#it is alright i was not beating any records either way it was an easy (4) song and i had already messed up as this is new to me

[femmefaggot]

the dreaded "notification during a rhythm game"

[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home : Chapter 26

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: When your order for spider repellent finally comes you have to go into town to get it, but what happens when your solo trip turns into you bringing not one, but three, of the Guardians with you into town?

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: For my records this chapter ends on day 76 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!

Word Count: 6,992

There was only just enough time for you to register the color blue in the dim light before your would-be punching victim grabbed your wrist to block the blow and in one fluid motion had you spun facing away from them with your arm pinned behind your back. Soon followed the same gruff voice, which you now realized to be Yondu's, saying, "Alright, easy now-"

The two of you stood there for a moment with him pinning your arm firmly behind your back, your breath coming in quick bursts as your heart threatened to launch itself from your chest.

He spoke again. "For yer benefit I'm gonna assume that ya didn't mean that," he was clearly referring to you nearly sucker punching him, "-which is the only reason you're still standing. Now, if I let you go are ya gonna behave?"

Wordlessly, you nod.

"Alright then. I'm gonna let you go and you can explain yourself."

He released your arm and you slowly turn to face him, your gaze not quite meeting his. "Sorry." you say quietly. Then, slightly more loudly, "Did you need something?"

"Well, I was a little curious as to why ya just ran out the house like that, but now I kinda wanna know why ya just tried to knock my block off."

Your face began to grow hot. You had been in such a hurry you hadn't noticed anyone else on your way out. Then again, you hadn't been looking too hard either. Furthermore, what could you say? That you were running away from some spiders? You didn't think you could bring yourself to admit it.

"I- um," your gaze fell to the ground, "Did anyone else see?" you asked, declining to answer why you just swung at him. Again, what would even say?

Yondu let a short laugh out his nose. "Nah, pretty sure I was the only one. Surprised you didn't see me, I was right there in the hall." After a beat he spoke again, "Now come on. Out with it."

Unsure if he still meant why you ran out, or why you about hit him, you reply, "Nothing. What do you care for?" Crossing your arms over your chest, you continue to look anywhere but towards him.

"Just curious. People usually don't run out of a place like that unless something's wrong. Thought I'd investigate to make sure you weren't chasing after something or need backup. Then I find ya hiding behind the shed and ya just tried to knock my block off and so now I figure something must be goin' on with ya."

"I don't want to talk about it," you say sullenly, your face growing hotter.

"Why? It can't be any worse than any of what you've already told me."

Finally meeting his gaze you offer nothing more than a glare.

He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Alright. Don't tell me then. I also won't tell you about that spider crawling in your hair either."

It had just been a joke- just some good-natured ribbing- but it didn't take long to he realized he fucked up.

No sooner than those words left his lips you reacted very badly, jumping out of your skin and immediately batting at your hair to get the alleged spider off of you. Then you half-collapse onto the wall of the shed and begin quietly sobbing.

He simply stared at you a moment, too stunned to speak. Something was very wrong. It was finally clear you weren't just being moody- but fuck- what should he do?

"Um, hey now..." he said awkwardly, eyes wide.

You didn't respond. Just continued to sob, unable to stop, your cries muffled behind your hands.

"Come on now- I didn't mean anythin' by it," Yondu tried again.

Still, you didn't acknowledge him.

He debated if he should try and nudge you or something, or if that might result in you swinging at him again. Damn. He hated seeing people cry. He needed it to stop. But what should he do? Walk away? Shake some sense into you?

Eventually he rolled his eyes and sighed before saying, "Aw hell, come here-" as he grabbed you and pulled you into a tight bear hug.

Apparently it worked. The shock of it all- combined with the fact he practically knocked the wind out of you- startled you into silence mid-sob.

"What... are you doing?" you asked after several moments, confusion evident in your voice.

"Had to make ya stop somehow, and slapping ya just seemed kinda mean seein' as ya were already crying." There was an edge of humor to his voice that almost made you crack a smile yourself. He spoke up again after a moment. "So, ya done now?"

You sniff and nodded your head the best you could despite being squished up against his chest.

"Alright. I'm gonna let ya go... again... and then I want ya to tell me what this is all about."

He could feel you slump in defeat, but let you go anyway.

Once free, you took a step back and looked at the ground, wrapping your arms around yourself.

"Well?"

"It's- I don't... I mean- ugh." You covered your face with your hands. You just didn't know how to say it, so eventually you settled for. "It was just a rough day."

"Just 'a rough day,' huh?"

You nod, still not looking at him.

Yondu frowned, but said, "Well, it ain't gonna get any better standing out here in the cold. Ya ain't even got any shoes on. Come on." He gestured you back in the house.

You finally look up at him, but instead of following, you stiffened.

Yondu furrowed his brow. "What?"

You again looked down in shame. "I-... I can't." you said quietly.

He raised an eyebrow and looked towards the house in confusion before turning back to you. "What do ya mean ya 'can't??'"

With a groan you look toward the sky. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to say a word to anyone else." Returning your gaze back to Yondu you finish with a, "Understand?"

Yondu chuckles shortly. "Sure, whatever ya say." Finally- maybe you'd finally tell him what this all was about.

It takes you a few moments, but you finally manage to get out a quiet, "There are spiders in my bed."

He raised an eyebrow, his face a mixture of confusion and amusement. "That's it? Ya found a spider in yer bed, and it sent ya runnin' for the hills?"

You frown at him, then mutter that there were, in fact, two spiders in your bed.

"Ah, two spiders. I see."

From the sound of his voice it was clear he was holding back a laugh, and you frown at him.

Yondu crossed his arms. "Well you'd oughtta know that I'd find that at least a little funny, considering..."

A sigh left your nose. Of course you knew he was referring to the fake spider you had hid in Peter's bed awhile back, and that Yondu had confiscated in an attempt to stop you and Peter from pranking each other. The irony wasn't lost on you either. Didn't make you any happier about your situation, though. "Not helping."

"Are ya asking?"

"What?" You raise an eyebrow.

"Are ya asking?" He says again, almost grinning. "Are ya asking me to help ya with yer little problem."

You stammered a bit, unsure what to say. Of course you weren't! Were you? Should you? Absolutely not- you weren't a child... and yet...

With a short laugh Yondu claps a hand on your shoulder and pushes you toward the house. "Understood. Ya need someone to come squish some creepy crawlies for ya."

You pull away. "No- No I never said that."

"Didn't need to." Yondu said with a grin. "It's all over yer face. Don't worry, I won't tell nobody... long as ya make it worth it."

You narrow your eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nuttin much... Let's just say you'll owe me a favor and we'll call it even."

"What... kind of favor?" you ask, hesitantly.

"Well that's for me to know when the time comes. Do ya want my help or not?"

By now most of your adrenaline was wearing off and you were starting to feel the cold. He was right, you couldn't just stay out here all night- especially without any shoes or jacket. However, at the same time you knew you couldn't go back inside to your bed if those spiders were still in it. Damn it. You knew you were going to have to take his offer.

"Fine. Just... don't make it obvious. Please." Eyes squinting, you search him for any signs that he intended to trick or embarrass you, but you couldn't quite read him.

He didn't answer you either, just motioned you towards the house with that half-grin.

Letting out a silent breath, you finally start to make your way back toward the house, hoping to get it over with a soon as possible.

Once inside it was quiet. It appeared that no one noticed at all that you had even left the house let alone what transpired outside. You didn't peek inside the sitting room door as you approached the staircase, but it seemed the TV had been shut off and you heard someone utter the words "draw four," which told you the others were possibly wrapped in game of cards, which at least let you know they were otherwise occupied.

Yondu and you quietly made your way upstairs to your room, and once there, you hesitated at the door. Yondu simply grinned and shook his head, but entered first anyway, you slowly following behind him after a quick glance around to make sure you were alone upstairs.

Once you were both in the room Yondu glanced over your slightly disheveled bed before nodding, seeing that two spiders were indeed still in your bed. Quietly, but not in a whisper, he says, "These here, I take it?"

You nod.

Shaking his head with an amused grin he got down to business. A sharp whistle pierced the air, summoning his arrow and spearing both of the giant feckers in one go before catching the weapon in his fist. He stood there, admiring his kill stuck upon his arrow.

"They bite?" he asked, curious as to why you harbored such animosity towards these little critters in particular.

You shake your head. "Not really," you answer. They could, but you knew they rarely did. Even if they did they weren't poisonous, for that matter.

"Then why is it ya hate them so bad for?"

You frown at him. You knew it was irrational, but that didn't matter. What mattered now is that they were gone.

Yondu didn't mind your lack of answer, and didn't have time to press the matter further as the sound of footsteps could be heard making their way quickly to the stairs from below before Peter could then be heard somewhat apprehensively calling up from the bottom.

"Um Yondu..." he called, letting a pause linger after as if he were unsure. "We heard a whistle- Like a really familiar whistle... I really hope no one's being threatened with an arrow up there... We noticed that it's just you and the Agent that aren't accounted for..."

"Quit yer worryin,' boy! I was just getting some target practice!" Yondu hollered back down.

"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence about what I just asked!" Peter called back up, sounding a little more worried now.

"Everything's fine," you think to answer back, forcing a laugh into your voice. "Looks like he just took out some spiders."

"Ok..." Peter responds. "If that changes let us know..."

"Come on now!" Yondu scolded, seemingly jokingly. "I'm insulted. Thinkin' I'd just go whippin' out my arrow and be terrorizin' a lady for no reason!"

"Don't give me that!" Peter called up. "I've seen what you do when you're bored!"

Yondu actually looked genuinely offended by that, and with another whistle his arrow took off again and it was seconds before Peter could be heard screaming like a little girl, quickly followed by him scolding Yondu that he 'could have at least cleaned the spider guts off it first!'

Admittedly you had to fight a grin, and Yondu was pleased to see it as he called back his arrow, Peter seemingly having retreated back to the sitting room to rejoin the others after yelling back a final, "Dickhead!" He either ignored, or had been given too much a fright to notice, that the arrow had come out of your bedroom.

The spiders were now gone off the tip of his arrow, but you chose to ignore it as he went to holster it. You could deal with the corpses later- you didn't mind so much if they were dead and you had a dustpan.

Yondu happened to glance over at the bed once his arrow was in its place and noticed he had sliced a clean cut in your bedsheets when he speared the spiders. He gestured to it and said with a half-apologetic chuckle, "Looks like we got a casualty."

You shook your head and told him not to worry about it, but stopped him just as he was turning to leave.

"Um, thank you," you mutter awkwardly, rubbing the back of your head.

He simply grinned back at you cockily and replied, "Just a simple transaction is all. Pleasure to be doing business." With that, he turned and left.

His footsteps sounded down the stairs and you turned to look at your bed before carefully reaching to gingerly pull back your blanket, momentarily wondering if you should have asked him to stay longer just in case you found more, but ultimately knowing you would have felt like even more of a child if you had.

Luckily you found no more, but you did completely strip your bed of it's sheets and remade it with fresh ones, throwing the ones the spiders had spoiled with their presence in your hamper to be washed in the morning. Again, you knew it was irrational, but there was no way you'd be able to bring yourself to sleep in that bed with sheets you knew recently had spiders crawling in them.

This also meant you now needed to go upstairs to the attic to fetch a spare blanket, seeing as yours was also now in the hamper to be washed.

Climbing the attic stairs you couldn't help but also wonder what exactly Yondu would call in for his favor, and if you might come to regret this "transaction," or not. To late for that now, you supposed. All you knew know was that as soon as you retrieved a blanket you were hitting the showers and going straight to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.

* * *

Luckily, the next few days were relatively smooth sailing.

Nearly the first thing you did when you woke up the next morning was to think to order some spider repellent online. Fast shipping of course.

All you had to do in the meantime was wait. Fortunately the spiders seemed to be giving you a break for now. What you didn't know, however, was that the reason for this was largely due to Yondu quietly running any he saw through with his arrow under the guise of target practice and boredom if anyone else noticed. Of course he never mentioned it to you. In fact, he'd barely seen you since that night aside from when you'd come up to him when no one else was around to ask him about that favor you now owed him, only for him to flippantly tell you that he'd figure it out later.

Groot might have possibly eaten a couple spiders as well when he was able to evade Rocket's eye. But that was less for your benefit and more because he wanted a snack.

When the morning came that you got the notification that your spider spray was waiting for you at the post office you quickly readied yourself to go back into town.

Your intent was to slip out quietly, but you were surprised by Mantis speaking up from behind you as you were slipping on your jacket.

"Are you leaving?"

You jolt, not expecting to hear her, and turned only to be surprised to see her wearing a pout. Raising an eyebrow, you answer, "Um, yeah. Just gotta run to the post real quick. Did you need something?"

"I want to see the Terran town! Can I go? Pleeease?"

"Oh-" You blinked, puzzled. She had never expressed interest in going before, at least not that you had noticed? Come to think of it, would that really even be the best idea? People would definitely start staring at her completely black eyes and those antennae...

Wincing slightly, you notice Peter and Gamora walking into the hall, and speak up so they might hear. "You're wanting to go into town, Mantis?" You weren't sure what they'd do, but you hoped they might see the impending bad idea and talk her out of it instead.

"Yes!" She gestured over to Peter, who had now stopped to exchange glances with Gamora upon hearing you. "Peter and Kraglin have gotten to go into town so many times! I want to see too!" She now dropped her pout in favor of excitement, and you were now worried she had mistook your question for an offer.

"Did I hear my name?" Kraglin asked, entering the hall from the kitchen.

Mantis nodded. "Yes! You and Peter got to go with the Agent into town many times. I'm going this time!"

Gamora meets your gaze and she seems to be on the same page as you. "Um, Mantis... I'm not sure-"

Kraglin interrupts, clueless. "Ya better hope the Agent has a hat to cover your feelers there, Mant."

Mantis looks confused, but then Peter chimes in before her feelings even have a chance to be hurt. "Yeah, gotta remember we're undercover."

Now Mantis grins wide and turns back to you excitedly. "Do you have a hat!?"

You just stood there a minute. Blinking. Part of you was annoyed they had seemingly made the decision without you. The other part was surprised that you hadn't thought of covering her with a hat in the first place- after all, you had made Peter wear sunglasses the first time he went into town with you, which wouldn't be too bad an idea in this case too now that you thought of it... Wait- what were you saying? You couldn't take her into town! You've seen how easily distracted she can be-

But damn it- that face! You knew you couldn't say no now. Begrudgingly you reply, "I think I might have something in the attic."

Mantis squealed excitedly as you glide your gaze over to Gamora and Peter. For a moment you wondered why she was looking at Peter that way before she met your gaze again somewhat apologetically and you immediately knew what she was about to say next despite you narrowing your eyes warningly.

"Perhaps Peter should go too?" She glanced back at Peter. "Give Agent a break while she runs her errands?"

You continue to glare at her as Peter shrugs and says he won't argue with a chance to get out of here for a bit. Damn it. You knew she likely just wanted some space again and found an out to get some. You attempted to curb your annoyance with the silver lining that this was further proof that she truly hadn't taken Rocket's words to heart when he pulled that stunt of trying to convince her you were gonna steal Peter.

Then, on cue, Yondu walks through from the sitting room towards the kitchen, only to clap Kraglin on the shoulder and say, "Ya should probably go with 'em too then, Krags. Quill may be watching Bug for the Agent, but who's gonna watch him?"

Yondu laughed as Peter protested the insult, and as you turned your glare to him he threw you a wink right before disappearing into the kitchen. Clearly he had heard the previous conversion happening and simply wished to stir the pot. Bastard.

Taking a deep breath, you state you're going to check the attic real quick for a hat that might work for Mantis. Maybe you'd take your time, figure out how a trip alone turned into you now bringing three people with you. You tell the others to get ready to leave while you look as you turn to head upstairs.

It didn't take you too long to find a hat. There had happened to be one hanging on an old coat rack near the top of the attic stairs. Only thing was it wasn't exactly... subtle. It was an old wide-brimmed sunhat that you think might have belonged to your mother, but you weren't sure. All you know is that you had never even bothered to wear it to play dress-up as a kid, which is probably the only reason it was still in decent condition with as old as it'd have to be.

Without bothering to look around for anything a little less... noticeable... you grabbed the hat, beat off the dust, and headed back downstairs. The faster you'd get all this over with the better. You were just going to pop in and grab your package after all. How much trouble could they possibly get into?

You return downstairs and find that Gamora had left, leaving Peter, Kraglin, and Mantis waiting for you in the hall. She was already wearing the sunglasses and beaming excitedly over how she'd finally get a turn to leave the house. Someone, likely Peter, had already managed to locate them and gave them to her. However, unlike Peter who had put on his jacket and Kraglin who was currently slipping his poncho over his head, Mantis didn't appear to have anything of the sort. When you questioned this, as it wasn't very warm out, she informed you that she didn't have one.

You frowned and handed over the hat, which she put on gleefully. "Wait here a minute. I'll grab you something." And back up the stairs you went, knowing that you had a cardigan or two in your dresser. You pulled out a brown one and went back downstairs to hand it to her. "Ok, now is everyone ready?"

Mantis nodded excitedly as the other two shrugged their affirmatives. They, of course, were happy to get out of the house for a change, but they were no where near as excited as Mantis.

With a sigh, you motion them out the door and off you went.

* * *

Mantis was a chatterbox the whole way into town. She gushed over the trees as you drove past, and pointed out every animal she spotted- mostly livestock- and asked what they were from the back seat.

Admittedly it was a little endearing, her innocent excitement. She didn't even ask "Are we there yet?" throughout the long ride, too enamored with the scenery to care.

Mantis gasped when you finally approached the town, right before she joyously squealed that she was finally getting to see a Terran town. You couldn't help but grin at her enthusiasm as you pulled into a parking spot at the post office.

Rightfully assuming she'd want to come inside to ogle the post office interior, you didn't even bother asking if the others wanted to come inside or stay in the car. Hell, Mantis had practically jumped out before you even parked.

...And started off down the street.

"Mantis!" you yell, causing her to immediately turn around, nearly losing her hat as she done so. "Don't run off, I don't want you getting lost."

"Oh-" Mantis said, before nodding her head with a smile and coming back to rejoin the group and following you into the building.

There was no line today, which you took as a blessing. Wouldn't have to worry about too many people gawking at your housemates as Mantis busied herself ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the postcards in her out of season sunhat and sunglasses getup while Peter and Kraglin watched over her fondly as they glanced over some old magazines, waiting on you to retrieve your package.

Within a few minutes the woman behind the counter handed you over the box with your spider repellent and you thanked her before turning back to the others and gesturing them to follow you out.

The second the four of you were out Mantis piped up asking excitedly where you'd all be going next.

Truthfully, you had only planned to grab your package and head back home, but something about the excitement on her face made you preemptively feel bad to disappoint her. Before you could decide what to do, Mantis announced she spotted some flowers in a window box and then promptly stepped into the street, right in front of an oncoming car.

Luckily Peter was quicker than you in that moment and snatched her back before anything bad could happen, though the driver of the car did yell some choice words at her as he drove by. Mantis wasn't even phased, though Peter did scold her for walking out in front of a car. Perhaps it was good he and Kraglin came after all…

With a stern look you tell Mantis and the others to get in the car before someone actually did get run over.

Sensing that you were displeased with what just happened, Mantis didn't argue, but that didn't stop her from asking again what they could see next.

You thought for a moment... what could it really hurt to stay in town for just a little longer?

"Say, what do you guys think about bringing pizza back for dinner?"

"I mean, I'm game," Peter replies for the other two, "but the cheese might be a problem..."

"Ah shit, right. I forgot about Yondu." you say, frowning, but then a light bulb goes off in your brain. "Oh wait- I can't believe I didn't think of this before! There's medicine for lactose intolerance. We can pick it up right from the shop."

Kraglin raised an eyebrow. "Lactose intolerance? I thought it was that 'dairy' stuff he couldn't have? The hell is 'lactose?'"

"Yes- I mean, lactose intolerance is just what they call it when you can't have dairy. Look-" you shake your head as if waving off the conversation, "If you guys want to try pizza we can pick him up some of that medicine so he can have it too, or we can not do that. Your choice."

Mantis and Kraglin look at Peter for his opinion as he would presumably know if this 'pizza' was worth trying, and so he shrugs and nods. "Sure," he says, the other two deciding to nod with him, Mantis smiling wide- obviously excited to try some new Terran food.

"Alright. We'll stop by the shop first and pick up the medicine. There's this one pizza shop nearby that should be good for carry out."

With no arguments from anyone, you set off for the shop.

Mantis behaved liked an excited toddler. She ran off no fewer than 4 times in what was supposed to be a short visit to just grab some over the counter lactose intolerance medication. Sure, it was still a little endearing to see someone clearly so happy and excited to see so many new things, but also a little exhausting since Peter and Kraglin didn't seemed too concerned with her running all over the place. Some help they were.

You finally check out - with a few extra items like soda and napkins alone with the medicine - and get everyone rounded back up in the car to head off towards the pizza shop.

When you get there you figured three large pizzas would be more than enough to feed everyone, and let the other's look at the menu to decide what they wanted to try and what they thought the others would eat.

In the end the order wound up being one pepperoni and peppers (mostly to have a safe choice), one vegetation with peppers, tomato, mushrooms, and onions, with pineapple and sweet corn on half (Mantis insisted she wanted to try that, and you supposed she could pick them off when she realized that wasn't a great idea), and one loaded up with meats like pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon, and even chicken (they figured that would be more enjoyed by Rocket, and probably also easiest to be filling for Drax.)

The place wasn't very busy at the moment, but it still would take a little bit for them to make the pizzas, so you decide to take the others outside to walk about while you wait.

Just like with the post office and the grocery shop, Mantis was amazed with everything, even though you personally didn't see anything particularly special about most of it. Then again, you were used to all of it. To her this was a completely new place. Again, endearing, but increasingly exhausting trying to keep up with her.

Exhausting to the point that you took a moments pause and looked over at Peter who was just chatting to Kraglin with a blasé attitude. "How do you guys keep up with her?" you ask, a littler perturbed that they weren't help keep track of her as was supposed to be their reason for coming. Well, Peter's anyway. You supposed Kraglin was technically holding up his end since he was staying with Peter, though you knew that whole "If Peter's watching Mantis, who's gonna watch him?" was just Yondu messing around.

Peter shrugged. "We mostly don't. I mean, she's never gotten lost before. She always turns back up sooner or later."

Well that explained why they didn't seem too concerned that she kept running off.

You simply sigh in response and look back in the direction you last saw her, only to see that unlike each time she'd wandered before, this time you had completely lost sight of her.

Eyes wide, you get Peter's attention again. "She's gone."

"Don't worry so much. She'll turn back up. She always does."

You scoff at him and turn to look all around you. You couldn't see her anywhere for a good thirty seconds before finally spotting her by her hat down an alleyway across the street. "Shit. You two stay right here, I'm gonna go grab her."

Not waiting for an answer you took off, quickly avoiding cars as you crossed the street towards Mantis. You were glad it wasn't dark yet, unless you counted the storm clouds that had started moving in on an otherwise overcast day. Last thing you would need was for the sky to open up before you all got back to the pizza shop. But no time for worrying about that now, because you just fully noticed where Mantis was walking.

She was heading toward what appeared to be a white, unmarked van, and you didn't like the looks of it. It was parked at the back of the alley where the alleyway turned, and you could only see the back half, as the front half was obscured by a building.

Rarely does something good ever come from an unmarked van. Especially in an alley. You knew from experience, both from working jobs where you had to find people who used them to kidnap the vulnerable, and from working jobs were you were the one inside the van, tracking those who might do harm. Sure, you might have been the good guy, but what happened to the assholes wasn't exactly nice for them either.

"Mantis!" you call out, picking up the pace, but she doesn't seem to hear you. So, you start jogging as Mantis continued getting closer to the van. You call out her name again, but again, nothing. Damn it. Switching to a full run, you notice the back lights turn on, like someone had just turned the ignition key. If there was someone unsavory in there and they grabbed her they could take off down the rest of the alley and you'd never catch them. What if they were traffickers? What if the people after the Guardians had found them and they were stalking them in that van?

Ok, so maybe you were catastrophizing, but better safe than sorry.

You finally catch up to Mantis and grab her, startling her as you jerked her away from the van. As you start pulling her back in the direction that you came the van pulls away. Perhaps this wasn't 'one of those vans' after all, but still. You had every right to be worried.

"Didn't you hear me call you?"

"No- I'm sorry!" She winced, knowing she messed up. "I didn't mean to run off again- there was just this pretty insect and I didn't want to lose it!"

Whatever the insect had been, it was long gone now, but your anger wasn't. "You just can't keep running off like that. You could have gotten lost. And don't ever go near an unmarked van, do you hear me?" Your tone was harsh, scolding.

"Sorry," Mantis replied, nodding. She looked sad from getting yelled at, but you willed yourself to ignore it.

The two of you were quiet for a moment after, you just focused on getting her back to the others, before Mantis spoke up again. "Agent? Why were you afraid?"

"What? I wasn't afrai-" It was then you realized you were still holding her hand, and you promptly let go of it. "Thought we talked about you not doing that without asking," you scold, irritated.

Mantis apologized again. "I didn't mean to- I promise! You startled me and I just... sort of did it on instinct?"

You toss her a quick glance and see she genuinely just looks so sad to have disappointed you that you can't bring yourself to stay angry. Irritation now softened, you just repeat what you said earlier, "Never go near an unmarked van, 'kay? They're just not safe." You hoped she wouldn't ask why, as you weren't sure you cared to explain just what sort of horrible things you'd seen them be used for in the past.

She didn't. Mantis simply nods and the rest of the short walk back was silent. You considered texting Maria about the van so they could look into it just in case, but if it turned out to be nothing or wasn't even actually 'unmarked' (since you only saw the back half of one side) you didn't want the fallback, so you didn't.

When the two of you reached Peter and Kraglin you suggested that you all head back to the pizza shop to wait. They got the hint that you needed to cool down a little and so didn't speak much on the way back. Even Mantis restrained herself from her former excited antics, walking quietly beside Peter with her head down, and honestly you were starting to feel bad for yelling at her. Yes, she needed to be more careful, but she was just excited.

The pizzas were ready pretty much as soon as you walked through the door, and after paying you and walking to the car you asked Mantis if she wanted to be charged with the task of holding the pizzas on the way home. She seemed to perk up a bit at having been given a job, and you cracked at smile when she remarked how warm they were in her lap.

Mantis was less excited on the way home, and at first you thought she was still sad, but a glance backward made you smile when you realized the reason for her silence was that she had fallen asleep.

You guessed the heat from the pizza boxes combined with the rain that was now coming down around you, was just cozy enough to put her to sleep.

The rain had mostly let up by the time you got home and after Peter woke Mantis and brought the pizza's inside, you placed the pizzas in the oven to heat them back up a bit before eating, as the ride from town to home wasn't exactly short.

While you waited you presented Yondu with the lactose intolerance medicine.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at the bottle.

"It's something to keep you from shitting yourself to death after eating dinner," you reply cheekily.

Yondu narrowed his eyes at you.

"It's up to you though. You can always find something else to eat if you don't trust it."

He could smell the food, and it actually smelled pretty good. He also didn't feel like making something else for himself if there was already food made, so he shrugged his shoulders and took a dose. "This better work," he said, washing it down with some water.

"Yeah, for all our sakes," Peter quipped from behind the two of you, earning a glare from Yondu before exiting the kitchen with Kraglin and Mantis to tell the others you guys brought food back.

Now that it was just the two of you, you thought to ask, "Um, if it does work, I don't suppose this will count towards whatever favor I owe you?"

Yondu just laughed and shook his head before leaving the kitchen.

"I guess I should have expected that..." you say after him in response, slightly cringing at how obvious you were making it that you were nervous about what he might ask for in return for his 'services.' You weren't used to owing other people. It felt weird.

* * *

Dinner went pretty well.

Everyone enjoyed the pizza, even Yondu who'd made the previous complaint that 'Terrans put that 'dairy shit' in everything.' And surprisingly to you, Mantis actually didn't wind up pulling the pineapple or sweet corn off her pizza. Neither did Kraglin, who also had some of that half of the pie. More power to them, you supposed.

On the flip side, unsurprisingly Groot didn't eat much, considering his tiny size. He mostly picked the toppings off one of Rocket's slices. Or was it his own slice? You couldn't tell. All you knew was Rocket put two slices on one plate and sat Groot down with him on the countertop where Groot ate the toppings off the slice Rocket left on the plate and Rocket finished off the slice when Groot had his fill of the toppings.

Also, luckily for everyone, the lactose intolerance medicine worked for Yondu. Well, mostly.

