#it’s usually loose ones but as for the tighter ones….I’ll keep you updated

[passionpeachy]

I never really want to wear pants again. I love maxi skirts too much now.

[first-edition]

Breaking Seasons

Spencer reid x reader fanfiction

Updates every Tuesday and Thursday.

Read the previous chapter here

Chapter 5

Summary- When y/n takes her sick friends criminology class to take notes in the winter, she meets the guest speaker, BAU-FBI agent Spencer reid. After getting to know more about each other due to a college school related case, that ends up involving y/n herself, they naught just have each to keep warm.

Cw- This chapter contains sexual themes such as heavy petting, kissing, touching and leaving hickies. However not actually sex occurs.

STORY BEGINS UNDER THE CUT

                                 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The entire night spencer stayed with you. Holding you in your bed the entire night eventually falling asleep in his arms. Even then he didn't leave he just slept along side you. The morning came a gloomy day as rain cloud covered the sky. Snow falls clouding and frosting up your windows. Not allowing much light to come in as usual. 

Your eyes open as you're met with Spencer's brown ones he moves hair out of your face. 

"Morning." He says softly you burry your face into his chest hearing his light heart beat. He hugs you tighter. 

"Im sorry." He says which only makes your eyes tear up. You pull away from him and get up pulling the blanket off the bed and wrapping it around your self  walking out only to trip and fall landing of the ground. You huff and begin to cry the feeling of loosing your best friend hitting all a over again. Spencer Immedetly gets up and goes to you picking you up in his arms sitting on the ground with you in his lap hugging you. 

———

You sit on the couch as the news plays in the background high snow patterns and roads are closed in the local area your phone chimes signally classes are canceled not like you were gonna go anyway. Spencer who walks into the room from a shower and extra comfy clothes he had in his go bag. 

"Are you sure you're gonna stay your team needs you." You say. 

"No hot hotch texted me the others are held up in the hotel if they need me i have my lap top they can call." He says sitting next to you.

"Im sorry." He says 

"You need to stop that..stop apologizing you didn't do it. Your not the reason." You say drinking your coffee. 

"Thank you though... for spending the night with me. You didn't have to do that." You continue.

"Studies show that loved ones after another loss are prone to self harm weather is drinking drugs, or even cutting to killing themself i um...I didn't want you to be alone-" 

"Because you thought I'd hurt myself." 

"Becuase I care about you...I didn't like seeing you hurting" he says you put your head on his shoulder. 

"Thanks." you say he nods to you putting his head on yours. Your phone buzzes on the table another text from your ex. 

You take your phone and turn it to do not disturb. 

"Why don't you block him?" Spencer asks. 

"He works for my dad i need it as a backup contact" you say "spence.." 

"Hmm?" 

"Tell me something good." 

"Okay Nutmeg is a hallucinogen. The spice contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects if ingested in large doses." He says 

You chuckle "something good not weird."

"Made you smile though didnt it?" He says looking at you. 

"Tell me something about you you haven't told me yet." You say 

"Hmm I have a large burn scar on the back of my thigh and shoulder blade becuase of a bomb went off behind me and I fought on fire." He says 

"A bomb when off so close to you your got burned?" You asked concerned. 

"Yes a man had hacked our computer system through a game and we went after him and he'd set off a bomb. I'm sorry perfectly fine. I also got shot in the knee" He says 

"Wh-what!?" You say moving more to look at him involuntary putting you hand on his thigh.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine though" he says feeling your touch. He may have a germ thing but never with you. 

"Don't get shot again." You say he chuckles and nods.

"Yeah I'll um I'll try not to." He smiles

Once again you're caught admiring his features his light stubble. Curly brown hair falling slightly in his face that he pushes back when he talks. His brown eyes, soft cheeks,  and his lips those perfect lips.

He catches you starring at him he smiles his smile softens as he notices your features as you look at him. Your eyes move up to his and locks. 

"Can I kiss you." He says. He sit up a bit pulling back. 

"You're not supposed to ask." You reply.

He chuckles. "Sorry I don't really know if I c-" you cut him off pressing your lips against his kissing him. His lips catch yours and his hand rests agains your cheek keeping you too him. He inhales you sent of your sweet body wash and shampoo as he deepens the kiss moving his other hand down you waist. You move your arm around his neck. He pulls you up into his lap as you straddle him. 

Opening your mouth to breath ensures him a perfect path you slip his tongue in your mouth. Sloppily kissing you as you kiss him back. His hands grip your waist moving underneath you oversized shirt only now realizing that you're still pants less in your underwear. His hands travel up your back. Your finger wander is hair messing it up. 

Soon they move to his chest and down to the hem of his sweat pants slightly lifting his shirt feeling his torso of abs. He hisses into you and chuckles on your lips. 

