#including a new guy who I’ve only JUST met like barely 2 weeks ago but in a few ways he’s like perfect on paper

[youremyonlyhope]

Who gave Sondheim the right to write a song as bittersweetly perfect as Sorry-Grateful?

[worldofroma]

April 6 2023, Thursday - 9:02am

I think there may be someone living in my house without anyone knowing. Either that, or theres a ghost. Other people may assume that my latest encounter with this person was a dream, but I disagree. I was woken up in the middle of the night after hearing something in my room and glanced over to the door, watching someone leave my room. It was only a quick second as my door blocks the vision of the doorway from where my bed is, but I saw the back of someone, a man, as they left my room. On top of that, I’ve had many occurrences where I’ve heard someone walking around downstairs while I’m home alone or even heard russling of a plastic bag that immediately stopped when I approached the room I heard it coming from. Of course, I didn’t open the door. I was too afraid. The room it was is a storage room with the basement, the trapped door basement. It’s not even a real basement either, it’s all muddy and torn apart. It looks straight out of the house from the Blair Witch Project. I don’t know who they are, I don’t know why they’d want to be in my house, but I really don’t like it and every day I feel more afraid to be in my own house.

On a more common topic, I find now that I really only have one friend. Kaitlyn is really the only person I talk to outside of school, nobody else. I have the odd conversation with Hannah or Kyra sometimes, but not very often. And a lot of people may find that sad, but honestly, I love it. I can barely care for myself and pay attention to my needs, let alone 2 or 3 or 7 other peoples. When I was in the friend group of 4, it was so tiring. I always felt as if one of them was mad at me, one of them was judging me, and the other was leaving me out simply because the other two felt like it. It was exhausting and draining. Not only that, but it felt like the only way I could have a real conversation with them was when I was high. They’re all in a relationship with shitty people, or they’re the shitty one, and it seems to be the only thing they can talk about. I mean, I get it, he didn’t answer your phone call or he hot boxed a car with his friends without telling you, but at a point I really don’t give a fuck. Hannah has been in a relationship with her boyfriend for over a year now and they’re both so toxic to each other. Everytime I hung out with her while they were together (they still are, I just haven’t spent time with her in a long time), she was either on the phone arguing with him or complaining about an argument they had the night before. And every single time I heard about these arguments they started, they were so fucking stupid. Both of them are manipulative and problematic, constantly holding each other back, but honestly, they deserve each other. Kyra has been having a lot of issues with guys. Her first boyfriend, only a few months ago, slept with her and cheated on her with one of her friends from their new friend group of snobby horse girls. Yes, in my area, being a horse girl is popular. Someone save me. After that, Kyra went on to “hoe around” with a few guys, being called out of a slut from multiple people from our school, and is now dating some NPC guy from our school I had never even seen until they started dating. Odd. Kaily, well, I think Kaily is the least aggressive when it comes to talking about her boyfriend. I’ve met him, I had to at Christmas because of our family, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but we’re technically step sisters in a confusing way. But he’s a nice guy, younger than her, but nice. I haven’t hung out with Kaily one on one in a really long time, so I haven’t experienced her rants on her boyfriend, but I can only imagine. One thing I do know though is that they spend almost every night together, even during the week. I can thank Mya for giving me almost all of this information. But a few weeks ago, it was Kaily’s birthday. She had a party at her house with a few girls including Hannah and Kyra, and she invited me. It seemed genuine, but I declined. I told her that I’d rather not attend a party with people I don’t get along with, knowing there was a possibility that I could cause something between them with how petty I can be, but after the party had already happened, I felt awful. I put the fact that I didn’t want to be around people I didn’t like above the feelings of someone I used to be close with. I should’ve went, it was her birthday, but I didn’t. Afterwards, Mya told me that Kyra got extremely drunk, went on a rant, and blacked out before 8 o’clock. I honestly feel bad for her. Kyra and I never talk anymore, but her and I used to be the closest in that friend group. Almost everyday for the past few months, she’s shown up to school high or smoked at breaks. But at the same time, I don’t feel bad for her.

Kyra is now friends with a girl we’ll call Izzy. Izzy used to be really close with Kaitlyn and her family until they got to high school. They were best friends, and Kyra and I were best friends, so after they came to high school (Izzy and Kyra are both one year younger than us) we brought us all together to become a friend group of 4. But Izzy is a shitty person. She’s a massive pick me, she’s annoying as fuck and constantly talks with a toddler accent, and she talks shit about everyone she knows. But for some reason, Kyra found her much more interesting than I. Izzy began asking to hang out with only Kyra instead of Kaitlyn and I joining, and instead of brushing it off, I took that to heart. That was the first time ever that Kyra had went along with someone else to ignore me. And after that, I became really depressed. I started to get high all the time, I became friends with two guys that most definitely just wanted in my pants, and I started going to parties that a rapist hosted all the time. I lost myself from that. I unfriended Kaitlyn with the argument that I felt as if I couldn’t help her through her issues and I didn’t want the responsibility for it. I couldn’t even take care of myself. I tried to become closer to Kyra, Hannah, and Kaily again, but it was only becoming more and more toxic after that. Everyone was constantly slipping little insults to each other within every sentence we spoke and it was draining to be around them. Kyra only ever wanted to hang out with me when we got high together and started ignoring me at school when she met up with her horse friends. I was at the lowest point in my life. Luckily, I had a class with Kaitlyn right near the end of that year, grade 10 year, and after at least 6 months of not talking, we became friends again. But only after that summer. Kyra and Izzy are now best friends, on and off from time to time, but it seems that they only have each other now.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this yet, but I’m fully convinced I wasted my year of being 16. During the entire thing was when this depressive state took place, I found myself doing nothing in my spare time but staring at my phone endlessly. For my 16th birthday, I knew that I had to plan something fun to do in order to keep up my “positive mind” appearance. So I planned a trip for Hannah, Kyra, Kaily, and I to go to Toronto, stay in a hotel, and go shopping. It was fun at first, but the tension only grew as time passed. Kaily’s mom and my mom came along which was great because they’re best friends too, but Kaily and her mom have serious beef. Her mom’s not abusive or anything, but they are always both in the wrong. Kaily’s anger issues don’t help. By the end of the first day of the trip, Kaily’s mom had stormed into our hotel room and screamed at Kaily for disrespecting her the entire day, Kaily had even gone as far as to kick her mom with a Dr Marten boot on. It left a pretty colourful bruise. The next day was extremely awkward. Kaily never said it straight up, but because her mom came with us, she helped pay for the hotel with her rich boyfriend and due to that, it was obvious that Kaily expected that trip to be partially hers too. And I could understand why she thought that because her birthday wasn’t too far from when we went on this trip, all of our birthdays were in January, February, and March, but it was my birthday. My birthday, and I felt like the entire time I was letting everyone else choose what we do. We went out for dinner the first day and got all dressed up for it. I was fully expecting to find a beautiful dress that compliments me great, but they made the choice for me that we all wear black dresses. Ugly black dresses, in my opinion. And if you’ve picked up anything from what I’ve wrote so far, I’m a huge people pleaser to a certain point. Including when it comes to what I wear, because I would rather match with others than stand out knowing they’re judging me for it. So, I went along with it. I haven’t seen that dress since and I hope I never have to see it again.

[existslikepristin]

A Two-on-One Match

Part 2 of 3 of the OC Jung Hyunjin's arc. A request from Rex [of the ever-changing name] I recommend starting with A Quick Fix to follow the plot if you haven't read it already.

Tags: TheLounge, Gfriend, Eunha, SinB, male OC Jung Hyunjin, "oh hey I know you", one dom one sub one clueless boxer, some butt stuff, request

~~~~~

The bell rang to announce Yuta’s departure. He turned back as he walked through the door and waved. “Thanks Hyunjin! Good to meet you!”

“You too man! Enjoy!” Hyunjin waved back. It was his second week working at The Lounge and he was getting to know quite the wide range of people, and the first day he was working the morning shift, now that he was fully finished with his evening training.

A familiar voice came from behind, just at the entrance to the kitchen. “Nice catch. How’d you know Yuta would like the cinnamon sprinkle?” It was Hyunjin’s new boss, Kim Soomin.

“Wish I could tell you Ms. Kim. Honestly I just guessed.”

Soomin shrugged. “We’ll chalk it up to intuition then. Anyway, it seems like you’ve got things handled up here. I’m going to start up the oven for some brownies. Sungho is going to be here in half an hour, but I’ll be right there if you get rushed, alright?”

“You got it, Ms. Kim.”

Hyunjin wasn’t especially worried, since he didn’t imagine they’d be getting that many more customers in so early in the morning. When Soomin was gone, he leaned back against the perfectly clean counter and pulled out his phone.

Sowon had told him she was an idol, but he still hadn’t bothered to look up her music. It seemed to him that while he was waiting for customers was as good a time as any. He opened up his default browser and tapped in her name. A second later, his phone was flooded with pictures of Sowon in a variety of outfits, generally much fancier than what he usually saw her in. In the sidebar, her real name appeared, as well as the company she worked for and the group she was part of. “Gfriend,” rung a bell in Hyunjin’s head, at least, though he had no clue if he’d actually heard any of their music before. Maybe at a convenient store while he wasn’t paying attention?

He tapped the link to change the search to Gfriend. The images that showed up were far more zoomed out than before. He could pick out Sowon’s face among the six women in each picture, but immediately scrolled down and saw their names. He nodded his head and kept going down the list. Jung Yerin was next. No clue who she was. Then Jung Eunbi, also known as Eunha. That name sounded somehow familiar to him, but he continued to read. Choi Yuna, also known as Yuju…

He was interrupted by the bell ringing. He bounced away from the counter and popped his phone back into his pocket. Looking up, he saw two women had entered. One of them took off to the side toward the lounge chairs right away, but the other one approached the counter. She walked normally at first, but slowed down when she and Hyunjin’s eyes met.

“H-hyunjin?” she asked.

Hyunjin hesitated to respond. He pulled his phone back out and looked at the images still on the screen. “Do you go by Eunha?”

Eunha nodded slowly. “Yeah… Were you in drama club in middle school?”

“I was.”

There was a long pause.

“Holy shit, Hyunjin! It’s been such a long time! When did you start working here?”

Hyunjin laughed. He knew the name was familiar. “Just a couple of weeks ago. I got referred by Sowon.”

Eunha laughed back. “She and I are in a girl group together!”

“I literally just found that out! I was looking you guys up! See?” Hyunjin held out his phone.

“Woah! Yeah! How are you doing these days?”

The two took some time to reminisce and catch up. Despite the initial moment of not recognizing each other, they quickly remembered their connection. They had grown up in the same neighborhood, and recalled a variety of events they had gone to together as children. Eunha was a year above him in school, but had encouraged him to participate in drama. The Lounge continued to stay effectively empty the whole time. Hyunjin told Eunha about how he and Sowon met and how he ended up there, and about how he was training again to fight. Eunha told him about the rest of Gfriend, and how the other woman she entered with was Umji.

To avoid making Umji wait too much longer, Hyunjin took Eunha’s order and got to work. He was all smiles. When he brought their coffee to them, he included a napkin with his phone number on it and invited Eunha to the fight, but couldn’t continue to chat with the other customers that began to pour in, the bell going wild.

* * *

The bell went wild. It was the end of the last round. Hyunjin wiped at his nose with his arm. His opponent backed off and the two bumped their gloves together. Hyunjin wasn’t especially happy with the turnout. It had been far too long since he’d stepped in a ring, and it showed. That wasn’t going to stop him from being a good sport though. He kept a smile on.

Fortunately, the referee still held his arm up in the end. “... by split decision: Jung Hyunjin!”

The crowd cheered. Whether it was for Hyunjin or not, he couldn’t really tell. The crowd wasn’t exactly huge, and the two fighters nobody had heard of (it was only his opponent’s second official match) in a small venue didn’t exactly have a fanbase yet. Hyunjin couldn’t pick any familiar faces out of the crowd either.

His disappointment was quickly abated by who he saw while making his way to the locker room. Dressed in frumpy, nondescript sweatshirts and hats, Eunha and another girl Hyunjin barely recognized from Gfriend’s group pictures as SinB caught him right at the doorway.

“Hey! We were hiding out in the back row. Congrats!”

Hyunjin ran his fingers through his hair. “Thanks. I was rusty though.”

“Rusty? What do you mean? You were great!”

SinB tapped Eunha on the arm. “No, he’s right. They both looked like amateurs.”

Hyunjin grimaced, but before he could say anything, Eunha grabbed him by the arm. “Hey, let’s go in there, where it’s not so noisy! I can barely hear you two!”

She wasn’t wrong. When the door closed behind them, the lack of noise was a relief.

“So yeah,” SinB started, “what I was saying is that he’s right. They loo--”

Eunha silenced her with a strict look. “SinB...” is all she said, and it was all she needed.

SinB averted her eyes and a blush crossed her cheeks. “It’s um… Nice to meet you, Hyunjin. My name’s SinB.”

Hyunjin smirked. “Hey, good meeting you too. Don’t worry about the fight though. I used to be a lot better. I’m just out of practice. I’ll be starting regular training again next week.”

“You really did do great though,” Eunha said, “I mean, you had to, right? You won.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m just being critical of myself. But anyway, thanks for coming! I really appreciate the support.”

“Of course! Just think of us as your first fans?” Eunha ended with a questioning tone, but followed up quickly. “Actually, let’s not be fans yet. It’s weird for fans to take you out to dinner.”

“Dinner, huh? I’d like that. I need to get washed up first. Pretty sure I’ve still got some blood in my mouth.”

“Totally, yeah! We’ll just, uh, wait here.”

Hyunjin gave a nod and went to the locker room. He could hear Eunha hushedly giving SinB an earful the whole way.

Undressing was a bit painful. Hyunjin had taken a particularly strong hit to one of his left ribs, and now that he could see the site of the impact, he could already tell it would be bruising. He hoped it wasn’t broken.

As he made his way to the open showers, he could hear Eunha and SinB again. They sounded like they were close to the locker room. There wasn’t a door to block the sound though, so he didn’t think much of it, but he knew something was up when he heard footsteps over the sound of the running water. Nobody else should be on this half of the building except his coach, who he hadn’t even informed of the fight. He quickly covered his dick with his hands and turned to the entrance.

And there was SinB, blushing furiously, looking straight up at the ceiling. “H-hey, Hyunjin. I’m sorry.”

“Um. Well, cool. Apology accepted. But is this really the--”

Hyunjin cut himself off as Eunha brushed past SinB. But unlike SinB, she was completely undressed. She walked toward him, small breasts bouncing with each step, getting soaked as she went directly through the spray of the showers. He started to smile, but noticed and quickly got rid of it. “Eunha, you’re…”

“I’m here to help you get cleaned up,” she finished his sentence for him, though it wasn’t what he was intending to say. “We can get to the restaurant sooner this way, right?”

Eunha grabbed a bar of soap from one of the little shelves along the wall and stopped just short of Hyunjin, who had lost all hope of being able to hide his erection. Not that Eunha seemed to mind, or even pay any attention. But it’s what she said next that made her intentions much, much clearer.

“You and Sowon aren’t exclusive, right?”

“No. I suppose we’ve been very clear that we aren’t.” Hyunjin took a hand away from his crotch to rub the back of his neck.

Eunha put a hand on Hyunjin’s arm, pointing at his neck. “Oh no. Are you feeling sore?” She gestured toward a stool. “Let me give you a massage. SinB!”

Hyunjin watched, half afraid and half mesmerized, as SinB quickly undressed and tossed all of her clothes back into the locker room. He let Eunha pull him down to sit on the stool she dragged underneath the stream of the shower. “I don’t really need a massage. It’s okay.”

“That’s good to hear! I’ll just get started on washing you up then. In the meantime, can you do me a favor?”

“Uh… Sure?”

While sitting on the stool, Hyunjin was just barely shorter than Eunha, which let her lean down to whisper in his ear. Her tone made it clear she was asking a question. “Let SinB practice on you?”

Hyunjin’s eyes went wide. “So Eunha, I don’t mean to sound like a perv here, but are you implying something about practicing a blowjob? Because I’ll take that.”

Eunha motioned for SinB to approach. “No, no. Why would you think that?” she asked, clearly twitching at the corner of her mouth as she tried not to smile. She slowly pulled Hyunjin’s other hand away from his full-mast dick.

In no time at all, SinB was standing in front of Hyunjin, hair getting drenched by the shower, hands behind her back, and eyes anywhere but on him. With a little difficulty, she moved to straddle his lap. The width of her legs put her bare pussy dangerously close to his cock.

Sure he knew where the situation was taking them, Hyunjin shifted his legs, pushing SinB’s a little farther apart. The head of his dick speared her. He watched as her chest rose and fell rapidly. She used her hands to brace herself on his shoulders. He wanted to make a snarky comment, but was having difficulty coming up with anything good. He was also distracted by the feeling of something hard against his cock. He reached around SinB and grabbed her butt. As his fingers explored, he was able to verify immediately that she had a butt plug inside of her.

“This is an interesting night,” he said simply.

Just then, Hyunjin felt Eunha pressing her front up against his back. Her skin glided over his, as if it was (and it was) covered in soap. At the same time, SinB lowered herself further onto his dick in a jerking, twitching way.

“I don’t know what you mean. Is something unusual, Hyunjin?” Eunha asked as she rubbed her tits and stomach up and down his back.

Hyunjin’s sarcasm struggled its way out of his throat as SinB started fucking him, bouncing herself and making a beautiful, wet scene of her slim body. “Not at all…” Hyunjin said, “Perfectly normal Wednesday night.”

Eunha couldn’t contain her giggle. She ran her soapy hands over Hyunjin’s shoulders, arms, and whatever parts of his legs she could reach with SinB in the way. He winced a little when she swept over his new bruise, but otherwise did his best not to react.

“How do you like SinB’s pussy?”

Hyunjin groaned. His grip on SinB’s asscheeks tightened subconsciously. He had to unclench his teeth to say, “It’s alright.”

“Hear that, SinB? Just alright. Maybe a bit amateurish.”

SinB’s shoulders tensed up visibly. “I said I was sorry…”

Eunha walked around to the shelves on the wall to pull a bottle of shampoo off. The close up view of Eunha’s plump, naked, wet ass just about set Hyunjin off. She was obviously arching her back just enough to make it noticeable.

“Damn, Eunha. I always admired your butt when you were my senior, but now… fuck…”

She turned to look at Hyunjin over her shoulder. “Oh thank you! Sounds like you’re thinking about cumming?”

Hyunjin nodded. With no hesitation at all, Eunha set the shampoo back down and pulled a visibly shocked SinB off of his cock. He was shocked too, about ready to ask why Eunha would do such a thing, but found his answer right away.

Eunha, facing away from Hyunjin, positioned herself between his legs and spread her ass with one hand, and grabbed his cock with the other. She directed it to an unexpected target, and Hyunjin’s breath caught in his throat as he was hilted completely in Eunha’s asshole.

“Now you can cum,” she said.

Hyunjin didn’t need to be told twice. He barely needed to be told once. His orgasm hit him harder than his opponent did in the ring. He grabbed Eunha’s hips and held her down against him as he pumped a gigantic load into her ass.

He brushed his hair back, suddenly light headed, feeling like his soul had just been pulled out of him through his cock. He saw SinB sitting back against the wall, still blushing bright red, masturbating as she stared between Eunha’s legs at the spot where Hyunjin was impaling her.

“So then,” Eunha said casually, despite having an ass full of Hyunjin’s dick and cum, “Did you want anything special for dinner? I have an idea if you don’t!”

Hyunjin smiled. He was still trying to comprehend what just happened, but he was happy with it, even if the intensity of his climax left him with the sound of a bell ringing in his ears.

[leftonraed]

The Night We Met - Episode 1

pairing : Taehyung x OC genre : bodyguard!au, singleparent!au, idol!au word count : 2.4k summary — Taehyung gets terrible news and finds himself in a delicate situation

Prologue | ep.1 | ep.2 | ep.3 | ep.4 | ep.5 | ep.6 | ep.7 

The past month has been a complete blur. If you asked Taehyung to narrate the course of events after the moment he had been in charge of his niece, he wouldn’t be able to, especially when that small time frame included the one event he thought he’d never attend this quickly in his lifetime —

Hwiin got a little startled after he answered the door. While gauging his mood after several weeks of silence, she couldn’t take her eyes off the sullen man who seemed absent.

He was dressed in a dark suit. His hair was fully covering his eyes and had been dyed black, she was just at that moment able to notice it’d never been that long before.

The small heels of his shoes echoed loudly inside as he shuffled towards the living-room.

The gloomy winter sky, visible through the wide windows, narrowed the penthouse and gave the impression they lived in a black and white movie.

The shades of grey clashed unpleasantly with the barely audible cartoons displayed on the wide flat screen where Hina was sitting in front of. She hardly glanced Hwiin’s way.

She removed her purse and coat and put them on the couch while Taehyung kissed and whispered words to his niece. He didn’t get any response either. He stood up and joined Hwiin.

“I didn’t know how to do this-” he trailed softly as her eyes followed his hands feebly unfolding a paper with her eyes. He cleared his throat constricted with sorrow, “I wrote a couple of things down. If I forgot anything, send a text.”

She took it from him and realised she hadn’t said anything yet. What were you supposed to say in this situation, she wondered. The man she thought she knew so well almost struck her as a stranger and left her struggling for the right words.

Hwiin carefully looked up at him and felt her heart hurting at his sight. She should’ve been there for him those past weeks. She became angry with herself the longer she stared at his forlorn expression.

“Taehyung...” She hugged him tightly, as her way to make it up to him. He remained still. He didn’t want Hina to see him break down and cry.

“Thank you,” he only managed to whisper before she took a step back.

She quietly watched him walk out and never before had she felt a greater need to be by his side. She didn’t do anything of this sort.

She walked around the couch to sit next to the little girl she had been requested to look after for the day and tried to empty her mind. All she wanted was for this day to end.

So did he.  

___________________________________________

He didn’t seem present during the entirety of the funeral.

His parents, he used to be so close to but had drawn away from after his debut as an idol, didn’t even manage to make him say anything. They didn’t bother him about it and respected his own way of mourning the family loss.

Taehyung could sense his brother’s in-laws itching to ask him about Hina but held themselves.

While he made other attendees think he looked elsewhere and “too expressionless” in their opinion, he’d actually been doing his best to keep it to himself. He couldn’t tell what helped him hide his emotions, it was so unlike him but he had held steady.

He was right behind his home’s door when he heard Hina’s cries before he even walked in.

Worry instantly frowned his face as he found Hwiin holding the little girl in her arms, soothing her.

“She’s been crying the whole time since she woke up from her nap,” she informed him with a hint of despair. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Hina looked at him and he felt his feet naturally pulling him towards her when her arms stretched outward in his direction.

He held her closely and she tightened him to herself, burying her face in his neck.

He would never know for sure but she sounded grief-stricken and gave him the impression that he was the only one left capable of assuaging her.

Taehyung felt his legs give in and knelt down.

He was finally giving in.

Tears, held deeply back within, coursed down in an unbroken stream to dampen her dress. His body hiccoughed his ache so violently, it seemed it wanted to retaliate for the strains he’d inflicted himself.

Hwiin watched silently with sorrowful eyes as the two of them sought comfort in each other. She caught herself wondering if his niece somehow understood she’d never see her parents again.

__________________________________________

Taehyung never questioned his brother’s wish to have him take care of his daughter if something were to happen. He isn’t living the ideal kind of life to raise a toddler and there are many to criticize him about it, his manager being the first of them, but having Hina feels surprisingly right.

He’s grateful to have her keeping his mind off things but she also reminds him unintentionally of her father and the other way around will inevitably happen.

He sometimes ponders the doubts he has as a caretaker, unpleasant thoughts that come flooding his mind every time he’d fail doing the right thing or get rejected by her; he gives a chance to others scenarios playing out different outcomes but they never satisfy him.

He seeks comfort in the reality that he needs a lot of time to get better at it and that there’s no reason to rush. It’ll give him enough to make his mind about the way he’ll have to address their reality one day.

One of his priorities is to make sure his home has everything his niece would need. This meant visiting his brother’s empty house. Hwiin had asked him if he’d need her but he preferred to be on his own and planned not to linger longer than necessary.

__________________________________________

“You didn’t tell me what you’re planning to do about the few shows left,” Hwiin suddenly initiates, locking her phone.

Taehyung sighs when Hina whines at his umpteenth attempts to keep her from drawing on the wall. Defeated, he stands up to show his manager out.

