover behind Felix, F/n plastering themselves against the fireplace. 

“What do we do?!” you whispered, cringing every time an egg bomb made contact with the glass. What if by some crazy law of nature those things actually broke the window and leaked into the house?! It could take days to get the smell out. Heck, given that it was right next to the fireplace, and you had yet to test the installation of the seams...it’d likely start leaking into the house within the coming hours.

The pelts were slowly getting louder, rising in a horrifically drawn-out crescendo. “GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE HIM BACK!” you heard the goons chanting.

Were they on the roof?! You couldn’t bear this much longer. Your house was being eggified. Sullied. Disgraced. Finally cracking under the pressure, you flew some hand signals F/n’s direction that didn’t really mean anything and army-crawled to a yet-to-be-ambushed window, examining the battle situation outside before rolling back to your feet and sprinting for a backroom.

“Where are you going?!” F/n whispered harshly. S/he and Han bantered back and forth a bit, his demands of Felix’s release rattling the warfront before you returned with exactly what you’d been looking for: a megaphone. Ah, camp counselor days.

F/n saw what you were doing and instantly, wildly, vehemently shook their head no. But you were taking matters into your own hands now. 

“Han Jisung,” you stated, loudly enough so your voice could travel over the massive egg-pelting outside. “Hold your fire and I’ll bring Felix outside.”

You waited a few seconds, and the firing stopped. Han’s voice practically purred over the speaker. Very disgusting. “You’re starting to see things my way. That’s good.”

“Oh yes. I’m most certainly starting to see things your way.” The phone lifted between your fingers. “We’ll meet on the roofs in five minutes. If I hear or see one more egg on my property, the meeting is off.”

“......” There was an uncomfortable silence on the other line. 

You tilted your head. “Han Jisung? No deal?”

Felix whined a few feet behind you. Han sighed, clearly hearing it. “...Fine. We’ll meet you there.” Click.

You tossed the phone to F/n, who scarcely caught it, juggling it a few times on nervous butterfingers. “Alright, look,” s/he said, pacing across the room and slamming it down on the receiver. “I don’t know what kind of cockameme scheme you have planned, but…”

You smiled. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

They sighed exasperatingly. “I’m sure you told yourself that when you let him into the house earlier, too.”

“......” You faltered, crossing your arms. “Touche. But this time, I really know what I’m doing.” With the utmost confidence and summoned strength you tilted Felix’s chair back, causing him to panic. “C’mon. Help me get this up through the attic.”

-〤〤〤-

Glitter glue. Hair dye. A bucket.

Truth be told, you actually did manage to go back and secure Felix’s belongings. It was around some point during the creation of the gigantic net at Hobby Lobby: F/n had seen them while running around, snagged it, and stashed the goods in the car without telling you. 

Now, you were going to use them against the enemy. If only you knew what the wrench from Home Depot was for… “Okay, listen up,” you stated, standing proudly on your roof. F/n stood at your side, Felix in between you two, still strapped to the dining room chair. Though the Kleenex were now gone, his pie hole remained shut...with Puffs. Not the good brand, F/n had said. “We have your friend, and as you can clearly see, he’s fine. We haven’t done anything to him.”

“Yet,” Hyunjin sneered, standing atop Han’s roof. He crossed his arms at Han’s right, Fox-face (Jeongin) on the left. “I fail to see how tying him up and stuffing his mouth shut equates to not doing anything.”

“Hyunjin, enough big words,” Han moaned. “We get it, you’re good at Scrabble, and you should have won. Lay off already.”

Hyunjin growled, making a face. From the opposing roof, you lowered your mic, extending your hand left. F/n glanced sideways, placing the box of hair dye in your hand. The situation on the other side swiftly grew stiff, everyone’s eyes watching you expectantly.

“Y-Y/n...what are you doing?”

It came out as more of a statement than a question. A fretful smirk played on the corner of your lips. “Oh my, what am I doing? …”

Yours fingers got right to work tearing open the packaging. Felix turned his head as far as his binding would let him, his eyes widening and brows sinking beneath his coral-colored bangs the moment he recognized the object...and the word permanent etched within a warning sign. “Mmm! Mm-mm mmm! MMM!”

“Wait, Y/n,” F/n said, reaching out. They suddenly looked hesitant, unsure. “We never questioned him first. Shouldn’t we…”

You paused, tossing the box and plastic wrap over your shoulder. With any luck, it’d blow into Han Jisung’s yard; if not, you could just pick it up later. “What, now you’re getting cold feet?” You huffed. “You’re the one that was getting carried away before. I thought you were sick of all this crap.”

“I am...I am. I’m just saying, maybe we should have pressed him for answers before running up here.”

“After they started egging our house?! What, was I supposed to wait for toilet paper to fly through the trees and spray paint to stain our front door?!”

“No, I’m just saying—”

“I’m done talking!” Your eyes narrowed, focusing on Han’s. He was staring right back at you, an intense look residing. “I want revenge. I want action. This ends today.”

You popped the cap off the bottle of murky green liquid, Hyunjin and Jeongin both seeming to lose their posture as the cap flipped through the air, bouncing to the ground below. They started to squirm, much to your delight; though perhaps a little overdramatic; but it was about time the other side felt the same pain and turmoil you had. It’d been far too long an unjust imbalance.

But Han held his hands at peace, calming his soldiers and taking a step forward; sending the imbalance back where it was, in his favor. He cupped his hands around that loud mouth of his. “Y/n!!! Listen to me, you don’t wanna do this! ...I-I don’t think, anyway!”

He seemed nervous. Flustered. You actually had Han Jisung, Hellion of 117 Maple Street, in a nervous fluster. 

The moment was sweet, rich, decadent and savory. In the air, a cool breeze blew by. 

“I’m sorry? What was that?” You lifted the bottle over Felix’s head. His whole body tensed, slightly leaning away like a magnet that didn’t attract. 

Han bit his lip, gaze flitting between your hand and the boy below. Behind him, Hyunjin and Jeongin watched with battered breath, biting their nails and covering the lower half of their faces. Han sighed, suddenly waving his hand behind him. “Jeongin, you shouldn’t see this. Cover your eyes. I don’t know if I can stop her.”

The boy frowned, shakily turning from Han’s voice back to you. “I-I can’t, Han...it’s too horrible, but I can’t look away.”

“Then get back inside. I’m sure Y/n will at least allow that much.”

Raising his brow at you in question, you carefully gave a single nod, watching the young fox-face go. Jeongin had never done anything to you, except for maybe participate in the egg-throwing debacle eight minutes ago. Otherwise, as far as you could tell, he was clean, just a bystander in Han’s antics.

As the roof door shut above Jeongin’s head, F/n gave you a worried look. “Y/n…” s/he said, turning to you sideways. “...Something’s not—”

“Shhh!” You spat. Your hand holding the bottle teetered towards a horizontal slant. “Not now. This makes things easier. One less groupie to worry about.”

“But Y/n—”

Felix could practically sense your movements, starting to squeal. “HAN! Please! I have an interview tomorrow and I don’t think they allow unnatural hair!!!”

F/n grunted, crossing their arms at being ignored. You listed your head to match the angle of the bottle. Revenge was so sweet. “Well, Han?”

It felt like an eternity went by. Everything was still, calm, the only noise to be heard the rustling of the trees. A distant clicking that was probably just the other neighbor’s cat. You felt like you were in a Shonen anime, where the characters face off for episodes at a time with nothing but empty heated stares and uselessly repeated banter (usually flashbacks).

“......” Han Jisung swallowed. “Okay, Y/n, stop.” He sighed. “...You win.”

A heaviness released from your chest. You...won? That was it? Was he really just surrendering right now? No surprise counterattack? No negotiations?

Instead, Han Jisung and his last remaining sidekick glared pitifully in your direction, like all hope had fleeted from their grasp. Meaning… 

You won. You actually won... 

The biggest smile took over the lower half of your face, so happy you could have cheered, overjoyedly so, kissing your friend’s cheek. You squealed in delight, tossing the bottle in the air and not really caring where it landed, so excited, so stoked, so—

“Ow!” a young man’s voice said.

Gasp. What was that?! That didn’t sound like Felix or...your friend...that was...wasn’t...

“Y/n!!!”

You whirled around, just in time to see Jeongin standing at the height of your roof, stuffing your friend down the ladder. He paused, similar to how Felix had in Hobby Lobby; that deer in the headlights look; and with terrified effort kicked F/n down the attic, hopping in and letting the door drop after him. 

Laughter could be heard bellowing along the wind, a hurricane billowing your direction. You whirled around, flabbergasted, horrified to see Han Jisung with that coy smirk on his face, that evil glint in his eye, the long-legged Hyunjin doing a memey sort of dance, as the two of them laughing it up at your expense. Even Felix, still bound to the chair, was…

...Well, actually, he looked rather annoyed and a little pissed. “HEY!” he griped, stamping his feet. “What happened to releasing me first?! I thought that was part of the plan!”

Plan…? …… 

“You mean…” You glared expressionless. “This was all setup...from the beginning? Even Hobby Lobby?”

“Duh,” Hyunjin piped, giving you an incredulous look. “We saw you and F/n heading that way, so I called Felix while Han coached Jeongin on the art of...sneaking onto other's property. We knew the two of you were probably at your breaking point, given how you were screaming all the way down the street…” He shrugged. “We figured you’d try to retaliate. It was too good to pass up.”

“......”

Anger wasn’t enough anymore. You were downright enraged, seething...and also, a bit heartbroken. A lot heartbroken. It was all planned. Your revenge was just another part of their game. They anticipated it, adjusted to it, even arranged it. It was all for not...and, what’s more…

Now they had F/n. The Fox-faced demon would be scampering out of your house and into the devil’s layer at any minute.

But he’d made a fatal mistake. You still had one of their own in your grasp.

With the utmost vexation and irritability you screamed, grabbing the bottle of hair dye from where it got caught between two shilling panels and tore the whole lid off, dumping the entire bottle into Felix’s hair. Han and Hyunjin froze in the middle of their victorious dance ritual to watch in horror as Felix screeched, trying to shake the substance out and make any feeble attempt he could to get away. You ripped open the glitter glue next, aiming it right at his scalp.

“Give F/n back right now or I’m adding glitter. Lots of it.”

“......”

Han Jisung and Hwang Hyunjin just continued to stare at you dumbfounded. Because they didn’t respond, you emptied the entire container, not caring if it seeped into the boy’s eyes as you dropped everything else for the attic door. 

“OH SH*T! MY EYES! MY FACE! YOU GUYS SUCK! AHH—”

The roof latch clicked behind you.

Flying down the ladder and around the hall you ran with all your might for the front door. Surprisingly enough, however, Jeongin was having a tough time getting there himself, wrestling with F/n for a position that allowed him to keep them quiet while having the freedom to move quickly. Unfortunately for him, F/n wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Let...go…! Get…off…...ahh! Y/n!!!”

They were wrestling at the end of the hall, just above the stairs. You pushed yourself harder, faster, ready to pulverize this kid you once found cute and adorable.

Something was off, though. You noticed as you got closer. The way they fought— it was almost too carefully, like they were trying to avoid hitting something.

You found out too little too late. F/n’s eyes widened. 

“Y/n, no, look out—!”

Fwoosh!

Your foot tripped over a wire, and the three of you went tumbling upwards.

You couldn’t believe you fell for the same trick twice.

-〤〤〤-

“Hold still,” Hyunjin groaned, clawing at Felix’s bindings. The boy practically refused, squirming with all his might.

“I’m holding still! I can’t see!”

“What does that have to do with being still?!”

Felix fumed.

Han Jisung made his way to the top of the ladder, rolling onto his back to catch his breath. It wasn’t like he wanted to drive Y/n to do this. Rather, he was just having a little fun, passing time, and essentially, getting to know her. 

She was the girl he thought about spending quite a bit of his life with, after all.

He turned his head sideways, taking in the view of the mountains, the small forestry area, the big city on the other side. Dang it, he knew Y/n’s roof had a better view of the area. “Both of you...quit whining...for a sec…”

He fought to catch his breath. Normally he thought himself to be in pretty good shape, but maybe eating a whole cheesecake and slacking off last week for that Netflix marathon put him back a few steps. Diagonally above him, Hyunjin sighed, removing the last of Felix’s restraints. “Okay, there. You’re free now.”

Felix stood, immediately rubbing his shirt over his face and stretching his arms out wide, then his legs. He looked around. 

“Something wrong?” Hyun asked. Felix began to sweat, visible from a mile away.

“Oh, gosh, you guys. I still can’t see. I think I’m legally blonde.”

“......” Hyunjin blinked. “You mean legally blind? Legally Blonde is a movie.” He glanced up at his sparkling dishwater-green hair. “Also, your hair’s green now. An ugly green. And shiny. Too shiny—”

“Both of you shhh,” Han griped, sitting up sideways. He pushed himself up all the way, stumbling diagonally as he hiked up toward the other side of the roof. “Has Jeongin come out yet? Where’s Y/n?”

“I don’t know,” Felix spoke, swatting at his surroundings. “I can’t see anything.”

“He obviously wasn’t talking to you,” Hyunjin piped. He leaned over the edge, examining the front porch, then the lawn. “...I don’t know either. I didn’t hear the front door but, then again, I couldn’t hear anything with Whines-A-Lot back here blubbering so loud.”

“Why are you in such a bad mood today? Normally you’re really sweet and chill. And why is everyone attacking me all of a sudden?! I’m the one that agreed to be the bait of this operation! Me!”

“Okay, okay,” Han waved his hands. He really hated being the responsible one, but with these two at each other's throats and Jeongin nowhere to be found, he really had no other choice. “Felix, go inside and see if you can find Jeongin. Or Y/n. Anyone.”

Felix scoffed, throwing his hands in the air like a tossed salad. “Oh, yeah. Send the blind guy in. That plan always works. Makes total sense!”

“Oh, right...uhh, Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin scrunched up his face. “No way. I’m not going in there. Breaking and entering is not going on my personal record. Pranks are fine, but I’m not violating the law. That’s your department, Mr. Fifteen-Unpaid-Speeding-Tickets.”

“......” Groaning, Han made his way to the top of the roof, kneeling just short of the peak to pull the lever. However, the door wouldn’t budge. “...It’s locked.”

“Locked?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Locked.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Shoot, why would she stop to lock the door? Now wh—”

“HAN JISUNG!!!”

All three college boys froze. Crouching, they whipped their heads around wildly. Even Felix. “What was that?!” He asked. “Was that Y/n?!”

“HAN!!!” Another called. Smaller, lighter, yet contradictingly more masculine. Hyunjin gasped. 

“That sounded like Jeongin!”

Then, suddenly, all three missing voices meshed together, the chorus dark and booming: “LET US OUT! LET US OUT LET US OUT LET US OUT!!!”

Hyunjin jumped to his feet, kicking and pounding at the door. “Quick, open the door! We have to rescue Jeongin!”

Han’s jaw fell a little. “What about Y/n?”

“What about her?!” He grunted, hitting the door harder. “Jeongin is our first priority!”

“I thought you didn’t like breaking and entering,” Felix sneered from the back, still waving at the air like a recently-blind person would. His elder tsked, scowling.

“It’s not breaking and entering if someone’s life is in danger! Han, what the hell kind of trap did you put in there?!”

Han blinked, trying to process. Everything had gone South so quickly, curved in a direction he wasn’t expecting— he couldn’t think. His mind drew up blanks. Never in his thirteen years of pranking history had he ever not been in control of his own crafty work. 

Now his work was playing a joke on him. “Han! Hello?! Earth to Jisung?”

“...I…”

“What did you do in there?!”

“......” He swallowed, barely regaining his composure. “I set up another net. Just a quick one, like the one from earlier today.”

“What?!” Hyunjin roared. “But that took me all morning! How did you do it in five minutes?!”

“I didn’t,” he replied. “I did it in four.”

Hyunjin deadpanned, smacking a hand over his face. “‘Kay…how did you manage to pull that off?”

His superior in the art of mischief fell back on his behind, staring out seamlessly at nothing in particular. Obnoxiously calm for the circumstances. “I’ve been sneaking into her house every now and then when she left the back door open. I’d set up a small part here, or a spring wire there, just small stuff out of the way that no one’d notice. They’ve hardly been home with midterms going around.”

“......” Hyunjin shook his head in disbelief. “Han, there’s no way they wouldn’t notice or not accidentally set something like that off until now.”

Han turned back to him in earnest. “I just set the final wire down this afternoon. The activation one. One of them— probably Y/n— tripped over it.”

“...If that’s true, then…”

Another sonorous from down below reached the canopies above: “LET US OUT!!!”

Hyunjin dropped back on all fours. “LET US IN!!!” he cried, pounding on the hardwood door. “Jeongin, buddy, it’s going to be oka—”

“Come on!” Han said, leaping to his feet. He grabbed Felix by the wrist, tugging the two along behind him before making a crash landing for the bushes. No time to waste now. He needed to get his act together, take a leap of faith that, maybe, if he played his cards right, Y/n could see him in a whole new light.

It would be a long shot. If he remembered to jump from the right spot, anyway. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Both boys screamed, clinging to each other’s sides. They hit the shrubs, bouncing forward and rolling into Y/n’s front yard.

“...Was that a trampoline???” Felix asked. Han scoffed, shoving the two off of him.

“I planted an emergency escape device in her bushes last week, just in case.” He dusted himself off, screwing his head on straight while jogging to the front porch. “What do I look like, stupid or something?” 

“......” Hyunjin watched him cross to the front door, lying upside down. “Do you want us to answer that?”

“...No.” 

Han rang the doorbell. Stamped his foot. Remembered all house guests and tenants were currently tied up at the moment, slapped himself, panicked. He banged his fist against the door. 

“Y/n?! It’s okay! Daddy’s going to fix this!”

Hyunjin made a noise (he was full of noises), tromping up the steps while Felix rolled himself around in the yard, trying to figure out which way was up and what he should do with himself. “Did you just call yourself—”

“Yes, now shut up.” Han dug around in his pocket, pulling out a key. “Heh heh heh…” 

He jimmied the lock, twisting and turning the key this way and that. But the door wouldn’t budge, not even an inch.

“Sh*t!” He grabbed his hair. “Why isn’t this working?! I made copies of her keys three weeks ago!”

Hyunjin glared sideways. “You changed out her locks two weeks ago.” 

Shoot, that was right. Han kicked the door, fuming. “Dang it! ...Ow!” 

He was spent. Gone. Energy depleting. And now, his foot hurt. Spinning around he banged his head against the door, sliding down to sulk on his backside. 

He hadn’t meant for things to go awry. He’d just wanted to mess with Y/n, see what made her tick, have some fun. Find out what she liked, what she didn’t like, maybe get up the nerve to ask her what she was doing for dinner next Saturday so he could mess with the food at her favorite restaurant and force her to come to a candle-lit dinner in his backyard instead, where he’d have her second-favorite takeout waiting on plates of gold he’d “borrowed” from Hyunjin’s aunt.

If only things would have worked out that way. “LET US OUT LET US OUT LET US OUT!!!” the house called.

Hyun and Han shared a pitiful look, plastering themselves to the walls and door. They had no choice. There was nothing left. “LET US IN LET US IN LET US IN!!!”

“HAN JISU— …” 

Quiet. That was strange. What was it quiet?! What happened?! What could have—

...Oh no. What if…!

“DON’T HURT JEONGIN!” Han screamed, pressing his nose to the glass. “PLEASE! Y/N F/N PLEASE HYUNJIN WILL KILL ME IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM!!!”

“WHAT?!” Hyunjin yelled, pressing against the glass as well. “Move over, I can’t see! WHAT ARE YOU FIENDISH PEOPLE DOING TO HIM?!”

There was no response. Han began sweating profusely, feeling his heart ready to burst in a bad way. This was it. It was over. He’d have to call the cops to have them released, and then Han would probably go to jail for twenty-seven misdemeanors and a couple felony charges. Not to mention those unpaid speeding tickets.

Chink. Clunk. Creek.

A force against him gave way, the front door magically opening. As Han and Hyunjin fell forward, a blind, sparkling, green-haired man smiled down at them, standing at the other side.

-〤〤〤-

The clamouring coming from your front door set you on edge, wiggling and slashing at the ties that bound you. And F/n. And Jeongin.

The three of you piled on top of each other in an awkward heap, you being fortunate enough to have flipped on top. “Ow! Y/n, get your foot out of my eye!” F/n cried.

Apologetically, you shifted your weight, trying to give them room in the small net. Jeongin huffed as you did, making the most cumberous and uncomfortable face as you shifted your bottom over his backside, close to his head. “This is your fault for sneaking in here and trying to kidnap F/n,” you scolded, only feeling a little sorry given the circumstances.

He blushed, perplexingly so, carefully trying to claw his way to a corner that didn’t exist. “I, um...I’m sorry…”

Like that was enough to get the three of you out of this arrangement. Rolling your eyes, you focused your attention on the front door you could just barely see, tuning your ears to adjust and pick up on anything.

“What are they saying?” F/n asked. You shrugged, huffing and puffing disorderly.

“I don’t know. I can barely hear anything. They’re whispering. They keep looking over here, though.”

“Who opened the door?! How did they get in here???”

F/n was currently squished with their head facing the opposite direction, explaining their heighted insecurity and naggingness. You sighed, squinting and rocking your weight in order to make the small flexible cage sway to better see around the corner. “I think...Felix let them in. He must have used the back door or something.”

“Son of a b*tch, Y/n!!!” F/n quietly fumed. “This is why I always tell you to make sure both doors are locked! You never think to check the back door and it drives me crazy!!!”

“I know, I know okay?! Calm down! You’re gonna draw attention!”

“HAN!!!” Jeongin suddenly screamed. “FELIX! GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!!!”

Both you and F/n panicked. “SHHHHHHHH!!!”

He regarded the two of you like you were crazy. “Just five minutes ago you were screaming too!”

