#im gonna have to quit and scramble to find a job to hold me the next 10 weeks

[forgottencartoons]

.

[mae-gi-writes]

Jealous | Kevin Moon (The Boyz)

Your mission is to get your boyfriend jealous. What better way to do this by fawning over Stray Kids?

Genre: slight nfsw? Idk its kinda hot? And female reader insert.

A/N: inspired by my convos with @seraplantery and @chaoticdeobi Kevin would be about me thirsting over Chan. Also idk what I wrote im sorry TT > TT

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Jealousy had never been in Kevin Moon’s vocabulary. And you were damn certain it would never be.

That doesn’t mean you never try pushing his buttons every time you can, though.

“How can he be so hot?” You mutter to yourself, loud enough that it reaches your boyfriend’s ears. It’s a late lazy Sunday afternoon and you two are taking this time to unwind and relax, mentally preparing for the full week of work ahead. While Kevin is busy doodling across his sketchbook like he normally is, you take this time to catch up on the multiple kpop performances you’d missed earlier this year. 

And boy, have you missed out.

“Oh my god,” your lips go round as your eyes widen as big as saucers, gaze permanently fixed on the screen giving way to eight hot men dominating the stage with their fiery charisma and strong choreography, “Oh my-- holy shit I think I fell pregnant.” 

Kevin’s voice permeates through the hot summer air, “What you watching?” 

“Stray Kids,” you say absentmindedly as your eyes follow one particular member’s every moves. While you had fallen out of touch with the kpop world -- and you blame this on the concept of having a job and actually now going through adult life like anyone should be -- that doesn’t mean that you don’t get your phases, especially with one of your favourite groups you’ve been following since their debut.

“Stray Kids?”

“Yeah, jesus christ Kev-- Chan’s arms are to die for.” 

Admittedly, you wouldn’t have been so vocal about admiring other men if it’s not for your silent experiment of whether Kevin Moon will finally bite at the bait jiggling before his face. He’d be an idiot not to. 

But considering he is never even aware when other men look at you, you doubt that this time is going to be different. So you continue on:

“He’s not even my type of guy you know? I usually go for the tall skinny ones but somehow--he’s just so charismatic onstage. And did I tell you he’s Australian? I mean I’m not fond of Aussie accents but I don’t know I find it really sexy on him--”

“Woah Y/N, look at you. Talking as if you don’t have a boyfriend,” sarcasm drips from Kevin’s alto, causing your head to slowly turn with surprise, an eyebrow arching slowly at the way he seems hunched and rigid over his blank piece of paper, pen held so tightly in his grip it might snap in two.

“Kevin,” you draw out slowly as you try to hide your grin, “is that...jealousy I hear?” 

He scoffs, “I don’t get jealous."

"Sure could've proved me wrong."

Reverting your attention back to the screen just in time to catch a glimpse of Bang Chan's smile, you sighed in bliss, "his abs, though."

There is silence from Kevin's part, causing your lips to tilt into a small smirk of victory as you click on the next video that follows. You know him all too well that you assume he will probably sulk for the next hour that follows, and you're content with that, considering that you're not at fault.

You're too engrossed in your video that you barely realize that a shadow hangs behind your shoulder, before an arm shoots out to close your laptop.

You whip around with a scowl, "hey! What--"

But no sooner are you protesting that you feel Kevin's arms haul you up, turning so quickly you can barely register anything but the soft mattress welcoming your figure as you are plopped onto it, Kevin's frame hovering over yours. His face is all but amused.

Laughter bubbles up your throat, "what the --"

It cuts off into a gasp upon feeling his arms hooking around the back of your thighs to pull you closer, lips mere inches above yours and dark orbs gazing down at you with a thunderous depth. It halts any further comment you are about to make, takes your breath away.

Something warm coils within your stomach.

You are a little breathless when you say, "y-yes?"

"You want me to be jealous?" His lips curl slightly, eyes narrowing down at you while fingers ghost over your thighs, his touch igniting a series of sparks in his wake, "I'll show you jealous."

And then he's kissing you. Hard mouth on yours, intense. Demanding.

That's not the Kevin you know but somehow desire pools through you. He's never been this...aggressive.

He is holding your frame against his, fingers so firm and pressing on the back of your thighs before slowly slipping up to cup your ass. You gasp in response, hands automatically lifting to grab his shoulders only for his to grab them instead and pin them down by your face. His head tilts, lips moving to your rhythm and dominating your tongue the moment you gasp into his mouth.

The softest grunts rumbles up his throat when your hips buck up on instinct. He murmurs against your mouth, "not so chatty now, are we?"

"I--"

And then his mouth is latching onto your jaw, peppering a trail of warm kisses that makes your heart beat twice as hard, your body writhing with the delicious sensation of wanting him. He devours your neck, growling with satisfaction when he urges your fingers down onto the mattress to stop any attempts of escape. That's hot.

You're practically seeing stars at this point, the sounds of his soft suckling evocating a sensation of heat deep within your belly that your legs wrap around his waist on their own accord to pull him closer. And the moment his firm length presses onto your heat, he lets out a moan that has you trembling.

"If I knew how you'd react--" you stop to moan softly as he grinds his hips into yours. Lord, "I would've done it more often."

"What, that's your kink?" His breath ghosts over your skin at your collarbone now. You struggle against him wanting nothing more than to run your hands through his glossy raven locks and to scratch your nails down his back. But his fingers squeeze firmly nibbling at the skin of your shoulder, "you like seeing me jealous?"

"Hm, I won't say the contrary," you breathe out.

Ensuring that one of his hands cage your wrists together, his other slips down to trace your neck, the dip of your breasts, ghosting over your side before trickling down the inner side of your thigh. You take a shaky inhale. Waiting.

He's looking at you now, gauging every reaction that you gift him with like you're a fascination he can't quite make out and the intensity makes you squirm.

Slowly, oh so slowly that it makes your toes curl, Kevin starts a slow, sensual path of kisses down the middle of your chest and air gets stuck in your throat the more you watch him, practically holding back a whimper with every searing touch he imprints upon your skin.

He kisses down your navel, nipping and biting as he does while his heated breaths send waves of heat up your spine. At some point he releases your hands to grasp your waist and they instantly tangle in his hair, emitting a grunt from the said man.

He continues his sensual search using his mouth, hot breath fanning against your skin down the sides of your thighs, landing on final peck to your knee, before rearing back up to hover above your pelvis and finally tilting his face up to yours.

And that makes your breath catch in your throat. For in Kevin's eyes you read the dark desire, the craving he holds for you, the longing.

Your heart jolts to a stop. You swear you stop breathing as your gazes lock.

A beat passes. You swallow hard. Suddenly vulnerable under his hooded stare.

Then, before your brain can scramble for coherence, the raven-haired man leans over. He presses a kiss.

Right on your sex.

A sound between a mewl and a whimper escapes your lips.

You gape at him. He smirks back, thoroughly satisfied.

Slowly, he hoists up until his lips hover yours once more and at this point, you're pretty sure you're dead. What with the speed of your heart rate practically vaulting out of your chest.

"Well," he murmurs while one of his hands keep tracing up and down your side, "I guess I can leave you to ogle at your kpop boys--"

His words are interrupted by you shooting out to grab his t-shirt, pulling him down to kiss him. And oh, does he kiss back like a starved man, grunting and growling as your fingers tangle up in his locks to pull him even closer as your teeth sink upon his bottom lip. He gasps.

You pull away slowly then --merely coming up for air -- and gaze into his dark, bottomless orbs, "the only one I'm gonna ogle tonight is you."

His breath halts for a minute. He stares at you, eyes darting back and forth between your eyes and your lips.

And then, a crooked grin spreads across his face.

"I like the sound of that."

[kookingtae]

the equation of love (pt. 10)

pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | pt 4 | pt 5 | pt 6 | pt 7 | pt 8 | pt 9 | pt. 10

professor yoongi x uni student reader

→scenario: When you met Yoongi in a club, you thought it was fate that brought the two of you together. But after you walked into your college math class for the very first time, you weren’t so sure anymore.

→genre: smut | fluff | angst

→word count: 10.5k

→a/n: alternatively: fuck it, it’s been five years and this wip has been staring at me for three of them, so im just gonna post it. i have not read this over since 2018, so pls dont judge me too harshly hhsdg it’s unedited and probably a bit cringy, but then again what ch of teol isnt? this is NOT all that i have planned for the series, but i figured something is better than nothing, right? and perhaps the saying better later than never applies here, too. maybe one day i’ll finally get around to finishing it (by then im sure no one will even be around to remember what teol is lmao) but until then, enjoy what ive been sitting on! and as always, if you’re still here, thank you for your endless patience and support with this series <3

→another a/n: after this will probably be an epilogue!

→tw: mentions of blackmail, r*pe and sexual assault (we mostly just get closure on the whole professor lee & jun situation!!)

→warning: this chapter is not a happy ending, but it’s not necessarily a BAD one either, so for those who don’t like to finish on an unhappy note, it’s up to you on whether you’d like to read it or wait for the epilogue to be posted!

Running water.

It was such a simple yet fascinating concept—atoms and molecules coming together to form the only substance on earth that has a natural state in all forms, while having the power to kill in three different ways. Solid, by hypothermia; liquid, by drowning; gas, by suffocation. This substance can take three different forms, yet it's most commonly a liquid, covering nearly 71% of the world with translucent bodies of water. Oceans, ponds, lakes—though the most enchanting of them all were rivers. They were always moving, crashing beyond rocks and bustling with the flow of the current and gravitational pull of the earth. Rivers were passionate, and strong, and no matter how hard one tried they couldn't break the whipping tide that was pushing against them. Nothing could cause the powerful force to falter.

But, like most things, even rivers must come to an end. The current stops flowing, and the waves stop breaking around the jagged rocks, and the powerful force that seemed it would never end dulls to a still, calm lull, as if the river was nothing more than a brief yet raging storm. All the passion, all the fight—over in a blink of an eye, left to dissipate into the mysteries of the vast ocean.

Staring down at the picture on the cell phone screen in front of me was like getting pulled by the current of a river; down, down, down I flowed until there was no river left around me and I was left stranded in the middle of the sea. Yoongi and I were once raging, and passionate, and ready to fight against anyone who tried to tear us down, but now the fight was over. We had been dragged too far, fading into a body of water that was not our own. This was bigger than us.

Yes, like the flow of a river, all things must come to an end.

"That's it," Yoongi gritted his teeth, and I felt the dip of the mattress beneath me as he rose to his feet in anger.

"Yoongi," I called his name in a warning tone, warily standing up from the bed and watching him move around the room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm over it," he said, hastily throwing the first articles of clothing he could grab from his drawers over his body. "I'm done dealing with all of this, Y/N! I'm going up to the school."

Despite the flare of determination that sparked in my heart at his words, his rage seeming to radiate off of him and onto me as well, I couldn't help the trepidation that I was also filled with; Yoongi didn't have a history of making rational decisions out of anger.

"Don't you think you should calm down first?" I offered, trying my best to match his pace around the room.

"No!" Yoongi suddenly skidded to a halt in front of me, his eyes wild and crazed. "I'm going to find her and I'm going to fucking kill her!"

I could only stand with a gaping mouth and watch as he stormed out of the room, leaving me with no choice but to pull on my old clothes and chase his stomping foot steps. He grabbed his keys before storming out of the apartment, down the stairs, and outside into the parking lot. I tried to ignore the blindingly bright sunlight as I squinted my eyes and continued after him.

"Follow me up to the school," Yoongi barked as he hopped into his car.

"Yoongi–" I started, but my consoling voice was cut off by the slam of his door. I frowned, scrambling to unlock my vehicle as his engine roared to life.

The drive to the university was a nerve-wracking one. I kept a watchful eye on Yoongi to make sure he wasn't speeding or swerving all over the road; they say you're not supposed to operate a vehicle while you're upset. Though it would seem my efforts were futile, because he did in fact speed and swerve, and all I could do was frown and try to keep up.

It wasn't that I wasn't angered by Professor Lee; I was furious, rage and disgust and frustration all stewing inside of me like a pot of water that was ready to boil over. But I just couldn't help but worry for Yoongi. I had always been the non-confrontational type, always hoping that with a little time things would get better if they were ignored long enough. But it would seem that my method was proven inefficient today, because as much as I had tried to ignore her antics, that wicked woman wouldn't stop at anything to make sure Yoongi and I were properly dragged through the mud and going down like a ship engulfed in flames. Yet as much as that angered me, I couldn't bare the thought of the turmoil it was causing Yoongi. I didn't know when I had started casting my own feelings aside and putting his above—it was a gradual thing rather than one, defining moment—but it was only another factor that proved how much I actually loved this man. And that very thought instilled a fear that shook me to the very bone.

We had a lot more to lose now than just his job and my education. We could be losing us. And that was more important now than it had ever been before.

Once we arrived at the university there were a lot of screeching brakes, messy parking and fumbling hands as I scrambled to catch up to his looming figure that seemed to stalk towards the building at an unnatural pace. The pounding of my heavy heartbeat was what drove me forward, anxiety rising with each quickened step that I took.

"Yoongi!" I yelled once I had lessened the distance between us, now dead center on the campus sidewalk. "Yoongi, wait!"

All of a sudden he whirled around, his abrupt halt causing me to crash straight into his chest. I let out a yelp in surprise, eyes wide and ready to interrogate him, before I felt the smooth curvature of his palms on either side of my face as he tilted my head up to his and slammed his mouth onto mine.

The world stopped spinning for a moment, everything around me fading into the motions of his plush skin, his soft lips exploding with flavor and spilling over my tastebuds, satisfying my thirst in a way that no water ever could. I didn't even question it for a second before I was melting into him, quite literally becoming putty in his hands as the rest of the world instantaneously escaped my mind.

It's funny the way that worked—the way he was able to completely erase everything that had once existed in the blink of an eye, just by his simple touch. Whether it was magic, or I was just that fucking whipped, I didn't know. But either way, I didn't possess the power to stop it even if I wanted to.

When Yoongi finally broke away, he was breathing heavily, his breath fanning across my face in cool puffs of air. "I don't care what anyone thinks anymore," he spoke onto my lips, his forehead pressing against mine with a firm force. "Let them see. The only thing I care about is you."

It was then that I was suddenly aware of our surroundings, the reality of our world crashing down around me as I glanced around at all the eyes watching us. It varied; there were those choosing to spare us a glance as they walked to and from their classes, those who stalled their current actions to lift their heads to us not once, not twice, but three times, and then there were those who stopped altogether, their widened eyes and slackened jaws dead giveaways that they knew exactly who Yoongi was: Professor Min, Algebra 101 instructor.

A stroke of his thumb across my cheek brought my attention back to him; I stared up into his eyes, the desperate look in them captivating me and making it impossible to look away. His chest was rising and falling beneath his shirt, his fingers were grappling at my face as he brushed my wisps of hair out of the way, silently begging me to understand, to agree with him.

And in that moment, I knew what I had to do.

My lungs were filled with a breath of newfound determination, dazed and driven by Yoongi's words and embrace. "I love you," I spoke with conviction, caressing the nape of his neck as if to give him more reassurance. "Let's go.”

With that I grabbed his hand, holding my head high for the rest of the campus to see as I started up Yoongi's stride towards the school's building. He was right beside me, weaving his fingers through mine and giving my hand an extra squeeze as if to say that he was here, that he was proud to let the world know that I was his and he was mine, and that he wasn't going anywhere.

We were going to take down Professor Lee.

The seminar room was empty of students when we stormed in. Seats were placed throughout the floor, papers were scattered on the desks, and Professor Lee was at the front of the room, fiddling with the cords from the projector screen.

At the sound of the door opening, her head snapped up. "Well well well, look what we have here," she smirked when she saw us, making no plans to move as she saw me marching over to her. "You know, I really don't think–"

Slap!

The impact of my palm to her face cut off her words, skin on skin contact crackling through the room and echoing into a deafening silence.

Professor Lee gasped, immediately grasping where a red mark was now forming on her cheek before looking up at me with wild eyes. "You just slapped me!" She cried in disbelief.

"You're damn right I did," I gritted my teeth, taking a threatening step towards her and raising my palm. "Want me to do it again?"

It was then that I felt Yoongi's hand on my back, the feeling having an instant calming effect over my senses whether he wanted it to or not. I sighed before visibly relaxing and lowering my hand.

"You're barbaric!" Professor Lee was foaming at the mouth, still holding her face with a slack jaw. "Are you forgetting that I'm a professor? When Dr. Kim finds out about this, I swear he'll–"

"Tell him!" I roared as loud as my vocal chords would let me. "Tell whoever, tell the whole world, I don't fucking care! I'm done with your bullshit, you selfish psychotic witch!"

With that I gave her one final shove against her shoulders, and when both of her hands flew out to grab ahold her surroundings in an effort to keep from falling over, I planted another slap right across her face. The impact stung my hand, but I didn't care. Seeing Professor Lee stumble through the air was worth it.

"Baby," Yoongi spoke in a gentle yet warning tone next to me, and I had almost forgotten he was there until I felt his grip slightly tighten around my waist. It was a comforting hold, as if to say he completely trusted and supported whatever I chose to do in this situation, but still a protective hold nonetheless. He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get myself hurt.

"You know, what is your problem, exactly?" I tilted my head at her as she struggled to get her bearings straight. "Is there an actual reason you're doing all of this, or are you just mentally insane?"

"It–it's not right!" Professor Lee stuttered with wide eyes, raising a shaky finger to point at me and Yoongi. "Your relationship, it's–"

"Oh cut the bullshit, Sara," Yoongi let out a sound of disgust from beside me. "We all know that's not why."

"I... I..." she stumbled for words, wide eyes glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Who do you guys think you are? You can't just storm in here and start attacking me–"

I took a menacing step forward, pure rage making up for what I lacked in intimidation. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I fumed, reaching out to grab her again.

"No, please!" She suddenly cowered before I could get to her, shielding her head away from me with her arms. "I—Yoongi, I'm in love with you!"

Her confession sent me reeling backwards in a downwards spiral, my body instantly going limp as I watched her with a dumbfounded expression. A vast silence echoed throughout the room that could be cut with a knife before she finally spoke again.

"Ever since you started working here, I knew you were the one. I just knew it." Her voice was sad, exhausted now, and a look of defeat washed over her features.

"What?" Yoongi gaped in disbelief. "Sara, that was two years ago!"

"I know!" She spat harshly. "You don't think I know that? For two years, I had to deal with this silly crush I had on you. I had to spend every day with you, watching it bloom into love overtime, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"You could've just told me!" Yoongi exclaimed as if that was the obvious answer.

Professor Lee snorted humorlessly. "Yeah, and be made a fool of? No thanks." She lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Sara, we're grown adults. You could've acted like one and fucking said something to me about it, made a move, anything but drag my career under the bus!" Yoongi's voice was strained now, his eyes wide as if silently begging her to understand him while he was equally trying to understand her.

"I was going to!" She lashed out again while whipping her head up towards him. "I was working up the courage to ask you out on a date, and then I see that fucking slut on your lap and I–"

"Don't you dare call Y/N that," Yoongi suddenly growled, pushing past me and stepping towards her intimidatingly. "One more thing out of your mouth about her and I swear to god I will kill you right here, right now."

My breath hitched in my throat at his threat and I couldn't help but weave my arm around his to grab his hand, intertwining our fingers and squeezing tightly. He gripped mine back even tighter, as if he was desperately trying to latch onto whatever calming effect I seemed to have over him.

Professor Lee swallowed, choosing to stay silent and watch him carefully as jagged breaths rose and fell from her chest. "The point is," she continued on, "I saw you with someone else—someone who wasn't me. And that completely tore my heart to shreds."

"So the only solution is to ruin our lives," I chimed in sarcastically.

"I may not have gone about it the best way," she quickly gritted her teeth and shot me a glare before turning her attention back to Yoongi, "but I had to act on instinct. I still wanted to be with you, so I figured that maybe if I split the two of you up, you would have no one else to turn to but me."

Yoongi just stared at her, his face scrunched up in a mix of confusion and disgust. "Do you know how sick and twisted that is?" He asked.

"All I ever wanted was to be with you, Yoongi," she pleaded, her tone vulnerable now as she took a tentative step towards him and started to raise her hand up to caress his cheek. "I still do. It's not too late; we can leave now, just you and me and forget this whole thing–"

"Don't fucking touch me," he knocked her hand away with his forearm just before it could reach his face. "If you think I'm going anywhere with you, you're even crazier than I thought." He then stepped back to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me securely into his side. "I'm in love with Y/N, and I don't give a shit what rumors you or anyone else wants to spread about it. You're fucking pathetic."

At that moment there was the sound of a door bursting open, causing the three of us to turn our attention to the entrance of the room. There, standing in the doorway, was Dr. Kim.

The sight of him immediately deflated the elation I was feeling from Yoongi's words, instantly replacing them with a sense of anxiety and fear that lodged its way into my throat until I was sure I would die from suffocation. This was it; according to the text from Professor Lee, he had already seen the picture of me and Yoongi kissing. This was the moment that would decide our future forever.

I just hoped we had enough evidence against Professor Lee for him to take our side.

"So let me get this straight." Dr. Kim folded his hands on the dark oak wood of his office desk. "Professor Min and Y/N had relations before Y/N became a student here, while Yoongi was unaware of her age?"

"Yes sir," Yoongi nodded his head in assurance.

"And then you continued your relationship, even after finding out that she was your student."

"He didn't at first," I interjected in hopes of getting some of the heat off of Yoongi. "He tried to call it off, but I kept pushing it. The reason we got back together during school was my fault, not his."

Yoongi's eyes met mine from the chair next to me, his gaze seeming to hold the words that silently spoke that's not true, and I instantly knew what he was thinking. In actuality, he had been the one to give me after-school tutoring on that Saturday during the homecoming football game, not I. He had been the one to kiss me first that day. But there was no way in hell I would ever tell that to the dean.

"I don't care whose fault it is; all that matters is that it happened," Dr. Kim frowned. "And it's still happening if I'm not mistaken, correct?"

"I... um," my eyes flickered to Yoongi, every fiber of my being starting to fill with panic. Shit, we should've discussed this beforehand. I wasn't going to willingly rat Yoongi out, no matter how many times he's said he didn't care anymore if people knew about us.

Suddenly I felt the warm, soft sensation of skin wrapping around the curvature of my hand that was resting atop the wooden armrest. "Yes, it's still happening," Yoongi spoke, and then his fingers were intertwining with mine.

I practically choked on my own spit at his words; did this boy have a death wish? A cough came sputtering out of my lungs, the sound causing everyone in the room to look at me until I'd settled down. Even Professor Lee leaned forward from her seat on the other side of Yoongi, bewilderment written all over her expression as she gave me a look of disgust.

"Well there's your proof right there." She threw her hands up in defeat before gesturing to the two of us. "What more do you need? Expel them, Dr. Kim."

"B–but that's not it!" I suddenly exclaimed and lurched forward, feeling the heat of everyone's stare on our embraced hands, which in turn only made me grip him even harder for support. "Dr. Kim, you have to believe me when I tell you that Professor Lee has worked hard to make my life a living hell ever since I got to this school. She had a vendetta against me; she's in love with Yoongi, and so she–"

"That's not true!" Professor Lee screeched.

"She worked to turn people against us rather than coming to you because she wanted to blackmail Yoongi into being with her," I ignored her interjection and continued. "She even made a seminar about it—the mandatory seminar that everyone attended today!"

The dean turned his attention towards her. "The seminar about the importance of practicing safe sex?" He questioned in bewilderment.

My eyes practically bulged out of my head at his words; that's what she was telling everyone it was about?

"It was!" She scrambled in defense. "I mean I... I may have brought up Yoongi and Y/N as an example, but that's only because they fit the part! Y/N had a pregnancy scare not too long ago, and I didn't want the same thing to happen to our students!"

I felt the color draining from my face, blanching it a stone cold white and decimating any feeling I had left in my body.

How the fuck did she know about the pregnancy?

My head instantly whipped towards Yoongi to see if he had any logical explanation for this, and his face was as poised and stoic as ever in front of his two colleagues—but I could see through it. I knew him well enough to catch onto the slightest falter in his blinking, the increase in heat that collected between our palms, the small twitch of his mouth that would've gone unnoticed by anyone else who observed him. I knew there was no way he could've told Professor Lee about the pregnancy, because he was just as blindsided as I was.

Dr. Kim simply raised his eyebrows in interest before turning back to Yoongi and me.

"Dr. Kim," Yoongi spoke, his voice dripping with amusement, "I mean no disrespect, but do you honestly think that if Y/N had a pregnancy scare, we would tell Sara about it? Come on; not after all she did to us."

"They—they didn't tell me!" Professor Lee huffed out a desperate breath. "I overheard them while I was–"

"While you were what?" I interrupted with a raise of my eyebrow. "While you were spying on us to find any blackmail you could use on Yoongi?"

"N–no!" She stuttered, though at this point it was obvious that she was making up lies on the spot. "While I was walking past the classroom!"

"Why would we be talking about that with the door open?!"

"Enough!" Dr. Kim barked, his deep voice rumbling throughout the small office. We all grew silent as we turned our attention to him. "There will be no arguing of he said/she said in my office," he scolded, then turned his attention to Yoongi before speaking. "I understand that there was someone you wanted me to see?"

Yoongi, who had remained calm during all of this, simply nodded his head before releasing my hand. "Yes, sir," he said as he stood up and walked towards the door.

My eyebrows were knitted in confusion as I watched it all transpire: the words exchanged between the two men, Yoongi rising out of his seat, the sight of my biology professor being revealed behind the closed door. The whole thing came as a surprise to me, and my emotions seemed to be having a war between the shock and relief that I felt raging like a storm in the pit of my stomach.

Why didn't Yoongi tell me about Professor Park being involved in this discussion? When did he have time to ask her to come? Did it even matter at this point?