“Did you hear from Seojun?”

“Nope. I sent him a text a few days ago. He never answers my calls.”

“I can’t see myself going anywhere with her. And I’m definitely not bringing her with me.”

It’s Hwiin’s turn to sigh, although she does it out of light exasperation. “What about my babysitter idea?”

“Out of question.” She lifts her head at his sudden firm tone. “I don't want her to be around strangers.”

“What will you do if you don’t hear from him anymore? Taehyung, you can’t stay at home indefinitely.”

“If I have no choice-” He cuts off himself. “I’m sure everyone will understand.”

She pinches her lips and cranes her neck up to stare somewhere in the empty hallway, keeping her calm.

Leaning on the hand he’s holding the door with, Taehyung tilts his head to glance at her with a hint of amusement.

“I’ll call him myself.”

She looks back at him and blinks slowly, thankful. They say their goodbyes and he closes the door.

When he comes back, Hina’s still putting the finishing touches to her art and Taehyung ponders the thought of throwing the felt tips away once she’s done with them.

He plops himself down on the couch and takes his phone out of his pocket. He quickly finds his bodyguard’s number and makes a phone call. The line rings once.

“Taehyung!”

“H-hi,” he answers, surprised at the man’s quick answer. “It’s been a while. How are you?”

“I’m happy you called! I’m doing really good. What about you?”

“I’m okay- I think.”

“I know you’ve heard it when we last talked but I’m really, really sorry.”

“Thank you. I’m doing okay, ‘promise.”

Seojun doesn’t need to see him to doubt his words but gives him the benefit of the doubt. He tries to change the subject, “How’s the little one doing?”

“Good…” Taehyung’s gaze is directed at Hina's long hair. “I still didn’t get one word from her though.”

“Don’t worry about it, she’ll talk when she’s ready. You shouldn’t force these things.”

Taehyung hums in thought. “How did your break go? How’s everyone ?”

“Very good. Everyone’s doing great.”

“Glad to hear that!” Taehyung smiles a lazy grin and remembers the purpose of his call. “Seojun, I’m sorry I bring this a little abruptly but- when do you think you’ll be coming back? Hwiin told me she tried to contact you-”

“Ah yes,” he suddenly exclaims. “I actually wanted to talk to you directly.”

Amused, Taehyung’s brows furrow slightly. “Right.”

“I’ve never liked the way she looked down on people. But you do well to bring that up.”

He frowns a little more, anticipating.

“I… I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon, Taehyung.” There’s a short pause. “I've been thinking about it lately and we’ve talked a lot with my wife… The fact is that- my family misses me and I miss them.”

Taehyung doesn’t know what to say immediately, “I’m sorry to hear that... But I understand.”

“Really? It’s just that- they’ve barely seen me the past six years and I thought maybe I needed to extend that break for a little longer while.” Seojun feels terrible now that he’s brought the news. As if the death of his brother wasn’t enough of a change.

“I totally do- I just- I don’t know what to do to keep working and look after my niece at the same time. I mean, th- there’s no one else I trust equally to look after her when I can’t.”

“I know and I’ve made sure you guys wouldn’t be left hanging.” He’s quick to reply, “I found someone to take over. Your agency’s already abreast of it. They’re okay to hire that person but they told me they wouldn’t make any decision until they get your last word.”

“Can you tell me more about him?”

“It’s actually a woman, she’s around your age. She’s attended the same security school I did and was the top of her class. I know her personally and was the one who offered to take the helm. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else to stand in for me.”

Taehyung would never doubt Seojun. They regard each other as family, so if Seojun trusted that woman enough to take charge of his responsibilities, he wouldn’t question him further.

“Okay.”

And it’s not like he could think of a better solution to tell Hwiin.

Seojun is relieved when he hears his answer, however he can feel he doesn’t seem totally convinced.

“I promise you, you won’t miss me once she starts.”

___________________________________________

“Hina,” complains Taehyung. “Why are you being so difficult? I thought you liked mashed carrots.”

He’s helpless and covered in what once has been her lunch. She’s on the verge of crying and shaking her legs, irritated. Her arm sways her small plate and Taehyung catches it before she makes an even bigger mess. She starts whining loudly.

“One second,” he mutters while cleaning her stained face before standing up to take her out of the high chair. She stops crying and leaves to watch cartoons still on T.V.

“I’ll go change. I’ll be in the bedroom,” he announces like he doesn’t know he’ll be ignored and leaves.

The doorbell rings a couple of minutes after, taking both Taehyung and Hina by surprise.

Seeing her uncle nowhere around, she stands up to totter toward the entrance holding onto her soft toy. Taehyung just got rid of his dirty clothes when he decides to come out only dressed in a pair of red boxers, remembering he’s expecting Hwiin to come by.

He finds Hina trying to reach for the handle, perched on her tippy-toes.

“Let me help you,” he smiles lightly at her when he looks down, seeing her small face after she craned her neck to the fullest. He taps in the security code and opens and she hurries to push it wide open.

“Hello.”

Hina walks to go behind him at the sight of a stranger. There’s a short silent while that lasts awfully long the second Taehyung understands he’s in his underwear and that he doesn’t recognize you.

“You’re not Hwiin,” he trails quietly.

You shake your head looking back at him very calmly.

From the corner of your eye, you notice his niece hiding behind his leg, peeking shyly at you. You squat at her level and blood rushes up Taehyung’s cheeks.

“You’re Hina, right?” You look at her. “This is for you.”

He pulls himself together. “You didn’t have to,” he chuckles abashed.

His niece stares at the toy piano you offer her. You press one key to make a sound and lit it up in hopes to get her pleased with it.

Taehyung can’t help but think a gift is the last thing she deserves after the tantrum she threw just minutes ago. “Say thank you, Hina.”

She carefully takes it from you and there’s a hint of a satisfied smile on your lips.

“Who’s Hwiin?” You gaze up at Taehyung.

Shit. You need to get up. He needs to put on some clothes, he thinks.

“My manager. Are you-”

“Y/N, your new bodyguard.” You straighten up with your hands behind you.

“Taehyung. Nice to meet you.” He feels Hina, pulling the hem of his boxers and swiftly takes her in his arms. She keeps an iron grip on the toy. “Uh- Please, come in.”

You step inside when he moves away and closes the door behind you. He stares at you as you take a look around, surprised you remain unaffected by his lack of clothing but still thinks it’s not the appropriate way he should have welcomed you in.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I didn’t know you’d come home so early.” He explains as he puts down Hina. “Make yourself at home. ‘Be right back.”

You watch him disappear without a word, his niece follows him while gazing curiously at you. You bring your eyes back on the splendid view the penthouse overlooks.

When Taehyung comes back, closely followed, you’re still standing nearby the window. He’s intrigued and curious as to what made you so special in Seojun’s eyes.

///////////////////////!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Feedback very much appreciated  Reblog if you wish to read more

[rmtndew]

Begin Again

Summary: Walter Marshall is a dedicated homicide detective doing his best to balance his work life with being a single father to a teenage girl. Fiona Sparks is a woman doing her best to take care of everyone and everything around her, except for herself. Neither has had the best luck with relationships, but once they meet, they’re willing to give it another shot, this time with each other. (It’s basically just romantic fluff) 

Pairing: Marshall and OFC.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Mentions of death, cancer.

A/N - This is a sequel to ‘All I’ve Ever Known’. I started writing this because I needed an escape for some personal stuff going on and my coping mechanism included giving Marshall all the love that man needed, and imagining him being the softest boyfriend to me, then passing those details on to Fiona (my OFC).

I also made a Spotify playlist for this story, if anyone is interested - Begin Again Playlist 

 Tag list - @hollydaisy23, @alyxkbrl, @onlyhenrys, @omgkatinka, @speakerforthedead0​, @gearhead66,  @thethirstyarchive, @oddsnendsfanfics, @littlerinoa, @agniavateira, @aaescritora, @justaboringadult, @beenthroughalot, @seriouslygoodlookinggents,  @xxxkatxo

If you want to be added/removed from the tag list, let me know!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

The last Wednesday in October was a gray, misty, windy day. It was cold, the kind you felt more in your bones than anywhere else, with the sky occasionally spitting out sleet. I spent the entire twenty-minute drive to my job at Waverly Catering clutching the steering wheel so tightly that my hands were cramping by the time I arrived from white-knuckling it the whole way there. Usually, I would get to work early enough to enjoy the silence and finish off my coffee before officially starting my workday. That day, however, I spent the very little extra time I had trying to get my hands to stop hurting, then chugged down my coffee that had cooled dramatically to a gross lukewarm temperature. 

Before going in, I checked my phone. I always kept it on silent while I drove. My mom had a tendency to text me, make a dozen spelling mistakes because of auto-correct, then correct them one by one, leaving me with about thirteen separate texts to read. It didn’t use to bother me, I thought it was charming and very distinctly Mom. But when she’d gotten sick at the beginning of the year, every text she sent that I couldn’t read immediately made me panic, worrying that something terrible had happened to her, even when I’d just seen her at home a few minutes before. So for my sanity - and hers - I started putting my phone on silent until I got to work, or wherever else I was going. It was a habit I’d kept even after she’d gone into remission because her cancer may have been gone, but my anxiety over her wasn’t. 

That morning when I checked my phone, I saw that I had two texts, but they weren’t from Mom. 

Marshall:  Good morning, Fi. I hope that I get to see you today. I’ll be chained to  my desk with paperwork for a while. This is the first time I’ve not dreaded it. You’re my silver lining.

That was cheesy. I’m sorry. I’m bad at this.

And just like that, all of my stress melted away. The weather didn’t matter, my disappointing coffee didn’t matter, even the cramping in my hands didn’t matter. All that did matter was that Walter Marshall thought of me as his silver lining. Yes it was early days, yes we’d barely known each other a month, yes we’d only gone on two dates, but he made me happier than I’d been in a long time. I felt like I’d been holding my breath for two years, starting when my dad had died in a car crash, followed by my boyfriend Ezra breaking up with me, then losing my job as an interior designer, and capping off with my mom’s cancer diagnoses. Then Walter came along and it was like I could finally breathe again. 

Me:  Please don’t apologize. You have no idea how much I needed to read that this morning. Feel free to be as  cheesy as you want. And I hope I get to see you today, too, even if it  means you’re chained to your desk.

Marshall:  If I don’t see you for some reason,  can I call you tonight? I miss your  voice and you make me want to get better at this talking thing. 

I could feel myself blushing. Even over the phone he made me feel like a teenager with a crush. I had no idea that anyone could make me feel that way as an adult, but he did every time he texted me. 

Me:  Of course you can. Even if we do see  each other, you can still call, if you want? Practice makes perfect, and all that.

Marshall: I’d like that. Talk to you soon.

I sat back in my seat with a sigh as I looked out at the sleet falling from the gray sky, spattering my windshield, blurring out the image of the trees in the park across from me blowing and bending in the wind. 

It was going to be a good day. 

“You look...dare I say it? Happy?” Darcy said as I walked into her office.

I smiled. “You may dare to say it because yes, I am quite happy.”

“And what brings you to such an extreme emotion so early on such a disgusting day?”

I went to her desk and sat in the chair opposite her. “Well, for one, I know that you’re about to do me a big favor that I will forever be grateful for.”

“Fiona Sparks asking for a favor? I’ll mark the day in my calendar,” she joked. “What kind of favor do you need?”

“I need a copy of the peanut butter cookie recipe.”

“For what purpose?” 

“See, that’s where the happiness part comes into play and you, being one of my dearest friends, would love to see me happy.” 

“I would but I’m unsure how a cookie recipe is going to do that.”

“It’s not for me,” I said, smiling wide. “I met this guy -” 

“What? Who?” she asked enthusiastically, her eyes wide with excitement.

“His name is Walter Marshall. He’s our detective who never changes his lunch order.”

“You’re dating one of the homicide detectives? You can feel free to thank me later for giving you that order, by the way. But right now I want details: How long have you been dating and why am I just now finding out about it?”

“We’re not technically dating. I met him a few weeks ago for the first time and we went on two dates last week.” 

“You haven’t dated anyone in over two years, and then you go on two dates in one week?”

“Well, the first was just a coffee date. Saturday we tried having a proper one.” 

“Tried?” she asked, raising her eyebrow. 

“He wanted to take me to dinner, so we went to an Italian place, but before we could order, his daughter called. She was supposed to be at a Halloween party, but some of her friends had lied to her, I guess, and it ended up being a basement party with slightly older boys and she felt uncomfortable, so we went and picked her up. Then we all went for pizza together.”

“He has a daughter, which is some heavy baggage to begin with, but you met her on your second date? That’s a lot, Fiona.” 

“I know it seems like it, but it’s really not. She’s a good kid. And he’s an amazing father, which, oddly, just makes him more attractive,” I said. “But that’s not the point. The point is that his daughter was, understandably, a little iffy about me being with him when he picked her up until she found out that I’m the one who brings the cookies. She apparently loves them and I told her that I might be able to get her a copy of the recipe and that seemed to pave the way for her not hating me instantly. And she’s thirteen, so that’s a pretty big deal.”

“I have so many questions right now but I can’t sort them all out so I’m going to be annoying you with them all day, just be prepared for that. All I want to know right now is if you want the recipe laminated or not?” 

I let out a relieved breath. “Yes, please, if you don’t mind. And thank you so much, Darcy. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I do know. You never ask for anything, even simple things, so the fact that you’re willing to ask me for a favor means this is a pretty big deal,” she said. “He must be a good guy.”

I nodded. “He really is.” 

I arrived at the police station that morning a little before eleven. I’d left the shop early, worried the weather might get bad again and didn’t want to be late for my delivery. Thankfully the sleeting had stopped, allowing me to get there a few minutes early. A few minutes that I used up trying to pull my dolly through the parking lot. The lot had been salted, which was good in that at least it wasn’t icy, but the wheels on my dolly didn’t seem to like the brine mixture. They kept locking up on me. Between that and having to fight against the roaring wind, it took me an embarrassingly long time to reach the station door. Before I could push it open, someone opened it from the inside for me. I looked up, expecting to see Officer Bates. He was the security officer that was posted downstairs and always went through the containers full of lunches that I brought to the homicide unit every week. Instead, I saw Marshall.

“Hello,” he said with a smile. 

I immediately felt like giggling. The last time I’d seen him, we’d kissed. And seeing him right then, seeing his beautiful, handsome face, I wanted so badly to kiss him again. Instead, I felt myself grow shy as I blushed so fiercely that my cheeks stung with the new heat that rushed to them. 

“Hi,” I said. He pulled the door open all the way, then stepped back, allowing me to walk in. My stomach fluttered as I looked back at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He closed the door behind me. “May I help you with your cart?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“Would you let me help you take it back to your car when you leave, at least?”

I fought every instinct inside of me that insisted I say no. Darcy was right: I hated asking for even simple things. I never wanted to burden anyone. But since I’d met Marshall, I’d learned that his way of showing interest or affection was to do things for me. But he always asked first, wanting my permission. It challenged me, but in a good way. I didn’t need to always go it alone if I didn’t have to. 

“Um, yeah, I’d appreciate that. Thank you,” I said. “The wheels didn’t seem to agree with the salted parking lot. You could probably pull it a lot easier than me.” 

Marshall stayed with me as Officer Bates went through the containers I’d brought in. He wasn’t close enough to make anyone passing by question it, but it was close enough that my hand hanging at my side could feel the heat coming from his hand and forearm, that was visible from the blue henley that was pushed up to his elbows in a way that I found incredibly attractive. My fingers itched to seek out his, but I fought it. Keeping them obediently beside me. Once Officer Bates was done and gave me the all clear to take the food up, Walter walked me to the elevator and pressed the button to call it down. Then he held the door back, letting me in first before following me. After the door slid closed, he fell back half a step, putting him right beside me. His hand bumped mine, his fingers snaking through, gently holding mine. I smiled, knowing I wasn’t the only one itching for contact. 

I turned without a thought and placed a kiss on his shoulder. Then I paused, a moment of panic rising in me that maybe we weren’t at that level yet. But before I could move or feel too worried, he placed a kiss on the top of my head.

“I keep thinking about Saturday,” he whispered. 

“Me, too,” I said. I looked up at him. “It was...pretty amazing.”

He smiled. I could see his sharp canine teeth. They were oddly charming. “Yes, it was.” He laced his fingers with mine more securely, properly holding it. “I know I mentioned calling you tonight, but I hoped that we might have dinner again instead. If you’re not busy?”

“I’m exceptionally not busy tonight.”

“Good.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning his head back to face the elevator door. “I won’t be able to finish all my paperwork today, there’s too much and it keeps multiplying like rabbits, so since I have to do it tomorrow anyway, I’m going to knock off here around five. Could I pick you up after that? Around five-thirty, perhaps?” 

I nodded, smiling. “That sounds great.”

The elevator dinged as we reached the homicide unit floor. He gave my hand a couple of gentle squeezes before letting it go as the door slid open. He stepped out, then held the door for me like he had before, letting me pull my cart out. He walked with me almost all the way to the break room before a shorter man with glasses stopped him. 

“Lieutenant Marshall, can I speak with you in your office for a moment?” he asked. 

“Of course.” Walter touched my shoulder. “Excuse me,” he said to me quietly before leaving for his office. 

I continued on and was met by most of the detectives waiting for me. Like usual, they didn’t talk to me much, just thanking me for the food before taking their box and going. I took my time, hoping that by the time that I was done, the man speaking with Walter would be gone before I brought him his lunch. When I was done, I packed up my cart before taking Marshall’s boxed lunch and walked down the hall, finding the door to his office open. I could hear him talking still and wasn’t sure what to do. I’d made a deal with him a few weeks back to always bring his lunch to his office whenever I delivered - the first time was because a uniformed officer looked like he was going to swipe it, after that, it was to thank him for rescuing me from a pushy creep while I was with my ‘friends’. We’d never discussed if I should interrupt while he was working. I chewed my lip, debating what to do for several seconds before deciding to just take a chance and knock on the door frame. The worst case scenario was that I looked like a very dedicated delivery woman making sure that all of my orders reached their proper owners. 

“Yep. Come in,” Walter called out in response to my knocking.

I entered his office only far enough to be seen and not a step further. I didn’t know if Marshall wanted people to know about us, so I was prepared to make a quick exit if I needed to. “I have a delivery for Detective Marshall,” I said. 

He looked at me and smiled, then waved me in further. “Harper, this is Fiona Sparks. Fiona, this is Commissioner Harper.”

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you, sir,” I said. 

“You, too.” He looked at me over the top of his glasses. “You don’t happen to be related to Rodger Sparks, by any chance?” 

I felt speechless for a moment. I hadn’t heard anyone other than Mom say Dad’s name in months. Finally, I forced myself to nod. “Yes. He was my dad. How - how did you know?” 

“We went to college together. You’re the spitting image of him,” he said. “I was sorry to hear about him passing away. I lost my wife around two years ago as well. A brain aneurysm.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t get any easier.” 

“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed.

He looked at me for a moment longer, then back to Marshall, who was standing patiently with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked back at me briefly before taking the folder he was holding and tapped it against Marshall’s shoulder. “You know what? This can wait until tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll bring it by in the morning.” He left Walter and stopped beside me before leaving the office. “I’m very sorry about your father. Rodger was a horrible sport when he lost at cards, but other than that, he was a great guy. And probably the smartest man I ever met.”

I smiled slightly. “He was a horrible sport at cards.” 

He smiled back. “The worst.” He gave me a wink. “It was a pleasure seeing you.” 

“You, too.”

When he left, he closed the door behind him. I looked at Marshall as he walked towards me. “Did I interrupt something important?” I asked. 

“No. He was just asking about a cold case.”

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to come in since he was here. Next time, if you’re talking to someone, would you rather I left your lunch in the break room?”

He stopped in front of me. He was so close. He smelled like coffee and Old Spice. I swallowed thickly, trying to meet his gaze as he looked down at me. He shook his head, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “No. I’d still like you to bring it to me, please. If that’s alright?” 

“Yeah, of course. I just don’t want to get in the way of your job.”

“You won’t,” he said. “But I’ve let my job get in the way of other things for too long, so maybe it’s time someone got in the way of it for a bit.” 

“You have an important job, though. If you were a boat salesman, I might feel a little differently about disrupting your work.” 

His smile grew as he tilted his head at me. “A boat salesman?” 

“I mean a job where it wouldn’t really matter all that much if you were distracted every once in a while. If someone doesn’t sell a boat, it’s not that big of a deal. But if you don’t solve a murder case...that has very real repercussions. I wouldn’t want to be a reason for something slipping by in a case.” 

He put his hand on my cheek, directing my eyes back to his. “That won’t happen,” he said. “I take my job seriously. That’s never been a problem for me. My problem has always been figuring out how to balance it with the rest of my life, which I never could, and I neglected a lot of people because of it. Especially Faye.” He shook his head. “I’m still not good at it. But I had a case back in the winter that...put Faye’s safety in jeopardy, among other things, and it made me realize that I need to put more of an effort in my life outside of this job. Despite how hard that is for me.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “You motivate me to slow down a bit. And that’s a good thing.”

I took my free hand and placed it over his, then turned my face slightly and placed a kiss on the inside of his wrist. “I would be happy to slow down with you,” I whispered. 

Marshall had a smile that somehow showed in his eyes more than his mouth, and that’s how he was looking at me right then. “I’d like that.” 

A knock on the door startled me. I took a step back, his hand falling from my cheek. He then ran it over his face, almost like he was trying to scrub the irritation of being interrupted off it. Then he folded his arms across his chest before calling out for whoever it was to come in.

The door opened and a man stepped up to the doorway. He was wearing plain clothes like Walter, so I assumed he was a detective, too. He all but ignored me as he and Walter spoke. Half of what they said was in a jargon I didn’t understand, so I just stood there, head down, waiting. After a few minutes, the guy left, only halfway closing the door as he did. When Marshall finally turned back to me, I could see that he was frustrated. I knew he wouldn’t admit it, but me being at his work right then was only going to cause more irritation with every interruption we had. 

“As much as I hate it, I should probably get back to the shop. We have a big order going out tomorrow, so there’s quite a lot to do today to prepare for it,” I said. “Plus, I have a date with a very handsome detective tonight that I want to get ready for.”

The frustration on his face seemed to melt away as he looked at me with a smirk. “Is it anyone I know?”

“Possibly. He does work in your unit.” 

“Is that so?” he asked. I nodded. “Well, if I see him around, I might have to have a talk with him.”

“And what would you say?” 

“I’d tell him that he better be good to you because you deserve to be treated well.” 

My stomach fluttered. “You can rest assured that he treats me very well. Better than any man ever has.”

“All those other men were idiots.”

I smiled. “Maybe so.” 

He shook his head. “Definitely so.” He reached out and took his lunch from my hand, then turned and placed it on a filing cabinet behind him. “Will you let me help you to your car now?” 

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

He put on his coat and followed me to the break room. He pulled my dolly for me, moving it like it was as light as a child’s toy. Even when we made it to the parking lot, he didn’t seem to have any issue with the wheels fighting against him. Then he picked it up and placed it in my trunk with ease, despite how I very often fought to get it back in. I thought about telling him that he was welcome to help me anytime he wanted, but I was afraid it wouldn’t come across as a joke and he would feel obligated to actually help. 

“Thank you. You made my morning a lot easier,” I said after I closed the trunk. I looked at him. “I guess I’ll see you around five-thirty?”

He nodded. “I’ll call you when I leave here, but yeah, I should be there by then,” he said. “And I promise it’ll only be the two of us and no cheap pizza.” 

“To be honest, I quite liked the pizza. It didn’t taste cheap. And I really, truly didn’t mind Faye joining us, but it'll be nice to have dinner with just you tonight,” I said. “But that reminds me - I put a copy of our cookie recipe for Faye in your lunch box.” 

He smiled. “Thank you. She’ll be very excited about that.”

“You’re welcome. And let her know if she has any issues with it, she can call or text me.” 

The crease between his eyebrows appeared as he looked at me thoughtfully. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah. I’ve made them enough times over the last year and a half to make every mistake you can with them. If she has a problem, I can probably diagnose it over the phone.” 

“You don’t mind her having your number?”