You all weren't run out of the house like the previous incidents, but every so often throughout the evening as you were winding down in your room you could hear Kraglin loudly complaining and Yondu laughing from their bedroom across the hall, each time preceded by fart noises. You couldn't help but laugh and be grateful that the smell didn't waft over to your side of the hall, and that your door was also closed if it did.

Mantis was holding back giggles as well when Kraglin could be heard proclaiming that he was gonna go sleep in Drax and Rocket's room after the third or fourth time. Yondu was only heard laughing in response and making some quip about having the room to himself.

The two of you shared a look and you could tell she no longer thought you were mad at her for running off earlier, and you were glad. It made you feel better knowing she was no longer sad about the situation, but you still took the time then to apologize for yelling at her, and in turn she apologized for running off so many times.

All in all, the day seemed like a success to you. Nothing truly bad happened in town, no one argued at dinner, and you sprayed the house down with the spider repellent that evening so it was very unlikely you'd be finding anymore spiders in your bed anytime soon.

Speaking of spraying the repellent, it seemed Gamora had either convinced the others to tidy up around the house while you were gone, or she had done so herself as perhaps a thank you for agreeing to take Peter into town to give her some space, because you noticed the house definitely seemed cleaner than you left it as you went about spraying in the corners and windows with the repellent. You made a mental note to thank her in the morning.

You were in a pretty good mood, all things considered. Much better than the other day when you nearly punched Yondu in the face.

And with the house already seemingly cleaned, the only thing really left to do was to think about what you wanted to do tomorrow, but now that you thought about it, there wasn't really anything pressing that needed done. You could maybe try and take some time to do an inspection of that tunnel like you had been meaning to? Or you could just take a day to just do nothing? Spend the day outside, taking a walk through the woods while you can before the weather really starts getting colder?

Oh wait- Fury should be coming tomorrow for another check-in and restock. Guess that means both a day-long walk or tunnel inspection are out of the question. You should really be around and available when he shows up- whatever time that could wind up being. One of these times he's probably going to come at midnight just to keep you on your toes.

Although, thinking about it some more, it has been a few days since you played the remote prank on Peter... that should be able to keep you plenty entertained while you wait for Fury and Maria to come and go.

You should see about getting the remote back from Rocket tomorrow.

[jasonscaramel]

i guess only the stars would know the truth - chapter three - jason todd x reader

series summary: you transfer into gotham university's journalism program. simultaneously, people are going missing in gotham at record rates. it's only a matter of time before your curiosity gets the best of you.

words: 3.4k

cross-posted on ao3 | series masterlist

In comparison to how early you usually are, you’re running really late.

The first few weeks had lulled you into a false sense of security, and now you’re floundering a little. It’s like your workload has picked up tenfold, so the adjustment period has gotten a little bit longer. You’re not behind, just struggling to keep equilibrium. It’ll pass, you know it will, but you still feel like the epitome of flustered as you speed walk the remaining distance to campus.

You thankfully are only a few minutes late to class, giving Tim a sympathetic smile as you settle in.

“You didn’t really miss anything. She’s about to explain the group project,” Tim whispers in your direction, and you lean in to whisper back.

“Right on time. Thanks.” He nods in reply, and your attention goes back to the professor.

So you sit, willing your beating heart to settle as you listen to the professor outline the parameters of the project. A pitch presentation, which is easy enough. Just a quick turnaround time. That does mean, however, that you’ll a) need a partner and b) need to work on this outside of class.

You’re thankful that you’ve befriended Tim because now you have a built-in partner. You wonder what he’ll suggest for working outside of class. There are plenty of spaces on campus to go, but you wouldn’t exactly have peace and quiet. You’re not exactly ready to offer up your apartment, either, so you’re not in the position to be picky.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Tim slip you a piece of paper. You grab it and slide it closer.

Wanna work together?

You can’t help your grin as you write back a yes!

Tim slides the paper back over so he can scribble for a moment.

My place later ok?

You nod, and he takes that as confirmation enough and wads up the small scrap of paper. You both return to listening to the lecture.

//

“God can she talk,” you mumble under your breath as you exit the class, Tim trailing behind you. He laughs in agreement, dodging a few people walking in the opposite direction to lead the way.

“No kidding. Alright, follow me. Cars waiting.” He began walking through the sea of people before you could ask any more questions, so you did your best to keep up with him.

When you get to the carpool line, you wonder what kind of car you’re about to get into. What you’re not expecting is Tim to make a beeline for the nicest car in the entire parking lot that had a hired driver sitting in the front seat.

As you began the drive, you realized there was no walking to Tim’s house. It made for a pretty long drive from campus, tucked away from the city.

You also realized that “house” is a complete understatement.

As the car pulls up, you begin to understand why you’re in a goddamn town car. The place is giant; Tim is loaded. Like, more money than god loaded. You’re trying not to stare or let your jaw hang on the floor, but it feels a bit involuntary at this point. You don’t think you’ve ever seen so much wealth in one space. This place rivals the castles you’ve seen on television.

Thankfully, Tim seems to be understanding, giving you a small, tight-lipped smile as the car is put in park. You pause, waiting for Tim to make the first move. He throws open his door and you follow suit, hoping to whatever god out there that you don’t make a total fool of yourself once you go inside.

The thought doesn’t leave you as he opens the door to the… mansion. If you thought the outside was extravagant, the inside is ostentatious. As you follow Tim through the hallways, you note that any one piece of decor in this home would pay off your rent for a good two years.

This is nuts.

“We’re, uh, gonna work in the library. That cool with you?” Tim asks, stopping by a set of shut double doors. You nod, not trusting your voice, and haul open one of the doors. He leads you to a large table surrounded by even larger bookshelves, putting his stuff down before returning to the doors. He props one of them open as you settle in, pulling out your old Macbook to get started.

“You know…” Tim sounds hesitant, and you look up at him, urging him to finish. “It’s okay if this is all… strange to you. I didn’t exactly prep you beforehand.”

A large breath of air escapes you in a dramatic sigh. “Oh, thank fuck. Seriously, dude, I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything, I’ve just never been somewhere this… fancy.”

Tim chuckles, and you can’t help but join him. It doesn’t feel like he’s making fun of you; it feels like he understands where you’re coming from. “No, don’t worry. You’re not being an asshole. I kinda forget you’re new around here, that’s why I didn’t explain anything.” He takes a deep breath, steeling himself for what he’s about to say next.

“I, uh, was the same way when I got here. I’d never seen anything so… extravagant. It-”

“It’s kinda irritating, isn’t it?” Tim is cut off by another man’s voice, and your head whips up to find the source. An extremely tall, broad-shouldered, gorgeous man stands leaning on the doorway, a cheeky smile on his face. A scar frames his pretty face and striking green eyes, and as your eyes trail further you see long sleeves that cover most of his tanned skin. Jesus, what is in the water at this place? You can’t seem to find your voice, so Tim speaks for you.

“Jason, we’re doing a group project, can you—”

Jason, a cocky smile still plastered on his face, holds up his hands in surrender as he interrupts Tim. “Not here to bug you. Swear. Just came to grab something.” He disappears behind a bookshelf, reappearing only moments later with two books held in one of his pretty, giant hands.

Not like you’re staring, or anything.

“Good to meet you, by the way.” He walks over to the table, extending his free hand out to you. “I’m Jason.” You reach for his hand, shaking it and giving him your name in return. The smile on his face only brightens, your hands refusing to let go.

Tim clears his throat, and you’re both reminded that he is, in fact, in the room with you. You drop Jason’s hand as your face grows hot. If possible, his smile grows.

“See ya later.” Jason waves on his way out, and you secretly hope you run into him again before you leave.

It was hard to focus after that. Tim didn’t say anything further about Jason, so you didn’t ask. Even though you had lots of questions. Eventually, you were able to get into a groove, knocking out a good bit of your project before it got too late. You had another week to get it done, but it was nice to get a chunk of it out of the way ahead of time. Now that it was late, however, you were starving. And your stomach immediately ratted you out by growling obscenely loudly with no warning.

Tim laughs, closing his laptop and pushing it further away from him on the table. “Yeah, it’s probably a good time to call it quits. Let’s go see what Alfred’s cooking.”

You don’t question who Alfred is despite desperately wanting to; you just put your laptop in your bag, throw it over your shoulder, and follow Tim.

He again leads you through the winding hallways of his home, and the further you get, the more you can smell something absolutely delicious cooking in the kitchen.

“Alfred, I—oh.” Tim stops in the doorway of the kitchen, and you have to slam on the breaks behind him so you don’t run into his back. There at the stove stands Jason, stirring something in a ridiculously large steaming pot, something out of a restaurant kitchen. You wonder how many people they need to feed.

“He ran to the store, we’re out of paprika. I don’t know if your friend likes chicken and dumplings, but there’s plenty.”

They both look over at you, and you briefly panic at the attention. When you don’t speak, Tim does for you. “Or we could go to the diner. Your choice.”

“We can stay here. I haven’t had chicken and dumplings in years.”

A grin fights its way onto Jason’s face, and he motions for you to come closer. You slowly shuffle closer to the stove, Tim not far behind you.

“Yeah, this is your thing, right? Tim said you transferred in from down south. Mind stirring for me?”

You grab the wooden spoon from Jason, subtly trying to watch him as he walks over to the pantry. “I mean, cooking isn’t my thing. But southern food definitely is. The lack of gumbo up here is frightening.”

They both snort out a laugh, and you’re suddenly reminded that Tim is still here, sitting on the counter next to the industrial-sized pot you’re stirring. It smells divine—like your grandmother's cooking. Whoever this Alfred is—he’s already a 10 in your book.

“Maybe you could teach me how to make it,” Jason proposes, returning from the pantry with a can of Tony’s and a huge pepper grinder. He moves into your space, hip-bumping yours to urge you just a bit out of the way. You keep stirring as he seasons the food, attempting to gauge Tim’s reaction without him noticing.

Too bad when you look up, Tim’s already looking at you, a small smile on his face. You return it stiffly before refocusing on the task in front of you. You hope whatever’s going through his head is positive.

“Yeah,” you finally find your voice. “That’d be cool. You’re already halfway there, using Tony’s. My grandmother would be proud.” You snort at the idea, and Jason gives you a soft laugh.

“I had a good teacher. Alfred is the best cook I’ve ever met.”

“He’s right,” Tim finally buts in. “Jason might be a good cook, but Alfred taught him everything he knows.”

“All I heard was I’m a good cook. Thanks, Timmo.” The grin on Jason’s face is contagious, you can’t help but return it. Tim even smiles despite himself.

“That compliment doesn’t leave this room. In fact—”

“Alright, boys, if you're going to argue, please do so outside of my kitchen.” An older man cuts Tim off from the doorway, a large paper bag in his hands. You feel Jason move around you as he approaches the man, taking the bag from him and over to the pantry.

“We’re not arguing. Tim finally admitted I’m a good cook.”

“Only thanks to you, Alfred.” Tim admits as he watches Alfred approach you and the stove. “That’s my friend from marketing class,” Tim gives Alfred your name. “We were working on a group project.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I see they put you to work immediately after.” You share a chuckle, and he motions for you to hand over the wooden spoon. You do it easily, and he gives you another warm smile and nods. “You’re free to go.” He jokes.

“It’s all good—I didn't mind.” You say.

Alfred, seemingly holding back a smile, says, “Then why don’t I put you all to work and get you to set the table?”

You follow Tim and Jason into the dining room, but they refuse to let you do any of the work setting the table. The dining room, just like the other rooms you’d seen here, was large and incredibly ornate. A crystal chandelier, a large wooden table that looked big enough for a small army, and more chairs around it than three times your average dining table.

Another thing about a house this big is that sound tends to carry. That’s why you jumped when you heard the front door slam shut. You hear Alfred greet someone, and then footsteps heading for the dining room. When you look over, you see two women standing in the doorway, smiles on their faces.

“Alfred says foods ready. Oh! Tim’s friend!” The blonde makes her way over to you, throwing her arms around you in a hug. “Hi. I’m Steph.” She pulls away to motion at the woman she came in with. “That’s my girlfriend, Meg.”

“Hi. Nice to finally meet you.” Meg says, and the confusion on your face must be evident because she laughed before continuing. “Steph and I have weekly double dates with Tim and Bernard. They tell us everything.”

“Its true. Baby, wait.” Steph says and races to pull out a chair at the table for her girlfriend before sitting beside her. “Nothing but good things about you though. Journalism, right?”

You nod before scanning the table, trying to figure out where to sit. Jason, standing behind one of the chairs, taps on the table at the spot between him and Tim and across from Steph. With the weight of that off your shoulders, you move around the table and answer. “Yeah, it’s a great program. It also seems like I’m in the right city, considering all the stuff that goes down here.”

You sit down and watch as Tim and Jason sit next to you in unison. The latter snorts. “No fucking kidding. It seems like every time I turn on the news shit gets worse.” Jason says, adjusting in his chair.

“You’re not lying.” Meg pipes up. “There’s been I think fourteen disappearances in the span of… what? Two months? I’m not an expert, but that seems like a lot.”

The group murmurs in agreement but no one really knows what to say at that, because she’s right. It’s definitely weird. The lull in conversation is quickly broken by Alfred bustling into the dining room, Dick, and a younger boy in tow.

You’re introduced to the younger boy, Damian, as dinner is served, and find yourself observing the meaningful chaos around you. He doesn’t speak much, but you can’t blame him. There are a few empty seats, and you have a feeling that someone usually fills them, but no one seems upset. Just content at the company they do have.

Jason keeps asking you questions. Whispers, barely discernable even to your own ears. Asking whether or not you like the food, if all of this is too much for you. Despite his rough, cocky exterior, he seems like a genuinely kind soul. You hope you get to see more of him in the future; something about him makes you want more.

//

After saying your goodbyes to the majority of the group after a long, delicious dinner, it’s just you, Tim, and Jason heading toward the front door.

“I’m gonna go pull the car up.” Tim says, ducking out the front door and shutting it behind him. You watch him go before Jason speaks, commanding your attention.

“Could I, uh—could I get your number?” Despite how big and scary Jason might seem at first glance, you wonder how anyone could ever think that after getting to know him. You’ve only known him for the one evening, but you already feel like you can trust him. There’s something about him that seems magnetizing; his energy is safe, comforting, and inviting. How could you refuse him?

“Yeah. Of course.” You can’t help your grin when he hands you his phone and lets you type in your number. “Text me anytime. I’m never off my phone longer than… well, maybe a lecture.”

It’s his turn to grin as he pockets his phone. “Where there’s a will there’s a way, sweetheart.”

Your stomach flutters, and you wonder when the last time you had butterflies was. High school? Ever? Not like this.

“Oh, there’s a will, so…” You trail off when you hear Tim honk outside. “Later, Jason.”

“See ya, sweetheart.”

You rush to the car, face warm with excitement, desperate to outrun the sudden rain even if it isn’t possible. Thankfully Tim doesn’t seem to mind when you sit in the passenger seat soaked from the rain.

“Where to?” He asks, and at first, you freeze. You’ve seen where he lives, it’s only… well maybe fair isn’t necessarily the right word. But it feels like you can safely give up your bit of information now that you know his.

Only, the issue is, your place is decidedly not anything like his. And it’s not a bad thing, as your place is pretty damn good for the price, but it’s definitely something you’re beginning to worry about. It’s Tim, though. He’s been very kind to you since the beginning, and there’s no evidence that he’d use this as an excuse to be an asshole. So, you give him your address.

“Oh, cool. Roy lives there. I’ll have to introduce you sometime.” Your nerves settle; you’re so grateful to have met this guy. He puts the car in drive, windshield wipers on full blast as he drives you through the city. It’s a peaceful drive, most of the traffic having already died down by now. You sit in a comfortable silence, occasionally answering whatever questions or comments Tim throws your way.

He drops you off at the front door with a goodbye and a wave, promising to text you when he gets home. As you make your way up and into the stairs to your apartment, you feel your phone buzz. You grab your laptop and plop onto your couch before reading the message from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Jason. You make it home okay?

You: Sure did! It was really nice meeting u btw

As you wait for him to respond, you save his number on your phone. Loading up your laptop, your mind goes back to what Meg said earlier at dinner. Fourteen people in two months. That’s definitely not normal, even by Gotham’s standards. What the hell is going on here?

When it comes to research, you’ve always found the starting point to be the most difficult. Where do you begin? What do you start with? You figure you need to start somewhere. As you search Gotham missing persons in Google, your phone vibrates.

Jason: I really enjoyed meeting you too. You should come back to the manor soon.

You: Well Tim and I still have that project soooo…

Jason: Perfect.

You: :) Goodnight. Hope u sleep well

Jason: Night, sweetheart. Hope you do too.

And suddenly, the feeling of butterflies returns. You wonder if this is just his personality or if he’s just baseline flirty. You really hope not, you’re not sure your heart can take it. Something about him just makes you want to know more. You’re not sure if it’s the fact that he seems to be a caring, nice, intelligent guy, or if it’s the fact that he’s drop-dead gorgeous. Neither hurts, you’re sure about that.

Before you hit the hay, you’re determined to save a few good articles to begin your research tomorrow. Your professor canceled this Tuesday’s class a week prior, so despite your workload, you’ll have enough time to work on a personal project.

You save a few links into a Word document before adding Gotham Gazette into the search bar. Maybe, if Dick ever came through with that contact, you could ask her to point you in a better direction.

After saving a few seemingly interesting sources, you shut your computer with a yawn. Before moving here, you could stay up until two a.m. no questions asked. Now, you’re lucky to get past 11. You blame all the walking; your hometown was definitely not walkable.

You pour yourself a glass of water from the filtered pitcher in the fridge before moving to your bedroom to put it on your side table. Heading into your bathroom, you stare at yourself in the mirror before willing yourself to do an abridged version of your nighttime routine. After piling into bed, you heave a deep sigh.

You feel good. Now on the outside, thanks to skincare, but mostly on the inside. Something about being around everyone tonight made you feel welcomed in a way you haven’t since you arrived in Gotham. It had been a rocky (almost) month, but you finally feel like you’ve carved a place out here.

[mymoodwriting]

4.2k, yandere, torture, manipulation, experimentation, assault, shock collars, drugs (@xcharlottemikaelsonx @starillusion13)                                

“It’s been months.”

“Not surprising. I told you they’d hold on tight.”

     When Taemin had told them it would be a while before they’d see you again, they kinda hoped he was lying. Half a year later, they could finally see that he was right.

“Still… I can’t help but wonder if she’s even alive…”

“If you think she’s dead, you’re an idiot.” Taemin stated. “She is everything the Organization wanted. They are going to be careful, and they are going to take their time training her until she’s what they really want. We weren’t lucky enough to be that special.”

“Your training wasn’t easy.” Ten said. “So I doubt she has it easy either.”

“They won’t let her die if that’s what you’re worried about… no matter what…”

“I’m not so sure that’s reassuring.”

“Be patient. We’ll see her again. I don’t doubt that.”

❤

    Without you around they didn’t have much to fight over, so it forced cooperation. All they really had now was each other, and their goal to find you. They had ways to pass the time, training, yelling at each other, beating each other up, and sometimes they’d go out as a team. Even if they were waiting on your reappearance, the Organization was still operating. Taemin kept a close eye on them, and when he found a chance to get information he’d always jump on it. Now there wasn’t any arguing on who was in charge.

    It wasn’t just them being submissive, but more a proper partnership. Taemin knew the most about the Organization and how they operated, so he was better suited in the role of leader anyway. As time went on, as they went out together, they learned to work more harmoniously. They’d always look for clues about you as well. Hoping to find any information on you, hoping to find your location and rescue you. That was rarely the case, and it was hard to keep holding out for hope. Although when they finally got something like that, it wasn’t really what they wanted to find.

“Test Subject 0046, trial number 394-”

    Taemin had been searching through some files when he came across a familiar name. He found videos and clicked on one, immediately seeing you on screen. You were collared, dressed in white, and you looked so exhausted. When he realized Mark was peeking over his shoulder he immediately stopped the video and deleted everything.

“That… that was y/n!” Mark yelled. “That was her! Play the video.”

“No.”

“What was-”

“I said no!” Taemin hissed. “I know what those videos are, and she wouldn’t want you to see her like that.”

“Like what?” Taeyong questioned. “What was that video?”

“It’s just… records… of her training… they did that for us too, so they could look back and see what we did, what we responded too.”

“Is she alright?”

“She didn’t look so good, but she’s alive. The date on it was rather recent, so there’s the evidence you’ve been waiting for.”

“Do we know where she is?” Ten questioned. “Or is that too much to hope for?”

“No location I’m afraid.” 

“The training facilities are numerous.” Kai reminded. “And it’s likely she gets moved whenever we attack a location.”

“We’re also prone to trashing them.” Baekhyun added. “They don’t mind as long as we’re progressing. I’ve completely fried a whole building’s electrical system once or twice.”

“The hell?” Mark stated. “You can do that.”

“I can control it now.”

“You’ve also improved with your abilities.” Taemin mentioned. “So progress is made all around. I’m impressed, but we’re not done yet.”

“Speaking of our training.” Kai cut in. “ I found something you’re not gonna like.”

“What?”

“It seems the Organization is ready to start up the experiment again.”

“Of course, they have what they want, and with the rest of us missing, they’d want a whole new batch of test subjects.”

❤

“Again!”

    It was always the training with each other that complicated matters. Kai and Baekhyun still had their cocky attitudes, and the others really were not at their level. For the most part Mark could better keep up with Kai, the fights more based on being able to locate the other before they appear and avoid a hit. Despite his best efforts and improvement, Kai always landed a hit, and after the one Mark gets thrown off his game and loses. It annoyed and frustrated him to no end, not getting how the other managed.

“Can we take a break?”

“Five minutes.”

“Seriously. You wanna kick my ass that bad?”

“You’ve gotten better.” Kai admitted. “So don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“All this time, and how many hits have I landed on you?”

“None.”

“I don’t really think I’m improving.”

“It takes me longer to hit you now than it did at first.”

“That’s not really motivational.”

“You’re improving, even if you don’t think so. I train with you, I know how you think, the enemy doesn’t.”

“I guess…”

“Come on, let’s go again.”

“Ugh, fine.”

    Besides Mark, Kai also tended to train with Taeyong. The multiple enemies didn’t seem to bother him. Although just like with Mark, he remains untouched. For Taeyong it was about control, being able to duplicate and get his doubles into action fast, while also protecting himself. There was improvement there as well, even if the boy didn’t think so. When it came to Ten, his training involved a lot more focus. Baekhyun knew about being patient and figuring things out, although his student didn’t.

“What more do you expect from me?” Ten questioned. “I think I’m at my limit. I can heal living objects, and fix inanimate things. What’s possibly next?”

“You have to go beyond what you think is possible.” Baekhyun responded. “All I thought I could do was turn the light on and off, not create hallucinations, or fire.”

“Then where do you see my powers going?”

“Look at what you can do, the basics of it, and go further.”

“But like what? You had a whole team of scientists dissect your powers and figure out things for you to try. I don’t have that.”

    The doors to the garden opened and Taemin walked in. Baekhyun looked over and waved, informing Taemin of Ten’s recent accomplishments.

“How is he doing?”

“Good.” Baekhyun said. “Just a little stuck.”

“Why are we still even training?” Ten asked. “We’re far more capable with our powers now than before.”

“Perhaps, but I need you to be better.”

“Why?”

“Cause you’re the only hope.”

“What?”

“Even if we get lucky and come across y/n, she won’t be alone. The Organization has the means to block my powers, as well as Baekhyun’s and Kai’s, but not yours. I need you all to be capable of handling yourselves in that situation. Everything will most likely come down to you.”

“But what more do you expect of us?” Ten wondered. “I feel like I’ve reached my limit.”

“I’ve been there too, but trust me, you are capable of more.”

“Like what? You keep saying that but I can’t even picture it.”

“You have to open your eyes.”

    Taemin used his powers to pick an apple off one of the trees, and bring it to him. He broke it in half, tossing a piece over to Ten.

“I know I can fix this apple, make it whole again, heal it, but what else is there?”

“The apple, where does it come from?”

“Huh?”

“What’s the origin of the apple?”

“Uh… it comes from a seed? From a tree?”

“The seed, that’s the origin isn’t it? A little seed you could plant and grow into a tree that would then become an apple.”

“Right… but…”

“You heal, you fix what is broken. Or more accurately you return something to its original state. Why not go further and return it to its original form? Why not take the apple,” Taemin tossed Ten the other half. “And turn it back into a seed.”

“I… I can’t possibly do that.”

“You’d be healing the apple, all the way back into its original form. Imagine a door, placing your hand on it and separating the materials, healing them individually, and returning them back to their original form too. Your ability to heal can be a form of destruction, don’t you think?”

“… is that even possible for me to do?”

“You won’t know unless you try.” Taemin cleared his throat. “Baekhyun, how are we doing on the decryption?”

“The program is still running, but nothing yet. Even if the surface data suggests info on the experiment restarting, there’s no guarantee we’d get anything from breaking the code.”

“The information we got alone is enough to put us on alert. I’ll keep looking for connections on my end.”

    Taemin hadn’t really been cautious before but now was the time for it. He’d have everyone wear bracelets going forward when they went out, just in case they’d happen to run into you. If the Organization was about ready to restart such a horrible thing, then you must be in a position they’re happy with. He didn’t know what to expect, but he wanted to make sure they were all prepared for anything. Taemin didn’t have any expectations over the data they had stolen, so when it gave them a location he was grateful, but also displeased.

“A club?” Taeyong stated. “Their target is another club?”

“It worked for them once.” Kai said. “So not a bad idea to bet on it again.”

“Things would be different this time too.” Baekhyun added. “Y/n will most likely be there.”

“How can you tell?” Mark questioned.

“Did you forget how you got away? You just left, but with someone capable of mind control, they could easily lock down the building and make sure everyone in there cooperated. Their test pool this time would be about three times bigger.”

“Which means more casualties.” Taemin mentioned. “Going in there means the only people we can trust is each other, but even then that won’t last long. We’ll wind up on our own.”

“This is dangerous.” Kai added. “That whole building, everyone inside will basically be our enemy. Trying to get y/n out, if she really does end up there, could get us all captured.”

“We have to take that chance.” Ten stated. “If there’s a chance, a good chance, y/n will be there, we have to take it.”

“Did you forget the part where the whole building becomes a cage for us?”

“You rather we pass this up?”

“Ten’s right.” Taemin cut in. “Regardless of the danger we have to go in. The number of people who will be affected, taken, the Organization could easily go off radar after pulling off something like this. Which means y/n would be off radar too. This could be the only chance we get to rescue her after all these months. After this, the chances get lower and the risks get higher.”

❤

    They all hated being back in a club. A reminder for them about the night their lives changed forever. Since they got in without much problem, things had probably only just begun. Whether you were there or not, this was more about stopping this whole thing from starting again. The atmosphere seemed normal, so it meant they’d need to get into VIP. The bouncer wasn’t letting anyone in, which wasn’t exactly a good, but ultimately not a problem for Taemin. Usually one would think the VIP area would be lively, but besides the music the place seemed oddly quiet.

“Spread out.” Taemin ordered. “Check the rooms. If they’re doing things like before, there’s probably a certain drink being offered.”

    They split off, checking the rooms. Some seemed empty, and others had guests that were passed out. Ten went into the room to investigate, seeing that the people were still alive. He looked around, finding some empty glasses with a few drops of a blue liquid at the bottom. It was a familiar look, but given the results, the formula had been changed. He wouldn’t be the only one to discover this, but it made him wonder if they were too late.

    As Taemin exited a room he saw what appeared to be a waiter exit another. She wore a black lace blindfold to hide her eyes, and a matching choker. Dressed in a similar outfit meant to entice, and was probably the one handing out tainted drinks. He had questions, even if they couldn’t answer. As the girl walked by he grabbed their arm, and upon being closer he realized something. Taemin reached up and ripped the blindfold off, seeing your face. Your eyes were devoid of individuality, and when he ripped off the choker he could see the collar it had been hiding.

“They found a way to tame you…”

    Taemin reached up to take the collar off, only to see you come to life and attack him. You got a hit on him before he started to defend himself. Soon enough the commotion got the attention of the others. They were glad to see you, but were confused by the circumstances.

“Get the collar off her.” Taemin yelled.

    No one really acted, not wanting to hurt you, but also getting the collar off wouldn’t be easy. Everyone thought maybe Kai would deal with this, but he didn’t.

“Mark, use your powers and get the collar off.” Kai said.

“Why me? You’re better at this.”

“You think I haven’t been trying? My powers aren’t working.”

“Neither are mine.” Baekhyun added. “So you guys need to do something!”