"Professor Park," Dr. Kim widened his eyes, his frame physically reclining back in his seat. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"As am I to be here," she smiled though her voice was venomous, eyes flashing to a very alarmed Professor Lee.

"Mia?!" The woman barked in disbelief at her friend's entrance. "What are you doing here?"

"Something I should've done a long time ago," Professor Park replied, and with that she turned towards the dean and opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm here to testify on the behalf of Min Yoongi and Y/N."

Earth-shattering elation rippled through me from the inside out, starting at the base of my toes and spiraling to the top of my head and the tips of my fingers, causing them to tingle and buzz with a newfound sense of hope. We might actually have a chance!

"What?!" Professor Lee's voice ripped through the air in a deafening screech. "This isn't a court case! You don't get to play witness!"

"Actually, if Professor Park has witnessed anything, I would definitely like to know," Dr. Kim chimed in, raising an eyebrow towards my biology professor.

Professor Park nodded her head towards him in appreciation before speaking. "A few months ago Sara approached me in my classroom to tell me about the nasty rumors that were surrounding her and a student. She singled the student out, saying to purposely damage their grades because they were treating her unfairly and disrespecting her rules and authority as a professor; she even went so far as to say that they were sending her death threats"

"What?!" The word ripped from my throat faster than I could blink as I stared jaw-dropped at the women in the room.

"That's not true!" Professor Lee instantly protested as expected. "Sir, I can assure you that I never–"

"I have the text messages if you want," Professor Park offered in a tone so nonchalant one would've thought she was conversing about the weather.

Dr. Kim raised an eyebrow. "Text messages? I thought you said she came by your class?"

"She did, sir." Mia interlaced her fingers in front of her and bowed her head politely. "We spoke about it on multiple occasions. I asked why she wouldn't just go to you, or even the authorities if the student was making death threats, but Sara was adamant. She didn't want any scandals revolving around her so that she could maintain the level of professionalism that she had developed here."

I heard a snort coming from next to me, and it was with a swollen heart of pride that I realized the sound came from Yoongi trying to hold in a laugh.

Professionalism? Her? I had never heard anything so far fetched in my life.

Sara simply glared as Mia ignored him and continued. "She assured me that the best way to deal with this pesky student was to slowly start to fail them, and I'll admit, I was angry for her. Sara was my friend, and I respected her enough to believe what she was telling me and follow her requests." She turned her head to where I sat on the other side of Yoongi. "That student was you, Y/N. And I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for the way I handled things. You were treated unfairly and poorly due to false information."

"It wasn't false!" Professor Lee jumped in to defend herself, but everyone was pretty much ignoring her. Even the dean could tell she was playing the part of the boy who cried wolf at this point.

"I'd like to see those text messages, if you don't mind." Dr. Kim reached his hand out expectantly.

There was a brief moment of silence while Professor Park nodded and tapped away on her phone before handing it to him. His cold and calculated eyes scanned the screen while saying nothing, all three of us waiting with bated breath for him to come to a decision in his mind.

There was no where left for her to run. With these text messages, all the constant denying that Professor Lee has done will be proven false and she will be exposed for all the hell she's put me through this semester. My heart was practically bursting at the thought.

"Well I would've appreciated it if you ladies had come to me with this information instead of handling it amongst yourselves, true or not," Dr. Kim finally sighed before giving Sara his full attention. "Ms. Lee, you have three people accusing you. Even if you didn't do it, there's obviously something that's turning them against you. And here at this university we strive to hold cooperation and communication above all else. If you don't get along with the fellow staff here, then why should I believe that they're the problem and not you?"

"Um, because Min Yoongi is fucking his student?!" Professor Lee was fuming now, her upper body lurching forward in her seat and her hands gripping the arm rests for dear life. "He literally just admitted to it!"

"Language, Ms. Lee," Dr. Kim scolded calmly. "I still like to maintain a professional attitude here in my office."

"I apologize sir, but that's beside the point." She was sitting back in her seat now, though her tone was no less frantic. "Min Yoongi is in a relationship with his student, and staff cooperation or not, I don't really think that's in the teacher handbook." She raised a snarky eyebrow at us as if believing that she had finally won.

I knitted my eyebrows, my palms feeling slick with a nervous sweat against Yoongi's as I realized the bigger problem here. It wasn't whatever lies and schemes Professor Lee had cooked up with my biology teacher; it wasn't even Professor Lee herself. It was the fact that Yoongi and I were in a relationship, and that was going to have enough consequences alone to shake me to my very core with fear.

"She's right," Dr. Kim uttered the words that I was silently hoping he wouldn't say, my grip tightening on Yoongi as I anticipated whatever outcome he's decided. Our fate was in his hands.

"Of course I am." Professor Lee crossed her arms and sat back in her seat with a smug grin.

"I'm afraid I have no choice." He was shaking his head, frowning at us apologetically though the sentiment didn't reach his eyes. "Mr. Min, I am sorry to inform you that you will have to be forced to resign from our university."

The color instantly drained from my face, and with it pulling all five senses that I have into the depths of the earth until I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't speak—I could barely even breathe. There was a lump that was forming in my throat and settling deep within my gut, all of this feeling fake, too fake to be real.

Yoongi was fired, and it was all because of me.

"I understand, sir."

It was Yoongi's words that were pulling me from my fog of disbelief and devastation, my eyes blinking in an effort to snap back to reality as I looked from him to the dean. "No. No, there has to be something we can do, please!" I begged, my voice starting to get frantic the more the severity of the situation hit me. "I–I'll drop out! You don't have to worry about me ever coming near here again, just please, please don't fire him!"

"Y/N..." Yoongi's voice was quiet and full of resignation, defeat, but I wasn't giving up.

"Yoongi is an amazing professor who has worked here for, what, two years? He's extraordinary at what he does and students love him. It's not easy to find a professor like that everyday." I was staring into the eyes of the dean now, trying to move him with my words. "You shouldn't throw away someone as great as him just because of some stupid 18 year old's mistake! Please, Dr Kim." I leaned forward in my seat, the room silent as I spoke. "He wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me. Please, let me suffer the consequences, not him."

I continued to stare in Dr. Kim's eyes, silently channeling my emotions through the pleading expression in my eyes, and it wasn't until I felt a comforting hand on my back that I was instantly drawn away into a more calm state in my chair. I gazed over at the owner of the hand, and he flashed back that smile I loved except it was sad, and it didn't reach his eyes, and I could tell there was so much he wanted to say to me right now if we weren't in the confinement of his boss' office.

"I understand your efforts, Y/N, but there's nothing I can do." Dr. Kim shook his head, and it was as if the world around me was shattering into blades of glass, scraping at my skin and leaving bloody wounds that I knew would never heal. "Mr. Min was involved in this relationship as well, and no matter whose fault it is, the professor needs to be held accountable. There is a level of professionalism and maturity that he must possess in order to work here; he's your superior, a respectable authority figure, and so he should've known better."

It was all I could do to keep from crying as I lowered my eyes and shook my head, every inch of my heart breaking for Yoongi until all that was left were tiny fragments to scatter in the wind. I couldn't believe I'd done this to him. The very thing he'd been worried about from the start—I had ruined his career.

"It is our goal as a university to see our students succeed," he continued, though I could barely hear a thing. "As for you, Y/N, I see no reason as to why you shouldn't keep attending this university."

I blinked a few times, confused. "You want me to... what?"

"You will have a suspension on your student records, mind you, and one more of those will lead to expulsion," he explained. "Though that doesn't mean that you can't keep going to school here. You will have to meet with an advisor every two weeks, though, who will be keeping a close watch on your behavior."

I could barely even believe my ears; had my hearing been completely lost due to the shock of the situation? "That's totally a double standard!" I gestured to Yoongi in disbelief.

"Y/N, it's okay..." Yoongi tried to calm me down.

"No, it's not okay!" I roared, eyes wide and brows furrowed in disbelief as I glanced at him before turning back to the dean. "Where do you think you can get off by treating people like this? This is his career—his life!"

"That will be enough from you, Ms. Y/N," Dr. Kim bellowed in a stern voice as he frowned. "I'm doing you a favor here by letting you continue your education. Speak out against me one more time and I will be revoking that offer."

His words were deafening throughout the office; it was suddenly understandable why he was so feared by those who worked under him. Yoongi started to run his hand along my spine in a soothing manner, and though it helped relax my fiery nerves and clear my foggy mind, I was still just as upset—if not more, now that the information was beginning to settle in.

"So that's it then?" Professor Lee spoke for the first time in a while, her lips pressed into a firm line, obviously disappointed by the turn of events though she didn't dare to speak out against Dr. Kim as he had warned. "Yoongi gets fired and Y/N gets a free ride?"

"Not so fast, Ms. Lee." The dean turned to her. "What you did was beyond unprofessional. You violated several school policies as well as bullied a student! Do you think that type of behavior is acceptable as a professor?"

Professor Lee opened her mouth as if to protest before slowly shutting it again, realizing that she had nothing left that she hadn't already denied. It was obvious that the evidence given to him by Professor Park, who stood silent in the corner of the room, was incriminating enough to sway his decision.

"I'm sorry to have to inform you that you will be fired as well."

"What?!" Her shrill voice screeched through the air, tearing whatever I had left of my eardrums and rendering me deaf here in this office. "What I did was no where near as bad as Yoongi and Y/N!"

"If anything, it was worse." Dr. Kim folded his hands over his desk. "Let's not forget that you managed to involve the entire student body in a false seminar that maliciously exposed one of our students and professors," he raised an eyebrow at her, "and that was just today."

"Yeah, not to mention all the other shit you did behind my back to make my life a living hell," I couldn't help from interjecting in a heated tone, though I backed off upon seeing the dean's stern gaze.

He redirected his attention back to Sara. "Here at this university, we strive to have a professional relationship, safe environment, and healthy lifestyle for our students. Neither of you achieved those three goals, so both of you will have to be let go."

Yoongi's expression simply remained placid and free of any emotion while Professor Lee's reaction was practically visceral, though neither spoke a word as heavy silence fell over the small office.

"Am I... am I still needed, sir?" It was Professor Park whose voice broke through the tension, everyone having forgotten she was there in the midst of the emotion-filled chaos. "Because if not, then I'm going to go."

"No, I'm just about finished here." Dr. Kim let out a sigh, as if what just transpired had been hard on him out of all people in the room. My blood boiled just looking at him, though I know I had to learn when to speak out and when to bite my tongue as Yoongi had taught me.

"Dr. Kim, is there any way you can reconsi–"

"That will be enough from you, Ms. Lee," his booming voice interrupted the frantic professor. "I've said all that I need to say on the matter. I'm not changing my mind."

"Dr. Kim?" I spoke up just as Professor Lee and Professor Park were getting ready to walk out the door. "I–I have something else to tell you. Un-related to this," I threw in when I saw him throw a glance in Lee's direction.

The man sighed before waving them out, leaving his office empty of visitors other than me and Yoongi in the chairs. I wasn't going to let that boy go anywhere.

"Y/N, I'm sorry that the outcome isn't exactly what you wanted but I'm afraid there's nothing I can–"

"Choi Junwoo tried to rape me," I blurted out.

There was a moment's pause as the dean was stunned silent with wide eyes, and out of my peripheral vision I could see Yoongi tense up and inhale sharply next to me.

"W–what–"

"Choi Junwoo," I spoke slowly for him so that he'd understand, "a student here at this university, tried to rape me at a frat party."

I couldn't leave the office without saying it. I couldn't leave the office without telling him. This wasn't just about me or the turmoil or trauma he caused; this was for every other girl in the future who might be a victim of Jun. Though in my heart I truthfully believed he was a good person, and that he really was just intoxicated beyond belief that night, it was still no excuse. If he had rape-tendencies while he was drunk and I didn't speak out about it, then I would be no better when it came to helping other sexual assault victims.

"Are you sure–"

"I found them at the party while he was mid-act," Yoongi jumped in, probably figuring he was already fired so there was nothing left for him to lose when it came to revealing details about our relationship outside of school. "It was... disgusting. I got her out of there immediately, but not before punching that bastard in the face."

"Metaphorically, of course!" I couldn't help but chime in, not wanting an assault charge to be on his record as well.

Thankfully Dr. Kim simply brushed off that minuet detail in favor for the more important issue at hand. "Y/N, what you're telling me will ruin this student's future. Are you absolutely sure you want to file this?"

Despite the anger that swelled up inside of me from him questioning my accusation, I still couldn't help the little trickle of doubt that crept in as I considered his words. At one point, Jun had been a friend... maybe even a potential lover had Yoongi not been in the picture. Dr. Kim was right, this information could potentially ruin his reputation, his education, his record... was I ready to carry the weight of knowledge that I've ruined someone's life forever?

"What are you talking about? Of course!" Yoongi spat an answer before I even had a chance to finish my thoughts. "She told you what happened, didn't she? Why would she speak out about something like this if she was making it up?"

"Maybe a personal vendetta?" The dean shrugged his shoulders. "People will do crazy things for revenge."

Now that got me heated. "The only one who wanted revenge here was Junwoo!" I stood up from my seat to yell. "He liked me and was mad that I turned him down. As if I owed my feelings to him or something! And when I told him no, he forced himself on me?! Is that really the type of message you want to send at this college? You know, since you're so high and mighty on "cooperation"," I did air quotes of sarcasm around my last words, my ears practically steaming with boiling rage.

"We will come out about this story, by the way," Yoongi added in, his voice full of venom. "And how will that look if you tried to keep us silent?"

"You can forget about me attending this university," I hissed.

"Alright, alright, settle down, the both of you," Dr. Kim lowered his hands in a calming manner. "I was not suggesting I buy your silence or anything of that nature. I was simply making sure you wanted to go through with this."

"Yes," Yoongi and I both answered in unison.

The dean nodded his head before clasping his hands together. "Alright."

The rest of the time in the office with spent filling on paperwork on a claim against Junwoo. I'd been given the option to be kept in the loop or even present when everything went down, though I politely declined. I wanted nothing more to do with that boy.

Though it would seem Professor Lee didn't share the same sentiment when it came to me, because as soon as soon as the two of us walked hand in hand into the hallway and Dr. Kim's door was securely shut, she sprung into action.

"You bitch!" She shrieked, not wasting another second as she leaped through the air and onto my body like a crouched tiger that was waiting for the right moment to attack. I felt the pressure of her weight against my chest and the sting of her nails scraping against my cheek, and before I knew it I was stumbling down, down onto the ground with another vicious blow to my jaw that was accompanied by her fist.

It all happened within a matter of seconds, but it wasn't long until I heard Yoongi yell Sara! and then her weight vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

All I could do was stare with wide eyes as Yoongi slammed her shoulders back against the wall, though it was the look in his eyes that caught my attention. I had seen that expression before.

He was about to throw a punch.

"Yoongi, stop!" I cried, summoning all the strength I possessed to push myself to my feet and stumble over to the pair.

Yoongi whipped his head towards me with exasperated, almost wild eyes and his brows knitted in confusion and disbelief. "Y/N, she attacked you!"

"She isn't worth it," I spoke firmly in an attempt to get through to him. "Yoongi, just let it go. She isn't worth the trouble anymore."

It was when I placed a soothing hand against his back that Yoongi finally sighed, his stance visibly relaxing and his hands dropping from Professor Lee's shoulders. "She's right," he spit in a low, venomous tone as he turned back to her and grit his teeth. "Thanks to Dr. Kim, you already got what you deserve."

"Yoongi," there were sudden sobs that were tearing through the hallway, and it took me a moment to realize that Professor Lee was now... crying.

"Yoongi," she continued as she clung onto his shoulders. "Yoongi, I loved you!"

Somewhere deep inside of me, past all the burning hatred for what this woman has done to my life out of pure jealousy, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her. This was once me, heartbroken over the effects of unrequited love. Yoongi was a very sought-after man, I'd come to realize, and it wasn't about my feelings or Professor Lee's or anyone else's. It was about his.

"Sara," Yoongi sighed, and there was almost a wince in his tone from how hard he was trying to make her understand. "It's over."

"W–what?" The woman was scrambling now. "It doesn't have to be! We can go back to the way things were–"

"There never was a ‘we’!" He ripped her hands from his shoulders. "We were friends, and then you sabotaged my career and Y/N's education. You never once spoke out about your feelings, came forward, handled things like adults," he stressed the last line. "You never once did any of those things! Instead you belittled another woman and cost yourself your job all for a man—someone who until now, was your friend." Yoongi sighed again and shook his head. "I hope you get the help you need, Sara. I'm sure there is someone out there who will love you unconditionally... but that person is not me."

And with that, he put a gentle hand on my back and we walked away.

“Oh my god.”

Those were the first words out of my mouth the second we exited the building, my hands resting on my head in disbelief as I turned to Yoongi. “Holy shit, Yoongi–“

“Shhh,” he instantly consoled me, his arms engulfing me in a comforting hug and my face tucking underneath his chin as he held me close. “We did it, Y/N. It’s all over.”

I stayed in his embrace for a few moments as his words sunk in. It was all over. No more secrets, no more Professor Lee—no more anything.

“B–but your job...” I pulled away to look up at him with a shaky tone, my brows furrowed in concern. “Dr. Kim fired you, he–“

“I resigned, Y/N. There’s a difference.”

“Is there?” I couldn’t help but look up at him with a hopeless expression.

Yoongi simply nodded his head, the picture of nonchalance as if his career hadn’t just changed forever. “Yes. If I had gotten fired, it would look terrible on my resumé should I apply for another teaching position. However, given the circumstances of our arrangement...” he paused, no doubt thinking of Professor Lee, “I suppose he decided to take it easy on us all.”

My shoulders deflated in relief. “Well thank god for that...” I sighed, not even wanting to think of what could’ve happened if Dr. Kim had given us the harshest punishment. In an ironic, twisted way, I suppose I have Professor Lee to thank for that. If she wouldn’t have made my life a living hell, it would’ve been that much worse if Dr. Kim ever found out on his own.

“But none of that even matters to me right now,” Yoongi suddenly snapped, and then in the time it took me to raise an questioning eyebrow he had already grabbed both sides of my face and rammed his lips into mine, the same as he did before we went inside to confront Professor Lee.

Only this time, the kiss was different. It didn’t hold promises and potential; it held freedom. It held the success of finally getting through everything by the skin of our teeth, the relief and the pride and the pure love that we have for each other after overcoming everything that we’ve been through together. I kissed him and I didn’t care who saw—because he wasn’t my professor anymore. There were no invisible chains that bounded us apart. It was just me and him sticking together against all odds. Never in my life did I think I would ever be a part of a relationship so committed, so passionate, so determined. He and I would never stop fighting for each other.

“I love you, Min Yoongi,” I murmured against his mouth with a grin on my features that was hard to disguise—especially when I felt the corners of his lips pull up into that gummy smile that I adored with all of my heart.

“God, I love you too, Y/N,” he replied back with a content sigh, and then he continued to kiss me on the busy campus sidewalk until we were both breathless and blue in the face.

Because we now had nothing to lose.

Despite finally being released from the clutches that school had on us, the days following the meeting with Dr. Kim were not easy.

Other than having to put on a fake smile and continue attending a university where practically everyone knew about my relationship with now-former Professor Min (my mother would never let me drop out—not that I could ever tell her the reason I'd want to, anyways), there were the stresses that Yoongi was dealing with of now being unemployed. And what with all but abandoning my dorm room to instead spend my nights with him at his apartment, it was impossible to not feel the weight of his problems on my shoulders as well. No matter how many times Yoongi tried to put up a façade and reassure me that he was okay, I couldn't help but feel like this was my fault.

"If I just never would've made you dance with me at that club..." I'd say at times, unable to keep from tracing back each and every one of our interactions and blaming myself.

"Cut that out," Yoongi would snap.

"What? It's true!"

"You know I don't like it when you talk like that!" He'd turn to me with a stern tone. "I don't regret anything that happened between us, okay? Not one single bit." There was a heavy silence as his words would hang in the air. "If you wouldn't have asked me to dance, then who knows if I ever would've worked up the courage to kiss you? And I wouldn't be here, sharing this bed with the love of my life."

"Aw, Yoongi..."

And the two of us would make love, again and again until we'd have a similar argument some time later and repeat the whole process all over again. I'd feel guilty, Yoongi would remind me of exactly how much he doesn't regret meeting me, and we'd get lost in each other's embrace.

That is, until a simple Sunday morning suddenly changed everything.

"I got it."

I casually peered over at the sound of him from my spot in the living room, sitting criss crossed on the couch in my pajamas with a laptop in my lap. "What?"

"The job." Yoongi's voice was low, serious as he stared at the paper in his hands that had previously been so carelessly disregarded on the kitchen island along with the Sunday paper. "At the university in Seoul."

"Wait." He had all of my attention now as I sat the laptop on the coffee table and rose to my feet. "Like the Seoul National University university?"

"Yeah," he let out a single chuckle of disbelief before he pressed the paper against the counter and turned to me. "I got the job."

"Oh my god, Yoongi!" I exclaimed with my own chuckle of disbelief before running forward and wrapping my arms around his neck. His arms immediately engulfed my waist and lifted me off the ground as we spun around in place, my lips instantly finding his in a searing kiss that was full of passion and excitement to match our current mood. "That's amazing!"

"I know," he replied as he placed me down. A tentative smile was frozen on his lips as he stared off into the distance before letting out another sound of disbelief, his head shaking before his palm slid down his face. "I can't believe it!"

"I'm so proud of you!" I mirrored the grin of pure elation on his features, my chest swelling with joy and relief and most of all, pride.

I was so, so proud of Yoongi. I knew how much his job meant to him, and the feeling of guilt that weighed down on me from knowing that I was the one who inadvertently took that away from him, that I was the one who inadvertently caused all this stress of job hunting was instantly lifted off my shoulders. I knew how much he wanted this. I knew how hard he had worked to get this job at such a prestigious school, and god damn it, I knew how much he deserved it. If Yoongi was anything, apart from being an amazing person and a wonderful lover, he was great at his job. He was a natural born teacher.

Though no matter how many times I've willingly showered him with endless compliments about his work, he'd blush sheepishly and simply swat away all of my words with a simple kiss, or an "if you don't shut up your food is going to get cold. We're unemployed now; we need all the nutrition we can get. Haven't you ever heard of the Great Depression?"

So instead, I just chose to beam at him while he basked in the euphoria of the moment that this job acceptance brought on. After all, I knew he was well aware of how proud of him I was and how supportive I'd always be when it came to anything he wanted to accomplish.

Though the bliss was short lived.

I watched as Yoongi's expression slowly fell, the smile on his face slipping into a deep frown and his eyes turning to stone. "No."

"What?" I furrowed my brows, concern filling me and etching onto my features as I cupped his cheek in my hand, trying to figure out why his mood had changed so suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not taking it." His tone was cold, definitive, as if the subject wasn't even up for debate as he grabbed the letter.

"Wait wait wait," I hurried to stop him from tearing it in half. "What are you talking about? Why not?"

He turned to look at me with cold, incredulous eyes, as if he couldn't believe I was even asking a question so stupid. "The university is in Seoul, Y/N."

"Okay...?" I shook my head in confusion, still not understanding what the issue was. "And?"

"I'd have to move." He was taking the paper back out of my hands and ripping it right down the middle before I got the chance to stop him.

I suddenly deflated, the severity of his words dropping in my stomach and wrapping around the anchor of my heart, sending it down, down, down through the floor of his apartment and hurdling towards the center of the earth.

"...What?"

"I'd have to move away from you."

And there is was, the bomb detonating an explosion and demolishing whatever was left of my heart.

"No... t–there has to be another way, there has to–"

"Seoul is hours away from here, Y/N," Yoongi barked out, his tone angry and harsh as it always was when he was upset. "It's on the other side of the country; there's no way I'd be able to commute without living there."

"Okay, so why did you apply then?" I couldn't help but snap back defensively. "You knew the distance to Seoul prior to applying for the job. Why even bother if you're just going to get pissed about not taking it?!"

"Because I didn't think I'd get accepted!" His voice was loud, almost yelling now. "It's the most sought after, prestigious school in the fucking country and I didn't think some young idiot who got fired from his last job would be able to get in!"

It was silent as his words settled over the atmosphere, clinging to the air that filled the room around us and encasing my lungs until it was impossible to breathe.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I finally hissed. "You're a great teacher, and you know it. If anyone's a young idiot here, it's me!"

Yoongi scoffed with a shake of his head. "I'm the one who kissed you again during that tutoring session after telling you to stay away. I'm the one who fucked you against that desk." His tone was low now, and his eyes seemed to grow harder in realization with each step that he took towards me. "I'm the one who asked to take you out on that fucking date and I'm the one who pulled you onto my lap when Sara caught us in my classroom! God damn it, I'm the one who tracked you down at a fucking frat party and punched one of my students!"

His voice slowly raised until he was yelling again, and if it weren’t for the fact that he was now standing chest to chest and cornering me up against the countertop of the island, I would've winced at the loud volume so close to my ears.

"Stop blaming yourself, Y/N, when I'm the one who was the authority figure. I'm the one who should've had my shit together, but I just couldn't around you!"

I felt myself soften at that. As angry and intimidating as he seemed right now, surely frightening whoever would come into contact with him when he was like this, I knew that it was all a front. Yoongi wasn't the best at dealing with emotional situations—he'd all but bite my head off any time I even tried to mention his father—and sometimes lashed out in anger when he was upset or hurting inside. I knew how badly he wanted this job; I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice when he'd first submitted the application. And now, when the career position of his dreams was finally right under his nose, he couldn't have it. Because I was holding him back.

"You have to take it." My voice was solemn and steady as I stared him in the eyes.

He instantly frowned. "What? No, I–"

"Yoongi."

He fell silent, all signs of anger and malice wiped from his features once he saw just how serious I was being. A soft, bittersweet smile that had nothing to do with happiness slowly tugged at my lips as my eyes gleamed with pain. My heart was breaking with every word I was speaking, but I knew it was something I needed to do.

"You have to take the job."