I felt my facial expressions mirroring his, but from confusion. “Of course I don’t mind. As long as you’re okay with it,” I said. “Unless you think your ex-wife would mind? I don’t want to step on her toes or anything.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think Angie would mind for that purpose, and I don’t have a problem with it. But I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“I don’t but I’ll leave it up to you. If you’d feel more comfortable being the middleman you can always call me for her.” I gave him a big smile. “And I can help you practice the whole talking thing. Then it’s a two birds with one stone kind of deal.” 

He smiled back, nodding his head. “And if she doesn’t need help?” 

“You can still call.” I shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to have a reason for calling. If I’m not at work, I’m usually pretty free. I may be cooking, or watching ‘The Golden Girls’ with Mom, but that’s about it,” I said. “I’m afraid you’re courting quite a socially boring person.”

He laughed. “I’m not sure if you’ve caught on, but I’m not exactly a sociable person, either,” he said. “So perhaps we make a good fit for each other.”

“Perhaps so,” I agreed. “We can be selectively social together.” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

I let out a sigh and watched my breath turn to steam in front of me. “I better let you get back to your paperwork and I need to go help Darcy at the store. We have over fifty loaves of bread to bake before the end of the day, so depending on when I get home, you may have to deal with your date smelling like freshly baked bread.” 

He squinted slightly. “I’m not really opposed to that,” he joked with a smile that showed off the sharp ends of his canine teeth. 

I laughed. “Good to know.” 

He gave me a short hug, kissing my cheek as he pulled back. “I’ll see you this evening.” 

“I’m looking forward to it.

[tarlosbuddie]

CapSwap - Chapter 2

Read on AO3

Summary of the fic:  Bobby and Owen exchange their station and team for show called CapSwap produced by Taylor Kelly.

Chapter summary: New captain, new rules. Owen Strand arrives at the Station and the 118 is ready to have get to know him and to have some fun.

Word Count: 2478

Chapter: 2/?

Hanging banners has been a tradition in the 118 since Chimney, Hen and their former teammates hanged one to congratulate Bobby on winning the bet his first month here. They have had so many captains quitting after a few weeks that they wanted to celebrate, mostly by pranking him. So, before he arrived, they used the biggest ladder they could find and hung a white banner that read “You’re still here!!” and threw him a bunch of confetti as he walked in. Buck got his first one a few months only after he arrived. He came for his shift the day after being fired and the red letters formed the words “You’re not fired! (yet)”. It was one of the first times that he felt like it was a real family. Chimney had a few ones too, the most recent one was from when Bobby came back from his suspension and it read “Your reign is over Interim Captain Han”. It was Eddie’s idea. He knew Buck was on sick leave but he filmed the whole thing to cheer him up. They bought enough cakes and banners to be known by the local stores at the point.

This time, Chimney comes to work early, with the biggest smirk on his face. He is not about to break the tradition, especially with everything being caught on camera. Taylor and her crew are getting ready and Chimney waves at them.

“You guys don’t wanna miss this.”

“Get the camera ready.” She orders her team. “I need a strong clip for the promo of the show.”

Buck and Hen are already next to the ladder, ready to hang what Chimney always described as their best one yet.

“You’re sure it’s a good idea to prank the new captain?” Eddie asks. Taylor directs the camerawoman to film his reaction as she starts taking notes in her little notebook. “Maybe he’s not as cool as Bobby is” the firefighter adds.

The second person directs her camera toward Chimney who’s grinning. Taylor circles his name in her notes, hoping that by the end of the month, she will get the juicy reason behind his nickname.

“Trust me, when you’ll see this, you’ll know he’s not really shy,” Chimney promises.

“Okay Eddie, now move your pretty ass on that ladder,” Hen says. 

Both Eddie and Chimney climb the ladders on opposite sides of the banner. Buck is not allowed to do it anymore since he proved he’s not capable of hanging a banner straight. So he just stays behind Eddie, having his back from the bottom of the ladder where he thinks about Hen’s comment. She is right, he can’t deny that.

The banner is a lot heavier than the ones they usually buy. Chimney insisted that it must stay rolled up until Captain Strands arrived. They climb the stairs, eager to start their shift. They all wait on the balcony, the oldest holding on the strings of the banner. 

A car finally arrives, and Taylor keeps one of the cameras on the crew when she directs the second one toward the car. She has seen pictures of him and she picked him for her reason, the man looks perfect. She knows the public will love him and she’s counting on him making a grand entrance. 

Owen gets out of the car, with his Austin Fire Department jacket as she requested in the contract. She was not expecting him to wear such a fit white tee-shirt underneath but she appreciates it. It would look great on the promo. He doesn’t bother to take his sunglasses off, he only moves them down a little to wink at the camera she asked them not to look at. She can cut it off, but she is not sure she will want to when she will check the footage. 

He makes his way toward the inside of the house. He is about to take up the stairs when he hears whistles coming from the balcony.

The banner unfolds as he walks under it. It’s a huge picture of him from a firefighter calendar, wearing his NYFD pants, with the suspenders touching his bare chest. The text on the banner reads “Welcome to the 118 Mister December 2003.”

Everyone is laughing, including the man staring at a shirtless picture of himself taken 17 years ago. He runs toward the stairs to introduce himself. One of the cameras follows him when the other is on the opposite stairs. 

“Welcome Captain Strand,” Eddie says first. He stands straight and shakes the captain's hand. The other members do the same, and Owen memorizes everyone’s favorite nickname. Chimney is the last member of the team to introduce himself. 

“I’m Chim-” he starts but Owen cuts him.

“Mister April 2019. I’m guessing you’re the one I owe that great surprise to?”

“Huh, yeah.” He answers. 

“Can one of you show me my office and the nearest shower please? I just spent the best part of the weekend in my car and I would kill for a shower, and a coffee.”

“You drove here, Captain?” Eddie asks.

“I was not gonna miss an opportunity to take a road trip to our beautiful country.”

“I’ll give you a tour” Eddie offers.

- - 

Owen is taking the longest shower, so the crew decides to rest. The cameras are off, or at least off their faces so they can take a break. They are all sitting on different couches and there is still a free one when Eddie arrives toward his friends with a bowl of popcorn. Taylor walks toward them with a gentle smile on her face and Eddie walks faster to arrive before she does. He hurries up and sits next to Buck on the couch. It’s just more convenient to share the popcorn with his team, he tells himself while he looks at Taylor who’s sitting down on the last couch.

They are eating in silence, not daring to speak while she is here. Buck offers her some popcorn but she politely refuses. She looks even more uncomfortable than they are. Hen notices and invites her to the kitchen.

“Do you want a coffee?” she offers. “It’s bad but it will keep you awake for a long shift.”

“Yes, please,” Taylor answers shyly. “I know you guys all hate me. But I’m just trying to do my job.”

“We don’t hate you, girl,” Hen replies. “We are not fans of having cameras around though.” 

“I thought Buck would be the one hating me after what happened between us.” Taylor says. She looks down at her coffee mug, taking one sip and confirming what Hen told her, it really is a disgusting beverage.

“Buckaroo is a golden retriever. I don’t think that boy is capable of hating someone.”

“What’s the deal between him and Eddie?” she asks while turning to face the couches where the three boys are chatting. Eddie is throwing popcorn in the air for Buck to catch them with his mouth. “I feel like he’s gonna murder me.”

“He’s just having Buck’s back,” Hen says. “We should go back to the boys before Buck chokes on a popcorn or something.”

They walk back toward the couchs, grimacing as they drink their coffee. Taylor explains some ideas she has and then she tells them that they will turn the cameras back one while they talk about Owen. She sits somewhere off camera and directs her team to start filming.

“So, what do you guys think about the new captain?” Buck asks. It’s not his natural tone and he has to force himself not to look at the camera. But then Eddie starts speaking and Buck has something more interesting to look at.

“He seems nice.” Eddie simply says.

“It’s hard to judge a book by its cover” Hen answers.

“We all did it with Eddie on his first day” Chimney says. Buck takes a handful of popcorn and sends it on his eldest friend who’s happily catching half of it with his mouth while the rest ends up on the couch. “What? I was talking about Hen’s comment, not about your jealousy.”

“Okay, first of all, I wasn’t jealous,” Buck clears, shifting a little on the couch to look more at Eddie. He can feel his face turning red from remembering that day. “And second, we were talking about Captain Strand.”

Eddie chuckles and adds “The man seems okay, we should give him a chance.”

“You okay Buck?” Chimney asks. “You look like you’re praying for an emergency right now”.

“Huh. I.” He starts, but Owen is finally out of the shower, wearing another tee-shirt that compliments his body. Buck wonders if this man already took a DXA scan to measure the fat in his body. He stands up and walks toward Owen.

“I think this is for you, Captain” Buck says. He holds an LAFD blue shirt, with the Strand name written on the metal name tag on the pocket.

The captain puts his long sleeves shirt on with the help of his youngest team member. He read a detailed file about these people but he still doesn’t know them like he knows the 126. He chose his entire team, learned to work with them and even though the idea of the show seemed interesting, Owen misses his team.

“So” Owen starts, he claps his hand and takes an enthusiastic tone. “Let’s get to know each other a little.”

“What would you like to know?” Eddie asks first.

“Come on, guys, this is not a job interview. I just wanna get to know the people who I’m working with.” Owen says. They all look at each other, it’s like the first day of school and no one wants to be the first to introduce themself to the new teacher. 

Buck lets himself fall back on the couch and sights dramatically. He wouldn’t know where to start. So much has happened to them lately. Every person in this room could use some serious therapy and there’s a lot you can’t tell a person you just met. So how can the 118 introduce themselves without talking about all of the trauma around them?

“Okay, I’ll start” Owen says when it becomes clear that no one else would. “I’m from New York. I’ve been a firefighter there for two decades.”

“So, you were there when…” Eddie starts asking.

“I was.” Owen answers briefly before continuing his introduction. “My son and I moved to Austin a few months ago. He’s a firefighter in my station too. He’s about your age, Buck. Does your captain have kids?”

“You mean besides Buckaroo, here?” Chimney jokes. 

“Bobby’s not my dad.” Buck pouts. He looks at Eddie, hoping he would take his defense but his friend just holds his hand up and pretends to zip his mouth shut.

Hen laughs at the three boys and answers Owen’s question “His wife has 2 kids.” 

“Oh she remarried too. I have something in common with his wife. Do you guys have kids?”

“My wife and I have a son and we are fostering a baby girl,” Hen says. 

“I have an 8 years-old son.” Eddie answers.

“His name is Christopher,” Buck adds, holding his phone up to show Owen the picture of Eddie and Chris he has on his lockscreen. “He’s the smartest kid!”

“Hey!” Hen cuts, pretending to be offended.

“I'm sure Denny and Nia will grow up to be as smart as Superman.”

“Are you two…” Owen starts. He felt like he might have missed some information in his files.

“Oblivious” Chim whispers and Hen laughs.

“Buck is helping me a lot with my son. Christopher loves his Buck.” 

“And you, Mister April? Do you have any kids?” 

“He’s dating my sister” Buck answers for him “So if he ever knocks her up, I’d better be the first one to know.”

Chimney almost chokes on the food he’s eating. Hen gently pads his back. He tells her everything, even the things Maddie made him promise not to talk about. She is his best friend and he can’t keep big news to himself. So she knows Buck won’t be the first one to know about the Hans’ new secret. 

“You are dating his sister? Family dinners must be interesting.”

“She’s a 9-1-1 dispatchers. So you might get to talk to her while you’re in L.A.”

“Okay, bonding time is over for now.” Owen declares. “Probie, you start cooking while the others clean the rigs” he orders.

“Huh, probie?” Eddie asks when he sees his Captain looking at him. “My probation period ended last year.”

“According to your files, you’re the last one who arrived, which in my eyes, makes you a probie” Owen half jokes. He knows he misses his probie, and he’s probably trying to find a replacement for them. Judging by Chimney’s and Buck’s laughs, he knows the nickname is gonna stick for a while.

“Huh, the Cap was usually the one cooking.” Eddie says hesitantly. 

“My house, my rules. Everyone takes turns in my house.”

“Then you’ll probably talk to my sister soon Captain, cause we are definitely going to call dispatch to report the entire house suffers from food poisoning.”

Everyone but Eddie takes down the stairs to clean up the trucks. Eddie looks at the kitchen, terrified. Even his kid that never complains about anything told him that he can’t cook. He doesn’t want to poison his captain on the first day. And the show is gonna be broadcast on national television, his whole family is gonna know what an awful cook he is.

The alarm goes off and puts him off his misery and he runs down the stairs. The team was already cleaning the truck so they climbed before he could even get to them. He’s the last one to arrive so Owen ends him the key.

“Heard you can’t cook” Owen says and everyone pretends they didn’t say a thing while they were cleaning the rig, “but I hope you can drive, Probie.”

Buck and Chimney’s phones buzzed from the back seat. Hen looks at the both of them, assuming it might have something to do with Maddie since they both got a text at the same time. She forgot her phone at the station, like she always does. Buck shows her the texts they received. It’s from a new whatsapp group they’ve all been added to.

Unknown Number: How’s the new cap treating you?

Unknown Number: Please, go easy on my dad.

Unknown Number: Yeah, we kinda like the old guy. 

By this point, they’ve all guessed what this group chat is about but they get the final confirmation when they receive a picture of 5 firefighters doing funny faces while Bobby has his back turned. 

Unknown Number: Thanks for lending us your Captain for a month. We'll try not to drive him crazy!

[catb-fics]

So I’ve decided to just make this a short story for now... there’ll be one more part after this but who knows? I might come back to it at a later date and write a longer story to include the other lads... maybe go a bit ‘Twilight’!

Love Bites (Part 2)

Warnings: Not yet but things are def heating up! / Word Count: 2.2k

Read Part 1 here

It's a dull, dreary Monday morning as you make your way to work. November has brought with it all the chill you might expect from a mid-winter's day, and you pull your coat around yourself tightly, wincing slightly as you catch the plaster that's covering the cut on your hand. It still smarts slightly, but the sensation is nothing compared to the embarrassment you feel when you re-play the incident of Van ordering you out of his house in your mind. It's silly really, you'd only just met him and you'd barely got past the introductions, but for some reason you've just not been able to get him out of your head.

You'd toyed with the idea of going to his house the next day and apologising, but Emma had talked you out of it. She was probably right. I mean, did you really want to get mixed up with someone with a temper that volatile?

"Hi Y/N!" Vicky, one of your colleagues, greets you as you walk into the office, a ridiculously huge grin plastered across her face.

You eye her suspiciously. "Why are you so cheerful on a Monday morning?"

"I should be asking you why you're not more cheerful!" Comes her reply, confusing you further.

"Why should I be?"

Now Vicky looks exasperated, shaking her head. "Why didn't you tell me you had a fella?"

"Because I don't..." you begin, but your words are cut off as she reaches down behind her desk, pulling out a beautiful bouquet of red roses.

"Oh well... you definitely have an admirer then!" She grins, thrusting the flowers into your hand. "These arrived first thing... Hold on... you really don't know who they're from do you? Look... there's a note."

You accept the flowers, staring at them dumbstruck. "It must be a mistake..."

But no, there nestled among the petals is a small red envelope with your name clearly printed on the front. You eagerly grasp it, gently placing the roses on your desk, your mind flicking through possible candidates and rejecting each one.

Dan, the boring guy from accounts you'd gone for a curry with two weeks ago? Not likely....

Steve, Emma's older brother who's always flirting with you? But he has a girlfriend...

The new guy from the office downstairs who you were chatting to in the kitchen last week? Impossible... you're not even sure he knows your name!

"Open it!" Vicky's urging, clapping her hands in excitement. "They're beautiful, hand-tied and everything. I think they're from that posh florist in town. You know my sister got her wedding bouquet from there..."

But you aren't listening to Vicky. You're reading the note, a shocked kind of disbelief paralysing you momentarily.

Y/N, please accept my apologies for how I acted on Saturday night. I'd like to make it up to you if you'd let me? Dinner tonight, 7pm, my house. Van x

Fifteen minutes later when you've finally managed to  shut Vicky up firing questions at you about your mysterious admirer, you're on the phone to Emma, who's equally shocked at your surprise gift and the offer of dinner.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it! So what are you gonna wear?" She says excitedly.

"Hold on... you're talking like I'm actually going to go."

"Y/N... of course you gotta go! The guy spends 15 minutes with you and he's already sending you flowers!" Her voice is raised.

"But you were saying he was a psycho for reacting how he did..." you protest.

"Well... that was before this! Go on... give him a chance... he's said sorry. Just go and see what he's like."

You pause, feeling torn. Emma speaks again, her tone teasing.

"And he's gorgeous!"

She's not wrong. You think back to the way he looked at you with a certain sort of hunger and flurries of excitement run through you. By the time you've come off the phone Emma's well and truly convinced you, and it's hard to concentrate on your work for the rest of the day. A tiny niggling doubt keeps surfacing as you wonder how the hell he knew you worked here, but you push it away. You've made your mind up.

* * * * *

On Emma's instruction 'not to look desperate' you turn up to Van's house that evening at 7.15pm, but then start profusely apologising for being late as soon as he appears at the door. You decide you're just not cut out for acting cool and aloof like Emma suggests. One glimpse at Van and you're acting like a schoolgirl with a crush again.

"Hey, stop apologising, I'm the one who should be saying sorry, remember?" He smiles as he beckons you inside.

"It's fine, really. And the roses were beautiful. Thank you so much."

He grins. "It's the least I could do... look I'm really sorry if I upset you. I don't know what came over me."

He starts leading you down another dark and winding hallway that's in the opposite direction to where the party took place. It occurs to you that if you didn't have Van leading you then you could easily get lost in this house. It's like a maze.

"Really it's fine Van, I was careless smashing the glass. And my cut's healing up really well..."

You offer your hand for him to look at. You've taken the plaster off, hoping it will heal better in the fresh air. Van suddenly stops dead in his tracks, grasping your hand, his eyes fixed on your injury. It looks red and angry still. He screws his eyes shut and visibly shudders, so you snatch your hand away.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were so squeamish!" You laugh. "My sister's the same. Gets really freaked out if anyone hurts themselves. Can't stand the sight of blood!"

Van glances over at you, smiling, but his eyes look strange again. God, what is it about those eyes? It's like looking into an icy cold pool, and you feel if you look for too long you'll be pulled under the current.

A few more twists and turns down various corridors and Van opens another door to reveal a large room with a heavy wooden table flanked by many ornately carved chairs. It looks like something from a medieval banquet hall. You wonder what on earth Van does to afford such a grand house. He looks like he's no more than mid-20s. Maybe he inherited it.

Van gestures for you to sit at the head of the table, drawing the chair out for you in a gentlemanly manner.

"Oh, I've not taken your jacket yet," you hear him say from behind you and you feel his hands on your shoulders so you shrug out of your jacket.

Wow, this guy does NOT know the boundaries of personal space. No sooner as your jacket's slipped off your shoulders than you feel his head dip down so it's flush next to your neck. You've chosen to wear a pretty lace off the shoulder top and you're stunned when he sweeps your hair to one side, pressing his face against your bare skin and you actually hear him deeply inhale.

The gesture makes you feel both intensely awkward but excited at the same time and you're not sure how to react. You'd pretend not to notice if he wasn't still lingering there.

"It's Chanel again before you ask!" You laugh nervously.

He lets out a noise almost like a little sigh and it sends a spike of heat through you. "Mmm... I've changed my mind. I don't think it's your perfume after all.”

Okay... this is getting weirder by the second. So he's saying you smell nice? You'd be completely freaked out if you weren't so goddamn attracted to him.

Finally he pulls away and you realise you've been holding your breath. He takes the seat to the left hand side of you and looks at you for a long moment.

"Do I make you feel uncomfortable Y/N?"

What are you supposed to say? Come clean and admit that, yes, every little action, every look he gives you sets you on edge?

"No of course not," you hurriedly say, lying through your teeth.

The knowing smile he gives you tells you he knows the exact effect he's having and maybe he's actually enjoying it, and you're not quite sure how you feel about that.

Thankfully the door creaks open at that moment, distracting you both. A short, dark-haired guy with a cheerful smile steps into the room, carrying a bottle of wine and a fancy silver platter which he places on the table in front of you, removing the lid with a flourish. The food looks amazing, restaurant quality and presented beautifully, but you're confused. Van doesn't have any food in front of him.

"Are you not eating?" You ask him.

He leans back in his chair, taking a sip of the wine that's just been poured. "No... let's just say I have... a very... refined palate."

"Oh... errr... okay," you mumble, taking a large gulp of the wine. "I feel a little awkward being the only one eating."

"Please don't... enjoy the food," Van gestures towards your plate. "Besides... I'll be eating later... I hope."

There's something about his statement and the way he says it that makes your belly flip. He's looking at you almost like he wants to devour you, and you glance down at your plate, feeling flustered.

"That'll be all Larry, you can go," Van addresses the young man who brought the food with a wave of his hand and you find yourself smiling as he turns to leave.

"What?" Van says.

"Oh... nothing," you reply. "It's just I'm surprised that you have staff!"

Van outstretches his arms as if to indicate the whole house. "Well I definitely need a hand managing this big, old place. And you know... it can get quite lonely at times. It's so nice to have company."

This surprises you. Van seems so charming despite his little quirks, and you're surprised some lucky lady hasn't come along and snapped him up already.

The food is every bit as delicious as it looks and the wine's amazing too, some posh vintage that Van delights in telling you all about. Despite your earlier uneasiness you find yourself starting to relax. It becomes apparent that Van loves to talk, so there's never an awkward silence. He asks you lots of questions about yourself and seems genuinely interested in all you have to say. You're conscious that your life might seem boring in comparison, but Van seems rapt hearing even the most mundane details. In contrast, he seems evasive about the details of his own life, talking in vague terms or steering the conversation back to you.

Before long, you've finished your meal and Van enquires whether you'd like dessert. You have a real sweet tooth and you're tempted, but the fact that Van won't be joining you makes you decline. He tops up your wine glass instead and leans back in his chair, regarding you with a little smile and his eyes simmering with that same hungry look he had earlier. You feel the tension fall back over the room.

"You know, you should wear your hair up, you have such a pretty, delicate neck," Van says, and the comment catches you off-guard. You're not comfortable receiving compliments at the best of times, and his forwardness makes you feel even more shy.

"Err... thank you..." You find yourself pushing your hair back over your shoulders, allowing Van to admire you all the more.

He leans across the table towards you suddenly, raising a hand, letting his fingers gently trail from below your jawline down your neck to your collarbone. His hands are cool but you feel like his fingertips leave a trail of fire in their wake. You feel a deep flush rise right through your body.

“And your skin... it’s really rather beautiful... so soft.” His voice is smooth like honey.

Your words catch in your throat and you want to look away, but Van’s caught you in his gaze and you find that you’re not able to.

He smiles again. “I’m embarrassing you.”

“A little...” you admit, but you don’t want him to stop. Your pulse is racing and you can’t help but look at his full, pink lips, imagining what they’d feel like on yours.

“I like it,” Van says. “You know when you blush, the blood rises to the surface of the skin. Don’t you think the human body is amazing? You can tell so much just by observing...”

You squirm a little in your seat. Van moves even closer, leaning right in so he’s just inches away. He speaks again.

“Take you now for example. Your pupils have dilated. That tells me you’re feeling attraction... and desire...”

Oh shit, he’s so fucking intense. You just sit there, not daring to speak, your heart pounding, waiting for him to make his move.

“And your heart’s beating fast too. Believe it or not I can actually hear the blood rushing through your veins...”

What? Surely not?

“I doubt that...” you say in a quiet voice.

“Oh... I’m full of surprises Y/N,” he says mysteriously.

“Really? Like what?” You ask, waiting with baited breath.

He doesn’t say a word, just holds you under his enchanting gaze, letting his lips part slightly, just enough so that you can see his perfectly pointed white teeth.

Read Part 3 now...

[milkybunbuns]

smile → kita.s

I’ll make you smile - 3

w/c: 1.2 K

warnings: swearing, raging at atsumu and tricking him owo

SMILE MASTERLIST

-

you sat in the back corner of the classroom, staring out the window, with the sun illuminating your face, patiently waiting for your desk partner to turn up. it had turned out that this year osamu was put in a different class, so you got atsumu as a worse replacement. from what you knew, the only thing that identified them as twins was their looks and their love for volleyball, otherwise, you wouldn't really be able to tell that atsumu was osamu's twin. osamu was the sweetest foodie who was mostly kind to you, but sometimes he did do a bit of teasing. atsumu, on the other hand, was crazy, loud, attention-seeking, rude and mean. how were they even related?