F/n hissed. “Yeah, well that was five minutes ago, and this is now!”

Jeongin sighed. “Listen, this is really uncomfortable for me, especially because you’re sitting...entirely too close to me,” he spoke, “so how about I make a deal with you two?”

“No way. I don’t make deals with demons. Or vipers, or monsters, or Fox-faced devils that sneak into our house and try to kidnap me!!!”

Jeongin sighed again, letting out a slight hiss of annoyance at the end. At the base of the stairs, Han and Hyunjin started making their ascent, Felix stumbling around a bit with a bandana now over his eyes before following after them.

“Oh shoot,” you whispered. “Here they come.”

Making his way around the net once, Han paused right square before you; and there it was, that evil flirtatious wink, tongue sweeping over his lips scarcely so. “S’up, gorgeous?”

Shoot me. I want to die.

Han poked your nose, making a little annoying sound effect and laughing when you teetered backwards, swatting away at the germs he left on your face. “Aww, I think someone doesn’t like their situation very much.”

“Lay off. Get us out of this stupid thing and then get the hell out. If you don’t, I’m calling the cops.”

Han chuckled and slapped his leg like you were just the cutest little thing to him. “Oh, alright, calm down princess. You’re just sour over falling for the same trick twice.”

It burned you how much truth there was to those words. You would have spit at him if F/n wasn’t at risk of being in the line of fire. “Just shut up and get us out of here. Take your friend with you.”

Tangled up behind you, Jeongin sputtered; you could feel him roll his eyes. “Gladly,” he muttered.

After admiring your pissed-off look for a few seconds, and Han taking a few selfies for his own selfish gain, Han and Hyunjin got right to work, snipping wires here, tugging at rope there. Eventually, after a few moments of unblissful trepidation and embarrassment, the net lowered gently, falling lifelessly about a foot above ground. 

The three of you groaned, F/n having the wind knocked out of them for a second. Scampering and shoving off of each other, you turned away the moment you found your legs, brushing yourself off and walking down the hall a few paces. Your feet prickled with numbness, then faded and blood rushed through. 

When you turned around to check on F/n and kick everyone else out, Han Jisung had already found his way to your face. “Hey there, gorgeous. All better?”

You scowled most irately, placing your hands on his chest to push him off and startling yourself when he wouldn’t budge, and your hands just...stayed there. “Get out of here. You got us out, now you’re no longer welcome.”

“Oh, was that all you needed from me?” He smiled. Almost tenderly. Or maybe it was, you didn’t know. “I’m hurt, Y/n. I thought maybe we could...talk more. Get to know one another.”

“What?!” You tried to see around him, but he mirrored your every step and movement. When you pulled your hands away, he latched onto your wrists, placing them back. His fingers smoothed over the backs of your hands, intertwining with yours. You gulped, a feeling in your gut exploding.

“This is nice,” he said softly, giving your hands a gentle squeeze. “Isn’t it?”

It most certainly was not nice. Not nice at all! ...Yet, you were having quite a bit of trouble telling him that. His hands were so soft and...rigid...even the small calluses that sprouted along his palms and outline were somehow oddly alluring, inviting you to stay. 

You shivered, bristling all over. No, no. Get ahold of yourself Y/n. This can’t happen. I can’t go down like this. 

Shaking your head you shoved yourself back instead, running two steps to the right...and slamming gently into the adjacent wall. Gently. Softly. Softly slamming.

What the hell, why was everything with Han Jisung so soft all of a sudden?! You bore your eyes up at him, seeing as he was now just...inches away from you...again...g-getting closer…

His nose brushed right up against yours. A breath caught in your throat, begging to scream. Everything else in your body was. He had slithered himself to press up against you.

You’re pretty sure, even if you couldn’t feel it, your face was the darkest shade of red right now. Han undoubtedly noticed too, simpering just a fraction from your lips. “What should we do now, princess? Should we…” He inched your waist forward. “...go next door?”

Next door. Next door, where the hellhole of disasters had started. 

...Something about that line just didn’t sit right with you. Feeling as if the whole moment had been ruined (and good gravy you had to get out of this), you shimmied yourself a bit of wiggle room and shot your knee skyward, wincing as a howl of pain rang out in your ear. You kicked Han back, making a run for F/n…

...Who was again, gone. Everyone was gone.

Turning around, Han gave you a childish salute, that flirtatious wink following him all the way out the front door. You couldn’t do anything. Just observe him leave in shock.

Until you heard a thump from downstairs, and raced to find Felix feeling his way around the kitchen. 

“Now, I know there’s a backdoor somewhere...it was in here when I came in…”

You bore your eyes into him. Smirked.

Five minutes later, his whines echoed all through the house and down the porch steps.

-〤〤〤-

It may not have been high noon, but that didn’t stop Hyunjin and Fox-face Jeongin from turning on an old western showdown score. 

You stood on your side of the property line, Felix rebound though now standing at your side. If he was miffed about his hair and the overzealous glitter drawing attention to it, he didn’t say anything. Possibly because being temporarily blind was pulling all his attention away.

On the other side, about ten or twelve meters from the line, stood Han Jisung, in all his hellion, dark-profiled glory. F/n was bound and gagged beside him, looking like a tick about to pop. You’d never seen that vein before, throbbing above their forehead. Hyunjin and Jeongin observed from afar, amongst the safety of shade and porch railing.

You lifted the megaphone you’d brought back with you from the roof. “On the count of three,” you instructed, gripping Felix’s sleeve tight. 

Han Jisung cackled, or his eyes did anyway, a sparkle of humor at play. “Alright. Hostage exchange on three.”

“Okay…”

You both paced exactly twenty-something steps until you were only two feet from the line.

“One…”

“Two…”

“...Thre—”

“Wait.”

Your mind did a little flip, attention spiraling upward. “What?”

The hellion next door smirked. “I have one condition.”

“Oh?” You sputtered. “So do I.”

“Ladies first.”

You deadpanned. “Stop intervening and disturbing my life and F/n’s sanity and I won’t call the cops.”

He laughed, a very hearty, joyful sound. It sort of...made your heart spin. “That’s fair. I can agree to those terms...if you agree to mine.” You scoffed.

“And what would that be?”

Han Jisung smiled. Brighter than the sun. For once, it was almost as if he was revealing a side of his persona to you he’d kept locked away all this time; he suddenly appeared to be genuine, sincere, and oh-so benevolent. Not to mention handsome. “Go on a date with me. Saturday, at five.”

“What?!”

The world came to a crash. Everything just seemed to stop, the birds even dropping like flies to gawk at the enigma that was Han Jisung. Behind him and to the left, Jeongin and Hyunjin stared at each other in bewilderment. Felix muttered some kind of disbelief beneath his breath. F/n looked like s/he really would pop.

“Mmm?!” They shrieked. Han chuckled, ruffling his hair away from his face and casting squinted eyes out over the neighborhood. 

“Yeah, uh...I’ll pick you up at five, if you like. I mean, you have to, because this is a condition. My deal. Where we’re going is a surprise, but I can give you a hint.” He leaned forward, twitching his nose a bit. “There’s a lot of action going on in the color department, and it usually gives me an allergy attack. But, I figured you may enjoy watching my face fall apart.”

“.........”

Slowly, you adjusted your gaze over to F/n. They were shaking their head wildly, though limitedly, so as not to tip off anyone. 

“.........” You turned your face back to Han Jisung. “...Make it five-thirty. I have an errand to run that day.”

He bit his lower lip to keep from smiling too much. “Deal. Okay, on three. One…”

“Two…”

“Three.”

You each pushed your captives over at the same time, Felix and F/n stumbling forward over the property line. Hyunjin and Jeongin raced down into the lawn while you quickly got to work untying and freeing your housemate. 

S/he turned and looked to you with the utmost confusion and disappointment in their eyes. You smiled, sadly, and turning away watched as three of the four boys embraced and spat at each other, Hyunjin and Jeongin poking and teasing Felix about his hair, and Han Jisung watching you back with stars in his eyes. Once a hellion, it was as if a great fog had lifted over the valley, and now you could see he was both day and night. A myriad of sunlight, and a mischievous moon.

“You’re not really going on a date with him,” F/n scolded, walking in sync with you up the porch steps and in through the front door. You waited until they were safely inside and halfway to the kitchen for another drink, waving and even winking in Han Jisung’s direction. It caught him off guard, and you snickered at his confused stare. 

“We’ll see,” is all you said, shutting the door behind you.

-〤〤〤-

Saturday, 5:25 p.m.

Your house mysteriously felt like the Island of the Lost.

“F/n! Have you seen my hairbrush?!”

Running back and forth in front of the TV, up and down the stairs, rummaging through both bathrooms, F/n sighed, annoyed at having their early-evening talk show interrupted. They set the TV on mute. “What are you looking for? Your hairbrush?”

You nodded, heading back towards the upstairs bath. F/n jumped up from a commercial break, following you.

“How did you manage to lose your hairbrush? Sheesh, Y/n, you’ve been forgetful all day.”

You turned toward the mirror, staring worrisome eyes at the curlers in your hair, the sloppily-applied two minute makeup job on your face. F/n noticed as well, giving a small pout as s/he crossed their arms, leaning against the doorframe. “Where are you going, anyway?”

Uh-oh. “Hmm...?”

You pretended not to hear that. F/n blinked, their face falling to an unimpressed state. “I asked, where are you going?”

“......”

“......”

Downstairs, the doorbell rang. Crap. It wasn’t five-thirty yet!

F/n turned toward the sound, their brows lifting in minor surprise. “Who could that be? Are you expecting a package or anything?”

They began wandering in the direction of the staircase, but you cringed, throwing yourself as a blockade. “Ahahahahahahaha! …” Sweat. “...I-I’ll get it. You should get back to your show!”

F/n gasped, pushing past you and gracefully making a sharp left just a few feet from the door. Phew. 

You peered around the corner, trying to make out the silhouette through the foggy glass. 

Tall-ish. A bit on the short side. Skinny? Seemingly masculine.

It had to be him. Panic struck you like a bat out of hell, scrambling to the bathroom and ripping the curlers out of your hair. You fought through three bottles of creams and mascara while juggling your toothbrush hanging out of your mouth, rinsing, spitting, and finally flipping your hair down, shaking it loose and flipping back over.

Oh yeah. Messy-chic look. Perfect. With a touch of gloss (or lipstick) you smoothed out your casual-dressy outfit before skipping downstairs and slipping on your favorite dress shoes at the door, purse slung over your bodice.

This was it. You discreetly shifted your eyes to the left. F/n was still inthralld in their talk show. Now was your chance for a clean getaway without any awkward accusations or encounters.

Taking a deep, measured breath, you gingerly opened the door, blowing it out on the exhale. Han Jisung stood in all his new-lighted glory, his back turned to you as he examined the neighborhood, waiting.

You gave a small cough, stepping out and locking up behind you. Han turned around, his eyes widening when he saw you. “Whoa...uh…”

“Yes?” Your gaze traveled down to the flowers in his hand. “Are those for me, or an apology to F/n?”

You both laughed, Han thrusting them forward a bit forcefully. An awkward color painted a ring around his face, across his ears and along the curves of his cheeks. “Uh, b-both, I guess. ...But, mainly for you.”

He was nervous. For real this time. You smiled, taking the small bouquet and burying your face into the petals. You inhaled deeply. “...Mmm...they smell really nice!”

You beamed. For maybe five seconds. After that, a spout of water soaked your forehead.

Han Jisung pressed his lips together, trying his darndest not to laugh. His eyes avoided you entirely, observing everything but your face. A moment later, he bolted, signalling for his groupies to turn on the sprinklers. Coffee rained down on both of your lawns, dyeing both sides murky Vanilla Latte.

You chased him down the porch steps, through the caffeinated shower, laughing.

-〤〤〤-

“...And that about wraps up our show for today!”

F/n flipped the TV off, turning their gaze to the window. Is it raining already?

As they approached the window, their jaw fell. They opened the window. “Y/N!!! HAN JISUNG!!!”

...It was no use.

Pulling up a chair, they fell to their knees, observing the bizarre weather in a moment of acceptance. They extended their mug over the windowsill, sighing as the caffeinated shower refilled their morning latte.

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Being Human - Chapter 14

<= Chapter 13

Summary : Another restful night. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826561/chapters/66681460

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WARNING : GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF VIOLENCE, ABUSE AND GORE. PLEASE PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Hey ! How are you all doing ? Good I hope !

Sorry for the wait, I had to wait for something you'll see later in this chapter, but it was definitely worth it ! I hope you'll love it as much as I do !

Thank you for your patience, I hope you're still interested in this fanfic. Your comments bring me so much joy, I am always so, so happy to post something and see your reviews after that. Thank you so much for following me and following this story, this means so much to me.

Anyway, let's move on to the credit part, because yes... This chapter has two special things !

1) An art commission by my friend saltyh0td0g (https://twitter.com/saltyh0td0g), go check their amazing art !!

2) A voice acting commission, by - @puyo-proto​ (https://twitter.com/Puyo_Proto) - @jordanthecat11​ (https://twitter.com/JordantheCat11)

You can listen to it here !

Of course, the "Oh The Humanity" AU belongs to @doodledrawsthings​​ !

Happy reading ! And, just like stated at the beginning of this note, please be careful. This chapter is disturbing. And since it's Halloween in France now... Happy Halloween you all :)c

Thank you again for all your amazing support, it means so much to me !

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Chapter 14 - “What did I do?!”

Sleep had become Lukas’s only refuge. When one was sleeping, they couldn’t feel pain, they weren’t afraid anymore, it was just peaceful and blissful dreams, very different from the reality… And the Prince was no exception.

His eyes opened instantly, pulled out of his enchanted sleep, a searing pain in his left arm waking him up. The young man glanced all around, his breath fast and heavy as he was forced to remember what had happened, reality hitting him like a slap in the face. Oh. Right. He was still there.

How long had he been sleeping…?

The pain made him wince, the ice on his cheeks cracking from the movement. A silent cry left his lips and he closed his mouth, gritting his teeth as he waited for the pain to die down a bit. Once it did, the Prince tried his best not to move too much and lifted his head, trying to find the cause of this vivid and unbearable pain. His left and now only eye widened as found what was causing him so much pain. A stalagmite was stabbing his left arm, visibly growing more and more as Vanessa’s magic seemed to summon more and more ice in the cellar. Lukas’s already pale face became as white as a ghost’s, a horrified expression plastered on his features and his mouth opened from the shock. Oh no, no no no no no-

The Prince’s heartbeat became faster and faster as panic settled upon him, adrenaline fuelling his body -or what was left of it at this point-. All around him, the ice was invading the room, much quicker than how it usually did. It hurt, it hurt, it just hurt so much-! Something was probably happening up there, was Vanessa mad or- but the pain was too much for him to think clearly. He wanted to move his arm away… But couldn’t. The chains were keeping him in place, leaving no possibility for him to escape this… And with broken shoulders, he couldn’t do much either. This realization made him even more terrified than what he already was. It was going to go through his arm, he needed to do something, quick, now, the pain was unbearable, oh Gods, why-!

Woken up from the shock that had paralyzed him, Lukas gritted his teeth and attempted to summon his fire magic, despite how weak he was being at the moment. This might be the only thing that could save his arm, he needed to do this, he needed to take the risk! And so, after taking a deep breath, the Prince focused on his left arm, trying to condense all of the warmth his magic could offer on this single limb. And while it did manage to stop the progression of the sharp stalagmite… It also made it melt, cold water flowing on his now open wound. His arm was also warm enough to experience how vivid pain could be, not softened by the cold temperature anymore. It stung, it stung so, so much-! At least, when it was cold, the pain was bearable, but now… Despite how mute Lukas thought he had become from the dehydration, a deafening scream left his mouth, echoing in the cellar, if not in the entire manor. His muscles, all atrophied from how weak he was, tensed up. If the young man still had tears to cry, they would be running on his grey cheeks by now. He was scared, he was hurt, he just wanted things to be over, he just wanted to be free…! Why did he have to suffer so much?

All of a sudden, the room became a bit warmer and the ice stopped spreading. What…? Why, what was- And then, it clicked.

Vanessa had heard him. It wasn’t a coincidence, it couldn’t be a coincidence, the timing was just too right for that! However, now, the thought of having the Queen coming down here didn’t bring him any hope anymore… No, it just terrified him, especially with how mad she had been the last and only time she had come to see him. After what she had done to his right eye… He had no idea what she could do next. She was just too instable for him to predict at his point, and… She just wasn’t the Vanessa he knew anymore. Or perhaps… Perhaps she had always been this way.

Maybe he had just been too blind to notice all the red flags.

Just as he was panicking over the possibility of his wife coming down the stairs, a burning sensation erupted in his left arm- wait. Burning? In this freezing cellar…?

The Prince turned his head to try to find the cause of that strange and worrying feeling… Only to discover that his hand had turned black, pitch black and clawed, just like Vanessa’s, just like once she had been… Corrupted with her magic.

-“No…” whimpered Lukas, shaking his head weakly as his emotions were slowly getting out of control. No, this couldn’t be happening, this just couldn’t be happening, no, no, no! He hadn’t meant to use his magic so much, he had just wanted to stay alive, to survive! Not this!

Magic had always required people to be careful when using it. Each person, through training and predispositions, could practice and use magic until their body couldn’t take it anymore. Lukas had always been very attentive to that and had learnt to know his limits with time. Once crossed… Magic could have very destructive consequences over one’s body and soul, corrupting them, changing them into things that weren’t human anymore. By using her powers too much, this is what had happened to Vanessa… And this is what was happening to him now.

Horror had engulfed him whole, making his entire body shake despite how painful it was. This couldn’t be happening, why, why, why!

His thoughts were instantly cut short as he heard something coming closer and closer, sounds that made his empty stomach turn. Someone was going down the stairs. That simple thought made him realize how what he had gone through could as well be nothing compared to what she might do to him. And, without really knowing why… He tried to hide his corruption by closing his hand, not caring if his newly formed claws were scratching his palm in consequence. It didn’t hide much… But it was still better than nothing.

He had no idea how Vanessa would react to that. However, he didn’t have the time to wonder more about this as he heard the door being unlocked… And then it was pushed open, a terribly familiar voice echoing all around as she called out to him:

-“My Prince?” she sang with a twisted, very twisted fondness, “I heard your voice, hehehe!” she added, gleefully. Soon, her dark and distorted form entered the room, making Lukas shiver even more, his lips sealed close tightly as his eyes fell on her, unable to look at anything else. He was scared, so, so scared. This was it, then? He was going to die now, wasn’t he? Maybe…

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, after all…?

However, his fear soon mixed up with confusion as he noticed the Queen was holding something in her hands, some kind of… Tray? A tray with a glass of water and some sort of dark little balls next to it, things he didn’t recognized… But then, a horrid smell greeted his nostrils, a sudden urge to throw up settling over him instantly. Thankfully, his stomach was empty, preventing him from throwing up anything besides bile… And yet, it wouldn’t be empty for long, as what his dear wife had brought very much looked like burnt food, whatever that used to be before turning out like this.

Somehow, no matter how disgusting the smell was… The Prince’s stomach couldn’t help but gurgle just at the thought of eating something, even if it ended up being the most abominable dish in the world. He was literally starving and, in this situation, wouldn’t complain if it meant he could eat something, anything. And, furthermore… She was bringing him water, a whole glass of it! His mouth was so dry, and his body so weak, so dehydrated… Even from melting the stalactites, he couldn’t get so much of water!

But, on the other hand, despite how relieved he was to know he’d finally get some water… Some part of him was disappointed. It just meant that he’d have to bear all of this suffering a bit longer, when he could die and finally be free of pain.

-“Oh, are you hungry, my love?” she asked with a smile, a terrifying smile on her inhuman face. She then lifted the tray in her hands as she added: “don’t worry, I made some cookies, just for you!”

Oh. Oh, so those things were supposed to be cookies. He knew Vanessa had never been good at cooking… But this, this wasn’t food anymore. It was completely black, looking like just the littlest touch would make them fall apart. Still… Lukas was starving and very much needed food, his survival instincts screaming at him to eat, no matter what Vanessa was going to give him.

-“I know they’re a little burnt… But you’re going to eat them, right? I put all my heart into them…”

The Prince could only nod swiftly and desperately, his stomach only gurgling louder. This seemed to satisfy the Queen, who smiled more. She looked nothing like she used to and while seeing her smile brought him joy before all of this… Now, the effect was very much different.

-“Oh, I’m so glad,” she sighed, looking at him fondly as she approached slowly. Lukas couldn’t help but shiver more, doing his best not to draw any attention to his hand. Seeing how unstable Vanessa was at the moment, he couldn’t predict how she would react to the sight of his own corruption. At least, his hand wasn’t cold anymore… But it wasn’t human either.

The Prince couldn’t help but shut his eyes as she eventually stopped in front of him. However, the young man was quickly forced to reopen them as he felt the temperature of the room get colder very suddenly. As soon as he did, he saw Vanessa extending one of her clawed hands to the floor… And summoning an ice block, large and high enough for her to put the tray on it. Lukas gulped despite the lack of saliva in his mouth: if she could summon an entire block of ice in a few seconds from nothing… He didn’t want to imagine the things she could possibly do to him if she ever got mad again.

Vanessa seemed to notice his fear and came closer, bringing her hands to his chest, rubbing it with her freezing palms.

-“Don’t be scared,” she murmured with that sweet voice of hers, much too cheerful to be sincere: “It’s me, it’s just me, it’s okay,” she cooed to him, just like she would to a child in need of comfort. But Lukas was not a child. He was the one she used to love… And now he was locked in the basement, chained to a wall.

This was not the type of comfort he needed. All he wanted was to be free… Whether it was literally or figuratively which, in that last case, meant free of this now painful and horrifying life. All he could do at her touch was to whimper silently, shutting his eyes once more, simply unable to look at her monstrous appearance. This was not the woman he knew, this was not the one he loved-

She hummed a song for a bit, still rubbing his chest, maybe at an attempt to reassure him… But it wasn’t like it was working, on the contrary. It just made him even more scared. He only wanted this to end! Was this asking for too much…?