The silence that ensued my words only further proved my point, simultaneously stabbing a knife into my chest with each passing second. He knew I was right. He knew it. He just didn't want to hear it.

"You don't..." He sounded smaller, more pitiful and confused as he tried to make sense of what I was saying. "You don't want me to stay?"

The hurt, the sadness, the utter hopelessness in his voice absolutely crushed me. I couldn't help but fall into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his chest and squeezing tightly as if I could somehow hold the pieces of him together that I knew were breaking. The severity of what was happening, of what I was doing started to settle within me the moment I heard his voice break.

"I do, baby," I replied, the sound muffled by the skin of his neck that my face was buried in as a sob threatened to claw its way out of my throat and swallow me whole. "God, you know I do. But you can't."

"Y–you can come with me." He was shaking his head now, his hands gripping at the shirt on my back with closed fists while he desperately tried to hold onto me, as if I would disappear beneath him at any moment. "We can move together to Seoul and you can–"

"You know I can't, Yoongi." It was my turn to shake my head, and with it came a heavy tear that fell down my cheek. "I have to go to school. I have a family who's helping pay for my tuition, and my mom— you know it's not all up to me."

I heard him sniffle as he pulled away, and even though I felt no evidence of tears from him against my skin or my shirt, his eyes were bright red when he stared back at me.

"I'm not leaving you, Y/N."

The sheer determination in his voice had me shattering like broken glass. "I'm not letting you do this, Yoongi. I'm not letting you waste this opportunity. Do you know how many people are waiting to work at Seoul University? How many professors would kill to be in your position?" I kept my gaze steadily on his as I slowly shook my head. "I care about you... so fucking much. I've never loved someone so much before... not like this." I paused, asking myself one last time if this was really the decision I wanted to make as my words settled in. I took in the sight of his beautiful, breathtaking features silently begging me not to do this. "I'm putting you above my selfishness," I finally decided with another shake of my head. "You need to do this Yoongi, for you. You know you do."

Yoongi slowly shook his head, though the expression on his face told me he knew I was right. "I don't want to lose you," he spoke as a tear spilled over the brim of his eye, dampening his lashes and leaving a wet streak in its wake as it rolled down his cheek, and the sight was the final breaking point that had me bursting into tears.

"Neither do I."

His fingers dug into my skin as he tightened his grip on my body, his forehead leaning against mine as the only sounds exchanged between the two of us were the unspoken words of labored breaths and soft sobs.

Sometimes when you love someone, you have to do what's best for them.

And I knew this was what's best for Yoongi.

[20rubixcubes]

enhypen as baristas

maknae line x gn!reader (comedy, fluff, mild angst)

~1.2k words ea (headcanons)

warnings: cursing

a/n: i just wrote this for funsies, please be mindful that there is heavy swearing in these headcanons (particularly in ni-ki’s part), so if that isn’t your taste, perhaps skip this one! other than that, the rest of this is pretty chill, so i hope you enjoy my shitposting. oh, and lmk if you like this enough to want part two with the hyung line 👀 just maybe i’ll do it

sunoo

was only recently employed as an afternoon shift employee and was both shocked and distressed after discovering the cafe didnt have an instagram

“what do you MEAN you dont have instagram??? how do we post selfies???” “sunoo we sell coffee” “NO ONE WANTS COFFEE JUNGWON THEY WANT CUTE BARISTAS”

starts an instagram for the cafe and takes aesthetic pictures of his latte art

his selfies get way more likes though

speaking of his latte art, he masters the skill like a week in and everyone else is incredibly jealous

their jealousy wears off when jungwon tells him that he has to start training the new apprentices

pretends he forgot how to do it for like a week but it hurts his pride so he begrudgingly agrees to train the apprentices instead

in his free time he can be found snapping pictures around the shop, eventually expanding to taking pictures of the others too

“sunghoon stop moving you look cute and i need to take a photo” “sunoo im holding hot milk” “does it look like i care beauty is pain sweetie”

other than that, he sometimes sits in the booths to snack on muffins and do his homework since he only comes in to the shop for about an hour during his school lunch break and on the weekends

you meet sunoo after applying for an apprenticeship, wanting to get a job before you finish high school and start college

seen as though jungwon looks like the boss, you approach him, nervous for your first shift

“i’m here for the apprenticeship program?” “oh yeah! one second!”

he trots off to the back room, leaving you standing awkwardly in the middle of the cafe

“SUNOO GET OFF JAY YOU HAVE AN APPRENTICE TO TRAIN” “*gasp* YOU MADE ME SMUDGE HIS LIPSTICK I'M QUITTING” “NO YOURE NOT GET OUT THERE RIGHT NOW”

the yelling pauses before who you presume is sunoo stomps through the back room door, a scowl on his face

he spots you, groaning loudly “are you the apprentice?”

“yes” you say meekly, guilty for seeming to ruin his shift

he gestures you to follow him behind the counter, pulling an apron out from under the sink and shoving it to your chest

its clear that hes pissed, yanking his tools out from the cupboards as you tie your apron behind your back quietly

“have you made coffee before?” “only instant coffee” “oh fantastic”

he seems to be getting more irritated by the minute before he takes a deep breath and starts directing you around the machines

“to do the art, you angle the mug like this and draw with the milk, but it wont show until it reaches the top so dont go crazy”

as if its nothing, he demonstrates by drawing a perfect swan in the milk, setting the latte down and dusting his hands off

“wow… thats amazing” “i know right? no one here appreciates me enough” “they should! this is the best i’ve ever seen”

he grins at your compliment, nodding with satisfaction and sending a wave of relief over you as you notice he looks less angry with you now

“um… im sorry if i interrupted whatever you were doing before” “oh, that? i was just doing jay’s makeup” “you like makeup? me too! i’ve never seen a boy interested in it though, thats really cool” you smile genuinely at him as he blinks in surprise

“really? you think its cool?” “definitely!”

you watch the gears turn in his head before he smiles widely, seeming to have come to some kind of revelation as he nods

“i like you.”

your cheeks heat up immediately, but before you can say anything in return, he starts calling out for jungwon, leaning over the counter

“JUNGWOOON, CAN WE HAVE THIS ONE?”

“well thats up to them” he looks up from the table hes wiping down, adjusting his apron as he walks over to the counter

“so youre all finished with the course? i hope sunoo wasnt too much for you”

“i wasnt! anyways, youre employed, okay?” “sunoo stop theyre just an apprentice”

he groans loudly, irritated once more as he whips his head to you

“you have to work here, ok? i said so, so come back and apply or i’ll be mad!”

you laugh at his antics and smile “i’ll see what i can do”

after jungwon pries sunoo off of your arm, you return your apron and leave the shop with a wave

“YOU BETTER COME BACK!” is the last thing you hear as you step out onto the street, the bell ringing to signal your exit

a week later, you return to the shop, slightly anxious that your new friend(?) might have forgotten about you

but this is quickly washed away when you hear a high pitched squeal from the counter

“JUNGWON! HURRY THE FUCK UP AND GET THE FORMS THEYRE HERE”

you laugh as you approach the counter, a teasing tone on your voice

“are you supposed to be talking to your boss like that?” “whats he gonna do? fire me? im the only one who can make coffee in this place” “true”

soon enough, jungwon comes out of his hiding place, his hands clasped together

“im really sorry to ask this but please, you have to work here, sunoo hasnt shut up about you all week and i dont know if i can stand him anymore, i’ll even pay you extra please dear god”

you give sunoo a look, only receiving an innocent smile and puppy eyes back

“sure, i’ll take the job!”

jungwon sighs in relief as sunoo begins jumping up and down, yelling something about having his own little baby to take care around the shop as you groan, covering your blushing face

once you have your hours established (sunoo made you take the same as all of his, but you did the nights instead of the afternoons on the weekends, to his displeasure), you get straight to working

… well, sort of

it was hard to get work done with sunoo pestering you around the clock

“you think im cute right?” “yes sunoo” “even though i have bags under my eyes? “yes sunoo” “you promise?” “yes sunoo” “good”

admittedly he is slightly of help when it comes to the more fiddly parts of making coffee, but every other second of the day he seems to be flirting nonstop

“can i kiss you?” “no” “why not” “sunoo we’ve been over this” “BEING AT WORK ISNT A VALID EXCUSE”

worn down after his incessant yelling all day, you find yourself snapping faster than usual

“we’re not even dating, sunoo! why would i kiss you!? just stop playing with my feelings already!”

for the first time since you’ve known him, sunoo goes quiet

“why not?”

“what are you talking about now sunoo?” “why arent we dating”

now its your turn to go quiet

“do you not like me?” “what? no, sunoo-” before you can reason with him, you watch him quickly rush away from you around the counter, slamming the break room door behind him with tears in his eyes

cursing to yourself, you ensure there are no customers to serve before quickly darting after him

after looking around a bit, you hear sniffling from the supply closet and knock on the door quietly

“sunoo?” “leave me alone!”

you sigh, taking a step back and turning on your heel to face the opposite direction, running a hand through your hair as you think

you spot a dog bed at your feet, suddenly remembering that jake usually keeps his dog supplies covered in dog hair in the closet

“sunoo arent you allergic to dogs?”

“... *sniffle* y-yeah”

after you persuade him to come out by mentioning that his face is going to get all puffy, he steps out, eyes glued to the floor as he looks away from you in shame

placing a hand on his shoulder, you speak to him softly

“sunoo, look at me”

he does, hesitantly, his eyes red and watery and, as you said, puffy and inflamed

despite this, you smile

“i do like you back”

his eyes start watering again, your heart skipping a beat in fear that you had said something wrong

“e-even if my face is all puffy and gross?” his voice wobbles, the tears filling his eyes giving him a sense of vulnerability as you sigh

“yes, even if your face is all puffy and gross”

he smiles at that, shutting his eyes cutely as you press a kiss to his cheek

“and theres your kiss”

he whines “i was supposed to do that!”

“you can do it after we finish work, okay?” “WORK STILL ISNT A VALID EXCUSE…. but maybe today just because i need to ice my face” “yeah you really should, can you even see?” “no not at all” “great”

jungwon

the previous manager left suddenly and jungwon was given a semi-forced promotion as he was the only employee with at least half of a brain cell

poor boy is stressed 24/7

doesnt get paid enough for this

“hey jungwon we ran out out of coffee bea-” “I ORDERED NEW ONES FOUR HOURS AGO NOW SHUT UP IM TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE BOSS DOESNT FIND JAKE’S DOG SHELTER IN THE SUPPLY CLOSET”

goes through hell every day just to make sure the others dont burn the cafe down

is supposed to be on the morning shift but he stays until the afternoon

in his rare moments of downtime, he likes to go around and water the hanging plants around the shop

is that one vine where the mom listens to nicki minaj for the first time and screams “no” over and over whenever ni-ki gets control of the cafe music

“RIKI NISHIMURA WHAT IS THAT ON THE SPEAKERS” “ITS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR ARIANA GRANDE” “TURN IT OFF THIS IS NOT PG13” “SHUT THE FUCK UP GRANDPA”

is only 16 but acts like a 32-year-old father going through a midlife crisis

lifts boxes of supplies all day yet his joints are famously brittle

“hey jungwon did you hear glass shattering too?” “sorry jay that was my back” “you need to invest in physical therapy” “maybe if i wasnt paying for property damage every other week 😊”

you meet jungwon when you drop into the cafe for a croissant and a coffee before your class starts

usually you come at night maybe an hour before closing so you had never seen him before, but here you were watching this cute but clearly stressed boy scramble around the shop carrying boxes of supplies to the back

trying not to be creepy, you sigh, turning back to your phone after watching him for a solid five minutes straight

as you do, you hear a crash coming from what you assume is the supply closet followed by a disgruntled groan

pausing, looking around at the other customers typing away at their laptops and waiting for another staff member to go check on the boy, you stand up as you discern that he must be the only one working and hesitantly go to see if he’s okay

“hello? are you okay?” you peer through the door, your eyes widening at the sight of him rubbing his head with a wince on his features, supplies strewn around him at his feet and a box knocked over beside him

“ah… um, yes, i’m okay, sorry if i disturbed you with that noise…” he smiles bashfully, pulling himself back onto his feet

“do you need help with all of that stuff?”

he opens his mouth to protest, not wanting to have to ask for help from a customer, but after seeing the amount of crap off of the shelves, he realises that there is no way in hell he’s going to be able to clean all of it up alone before his shift ends

“um… is that okay?” his cheeks flush with embarrassment as you smile

“sure!”

over the next couple of hours you two establish a little system of bagging the spilt supplies and passes them to eachother to put in boxes, chatting never ceasing as you discover that you actually have a lot of things in common

“since you work here, what’s your favourite kind of coffee?” “i like lattes… i cant stand bitter things” “me too! my friend drinks espressos though” “ditch them”

you also find out that he started being homeschooled after becoming the manager as he doesnt have time to attend normal school

the both of you find yourselves laughing nonstop, having fun in eachother’s company

so much so that you end up late for school

“oh shit! i completely missed my first class”

guilty for making you late, he offers to take you

“i can take you?” “you drive?” “well….. not exactly”

once sunoo and ni-ki arrive to care for the shop, he takes you out to the car park, pulling a spare helmet out of his backpack and securing it on your head before giving your head a pat as he gets onto his scooter

“you look cute” “i look like a bug” “a cute bug”

once you get to school, face red after having to hold onto him the entire time, you hop off and pass him the helmet with a shy smile

“thanks for driving me” you mutter, brushing off imaginary dirt from your shirt as you do your best to avoid eye contact, your face still flushed and heart racing

is it possible to develop a crush on someone this quickly???

jungwon is so cute that he makes it possible, you surmise

“of course” he mirrors your nervous smile, a blush finding its way to his own cheeks

as you bow and spin on your heel to start walking inside, he stops you

“wait!”

“what is it?” you turn to him, your heart still thundering against your ribcage at the fond expression he has plastered on his features

“actually… can i pick you up? after school?”

when you pause, your face growing hotter and hotter, he begins to sputter

“i-i’m really sorry, its fine if not! that was way too forward, i just really like you and- oh god that was even more forward- um-” “okay” “yeah i’m sorry that was a stupid questio- wait, what?”

before he can say anything else, your smile widens

“i’ll see you later, okay? don’t be late!” you wave, skipping into the building with a fluffy feeling in your chest

with an awkward wave, jungwon watches you leave, his mouth wide open in shock before a grin replaces his expression

getting back into his seat, the lovestruck smile never leaving his face as he drives off, he begins to count down the minutes until he gets to see you again

ni-ki

works the afternoon shift

technically an apprentice but he gets paid and has been there forever so basically an employee at this point

or he would be if he ever actually made coffee

he sits with the work phone all morning and chooses the music

perpetually dancing to 7 rings by ariana grande (look up his cover. youre welcome in advance)

jungwon and jay scream at him to at least do the mopping to which he complies, but not without performing a whole ass concert with it

once they saw him twirl and dip the mop

eventually they just told him to go back to curating the music because he was scaring customers away and they were losing business

he was horrible at cleaning anyway

“hey jungwon i think i got window cleaner in your plant” “im firing you” “i dont even go here” “STOP QUOTING MEAN GIRLS AND FIX THE DAMAGE YOUVE CAUSED”

you meet ni-ki while youre drinking your coffee at a booth and he plays your favourite obscure indie song so you have to compliment his taste and get to talking

he plays your favourite songs whenever youre in the shop and audibly hisses at anyone who tries to change it

makes choreography to said songs at home and tries to impress you by casually belting it out by your booth

when you compliment his dancing and ask how long hes been practicing that choreography hes all like “oh hahaha it was just casual freestyle super easy peasy”

(hes been practicing for two weeks)

thought he was being super obvious by doing these things but apparently nOT because you have not caught the hint at all and hes getting impatient

asks for advice from the others begrudgingly

“give them flowers” “jay thats so boring” “do you want to use one of my dogs? everyone loves dogs” “wtf jake since when have you had more than one dog” “make them latte art with a heart on it” “sunoo ive literally never made a coffee in my life” “why dont you just ask them out like a normal perso-” “shut the fuck up grandpa thats so weird no one does that”

eventually he settles on sunoo’s idea of making you latte art and he embarks on his journey to make his first coffee

rather than focusing on the actual taste, sunoo tells him to just do whatever so that he can show him how to do the art

“why is it green ni-ki” “you said to do whatever” “and your first idea was to make poison? idk if this is the best idea if youre trying to ask this person out” “shut up and pass me the milk”

burns his hands on the steaming milk jug at least fifteen times and ends up with so many bandaids on his fingers

despite how stiff the bandages are on his hands, he eventually manages to make a sort-of legible heart

“it looks like africa” “have you ever had steamed milk poured on your eyes sunoo?”

poor ni-ki waits for you all day, his heart leaping every time the bell on the door rings only to roll his eyes when it isnt you

he even stays past his shift so youd better let him take you on a date or hes quitting

when you finally arrive he trips over the bucket at his feet he was using to clean and spills dirty water all over his pants

“omg ni-ki are you okay what happened” *five octaves higher* “NOTHING I'M COMPLETELY FINE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT”

by the time he’s finished cleaning himself up (and by that i mean fixing his hair in the mirror for twenty minutes) he takes a deep breath and walks over to you, somewhat cold latte in hand

“um,” he clears his throat, his face growing red as he slides the mug towards you “i made this for you”

“aw thanks ni-ki! why is it green” “........its matcha?”

youre slightly suspicious but you look back to the mug and slowly realise that the “drawing” slightly resembles a heart, smiling a little bit to yourself

when you look back to him, youre a little confused as to why hes just standing there

“is something wrong?” you press the mug to your lips, taking a sip

“o-uh uh actually, i wanted to ask if… if you would uh maybe sort of go on a date with me”

you can only smile

“yes, but…”

his heart starts beating faster, watching you anxiously

you stand up, taking the notepad and pen from his apron pocket and scribbling your phone number

“only if you promise to learn how to make actual coffee” you wink, handing him the notepad and sauntering out of the shop

hes stood there dumbstruck, stars in his eyes at the slip of paper in his hand

but then he realises: he has a new mission

rushing to the back room, he slams the door open

“grandpa, i need you to teach me how to make coffee right now” “literally why do i pay you”

with your promise in mind, the others see him work more diligently at the counter than they ever have before

“wow youre actually working today?” “shut up i need to figure out how to do this butterfly before i pry my eyes out with a fork” “haha funny joke ni-” “did i stutter”

at the end of the week, he forces heeseung (the cafe’s best coffee maker) and sunoo (the cafe’s best latte artist) to judge his latte

“this is… surprisingly good” heeseung peers into the mug, smiling at the swan ni-ki created with the latte foam as sunoo grumbles “dont tell me im gonna have to start competing with this kid, it probably tastes gross” “it tastes amazing too” “im quitting”

with his coworkers’ notes in mind, he finally works up the nerve to send you a quick message telling you to come into the shop

when you arrive the next day, ni-ki greets you and immediately gets to work, making sure to stand as close as humanly possible to your booth so he can show off his newly acquired coffee making skills

with you only inches away, he does make a mistake and spill milk on his shirt after looking at you and not his hands for a second too long, but you decide to give him the benefit of the doubt when he sets the mug in front of you

“wow! this heart is perfect!”

you smile, looking up to him “did you seriously learn how to do latte art just so you could take me on a date?” “… y-yeah, and?”

you can only chuckle as you press the mug to your lips, readying yourself to drink liquid dirt…

“this is… really good!” you grin, taking another sip and putting the mug down on its saucer

“i think you’ve definitely earned yourself a date… or two”

at this news, ni-ki’s face lights up, shoving the urge to scream down his throat before nodding stiffly to try and contain his excitement with a strained “cool” escaping his lips

“are you okay ni-ki?” “yes just give me one second”

he quickly scrambles to the break room, a moment of silence wafting through the store before a shrill scream fills the air

eyes wide, you turn to jay, who had been manning the till, after hearing him burst into laughter

“what is he doing?”

“we told him the freezer was sound proof”

[justoneday-namjoonii]

forgive me

anon request: “I really love the way you write angsty stuff so if u want, can u write a scene where jungkook is like involved in illegal stuff like drugs or maybe he's a hitman, Y/N and Jungkook have a conflict about that because she's not happy with what he does, he gets hurt a lot but he enjoys his job and doesn't wanna give it up cuz he loves the thrill. It can be an emotional scene where Y/N tells him that she's afraid of losing him because of what he does. Honestly come up with anything, I don't mind 😂”

prompt: Jungkook is a druglord, you’re a waitress at a shabby burger place. He loves what he does and even though you try to ignore it, it scares you. You fear you’ll lose him if he doesn’t quit and he’s all you have. Your so called family are full of lies and if it wasn’t for Jungkook, you don’t know where you’d be. You wonder every night if the sirens you hear are for him—you pray it’s not for him. Secretly, he feels the same about you.

pairing: Jungkook x reader

genre: angst, drabble, mental health issues, mentions of murder, mature subject matter

author’s note: For the anon who requested this, this is for you! I hope you enjoy~ did i watch Truth be Told and decide to make the OC a twin? yes, yes i did

When you opened your eyes, you started to feel around for your cellphone. When you couldn't feel for it, you rolled over and yawned, it's probably under the bed. That's where its gonna stay too. As soon as you got home from work, you fell face-first into your bed and taking a shower was the last thing on your mind. But now you're feeling the stale department store smell on your clothes. It takes about two minutes for you to roll out of bed and realize you that Jungkook should have been here by now. You grab your phone and see two missed calls and a text from 2 hours ago.

jungkook💖💫: im sorry ill be over a little later baby, something came up 

jungkook💖💫: i miss you angel

You smile, he always misses you. And you miss him too, but you know he's probably out there in the slums of the city, doing what he does. How you lucked out with him, you have no idea. One night you were trying to call an Uber to get home from a birthday party at the club. It was around midnight and you had to work so you couldn't hang with the hardcore crowd. You went outside to call for a ride but you were being watched. Some guy kept catcalling, just outright harassing you. It was the scariest night of your life. You were telling him to leave you alone but he was drunk or high, either way, he wasn't all there. He snatched your phone. Just when you thought he was going to grab you, a black sports car, one you would have had to work two lifetimes to afford, stopped at the light. And before you know it, the man trying to get you is being dragged into the alley where he probably would have taken you. You remember being frozen, all you could hear was cursing and blunt force. The mystery man, whose car is still in the middle of the road, emerges from the dark corner between the buildings.

You were completely taken. The smile, the hair, the tattoos, and dangling earrings, paired with a striking gaze—he was an angel. He was so beautiful and he was just looking at you stand there with your mouth open.

"If there's one thing I hate, oh here you go," He hands you your phone and you get a nice look at his hand tattoo, "it's motherfuckers who can't leave women the fuck alone. Sorry you had to deal with that, but he won't be bothering you or anyone else after tonight, or use his hands again," He sighs, fixing his clothes a bit and wiping the blood from the corner of his lip, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, thank you," You slip the phone in your bomber jacket pockets, "not a lot of people would stop a stupid guy from bothering a girl they don't even know."

"Yeah, I'm Jungkook by the way," He introduces himself with a smile, situating his nice clothes, "do you- Um, did you need a ride? I'm not a creep I swear," He holds his hands up in surrender when you furrow your brows at the suggesting—great, now she thinks I'm a pervert. 

"I didn't stop that guy as blackmail to get laid, I just-" He pauses to grapple for the right words, "I saw you just standing on the curb and I know it's not safe out here-"

"If it's not any trouble," You interrupt his rambling, "I live about 15 minutes away, I was gonna call a ride but if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it. My name is Y/n, by the way."

That night changed your life forever. It was the first time you had wanted to kiss a stranger, the first night you ever came close to a soulmate. He confesses to having seen you in the club, he was at the bar, refusing offers from every girl from the bartenders to cougars out on the town, at least that's what you always thought. In that little fifteen minutes, you got to know very little about him but you felt so comfortable sharing things about yourself when he asked. He dropped you off and said if you ever needed anything, to give him a call. 

You never got to use the number because you ended up seeing him again. He showed up to your job, but he wasn't there for you, he was there for one of your money laundering and pill-popping associates. You were taking a break and for some reason, the break room was eerily empty. After you heard gunshots and the whole store went into chaos. You remember trying to leave and suddenly being swept away and into an outside electrical room apart of the building. You calmed down enough to realize that it was him but you were baffled.

"What're the odds that you would work at the same place as that bastard," He fiddles with the gun, tucking it to his side and flipping on the safety and pulling off his mask with a toothy grin, "do you remember me?"

"You?... Jungkook, how did you- Why are you-..." You make a small step back and swallow, scrambling to think of something to say. "Have you been following me like some creep?!"

"No! this is just a run-in by fate, I swear I didn't plan it. I'm not even supposed to still be here but I couldn't just leave, not without saying something to you."

"Okay...What do you want to say? I have to get back on the clock." You look him up and down, his all-black clothes and heavy boots intimidating but alluring in many ways.

"Wanna grab a coffee?"

For some reason, you said yes to the familiar stranger.

"Sure- I mean no! No, I can't Jungkook, I have to get back to work-"

"Trust me, just come with me," He extends his hand for you to take and smiles, "you won't regret it."

You took his hand and never looked back.

* * *

Nights like this.

When it's too early to ruin his life and too late to pretend like he wouldn't care. So when he shows up to the lounge to enforce an unpaid debt from a client, he leaves with bruised knuckles, two grand, and a rush of adrenaline. He went a little hard on the guy, but can you blame him? He messed up his plans. Tonight is date night, also known as 'crash at your place' night. It worked out though, you had to work late so he wouldn't be too tardy. Judging by the fact that you haven't answered your phone, you must be knocked out.

He slips his hand into his pocket and fumbles with his keys until he finds the one to your apartment. When he walks inside he hears the sink on and smiles to himself, you must've just woken up. 

"Baby, it's me," He announces himself, "how was your day?"

"Fine," You step out in your work clothes, still trying to get your earrings out, "as fine as a day working for the devil could be." 