"morning y/n-chan", osamu entered the room and plopped down beside you.

"huh? osamu what are you doing here? aren't you in class 2-3?"

"about that, they made me change classes since they accidentally mixed up mine and 'tsumu's marks."

"oh that's great! now i don't have to sit next to that annoying piece of shit, the gods have taken pity on me."

"don't you feel a bit bad for 'tsumu though? he's so handsome, smart and beautiful and is obviously the best twin."

"uhm, are you okay osamu?"

"yeah, i'm perfectly fine, what makes you think that?"

"you're acting really odd, complimenting atsumu? you sure you're not sick?"

"of course i'm not, but i want to say that I've loved you for a really long time, ever since we met last year."

"uh-"

"'TSUMU, GIMME BACK MY ONIGIRI!!"

"huh? What's happening, why are there two osamu's?", the three of you stared at each other, before the gaze was eventually fixed on the 'osamu' sitting beside you. 'osamu' started to sweat intensely, murmuring things other his breath. you could barely make out a 'please, i'm too young to die.'

3..

2..

1..

"ATSUMU/'TSUMU!!! YER IDIOT!!!", both you and osamu yelled in unison, tackling atsumu onto the floor and repeatedly kicking him.

"AH AH AH, PLEASE, I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!", his pleas were ignored as his carbon copy and yourself continued the assault, making sure to get him all over.

"NO, NO, NO, STOP IT. I'M SORRY. PLEASE."

"PLEASEEEE!!!!"

"I'LL BUY YOU FOOD!"

"WHAT? IS THAT NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY YOU TWO!?"

"NO!!"

"OKAY OKAY FINE! I'LL TREAT YOU BOTH TO AN ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET AFTER SCHOOL!", with those words, the assault stopped, as atsumu panted, taking a few moments to catch his breath. rip his wallet.

"yer better not pull a stunt like this again", you frowned at his pathetic state, arms crossed over your chest.

"yeah, or we won't be afraid to do this again", osamu stated, ripping atsumu's grey wig off his head and rummaging through his bag for the stolen onigiri.

"ughh, i can't believe i got fooled by this bastard."

"at least we get free food, isn't that right 'tsumu?"

"yes yes! of course, whatever you want!"

"great..."

----

volleyball practice had ended and it was time for the promised buffet. osamu, being a great genius, had decided to go ahead and invite almost everyone from the volleyball team to the buffet, saying that it was a 'toast to yui before she left hyogo'. of course, 'tsumu would be paying for everyone and there would be no way that he could say 'no' since it would be absolutely disrespectful to turn down guests. even though atsumu was a huge jerk, there was a limit to that jerkiness.

that's how it all led to what was currently happening. atsumu had no clue that he had invited every second and third year from the volleyball team.

"samu'! why did you invite all of them? i'm going to go broke!", atsumu whispered hurriedly in his twin's ear."

"of course, that's the point of this."

"what! how can one be so mean!?"

"shush, keep it down. you don't want the guests to hear."

"i thought this was just going to be me, y/n-chan and you."

"well, since you're so reluctant on them coming, why don't you kick everyone else all out?"

"i can't! that's just rude and they've already arrived."

"well deal with it then."

"come on 'samuuu, please pay for yourself at least?"

"hm? I'll think about it depending on your behaviour."

"what the heck? are you my mom or something, i'm not a baby."

"well, you sure do act like one."

"hey! rude."

despite that little shenanigans, the dinner went relatively smoothly, with atsumu on his 'best behaviour', which was also terrible.

----

"y/n-san, you need to eat more", kita looked over at you, who was currently on their phone on social media with a basically empty plate in front of her. on the plate there were a few pieces of chicken and one slice of lettuce.

"don't worry about me kita-senpai, I'll eat later."

"it's my job as team captain to make sure everyone is healthy, including our new manager."

"ah thank you, but honestly you don't need to worry about me, just enjoy your time. 'samu and 'tsumu will get food for me."

"i can't, i need to make sure you get a good meal", kita used a spare pair of chopsticks and put some of the food from his plate to yours. he gave you a few pieces of assorted sushi, a bit of rice and a few vegetables, "it's important to have a balanced diet. that", he pointed at what you had chosen, "is not balanced at all."

"thanks, kita-senpai for the food", you smiled at him, "you seem to know a lot about being healthy."

"my grandma teaches me about it."

"i have a question for you."

"proceed?"

"do you ever smile?"

"i have, but that was a long time ago."

"well, then it's my job to make you smile. being happy is an important part of being healthy!"

"y/n-san, what makes you think i'm unhappy with my life?"

"i've never seen you smile, you always have that stoic look on your face. it looks...distant..."

"i love all my teammates, i would never trade them for the world."

"if you're happy kita-senpai, you need to express it more. smiles make this ugly world brighter y'know?"

"alright, if that's what you would like to do, then I won't stop you y/n-san."

"thank you kita-senpai, I'll take it upon myself to make you smile before you graduate."

"i look forward towards it."

"let's enjoy this dinner for now shall we?"

"certainly."

"toast to yui!", you smiled, raising a cup of softdrink/tea/coffee/juice/water (whatever drink you want, just no alcohol cause the reader would be underage in this story hehe)

"toast to yui!", the others repeated, raising their cups to smash, sorry, tap against others.

a few sniffles were heard, "I'M GONNA MISS YER GUYS, EVEN THE MIYA TWINS STUPID ANTICS", yui burst out in tears, hugging everyone tightly. suddenly, you felt guilty, finally realising that yui was going to be leaving soon and that you would never see her again. the happiness you had put up around her broke, tears freely flowing down your cheeks as you gripped her even tighter. yui still wouldn't be leaving for a good, 3 days? so fast, huh? a week really passes quickly, doesn't it. you could feel the guilt eating at you, for all those times you had rejected yui's offers to take you around. maybe, if you accepted  them, you would be able to spend more time with her. but now, in three days she would be leaving. you were determined to make those 3 days, the best days of her life.

previous - next

[writingsfromhome]

A June Love Story (Pt 2)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Epilogue

June. Three years ago.

Harry: The outdoor garden is alight with laughter and happy greetings as everyone comes together for Jack and Jess’s baby shower. I try to find a familiar face as I walk through the gates, but I only recognise Jack’s family. My eyes continue scanning anyway, barely admitting to myself I was looking for one face in particular.

A small gasp from beside me lets me know my girlfriend had returned with our name tags. Leave it to Jack to have nametags at a baby shower to help everyone mingle. “This is lovely isn’t it?”

I look down at Alyssa, my girlfriend of seven months-the longest I’d kept a girlfriend in a while. Jack’s Jess actually made the introduction, she was her maid of honour at their wedding. And as cliche as it was, the maid of honour did indeed end the night in the best man’s bed.

Alyssa scrunchles her nose and loops her arm through mine, “let’s go find the parents-to-be!”

“Yeah okay,” I laugh. Alyssa was always a bubbly personality, never a mean word out of her. It was refreshing but the complete opposite of how I could get. I always had to watch what I said, she was too soft for harsh words.

“I heard there’s a secret baby wager going around,” Alyssa tells me as we make our way to the deck. “Don’t tell Jess though, I’m pretty sure it was Jack who started it.”

“Oh it was definitely Jack who started it,” I chuckle. “You can get him to bet on anything.”

“So?” Alyssa peers at me. “What did you wager?”

“Why did you think I wagered?” I laugh but Alyssa only raises her eyebrow; I give in. “A boy.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes but we stop the conversation as Jess nears, “There you are!” She hugs the both of us and the girls begin gushing over how big her bump had gotten. As much as I would love to have kids of my own someday, it wasn’t today. I zone out and look around the small garden, I almost don’t catch her.

Y/N, in the flesh. The last time I saw her was Jack’s wedding, she’d been a little cold. I didn’t blame her. After she broke down in front of me at her housewarming, I guessed she was embarassed again. But she stayed away the whole weekend, avoiding me until I cornered her on the dance floor on wedding day.

She’d confessed, she was avoiding me. And she also admitted she was confused anytime she saw me, it complicated her feelings, her relationship with Nate which she was sorting out. She didn’t want to put more strain on it. I told her to break up with him. She got upset and said I would never understand, things were complicated. She left. I decided Y/N was never going to leave Nate, I was putting my love life on hold for her but “we” were never going to happen. So I went to bed with the maid of honour.

When I realised a few weeks ago I was seeing her again, I couldn’t stop thinking about her again: all my old feelings resurfaced. And here I was trying to find her face in the crowd even though I was here with Alyssa. But there was a draw to Y/N I couldn’t deny. It was unhealthy.

She’s talking to Jack, I realise. And her hair was short. Really short. And dyed. She has on a white tee tucked into loose green trousers. There was no Nate in sight. I had to talk to her before he showed up and ruined things as he did.

“Look at Harry eyeing Jack,” Jess’ voice snaps me out of it. I didn’t realise how hard I was staring. “You can be excused from this boring conversation Harry! Go talk to him!”

Alyssa giggles and pecks my cheek before leaving with Jess. I push aside the guilt of what I was really looking at, I do what they say. My heart pounds the closer I get to her.

“The godfather to my unborn child,” Jack spots me first and rushes me. I grapple with his body and hug him.

“I will ruin your child if you make me the godfather,” I swear. “I don’t know the first thing about kids. I’m not worthy.”

“Nah I’ve seen you with your wittle fans,” Jack mocks and looks over at Y/N to include her. “He’s this big softie inside.”

“Y/N,” I acknowledge her, anticipating a cold nod. But surprisingly, her face breaks into a genuine smile and it takes my bloody breath away.

“Harry,” she moves to give me a hug. She’s warm from the sun and smells like lavender. I could stay there longer but we break apart.

“Look at the two of you,” Jack comments as we break. “No fighting, no rudeness. Almost like we’re all adults.”

“I can speak for myself, but I don’t know if we can call Harry that quite yet,” Y/N teases.

“There it is, I should’ve known it was coming.” Jack swings his arm and we all laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Alyssa comes up from behind and she joins the group. With the way Y/N watches her arm wrap around my waist, I realise she didn’t know. She didn’t know. And her face falls now that she does.

“These two finally getting along,” Jack says when nobody talks.

“I don’t think we’ve formally met,” Y/N sticks out her hand. “You’re Jess’ bridesmaid right?”

“Maid of honour,” Alyssa corrects and I watch my worlds collide as they shake hands. “But most people call me Alyssa.”

That earns a laugh but as the group eases into small talk, I avoid looking at Y/N. I didn’t know what I expected today, but the reality of it makes me realise I was in some deep shite.

Y/N: The one time I’m finally single, Harry’s not. It’s my bloody luck! I’m single after years and the one guy I thought I might reconnect with, is taken. The worst part, by a kind and gorgeous woman.

The last time I saw Harry was at Jack’s wedding. I was still with Nate then, we were on the cusp of another breakup. But it felt different that time. Seeing Jack marry the woman he was so clearly in love with, the same woman who’d broken his heart after their split...it made me realise things. Nate and I broke up again and again and every time we got back together, we were just more broken than before. We were papier maché of broken bits acting like a perfect whole-Jack and Jess broke up once, and soon as they got back together, Jack had proposed and she’d said yes. And I was still in the same shitty relationship from my early twenties. I couldn’t even imagine Nate proposing. It was pathetic how I fooled myself into thinking we were worth something together.

What was more pathetic was it took another month to officially break up with Nate. Convince him it was for good, forever. It took a week for him to move on to a girl he met at a club. And another four months of living in the empty house he’d moved out of because it was my name on the lease. As soon as the year was over, I’d found the first decent flat and that marked the end of a shitty almost decade of my life.

And today, it seemed my shitty decade persisted. It was clear I was fated to be alone and miserable.

“So where’s Nate?” Harry asks me and that gets a string of swear words out of Jack. Alyssa looks on confused.

“We broke up,” I say simply, carefully watching Harry’s barelt hide the shock and something that almost looks like regret. I wondered what was going on in his head, and immediately feel like a bad person. He was in a happy relationship, I shouldn’t interfere.

“Thank fuck,” Jack says just as Jess walks up. He winces and covers her stomach.

“You know you’re not covering the baby’s ears, right?” Jess says to Jack.

“I am-I’m a doctor honey, I would know.” Jack says and kisses Jess. My heart twinges, I can’t help it. I missed the feeling of being so in love.

“So as a doctor can you figure out why Alyssa is so afraid of children,” Harry asks, the conversation fast moving away from my breakup thankfully. But moving towards Alyssa and Harry having a baby and the thought makes my stomach drop.

“I just don’t want to bring another human into this world!” Alyssa defends herself, it sounded like it was an argument they’d had before. “I’ll gladly be the godmother though. I just don’t want any of my own.”

“Isn’t it nice the godmother and father of our children made it easy for us, they’re already a couple.” Jack comments.

“Thanks to my matchmaking skills,” Jess says. So that’s how it happened, I think.

***

My cramps kick in later in the day and I scramble to find a painkiller. The intensity makes me sit out of the games, so I settle down on a picnic blanket near a garden patch, happily watching the competition between Jack and Jess’ friends. Three girls and guys stand as their groups try to make diapers out of TP before they tag the next person to change a doll’s diaper. A baby-themed obstacle course, which was probably Jess-inspired. I smile at the thought.

Lost in thought, I pick up a few of the fallen flowers just as a pair of sneakers come into view and breaks me away from my thoughts.

“Can I join you?” Harry’s low voice asks.

“Sure,” I brush aside my mixed feelings and shift to make room. He sits down, leaning back to watch the games. One of the girls being dressed was Alyssa. Her back is mostly to us but he watches her fondly.

“It’s been a while,” Harry finally says, looking over at me.

“Yeah,” I twirl a flower in my fingers, a couple petals fall off. “Feels like a lifetime ago though since we last saw each other. Congrats, by the way, on your awards.”

I’d watched every second of that awards show, attentive to every moment Harry was on screen. I’d gone to text him later that night and realise I never even had his number.

“Thanks,” Harry skims past the accolades humbly. “Seems like a lot has changed between now and then.”

“I know,” I try not to sound bitter. “I finally broke up with Nate, you got together with Alyssa-who is lovely by the way. Let’s see...you won an amazing award-your career’s really taking off, I moved into a flat in central and got a promotion and...am I missing anything else?”

“You changed your hair,” Harry says like duh.

I laugh and point to his buzzcut, “Yeah. I did, so did you.”

It was a rash decision on my part. When I moved into the new flat, I wanted to be done with every part of my old life. So I’d done something drastic. Remembering it dredges up unwanted feelings: loneliness, anger, insecurities, and unhappiness. I go quiet as Harry laughs at something that happens with the obstacle course. It takes me back to when we first met, how I wanted to hear that laugh for the rest of my life. And that wasn’t something I could have anymore.

“Earth to Y/N,” Harry says gently. I’m too lost in thought to look up but he calls my name again, his fingers lifting my chin up so I’m looking at him. He’d shifted closer to call my name, leaning on his hand that’s splayed right beside me, the tips of his fingers a breath away from my thighs. The pain of being so close to him yet not being with him is palpable.

With his fingers still on my chin, my eyes meet his and I realise I’d never seen them this close up with the sunlight leaving no shadows in sight. They ask me a question I don’t know how to answer, they ask if I was okay. But I really didn’t know anymore.

I put on a smile for his sake, so he wouldn’t ask out loud, and push the flower I was playing with behind his ear. He looks cute, and my smile widens as I drop my hand down to lay beside his. His smile stays in place, his pinky reaching out to touch me while his eyes still watch me, asking the same question. My smile drops away and I look down again to our hands so close together. I couldn’t let him see me cry like he did once. I was stronger than I was then-I couldn’t cry.

“Harry there you are! Do you like it?” We both look up as Alyssa comes running up to show off her TP diaper and sash. Harry leans away and I immediately miss the feeling of him being so close. God, what was wrong with me.

“Wow what a look,” Harry stands up and walks towards her. She grins, so clearly in love with him. Like his eyes were only for her-and they probably were. I think I pushed Harry away one time too many. Our chance was gone. Yet to think all he had to say was “yes” four years ago, we could have had our chance all this time.

June. Two Years Ago.

The crowd was huge and I grab Jack’s arm to avoid getting lost. The sun was relentless, shining down her rays until I was sticky and sunburnt.

“Can you believe this?” Jack shouts to me. I mouth an I know as we grin at each other. It was the first festival we’d been to in years, the feeling of hot bodies packed together in the sun was not as fun in your late twenties than your early twenties. The only reason we were here was because Harry was playing and we were stoked, ready to scream with the crowd as he performed. I told him I would wear the neon cowboy hat so he could find us in the crowd.

“Our boy’s a bloody rockstar!” A giddy laugh bubbles up as we make our way into the crowd to find Jess and Alyssa.

It had been a year since I found out about Alyssa and Harry, I was crushed about it. But Harry really was incredibly happy with her, and the more time I spent with her the more I liked her and got over my petty feelings. Jack usually invited me to be their fifth wheel on double-dates or would set me up with a friend of his and Jess’. None of the setups were as good as Harry but a couple did last a few months. I was feeling better than I had in a long time though, and finding my freedom in being single. And Harry and I were actually friends, often texting each other stupid memes and videos.

“There they are!” Jack points to two girls. I slow down as Jack rushes to surprise Jess from behind. I slowly approach and Jess pulls me into her famous hugs.

“It’s so he can spot us,” I say when Jess asks about my choice of hat. “Speaking of the devil...” I look to the front just as Harry walks onstage and the crowd around us becomes one large megaphone.

And the experience is pure magic. Harry becomes otherwordly on stage as he performs the songs I knew every word to and we all shout the lyrics back to him. During his slower songs, the crowd quiets down and my heart bursts realising just how much I loved the man onstage. How loved he was by the enormous crowd.

“I’m so telling Harry he made you cry,” Jack says in my ear and I startle; I didn’t realise I was crying.

“I’ll kill you-“ I say as Jack already snaps a picture. I stick up my finger for the second and he takes a selfie with me for the third. I roll my eyes as Harry introduces his last song.

“It’s not on my album, or any platforms. I think it’s my first time performing it...”

I assume it was a song about Alyssa, he’d already sang two about her. I glance at her to see her reaction but her head is bent over a phone. Curiosity gets the better of me-who would she be texting while Harry was performing?

I could barely make out the name but it’s definitely not Harry’s; I can only see hearts. The texts themselves...I quickly bounce back on my heels and look away just as Alyssa looks back at me. I pretend to be interested in Harry, only glancing at her because she was looking at me. She smiles but she looks guilty and my heart thuds, louder than the crowd, ready to fall out of my chest as I fall back into his fans. I try to push away the ugly truth of it.

“So the working title is Speechless, but don’t hold me to it.” Harry says and I swear he’s looking right at me. My heart takes another beating as the name clicks, I didn’t know how much more my heart could take as it flutters along with the opening notes and into the chorus

Mouth open, shut, she’s speechless. Heart open, shut, I’m speechless.

I listen to his lyrics. They’re about me. About a strong woman who he left speechless, that being the only power he had over her. Because I might love her but she didn’t love me, she gave herself to another and left me lonely.

Harry was with Alyssa, I remind myself. Alyssa might be...cheating on Harry? But they were still together. Harry and Alyssa. Together.

So why was he performing this, in front of me?

***

“You sure you don’t want anything?” Jess asks me, as they order food from a stand. I couldn’t think about eating, I make an excuse that I was staying hydrated. Harry told us about a private area we could meet him, he’d told security we were coming so we were just getting a bite to take to him. I wasn’t sure what I would do when we got to him.

He’s a sweaty happy mess when we do, listening to everyone’s praises with a big grin, laughing and acting shy as we all hug him. This was his first festival!

“How did you like the new song?” Harry asks, his eyes lingering on mine.

“I was speechless,” Jack jokes.

“I’m curious who the inspiration was,” Alyssa teases Harry, I try not to act as flustered.

“Someone long ago,” Harry winks and they pretend to be scandalized.

“I’m starving,” Jess lifts her container. “I’m finding a place to sit.”

Alyssa and her head to an empty spot while the three of us head to the water station first.

“So when are you going to do it?” I hear Jack asking Harry as I fill my bottle.

“Do what?” I ask, looking from Jack to Harry.

“Uhm, I was going to-I was thinking today was a good time to finally-“

“He’s bloody proprosing to Alyssa!” Jack whispers to me. If I thought the song or Alyssa’s texts were going to end me, I was wrong. This was worse. It felt like a trainwreck I could only watch, and not stop. This was going to end horribly, and Harry. Harry...I didn’t want him to end up in a relationship like mine. I had to stop it somehow.

“Y/N?” Jack waves his hand in front of my face.

“Woah!” I try to cover up. “I was waiting for the punchline! Harry, really? You’re ready to-to commit?”

“Yeah,” Harry shrugs. “I think it’s time.”

“Have you guys talked about it?” I ask curiously.

“A couple times. But I know it’s the right time.”

“I asked Jess to marry me before we talked about it,” Jack says, and I know he’s eyeing me suspiciously. He knew me too well. “And look at us now.”

“You and Jess are a golden exception Jack,” I roll my eyes. “I just want to make sure Harry isn’t springing it unexpected.”

Jack’s phone rings-Jess wondering what was taking us so long and asking if he could get her another drink. That leaves Harry and me walking back together alone and the guilt of knowing his girlfriend may be cheating on him eats me up so I burst after we walk in silence.

“Harry, I don’t think you should do it.”

“What?” Harry heard me but he looks confused. “Why would you say that?”

“I just...I can’t...I can’t say. Just trust me.” I didn’t want to be the one to break it to him. But I didn’t want him to fuck his life up either.

“Trust you? Give me something to trust Y/N! Why wouldn’t I propose to the woman I love?”

Ouch. “Just trust me Harry please,” I stop and grab his arm. “I never interfere with your love life unlike you do with mine, but I just think you should wait. Talk to her about it first. I don’t want you to make a mistake.”

Harry scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why don’t you tell me what this is really about Y/N.”

“What?” Now it was my turn to be confused.

“I know we’ve had a history, and you’ve been out of a relationship for a while. But that song was one I wrote years ago, when you were still with Nate. I was in love with you then-not-not now. I love Alyssa, not you.”

My jaw drops, that was not what I meant but Harry’s bluntness is misdirected, his old mean streak coming out. I wanted to tell him what I saw on her phone even more than before, how did he think I was that...jealous that I would stop him because I wanted him?

“What the fuck!” I finally sputter out after Harry turns to continue walking. “D-do you really-who do you think you are? Who do you think I am? You really think I’m petty enough to try to stop you because I think we belong together or some-you’re a self-centered dick, Harry! I’m just looking out for you!”

“I don’t want you to! I never asked you to!” Harry shouts back. “I don’t need you in my life Y/N! I don’t need your judgements or your advice. I want nothing from you. Unlike you, I have a healthy relationship with an amazing woman and I plan on bloody marrying her whether you want me to or not!”

“I-“ his words sting the back of my eyes and the lump in my throat feels like a tennis ball lodged too tight. I don’t need you in my life. He was right, we weren’t as close ever since he got together with Alyssa...we only ever hung out because of Jack. Harry moved on from me. “You know what, whatever. I cared about you as a friend Harry, that’s why I look out for you. Maybe you should ask yourself why your performed that song in the first place if you love Alyssa so much. But whatever. If I’m nothing to you, do whatever-just do whatever you want. I’m going to find Jack.”

I force my wobbling legs to turn around and go in the direction that Jack left. I find him just as he pays for his drinks and when he sees me he knows something’s wrong but I deny it until he gives up. I claim I felt sick, to let the group know. I let myself cry when I reach my car, not knowing Harry was proposing at the exact same moment.

June 21, One Year Ago

Harry: “Have you spoken to Y/N recently?” Jack asks me over the phone. I could hear Jack’s kid crying in the background, his daughter born in April-who they also named April.

“Not since your baby shower,” I reply. “You know we don’t talk anymore. After I fucked it all up.”

“I thought you patched things up at the baby shower?” Jack asks.

“I tried but Alyssa was there and I was distracted. She was just polite. I think I ruined anything between us for good.” And I felt like an idiot. After the whole disaster between Y/N and I at the festival, what was supposed to be the happiest day turned into the worst when I got back home.