After a few minutes that felt like hours to the young Prince, Vanessa stepped away, finally picking up one of the “cookies” she had made for him. She seemed so proud of them, so happy of her “act of kindness”… And that just made the whole situation even more terrifying. Lukas couldn’t tell if she knew if what she did was bad or if she was simply unaware of it… And, in any case, it wasn’t like it changed a lot of things, was it? He was going to stay stuck here no matter what… Given how she acted towards him, it was obvious that she wouldn’t let him go nor escape that easily.

Once she brought the “cookie” to his lips, the atrocious smell hit him in the face once more and he had to bite his inner cheek not to gag. It smelled awful, so awful… And yet, his body needed food.

-“Come on, dear,” she insisted, pushing the biscuit on his dried out and shaking lips: “I made them just for you…”

Lukas eventually opened his mouth, already bracing himself for what was to come… And oh, was it a good decision. The taste was absolutely terrible, as if the ingredients had been mixed up randomly, in quantities that weren’t following the instructions. It felt mealy and crumbled on his tongue in the worst possible way. It was dry and, for someone who was extremely thirsty… It was torture. Without being able to hold himself back, he coughed, feeling the dust of the biscuit going the wrong way into his lungs… And he spat everything at her, on what used to be her beautiful green dress.

Oh. Oh no. No, no, no, no-

A moment passed where they remained completely motionless, as if they were both trying to process what had just happened. The Prince stared at her, terrorised. This couldn’t be happening, he just didn’t do that, he couldn’t believe it. He was going to die now, wasn’t he? Why wasn’t he more careful, why didn’t he-

A violent slap on his face silenced his thoughts, hundreds of small ice crystals on Vanessa’s glove scratching his face, cutting his fragile and grey skin. A yelp of pain left his mouth at the shock, leaving him trembling even more, his eyes shut hard as he waited for death to come. Because this was the only outcome at this point, right?

Maybe he would finally be free…

-“I can’t believe it,” reprimanded the Queen with a harsh tone: “I did my best to cook something for you and this is how you’re thanking me?”

The Prince shook his head slowly and weakly, mouthing a series of “I’m sorry” relentlessly as his voice was stuck in his throat, unable to come out from how scared he was. But this wasn’t enough for his wife, no, how could it ever be?

-“Don’t you lie to me!!” she yelled out of the blue, a dozen of ice pillars coming out of the ground abruptly as her scream echoed in the room. Fury was plastered on her inhuman features, her hair standing up more and more and her claws becoming sharper as seconds passed: “You’re never sorry, you never were and never will be! You’re a liar, a liar!” Her voice was getting louder high-pitched, and more hysterical.

-“T-that’s… That’s not true…” he protested in a whisper, barely audible. Oh, but Vanessa definitely heard it very well and, considering how much the temperature dropped… She didn’t share his opinion.

-“You’re lying!!” Her scream was much louder than the previous ones, making Lukas’s ears hurt from how strident it was. He winced, closing his eyes once more, afraid of getting slapped again, or worse… And yet, silence just followed, a very, very tensed silence that made him both confused and worried. He reopened his eyes, wondering what Vanessa could be waiting for… However, the sight that greeted him made him freeze in absolute terror.

His wife was looking at his left hand, deadly silent and her expression unreadable. Oh no, no, no, no!

-“I-I’m sorry, I di- I didn’t mean to, I pr-promise,” he tried, his voice quiet and shaking as he tried to reason with her, no matter how foolish it was to do so: “P-please, y-you know me, Vanessa! I would n-never try to hurt y-you!”

Slowly, very slowly, her red eyes glanced from his hand to look at him.

-“How long were you planning on keeping this secret from me?” she asked, her voice calm and yet extremely threatening nonetheless. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all!

-“I-It just happened before y-you came here!” Lukas tried to justify himself, though he knew very well that his wife wouldn’t hear any of it. She was past caring for him, she just treated him like less than an object, treasuring him like a thing and not like a human being.

Another slap answered him, drawing out more blood and more tearless sobs out of him. This was a nightmare, why was this happening to him, why…!

-“Liar!” screamed Vanessa as she approached her face from his, her fangs clearly visible for him to see. This was a terrifying sight for the Prince, who whimpered and glanced away, resisting the urge to close his eyes.

-“I’m not!” he retorted, his voice a bit louder than before, though his throat stung from the effort: “I’m not! I n-never lied to you!” Soon, his voice was desperate, as if all of his frustration and melancholy were transcribed as words for her to hear: “I d- I don’t know what I did that made you mad! I don’t know why you’re d-doubting my love for you! What did I do, Vanessa?!”

The Queen remained silent, as if she couldn’t believe his ourtbust. But Lukas had had enough, he couldn’t take this anymore, he just couldn’t.

-“What did I do?!” he repeated, louder, his throat burning and stinging so much. And yet… Yet he could only ignore the pain as he kept going, his voice sounding hopeless and devastated: “I j-just wanted us to be happy! I loved you! I wanted to have a family with you!” he paused, his tone now low and heartbroken as he lifted his head to look at her: “I thought… I thought you felt the same…! B-but then, why?”

Couldn’t he be free already…?

-“Why would you do this to me…?” he eventually asked, inconsolable. However, the Queen’s answer was not the one he had been expecting.

-“You ‘loved’ me?” she repeated, her intonation low and dangerous. The Prince was about to say that, obviously, he had loved her, otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed wit her this long… But then, he understood what she had meant by that.

The young man had used the past tense. He had said “loved”… Implying that he didn’t anymore.

Lukas’s face paled at the realization. He had made the worst possible slip of the tongue ever, the biggest mistake he could ever make in his position-

-“N-no, w-wait,” he attempted to rectify his claims, very much aware of how dangerous this situation was for him: “I didn’t mean-” But it was too late.

-“How could you?!” shouted the Queen, ice spreading all over the floor, covering the previous layers entirely. She was livid, she was furious, she was-

She was going to kill him.

-“You never loved me! You just used me!” her loud screams were resonating in the entire cellar, a few stalagmites falling down from how loud they were. Vanessa lifted her hands again, but this time not to slap him. On the contrary, her hands stayed away from his face… Grabbing his left arm strongly instead. Panic engulfed the Prince again as he started to understand what were her true intentions. A series of “no, no, no, please, no” left his lips like a mantra, but it was too late.

The harm had already been done.

Before he was able to protest any further, a sudden and vivid pain erupted in his arm as he felt it freezing from the inside, his blood turning solid as she pressed her palms over it. A deafening scream left his mouth, most likely audible even outside the manor from the agony, from how excruciating it was. Slowly, too slowly, he could feel his blood getting frozen, one vein after the other, his skin turning blue as the torturous process spread from his arm to his shoulder.

Oh God, he was going to die. He was going to die, this was it, finally-! And yet… Yet he didn’t want to die! He still had so much to do! He wanted to become a lawyer, he wanted a family, he wanted to die as an old and happy man…!

Not like this!

-“Va-Vanessa, no! Argh, p-please!” he pleaded, his breathing much heavier and quicker than ever, his heart beating fast, trying to pump more blood for his arm and shoulder, but in vain: “Please, please, please,” he breathed out, looking at her, begging her: “D-don’t do this, please Vanessa, don’t do this!”

But Vanessa wasn’t there anymore. What was in front of him was nothing like the woman he used to know, used to love. Instead, a feral monster was standing in front of him, freezing him to death, her emotions out of control. Tears were coming out of her eyes, all turning into ice as they fell from her cheeks, hitting the icy floor with a clinging sound.

The last sound the Prince ever heard… Before his heart was affected by Vanessa’s magic, frozen in a blink as her powers kept spreading in Lukas’s body. His eyes widened, air stuck in his lungs as he was suffocating, his whole body unable to move a single muscle. An unbearable pain erupted where his heart was, making him gasp for air… But he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t, he was dying, he was slowly dying, this was agonizing, he couldn’t take it, this was torture, it was so much painful, he couldn’t-

His body suddenly became limp, his head falling forward as he let out his final shaky breath.

The Prince of Subcon Village had died.

______________________________________________________

Snatcher woke up with a gasp, his forehead damp from sweat and his eyes fixed on the ceiling. What- what was that? The man remained motionless for a few minutes, trying to find his breath again, his heart beating fast in his chest, pounding inside. It took him a moment to realize where he was: in the kids’ bedroom, lying down in the pillow pool. It was dark, the room was only lit by the few lights on the walls, those representing stars. Glancing around in the room, he could see the little girls sleeping in the canopy-bed, peacefully and quietly. Hesitantly, Snatcher brought his left hand to his face to inspect it, though it was perfectly human, unsurprisingly.

Another nightmare, huh?

The former ghost let his arm fall down on the pillows again, with a sigh. His eyes stung. With a quick gesture, the man brought up his hands to his face, rubbing it… Only to discover that his face was full of tears. Oh, of course. Obviously. Snatcher scoffed: ‘dreams were his only refuge, the only times he could be protected from pain and fears’… Yeah, right. He sighed again. Gods, this was by far the worst nightmare he had been force to relive… Clearly, the one he had wanted to forget the most, but apparently fate had other projects for him.

His eyes glanced back to the kids. He remembered doing this “video game” thing with them before going to bed. Without much surprise, they were much more experienced than him in that field, crushing his already broken pride, but hey, it wasn’t like another bad experience would change a lot, right? Hah! In the end, the kids won, they bragged, and this was it, the end of the day. Or night. He had no idea how to get his bearings on time in this spaceship. It wasn’t like there was sun or a moon to help him find the time! In any case, once they were done playing this “video” thing or whatever it was, they took him to their bedroom, showing him a makeshift bed in the pillow pool. Better than nothing, he had guessed at the time. And, quite surprisingly, he had been quite comfy for him to fall asleep quickly!

Well, if he had known what kind of dream he’d have, maybe he’d have preferred to stay awake.

Snatcher turned in his “bed” several times, eventually burrowing his face in one of the colourful pillows. This wasn’t over, was it? He would get a lot of nightmares like this one, he was sure of it. But oh, this one… This one had been one of the worst. His grip on the pillow tightened as he gritted his teeth, shutting his eyes. He didn’t want to sleep anymore, he never wanted to do that ever again.

And so… Snatcher started to cry.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

I hope you liked this chapter !

Don't forget to check the amazing audio by Puyo-Proto and JordanTheCat11, they did such an amazing job !! Same with my friend saltyh0td0g, show them how much of a great artist they are !

Thank you again for all your support, it means so much to me, I will never say it enough. Now, updates will happen more regularly than this past month, hopefully. See you on the next chapter !

=> Chapter 15

[wienerbarnes]

Left for Dead (2/2)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 2,991

Warnings: mentions to bombs and ships and stuff, baking 

A/N: yay pt 2 enjoy!

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

“Her clothes came back with traces of bomb ingredients and she still has no memory of anything that happened to her or anything about this bomb.” Sam briefs the three of you.

It’s later in the day, now, about five in the evening when Sam gets word back from his agents.

“What if she was forced to make the bomb?” You find yourself offering.

Sam waits a moment while looking at you before he responds, “How sure are you that she didn’t do it?”

“Very.”

He sighs, “You were seeing German but my agents said she told them she doesn’t know a lick of any language other than English,”

“That she remembers.” Bucky interrupts.

“That she remembers. Sharon, I want you to look into German bomb manufacturers around here.”

Sharon nods and stands and makes her way out of the room. The three of you occupy a smaller conference room, about a third of the size of the one you were in this morning.

“I want to try again. With my visions. Maybe, with something from evidence.” You suggest.

“Are you sure?” Sam asks, more out of concern than of skepticism.

“Yes.” You reassure him. You haven't paid much attention to Bucky since Sam called you down just now, you find yourself getting a bit invested into the cases and wanting to solve it and figure out what happening, and you don’t want to let Bucky’s pretty face distract you. Such a pretty face it is.

You roll your eyes at that voice again. Being surrounded by so much information is kinda making your brain go haywire, you find. These voice haven’t bothered you since prison, only every once in a blue moon, but they’ve been non-fucking-stop since you’ve gotten on the case.

Makes for a good seat, too. “Shut up, would you?!” You yell, quickly realizing that you said that out loud instead of in your head. Embarrassment floods your body immediately and you look up to see both men staring at you in surprise.

“Uhm, sorry. It’s nothing, can I see the box?” You gesture towards the large brown box labeled evidence.

Sam plops it at your feet and you sift through the copious amounts of plastic bags until you come across a piece of fabric.

“It’s a piece of the dress she was wearing when she was found. Another piece was sent off to the lab which is where they found all those bomb-making chemicals on it.” Sam informs you.

You take a deep breath and remove the cloth from the bag and roll it around your fingers. You’re fingers grip it hard and feel it softly, trying to conjure up something, anything, in your head.

“It’s not a carrier,” You begin, the ship showing up in your mind, but your knowledge is foggy from when you were a Marine.

“Submarine?”

“Destroyer?”

“Cruiser?”

“Battleship?”

“I - I - don’t know… fuck,” You clench the fabric in your fists in an attempt to cease their shaking. All these ships look the fucking same anyway.

Not to the Navy, they don’t.

You ignore it and continue, “I - I - I see a man,” A whine escapes you as the emotion becomes overwhelming, “He’s bald and - and white and like forty? Maybe? Uh,”

You sniffle, “Prince, Prince, Prince, Prince, I don’t know why I’m seeing Prince.”

“Like the singer?” Sam questions.

Bucky gently takes the cloth from your hands, “I think that’s enough for now.”

You try to catch your breath and hastily wipe the tears that escaped your eyes. “I was a Marine, why can’t I remember the ship?” You ask more yourself than the other two people in the room.

Maybe it's all the crazy taking up so much space it’s gotta push some of the older info out.

Ignore. It.

“Cruisers are named after battles and destroyers are named after names, maybe Prince is a destroyer ship. I’ll have an agent look into all current operating ships and see if any matches come up. Barnes, go give Sharon the description of this bald white guy, see if she can use it to match with a bomb manufacturing place.”

“Yes, sir, Cap.” Bucky stands from his seat beside you and exits the room.

The two of you sit in silence, now; you’re not really sure what to do. Should you leave again? Wait until they need you? Stay? Make small talk with Captain America?

“Can I ask you something?” Sam interrupts the quiet.

“Sure.”

“Why are you so adamant about being here? You’re pretty good at this investigative stuff and I think you have a lot of potential for it.”

You give an appreciative smile at his compliment before answering, “I was a Marine for two years where I followed orders from assholes and worked alongside people that treated me like I was garbage. Then, I was kidnapped by HYDRA and tortured to comply working under an organization I didn’t want to with people who didn’t even treat me like a human being. And now, I’m brought here to live and work in a place I don’t want to be at with people who don’t and will never know who I actually am. So, you can kind of see why I’m adamant.”

Sam looks down, and you don’t want to make him feel bad, because he gave you the best scenario he could given the circumstances of everything.

“I just want a little bit of control with my life for once, is all. But, I know what I have now is very lucky for me, so I’m grateful, even if it’s not what I want.”

He looks back at you and now it’s your turn to give him a reassuring smile. You have a feeling you’ll grow on each soon enough.

…

You’re glad your powers didn’t fail you for your first case, because that would have been terribly embarrassing. Sharon was able to find a German bomb-making company with employees who have recently gone missing that match the descriptions of the man you saw and the Jane Doe.

Now that their identities have been found, there’s still the question of where this bomb is and if it’s even real.

You can’t help but let it keep you up that night. When you were doing jobs for HYDRA, it wasn’t a matter of making sure every rock was left turned over; you performed the job because the alternative was being tortured.

You glance at the clock, 1:32.

You remember one particular mission you didn’t complete because it involved you having to kill kids. And when you returned with an unfinished mission they tortured you so bad that you begged them to just kill you. And they said that they would never kill you because then the horrors would end. It was the easy way out; and they would torture you for the rest of time before they ever kill you. It was too much mercy to be shown to a prisoner.

Another glance at the clock that tells you only six minutes have passed causes you to get up. You can’t get too deep into your thoughts, especially if tomorrow is going to have you busy helping with this case. You have to make yourself busy.

So you cook. You go through the pantries and cupboards for ingredients; brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla. You became very good at estimating and perfecting the things you wanted to cook. You never had a phone or laptop to look up measurements for something or a cookbook to follow, so you had to experiment yourself until you got it right. When you lived in your apartment, sometimes you would venture out to bookstores and try your hardest to memorize the recipes in cookbooks in order to replicate it at home.

You quietly mix together all of the ingredients until a thick dough forms. Cinnamon and brown sugar cookies. One reason you liked cooking so much is because, even though it was hard without any instructions to follow, it was one of the few times your voices were quiet. Actual silence. You cooked without any electric supplies or music for this reason, too.

You sit on the ground in front of the oven and watch as the balls of cookie dough slowly melt and rise up again, forming the perfect circular shape with the perfect amount of chewiness and crunch when you take a bite.

You softly unstick the cookies from the pan with a spatula and glance at the clock again. 3:02.

You remember Bucky’s words from this morning; how he sticks around for these kinds of missions in his spare room.

“Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

“Yes, Agent?”

“Is… Is Bucky here?”

“Yes, Agent.”

“Is he awake?”

“Yes, Agent.”

“But, is he, like, awake - awake? Or like falling asleep, but still technically awake - awake? Or is he -”

“Would you like me to lead you to where his quarters are, Agent?”

The hallways are quiet, but you’re grateful that there are lights along the floors so you’re not completely walking through the dark. Seeing a sliver of dim light show underneath his door makes you feel a little better about the late hour. After about five minutes of contemplation, you raise your fist and leave three soft knocks on the door.

Bucky opens the door a few seconds later and seems wide awake. You see behind him a notebook open on his desk with some music playing softly in the room.

You speak before he gets a chance to, “I made too many cookies, do you want to help me eat them?”

A smile grows on his face as he silently nods after a moment.

“Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y., mind turning everything off, please?”

The lights turn off and the music stops as he closes the door behind him. The two of you quietly walk side by side back towards the elevator, because it seems like Bucky’s room is right below yours.

He wears a black long sleeve shirt and dark gray cotton shorts, paired with white socks on his feet. What you would do to add some color to this man’s closet, you think.

A cloud of sugar and warmth hits him in the face when he enters your room. The combination of your smell and the smell of cookies and the sight of you in cute little pink shorts and an oversized college sweatshirt that has a big bear on it and the yellow and orange polka-dotted socks on your feet and all of your things everywhere makes him feel like he just entered his dreams.

“It smells amazing in here.” He compliments.

He watches you smile and grab the pan that has since cooled enough for you to grab it and walk over to plop down on your bed. Bucky follows and sits himself down utop one of your soft fuzzy blankets.

“Are these brown sugar cookies? These are my favorite,” Bucky says as he shovels one in his mouth whole.

I know they’re your favorite.

“Mmm - almost feels like I’m back at your apartment.” He smiles nostalgically, looking around and taking in the wonderful colors of your personality that brighten up this room.

“Good, means I did a good job redecorating. It’s okay that I did decorate, right? There isn’t a security deposit I’m going to lose?” You joke, and for a moment, it really does feel like the two of you are back in your apartment, before all of this chaos hit the fan.

The two of you eat and eat and eat, sharing playful small talk in between bites, until the two of you are  stuffed to the brim with dough and are laying side by side on the bed, empty tray by both of your feet.

“Hey, Bucky?” You ask out into the calm, open air.

“Mmm,” He hums.

“I’m sorry for spitting on you. And then avoiding you. And then yelling at you and saying those awful things,” You turn on your side and lay a hand on his arm, “I didn’t mean it, I was just upset.” Your eyebrows quirk up at him, silently begging him to forgive you.

He sends a playful smile at you before mirroring you and turning on his side as well to face you, grabbing your hand from his arm and holding it in his large one, “It’s okay, doll. I would’ve been just as upset as you if I were in your position. I’m sorry things didn’t… work out the way they should’ve for you.”

“Not something you gotta apologize for, Bucky.” You whisper.

The two of you lay there, hands intertwined in each other, eyes locked. You’re not sure how long the two of you lay like that, or how long Bucky stays, but sleep finally comes to you at 4:55 in the morning.

…

The next few days pass in a bit of a blur. One of the private hackers was able to get a list of ships in communication with the found German bomb-manufacturing company and Sharon was able to find one of the ships, named The Princeton - which is why you kept seeing something about prince in your head, not because of the late musical artist - which was having a scheduled bomb test aboard. A bomb testing that was swapped with real bombs instead of fake ones, seemingly by the man you saw in your visions, the same one who tried to bury Jane Doe. All of the Marines aboard remained safe and unharmed, and you officially closed the case on your very first mission.

Sam thought you did very well, but still wanted to keep a slow pace with your advancements on the team. He set up for you to train with him a few times a week in a private training room, and perhaps with the next set of agent trainees Bucky will be tasked with at the beginning of the year in a few weeks.

With the mission being completed, Bucky returned home to his apartment to sleep and stay until he’s called once again for another mission. He kind of… can’t wait? After Steve retired, he didn’t see a big reason to continue with all the fighting; he didn’t really see a reason even before Steve retired when he was still staying in Wakanda. He enjoyed that quiet lifestyle, tending to his gardens, feeding his sheep, cleaning up around wherever he could, talking to those that lived around him, hanging out with the children. It was paradise for him.

But now, with you around, actually around where he doesn’t have to hide you from his closest friends, the prospect of more missions doesn’t seem all that horrible. Maybe it’s the thought that you’d be around him that makes it more bearable for him, or maybe he’s just simply had a change of heart over time.

He finds himself returning more and more to the tower when he doesn’t have to; finding the smallest excuses to go - sometimes he doesn’t even run into you when he does. But he tries to.