    Even if you weren’t all there, you were listening and processing things. So when you had the chance you bolted, intending to escape from them. It wouldn’t be easy though, so you actually ran into a room you hadn’t been to yet, easily getting the people there on your side. So when the boys came in, they were met with a surprise attack. They didn’t want to hurt innocent people, but the longer you avoided them, the easier it was to get yourself a little army.

“Taemin.”

“I know.” Taemin spat. “This is impressive, but we can’t kill anyone. Mark, get her!”

    When Mark got himself free he chased after you, portaling to your side and then taking hold of your arm, portaling you somewhere else. He was exhausted, and in a bit of a panic, so only took you somewhere quieter, outside in the alleyway. That didn’t work out since as soon as you were on solid ground you punched him in the face, not giving him a chance to recover. Mark couldn’t bring himself to hit you no matter how hard you hit him. The only thing he had was his words.

“Y/n! Snap out of it! It’s me, Mark! Come on, you know me!”

    He was practically begging you to return to him, and it didn’t seem to be working, but he’d keep trying. He was spouting out nonsense, recalling old memories hoping something goes deep enough to reach you.

“Please, y/n, I won’t hurt you!”

    The sudden stop in hits was nice, but Mark was more worried about you. When he looked over you were holding your head and stumbling around.

“Y/n.”

    Mark quickly got up, but was still recovering. You were also moving away from him, going out towards the streets. Soon enough the others made their way out to the alley. Some helped Mark, and others went after you. Although once you were out on the streets you had the cars swerving to avoid you, but going straight for the others.

“We have to go.” Taemin ordered. “Mark, get us out.”

“What?” Taeyong yelled. “What about y/n?”

“We are putting people in danger like this! Mark!”

    Even if he didn’t want to, he knew Taemin was right, and took everyone back home. After a moment Kai and Baekhyun tested their powers again, but Taemin ended up pinning Mark against the wall with his powers, choking him out.

“What happened!”

“Let him go!” Ten yelled.

“Answer me! I told you to get her out, why didn’t you bring her here!”

“I… I panicked…”

“Is that seriously your excuse! Even when you had her outside?”

“I can’t… hurt… her…”

“She’s not herself right now, we don’t have the luxury of hesitation.”

“Put him down!” Ten repeated. “I thought we were done fighting among ourselves!”

“You realize we blew our chance, right?” Baekhyun reminded. “Now that we got close once, the Organization won’t let it happen again. If we ever get close to her again, rescuing her is gonna be practically impossible!”

“None of us want to hurt y/n!” Taeyong stated.

“I can make you.” Taemin spat back.

“No!” Ten hissed. “We are not fucken doing that again! You aren’t breaking us down and turning us into your puppets! We’re a team now, with one goal! Rescue y/n, and destroy this organization.”

“He’s right, you know.” Taeyong mumbled. “Taemin… y/n isn’t herself right now, we can’t act like it. We’ll end up captured or killed. We could even get her killed.”

“And they’ll be taking advantage of that.” Kai added. “Tonight is proof of that. We didn’t want to lay a finger on her, so even if we had her outnumbered she still beat us.”

    Taemin dropped Mark, storming out of the room. None of them were happy with the outcome from the night, but all they could do was train and keep up their usual work. You’d cross paths again, they just had to be patient some more.

❤

“Just cause we got punished for our mistakes, doesn’t mean you need to do the same.” Kai said. “Don’t you think you crossed a line with Mark?”

“I know… we were so close though.”

“Her collar dampened our powers.” Baekhyun stated. “And it has a range, so we can’t get close to her and use our powers.”

“It’s really up to them…”

    Things returned to what they considered normal. Going out to gather intel and work with that to find you and stop the Organization. They didn’t see you again, bringing them all down. No one lost hope. They had confirmation you were alive, so now it was about finding you and getting you out. Nothing really seemed to change, although keeping tabs on the club they went to did yield some important information.

“This place, it seems to be a major headquarters for the Organization.” Taemin explained. “So don’t blow it. The intel we can get on them and y/n, this could be what we’ve been working towards this whole time.”

    Recon took a bit longer with this target, but they found their way in. It seemed like their usual job, get the intel and get out, but while keeping a lookout Ten saw something interesting on the monitors.

“Guys… I think she’s here…”

“What?”

“Y/n… she’s in the building.” 

“Where?”

    Getting you was important, but so was the information, so Taemin decided to split up. Mark was the one who could get to you fastest as long as he knew where to go, so he and Ten, and Taeyong, went off to go find you, and the rest would stay behind. Those three would still have their powers even when they got close, and Taemin told them not to fuck it up. Ten took the lead, all of them keeping a low profile and eventually finding you. Although you weren’t alone. Mark didn’t just want to portal you off, knowing he might accidentally bring someone else, so they had to strike first. Taeyong volunteered, duplicating himself and charging in.

    They had been going for a low profile, but they threw that out the window now. Taeyong put up a good fight, but you did too. Despite landing a few hits, you suddenly bolted to one of the duplicates, which was the real Taeyong. Without hesitation you broke his arm, startling everyone. Mark and Ten rushed over, Mark finding a way to distract you while Ten healed up his teammate. They were all in shock though, but that seemed to finally get it through their heads. You weren’t the girl they knew. To get her back they needed to deal with the one pretending to be you, which meant no holding back.

    Once healed up Taeyong made more duplicates, pushing himself to his own limits. Ten had figured out how to make his touch poisonous, practically destroying anything he touched, including flesh. Mark was being decent by not really hurting anyone, and keeping others out of the fight. They managed to get the obstacles out of the way, which left you greatly outnumbered. By then you had a busted lip, but still ready to fight. You tried spitting out orders, but they had their bracelets to block you, so they had the advantage. Taeyong and his copies wrestled with you, pinning you down and Mark managed to get the collar off.

    You struggled under Taeyong for a moment after it was removed, then froze. You blinked a few times, your vision starting to regain clarity. Seeing Taeyong’s face didn’t feel real, but that feeling only lasted a moment. Suddenly the quiet was filled with noises and you screamed, covering your ears as if that would help. There were too many voices, and the boys took that as a sign to leave. Although they had to check in with the others, and you certainly wouldn’t be able to help, so Mark took you with him, going somewhere truly quiet.

“Hey, hey it’s okay, take a deep breath.”

    The loud noises ceased so fast you needed a moment to make sure you didn’t go deaf. You took in the emptiness of the room, getting a sense of familiarity, but things were still a blur. Mark wasn’t, at least you hoped.

“Mark… is that you?”

“Yeah, I’m right here.”

    Now the tears were blurring your vision, and you hugged him tighter, needing to know if he was real. Feeling his body made you weep even harder, and you don’t know how long you stayed like that. You only stopped as you ran out of tears, everything else finally weighing you down.

“You’re alright… you’re alright…”

“It hurts…”

“I know.” Mark reached up to your lip and made you flinch. “Sorry. When Ten gets back he can fix you up.”

    Right on cue the door to the room opened, the rest of the boys piling in. You found new tears to shed upon seeing them, apologizing for hurting them. You immediately grabbed Taeyong’s arm, making sure he was alright.

“I’m okay, I promise. Ten healed me up.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m fine, but… how did you know which one was actually me?”

“You have a different frequency compared to your doubles… more similar to the other individuals than your clones.”

“You really got stronger.” Taemin commented. “Very impressive.”

“Yeah…”

“I do owe you an apology as well, for that day. What happened was my fault.”

“That’s in the past… besides I wouldn’t really get any better otherwise…”

“Still.”

“What happens now?” 

“Well, we got somethings.” Baekhyun explained. “It’s gonna take a bit to crack, but it’s the type of information we need to take the Organization down.”

“So it’s over?”

“Not quite yet.”

❤

    You needed time to heal, to recover, in every way. Ten took care of physical injuries, but everything else was on you. The collar had always helped with your powers, but you still needed to gain proper control of yourself. It still felt like a dream at times, being back with them. You’d also wonder if you had just finally broken and were hiding in your own head. Either way, you’d stay here with them, where you were happy.

“So this is it?” Taeyong questioned. “We got what we wanted.”

“Not quite.”

“But if we go public with this, we’ll be hunted.” Ten said. “We’d have to live on the run forever.”

“That’s a problem we can deal with together.” Kai assured. “Besides, you really think anyone is gonna be able to stop us?’

“We expose the Organization, and they get shut down.” Taemin added. “Even if they got some more subjects from that other night, they won’t be running their experiment any longer. We’re the only real survivors here.”

“It wouldn’t be fun to live in hiding anyway.” Mark said. “So how are we doing this?”

“Nothing like gathering media sources and just letting them have it all at once.” Baekhyun explained. “We get the story out and pull the rug from underneath them. They won’t have time to hide anything, and will get shut down fast. After that, not really our problem.”

“Can we really just expose them and run off?” Taeyong questioned. “Shouldn’t we do more?”

“If it comes down to it, I suppose.”

“Let’s just do this one step at a time.” You said. “We’ll figure things out as we get to them, together, right?”

“Yeah, together.”

    You took the hand of those nearest to you. This nightmare wasn’t over, but you were going in the right direction so you could wake up and be free. No matter what happened next, you were with the people you wanted to be. Together you could get through anything, and no one was going to get in your way. Never again.

(// Previous)

[hyliandude]

Sky Fire: The Prehistoric Race

 The annual Sky Fire ceremony is commencing soon, and all the clan riders have finally arrived after their arduous pilgrimage through the jungle to our capital village. This year’s race was blessed by the Sky Fire itself, marked with an unprecedented bright beacon of growing light that could be seen during the day beside the Sky Fire’s radiance and at night, shining brighter than our ancestors. The elders claim it is a good omen bringing fruitful blessings and fortune in the upcoming year. However, a good year could not commence if Pebble did not wake up on time for us to meet the other riders.

             I had been nestled comfortably next to Pebble all evening, so I know he should have had enough sleep; however, he was exceptionally tired in the morning we were scheduled to meet the riders. He either ate too much last night, or he is completely beat from all the training for the race. It is likely that it is both of those reasons. In any case, it will not look good if the local, and hosting, clan’s representative is late for the welcoming festivities, so we need to get going.

             “Wake up Pebble!” I said, pushing with my arms straight up against his belly. He stopped snoring and rolled over towards me, to which I had to sprint away from to not get squished like a moon bug. His big, protruding horn swung around his curved head revealing his big bright eyes, still half shut, as he rested his bill against his crossed front legs. He snorted and huffed in disapproval.

             “No, no time to pout Pebble. Today is the big day! If you are good in front of the other tribe riders I promise, we will feast on all the gourd fruit you want!” I said excitedly while tightening my pelt and riding clothes. At the sound of the word ‘gourd’ his eyes opened fully, and he rattled the muddy earth beneath us as he rose and shook his tail enthusiastically. His lingering lethargy vanished with the rest of the morning fog as the Sky Fire rose. He ducked down so I could strap the saddle around his back, and then ducked even lower to scoop me up on to his back. I scratched the leathery patches of his hide that I could reach, to which he leaned into like a muddy swamp pup. After tightening his reins, we stomped out of the stables and rushed out to the town center to meet the others. On our way, I looked up at the beacon in the sky and felt excited about the festivities. The elders say they have never seen a gift like the one that has made itself present to us and have no record of something like it ever happening in the past. It is a true honor that this was able to occur in my lifetime.

             Once we arrived, the others were almost ready, finishing up their morning meals and blessings. The fragrance of tender half-foots on a stick and bitter tea mixed together with the pungent spice of the ceremony’s face paints and coated the morning breeze in aromas that were only present once a year. The mighty Crag Crawlers nominated Roark as their rider, a young man fittingly as wide as his Crested Tri-horn. The easy-going River Monks nominated Tarten with his juvenile Spiketail. The Ember Walkers nominated Zarai with her raging Razortooth – which was being restrained by ten men and muzzled by two while they ate – and the ostentatious Sky Seekers nominated Brogi and his Sky Fire Spawn. Although Brogi’s mount could fly, the rules of the race dictated that this was not an advantage so long as he remained within as much reach of the ground as the others as they traversed the course. All of them had won at least one race in their annual attempts, except for me. They were not good at hiding their feelings of superiority, and my family was not good at hiding their feelings of shame towards me or my gourd fruit loving Sleekhorn.

             “It is alright Pebble, we will gain the Sky Fire’s favor this year,” I said, rubbing his back. Although Pebble was a socialized mount, being around others he does not frequently see makes him nervous, which might explain his lack of appetite during the morning meals. He avoided eye contact with the other mounts, especially Zarai’s mount which continued to grow more enraged as the morning progressed. I was surprised no one lost their arm while restraining the Razortooth.

In my experiences with the annual race, and other recreational races, Pebble always relished the social aspect of the events more than the competitive ones. He was calm and would often get distracted with fluttering glasswings and the dew on jungle flowers if the race’s route would traverse such things. No matter how much I would egg him on, he would just pause to catch his breath and lay down in these open fields to roll around in. I used to get mad at him when we were first paired by the roots of the mother tree, but I could see how happy rolling in the mud or chasing bright-tails has made him, and it is not something I had the heart to deprive him of. He has taught me a lot about the essence and tranquility one can find in nature, and I would not change him for any other mount.

We gathered behind the starting line soon after finishing our morning preparations. I padded Pebble’s face and neck a bit more, not because his hard crest needed protection – Pebble could ram a fortified stone wall down without a running start and think it was just a game – but more so because of the unpredictability of the Razortooth’s demeanor. I think all the racers were just hoping the race would be a quick one so they would not have to deal with Zarai’s aggressive tactics for half of a Sky Fire rotation. The racetrack itself was a difficult one, but familiar to me. A sprint out the village’s north gate through the swamps, through the sandbars of the eastern coast, following a trail that spirals up to Maruba’s Peak, less time to spiral down, and then the final stretch down the grazing hills of the western coast before reaching the other end of the village. We should be back before the Sky Fire recedes. Locals and visitors were cheering from the edges of the racetrack as if they all belonged to the same tribe, and all of us riders looked at each other with pride. For a moment, we were one and proud, and grateful to be representing our corner of the world in a race that stood for unity and prosperity. The elders chanted one last spirit song before the race horn was blown to indicate the start of the competition, and we were off, back to being singular representatives of our own tribes, vying for success and accolades for their own clan on the back of powerful, charging beasts.

First was the swamp, which was an easy stretch for us to take a significant lead in. Pebble was comfortable running in water, and his stocky build prevented him from being slowed down by the rigid mud and varying depths of the pooled water. This was also the case for the Tri-horn and Spiketail who were stomping beside us. We picked up enough mud in the first stretch before slowly deviating away from each other in a widening triangle formation, losing the Razortooth and Sky Spawn behind us. Luckily, the Spiketail and Tri-horn kept their distance. If a brawl were to break out this soon, Pebble would be ill-suited to the task against their natural armor and offensive prowess.

Exiting the swamp was a literal breath of fresh air. Pebble was able to pounce through the crystalline water of the bay to wash up the mud he had accumulated through the stagnant mud pit of decaying trees and sinking corpses just north of the village. The Sky Fire was still just peaking above the edge of the ocean out to the east, igniting the bay in its wake. Pebble’s stomping feet transitioned from sloshing in a murky paste to trotting gently along the crunchy grain of moist white sand. The Spiketail was rushing closer to the waves with its plated hide mirroring the back frills of the ocean dwelling mounts, and the Tri-horn closer to the thick green dunes, leaving the middle lane wide open for us. Halfway to the base of Maruba’s Peak at the end of the bay, the Razortooth and Sky Spawn caught up to us. Zarai was covered in brown ichor from the nose down, partly because of the Razortooth’s proximity to the ground when compared to the other mounts. Unlike the swamp, this stretch of flat and unimpeded land was a major advantage to the raging bi-pedal already infamous for its speed, granting it another chance at victory. Brogi was reining his Sky Spawn on its first straight path since leaving the village. I am surprised he was able to keep up with how many trees one has to dodge in the swamps when traveling by sky mount.

Ascending Maruba’s Peak proved to be a mighty task. The road thinned as we reached the summit, with moments of dread while looking over the cliff’s edge, hoping that our mounts were not as afraid of falling as we were. No one was brave enough to try and pass the other. One mount was barely wide enough to traverse the path, and having someone try and surpass another was an assured death sentence with a tomb reserved next to the northern-most jaws of the ocean at the bottom of Maruba’s Peak. Brogi must have felt right at home in the clouds. Descending was much easier, and more freeing than in other years since we had taken the lead and had no pace to maintain as we accelerated with the steepening decline. The elders were right – the glowing, red beacon over our village was a good omen, and this was the year we would not let them down.

After circling around the peak and descending on to the western edge of the bay, the gradient of purple, pink, and gold wildflowers stretched across the grazing hills before us, each sparkling in a dyed ocean reflecting the Sky Fire’s grace. Breathing in the salty sea breeze and spritzed nectar of a fresh bloom relaxed my shoulders, and for a brief moment I had forgotten I was even in a race. Pebble’s feet rampaged through the field, picking up explosions of pink and yellow petals in our wake. The other riders soon followed, paving their own way through the flowery clouds like brute-fish slicing their way up a gentle stream. The ancestors have truly blessed me this year. The festivities tonight will be unmatched.

Closing in on the final stretch, Pebble had other ideas. We had been so close to crossing the finish line when a patch of fresh gourd fruits caught his eye at the edge of the wildflower patch away from the village. I knew once his head turned, that our chance at victory had been lost. I knew better than to stop him, so I buckled at the reins – full speed ahead to the gourd fruits, you deserve it Pebble, I thought as I gently stroked his back. The other riders passed us and were received in the distance to a bellowing roar of cheers and cacophonous drums. I do not know who won. We slowed down as we reached the patch overlooking the western edge of the bay. Pebble dropped to his belly to slide into the patch instead of coming to a full stop and gently partaking in the fruits one at a time. He gorged his face immediately as I dismounted, and I pet his face. I could not help laughing at how eager he was to devour each of those gourd fruits. I think it made him happy too, since he would lean in and rub his cheek against my body while sliding some crushed gourds over to me. I fell to the ground with him, panting as if I had run the stretch he had just run, and stuffing my face with bits of gourd fruit alongside my best friend. We both sat in as much silence as we could afford, because Pebble’s munching was anything but silent, and we huddled up close as we looked up towards the sky at the beacon, which had grown considerably in size since the beginning of the race. An aura of light emanated from the beacon’s core, stretching colorful tendrils of light and fire across the sky like a hand extending its flaming fingers. What a beautiful sight.

“I am proud of you Pebble,” I said. He groaned in grateful agreeance. We both sat in awe, admiring the spectacle in the sky, sure of its prosperous significance as it continued to grow and manifest its blooming flame in a blinding, furious display of light. The others may have won the annual race, but Pebble and I were content in knowing we had had the best run, and the greatest enjoyment by slowing down and partaking in the gourd fruit and flowers. They surely missed out, Pebble, I thought with a gentle tear of love and gratitude slowly sliding down my cheek. 

[whiteqnn]

PURE [2] - Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem!Reader

A/N:  443 notes?! THIS IS INSANE! Thank you guys so much for all the love under the first part of this, I was so shocked to see how many people enjoyed this story! I hope this one will be just as fun for you as the first one ^^

part 1

part 3 

part 4 

part 5

PURE [2]

Corpse stared at the red screen with the word IMPOSTOR written in the middle, his eyes widened, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

“No way” he murmured into his microphone, no longer holding himself from breaking into laughter. “Do you guys see this? I wish I could see Y/N’s reaction.”

It took his audience just a second to respond, his chat being flooded with lots of comments about the said girl. 

“SHES SHOOK” he managed to read one from the hundreds of comments, once again bursting into laughter. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

He decided to follow Lily for a while to make himself less suspicious. He probably didn’t need to do that this time, since the others usually suspected him when he was innocent. Ironically, each time he was the impostor, they seemed completely blind to every murder he committed. 

They were both doing their tasks in O2 when the first body was reported. 

“Woah, Y/N is fast” he mumbled, before unmuting himself. 

“Okay,” Lily began speaking first “Corpse is 100% innocent, we were together this whole round, doing our tasks in O2. That’s all I have.”

“Yeah I saw you guys in there,” Felix said. “Where’s the body Sykkuno?”

“Um, so first of all I can also vouch for Dave and Y/N, we were hanging out all this time. So in the beginning, we were all in the upper engine, protecting each other like good friends that we are, and then we headed towards the medbay. And that’s where it gets interesting because I’m pretty sure I saw Poki leave medbay and run to the cafeteria.”

“You really think I would kill my best friend in the first round?”

“Yeah well, some people do” Sean scoffed, clearly referring to the last game when he was murdered by Felix. “Besides, I saw you guys when I was leaving Security so it looks like you were with her the entire round.”

“Wha- Okay, let me defend myself. I would never kill her if I was the impostor, which I’m not because she’d literally come barging into my room to murder me. She’d kill me for killing her first.”

Toast, who seemingly still held grudge against Corpse’s fellow impostor, decided to call Y/N out “Y’know, we all played with Rae before, so we all know how furious she gets after being killed first... but there’s one person who doesn’t know that.”

“Y/N/N?” Sean’s voice blared through their headphones “As much as I know how hard it would be for her to make the first kill, I can actually see that happening.”

“What?! Sykkuno vouched for me literally seconds ago, where the heck did you get that from Toast?” she asked in utter shock. Corpse glanced at his chat and leaned towards his mic, making sure that he was muted in the game.

“Y’know guys, if I didn’t know she’s the impostor, I’d believe in her every word. I mean, she’s so innocent, just listen to her.” he said with a smile, not expecting in the slightest how his audience will react. 

“Aww, he goes soft for her ^^” 

“The duo we need but don’t deserve”

“Y/N FOR THE BRIDE”

“What?” he almost stuttered, quickly going through the growing number of such comments. “I mean-”

“Ooh, someone’s getting angry. Where the heck? That’s aggressive, Y/N” Felix’s amused voice brought him back to reality, and even though Corpse didn’t use a webcam, he still tried to hide his pink-tinted cheeks in the material of his hoodie.

“It was not me! I swear! I was doing my tasks all this time, making sure that no one murders Sykkuno or Dave!” 

“You’re pretty defensive for someone who claims to be innocent,” Toast said with a smirk hiding in his voice. 

“Give her a break guys, she was literally with us all this time. I’m sure we would’ve noticed if she killed somebody” Dave stood up for her, but it seemed like all the attention was directed from Poki to Y/N. 

“Well maybe the other impostor is either you or Sykkuno and you’re just trying to clear each other?”

“Um, if there were two impostors among the three of us, the third person would have to be a crewmate. I mean, it would be impossible for them to kill somebody without a crewmate seeing it.” Sykkuno pointed out, much to Corpses’ relief. 

“I knew Sykkuno would vouch for her” he told his chat, before unmuting himself to defend Y/N as well “Haven’t we already established that Poki is sus as well? She was last seen near the body and has no alibi.” 

“I didn’t do it. The only person that could vouch for me is dead, we were with each other the entire round. I leave her for a few seconds and somebody kills her, but it wasn’t me.” 

“I don’t think she’s lying guys, I mean, if she killed Rae she’d probably be dead already” Felix chuckled “Let’s just skip this round, we don’t have enough evidence.”

“Alright, but Y/N,” Toast said, as everyone pressed the skip button “I have my eyes on you.”

Corpse could hear her sigh before everyone muted their mics. 

“We’ve gotta get rid of Toast guys, he’s too suspicious. I don’t want him accusing my partner in crime, even though he’s right” he chuckled under his breath, following Toast’s character into Admin. “Alright, Felix is with us as well, good. If I just pretend I’m doing card swipe, they’re gonna both vouch for me since everyone knows I’m great at this task.” he shook his head with a deep laugh escaping his throat. 

He could see the other two astronauts running around admin, before they both decided to leave, which gave Corpse a perfect opportunity to frame Toast. He killed the lights and chased his victim who, much to his joy, was now completely alone in comms. 

“Hi, Felix. Bye, Felix.” Corpse snapped his neck before speeding out of the room and venting into Navigation.

That’s when someone fixed the lights. And Corpse jumped out of the vent, only to come face to face with none other than Toast. 

“SHIT” he laughed in panic, seeing that he couldn’t use the kill function yet. “Shit, he must’ve seen me.”

And indeed, it took Toast just a split of second to run out of the room and speed towards the emergency button, Corpse hot on his tail, even though he knew he wouldn’t avoid getting ejected. 

“I’m busted guys, there’s no way they’re gonna believe me” he told his audience, watching as Toast’s character approached the button. However, Corpse wasn’t sure if he was just seeing things, but he thought that he saw an outline of another character appear out of nowhere just mere seconds before Toast called the meeting...

“YES” he almost screamed, at the same time laughing hysterically, when he saw the red cross decorating Toast’s name. 

“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!” Sean yelled, similarly to every other player that remained alive. “HOW DID THAT HAPPENED?!”

“Oh my God.”

“But- I don’t get it. What just happened?” Y/N’s soft voice sounded out, making Corpse laugh even more. 

“Someone killed Toast the moment he called the meeting.” Sykkuno explained, barely holding himself from laughing.

“Is that even possible?” she asked confused, her voice sounding so innocent and sweet that the other impostor couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

“Oh my god, she’s just- I can’t.” he chuckled deeply “She’s too precious guys, I swear I’m gonna do everything to keep her alive.”

“Yeah, that’s some big brain move. And since Toast is dead, there’s only one person with balls who could do it” Sean said, clearly very sure of his next words.

“CORPSE!” Lily chirped into her microphone, her voice soon being followed by others who eagerly agreed with her. 

“Okay, I admit I saw them in admin where I was doing the card swipe, but then they both left and I haven’t seen them anymore.”

“Were you in admin this whole time?” Poki asked. 

“Um- yeah, pretty much. I tried to beat my own record in failing a card swipe.” he replied, making everyone laugh. He thought of it as a good cover, unless someone entered the admin after he left... 

“Sykkuno where are you?” Poki directed her next question to the lime astronaut.

“Why am I accused again?” he asked confused “I was with Sean in medbay, I think Y/N joined us for a moment to do the scan, then she left, and then Toast called the meeting.”

“So maybe it’s her?” Dave commented “I mean, medbay is right next to the cafeteria, so she had quite an easy access to the emergency button.”

“Yeah, that would actually make sense” Lily added.

“Oh no, they’re gonna vote her off...” Corpse mumbled under his breath, deciding that he had to intervene. She just saved his ass, he couldn’t possibly just watch her get ejected because of that. 

“Guys, I didn’t even know it was possible to kill someone this way. Trust me, I played only a few times and Jack made sure not to reveal any of his big brain moves.” she scoffed at the last part, making Jack let out a loud laugh.

“How can we be sure you’re not just acting all innocent? I mean, you exposed Felix last game, being one of the last people to stay alive.”

“Y/N was with me when Toast called the meeting, she is innocent” Corpse decided to finally speak up. The silence settled among other players. “She found me in admin and made sure nobody killed me when I failed the fucking card swipe.”

“Why are you saying this just now, Corpse?”

“Cause he’s fallen for her god damn trap! I told you!” Sean argued.

“What trap?” Y/N asked confused.

“I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s like listening to an angel” Corpse said, before he could stop himself. Everyone on the call went wild, just like his chat did... He didn’t know why he said that, it just slipped before he really thought about it.

“Corpse, you do realize you’re simping only makes you even more suspicious?” Poki asked with a laugh, and Corpse felt the blush rising up his cheeks. Even more, when Y/N completely ignored this comment, deciding to suddenly stay quiet...

Did he make her uncomfortable with such comments?

“Seriously though, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t her. We watched each other’s back, so I’m also clean.” 

“As much as I hate to do it, I have to agree with Corpse on this one” Sean suddenly said. “That she’s innocent, I mean. I’m sure Corpse just follows her around like a lost puppy and I didn’t see the two of them, but I doubt Y/N knew it’s possible to kill somebody like that. No offense kiddo.”

“See? Guys, it wasn’t me!” she exclaimed. 

“Wait, why do you hate to agree with me?” Corpse asked in confusion.

“CAUSE YOU’RE KINDA SUS CORPSE” 

“What? I just told you my alibi, weren’t you listening Jack?”

“We have twenty seconds left” Lily reminded, cause everyone seemed to forget about the voting time. “We don’t skip at 7, right?”

“Alright, I’m voting Corpse, I still think he’s sus even though I agreed with him.” Sean announced, much to Y/N’s dismay. She quickly objected, trying to defend her fellow impostor:

“It’s NOT him, I watched him fail that dang card swipe!”

“DANG?! NO NEED TO BE SO OFFENSIVE YOUNG LADY” 

“I’m also voting Corpse, he must be one of them.” Lily agreed with Jack.

“Sykkuno, I hope you’re not doing what I think you’re doing” Y/N asked the lime astronaut, who was silent for the past few minutes.

“I um- I don’t know, they kinda have a point Y/N...”