"That bad?" You take note of the silk black shirt that's rolled up to his elbows, letting you see his beautiful sleeve of tattoos. When he comes dressed like this, and smelling like smoke you know he's been out into high-end clubs. The way some of the women look at him makes you feel small and a little self-conscious. But he always reassures you that you're who he wants, not some woman who sees him as an experimental one-night stand. When he tells you to meet him in the restroom because he needs to tell you something, you're reminded that you're all he wants.

"She screwed the schedule. My only day off was taken because her favorite, Kasey, has to go out of town."

He unbuttons the buttons on his shirt with deliberate fingers. "You walked out on a job for me before, remember that?" He smiles, letting his shirt fall from his shoulders like a dream. A bruise on his upper arm catches your attention but you don't say anything. "If you're not happy, just leave. I can take care of you, you can be my sugar baby."

"Yeah, my step-mom would love that, I could see it now," You cringe at the thought, "Hey, just a heads up, I'm not working or married but I have a sugar daddy who pays all my bills and lets me use his money for free, oh, he's also a drug lord. She'd really think highly of me then." 

"Fuck Carol, she's a judgmental priss anyway," He comes up to you, hands finding your waist, "why do you care what she thinks about you?" 

"I don't care what she thinks, but if she finds out she'll tell my dad and I don't want to hear it from him. If he pretends to not be disappointed by the lesser-twin one more time, I'll actually cuss him out...He's such a liar, he lied to my mom and he lies to me.”

"Quit saying that," Jungkook grabs you under your thighs, wrapping your legs around his waist so he can sit on the edge of your bed, "you're not the lesser-twin, you're the cute and sexy twin." You sit back on his thighs and you both laugh at his attempt to lighten your mood.

"Well, I'm not a successful surgeon and I'm broke as hell, but at least my boyfriend thinks I'm cute." His hands find their way to the hem of your shirt and pull it over your head, revealing a disappointing tank top.

"See, this is disappointing. Why are you wearing a tank top? It's a hundred degrees outside." He sighs, looking up at you like a pouting little kid.

"Because I want to," You grin, brushing his hair from his brows, revealing a scratch, "you're cut."

"Yeah, had a run-in with an old friend, we're obviously not friends anymore."

"You should take me with you on these deals and stuff, I'd make a great bodyguard for you," You joke, "if you showed me how to use a gun."

"You?" He giggles at the image of you secretly acting as a bodyguard, a dagger, and a gun in a garter under a skintight dress. "That's not a bad idea, they'd be too distracted looking at how fucking beautiful you are to see you as a threat."

"Yeah, I always saw as the Bonnie & Clyde type of couple," He leans up to kiss you and you smile through it before he pulls away, "eh, you need to shower, you smell like weed."

He furrows his brows, a snarky smile on his mouth. "And you smell like French fries, but I still kissed you.”

"Touche." You can't argue with that, the French fries smell gets to you too.

He picks you up, carrying you to the bathroom with a beaming smile.

"Let's shower then."

 * * *

A deal went bad, he got grazed by a bullet and spent a few hours at the emergency room.

When he pulled in to the driveway and saw your car, he sighed in relief—he was hoping you'd come. After work, you had come by earlier to clear your head and take a breather from your cramped apartment and rowdy neighbors. Ever since his 'new position' he was put up in this huge mansion, equipped with a full staff. Luckily, they were off tonight so no need to keep quiet.

It's getting late and you've been trying to watch a baking show to stay awake but it was getting difficult. He hadn't called or answered any of your calls or texts. When you hear the garage door open, your heavy lids lift and you yawn, trying to wake up so you can tell him how your day has been.

He opens the door with a deep sigh and he's glad you can't see the thick white bandage on his upper arm and tired shadows under his eyes because of the dim lights. "Jungkook, it's so late..." You mumble, sitting up. "what took you so long?"

"Yeah, baby, I just had a mix up with someone who owed the group a lot of money, they, uh- They opened fire and we had a lot to clean up." He offhandedly mentions that and goes to the bathroom to change and you just wait for him.

The painkiller is wearing off but he manages to brush his teeth and slip into some sweats and a t-shirt. After flicking the light switch off, he falls into bed with a heavy exhale. Glad to finally have him close so you can tell him about your terrible day, you turn to hug him, and instantly a wince of pain leaves his mouth. 

"Sorry," You giggled, thinking he was just kidding until you see the bandage on his arm, "Oh my gosh," You sit up, hand reaching for his bandage with concern in your brows, "what happened?"

"It's nothing baby, I was grazed by a bullet and had to go to the ER," He spares you a weak grin, hand rustling through his damp locks, "but it's nothing, I feel fine."

It's always nothing to him. You lean down and place a gentle kiss on his forehead, one he would normally place on you. Nights go by and you know he's out there risking his life, not thinking how devastated you would be if one night he doesn't come back.  

He caresses the apple of your cheek, lips parting when sits up to try to kiss you, but you pull away.

"Hey, I've had a long day I just want to kiss you," He sits up now, "talk to me." 

"Talk to yourself, I'm going to sleep."

"Where the fuck is this coming from?" He glares at you, tone firmer than before. "Y/n, cut the crap. What's the problem?"

"Jungkook, there's no problem I just worry about you."

"I don't mean to make you worry," He speaks softly, "but you know this is what I do, I can't stop now, even if I wanted to."

"I know," Sadly, "but you're all I have."

He tilts his head, a bit confused. "What happened?"

"My sister called when I got off of work. My dad isn't doing well, his liver is in terrible condition and he needs a transplant...He's on a wait-list now." 

Knowing the severed relationship you have with your family, he treads lightly when requesting this. "Do you want to go see him?-"

"No!" You snap. "Why would I want to see him? This is what he gets for killing my mother."

"Y/n, you don't mean that..." Jungkook gets uncomfortable when you enter that head-space, you become ruthless in your words and your eyes glaze over with something he has yet to understand.

"Why not? It's true. He was cheating on her, that's why he never came home and she thought something was wrong. So drove out in the middle of the night during a storm and ended up crashing into a tree, because of him. My sister has always defended him, but I think it's because she didn't like mom either...The two of them may have cried at the funeral but I know them, they were glad she left us. That's why I need you, Jungkook, I don't have them or want them..."

"Y/n, you have to learn to forgive them for whatever you think they did, it's going to drive you insane if you don't...Fuck them, spend your energy on us, okay?"

"I'm already insane, I'm with you, aren't I? You come close to being killed every week, and it bothers me to think you might not come home...But I'll go through that if it means I get to have you, I love you, I only love you..." You lay your head on his shoulder.

He’s your angel.

You aren’t sure what you are to him.

[hopelikethemoon]

Graduation (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: Graduation  Rating: PG-13 Length: 1700 Warnings: None Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set in May 1999. A shorty, but a goody,  Summary: Monica graduates. 

@grapemama @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes@thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow@plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale  @roxypeanut @snivellusim @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts@synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @exrebelshocktrooper@awesomefandomsunited @ah-callie @swhiskeys @lady-tano @beskar-droids @space-floozy @cable-kenobi @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes @findhimfives @pedrosdoll @frietiemeloen@arrowswithwifi @random066 @uncomicalhumour @heather-lynn @domino-oh-damn​ @cyarikaaa @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl​  @yabby-girl @xqueenofthecraziesx @punkass-potato @coredrive @pascalesque​@theduchessofkirkcaldy​ @queenquazar​ @sabinemorans​ @buckstaposition​ @holkaskrosnou​@yespolkadotkitty​ @fleetwoodmactshirt​ @seeking-a-great–perhaps @kochamcie​ @jaime1110​

“Sofía, you have to sit still.” You urged as she squirmed in your lap. “Or you’re not going to get any ice cream cake.”

“Ice cream cake!” Josie leaned over and kissed Sofía’s cheek. “You’re gonna want ice cream cake.” She looked up at you. “Right mommy?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I think you’re both going to want ice cream cake after this.” You looked to Javier then. “Who thought outdoor graduations were a good idea? In Florida.”

Javier chuckled, loosening his tie as he dabbed at the back of his neck. “It’s almost time for the sociology department. And then we can bounce.”

Sofía bounced in your lap, bound and determined to escape your hold.

“Would you like me to hold her?” Nadia offered, holding out her hands.

“You sure?”

She shrugged, “I wrangle my nieces plenty.” Nadia took Sofía from you, “You look very stylish today, little miss. I wonder who got you this outfit.”

Sofía clapped her hands together as she leaned back in Nadia’s arms. 

Josie draped herself over your lap to her closer to Sofía, now that Nadia has her. “Did Monica buy it for her?”

“She did.” Nadia nodded. “But I picked it out.” She winked at her. “And if you hadn’t spilled grape juice this morning, you two would’ve been matching.”

You pushed your glasses up your nose, smirking. “Well, someone thought they didn’t have to buy white grape juice.”

“Javier.” Nadia grinned at you.

“Daddy!” Josie laughed, turning back around to look at him then. “Did you make me spill juice?”

“No princesa, you spilled the juice all by yourself.” He gave her a look. “I just bought the wrong juice.”

“Ohhhhh.”

An older parent turned in their seat and glared at you, “Your daughter is kicking my seat.”

“She’s definitely not.” You shot back, gesturing to Josie who was practically laying on her chair with her body stretched out between you and Javier in the most ungraceful fashion. “But thanks for your concern.”

The woman huffed, turning back to face the stage of graduates as the School of Architecture started reading out names. 

You and Javier exchanged looks. 

“JoJo, why don’t you sit in my lap?”

“I’m bored.” She complained, scrambling into Javier’s lap. 

“Once that group of people walk across the stage, it’ll be Monica’s turn.” You explained, glancing at your program. “There’s only… about forty students before her.”

Nadia leaned towards you, “Better than being a ‘W’.” She bounced Sofía on her lap. “Did Monica tell you about her bio-parents?”

You frowned, “That they’re garbage human beings?”

“They sent her a graduation card. Well, to her on-campus mailbox.” Nadia made a face. “It was an extremely passive-aggressive congratulations.”

“Are you kidding me?” Javier questioned, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “They’re not here, are they?”

“No.” Nadia shook her head. “As dramatic as that would be, they made it clear they’re daughter was no daughter of theirs.” 

“That’s bullshit.” You seethed.

“Mommy!” Josie giggled.

“I know.” You reached over and gave her leg a pat. “Sometimes there’s no better word.”

“I’m sure she’ll show you the card.” Nadia told you, playing with Sofía’s curls as she sank back against her chest and sucked at her thumb. 

“Look who decided she was ready to settle down.” You said with a soft voice as you reached over to stroke her cheek. “She’s getting so big.”

“I know.” Nadia grinned. “I remember when she was just a tiny thing.”

“We’re so glad you’re part of their lives.”

“Your family means a lot to Monica, for what it’s worth.”

“I know how important it is to have a family that loves you.” You told her. You’d waited a long time to accept that fact yourself. 

But if you had come to terms to your own unexpected family, you knew you wouldn’t have the ones sitting beside you now. 

 ———

 “Congratulations, George.” Javier offered as he shook the hand of his former student. You recalled what an absolute tool he had been the first time you’d sat in on Javier’s class — a bit too similar to Chris. 

George turned towards you then, “I’ve recommended your class to a couple of the guys who are taking the slow route through the degree. I think they could really benefit from it.” He held out his hand.

You shook it, before readjusting the squirmy almost two-year-old in your arms. “I’m glad to hear that. Luckily I’ll be teaching two units of the elective next semester. The Dean seemed quite pleased with my guinea pigs.” 

“I learned a lot,” He admitted, before his eyes flickered downwards to Josie who latched onto Javier’s leg. “Why’d you bring the whole family?” 

Before either of you had a chance to answer, Monica and Nadia appeared. 

“There’s our girl!” You grinned, keeping Sofía tightly secured in your arms as you went in for a hug. “I am so proud of you.”

“I couldn’t have done it without your support!” Monica beamed as she pulled back, laughing as Sofía grabbed at the tassel hanging from her cap. 

“Give your sister a hug,” Javier urged, nudging Josie forward. 

“Congra… congrabulation.” Josie pouted when that word didn’t seem right. “Happy birthday!”

Monica crouched down to her height, “Con.”

“Con.”

“Grad.”

“Grad.”

“Ulation.”

Josie made a face, “Congrabulation.”

“Close enough.” Monica laughed before she stood back up to hug Javier. “Thank you for taking a chance on me… dad.”

Javier looked over Monica’s shoulder at you, the way his lips were purses revealing that there were tears in his eyes behind his tinted shades. 

“Dad?” George questioned, arching a brow at you.

“It’s a long story.”

“Hey, Tasha!” He called out to another student that you recognized from Javier’s classes. “Did you know Monica was Peña’s daughter?”

“What the fuck?”

“Oh, Jesus.” You rolled your eyes, looking towards Nadia. “Should I bother explaining this?”

“Not worth it.” She laughed, shaking her head. 

“Is there still ice cream cake, mommy?” Josie questioner, tugging at your hand. 

“Yes, in just a bit.” You promised her, before you turned your attention back to the students that had heard George’s pronouncement.

“Monica, you never told me your dad was Professor Peña.” Tasha said, looking more than a little shamefaced at this turn of events. 

You had a feeling she was one of the ones that had a crush on Javier. And who could blame them? Even now, he was rocking a look that made you wish you were alone with him. 

“I’m not technically—“

You were quick to interrupt her, “She’s technically our daughter where it matters.”

“She’s my sister,” Josie stated loudly, grabbing at her legs as she grinned up at Monica. “And she lets me have cupcakes before dinner.”

“Girl! You can’t be revealing all my babysitting secrets!” Monica said dramatically as she reached down and took ahold of Josie’s hands.

“Don’t you all have parents to greet?” You questioned, shooing the curious students away. “Well, we know what everyone will be talking about next semester.”

Javier grumbled, “They’re so effing nosey.”

“You’re a Peña where it matters.” You assured her, pulling her into another hug. “I’m so proud of you, Monica. I knew from the start you were destined for greatness.”

“Easy!” She squeezed you back. “I haven’t even found a job yet.”

“You will.” You gestured between Javier and yourself. “We’ll make sure of it.”

“Sending the elevator back down,” Nadia pursed her lips and nodded approvingly. “With a touch of favoritism. I can jive with that.”

“Ice cream cake!” Josie whined, swinging on Javier’s arm. “I’m hot, daddy.”

“Alright, let’s load up.” Javier clapped his hands together. “No reason to bake in this heat any longer.”

“Josie, hold your father’s hand please.” You urged, switching arms as you carried Sofía. 

“Told we should’ve brought the stroller.” Javier said as an aside. 

You nudged him the ribs, “Behave, Mr. Hot Professor.”

He groaned as you followed Monica and Nadia towards the parking lot. “I bet right now they’re trying to figure out how Monica’s my kid.”

“That’s your fault for being old,” You taunted. 

“I don’t recall you calling me old last night.”

“Alright, alright.” You laughed, nudging him again. “Was that the first time Monica’s called you dad?”

He worked his jaw, “Yep.”

“I know she’s referred to you that way with me, but I didn’t know if she’d said it sincerely before.”

“I can’t imagine our life without her.”

He shook his head, “She was such a great student in that first class. I knew she was struggling outside of class and I wanted to help her.”

“I remember she was there when I came to tell you about Sofía.” You grinned. “And when we…” You cleared your throat.”

“Yes.” Javier chuckled. 

“I think I’m gonna stay an adjunct, just to keep loitering in your office.”

“For non-nefarious reasons, I assume?”

“I certainly don’t think they’re nefarious.” You slapped his arm playfully. “You seem to enjoy them.”

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. “I’m looking forward to a summer with you at home. All the time.”

“About that…”

Javier’s head snapped towards you. “What?”

“You’ll have me about ninety percent of the time.”

“What did you agree to?”

“Steve needs an extra pair of hands working on some instruction manuals for a couple seminars he’s booked.”

“Baby.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” You assured him. “I’ll just be working on the copy for him. And… maybe I’ll be needed for a day or two — over the entire summer.”

“You just can’t relax can you?”

“It’s a flaw.”

“I’ve noticed.” Javier chuckled as he shook his head. “Well, I guess it’s not too bad.”

“Good, cause I definitely already agreed to it.” You shot a finger gun at him before walking ahead to unlock the car. 

You hadn’t had a full summer with just the four of you or even when it was just three of you. The prospect was both exciting and daunting. You’d been working every day since you turned sixteen and now you had down time. 

But the girls would only be little for a finite period of time. You knew that in a blink of an eye, you’d be at Josie’s college graduation. 

You really didn’t want to miss a thing.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

That Be Some Good Buttercream

Summary- Steve and Bucky get your help in replicating a howling commando days battle using Christmas baking fun. But... Does anything ever quite work out the way it should? Set in the same characters I used in Night In, Looking Pretty Fly and Popping Pez and Mismatched Socks. Written for @official-and-unstable-satan​ 300 Follower Celebration Challenge. She still has many prompts, check it out. Prompts in italiacs. No warnings, all fluffy. 

Word Count- 1.6k

A/N- so proud of your accomplishments babes, you are an amazing writer and I love getting lost in your stories and listening to your ideas. I know your just gonna keep going up from here. Love you always babygirl 💚😈💚😈💚😈💚

“Bucky, they came around from the south end” 

“No they did not. I remember Steve, I was there.”

“Yea, and so was I” 

You and Sam had been listening to the two super soldiers carry on at the oversized table in the compounds kitchen dining area for a good hour before you readjusted the volume on the tv once more. Sam, half laying over half the couch remained scrolling on his phone, remarking. 

“Aint gonna do you no good, they just get louder.”

You sigh and hit the off button, he was right. Might as well go see what these two were up to anyways. Pushing yourself off the couch, Sam promptly stretched his legs out onto where you were sitting, making himself comfterable. “See you on the other side Kid!” He joked, settling into watching youtube. 

Wandering in, you saw the two men bent over  large map, Steve with pencil in hand drawing arrows to discern where they started from, stretching it across what looked like a military base. Bucky shook his head. 

“No no no, Punk, I wasnt up there, I was down here” 

“Bucky, I had you up on the highest point, it just looks weird on paper.” 

“You know what, this is pointless.” You could see Bucky getting aggitated with there project, pushing himself away from the table. “We need like... a 3D model to get this right.” 

Steve to straightened up, his arms folding as he looked down at the heavily marked paper. “Well... Tony does have some...” You interrupt in this time, moving over to the table and taking a peek at what they were doing. 

“You know, I have an idea of how to make you two a 3D model.” Both the men quirked brows, curious as to what you had in mind. "Givingerbread reanatcment.” 

You expected a rebuttal, a laugh, anything, since you were joking. But the two of them actually looked thoughtful, glancing at each other. “It would be easier then trying to draw it out” Steve mentioned. “And easier then trying to get Tony to set up the AI model for us.” 

“Plus we get some fucking cookies... Im in.” Bucky grinned, obviously pleased in the options of snacks. What started as a joke from you became a very serious matter as the two Soldiers dragged you into the kitchen. The two of them looking at you expectedly. 

“I was just joking guys, Im not making you a hydra replica gingerbread base. You know how much shit that would take.” At this point you backtracking a bit, wishing the words hadnt fallen out of your mouth so damn easily cause you thought is was funny. 

“Nonsense, you wont be doing all of it. Were going to help.” Steves already moving to wash his hands as Bucky is digging through a drawer and slipping on a god damn “Kiss the Cook” apron, he found in a drawer, ties it swiftly around his back and rolls up his sleeves. 

“You know you always wanted to boss us around Doll.” Bucky smirks, wiggling brows in a teasing manner. “You finally get your chance.” 

You look between the two men, the two of them nodding in encouragement, Steve composed as ever, waiting for You to explain how to start, and Bucky well he was opening drawers, pulling out random stuff that he thought you might use. He held up a spatula with a smirk, slapping the utinsel against his palm. “How about we get this train moving kids.” 

Relenting, you turn to your phone for a recipe. “Okay fine, since you all insist. We need flour, sugar, eggs, ginger, cinnamon....” While your listing, both men are scrambling to find everything, and piling it on the counter, yourself you bring out some bowls, cookie cutters, lets face it. You needed the actual men to decorate like howling commandos. Turning on the oven to get it preheated, you search for decorations. “Steve, store run? We gotta make this accurate you know, and Buckys all dressed up for a day baking. Hate to send him." You just kinda motion lver Buckys getup, the kiss the cook stretched over his chest, the apron a size to small for him really.

Your already grabbing paper and jotting down a detailed list of food coloring, frosting, candies and such. Steve snatched the list when you held it out, he had a general idea of it all and nodded. "Dont hesitate to put Bucky to work. He just pretends to be all intimidating."

You roll your eyes and back in the kitchen theres a "Steve your a dick" retort from Bucky whos looking over the mess of ingredients piled on the counter. Steve, seemingly joyful as he grabbed keys and left, you suspect you might not see him at least another hour or two. No worries, you had the other super soldier on hand.

Heading back in you hand Bucky a bowl and eggs. "Start cracking, separating yolk from white, and no shells." You cant help but from watching him, looking a bit like a lost child, before he he starts to crack eggs and inspect for shells. You watch from the corner of your eye as you put together the dry ingredients, and start mesuring out the molasses, talking him through the rest of the buttercream frosting ingredients.

Dipping your finger in his finished product, you lick the tip of your finger, smirking at his widened eyes. Yea Steve, hes very intimidating. You maybe took a bit to much pleasure in teasing Bucky on occasion. "Mmmhh my very favorite part.... "

He cleared his throat and looked away, it might be a bit mean, but he would give it back later, this was a dance the two of you played. "Okay, what now?" He said a bit gruff and you grab your rolling pin, holding it to him.

Eyeing it a moment, his brow arched. "Ya want me to roll the dough?"

"Yea Buck, nice and thin, since you two want to make all these outer buildings as well." Pointing to Steve's sketching, And you reached in the dough and piled it on the counter on front of Bucky. "And Steve said to put you to work."

"I notice you gave Steve the easy job." He muttered as he started to flatten the dough.

"I knew you were more capable."

Bucky couldn't hide the grin at the compliment, and afterwards you both measured, cut and got the cookie sheets in the oven. Stealing part of the couch back from Sam and watching trash tv till the oven beeped. Bucky vaulted over the couch, head back into the kitchen and pulled them out of the oven.

"Are they firm?" You ask, peeking at them, a light brush of your fingers against them. The room smelled like bake gingerbread and smooth sugar. Tempting delectables to say the least.

"Yup, now what?"

"Cool and mantle your buildings." You say as You slide them off onto wire racks. "Go get the frosting, and I will show you." Already he was rummaging in the fridge to retrieve it. Peeling off the plastic cling, you pick up one of the cooler pieces and edged it with icing. Folding two pieces together. "Easy as that. You try."

Bucky took it so seriously, the tip of his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he piped that icing. His brows furrowed together in a dip right at the center. You bite back a grin and get a large dollop of icing on your finger and flick it at the man. Landing right in his face. He drops his cookie in surprise and blinks though the icing. "Fucken hell, Y/N! Whats that for?" Wiping it off, he flicks it back at you and you squeal getting hit.

That's war!

"Oh its on Barnes" smirking as you grab a cookie and crumble it, shooting it at him. Cookies fly, icing it flung, flour, and sugar is used to blind one another, you two ducked around the table, screaming and yelling insults playfully.

Bucky tried using the hose at the kitchen sink to spray you, in which you ducked and rolled right into him, the two of you collapsing in a heap on the floor among all your hard work, broken and scattered. Steve stood in the doorway, arms laden with two paper bags, his jaw hanging open at the mess. Bucky pokes you to get your attention and the two of you sit up, covered. Head to toe in frosting, flour and cookies.

"I was just gone an hour..."

"Its a long time to be left unsupervised." You shrug as you smear some frosting off your shirt and lick it off your finger, Bucky helped himself to your shirt frosting to since he had thrown half the bowl on you.

"Oh damn, thats good!" He grins.

"What about this is good?! You mean your gingerbread murder scene?!" Steve toed a dead gingerbread man with the tip of his shoe.

Bucky looked around and glared at his friend. "IT WAS HISTORICALLY ACCURATE" His voice raided to defend the mess and you promptly stuff a cookie in his mouth to shut him up.

"Come on Steve. Did the Hydra base not look like this after you two and the howling commandos were done?" You throw a cookie at him which bounced off his chest. "Eat a cookie, you feel better" next to you Bucky continued eating broken gingerbread men, grinning at his friend and nodding.

"Best damn cookies besides your mama's!" Bucky added between mouthfuls

"I just... Pick this up you two before tony throws a fit." Turning with the bags of candy he bought, passing Sam, he ditched them on the man still scrolling youtube

"You couldn't watch them for two seconds Sam?"

"And break up that little love fest? Puh-lease" Sam grinned at Steve and dug into the paper bags looking through the snacks, pulling out twizzlers.

"SCORE!"

@what-is-your-plan-today @p8tn0lish @kitkatd7 @stuckonjbbarnes @sebbbystaaan @kimisama1989 @simsadventures @that-damn-girl @imanuglywombat @jtargaryen18 @stardancerluv​ @princess-evans-addict​

[diddlesanddoodles]

Dumpling ch 25

Three parts muddled meadowsweet, two parts crushed licorice root, one part muddled ginger, and seven parts vinegar. Steeped for a week and dilute with honey water before consuming to sooth the discomfort caused by heartburn.

“Probably the most widely used tincture here,” Farris told her. “We have plenty still in storage, so there’s time enough fer ya to learn it proper like.”

He gave her the already measured out ingredients and had her simply practice muddling them in the mortar, which was a hard enough task in and of itself. The stone pestle was heavy and she needed both hands to proper grasp it. She had only just been working at it a few minutes with Farris watching over her when his laugh broke her concentration. He was shaking his head and she furrowed her brows at him.

“This is hard!” she proclaimed defensively.

“Ah, thought it looked easy, did ye?”