He’s roaming around the open gym, opting for thirty miles on the treadmill instead of out and around his neighborhood, panting a bit while he wipes down the machine before leaving to go work with the weights. He feels a tap on his shoulder and he turns and plucks a headphone of his ear, coming face to face with an old trainee, now trained agent.

“Nuñez, what’s up?” Bucky greets him with a rough shake of the hand. Don’t get him wrong, he was a fantastic soldier to train, and he turned out to be an even more fantastic agent. But he has no idea why he’s talking to him while he’s in the middle of a workout.

“Hey, Sergeant, sorry to bother you. I - uh, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?” He stutters out.

Why is he so nervous?

Bucky urges him to continue with a nod of his head.

“So, uh, I wanna ask you something, y’know, man-to-man, rather than Sergeant-to-Agent, and - and - feel free to tell me if I’m overstepping with this! I just didn’t - didn’t -”

“Spit it out, Nuñez.”

“Okay, okay. Remember the last briefing we had?”

“It was about five days ago, yes, I remember.”

“Right, right, of course. Well, there was… this girl sitting next to you.”

A part of Bucky freezes and he hopes he’s talking about Sharon.

“Agent Carter?” Bucky asks.

“No, no, not Agent 13. The other girl sitting next to you. Black hair, kinda short.” He tries, but Bucky knows exactly who he’s talking about.

“What about her?” Bucky tries to turn on a bit more of his Sergeant voice, anything to end this conversation because he has a feeling where it might be going.

Agent Nuñez pasues, “Well, uh, who is she?”

“Why?”

“She’s pretty.”

“She’s pretty?” Bucky repeats.

“Yeah. I wanted to know who she is, I haven’t seen her around and I don’t remember her from any of the trainings.”

“She’s a new agent in training, she’s being trained under the Captain.” Bucky tells him.

“Oh… What’s her name?”

“Nuñez! Enough with the twenty questions!” Bucky bursts out, because why does he have such a fascination with you? It’s like he wants to -

“I just wanna ask her out or something, but I don’t know anything about her!”

“Well, that sounds like a good reason to -” Bucky stops himself when an idea comes into his head, and before he can think twice about it, he’s speaking once more,

“Actually, I just remembered, Nuñez. She’s taken. She’s in a relationship. So, yeah. Sorry.” Bucky slaps a hand on the Agent’s shoulder for good measure.

“Oh… that sucks. It’s always the pretty ones that are taken, huh?”

“Yeah, buddy. Anyway, see you later!” Bucky breathes out, desperate to get out of that conversation and just continue with his damn workout…

Why did he just lie like that in order to stop a guy from asking you out?

[radiorenjun]

Lavender Antics

→ Pairing: Han Jisung x Reader

→ Summary: Shooting in a drama with him was your absolute nightmare. Working with your enemy and pretending that you were love interests has been the most frustrating experience of your life. Though, after saying your farewells, the scent of lavender never leaves.

→ Genre:enemies to lovers au, idol au, romance, angst, slowburn, comedy.

→ Chapter: 6, 7, 8

→ A/N: YEP I CREATED A NEW DIVIDER. IM SO SORRY I HAVEN’T UPDATED IN FOREVER OMG

"EXCUSE ME?"

"Wait, back up. Back up, you did what?!" Kiyeon exclaimed, a look of complete disgust spread across her expression. "Let me get this straight," Jaehwa snickered, trying not to bawl out laughing in front of you to prevent you from sending an assassin to beat her up afterwards.

You hid your face against the soft fabric of your pillows, face red in embarrassment and shame as the distant sinister laughter of your group leader deafen your ears from the speakers of your phone, along with the soft chatters among your group members.

"Y/N L/N, main dancer and vocalist of the Mythical Refrain, our little Y/n who constantly looks away and shakes her head with disgust at our bullshit, was suppose to give Han Jisung an innocent peck on the lips-" Jaehwa snorted midway before your leader, Cheonsa, came into the screen over her shoulder.

"But ended out in a full blown heated make out session on camera, swapping spit in front of all the cast?! That's beyond priceless, I can't even-" Cheonsa bawled out laughing, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes as Haneul just shook her head in disappointment in the background.

"Damn, y/n, was he good though? I knew maknae lines are never innocent at heart, I just knew it!" Cheonsa practically choked on her spit midway through laughing, and you internally hope that she chokes and die on the spot so you wouldn't have to endure the teasing even longer.

"Shut up, if anything you're the pervert here!" you shot back, heat striking your cheeks at her words. "It happened at the heat of the moment, I didn't mean for things to go that far!" you hissed angrily, venom lacing your tone. "You still made out with him, did you not?" Jaehwa smirked mischievously.

"Disappointed but not surprised," your maknae tsked softly with a shake of her head. "Shut up! This is coming from the same idiots who dressed up as if it was Halloween when taking their member to the airplane!" you grumbled with an angry frown, pointing an accusatory finger at your phone screen, making sure your members were able to see you.

"That was a fun experience, okay? Besides what happened afterwards?" Jaehwa shrugged, shoving Cheonsa's laughing figure away from the camera, moving the device so that Jaehwa and Kiyeon's face were clear on your screen. You gulped, internally screaming at yourself not to tell them. To say that you moved on with it without an ounce of shame in your veins. To say that you ran away to Hogwarts, never to be seen again.

You gulped, looking at your nails to avoid your friends' curious expressions basically glaring into your soul. "We were told to redo the whole scene tomorrow," you muttered under your breath, hoping that your members couldn't pick up your words from the low pitch of your voice through the mic.

But their unnecessarily loud laughter that peaked through your phone speakers practically make you deaf. You winced at the loud piercing noise, your hand coming up to lower the volume slightly as your members howled back laughing.

You heard their palms banging against the wooden floor of your dorm. "This day just keeps getting better and better!" howled Cheonsa, clapping aggressively in the background as she practically wheezed her lungs out of laughter.

If there was a delete yourself button, now would be a good time to press it.

"Why? Why do you-" Jaehwa wheezed, unable to blurt out the words in her throat since she was laughing like a deformed chicken. You grumbled, rolling your eyes as the recent memory of your manager walking into your trailer with a sympathetic smile and fearful eyes, ready to spill the news to you and be eaten alive by your incredulous expression.

"Our manager said that it was 'too heated' for a soft first kiss between our characters, plus everyone got off character when we started kissing because they didn't think we'd actually do it without arguing first," you grumbled, faceplanting on the pillow with a loud annoyed groan.

"How am I going to face Jisung tomorrow, for fucks sake!" you whined as your members snickered. "Rest in peace, sister." Kiyeon said sympathetically, finding your current situation disgusting with all the kissing deal. "Well there goes my plans of getting our seniors' autograph," your leader sighed.

You gave her an incredulous look through the screen, trying not to pull a horror movie stunt and choking her through the phone screen with your bare hands. "You can kiss those autographs goodbye, Cheonsa. I'm saying this with full admiration when I say, I’m never letting your creepy ass near them,," you shot back defensively.

"As much as I'm offended on how you called your leader a creep, I completely understand if you don't want me getting near your man." Cheonsa's face came up on the screen, giving you an annoying wink that had your blood boiling. "Shut up or I will book a flight back to Korea at this second and roast your laptop on a bonfire!" you threatened weakly.

Your cheeks grew red at her words, your man. You let out a soft scoff, rolling your eyes at the thought. Suddenly, a beautiful image of Han Jisung himself appeared in your line of vision. A slow motion version of his lips slowly spreading into a heart shaped smile, a small soft chuckle being elicited from his throat.

The small memory of the way his fluffy hair would swoosh to different directions from his movements in the morning during breakfast as he sneakily grabs the three slices of cheesecakes on the dessert trays subtly came into your mind.

5:41 AM

You were woken up on the crack of dawn for a small shoot shared between you and Jisung's character. You were on break when you decided to wander around the studio, waving and passing by busy staff members, make up artists and multiple directors.

You suddenly found yourself walking towards the food area, where you were free to munch and snack on whatever they served as long as you were on break and didn't sneak it on set in filming.

You let out a soft wide yawn, clutching your black coat against your body to gain more warmth in the cold breeze. You shuddered at the cold wind that smacked against your body as you walked over to the food area, passing by exhausted staff members on the way.

"I'm seriously not ready for a long distance relationship with my bed," you mumbled to yourself as you opened the door to the food area, poking your head into the room. To your surprise it was empty, though it appears a few staff members had snuck a treat or two but nonetheless you had the place to yourself.

Or so you thought.

As you grabbed yourself a plate and some utensils, you heard soft sounds of footsteps. You jolted in alarm, crouching down to your knees to hide in case your manager comes in to call you in for another scene to shoot. You're definitely not leaving without finding a perfectly good cookie if you were going to step outside in the cold weather.

You crawled across the floor, peaking through the table cloths to see who it was but the trays on the other tables blocked the face of whoever had entered. You assumed it was one of the directors considering they were wearing the same thick black coat they gave specifically for the directors and cast members.

You heard footsteps echoing the room, signifying that the person was walking towards the cake section of the room. You stood up slowly, careful as to not make a noise. You furrowed your brows when you saw the person scurrying around the table with the hood over their head.

Your curiosity got the better of you. You tiptoed slowly towards them, trying not to gain their attention but wanting to find out who it was. Step by step, you slowly came closer to said person eventually standing beside them and poking your head to see what they're doing.

You raised your head up and froze when you realised you were now face to face with none other than Han Jisung, himself, who's eyes widened at the sight of you as you both just froze in place, staring at each other in a good awkward silence.

How ironically cliché.

Jisung took a step back in shock, letting out a startled noise, almost dropping his plate in the process. "Talk about a late delay, Han." you snickered, rolling your eyes at the boy. Jisung scoffed, relaxing his tense muscles as he realised it was just you and not some creepy sasaeng fan.

"Oh, it's you." he stated with a not so amused tone, sighing in relief as he placed his plate on the table cloth beside the trays. "You sound pleased to see me," you teased, giving him a cheeky grin. "What gave you that idea?" he sent you a fake smile, showing his pearly white teeth.

"What are you doing here?" Jisung asked with a raised brow, his fake smile subsiding as he grabbed a fork beside you. "That's my line," you muttered, watching him grab some cookies from the jars. Jisung gave you an incredulous look, shoving a cookie in his mouth.

You giggled at his expression, shrugging simply at him. "Got bored, decided to snack." you smiled sheepishly, grabbing a cookie from his plate and shoving it into our own mouth causing Jisung to retort, trying to pull the cookie out of your mouth. "That's mine you thief!" he whined, causing you to stick your tongue out after you gulp the contents down.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, tilting your head at him as you grabbed a glass and filled it with some milk from the drink section. "I heard from a few staff that there were only three cheesecakes leftover. You know I won't survive a day without a cheesecake as an energy boost," Jisung shrugged, showing you the cheesecakes in his plate.

"Plus, we still have hours and hours of shooting after this. There's no way I could live on without having some creamy goodness in my mouth," Jisung hummed as he started to eat his cheesecakes, savoring it bit by bit. "You make it sound so wrong," you scrunched your face in disgust, your mind going places.

Jisung's eyes widened as they bore into yours. "Hey! That's on you. It's not my fault you have a dirty mind," he tutted, flicking your forehead in the process which elicited a small yelp from you. You pouted, rubbing the sore spot on your forehead as Jisung continued to stare disappointingly at you with chubby cheeks.

For a split second, you basked in his appearance. Taking a moment to look at how fluffy his hair is considering you both shot a scene where your character and his character went on a little morning stroll after waking up. You knew your make up artist didn't make you appear any less messy than Jisung, but you still couldn't comprehend why he looks so wholesome right now.

Fluffy brown hair with strands going in different directions, a simple makeup that gave him the perfect 'bedhead' look, puffy cheeks stuffed with the sugary dessert as he munched on the cookies. The pajamas they had you both wear for the shoot, making you feel as if you were in said kdrama yourself.

"Earth to Y/N!"

You snapped out of your trance at Jisung's concerned tone, blinking rapidly as you tried to comprehend what's going on around you. Jisung's fingers were snapping excessively in front of your face, brows furrowed in concerned as you divert your attention away from his face to his fingers.

"Sorry I spaced out," you grinned sheepishly, avoiding his eyes when you realized you were watching him eat his cheesecake the whole time like a weird pervert. "Dang girl, are you really that tired? You looked as if you were bout to eat me alive" Jisung said with a light laugh, grabbing his fork to shove a piece of his cheesecake into your mouth.

You let out a muffled noise of surprise when you felt the sugary dessert began to overwhelm your taste buds. "Here's a little energy boost," he grinned cheekily, pulling the fork out of your mouth before taking a bite of cheesecake for himself. You chewed as you had come into two realizations.

One. Jisung was using a fork for his cheesecake, this boy never fails to surprise you with how odd he is considering he sang bout Americanos five times when you visited the local cafe near your hotel, thus embarrassing you in public.

Two. He used the same fork that he had used to feed himself. Which lead you to thinking that you just had an indirect kiss with him. Your face becoming even more flustered by the second as you let the thought sink deeper and deeper into your mind.

"Here, have some more. You looked as if you've seen an alien, geez." Jisung poked his fork through the cheesecake and moved his hand closer to your mouth. You shook your head, cupping your mouth dramatically when you saw him coming closer. Taking a step back, you let out an awkward laugh. "No thanks, I'm good."

Jisung raised a brow at you, "really? You always nag how I always steal the last piece, you should be grateful I'm willing to share right now." he chuckled, taking a step forward to aim the fork at your mouth once again. "Say 'ah'!" he cooed, but you simply shook your head and gently pushed his hand away from you.

"I'm good, Jisung. It's not good to have some sugar this early, you know?" you rambled, silently cursing yourself for not accepting the cheesecake for the sake of your own pride and ego. Jisung wasn't buying it but he let's it go with a shrug. "Oh well, more for me then." he said before shoving the fork into his mouth.

"Y/N! Stop spacing out bout Jisung and talk to us, God dammit!"

You blinked, realising you were spacing out again when you realised your members had gathered together in front of the camera, waving at you in concern. "Sorry, what?" you muttered under your breath, your voice almost inaudible for the phone to pick up as you internally slapped yourself for thinking bout Jisung despite the awkward situation you're currently in.

"Stop spacing out bout Jisung, God dammit!" Jaehwa joked, causing you to involuntarily choke on your own spit at her words. "Jaehwa, no." you shook your head vigorously. "Don't make my situation any worse than it already is, for fucks sakes!" you groaned, burying your head into your pillow once again.

They snickered softly, enjoying your suffering for their own entertainment. Sometimes you wished you had debuted with people who don't make you want to roast yourself over the kitchen stove like marshmallow on a stick.

"It'll all be over when you know it. Don't worry, you're not that awkward of a person, so you should be fine." Haneul waved her hand off with a casual shrug. You rolled your eyes. "Shut it, you're still the maknae. You don't understand shit of what the grown ups are talking bout." you teased.

Haneul clicked her tongue in annoyance, sending you a sharp glare. "I'm only 15 months younger than you and you know it!" she hissed in retaliation, threateningly pointing her apple pen directly at you through the screen when you stuck your tongue out.

"Alright, we'll let you get some rest now before Haneul over here flies to Japan to shove her pen up your ass." Cheonsa chuckled nervously, pulling the younger member, who was glaring daggers at you, out of the camera by her shoulders.

"Okay then, I'll call you guys tomorrow, yeah?" you nodded, waving at them as your thumb hovered over the end call button. "Yeah, of course. Say hi to the manager for us, Jeongin, too!" Jaehwa waved back as you let out a giggle. "I will, see you guys later!" you rolled your eyes at them.

"By-" you pressed the end call button before they could finish their sentence, wanting to sleep the stress off of your body before you have to face Jisung the next day. You pulled the covers over your body, closing your eyes with an exhausted sigh.

Hopefully things would be better tomorrow.

You tiptoed your way into the set, as if hundreds of staff members and prop makers weren’t passing by you and greeting you with questionable looks. Now, why were you tiptoeing like a really crappy secret agent in an overly crowded place, you may ask?

Mostly to avoid your co-workers from giving you smug expressions and teasing looks with the memory of the events that had happen the previous day. Your members had wished you luck on your journey to get through this awkward day, wishing that you could just erase the events that had happen so you could go back to stepping into set with pajamas without a care in the world.

As you made your way to the dressing room, to your surprise all of the cast had gotten into costume and are currently shooting their respective scenes, meaning you had less than two or three hours to gather your mentality and ignore the awkward tension in the atmosphere.

Was this what every actor who had to kiss their co-star had to go through?

Yikes, you couldn’t imagine how Lee Dongwook could bare being love interests with the same co-star for two whole dramas. Your eyes widened when you caught Yeoreum walking towards your way, reciting her lines with the her manager. You gulped, walking back slowly as to not catch her attention, not knowing who or what was behind you.

It appears that the universe isn’t on your side today, because apparently you walked too far backwards to bump into your co-star’s back. Jisung let out a grunt as your back bumped against his, causing you to let out a yelp. You turned to shush him, scolding him for almost blowing your cover when you realize who you were talking to.

You and Jisung jumped apart when your eyes met, making sure to at least stand a feet far apart. Jisung cleared his throat as you both tried to mask your shocked expressions. You both avoided making eye contact as you tried to think of something to say to fill in this awkward tension between you two.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Jisung coughed, eyes looking everywhere but yours.You gave him a pointed look. “I work here,” you deadpanned, rolling your eyes at him. “Give me some crap, I’m trying to make this less awkward, you’re not helping here, y/n.” he stuck his tongue out at you.

You huffed in response, adding another moment of awkward silence between you two. It was so awkward you could practically hear crows and crickets in the background, “Where are you going, anyways?” you mumbled, wondering why he wasn’t at his usual spot at the food area, munching away at the desserts and snacks before Youngheum could finish them.

“I was heading back to my trailer to get my script,” Jisung mumbled, running a hair through his messy hair. “Isn’t your trailer that way?” you raised your brow, pointing to the direction behind him. Jisung huffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m taking the long way round, got a problem with that?” he spoke hesitantly, eyes finally meeting yours before gulping.

“I’ll take your word for it,” you mumbled, looking down as you lowered your finger to tuck it into the pockets of your hoodie. “What bout you?” Jisung added on, eyes wandering to his dirty white converse. “Trying to get to the dressing room,” you answered with the same hesitantly awkward tone.

“Cool,” Jisung sighed out. You both stood there for another excruciating few seconds before making eye contact. It appears the tension had gotten a little too awkward for the both of you, therefore you both instantly looked away with a loud groan. You both turned back with a bold “fuck it!” coming out of your mouths in unison as you ran off in the other direction.

How were you gonna survive this?

a/n: this was a short chapter. IM SORRY FOR KEEPING YALL WAITING FOR SO LONG. Omg look at that sexy title cover, yeah I'm gonna change that eventually. Anyways, thank you for waiting this long I completely forgot this fic existed.

[mor-beck-more-problems]

The Headless Halloween Special || Morgan & Deirdre

TIMING: Halloween

PARTIES: @deathduty & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Some good stories are real, and there he is.

CONTAINS: mild gore, death

Stuffing cartons of milk behind dusty boxes of organic tea was a thankless job, and not a job anyone should be doing at all, actually. But Deirdre grinned wide and lopsided, proud of herself and hungry for more in the same breath. In any other month, she might have spared one pitying thought to the poor underpaid, overworked employee that would undoubtedly come across it and the acrid scent of spoiled milk. “What should we do next?” She beamed at Morgan, brilliant under the harsh grocery store fluorescents. For the better part of an hour, going around their usual shopping trip to cause what little bits of mischief they could, she had been bouncing on her feet, excitedly taking Morgan’s hands in hers and awarding her girlfriend generously with kisses and whispered affections. While delight of mayhem was nothing new, the season sparked a certain propensity inside fae, and especially for Deirdre--who had never gone this far into October without indulging a ring or two. “Oh but we do need---” Deirdre reached into the shelf and plucked a particularly pungent tea off the shelf--pungency known by way of trial--and dropped it into their basket. She was sure if she steeped enough teas together she’d be able to concoct a mixture that Morgan could taste. So far she’d blocked her own sense of smell and created something that had just a whiff of taste for Morgan. It might have helped to use something with more inherent flavor, but she was nothing if not determined. “There,” she grinned again, leaning in to press her lips to Morgan in another flurry of kisses. “Ooh, we should switch prices around! We can stick some ‘out of order’ signs on things too, I brought a marker! And--and--” Her eyes darted around, seeing a kaleidoscope of possibilities. In the end, she turned to Morgan and her grin softened as it so often did for her love. She wanted to know what Morgan thought, more than anything. It didn’t matter to her how many soda bottles they hissed out of their carbonation, only that Morgan was there with her. And just as her grins softened, her words were coded: “....you know I think we were actually supposed to get milk. Last I remember we were out.” This was one for I love you and no one moment would ever be enough.  

Following Deirdre down her impulse rabbit hole was like dancing blindfolded on Hanging Rock. Morgan could sense the edge just beyond her, in the side eye of the tired cashiers, in the double-take of a fellow customer as they took a can of what they thought was baked beans but what was definitely spaghetti-o’s thanks to Morgan’s deft re-packaging skills. But Deirdre, floating on the call of distant mushrooms and the buzz of All Hallow’s Eve, reeled her from exhilaration, to panic, and back to safety again with just a crook of her finger, a stretch in her smile, a whisper in her words. Nestled so close on their misfit misadventure, with Deirdre’s lips fluttering around her like so many butterflies, Morgan almost forgot her fear that this wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her, keep her.  Morgan fished out her notebook and craft tape from her purse and handed them off to her girlfriend; she had come prepared.