“Sykkuno, listen to me.” she lowered her voice, trying to convince him “Corpse is not the impostor. You know you can trust me, right?”

“...”

“SYKKUNO GOD DAMN IT, DON’T LISTEN TO HER!”

“Sorry guys...”

Corpse burst out laughing, seeing that out of seven remaining players, five of them decided to skip. 

“She’s too good” he chuckled, quickly running up Y/N’s character when they started the next round. He circled her white astronaut, and she seemed to get his message because she eagerly followed him into Electrical to fake the tasks and wait for someone to show up. 

Soon enough two figures waltzed into the room, only to be simultaneously decapitated by the two impostors, who then swiftly vented into medbay and locked the door to their crime scene. 

“That was smooth” Corpse smiled, happily running around Y/N’s character. “I love being impostors with Y/N, it’s so much fun. The best thing is that no one besides Toast really suspects her of doing something wrong.”

Corpse figured Y/N sabotaged the oxygen because the next thing he saw was Lily running past medbay to stop it from depleting. 

“Ladies first, Y/N” he mumbled, and even though she couldn’t hear him, her small character sped up and left the medbay, chasing after Lily. He waited a few seconds, before bursting out laughing.

Victory. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Sean yelled in shock “Y/N?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW”

“Y/N HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

“That was... I would never guess it was you!” 

“I’m sorry guys, I really didn’t want to kill any of you” she laughed apologetically, but Corpse could sense she was smiling “I just had no other choice...”

“Yeah, I’m sure you killed us by accident” Toast’s voice blared out, followed by loud laughter.

“What was that again? I didn’t even know you could kill someone this way?” Felix mocked in a high pitched voice, making them laugh hysterically. Corpse also found himself unable to catch a breath between his giggles.

“I told you guys they’d fuck us up.” Rae spoke up “But I was actually glad Y/N killed me first, watching her kill Toast was so much fun.”

“Ha ha, thanks, Rae!” Toast exclaimed ironically.

“Y/N and Corpse are just complete serial killers, I don’t know how else to comment that” Felix chuckled. 

“Well...” Corpse mumbled, unmuting his microphone “I can’t disagree. She’s a perfect partner in crime.”

“NOT AGAIN WITH SIMPING CORPSE” he heard Sean’s response, and once again felt awkward when his all his friends laughed at him, and Y/N remained quiet. 

That was, however, until her soft voice effectively quietened everyone. 

“It was.. an honor to murder my friends with you.” 

Corpse never thought his face could hurt from smiling so much...

“Alright, who’s up for another game?” Felix asked after a few moments, and received a chorus of me’s from almost everyone. 

“Unfortunately I have to go now, but it was so fun playing with you guys!” Y/N said, making everyone (Corpse included) object rather loudly:

“One more round, please? I want to see you kill someone again!”

“C’mon kid, what else do you have to do?”

“Stay with us Y/N, I need someone to protect me!” 

“I’m sorry but I’m really tired. I’m sure I’d just fall asleep on my desk and Toast would come up behind my back to murder me.”

“Well, that was actually my plan...” the man in question replied with a chuckle.

“You sure you don’t wanna stay?” Corpse finally asked “Killing won’t be the same without you...”

“I know, and I’m sorry... But I was working the whole day and my eyes just hurt and I feel like I’m gonna faint” she replied. 

“Alright, but just so you know, we’re playing again later this week, and I better see you entering the lobby on time” Felix said, trying to sound threatening, but failing at it. Y/N giggled to herself, the sound making Corpse smile almost unknowingly. 

“I wouldn’t dare to miss a chance to murder my new friends!” 

“Oh my god, she’s too adorable!” 

Everyone said their goodbyes and soon Y/N left the call, her small astronaut disappearing from the lobby, much to Corpse’s disappointment. He wished she’d stay a little longer, playing with her was something he found incredibly fun and quite relaxing if he was completely honest. Or maybe aside from playing itself, listening to her voice was what kept bringing a smile to his face every time she spoke up. 

“Guys, I think I’m also gonna call it a day, it was really fun.”

“What? It’s not even been over an hour!” Rae protested. 

“Yeah, I um.. I know but-”

“Don’t push him guys, he can’t play without his partner in crime” Toast’s teasing voice made everyone burst out laughing, and Corpse just shook his head, glad that nobody could see how red his face became.

“Fuck you guys, okay?” he chuckled into the mic, before finally saying his goodbyes and leaving as well. He thanked his viewers for watching and promised to stay longer next time, before closing the discord. 

He sat for a moment in his chair, staring at the black screen, a smile slowly widening on his lips. It was one of the best games he had ever played in Among Us, and he couldn’t wait to be Impostor with Y/N again. 

“Perfect partner in crime... I’m such an idiot” he mumbled under his breath and felt himself blush, shaking his head at how awkward that must’ve sounded. He pulled his phone out and checked his Twitter, only for his eyes to widen once he saw the top trending hashtags. 

#Y/NxCorpse

#Y/NfortheBride

#PerfectPartnerInCrime

“Oh my God...” Corpse yelped, covering his eyes with his hand as if it would make all those tweets disappear. “Why am I the way I am?” 

He considered texting her, trying to maybe make things less awkward than they already were, but decided against it. He feared he’d make even more of an idiot out of himself... 

Convinced that all those comments about simping and now those hashtags made her uncomfortable, it didn’t even cross his mind that Y/N might be looking at them at the exact same moment, with adorable blush tinting her cheeks, and her lips turning into a small, shy smile...  

A/N: I think about writing 3rd part... 

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 36

Sorry about the delay. But now its here and its ready for consumption.

Also, Shout to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for me and making sure I actually got this out.

Check her writing out on AO3 as ShamelesslyRomantic,

(Master post)

(Read the fic in a more condensed on Ao3)

_____________________________________________________________

“Finished,” the artist akuma stated as he addressed his master.

Masquerade got up from her throne to look at the room. The classroom had been transformed into a rather spacious throne room. The artist had erased and redrawn walls to ensure the room was much larger. This new space also had several large windows adorned with elegant black and white curtains hanging from the top. Reflekta servants decked out in masquerade themed armor stood at attention on each step leading to her throne. Beautiful artwork of her decorated the walls, including an imposing portrait of her behind her throne that made it look as if she was looking down at everyone looking up at it. To her that came off as self-interested yet tasteful. The masked akuma even loved the addition of a red carpet that led up to her throne.

“This is quite satisfactory, Evillustrator. Just be sure to reinforce the walls of the room then head to the roof and locate Simularé. I want this place to be a fortress,” Masquerade ordered

“Understood,” the akuma nodded, his expression unreadable from the white face mask. He quickly headed to the door out of the room and Stone heart was guarding the door with his large frame and had to let the artist out.

“Gamer! Robostus! Status report!”

“We have made it so we could hack into every screen in Paris that is connected to the internet, as per your request,” the Gamer responded in monotone.

Masquerade smiled at that.

“Excellent. Do we have the cameras ready?”

The Reflekta copies near the robot akuma were being outfitted with recording gear.

“Affirmative, we will be ready to go live at your request.”

The masked akuma smiled at that news, she turned her attention to Princess Fragrance and the original Reflekta, who had just finished turning the last of the captured individuals into obedient copies of her.

“Has everyone in the school been rounded up and handled?”

“Dark Cupid and Reverser are doing a final sweep of any runaway stragglers. Stormy weather is going around flooding and freezing any empty hallways to flush out any that are hiding. There are Reflekta copies guarding the blocked off exits should anyone try and escape. But over 96% of the student body has been accounted for and 99% of all Faculty.” Princess Fragrance answered.

‘The missing ones are likely Marinette and Adrien. Those two never did make anything easy for me, did they? But it didn’t matter, their luck would run out soon enough. Once Ladybug and Chat noir were handled, then I could focus on making them pay,’ Masquerade grinned to herself.

She could picture how it would be, finding them and seeing their desperate faces as they realized that no hero would be able to save them. The first thing she would do was show them both her little empire. They thought she was bad when she had the school wrapped around her finger, they will be mortified when they see Paris. She would have all their friends and family captured, their best friends leading the cruel treatment of the rest. This would have them in tears and begging for mercy.

She did once consider letting Adrien be her boyfriend, with some perfume to sway him. He would have been a perfect boytoy to taunt Marinette with, but Masquerade realized how far above him she was now. She didn’t need him anymore, and truthfully, he was just as bad as Marinette, if not worse. Marinette had the audacity to dislike her and challenge her, but Adrien, he was so condescending, acting like she should be better than her actions. She could swear she saw pity in his eyes, and that was so much worse.

Though she wasn’t completely heartless, if they begged to be her personal servants and apologized for standing against her, then maybe she would let them have some mercy. Having Marinette clean up after her and make those admittedly delicious baked goods would be nice and having Adrien wait on her hand and foot like a personal butler would be quite fun. Maybe they would think if they did a good enough job their families would suffer less.

She did want to daydream about that idea more but she knew that she needed to focus on the present.

“Alright, Let’s start moving to stage 2. Gamer! I want a comprehensive list of every akuma victim outside of the school. Robostus! Make sure the cameras and broadcast are ready when I tell you. I want everything to go off without a hitch.”

“Affirmative!” Gamer and Robostus responded in equal robotic unison.

“Reflekta! Princess Fragrance! After all of the copies pick up the stragglers, I want you scanning the area for Ladybug and Chat noir. Bubbler and Lady Wifi… wait. I think I remember something.”

She paused to check her charm, she noticed the question mark charm and touched it, allowing her to focus and see what akuma it was.

“Cancel that order, remain on standby unless we get approached.”

“Yes… so this is what that voice meant by merging. How very interesting. I think I will let that new akuma keep its directive. Ladybug and Chat noir will have no chance of beating...”

An akuma merged with Lady Wifi, Bubbler and Oblivio. Combined to make something new. Something that she knew even the heroes would have trouble fighting.

“Deadzone.” Masquerade said with a devilish grin.

______________________________________________________________________________

Ladybug and Chat Noir made their way down the hall. They easily dealt with a few Reflekta clones without much effort and continued moving.

They were expecting to see more akuma lurking about, but strangely, the halls they were walking down were all either empty or only covered by Reflekta duplicates.

“Masquerade likely has her stronger forces consolidating after bringing in as many people to her as they could. Those that didn’t hit the mark likely got turned into the copies we bumped into.” Ladybug answered.

“That does explain why they were singing, like when Princess Fragrance made servants,” the cat hero added.

“This might be our only time to catch a break before confronting her.”

“So, since we have time, do you mind if I ask if you're free to go on Patrol tonight?” the cat hero casually inquired.

Ladybug stopped.

“Tonight? That is quite sudden. Plus, we still don’t know how this will play out.” Ladybug gestured to the school.

“Well I am going to assume we stop the akuma and save the day like always.” Chat noir commented. “Call it a safe bet, but we usually win.”

“Always the positive outlook, Chaton. I’m glad you have so much faith in us despite our numbers disadvantage.”

“You said it yourself, most of the servants are pushovers or just puppets. The only real threat is Lila. And we have faced worse."

“True, but not anything this sinister,” Ladybug tacked on.

“Didn’t we fight Hawkmoth a couple of months back?” Chat noir asked with a twinge of confusion. Was Ladybug implying what he thought she was?

Ladybug held her tongue.

“You’re kidding right? You think Lila is eviler than Hawkmoth!” Chat Noir exclaimed in shock.

“No no no! Not eviler … just a bit cleverer than him,” Ladybug confessed.

Chat noir looked at his partner skeptically, but then considered her words.

“She is manipulative. Considering even without being akumatized she has done some rather twisted stuff. But thinking she is evil is a bit much. Especially when there is someone responsible for forcing emotionally vulnerable people to do his bidding,” Chat noir pointed out.

“Isn’t that what she is doing right now?”

“Yes, but she was akumatized. If we started blaming people for their actions as akuma we would have to throw innocent people in jail.”

“Right… but you read that article on the Ladyblog right? She could be more than just a victim of Hawkmoth, she could be an ally.”

The Cat hero thought about it more but was still not entirely convinced.

“I guess underestimating her would be dumb, but maybe she isn’t completely evil. I mean Chloé ended up showing a bit of humanity and did some good, maybe Lila is capable of it too.”

The crimson clad heroine smiled a bit.

“That’s what I like about you, Chat, you always focus on the good in others.”

The black clad hero gave a Cheshire grin.

“When it comes to the team, you’re the brains, and I’m the sidekick who brings the smiles and the heartfelt speeches.”

“You aren’t my sidekick, Chat Noir, we are partners. And you could be the brains too, if you would use yours outside of pun making.” Ladybug playfully bonked his noggin.

The cat chuckled at the playful teasing.

“Fair enough, but I can’t help it if I FELINE making a quip.”

Ladybug could feel herself groan at the lame joke.

“I take it back… you are the sidekick,” Ladybug deadpanned, her tone of mock annoyance causing the cat to chuckle.

“Alright I’ll…” He stopped speaking as he noticed something was amiss.

Chat Noir’s left ear twitched. He heard approaching footsteps.

“We better get moving, this abandoned hallway isn’t going to be so abandoned in a minute.”

“More Reflekta clones?”

Chat Noir extended the staff to the ground, his face showing a sudden sternness.

“No… Winter is coming.”

______________________________________________________________________________

Viperion peered through the door of the locker room.

“Clear.”

The snake and dragon heroes entered with their akuma prisoner.

“Pick a locker and let’s toss her in,” Ryuuko commented as she held the squirming akuma.

The two paused their movement when they heard a rustling in the lockers.

“Do you hear that?” Viperion questioned.

“How could I not?” Ryuuko replied.

Just as the two stared at the rustling lockers. The two shaking lockers doors flew off their hinges.

And stepped out an akuma that neither hero recognized.

“I don’t remember seeing that akuma before,” Ryuuko stated.

“Neither do I, but it seems vaguely familiar,”  Viperion responded.

As the Akuma was gathering its bearings, the heroes tried to gauge its powers. It had broad shoulders that had spherical, dark purple balls around them, which were connected to tight black sleeves with 3 white circular stripes at the end that ended at his wrists. Its left hand had a fingerless black glove which showed its skin akin to a purple silhouette. The other hand was what appeared to be a black laser canon with a phone attached to it. On its back was a large red, purple and black pipe which seemed to act as a holster to a blue bubble wand.  Its face was obscured by a large white theater mask much like all the other akuma. But there was the impression that it had distinct features. Its chest had a rounded purple bubble on the top half of its body akin to round armor and it had a logo that appeared to be a WiFi signal within an eye in a cage. The lower half appeared more akin to a skintight jumpsuit that was black with white stripes at the feet.

The akuma turned its attention to the two heroes.

“So umm… what are you doing in the locker room?”

“Merge complete, Deadzone is active. Mission objective, Capture Ladybug and Chat Noir,” The akuma answered in a robotic tone less as a response to the question and more as a statement, their voice sounded like the mix of two people.

“Well, Deadzone, we can’t let you do that!”  Ryuuko exclaimed as she glared at the akuma.

The akuma pointed its blaster at her.

“Your opinion on that really doesn’t have an impact on us.”

Deadzone’s left hand touched the phone on their blaster, and a purple bubble with a pause insignia shot out. Ryuuko and Viperion both jumped back as the bubble had direct contact with their akuma prisoner, causing her to be motionless as the bubble turned green and floated to the roof of the room.

“Okay, so don’t touch the bubbles,” Viperion noted.

“Positive side, we don’t need to worry about that one akuma,” Ryuuko commented.

Viperion and Ryuuko knew this akuma would be trouble if it got to Ladybug and Chat noir. They were going to need to find a way to stop it.

______________________________________________________________________

Fu had been observing the spoiled Mayor’s daughter after her confrontation with the Reflekta replicas. Using it as a means to help him find Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was aware that this girl had a knack for getting into trouble and making akuma target her, so it would not be too far off to assume she would be useful in locating his chosen. He would have called her, but communication was down, so he would need to adapt. But now he had a rather interesting quandary.

“Should I lend her the miraculous or not?” Fu spoke quietly as he pondered.

It was a tougher question he had initially thought. If he was asked if she was worthy of being a miraculous user, the answer would undoubtedly be negative. She was clearly a spoiled brat who saw herself above others. But after the events when the bee miraculous temporarily fell into her hands, he had started observing her. He did this with all of the chosen ones that Marinette had picked. Not because he didn’t trust his student, but more out of curiosity of why Marinette picked these individuals.

With the one she picked for the fox miraculous, Fu could see that the girl valued justice, but was cunning and saw the importance of distinguishing truth from illusion, an ideal pick for the fox miraculous. As for the Turtle miraculous wielder, Wayzz spoke highly of Nino, which really made him curious about the young lad. That boy showed a willingness to protect those close to him even if it meant getting hurt, and the calm to be ready to wait and roll with things. The miraculous of protection required someone that can keep a cool head and be ready to defend at the drop of a hat.

The other temporary heroes matched pretty well with the traits of the Kwami and were all good people deep down. Fu had no doubts that Marinette had the instincts of a guardian. The only one that brought doubt was Chloé. After the incident where she found the miraculous and got akumatized, Chloé was trusted with the bee miraculous 3 times. And her record had been mixed but overall she was decent when she fell in line and worked with Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Marinette mentioned that she didn’t want to trust Chloé with the miraculous after the last time. But has admitted to Fu that if needed she was a decent Bee heroine.

But if he was wrong and she decided to use this chance to stay being a miraculous wielder, he would have to deal with her as a rogue. Though, considering the circumstances, that would honestly not be the worst situation, as her identity was public and Ladybug and Chat Noir would deal with her like before.

“Wayzz, what do you think?”

His kwami companion popped out of his shirt pocket.

“This is quite a dilemma, Master. The situation is dire, but putting the miraculous in the wrong hands would also make things worse. Perhaps Pollen would be able to give better insight.”

“Very true, my friend.” Fu patted the kwami.

Fu cautiously went into the cleaning cart and pulled out the Bee Miraculous. The bee kwami popped out.

“Good morning, Master,” Pollen greeted the guardian with respect.

“Good afternoon, Pollen. We have a situation and I would like to know your opinion.”

“Very well, I am happy to serve,” The bee kwami replied.

“What do you think of Chloé Bourgeois? The one that used your miraculous recently.”

The kwami put her little hand to her face as she compiled her thoughts.

“She is complicated, Master. She didn’t talk to me much but I kind of got to feel a lot about who she was as a person. She is brash, she is confident, yet she is insecure. She is blunt, stubborn, and set in her ways. But I can tell that she is at a crossroads in her life. There is some small part of her that wants to be good and do good for others outside of herself, but her upbringing has made such a mindset seem like weakness, and she is scared of letting herself be vulnerable. Ladybug has been a good influence on her, but she is still immature in several aspects. She has the potential to be a good queen. If she could break through that self-imposed selfish mentality, she could be something extraordinary,” Pollen explained, finally.

“I see, well that is quite informative. Thank you,” Fu responded, nodding thoughtfully.

He put the Bee Miraculous back in a tiny box, causing her to go dormant.

“So, she is at a crossroad.”  Fu repeated as he stroked his chin

He turned his attention back to Chloé, who had continued walking towards another dead end. When he caught the eye of approaching Reflekta clones. And with that, Fu figured out a way to know.

“I think I just found a way to know the correct answer.”

______________________________________________________________________

“I swear this place is a maze.” Mayura grumbled to herself as she walked the halls.

She noticed her fan shake, notifying her of someone calling. It was Hawkmoth

“Yes?”

“Mayura what are you doing?! You were supposed to find the target and get out!” Hawkmoth exclaimed angrily. “And why did you transform? You knowutilizing the Peacock Miraculous is dangerous.”

Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was somewhat touched by the concern in his voice. Unfortunately, she did not have time to dwell on that so she was going to ignore it, as she had a task at hand

“Some unforeseen circumstances have caused some rather unfortunate delays. I am going to locate the sentimonster and gather information regarding the target. Afterwards, I will assist in getting Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.” Mayura responded.

As she was speaking, an akuma with black wings flew into view along with an akuma riding a paper airplane.

“Seems the akuma servants have located me.”

She notices the akuma began preparing to attack her. They were practically mindless puppets that saw anyone who wasn’t their master as an enemy. This was quite an oversight, but it fit with the motif of the akuma villain. She felt the emotions of that girl, she knew exactly the type of insecurities Lila held. Thankfully for her, it meant they could easily be exploited.

“Get out of there this instant it is too dangerous. You are in no shape to…”

The akumas aimed at the unidentified villainess and fired off paper airplanes and arrows.

“We will discuss this later.” Mayura hung up before turning her attention to the two servants of Masquerade.

Mayura dashed through the hall, expertly avoiding projectiles and blocking with her fan those she couldn’t dodge. She jumped onto Reverser’s glider, grabbed the akuma and threw him at the flying Dark Cupid, leaving the two dazed and tangled together.

“I’m weakened, not helpless,” Mayura commented as she dusted herself off and hopped off the floating paper airplane.

She noticed that the two akuma that attacked her were slow in getting up.

‘Seems the akuma created by Masquerade aren’t just mindless, they are also rather slow in reacting. Ladybug and Chat Noir can exploit that. I suppose with the number of servants she made, this was to be expected. I should locate Simularé and get some details on our akuma’s little plan. I should step in and seize control if she gets too distracted like the last one. Gabriel has always been far too cautious when it comes to his plans, it’s time we were more active.’ Mayura mentally concluded.

She closed her eyes and focused on locating the sentimonster.

“She is on the roof. Odd placement for her most powerful ally, but I suppose there must be some sort of logical reason for what she is planning,” Mayura rationalized.

The peacock themed villainess noticed that the akuma that attacked her were starting to move again, and she decided to pick up her pace a bit.

______________________________________________________________________________

“This is super ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” she exclaimed with anger. “Not a single exit in this place! Why is every exit coated in icky slime?”

She checked her phone.

“And still no signal.”

She ended up chucking her phone out of frustration.

“I wish Ladybug would just get here and beat the akuma, or better yet, come here and give me the bee miraculous so I can help kick butt,” she grumbled as she went to go see where she threw her phone. She'd remembered she actually liked the case she just bought for it and losing that would be a waste.

“H-help me please!” The wails of a person in danger caught Chloé’s attention.

“That sounds like a non-me issue,” the blonde told herself. As she continued walking to her phone.

“If only there was someone here to save me!” the voice called out again.

Chloé stopped moving for a moment.

“Well I am not a hero without the Bee, so I guess he better hope Ladybug and Chat Noir are nearby, or maybe those other two costumed nobodies that I saw earlier,” she said, clearly trying to convince herself not to do anything.

“Please! Ladybug! Chat Noir…. “

"The heroes will handle it." Chloé reasoned with herself as she picked up her phone. Now getting ready to go somewhere else and likely away from the screaming.

“ And a…Queen Bee.”

Chloé’s eyes went wide. Did someone call out for… Queen Bee?!

Chloé started dashing down the halls to the sound of the voice.

“Did someone call for a hero!” Chloé called out, looking confident.

She arrived to see an old man in an ugly Hawaiian shirt being cornered by 3 Reflekta copies. The akuma copies turn to Chloé.

“Surrender,” they sing-songed as they began to approach.

Chloé ran right at them, and proceeded to push them into each other, and let the impractical heels make it hard for them to get back up.

She rushed to the old man.

“Don’t worry, old man with good taste in heroes and nothing else. I, Queen Bee, am here to save you,” Chloé blustered.

“Thank you.” Fu said with a forced smile. She clearly only came when he mentioned her name. But she did show up. In hindsight, maybe his test was not as conclusive as he thought. But then again, he actually planned those out more.

Chloé looked around.

“Alright old man, normally I would have just left you to get saved by Ladybug, but you have good taste in heroes, so I am going to help you out. We need to move before those creepy akumas get back up. So follow me, I know a place you can hide out.” Her tone tried to come off as abrasive, but it did show an inkling of care.

Chloé began moving away from the cluster of Reflektas. The old man shrugged and followed behind. He supposed that this would be another good test for her. Maybe he will get a more definitive answer by keeping an eye on her. And if worse comes to worse, he had a feeling she would make a good distraction should he need to escape a band of akuma.

______________________________________________________________________

“Did you just make a...”

Ladybug was able to pick up on the sound of harsh wind heading their way and decided her scolding of lame references could wait for later. She grabbed her partner's arm and pulled him into the nearby science lab.

She quickly closed the door just as a cold front blasted right past them. The window on the door was covered in ice.

“Stormy Weather?”

“Stormy Weather.”

The two both look at each other with a bit of worry. The storm akuma was one of their more powerful foes, and with complete control of the weather in such a tight space, things were going to get tough.

“Any ideas?”

Ladybug weighed her options. Would now be the time to use her lucky charm? or should she save it for when they are in front of Masquerade? It was starting to get harder to make that call.

“We can’t have her roaming the halls, we will need to incapacitate her. So I say have your ice power up ready, and be ready to swap power ups at the drop of a hat. Stormy Weather may be tough, but we still have tricks up our sleeve.”

Chat Noir nodded.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir both popped their Ice blue power ups and shift into their Ice forms. The two watched as the other’s suit gained ice skates, ice crystal and snowflake accents, becoming Ladyice and Icecat.

(AN: Yes, according to the Wiki, that’s what they are calling them. Personally, I would have called them Ladyfrost and Cold noir/ Cool Cat but that’s just me. This isn’t relevant to the story, I just wanted you all to know that.)

“You know, Ladybug, you really give off the ice skater vibe. Would you say you have experience ice skating outside of this form?” Chat Noir asked.

Ladybug felt her mind flash to her date with Adrien and her cheeks turned red.

“I- I may have some experience. And how about you, Kitty?” she deflected.

“Well, now that you mention it, I…”

They heard a loud bang on the door, cracking the ice that covered the window to reveal the white theater mask that Stormy Weather had covering her face.

“I’m gonna give it to her, she really knows how to break the Ice,” Chat Noir joked.

“Chaton, cool it with all of the ice puns,” she stated.

“Wait, was that a pun? My Lady I... OH SHI…”

A large ice stalactite burst through the door interrupting their banter and almost skewering them.

Chat Noir was about to say something when Ladybug cut in.

“Chat Noir, you are my partner and I respect you greatly. But so help me, if you say we should put this conversation on ‘Freeze’, I will not save you if you get impaled.” Ladybug stated.

Chat Noir paused.

“You know me so well,” he said with a smile.

The two watched as Stormy Weather entered the room through the stalactite hole.

______________________________________________________________________

“Hey Viperion?”

“Yea Ryuuko?”

“We both agree that we need to stop that crazy akuma right?”

“That is correct.”

“Then why are you carrying me away from it!?” Ryuuko exclaimed.

Viperion had picked up the dragon heroine fireman style in order to pull her away from the pursuing akuma.

“Do you want the reasons in alphabetical order?” the snake hero sassed.

“We can take it,” Ryuuko asserted. “We can’t retreat! There is no honor in it!”

“Well considering neither of our weapons can touch them, the concept of honor has flown out the window. Not to mention, I seriously doubt that we can take them on without a plan, and don’t say ‘try to hit them harder’ is a plan. It isn’t.”

Viperion had a smug look as he noticed Ryuuko look away.

“You’re right, but I'm mad about it,” the dragon heroine huffed.

“I can live with that.”

Viperion took a sharp left and noticed a dozen Reflekta duplicates.

“Juleka?”

“Come with us,” the clones sang.

“I’m going to assume they aren’t her,” Ryuuko said as she got off Viperion’s shoulders.

She punched his arm.

“Ow.”

“Your shoulder was bumpy.”

Ryuuko drew her weapon and dashed past the group of Reflekta clones. After a second, she holstered her weapon and all of the clones dropped to the floor groaning.

“Wow.” Viperion was impressed. He had to admit that it was super cool.

“Don’t worry, I used the flat end of the sword. They will be fine, and hopefully they will slow down the akuma.”

The two continued running, but glanced back as Deadzone arrived. He looked at the clones getting up and blasted each one into a green bubble in which they remained motionless and floated to the ceiling of the hall.

“It can’t distinguish between friend or foe,” Viperion commented.

“What?”

Viperion turned to his comrade.

“I think I just got an idea.”

__________________________________________________________________________

“This way,” the bossy blond teen motioned.

Fu pushed his janitor cart as they moved in the hallway.

“Do you really need to move that hideous thing with us?” Chloé questioned with clear aggravation.

“It's very important,” Fu responded.

“Ugh, whatever. Just move faster, then.”

Fu nodded and picked up the pace.

The mayor’s daughter led them down the hall and they had managed to avoid attracting attention.

“Okay, we are here.”

Fu looked at the door and realized that it was the nurse’s office.

“Hopefully the nurse didn’t get herself captured while I was gone.”

Chloé went to open the door and noticed it was locked.