Alyssa confessed to me that night she’d said yes because we were in front of all our friends but she couldn’t marry me. She’d met someone else, nothing actually happened between them but she couldn’t marry me. And it tore me apart. I finally understood why Y/N was trying to stop me, she must’ve known somehow.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realised how hard I was trying to force Alyssa to be my perfect girl. She wasn’t. I could never let go around her, always had to make sure I didn’t offend her. She never wanted kids, one day I did. I wasn’t enough for her, I forced her to be enough for me.

But at the time, I was heartbroken. I drank myself into blackouts and missed so many important meetings. I lost an album deal and set my bloody career back. I lost the only girl who maybe was enough for me, told her she was nothing to me. And I only apologised to her a few months ago. By then, it seemed like she moved on.

“Mate, what the hell are you doing feeling sorry for yourself and not trying harder for her? She doesn’t have a boyfriend, she’s still in love with you-“

“How do you know?” I demand. “She treated me like she was forced to talk to me. She’s over me. We were over before we had any chance!”

“Whenever I bring you up, she flinches Harry. She’s still hurt by what you said, that means she’s not over you. Just talk to her.”

“Is that Harry? Tell him I’ll put these babies down and kick his arse if he doesn’t go after Y/N! Did you see her last time she came over for dinner...” Jess in the background interrupts the conversation. Maybe the worst part of all this was I did give up on Y/N. I was embarassed that she knew about Alyssa and me before I did. And I’d said such stupid things to her. I didn’t think I was redeemable.

Y/N: I check my hair in the mirror one last time before I grab my purse. I was meeting Jack and Jess at a nearby restaurant for dinner, ever since they had their baby in April I had only seen them once. They’d secured a babysitter-Jack’s sister-and we were all planning on just catching up.

On the tube ride there, I can’t help but think about Harry. Usually dinners with J&J meant Harry was there too but ever since the festival, his proposal...the four of us hadn’t hung out. We talked for a bit at Jack’s baby shower, I had tried to act like I moved on and was doing really well. I don’t know if he bought it. Alyssa was there with her new boyfriend and she seemed happier than ever, I noticed how Harry kept looking at her. That had done it for me, he was still hung up over her. Even though Jack told me he was in a bad place after the breakup but better now, it was right before me. And I was done reading in between the lines with Harry.

I get to the restaurant just as Jack’s pulling out Jess’ chair. It was a fanicier restaurant, our table in the middle of the space. Jess springs back up to give me a tight squeeze and we settle in but I notice they glance at each other frequently.

“Is something the matter?” I ask after the fifth time.

“No? Why?” Jack looks at Jess again and I point it out.

“There! Why do you keep looking at each other?”

Jack and Jess’s gaze moves above my shoulders and I feel a presence behind me. I turn around and Harry stares back just as shocked.

“You guys bloody did not,” I stand up and face them. “Is this just an elaborate hoax to get me to talk to him?”

“I didn’t know anything about this,” Harry raises his hands in defence. But he still moves towards the empty seat. Like he was okay with this.

“We didn’t mean to parent trap you two but...” Jess looks to Jack.

“You have a lot to talk about. We hate having to see you guys separately, we miss the gang. Just have one dinner that’s all.”

I want to whip my glass across the wall, I was angrier than I should be. But it wasn’t like they didn’t mean well. So I drop into my seat like a child after a temper tauntrum and glare at Harry. I ignore him up until we order when Jack gets a “text” from his sister about an emergency and just like that, they rush off and leave Harry and I alone.

“We haven’t even ordered yet,” I say. “We could just call it a night ourselves.”

“J&J went through all this to get us to dinner, we could just...have dinner.” Harry looks at me from his menu. It’s like my life had come full circle, Jack setting me up to have dinner with Harry. Except this time, it’s Jack and his wife and I already know Harry would just be a waste of my time.

“You’d like that,” I mutter as I stare at the words without reading them.

“What?” Harry leans in. “Are you talking shite under your breath?”

My brows shoot up, taken aback by Harry’s abrasiveness. I hadn’t seen this side to Harry in a while. “What if I am?”

“I’d like to know what you’re saying,” Harry moves to the seat next to me. “Lay it on me.”

I stare at Harry’s strange behaviour, glance at his glass but it’s untouched.

“This dinner?” I stare him square in the eye.” “Really for your benefit. Jack probably pitied you and decided to try to rekindle the flame he lit in the first place, I don’t bloody care to be here. I’m fine if you’re not in my life.”

“Who said I want this?” Harry asks. “I’m fine if you’re not in my life.”

Even though I’d just said those words to him, when he says them back they sting a little. And it must’ve shown in my face because Harry backs down a little. He reaches for his glass and takes the first sip. The waiter takes our order and I’m left staring at Harry’s side profile as he burns a hole into his glass. I open my mouth to talk but he speaks first.

“I’m sorry for being so horrible to you. All these years, not just at the festival.” Harry finally makes eye contact and it’s my turn to look away. He waits for me to say something and when I don’t he speaks again. “You don’t have to forgive me, I understand if you don’t. But I did lie right now, I wouldn’t be fine if you weren’t in my life. I haven’t been fine. I don’t know what else to say except I’m sorry.”

Tears spring up and I hate them. But remembering Harry’s words from that day, how often I did recall them. And I think he’s done but he continues:

“I really thought I had it all figured out with Alyssa. When I think about it now I know we would never have lasted. I don’t know how you knew she...but she couldn’t...it just wasn’t meant to be. With her and me. And I wish I believed I wasn’t such a dick that day. I think I was just scared what losing her would mean. So I lost you instead.”

I would never admit it, but life was a little less dull without Harry. I missed when we hung out with J&J, the four of us had fun. But I didn’t want my life to be a pattern of crawling back to any man I had history with.

“Thank you for apologising,” I say formally, it was the only way I wouldn’t cry. “But I don’t think we can be friends again.” It’s too painful, too much had happened between us.

Harry doesn’t speak for a while, I thought he wasn’t going to until he does: “Okay, if that’s what you want.” I see him lean back in the chair from the corner of my eyes. He pinches his nose and sighs, “I’ll respect your...what you want.”

It’s awkwardly silent between us as we wait for dinner. Jack texts me just as it arrives and I check it discreetly.

I’m sorryyyy!! False alarm but we decided to take the babies home. Give him a chance Y/N, he’s always asking about you. Don’t shut him out!!!! Xxx

I want to facetime Jack just to flip him off but I turn my phone over and focus on swallowing my food without throwing up.

“So,” Harry starts. “Since we’re havig dinner we should talk.”

“What do you want to talk about?” I decided to stay polite.

Harry looks intensely at me, “What you’ve been up to? Unless you don’t want to get...personal.”

I shrug. “I haven’t had much of a life outside of work. But I booked a month off next month, I’m visiting some American friends.”

“Oh? Where are they located?”

“Some in New York City, LA, Seattle, and one in Chicago.”

“You’re going to visit all of them?” Harry sounds surprised.

“Yep,” the excitement for the trip flares up again and I can’t help but grin. “New York first, then make my way to Chicago and then Seattle. But the most exciting part is I’m going to drive down to LA after that-“

“Alone? That’s cool!” Harry joins in on my excitement.

“Right?! I just needed...” I sputter out as I remember it was Harry I was talking to. But then, I say screw it. “I just feel like the last few years with Nate and stuff, I needed an adventure. To just go out and explore.”

“I think that sounds perfect.” Harry smiles and he looks genuinely happy for me. The way he looks at me, I feel flushed as I concentrare on my food and throw the question back at him.

“Catching up on studio time,” he says. “I missed out on a lot after...Alyssa and I split. I’m going on tour in a month.”

“Local tour?” I ask.

“America, actually.” Harry says and I raise my eyebrow.

“Maybe we’ll bump into each other,” I say without thinking. We pause as we stare at each other. I break eye contact.

“It’s a big country,” Harry says. “But if we’re destined to meet...I’d like that.”

We talk some more, Harry telling me his plan for his new album and accepting my crticism. We decide to skip dessert, I claim I was getting tired but the night was just growing heavy. I missed Harry like you miss a childhood friend. It felt like we might have outgrown each other, I wanted things to go back to simpler times, but it was so easy to fall back into a familiar pattern when we were together. It was confusing and upsetting.

Instead of an Uber this time, Harry had driven himself and he offers to drop me off. He was passing me on his way home apparently.

The ride is silent, but not awkward. An unspoken agreement to just exist beside each other and not force a conversation. As we near my flat, his song comes on. He goes to change it but I swat his hand away and turn the volume up. I catch him glancing at me but I turn my head out my window and let Speechless wash over me. The only song anyone’s ever written for me.

Before I leave, I turn to him, the goodbye a painful one. “Goodnight Harry.”

“Goodnight,” he watches me with sorrow and it makes me pause as I hop out.

“I had a nice dinner even though we were parent trapped together.”

He laughs, relief coating his features. “Me too, it wasn’t as painful as you looked when you first spotted me. I thought you were going to run out of that place.”

“I was not,” I laugh. I decide to lean back in the car and peck his cheek goodbye. “I’m really proud of you Harry. You’re definitely going places.”

He smiles, but his eyes give away the truth behind what he was thinking. It was a thought I couldn’t entertain.

I wish him goodnight again and head to my doors, making sure I didn’t turn around. I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to walk away if I did.

I drop my keys by my door and head to my room, shedding the day as I step out of my oufit and into my sweatpants. My tickets to JFK in two and a half weeks greet me as I open my freezer for ice cream, I might have refused dessert tonight but my heart needed the sweet relief that I was going to be okay. In under three weeks I was going to be halfway across the world tasting freedom and a new adventure! I couldn’t wait. As I dream about what was waiting for me, I begin to think I really was going to be okay.

[lovelybunny08]

Let Me Down Slowly

♡ Pairing- Jungkook X Reader

♡ Genre- Smut and Heartbreak

♡Description- Based of Alec Benjamin song "Let me down slowly". You have notice Jungkook has changed.

♡ Thank you @artofediting for editing this story for me. Seriously love you I dont know what I will do without you.😭😭 There will be a prequel to this story 😊😊 ♡

<Prequel                                                                                                 Part 2>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been four years now. In the beginning, everything was fresh and exciting. You can still recall every detail of the day your life changed entirely. You were relaxing by the Han river one day; reading a book and soaking in the last few rays of the sun. As you stretched your arms over the back of the bench you sat on, your eye caught onto his movements. There he was, digitally capturing small glimpses of the vibrant life surrounding the river. As your eyes adjusted to take him in, you nearly fell off the bench out of shock. He looked otherworldly with the glow of sun around him. Your eyes latched onto the camera, grasped by his deft fingers with skin leading up to a blue and white striped sort-sleeve. Your eyes drifted farther north only to be struck by the softest bunny smile gracing his features. You still aren’t entirely positive what motivated you to leap outside your comfort zone and approach him, but not a day has gone by where you regretted that burst of irregularity.

A montage of the following four years included regular texting, late night phone calls, and awkward first dates which eventually melded into a feeling so natural it seemed as being with him was second nature. You became an official couple after a sure year of talking and dating. Both of you had been in toxic relationships in the past and were weary to commit until enough time passed. The next landmark occurred after two years of dating. It was a late night at Jungkook’s apartment, and you mentioned how difficult it was to stay awake on the drive back to your place. Without missing a beat, he suggested that you two move in together to remedy your achy eyes, and the rest was history.

Everything was easier with him, and you slowly fell into the idea that this bliss was truly how the right relationships ought to be. You guys barely fought, you confided with each other like best friends, and to top it off, the sex was the amazing. You never had anyone in your life before that could take you to new heights like Jungkook could. Everything was perfect. . .

Too perfect.

It’s been a few months since you started noticing slight changes in him. He comes home late from work, barely talks to you, and even the idea of him touching you is far from imagination. At first, you chalked it up to exhaustion. You were well aware about the daily pressure he was under at work, and so you continued to silently be there for him in hopes of this phase passing by quickly. Even though you spent several nights curled up on your side of the bed and him on his side, you always tried to keep in mind that at least he was there.

That thought you held onto came crashing down recently when he was given a day off. Usually, these rare days were a cause for celebration between you two. You would spend the morning wrapped up in the sheets together only to later go out for a peaceful drive and wonder the cityscape. Yet, this time you simply woke up alone. You clutched your phone as you read a text from him saying to not wait up for him later because he would be spending the day with his friends. Tears threatened to pour down your cheeks, but you held them at bay.

It’s okay. You thought.

He’s just really stressed and needs to relieve some of the tension with his friends. He doesn’t always have to spend his day off with me.

You buried your sinking heart beneath these words, hoping to dull the aches and the signs. It went on like this for a couple of months, and you knew your heart couldn’t take it much longer.

One night, well past the time you would normally be asleep, you heard Jungkook come in from work. He scuffled through the kitchen at first, most likely getting something to eat as he was never home anymore when you would make dinner.

A weight on your chest pressed down further at this thought, making it harder to breathe. These past few months you barely slept or ate. You forced yourself out of your solidary bed each morning as Jungkook always left before the sun came up. While you were still meeting all your deadlines at work, your coworkers had begun to worry about you. Your sadness had brought a lackluster to your appearance, and the bags under your eyes only increased the deprivation look you were sporting most days. You were gradually withering away along with your relationship.

You lay there listening to the refrigerator doors close when you decide to finally confront the distance between you two. You were too physically and mentally weak to keep pretending. You hear him placing the dishes in the sink and padding to the bathroom in the hallway across from the bedroom you shared. As the shower begins to run, you feebly climb out of bed in your night gown and into the kitchen to finish cleaning and putting away his dishes. You turn off all the lights except for the one hanging above the kitchen table.

Soon, you hear the running water come to a stop, and Jungkook emerges from the bathroom. He runs a hand through his wet strands as he looks up to see your cowering form by the table.

“What are you doing still awake? You’re normally asleep by now.” He questions. At least you were able to fool someone that you were sleeping well. Your eyes climb from the floor to meet his. You draw in a deep breath; it was too late to back out of this now.

“I think we need to talk about whatever is going on. We—well at least I—can’t pretend any longer that things between us are okay.”

He sighs and shakes his hair before responding, “I wanted to wait until this weekend. . . but you’re right. We need to talk.” The expression on his face would be similar to those at a funeral home.

“You want to break up?” You mutter, barely holding eye contact. When a look of relief instead of surprise crosses his face, you know you had guessed correctly. You watch him shift uncomfortably, mulling over the best way to respond. You take this moment to scan his form. In your eyes stands the love of your life, still as beautiful as the day you first met. He quickly interrupts your train of thought,

“Look, I just—I think it’s for the best.”

“Do you still love me?” you wonder.

“Of course, I still love you. . .but no longer in the way you need me to.” His graze drops to the floor almost as fast as your heart does into your stomach. You felt the tears in your eyes but fought against them because in the end you knew this had to be the conclusion. Nonetheless, his words pierce your heart.

“When—” your voice came out hoarse. “When did you realize this?” You ask. Immediately a thousand thoughts flood your mind. Did he grow bored of you? Of your relationship? Did he meet someone else? Who was she? Did you know her? Is she prettier than you?

“N-No!” he’s quick to respond. As if reading your mind, he replies, “I haven’t meet anyone else if that’s what you’re wondering. I had been denying this for a while, but it finally settled in a month ago. I’m sorry I’ve waited for so long... I ah, I didn’t have the heart to say anything. I really did try to see if I could get over the feeling!”

His hands are flying around wildly at this point trying to collect an explanation for his bottled emotions.

“—but I’m sorry I can’t.”

I can’t.

The same words when you fall off your bike as a child. The same expression when you give up on understanding math in high school. The same feeling when you weren’t hired for your first job… and the last words of your four-year relationship.

The two of you sit in complete silence as you both accept the chasm in between. You don’t know what to say. You still love him, you’re still in love with him. He’s still the man you see in your future. How is one supposed to respond when the legs holding you up walk away? Your thoughts continue to stumble into chaos as you stare at old scuff marks on the wall. Unbeknownst to you, you’ve been shaking since the beginning of the conversation. You do know; however, that if you meet his once-loving doe eyes, you won’t be able to hold yourself together. With this in mind, you proceed to study the marks more intently, focusing on anything other than the cracking in your chest. He breaks the silence first,

“… I really was going to tell you this weekend. I’m planning on moving out, so you don’t have to worry about finding somewhere else to stay.”

Your eyes immediately flip upwards, “Where are you going to stay then?” You inquire.

“Oh, uh, I’ll be crashing with some friends for now. They have a spare room they said I could use until I find my own place.”

After examining his face, you can see your pain reflected in his expression as well. His shoulders sag, and you can guess that this hurts him almost as much as it hurts you. Almost. Your heart wishes that he had let you down slower, maybe giving you some time to slowly let go. You consider that if you had a few more weeks then you could adjust to his absence… but hadn’t he already done that for you? The past few months it was like living with the ghost of him. But this—this was different. This was final. Although you would always wish for one more day, you know that it’s not reality. You’ll both need to move on. Your thoughts tune back to the present in time to hear him confess,

“—I think it’s best if I leave sooner rather than later. I don’t want to—I can’t hurt you anymore. I think I’ll just grab a bag and head to my friends. I’ll come get the rest of my stuff this weekend.”

Jungkook begins to turn towards the bedroom when you rush across the living room. You grab him by the shoulder and turn him to meet him eye to eye.

“Please,” your voice broke, filling with desperation. “Please, j-just one more night. Hold me l-like you used to.”

Your fingers dig into his shoulder as a single tear slips down your cheek. His face softens as his eyes trace the journey of your tear. He raises his hand and cups your face gently, as if the slightest movement will tear you apart.

“We shouldn’t…” he mumbles. “It won’t make things any easier.”

“Please,” you cup his hand on your face. “Please, Jungkook.” More tears begin to make their arduous journey down your face. The desperation in your voice is humiliating, but at this point you only care about being in his arms one more time.

“I-If you're going to let me go, then give me this last night. Give me yourself for the last time. Love me until it’s over.” Your breath catches when his hold on your face tightens. You blink to clear away the tears as he gives a relenting sigh. Whether he was weary from fighting you or himself is a mystery that will forever remain trapped in the night. His gaze deepens as leans down to press his forehead against yours. You can feel his breath across your lips when he mutters,

“One last night. One last time because I still love you. I want you to remember this forever, but after tonight, you have to forget.”

He pulls away and slides his hand down your arm to intertwine your fingers. His hand dwarfs yours as he leads you to the bedroom. While you have been in this situation with him countless times, you cannot help but feel as if it is all new territory. It carries the air of the night the two of you first made love. The gravity weighing on you, however, floods your senses as you come to terms that this will be the last time. As soon as you cross the doorway of the bedroom, he turns you around and cups your jaw with both hands. He leans in close and walks you backwards until the backs of your knees hit the bed. He slowly lays you down onto your back, never breaking eye contact. He hovers over you, his face only centimeters from yours, gazing deeply into your eyes. You see the indecision in his eyes, so you gather the courage and close the gap. At first, he doesn’t reciprocate the kiss. You slowly separate to gauge his reaction, but before you can, he grabs your waist to pull himself into you. His lips are soft and warm, filled with unspoken emotion. Not soon after, you trace your tongue across his bottom lip, asking a silent question. He answers immediately with a soft groan, granting access into his mouth. The feeling is disguised with the emotion of your first kiss, layered with the passionate love of four years, and revealed to be the burning out of the greatest star in your life.

He places his knee between your legs, pressing himself further into you. Your hands tease at the hem of his shirt to which he eagerly removes the clothing. Your small hands slowly trace his abs, retaining the memory of how he feels in your palms. At this action, his gaze suddenly darkens. He fists the end of your night gown and pulls it off your body. You lay bare except for your lace panties. He growls lowly at the sight and kisses you deeply like never before. With the passion between the two of you, it almost feels as if he is yours again. Almost. It is sweet, but it is absent of the love and longing he used to hold for you.

His lips descend across your jaw and down your neck, sucking small bruises in all the most sensitive parts. After four years, he knows your body as well as you do. His hands slide down across your curves to the delicate lace designs of your panties. He sucks a nipple into his mouth, and bites down on your delicate nub a little harshly, but you don’t have the time to think about it because he immediately follows this action by pushing your panties aside and rubbing circles onto your clit, drawing forth an involuntary moan. You close your eyes, once again trying to memorize every touch he gives you before it’s over. He releases your nipple with a pop and instantly diverts his attention to your other breast, all while his fingers continue to toy with your clit. You moan and grip his arms in response, but at this action, he withdraws his hand from where you need him most.

His mouth works his way off your breast, kissing down your stomach until he reaches your panties. His teeth grip onto the sheer fabric, and he pulls them down all the way until he throws them on the floor. He then returns and looks you in the eye as he caresses your thighs with his gentle lips.

“Please, Jungkook,” You moan out.

Without a second to lose, he begins to eat you out like a man starved. His tongue giving soft kitten licks, treating you like a bowl of milk. You can barely handle the sensation when he inserts two fingers into you, delivering a pleasant burn from the stretch. He doesn’t give you time to adjust as he begins pumping it in and out so aggressively you know you won’t last much longer.

“God, Jungkook” you gasp, lifting your hips to meet the thrust of his fingers. Not long after, the combination between his tongue and fingers brings you to finally snap. You moan his name like a prayer as he continues to eat you out through your orgasm. He finally ceases once he feels your body relax. Sweat rolls down your chest, heaving from the rapid breaths. He crawls upward, and kisses you hard, giving you a taste of yourself. You feel him hard against your thigh, so you grab his shoulders and flip him onto his back.

“My turn” you growl, meeting his hungry eyes and licking your lips.

You kiss his lips gently and deeply, savoring the feel of the man you love beneath you. You break away quickly as it only reminds you of what’s slipping from your grasp. You instead start trailing your lips down his neck, chest, and abs. On this you take your time, committing his body to memory. You stop kissing him when you reach the hem of his pants. He quickly resolves your pause by unzipping his pants and pulling them down along with his boxers. His dick bobs against his abdomen as you lick your lips, seeing the red, angry tip from how hard he is. You wrap your hand around him and stroke him a few times before the need to taste him became too great. You lick the pre-cum collecting across the head before gradually sucking his dick into the warm cavern of your mouth. You set a fast rhythm, bobbing your head up and down, each time taking more of him into your throat. You glance up to see his head thrown back, sweat rolling down the expanse of his chest. From the curses and groans falling from his lips, you know you’re doing well. You resume your attention to pleasuring him when, growing impatient, he grabs your hair and forces you to take more. With the sudden force, you begin to gag around his dig. Jungkook looks down through heavy lids and almost finishes right then and there. With your hair through his fingers, saliva dripping down your chest, and throat closing around his cock, he can barely contain himself.

“Fuck" Jungkook moans. “I’m about to cum.”

At this, you immediately pull your mouth off his dick. You climb up his body until your hips are centered above his. You align himself with your entrance, gaze flicking up to his.

“I want you in me for the last time,” you confess as you slowly slide onto his cock. Your eyes squeezed tight, and you bit your lip to hold back a moan. You focus instead on the feel of him entering you. His hands grip your hips, creating small bruises into your sides. After adjusting to his large size, you begin to roll your hips across his, pressing your hands down on his chest for support. Your pace is too slow, and it is torturous to your dire need for him.

“Jungkook, please help" you moan. His grip on you tightens even more as he begins pounding up into you harder and faster. The pace he sets has you quivering above him shortly after. He continues ravaging you like a mad man, bringing you closer and closer to the edge. Both of your grunts and moans fill the night as you truly love each other for the last time. You push your knees tighter around his hip, so you can feel him deeper inside of you.

Jungkook grabs your neck and pulls you down for a messy kiss. You clutch onto his shoulder as he impossibly increases the speed at which he pumps into you. Jungkook feels the change of pace bringing you tighter and tighter around him until you tumble over the ledge with him quickly following after. You scratch down his chest throwing your head back as you ride out your orgasms together. You close your eyes to hold back the tears as heavy breathing fills the silence of the apartment. As your high subsided, you had remembered that as soon as this is over, he will be gone.

You lay down beside him, feeling his lips as he gently lays a kiss to your forehead. Jungkook slides out of you and pads to the bathroom coming back with a towel to clean the both of you. After throwing the towel into the laundry, he picks his clothes off the floor and pulls them back onto his body. To your surprise, he turns to lay down beside you.