“I think that’s an excellent idea, my love,” she said, stretching up to kiss her back. “I bet you could switch the bathroom signs with the storage closet signs too.” It was going to make a lot of work for a lot of underpaid and undervalued workers, a pain Morgan understood too well, but whatever havoc they wreaked was better than losing Deirdre for two weeks and risking just as many people getting maimed and murdered with her mushroom brainwashing. So, really the universe should thank her for the mischief or keep its trap shut.  And even if Morgan was hesitant to admit it, the experience was a little thrilling, especially given the night. In trying to get nearer to Deirdre’s mindwave, Morgan was able to unglue herself from some of her concerns. Tomorrow, when the black and orange crepe went down and the skeletons folded into boxes, she would worry about the consequences. But here, under the dangling cardboard Frankensteins and Draculas, it was all hazy and not quite real.

Grinning, Morgan peeled off a sale sticker and moved it across the aisle before saying, “When we pick up that milk, we can take an extra carton to hide somewhere til it spoils in a few days?” She said. “Ooh! Or maybe by the heating vent, so it gets smelly faster and the smell circulates!” She steered their cart toward the refrigerated section. “Also, what are your thoughts on cream or eggnog? It’s so pungent, it might be good to try. But I want it to be something you like too, just in case.” She pulled open the frozen doors and took out some of the cartons they needed when the sound of shattered glass broke through the hum of the everyday. Morgan clutched Deirdre’s sleeve. “Babe…?” She said, voice shrill in a way that asked what’s going on?

Deirdre set about making her ‘Out of Order’ sign, the letters big and bold and straight, her best attempt at typeface. The idea to switch the bathroom and storage signs was genius, and she whispered as much to her girlfriend, aglow with affection for her. They hadn’t quite mastered pushing a cart around while stuck together the same way they had walking, but Deirdre tried it anyway, body flush against Morgan’s band and arms wrapped around her waist. She had her love sandwiched between her and the cart she commanded, delighted at the ease at which she could lean down and press her lips to Morgan’s neck. Eggnog by the heater was such a good idea, yes, she mumbled her praise there, equally as gleeful about the mischief they could commit as she was about simply being in the presence of her girlfriend. In fact, she could have left the mischief altogether, and basked in her love. The part of her that retained sense, questioned if Morgan thought this was as fun as she did. She hadn’t stopped to ask yet, and just as she parted her lips to do it, shattering glass cut across their conversation. Deirdre snapped up, trying to hear the residual ring of a scream---maybe Regan thought it was a good idea to shop. But there was no scream, just the murmur of confused humans around her. “Someone must’ve just dropped a jar…” She sighed, eager to get back to their fun. But as her grip snaked tightly back around Morgan, she considered that the crash was too loud to be a tiny jar. Was it a whole crate dropped? No, there wasn’t enough rattling for that. Deirdre knew her glass breaking well, and it sounded more like a window. Then, as she considered it again, did she really care about someone’s window? There was Morgan and the prospect of stinky eggnog and what did it matter to her if the window broke and---Deirdre blinked. She remembered Constance, and her rage and havoc, and frowned.  “Let’s go see, okay?” Her voice turned soft, “it might just be nothing, but there’s never anything wrong with going to check.” She took the cart from Morgan’s grip and took the lead as she moved them along.

She stiffened suddenly, shot up like an animal on alert. The cart slipped from her grip, crashing into the shelves, letting a few cookie boxes topple down into their cart. Deirdre thrust her hand into her pocket and fished out her enchanted choker, snapping it around her neck. She was aglow with something else now and she turned to her girlfriend with a toothy grin. “Someone’s going to die!” Deirdre took Morgan’s hand and sprinted to the scene---she couldn’t be late for the show, after all.

Morgan froze alongside Deirdre, her anxiety firing off one catastrophe after another in her mind. Constance loved breaking windows. If her classroom invasion was anything to go by, she was sure to like a grand production too. Maybe she’d gotten tired of waiting and she’d plough through the whole store so there was no one left to help her. Maybe she was trying to turn into a poltergeist on purpose, and reach that last bit of power she didn’t have yet so she could have all the fun she wanted. Or maybe this was some new eldritch horror. Maybe this was how the literal apocalypse started. Neither Deirdre nor her were going to know if this was where Morgan died. It wouldn’t be as peaceful as before. She wouldn’t be held or loved, she would just be here one second and gone the next, like that moment when you realize you’ve tripped and you’re about to fall. It would end with a gasp, and she would be all alone, and maybe… Deirdre fumbled for her choker and Morgan pulled her down as if for a kiss. It gave her something to hold on to, and if anyone was watching anything but whatever had just happened, they wouldn’t see the veins on her face. “You’re beautiful all the time,” she muttered, eyes flickering around them. Was it going to come when she turned around? Was it coming right now?

Then Deirdre pulled back, smiling like a kid in a Christmas special.

Morgan’s face pulled with confusion. “Uhh…” Before she could find the words for a question, they were sprinting down the nearest aisle to a cluster of humans holding out their phones to capture the mayhem.

“Deirdre—!” She hissed. “Wait! What if it’s—!” Dangerous? Potentially lethal?

A twenty-something guy stood in the middle, doused head to foot in blood. It was clumped all over his face and glasses, and running brown, ugly stains on his tweet and t-shirt combo. “Not cool, this was my grandpa’s vest! And you know what, he makes better fake blood than this! From the grave!” He pointed angrily and took off his glasses, trying in vain to wipe them clean while stained all over. Morgan followed his finger, still clinging tight to Deirdre so they wouldn’t be separated.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…” Morgan whispered.

The horse was darker than dark. Morgan felt sure he wasn’t even black at all, just that her brain didn’t know how to process the void of death turned into hair and lean, restless muscle. Its eyes seemed to glow beneath its long, wild hair. Steam rose from this nostrils as it sniffed and reared, looking for something. The rider was dressed to match his steed. Everything from his cloak to his gloves were black and brought to a shine. He—and it must have been a he, Morgan had seen the cartoon specials and the horror movies and the legends too many times for him to be anything else—clasped the bridle with one hand, assured and patient. She had never been more awed or scared of such calm. How could such menace be so still?

He turned to survey the store. How he could manage that with no head, Morgan couldn’t guess, but she felt someone, something’s attention on her and felt it fade again. He lifted a saber, bright as the glinting spurs on his boots, and steered the horse into the crowd of shoppers, already taking aim.

Morgan watched, too transfixed to look at Deirdre as she hissed, “Is that what you saw?”

Deirdre didn’t know how, when or why it would happen, only that it would and that it would be here. The sting of holding in a scream would be worth it to watch the last moments of life for herself, in person---as if a vision would spoil the surprise. If only she’d known who she’d be seeing, she would have let her scream rip across the store. She could imagine no greater honor than announcing him with a wail. “The Dullahan…” Her delight grew in invaluable measures. She pulled Morgan close to her, arms strategically protective of her neck lest the Dullahan have slippery fingers. She smiled at the argumentative human now marked for death, she hadn’t screamed for him just yet, but she committed his face to memory so she might watch him later. “Where the banshee screams, the Dullahan claims…” She whispered, gaze fixed on him. He was better than any story described him; horse darker than any words could commit to description, cloaked in finer material than her grandmother cared to describe, and more commanding than their mythic retellings did justice to. “Don’t worry,” she held Morgan tighter, just as she would were they cuddling together at home, watching a movie. “The Dullahan won’t take what he hasn’t marked.” Which meant she didn’t need to keep her body wrapped around Morgan like a protective sheet, but even knowing the Dullahan’s truth, she wouldn’t be moved from concern. “You don’t have to look but…” Her warning died on her lips, sequestered between her grin. She watched his spine whip clack to the ground, dragging along as he trotted slowly, saber raised in his other hand. Would he let her come close enough to touch it? Would he let her wield it, just once? Surely, he must know of her too. The banshees and the dullahan were always linked in her stories, in the way her family spoke of his legend. Should she snap a picture to rub in her cousin’s faces later? Enamored, she nearly missed the main attraction.

It was the old man’s head who went first, a satisfying swish in the air and then a dun-dun as it bounced dully on the floor--one short hop and then nothing. Then it was his wife, who hadn’t gotten the chance to finish her screaming. The small crowd murmured around them, the bloody college student groaned his disapproval. It wasn’t realistic, he said. Too much blood, he complained. Such unnecessary gore, he could do better. Deirdre wanted to see him try. The Dullahan’s steed raised into the air, whinnying, small plumes of fire snorted out as it turned and started the trot back. Glass crunched beneath its feet as the humans conversed amongst themselves; was it fake, was it real, did they get a discount now that their fruits were blood-covered? Deirdre reached for Morgan’s hand and tugged her along. “Come on, let’s follow him! I want to talk to him. I want to--Fates, there’s so much I want to do.”      

With Deirdre’s arms snuffing out the rest of the world around her, Morgan could almost imagine that she was watching some strange immersive play. The Dullahan’s whip was so finely articulated, she couldn’t catch how it held together except by magic. It glistened under the fluorescent lights in the supermarket, cracking louder than the rotation of 90’s pop hits wheezing through the speakers. The tune changed to “My Heart Will Go On” as the blade slashed through the air. Blood flew in one curling wave through the store to the tune of a romantic flute. Morgan covered her mouth, trying not to salivate as it bounced to the floor. Even with all she knew, all she understood about the world, finding out the headless horseman and all those Scottish legends were true sent her brain into some out-of-body experience limbo until the head rolled right to her feet as if it wanted to say hello. The brain inside was probably so juicy and firm, like a fucking burger fresh off the grill. Then came the second, the old woman’s scream cut off in favor of Celine Dion jumping into the next key. The bodies thunked to the floor, which ran slick and heavy with blood. They would be soft for an hour or two, the veins and sinew tender as spaghetti. Morgan’s stomach growled and begged for just one Halloween treat. Surely no one would notice, just one mouthful and--

Then they were running.“Deirdre!”

Morgan whined, missing her chance at just one cheat night from her diet, but she managed to call out a, “Totally just performance art, y’all! Sorry about your groceries!” Before they were too far away to be heard. They chased him through the parking lot, halting by the Subaru just in time to see the Dullahan’s horse launch itself onto a car and then into running traffic with preternatural ease. It was so bewildering she couldn’t help but start to laugh. What else was next? The Great Pumpkin? Morgan scraped a glob of blood from her cheek and sucked it off. “When were you going to tell me the Headless Horseman was real? And a what--ethereal banshee groupie? Banshee idol?” She asked. From Deirdre’s rapturous voice, she had a sense that she was at least close. “Come on, fangirl, you’re not gonna beat a horse on foot.”

“He’s not supposed to be real!” Deirdre beamed, committing the sight of his horse, whip, and headless body to memory. As a child, she only dreamed of him. There were paintings and pictures, of course, but none were like this. And though she often tried to bury the little girl that she was, she tried to awaken her now. She wanted to point and say there he is. Some good stories are real, and there he is. She met Morgan’s gaze, bright with glee. There was something else she could point to here, and she wished to stir her past awake again. There’s the Dullahan and a woman that loves you, both are real, both can be real. She would have been happier to know it. “Just a tale we enjoy,” she explained, giddily hopping around the parking lot. There was no horse of her own to give chase in, though she looked around as if one might pop up---the night was magical enough, it only seemed fair. She turned to Morgan and the Subaru, far from a noble steed but certainly...better than running. “Okay but drive really fast,” Deirdre bounced into the passenger seat, forging a seat belt and pushing down her window until she could stick her head out and watch the Dullahan. By luck, he seemed to be following the roads. “And of course I’m a fan,” she pulled her head back in, “have you seen him? His whip is made from spines! And fates I wish I could dump blood on the people I screamed for, or ride in to the sound of thunderous hooves. We’d dress like him with our robes and claim heads with our scythes but it really isn’t the same.” With a sigh, she fell back into her seat. “I don’t understand why he’s running away. I think by all accounts, he should really like me. Do you think I was too excited? I was too excited, wasn’t I?” When they caught up to him, she’d remember to tone it down.

Morgan’s dry incredulity melted at the sight of Deirdre’s childlike excitement. Four year olds in line to meet the ‘real’ Santa Claus couldn’t be any closer to joy than Deirdre watching the glint of that shiny whip in the evening. Morgan kissed her then, wrapping this moment in all its strangeness up and keeping it for later when needed to remember happy times. They had no trouble speeding out of the store. By now someone would have realized that the elderly couple had been killed, for real, and would need to stay put and give statements if they weren’t simply frozen with shock. Soccer moms and dads were most likely out inching along residential streets with their small armies of foam-clad superheroes, princesses, and monsters. College kids, already walled up in their parties. The winding freeway was quiet. The mist that rolled down was fine enough that the scant cars ahead were easy to spot and weave around, and down and down they drove, until Morgan could see the sparks flying up from under the horse’s hooves in the dark. “Oh, babe,” Morgan laughed. “No such thing as too excited. I want to remember you being this incredibly excited forever.” She gave Deirdre’s hand a squeeze, keeping her tethered down to the car. “Maybe he’s on a tight schedule. You should get your camera out, or throw him a gift to catch, or a scream, so he knows who you are.” Morgan’s hands tingled on the wheel as she spoke; she had that feeling of being on the edge again, whirling into somewhere unknown, like anything could happen next. It was enough to silence the worried questions at the back of her mind.  “Also, when we get back, you absolutely  have to tell me about the dress up games you played. And the stories. I know of human written stories about headless riders, including at least one female apparition, but I’ve only read Washington Irving and that silly Disney special that gave me nightmares.” She nodded at Deirdre encouragingly, there was no one around to endanger as far as she could see, and they were so close, she was almost on the Dullahan’s heels. “Go on. Let yourself have this.”

The Dullahan was a myth to her family no different from love, care, and humans of equal status. What did it say that she could see the Dullahan galloping away in front of her? That Morgan was holding her hand, speaking with laughter about her excitement. “Camera!” Deirdre exclaimed, wide-eyed. She searched herself frantically for her phone. Not that pocket, no that was a knife, that was also a knife, move knives---“Got it!” She unlocked her phone and found the camera app, a skill she had only recently learned. “Do you think he’ll want to take a picture with me?” She turned to Morgan, alight with possibility. Maybe he could come over? Would he come over? But as the car moved closer to him, Deirdre harnessed her chance and stuck her head out the window. “I LOVE YOU,” she screeched with inhuman power, too thrilled to contain herself enough to stop from cracking the Subaru’s glass. Web-like ripples shot across the windows, but Deirdre’s attention was on the Dullahan. He had no head to regard her with, but it seemed like he slowed, ethereal saber raised in one hand, whip cracked against the road in the other. Deirdre’s body lifted, she fell back into her seat a smile the widest her face could manage. “Did you see that!?” She laughed with bubbling energy. “I think he was waving at me!” She turned back to him, now at a loss for what to say. She held her phone up and snapped the best photo she could, a blurry piece of his whip, and savored it. “Are we going to follow him?” She asked. “I know we really didn’t get to look at the bodies back there, but I bet he’d let you have a snack from them, if he gets to another tonight.”  

Deirdre’s excitement was so infectious, it almost took the edge off Morgan’s brain cravings. “Babe, you have to hold the phone still long enough so it can scan—babe, tap and hold the center of the screen for better exposure, the thing that looks like a sun—“ Morgan was laughing too much to be very helpful. She fished in the cup holder for her phone and tried to arrange it on the dashboard to take a video. She thought she mostly had a set up going that wouldn’t get them in a wreck, when Deirdre’s voice broke in shrill, wild waves over the night. Morgan hadn’t been thinking about the windshield when she encouraged this. The glass shattered, bowing outward as if it couldn’t get away fast enough. Morgan swerved, ears ringing, and almost launched them off the side of the road. The ringing faded in moments and she slammed on the brake so they screeched to a halt on the shoulder, just in time to see the Dullahan rear his horse ahead of them, sabre slicing the air under the full golden moon. Morgan couldn’t help but stare in a daze of disbelief of her own—was he showing off? Then he launched onto the other side of the turnpike, pounced onto a passing convertible to cut another red splatter before diving into the trees to take his next bounty.  Morgan deflated, laughing deliriously. “What the fuck…!”  She looked sidelong at Deirdre, panting as if she were alive again. “What the fuck…” It was all she could seem to say. Morgan varied the inflections, trying to squeeze the buzz of gobsmacked sensation electrifying her brain into them. When even those words felt like nonsense, she finally managed, “This is the officially the craziest Halloween I’ve ever had, and we’re not even in our costumes yet.”

It seemed like the Dullahan was here, and then he was gone. Deirdre watched him leave with her body pressed against the dashboard, trying to catch the last glimpses of him. “He left,” she pouted, but in the still of the night, another excitement rose to her. She looked over at Morgan, hair tousled by the wind, cracked windshield beyond her, and crawled across the console. She took her laughter against her lips, trapping them in a kiss. “I love you…” she mumbled, spilling her own delight. The Dullahan was gone someplace away from them, and she still had a dozen complaints about that, but for now she’d only wanted to bask in their glow of adventure together. “It’s the best Halloween,” she rasped, breaking into laughter. “Fates, I love you so much. I don’t know how we got so lucky to see the Dullahan, but I feel like it’s all you---your magic. It has to be. You make everything perfect.” She grinned and kissed her again, and another time for good measure. “I can’t believe he left.” Finally, coming down from her height of glee, she pouted, half-crawled into Morgan’s lap. “I didn’t even get to ask him if he liked that offering I made when I was twelve. And I took such a terrible photo...and his whip! I wanted to hold his whip.” Deirdre leaned against her girlfriend, sighing. “You’re amazing...you know that?” With a chuckle and a grin, mischief in her voice, she kissed her love again. “Let’s get you something to eat and then go home, okay?”

Morgan welcomed Deridre’s kiss, scooping her the rest of the way into her lap. Her hands tingled, clumsy, and she hit the car horn trying to cup her girlfriend’s ass. A passing car honked back, the shotgun passenger flashing a middle finger. “Sorry! Happy Halloween!” Morgan cackled. She hid her face in Deirdre’s shoulder, pressing kiss after kiss until her laughter petered out into soft giggles. “I love you, too,” she sighed. “So much, Deirdre. Stars above, this wouldn’t be fun at all if you weren’t here.” Without Deirdre she would have been terrified, and then scarfing down the elderly in the middle of the supermarket and ending up arrested or meme-ified on YouTube. But her head was light and tingling, maybe from repairing some minor damage, but mostly from the strange thrill of following Deirdre’s company wherever it led her. As they kicked back the chair and Deirdre finally settled herself against Morgan’s body, the zombie felt herself falling back into the warm safety that was them.

With the Dullahan gone, the only sound was the woosh of cars speeding past them, the night song of hungry bugs and owls and bats. Inside the Subaru, cracked and dented again, the quiet was perfect. “I don’t have any magic left in me to summon your childhood heroes for you, babe,” Morgan said. “If there’s any kind of magic going on, it’s the two of us, together. Everything’s better when it’s you and me.” Sometimes better was just hurting less; sometimes, more delight and strange, incomprehensible wonder than she knew how to process. “If you ask me, he wouldn’t have waved—twice—if he didn’t think you were pretty great, Deirdre.” Maybe he was a menacing show-off by nature, but with Deirdre on her shoulder, the kindest reading of the night felt like the right one. “You’re amazing,” Morgan murmured, growing soft and quiet as the rush continued to peel away from her like so much traffic.

She snorted dryly at Deirdre’s suggestion and kissed her again. “You just want to get out of Linda’s costume party,” she teased. “I’ll just have the leftovers at home. And we’ll have our own fun and treats before we arrive fashionably late for the party. How’s that for a good time?”

“By Death, Fate, and everything there is to be in this world, I love you Morgan. With Fate’s command, I love you. I love you.” Deirdre’s prayers became a nonsensical jumble of ancient phrases and what she could remember of her family’s religious teaching. Her mother would have called it blasphemy to take Fate’s name and press it to the skin of a once-human, still wholly human. But Deirdre thought it was right, it was true. Worship of Morgan was one she would gladly take part in, even squished together in the same car seat at the side of the road. Magic was a good way of putting it; something so beyond natural order that it defied law and rule. Something freer than the wind, more nebulous than the stars. Something that was just the two of them, together and at peace and in love. “And if you ask me,” she started with a smile, lifted her teeth from where she had begun nipping at Morgan’s neck, “he wouldn’t have showed up at all if the world wasn’t kind and good, just like how you make it.” With a huff, she pulled her arm out from where it had gotten crammed between Morgan and the armrest and reached it up to cup her love’s cheek. “I wish someone would have told me years ago that good things are real; the Dullahan, nights like these...you. Ignorance might have helped convince me that there was nothing better, but I think the truth would have made life so much easier to get through. If I knew I’d be here, one day, my days would have been colored with happiness.” Just as they were now. She leaned down and kissed Morgan again, content to stay there, content to—Deirdre groaned, and then dissolved into laughter. “I was hoping you’d forgotten,” she breathed, “I don’t want this night to end, sue me.” And, well, as far as she was concerned, Linda’s costume party was a doomed event by concept alone.

But she knew, with resounding truth, that everything was better when they were together. Even parties hosted by their annoying neighbours. And so, she smiled and said simply: “that sounds perfect to me.”