“What the…”

“Let me try.” Fu interjected.

“Fine, just hurry up.”

He pulls out a jingling set of keys. Chloé shrugged as she turned around to keep watch.

Fu let his kwami companion out to open the door. Wayzz quickly undid the lock and opened the door before sliding back out of view.

“All done,” Fu said.

Chloé turned around as Fu opened the door.

The two quickly ran inside and locked the door behind them.

“Nurse Arugula!” Chloé called out. “I have a guest for you!”

“Arugala?”

“It was something with an A.” Chloé commented.

The two waited a few seconds, but there was no response.

They moved deeper into the office.

“Are you here?” Chloé questioned.

They flicked on the light switch to see the nurse in the cot.

“Oh, that’s great, I leave to go get help and be a hero and she goes off napping!” Chloé fumed.

Fu moved to the nurse and noticed she had a bruise on her neck, indicating that she was clearly forced into this state. He jabbed a pressure point and the nurse jolted awake.

“HUAGH!”

She nearly fell out of the cot.

“Glad you can join us from your nap,” Chloé hissed.

“Chloé? Did you call for help?” The nurse inquired as she gathered her bearings.

“No, the school is a total dead zone, and I couldn’t find a way out because they are all blocked by slime. Side note, I found this old guy.”

The nurse turned to the old man.

“Hello. I’m Angela.” She politely introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you. I am… Fung,” Fu lied. He couldn’t be too careful.

“Nice to meet you Fung, despite the circumstances,” she tried to make light of the situation.

“Every meeting can have a positive circumstance if one is looking for it.”

The calm in the air died when Angela realized that someone was missing.

“Oh no! The women you left in my care! She knocked me out and stormed out of here.” Angela exclaimed.

“Welp, she is probably captured,” Chloé shrugged.

“We have to find her, she has some sort of strange illness. Leaving her out there might be dangerous, akuma or not.”

Angela prepared to move to the door but was stopped by Chloé.

“Oh no you don’t! I brought this old man here for safety. You stay here with him.”

“But my patient!”

The woman was clearly shaking, but she was determined, she wanted to help her patient even if it meant going into danger. But much to Fu’s surprise, Chloé stepped up.

“I will bring your patient back. Mostly because being stuck in here seems much worse than dealing with a bunch of dumb akuma.”

Angela hugged Chloé.

“Thank you.”

Chloé tried to look annoyed, but a ghost of a smile appeared on the mayor’s daughter’s face. She accepted the hug for a moment.

Fu took notice. He had made his decision.

“Alright, enough touching! You deal with sick people all day. I don’t want germs,” Chloé stated as she tried to give off her usual air.

“That is very brave of you, young one.” Fu spoke.

“Pff, this is nothing. It’s what heroes do.”

As Chloé began making her way out of the nurse’s office, Fu quietly slipped the tiny miracle box into her bag.

‘I hope this was worth the risk.’

_____________________________________________________________

(END OF CHAPTER)

Well things are really heating up.

Will Ladyice and Icenoir be able to deal with stormy weather? Will Deadzone be the dead end for Ryuuko and Viperion? What is Masquerade's villainous plan? Will I update faster than every 40 or so days?

Let me know your thoughts and if you did enjoy the story.

REBLOG it and comment. Likes are nice but they don't really help content creators like they should.

[magicalqueennightmare]

Ask the Task Force

Task Force X's opinions on you and Rick as a couple.

The Soldier and His Witch Verse

Warnings are cursing (as always)

If anyone asked Harley she would at least at first give you the clinical reason as to why she thought Rick and you were a good match.

"Yeah Switch is a criminal or whatever but do you know who she killed? Abusers. She worked with a domestic violence shelter when she was younger. First time she killed someone was when she was seventeen years old. She had his wife and two kids hiding behind her and did what she had to do. You know who else would've killed the bastard? Flag. No matter their pasts those two have a lot of the same beliefs and the differences they have compliment each other. Their personalities are compatible, imperfectly perfect ya know?"

Of course being Harley she'd also have to laugh and add "Besides have you seen em? Switch is fuckin gorgeous and a badass to boot. Flag is easy on the eyes and handy in a fight. They're a good couple and anyone who says different can suck it"

If anyone asked Floyd he'd roll his eyes "Switch has been my friend since before either of us got locked up. Believe it or not a few times she beat me to the draw on a target. When we started on the task force I knew she had my back and she knew I had hers. When she got her deal offered she negotiated my release man I'll always owe her for that. As for Flag? He's an alright dude. I mean he had a stick up his ass at first but by the time that mission in Midway City he was done he was a lot more chill. The situations where Switch would fly off the handle, Flag manages to calm her and vice versa. All I know is they make each other happy. There's no one else I'd rather have in my corner than those two plus my daughter likes em. Don't tell em or they'd get the big head but they're actually who I picked as her godparents seeing as she never got any when she was born cause of that mama of hers" 

Then he'd have to add "Why you asking anyways? You got a problem with either of them? Cause if so you got a problem with me"

If anyone was to ask Boomerang at first he'd give an eye roll same as Floyd but then he'd level them with a glare "You really are that fuckin dense huh? You're asking why those two are a good match is proof you ain't never seen em in a fight together. They move like they can read each other's minds. It's a thing of beauty seeing them take people out. A certain art to it. As for them romantically? First time I called it was when she got her ribs hurt saving his ass well all our asses really. Flag stayed the whole time she got looked over by the doc then I heard him telling every guard on duty if she complained of pain to call him. Switch is one helluva woman. Flag would be an idiot to not see that and the way he looks at her? He worships that girl. It's what she deserves ya know? She's been through some shit. They make each other happy and I'm happy for em"

Waller knew long before it ever became public. Hell, Waller knew before you and Rick knew. She "overheard" an argument between Rick and June right before June decided to head back to North Carolina. It was over a candle of all things. Rick said the smell distracted him and reasoned that when he was off work with June he wanted his mind on her and not other things. Through methods only she had Waller managed to track down what candle it was and when she identified the scent she realized why it distracted Rick. It smelled like you. The name of the scent was stormy nights. It was due to your powers and the tie to the weather that the scent of a storm clung to your skin. Rick didn't want the candle because he didn't want to think about you when he was with June.

Not long after June left Rick started refusing to work with anyone who didn't have a good track record of working with metahumans. Then you got an apartment in the same building as him when you got out. She got reports. She knew that not only did the two of you work side by side but you spent most of your free time together. Then of course the matter of Nikolas Morgan ending up with a broken nose and no explanation besides he refused to work with the task force further. What did she care? The two of you were efficient, that's what mattered.

@lacontroller1991 @xoxabs88xox @cluelessnitwhit

[brookecuzyes]

three years of you. — tear myself apart

Damiano David x GN!Musician!Reader

Main Masterlist — 3yrs Masterlist

Summary: it’s only been a couple of days, which were full of tears and regret. however, that regret wasn’t on their part until a simple comment was made. (Part 3 of a series)

Word Count: ≈3.4k

Warnings: cursing, alcohol intake, angst (Anyone drinking alcohol in this chapter is of the legal drinking age in the United States, which is 21.)

A/N: thank y’all for reading! this has already gained a lot of readers and so i am happy about that. love you guys sm 💕 songs included in this fic are not mine. any characters mentioned are not mine, and belong to their respected owners. and ofc, i don’t own the celebrities either. i do check comments/reblogs, so please be respectful!!

———————————————————————-

You’ve got this, you can do it.

You tried consoling yourself. Normally, he would be here to help calm you down— or at least call if he could physically be there. He’d be there if you were about to have a panic attack, he’d be there to make sure that you were OK.

But you aren’t.

An entire audience full of strangers who listened to the songs, who listened to your heartbreak. Now, they get to watch your heart break live.

He wouldn’t— no, couldn’t— be there to comfort you. He couldn’t be there to tell you that everything will be fine. He fucked up, he’s the one who messed up that relationship…

“…then why did you show up?”

——

Glasses clinked. Chatter was taking place all around. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming.

You sat down at the booth with the whole band. Saturday had rolled around, which you hadn’t noticed since you were lost in an almost depressive state where time was non-existent. However, the karaoke bar definitely woke you up.

“Alright, guys,” Luke, the lead guitarist, said, holding a couple of drinks in his hands. “Tonight is the night! The tradition kicks in once again, and Monday we start recording. Let’s celebrate and relax.” Julie, the lead singer and the girlfriend of Luke, followed behind him, setting more drinks down on the table. Flynn, the unofficial manager of the band, let out a loud, “woo!”, making everyone laugh. All of you grabbed a glass and clinked them together, all taking a sip at the same time. Your face crunched when you processed the drink.

“Jesus, Luke, what is this?” you questioned.

“Alcohol,” he said blatantly.

“Yeah, no shit,” you shot back, shaking off the effects.

“I just said that we’re relaxing— that’s exactly what alcohol does!”

“Or maybe you're just an alcoholic?” Alex joked, taking a sip of his drink.

“I don’t drink that much.” Luke defended.

“That’s what an alcoholic would say.” The whole band started laughing at the ongoing banter. It isn’t often when Alex made witty remarks like that, and everyone always enjoyed it when he did.

On another note, you felt as if you absolutely needed this drink. Given what’s been going on this last week, you felt like you deserved it. Though, you knew you’d regret this tomorrow. You knew Alex was keeping an eye out for you. The rest of the band didn’t know yet, they just knew that something happened, which is why you left Italy so early. They were all confused, but didn’t ask upon it when Alex glared daggers at them when they tried. So, thankfully, they did back off. But, it doesn’t mean that they weren’t concerned.

You had been talking, making it seem as if everything was fine, but Alex’s heart broke when he picked up on it. However, with the alcohol about to course through your veins, it would be harder from him to be able to pick up on whether you were drunk or going through it. Regardless, he was going to make sure that you were having fun and not thinking about your ex.

“Hey,” Flynn said, “why don’t we start the karaoke? I think we all have enough alcohol in our systems to do this.”

“I vote for Alex to go first!” You said, raising your hand. “Do Micheal Bublé.”

“Woah, hold up, I never even said-“

“It doesn’t matter. What I say goes. Now go.” He sighed, laughing as he stood up from the booth. He went over to the guy and told him what song he wanted to do. They got everything set up, and Alex got on stage.

“Let’s go, Alex!” You cheered on, making him smile and blush just a bit— though that wasn’t entirely visible from where you guys decided to sit.

The song started playing, and Alex started singing. It took you a few seconds to recognize the song but you figured it out.

“Oh, he’s singing Feeling Good. I love that song,” you whispered to Reginald, the bassist, who was sitting next to you. He looked to you over his shoulder, smiling. He hadn’t seen you so “out there” since you got back. It was nice to see you getting back to normal. Though, he didn’t actually know why you weren’t normal to begin with.

And I’m feeling… good.

You cheered Alex on again, dancing along to the beat with the whole band. Alex didn’t sing much, but when he did you cherished those moments. That’s why he songs Now or Never and Stand Tall on the band’s very first album are your favorite.

“God, I love his voice,” Reggie said, as if he read your mind.

“Yeah, and look at him,” you pointed out the way his body is moving with the music. The way he was just lost in a musical haze. It was enchanting. “That’s what his anxiety covers up.”

Alex soon finished, hopping off of the stage with an embarrassed smile on his face.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed, babe,” you said, noticing his expression. “That was the best performance tonight by far. Not even Julie could compare to how amazing that was.”

“Thanks, Y/N,” she said, drawing out the ‘thanks’ in a sarcastic way. You raised your glass to her.

“Anytime, Jules,” you replied, raising your eyebrow and taking a sip. She laughed, letting the comment you made slip— for now at least.

“Hey, I have an idea!” Flynn exclaimed. “How about we take a couple photos and post them to our accounts? Y’know, to celebrate this very special moment.” Everyone collectively agreed. Pictures were taken left and right— and others were taken throughout the night, too— and each person had a different photo that they were each going to post. You had decided that you were going to post yours now, not wanting to forget later on tonight or tomorrow.

You captioned it:

Just continuing a small tradition tonight with music and alcohol. maybe if he lets me, i’ll post Alex singing Feeling Good 😏🤍

It was perfect and you posted it, after letting everyone see it to make sure it was OK. Within minutes people already saw it and were liking and commenting. You made sure to turn your phone off before it started going crazy. Julie and Luke decided to go up and do a duet with each other. They choose Little Do You Know. Their voices were beautiful singing the song. They mashed just so perfectly. You recorded them, knowing that you would 100% show them this at their wedding. (They aren’t engaged, but it’s bound to happen sooner or later.)

You weren’t paying attention to the notifications spamming the top of your screen, though you did look back once to see if the camera was aligned with their bodies. That’s when you saw a specific notification. One thing that you absolutely forgot when you posted that photo was that Måneskin could still see your posts. The only reason you remembered was because Victoria responded to your post.

Ahhh you look amazing!!!😘

The second you saw it, you put your head in your hands, mentally slapping yourself. If Victoria saw it, then the rest of the band is going to see, meaning Damiano would see it. Fuck, you thought to yourself.

“Hey, Y/N, are you alright?” Alex asked, placing a hand on your arm. You looked up at him showing him the comment. “I don’t understand.”

“Victoria commented. Meaning Damiano’s probably gonna see it.”

“Not if he’s blocked.”

“I didn’t block him, we’re still mutuals.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Alex. Maybe I just haven’t gotten to it yet.” You realized the angered tone in your voice, not meaning to be rude to Alex. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”

“No, it’s okay. Hey, maybe if he does end up seeing it, he’ll just be jealous. Damiano will see everything he’s missing out on.”

“What is Damiano missing out on?” Julie asked, sitting back down with Luke.

“Oh, it’s nothing-“ Alex started, but you cut him off.

“I left Italy because Damiano was talking to another girl. It caused too many problems, so I left.” Everyone went silent. Everyone’s eyes softened at you, unsure of what to say.

“Y/N…”

“It’s fine. I’m here now. It doesn’t matter.” Silence fell once again, especially on Alex’s behalf. He knew you weren’t fine, he knew it mattered— whether you said it or not. “Sorry if I kinda killed tonight’s vibe.”

“N-No, you’re fine,” Reggie said. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Yeah, you didn’t ruin anything. I am glad that you told us, though. We’ve been worried.” Luke said, putting his arms on the table and leaning forward just a bit. You felt your phone vibrate but didn’t think anything of it— probably just another person on Instagram.

“Sorry that I made you guys worry. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up. It’s just been a hard couple of days. This shit isn’t easy,” you explained, mumbling the last part. Everyone stayed silent, none wanting to make something worse.

“Luke, why don’t you and the guys go grab some food?” Julie suggested, placing a hand on Luke’s back, turning her attention back to you.

“Oh, yeah. Guys, let’s go,” Luke said, getting the hint. The boys got up and left, each giving you a sympathetic look. The girls, on the other hand, all stayed behind.

“Alright, listen up,” Flynn started. “Tonight is not the night to mope around. You can do that tomorrow when you’re hungover.”

“Right now,” Julie jumped in, “you’re gonna forget about that asshole, get your ass out there, and sing your heart out, dammit!” Your eyes widened at the girls’ sternness. A smile started creeping from your lips, Julie and Flynn following behind you. Soon enough, the three of you started laughing your asses off.

“Ok, ok, I’m convinced. I’ll have fun tonight. Thanks,” you said, trying to shake off the laughter so you can speak. You grabbed your drink, taking a sip of it. It was the same drink Luke got you earlier. Damn it, Luke. You shook your head to shake off the kick the drink had. Flynn chuckled at your antics, taking a sip of her, not as strong, drink. The guys soon came back with some snack-type items in their hands.

“Are we all good now?” Alex asked, setting down the plate on the table and looking your way.

“Yep, we’re all good now,” Julie answered, taking a sip of her drink. You chuckle at her, reaching for some of the food on the table. “But, Y/N’s about to sing for us.”

“Woah, wait, now?”

“What did I say? You’re gonna sing your heart out.”

You groaned, slumping back in your set in a joking— yet, not entirely joking— way. “Julie, I didn’t realize that you meant right now.”

“Ok, so? Get up there, Y/N! C’mon it’ll be fun.” You contemplated. I should go, you thought, it could be fun.

“Fine, I’ll go,” you announced, getting up from your seat. Reggie and Flynn got up from theirs so you could get out. When you got up, you turned to Reginald.

“C’mon, you’re doing this with me,” you said, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the guy supervising the karaoke.

“I didn’t really wanna sing right now. Nerves, y’know?” Reggie explained.

“So? Reggie, I get that nerves are real, but there’s no way in hell I’m doing this alone.” You opened up a book full of songs, and was going through the selection.

“Why couldn’t you just get someone else?”

“Because I think our voices clash very well together.” You turned your head to him and gave him a smile. He shyly smiled back. You looked back at the book and held it up to Reggie. “What about this one?” you asked, pointing to a song. Reggie read it and smiled.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” he said, grabbing the pen and marking off the song and writing your names. You stood back, waiting for him to finish. When he did, he turned around.

“Alright, I’ve got us down. Wanna head up?” He asked, holding his hand out with a playful smile.

“Let’s do it,” you said, grabbing a hold of his hand, him taking you up the stairs and into the stage.

When you walked up, you saw the screen in front of you turn on, switching to the lyrics of the song. The lights were bright, but it wasn’t anything you weren’t used to. You saw some people stare at you, but it was mainly the rest of the band. Reginald walked to the microphone set up on the far left, you took the other. The song started playing, immediately relaxing you. Maybe this isn’t as bad as I thought. The song you chose was a favorite of you and Reggie— Meet Me At Our Spot. Of course, the band loved it too, but they got bored with it after a while since you two were always blasting it wherever you went. You actually had some inspiration from this song and wrote a little tune, but you had no lyrics at the moment.

When I wake up

I cant even stay up

I slept through the day, fuck

I’m not getting younger

——

“Victoria, you don’t understand-“

“No, you don’t understand, Damiano!” Victoria raised her voice at him. They never argued. They’ve known each other since childhood and nothing had ever caused an issue, except for this.

“I did nothing wrong.”

“Really? ‘Cause it looks to me that you broke your lovers heart.”

“Y/N left me,” he said, trying to reason.

“They might have physically left, but, Damiano, you were gone a long time ago.” She started towards the front door of his house, grabbing her keys.

“Where are you going?” Damiano asked.

“Home. But, let me tell you something first, Dami.” She put her hand on the doorknob. “It doesn’t matter how you try to defend yourself, you fucked up. You broke Y/N’s heart. You were talking to someone else. The damage is done. If you’re gonna try and get them back, you’re gonna have to try really damn hard. You want to get Y/N back, right?”

Silence followed. Victoria gave him a second to compose himself, but ultimately feared the worst. “Dami…”

“I mean, yeah, but-“

“No buts. You shouldn’t be saying ‘but’, you have no reason to.” Damiano just looked at her. “Wow… unbelievable.” Victoria opened the door and walked out, slamming the door behind her. Damiano walked up to the door and locked it. He headed back to the living room and heard his phone ding. He picked it up and saw that you had posted a photo.

Just continuing a small tradition tonight with music and alcohol. maybe if he lets me, i’ll post Alex singing Feeling Good 😏🤍

He sighed. He unlocked his phone, and went to go see the photo you posted. You looked nice. Happy. What was the tradition again?

Right, karaoke. The weekend before the band records an album, everyone goes to a karaoke bar. He scrolled down a bit and saw a comment. He saw Victoria’s comment.

Ahhh you look amazing!!!😘

He figured that she saw the post before she pulled out of his driveway. He debated on what he should do.

Yeah, he fucked up. But, it really wasn’t that bad. It’s not like he cheated. It was just talking. He wanted to tell you that you look great, but wasn’t sure how you would feel about it. Like Y/N would care what I think, he thought to himself. You never broke up, though. Plus, he needs to know what’s going on, how you’re doing. He’s concerned. Couldn’t be the worst thing— it’s not like the internet knows yet.

Ok, I’ll just just comment.

——

Caught a vibe

Baby, are you coming for the ride

I just wanna look into your eyes

I just wanna stay for the night, night, night

You and Reginald were jamming out to the song, as per usual. Everyone was loving it, even the rest of the band. It was the most fun you’ve had in a hot second.

When we take a drive

Maybe we can take the 405

Hypnotized by the light

Man, this must be the life

As the song ended, everyone cheered you two on. You went over and hugged Reggie on his side, him giving a small hug back. You guys walked back to your booth, the whole band full of excitement. Alex got up from his seat and let the two of you in, you sitting in the corner of the booth.

“That was amazing!” Luke exclaimed.

“Thanks, we had fun,” Reggie said, practically reading your mind.

“Definitely.”

“Your voices go so well together,” Flynn remarked.

“That’s exactly what I said!” you said, hitting Reginald’s shoulder so he knows your point is proven.

“Ok, we don’t have to be violent about it,” he joked, smirking just a bit.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m gonna go to the restroom real quick. I’ll be back,” you said, waiting for Alex and Reggie to stand up so you can go. You grabbed your phone, stood up, and made your way to the restroom. When you got to the restroom, you went to one of the stalls but checked your phone before you did anything else. However, you almost immediately regretted it because you saw that Damiano had commented on your photo.

What the hell does he want?

You read what he had commented, and, honestly, you wanted to laugh.

You look great tonight, as you do every night, amore

You couldn’t believe it. Amore, really? you thought to yourself. You looked up from your phone, looking at the stall door. You contemplated what to do next:

For starters, keeping the comment wouldn’t be out of the norm for your followers. They knew about you and Damiano. However, if you deleted (which you really wanted to do), everyone would notice. People would speculate. Or, you could just go off on Damiano privately. That would be too harsh. But, this is your account— your decision. Do you want to have your cheater boyfriend compliment you the way he did?

You know what, do it later, you thought, turning off your phone and finally, actually, using the restroom.

Once you finished, you exited the stall and walked over to the sinks. You washed your hands, not able to get that damn comment off of your mind.

You walked out of the restroom and back over to the booth, but you didn’t sit down.

“Alex,” you said, standing next to him. “Can I talk to you?” He looked up at you, unsure of what you wanted to talk about, but got up anyway. You grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

When you two got out there, you sat down on a bench, Alex following your move.

“Is everything alright?” You opened your phone and went to Instagram, showing Alex to comment Damiano left. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I just don’t know what to do, and it is tearing me apart. Do I delete it? Do I keep it? Do I argue with him?”

“Delete the comment, and, Y/N, please, block him on social media. You don’t have to block his number, but you should block him everywhere else.”

“Why not his number,” you asked.

“Because you need closure. At some point, you’re gonna want to text him or call him and try to get some understanding as to why he did what he did. You haven’t actually broken up yet. Maybe that’s how you finish off?”

After a moment of contemplation (again), you nodded your head slowly.

“Ok. Yeah, ok, I’ll do that.” You lowered your head and searched through your following to find Damiano’s account. You clicked the three dots at the top, and looked for the block button.

“You sure this is the right thing to do?”

“Yes. Want me to do it?”

“No, no, it’s fine. I can do it.”

You looked at the button for a second. You’ve never even thought of blocking him before. I’m your mind, he was the one. Now? Well, you’re blocking him because he cheated on you, so obviously your idea of him completely shifted.

I can do this.

Your hands started shaking slightly, your heart was beating like crazy.

I can do this.

Slowly, you moved your finger over the button.

Click it, it’ll be fine.

And, so, you did. You clicked the button.

You felt free.

———————————————————————-

Taglist for 3yrs — i’m so sorry if i couldn’t tag you!*

@mywritingonlyfans @nientedaridere @pingpongchamps @fairysums @kkjk @blackbluerose666 @thatmeganthing @teenyweenynightghost @ccweasley @lilchickie @katyldamusic @fanfictioncafe @tiaamberxx @butkutee @aboredassho @story-scribbler

*(for those who want to be tagged, please have stuff posted onto your blog and make sure that your blog isn’t censored <3)

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Fathering a Phantom ch2

I just wanna Talk, I swear

Here we have the chapter 2 for that fic from earlier! Once again, here ya go @five-rivers @floralflowerpower and @uwuplasmiusuwu

“Cole I’m going to murder someone,” was the first thing that Toby said to his husband upon arriving once more in their temporary sanctuary. Cole paused mid throw of his javelin, electric sparks crackling up the polearm, and turned to look at his husband. Toby’s wings were ablaze, his nails sharpened into claws, and his eyes a colorful storm, as though he couldn’t decide what to turn into for maximum lethality. Cole set down his javelin and wrapped around Toby in a hug.

“Who are you planning to murder, sunshine? And should I join in? I haven’t gotten into a good fight since we got here, which is a shame.” Cole coalesced from a mass of clouds into something a bit closer to his original body when Toby relaxed in his embrace, running his fingers through shimmering feathers made of embers. “You really do look like a star like this, by the way.”

“There was, I think, a war forged around here who fired a bunch of rockets at a child! You know that liminal kid I told you about?”

“Oh right, we’re rare in this realm, huh?” Cole’s face scrunched up in confusion and he arched a brow. “I thought the liminal around here beat up the tyrant ruling the place when he woke up?”

“I didn’t exactly ask about what must’ve sucked when I half blew up the metalhead.” Toby flew over to the couch and flopped face first into it. “Now I gotta track him down.”

“Why only half? Sounds like someone you’d take out in one go if you had the drop on em.”

“Well, do you wanna traumatize a kid of unknown cultural origins? He’s so small, and his friends were clearly still living humans. I dunno if he’s seen someone die before, let alone a ghost getting Ended. If I recall, committing murder is a bad way to start a friendship with a child.”

Cole snorted and gave Toby a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, fair, Sildar didn’t like me much after that rescue. But hey, now you can put that on your to do list! Murder, the answer to most problems.” Toby laughed, phasing through the couch when Cole sat on him. “There he is, my giggly celestial chandelier.”

“Do you even remember what a chandelier is? I know you broke like three of them over someone’s head, but I forget whose head.” Toby put out the flames in his feathers and stretched, satisfied when his spine popped a few times. “It’s nice to still be able to do that.”

“I’ll be honest, being a cloud has made the sound of your joints popping kinda gross to me. It sounds like you’ve still got a flesh and blood body.” Cole sat up, scratching his head. “Do you still have a humanoid body? With like, meat and bones and stuff?”

“Probably, yeah. We’ll see, cause if so that’ll come in handy with helping out this liminal kid. Said his name is Danny Phantom.” Toby paused, the feeling of his feather being torn an odd and upsetting one. “Speaking of whom, I should go meet up with them. Think you can find this ‘Skulker’ guy while I educate some kids?”

Cole kissed Toby on the cheek and gave him a thumbs up. “Will do! I can’t promise there’ll be much left of him afterward though, I’m not a fan of idiots who attack kids.” Toby smiled and in a flash of light and beat of wings, he was gone. Cole nodded to himself and grabbed his maul, crackling with electric arcs, and opened up the door to their temporary Sanctuary. “Now then, who the fuck is Skulker?”

After having a small debate about where they couldn’t go and why, team Phantom finally ended up at the indoor roller rink that was partially destroyed by a giant ghost crab a while ago, and sat down at a table that Danny cleared of debris with an ectoblast or three. “Ok guys, I think this is a good enough place to call him up.”

“Are we sure it’s a good idea to call him at all?” Sam held up the feather she’d kept in her pocket, turning it about to watch the golden flame dance. “He took down Skulker pretty fast and it usually takes you a good half hour to do that, Danny.”

“Skulker specializes in attacking Danny is all, Sam. We’ve got the weapons to handle pretty much any ghost we normally deal with, and Danny took down the king of ghosts. I’m pretty sure he can handle anyone else.”

“Plus, Toby wrecked Skulker pretty bad. If he wanted to fight, I’m pretty sure he would’ve started a fight.” Danny condensed his ectoblasts into one ball of ectoplasma and stretched it out into a pole. “Imagine all the cool stuff he could show us!”

“Alright, if you say so.” Sam snapped the feather in half, surprised by how easy it was to do, and grabbed her ecto-pistol. For a moment, there was silence. Then the sound of wingbeats filled the room and Toby appeared above the rink as though landing from a long flight.

“That’s a spell I’m not used to casting frequently in a day. Heyo kids!” Toby waved, tucking his wings by his sides while walking closer. “Sorry for the delay, I was talking to my husband. So, names again just to be sure: Sam, Tucker, and Danny, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. What do you mean spell, exactly? Do ghosts have magic ontop of the other ghost powers now?” Tucker spun the lipstick laser around in his fingers, remembering Desiree’s magic and Freakshow’s staff.

“Anyone who can do magic keeps the ability in death, usually. I’m not dead though, I’m Deathless.” He spread his wings and spun around, thumbs pointing to his chest. “I was born awesome like this, and so was Cole. But, based on your faces you weren’t born like this?”