“It’s really heavy...” she whined. “And you’re a lot stronger than I am...”

“Oi, yer not quitin’ on me are ye, gal?”

She frowned at him stubbornly. “No!”

He seemed pleased with her answer. “Good. Now keep at it,” he told her with a jerk of his head in an encouraging gesture. He left her then to her own work and with a stubborn determination, she pressed on. Once the flowers and ginger had been mashed to the consistency that Farris wanted, she scooped it out into bucket. After rinsing the bowl with some vinegar, she used the pestle to smash up the licorice root. It only needed to be broken open to proper steep later so it was not quite as arduousness. The jar of vinegar was as tall as she was and filled almost to the top. She had to climb onto an overturned ramekin to to be able to reach high enough to dump the ingredients. She watched the debris of the flowers and crushed ginger slowly float down while the licorice root dropped fairly fast and settled at the bottom. For something meant to make a person feel better, it sure smelled bad. The smell of ginger was not too awful, only that it was pungent and clung to her fingers, but she did not care at all for the smell of the licorice. When Farris returned to check on her, her held the jar up to the light and hummed approvingly. “Not terrible fer ya first go at it.”

He sealed the jar and put it away inside a chest with other similar jars. For the rest of the day, Farris had her working on more of the meadowseet tinctures until she was able to make it from start to finish on her own and only needed Farris to fill a jar with vinegar for her and seal it once it was done. Nenani found it oddly pleasant change of pace for Farris to actually be pleased by something she did rather than exasperated.

…………………………….

In the end, Farris declined to attend Gregis’s funeral, but sent his condolences and several gifts of foodstuffs with the attending Vhasshalan party as well as a message to the presumptive successor, Warrick.

“It’ll be a day or so before he sends any message back,” Farris was telling Bart. “I’m not sure how much Gregis shared with ‘im about the arrangements, so the sooner he’s up to speed the better.”

“When do you expect t’ be making another trip?”

“Next week at the earliest,” Farris answered. “Unless Keral hears anythin’ different, but he’s got a tick up ‘is arse about somethin’ else and hasn’t answered my last note.”

“Seems like they’ve been much quieter this year. Not as many. Might be a sign that they’re finally stoppin’.”

“Aye. Had ourselves a dozen or so this time last year. We’re only sittin’ on four or so now. Five if ya include the Dumplin’.”

Bart let out a breathy snort through his nose. “Wouldn’t count her in the lot. She came to us by basket, not the markets.”

“Not much difference,” Farris replied. “If they’d ‘a found her at any point during the journey, she wouldn’t be here right now. Could have very well ended up in that market.”

“Well, best be thankin’ whatever stars she was born under that it didn’t happen that way.”  

Farris nodded. “Believe me, Bart. I do.”

…………………….

By the morning Jae arrived to drag her on a tunnel exploration, Nenani had all but forgotten about the entire conversation they had regarding that very thing. She had just finished her ninth successful tincture when he suddenly popped up on the table next to her. He wasn’t wearing his fine clothing and instead had opted for his preferred outfit of trousers and a tunic. She jumped when his head suddenly popped up from the table’s edge and he loudly greeter her. “MORNING!”

“Ah!” the empty bucket she had been holding went flying and bounced several times before rolling off the side of the table. From the next prep table over, Avery was loudly laughing.

“You scared me!” she whirled on Jae as he climbed up, breathlessly laughing.

“Oh boy,” he said, brushing off the front of his shirt. “I really got you good.”

She threw a piece of licorice root at him and he turned away just as it hit his upper shoulder. He was still giggling like an idiot as she walked over to the edge of the table and looked down to see her bucket in the grass far below.  

“Forget it,” Jae told her. “Besides, we got tunnels to explore today, remember?”

She bristled, having done just that. Forget, that is.

“Can’t,” she replied simply. “I’m making tinctures.”

Jae looked over at her set up and tiled his head at her curiously. “Uh...why?”

“Farris gave me a job,” she replied proudly, sitting down next to her mortar and pestle and began to break meadowsweet into manageable pieces and dropping them into the bowl. He watched her for a moment as she ground the blossoms.

“He’s having you make heartburn tonic?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” Jae didn’t say anything else and just quietly sat down. Propping his head up in his hands, he watched her work and was quiet for several long moments. She glanced at him periodically, viewing him with deep suspicion. But he simply sat there, placid and still. Behind him, Nenani noticed Kol walking over with a bucket of water to fill up one of the cauldrons. His eyes briefly glanced their way, but he continued on with his work.

“So, how long will it take?” Jae asked finally. “Until you’re done, I mean.”

She shrugged noncommittally. “Until he tells me to stop.”

Her eyes caught sudden movement and she turned to see Kol standing behind Jae, a wicked smirk playing on his lips while Jae remained ever unaware. Jae opened his mouth to say something just as Kol slammed both of his hands down on either side of the boy and shouted, “MORNIN’!”

“SON-OF-A-!” Jae jumped and scrambling to his feet, but slipped and just ended up face flat on the table. Above him, Kol doubled over as he belly laughed himself to the point of not being able to breathe.

“Fuck you, Kol,” Jae said, making a rude gesture in the cook’s direction. “Just...fuck you.”

“Sorry, lad,” Kol said once he was able to breathe. “I couldn’t not...”

Jae pushed himself up onto his elbows and sighed. “Get all our jollies out?”

Kol smirked and put his finger to his lips in mock consideration. “Hm...not sure yet. Might be - AH!”

Farris smacked a hand across the back of Kol’s head as he walked up behind him. “Get back to it, Kol. Ye can pester the humans after ye done yer fuckin’ job.”

Jae did nothing to mute the very satisfied grin as Kol walked away, nursing his sore head. And then winced when Farris tapped him on the head, just hard enough to smart.  

“As fer you, lad,” Farris continued. “Won’t Donal be missin’ ya? Or ya shirkin’ yer new job already?”

“I’m not shirking anything,” Jae replied. “It’s my day off.”

Farris grunted. “Must be nice.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. Not my fault you never actually take yours. And don’t say you don’t have them, because I’ve seen your contract,” Jae said, pushing himself to his feet. “In any case, I’m hear to steal your ward for the day.”

Farris raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And where might ya be stealin’ her off to?”

Jae grinned. “We’re gonna go look for dead people in the tunnels.”

The particular face that Farris made was one Nenani was not familiar with. He looked equal parts horrified, angry, and incredulous. “Yer fuckin’ what?”

Nenani buried her face in her hands, groaning. “Jae, it sounds bad when you say it like that.”

“And just what other fuckin’ ways are there fer ya to say that it don’t sound bad?” the giant demanded. “And what do ya mean by dead people in the tunnels?”

“That day she lost her marker?” Jae explained, sounding far too excited. “Yeah, she found some other tunnel and there was this room full of dead people. Like...graves. Old ones. Human. We’re gonna go find it.”

Farris pinned Nenani with a look. “And just when were ya gonna say anythin’ about this, hm?”

She squirmed under his gaze and when she didn’t answer him, he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gods piss on it...”

“So, can I borrow her for a bit?” Jae asked, his face pleading.

“So long as ya bring her back before sundown,” Farris replied gruffly and then pulled a slip of paper from his apron. He carefully rolled it up and then held it out to Jae. “And ya can be givin’ this to Maevis fer me while yer at it. Yer day off be damned.”

Jae eagerly reached out and grabbed the roll of parchment and tucked it under his arm, giving the spice master a lazy salute. “Can do, Farris.”

…………………………………………

Nenani regretted not speaking out to say that she was in fact very uninterested in trying to find the catacombs again. She was sure Farris would have told Jae to bugger off or something if she had said so. She really needed to learn to speak up more.

“After I drop this with Maevis,” Jae was saying. “I figured we could start near the tapestry you described and try to find the door you left from.”

“Okay,” she said. “But, just...if is it alright with you if we do find it that...that I don’t go in?”

Jae looked at her. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?”

She frowned and stared at the floor pensively. “They...kind of...sort of...spoke to me.”

Jae did not say anything and she could feel his eyes on her and she was beginning to feel real unease until at last he spoke. “Huh. That’s kind of neat. What did they say?”

“Huh? Oh,” she said, taken aback by his lack of surprise. “The gold prophecy. The one about the King.”

“So...you think you might have a bit of foresight then?” he asked her and then laughed. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t be foresight since it’s already happened. What makes you able to talk to dead people? Necromancy?”

“Why is it funny?”

“It’s because the gold prophecy is a joke,” he told her. “You either believe it wholeheartedly or think it’s complete bunk. Most folks I know tend think it’s bunk.”  

“I don’t even understand what it’s even saying.”

“It stars with ‘The river runs uphill to the dying songs of the fall of fools and Kings that tear flesh from bone and the crown from the mountain.’ That’s suppose to be about the murder of Prince Thadeus and the Blood King declaring war on Silvaara. The next bit is ‘Water runs red with fire and shall rise when the old blood runs new.’ The interpretation I’ve heard most about is that it’s about the battle of Riftside where the Fire Mages set the Daehil river on fire to stop the Vhasshal advancement. One of Warren’s brothers died there. The last part is ‘The flesh taken will be paid in blood and the dead walls will rise with gold.’ This one everyone seems to agree is about the Blood King being usurped and Warren taking the throne. And that’s why everyone calls him the Gold King. But never call him that to his face. He really doesn’t like it.”

“Why does he hate it so much?” she asked.

“Lots of reasons,” Jae replieed. “But I think he hates it because it reminds him of what his father and brothers did. They committed genocide and reinstated the act of eating humans. He hates it because even though they did all that terrible stuff, they were still his family and he still loved them. Probably still misses them too.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Nenani mulled over Jae’s words. She supposed it would really hard on someone to still love a person who did terrible things. It was probably really hard to mourn them. But her thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the library. Upon entering, Nenani was greeted by the distinct smell of parchment and ink.

“Hey Barnaby!” Jae called as they began to climb the human stairs carved into the table’s center support that led up onto Barnaby’s workspace. “I’ve got a message for Maevis from Farris. Can I leave it with you?”

“Absolutely, my boy. Come on up!” came the somewhat muffled response from the archivist. They stepped onto the table top and made their way to where Barnaby was sitting at a human sized table and drinking a cup of tea. Belatedly, they realized he wasn’t alone. Another human was sitting with their backs to them, also enjoying a cup of tea. Suddenly Jae stopped and Nenani bumped into him.

“Oof, ah. Sorry,” she said and looking at Jae’s face, she frowned. “Uh...Jae?”

He was staring wide eyed at the stranger and Nenani glanced their way just as they turned around in their chair.

“M...Maevis?!” Jae asked incredulously. Nenani starred uncomprehending. The man who sat in the chair did look like Maevis. He wore the same maroon robes and his hands were gloved and he had the same round amiable face and brown hair. But...he was tiny! Well, tiny for a Vhasshalan. He was as tall as a human and had they never met before, Nenani would have never known he was actually a giant. Still with the rolled up note tucked under his arm, Jae ran over to the table to stop by Maevis’s side. The magician was grinning at Jae’s slack jaws expression. “You...you’re...”

“...smaller?” Maevis finished with a knowing smile. “Amazing isn’t it? I’ve been working on my shrinking spells for years now, but I’ve finally found the proper methods to shrink myself. What do you think?”

Jae’s eye lit up with enthusiasm and excitement. “You look ridiculous!” Jae told him with a laugh. “I mean...wow. This is actually amazing. Not that you don’t do amazing spells already, but...this is so much more...wow.”

“Thank you, Jae,” Maevis replied with a bright smile and patting the boy on his arm. “I’m happy to know I have your approval.”

Jae suddenly recalled the note and held it out for Maevis with a smile of amused smugness. “This is for you. Sorry it’s a little more cumbersome than you’re use to.”

Maevis’s made a face as he took the rolled up note, it’s size awkward at his new height, and for several moments he floundered on what to do with it. Finally, he set it to lean against the table. “Oh. Thank you, Jae. I...I will read it later. I have a feeling I know what it is.”

Jae immediately slipped into one of the other spare seats and started in on Maevis with his questions. “So? How weird is it to be small?”

Maevis shook his head indulgently and spared his young companion a warm smile. “The first time I succeeded in shrinking myself it was horribly disorienting. That and the fact that the potion did the trick in shrinking my body, but...well, it does not work on clothing.”

Jae snorted into his hands.

“So I had to use the shrinking spell in line with the shrinking potion and get the ratios just right. Endlessly challenging, but such a triumph to have succeeded! And I must say how wonderful a feeling it is to be able to talk with you all on equal footing. I imagine craning your neck up at us all day long becomes quite tiresome.”

“Neck pain is just an inevitability,” Jae shrugged. “Why do you think I hang out on shelves so much? Oh, hey, Nenani, come over here. It’s just Maevis. He won’t bite. Plus he’s smaller so it wouldn’t be as bad even if he did.”

Nenani hadn’t realized that she had not moved at all and when Maevis turned to look at her over his shoulder, his face enigmatic, she had a brief moment where all she saw was not the sweet man before her, but the hard lined face of an angry Vhasshalan magician as he burned an attacking wyvern to cinders. A pain throbbed between her eyes and she winced, holding her head as an incomprehensible chant echoed in her head. She heard a chair squeal as it was pushed out from the table and rushed footsteps. Gentle hands gripped her shoulders and Maevis knelt down in front of her.

“Does it still pain you, little one?” he asked softly, his honey colored eyes soft and concerned. He gently ran his gloved hand across her forehead. “I have some tonic for the pain...”

“I’m okay,” she said, blinking rapidly as though to wave the lingering ache between her eyes away. “It’s gone now.”

He stared into her face as though trying to determine if she was lying, but then he closed his eyes with a resigned sigh. “Good.” he said. “I would hate to think you’re wandering around the castle if you should still be in your recovery bed.”

“I’m alright,” she said and when he raised an eyebrow at her she protested. “I am! Ask Sawyer!”

“No need,” Maevis chuckled. The sleeve of his maroon robe fell back and Nenani could see the bandages still wrapped around his arm. “I’m sure she took excellent care of you.”

  “Maevis?” She asked timidly, the evidence of his injury making her insides squirm. “I actually wanted to thank you. For saving me from the Wyvern.”

The magician looked startled for a moment and then smiled at her, but it seemed forced. Sad even. “Oh. Oh, my dear. You do not have to thank me.”

“Yes I do!” she insisted. “You were really brave and I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

Maevis cupped his hands around her face and laughed. “You’re terribly sweet, Nenani,” he told her and bristled when she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Ah-!”

“Thank you,” she said softer, her voice muffled by his robes. She felt his hands wrap around her to return the hug and his laugh shake her just a little.

“I believe this is the first time I’ve ever hugged a human. Properly at least.”

“OH MY GOD!” Jae suddenly yelled, startling them all badly. Poor Barnaby who had been silently drinking from his tea cup jumped and sent the cup flying through the air before gravity pulled it back down and it shattered on the floor.  

“What’s wrong?” Maevis asked standing up and pulling Nenani to his side protectively, his face full of worry. “Jae?”

“I just had the best idea!” Jae said with excitement and then looked over to see Barnaby kneeling on the floor and picking up the shattered cup. “Ah! Sorry Barnaby. Let me help.”

“My goodness young master Jae,” Barnaby said as the young man started cleaning up the spilled tea with a rag. “What was that hullabaloo all about?”

“Oh! Yeah, so my idea!” Jae turned to Maevis, his eyes bright with unbridled energy. “You should come explore the tunnels with us today. You never could because...well, you were too big. But now you’re small!”

“Explore the tunnels?” Maevis asked, confused but intrigued. “I would have thought you were the expert on the tunnels.”

“I am,” Jae replied with a prideful smirk and then pointed to Nenani. “But she found a corridor I didn’t know about...”

“Jae,” she whined, already knowing where he was going. “Please don’t...”

“...and there was a room full of dead people!”

Barnaby slowly stood with the broken tea cup in his hands, regarding Jae as though he were concerned that he had lost his mind. Maevis had an equally bewildered expression.

“Please find a better way of explaining it,” Nenani begged him. “It sounds so bad when you just say it like that.”

“Nah,” Jae replied with an impish grin. “The reactions are the best part.”

“Alrigtht,” Maevis said, his tone oddly serious. He placed his hand gently on Nenani’s shoulder and steered her to stand next to Jae so he could look at them both. “What exactly do you mean by ‘room full of dead people’?”

“There’s a catacomb,” Jae said. “A bunch of old graves and bones.”

“Vhassalan graves?”

“No,” Jae replied. “That’s the weird thing. She said they’re human graves.”

Maevis looked into Nenani’s face, his eyes seeking. “Is this true? You found a human catacomb in the tunnels?” Nenani squirmed under the scrutiny and wished she had never said anything at all.

“Nenani, dear?” he pressed.

“She’s just scared because they spoke to her,” Jae said. Maevis closed his eyes and sighed in restrained irritation.

“Jae, my boy. I appreciate that you are only trying to help,” he said sternly, but tried to keep his voice measured. “But I need to hear her speak. Please.”

The young man blushed and nodded, slipping into a chair. “Sorry.”

“Now,” Maevis said gently. “Nenani?”

She bit her lip nervously. “When Creag chased us that day and I got lost. I found an entrance to the tunnels, but when I went inside there weren’t any orbs or light at all.” Maevis did not say anything, but lightly inclined his head in clear encouragement to continue. “And I kind of walked around in the dark for a little bit and then this torch just...kind of lit up.”

The magician’s eyes narrowed as he considered her words. “A torch?”

She nodded. “But the fire was weird. It didn’t burn and wasn’t hot and didn’t...really look like fire.”

“How do you mean?”

“It was...kind of wavy, but...like this,” she moved her hand back and forth, trying to imitate the way she remembered the flames slowly danced. Maevis’s expression made her nervous. “And there were more of them and the when I got to the end, there was a big room with holes in the walls and...there were bones inside. People.”

Maevis rubbed his chin pensively as he contemplated what she had said. “And you say they...spoke to you?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes.”

“What did they tell you?”

“...they just kept repeating the Gold Prophecy.”

Maevis’s serious and thoughtful composure slipped and he looked at her with an expression of incredulity. “What? That old thing again?”

She only shrugged, her brows furrowed. She looked down at her feet, her hands wringing. “It’s everywhere...”

“Nenani,” he said patiently, cupping her cheek and bending down to look her in the eye. “I know such things sound terribly frightening. And that is not to say they cannot be dangerous. But it is important to remember this about prophecies: they are often lies wrapped in a thin veil of truth.”

“But why did they speak to me?” she asked, feeling the prickle of tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

The magician’s eyes softened and he looked at her sadly. “Do you remember when you asked me to evaluate whether you had been cursed?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“Well, my dear child, I am afraid I was not completely honest with you at the time. It is true what I said; there isn’t a speck of malignant magic about you,” he was quick to explain, but then paused as though mulling something over in his head. He sighed deeply and told her, “...but you are touched by magic.”

“...touched?” she asked quietly, not understanding him.

“Yes. Those who are touched by magic often draw arcane forces to them under no fault of their own. Magic is attracted to magic by its very nature the same way two water droplets will pull towards one another as they fall down a pane of glass. And wild magic can be very damaging if proper protections are not put into place. I believe that may be why your village thought you were cursed.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but it died on her lips.

“Now, you have not done anything wrong, little one. I need to you understand and believe it. I do not know why these graves are there or who they use to be,” Maevis brushed his finger under her eye to wipe away a tear. “But you do not need to fear them. If these spirits had any ill will or intentions, I would know about it.” He paused and then said, “They may even be trying to help you.”

“It won’t go away,” she whispered, her throat feeling tight and it was hard to speak. “I hear it everywhere. In my dreams. All the time. And then the attack happened and….he came. In my dreams, they said he would come and he did. I don’t know what they want. Keral doesn’t think he’s after me, but I can’t help but think it. I’m scared, Maevis. The smoke mage...he scares me so much.”

Maevis pulled her into his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder as she shook with emotion and fear. “The Smoke Mage will never get close enough to harm anyone. And by the Gods, I most certainly won’t let him ever harm you.”

She could hear the distant clang of metal upon metal and her uncle screaming at the smoke mage as they battled on the boat. Her heart ached as she recalled the image of her dear uncle’s face as he bled out and his bright eyes fall dull and dark. His kindness and strength had felt immeasurable to her back then. But he died. Like so many others. Like her father... and mother...

“...I think he killed my uncle.” Her voice was so low that she wasn’t even certain she had said the words. But she felt Maevis’s arms around her stiffen. She started to weep into the maroon robes. “I don’t think Keral is right anymore. But I really wanted him to be right because I know he would do his best to find the Smoke Mage and stop him and I know you are too, but...”

“Nenani...”

“...he’s looking for me,” she sobbed. “He’s trying to find me. But I don’t know why!”

The arms round her shifted and she was unexpectedly swept up into the magician’s arms. He held her tightly and swayed back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and for a moment, she could almost pretend he was her uncle and not a temporarily shrunk Vhasshalan magician. “Shh. No tears, little one. Shh...oh, you poor child.”

“This Smoke Mage is a mad man,” Barnaby said, his face hard and pensive. He had been mostly silents, content to watch and observe, but there was pain in his eyes. “He has power yes. But he is still human and only one at that. He can be stopped.”

“The might of Vhasshal is behind us,” Maevis said to them all, still rocking Nenani. “He will not succeed in whatever his intentions are.” He spoke to Nenani then, voice quiet and reassuring. “My dear, think of all the people who love you; Farris, Yale, everyone in the Kitchens. Lolly, Barnaby and I. Jae here. We will not let him harm you.”

Maevis lowered her into one of the chairs and pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiping her face and petting her hair as she composed herself.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she told him, tears pouring out of her.  

“Nor will they.”

“How can you know?”

“It is my intention to uncover his machinations,” Maevis told her firmly, a flash of the hard faced man returning. “What purpose he has for you, I do not know. But Keral and I intend to find out. And perhaps we will start with these catacombs of yours. They may offer us some clues. Perhaps they may even lead us in the right direction, if the bones feel exceptionally chatty today.”

[gingerwritess]

ok but reader and loki debating over who's gonna be frigga's favorite when we all know it's gonna be elliot

anon has the right idea

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So baby Frigg. Let’s talk about her. She likes to cry.

Constantly.

She wails, screams, sobs, and especially at night.

After the first four nights of her being home, both you and Loki were running on two hours of sleep (combined) and trying every possible thing to get her back to sleep.

She’s devious, actually. She’ll fall asleep, stay quiet long enough for the two of you to drift back to sleep, then start thrashing again, wailing at the top of her little lungs.

Loki’s nearly in tears by the…I don’t know, seventh time tonight? He hates the sound of crying. Drives him insane, after all he’s been through, after all the crying he’s done himself.

He always starts shaking, gets all pale, starts showing most symptoms of a panic attack; now, he has layers of sleep deprivation just to add to it.

You shush him when he jolts awake again at her cries, cold sweat making his hair stick to his cheeks.

“I’ll take care of her,” you whisper, brushing a hand over his forehead. “Sleep, Loki, go back to sleep.”

“N-no, I can help—”

“Shh. I’ve got it.”

You, uh, definitely haven’t got it.

Frigg cries and cries and cries and you rock her, you feed her, you change her diaper, you sing to her, take her outside…nothing.

A thought of Elliot trying to sleep passes your mind. Already dreading waking Loki back up, you take the crying baby back inside.

“Hey, Loki.” You rub a hand over his shoulder, but he’s already awake, head shoved under a pillow. “Can you keep her cries to our room? Some kind of silencing thing, so she doesn’t wake up Elliot?”

He nods, yawns, and twitches a hand.

“Thanks, love.” Back to bouncing Frigg around the room.

Still crying, she starts shaking, too, and you hurry her back over to Loki; this might be getting out of your hands.

“Sorry, Loki, I think she’s actually in pain.” You try to nudge your sleeping husband, your baby squirming out of your hands. “Can you do something about her? Please? Is there anything we can do for her?”

No response besides a snore.

At least he’s asleep, finally. Leaving you alone to deal with this child, but hey, that’s fine, marriage is all about self sacrifice…

Tears are even starting to prick your eyes when she wakes you up again, having just quieted for about four minutes—just enough time for your head to hit the headboard and let you drift off. The constant up and down is worse than if she just kept you up all night.

But she’s back to crying, back to squirming, and Loki hasn’t moved.

You check if he’s breathing, just in case.

Maybe feeding her will help again?

Yeah…no. No luck with that. You’re back to walking her around the room, showing her her dad—who honestly might’ve slipped into a coma, judging by the fact that he doesn’t budge—trying everything you can to just get her to stop crying.

The door creaks open and a tired pair of little blue-green eyes peek inside.

“What’d you do t’her, mom?”

At that point you actually nearly break down in tears—the exhaustion just hits and you flop back onto the bed, hugging Frigg tight and slowly realising that now you have two little kids to put back to bed at four in the morning.

And Loki is asleep.

He needs it, you swear to yourself, not even trusting your composure to respond to Elliot, he needs it, he needs it—

“S’okay, mom,” Elliot quietly assures you, rubbing his eyes and coming over to pat your arm. “S’not you, she’s cryin’ for somethin’ else.”

“Wha-what?” You sit back up, blinking tears out of your bloodshot eyes. “I’m sorry we woke you up, sweetie, I thought dad did a silencing thing.”

“Nope, I heard her all night.” He reaches for his crying little sister and you gladly hand her over, making sure he’s supporting her head and holding her tight. “Hey Blueberry!”

That at least brings an almost smile to your face, and you fight to keep your eyes open as he starts rocking her in his little arms.

“It’s me, Elliot, ‘member?” He bounces her a bit, grinning down at the baby. “I’m your big brother. Can you stop crying, please? I wanna talk to ya.”

“Good luck with that,” you laugh tiredly, grabbing your pillow from under Loki’s arm—again, he doesn’t budge.

You don’t bother lowering your voice; he’s out cold.