[thurilostiel]

Do you mind talking about your Blind Oracle? She looks very interesting and beautiful!! I really love her design!!! 🥺🙏

Ok so first of all @cringeyvanillamilk @one-leaf-grimoire @shinyshammie cuz you all seemed interested in the OC of mine. Sooo.... *looks over at like 30 pages of written text for BO’s backstory and pet guides* I’ll start with most basic things, in a short list so that you can choose whenever to read all of this or just the summary.  Also Thank you for the name suggestions, they’re really fun and I had Lilith in there as well, but for like a slightly different meaning of the name. Name used by her: ‘Oracle’[after getting her grimoire], Thana Nickname given by Nozel, as she said she wasn’t given a name upon birth: Gulisa, and later Libi Full name: Lilith Razili Graddfa'r Ddraig Title: Blind Oracle Status: Of well respected Diamond’s Kingdom noble familly DOB: 20th of April Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: [???] she might be ace, but that’s due to a trauma, still questioning Height: 164cm / ~5′4 feet Weight: 54kg / ~119 lb Eye colour: Deep forest Green -green that goes into grey’ish colour spectrum the farther from the center Hair lenght and colour: Long -while down they get past her shoulder blades, longest part goes till her waist- Dark brown with highlights [of slight reddish tones] Skin colour: Delicate carmely tan [typical Central EU skin tone] Special marks/scars: has lots of little scars on her arms and upper back, her eyes have a visible markings on the irises [will include pic later] Magic affinity/magic’s name[as the one written in the grimoire]: Light / Fallen Luster Magic type: Supportive summonings Favourites: food- fresh fruits, ice minties, a big meaty meal, mint ice cream drinks- fruit juice[apple and orange juices], water with frozen lemon/grapes and mint dos- hum melodies, take long walks with her companion[s], experiment with her eyes, making things for her pets and/or others dear to her don’ts- arguing, being descriminated, being in big crowds, having others play heroes for her [i.e. pretend there are robbers nearby and shove her inside an alley to ‘protect her’] Magic Knight Squad: She’s blind so she’s not that confident to get herself into this bussines Race: Half dragon (don’t @ me, you gave me this idea guys, you know where this came from) Personality: kind and shy pesimist, who always looks at the worst possible scenario to be prepared for anything she can think of. Known pets of hers : Emrys - an aftereffect of her father’s experiment, was with her from her 3rd birthday till May5th after her 18th birthday. Unidentified under-race of, what everyone assumed was, a wolf and fox mix, with low nobility mana levels, allowing him to use few ‘spells’ of flower magic. His favourite flower was a Pond Lily, and he loved to snack on freshly cought fishes. Died on May 5th. [need to finish his visuals, tho he’s inspired by a pet in a browser game Eldarya write down ‘Eldarya Rowtsya’ into google and this is really close to what Emrys look[ed] like] Mer - foundling Crystal Eagle of Oracle. He dropped out of a nest on top of a tree under which the girl was resting. He was a little hatchling then, not more than 2 weeks old, the smell of chocolate cookie brought him to such a brave act. Mer was too small to fly back up ot the nest, also Oracle hadn’t noticed that he’s an eagle untill about a month after he joined her on the adventure, and moved on right after giving him the rest of her cookie, making the smol birdie confused as he was never that far away form his nest and decided to stick to her. Mostly because she still got more cookies to feed him. He’s a little grumpy, but he helps her getting around on her travels. He loves chocolate cookies, corn, and ice minties. He’s getting mad really easily, while mad will refuse to eat and fly, instead will be stompin’ angrily on the ground so Oracle will hear him being mad. Meanings of names: Lilith - night monster, monster mother; also believed to be the name of first wife of Adam, a succub that brought fear to little children and pregnant ladies Razili - of Hebrew’s origins meaning ‘Lord’s secret’ Graddfa'r Ddraig - that’s just her father attempt to act human. ‘Dragon Scale’ in Welsh. Due to her mother’s pasing she wasn’t allowed to wear the noble familly name. Gulisa - Little[as in Weak] Heart [Georgian’s origins] Libi - My heart [Hebrew’s origins] Thana - Arabic name meaning ‘Death’ So the backstory goes a little like this: Lilith was taken out of her mother’s dead body about 2h after her death and put into the coffin on her mother’s chest as she was a silent one and not one of servants believed she’d still be alive. Her father was the one to react to her cries and open up the coffin to see his daughter trying to feed herself but getting nothing above few droplets of blood from now uncovered breasts. This caused her to be of a weak heart and health in general, would scratch easily, get exhausted from simple tasks... The father[a dragon and an idiot when it comes to human interactions] somewhat took care of her, not knowing what to do with babies he just stuck to giving her bottles with milk whenever she cried and if that didn’t work get a servant to change her daiper. Her real name was never used inside the castle, her father was using her [draconic version of] middle name or ‘shortenings’- he meant sweetheart but was saying weakheart, meant sweetie when saying hatchilng, you get the point- as everyone took her as a sign and incarnation of missfortune and death, thus called her Thana instead. Their explanation was that no child would be still alive while it’s own twin[brother] was born already half eaten by pests and parasites, and mother having her heart rotten due to a sickness. Last time she saw her father was around her 3rd birthday, month after that he was never seen by her, but they did met a few more times after Lilith was made blind. For years she was left to herself, only cared for in ways of giving her some food and preparing baths and clothes to wear. She wasn’t allowed to study things other than law and the ways of beautiful speach, yet she loved music. She missed her father dearly, but Emrys took up his place greatly, cuddling up to her whenever she was scared, hurt or cold. Her magic started showing around her 5th birthday and since then the elders started getting a bit suspicious. All was going normal, everyday lessons of law and how to speak in front of politicians, break for a meal, then the rest spent with Emrys on a walk around the gardens or in a library stealthy listening to the music lessons on the upper floors. Upon the day of her 15th birthday the elders took her to old ruins, where they marked her eyes with a ‘new emblem’ that was supposed to start a rebelius movement to throw the king from his throne, but after seeing Lilith crashing down with tears of blood and a new moon forming upon the sky they flew away in fear, leaving her there, unnecessarily taking away her sight from her. As the moon started forming, crimson fog hugged the dying girl, a single string of shimmering mana started leading the fog into the noble family castle. Before reaching the gates the unidentified experiment rushed into it and the fog moved back, leaving the castle alone for this day.  Emrys cuddled up to her and covered her with his own mana, focusing on her bloodshot eyes. The fog began cleansing itself, becoming shimmery, as if stardust created it. It later formed her grimoire, the book that would once be called Last Hope, as it’s light was powerful in means of healing and defending, but never there to harm, yet it’s magic was tricky and therefore never the same, no more was it to pleasantly sit back and observe the battle. There was a small peasant village near those ruins, they saw the great light and weird creatures, small circular beings surrounded by silvery feathers and hoops, and some creatures looked like those of stories of old times, the biggest shimmering creature resembled Pan, the great horror of forests. All the creatures dissapeared within a minute and peasants rushed to the ruins. Seeing the young girl in shambled yet definetly expensive clothing and tears of blood streaming down her face they called to her “Oracle! Oh great Blind Oracle! Send upon us a blessing of rain” and so her grimoire started glowing and send upon them the first spell “Moribound wish” which brought the clouds and flooded the noble castles of Diamond Kingdom for whole month. The people heard about an Oracle in old ruins and began coming to her, offering food and crops for a blessing or a prophecy. Her spell was limited, she oculdn’t use it however she wanted, and it called for rest quite often, so people became impatient, rude, envy of such power and ‘luxurious life’ of Oracle. Oracle was inside the ruins for more than 2 years, yet less than 4, she could never tell the time by herself, she always relayed on the good hearted people to tell her what time of the year it was.  Few peasants told the nobles about mysterious Oracle and the blessings she was able to perform- healing some of the elders, bringing rain and storms, and they decided to take her for their own happines. They took her from the ruins on May 5th, after a small battle that she decided to put against them, they killed Emrys as he tried to help her, and put Lilith inside the cage, forced a mask upon her face so they wouldn’t have to see the markings which some of the nobles recognised as the sign of rebelion. After half a year they got bored of her ‘miracles’ and let her go into the wild. She was somehow able to get into Clover Kingdom, her mask easily telling others that something was wrong with her.  But the little bird on her arm was an easy distraction, especialy with how many children would pile up just to be able to pet him or give him some food, so she was able to steal some food from the stands and sometimes money to survive living under the sky. One day she unfortunately tried to rob a Magic Knight Captain, of course not knowing who he was or what a Magic Knight was before that. Nozel Silva was his name, she made a note to remeber that name and upon hearing her explain why she tried to steal from him he actualy took great interest in her story. After a small series of questions which she answered truthfuly, greateful he wasn’t going to put her to jail, He made a decision to let her stay for a week in Silver Eagle HQ where she was able to create few little artifacts helpful in dungeons and unknown areas as well as develop a spell that allowed her to regain sight for a brief moment of 4 minutes. During the week he called her Gulisa, as she told she wasn’t given a name upon birth, and if she was it was long forgotten. Gulisa later turned to Libi which confused the girl, upon asking why he changed his mind he said that it may suit her better, but he’d still prefer to know her true name. Thanks to Nozel’s help she was able to gain money and buy herself a small house which the members of SE often visit after missions in which they found  new artifacts. Often times while practising her magic she’d find a dungeon and explore it with Mer. Few times while in Raquey she was stopped by some male who always asked her for a tea, and would tell her stories about folk-tale creatures, guardians of forests, oceans, skies and mountains, the devils and angels, the dragons and their homes of treasures. He presented himself by name ‘Lonan’ yet seems unsure each time he brings the name up, as if hesitating. He’d always pay for the tea and dessert and leave a package with crystals and some metal parts she’d been looking for. She still travels, but mostly around the borders of Clover and Heart Kingdoms. Searching for new artefacts that could maybe, just maybe, help her regain her sight. “The fact I’ve gotten used to being blind doesn’t mean I don’t want to see someone that I have but meet” “You have your spells don’t you?” “But they don’t allow me to see how I used to. Back then I saw people smiling, now when i use my spell you’re always frowning...” And that would be a brief summary of my OC. *Looks over at the pile of papers* Have I forgotten about something? EDIT: Forgot to add: She can’t fully see by using her spells, they allow her to see the basic outlines and few colours, they depend on her mood and levels of mana she got left, so she’s going blind 99% of time. Her mask was put onto her forcefuly and she was unable to take it down before going to Clover Kingdom. The nobles put her into the half-face mask and stiched it to her face, and she started wearing the ‘butterfly’ one after meeting with Nozel, it was first artifact she made in SE’s HQ. She knew the meaning of name Thana and that’s why she didn’t use it when she was free of elders’ will. Also I might need your opinion on this @thespiralgrimoire

[joy1579]

Can you expand more on the clumsy MC with Jumin? Because Hi! Guilty here! 😅 I have the coordination of a shoe .One time I almost lost an eye because I was packing groceries on my backpack and I took the sharp package quickly to close to my eye (got a cut on the eyelid instead, luckily), I felt 2 times on the shower, slip on the street and felt in various occasions (and from tall places in 2, one time chasing a cat) I even choke on my own saliva, if I'm still living is just luck I swear!

sure and no worries Hun same i legit managed to crack my glasses while they were on my face. if not for them i swear i’d only have one eye. as i was writing this i asked my friends about things i could add and all i got were “do you remember when you....” so yeah all of this might be based on things I've done.

clumsy MC part 2

jumin

-        when you broke your ankle stepping off a curb in heels he got rid of all your heels and made sure he had his arm around your waist ANYTIME there was a curb from then on (his grip makes it legitimately impossible for you to fall)

-        when you accidentally maced yourself the one time you went out with your sister, san’s body guards, he decided body guards where non-negotiable that way you didn’t need to carry personal protection

-        when you fell in the shower there was a 3-week period of showering together (he made it seem like it was something sweet and cute but you knew it was worry)

-        he legit does EVERYTHING he can to prevent you from getting hurt

-        he encourages yoga because it helps balance and flexibility both of which are supposed to help with clumsiness

-        he also read an article about how poor memory and slow response time can affect coordination so he asks if you want to do brain games and memory puzzles together (their actually really fun and it means a consistent date night with jumin so how could you say no)

Yoosung

-        when you fell off the weird scooter thing the doctor gave you for your broken ankle he was torn between angry that you where pushing yourself and sad that you where hurt and didn’t ask him for help (he gently scolds you before setting you up in the living room with everything you need and under his watchful eyes)

-        when you two are enjoying a vacation and you accidentally tumble into the hotel pool you grab for him on the way down and suddenly both of you are soaked laughing at each other’s soaked and surprised faces until the horror of the situation dawns on you. you dropped your phones (and his glasses) as you fell and now they reside at the bottom of the pool

-        when you trip, accidentally spilling the entirety of dinner across the floor and burning yourself in the process he’s rushing too your side only to slip himself and fall as well thankfully NOT burning himself in the process. you two spend the better part of an hour helping each other recover before you return to the kitchen and remember the mess that still needs cleaning

-        he doesn’t know how to become less clumsy so mostly he just tries to disaster prove the important stuff protective cases for his lolol figures, computer and phone. shatter proof or plastic dishes things like that

-        but most importantly he starts getting fluffy rugs and pillows so if you fall (at home at least) you’ll have a softer landing

-        he also gets really REALLY good at first aide he knows all the home remedies (partly thanks to him asking his mom) and starts slowly but surely creating a first aid kit for the both of you

-        you start calling him dr. yoosung because he tends to all your bumps and bruises and that makes the poor boi nearly implode the first few times

saeyoung

-        when he see’s you slam your hand in his car door by accident you swear you’ve never seen him move so fast. he’s got ice on your hand before you can even feel the pain. you joke saying you thought he’d be more concerned about his car than you but he’s definitely not in a joking mood and he scolds you for even thinking like that he’d give every last one of his cars away for free if it kept you safe

-        when rip over one of the cords for his many gadgets consequently almost giving yourself a concussion he saeran and vanderwood spend the rest of the night dedicating themselves to wire management and though saeyoung may never admit it without joking around it does make his tinkering and work much easier

-         when you two where having a tickle fight on the bed and you fell off the bed hitting your head on the counter of the bedside table he got you too the hospital in 10 minutes even through the drive normally took 35 minutes he fidgets the entire time you get stitches and it takes a while for you to convince him that 1: he didn’t hurt you it was an accident and 2: you aren’t mad or even hurt that bad you’ve had stitches plenty of times it’s not a big deal

-        he may be all fun and jokes sometimes but anytime you get close to ACTUALLY hurting yourself he gets right down to business

-        he knows it’s impossible to protect you from everything but if he CAN fix it he will

-        if he is even tangentially the cause he has a tendency to fall back into his old habits of pushing you away for your own good so you have to remind him that he’s the only one for you and explain that it probably wasn’t his fault anyway

zen

-        when you tumbled off the stage at one of his rehearsals and actually had a concussion he started purposefully positioning himself between you and ledges wether it’s the edge of the stage, sidewalk, or even the bed. thankfully his history with acting and stage performance means he has experience in blocking and being aware of where exactly you are compared to other people so it’s not too hard for him

-        when you crack your glasses (while they are in your face) he swears he saw his life flash before his eyes. you point out he wasn’t in danger and he says “i saw YOUR life flash before my eyes jagi!” he thanks the lord for your glasses where their to prevent what would have happened if you had hit your eye! of course he would have loved you anyway and called you his pirate princess. but there’s no way you could fully appreciate his beauty with one eye!

-        when he absentmindedly tosses you a water bottle for the first time and you fumble it accidentally soaking your outfit he gives you his signature jacket and apologizes so much you eventually decide to shut him up and the resulting flustered red faced zen truly is a beautiful sight

-        he wants to protect you as much as possible but he’s so used to his own grace and athleticism that he forgets you may struggle a bit more

-        - still he thinks you’re the cutest person in the whole world and may even think your clumsiness makes you even cuter!

Jaehee

-        when you barely managed to catch yourself but not the tray of dirty dishes you were carrying she rushed to make sure you weren’t hurt looking over your hands for cuts from the glass you were scrambling to clean she scolded you for not waiting for her to bring the broom

-        when you give yourself a pretty nasty burn while frosting a cake she physically pulled you to the sink to run your burn under cool water. after about a week patching you up she sneaks off to take a legitimate first aide course she wants to do everything by the book perfect when she’s taking care of you.

-        the valentine’s day dlc where y’all get locked in the storage room. yeah you accidentally broke that lock several times simply because of how often you tumble into it while trying to juggle boxes.

-        she adores how hard you work to make sure you don’t spill drinks or mess up cake decorations

-        she’s so confused by how you can have such a steady decorating hand and such shaky balance

-        whenever you’re feeling down about messing up something at the cafe because of your clumsiness she kisses your cheek and reminds you that you’re an amazing cook and the only one that can make those cookies that sell out within minutes (it’s a family recipe that you plan to teach her next valentine’s day)

Saeran

-        when you fell down the hill in the park he dropped the picnic basket to try and save you thankfully the food was only a little jostled and you were only a little scraped up. he still insisted and cleaning and bandaging your scrapes with the little kit he keeps with him (you’d be insulted but it’s come in handy more times than you’d like to admit)

-        when you fall into the rose bush in his garden he completely panics he’s afraid you’ll blame him for how hurt you got because OUCH! you assure him you aren’t angry but you would like some help with all the cuts pricks and thorns. after that he looks into roses without thorns and starts replanting you feel a little guilty until you see how excited he is to plant all the different type of thornless roses he’s found

-        when a stranger bumps you accidentally and you lose your balance tumbling down the stairs Saeyoung has to physically restrain him until he hears you sobbing and comes to his senses he rushes you to the doctor and waits anxiously while you get a cast. he swears he’s not crying but there’s a definite wetness to his eyes when he hugs you gently and promises he won’t ever let something that awful happen ever again

-        he’s pretty hyper vigilant simply because of his past but the longer you and he are together the more he turns the focus of his hyper vigilance from “don’t upset anyone because abuse” towards “potential trip hazard protect MC”

-        there’s not a soul out there that’s as gentle as he is when he’s trying to treat you. he’s mostly self-taught and it’s a lot of home remedies but the actually help a lot

[thrushpot]

playing hooky

“Now a fun one... eleven and eighteen.” requested by @fortheloveofhargrove​

#11: “We could get arrested for this.”

#18: “Watch me.” from dialogue prompts

warning(s): alcohol, swearing

a/n: i love these prompts so much. hope you dig it !

—

You swore that you knew better than this.

You’d like to think you were raised right and had enough self respect to not fall under peer pressure like everybody else always did in cheesy high school movies or real life. Maybe right now you’re about to ditch the so-called ‘good girl’ philosophy, or handbook or whatever the fuck it was, to be free from the constraints that high school labels always puts on girls like you. Those bullshit stereotypes about smart girls that actually care about grades and education, saying that they’re all just bummers with no experience that will never learn how to let loose. Well, you’re through with all of it. It felt as if there had always been this hidden lingering temptation that was just itching to be unleashed, it just needed the right push, from the right somebody.

When the very chief, cliché bad boy Billy Hargrove himself approached you himself in the halls on a regular soul-crushing Monday, you wanted to prove not only to him but also to yourself that you were not this cookie cutter mold of a person. You were just as capable of crazy as anybody else is. So fuck him for underestimating you, and double fuck him if he was gonna laugh in your face when you said so.

“Of course I know what it’s like to have fun,” you defend, pointing your finger at him for emphasis at the arrogant blonde that had been ridiculing you far too long during passing periods at school everyday. He went further than usual today in particular, calling you ‘Plain Jane’ and ‘sugarpuss’ just to get a rise out of you, unknowingly setting off the ticking time bomb. “In fact, I’m the one who fucking invented fun, asshole.”

Billy widens his eyes comically as he takes the cigarette that had been tucked behind his ear and puts it between his lips.

“So, little kitten does have some scratch in her, doesn’t she? Who would’ve known,” he asks rhetorically, sarcasm lacing his tone as his fingers work to drag a little red match across the matchbox. Just as he was about to burn up with the audacity to smoke inside, at school for Christ’s sake, Mr. Jameson from wood workshop snags it from Billy’s mouth as he passes by you both in the hallway.

“No smoking inside, Hargrove!”

Billy turns his head with attitude to the teacher that just walked away with one of his precious cigarettes. How could he be that surprised of the consequences, you had no idea how thick his skull really was.

“I still have another one in my pocket you know!” he calls out, taking out the mentioned extra pack he kept in his jacket pocket as he shouted obnoxiously across the hall, catching the attention of everyone else scrambling to get to class.

“Lung cancer can wait another day!” Mr. Jameson reprimands the teen, pausing at the door of his destined classroom. “Get to class, Hargrove. And leave the poor girl alone,” Jameson pities you, probably wondering just what the fuck a girl like you, the polar opposite of Billy, was doing chatting and wasting time with him in the hallway.

“Yeah? I’m shaking in my boots over here, Mister J. And she could leave if she wants to, she’s a big girl,” he says, eyeing you as the words leave his mouth. You’d been impatiently standing there, somewhat annoyed yet entertained by the exchange with a tight lipped smile, still holding your usual boat load of books. Billy can see that you’re pissed because you think he’s misjudged you, but for fuck’s sake, it’s like you don’t even know that there are lockers at school for a reason. You’re practically begging to get made fun of, and Billy’ll be damned if he doesn’t take the bait, see where it leads him. Maybe you’ll surprise him, or maybe he’ll surprise you.

“You done flirting with school staff?” you raise your brows, pointing your thumb back towards Jameson’s classroom. Billy chuckles at your wit, eyes glazing down your fitted schoolgirl-esque sweater, daring to guess what’s hidden underneath it. As well as what’s really under your carefully crafted bitchy persona. It’s so easy to get you kicking and screaming, he plans on using that to persuade you further to him.

“Are you? Don’t think I can’t see the way you looked at ‘em, batting those cute little eyelashes, maybe even bending over in class to—“

You stop him from going further into his detailed imagery with a gag noise spewing from your lips and a hand raised to get him to please shut up already. “Okay, gross. I used to be best friends with his daughter in middle school.”

Billy chuckles at that, then continues on with his weird ass fantasy. “Makes you a dirty bird then, doesn’t it?”

“Fuck off. You’re disgusting,” you step closer into his personal space bubble, shoving one of your books into his chest resulting in him pretending it hurt like a drama queen. After another roll of your eyes, he’s satisfied with how much he’s annoyed you then wants to remind you of what he’d asked.

“You never did answer me, you know.”

“About what, genius?” you fix your hair, fidgeting under the pressure of his earlier proposition. You’d hoped he had forgotten he even asked and move on to pull the pigtails of the next girl that strolled by. Clearly he hadn’t, to your dismay.

“‘Bout you playing a little hooky, comin’ with me. Get to see how the other half lives,” he offers, pulling yet another item out of his pocket, and of course it’s a toothpick. He always needed something in his mouth when he’s talking to you.