“No,” Sam said, gesturing at Danny. “This is a recent thing, it’s been since about…” Sam paused, her gaze landing on the wall behind Toby. “March of last year, so 14 months.”

“Yeah, god, we’ve been doing this for over a year now, haven’t we?” Tucker, who had held up a camera to record everything Toby was saying, slumped a bit in his seat and sighed. “Feels like it’s been like this forever and like it happened yesterday.”

Toby stared at them all like they’d each grown extra limbs in odd places – Danny even checked to make sure he hadn’t done that while feeling both old and young at the same time due to how little time had actually passed – before zipping over to Danny and holding his hands just over the teen’s face. “Oh my gods, you’re a baby.”

“I am a teenager, thank you.” Danny gently pulled Toby’s hands away from his face, a brow raised. “What, is 14 infantile to angels, feather man?”

“You’re only 14 months dead, Danny, that makes you a baby ghost.” Sam snorted and Tucker covered his mouth to try and hide his laughter. A snap of Toby’s fingers and flowers began growing in Tucker’s hat, and seeds appeared above Sam, growing into flowers as they fell all over her. “If you’ve had regular interactions with that metal head, no wonder your aura’s all aggro.”

“Skulker’s not exactly the worst of the ghosts we’ve had to fight over the months,” Danny said.

“Oh yeah, that’d have to be either Walker, Spectra, or Vlad. It’s really a toss up between Spectra and Vlad, if you ask me.”

“Vlad wants to kill Danny’s dad because he sees his mom as a trophy that was stolen from him, while Spectra tried to kill Jazz just to depress an entire school so she could feed on the misery to look young.” Sam brushed away the flowers and weighed two in her hands. “Yeah, those around the same level of grossly evil.”

Toby’s wings ignited at some point while Sam was talking, and the sunlight streaming in from the hole in the roof grew somewhat brighter. He reached into a bag he had strapped to his waist and pulled out a book and a pen, his smile all teeth. “Tell me, please, a list of all the adult ghosts who have attacked you children? I’d like to have a discussion with each of them.”

“If we give you their names,” Danny said before Tucker could answer, “do you promise not to go slaughtering them all? I don’t need to know ghostly body language at all to know that flaming wings come from a place of anger and imminent violence.”

“When did you read a thesaurus, Danny?”

“Sam, I’m insulted: I know tri-syllabic words. I can even say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

“I promise not to slaughter all of the ghosts you inform me hurt you in the past few months, yes. Names?” When Tucker listed off names, Toby wrote them down with an inhuman speed, and Danny exchanged a look with Sam, worried about how exactly that deal might be loopholed around. “Right,” Toby chirped while slamming his book shut, “I’m here to answer some questions of yours, not just ramble about myself and assemble a… list of people to talk to. Got any?”

“So many that I don’t even know where to start.”

[party-gilmore]

...well, I managed to get to literally JUST BARELY before the actual smut starts, so please enjoy this unbetaed 2k word teaser prologue of "demi/grayace Parker doesn't feel like she's Enough for Eliot without Hardison around, so he sets the record straight."

Set during The Hurricane Job, because who gives a damn if the ep is even OUT yet, am i right? XD

“Room 236.”

“What was that?” Eliot hums. His voice is muffled beneath the heavy, sopping weight of his jacket as he tugs the damn thing over his head. His shirt peels off right along with it, so he just shucks the whole shebang in the generic direction of his luggage. He’ll have plenty of time to see to it properly tomorrow - the storm will have them trapped at least another day. With a groan, he stretches out his bad shoulder. It’s not quite dislocated again, but it’s not quite right either. Two nimble hands sneak up from behind and flit their way over the shoulder blade, one bracing against the wet neck of his white tank top while the other presses swift and hard on the joint - and ‘pop’ goes the weasel.

Eliot flashes Parker a pained but soft smile through the old dresser mirror, but it falters when he catches her eyes peeking over his shoulder. There’s a look in them he isn’t familiar with, but doesn’t think he likes.

“Park-” he starts to turn around, but she manhandles him back away from her and shoves her hand into the back pocket of his jeans. No small feat tonight, they way the rain has soaked and damn near suction cupped them to his ass. “H-hey, woah, alright there darlin’, slow it down a bit,’ he chuckles, reaching back to feel for her, but she’s already hopping back and flashing a small, colorful rectangle at him.

“Room 236,” she repeats, flipping it around her fingers like a coin. Eliot frowns. They’re in room 225, just down the hall. They’d found what the crooked cops were after with time to spare, so there was nowhere left to search. Why then, would he still have a room key for-

Oh. He reaches back and pats the offending rear pocket, flushing as he remembers Marshall Shipp’s parting flirtatious wink and accompanying gentle smack on the ass as they’d parted ways a half hour ago. He hasn’t exactly been… discouraging her interest. It's felt good that women are still interested in him even as he’s put a few more miles on, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like the attention - especially from someone as 'his type' as Maria.

Well, what used to be his type, at least.

He shoots a sheepish, apologetic grin at Parker. Maria’s ‘interest’ was quickly becoming ‘intent,’ and now Eliot needed to find a way to nip that in the bud sooner rather than later.

“Damn, I should’ve noticed the reverse lift,” Eliot clears his throat, toying with the edge of the pocket absentmindedly. “She must’ve slipped it to me after we completed the radio broadcast. I was uh, distracted by our success I guess.”

“Bet that’s not all she’d like to slip you,” Parker’s voice takes on a bit more of a playful tone for a moment. Cheeky, teasing. It feels like solid ground.

“Hey now,” Eliot teases back, starting to undo his belt, slow and deliberate, as he begins toeing out of his boots. “I can’t help that I still ‘got it,’ darlin’. I can think of a couple folks I know offhand that might like to, uh… 'slip me a little something' right now, 'specially since I'm properly alone with one of 'em for the first time since-” The only problem is, he forgot how damn difficult these boots are to get off on a good day, let alone when soaked through with salt water. Swearing under his breath, he abandons his attempt at being suave to sit at the end of the bed and fumble with the ties. He should know better than try to look cool for either of his partners nowadays. It never works out quite right, and he’s starting to get to the age where he doesn’t even see the use of that kind of posturing anymore himself. They’ve seen him at his worst already - mentally, physically, emotionally - so what would be the point, really? On top of that, he may make a fuss about his ‘cool points’ in front of Breanna, but he knows Hardison’s sneaky ‘dorkification’ process he's been slowly contaminating Eliot with over the last decade is almost complete. He's still drawing the line at DnD, but he doubts that'll last much-

“...or, if you wanted, you could go let her slip it to you.”

Eliot is too caught up in his own head to really register the suggestion at first. He's busy ruminating on how differently his younger self would be handling this whole situation - all smooth moves and hot edges, shucking off clothing with a kind of casual grace.

‘Yeah, those days have long passed,’ he thinks, hunched over and fighting the waterlogged leather of his boots with fumbling, aching fingers. He gets the first one yanked off his foot less than gracefully, wincing at his ankle’s unsubtle protest, before what Parker said finally processes.

Slowly, he sets his singular boot the side and shifts enough to face her. Parker’s tone didn’t hold any bitterness or bite, just nervousness and a bit of resignation. She isn’t looking at him, but out the window, arms wrapped tight around her midsection in a way he hasn’t seen her do in a while. She bounces restlessly on her heels. There’s a clear energy inside her looking to get out. The thunder rumbles lowly through the suddenly silent room, murmuring a warning through the curling reverberation in Eliot’s gut.

He starts out gentle. Easy.

“...now why would I wanna go an’ do somethin’ like that?” Sometimes it’s easiest to bring things to Parker head on, and she’ll respond in her usual stark, frank manner. Just lay it all right out in the open to be picked apart. This isn’t one of those times. Eliot can read that much in every restless tap, every rapid twitch of her eyes to some place else in the room, any place that isn’t him.

“She’s your type, isn’t she?” Parker’s voice is a higher register than it should be, but not quite into her panicking zone yet. That’s a start. “She’s badass, sexy… passionate.”

Eliot notices her leaning heavy on that last word, and frowns.

“So are you, Parker.”

“Not in the same way!” She turns a bit, still looking outside, but her arms unwrap from herself to gesture between them. “Not the same way you and Hardison are!”

It’s quiet for another beat. The white noise of the hissing rain against the window settles into the room with a steady, thrumming tension. Eliot doesn’t jump to demanding clarification like he might’ve done a decade ago, doesn’t snap and tell her to stop beating around the bush. He’s learned that Parker tucks away all the information he needs to understand in every phrase, no matter how inane or incongruent it may seem. So Eliot holds his tongue and chews on the words for a while.

“Me and Hardison, huh?” He leans forward, elbows on his knees, and rubs his jaw in a performance of pensiveness. The movement draws Parker's attention and she finally looks over to him, following the back and forth of his fingers. He presses on, carefully. “Thought we were talkin’ bout me and the marshall. What’s Alec got to do with this?”

“Because he isn’t here!” Parker breaks, not enough to falter or crumble but enough to say what's on her mind before she can overthink it. "He isn't here and it's different! I can feel it! I'm not-" she fumbles her words for a minute, just waving between them again. "-all passionate about the whole sex thing like he is!"

There's that word again. Eliot knows where to go from here, at least. It's all about that word. He stands up, albeit a little awkwardly with one foot still in an inch high boot.

"Sure it's fun and I like it sometimes, but not like you two do! Alec balanced me out, could give you what you needed! I'm not… by myself, I'm not enough for… for y-..." Parker cuts herself before she can grow any more manic, bunching her face up and looking away again like she does when trying to stave off any waterworks before they can start.

Eliot can see her closing up again as her words fail her, but that's alright. What needed to get out made it out. He can take it from here. He hobbles over in his awkward, single-socked gait until he's close enough to take her shoulders in hand, but he doesn't pull her in for the hug. Not yet.

"Now I want you to listen to me, and listen good." Eliot makes sure his tone is firm, but gentle. Parker responds the way he'd hoped - still not looking, tilting her head down, but leaning toward him. Into his space. Receptive, and ready to hear him. "Yeah, it feels different. That's cause you and me? Are different from me and Alec. We're always gonna be. 'That makes us, us,' remember? Just like that's different from you and Alec. It's all part of 'us,' yeah, but it's… we got our own thing, Parker. And sure, we might like it best when it's all three of us, just because we love him so, so much, yeah?"

He lifts one hand from her shoulder and tucks a bit of hair back behind her ear, giving her a chance to respond if she wants. Parker murmurs a quiet "yeah," and steps in a little closer. Eliot tugs her in the rest of the way now, assured that she's open to the touch. She pillows her chin on the shoulder she fixed, and Eliot lays a light kiss to the outside of her ear before continuing in a lower voice.

"So… we miss him, when he's not here, and we don't have the 'all three of us' thing right now. That doesn't make our thing, the you and me thing, any less good. It doesn't- Parker, you're so much more than just enough for me. You're who I need... especially when we don't have Hardison. Don't ever doubt that."

"I'll try," Parker turns her head and mutters it into the crook of Eliot's neck, and he loves her all the more for it. It's better than any empty promise of 'I won't,' because he knows the honesty of it. Knows it's not just an empty platitude of 'I'll do it,' but the vulnerable admission of 'I want to, but don't know if I can.'

"That's all I ask, darlin'."

Because it is. That's all Eliot ever asks of her. To try. Never demands that she change, never insists she should be thinking of herself differently or more kindly than she does. Just that she tries to.

"Now. About this whole 'passion' thing," Eliot sighs, pulling back so he can do that thing he does to Hardison that Parker loves to watch him squirm under, but likes it a lot less when it's turned on her. That thing where he ducks his neck and tilts his head and looks up at her through his hair with that serious, intimate look that makes her want to run because he for sure can see all of her secrets like this but also want to sink deep into that comforting gaze and never leave it. "I don't know where you got this idea that you're not passionate from, but-"

"Yeah, but it's not-!"

"The same?" Eliot cuts off her half-hearted attempt at argument. "Course it's not the 'same' as us, Parker! You aren't us. So, you… you don't lose yourself in it the same way me and Hardison do, okay? Him and me, how we get high off each other, the way we act... so you don't do that. That's fine! That’s only one type of passion, darlin'. You can't tell me,” he lets his hands skim down Parker’s arms until they meet her own palms. “That the way you focus so damn hard on taking us apart - taking me apart…”

Eliot brings Parker’s hands to his hips, and her fingers start to fidget with the hem of his shirt. Anchoring herself with the ribbed texture of the tank. Starting to explore up his stomach the way Eliot knows that Parker knows he likes. She’d ferreted that one out of him ages before they’d even thought up this whole ‘you and we makes three’ train. He lets his voice go a little breathy, a little raspy, makes sure she notices how she's affecting him. “-the way you always know exactly how to do it, piece by piece, single-mindedly pulling me apart like a damn puzzle, Park… you can’t tell me that ain’t some kind of passion.”

“Yeah, but that’s just the same way I steal stuff,” Parker giggles a little, the familiar flutter of Eliot’s sides under her deft fingers grounding her and soothing some of the unease. He’s right about this. How she knows what to do with him. How good she is at it. But that’s not anything special, it’s just-

“Exactly, Parker,” Eliot is trying to walk them back toward the bed, but it’s not really working out well. Between his having only the one boot on and Parker actively seeking out the ticklish bits of his belly that make his knees go all wobbly when she scrapes her nails down them, it’s comical enough to startle another giggle out of her. Or it’s a sob. Or it’s a hiccup. Or it’s some weird combination of all three, she isn’t really sure, but it doesn't seem to really matter either. The sound is whatever it was, just like she is whatever she is.

“It's just like that. Just like how you plan your next score. And that’s your Thing. Like me and food, Hardison and his nerdery... Do you realize how that makes me feel? Knowing you treat me like a heist? Like the thing that you let define you?”

“Yeah but that’s not a sex thing, it��s just a me thing.”

“It doesn’t matter that it’s not a sex thing, Parker, it’s your passion. Your Thing. Yours.” Eliot finally makes it back to the edge of the bed and drops, pulling Parker into his lap. He guides her wandering hands to his chest so she can feel the rumble in his voice as he growls.

“Darlin’, you treat me like damn masterpiece. Like I’m standing smack under a spotlight in the middle of the Louvre, and the only thing in the world that matters to you is how you’re gonna pick through my security piece by piece until all that’s left under your hands is a canvas stretched tight as it’ll go and a picture meant only for you and the people you choose to see it."

Parker’s nails scrape against the skin of Eliot’s collarbone as her fingers instinctively curl in, wanting to grip take steal hold climb, and he barely restrains himself from throwing his head back in a moan. He needs to make sure Parker’s in the right place first, before he gives himself over to his own wants.

“Wow,” she whispers, damn near reverent now as she looks down at him. There’s a dawning in her eyes that tells Eliot they’re alright. That they’re gonna be good. That it’s okay to pull her tighter and ask her to go ahead and steal him again tonight, since he knows her rigging is secure.

"I can't imagine anything more passionate than that."

“Uh-huh, ‘wow' is right,” he laughs breathlessly, and reaches up to take hold of her chin. It’s a light grip, barely any pressure where he between his thumb resting on the front and the rest of his fingers curling around under her jaw, but she lets Eliot guide her down until their lips touch. Not kissing, yet, just touching. His mouth moves against hers as he speaks, tongue briefly darting out to wet two pairs of parched lips. “-so tell me, why the fuck would I want to go to anyone else?”

“Maybe if you got some bad advice,” Parker murmurs, voice strong and confident again for the first time since they wrapped up the con. “From someone who didn’t realize she made you feel that way?”

“Hmmn, that could make sense,” Eliot hums back, resisting the urge to roll up against her in wet jeans that would only serve to chafe rather than provide any of the friction that having Parker in his lap always makes him crave. “If someone could help me get this damn boot off, maybe I could get to work making sure she’ll never forget it?”

[thr-333]

Just Another Class Trip :)  Part 3

You know getting dragged through a multi billion dollar corporations building to try and avoid your illegitimate father, a normal monday for most I’m sure.

First< Previous >Next

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

It’s official, I hate Adrien

Marinette groans, having been practically dragged out of bed for breakfast. Adrien was wisely backed up as far as he could in the elevator. She yawns, making it loud as possible and looking Adrien right in the eye.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed out so late,” Tikki giggles, hidden in her scarf.

Yeah it turns out that ‘just need to help out one person’ turned into a it is now 3am and I am halfway across the city beating up a gang.

“At least the box was safe,” Marinette whispers back, she had crashed in Adrien's room, no matter how mad Lila would be, or because of it who knows.

And indeed Lila was mad. The second they step foot into the hotel restaurant the entire class turns to stare at them. Crowded around a smug looking Lila with tears rolling down her cheeks. Marinette just turns a sharp left to the coffee. It isn’t until she has downed half a cup and refilled it that she tries to look for her friends.

Chloe looks just as dead as her, so she sits next to her. Let the morning people talk, they were ready to pass out together.

“Kagami?”

“Yep, Adrien?”

“Yep,”

“Morning people,” They both sneer.

“Were you planning on sleeping all morning?” Kagami asks, eating breakfast like a normal person, what a jerk.

“Were you planning on watching me all morning?” Chloe half heartedly retorts.

“You are adorable when you’re sleeping,”

“Fuck you, I’m adorable all the time,”

“Chlo, language, please,” Marinette implores, nursing her giant cup.

“Shut up Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe snaps, face planting back into the table.

“She’s not that cute actually,” Kagami whispers to Adrien, “Wore a face mask she got green all over the bed,”

“I’ll get green all over you,” Chloe mumbles absentmindedly.

"Marinette,"

"Ah the storm is coming,took them long enough" She takes a gulp of burning coffee, "Yes Alya?"

"You cant just say that to a person," Alya tries to explain, as if talking down to a child, "Lila was up all night crying,"

"She probably just put on a recording and went soundly to sleep," Chloe scoffs, sleepily looking up from the table.

"I was with her all night!" Alya turns to Chloe, seething rage coming to the surface.

"Thats some impressive endurance," Marinette mutters, downing more coffee.

"You think she's been practicing?" Chloe smirks.

"This isn't-"

"Make sure she get's plenty of water," Marinette turns away, hoping the conversation would be over.

"Marinette!" Alya looks down at her the way Marinette often looks at her, the look at a dear friend who changed, "Can't you see you're hurting Lila?"

"Can't you see she's hurting me?" She covers that honestly by gulping down more coffee, she has not had enough for this conversation.

"You used to be so nice Marinette," Alya dodges the question, pointing to Chloe and Kagami instead, "Then you started spending time with these two, and, and you changed!"

"Believe what you want Alya," Marinette motions for her friends to stay calm, "But they stand by me when no one else will, especially you,"

"Thats because!- Marinette if you had just gotten to know Lila instead of being jealous this would have never happened," Alya looks down at her sadly, Marinette was sure Paris would have been up in flames somehow if she had ever trusted Lila, "If you just didn't spend time around these bullies everything could be the same, you wouldn't have become a bully too,"

"So what?" She spits bitterly, looking over at the table watching them, Lila looking disgruntled it wasn't an all out fight, "If I got up and joined that table right now, would everything go back to the way it was?"

"... No,"

Marinette’s pocket buzzes in a familiar sequence. Akuma alert.

"Ok then, not much point in arguing about it, I'm going to stay with my friends, the ones I can actually trust," Marinette quickly shuts down Alya's protest, "Now go get Lila some water,"

Alya walks off back to the table, everyone crowding around her. Marinette waits for the door to be clear, she has to leave before Alya finishes or the whole class will be breathing down her neck.

“Forgot something in my room,” Marinette slings on her back pack, “Be back soon,”

She was not back soon, she was not back soon at all. Luckily she should only be three minutes late for the bus-and nope they left, great. She’ll just have to catch up with the tour later.

Well, I had stuff to do anyways

She talks with the receptionist; her assistant should have sent her a prepared motorcycle to the hotel the day before. It’s a quick drive to the location she had selected specifically to be close to the hotel.

She puts on a simple domino mask before entering the building, she didn’t want anyone to leak her identity after all. Walking in she’s glad to see everything is not in disarray.

“MDC,” Her assistant, Liam walks up to her.

Liam was someone she met through Penny. He’s older than her and also acted as her guardian on most of her trips as MDC. He does know her civilian identity, which she trusted him completely to keep. She likes him because-

“Is that mine?” She snatches the cup of coffee as he passes it to her.

“Figured you needed it,” Liam smiles, wincing as she downs the burning liquid, it's fine she has a strong healing factor, “You said your bag was stolen? This should replace it, it’s most of what you had plus more,”

He rolls forward a pre packed suitcase.

“I would die without,” Marinette says in all seriousness, “So what's the damage?”

“No major problems so far, the security we hired is enough to scare away the smaller thugs,” Liam nods to some security personnel guarding each door, “They won't be enough if any super villains try to attack the actual show,”

“Mm, give them instructions on the night of the show they are only allowed to intercept small time, anything bigger they are not allowed to engage,” Marinette studies the room, there's great places to hide, friend or foe, “If they see anything they are simply to report it directly to me,”

“They can’t engage?” Liam looks around, trying to see what she is.

“They won't be able to stop them anyway, and there is no reason for them to die,”

“If you say so,” Liam leads her through the room where lights are being set up and walls are being painted, “So what's the plan if we do get attacked?”

“I’m sure Batman is going to have his eye on any big events,” Marinette approves of the color of the back wall, it looking even better in person, “Besides I’m planning on trying to intercept before any violence,”

“In other words you're going to make my job a lot more stressful,” Liam sighs, making a note or rather on his tablet.

“Not if I can help it,”

“You can’t,” Liam sighs again at her grin, “Didn’t you have a tour with your class today?”

“They left me,” Liam seems equally unsurprised, “But I should probably head for Wayne tower anyway,”

“Don’t get into trouble,”

“I never get into trouble,” Marinette smirks from the door, “Trouble drags me into it kicking and screaming,”

“More like keen and skipping,” Liam closes the door in her face.

Marinette strolls into the Wayne tower an hour late with Starbucks, she sees is her class, being a nuisance arguing with a tour guide.

“You cannot just leave a student alone in Gotham,” The tour guide all but yells at Madame Bustier.

“Marinette is very responsible, she can handle herself,” Madame Bustier more defends herself than Marinette.

“I don’t care how responsible your student is, that won't stop them from getting shot!” This time he does yell, “You need to go back and pray to god she’s alright and hasn't gotten lost for some murder to find!”

Alright time to break the tension

“Hey, what did I miss?” Marinette asks casually, Already sipping at her straw when all eyes turn to her.

“Marinette! How did you get here?” Madame bustier demands.

“I-”

“I think you mean ‘are you alright, I’m so sorry for leaving you behind,” The tour guide glowers, apparently threatening enough that Madame Bustier actually repeats him.

“I’m fine, I borrowed a bike from my friend in Gotham,”

“You don’t have a licence in Gotham,” Lila sneers triumphantly.

Oh look who actually did some research, how much digging did you do when I learnt how to ride a motorcycle

“I didn’t say it was a motorcycle,” That shut’s Lila up, “But yeah it is a motorcycle,

Worth it for that face

“Also I got my licence approved in America before I came,”

So worth that face

Lila opens her mouth, better than the flood gates, when the tour guide interrupts.

“Now that everyone is here,” He sends a smile to Marinette and a glare to Madame Bustier somehow at the same time, she gets the tinglily feeling of  miraculous holder, or maybe its just the caffeine, “We can start, my name is Dick I will be your tour guide today.

They follow Dick through the tour Marinette's group right behind Dick. She scribbled designs and took notes as he talked, asking her own questions. This got her dubbed Dicks favourite, and easy title to gain as the rest of the class lagged behind. Most were listening to Lila, only Max and Alix were straining to hear Dick over the chatter. Marinette would occasionally pick up a mention of the Wayne's and knew it wasn't related to the tour. She'd have to guess Lila was lying about either dating someone or saving their life, or because it's Lila probably both. A gutsy move in the Wayne tower she had to admit. Marinette could tell Dick was listening and would probably have that rumour make it back to the Wayne's themselves. Would the wrath of some of the richest and most powerful people be enough to stop her? not likely.

They split up for lunch at the cafeteria in the building. She saw the coffee machine and was about to make a bee line to it when Kagami pulled her back to eat some 'real food' whatever that is. She makes a break for it after eating the so called 'real food', right before the tour was about to restart. She reaches it as a familiar figure is also waiting.

"Hi Tim," She greets, getting him to actually jump, "You work here?"

"Hi! um-yeah," He looks over to her, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" She takes the biggest travel cup they have available.

"Sn-nothing," Tim still looks uneasy, then his eyes lock onto the cup, "tired?"

"Was up till three am last night, plus jet lag?" She yawns, "Yeah I'm tired,"

"Then you'll want to put that cup back,"

"Hm why?"

he gets her answer when Tim ducks down, opening a hidden cupboard full of travel cups at least twice the size of her current one,

"Tim I love you," She fills up the giant cup, "You're my favourite person in Gotham as of right now,"

"Not Dick?"

"Eh, his puns are lacklustre," She shrugs, Tim spits out his drink, "You know Dick?"

"Yep, give him a hard time for me!" Tim calls over his shoulder, walking away.

"You got it!" She hurries in the opposite direction, late for the tour once again.

“Did you get another coffee?” Dick asks as they enter the PR department.

“They were serving them at lunch,” Marinette could almost laugh at how quickly he had begun to fret over her during the tour.

“I know, that was my brothers idea, or rather demand,” Dick sighs, someone else approaching the group to direct the tour.

“Your brother works here?”

“Sure does,”

“But you don’t”

This makes Dick pause, looking down at her as she sips at the coffee.

“What?”

“I mean you don’t work this job at least,” She shrugs, it wasn't hard to figure out.

“Why's that?”

“You seem uncomfortable, your charismatic but still lack the smoothness of a rehearsed tour, plus you seem offended that they are in the back chatting,” Marinette nods towards Lila and her posse, “Regular tour guides would be used to that,”

“You found me out,” Dick chuckles, “I’m just taking over for today,”

“Well I think you picked a bad class to do that for,” She looks over at most her class ignoring the speaker trying to get their attention.

“I think I picked the right one,” Dick says cryptically, then walks off to help herd the class.

“Alright you have to give me the recipe,” Marinette overhears from a nearby desk.

Someone is sitting on it eating a cookie, while the other taps away at her computer.

“Sorry no can do,” She shrugs, “I don’t know it,”

“How can you not know it, you baked them right?” He asks, trying to steal another one and getting his hand slapped away.

“Nope, new vigilante came in, beat up someone robbing my house and baked me cookies,”

“This is Gotham so I believe the first two,” He looks between her and the container, “But cookies?”

“They also gave me free therapy,” She shrugs, before tapping on the container,“And do you really believe I could make these?”

“Touche,” He smirks leaning back on the desk, “So who’s the new guy? With the Batclan?”

“No they said they were just passing through,” She doesn't look up from her computer, focusing intently on the screen, “Names Starling,”

“Never heard of them,”

“Neither, and I tried looking them up,” She sighs, pushing back from the computer in defeat, “Found someone, but it’s not them, actually couldn't find anything on them,”

“Weird,” He gets up from the desk, “Can’t imagine Batman is going to take kindly to a new vigilante running around,”

“Unless he adopts them,”

“That… yeah he probably will,”

"Oh no-CLAIRE" The speaker trying to wrangle her class stops, "We have a problem!"

"Sorry to cut this short," Claire doesn't look sorry at all, "Seems we have important matters to tend to,"

She follows Dick out of the department, ushering her class as she goes. Claire looks over at her like she has two heads, a mixture of impressed and pity, and perhaps a bit of jealously.

They get to go further up the building, to the higher floors. They reach a space that is mostly meeting rooms. He class decide to take advantage of Dick declaring they are completely sound proof, or maybe they took it as a challenge. Marinette is walking past a hall when someone leaning against the wall catches her eye.

“Auntie Selina?!”

They look around, only spotting Marinette seconds before they collide into a hug, she feels the tingling buzz of a true holder.

“Mari!” Selina picks her up and spins her around, no different from when she was five, “Oh, my love it’s so good to see you, when did you arrive in Gotham?”

Marinette watches as her smile morphs into horror.

“Wait, what are you doing in Gotham!?”

“It’s a class trip and- hey where are we going?” Her Auntie grabs her arm pulling her down the hall.

“Marinette!” Dick calls, walking around the corner, Selina makes a sharp turn down another corridor, “Wait!”

Selina is two steps away from running as she pulls Marinette through the maze of hallways.

“Auntie where are we going?”

“Down here,” She opens the door leading to a staircase, too narrow to be a fire exit.

“That’s not really what I was asking,”

Selina inputs a key code, the door swinging open as she is pulled into the room.

“Wait!” She gets pulled through another door just as quick “Was that wall full of weapons?”