Elliot’s little Asgardian accent drones on in the background, mixing with Frigg’s wails, lulling you further into an exhausted rest until your head drops to the pillow and faster than a blink, you’ve fallen asleep.

* * * * * * * *

It’s quiet. Too quiet.

You wake with a jolt, blinking and whipping your head around looking for your baby—what the hell did you do with her last night??

Loki still doesn’t move, not when you throw his arm off of you and fall out of bed, scrambling to your feet and coming to a screeching halt at the sight you find in front of you.

Elliot’s asleep, slumped against the wall with Frigg on his shoulder.

Asleep.

Silent.

You sit back on the mattress with a thud, mind reeling as you stare at your son holding your little baby. She’s actually asleep, and apparently for long enough to allow Elliot to fall asleep, too, all cuddled up against his neck and breathing gently and not crying.

Saying a silent thank you to Elliot, you roll right back over with a grin and throw your arms over Loki’s waist.

He finally, finally moves.

Shoots straight up in bed, breaking right through your hug, and you have to really hold back from bursting into a fit of laughter.

“What in Valhalla—”

You immediately shush him, pointing at your sleeping kids. “He got her to sleep!”

Loki blinks at you and you can’t help but laugh.

He looks adorable. Still half asleep, his hair is an absolute wreck, smushed on one side and sticking out in weird angles, and there’s lines from his pillow wrinkling indentations into his cheek.

“You still look exhausted, cutie,” you laugh quietly, leaning over to plant a kiss on his chin—okay, you were aiming for his lips, but didn’t quite fall through.

“WHAT??”

“Loki, holy sh—” you clap both hands over his mouth.

He just yelled that.

“What the hell was that for?” You hiss, praying that he didn’t just wake the kiddos back up.

“What are you—”

“Shut up shut up shut up!!”

Okay, he’s not yelling, but he’s still not being quiet.

His eyes wide, confused, and puffy with sleep, he squirms out from under your hands and points at your mouth.

Can’t hear you, he mouths.

“What?”

Can’t hear you. No sound, what did you do?

Wait a minute.

It clicks for Loki at the exact moment your eyes widen in realisation, and he quickly taps a finger on his forehead, shaking his head and blinking a couple times.

“So, uh…that’s why you slept so well.”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, grabbing you and pulling you into a tight hug. “Gods, I’m so, so sorry, I thought I put it over our whole room, not just you and Frigg—”

“I’m offended,” you laugh, twisting around in his arms to pat his chest. “You really put a spell on your wife, just so you could sleep?”

“I didn’t mean—oh gods, I’m so sorry, did you get any sleep?” He runs a hand over your face, holding you away so he can look at you, inspect your tired face. “You look exhausted, love, I’m so sorry…”

“Gee, thanks, honey.” Pushing his hand away, you scoot forward and nestle into his arms, still wanting to go back to sleep. “You don’t look too hot yourself.”

“No, gods, that’s not what I meant—”

“I’m kidding,” you laugh, pulling him back down for a kiss. “Go to sleep, Elliot’s doing our job right now.”

“You’re beautiful,” he whispers, “even exhausted, you’re beautiful beyond belief.”

“Okay, sleepyhead, I said I was kidding.”

“I’m still sorry, I didn’t mean to do that—mmm.”

Maybe you had to practically crawl on top of him, push him back onto his pillow, and smash your lips to his, but hey.

At least now he won’t wake Elliot or Frigg.

“Thanks, Elliot,” Loki mumbles, drawing you into his arms and tucking you under his chin.

“Yeah,” you giggle, hugging him closer, “thanks, Elliot. Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

hope you enjoyed, feel free to send me ideas!

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug  @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas @doralupin01 @whitewitchdown @atomiccharmer @falconfeather23435 @babygirlicecream @avengrcs @vethrvolnir2 @bookgirlunicorn @wabisabigrl @myhealingstar @khaleesi-marvel @ei77777 @spacecrumbs @scarlettghost13 @rocks-are-pretty-odd @confessionsofastrugglingteen @easilydistractedwriter @arttasticgreatnessoftheawesome77 @fluffyllamaswearinghats @milktearose @lcyouinhell @h0tshotholland @dontmesswithmemundane @southsidesarcasticwriter @helnik-s @lilith-akemi @fire-in-her-veinz @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt @mischievousbellerina @kcd15 @mellowgirl01 @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @allthingzhiddleston @scorpionchild81 @lokixme @blue-automne @galaxycharmed @devilbat @kangaroobunny @end-up-well @planetariumx @sarcsep @mrfandomtastic @amaru163 @im-way-too-many-fandoms @caswinchester2000 @kybaeza @wester-than-west @vintagesunshinebitch @adefectivedetective @poetic-nikolai @moonduhsted @kerri-masson @iamverity @innaminitus @spnbarnes

[strongsassysexysloane]

You and Me

https://jpncis09.tumblr.com/post/190725282440/you-and-me please read this before continuing.. 

My muse is Jack Sloane and my crush. . . 

. . . 

You almost jumped out of your skin when theres a knock at the door and then Jack hangs up the phone. "It's unlocked." You shout.

"Youre as bad as Gibbs." She complains walking in and closing the door behind her.

"Hello to you too." You put a few fries in your mouth and fold you legs in front of you, leaning back into the couch. She sits down across from you in the arm chair.

"I don't care that youre bi, I'm bi." It took a few silent minutes of you refusing to talk for her to finally speak.

You nod, reaching for some more fries and putting them in your mouth. Not ready to give anything to her conversation just yet. That and you feel like youre about to cry from everything that has just happened in the past two hours. Why does everything have to happen at the wrong times.

"You gonna just eat or say something?" She seemed flustered. Fidgetting with her hands, kept crossing and uncrossing her legs. If this was any other scenario you'd find it quite funny and adorable. Ok, you do find it adorable.

"Eat. Because being Bi doesnt explain your behaviour." Your mouth twitches and you curse to yourself. Jack saw it and she knows the game you're playing or hiding from.

"Elsa guessed, didnt she." Jack leans forward and grabs a fry from your dinner and you raise a brow at her challenge. She knows your rules about not stealing your food. The first time she stole something from your plate during a lunch break you swatted her hand away with a squawk about 'Joey doesnt share food!' and she laughed. But you noticed the sneak attacks she made while she thought you werent looking and one day you just ended up ordering an extra side of fries and she laughed.

But the mention now of Elsa's name brings you back to the harsh reality at hand. Apparently that name now hurts to hear out loud, you feel guilty and in an unfamiliar territory. "Hey, you ok?" Jack moves to get up but you hold out your hand.

"Stay." Jack sits back down but with a very concerned look on her face. You've never said no to Jack's contact before. "Jack, why did you come tonight?"

"Because the team was going out for-"

"Don't." You know she's avoiding the question, trying to play it off. "I'm a psych major remember." She huffs out a laugh at that. You know all the tricks, espeically hers and that avoidence was just sad.  

"Because I needed to see you. Apologise. Clearly I hurt you." She waves to the tear rolling down your cheek. You quickly wipe it away.

"Yes you had a part in that but it's not what you think." You grab the burger and take a large bite out of it. Not ashamed of the way you eat in front of Jack. Hell, she's a more messy eater than you are. Plus your emotions are about to let loose and having a mouth full of food seemed like a good choice.

"Want to talk about it or eat it away?" She tries so hard to lift the mood and it almost works.

"Eat sounds good. Not sure I can talk right now." You swallow the last bit of burger and grab a few fries.

"I'll be here when you can." She gets up. "Sorry to ruin your night, I'll see you monday." She grabs her handbag and car keys.

"Why didn't you go to Gibbs place after the bar tonight?" You stop her in her tracks half way to the front door.

Jack turns. "Needed to see you." A sad smile on her face. She leans against the doorway facing you.

"Why?" You take another bite of your burger, keeping your eyes on her.

"Thought you didn't want to talk?" She pushes off the doorway and walks towards you, stopping short of the couch, still giving you space.

"I dont." You swallow. "Doesn't mean you can't." You munch on a few more fries.

"Think it's much of the same conversation." She shrugs. She's trying so hard to hold onto her resolve but you can see it cracking and you feel your walls starting to slip away.

"Jack I think Elsa broke up with me." Your wall crumbles and you burst into tears, you aren't sure where they come from, its mostly confusion youre feeling. You bury your face in your hands and don't see Jack scramble to your side but you feel her when her arms wrap around you and tug you close.

"I'm sorry, im so sorry." She buries her face in your hair and your gut churns. You shouldn't feel like this just after a break up but having Jack so close. It feels right and you think back to what Elsa said. The tears start to fade and you calm down your breathing down. "Was it because of me?" You can't speak, you don't want to talk about it, you aren't ready to admit about it because you don't know what it is. But your head betrays you and you nod. "Im sorry." You think you can hear Jack start to cry and you pull back to see tears run down her cheeks.

"Hey." God, seeing Jack cry breaks you. "None of that." You wipe her tears away and she smiles at you.

"You can cry but I cant?" She reaches up to wipe the stained tears on your cheeks.

"Seeing you cry, it hurts." You swallow, nervous. Feelings bubbling to the surface, feelings you were so unsure of. The moment you saw Jack on your first day at HQ you felt butterflies. Everytime she smiled and when she laughed, you couldn't help but smile. You'd never felt these feelings before for anyone. Mostly confused you moved these feelings aside to get on with your job and didn't let yourself think about it. Just enjoyed the friendship that started to form and then you found Elsa and the feelings were buried so deep that it wasn't until tonight that they reappeared. That and she clearly had a thing for Gibbs.

"Hurts me to see you cry and think I caused it." She disentangles herself from you, but you reach out just in time to catch her hand before she can get more space. Maybe Elsa was right and you hate yourself for it. For leading her on without knowing you were.

"Can't help who we fall for." You see shock cross Jack's face and you laugh. "Once Elsa pointed it out, the feelings I buried so deep resurfaced. Thought you were into Gibbs." She squeezes your hand.

"I mean. That ship sailed long ago. We are good friends now." Jack smiles, you can see a memory flash through her eyes.

"Is it over?" You tug at Jacks hand, pulling her back to the present. "I can't be in the middle, espeically if it invloves Gibbs."

Jack shifts, you are trying to read her but somethings changed. She drops your hand and you try to get it back but she leans forward and you suddenly realise what she's doing. She's above you, arms on either side of you, resting on the arm of the couch behind you.

"You sure?" You just nod and her lips meet yours.The world goes silent and all you can feel and hear is her. Jack has you on your back on the couch and she's above you, letting her body weight rest on you and you love it. Wrapping your arm around her waist, making sure she doesnt move and you moan into the kiss. The kiss turns into several and you can't get enough of each other.

You both have to catch your breath. Jack tries to crawl off you but your arms are locked around her waist.

"At least let me roll onto my side." She laughs and you loosen your grip so she can roll onto the couch beside you and youre so thankful for the width of the couch you bought. Perfect amount of room for the both of you but you still tug her close. "For a person who ju-"

You kiss her again, and stopping her from talking is now one of your favourite things. "Someone had eyes for someone else until they saw I had a -" You go quiet and move to sit up. All the emotions from tonight are getting too much. You were distracted by having her so close that you pushed everything out of your mind.

"I'm such a horrible person." Leaning your elbows on your knees and burying your face in your hands.

"Hey." Jack wriggles around on the couch so she can tug at your arm so you look down at her and seeing her face makes you smile, its just that simple. "She gave you an out. She saw it, you aren't cheating, we aren't going to do anything else tonight. If that makes you feel any better." Jack laughs softly.

"Slightly." You lean down and aim to kiss Jack on the forehead but get her lips instead and smile. "Cheeky."

"Always." Jack says against your lips and tangles her hand in your hair. "So much for discussing later." You both laugh at that.

"You bring it out of me. Move back." You nudge against her cheek and roll back down beside her on the couch. You nuzzle your face into the crook of Jack's neck and she wraps her arms around you, bringing you in close. You're surrounded by her and you take a deep breath.

"Thank you for talking to me. Sorry I -" She stops and you laugh into her neck. "Shut up." You kiss her neck and she hums.

"Think I found a spot." You put another open mouth kiss in the same spot and suck slightly.

"If you don't want to do anything further tonight, I suggest you stop that now." She tightens her hold of you and you leave another kiss there before turning and inhaling her hair.

"You smell so good." You mumble.

"So do you." Jack kisses the side of your head and you two settle into silence. It's not long before you feel Jack's hold of you loosen and you look up and see Jack's fallen asleep.

You wriggle slowly, not to wake her and move up the couch to get your head ontop of a pillow and pull Jack into your chest. She snuggles into your side but doesn't wake up. You think back over the night and how drastically its changed. You can't help but feel bad for Elsa but she gave you something so special, you just hope it doesn't fall to pieces. Thinking it might be a good idea to go see Elsa at work tomorrow instead of calling her. It's such a strange situation but then again nothing in your life has ever been simple or worked out the way you planned.

"Your heart is racing, hon. Just breath." Jack rises up and you look up at her. You smile at the nickname, so endearing, like you've been together for years not minutes.

"Sorry, but now that you're awake, let me get up and switch off the lights." Jack nods and rolls onto her side so you slip free and do what you said.

"No bed tonight?" Jack smirks are you slid back down onto the couch, tugging a blanket from the back of the couch and placing it over you both. You hold out your arm and she snuggles back into your chest and wrap your arm around her, running your fingers up and down her arm.

"You and my bed, now that's destined for many late night fantasies." You chuckle as Jack raised her head back up, looking at you with a raised brow. "A girl can dream."  Jack wriggles up the couch and kisses you, long and slow. "Few on this couch too." You feel Jack laugh against your chest as she settles back down beside you.

"And I thought I was the naughty one." She runs her fingers up your side and you flinch. "Ticklish are we."

"If you continue, I will kick you out." Jack's hand stops and tucks back under your butt. "Smooth." You drop a kiss to her head and settle back down, trying to will on sleep but fully aware of the woman attached to your side.

. . . .

I know its not the best but my imagination is on fire. 

[samesongxox]

Savior: Chapter 3 (A Crack in the Stone)

Summary: (Hellboy 2019) AKA Turning a New Leaf AKA Good Samaritans Need Love Too. The B.P.R.D is tasked to infiltrate a black market creature trafficking ring led by a powerful warlock. Hellboy rescues Phyrra who is found being held hostage, a slave for her magic. He must protect her as she is hunted by her master and his gang of monsters. (AU where Broom isn’t dead/Abe wasn’t found)

It will be rated M, it will include violence, swearing, smuttiness, all the good things in life.

Disclaimer: Hellboy belongs to Dark Horse Comics/Mike Mignola, I don’t own anything except the AU and my OC’s.

The second the chopper landed, Phyrra was ambushed by agents. Binx the Pixie chimed in clear outrage as Phyrra was shoved around. Hellboy felt the same ire. The awaiting crew were less than gentle in their handling of her, even taking the extra precaution of cuffing her slender wrists to the gurney; the order wasn't given, but the nurses were taking no chances.

"Hey! Where you taking her?!" Hellboy grabbed at the male nurse who had his hand in a tight grip on Phyrra's shoulders, he could see the knuckles were white. What the hell were they told about her?

"She's passed out guys, could you be a little more gentle?" Hellboy attempted to keep the anger out of his voice, but still the question was posed as more of a demand. The nurse looked at Hellboy with bewilderment, however he did drop his hand from her shoulder, taking the metal bars on the sides as they began to move the comatose girl.

"Calm down son, they still need to take certain provisions." The Professor arrived unheard looking like the cat that caught the canary, this had turned out to be a very successful mission.

B.P.R.D headquarters was a large, subterranean operation; new tunnels being drilled everyday. When he had received the word from the Major about finding the cache of creatures, Trevor had never been so glad of it then when he saw the trucks pulling up, crate after crate of abused souls being dispersed with care to their temporary residences.

What he didn't expect was what came out of the chopper with his son. Trevor was only able to catch glances at the limp body with a womanly figure, surrounded by B.P.R.D members and Hellboy. His said boy hovered over the girl like a worried mother, Trevor was bemused at the sight.

Giving half his attention, the Professor listened as Ben gave him the report, the agents left behind in the skirmish managed to escape with little injury, most fortunate operation indeed. Trevor walked closer to have a better look at what was captivating everyone's attention.

Trevor immediately noticed her ears sifting through her long platinum hair as she was being transported.

An elven woman, how interesting.

Long ago, he had had the honor of dining with King Baldor in a rare show of peacekeeping between the humans and elves. Those elves in comparison to the one in front of him might of shared the pale complexion, but that was where the resemblance ended. They had not had her markings, nor her large obvious ears.

So a different race altogether, most fascinating indeed.

There was also the matter of the Pixie that flew aggressively around the girl, buzzing at the staff like an irritated bee. The Professor knew of the Pixie folk's loyalties, so was surprised to see the creatures attachment as it nestled itself in the crook of the girls neck, an undeniable protector of the Elf.

"Alright big guy, let the nice people do their jobs," Alice played peacekeeper, gently leading Hellboy towards the Professor and Ben, catching the forlorn expression her friend had at the sight of Phyrra being carted away. They were still at work but Hellboy's mind seemed to be on anything but the job.

"Well son, it is nice to see you finally bring a girl home." Hellboy glared at his father. Everyone was having too much fun at his expense.

"It's not what it looks like at all," Hellboy bluffed, this was unbearable. "Why the hell were they manhandling her like that? She's just a girl!"

"A girl that you found uncaged, we don't know if she's friend or foe"

"Bullshit! She didn't hurt any of us back there!"

"That's true Hellboy, but she can't trust her just yet. There was no other in a room as she was?"

"Well we didn't really have the time to find out. I stumbled onto her, she was passed out so I checked to make sure she wasn't dead. Then Alice found me."

"What of the warlock? The owner, Elias?" Hellboy opened his mouth to say he was dealt with, but then remembered the possessed way he had remained startlingly coherent while his body was no more than chum. No, he couldn't confirm the magical man was deceased. He told his father such and watched as he developed a quizzical expression.

"Yes, well we shall start interviewing our new occupancies. I'm sure something will turn up about their warden,"

"Alright guys, let's get her down to Med!"

At hearing that, Hellboy watched helpless as Phyrra was loaded into the elevator. She looked dead, unmoving and ghostly pale. The golden tattoos stood out even more against her pallor skin.

The doors closed, Hellboy's eyes turned down, he tried not to feel dismay at her being taken away from him. He had no right to feel that, he thought petulant as a child.

"You ever see anything like her dad?"

"Not sure Hellboy, let me go to the library and check out a few volumes that could help," the Professor spared a glance at his battered son.

"Please go down and see the doctor, you look like hell."

The Professor held the image of the book he wanted to look at first in his head, he felt the tickling sensation of remembrance, he felt as if he had read something in a text that could provide some answers.

Trevor left the trio still walking towards the entrances, Alice looked to Hellboy, a guilty countenance

"I apologize HB, it's just the way she clung to you made it seem like something else had happened before I came. You know I'm just having a bit of fun. I'd say this was a big win for us. Go Team!" Hellboy cracked a smirk at Alice holding her fist up, he bumped it only semi-begrudgingly, Alice gave Ben her usual enthusiastic salute.

"Well I think I shall head on over to my room, that place was muggy as a sauna. Make sure you tell me when she wakes up." Alice winked and the two men watched as the medium sauntered away, Ben turned towards Hellboy with what to an onlooker could be a displeased face, Hellboy could see the corner of his mouth turn up.

"I'll go down and begin to oversee the cataloguing. Feel free to join me once you deal with...This." The man whose job never seemed done gestured to Hellboy's overall terrible appearance, and hung a left at the elevators.

Hellboy entered the trolley, pushing the level for the infirmary without pause, that was where they were taking her. Finally alone, Hellboy sighed out in fatigue.

What was he doing? He was becoming too invested in Phyrra too suddenly, Hellboy stood there watching the floors ding by and attempted to reason with himself. He cared about her well-being for the moment, she was unlike anything Hellboy had encountered, and he prided himself on the crazy stories he told. This was going to be one of the ones he remembered for a long time.

In one day, he had seen a Centaur, fought a Warlock, won, rescued an Elf with a Pixie sidekick, and stole the Warlocks entire inventory of creatures he was trafficking in an auction house. It was an odyssey of a tale, one he would love recounting to anyone who would listen at the bar. His mouth felt particularly parched at that moment, he wished for his wounds to be dealt with quickly, he needed a beer or maybe a baker's dozen.

The elevator doors dinged open and Hellboy was once again a witness to a chaotic scene.

Phyrra was wide awake, holding Agent Hurse hostage. Pale arms wrapped around the larger man's neck. Hellboy could see him struggle in the little womans hold, face red with exertion, she was choking him. Hurse was a tank, the fact that she was incapacitating him with little effort stunned Hellboy.

Both of them were standing on a table, Hurse's feet scrambling to gain purchase on the surface. Hellboy never again wanted to hear her wild, furious voice boom in the small waiting type room. The nurses and doctors looked on in confused horror at the dangerous elf.

"Glenn- awaui! Im anír- i naru er!"

Ignoring the shouts from the people, Hellboy ran into the room, he pushed the panicking orderlies aside.

"Phyrra!"

Her eyes snapped to his and Hellboy gasped, her look pinning him to the spot. Her eyes held such fear in the crystal depths of them Hellboy felt breathless, the eyes glistened with unshed tears. Once he caught her sight, Hurse was immediately dropped. Hellboy vaguely heard him hacking in desperate breaths, the orderlies rushed to him, keeping their distance from the Elf that leapt off the table, in a breakneck speed running to Hellboy.

Hellboy heaved in distress as Phyrra flew into him, knocking her arms against his broken ribs in a desperate attempt to hug herself to him. Phyrra was insistent, molding her body to Hellboy's in a bold caress. Hellboy's ears hummed, she kept repeating something in a frenzy: Naru er.

Hellboy looked to all the staff, their baffling attention not helping calm her down, Hellboy shielded Phyrra from the crowd, raising a placating hand.

"Alright.. Just everyone relax," He tried to sound more in control than he felt. "What happened?"

"One second she was out cold, next she had me." Hurse rasped, pulling at his tie to relieve the pressure. Already Hellboy could see the bruises appearing on his skin and winced, Phyrra really did a number on the guy.

"You gonna be okay? Sorry about this," Hurse was one of the good ones, it would royally suck if he quit over this. Luckily the agent seemed to nod in acceptance, it was his mistake, the cuffs should never have come off.

The crowd parted as an elderly woman in a long doctors coat stepped into sight.

"Hellboy, I think you better bring her here." She gestured to an exam room, Hellboy thankfully accepted the doctors invitation, basically dragging Phyrra away from the prying, frightened eyes of the faculty.

"Show is over people, back to it!"

Hellboy liked Dr. Sorah. At this moment he could bow to her. For someone who sustained damage very often, it was a professional relationship that had to exist. She was reserved woman, a precise, intense, no nonsense taking kind of broad, Hellboy got along with her great. Her bedside manner was exceptional, she had a warmth about her, a damn fine doc.

"Quite the girl you have there Hellboy," he chuckled at the doc's statement.

"What can I say? I'm irresistible," Hellboy quipped with self-deprecation as he guided Phyrra to sit down on the cot beside him, murmuring to her it would be okay. He pried her fingers from his biceps, placing them in her lap. 

He felt quite vulnerable doing this with the doc's eagle eyes on him.

Phyrra remained silent through the whole examine. It seemed as long as she was with Hellboy, the girls temperament was sweet as sugar. She looked on with mysterious intent in her orbs as Sorah divulged Hellboy of his jacket, tossing the destroyed, blood soaked garment in the corner, she ignored Hellboy's protest.

"It's ruined Hellboy, I'll buy you another one for Christmas. I'll be right back, I gotta get the brace for your ribs."

Sorah sparred one more look to the mute elf. She watched as Hellboy sat on heavily on the cot beside him, and was spectacularly awkward looking as Phyrra grabbed at him, crawling boldly into his lap, eyes on the doctor the whole time.

The doctor couldn't be certain, but she was almost positive the way she was being looked at translated to: He's mine bitch. She shook her head as she walked out, having a good private joke at the half-demons expense.

Phyrra and Hellboy were once again alone together.

Well Hellboy thought, before he forgot about Binx, who flew out of the hiding spot Phyrra's robes pocket had provided, speaking her language in a most animated fashion.

"Binx!" Hellboy inhaled sharply at the dazzling smile that spread over Phyrra's lips. The Pixie flew into her owners hands and Hellboy watched as Phyrra laughed gaily, bringing the Pixie up to her face, she nuzzled her cheek against the Pixie. Hellboy felt unwanted jealousy at the moment between Binx and Phyrra, again he had to check himself for these foolish knee jerk reactions.

"Look Binx, is it? I don't speak fae so you're not gonna get anything out of me, but if you can understand me, I want you to know both of you are safe here," Hellboy felt pretty dumb talking to this Pixie, but whether she heard him or not, she seemed placated by Phyrra's attentions, she flapped her slight gossamer wings over to the corner of the pillow, settling herself comfortably, and all of Phyrra's attentions were on Hellboy.

She was being real clingy, Hellboy couldn't find himself bothered however. He was the one who carried her out of what could be described as nothing more than her prison. She was attached to him in an unknown place, full of people who were trying to poke at her in a vocabulary she didn't understand. Hellboy could recognize her panic.

They lapsed into a quiet consideration, as neither of them could actually converse. Hellboy was becoming uncomfortable in the position he was in. He could feel the broken rib poking most unpleasantly in his side, he hissed in irritation, silent in his willing the doc to hurry up. Phyrra pulled away at the sound. She inspected him as if seeing him for the first time, and Hellboy remained hypnotized once again by the sapphires.

"Cin thi- negr." Hellboy stiffened as she ran her fingers across the sizeable gash on his arm, her touch light and cooling across the heat of the wound.

It was quite sensual.