“Where would we even go?”

He plays with the toothpick in his teeth, flicking his tongue over the stick before answering. “Anywhere. Wherever you want. But if you can’t think of somethin’ to do, I have my usual hiding spots. No one would find us.”

This is the part where the cartoon devil and angel on your shoulder fight, the good side of you worried about what trouble he’d be dragging you into. The bad side tells you that it’s about damn time you do something out of the ordinary, something you’re not supposed to. This time, for the very first time in your life, the devil won.

“Fine. Let’s do it. But I’m not going ‘cause I wanna be your little girlfriend or whatever, this is just because I’m bored, and... and I do know how to have fun,” you declare, staring at your clean Converse as your palms start to sweat from nerves. Just what the fuck are you getting yourself into? It’s your grave that you’re digging here. But why would anybody pass this opportunity up? The only lame excuse you could come up with for the imaginary angel shaking it’s head in disapproval for being defeated was that he was as hot as he was charming, and you felt like you’d been held at gunpoint to resist. You were weak, and you can admit it now. So fuck you if you can’t break bad for once.

Billy licks his lips in triumph, grinning like he finally caught the mouse that had been eyeing the peanut butter in the trap far too long, and had just now decided to take a lick and get sucked in.

“Well alright, little lady. Glad to hear it. Your chariot awaits outside,” he jingles his keys with his fingers, not waiting any longer as he eagerly struts out of the building, with you meekly trailing not far behind him.

—

Billy knew he’d get you to crack. Delighted that he’d get to pop your skipping class cherry, he unlocked his Camaro and even took the time to open the passenger’s door for you. After looking at him in disbelief for a beat, he raises his brows and beckons you further to get in. Something akin to a strange man telling you to get in the car, with a promised bribe of candy and puppies.

“What was it you said back there, that you invented fun? C’mon, think of it as an adventure, like in all those books you read or whatever.”

Yeah, in all those books you read with circumstances like these, something stupid always happens. You’re still on the edge of willing to take that chance, with the voice of every adult that’s every lectured you to not go out with strange boys. Fuck it, maybe something good will come out of this.

You sigh in defeat, done fighting with yourself before giving the ground a shy smile, letting out a quiet “Yeah, I guess.” Getting strapped in with your seatbelt, because safety first, you tightly clutch the several books that had stayed in your grasp like a vice. You’re still quite apprehensive, but there should be no problem in maybe needing a little more convincing. Billy feels like he won the lottery, hopping in and enthusiastically starting the engine up before zooming out of the school parking lot. He even tells you you can pick any music tape in his entire collection to play, which he almost never lets anybody do. However, you’d declined the playing of any music, stubbornly staring out the window at the views passing by. Billy is still determined to get you out of your comfort zone, and if music won’t do it, there must be some radical adventure you’d be excited for that will.

“How ‘bout a movie? You gotta like some genre. Everybody likes movies,” he tells you, still driving aimlessly with no destination in mind for the two of you yet.

“What kind’s your favorite?” Billy wonders aloud, seeing as though you could be a secret cult-loving, horror flick addict, or maybe even a hopeless romantic. He likes the idea of you snuggled up in the theatre munching on popcorn as you watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers, or maybe even Sixteen Candles. That would be a fucking sight to see.

“Uh, all of them. I like all movies.”

“Yeah? How ‘bout the new Ghostbusters? Heard it’s the next classic—“

“I don’t know anymore, Billy. Maybe... maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” you overthink, chewing on your lip from the anxiety that had been eating you away. This is against the rules, and according to your routine, you should be in class right now. The whole idea of this ridiculous outing was just some heat of the moment, fortuitous decision that you’re beginning to regret right now.

Meanwhile, Billy makes a frustrated scoffing sound at you for already wanting to give the fun up. He could’ve easily been mistaken by the connection you two shared through your playful banter, now just passing it off as weak flirting which you clearly didn’t reciprocate.

“Fine. Let’s just go back to school then. Why not, right? Listen to the boring old fuck of a bogus dude like Jameson. He’ll probably scream at us ‘cause we’ll be fifteen minutes late, then the cherry on top being a pink slip to show your folks at home.” Billy had been looking over at you as he ranted, then back to the road to find a place to pull over. He’s already tired trying to make you comfortable when your mind was set on staying uncomfortable. “Your folks’ll really love that. Wait ‘til they find out that I was the one that convinced you to come—“

“Shut the hell up, alright!” you finally snap, throwing your arms in the air and in turn making the tower of textbooks fall with a loud thunk to the floor. Billy is shocked at your outburst, now intently engaged in what you have to say. “You act like you know me, but you don’t, alright? Nobody does. Not my parents, not Jameson, and certainly not you either, pal.”

Billy calls bullshit on that one, letting out a menacing chuckle before judging you harder.

“Oh yeah? I don’t know you, yeah right. I think I really fuckin’ do, actually. You’re just some priss, yet another snobby little girl with a broken little heart, not to mention the ginormous stick up her ass—“

“I do not have a stick up my ass.”

“Do too.”

“Nuh-uh, assface!”

Billy sighs dramatically at the childish banter you’re still keeping up, now finding a lonely space where he can stop the car and really get under your skin, prove you wrong. Because he thinks he really does know your type. He kills the engine as he turns to you.

“Yeah, sweetheart? Wanna prove me wrong? Why don’t you open the glovebox and take out what’s inside. Go on.” he instructed, looking to you and then the glove compartment expectedly. You try masking your hesitance with false confidence before going for it, pulling the lever open and finding what looks like a decent hand-held size bottle. Curious, you look closer and read the sticker on the front, observing the bronze liquid that’s filled a good halfway up. “If you know how to have fun, why don’tcha try taking a swig?” he nods to the bottle, biting his lip in excitement the show you’ll likely put on. He briefly worries for a moment that you’ll actually do it, but that thought is quickly stored away after seeing your reaction upon unscrewing the cap and sticking your tongue out in disgust at the heavy stench. Billy’s sure that there’s no way you had the balls, thinking this test will more likely prove his point that you’re all bark no bite. You regain your composure before speaking.

“Oh, I could so drink this. You’re making this way too easy, man.” Billy chuckles at your crass attempt at trying to sound cool to impress him. “What’s so funny, huh? Think I won’t?” you raise your voice defensively, gesturing to the swirl of what’s left in the bottle. Billy can’t hold in his revolting laughter anymore as he holds his stomach and slaps the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry, but you’ve got to be kidding me,” he pretends to wipe a tear from his eye. “Ah, that was some comedy gold right there. Thanks, Y/N. I didn’t know how bad I really needed that.”

After sitting and listening to his whole schtick about how hilarious the idea of you misbehaving is, you’ve been riled up to the point of clenching your fists at your sides. Steam might as well be shooting out from your ears. Of course he’s exactly like the rest of them, the bullying, ridiculing, and constant underestimating.

“Oh yeah? Well if you don’t believe me, then...” you lick your lips, taunting him with a filthy, no-good glare as he grows weary under the tension, “Watch me.”

You’d taken the bottle and swallowed your pride, giving the finger to everyone who expected you to stay impossibly innocent forever, then gulped at least a mouthful from the bottle. It felt freakishly foreign and warm as it went down, settling deep down your belly and the aftertaste stinging your tastebuds. The bottle’s contents had diminished significantly from the dent you put in, and Billy can’t believe anything he’s seeing with his own two eyes. It’s the first time he’d been stunned to silence, with the late reaction of snatching the bottle away from you before you could poison yourself, or do more damage than what has already been done.

“You’ve — you gotta be fucking kidding me! That didn’t just happen. That did not just happen,” he stumbles, furrowing his brows and throwing an arm in the air in utter disbelief, while his other holds the bottle like a baby, keeping it hidden away from you. “Holy shit, Y/N! I said a swig, not whatever you just did!” he scolds, eyes as wide and frightened like a goddamn cartoon.

Meanwhile, you’d been coughing up a storm having chocked from some of the liquor going down the wrong pipe then cringing at the leftover taste bleaching your mouth. Your head feels whoozy, not that the liquor’s kicked in quite yet.

“That tastes like gasoline,” you point to where Billy has white-knuckled the bottle in his hands, making damn sure you don’t pull that move again. It was his fault, though, and the guilt is stalling right beside his mind for the chaos that has yet to come. He was the one pushing your buttons, pressuring you just as much as everybody else, ultimately making you so tired of it to the point of drowning yourself with the rest of his backup bottle of Smirnoff he kept for safekeeping.

“Yeah, no fucking kidding. That’s why you gotta sip it!” he runs his fingers through his curls stressfully, having burdened himself with carrying the responsibility of taking care for this poor almost-drunk girl in his car. Of course you’d try overcompensating by downing an outrageous amount and being smug about it. He guessed you’d never drank anything before, or at least that’s the only logical explanation as to why you were surprised at how vile the taste had been. Drinkers often know how shitty the taste is, and use a chaser to get rid of the vomit-inducing touch it leaves.

“You people drink that garbage for fun?” you snort, not understanding the slightest bit of why someone would do that to themselves willingly.

Billy rubs his eyes frustratingly, then safeguards the vodka from your reach as he starts up the engine again and pulls out from where you two were parked.

“Yeah, well, it hasn’t hit you yet. You’ll know why when it does.”

—

Half an hour later, Billy had gotten over the stress of being the one responsible for your drunkenness, now just sitting and listening to the weird shit you’re rambling on about. Of course you’d be a lightweight given your inexperience in the matter, but with how much and in such short time, you were an adorable mess. He thinks it’s sorta cute the way she slurs and jumps from one topic change to the next, such as her opinions on how uninteresting Star Wars is right to how sexy she thinks Corey Haim is. The vastly different ideas mingling together all in one conversation nearly gives the boy whiplash, but he can’t help loving it.

“Oooh, oh! Stop the car. I said stop the car! There’s a lake here, we gotta get out,” you rush, poking the window and even shoving your face up excitedly and fogging it up with your breath.

“Why do we have to—“

“No questions!”

Billy holds his hands up in surrender, not believing that he’s really taking orders from a blasted schoolgirl on her first time ever skipping class. School ended awhile ago, but you’ve yet to mention wanting to go home. Although the teen would like to know you’re getting there safely and not getting into any shit with your parents (if they’re anything like his), he’s still up for granting you your first good time.

Pulling in to the deserted area, Billy puts his Camaro in park and getting out, watching as you fumble to unlock your door and nearly fall out in a fit of giggles. He shakes his head at you with an involuntary grin, then scratches the back of his neck as he wonders just what you’re planning to do here. He then catches you when you’re about to fall for the second time getting out, your palms grabbing at his chest and nearly falling to your knees. A smile has still plastered his expression, unable to keep his poker face at the joy you are when you’re drunk.

“This is your first time drinkin’, isn’t it?” he asks, holding you and keeping you upward because you couldn’t walk in a straight line to save your life right about now.

“Whaddya think Popeye? Oh wait, I remember what you think, ‘cuz you told me so! Didn’t it go something like... you’d strongly argue that there’s a giant stick up my ass?” you put your finger to your temple and hum, pretending to think. “Well no one as boring as that would do this,” you exclaim, moving your arms down and doing a drunken cartwheel on the dirty ground. Billy quickly acts, going to pull you back up to stop you from laying down any longer on the gross pavement. When he does, you yank his arms towards where you lay, resulting in him foolishly landing on top of you. You’d yelled ”TIMBER!” while he’d let out a squawk sound at your surprising strength.

“Y’know, I think I offically figured out why people drink gasoline so much,” you point out, getting ready to give him your analysis on your liquor consumption.

“It’s Smirnoff actually, but go on,” Billy smiles and waits for you to keep going on yet another drunk tangent.

“It’s b’cause like, I feel the ground moving real fast. I can feel the way that earth is rotating on it’s axis, like what Jameson talked about in class,” you’ve put your palms to the ground as you spewed, putting your ear down as if to listen to it moving. You suddenly picked yourself up, swingy as you quickly lost balance and using Billy’s hand as a way to stay off the floor.

“I already know you think I’m this bogus loser with bogus friends and does nothin’ but bogus homework all the time, but, I think you’re opposite. You’re cool. Too cool for school. You’re this daring dreamboat, this cliché heartthrob that picks on girls and hands them a bottle and says, ’drink up!’” you conclude the statement, slapping his thigh with another roar of laughter tumbling out from your mouth. Everything is so indescribably funny, and you barely ever laugh at anything anymore, so you’re having the time of your life not holding anything in like you usually have to. Billy, in contrast to you, now feels shame creep back up and wants to give you the apology you deserve. Even if there’s a chance you’ll forget all about it because of your drunkenness.

“I um, I’m sorry you know. For pressuring you to take it that far, I was just upset because you wouldn’t hang out with me,” he murmurs, coming back up from the ground and looking everywhere else besides your eyes. You shrug, not finding any deep meaning in anything anymore, crossing your arms.

“Forgiven. Only if you do a little something with me,” you smirk, coming up to him and tugging at his jacket, making Billy draw away from you. He will not do anything with a girl that’s drunk, and that’s a vow.

“C’moooon, who’s the boring old fuck now? Hint hint, it isn’t Jameson! His name starts with capital B and ends in Y!” you snort, barely balancing on one foot as you struggle unlacing your Converse and throwing them off your feet. Next comes you sweater, and now Billy feels like he can’t breathe properly seeing you in your bra and your jeans marching towards the near freezing lake.

“What— uh, Y/N stop, this isn’t right at all, what’re you fucking doing!” he shouts, jogging over to you in a midst panic. You’re grinning like a baby that stole all the candy, not refraining from snaking the rest of your clothes off. Sober you would be absolutely appalled, while drunk you is having a fucking blast. Billy rushes to you and rips off his jacket, covering your nakedness and snapping his head in every direction as to make damn sure no one is witnessing this right now.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Take more off and join me,” you make a come hither gesture with your finger while heading towards the water, before dunking right in. The alcohol has warmed you up, making you completely impervious to the cold wetness. Billy thanks God that he sees your head peak back up from the water, almost shitting himself at the thought of losing you from drowning or the million other things that could go wrong here.

“Hurry it up, Hargrove! Chop chop, water’s feelin’ fucking great out here!” you shout, both your hands making an O-shape around your lips so he could hear you better. Billy shakes his head, deciding that he only lives once, and this is going to be the most wild thing he’s ever done with a girl. Even though he’d been around the block and done some pretty questionable things.

The teen hurried to yank off his jeans and shirt, and stops for a moment to ponder if it’s really smart to keep his boxers on. He hated being a hormonal boy right then, given that his dick had started waking up at the sight of you waltzing around naked and teasing him. He decides that if you, the school’s perfect good girl could hop in the water in your birthday suit, he had to follow your footsteps and do it too.

“We could get arrested for this,” he calls out, shoving his boxers off and folding both yours and his clothes together in one neat pile before joining you in the freezing cold water. He’d swam much more gracefully than you had, watching you doggy paddle over to him and laugh as you jump scare him with a splash of water into his face.

“Jesus, what was that for?” he wipes the water out of his eyes, his dirty blonde mullet now drenched.

“For taking too damn long,” you smile while spitting out some water that had seeped into your mouth. Billy swims closer into your personal space and holds onto your back, extra careful about where his hands lay because of your being utterly exposed to him.

“Okay, I guess this is when I gotta admit that I stand corrected,” he confesses reluctantly, keeping his eyes on yours and refusing to look down any further. You may be drunk and naked and fucking wet right in front of him, but he remains respectful. “You’re way more ballsy than I am.”

“That’s right, bitch, and don’t you forget it!” you show off, before swimming away with your back floating on the water.

“Where you goin’ now, crazy?” he asks, trailing behind you. You’ve gotten out now, not giving a shit about drying off and shoving your pants back up, along with stealing his jacket and putting it on over where you just wear your bra. Billy can’t unsee you naked, and he certainly never will forget seeing you in his jacket with almost nothing underneath with his own two eyes. His dick has definetely not reacted kindly to the practically below zero temperature water, but it sure as shit tries going back up because of you.

—

Both teenagers barely dried off still, have taken to cranking up the heat to the point of it being similar to a sauna in his car as you both giggle about what just happened.

“I can’t believe you,” he thinks aloud, still so baffled by your drunken nature and what stupid shit you’re really capable of.

“Hey, Billy?”

“Yes, oh-so-crazy one?”

“Remember when I told you, I told’ya I liked all kinds a movies,” you remind him of earlier, and he listens and nods intently, wondering what’s gonna come flying out of your mouth now. “I really do. I cried while watching The Breakfast Club, even When Harry Met Sally. Or Jaws too. Like, all’s movies do is make me cry. Because the characters go and have fun with their friends, or meet someone and fall in love, and I never’ve gotten to do that before. But you’re so fun, and I feel like I got to live in one of the movies today,” you mumble, now having been worn out by the day you’ve had and propping up your arm to the window and resting your head on it.

Billy’s heart and face have flushed to the point of soaring at your confession. He takes on one of his hands off the wheel, keeping one steady on making sure he won’t crash you two, and pets your wet hair and combing his fingers lovingly through.

“Alright, beautiful. Well, I’m glad you had fun, but uh, the truth is that this was all you. You’re hardcore, seriously. It’s pretty bitchin’. But I kinda felt like I lived in a movie today with you too,” he murmurs the last part, still tucking your damp strands behind your ear carefully then gets greeted by the sound of your soft snoring from the passenger’s seat. He chuckles at that, then focuses back on the road. The boy knows this night will always be lodged into his memory, and he’ll never underestimate you again.

—

this was so fun writing! I’ll be starting up on another prompt request soon, don’t worry fellas and ladies and gents

[shewolfofficial]

Are You Proud Captain? Levi x Reader

Hello~! I've decided to do a completely random and out of the blue one shot for no entire reason! The only warning I'll put in will be cursing, meaning if there will be fluff or anything like that- you'll have to read to find out~

Warning: Cursing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You ranked top ten in your trainee days, earning your spot along your other nine friends who were marked in the top ten of the graduates. You could remember the small after party for graduating from the Cadet Corps, a small feast laid out for everyone to tuck in and enjoy before choosing a regiment in the morning. You remember that night so clearly, sitting with your friends and eating, talking about the regiments and which you'd join.

Of course, the Scouting Legion always appealed to you every since the fall of Wall Maria, you were there with Eren, Armin and Mikasa on that day. That day you wish to forget. Jean was exclaiming how he'll be living the luxury in the MP's only making Eren irritated as you kept quiet by Mikasa.

"So F/N! You never told us which regiment you were joining~ which one?" Sasha piped with a mouth full of potatoes, you hummed quietly for a second before smiling at the girl opposite you.

"I'm going to join the Scouts like Eren and the others"

Tell me captain, what will we do when we rid all of the titans from the walls?

I don't know F/N, but we will do it one day

Unfortunately, Eren wasn't there to chose a regiment with you and everyone else, you remember that unnerving speech from Commander Erwin. Was this really what you wanted? Yes. No backing out now.

After choosing to join the Scouts, all new recruits were taken to the Old Scouts HQ where Eren was with the Special Operations Squad. The sun was beginning to set as you took the tour around to get used to the place. What surprised you though was that Jean was here in your batch as well. 'What happened to that ego'ist from boot camp?' You thought taking a glance over your shoulder to the taller teen.

What you didn't expect was to see Eren running over from the stables, he must have been doing stable work. Turning to look to your friend who arrived by the group you grinned at the emerald-eyed boy, catching sight of someone leading a horse out shortly after.

"So that's Captain Levi?"

F/N, you will be my personal assistant from now on. You've impressed me over the few months you've been in the Scouts.

A-Ah yes sir!

Opening the dark wooden door you slipped inside with a metal tray of tea. Casting sheepish smile to the charcoal haired man sitting behind his desk who watched you close the door quietly before appearing in front of his desk. "I got your tea sir, along with a few cookies" you hum with a miniature smile as the teal-eyed Captain nods subtly, setting down his quill to move a small yet neat stack of papers aside for you to put the tray down instead. You usually did this every evening after training and a shower. Accompanying the corporal with paperwork and tea.

Levi took his cup and took a sip from it. After setting it down he flashed you a look of thanks. You knew this from how long you'd usually spend with him- you grew to learn these little things about Levi. Sometimes he didn't need to use words for you to understand if he likes something or not.

"Were you limping by any chance F/N?" He decides to ask as you tilt your head to the left somewhat. "Uh- yeah I guess.. Just a little sore from training, nothing to worry about" you reassured him with a smile as he eyed you. "Yeah, you seemed to be pushing yourself that time I thought something was up" he continued as you took a sip of your tea in silence.

I managed to beat Eren in combat training, did you see it?

Yes I did.

Are you proud of me Captain?

"YAHOOO! F/N DO YOU SEE THIS!?" Hanji shrieked at the top of her lungs with an ecstatic grin etched onto her face. You laughed a little, nodding at the woman as you scribbled down more notes as she was experimenting with Eren in his Titan. Moblit was sick today so you offered if you could take his spot for the day. Eren was concentrating on hardening different parts of his body while you had to sketch and write about it. Hanji was jumping about like a hyperactive rabbit.

"GOOD JOB EREN! YOU ALMOST HAVE THE HARDENING DOWN!" Hanji roared in excitement causing you to stiffle a giggle at her.

"Oi Hanji, I can almost hear you from the HQ why are you so loud?"

'Oh it's the Captain~!'

Turning around you sent Levi a little smile and wave, he nodded with a blank expression as he wandered over. Hanji kept hopping around with an inhuman amount of energy as she laughed. Levi arrived by your side and gave you a look of 'this is what you have to put up with for the day'. Shrugging to the man you continued to quickly sketch down small drawings and notes about Eren as Levi watched. He wasn't here to complain about Hanji's noise volume- instead, he was wondering why he hasn't seen you for the day leading for him to ask around and eventually find you with the titan-crazed scientist in the middle of an experiment.