"Your hands are cold." He says you giggle as he lightly squeezes your hips. Wanting nothing more that to see you. You pull off his shirt and move away from his lips kissing his perfect jaw and neck so close to leaving marks yet being mindful of his line of work. So you leave two on his collar bone he chuckles at your eagerness. 

You move back out to his lips pecking them. Almost teasing him. He dips his head down into your neck leaving a few kisses and moving to look down to your chest slowly lifting your shirt awaiting the beautiful sight that will be your breasts, big small, uneven it dosnt matter to him he wants you. He's falling for you.

The loud ringing on his phone takes everything to a screeching halt. He huffs and puts his forehead against your chest annoyed with his job. 

"Fuck." He mumbles you laugh running your fingers through his hair. He looks up at you pouting.

"Im gonna go write my thesis paper." You say pecking his lips and getting off him so he can put his shirt back on and answer the oncoming FaceTime. As you walk into your room.

Read next chapter here

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(The Bad Batch) He Sees You Wear His Blacks

(Author’s Note:  This is actually how the most recent Crosshair fic “This is War” came to be.  It was originally part of this, but I decided to make it it’s own thing

These are just lil blurbs for each Bad Batcher about you wearing his blacks for the first time.  Enjoy!)

Wrecker:  

   His mouth stretched wide open in a yawn as he made his way through the main hall of the Marauder to his bunk.  After the day the squad had, he was finally ready to settle down for a nap.  His tired eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the sight of you already curled up on his bunk.  You were laid down with eyes closed and hair messily splayed out on the pillow, enjoying a sleep so deep and peaceful that you didn’t stir upon his approach.

   Wrecker’s smile was nearly giddy as he pulled back the covers to climb in next to you and get cozy.  He paused, noticing suddenly that you were wearing his extra set of blacks as pajamas. Though snug on him, the fabric hung loosely on your form, and you had the sleeves rolled up past your wrists.

   It was so cute that Wrecker couldn’t resist leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.  He really hadn’t meant to wake you, but the action drew you from your slumber with a quiet groan.

   “Wrecker?”

   “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.  “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

   You offered a sleepy smile that had his heart thudding at a quicker pace.  “That’s okay.  Cuddle with me?”

   He was beyond happy to grant your request, finally getting settled beside you and pulling the covers up over the two of you.  “You look cute in my blacks,” he commented in a low voice, bringing a hand up to stroke your cheek.

   “Yeah?” you yawned.  The new warmth he brought was already lulling you back to sleep.  “You look cute in your blacks too.”

   He chuckled, seeking a kiss with the brush of his nose against yours.  You met his lips in a single, soft peck before snuggling up to his chest, his arm tightening around you.  “Goodnight, _________.”

   “Goodnight, Wrecker,” you mumbled, already drifting.

   Hunter:  

   “Here,” he said, holding out the mass of dark fabric in your direction.  You lifted your gaze to him, mouth pressed in a firm line, and accepted the clothing, being careful not to get it wet.  Hunter couldn’t help but observe you in silent mirth.  The way you stood there with shoulders sagging, clothing drenched, and hair a soggy mess made you look like a damp lothcat.

   He didn’t mean to find amusement in your disheartened state, but part of him admittedly found you adorable.  You were scouting ahead when a downpour hit. You’d arrived back at the Marauder soaked to the bone. Your sleep clothes were hanging in the refresher to dry- it had been time to do some laundry- so Hunter had offered you his extra set of blacks so you could hang the rest of your gear to dry.

   Despite your mood, you caught the glint in Hunter’s eye and couldn’t help but smile.  “What?”

   “Nothing,” he denied evenly, though the corner of his lips were turned upward.

   You gave a playful roll of your eyes before stepping into the refresher to slip out of your damp clothing and into the blacks.  When you’d hung the rest of your clothes to dry beside your pajamas, you emerged from the refresher hugging your form as your body warmed itself up.

   Hunter had already busied himself with giving orders to the squad down the hall, but when his eyes skimmed over you passively he had to stop and do a double-take.  He glanced away momentarily.  “Tech, be sure to keep me updated.”  Then, his gaze was back on you.

   He liked everything about it.  The sight of you wearing his blacks and his scent covering yours, showing everyone else that you were his…

   All previous amusement was completely gone from his expression as Hunter approached, stealing a glance over his shoulder to ensure no one was paying attention before leaning in for a firm kiss, arm wrapping around you to pull you closer.

   “I’ll be sure to let you borrow my blacks more often,” he murmured.

Echo:

   Echo tipped his head back to sip the last of his beverage.  He had to admit, Cid served up some decent drinks.  Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Echo nearly choked on his drink when he took a second look.  There you were, taking a seat next to him at the table, wearing your usual clothes but with the top half of his blacks instead of your own shirt.  His heart went into overdrive.

   He coughed a few times to clear his throat before facing you.

   “Oh, hey,” you greeted, eyes lowering sheepishly.  “I’m sorry I didn’t ask...Is it okay if I borrow this?”