Hellboy sweltered at the way his thoughts were heading, as he realized the provocative way she was pressing herself against him. This was becoming too intimate a position, he attempted to pull away from her. Her eyes sparked with disappointment, pulling his arm back with the same strength he had seen her exert with Hurse, made even more pronounced by Hellboy's struggle to win, he was sure he was stronger than the human man. Phyrra had brawn, despite her slender appearance. She fixed him a look that spoke of her lack of intention to let him go.

"Dab- nin." Hellboy was startled, to say the least, when the swirls on her fingers began to gleam, moving up to her arms as the swirls began to rise above her skin, like ribbon they floated through the air and Hellboy was transfixed as they began braiding themselves across his injured skin.

He shuddered at the odd sensation, it was baking him from the inside. He felt as if the strands themselves were writhing inside the wound on his arm, somehow fusing to his ribs beneath his skin.

The pain was not too much though, in fact, it seemed like nothing he ever felt getting stitched up before; even stranger was the panting he was unaware of himself doing, whatever spell she was weaving on him pumping through him.

As nimble as the tresses of gold had flown over him, the enchantment was complete and the ribbons returned home, slowly Phyrra ran her fingers once again over the patch of skin on his arm, and Hellboy with glazed eyes looked down to see her running fingers over the smooth skin, not even a scar left behind. Hellboy woke up from the trance, running his hand down his stomach, feeling for the cracked rib, nothing. He took a long, deep breath happily; he was mended completely.

Using the sorcery drained her, no doubt. As Hellboy felt her become laxed in his arms, dropping her hand to his shoulder, her breaths deepening, slowing down as she fell into a deep sleep.

"You rest Phyrra, I'll be here when you wake up." Why he made that promise to himself in the quiet room, Hellboy didn't know; but if he wasn't intrigued by the elven girl before, the way he healed her gave him all the more questions. He had one answer nevertheless, why Elias wanted her in the first place, what had caused him such agony in the idea of her being taken away.

Hellboy thought back to the moment Elias had asked her to 'heal' him. She could of, but given the opportunity, she had been nothing but frightened of him. Not frightened of the hulking, demonic monster that she had woken up to.

He didn't want to, but the feeling of it gave him a jolt of happiness.

It wasn't often people looked at him with such… Need as Phyrra had, that was the only way he could describe it; he was half-man after all, and he did have a woman in his arms that seemed to enjoy being there. Even though it was all a lie, Hellboy couldn't stop himself from living the fantasy for a brief moment. This was an entirely different setting. She was in her right mind, this gorgeous creature was in his arms because she wanted him, not wanting to be protected by him.

Hellboy chastised himself before reality became too painful, he was so fucking pathetic.

Fantasizing like some lovestruck idiot over this girl who was going through something traumatic at the moment, she was only using him as some sort of anchor, he had to face the fact that she would come to her senses eventually.

Phyrra, even in her sleep, grasped desperately at his hands as he laid her back in the cot, Hellboy had to focus on the important things. Hellboy had the impression Elias was going to want her back, if only to inflict punishment on his runaway.

He'll have her back over my dead body.

Posted himself up in the semi comfortable chair beside the cot, at least it's got a cushion, Hellboy's thoughts drifted, he felt the drowsiness settling on him. The half-demon had been through a lot in the last four hours or so, he could shut his eyes for a few minutes. She would be safe for awhile.

fin

A/N: So thoughts, comments, testimonials anybody?

Translations:

1) "Glenn- awaui! Im anír- i naru er!" Go away! I want the red one!

2) "Cin thi- negr." You appear hurt.

3) "Dab- nin." Allow me.

[askthesadscout]

chapter one “No TALONT.”

“WATCH YOUR STEP!” Tracer called. Winter followed Reaper sneakily, figuring out what he was up to. “Is that your best stealth?” He sighed. Winter froze and tried hiding. “I know you’re there.” Reaper sighed. “NO I’M NOT!!” Winter snapped. “WAIT OH SH-“ Winter whimpered. She tried to scramble away before she was grabbed.  “LEGGO LEGGO LEGGO LEGGO!!!” Winter whimpered. “You did not think this plan through, did you?” Reaper asked. “I-I did!” Winter stammered. “A newbie. Interesting.” Reaper hummed. “I-I’m no newbie!” Winter stammered. “Then why did you pursue me?” Reaper asked. “Uh…….” Winter thought. “Well?” Reaper asked. “SHI+.” Winter gulped. “I wouldn’t put it that vulgar, but, yes.” Reaper said. “Well…….Let’s stall for a few seconds, huh?” Winter smiled nervously. “Why?” Reaper asked. “Just-Ya know! I wanna get to know ya better!” Winter stuttered. “Why do you want to do that?” Reaper asked. “Cause I know you’re a nice person and I know that there’s a person in there and that you’re very kind and sweet and cherished!” Winter stammered. “Am I?” Reaper asked, raising an eyebrow. “Y-Yeah! J-Just a rough exterior is all!” Winter stammered. “You’re an idiot.” Reaper sighed. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me.” Winter grumbled. “Of course. After all, it’s in an Overwatch agent’s oath to tell the truth.” Reaper smirked. “That-That was unnecessarily rude.” Winter whimpered. “Suck it up, buttercup.” Reaper growled. “And I, quite frankly, do not CARE.” He growled. Winter heard a familiar noise and looked up to see Tracer following above the rooftops. Tracer made a “stay quiet” motion and Winter nodded. “Now then, where were we?” Reaper purred. “Actually, buddy, couldja step a few inches back?” Winter asked. “Why?” Reaper asked. “Please?” Winter asked. “I suppose.” He said, stepping back. Winter looked up and nodded. “Wait, why did you-“ Reaper started before Tracer jumped onto him. “Get going, love! Jack wanted to see you!” Tracer said. Winter nodded and bolted off. 

Winter kept going until she reached the others.  “Winter! There ya are! You worried Jack SICK!” Junkrat scolded. “I know, I was just following a lead.” Winter lied. “Whatever, mate. Just go over to ‘im. He’s been searchin’ for ya.” Junkrat said, pointing to a small makeshift base, barely able to fit three people. Winter gulped and slowly headed in. “Report, Winter.” 76 said. “W-Well, sir, I-I was following a lead and-“ Winter stuttered. “Were you really?” He asked. “…………N-No….” Winter said, lowering her head in shame. “What were you doing, then?” He asked. Most people would assume that he was calm due to his tone of voice, but Winter’s been with this team long enough to know better. He’s not calm, just holding everything in. Heaven help your soul if he releases everything on you. Mercy will work too. “I-I……I was following Reaper….” Winter said defeatedly. “Of course you did. How did it go?” He asked. “N-Not as bad as the other times……..Then again, those other times were with Sombra, Widowmaker, Doomfist-“ Winter started. “10-3.” He ordered. Winter stopped dead in her tracks. “You went after Reaper. PLEASE tell me you took somebody with you.” He sighed. “……………..10-74…….” Winter sighed. “Winter, I get it, you wanna try and improve, but to improve, ya gotta SURVIVE to show that improvement!” He snapped. “I-I know, but-“ Winter started. “No buts. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but you’re getting stuck with the buddy system until you know better.” He sighed. “Bu-“ Winter started. “That’s an order.” He said. “B-“ Winter started. “AN. ORDER.” He snapped. Winter sighed. There was no winning. “FINE.” Winter sighed heavily. “Good. I’ll notify everyone about this. And you’re going with Team Wreck for another mission.” He said. “WHAT?!?” Winter gasped. “What? Can’t handle a measly mission?” He asked, a bit of a sing-song tone. “I can’t be on a team with them-I CAN’T be on a team with HIM.” Winter stammered. “Well, too bad, buckaroo, cause you are.” He said. “Ya gotta be joking. I can’t do it. Not with HIM by my side!” Winter stammered. “Why not?” He asked, tilting his head in confusion. “Have you MET him?!” Winter asked. “Besides, I’ve had enough missions with him to know he’ll try and take the credit for it.” Winter mumbled. “Winter, we’ve talked about your mumbling. When you mumble, nobody can understand you.” He sighed. “I know he’ll try and take the credit. I’ve had enough missions with him to know that.” Winter sighed. “Like it or not, ya gotta work with him. Now, everybody’s at the ship, and they’re waiting on you, so hurry up. They don’t like being kept waiting.” He said. “Bu-“ Winter started. “That’s an order.” He said. Winter huffed and walked over to the ship with her team waiting for her. “Winter! Small world, ain’t it?” Mccree smiled. “Don’t talk to me, Jesse.” Winter growled. “Uh oh, spaghettios! Somebody’s not in a good mood!” Tracer joked. “Lena, good to see you’re okay.” Winter smiled weakly. “You too, love!” She smiled back. “How’re you doin’, lass?”  Torbjörn asked. “Could be worse.” Winter shrugged. Then she looked in Mccree’s direction. “Oh wait, no, it couldn’t.” Winter grumbled. “What’s with her and Jesse? I know they have some beef, but I don’t know why!” Tracer asked. “Bad things happened and he was at fault for it.” Winter growled. “My fault? Never!” Mccree said. “Guys, guys, guys, come on! We haven’t even started the mission yet!!” Tracer said, standing between the two. “Right. THAT.” Winter growled. “So, who’s gonna be yer babysitter?” Mccree asked teasingly. “CERTAINLY NOT you.” Winter snapped. “Arright, that’s fair.” Mccree said, holding his hands up in defeat. “I can be!” Tracer said, waving her hand around. “That sounds good. Thanks, Lena.” Winter smiled. “No problem, love!” She grinned. “Wait, you’re all here, then where’s-“ Winter started. “Who, Hammond? He’s the pilot!” Torbjörn smiled. “I suddenly feel unsafe.” Winter said. “It’ll be fine! He’s a licensed pilot!” Torbjörn reassured. “Good…I don’t wanna die.” Winter sighed. (Timeskip because I’m lazy! ^~^)

“-And they’ve teased me about it ever since!” Winter scoffed. “Hah! I would, too, love!” Tracer laughed. “Betrayal!” Winter joked. “Move it, or lose it, team!” Mccree ordered. “Right.” Winter said, following everyone out. “We need to get in there and get everyone out safely, but first we need to get past the gate. Winter, that’s where you come in.” Mccree said. “Why?” Winter asked. “There’re some vents that lead through the gate, but yer the only one of us who can fit through.” Mccree said. “Why not have Hammond do it?” Winter asked. “His mech. Duh.” Mccree said. “Right.” Winter sighed. “Tracer, you’ll go in first and stay with Winter. Torbjörn, Hammond, yer with me.” Mccree ordered. Winter smiled as a joke sprung to her mind. “What are ya giving out?” Winter asked. “Orders…?” Mccree responded, confused. “One could say they’re a……MCCDECREE?” Winter joked. “Heck you.” Mccree growled. “Same to you, my cowboy compatriot!” Winter grinned, climbing into the vents. When she got in, she slowly opened the gate, making sure not to make any noise. “Good job, love!” Tracer whispered, sneaking in. Winter followed the instructions she was given and snuck into the security office (which was surprisingly empty) and disabled the cameras. “*Okay, now just wait there till we give ya the all clear to come out.*” Mccree said over the comm. “What?! I’m supposed to wait for ya guys to get everything exciting done and then I can leave?!” Winter whispered harshly. “*That’s an order, young lady.*” Mccree said. “Fine.” Winter sighed heavily. Winter sat back in the chair and sighed heavily. “Come on, love! It’s not so bad!” Tracer smiled. “Yeah, but it’s boring…..” Winter sighed. “I’m sure it’ll be fast! You know Jesse!” Tracer grinned. “That’s the problem. I know Jesse.” Winter grumbled. “Why’s that a problem, love?” Tracer asked. “He’s a pain….I know this from past experiences. Not to mention that he likes to risk the mission just for a bit of glory.” Winter scowled. “Love, I know he can be a bit cocky, but he’d never do that.” Tracer said. “No, he would. Trust me on this.” Winter sighed. “And others have gotten hurt by that.” Winter sighed. (Timeskip~!)

Winter woke up a few hours later, to find that Tracer was gone. “Lena?” Winter called. Winter ran out to find everyone left her behind. She scowled and sighed heavily. At least they left a miniship behind for her. She got in and started the ride back to Overwatch headquarters. As she walked through the door, she heard someone clearing their throat and tapping their foot impatiently. “And just why didn’t you come back with the others?” 76 asked. “I would have, had they woken me up.” Winter mumbled. “You’re mumbling again, Winter!” 76 snapped. “I WOULD HAVE, HAD THEY WOKEN ME UP!!” Winter accidentally snapped. 76’s face visibly froze and Winter realized what just happened. “Oooh~!” Mccree grinned. “Jesse-“ Winter growled. “Excuse me?” 76 asked, with that false calm tone again. “He didn’t wake me up when he should ha-“ Winter started. “Then MAYBE you shouldn’t have fallen asleep on the job!!” 76 snapped. “I-I tried-“ Winter started. “NOT HARD ENOUGH, APPARENTLY!” He snapped. “S-Sorry, sir….” Winter stuttered. “GOOD. NOW GET TO YOUR ROOM AND STAY IN THERE UNTIL YOU’RE EITHER CALLED OUT, OR TRULY SORRY.” He snapped. Winter trudged off to her room. “ooh~! Someone’s in trouble~!” Mccree sang happily. “SHUT. UP. JESSE.” Winter growled. Winter made it to her room and slammed the door shut and locked it. She tucked herself into a corner as tightly as she could.  (Timeskip~!)

Winter slowly got up as she was called out. “What?” She asked sleepily. “I came to check up on you. I heard Jack lost it last night with you.” Mercy said. “I’m fine now. I shoulda kept myself awake.” Winter shrugged. “Look at me.” Mercy said. Winter slowly looked her in the eyes. “No you’re not. I can tell.” Mercy sighed. “Mercy, I’m fine.” Winter sighed. “No, you’re not.” Mercy insisted. “What tells ya that?” Winter asked. “I asked Tracer about it and she told me that you were absolutely shaking.” Mercy said. “So?” Winter asked. “You still are.” Mercy said. “Oh……That’d be the anxiety attack still working.” Winter sighed. “Why didn’t you say something?!” Mercy asked. “I didn’t wanna seem weak…” Winter sighed. “Asking for help doesn’t make you weak! It shows that you’ve reached your limits and can’t push anymore!” Mercy assured. “Try telling my anxiety that.” Winter chuckled darkly. “Well, I can’t do that, but-“ Mercy started before hugging Winter. “-I can do this!” Mercy smiled. “Feel better?” Mercy asked. “Much….Thanks Mercy…” Winter smiled weakly. “Good! We wouldn’t want one of our strongest soldiers down, now would we?” Mercy asked. “You’re too nice to me, Mercy.” Winter smiled. “I do try!” Mercy smiled.

[xsister-serpent]

Strange Galaxies

Summary: Peter wants to make a name for himself in a new galaxy. Kylo needs an accomplice to help find Kyber Crystals. But there’s something else Kylo senses..another powerful energy hidden in this all too familiar smuggler.  

A/N: So i’ve been having this crossover story stuck in my head for a while and I finally got the nerve to write something for it. Tagging: @floral-and-fine !  

 The ravagers entered in the dingy bar filling up two booths in the corner of the bar. Peter couldn’t help but feel the excitement of the place, the music, the dancing, the women of all species looking for a good time. This was the first time he entered this part of the galaxy. A place where he could finally cause fame to his name.  An android waiter came by their table and began taking their orders.

“And for you sir?” The droid ask Peter.

“I’ll have whatever they’re having,” he replied as he spied on a beautiful red skinned Twi’lek.

“Of course sir,” the android nodded.

The beautiful alien bashfully smiled at Peter as she began whispering excitedly to her other girlfriends. Peter smirked to himself in confidence, that was until he felt a stinging slap to the upside of his head.

“Quit drawing attention to yourself!” Said his centaurian boss Yondu.

“Damn it man! Im just trying to have a little fun.”

“Yea well that,” Yondu motioned to the alien “That ain’t little fun. She’s a spy.”

“How am I suppose to know that?!” Peter began rubbing his head.

“You don’t ya idiot, we are in an entirely different system now. These folk don’t know us and we don’t know them. This isn’t like back home understand?”

“Then why did we come here if everyone is so dirt poor?”

“Not everyone in this joint is dirt poor, people come here to get favors done. Word has it politicians come snooping about to get their favors done too. Politicians ain’t never short on money.”

Peter sighed as he saw the twi’lek disappear in the crowd. He’d have to kept his own personal agenda on hold for now. Once more Peter blue eyes scanned the room. Yondu was right, these were lifeforms and people he never seen in their part of the galaxy. And the very few he did were war refugees. The waiter came back with their drinks, placing them on the table.

“Alright boys drink up!” Yondu cheered.

The ravagers cheered and began to drink heavily. Peter took a sip of his drink and winced as the sweet burn ran down his throat. Might as well make the most of it, Peter said taking another drink.

Suddenly a shorter bug like alien came barging in the door way slipping on the stairs.

“THEY’RE HERE!!” The alien screamed.

Immediately the bar began shake violently causing the bottles and drinks to come crashing down. All the patrons began scrambling around the bar. Everyone began yelling in different languages and shoving past each other to the nearest exit.

“What the hell!?” Peter spoke as a person spilled his drink on him.

The centaurian grabbed an the unsuspecting stranger from the other side of him and yanked him onto the table.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on??!” Yondu growled at the frighten stranger.

“The first order!,” The stranger rasped, “If you’re smart you’ll leave and never look back!”

The stranger broke free and tried to make his way out but it was too late. Peter eyes widen as he saw storm troopers marching into the bar. Soon more began blocking the exits and herding everyone together. Yondu noticed that they were surrounded and cursed under his breath.

“What should we do boss??” Asks a ravager as more stormtroopers gathered the group.

“We wait,” Yondu replied sitting back down and looking around at the troopers.

Peter placed his hand on his gun lightly touching the trigger. The gang settled back down into their booth watching the troopers silently. Peter saw a tall black hooded figure enter the door way.

“Who is he??” Asked one of the ravagers.

“That’s kylo ren,” whispered a man a few meters away from him.

“Hm,” Yondu paused.

The stormtroopers made a pathway for Kylo as he reached the bar area. The remaining patrons stood in an eerie silence. Peter glanced at him. With his darken mask and robes he looked liked someone very important.

“Is some kind of general or something?,” asked Peter.

“He’s a knight for the Supreme leader Snoke,” the stranger whispered, “What he wants here I can’t say.”

 Peter watched Kylo looked around the room. Even with his dark mask Peter could feel the steel gaze radiating from him. The masked man saw the gang.

“Ravagers aren’t known to be in this side of the galaxy,” his metallic baritone voice spoke.

Yondu stepped beside Peter and the group, “We’re just visiting folk.”

“Visiting?” Kylo repeated, “I find that very hard to believe.”

“Believe what you want,” Yondu shrugged.

Kylo tilted his head, “You look smart. Smart enough to stay alive. What if I told you I could make you the richest smugglers this side of the galaxy?”

Yondu rose an eyebrow, “How so??”

Peter glanced at Kylo’s lightsaber.  What a nasty piece of work, Peter thought.

“200,000 units will be handed to you to complete this task and the fame that comes with it,” Kylo spoke as a small hologram projected the numbers, “No questions asked.”

The crowd began to whisper in hush voices, but none of them had spoken up. Peter eyes widen at the prize money and went to Yondu.

“Let me take the job,” Peter urgently whispered.

Yondu seemed a unfazed by money as he stroked his chin carefully.

“Boss that’s a lot of money” said another ravenger breaking Yondu from his thought.

The gang leader carefully examined Kylo, looking at his saber then at the storm troopers.

Yondu answered, “No.”

“Are you serious?” Peter gasped, “You’re gonna turn down that money??”

Yondu shot a look at Peter and whispered harshly at him, “If you know what’s good for you , you’d keep that mouth of yours shut.”

Peter glanced back at Kylo who was staring at the crowd.  The masked man tilted his head at Peter, meeting his gaze. Kylo sensed a sudden shift in the air, a force almost like his own but not. Kylo felt a presence coming from the man. Something not entirely his own.

_Peter…Peter Quill, _kylo thought as he scanned the ravenger.

His reminded him of someone, someone he knew all to well. A small fire of anger sparked in his chest but he quickly snuffed it out.  Kylo pointed to Peter.

“You,” Kylo commanded.

 Before Peter could respond two storm troopers yanked him away from the group throwing him down. Peter fell to his knees wincing at the dull pain in his knees. Yondu blew a high whistle causing his red floating arrow to stop inches away from Kylo’s mask.

Kylo stood there unwavering, “Child’s play.”

With a flick of his wrist the arrow suddenly shot back at Yondu now a few inches away from his neck. The ravagers quickly pulled out their guns as did the storm troopers. The gang was outmatched and out numbered.

Yondu snarled at the knight, “I don’t know what game you’re playing at. But it ain’t gonna work.”

“I’d mind your business centaurian. Or do I have to call your blue skinned cousin to come and get you. It’s hard to believe to you two are related.”

Yondu glared at Kylo.

“Yondu just let me take this job,” peter urgently spoke, “200,000 that’ll set us up for a while.”

Yondu looked at Peter and then at Kylo.

“Alright!,” Yondu replied, “But you keep your word.”

Peter smirked with pride and stood on his feet. Now everyone in the galaxies will know the name star lord.

“Good,” Kylo spoke dropping the arrow to the feet of Yondu.

“So w-,” Peter was suddenly shoved away to the rest of the storm troopers.

“Bring the smuggler to my ship,” Kylo commanded, “You will go back to Supreme leaders ship and give my coordinations only to Lieutenant Mitaka, is that understood?”

The storm troopers nodded as kylo began waking to his ship.

Peter looked back at the group as he walked outside. The city was now silent as a grave. He felt that same ominous feeling that wash over him as he followed the mask man into the ship.

He’s just a man in a mask, right? Peter thought.

The knight slightly glanced over his shoulder as though he physically heard Peter.

Right??

[hannah-mic]

New Love

Killian Jones x reader imagine

Summary: AU  during Christmas time where you are a struggling bartender at a pirate themed bar called The Jolly Rodger, and one night, a musician comes in to play a set. He sticks around afterwords to talk to you.

“(Y/n) you’re late,” your boss scoffs at you. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I missed the bus,” you tell him. “Just get behind the bar and start tending,” he spits at you. So you hurry and throw your purse behind the counter and tie your apron around your waist. You emerge from below the counter and are swarmed with a flow of customers. “Can I get a rum and coke?” “Sure thing, coming right up,” you tell the customer before you. So for a while you’re swamped and you’re just making drink after drink after drink. Your boss Mitch comes up behind you and yells in your ear, “We have a live musician coming in so please when they get here, help him set up.” You look at him and say, “Mitch how am I supposed to bartend if you send me to do that?” “Figure it out,” he spits in your face and storms off. 5 minutes later you see someone clad in dark jeans and a leather jacket walk through the door holding a guitar case. “That must be him,” you mutter. So you make your way over to wear he awkwardly stands. “Hi,” you shake his hand, “You must be the live musician.” “I am,” he tells you in a thick what sounds to be irish accent. “Well, we’ll get you set up over here,” you motion to the stage, which is really only a small platform at the front of the bar. So you walk him over to it. “Alright I can take it from here, but can I get a bottle of water please,” he asks you. “Sure thing,” you tell him and turn away. You blush because you can feel his eyes on you as you walk away. You duck behind the bar and grab him a water. When you return you find him setting up two microphones, one for his voice and one for his guitar. “Here you go,” you tell him. “Thanks love,” he replies in his adorable accent. That makes you melt. “So what kind of music do you play,” you ask him. “Well mostly-“ you get cut off when your boss steps over to you and screams, “(Y/n) stop flirting and get your ass back to the bar, where you belong!” You blush a deep red, embarrassed by your boss screaming at you in front of this cute foreigner. “Well, I guess I better get back,” you tell him. “Alright, well keep your ears perked up, hopefully you can listen to me play, I think you’ll like what you hear love,” he smiles at you. All you do is nod sheepishly. “Ok,” you say. And with that you turn around and walk back to the bar.

10 minutes later you hear the radio cut off and your boss’s voice come through the microphone, “Alright all you guys we have a very special treat for y’all, requested by popular demand, the irish folksinger Killian Jones!” You look up and see him step out on the platform. “Thank you very much. I’m going to start out with one of the first songs I ever wrote. It’s called stay with me,” Killian sits down and pulls out his guitar. You take a sharp breath when he begins to sing and stares right at you. He sings about a loved one leaving you, and the lyrics bring a familiar sorrow to your heart. You smile back at him in encouragement. “Can I get a drink over here,” a rude customer yells and pulls you out of your daze. “Yes, I’m sorry, coming right up,” you turn to the customer.

A half hour later Killian says to the crowd, “I’m gonna take a short break, but as always ladies and gentleman, always tip your bartenders,” he points at you and winks. You blush in reply. So Killian walks off the platform and over towards you at the bar. “So, what’d you think?” he shyly asks you. You sigh and say honestly, “It was amazing!” “Well thank you. I’ll dedicate the next one for you, that is if you’ll tell me your name,” he smirks at you. “It’s (Y/n). (Y/n) (l/n).” He smiles back, “Well, (y/n) (l/n), I’m Killian, Killian Jones. It’s nice to meet you,” he shakes your hand. “Nice to meet you Killian. Can I get you anything to drink? On the house,” you ask him. “Sure love, I’ll take a whiskey, we irish men like the strong stuff,” he smirks. You nod and pour some whiskey in a short glass. “Thanks, cheers,” he raises his cup to you. “Cheers,” you tell him. He nods and walks back to his position on the platform. “Before he begins his next song, you look at the clock and realize it’s last call. “Last call,” you shout. So you’re swarmed by customers, but Killian waits for the crowd around you to thin out. “Alright, this next one goes out to the lovely lovely bartender here tonight, (y/n)!” The audience claps and Killian begins to play. He decides to sing a cover and begins to play “Can’t Sleep Love,” by Pentatonix. He gets into the song and you are completely moved by his performance. “Somebody wake up my heart Light me up Set fire to my soul, yeah (Uh huh) ‘Cause’ I can’t do it anymore Give me that can’t sleep love.”  He sings right at you and stares into your (e/c) eyes. You find yourself getting lost in his caribbean blue ones. “The kind I dream about all day The kind that keeps me up all night Gimme that can’t sleep love.” He finishes and stares at you. The applause goes on and on and on. When it finally dies down Killian says, “Thank you everybody. Now I’m gonna play some more original songs.” Throughout the rest of the night he stares at you so intensely. You don’t have much time to stare back because your boss keeps yelling at you. “(Y/n), you’ve been distracted all night and I’m sick of it. Give me half your tips!” “What, Mitch no, that’s my tips you can’t have them,” you look at him in disbelief. “Fork it over or you’re fired,” he holds his hand out. So you reluctantly shove the money over. “And also I forgot to tell you, you’re gonna stay after tonight and clean up and close up,” he tells you. “Now I’m off, I expect this place to be spotless tomorrow,” he walks past you towards the door and shoves you with his shoulder as he passes you.