I- Uh.. I have feelings for you L/N..

R-Really? Coincidence huh? I have feelings for you too sir..

The candle flickered, illuminating the dark room and some of the furniture inside. The occasional shuffle of boots against the wooden floor bounced back and forth off the walls. You were sat on the small couch at the sidelines of Levi's office filling out extra papers, he was hunched over his desk filling out some as well. The clock quietly ticked on the wall as each second passed. Looking across the office to the round object you checked the time.

'11:47pm'

As if on cue, a yawn made it's way to your lips, covering your mouth you yawned into it before blinking tiredly. Setting your gaze back down to the papers on your lap you were about to continue writing until Levi's voice ringing in your ears.

"If you're tired you can go to your room F/N, I'll finish up here"

You gawked at the Corporal, shaking your head a little at him "I'm fine, I'm almost done anyways, as soon as I'm done I'll leave you be for the night sir" you told him as he clicked his tongue and sat back to stretch a little. "You're making it sound like you're a bother to me F/N" he commented as you went quiet- not knowing how to respond. "I- Didn't mean it like that-" "You're a great assistant F/N, fuck it but this might just be the sleepiness talking but I appreciate the work you do" he cut you off leaving you a surprised. A smile graced your lips as you muttered a shy thanks before finishing off the last page.

"I'm done, anything else you want me to do?" You question Levi as he shakes his head no "no you're fine, have a good night F/N"

What's your favorite memory F/N?

Oh-? Well.. I have to say it would be the time I killed my first titan then I did a small victory dance that ended up in my almost slipping off the rooftop.. Heh..

Brat, you're so clumsy. You didn't hurt yourself did you?

No I didn't sir

Good.

You traced your finger down the bridge of Levi's nose, he watched you in silence as you playfully booped his nose after with a snicker. He grumbled under his breath before wrapping his arms around your figure, caging you in a steel grip before flopping back onto his bed with you. A miniature squeak left your lips as you landed on the soft surface, scurrying out of his arms once he loosened his grip to straddle his hips. A grin tugged on the edges of your lips as you looked down to him, Levi bit his lower lip before taking your hands in his; kneading his fingers with yours as you playfully wrestled.

Flipping you both over Levi pinned you down with an amused glint in his hues, you smirked and leant up to him, pecking his lips. Levi hummed into the kiss before you pulled away, he subconsciously pouted at you as you tried to wriggle out from under him. After two failed attempts you gave up and wrapped your arms around his neck. "At least I managed to pin you down for a few seconds, are you proud of me for that?" You asked as the male huffed and lowered himself to press a kiss to your lips.

"Yeah I'm proud idiot"

You jumped a little when he ghosted his teeth over your neck, shuddering with a relaxed sigh when he pampered your skin with kisses. Levi nipped at your neck teasingly with a sly smirk on his face. "I love you dork" he barely muttered training his orbs on your own, a soft smile made it's way to your lips again. "I love you too captain" you whisper back to him just before he brings his lips to yours.

I heard you had fun training with your horse earlier.

Oh yeah! I finally got used to standing on her back while she's moving

And you didn't fall?

Nope! Are you proud of me~

Yes idiot, I'm proud of you

A sharp breath left your throat as you rested on Levi's lap, swallowing down the lump in your throat you could manage to take in ragged breathes as you looked up to your lover. He loomed over your exhausted figure with tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. Lips parted in horror as he looked down to you, blood-stained your uniform as you tiredly looked up to Levi, every second that passed your body got lighter and lighter feeling. He choked out a sob, gentle holding up your head and gripping your other hand. "F/N..?" He muttered as the tears finally began to roll down his cheeks leaving clear trails behind beside the dirt and blood masking his form.

"It's okay Levi, it's alright.." You cooed raising your hand to softly play with a strand of raven hair. "It's- It's not alright.. F/N-" he shook his head, heart thundering in his chest painfully as you sniffled a little, wincing from the pain in your stomach. "I'm going to be fine... It's going to be alright.." You tried as Levi tried to cuddle himself closer to you, he sobbed and shut his eyes tightly hoping for it to be a nightmare. It wasn't. "I love you- you hear me? I don't know what I'd do without you- you idiot" he shakingly pressed a kiss to your forehead as you squeezed his hand. "I-I love you too.. God, you have no idea... Levi... Y-You don't.." You breathed as he rocked back and forth subtly with you on his lap.

"Levi...?" You continued as he kissed your hand, letting his lips linger. He never took his gaze from yours as he hummed a strained breath letting you know he heard you. "Yes, love..?" He whispered as you cracked a little smile up to him.

"D-Did I.. Did I make you proud... Did I make you proud captain?" You let the blood seep from the corner of your mouth as tears dribbled from the corner of your eyes as reality finally took place. "I-I don't want to die, Levi please.. At least let me know I made you p-proud.." You begged as his jaw locked into place from suppressing his cries.

"Yes love.. You've made me the proudest man alive.. It's time for you to rest now o-okay..? I'll be here.. It's going to be okay. I'll be here with you when you go.. I swear I'll see you again in another life F/N.. "

[queenofcandynsoda]

Love Crow

(Powhatan and Wendigo belong to @opotakuism)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY~! ❤️❤️❤️

———

The late afternoon sun is shining onto the territory of the Shandian fleet. Most of the inhabitants are currently sailing with the other fleets. The remaining inhabitants are young children, preteen girls, and several warriors that are there to defeat the village. That is the same with the other territories of the other races.

Among the Shandian territory, there are treehouses connected with bridges. However, there is one treehouse that is different from the others. While the other treehouses appeared to be standard with Shandian symbols and built, this treehouse resembles more like a crow’s nest as the tree itself is hollowed out. Outside of the door, there is a balcony. Wind chimes, hanging baskets, and a suncatcher are seen around the balcony.

The door opens to reveal a pale, pre-teenage girl with long wavy black hair and her eyes closed. She wears a short black dress with long sleeves and black feathers attached as her sandals are black with black feather anklets. She opens her eyes to reveal that they do not have any pupils. She climbs out of the balcony and stretches out her arms. She jumps down. Suddenly, her arms curved into crow wings, acting like a parachute to land down gently. This is the half-beast form of the Bird-Bird Fruit, Ancient Model; Rainbow Crow.

She walks out of the Shandian territory and to the large kitchen. Though only used for large banquets and festivals, some of the Lost Girls use this for several reasons. Such as experimenting with new recipes, needing more space, or single-handedly making a large number of snacks. There is a teenage girl there, along with a young toddler boy.

The girl has auburn hair and light park eyes. She wears a dark blue jumper dress with white fur around the skirt portion and brown boots. Her apron is blue and pink. She is holding a rolling pin, meant for the cookies she’s making for the upcoming Thimbles Day. The boy who is on the play rug right next to her is a young Shandian toddler, who is a blue-gray onesie made of wool. He is holding cookie cutters for the girl.

“Hello, Amada-san…~” The older girl looks back to see Dark Rainbow. “Hello, Dark Rainbow-san…~” Amada smiled back. “Hi~!” The young boy bubbled to Dark Rainbow. “Hey there, Sweet Dream~” She responded with a smile. “Dark Rainbow, have you got anything for Wendigo yet~?” Amada asked Dark Rainbow, causing the younger girl to sigh in frustration. She responded with “No… I still do not know what to give him. I had been thinking of a gift for weeks. I know how much he prefers meat over sweets.”

“ I suggest you get some gourmet meat~ I know that Dressrosa has high-quality salami~ Maybe Wano for their wagyu beef~” Amada suggested as she holds Sweet Dreams up to push in the heart and thimble-shaped cookies cutters. Dark Rainbow sighed, “Maybe…”

Then the two girls and the toddler boy heard the sound of a conch shell. “They’re back~!” Dark Rainbow crowed. She then flies out of the kitchen as Amada picks up Sweet Dream.

***********

The ships docked onto the harbor on their respective territories. Most of the Shandian inhabitants greeted the fleet and assisted them with carrying supplies and treasure. “Papa~!” Sweet Dream gushed when he saw his adoptive father, who has long straight hair with both sides of his head shaved a bit. He has a tattoo of red claws on his chest. His clothes consist of a fur coat around his shoulders, long dark brown pants, and well built leather boots. Amada smiles to see the teenage Shandian boy. “Hello, Powhatan…~” She greeted her beau. “Hello, Amada…~” He responded before kissing her.

“Where’s Wendigo? Is he supposed to be with you?” Dark Rainbow came up and asked him. The older boy’s smile flew as he sighs, earning concern from the girl. “Dark Rainbow… He’s injured right now…” Powhatan told her. Dark Rainbow is shocked to hear that. Wendigo being injured never happened before. While she always knows that Wendigo can be reckless sometimes but he knows how to be careful.

She sees her beloved, a Shandian preteen boy who has torn wings and a pair of antlers, on a stretcher with bandages around his chest and arms. He is completely unconscious with a bruise on his face. His left nostril has a tissue inside to prevent further bleeding.

“Who attacked him?! Who shot him?! Tell me!” She demanded to know. “It was the Raspberry Pirates... They attacked us as we were heading back to the island…” Dark Rainbow heard from the Shandian doctor who is treating him. “I will have to take him to the medic tree for a while…” He continued before leaving with Wendigo on the stretcher.

“They were quite a challenge... Fortunately, we have no casualties and there are no lethal injuries… However, Wendigo is badly wounded… It will take days for him to recover…” Powhatan explained. Dark Rainbow fumes up internally. She is feeling anger towards the Raspberry Pirates on how they brutally injured her Wendigo. She then walks back to the Shandian territory, causing Amada to ask her, “What are you going to do…?”

“I need to go hunting tonight…~”

********

Somewhere in the New World, a pirate ship is speeding through the ocean. Its jolly roger has the typical skull and crossbones but it also has raspberries around it and one big raspberry behind it. It is the Raspberry Pirates, the pirate crew that fought the Lost Boys Pirates, most particular the Shandian Fleet, in order to loot them. They were unsuccessful but did manage to injure several of them severely.

The captain of the Raspberry Pirates is on the quarterdeck, looking back to the ocean in order to make sure that they aren’t followed. He shouts at his crew, “Make sure that none of those brats are following us!”

“Yes, captain!” His crew responded to him. The captain walks down the deck as he thinks about his crew’s attack on the Lost Boy Pirates. ‘Glad we escape those savage brats... If it’s true, hurting one of them would show that we’re a bigger threat…’ He wondered in his thoughts. One of the pirates is steering the ship’s helm and sees something flying in the sky, earning his confusion. “What’s that...?” Another one puzzled as to the other one checks by his binoculars to see it clearly.

The captain notices that several crew members are looking at the sky, which frustrates him. “What are you doing standing around?!” He chastised them. The pirate with binoculars only responded with, “Uhh... captain...?” This caused the irate captain to comes down. “What is it?!” He angrily inquired. The pirate with binoculars articulated in fear. “There's a HARPY coming toward us!!!” The captain is shocked about this. “A harpy?!” He took the binoculars and look through them. Then he could see the girl with harpy features flying towards the ship. It is Dark Rainbow in her full beast form and she appears to be livid.

The captain paled as he drops the binoculars. “Oh god! Get the guns ready!” He barked at his crew. They followed his command and held up their guns. The captain commanded them to fire at the “harpy”, which they did. However, Dark Rainbow easily dodged the bullets with her gliding skills. Then, she grabbed one of them by the shoulders and smiled at him before dropping him to the ocean.

Dark Rainbow flew back to the ship, revealing her talons to the crew. The captain shouted, “Keep firing!”. Suddenly, Dark Rainbow clawed one of the pirates' face, causing them to bleed violently. The pirate screamed in pain as she grabs his neck and flew up. The captain panics when the Lost Girl throws the pirate into the crew.

She turns her attention to the captain and flies towards him. The Raspberry Captain is about to aim his flintlock at her but Dark Rainbow clawed his hand, causing him to drop it. Then she bites his neck and the captain coughs up blood. “Captain!” His crew shouted in horror. Dark Rainbow flies up and bites harder, weakening his neck. She sadistically smiles at him, “Shouldn’t have hurt my hubby...~” This shocked and confused the captain, before realizing what she meant.

Dark Rainbow then finally snapped his neck with immense force. The captain’s last breath hitched before snapped dead. His crew watched in terror as she cackled and carried the body away.

*********

The early morning sun is shining onto Wendigo’s bed. He whined as he tried to get up. He looks around to look for Dark Rainbow but she is nowhere to be found. “Good morning…~” He turns to see Thad-Butt, a LongLeg doctor who is treating him.

“Ah... good morning…” Wendigo hissed by the injury. ”Take it easy... You still need to recover from yesterday…” Thad-Butt cautioned. Wendigo sighs as he rests back down on the cot. “Also, Happy Thimbles Day...~” Thad Butt hummed. This caused Wendigo to remember the gift he got for her. “Dark Rainbow must be dying to see you right now...~” Thad-Butt said as he walked out to get more healing dust.

Wendigo then starts to question where Dark Rainbow is before hearing her from a distance. She flies in before transforming back into a human and is holding a basket* “Good morning, Wendigo~” She smiled sweetly. “Dark Rainbow....~!” Wendigo beamed.

The girl walked towards him. “How are you feeling...~?” The boy with antlers responded with “A little better...~”. Dark Rainbow suspected that he must be hungry. Wendigo’s stomach grumbling confirmed her suspicions. “Good thing that I’m here with meat pies...~” She said.

“Meat pies..~?!” This caused Wendigo to be excited. He loves Dark Rainbow’s meat pies as they are his favorites. She shows him several heart-shaped meat pies. The crust looks like it is made with choux pastry. It doesn’t look under or overstuffed. It has the perfect amount in the pie. Then she whispers to his ear. “The special ingredient is the Raspberry Pirates Captain...~” He got even more excited.

“I also go you this~” Wendigo gives her a wooden box that has a crow carved on it. Dark Rainbow, curiously, opens the box. It is a pair of opal earrings, looted from a Kau merchant ship. Dark Rainbow’s pupilless eyes shined in gratitude and happiness. She kissed him as he kissed back. Wendigo whined a bit in pain but the love from her overwhelmed it.

“Happy Thimbles Day, Wendigo~” She smiled at him. “Thank you, Dark Rainbow~” He responded.

[macybeckham7]

Sugar Plum Fairy

Part five

There was currently a thunderstorm over London, a flash of lightening that filled the darken room was what woke YN up, and the sudden crash of lightening was what jolted her up in her bed. Everyone who knows her, knows just how much she is terrified of storms. She let out a small whimper another rumble of thunder appeared right above her block of flats, with the heating suddenly going silent.

She peered over her duvet that she flung over her head to ‘protect’ herself. And realised that the storm has just caused a power cut.

She aimlessly tried to find her phone and managing to drop a few things on the floor. She turned on her torch and looked around her bedroom trying to find something to do. The light fell on some fluffy throws and instantly remembered the time her and Harry made a fort.

‘Come on let’s make a fort’ Harry suggests. ‘Come on it’ll be fun’ he smiles, noticing the unimpressed look she was giving him.

The two of them start making the biggest and greatest fort that anyone would see, the two laughed and joked with eachother. They jumped into the large fort at the side of the bed and snuggled into eachother as they got the iPad and started to watch American Horror Story, to pass the time when the two of them were all over one another.

‘I don’t think I’ve met anyone this scared about the thunder’ Harry admits as he holds her trembling body.

‘I’ve had a traumatic experience’ she mutters against his neck.

He pulls away and looks down at her seeing her large eyes. He wanted to know what had happened but he didn’t want to push. Realising that he’ll have to be her support whenever there was a thunderstorm.

It was only now she realised how many ‘no power/ thunderstorm’ parties where they would make forts, tell ghost stories, bake cookies at 3am. Anything that would get your mind off the storm or to pass by the many hours of no power.

She looked down at her phone and contemplated texting him. She didn’t know what she would say but she felt like he’d make her feel safe. Her phone screen lights up and it was from her mother asking if she was alright. There goes my plan just running to my mum she thought.

She giggled to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair and tied it up, she grabbed the fluffy throws and walked to the lounge. She started lighting candles around to get the light and turning on any light that was battery related. As she was looking through drawers she stumbled across a polaroid.

It read in Harry’s writing ‘Thunderstorm party’ with the date and time. It was of the two of you pulling funny faces.

‘Stop being sucha wuss’ YN joked as she tried and failed to get the under eye strips under her boyfriends eyes.

He leaned away from her. ‘Oh yeah I’m the wuss’ he jokes gaining a playful punch on the arm from her. ‘Can’t we just have sex again’ he smirks.

‘I’m starting to think you like the forts more than me’ she jokes, as she moves away from him not allowing the kiss.

‘Best way to kill time, killing two birds with one stone. Getting your mind off the storm and getting you under me’ he winks as she fake gags.

She gently places the under eye mask on him as he lets out a small hiss. She gently kisses his nose making the two giggle.

The two decide to make some Yn best brownies, they both light so many candles that it was definitely a fire risk. Harry keeps trying to start a food fight as he gets flour on her, making her grimace but ignore his attempts, they was under she cracked an egg on his head. They both looked just as shocked at eachother before YN giggled, she tries to escape but he was too quick at wrapping his arms around her and starts attacking her side with her falling a heap on the floor, he sits and jumps on her which makes her cackle.

Harry had woken up as soon as he heard the first thunder crash, he found himself on the sofa with his girlfriend snuggled up beside him, they had both just fallen asleep during a movie marathon. The first thought that ran through his mind was YN. Wondering if she was alright, wondering if she was alone during the storm.

He reached out for his phone and scrolled down to her name on his contacts, his thumb hovered over her name.

....

There was a sudden knock on the door that made YN jump, as she sat on the living room floor as she went through fan letters while she scoffed her face with a tub of icecream. She hums as she licks her spoon before standing up and hopping towards the front door with her phone in her hand with the touch.

She opened the door slightly before blinding the person at the door.

‘Jheez’ he groaned as he shields his face.

She was shocked to see Harry on her doorstep, that would of been the last person she’d expect.

‘Can I come in?’ He asks.

She doesn’t answer and she doesn’t move out the way. ‘I’ve brought a chinese’ he smiles.

She slowly steps to the side and watches as he walks through the door and she follows quietly behind him.

‘What are you doing here?’ She was the first one to cut the silence.

He sits down on the sofa and placing the food bag on the coffee table.

‘I’ve promised you that I wouldn’t let you spend a thunderstorm alone, and I’ve stuck to my word’ he explains as he hands her the chow mein.

She hums. ‘You also said you wouldn’t break my heart and promised it was safe with you’ she sassed.

He nods. ‘I deserved that’

He throw her a fortune cookie which she catches easily, the two of them open the red package before they cracked the cookie in half. Harry watched her every move, he couldn’t help but feel like she was the most beautiful girl he had looked at. Everything about her was so perfect, her amazing sense of humour, a beautiful soul and drop dead gorgeous face to make her all rounded. He had finally realised how much no one else could compare.

His phone started to ring which made YN look up from reading her fortune, she looked at him as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked at the caller ID, to see it was his girlfriend, he grimaced as he realised that she must of woken up which means that he’ll have to explain why he weren’t in bed with her at midnight.

He denied the call as he clears his throat awkwardly.

‘Girlfriend?’ YN questioned, as she took a large forkful in her mouth. ‘Why are you here?’ She questioned.

He awkwardly shifts in his seat.

‘What does your fortune cookie say?’ He changes the subject.

‘A gambler not only will lose what he has, but also will lose what he doesn’t have’ she reads out, before handing it to him.

She watches as he reads it before his eyes find hers again.

‘I meant what I said you know, I’m still in love with you’ he says softly.

She starts playing with her food so she didn’t have to look at him.

‘You are just in love with the thought, you can just remember all of our good memories, you can just see me everywhere you look because I can with you, and it’s just easy to say we made a mistake but we both know it was best for the two of us’ he explained.

‘Do you believe that? Or are you just saying that?’ He questions.

Her face grimaced. ‘I’m saying you obviously thought it was the right thing to do, why go back? You moved on H, you can’t just turn up out the blue and mess two girls who you say you love about’ she explains. ‘It’s not fair’ she says getting emotional.

He puts his food on the side and gets closer to her. He gently takes her hand and rubs the back of her hand to comfort her.

‘I tried to move on, I did but I couldn’t.. I can’t live without you’ he says softly. ‘I thought I was being good to let you chase your dreams, and even though I am so proud of you for you achieving them, I just want you by my side’ he says confidently.

Her face softens, before she is stands up. ‘You broke me, you rang me and just ripped my heart out and just left to bleed out, if you cared nearly half as much as you said, you would of had the balls to do it properly’ she snapped as she paced.

She felt completely overwhelmed and stressed thanks to thunderstorm outside as well as her ex currently inside her apartment.

He got up and stopped. He took her hands gently and caressed her cheek.

‘I didn’t really think it through if I’m being honest, I just needed to get out’ he explained.

She let out a small dry laugh. ‘You needed to get out? You bailed because I didn’t give your cock enough attention!’ She took aim.

Harry let out a deep sigh. ‘Is that’s why you’re here? Your girlfriend isn’t giving it enough attention again? You want me to get on my knees?’ She questioned.

He tried to get ahold of her but she just slapped his hands away from her.

‘DON’T- Don’t fucking touch me!’ She snapped. ‘I don’t want this’ she mutters. ‘I don’t want to hate you and maybe time will let me heal’

They stood opposite each other as he gently caressed her cheek, he leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth before she rests her head on his shoulder.

.....

YN was sat in one of the small rooms backstage, stretching for the show this evening. She noticed a crew member walk over to her with some of her favourite flowers, she knelt down and handed them to her.

‘I’m started to get offended, you are getting all the beautiful bouquet of flowers and I’m not having any’ your friend joked.

YN ignored her as she picked the white envelope and opened it to see the note, which made her heart rate rise.

Sugar Plum Fairy, I wish you nothing but love, I hope you will be able to heal