“Just a picture sweetie,” She says sweetly, “Down these stairs,”

“Aunt Selina what are we running from?” They are running now, floor after floor.

“We’re not running from anything sweetie,” Selina speeds up, “I just wanted to show you a cool spot in Gotham,”

“Right,” Marinette raises an eyebrow, “I was actually with the class so maybe we could go later?”

“It closes in five minutes,”

“Like you wouldn’t just break in if we were going somewhere,”

“I promise I will take you somewhere nice,” She smiles back at Marinette, they reach the end of the stairs, coming to a garage of sorts, “If you promise to hurry up,”

“Sure-” She does a double take, of the room, “Hold up are those costumes?”

“Collectors stuff, you know,” They are surrounded by bat themed... everything, “Rich people,”

“Right and how do you know this?”

“I-” She hesitates, eyes drifting, “Hey look, the exit!”

They all out sprint towards the exit. Selina reaches out to open the door a second after it swings open.

“Selina,” The man smiles at Selina as she runs into him.

“Hey Bruce,” Selina jumps back, trying to hide Marinette behind her.

“Where are you going?” Bruce looks behind her at Marinette, who gives a little wave.

“Out! Got to hurry!” She grabs Marinette's arm again, trying to pull her around Bruce.

“Is something wrong?” Bruce grabs Selina's shoulders to keep her still and looking at him.

“Nope nothings wrong,” She wriggles out of his grasp, trying again to pull Marinette away.

“Ok then,” Bruce still looks worried but turns to Marinette instead, “Hello I’m Bruce Wayne, Selina finance,”

“YOU’RE HER WHAT!?”

“Snitch,” He Auntie spits out venomously.

“Why didn’t you tell me!?” Marinette asks her with the biggest grin.

“Surprise,” Selina gives half heated jazz hands.

“Wait! Whens the wedding? Do You have a dress? I’ll make one!” She deicides, brining out her sketchbook, drawing different designs, “What's the theme? Never mind tell me on the way to the fabric store, I’ll sketch up some designs,”

“Darling, please-” Selina is now getting pulled along.

“Oh! I’ll call Papa! I’m sure he’ll want to make your cake! We have to hurry, come on lets go!” They're already out the door, Marinette waves turning back to Bruce, “Nice meeting you!”

“What just happened?” Bruce asks Dick as he runs up next to him.

“She kidnapped one of the students on tour,”

“Who is now making her wedding dress,” Bruce nods, not understanding anything

“Did I miss something?”

I think we all did

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

Taglist:

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[sleepysnk]

this wasn't requested, but it has been on my mind all night! i decided to give you guys some angst, this will he set in a modern high school au and Eren is the classic bad boy, while reader is the good girl. i'm not gonna share too much, but here ya go! i hope you guys enjoy, this will be manbun Eren btw!

Eren x Fem!Reader: You Don't Need Me

Warnings: angst, some mentions of violence (not to reader), police involvement

(Y/N) giggled as she got into the car with Eren. He was picking her up from her job at the cafe. 

"Hey.. thank you for the ride," she said and looked at him with a smile. 

Eren smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "No problem.. don't ever hesitate to message me when you need one," he said and began to drive the car. 

Eren and (Y/N) had been talking for a pretty long time, the girl who had a crush on the boy since junior year. Now as a senior, she finally got the opportunity to get to know him, with the help of her friend Armin who was friends with Eren. She never thought she would ever get this far in speaking or being this close with him. Eren was always so closed off. 

"You want anything to eat?" he asked and looked at her. 

She sighed. "Not really.. I gotta get home to study for this exam. It's crucial for me," she replied and leaned back in the seat. 

Eren nodded. "Exams are stupid, why let a score determine what you're gonna be in life?" he said, shrugging.

She laughed a bit and looked on her phone. "Easy for you to say, you never are in school," she said. 

He laughed. "Okay, that's true," he replied, glancing over at her.

(Y/N) was the perfect student. 4.0 GPA, was on the dance team, had multiple college scholarships offered, was in AP classes, and had an amazing report card. It was no overstatement to say she was set for greatness in life. 

Eren wasn't the best student. The boy never really was in school, he had bad grades, a bad temper, got into trouble with the law, fights, drugs once or twice, and has gotten suspended multiple times. There was almost a time where Eren got into so much trouble that he almost got expelled, thanks to Carla and Grisha, his parents, that didn't happen. 

Thing was, Eren never mentioned any of the bad to (Y/N). As far as the girl knew, Eren was just a simple lazy guy who didn't come to school. He kept her out of that shit, he felt like she didn't need to know. 

"Alright.. we're here" he said and put the car in park. 

(Y/N) gathered her things and looked at him. "Thank you for the ride, it means a lot" she said and smiled at him. 

Eren smiled. "No problem, I'll see you tomorrow? Text me" he replied and gave her a hug. 

She nodded. "See you later" she said and got out of his car. 

Eren waved as she got out, he waited for her to get inside and he drove off. He had to go do something for someone he knew, and he had to do it fast. 

His phone began to ring and he noticed it was the guy. "Hey.. I'm on my way" he said. 

The guy who's name was Porco, sighed. "Good.. you need to hurry your ass up, we have to get this shit in your car and out of here" he said. 

Eren nodded. "Okay, I'll be there soon" he replied and hung up. 

He drove about 15 minutes away and arrived at the place. He sent a text to Porco, and waited for someone to come out. Eren felt nervous, realizing it was now past curfew, cops would be crawling around. Especially at this time of night and where he was. 

He heard a knock on his window and saw a hooded figure, Eren got out and looked at the guy. Porco removed his hoodie. 

"Finally you got here, take it. Hide it and don't show anyone" he said and handed Eren a bag. 

The bag felt heavy and he felt the metal of the handgun through it. "You got it" he said and looked around. 

Porco nodded. "Alright man I believe in you, don't get caught" he said and tapped his arm. 

Eren got back into the car as Porco walked off, he began to drive back to his house. He had to hide this gun as quickly as possible, he heard his phone go off and he noticed (Y/N) texted him. The text made him smile, he knew how much she liked him, she was so cute. 

As Eren was texting back his worst fear was now facing him as the red and blue flashes appeared behind him. 

"Shit!" Eren yelled and looked around for a place to pull over. 

Eren's anxiety shot through the roof. He already had enough issues with the law, he shoved the gun under the passenger seat and hoped for the best. 

The officer knocked on the window. "License and registration please" he said. 

Eren rolled down the window and grabbed his license, he searched the glovebox for the registration and handed it to the officer. 

The officer looked at it. "Eren Jaeger huh? I remember you, you stole alcohol and I found you drinking" he said and laughed a bit. 

He rolled his eyes and shook his leg nervously. "I don't remember you very much" he replied and tried to seem cool. 

"I'm gonna go run your stuff, remain here" the officer said and walked away. 

Eren felt his heart beating in his ears, he wanted to get this over already. He wasn't even sure why he was pulled over, he wasn't even doing anything bad. 

The officer came back and handed him his stuff. "I pulled you over because you were speeding and you were texting and driving. Considering your record, I'm going to have to search the vehicle. You can refuse but-" the officer stopped when he looked in the car seeing a beer bottle. "Sir.. have you been drinking tonight?" he asked. 

Eren furrowed his brows. "No? I'm fine" he replied. 

"There's a beer bottle right there" he said and pointed at it.

Fuck. 

"Eren I'm going to have to ask you to please step out of the vehicle" the officer said and looked at him. 

He sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. "It's not mine.. I don't know how it got there" he said as he got out. 

"I need backup" the officer said on his radio. "Wait right there on the curb" he added and pointed at the curb. 

Eren sat down on the curb and saw another cop car pull up, the two officers began talking and one of them came over to Eren. 

"Alright so we're going to search your vehicle, we have probable cause. Is there any kind of weapon in your vehicle we should be concerned about? This is when you should be honest" the officer asked. 

Eren looked up. "No.." he replied. 

The officers went to go search Eren's car, he felt anxiety going through him. He silently prayed that they wouldn't find the gun, he felt sick he wanted to throw up on the spot. 

"What do we have here?" the officer said and looked at Eren. He was holding the bag with the gun in it. "You're going to jail tonight," he added. 

Fuck. 

The next day (Y/N) didn't see Eren at school, she was a bit confused, maybe he was skipping again? 

She was sitting in class with her friend Sasha. "He hasn't texted me back at all" (Y/N) said and looked at her. 

Sasha shrugged. "Maybe he's asleep, Eren is always skipping. You know you could ask Mikasa or Armin, they usually know" she said. 

She sighed. "Armin told me he doesn't know anything apparently" she replied. 

Sasha put her hand onto her shoulder. "Just ask Mikasa" she said. 

The bell rang and students began to exit the classroom, (Y/N) made her way down the stairs and saw Mikasa standing with Armin. The two seemed to be talking about something, she just wanted to know where the hell Eren was. 

"Hey Mikasa… have you seen Eren?" (Y/N) asked and nodded. 

Mikasa looked at her and rolled her eyes. "I know where he is, he's so stupid! I'm surprised you're asking, considering you both are so close" she replied. 

(Y/N)'s brows furrowed. "Huh? What do you mean? Eren said he'd come to school" she said and sounded confused. 

The dark-haired girl looked at Armin. "You don't know?" he asked and nodded. 

(Y/N) seemed genuinely confused by what the two were saying. "No.. I don't, guys can you please just tell me?" she replied. 

Mikasa sighed. "Eren is in jail, he got caught with a gun last night. He's so stupid, this is his 3rd time in jail" she said and crossed her arms. 

She felt her body go weak and she dropped her phone to the floor. "He what? N-No.. stop messing around, that's not like Eren" she replied. 

Armin put his hand on her shoulder. "He didn't tell you? (Y/N), this is pretty normal. He always gets involved with the law" he said and looked at her. 

She picked up her phone. "Thanks guys, I'm gonna go.." she said and walked away from them. 

(Y/N) went to the bathroom and began to break down, what the hell was Eren doing with a gun? She never knew Eren had issues with the law, she always assumed he was just a guy who skipped school and had anger issues. Why would he lie to her? What else was he lying about? 

Things on Eren's end weren't better either. He was on bail at the moment, his bail was about $7000. His mom was pissed and so was his dad. Eren fucked up and he knew Porco wasn't going to be happy either, Eren snitched. 

The officer approached the holding cell. "Good news, you just got bailed out" he said and began to unlock the doors. 

Eren stood up and exited the holding cell, he saw his parents standing there. "You all have a good night now" another officer said and nodded. 

The three exited the police station. "Eren what the fuck!? Do you know what the hell you just did?" his mom yelled as he sat in the car. 

Eren rubbed his temples. "Yes mom I'm fully fucking aware!" he replied. 

His dad looked back at him. "We paid $7000 to get you out of here! Why the fuck did you have a gun!? Who the hell gave it to you?" he asked. 

Eren looked around the car. "I can't fucking tell you! Jesus dad, lay off!" he replied. 

His dad scoffed. "You're in deep shit when you get home," he said and turned back to drive. 

The drive home was quiet, Eren got home and went to his room instantly. His phone had multiple messages from Armin, Mikasa, and (Y/N)... shit (Y/N)! What the fuck was he going to do? 

Eren looked at his phone as it pinged again. The message left his anxiety sky-high. 

Porco: YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD MAN.

He rubbed his head and threw his phone. "Fuck.." he said and looked around his room. 

The night was upon him and Eren decided to just leave his house, he couldn't stay here and risk this. He climbed out of the window and began to walk down the street, Eren looked on his phone and put it into his pocket. 

"Eren?" he turned around as he heard the familiar voice of (Y/N). 

Eren stopped in his tracks and walked over to her. "(Y/N).." he said. 

She backed away from him. "I thought you were in jail…" she said and looked down. 

His eyes went wide as he realized the truth had finally come out. "So you know huh?.. (Y/N), know I wasn't lying to you on purpose" he said and tried to reach out to her. 

(Y/N) wiped away a few stray tears. "Eren why the fuck would you lie!?" she asked. 

He looked at her. "(Y/N)... I did it to keep you away from the shit I do" he replied. "I didn't do it for no reason," he added. 

"You're just a punk huh? What a fucking lie, Eren,” she said. 

His anger began to rush through him. "Why the fuck are you crying!? Huh? You don't fucking NEED me (Y/N)! You have a fucking life ahead of you, I don't. I'm bad for YOU, and you fucking know it. You don't have to deal with cops on your ass, or have to worry about if someone is gonna come fucking kill your family. You don't fucking understand! You're just a fucking perfect daddy's girl. You're so fucking NEEDY (Y/N). You don't need someone like me" he yelled. 

She felt tears pour from her eyes. "W-Wait.. Eren, what? What are you talking about?" she asked and furrowed her brows.

"Just stay the fuck away from me! I don't want you! Go live your perfect life, you don't need me. I need to go" Eren said and began to walk off. 

(Y/N) watched as Eren began to run off. "Eren…" she cried as he walked off. 

The feeling of her heart breaking was suffocating her, and Eren felt his tears burning his eyes. She didn't need a guy like Eren, she deserved better. 

[solastia]

Tuqburni: Finale - Heartbreak

Pairing: Yoongi X Reader, Hoseok x Reader

A/N: Here you go with an alternate ending where she DIDN’T choose to go back to them. Angst, with a bit of hope (hyuck). Please remember, in my mind the other ending is canon and I will be releasing an epilogue eventually of them together in the future. Until then, enjoy this. It really hurt me to make my Yoongichi cry. 

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You sat on your tiny patio in the beat-up rocking chair you’d bought from a thrift store as you waited for Namjoon to come by. You probably could have waited inside, but it felt too big and empty for your liking. A familiar knock rattles your very wobbly-sounding door and you get up with a sigh, closing the sliding glass behind you as you head to the front door. 

You open it without checking, knowing that there were only two people in the world who knew where you lived now. 

Namjoon and Seokjin are standing there with hands brimming with equipment. 

“Come on in. The room’s mostly set-up now.” 

They kick off their shoes somehow and scuffle towards the second bedroom that was mostly sparse beyond a desk holding your computer, a chair, and soundproofing foam panels on the walls. In the pair’s arms were the rest of the recording equipment you’d need to establish the room as your official workspace. 

Namjoon mumbles that he can take care of the setup so you let Jin pull you to the tiny kitchen and put on some tea while you wait. 

“So...how was your first night as an independent woman?” Seokjin asks while he pulls down your new mugs and turns on the kettle. 

“...Alright, I guess. Quiet,” you murmur softly, putting bags in the cups. 

He nods in understanding. You’d moved out of their place after staying there for nearly a month. You’d tried leaving earlier, but Seokjin and Namjoon had been adamant that you needed to stay and let them watch out for you for a little while before you decided. Personally, you’d suspected that they’d probably thought they were on suicide watch, but you were fine. Well, perhaps not fine, but nowhere near thinking about that kind of thing. 

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell you or not, but you should know that Yoongi didn’t take it well,” he sighs and sets down his cup. “There was...a lot of yelling. A lot of...you know...him puffing up and getting angry at us to hide how devastated he was. He blamed us and said we were turning you against him and that setting up a studio in your apartment so you’d never have to see him again was obviously something that I came up with because you would never do that. He even started saying some stuff about how Namjoon was obviously using this as a chance to steal you away because of the tiny crush he had on you back when you all first met.” 

“Oh, Jesus,” you huff and rub your eyes. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. He’s...that’s just always been his fighting style. He zeros in on the one thing he can say that would hurt you the most and stabs you with it. Please don’t hold it against him.” 

He reaches over and pets your hair softly. “I know. It’s...it’s going to take a while but he’s going to need us too when this starts to settle down a little more. Right now you are our priority because you���re the one that’s been wronged, but...he’s still our marshmallow Yoongichi and we’ll need to pick him up too. Even if we are incredibly disappointed in him. Both of them.” 

You nod, closing your eyes. “He...did he look...bad?” 

“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. His clothes were all messed up and he’s gotten really skinny. Don’t think he’s eating much either. But...you don’t need to worry about that. That’s not your responsibility. He made his choices. Jimin made his choices. Now it’s time for you to have your turn.” 

You nod silently, knowing he was right. That didn’t make it any easier. 

It felt almost like you’d been in a trance since that night Yoongi had ordered you to leave. You remembered driving to Jin’s and sitting in their guestroom, staring at the ceiling blankly once your chest hurt too much to cry any longer. 

When the knocking started, there had been one tiny spark of hope that Yoongi had finally come to his senses and was there to apologize. To drop to his knees and beg you to come back. That he would do anything…

But the high tones of Jimin’s begging squashed that final dream. Yoongi couldn’t even be bothered to come even now. He had to send Jimin to do the talking for him. And finally...FINALLY...you were overcome by rage. 

No more. You were done. 

You shook your head no to Namjoon’s silent question over whether he should let Jimin inside, and then you just stood there listening to him trying to talk through the door. He said some things that surprised you and some that didn’t. You’d known he was developing some sort of feeling for you - whether that was actually love or that he just liked having sex you didn’t know, and really you weren’t sure you cared anymore. 

He’d managed to stick around for an hour, which had impressed you, but you hadn’t been surprised when he finally gave up and left. That had also been the last time you’d seen or heard from either of them. Yoongi hasn’t tried to call and you certainly weren’t going to be the one to beg for him to take you back. You had absolutely nothing to apologize for. You’d done nothing but love that man with everything you had - and it still hadn’t been good enough. 

It was with that thought in mind that you essentially set up camp in the Kim household while you tried to figure out your next steps. They’d been kind enough to go get some of your belongings. Apparently, Jimin had cried while he helped them pack up enough for now and promised to have everything else ready for them to come back for later. Namjoon put you on official leave from work and with a few changes on social media you were now almost officially completely severed from your life with Yoongi. The house had been in his name, you’d never combined accounts, your car was your own. Honestly, it seemed almost too easy. Your lives were now entirely separate beyond the tears in your soul that would last forever. 

Namjoon had convinced you to keep your job, promising that you could work from home and the company would cover the costs of converting your second room into a studio. It was incredibly indulgent on his part but you didn’t even think of turning him down. You loved your job and you definitely needed the financial comfort it would bring as you started over. The rest of the apartment was still kind of shabby since you’d been worrying about the studio first, but eventually, you’d get around to making it feel like a home. 

Namjoon struts from the studio with a grin, wiping his hands together. “All done! Just waiting for you to set up passwords and stuff now. Kinda jealous now. Jin, can I set up a studio at home? I like the idea of working in my underwear.” 

Seokjin scowls playfully. “Don’t even think about it.” 

You huff lightly, but don’t miss the way they seemed to be discussing something with their eyes before they both turn to you. 

“There’s...uh...something else that you should probably know. You might not want to know or care but we thought we should at least tell you,” Namjoon begins, his eyes constantly flitting between yours and Jin’s. 

“Just tell me, Joon.” 

“They, uh. Yoongi and Jimin, they...broke up? I guess. Don’t know the whole story yet but apparently, Jimin’s been staying in a hotel near the company. We’re all watching Yoongi closely to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself, but, yeah. Thought you should probably know,” Namjoon says quickly, cringing like he expected you to go on a rampage despite the fact that you never have before. 

Instead, you simply scoff, because wasn’t that just perfect. All that pain you went through, all the fighting and sacrifices, and in the end, it was all for nothing. 

“Are you okay?” Seokjin asks softly, bumping your shoulder with his. 

You smile up at him, though it doesn’t meet your eyes. “I will be.” 

******

“I can’t believe you’ve done this.” 

You sigh angrily into your phone as you walk towards the cafe, wondering for the millionth time why you let Kim Seokjin order you around so much. 

“It’s been six months, sweetie. It’s time and he perfect for you, I promise! He’ll be a drooling mess at your feet in no time.” 

When you’d gotten ready for the café, you’d thought you were simply meeting your friend Jin for coffee and gossip, like usual. Only he’d called you when you were only a couple minutes away to inform you that it was actually a blind date. Surprise, bitch. 

“Does he at least know why he’s there?” 

“Of course! He was really excited too. Seems he’s had the hots for you for ages.” 

You were thankful he couldn’t tease you for the blush on your cheeks. “No one calls it the hots anymore, grandpa.” 

“Nevermind. Date canceled. I’m not saddling my Hobi Hobi with someone so disrespectful…”

“Calm down. Fuck, I’m not dressed for a date, Jinnie. I thought it was just going to be us so I’m just wearing jeans and a hoodie.” 

“It’s not my fault you don’t dress up for me.” 

You finally reach the café and stare at the sign like it would give you courage. “I can’t do this…” 

“Breathe. You can. You have no reason to feel guilty or undeserving. I picked the best one I can find for you, but if it doesn’t work out that’s okay too. There is no pressure. All I want is for you to be happy.” 

Your heart swelled, remembering that, oh yeah, this is why you kept Kim Seokjin around. 

“I really love you a lot, you know that right? You are the best friend I could ever ask for.” 

He chuckles happily. “I’ll remind you that you said that the next time you get mad at me. Good luck. Call me if you need to escape. Treat Hoseokie with care, too. He’s like one of those Gremlins. Don’t put him in water or anything high, and he turns into a weird sex demon after midnight.” 

“Should I ask how you know that?” 

“I know everything about everyone, my dear Y/N. Everything.” 

You’d call him out on his bluff if you were more certain that it actually was one. 

“Alright, I’m going in. Love you.” 

“Love you. Be nice to Hoseok.” 

You close the call and stuff your phone in your pocket, taking the chance to brush out any wrinkles and calm yourself. You just wished that you were wearing something cuter than a pink hoodie that you were pretty sure belonged to Jin at one point. At least your converse were pink to match and you’d done your hair. 

You enter the café, the stupid little bell making everyone’s heads turn toward you like you weren’t nervous enough. You think you spot the guy in question sitting next to a window, but you buy yourself some time with getting your drink first, peeking at him out of the corner of your eye. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t know him at all, you’d just never really talked to him. He worked at the company as a choreographer so naturally, you’ve seen him around. It was merely that producers like you were usually goblins that cooped themselves up in their studios and didn’t really get around to meeting everyone. It was impossible to not notice Hoseok though. Beyond the fact that he was handsome, he was also incredibly bright. Both inside and outside. You were sure you’d seen every color of the rainbow on his head at some point, and it was currently a flattering shade of orange that not many could pull off. 

Once you had your drink in hand, you turn and head towards the table. Hoseok is already standing to greet you, his smile wide and unabashed, and you finally begin to feel the first tingles of excitement. And maybe a few nervous butterflies. 

“Hi, Hoseok,” you smile shyly and sit when he gestures to a chair, trying not to laugh when he nearly tumbles trying to sit back down. 

“Hello!” he practically yells, and you finally notice that he just might be nervous too. He clears his throat and tries again. “Hi. Thanks for coming.” 

“Yeah, I...uh. I’m going to be honest - I only knew this was happening a few minutes ago. I thought I was meeting Jin,” you smile awkwardly, chuckling. 

He cringes and seems to droop before your very eyes. “Oh, sorry. I...I don’t want this to be a forced thing. I’ll just...uh. See you around?” 

He gets up to leave and you’re not sure what makes you grab his jean jacket to stop him. 

“No, please. Stay? I...I’m going to be bad at this because it’s been a long time but...I can try?” 

His smile is the happiest thing you’ve ever seen in your life. “Yeah? Okay. Alright, let’s do this.” 

You laugh and settle back into your seat, watching him as he does the same. He’s so expressive and vocal as he starts telling you a story about his day (one of his new kids fell and made the other ones fall like dominos and now his best dancer was out with a sprained ankle). He asked questions about your life, your interests, asked about your work. He was so beautiful and yet he looked at you like you were something awe-inspiring. It had been a long time since anyone had seemed so genuinely interested in you. Before you knew it an hour had flown by and your stomach was beginning to hurt from laughing so much. 

“So, I was thinking if I hadn’t scared you off yet, maybe you’d be willing to continue this date? But like, somewhere else because if I drink another cup of tea I’m going to burst,” Hoseok wrinkled his nose and sent you a shy smile, a single tiny dimple poking out. 

“I’d like that,” you grin, surprised yet again that you actually meant it. That you were actually excited to spend more time with him. “Maybe we could just walk around for a while and talk. There’s a park across the street and lots of people play music and stuff. And then maybe you could take me dancing tonight. Show off those moves you keep bragging about.” 

Where had this confident woman come from? 

Thankfully, his grin widens and he nods eagerly. “That sounds perfect. But first...little boys room. Be right back.” 

You giggle and settle back into your see as you watch him scurry frantically to the bathrooms - no surprise since he’d downed three cups of peppermint tea. You turn to observe the room to pass the time and that’s when you spot him. 

He’s standing near the pick-up counter with an iced americano in his hand, the condensation and half-melted ice suggesting he’d been there for a while. His haunted gaze is locked right on you and you meet it even as your stomach clenches with a myriad of emotions. 

Six months. Such a short time in the grand scheme of things but still so long since you’d last seen him. He’s as beautiful as ever, even if he’s obviously been losing weight that he didn’t need to and his lounging around the house clothes he was wearing in public gave off the IDGAF vibe. 

Yoongi seems to finally come to a decision as he saunters closer, eyes wide and unblinking like he’s afraid if he looks away for a single second you’ll disappear. He finally reaches your table and you fight the instinct to make a run for it. 

“Hey,” he says softly, his hand clenching tightly enough around his drink to make the plastic crinkle. 

“Hey,” you answer softly, unsure of what else to say. 

“You look beautiful,” he continues with a soft tone like he’s speaking to a spooked rabbit. Perhaps he was. 

“Thanks.” 

He nods silently, continuing to stare. “So...you’re on a date with Hoseok?” 

“Uh...yeah,” you swallow nervously. “Blind date. Seokjin set it up.” 

He nods again and licks his lips. “Yeah? That’s...good. Hoseok’s a good guy.” 

“Yeah. He seems nice.” 

“Yeah.” 

“You’re...doing okay?” You’re not sure what prompted you to ask. Perhaps there will always be a part of you that worries about him - you already know that there’s always going to be a part of your soul that belongs to him. 

He shrugs, “Alright. You?” 

“Yeah. I’m good. Have an apartment and going to counseling.” 

He flinches as if you’d just slapped him. “Sorry.” 

“It’s not just...because of you or what happened. It’s, you know, the past and all that too. Just needed to work things out. I think it’s helping. Maybe...maybe you could try it too.” 

“Maybe,” he responds noncommittally, his eyes finally falling to the floor. “I miss you.” 

Your heartbeat quickens. “Yeah. I miss you too.” 

“Do you think...maybe we could try…”

You cut him off before he can even finish that sentence. “No.” 

That was maybe too harsh because he looked like he wanted to melt into the floor straight to hell. 

“I...will always miss you. And a part of me will probably always love the Yoongi I had before, but no. I don’t quite have the gift of words that you do, but I just know that we weren’t right for each other. I mean, I was technically just a very long rebound before you got your chance with Jimin again, in the end.” 

“That’s not how it was. I loved you. I love you,” he grits out, his eyes taking on a steely edge as he looked back up. 

“Yeah. I know you did, just maybe not the right way. And I loved you, but I let you bulldoze over me. So maybe we could have been good, but you got greedy and I needed to learn to not be a doormat.” 

He nods and once again looks like a kicked puppy. 

You sigh and tap on the table nervously. “But for those years that we were together - I will always love that Yoongi. I will look back and remember that once upon a time there was a man and a woman who were crazy in love and built a home together. Who had dreams of building a lifetime together. I will hope that Yoongi has a happy life and that he finds what he needs. That he can find a companion who makes him want to fight for what they have together.” 

The tears streaming down his cheeks make you pause, realizing you’re fighting back some of your own. 

“I love you, Min Yoongi. But you weren’t right for me. Now it’s time for me to find my place in this world. Maybe Hoseok is it, maybe he isn’t. I’d like to think I don’t need another person to help me feel complete. Whatever it is, I’m learning how to speak up and fight for myself. I hope you can learn to be happy for me.” 

He nods, sniffling. “Whatever you want. I just...I just wanted you to know. I love you. I really did. And...I’m sorry. For what I did. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt Jimin. Do you think...you’ll ever want to at least talk to me?” 

“I don’t know yet. Maybe someday. I don’t think you’re ready.” 

“Okay. I’ll be here.” 

“Yeah. I...you have to go home now, Yoongi. I’m on a date.” 

His watery eyes widen again, and he nods slowly. “Right, yeah. Sorry. Again. And...please. Call me or whatever if you ever need anything. I...won’t expect anything else. Just know that I’m here if you need someone. Can I ask for that, at least?” 

You nod, “Yeah. Thank you, Yoongi. I’ll...see you around.” 

He gulps and backs up. “Yeah, see you, Y/N.” 