So the crowd begins to fade, and only a few people are left listening to Killian sing at 11:30. You begin to wipe down the tables when Killian says, “This is my last song, so anyways thanks for having me at The Jolly Roger bar thanks for the hospitality, (y/n).” “You’re welcome,” you tell him and continue to wipe down tables. So he plays his last song and at the end, the last customer exits the bar. He stands up and begins to pack up his things. Afterwards he walks over to you at the bar and says, “Can I help?” “You really don’t have to do that,” you tell him, “You don’t have to stay.” “Nonsense I would love to help, besides when I left my roommate and his girlfriend were fighting and I’m sure they still are,” he chuckles. “Ok. Thanks,” you hand him a wet cloth and point to the tables. So he begins to wipe the tables down and you grab the broom and start sweeping. “So…” you say trying to make conversation, “How do you get ideas for your songs?” “Well, I just use real life experiences. I’ve had my heart broken before, I’ve gone through tough times, and I just channel that into my songwriting,” he casually nods at you. “Well,” you decide on whether or not you should go out on a limb and say what you’re going to say. You decide to say, “Any woman would be crazy to break your heart,” you tell him quietly. This time it’s his turn to blush. “So (y/n), now let me ask you a question. Why do you let your boss treat you that way, I saw him take your tips,” he genuinely asks you. You take a breath and say, “Well, he gave me a job when my mom died, he was friends with her, and I don’t have any other live relatives so I had to take it. And I just don’t see myself finding another sure thing so I stay,” you tell him. “Well I’m sorry about your mother love,” he pats your hand. “Thanks,” you look up at him. “You know I quite enjoy talking to you, and seeing as you’re done cleaning up, how about a drink,” he raises his eyebrows at you. “I’ll take you up on that,” you tell him. So you reach behind the counter and grab to glasses and a bottle of rum. He questions your drink choice with a look. “After all, this is a pirate themed bar,” you tell him.  “Well one could get confused seeing all the Christmas decorations,” he laughs. You pour some rum in both of your glasses. “So, what’s life like for a musician?” you playfully ask. “Well, just a lot of scrambling for money. I try to scrape up gigs here and there and sometimes you have to travel around a lot for new gigs. But I’ve been settled here for about a year now. I mostly like it here, it is a charming little town,” he tells you. “Im glad you like it,” you smile in reply. “Well there wasn’t much to like here, but I think I just found myself quite the treasure,” he moves closer to you where the two of you sit at the bar. “You’re flattery will get you know where,” you smirk at him. He ignores your statement and says, “What’s something that no one else knows about you,” he leans in and says in a soft voice. You don’t know why you decide to tell him, you just feel like you can trust him. “Well, when I was a young girl, I was attacked by a dog and that’s how I got this scar,” you point to the scar on your upper lip. “But I still love dogs,” you add. “Well good, I was gonna say if you didn’t like dogs I’m out of here,” he teases you. He looks at the scar and says, “It’s beautiful, our scars, that’s what makes us beautiful.”  “So how’d you get that one,” you point at the line on his cheek. “Well, I hit my face on the corner of my coffee table as a young lad when I was being a crazy little one,” he laughs heartily. “Well I think it’s handsome,” you tell him. So you sit in some deep conversation and some comfortable silence. ‘Wow, look at the time, I better be closing up,” your tell him. “It’s only 12:30,” he tells you. “Come on,” you walk towards the door, “I’m sure that you’re roommate and his girlfriend are done fighting.” You open the door and find fresh snow falling. “Wow it’s beautiful,” he comes up behind you and stares out. “It really is,” you reply. You stare at the beautiful scene before you and notice a lonely green pickup truck at the end of the parking lot. “Is that yours?” when he doesn’t reply you look behind you at him and find him staring up at the doorway. With an awkward chuckle he points to the mistletoe above your heads. “Mistletoe,” you gasp. “Indeed it is,” he chuckles again. You blush and shrug, as if asking him what he wants to do about it. In respond he brushes the hair out of your face and behind your ear. He leans in and you close your eyes, waiting eagerly for his lips. Fireworks light up inside you as his lips meet yours. They feel like they’re meant to always be on yours. He casually coaxes your mouth open with his tongue and traces your teeth lightly with his tongue. He moves his hands out of your hair and down around your waist as he pulls you into him. you plant your hands on the collar of his leather jacket and pull his lips harder onto yours. Your hands move up and run through his hair, the soft, short hairs, sliding through your fingertips. Your lips grow hot with passion and you smile through the kiss. Suddenly you feel the need for air and pull back. “That was…” you are at a loss for words. “Amazing,” he finishes for you. “Amazing,” you repeat. He wraps your arms around you and pulls you into his chest. You inhale his deep scent of spice, leather, and the rum you drank. He pulls back and drinks you in with his eyes. “Yea, I think I’m gonna stick around,” he smiles at you. “I would hope so,” you joke. So you walk him to his car and he says, “Do you want a ride home?” “I’d love one,” you reply. So he reaches around you to open the door of his truck, but is surprised when you pull his lips on yours again. So you stand in the snow, you and Killian gently kissing, the snow falling around you. When you pull back he smiles and opens the door the rest of the way. You climb in his truck and drive off into the snow, hand in hand.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... F is For Family (S02E04) Night Shift Airdate: May 30, 2017 @Netflix @GaumontTV Ratings: Privatized @BillBurr @mikepriceinla Score: 8.75/10 @FYeahBill @FIFFNetflix TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** 'Is my house clean?' No seriously, I'm gonna look up and you take a look in. I need to know... Can't go trouncing about town, especially the notorious 'Cocaine Cowboy City' of Miami with powder around the edges of my nostrils. I wouldn't think anyone, in any decade of existence, would want an onlooker seeing them trading coke for anything right out in the open... Whether that's in a record store, yes they still exist & I'm sure they would love a visit, or a street corner... I'd suggest visiting the record store over the street corner. Just as walking, talking, 'Teenage Turmoil', 'Trepidation Tornado' (Yeah, I'm also a sucker for wordplay), Kevin Murphy (Justin Long) is looking to make it big in what he sees as almost a dream world of sorts as a bonafide rockstar, he spots his well connected, high rolling neighbor, who is very much a part of that dream world, bribing an aggressively apprehensive DJ to play a pop record with a picture of a 'Teen Heartthrob' holding an adorable puppy on the front... But hey this is where they are in their lives. Pretty sure I've been lower. Vic (Sam Rockwell), along with the rest of the cast, has so much more room to breathe now that the series has been extended from 6-Episodes to the nicely rounded off number of 10 entries for S2. However, this means that Vic can no longer simply be that hurricane of a character, representing the perfect storm of carefree 1970's hedonism and indulgence. Suddenly, there are consequences for his actions and we are peaking into a long, dark tunnel where Vic is on the verge of an 'existential crisis'. No, there are no immediate repercussions for any of Vic's self destructive behaviors quite yet anyway, but the forlorn fates are written all over his face. Right now he's much closer to what we would refer to the point of 'existential dread' than we would call a full blown 'existential crisis'. The writers are smart though, they're giving you a peak of his cards without letting you see his full hand and that will surely create a helluva payoff when it it's finally time to pay the piper. That's a stark difference from a character that was once a quick, in & out, 2-D slice of animated comic relief. When it comes to television, cinema, film, real life, whatever... 'Existential' and 'Crisis' are literally my two favorite words in the English language, not only because they are so beautiful when paired together, but more so the fact that it's one thing Im actually good at. I know that's a really weird thing to be proud of, excited to dive into, or even claim to be 'good at'... But with all the LSD & DMT I've consumed in my life, I believe I've had more self-induced existential crisis and egodeath(s) than most of the worlds population. It's not just hallucinogenics and weird dissociatives, or even a finely tuned education in psychology & sociology that have made me an expert and lover of all things 'existential', it's also real life experience in all things crisis... Inner, outer, dramatic, and otherwise... I've always been dramatic, I got it from my mother, and her adoptive Mother... They are whatever is slightly above the 'every southern woman' version of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Everything is a spectacle, darling. Anxiety attacks are full on broadway performances, complete with Tony Awards, a nice Southern 'Wink', and a long list of 'Thank You's at the end... Oh and trips to the mall that start out sweet & fruitful and end in sheer terror. My Step-Father is more like the American Cherokee version of a cross between Tim Allen & Jim Gaffigan, if that makes sense. He has a traditional, signature style of humor that is both clean & observational and masculine & sometimes surprisingly crass, mainly due to his dual nature and long hard road from the cesspool of a nasty rock bottom to the heights of being a pillar of his community. There was a time in my life where these attributes all made me angry, just like Kevin. At that rebellious teenage age, if someone says go, you stop and if they say stop, you go. If a parental figure or an adult influence that we look up to makes a mistake, as a young adult many times we hold them to it unfairly... As if they're supposed to be perfect because they are the adult. As kids, we want to meet them halfway with unrealistic expectations. Essentially that's because adults meet their children and particularly teenagers with unrealistic expectations, themselves. Can't expect a toddler not to touch a hot stove, can't expect a little kid not to pick their nose (or worse), can't expect a teenager not to do usual teenager stuff, and we can't expect our parents to always remember all of that in times of stress. Looking back now (and let's hope Kevin moves forward to this place soon), I know that I learned the most from watching my parents make mistakes and subsequently finding a way to fix it, by any means necessary. Kevin is already sick over his issues with his dad, so he's practically ready to give up when he sees Vic forking over line after line until DJ Howlin' Hank (Josh Adam Meyers) would say he loves any record Vic gave him to play (yes, that includes records with vinyl covers that feature kids holding puppies that look like they "fell out of Donnie Osmond's pussy"). When one reaches the epiphany that hard work, talent, and actually being cool isn't what gets them to top, a breakdown of some sort is to be expected. Personally I've had this specific epiphany more than once (complete with influential dramatic Hollywood Breakdown), so a nice soul searching, ego shattering session of smoking weed (or simply insert alternative mind expansion drug here) his friends refer to as 'Oregon Gold dipped in Columbia River Salmon Piss' out of a baby doll made into a pipe is just what Kevin needs to push him to a point where he's ready to face this new, harsher, cruel world to get their band's ultimate goal achieved... Being played on the radio, preferably by DJ Howlin' Hank... Because, you know, at least they are 100% sure what it takes to make 'Hank Howl' (thanks, Vic)! So off the clueless teenage trio goes to score some blow. This should be good. Kevin has currently written off his father, Frank (Bill Burr), for his inability to accept a certain kind of defeat... Or better yet, I should say... Face his humility for a greater good and 'bite the bullet' at the unemployment office. He sees his father's stubborn pride as a weakness, when really like any human attribute, it's technically both a positive and a negative. The fact that Frank is lying to Sue (Laura Dern) about it, makes it all 100x worse, though... Creating a mountain blocking any possible view to see the silver lining. Frank taking a humiliating, lower paid job, just to avoid a handout is silly and ultimately a bit insane, but at least Frank is trying to do something instead of curling up into a corner & folding. Still, the whole ironic arrangement is not lost on us. Don't think for a moment that we won't be on the lookout for bumper stickers being sold at 'Hot Topic or 'Urban Outfitters' that say "Ask me about my Loser Husband's shit job!" Frank's insecurities and paranoia are officially at an all time high. His new boss Smoky (Michael Kenneth Williams) shows Frank the restrictive ropes of the world of vending machines, its many perks, and how to "Shove it. Slam it. Twist the lock. Stick the key inside your sock." Why can't the key just be on the key ring? Simple. "Because the rhyme came first, system came later." Frank is killing it, but an accident with the lock on the back door (see how important those rhymes are), ends up with the bag of change they've been collecting falling out of the back of the truck and finding it's way all over the dirty urban street. Frank goes into survival mode, scouring the street like a hardworking crackhead to recover the change. As this is happening, Kevin is out looking to score $10 worth of coke in the same seedy downtown neighborhood. Last time I checked $10 won't get you a bag of coke, and I live in a city where cocaine is easier to get than the attention of a bartender, and cheaper to get than a simple single liquor cocktail. These three young clowns mistake a pimp for a drug dealer and one of the funniest scenes of the series commences when the 'white' they are all so ready to score turns out to be an obese, Caucasian, $10 prostitute that has difficulties keeping one of her titties inside of her blouse. As the trio scrambles to escape the low rent hooker who offers to 'fuck them all if they have a sandwich bag', they end up passing Frank digging for nickels on the side of the street. Ok, ok... This is obviously the worst possible scenario for Kevin, but his frustrations lead him to march into the radio station with his band's demo tape in hand, demanding to be heard. Fuck the system, right? Everything might be going to shit for the characters in the Netflix Original 'F is For Family', but when you are down on your luck and you don't even know why you're stuck in a meaningless, chaotic existence... Suddenly an existential crisis becomes your best friend. Frank's embarrassing dedication to picking up the change in the street leads him to secure the job of no one's dreams, Sue has a sudden idea for a product invention when going through the mundane process of drying out her lettuce while making dinner salads, and Kevin's frustration & desperation pay off after the boys tune in to hear Vic use a two syllable taste of their song to introduce the weather segment. To three young boys with a pipe dream that's like the equivalent of being featured on MTV's 'Total Request Live' in 1999. Recently I've watched a friend go through a horrible incident and face their mortality. Suddenly that person is trapped in an existential nightmare... 'What's any of this worth if it really doesn't lead to anything, if we are all biding our time on this earth until the Grim Reaper comes-a-knocking anyway?' And that's just the base of it. We've all got our existential and emotional baggage to deal with, but it's the unexpected moments when you're at your lowest point that suddenly remind us that even tho we might all just be going through the motions and repeating history over and over, sudden sparks of light can suddenly reignite your passion for life... Its as all as easy as that, or as difficult as that, whichever way you want to look at it. Like Frank said in the beginning of FIFF's 'Night Shift', "I woulda killed myself, but I don't want to haunt my own house." **********Written By: Kevin Cage********** Special Thx: TVTime, Bill Burr, Michael Price, Jerry Wilson, Kat Holiday, Chad Rigsby... Dedicated to: Denver G. Pratt http:://www.tvtime.com http://www.spotlightsaga.com http://www.facebook.com/SpotlightSaga http://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtsEntertainment

[survivorinternational]

Episode 8 - "You got outwitted and outplayed, and soon... you will be outlasted." - Michael

HAHAHAHAHA omg I didn't get voted out and I still have an idol this is awesome! And good on everyone for breaking up that 4 I'm kinda glad Randy is gone but I'm glad I didn't have to be the one to do it. 

Things went odd last round, i think any trust i had in the undersog alliance is gone and vice versa, i think they were playing me and i surprised them with immunity. At least that showed Allan where he stood with them. Now I’m back to putting it all in with the ala mai alliance. To emily, liana, allan, and vilma though, I want them to think of my as a possible flipper. Good god Im a messy player.

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V-RSwer7lduEhNN176RfuaIrZZEzyqpe/view?usp=drivesdk

That tribal was a fucking mess. No-one was willing to throw out names until the last min which lead to the most stressful, panicked scramble I've ever seen. Originally there was a chance that there were enough votes for Randy. Emily seemed very hesitant to on her OG tribe and Allan wanted to vote elsewhere. About 3 hours before Tribal, Allan suggested the numbers would be there to take out Liana, and after some discussion, the vote seemed to switch onto her. Then, as if noticing he was safe, Randy pushed for a vote onto Jacob. This immediately got everyones back up and caused all the votes to go back onto Randy. It was his own fault he got voted out and frankly... I am glad. The reaction from both Randy and Clash is comical and sad at the same time. Randy seemed to take the vote far to personally and the way he acted after is not in the spirit of the game (calling people ugly and dumb cunts in PMs) Clash saying "no-one told him about a Randy vote" and that everyone lied to him... Im sorry, but this is a game that involved Outwitting... you got Outwitted and outplayed and soon... you will be outlasted. And don't pull that "everyone lied to me" bullshit... You lied to everyone else as well... you even said to me that you "spoken to Jacob to much to vote for him" what happened there huh? All in all, With that tribal out of the way, it seems like we now have a few alliances. The OG Ala Mai (Jacob, Tyler, Stephen and myself), The Trust Cricle (Vilma, Emily and myself), the outsiders (Clash, Pat and Liana) and Allan finding his way. If I can get Allan on board, we should be able to flush out one or 2 idols next vote while still taking out an outsider. GAME ON MOLES!!! 

i bid all my money on one item and it ended up being nothing i guess that’s what i get 

Final 10 baby. I've been trying to lay low, talk to people and make a minimal presence, but after the Randy vote, and ironically having the most votes out of anyone this season, it's been hard. At this point I've managed to wriggle my way into a position that almost anyone can come talk to me, hopefully I can do some more talking to the likes of Patrick, Allan and Liana. I don't want them to potentially be on the jury thinking that I don't want to talk to them at all.

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Received votes at 3/3 tribals, and if Liana's group targets me again, and flips Emily/Vilma, I'll be a goner. I tested the waters with Michael, Clash and Stephen about voting Emily, Michael wasn't down so I pulled back instantly, I'm now hoping that that didn't make a lasting impression and I can get the vote onto Patrick again. If I can get Clash to use his extra vote on Patrick, and get in touch with Vilma/Emily/Allan, I may be safe.

-_- that is all

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So things are weird atm. Jacob and co want to vote out Pat, and think Clash is on board with that. Clash is telling me he is lying, and that he is really trying to get me Liana Pat Allan Himself and his extra vote to vote out Emily. Soooo Idk what to do. On one hand Emily is a strong player, on the other hand Clash is A Mess(tm). However Clash thinks we’re tight. It boils down to who i want to piss off, Emily and co. who arent really working with me, and by extension the rest of og ala mai. Or, Clash and co. who are a little less together, but maybe thats better in the long run? 

so apparently jacob has doubted my loyalty and is coming for me. fat fucking chance you arrogant moron. i saved you the past two round and now i’m going to be the reason you go home! like literally! do not fucking cross me it will not be pretty! :) he has made me mad beyond belief so a blindside WILL be coming honey. it will be.

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not little miss emily heading a big blindside against jacob and the ala mai boys? yee freaking haw! i think this will literally work. we should have like six or seven votes on jacob if my plan works out how i want it to :)

Hi, yay randy went home he wasn’t my favourite. Now pats the target and we’re having a hoot of a time

What is even happening. I cant keep up with this game and I'm so frustrated with being played by everyone all the time.

I feel bad I didn't have time to explain the last round properly, but all I'm gonna say is it was quite messy and I changed my mind a couple times. Ultimately Em got put off by Randy's unwillingness to vote Liana and he threw my name out so we felt more comfortable voting him out instead of Liana. Moving on to this round: I'm p sure the og Ala Mai bois have an alliance I just hope Michael doesn't leak everything to them I'm trying to be as open as possible with both Emily and Michael so they would trust me 100% I need to be able to trust at least some people's word here Jacob has lowkey been dictating the merge votes so far Seems like he is kinda dictating this one too I think last round going his way gave him confidence to throw names out I'll let him do that in hopes of keeping away from the spotlight But since we're voting out people he's the least connected with, I have to try and remember what would be the ideal moves from my perspective I think getting rid of one of the people who voted in minority is a solid idea for this round Because if we got rid of someone else they would have a solid group of three for next and that's kinda dangerous (and the suspicion of Clash having an idol on top, yikes) But after next vote it might be time to get rid of one of the Ala Mai bois I feel I've done an okay job seeming quite unthreatening lately I don't see why I should get targeted over some more dangerous players My biggest fear is Clash idoling me out because he holds grudges I'm fine staying in the background for now, it's only f10, bigger plays will come in picture later Although it'll be difficult for me to make any with zero advantages in my pocket That's my biggest concern Other people will be able to claim moves as their own because they have advantages they can use And I'm just relying on people using them to help my position And not against me I'm kinda a potential goat at this point But it's too early to worry about that Just trying to keep my name away from people's mouths So I had a good convo with Emily and she really doesn't want to vote against Patrick which I don't blame her for. I personally wouldn't mind one of Clash/Pat going home especially with the possibility of flushing an idol in the process. But on the other hand Jacob has been on a power trip lately and was trying to turn people against Emily earlier. Everyone kinda knows Emily and I are close so it would be an indirect stab at me as well. I'm not a big fan of that kind of thinking. He even made a chat with Emily and I without asking either of us if we wanted to be in one haha that was funny. I think he definitely has a chat with the Ala Mai bois and made the chat with Emily and I in hopes of being able to guide our votes through that one as well. It's not a great look for him, I must say. So Emily and I were toying with the possibility of siding with Patrick/Liana/Allan/possibly Clash and voting Jacob out instead. I'm not exactly sure if it'll happen since people are having trouble responding to me, that makes me think they already have a plan in fruition that I'm not aware of. Or they just trust people will vote Em with them, not sure? Also Clash and Jacob have gotten closer recently, I'm scared Clash wouldn't want to vote Jacob out but I'm not sure. But as far as I know I'm probably voting either Clash/Patrick or Jacob tonight. Let's see how things develop from here. I'm kinda ready to go home though tbh, this game is starting to stress me out. I'm up for a Vilma blindside. 

Once again... This scramble is a mess What should be an easy vote on Pat or Clash has now evolved to people wanting to make moves and others trying to react. Jacob asked me last night to put forward my vote towards Emily which I find extremely strange after she helped save him the last two TCs. I explained that if we vote out Em this TC, Vilma and Allan would turn and Ala Mai will become the target. Emily and Vilma decided that they dont like Jacob talking about this vote and are now trying to rally numbers against Jacob And to top it all off, Clash may have an Idol... ARGH!!!! In my mind, this vote should have been a 4 Pat, 3 Clash and 3 ??? Vote with my using my vote blocker... but now things are everywhere. Hopefully i've done enough to keep my name out of talks 

I want this to be known that IF I go home I knew I couldn’t trust allan and that he or Stephen was leaking everything to Emily and she knew. If there are no Jacob votes I will be impressed but also impissed, and I’ll be mad because that will likely mean I’m going home. I really think they was me out. Little ol me. Super unfair. But I guess we’ll see. And tbh clash is hinesty bae. He’s been super great to work with I like him a lot 

So last round was a mess and I think this one will be too. Let's go back to last TC. Basically Randy was being rude af towards me because I told him I wanted to vote Michael out and because I knew there was a group of people already voting Randy out I decided to take him out too. I honestly feel like I was deciding vote and that move will either make or break my game imo. Now, at the auction, I won the ability to exile myself for 24 hours and miss TC. I was really tempted to use it this round but I figured it would make me an extremely easy vote when I came back because there had already been tension. So I'm holding off until at least next round to use it and the plan right now is to blindside emily using Clash's extra vote. I really hope the plan works but even if it backfires, I think I can take a backseat and let all the drama unfold in front of me. 

i could very much be going home this round BUTTTTTT i am optimistic that it will be JACOB going home instead of me or clash. tldr: jacob wanted to flush an idol of clash’s, that clash may or may not have... he kind of insinuated to me he had it but lmao! jacob’s real plan was to vote pat so i decide to go to pat, clash, and liana with this new plan and tell them what’s up. while they were (rightfully so) upset with me from last round, i think they believed me and are on board to vote for jacob will me, vilma, and allan. and michael is aware of this plan but is voting pat to save face (or idk who he’s voting tbh) anyway i think i have successfully planned a blindside against jacob but also i’m playing so freaking hard at this rate i’m playing for fifth place. no one is going to let me get to the end of the game if i keep going so HARD lmao! i need to calm down next round for real omg

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just. a confessional. to say how much i love vilma. i knew we were put in this game together for a reason. i love her

So after Randy going I lost my closest ally but now I am gonna try and get Stephen and Allan back and make them flip on Emily and hopefully Emily goes that will break up Vilma too 

Uhh I don't think voting Jacob is the best move for me But I'm just gonna go with it it's too late to change my mind I'm playing such a weird game I'm playing for 3rd place right now But I just wanna be loyal to Emily and Michael ugh they're so great Last round I didn't feel bad because I was voting for someone who wanted me out anyway But I think Jacob kinda trusts me so I feel bad voting him Plus he is actually really nice But he didn't tell me about the plan to blindside Emily though Even though I guess it was Clash's plan originally I still wish he would've told me I think this flip will backfire on me next round Emily has better ties to the other side I feel so I'm going to be the one struggling more from flipping And we won't even flush any of the idols out I feel sticking with the split would've been much smarter But I don't think Emily would budge, she won't vote Pat this round Oh well It's kinda new to me to be playing this crazy? I won't win but at least I'm trying out something new lol Chaos Vilma... Yay? Nay? Also a bit paranoid someone has told Jacob what's up and they're coming up with a counteractive plan as we speak but. Tbh I'm tired and I just want to sleep. If I get fucked I get fucked and that's okay. I love Emily. 

More worried than ever this tribal, I'm pretty much guaranteed to never catch a break with votes, still not sure why. I'm also going against Clash here which I hate to do, but I'd rather hurt Clash, than hurt all of ala mai.