Jungkook examines your tear-stained features. You hold your breath, thinking maybe he changed his mind. Maybe this night reminded him of everything you are so desperately holding onto. He centers his gaze on yours, faces inches apart, as he softly whispers,

“You stole my heart four years ago, and I want you to know that it’ll always be in your possession. I will always love you…” He presses a soft kiss to the tip of your nose.

“…but I can’t love you the way you deserve. I hope you remember us, but soon forget me. I’m sorry.” Jungkook brushes your hair behind your ear while tears stream down your cheeks. You close your eyes as he rises and walks out of room; as he walks out of your life.

You wait until you hear the click of your front door to truly let go. You wrap yourself within your sheets, breathing in his lingering scent. Tears rubbed your skin raw as you finally confronted reality. Once your breathing leveled out, you were left with a single thought. He said you would always have his heart, always a piece of him. Why couldn’t he see that when he left, he took away yours as well?

[3hobbitsinatrenchcoat]

Soosly - Week 4 - Family

This monster took forever but I finally got the @soosly week 4 prompt done. Uh... this one needs a content warning so CW Death Mention (its not a major character though don’t worry)

-----

“Anyone seen Soos? I gotta discuss a new display with him.” Stan pushed his way into the giftshop, balancing a box of half-finished taxidermy parts on one arm and trying to hold open the door with the other.

Melody looked up from the register with a frown, hands paused on her end of day count. “I thought maybe you'd pass him on the way in. He went to check the mail a little while ago but hasn't come back yet.”

“Huh.” Stan set down his box on the counter and cracked his back with a grimace. “I didn't see him by the mailbox but we might'a passed each other.”

Melody's frown deepened. “Seems unlikely. Try the back porch if you don't see him near the mailbox. He likes to grab a Pitt and sit on the couch sometimes.”

“Ain't that familiar,” laughed Stan. He nodded thanks to Melody before tucking his hands in his pockets and wandering back outside.

Soos certainly wasn't at the mailbox, or anywhere visible from the gift shop steps either. Stan frowned and thumped down the steps and around to the back of the house. He relaxed for a brief moment as Soos's familiar form came into view, sitting not on the couch but on the steps, shoulders shaking... Stan's blood ran cold and he swore as he saw Soos lift a hand to scrub at his face.

It took every ounce of self-control he had not to sprint across the backyard. Instead he opted for a more casual yet still purposeful stride, scuffing his feet when he got within earshot so he didn't startle the poor kid when he eased down onto the steps next to him. Soos barely looked over, which was a bad sign, and stared sightlessly across the scrubby late summer grass towards the woods with eyes red-rimmed from crying, which was an even worse sign.

“Hey, gumdrop,” said Stan gently after a long moment of silence punctuated only by a quiet sniffle. He hadn't used the nickname in a while but it was all he could think of in the moment. He didn't expect Soos to full-body flinch at being addressed and cut off the are you okay? that Stan had been about to follow up with by holding out what looked like a letter.

“What is this?” Stan asked, and took the paper from Soos when he merely shook the paper. It may have been just his hand shaking, the way his shoulders trembled. “You want me to read it?” Soos nodded, and Stan saw his eyes welling with more tears before he looked away again.

“Jesus,” read Stan, and he had to suppress a snort because honestly, when was the last time anyone had called Soos by his legal first name?

“I've started this letter a hundred times and every formal introduction seems callous, given the circumstances. I wish that we were being introduced in more pleasant times, but you deserve to know the truth. You have two half-sisters in New Orleans.

“Until last week, when your wedding invitation arrived, my sister and I were unaware we had a brother. We suspect that any mail from you was intercepted by our father to prevent us from finding out he had other family. Unfortunately, that brings me to the heart of the matter.

“Dad passed away a month ago. I've included a copy of the obituary if you wanted the information for family records. I wish... I wish we had known sooner, so that we could have told you. [several lines here were covered in a thick line of whiteout and written over again] I did some digging in Dad's office and, if it is any consolation, he kept every letter you sent. They were in the locked drawer of his filing cabinet, but he did keep them.

“I understand if you want nothing to do with us, but if you ever want to reach out I included my email and phone number. Even though I don't know you yet, it is nice knowing that somewhere in Oregon I have an older brother.

“I am truly sorry you had to find out like this.

“Sincerely, Sandy Oaks”

Wordlessly, Stan picked up the crumpled envelope from where it had fluttered to the ground and pulled out a newspaper clipping. The image of a bland white-bread man stared back at him and Stan folded the picture over so he wouldn't have to stare him in the face as he read.

“Harold Greene, aged 58, passed away peacefully surrounded by family last week. He is survived by his two daughters and 2 grandchildren. All who knew Mr. Oak remember him fondly as a hard-working family man...” Stan stopped reading, rage flickering red at the edges of his vision. Family Man? The man who walked out and never visited his son? The man who Sophie Ramirez would threaten to hunt down and maim if you got more than one drink in her? That man, a family man?

Stan sat seething, unable to put into words exactly what he was feeling. He mechanically folded the letter and newspaper clipping, sliding them back into the envelope with a stony expression. Another miserable sniff came from the stoop beside him and he carefully wrapped an arm around Soos's shoulders.

“I'm sorry, Soos.” Stan said quietly and that was really all it took. With a choked off exhale Soos turned and wrapped his arms around Stan, face buried against his shoulder, great wracking sobs shuddering through his body. Stan froze for all of a second before he pulled Soos tight into a hug, one large hand rubbing soothing circles across his back.

“I... I never even met him,” Soos managed to say between wet gasps for air. “I didn't have the chance, and... and now he's gone. I knew his address, I... I could've gone down to see him but it... I waited too long. I waited too long and now I'll never get to... to...” he trailed off in a hicupping swallow, shoulders tense and shaking.

There were a lot of things Stan wanted to say in the moment. He'd harbored a deep, intense anger at the man for many years. He resented how one man could have such a negative impact on such a cheerful, well-meaning soul. He'd never thought he could dislike a man just as much as his own father, but apparently some deadbeat asshole named Harold fucking Greene was neck in neck for that contest. Stan couldn't say any of that in that moment, with Soos' fingers white-knuckling fistfuls of his t-shirt and tears soaking through to his shoulder. Instead he sighed and tightened his arms around the young man, letting long moments pass as he gathered his thoughts.

“I'd like to say the grief will pass, son,” said Stan after a while, not quite aware of his own words as he thought back to his own lonely mourning when Filbrick passed away. The man had been horrible, sure, but he'd still been his father. “It might be a while before you really come to terms with it and...” he stopped, concerned as Soos suddenly froze against his shoulder and then let out a single wheezing laugh. “Uh, you ok there?”

“I...” Soos sat back, cheeks blotchy with tears but a shaky smile breaking across his face. “Here I am crying about a guy I never even met when...” he swallowed and looked down at his own hands as he clenched and unclenched them in his lap. His next words were a whisper Stan had to strain to hear. “When you were really all the father figure I really needed.”

Aw hell.

Stan felt his own eyes start burning and as he blinked a single hot trail wound its way from his eye and settled in the crease of his nose. “For fuck's sake, Soos. Warn a man before you attempt to murder him.” The words came out strangled, and Soos's gaze snapped over to meet his. They held eye contact for mere seconds before they both broke out in somewhat hysterical laughter, arms slung over each others shoulders more for support than anything else.

“I was saving it for a wedding present but I might as well tell you now,” said Stan once they both calmed down enough for words to make sense. “First of all, kid... you really have to read what people hand you to sign. Even if it's me. Actually, especially if it's me.”

“What?”

“Remember those papers I had you sign a few weeks ago that I said were some legal bullshit for the shack since Ford and I had to sort out the 'not being dead' thing? They had nothing to do with the shack.” It was Stan's turn to look sightlessly into the treeline as his heartbeat seemed loud enough to shake the stoop. “They were adoption papers. Turns out all you need to adopt an adult in Oregon is the adult's consent.”

There was complete silence from Stan's left side and he swallowed hard. “I haven't filed them yet, it was a pretty major invasion of privacy and...” His apology cut off abruptly as Soos nearly bowled him over in another hug.

“DO YOU MEAN IT, MR PINES??” The yelling was right in his ear but Stan couldn't bring himself to care.

“Of course I mean it, gumdrop. Why the fuck wouldn't I mean it? I had to go talk to a lawyer and everything!” He made a token struggle against Soos' very tight grip before chuckling and hugging him back. “And if you call me, your father, 'Mr. Pines' one more time, I'm going to have some words for you, young man.” The threat was empty and they both laughed a little damply.

“Thanks, Dad.” Soos leaned heavily on Stan's shoulder and Stan pressed a whiskery kiss to the top of his head.

“You're welcome, Son.”

[gofancyninjaworld]

Meta: What rough beast slouches to be born?

Right, webcomic chapter 125 has raised quite a few questions about cyborgs and I purposely left it aside. Until now.  I’m sorry for the length, but I’m only allowed one ‘readmore’. :(

What we knew

Many moons ago for us, 9 or so weeks ago for them, Genos showed up at Saitama’s doorstep like a refugee from another world, telling a tale of destroyed towns, rampaging cyborgs, and desperate revenge quests.   It’s seemed rather far-fetched, particularly as not much has happened on that front.   Over the course of the story, we’ve had little bits of independent corroboration about the veracity of his story.  The town that he was born in was definitely erased from the map.  Yes, a cyborg is wanted in connection with the incident. 

But where is that guy? Does it have anything to do with the powered suit-flogging cyborgs seen early on the series? Does it have anything to do with the ‘glimpse behind the scenes’ chapter the manga offered us with Drive Knight (but no context as to how that glimpse fitted into the wider story)?  Come to that, where are all the cyborgs?

To start with, there are a lot of cyborgs of various sorts in OPM.  Quite a few moons ago, I wrote a bit about them, drawing a distinction between those who used parts to replace lost function and those who looked at it as a change of identity: “Is the Organization a Claw Analogue?”

 Chapter 125 has been surprisingly good about confirming some of what I surmised about cyborgs, but it’s brought some very good additional information!  On we go!

There are cyborgs; and then there are Cyborgs

Our ambassador through the world of cyborgs is new Neo Hero recruit Koko (Solitude), who modified his body for the world of cyborg fighting, only he was a little too successful and no one would bet on him.  We see him scanning various people and passing commentary on them.

The first to give him serious pause is Webigaza, who lost six months of life to getting her body modifications done -- no wonder she’s pissed off that her rival has self-destructed in the interim.

Koko is shaken by her having 71% of her body modified.

obsessive determination is terrifying to look at

Percentage body modification of the sort Koko is used to seeing, 30% maximum, you can do right here right here and now.  It’s equivalent to losing a leg and most of the other. Here and now, we can also do brain implants to control tremors or fits or some neurological conditions,  replace part of the heart, spine fusions, quite a few bits and pieces.  The sort of modifications Koko is used to seeing are very functional ones that make sense for someone looking to get an edge in fighting for money.  They’re also along the lines of what we’ve seen with One-Shotter or Death Gatling.

If you lose and replace all four limbs, that's 50% of your body modified. While quadruple amputees unfortunately exist IRL,  I don’t know if anyone has had the kind of money, physical fitness and pure grit to do that.  Nevertheless it’s not technically impossible. 60% sounds about right before you're now looking at breaking into the more vital parts of your body.  The point at which the risk involved just can't be justified in terms of restoring function or health. I’m emphasising that because I’m going to come back to this point.   He’s shaken because modifications that extensive aren’t about simply gaining an edge; they’re being willing to exchange serious bodily harm for serious power.  It says a lot about who Webigaza is.

Within the Hero Association, I think we do know a hero round about that 60% mark.  Jet Nice Guy comes to mind.  He sports an armored exterior, powerful artificial limbs (which will need internal reinforcement to not just rip up his body), but his innards are all human. After the way he started to bleed out after Nyan slashed him, I realised that the reason it looked like intestines when the Deep Sea King ripped him open is because they were... >.<  Sorry, dude. 

the worst of both worlds -- too modified to have an easy life, still too weak to deal with the real monsters that exist

Scary enough, but then the security staff come in to stop the kerfuffle that Koko and his buddy, Mars Leo, were causing.  Koko scanned them and was stunned into horror:

as disciplined and ruthless a pair of killers as you could never hope to lay eyes on.  Definitely not frothing at the mouth, these two!

These two have modified themselves so extensively they’re almost inhuman. 94, 95% body modification is equivalent to having only 3.5 - 4.2 kg of live mass left assuming an original live mass of 70 kg.  And, if the similar naming convention didn’t tip you off to it, it’s around the sort of hyper-extensive modification we see Genos having. [See under the readmore for a first-principles estimation I did a long time ago.]  Maybe Drive Knight too if he’s a cyborg.   What kind of power have they exchanged their human bodies for?  What kind of people are willing to do that to themselves? Koko is very sure that he does NOT want to know.

When he tells you who he is, believe him

That’s dating advice often given to ladies overlooking obvious red flags  but it goes with great force in OPM. ONE has characters tell us who they are early on, even if it doesn’t mean anything to us for a long time. 

And he’s had Genos be a particularly straightforward and truthful character.  He doesn’t always interpret things correctly, but he says it exactly as he sees it.  Looking at the way the high percentage cyborgs we’ve met thus far either be very inhuman looking or completely disguised as regular human beings,  he’s chosen an appearance that puts both his humanity and mechanical nature on display.

Something that the chapter has brought up that I've kept saying to people on the Discord and on Reddit: there is no medically justifiable reason for Genos to have a body as modified as he does.   Which Genos TELLS US for fuck’s sake.  His giant wall of text is a synopsis, no more and no less.

When he says that “...I asked Professor Kuseno to perform a procedure to modify my body. Then I was reborn as a cyborg for justice...”  (Viz)  “...I begged Dr Stench (sic) to transform me into a cyborg and I was reborn as a cyborg who fights for justice...” (Boon scanslations, who copied verbatim whoever did the webcomic version). It’s nothing to do with health.  Feel free to have whatever headcanons you like, but please don’t confuse them with the story.

But it doesn’t end there.  I look at Destro and Erimin and realise that there’s another perfectly truthful statement that’s been staring us in the face.

Genos knows. Why would he ask a mechanical engineer who uses a wearable battle suit and pilots armed drones to modify his body, let alone modify it to such an insane degree?  Because he knows that Dr Kuseno knows how to build cyborgs like the one who destroyed his town.

We don’t know if Destro and Erimin have any responsibility for the destroyed town, but someone of their ilk does.   Which brings us to a third nakedly truthful statement. When Genos talks of not believing that he could be defeated by anything other than the rampaging cyborg, he’s not anticipating winning because he’s suicidal.  It’s because he’s aware that if he’s throwing rock, so too is his enemy: mutual annihilation is the best he can hope for.

At least until he met Saitama. And started to hope for not mutual destruction, but victory (check the difference in chapter 108 of the webcomic).

a world away from the attitude of mutually-assured destruction he started with.

Stepping away from the text a bit, it casts a different light on why he’s been so desperate to learn from Saitama. Learning Saitama's secret is his balance-breaker. He wants something other than rock, that is guaranteed to smash whatever rock his enemy might throw.    But that’s not all there is.   As Garou said, once he discovered Blue Fire’s flamethrower, once you know how a freakish weapon works, you know it.  Any edge a new weapon might give Genos is liable to be studied and replicated  (see how quickly Dr Kuseno was able to reverse engineer and adapt the principles of G-4′s curving energy beams).   But Saitama’s strength is unphysical: no matter how closely you inspect his body, you can never relate the physicality of Saitama’s body to the power he can generate.  That unphysicality, that’s what Genos wants too.   It also puts in context why he’s been so fascinated by psychic power and wants to learn it if at all possible.

neat trick, I’ll take two!  Genos dodging G4′s beams in chapter 38, and putting the principle of them to good use in chapter 120

And finally, since in his world, knowledge is literally power, it gives yet another layered reason Genos is so determined to keep anyone else from becoming Saitama’s disciple.  If they learn his secret too, then the advantage he seeks will be lost.  (that it doesn’t work quite that way for Saitama is a fact for us to enjoy and for him to find out).

Nothing is as scary as a human being

Nothing is as scary as a human being is one of the things that Reigen says to Tome on occasion. It’s in full force in OPM.  Monsters may be strong, but they all live in the now.  Only a human being could have put together the Monster Association.   When it comes to cyborgs, their abilities may be inhuman but their thoughts, imaginations, morals and appetites are all 100% human.   It’s a terrifying combination.

There’s something I missed when I likened The Organization to a Claw Analogue. In Mob Psycho 100, the protagonists are children and they're fighting an organisation made up of over-grown children -- adults who have refused to grow up. In One-Punch Man, the protagonists are adults and the bad humans in the story are very much adults too.   With calculated cruelty and depravity to match. When The Organization bares its claws for real, this is going to get so brutal.

If Genos has not been standing still, then neither has his enemy.  From the manga, even if we hold Drive Knight blameless and independent of all this mess, his besting Nyan told us that cyborgs can indeed come crazy-strong and highlighted how much more work Genos had yet to do. It also highlighted how very clever and calculating cyborgs can be -- well, they’re human, duh!  If I was worried for his prospects then,  in the webcomic, Genos is nowhere near as psychologically, physically or emotionally ready as his manga version is.   And the guys who look to be his enemies aren’t going to be cutting him any slack.   They’re very real.  They’re not mad.  And they’re closer than he ever imagined.

Fighting monsters is barely adequate preparation for whatever it is that’s to come.

Whenever Genos gets dragged into whatever it is those cyborgs are up to  -- or runs into it, since he claims he’s still hunting the rampaging cyborg -- ‘rough’ doesn’t begin to describe it.

Extra Stuff

Edited from an answer I gave on Reddit to the question of how much of Genos was still organic about 2 years ago.  It’s unexpectedly relevant!

Short answer: by mass, under 10% , assuming he would have weighed  approximately 70 kg. By function, quite a bit.

 The long answer.

I’m going to write this starting from what is most readily observable and readily inferred to the least. In appreciation of this being a work of fiction that treats physical laws lightly, I too am taking a more-or-less approach and will keep technical terms to a minimum. I'm also not a medic and I don't play one on TV -- assume generous hand-wavium. Items in {curly brackets} are incidental notes you can skip.

Level 0: Canonically observable.  The least controversial observation is that Genos does have an organic brain. Genos does not live in a lab, but is able to live largely independently, including being able to eat whatever he likes with no ill-effect. Not just that, but he lives an active and hard-fighting life that appears to do him no permanent harm (I will return to this in a few paragraphs).  What can we take from this?

Edit: There is also ONE’s initial settings for Genos, which I quote here from the Hero Data Book

ONE: There's no need to visit Dr. Kuseno's place every time when his wrist break down, because he got his own spare parts at hand. Dr Kuseno's Lab is there In case for a big reparation job, a drastic upgrade or an examination.

It’s tempting to think that because we see that he definitely has a brain that’s all there is – the brain in a jar phenomenon, so to speak. Something a lot of people miss is that the spinal cord proper isn’t optional either -- it’s a core part of the central nervous system.  Spinal cords are a lot shorter than most people think they are, averaging 12 inches long for women and 15 inches for men.  The rest are nerve processes that can be cut and will regrow (within limits). We’re also happy to allow for nerves and their endings -- there must be an interface for the prosthetics so they're under the fine voluntary control that we see. However, that’s not all that there can be. The Cartesian mind-body duality is completely wrong when it comes to physiology. Our brains are intimately bound with our bodies and our bodies with our brains. So what does one need?

Level 1: Perfusion. This is the most obvious one. Without a blood supply providing oxygen, glucose and removing waste products from our brains, we have 4-5 seconds of consciousness available, 2-3 minutes in which we can escape brain damage and 8-10 minutes in which not to die. So, number one is a reliable blood supply.  Absolutely necessary therefore are a means of generating the various blood cells, perfusing and distributing them and disposing of damaged cells (red blood cells have a lifespan of 1-2 months). While not as acutely important, a self-sustaining blood supply is also the basis of a functioning immune system.  It's a bit of an oops moment when your super-killer cyborg catches a cold and dies.

Accordingly, bone marrow is essential as a source of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells. A suitably reduced blood vessel and lymphatic vessel system is also needed to run the blood where it needs to go. {An awesome feature of living beings is that new blood vessels will be recruited to where they need to go and redundant branches pruned back, a process known as vascular remodelling}. A reduced liver and possibly spleen will be needed to appropriately destroy worn out blood cells. At least one functional kidney, in the role of producing the hormone erythropoietin, without which red blood cells will not be formed. Not essential: a heart and lungs, which he definitely doesn't have. How much blood is needed?  I’ll come to that answer once we’ve tallied how much body is needed.

Additionally, since part of perfusion is getting rid of metabolic waste, a liver and kidney will be absolutely indispensable.  

Level 2: Homoeostasis. A living organism has a very narrow range in which its internal environment, such as oxygen saturation, temperature, pH (acidity or alkalinity) amongst other things can vary without harm.

There are around 40 or so hormones, the signalling molecules that keep us going as functional concerns, regulating such things as blood pressure, salt/water balance, available energy, sleep cycle, body temperature, mood, immune system... the list goes on. Each has a stupid number of secondary functions and interacts with others in a ludicrous number of ways (note highly scientific language). Their levels vary and change on the order of seconds to hours. It's a good job that the main organiser of homoeostasis, the hypothalamus, is part of the brain. {Incidentally, this is why a brain-dead cadaver cannot be kept ‘alive’ on life support indefinitely – everything falls out of sync and eventually to pieces.} To do this artificially is to have your cyborg never leave the lab: if you're not constantly monitoring and adjusting levels, then they will die. Fortunately, as mentioned, a living, functional brain has the control network needed to keep everything working without the extensive and expensive effort. Just add air, water and food (in that priority).

At this point, we've already met most of the organs needed to maintain homoeostasis in their capacity of maintaining a blood supply. We need to add some bone, not just to serve as a niche (living environment) for the bone marrow and its stem cells mentioned previously but as a source and sink for minerals, the adrenal glands and the thyroid gland. Finally, one must not forget pancreatic islets -- or it'll be for nothing as he goes into a diabetic coma.

Level 3: Energy.   Speaking of food, a brain needs essential fatty acids for turnover and lots and lots of glucose for energy. It’s entirely possible to supply nutrients as total parenteral nutrion (TPN for short).  People whose digestive systems have completely failed get individually formulated TPN solutions, which requires that they spend several hours a day feeding it into their blood supply. Not something we see Genos do.  And yes, you heard it here: not everyone poops, but everyone sure as hell pees.  While a brain only weighs about 1.5 kg, it uses up about 500 calories a day as glucose, so 700 ish calories a day should suffice for all the needs of his live mass. This bears no relationship to the amount of food we see Genos put away on occasion. Why hasn’t he wrecked his liver in a matter of weeks? The answer would appear to lie in the artificial digestive system Dr. Kuseno has given him which turns food into biofuel. It must be patched into a feedback loop which allows it to only supply what’s physiologically necessary at any given time. Lucky for some!

Level 4: So how much body does that add up to exactly?  Nothing says you have to keep the necessary organs and blood vessel network the same size. With only a 1.5 kg brain to support, many can be shrunk a good 50% if not more. A total living mass of 7 kg would be quite feasible. We know from organ-on-a-chip experiments (and from unfortunate people who have lost part of their organs) that provided the essential architecture of the tissue is respected, they will work fine. Nothing says you have to keep them in the same place as the original organs were -- you can encapsulate it all in a can and shorten the nerves serving the organs to a more rational, manageable length. It's nice and compact and can be protected as heavily as the brain is.

Now we’re in a position to answer how much blood Genos has. There are about 70 ml of blood per kilogram of body weight, so at ~ 7 kg, we’re talking about 500 ml of blood. For comparison, the typical 70 kg person has 5 litres of blood. Why does this matter?  Because it allows us to answer a question many may be curious about: how often does Genos get hurt?

The answer is: Almost Never. With so little body, and with most of that body consisting of aptly named vital organs, even small injuries can turn catastrophic in no time.  Genos will bleed out with around 150 ml of blood loss, which is less than half of what is donated in a typical blood donation.  Horrible and dramatic as the smashes he gets into are, it’s more akin to a Formula 1 race car tumbling end over end and catching fire, only for the driver to walk out unscathed.  His cyborg parts are replaceable and can be sacrificed to protect what’s irreplaceable if need be.

[notgonnarememberthis]

find your way (back to me) - chapter six

Happy New Year!! Hope y’all are starting off the new year with health and safety for you and your families. Less than 2 weeks away from season 2 and I’m so fucking excited/anxious. Weird note, this chapter is actually the first thing I wrote for the entire story. I had the first part stuck in my head for a little over a month and threw out the concept to my best friend Em. They encouraged me to build the story and so far I’ve been so pleased with it and the reactions y’all have given. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. It really means the world to me.