He turns swiftly and practically jogs towards the entrance while you try to memorize what could be your last glimpse of the man you once loved. 

“Everything okay?” 

You jump and your eyes fly over to meet the sympathetic ones of Hoseok. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I saw him talking to you and thought it was best to let you have privacy. Was that okay?” 

“Yeah,” you sigh. “He just wanted to talk. And...it was good. I think I finally feel a little more closure.” 

“So...I’m not like a rebound, right? Like, I know that you guys were dating and I heard some of it from Seokjin but...” 

“Uh...you’re the first time I’m trying to actually date since Yoongi. If that clears things up a bit,” you answer with a blush. You were not about to go into detail about those couple months of desperate hookups you’d used to try and gain your confidence back before you’d started therapy. 

Thankfully, he seems to not mind that bit of news judging by the wicked grin that paints his lips. “Oh?” 

“Shut up,” you growl, playfully swatting him. 

He chuckles and reaches out a hand to you. “Do you still feel up to continuing our date? If not, I’ll totally understand and we can reschedule. I’ll only cry and stress-eat a tiny bit, I promise.” 

You snort and accept his hand, letting him help you up. In a moment of bravery, you lace your arm in his and tug him towards the entrance. 

“Just you try to get away from me now, Jung Hoseok.” 

He giggles and lets you lead the way, both of you exiting the café and feeling hopeful about the future. 

[scpeen-l0l]

Hi! I was wondering if your could do a scp-035 x scientist!reader fix where the they’re in the middle an interview, and a containment breach suddenly happens

ahhh, i’m not entirely sure if this is what you had in mind. but anyways, thank you so much for requesting!! you’re the first on this blog and while writing this i got another! man i’m so happy ahah

(i forgot to tag this when it was first posted lol)

---

1.5k words

‘easy prey’

You’ve always had mixed feelings on 035. Since the very first day you were assigned to them, you felt their infamous ‘lure’ that they were known to have. Despite that, you liked to think of yourself as resilient, so you were able to just bury yourself in work and deny any sort of weird attraction you had to the mask. Of course, 035 had picked up on the behavior that they had seen countless times in the past, much to your dismay.

Your supervisor told you that you would be interviewing 035 with the routine set of questions in a few days’ time. When you queried as politely as possible to why you were assigned to interview them this time over the usual interviewer, your supervisor handed you a page of the transcript of their most recent interview, with a section highlighted in yellow.

 //PAGE 2//

08/08/██

SCP#: SCP-035

Class: Keter

Interviewer: Warren, [REDACTED] (Sr. Researcher)

  SCP-035: Mhm… Hey, what are the odds of that new researcher coming into my cell anytime soon?

[Dr. Warren pauses for a moment, before looking at their host’s hands.]

Warren: Which one? Dr. L/n or Dr. Ahmad?

SCP-035: The younger one. Yes, I’d like to have a chat.

Warren: Why?

[SCP-035 throws its head back before resting its chin on its intertwined hands.]

SCP-035: Since when have you started recruiting people that young? I simply want to ask them about it.

Warren: Stop it, 035. Be more specific.

[SCP-035 lets out an exaggerated sigh]

SCP-035: Why can’t a mask just have a regular talk with a researcher? All I want is a friendly chat! Besides, you’d get some free time whilst we’re busy…

Warren: If we do allow you to converse, you will only be allowed 30 minutes maximum with routine questions.

[SCP-035 laughs]

SCP-035: That’d be grand. Well, what’s on your mind today?

  Your heart was beating out of your chest, fear coursing through your body. Your supervisor coughed to get your attention, to which you could only nod your head slowly to, it wasn’t like you really had a choice. Still, what did it want from you?

You didn’t get much sleep that night, to say the least.

 When the fabled day finally arrived, you were an absolute wreck. All of your confidence flew out the window and left you with sweaty palms and a looming feeling of dread. The walk to the mask’s cell was long and unnerving, the adrenaline was putting you on edge. You weren’t usually like this, but your fears got the best of you. What if they convinced you to wear them? What then? Regardless, you’d be dead either way. You cursed yourself for being a nervous wreck at the worst time, so you headed to the closest empty room you could find.

You found yourself in a break room after a few minutes of searching, the missioning around the facility already clearing out your mind. You rubbed your temples, psyching yourself up. If you did eventually become a host for the mask, you sure as hell weren’t going to make it easy. With a small pep in your step, you finally approached the area containing 035.

Warren was talking with your supervisor, just about to leave when he saw you walk in. A forced smile made its way to his face as he approached you.

“Pleasure formally meeting you, L/n.”

“Same here. Do you have a spare copy- “

Warren handed you a file, “here, make sure to stay on topic as much as possible. Oh, and the second you feel like putting him on or anything of the sort, press the panic button next to the microphone on the table.”

Him?

You nodded, reassured that you had a sure-fire way to get out. “Thanks. Do I… go in now?”

Warren turned to your supervisor, Dr. Patel, whom only nodded in response. Dry, as always. You sucked in a deep breath before checking your phone for the time, 9am on the dot. A good time to die, you thought, before a guard ushered you into 035’s cell. A male D-Class with 035 on his face looked to you and tilted his head.

You knew you didn’t look the most assertive, or dominant but you were resilient. That’s all you had going into that interview, you told yourself.

Sitting down and laying out the documents inside the file on the table, you looked back at the group of staff behind you. McAllistor, the technician, gave you a comforting smile; Warren was already out the door; Dr. Ahmad looked away awkwardly; Dr. Patel was typing away on his computer and you could see the side of a guard’s visor at the corner of the observation window. Huh, a little understaffed today. Were they the last people you’d ever see? Perhaps. Alas, you had a job to do, and you were going to do it damn well, if it was the last thing you ever did.

  //RECORDING STARTED//

L/n: Hello, 035. Ready to start?

SCP-035: Of course.

 Ooh, that voice- Did it always sound so… Smooth?

 L/n: Well, let’s get through these questions quickly.

SCP-035: Aw, I was hoping to get to know you a little better first.

L/n: Maybe another time. How would you describe your emotions today?

 Deflect, deflect.

 SCP-035: Admittedly, a little upset that you’re being so stiff with me. I rarely speak to anyone else other than [REDACTED], who’s gone off who-knows-where. Ooh, probably with his assistant- You wanna hear about that?

L/n: Uh, so you feel upset that you can’t speak with me-

 Shit. That threw you off.

SCP-035: Indeed, would you help me with that? Pretty please? You look like you need a break, you know. Look at those bags under your eyes!

 No, you weren’t going to let him get under your skin that easily.

 L/n: Apologies, 035, if my appearance is sub-par— However, I am incredibly committed to my job and I-

SCP-035: Blah, blah. Cut the canned crap. You can speak to me about it, you know, I’m a great listener.

L/n: I will be the one listening today, 035. Now-

SCP-035: You say-

L/n: 035! Stop speaking over me, unless you want this interview to be terminated?

 Assertive, dominant.

 SCP-035: Ah, of course not. I was out of line, I am sincerely sorry, dear.

L/n: It’s- It’s fine, where were we? Oh, here, I- Um…

 Nevermind. How did he manage to make you feel bad? Stupid mask, getting in your head…

 L/n: Uh, how would you describe your intentions as of late?

SCP-035: Nothing dangerous, I simply long for the stage, you know? I just miss the atmosphere! The joy! Oh, what I would do to even just watch another showing…

L/n: Thank you for not evading that question, 035. But, ah, I’m sure if you behave you’d get to-

//CONNECTION LOST//

  The breach alarms went off, making you jump out of your seat. Looking back to the observation window, you saw all the scientists being escorted out of the room by the guards. You rushed to the door…

Locked.

Slowly turning back to 035, you gave him the dirtiest glare that you could muster.

 “Unlock it. Now.”

“You know, I liked the more quiet, sweet, meek version of you-“

You mockingly mimicked his tone, “you know, I don’t give a shit. I’m not putting you on. You’ve already got a host, just leave me alone!”

“Oh, but you’re so intelligent, so innocent… Face it, you’re dead either way. There’s no way you’re making it out alive, I’ll be merciful and make it painless. Wear me, and I’ll ensure that your body gets some good mileage.”

 A small part of you was tempted to take his offer, but the rest of you was only willing to admit he was right. What chance did you have without an armed guard? You slouched, fear settling in.

“Come on…”

You felt a weight on your right shoulder. You could see his hand in the corner of your vision, but, it was cold. Long dead. You didn’t want that for yourself.

Aggressively sliding your keycard in the scanner, you bolted out the cell and grabbed the handgun on the desk.

 You let out a humourless laugh, “yeah, no. I think I’m fine.”

035 walked out his cell, scoffing as he looked at the gun in your hands, “what’s that gonna do? Is that peashooter gonna scare 106 away, huh? How many bullets are in that thing, if any?”

Biting your lip, you whined, “ahah, um, yeah… Look,” you debated internally whether you should try bargaining with this thing, “I’m not going to put you on, however, I’m willing to… cooperate in order for us to reach our separate goals. I have a level 3 keycard, which I can hand to you once I find the safety shelter. Try anything funny and I’m snapping the keycard in half.”

 035 laughed, “ok, maybe I was wrong about tough and cold L/n. Sure, we can work together, but good luck trying to resist me. I can tell you’re already a bit enchanted already!”

You snorted, “yeah, yeah. Suuuuure… Alright, you promise to keep me safe whilst I navigate through the site?”

“I assure you.”

 A part of you felt fuzzy. Damn, he was right about you already being charmed by him. Maybe… No, you weren’t going to give in. You’re using him as much as he’s using you. Right?

 “Guess I was wrong about you being an easy host.” He mumbled.

“You what?”

[bonnyskies]

come back to me [fifteen] ⇢ jjk

you’re willing to do anything to save your marriage, even if that meant you’d have to sacrifice your own happiness to do so.

pairing — husband!jungkook x malereader, ft. ceo!jaehyun

genre — angst, sexual themes, idol au, exes to lovers-ish au, open relationship au, marriage au, parents au

series warnings — infidelity (kinda?), swearing, bisexual!jungkook, jealous!jungkook, insecure!reader, unhealthy relationship, unrequited love-ish, slow burn, use of alcohol, mentions of divorce problems, (more could be added in future chapters)

word count — 3.9k

author’s note — here’s my late christmas present to you all, hope you enjoy. and sadly, we’re getting close to the end :(

masterlist

Why wasn’t her name babygirl anymore?

That question never left your mind.

Even when leaving the hotel, driving to the Honolulu Zoo and paying for your guys’ tickets, the question continued to run through your head repeatedly.

Why was her name changed on his phone? Does this mean they aren’t together anymore? Or are they just on a break?

More and more questions continued to constantly pile into your mind, and if it wasn’t for Jungkook asking you which habitat section you wanted to visit first you surely wouldn’t have been brought out of your thoughts.

“Can we go see the alligators, appa?” Minho then also asks, making you and Jungkook share a glance at each other before nodding.

“Alright, bubs. Let’s go see the alligators.”

You watched as Jungkook took Minho’s hand and began lead the way.

While they walked away, you couldn’t help but slowly trail behind them, unaware of the small distance you kept from them. You didn’t mean to be distant from them, you just couldn’t be around him and act like everything was alright between you two. Because you knew that at the end of the day, nothing would change. Jungkook and you would still be getting a divorce, and not only that, Minho would also be affected by today, believing that there is chance his parents would be getting back together—which isn’t happening.

Noticing your absence, Jungkook stopped and turned around to face you, a concerned look on his face. “Hey, you alright?”

It was like you were in a trance and you were brought back, judging from the way your entire body jerked at the sound of his voice. “Y-Yeah,” you quickly nodded your head, clearing your throat when your voice unexpectedly cracked. “I’m fine, just lost in my thoughts that’s all.”

“Okay,” Jungkook’s replies, sounding unsure. “Are you sure?”

Again, you nodded. Minho then held his other hand out for you, “Come on, appa.”

“Okay, okay.” You smiled in return, taking his hand following him as he practically pulled both you and Jungkook with him towards the habitats. You and Jungkook couldn’t help but share a glance at one another in the midst of the chaos of going through crowds of families. But when one of you noticed the other’s stare, neither of you couldn’t hide the blush on either of your faces.

Today is going to be a long day...

After spending nearly three hours going through every animal habitat in the zoo, you had to admit that you were only semi-wrong about today. It wasn’t as awkward or tense as you thought it would be, instead everything felt almost comfortable, calm.

The past three hours was probably the best three hours you’ve had in a long time—passing the so-called date you had with Jungkook last night by a long stretch.

Seeing your son smile for three straight hours, hearing and watching him share laughs with his father made you feel something you haven’t felt in such a long time.

Everything just felt perfect—as if you three were an actual real family again.

As Jungkook carried Minho on his broad shoulders, you couldn’t tear your eyes away. You found it heartwarming that they were finally rekindling the once strong bond they had with one another before everything fell apart between you and him.

You thought Jungkook wouldn’t notice your lingering gazes on him or the wide, bright smiles evident on your lips but he did. And he couldn’t deny that he found the sight adorable, your flushed expression making his heart skip a beat—a feeling he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Jungkook couldn’t help but hear your mother’s words echo inside his head. “This is your last chance to fix your marriage, Jungkook.”

Did he want to fix your guys’ marriage? Of course he did, no doubt. But whenever he thought of actually doing it, he could only think back to how it was between you two before he left for tour. The memories still haunted him. The constant screaming and exchange of harsh words, the many nights he’d spend on the couch. There were some times where he would even stay back at the studio or dorms so that he wouldn’t have to see you. And he wasn’t the only one. You’d even make excuses on how there was a problem at work so you’d have to stay late, but he knew that wasn’t the case. He knew that it was only so that you didn’t have to see him also.

And it wasn’t like he didn’t want to fix your guys’ marriage, because he did. He’s just afraid that if you two do get back together, your relationship would just go back to the way it used to be. The screaming, the shouting, and the crying, it would all come back again and that terrified him because he doesn’t want that to happen.

Jungkook couldn’t help but wonder, what if ending your guys’ marriage is for the best? Before this trip, he can’t remember the last time you two even had one night together that didn’t end in a screaming match. But the thought of signing those divorce papers made his stomach churn.

Jungkook was utterly confused. What if this is the right choice? Maybe you would be happier if you weren’t together anymore. He knew that dating an idol wasn’t easy, especially being married to one and having a kid. With the hectic schedules, late-night concerts and long tour dates, making time for family was difficult.

Maybe he should divorce you—again, the thought made Jungkook’s stomach stir and heart ache, but you could find someone who wasn’t as unreliable as he was. You could be with someone that would make time for you and Minho. You can finally have that normal, happy family you’ve always wanted, the one that has dinner together every night and goes on annual vacations together. The one that holds holiday feasts at their house with all their relatives from both sides of the family.

Being with him, you couldn’t have any that. With Jungkook’s schedule constantly changing, whether that be because of late-nights spent at the studio practicing or recording music, he hardly ever makes it home in time to have dinner with you and Minho. Sometimes he’d find himself eating dinner alone at the dining table, everyone else in the household long asleep. And as for vacations and holidays, Jungkook would be traveling with his hyungs attending many ceremonies and award shows most of the time, so it was difficult to make time and have vacations and holiday get togethers with the family.

Taking one glance at you, eyes taking in your glinting eyes and small smile on your lips as you walked beside, Jungkook’s heart ached. You look happy now, but how will you feel in the future? Would you be happier, or even more miserable than before?

What do you want, {Name}?

Jungkook didn’t realize how long he was lost in his thoughts until he felt you nudge his arm. “S-Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to eat here at the lounge or leave and go out to a restaurant?”

“Oooh can we eat here, appa?” Minho suddenly spoke up, still seated on top of Jungkook’s wide shoulders.

“I guess we got our answer.” Jungkook said with a teasing tone, tilting his head up to glance at his son.

You nodded, eyes briefly meeting Jungkook’s before walking away and towards the direction where the lounge.

And while following you, Jungkook couldn’t seem to find the strength to tear his eyes away from you.

The lounge was crowded, nearly full.

Glancing around, you were just about to give up until Minho spoke up, “Appa, look.” He pointed his index finger, “There’s a table over there!”

You followed the direction of his finger, eyes landing on an empty table in the far right corner of the lounge. “Good job, pumpkin.” You gently patted your son’s leg, which dangled idly across Jungkook’s chest. “Let’s go.”

You quickly made your way to the table, kindly pushing through the crowd of families until you got to the table. With you taking the first seat, Minho chose the other one across from you and beside the window. That left Jungkook with the last empty chair—next to you.

Jungkook stared at the unoccupied seat before raising his head and having his eyes meet yours for a brief moment.

You stared back at him, nodding, as if you were giving him your approval.

A simple nod was all Jungkook needed before taking his seat beside you, instantly noticing the way your body slightly tensed when he sat down.

“So,” you spoke up, attempting to break the rising tension at the table. “What do you guys have in mind to eat?”

“Hmm, not sure.” Jungkook was the first to speak, glancing around at the many different types of food that the lounge served. He then began to list the many eating establishments, which ranged from fast-food restaurants to fancy, exquisite foods.

“Ooh, McDonalds, appa!” Minho clapped his hands excitedly, earning chuckles from you and Jungkook.

“Anything for you, bubs.” Jungkook grinned, reaching across and nudging his son’s head. “I’ll go get the food.”

You just nodded, eyes focused on him as he stood up from the table and was about to walk away until Minho spoke up again. “Wait, appa. You didn’t ask appa what he wanted to eat.”

Before you had chance to say anything, Jungkook spoke up instead. “I already know what appa wants, bubs. Don’t worry.”

You couldn’t help but feel your heart flutter from his words. You watched as he then walked away, unaware of his phone that was still on the table, screen facing down. You were just about to call out for him but he was already gone. And not even a second later Minho was already reaching for the phone and taking it into his hands.

“Minho, you shouldn’t—” you tried to stop him but he pouts.

“Appa always lets me play on his phone.”

You sighed, leaning back against your chair. Watching your son play on his father’s phone, you couldn’t help but get an anxious feeling coursing through your veins. It wasn’t like you wanted to take the phone from Minho because you knew he was right, Jungkook always lets him play on it. You just didn’t want him to be on it when she calls.

And of course, that’s exactly what happens.

“Appa, who’s Ye-Yeonha?” Minho asks, turning the phone towards you and showing you the name that never fails to make your heart ache and blood boil.

Your mouth was gaped open and no words were coming out. You didn’t know what to say. There was no way you could tell Minho who it was exactly. He was already heartbroken when learning about the divorce, and you couldn’t imagine how much more crushed he would be if learning that his father already moved on. “She’s—”

Luckily, you were suddenly saved by the bell—that bell being Jungkook coming back with your guys’ food. “Alright, I’ve got a hamburger happy meal for you bubs, and a ten piece chicken nugget meal with a medium fries and sweet and sour sauce for appa.” He listed out while handing it out to you two. “And for me, a BigMac.”

You gave him a silent thanks by nodding before opening your medium-sized box that contained your nuggets.

You were hoping that since the food was here, the topic of the phone would be forgotten. But of course, you were let down once again.

“Appa, who’s Yeonha?” You noticed the way Jungkook’s body tensed at the mention of her name. “She was calling your phone.”

You expected him to make some half-ass excuse like saying that she’s some sort of friend or co-worker. But you weren’t expecting his eyes meet yours and say with a stern voice, his words coming clear and fluently.

“Nobody important, bubs.”

It was Jungkook’s turn to see your reaction, noticing the way your body tensed and shifted in your seat by his words. “Now focus on your food,” he then says, taking his phone away from his son’s grasp and placing it beside him, screen down.

When turning his attention back towards you, you noticed an indescribable glint shining in his dark brown eyes. A glint that appeared gloomy, and you could even say looked guilty.

You couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking about right now.

“We need to talk, Yeonha.”

“What do you want to talk about baby?”

Jungkook felt himself cringe at the petname, fingers clenching tightly around his phone as he pressed the device against his ear. With his mouth open, Jungkook still couldn’t find the strength to speak and he had absolutely no idea why. He knew exactly what he wanted to say but no words came out.

Jungkook was just about to give up, pulling the phone away from his ear and hovering his finger over the ‘end call’ button. He was just about to press it until something stopped him—his background photo. The photo was of you and Minho, the sight bringing an instant smile on his lips.

Just from looking at you through his phone’s screen, brought warmth in Jungkook’s heart. Taking a deep breath, he then said “I think we should break up, Yeonha.”

A loud, shocked gasp could be heard.

“Listen, it’s not you, it’s me. I just think that being in relationship right now is not a good idea, and—”

“Don’t feed me that bullshit, Jeon!” Yeonha cut him off, her voice filled with rage but hints of sadness clear in them. “It’s because of {Name}, isn’t? He’s the one making you break up with me?”

Jungkook scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Why do you immediately blame {Name}? He’s got nothing to do with any of this. The only people that are part of this is you and me.”

“Because everything was fine between us until you left for that stupid trip!”

Jungkook sighed, rubbing his forehead frustratingly with his free hand. “This is my decision, Yeonha. {Name} didn’t force me to do anything.”

“But he’s the one that messed with your mind, wasn’t he?” Yeonha continued to pester him. “We were happy before you left, but now you want to break up? It has to be because of him. He‘a the only one who could change your feelings about me.”

Jungkook remained silent, letting her continue.

“I don’t understand you, Jungkook.” Jungkook could hear small whimpers from her end of the call. “Even after all the pain he caused you, you still would go back to him. What about all those times you cried because of him, or the sleepless nights you had because of this fights you two had? And every time, I was one that comforted you—”

Jungkook couldn’t stop himself from scoffing at her words.

He wouldn’t think of her actions as comforting. Despite his constant requests to be left alone, she would always ignore them and continue to meddle her way into his business.

“—and weren’t you the one that told me that your feelings for him weren’t as strong as they were before anymore?” Yeonha‘s rants still filled his ears. “He doesn’t deserve your love, Jungkook. He doesn’t deserve you—”

“Shut up!” Jungkook snapped, “If anything, I’m the one that doesn’t deserve him! Instead of trying to fix our marriage from the very beginning like he has been trying to do, do you know what I did? I gave up!”

Jungkook was fuming with rage. He swore he could almost feel his phone cracking from the tight grip he had in it. “{Name} is giving me a second chance, and I’m not going to waste it. He’s a way better person than I am.”

“Did he say that?” Yeonha asks.

“Say what?”

“Did he actually say that he’s giving you a second chance?” Yeonha repeats her question with more detail, and when she only got silence in return she released a loud laugh. “Oh my god, you don’t even know if he wants you back! And you’re still okay with risking our relationship for someone like him? What if he doesn’t want you back, what if he doesn’t love you anymore?”

As more and more questions spewed out of Yeonha’s mouth, Jungkook only felt the anger inside him grow stronger. “You’ll be left alone because you chose him over me—the person who has been there for you through your entire divorce, and it’s going to be nobody’s fault but yours for be a complete dumbass—”

“Stop!” Jungkook interjected, voicing boom with rage and frustration. “I know you’re saying these things just to mess with my mind, but it’s not going to work. I’ve already made my decision. This is my chance to get my family back—to get him back and I’m not going to waste it. I’m sorry, Yeonha. I hope you find someone else better in the future...”

Just as Jungkook was about end the conversation, he could hear Yeonha shout out for him. “Wait,” her voice sounding panicky. “Can you at least answer one last question for me?” And when Jungkook hummed in reply she continued, “Is he worth all this trouble, all this effort—your effort?”

And not even a split second later, Jungkook answered with a firm “yes” before lowering his phone and ending the call.

Jungkook wasn’t the same after lunch.

His happy behavior that he had before you three ate was gone and replaced with a more anxious one. He thought nobody would notice his constant glances at his phone or the small frown evident on his lips, but you did.

It wasn’t hard to notice. He wouldn’t smile or talk with you or Minho, or allow him back onto his shoulders. You would occasionally send a glance back at him whenever he wasn’t looking and you could see the physical change in his demeanor.

You were worried.

Now, as you three were back at the hotel, Minho sound asleep in your room, Jungkook was still acting the same, silent.

You couldn’t help but worry. In the eleven years you’ve known him, you’ve never seen him act like this before.

Later that night, when dressed in your pajamas and ready for bed, you found him in the same place as he was in when you three first got back to the hotel—outside on the balcony with his phone in hand.

Slowly, you stepped out onto the balcony, careful that your footsteps were silent. “Hey,” you spoke up suddenly, making Jungkook whip his head around and eyes widen at the sight of you.

“H-Hey,” he replied softly.

“Are you alright?” You asked, and when he only nodded you let out a deep sigh. “Jungkook, you know I can tell when something is bothering you...”

Jungkook just nibbled on his lips nervously.

“You know you can talk to me.”

Jungkook stayed silent, Yeonha’s words echoing inside his mind as he kept his gaze focused on the lit up city in front of you two. “What if he doesn’t want you back, what if he doesn’t love you anymore?”

Jungkook didn’t know what to say. What if Yoneha was right? What if you don’t love him anymore? It’s not like he had the right to get upset about it because the only person who would be to blame would be him.

“—Jungkook,” Jungkook jumped, hands tightening around the railing and his phone as he turned to face you. “Are you even listening to me?”

“No, s-sorry sorry.” Jungkook quickly spewed out, eyes softening and lips frowning. “It’s just that I have a lot on my mind right now.”

“I asked if everything is alright between you and Yeonha?” Your question left him stunned, eyes slightly widening. “I’ve noticed lately that you’ve been rejecting her phone calls and also that you changed her contact name...,” your voice trails off, not knowing if you were overstepping or not.

“I-I ended things with her,” was the only thing he said, eyes never leaving yours.

“W-Why?” Your words stumbled out unevenly.

Jungkook didn’t say anything at first, and then suddenly, reached out for your hand slowly and hesitantly. And when you didn’t stop him, his fingers laced together with yours, creating an instant warm feeling inside your heart. “Because I finally realized the mistake I made.”

“And what is that?”

“Giving up on our marriage.” Just five words, and your heart stopped completely. “For not even trying to fix our problems, for leaving you.”

You were silent, watching his eyes staring down at your conjoined hands. “I thought I didn’t love you anymore—” you winced, and Jungkook noticed. “—but I was wrong. I do still love you and I hate that it took me this long, and cause you so much pain to finally realize that.”

You could see some tears glistening in his eyes. “And I-I’m sorry, so fucking sorry.”

“It’s okay, Jungkook.” You attempted to comfort him, placing your other hand over his and caressing his inked skin. While running your fingers delicately across his tattoos, you stopped at a specific one he had on his knuckle connecting to his ring finger—your initials. “I’ve forgiven you a long time ago—”

“Well you shouldn’t have!” Jungkook exclaimed, a couple tears slipping from his eyes and sliding down his cheeks. “I haven’t been a good husband to you—hell, I’ve been a terrible husband and I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I don’t deserve you.”

“Jungkook, stop.” Your heart clenched at the sight of him, raising your hand to wipe the few stray tears that escaped from his eyes and stained his cheeks. “You’re not a bad person, and you definitely weren’t a terrible husband. We just had—” you paused, “—complications.”

Jungkook stayed silent, sniffling.

You then continued, “Complications that came to my senses after separating. We weren’t that perfect couple I always thought of us being—frankly, we were far from it. In the ten years of being together, we didn’t fight once and I thought that meant we were perfect for each other but I was wrong. Every couple has their fights, and when they overcome it, it makes them stronger. And the fight we had before you left for tour was our first one, and I guess it opened a gateway we both kept locked for a long time, hiding our aggressions and frustrations we had for each other.”

Jungkook took in every word you said and you were right. You two haven’t fought once in your entire relationship and he always thought there wasn’t anything wrong with that. But now that he thinks about it, he remembers his hyungs sharing the fights they had their spouses with him and how in the end, they would always make up and come out stronger together.

“So what you’re saying is, since we never fought, us breaking apart was...inevitable?”

You nodded, and Jungkook felt his heart sink.

“But what if I asked you for another chance?” Jungkook then asks, “Would you accept it, or is this—” he paused, voicing cracking slightly. “—is this our ending?”

You were frozen, speechless, eyes staring into one another. “I-I don’t know.”

And as you two stared into each other’s eyes, you didn’t know who began to lean in first but when you felt Jungkook’s lips brush up against yours it was like sparks ran through your entire body.

You can’t remember the last time you felt his lips on yours.

Noticing your reaction, Jungkook stopped, mouth so close to yours that you could his feel his cool minty breath against your lips. His eyes stared into yours, as if he was asking for your permission.

And when you didn’t fight back or pull away, his lips were on yours in an instant.

You didn’t hesitate kissing him back, hands finding their way onto his broad, strong shoulders while his rested on your waist, pulling you close and pressing your chest against his.

The kiss was short, but enough.

Enough to let you both know that your hearts still beat for the other.

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