Three days wears on the psyche, Gil notes in yet another confrontation report. It’d been three days since they’d found the car with Jessica’s phone inside and no sign of her except for her blood on the back window. Malcolm was quickly unraveling, it’s not hard to see. He’d slammed a reporter up against a wall for even suggesting that maybe the world was better off with another Whitly gone. With him visiting Martin the reporter got too close. It didn’t take much more for Malcolm to throw a punch.

He has two of his best cops tailing her children, taking much needed focus away. JT took on Ainsley almost immediately, after her snap with Endicott it’d become an unspoken agreement that she be kept an eye on. He has to bury his feelings every time he sees Malcolm’s hand shake uncontrollably, or when Ainsley comes back from the bathroom with her makeup absolutely perfect but her eyes still red and puffy from the tears she shed in private. It takes all of his power not to go to them and hold them close to his chest.

Every part of him aches.

Two bodies dropped since Jessica’s disappearance. Both had gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Malcolm had made the connection with the information from Martin, thank god. It didn’t take much more to connect the dots after that. They’re lucky Colette even considered it, but they were all desperate. Their time frame was 48 hours. They’re now at 56.

God, where is she?

“Oh my god!” He’s on immediate alert when he hears Ainsley’s scream followed by shouts of other officers. With his hand on his gun he races to where he’d left her and Malcolm earlier.

The room is in absolute chaos, JT is barely holding back Ainsley, her face red while she screams in protest. Several officers have their weapons drawn, Dani included. In the center of it all Malcolm stands with his hands extended, as if reaching for something.

And then he sees her. Her hair is disheveled; dirt and blood are smeared across her face. She’s barefoot, she likely lost her heels long ago. Her once white blouse is also caked in muck and grime. There’s a cloth wrapped around her thigh and one hand is cradling her side. Most startling, though, in her other hand is a knife stained crimson.

“Where is he?” She shouts, her eyes are wild. Gil’s not all that certain she even knows where she is.

“Mom, it’s me.” Malcolm steps a little closer.

“Bright, stand down.” Dani’s voice is a warning.

“It’s ok. She’s not gonna hurt me.” He breathes out slowly, as if trying to calm the entire room at once. “Give me the knife and I’ll find Gil for you. Okay?”

“No!” She springs back and the shouts erupt again.

“Lower your weapons.” Gil barks above the noise. All eyes turn to him, even Jessica’s. They’re reluctant but they obey.

“Mom.” Malcolm steps closer again, drawing her attention back to him. Her face crumples, truly seeing him now for the first time.

“Malcolm.” She sobs, the knife clattering to the floor. She pulls him into a tight hug, her voice barely carrying, “You’re ok. Thank god you’re ok.” 

“I’m ok?” Malcolm chuckles humorlessly. The hug is enough for all of the weight that had been on him to crash all at once. He buries his face into her shoulder his whole frame now shaking with the sorrow he kept so tightly wrapped for days. 

Once the knife is removed and bagged as evidence JT releases Ainsley and she crashes into the hug too. “Ainsley, baby.” Jessica’s voice carries as she recognizes the touch of her daughter. Her crimson stained fingers tangle in the blonde curls. He puts his gun back in his belt allowing himself to relax. He aches to join the embrace. Jessica lifts her chin and meets his eyes feeling his gaze upon them. Her face slackens, and he realizes just how pale she looks.

“Mom?” His heart drops at Ainsley’s tone, the two younger Whitly’s stumbling backwards with sudden weight. He’s on them in seconds, helping to settle Jessica gently onto the ground. The spot where she had been cradling with her free hand was spreading quickly staining her blouse red. In the embrace the cloth the she’d been holding to her fell as well. 

“Call a paramedic.” He orders shucking his coat off to press against the wound. She groans in pain, eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I know.”

“What’s happening?” Malcolm’s arms come around Ainsley, stopping her from coming closer. His hands shake, he’s closed himself off again holding him and his sister together at once. His eyes are glued to his mother, his face as red as Ainsley’s.

“Where is he?” Jessica asks again, this time pleading. His eyes flash to Malcolm, confused. “Please Gil you have to find him. I tried to get him out, I tried.” He shushes her trying to get her to relax.

“Who Jess?” Her fingers grip the front of his sweater, looking around terrified. “Hey, focus. Jess, who do I need to find?” It was too late, however, her eyes slid shut and her body slumped completely against him. He holds his breath until he feels her pulse against his fingertips, strong and steady.

“She just passed out.” Malcolm assures his sister after he likely saw the look of relief cross Gil’s face. The precinct seems to remain still until the paramedics arrive and take her away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“We collected three different sources of blood on Ms. Whitly.” Edrisa remarks, though slowly, her eyes on Malcolm the entire time. She’s worried about him being there, they all are. His insistence was to stay. With Jessica in surgery, it would be a few hours before she was released. “Her own, obviously being the first. But the spots on her face and blouse were of our fourth and fifth victims, Tommy Moore and Andrew Rankin. She was likely sitting in front of them when…”

“What about the knife?” Dani asks, she’s biting the inside of her cheek, almost regretting having to ask the question. Malcolm shifts, Gil knows all too well the scene flashing through his memory.

“The blood on the knife was Ms. Whitly’s. With the help of Dr. Garcia, who is the trauma surgeon who I met in the hospital, we determined a loose thread of events.” She looks to Gil and he nods for her to continue. “We are aware of the wreck, Ms. Whitly was showing signs of a concussion upon arrival at the station and in the hospital when she briefly regained consciousness before being sedated. She likely hit her head off the window during the wreck. This is conducive with the bruising and dried blood on her right temple.” Edrisa turns back to the board she was using to present her information swallowing. 

It wasn’t often that she presented the injuries of a victim who survived but after the events of today he’s exercising caution. He makes a brief note to check on her and maybe buy her lunch for her work. He knows none of this is easy but Edrisa is close to Malcolm. She understands him in a way that doesn’t quite make sense to the rest of them. She deserves to know that she’s appreciated.

“Then there’s the gunshot wound. It was likely received two days ago but opened up again when she escaped.” Gil bites the inside of his cheek thinking privately to himself. She’s lucky she didn’t bleed out. The old stab would on his own abdomen aches with the sympathy of that pain. One he wishes she never knew. “Next we have some yellowed bruising across her cheekbone and under her left eye. It suggests that she was hit. With the scrape on her cheek I would assume the perpetrator wore a ring when doing so.” She checks her notes again adjusting the glasses that slid down the bridge of her nose. “The large bruise on her forehead suggests that she hit her attacker. With her wrists and legs bound I would assume she headbutt him.”

Malcolm’s laugh catches them all by surprise. He shouldn’t get as much glee out of the moment as he does; but imagining prim and proper Jessica Whitly slamming her head against her captor is more satisfying than anything. “Sorry.” He mutters muffling a further laugh with his palm.

Edrisa relaxes slightly at that. “Finally we have the wound in her leg. She was stabbed, obviously. But the wound pattern along with some small cuts on her wrist suggest that she pulled it out herself.”

“She saw her opportunity. Her captor left the knife and she cut the ties around her wrists and ankles to escape.” Malcolm nods in agreement with Edrisa’s assessment.

“Holy shit.” JT mutters. “How the hell did she get back here without anyone taking her to the hospital or calling the cops?”

“That we won’t know. The doctors have my mother under sedation, for now. She’s undergoing her second surgery now, she’s severely dehydrated, and was delirious when she woke up in the hospital.”

“Shouldn’t you be with Ainsley?” Dani asks slowly. “Your mom needs you.”

“My mother needs me to find who did this to her before he strikes again.” Malcolm snaps. Dani grits her teeth but nods.

“What about the guy Ms. Whitly was talking about before she lost consciousness?” JT shifts, eyes combing over the file in front of him. “Do we have any idea who it could be?”

“We can only assume it is another missing person. Until she’s coherent enough to talk to us, we won’t know for certainty. Until we find the guys we are looking for I want detail on all of the Whitly’s until further notice. With her reaction earlier we can only assume that Malcolm and Ainsley were the next targets if Jess didn’t participate in what the killers wanted.” He turns to Edrisa, “Thank you Dr. Tanaka. Keep us updated if Dr. Garcia contacts you with any more information.”

“Yes sir.”

“Colette and her team are canvassing the area now. She couldn’t have made it far without being noticed by a concerned stranger. Dani, I want you and JT looking through missing persons. See if there’s any new disappearances that could be our missing man.”

“What do you want me to do?” Malcolm sits up straight, alert.

“We’re going back to the hospital.” He holds up his hand when Malcolm stammers to protest. “Ainsley needs you right now, more than anything. Not to mention once your mother wakes up she’ll need a face she can trust. Something scared her into coming here with a knife. I have a bad feeling.” Malcolm nods in agreement, though he still doesn’t look too pleased with the information.

He can’t shake the feeling in his gut that they’re missing some key information. He only hopes that Jessica will wake and tell them before it is too late.

[flyfireflyfly]

Tagged: Self-Promo

Was tagged by @promisesox for a self-promotion thingy, with posting 5 of your favorite creations. Technically only 3 of mine are complete, but I wanted to include the other 2. Anyone who wants self-promote, consider this as me tagging you ♥

1. All I Want For Christmas

My first story, posted 7 years ago. It doesn’t seem like that much time has gone by. I used to go back and read it every so often. It amazes me how much my writing has changed, and how much is still the same.

2. Hope and Chances

I do have some regrets with certain stories. There’s about 5 of them I’ve actually come to hate. Hope and Chances is one though that I think I really got it right. There isn’t anything about it that I would change.

3. A Good Girl

1,982 subscribers on AFF. My most subscribed story, more than double my second most subscribed story. I take it to mean that it’s my most popular fic. I don’t know why that is, but I can honestly say it gave me a huge confidence boost seeing so many people enjoy it. It really made me feel like an actual writer, that I can expand in to other genres or themes, that my stuff really was worth reading. That I didn’t mess up again. 1,982 may not seem like much, especially compared to a lot of other writers on AFF, but it means everything to me.

4. This-title-keeps-changing

Blurred cause I’m too embarrassed for it to be seen >.<  They’re notes, filling up a notebook that @supastareden​ had gifted me. It’s for a book I’m writing. Well, I’m not really sure yet if it’ll be 1 or 2 books... And “writing” is a bit of a stretch since I haven’t been doing anything let alone writing... But, yeah. I’m writing a book. One day (probably in about 30 years) it’ll be published, even if I have to self-publish it.

5. Doll

Again, I’m really not writing. I work 6 days a week. My brain simply shuts off when I get home. When I do write, I get a paragraph or so down. And it’s agonizing that that is all I can manage. It feels like I lost the ability to write anything more than those book notes in a notebook while daydreaming. Yet I still keep going back every couple of weeks or so to jot down a few more sentences. I’ve been working on Doll, a smut fic with Yongguk, for a little over a year now. It’s still not finished and I’ll cry in the shower about that later, but here’s the first 2 chapters:

1)

As you woke up, you kept your eyes closed. You could feel your mat under you and the warmth that it gave off. It was odd but it was something you loved. Something about that heat that calmed you and strengthened you. Letting the moment go, you finally opened your eyes and sat up. The room was completely dark like always, save for a thin strip of light shining in from under the door that helped you make out all the other bodies around you. They each had their own mats that were crammed together, fitting as many people as possible in to the one room. Or rather, as many 'dolls' as possible. You looked at the male doll to your right. He was sitting up and picking at a loose thread on his boxers. You turned your gaze to your own clothing. A black lingerie set with lots of lace that barely hid anything. Adjusting it, you checked to make sure it wasn't falling apart anywhere. You liked it much better than the previous set you wore and you didn't want to have it replaced just yet. Suddenly the room got much brighter and you lifted your head. The door was open and a woman beckoned everyone out. "Let's go!" You stood with the rest of the group and shuffled forward. Once through the doorway, you found yourself in a brightly lit hallway. Its white walls were empty of any decoration. You kept walking, following the lady and the rest of the dolls. Another door and you entered a room that was a tiny bit more inviting. The lush carpet felt better on your bare feet than the hard linoleum of the hallway. On the light blue walls hung pictures, all of dolls in various sexual poses. The group separated with the boys lining up against one wall and the girls moving to the opposite side. Time for work. You glanced over to your left and saw the doorway that had a curtain hanging in it. Through it was a much larger room where the sales took place. Other dolls would be lined up in there, the ones that were 'new'. Dolls that haven't been with anyone and could fetch a higher price. You and the rest of the dolls in the back were technically for sale, but it was unheard of for a working doll to be bought. There were rumors of it happening in other stores though. The curtain moved and the lady from before walked in with another woman. "Here is our selection of males." The new woman slowly walked down the line, eyeing every one of the guys, before stopping in front of a large, muscular man. "I'll take this one." "Great. He is your keycard for your room. You're in room number one." The customer took the card and headed towards the stairs. The male doll followed after her, putting his arm around her waist and settling his hand on her hip. He said something quietly to her that you couldn't hear, and she responded with a flirtatious giggle. When they disappeared from view, you glanced back over at the curtained doorway. The lady was gone now, back up front where she could assist any other customers. There would be plenty more throughout the day that would pay for the backroom experience. Select a doll of their preference to be taken upstairs and have their way with. Suppressing a sigh, you leaned back against the wall and waited. It was only a few minutes later though that the curtain was pulled back again so you hurriedly straightened. The man examined the line of females before his gaze lingered on you. You subtly shifted, sticking a hip out and pulling your shoulders back to show off your curves. "This one." A coy smile formed on your face and you stepped forward. "Good choice. She's one of our newest dolls. I'm sure you'll be happy with her."

The man wrapped his arm around your waist and lead you to the stairs. The wood steps didn't feel as good on your bare feet as the carpet, and the customer's hand that moved down to grab your ass wasn't pleasant either. But you ignored all that and went up to the second floor. On this floor were several doors, each with a room number on them. The male went over to the third room and opened the door with the keycard. You swept past him through the doorway while glancing around the room. It was identical to the others, just big enough to fit a large bed with a small television in the corner. Suddenly you were shoved and you stumbled forward. Then you were pushed again, making you practically fall on to the bed. You crawled on to it and rolled your eyes at the guy's impatience. When you looked back at him though, you made sure you kept your face neutral so he wouldn't see any displeasure. The man stripped off his clothes in a hurry, his sharp gaze never leaving your body. It was a look you had seen before and mentally cursed. You started to take off your clothes, only managing to unclasp your bra, when he closed the distance to you. He yanked the bra off before grabbing your underwear with both of his hands. There was a distinct sound of cloth ripping as he wrenched them down your legs. You watched helplessly as he threw the panties aside. He dropped down on to you and without warning, he pushed in to you, filling you with his whole length. You threw your head back as you cried out, and then gritted your teeth as he started thrusting in to you. There was always the ones that only cared about their pleasure. So you simply laid there and let him have his way with you while listening to his grunting. He planted his hands onto the bed on either side of you and pushed up so he was hovering over you. Even now he stared at your bare breast, his gaze never wavering. You examined everything about him. His demeanor, his expression, and mostly the way he was ruthlessly pounding in to you. He didn't want pleasure. He wanted dominance. Shrinking in to yourself, you screwed up your face to reflect more of the pain he was giving you. Instead of moaning, you whined and whimpered. Finally he met your gaze and you hoped there was enough weakness in your eyes. You didn't have to wait long to find out as his pace faltered. He grimaced and let out a string of profanities before collapsing down on to you. His slick, sweaty skin made you wrinkle your nose in disgust, but you forced yourself to endure it until he finally rolled off of you. Panting still, he sat up and surveyed your body. He reached over and grabbed one of your boobs, squeezing it roughly and making you hiss as you arched your back. Then he let go and his hand moved between your legs, groping you. "Not bad." he nonchalantly said. He moved off of the bed and started getting dressed. You took that as a signal that he was done with and climbed off the bed as well. Instead of putting your bra and underwear back on though, you held them in your hands. It was standard protocol, though you would have stayed naked anyways. The last thing you wanted was to get his sweat and stink on them. Only after he left the room did you leave, following him to the stairwell. As he went downstairs, you hurried through a door tucked away in corner. It led to a small bathroom with an open shower area. You stepped under one of the showerheads and a stream of warm water hit you. You cleaned yourself thoroughly before moving to the shelves that held clean towels. As you were drying yourself, the male doll that had went upstairs before you entered. He didn't spare you a glance though as he went in to the showers. Dropping the towel in to a bin, you retrieved your lingerie. Holding up the underwear, you found a slight tear along the seem and pouted. Just as you feared, that asshole ruined them. You carefully dressed, being extra mindful to not tear it anymore. Hopefully they'll last till the end of the day so you could try to mend them. Once you were ready, you left the bathroom and descended the stairs. There were a few dolls still lined up but you noticed some were missing. More than likely upstairs with their own clients. You took your spot along the wall while suppressing a sigh and waited for your next customer.

2)

The day slowly passed by with a steady stream of clients coming and going. Of course it got busier in the evenings. People getting off work and coming in for one little tryst before heading home. Sometimes there would even be clients waiting for their turn in a separate lounge, insisting on a particular doll. Stifling a yawn, you watched as the curtain was pulled back yet again. The newest customer examined both lines of dolls and you silently prayed you wouldn't be chosen, even as they neared you. Then they picked the girl standing beside you and you forced yourself not to let out a breath in relief. They barely made it halfway up the stairs though when you heard the rustle of the curtain. You glanced over at the doorway and inhaled sharply. The man shyly smiled as the storekeeper directed him over to the female dolls, causing an odd sensation to form in your stomach. "This is her." They stopped in front of you, which meant that this was a special request. You took a hesitant step forward and eyed the man curiously. There was no denying how handsome he was, even in just a simple t-shirt and jeans. And with the way the lady who ran the store was standing so close, you had a feeling you weren't the only one admiring his looks. "Here is your keycard." she said and held it up from him. When he went to take it from her, she quickly put her hand over his to stop him. "I do hope you enjoy your time. Let me know if there is anything you need." A small smile formed on your face over her behavior, and it grew larger as you noticed him blush. "Thank you." he replied as he took the keycard from her. Then he turned his attention to you. "Uh... well..." He indicated for you to walk ahead of him, much like a gentleman would with a lady. That odd feeling in your stomach intensified and you attempted to ignore it. Nodding politely at him, you started to head towards the stairs. He walked beside you, not touching you and making him stand out even more. He didn't act like every other man that entered the back room. Once you were on the second floor, he checked the number on the keycard. "Room ten." Then he examined the doors near the stairwell. "It's further down." you informed him. Taking his hand, you led him down the hallway to the right door. After unlocking it, the man opened the door and stepped aside. You moved past him to enter the room first and made your way to the end of the bed. You turned around and stood there, waiting. He  never approached you though. He simply stood there, hesitating, as if he was unsure what to do. "What's wrong?" you asked. Then a thought came to you as you recalled the shy smile he had earlier. "Oh wait, here." You went to the television and pushed the power button. Instantly a porno was shown on the screen, accompanied with the loud wailing of a woman. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the television. "Oh, uh... Actually..." He closed the distance and turned it off. Then he turned to you. He hesitated once more before he gently placed his hands on your hips and kissed you. This time you were surprised, but you hurriedly kissed him back. You set your own hands on his arms just as gently. You knew now what he was expecting. He wanted a more personal experience and you made a mental note of that in case he came back. He pulled back and licked his lips as he gaze lowered. His hands slid up your sides before going back down, moving just past your hips. Then he brought them upwards again, much higher than before. He briefly met your gaze, as if giving you a chance to protest. When you didn't, he moved his hands over your breast, fondling them. Reaching up behind you, you unclasped your bra. He licked his lips once more, this time in anticipation, and moved his hands back. You let the bra slip off of you to fall on to the floor. More hesitation, even as you noticed the growing lust in his eyes, and then he grabbed your breast. More gentleness, so when he suddenly squeezed them roughly, you gasped as your back arched. Then his fingers toyed with your nipples, pinching them and rubbing them as they hardened. The fact that he wanted it to be personal filled your mind again. "What's your name?" He looked away from your breast and raised his eyebrows. "Yongguk." You closed the distance, forcing his hands to move away. Tilting your head slightly, you began to pepper his neck with kisses. Your hands found the hem of his shirt before disappearing under it. Running you hands over his skin, you started to lightly suck as his neck as well. A sigh escaped his lips, encouraging you to continue. So when you sucked on one particular spot that made him stiffen, you gave his neck a harsh suck. You were rewarded with a tiny cry, sending tingles through your body. Then you pulled back and licked his neck upwards to his ear. You sucked on his earlobe just as your fingers ran over his nipples. "Yongguk." you quietly whimpered in to his ear. "Fuck." He swiftly stripped off his shirt before grabbing you and yanking you closer. His lips smashed in to yours, eagerly kissing you as his hands squeezed your ass.

You squirmed against him, causing you to feel the forming hardness in his pants. You attempted to wrap your leg around his but he suddenly started pushing against you. Kissing him still, you awkwardly walked backwards as he guided you. Then your legs hit the bed and you unwillingly broke off the kiss. You moved on to the bed and scooted backwards until you reached the pillows. Yongguk followed you, crawling over you. Before he could lay down, you reached downwards and rubbed your hand over his dick. He let out a moan, his mouth dropping open as his eyes unfocused. Fluttering in your chest left you breathless, and you quickly set about undoing his jeans. As soon as you felt the cloth of his boxers, you pushed your hand inside them and wrapped your fingers around his hard member. You only managed a few strokes through when he forced your hand a away. Pinning your wrists to the bed, he leaned down kissed you once more. You closed your eyes and managed to hold back a moan until you felt Yongguk's tongue moving over your lips. As soon as you gave him an opening, his tongue entered your mouth for a brief moment. Then he pulled back and gently kissed your jaw. Your neck, your shoulder, your collarbone. He shifted to the side and brought his mouth down on your left breast, sucking on it and causing your back to arch. You opened your eyes to watch him just as he nibbled on your nipple. Biting your lip, you attempted to lift your arms but he forced them to stay against the bed. Pulling back slighting, he flicked your hardened nipple with his tongue a few time. Then he met your gaze as he relinquished your arms. You no longer had any desire to move them though as he slid further down your body, leaving a trail of kisses along your stomach and to your lace panties. He hooked his fingers in to them and sat up. You lifted some of your weight so he could smoothly pull the last of your clothes off of you, leaving you completely naked for him. He looked over you body, his gaze lingering a bit more in certain places. Reaching forward, he slipped his fingers through your wet folds and a quiet moan escaped him. He circled your entrance with one finger and then moved upwards to your clit. He pushed on it a few times before rubbing it. You gasped as pleasure flowed through your body, causing your legs to stretch out and your back to arch off the bed. You closed your eyes and let yourself drown in it. Which was easy to do as you felt him quicken his pace. It wasn't long until you were squirming, your heavy panting filling the room. "Yongguk." you whined as you shuddered. The pleasure disappeared as he moved his hand away. You opened your eyes to watch him remove the rest of his clothing. Once naked, he draped his body over you, settling between your legs and rubbing his dick on you. His lips found yours again for a brief moment before he shifted and you felt him pushing in to you. A long moan escaped him and he pressed his face in to your neck. Then he began to rock his hips, swiftly pumping in to you. You gasped and quickly reached up with your hands to grab him. The pleasure from before returned with ferocity, a storm threatening to break you in to pieces. His name played on your lips over and over, turning in to a desperate chant. Which seemed to only urge him on and his pace increased. His moans growing louder and coming more frequently to drown you out. Tremors racked his body and his arms wrapped around you tightly. As if clinging on to you could help temper his own storm consuming him. Finally something inside you snapped and you cried out as your body jerked. Seconds later Yongguk cried out as well and his hips slammed in to you, pushing his dick deep in to you as he cummed. Then he collapsed on to you.

You laid there, listening to his heavy breathing, and holding on to him. His sweaty body didn't repulse you like your first client much to your surprise. And when he went to roll off of you, you were reluctant to release him. He laid on his back next to you and you rolled on to your side in order to look at him. "That was better than I expected." he stated with a small chuckle. Then his eyes met yours and a blush graced his face. You smiled and sat up before leaning towards him. You trailed a hand down the side of his face, caressing him and earning a startled look from him. You ignored it though and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Which only made him blush harder and you giggled. With a shy smile, he sat up and slipped off the bed. You watched as he rounded the bed to retrieve his clothes before climbing off the bed yourself. You gathered up your lingerie and waited for him. When he was done dressing, he glanced at you and hesitated as he eyed your still naked body. "I have to go clean up." you informed him. More blushing and another shy smile. "Oh... yeah." He indicated towards the door and you nodded your head to signal that you were ready. Then he opened it and moved aside for you to leave the room first. The two of you walked down the hallway in silence. At the staircase, he started to go but stopped when he noticed you weren't following. "I have to go in there." You pointed to the cleaning room's door and then as an afterthought, you asked, "I'll see you around?" There was a bit of surprise in his eyes but then he smiled at you. "Sure."

[mangobaek]

Hey, are you a Boba Tea? ♡ THREE

Link to masterlist

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

Summary:

Byun Baekhyun, a playful boy, walked into a sweet boba shop. He came here for the boba, but didn’t expect to meet someone as sweet as you.

You love strawberries, bubble tea, and cheesecake. That doesn’t include a boy using a boba pickup-line in an attempt to get you.

Characters: Baekhyun x reader

Length: 2.7k+

Genre: fluff, highschool!AU

Taglist: @channna​ @mongryong-the-corgi​ @baestelcolor​ @shesdreaminginoverdose​

(Comment below if you want to be added or removed for the future updates)

Today is my first day of highschool as a senior. I stood in front of my mirror staring at my reflection. As it is my final year, I need to do my best and graduate. I straightened my posture and gave a smile at the mirror. Satisfied, I turned around to grab my phone, bringing back unpleasant memories from the grocery store last week. The nerve that Byun Baekhyun had to change my wallpaper and uninvitedly add his contact to my phone was astonishing. I remembered how I immediately deleted his contact and changed my wallpaper. What a jerk. I gritted my teeth and walked downstairs.

“You’re going to do great, honey,” my mom reassured as I ate my breakfast. “You’ll graduate in no time.”

When I finished up my meal, I placed my dish into the sink. My mom hugged me one last time before handing me my backpack and I thanked her while my dad gave me some encouragement. I stepped out the door, ready to start the new school year. I plugged my earbuds in my phone and listened to my favorite band. I left my house quite early because I wanted to be more prepared for the first day. It was nice to be ready and have more time early in the morning.

The weather was pretty nice and I was enjoying it. There was the perfect combination of warmth and breeze that made me feel so calm. This year, I will work harder than any other year since it will be my last as a high school student. I was so excited to meet Sehun and the others and I would make sure to have a wonderful year. I had barely even walked for a few minutes when I heard someone screeching behind me. I turned around and widened my eyes. Oh no.

“PRINCESS!” a figure yelled from the distance. Even with my earbuds in my ears, the loud voice still reached me. The figure was running towards me and I squinted my eyes to see Baekhyun’s frame get bigger and bigger. He was wearing my school uniform; a white shirt tucked in his black dress pants. His black tie was tied around his neck messily, like he only took under a minute to do so. I could barely see his face with that bucket hat covering most of his face, but I immediately recognized that obnoxious voice. I’ve been walking to school for three years and this is my first time seeing Baekhyun walk. My eyes trailed to his backpack and I realized that he must be a student as well. He saw me staring at him curiously, but only gave me a wide smile.

I was not in the mood for this man, why was he even here anyways? I’ve never seen him at my school before and he was now wearing my school uniform. There was no way that Baekhyun would be here unless he was a new student. The thought that him living near my neighborhood disgusted me because this meant it won’t be the only time I would be running into him. I took a deep breath and ignored him, knowing that it wouldn’t really stop him from following me, and I was right.

“Hey,” he whined at me, trailing close behind. His lips reached my ears, making me suppress a shiver. “Why are you ignoring me, hm?”

He needs to stop whispering into my ear for goodness sake. I stopped in my tracks as I felt his hot breath on my neck and I turned to face him to see him tilting his head, looking all innocent. It was then that I realized the proximity and I quickly flinched back, turned back around, and continued walking. He only chuckled lightly. I really wanted to punch him.

“Why are you following me?” I finally snapped. “I’ve never seen you around before.”

“That’s because I actually just moved into this neighborhood a month ago,” he replied cheerfully, confirming my suspicions, “and now I’m walking to school with you!”

I walked in silence while Baekhyun continued to walk closely behind me. I occasionally felt his hand purposely brush mine and it really annoyed me. I could feel Baekhyun’s smirk every single time, and I was losing my patience quickly. However, the universe wasn’t on my side- as always. Being the clumsy person I was, I stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and was about to land flat on my ass when Baekhyun just had to be my savior. Instead of the impact of the ground, Baekhyun’s strong arms wrapped around my body protectively. Why does this type of thing always happen to me?

I hate to admit it but I’m extremely clumsy and it makes me very angry. It wasn’t even the first time Baekhyun has saved me. I recalled what happened at the grocery store and I still can’t get over how much of an idiot I looked by tripping over anything on the ground. Out of all times, it had to be by Baekhyun again. And he had to save me every single time, which must have boosted his ego. This was so embarrassing and it took me another minute to realize that I was still in Baekhyun’s arms.

“You can let go of me now,” I demanded. Baekhyun sniggered, but actually followed my request. Once I was free from his arms, I stomped a little as I walked a little faster.

“So adorable,” Baekhyun playfully grinned and ran after me. He continued to tease me about being clumsy but I managed to keep in my anger. He really seemed to enjoy this. Baekhyun smirked and followed after me. How will I keep up with this every morning? What a wonderful start to the year.

***

When I arrived at school, Baekhyun needed to meet the administrator since he was a new student. I was so relieved to have him gone and headed towards my locker. As time passed by, more and more students began to pile in the building. I emptied some of my belongings into my locker and headed towards my first period class, english.

Once I arrived at my classroom, Sehun waved at me to come sit next to him. I quickly made my way towards him, grinning.

“Hey, how was summer break?” He questioned curiously as I set up my materials on the desk.

“It was nice,” I replied. I haven’t mentioned anything about Baekhyun before. “I had lots of fun with my family and friends. How was your trip to Hawaii?”

“Actually, it was way better than I thought,” he rambled on. “My favorite tourist attraction was the Hawaii Volcanoes park. You should have seen the scenery, it was beautiful! The volcanoes and beaches were so pretty!”

I nodded while Sehun continued to speak about his trip to Hawaii with his family. It must have been so fun to leave South Korea for a while. A few minutes later, Mrs. Lee, our teacher, walked into the classroom. She smiled at us and motioned someone to come in. Baekhyun, who smiled at the class, walked into the classroom. I saw how he caught the attention of all my classmates causing me to scoff. Maybe they should realize how much of an annoying and cocky person he is.

“Hello students, welcome to the new school year. My name is Mrs. Lee, and I will be your english teacher this year,” Mrs. Lee smiled at us. “Today, I also want you guys to meet a new student that will join us for the rest of the year. Please introduce yourself Mr. Byun.”

“My name is Baekhyun, and I transferred from Bucheon,” he spoke politely, bowing at us. Is this really the Baekhyun I met? “I will be looking forward to working with all of you.”

All the girls in the class stared at Baekhyun like he was the most beautiful being they have set eyes on. The boys also seemed a little jealous about how much attention he was getting, but still looked at him like he was their idol. On the other hand, I just sat in my seat and frowned at him. When Baekhyun’s eyes scanned across the class, he grinned at everyone before locking his eyes on me. He sent a wink in my direction and I felt like drowning in my seat. I didn’t notice all the stares that were directed towards me by my classmates.

“Thank you so much for the wonderful introduction!” Mrs. Lee exclaimed. “You may choose any empty seat that is available.”

Everyone was anticipating where Baekhyun would choose to sit, hoping that he would sit by them. I was secretly crossing my fingers under my desk, hoping that Baekhyun would sit as far away as possible. However, when I heard a bag plop down on the desk behind me, I knew that I was screwed. I turned around just to confirm that it really was Baekhyun and I immediately regretted it when I saw Baekhyun casually take a lollipop out of his bag and pop it into his mouth.

With the lollipop positioned at the side of his mouth, there was a small bump evident on his left cheek as he raised his eyebrows teasingly. I fought the urge to poke the side of his cheek. Wait, what was I thinking? Sehun didn’t seem to notice what was going on and I swiftly faced towards the front of the class, concentrating on the window instead.

There were only five more minutes before class officially began so a bunch of people already started to gather around Baekhyun. I have always liked quiet and peace, but with Baekhyun sitting behind me with his new crowd, that wasn’t going to happen. He was already getting so popular on his first day and I could hear him laugh as people kept asking him questions and things about him. Those laughs made me want to cover my ears and run out. How could anyone find him comfortable to be around with? It was like he was purposely trying to annoy me when it was only me around.

“Hey Baekhyun, do you have a girlfriend?” I heard a random girl ask, who was obviously trying to flirt with him. These girls are head over heels for this bastard. He has the looks, but how could they withstand his annoying behavior? Why is he acting so calm right now? It was like he was a completely different person.

“Nope,” he chuckled innocently.

“Do you want to hang out with us after school?” a group of boys asked.

“Sorry, I’m busy afterschool. What about on a weekend?” he replied.

My classmates were busy asking so many questions while I just rested my hand underneath my chin. Soon enough, class started and I was so glad when everyone went back to their seats.

As class went on, I could hear sounds coming from Baekhyun. His humming and candy eating noises were seriously irritating me. I grumbled as Sehun drew some small doodles of cats on a sheet of paper. Suddenly, I heard a rustle of paper being passed to me from behind. A note. I turned around to see Baekhyun’s mischievous gaze with his lollipop still stuck between his lips. I glared at him and hesitated to open it. I swear if it was one of his tricks to flirt with me, I would be so pissed, not to mention the trouble we would get if Mrs. Lee finds out. Making sure that Mrs. Lee didn’t see, I hesitantly opened the note.

Girl, I’m your candy.

This was a really Baekhyun thing to do. Before anyone could see, I quickly crumpled the note back up and chucked it behind me at Baekhyun underneath our desks. He gave a small pout before giving me a huge smirk. He then took out the lollipop in his mouth and pretended to offer it to me. I gave him a disgusted look. Baekhyun can be all playful and annoying like this morning and now his attitude has changed back to his cockiness. What an asshole. Does he not know what germs are? I quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen that. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be too busy with the worksheet in front of them to notice what was going on between us. He shrugged and popped the candy back in his mouth. I saw him take out another sheet of paper and scribble something down on it before shoving it towards me quickly.

I’ll become something special so you’d come to me.

Even someone picky as you will be addicted to me.

His chocolate brown orbs stared at me as I read each word. He sucked on his lollipop with a lopsided smile. What was he even trying to say? Picky? Out of all words to describe me, that was what he had to say? I mean I only avoid boys like the plague whenever they come near me, with the exception of Sehun and my few other male friends. I almost gagged at the words addicted to me. I wasn’t that easy to get, and I was one hundred percent sure that he wasn’t going to be the one that would make me “addicted”. He really had a lot of arrogance, and it got on my nerves. I scoffed, and this time I took out my pencil.

Yeah sorry, that’s never going to happen.

Your choice of words disgust me.

Leave me alone before we get detention.

I folded the piece of paper and passed it back to him, giving him a harsh glare. He took it and opened it, twirling the lollipop inside his mouth with his tongue. I decided to just ignore his reaction but when I turned around, I was met with Sehun’s curious gaze. He gave me a questioning expression. I shook my head and tried to wave it off. He looked suspicious but went back to doodling cats again.

I could hear the sounds of Baekhyun’s pencil writing again. It didn’t seem like he would be stopping any time soon and I could only hope that Mrs. Lee won’t catch us. I swear if this boy gets me in detention on my first day of school, I would kill him. Not only would I leave a bad impression, but I would also have to waste my precious time being stuck in a room with him. A few moments later, another piece of paper was being passed towards my way.

I don’t hate this tension.

I want to give you something,

something original :)

At that moment, I was prepared to get out of my seat and yell at this boy. I don’t want him to give me this “original” thing he’s talking about. If he doesn’t hate this tension, I sure do hate it enough for both of us. I contemplated whether I should respond back to him because I really don’t want to keep passing notes with this jerk. He wouldn’t stop, and this would really affect my focus in this class. I grumbled and I took out my pencil one last time to write my final warning.

Right at the same time, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I slowly looked up to see Mrs. Lee’s raising her eyebrows at my writing. She looked between me and Baekhyun, and I could also feel the stares of the rest of my classmates.

“Miss, may I ask what you are doing?”

“U-uh,” I stuttered, “I was j-just trying to h-help Baekhyun?”

Her eyes weighed on me. Baekhyun looked calm, if not slightly tense. “I never thought that you were this type of student,” she shook her head. Oh shoot, I’m in so much trouble. “Miss, if you are going to be passing notes in my class, then I will-”

“Mrs. Lee, it was my fault,” Baekhyun suddenly interrupted. I was surprised by his action. Why was he doing this? “I was the one that distracted her and initially sent the notes first.” I stared at him in shock as he blamed himself. Technically, I was at fault for responding back, so I was astonished that Baekhyun would stand up for me.

“You two are both to blame. Miss, if Baekhyun sent you those notes, you should have ignored them,” she replied. I really tried my hardest but Baekhyun was just too annoying. Still, that was no excuse. “Since both of you both were not paying attention, you will be having detention after school next week.”

Amazing. This was a wonderful start to the year.

A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for updating so late. I was busy the last few weeks with projects, and I didn’t have much time to write. Now that most of everything is done, I will have time to write a lot more! Have you guys listened to ‘Candy’? Did you notice the notes that Baekhyun passed were actually the lyrics of the song? All his songs were really good and his vocals are amazing! I’m still waiting for my Delight album to arrive and I’m super excited! Thank you guys all for waiting patiently, I’m so grateful for all my readers. I hope you are all doing well and are streaming ‘Candy’ hehe. Stay safe and have a lovely day! (*ˇωˇ*)

[falseroar]

Is This Your Card? Part 3: Special Delivery

((Conversation around the table is awkward enough before a strange package arrives with envelopes addressed to everyone in the house.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, this story swaps between Abe and the District Attorney, and this time it’s the DA’s turn.

Links to Part 1 and Part 2 here.))

There seemed to be genuine surprise in Damien’s voice when he greeted you, not that you could blame him. Ever since he discovered your invitation lying out on your desk last week and your less than enthusiastic response, he had been putting the same determined effort into making sure that you came as he put into everything else in his life, and you had been just as determined not to commit one way or the other.

If the Colonel hadn’t been standing at the door, you might have been tempted to turn back around and give some excuse later, but at least when you entered together it soon became clear that this would be nothing like Mark’s usual kind of party. That kind of overstimulation, especially with the full moon only two nights ago leaving your senses sharper and more sensitive than ever, would have been too much to bear.

When Mark leaned in close at the table and said, “You’ve barely touched your food, Y/N! Is something wrong?”, it was all you could do not to wince.

“I’m not hungry. Maybe that perfume you’re wearing killed my appetite.”

You meant it as a joke, especially when you couldn’t exactly tell him why you were avoiding picking up any of the silverware (Who actually had real silver silverware these days? Most of yours could barely be considered metal.), but half a second after the words left your mouth you realized that maybe they might not be taken that way.

But Mark just smiled and threw an arm around your shoulder, nearly pulling you half out of your seat in the process. “What, you don’t like my cologne? It was a gift!”

“Did you get a receipt?” you managed to gasp out without coughing. You couldn’t place the smell exactly, but there was a heady floral overtone that seemed to cling to your nose and the back of your throat with every breath, not helped by the suspicion that Mark must have bathed in the stuff. You pushed him off as he laughed.

On your other side, the Colonel made a small noise into his plate that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, but when you glanced his way he wasn’t smiling. While Mark turned to Damien and asked him something about a recent news article, you wondered if Mark and the Colonel had shared even a single word between them since he arrived.

Then again, they weren’t the only ones avoiding a conversation. You glanced at Abe, just in time to see the monster hunter’s eyes dart back down to his plate. You hadn’t seen the man in months, not since the case you two were forced to work together.

Not since he let on that he knew.

Not to say that there hadn’t been issues in the city that might have benefited from having an experienced hunter around, but Damien was keen to prove the local authorities could handle things after the fallout from when that story leaked out to the papers.

What were you supposed to say after something like that? What could you possibly talk about that wouldn’t drift toward topics you’d rather avoid around strangers, much less Mark?

You looked down at your food and realized you really weren’t hungry.

“Best not to force it,” the Colonel said, noting your expression. “A few bites of bread to keep the nausea down, and try again later, that’s what they used to tell us back when I was a private. Of course, that was usually because we were going into battle the next morning, or had just come out of a scrap.”

“You said you fought in Europe, correct?” you asked. It was hard to be sure, as the Colonel often jumped topics midsentence and you had yet to hear the end of one of his stories. “You mentioned the Rhineland, right? Isn’t that where…”

“The outbreak started, yes.” The Colonel shrugged. “Or one of the places, but it’s hard to tell where exactly, with how fast nasty stuff tended to spread in the trenches. Guy next to you starts coughing, and you can’t tell if it’s the fever or he’s about to turn and take a bite out of you.”

The Colonel took a bite out of his steak, which was so raw that a thin line of red dripped down his chin before he caught it with his napkin.

“Of course, that changed things a bit, and suddenly it didn’t matter what uniform the other guy was wearing so long as he still had a pulse.” The Colonel smiled, and you saw the flash of a wink behind his glasses. “Not exactly the way we wanted the fighting to end, but we routed those zombies, homo necrosis, from one side of the continent to the other. Why, there was this one time, in a little town up near Naples or maybe Paris, I always get those two mixed up—”

A knock at the door followed by the gong of the doorbell interrupted the Colonel, who seemed miffed at the distraction. Not as much as Mark, who watched the butler pass through the hall with a frown before recovering. “Not sure who that could be, but Benjamin will—”

“Uh, sir?”

And Mark’s smile was gone in a surprising rush of anger as he called back, “Tell whoever is at the door to go away! If it’s important, it can wait!”

There were voices at the door, both rising higher until the door shut with more force than necessary. Any thought that would be the end of it disappeared when Benjamin stepped into the doorway of the dining room, a small package in his hands.

“Sir, this is highly irregular, but the delivery person insisted this was to be delivered to you, at this time, in the presence of everyone in the house. I feared if I did not take the package, he would force his way into the house.”

“You’re joking,” Abe said, voicing the disbelief of the others. “What delivery company was he with?”

Benjamin shrugged. “A local one that we’ve used before without issue, although he wasn’t a driver I’ve met before. He was quite insistent sir, and taking the package seemed to be the only way to get rid of him. I assure you, I will have a conversation with the owner on Monday about this behavior.”

“This all sounds ridiculously melodramatic and pointless,” Mark said. He smiled. “So let’s do it. Benjamin, get the Chef.”

“Sir?”

“You said everyone in the house, that includes him.”

“Are you sure about this, Mark?” Damien asked while the butler did as he was told, but the actor only shrugged.

“It’s probably just a joke or a stunt from one production company or another looking to get me interested in some new project. And if it’s not, well, good to have some witnesses, am I right?”

Damien seemed doubtful at that, but before he could waste any more time trying to reason with Mark, the chef entered the room with a growl.

“What, one of you got a problem with my cooking?”

His glare seemed to find you in particular with your nearly full plate, and it was all you could do not to sink down in your chair. Earlier, you had barely even looked in the direction of the kitchen and he had threatened you with a ladle until the butler stepped in and given you a chance to escape.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Mark said, gesturing toward the empty chairs. “You two take a seat and we’ll see just what this mysterious sender thought was so important for us all to be here to see.”

You heard the butler explain the situation to the chef in a low murmur as they passed by, his voice almost drowned out by Abe asking, “Speaking of mysterious senders, there a name on that thing?”

“Just mine,” Mark said, turning the label so everyone could see before picking up his steak knife and using it to cut the tape. “Hm. Just a bunch of envelopes—Oh.”

Without any explanation, he pulled a stack of envelopes out and spread them out in the center of the table for all to see before tossing the empty box aside.

There were seven in all, each bearing a single word on their otherwise blank faces: Actor, Mayor, Colonel, Hunter, Attorney, Chef, Butler.

All of you stared down at the envelopes for a minute before the chef said, “Well, I’m the only Chef around here, so I’ll be taking that.”

He grabbed the envelope, and following his lead the other six were picked up, the rasp of paper filling the otherwise silent room as everyone looked inside to see what theirs contained.

You found two cards inside your own envelope, both identical in size, but while one appeared to be a Tarot card with an elaborate picture of a hooded figure bearing a weapon, your eyes were drawn to the other card, blank except for the one word typed on it: Werewolf.

Your pulse filled your ears as the room began to swim around you, barely able to register as Damien eventually said, “What is the meaning of this?”

Mark laughed, the sound startling you enough to look up and find that he was showing his own card to the table. “Looks like I drew Death. That’s not ominous at all, is it?”

Abe, whose eyes were bright while the blood seemed to have drained from his face, croaked out the words, “Is this a threat?”

“A joke, maybe,” the Colonel said, closing his envelope with a scowl. “A really bad one.”

“Oh, come now, don’t take it so seriously,” Mark said. “Y/N, let me see—”

Your protest came too late as he pulled the envelope from your hands and took out one of the cards to examine it before showing the rest of the table.

“See, Death just like me. We all got the same card, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Damien hesitated before speaking. “That’s not the card I received.”

He showed his Tarot card, revealing a regal figure seated on a throne, the letters below proclaiming “The Emperor.”

Beside him, Abe frowned but rather than show his card asked instead, “Did anyone else get a Death card?”

He looked around the table, but the other three shook their heads, the chef muttering that he didn’t even know what a "Hierophant" was.

“That’s…not the only thing concerning about this situation,” Benjamin said, but when all eyes turned on him, he paused before clearly changing his mind about what he meant to say. “Whoever sent this…bizarre package, knew who would be here tonight. Of course, the package was meant for Master Mark, and Chef and I are hardly surprising, but I took care to ensure no one outside of this room knew about this party.”

“Like anyone can keep secrets for long in this city,” Mark said, and you were not the only one at the table to flinch. “Come now, look at these faces! This is supposed to be a party, isn’t it? Benjamin, please, grab some drinks for our guests and join us. Chef, if you would—”

The chef snorted, his chair legs scraping as he stood and walked out of the room, his envelope crushed in his grip.

“Okay, you’re busy, I can see that,” Mark said, momentarily deflated. “I think the rest us are ready to have some fun with real cards, am I right?”

He stood, the others following suit, and you tried not to sound too urgent as you said, “Mark?”

“Hm?” He followed your gaze and smiled. “Right! Could make a good souvenir for the night, if nothing else.”

He handed both the Death card and envelope back to you, which you immediately shoved into a pocket before anyone else tried to take a closer look. You weren’t the only one to keep your envelope close as you saw Abe bury his deep within his jacket and Damien neatly fold the envelope around the silhouette of his card before tucking it away, while the Colonel absentmindedly put his in a random coat pocket. Even Mark, despite his dismissal of the whole thing, put his in a pocket of his robe, not that the thing seemed to have room for something like that.

When Benjamin followed the group into another room bearing a tray of glasses, you may have downed yours a little faster than you meant to. And maybe the next one as well.

You don’t remember the exact line when you went from buzzed to roaring drunk, although from the little you could recall of the night later, you weren’t alone on the journey. Said memories blurred together in a blend of alcohol, too loud music, and laughter, as each round of poker grew more ridiculous than the last until the cards lay forgotten, the party roaming through the house in a blur of images that you still had trouble piecing together after the fact.

Why did Abe and the Colonel both bring a gun to a poker party? What could have possibly possessed them to think it was okay to start waving them around, comparing pros and cons of their models while they were so drunk they could barely stand?

Speaking of stand, who knew Damien still had it in him to do a keg stand like that?

Did you really flip off the butler?

Why?

Not that you didn’t think he probably deserved it, even if you weren’t sure of the reason, just as part of you suspected you might have partially deserved the punch from the monster hunter that sent you sprawling later.

You remembered Damien’s concerned face close to your own, his words lost under the overwhelming music and the darkness quickly swooping in, and the only thing after that was the relief of your body hitting a bed, your blurred eyes just making out the time on the clock before you gave in to sleep: 1:30 A.M.

You tried not to drink much, and especially never to let yourself get as drunk as last night, and you remembered why that was when you woke up and realized you were in the shape of a wolf.

((End of Part 3. I hope you all don’t mind the big deviation from the original WKM story with the cards. I just thought they’d add a little extra twist/mystery to the story, and it kind of grew from there.

Link to Part 4.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate @missksketch ))