   “Trust me,” he said, his tone heavy with approval.  “I’ve got no problem with that.”

   “You sure?”  The way you looked at him with eyes wide and lips parted in concern left him breathless, which sent him into another coughing fit.  You leaned forward to pat his back gently.  “Love, are you okay?”

   His final sputter turned into a chuckle, and he shook his head.  “I’m fine.  You’re just...you look good.  Beautiful.”

   The smile that spread across your face was stunning, and Echo found himself smiling for the first time today.  You had a habit of doing that to him: changing his grumpy mood entirely.  He watched as you ordered something and got more comfortable in your seat, reaching a hand across the table to rest over his.  He entwined his fingers with yours.  Echo realized that he still hadn’t stopped staring, and he embarrassedly glanced away, feeling very much like a shiny seeing a beautiful woman for the first time all over again.  You’d been dating for some time, and usually he was a little smoother than this.

   “You’re so sweet,” you said, bringing his hand up to kiss it.

   He accepted the token of affection with a reassured smile.  “And you” -he kissed your hand in return- “are welcome to borrow my blacks whenever you’d like.”

Crosshair:

   You quickly pulled on the top half of Crosshair’s extra blacks that had been folded neatly at the end of his mattress.  He’d be done scrubbing his prized rifle quite soon, and you wanted to be found waiting for him upon his return to the bunk.  Once you were cozy in comfy pants and his shirt, you pulled back the covers and crawled in.

   A few minutes later, the door slid open, and Crosshair entered.  He halted, eyes sweeping over you as he stood there.  He seemed to unfreeze when you smiled and held out your hand towards him, beckoning him closer.  He took it and tilted his head down at you.

   “Someone made themselves at home,” he said.  His tone was casual, but you could tell he was pleased-and even amused- by the way his eyes crinkled at the corners in the beginnings of a small smile.

   “Mhm,” you hummed, scooting farther in to make room.  “Care to join me?”

   He released a sigh, as if it was some chore, and climbed into the bunk beside you, though you didn’t miss the smile that finally did appear as he watched you get settled against his chest.  He grasped a bit of the fabric of his blacks between his fingers.

   “Looks good on you.”

   “Yeah?” you glanced up at him, pressing your lips absently to his collarbone.  He took a deep breath, releasing the fabric, and held you tighter in response.  Crosshair didn’t speak for a few minutes, only rested his chin on your head as you buried your face in his shoulder.

   “Yeah,” he finally said, giving you a kiss against your temple.  “Looks good on you.”

   Tech: 

   “I have a hypothesis,” you stated, unfolding the dark fabric that you’d found in a messy heap hanging off the side of his bunk.  You’d brought his blacks back up to the cockpit with you where Tech was busy tinkering on a few things in the co-pilot chair.  The others were off-shift, most likely napping.

   “Oh?” Tech responded without looking up from his project.  “And what’s that?”

   You watched him for a moment from behind the chair.  While you had to admit he looked rather attractive with his broad back to you while he worked so diligently on Wrecker’s busted comm device, you wanted his attention.

   “It’s a secret,” you replied.  His focus gave you the opportunity to slip on the top half of his blacks that you’d found over your tank top.  “I want to conduct an experiment before I tell you.”

   “If I’m made aware of this hypothesis, are you concerned that it will compromise the collection of data?” he finally swiveled the chair to the side so he could peer at you over his shoulder.  It was obvious he noticed you wearing his blacks because his eyes widened ever-so-slightly.

   “Something like that,” you said with a nod.  You approached him, and his eyes moved with you while the smile on his face grew.  Once you were beside him, you casually looked at the repair in progress over his shoulder.  “How’s it coming?”  It took him a minute to tear his gaze from you and glance back down at the device in his hands.

   “It’s coming along rather nicely, I’d say,” he replied.  Then, that cheeky smile returned.  “Or rather, it was until you showed up looking like...that.”

   You shrugged innocently.  “Looking like what?”

   He fell silent again as he met your gaze, mouth pressing in a firm line as if he was internally debating something.  You held back a smile at the sight of the wheels in his head turning.  Finally, he set down the device on a nearby panel.

   “You look…”-he sighed, reaching a hand to take yours- “like I could kiss you.”  With a gentle tug, he pulled you just close enough to lean up and press his lips to yours.  “You look good in my shirt, my dear.”

   You hummed against his lips and pull away to smile.  “My hypothesis was proven.”

   He lifted an inquisitive brow.

   “If I wore your blacks, you would kiss me.”

[yinses]

make it a show

| gojo has been away for awhile and now he’s missed … times two |

gojo satoru/reader/geto suguru

rating: 18*

rqst: okay okay why choose between  geto and  gojo? why not just have both?

a/n: why not indeed.

it starts with an i miss you text.

gojo was on another long mission. his reputation often preceded him in the worst ways and popularity drew him across the country- and then some. for two weeks now he’d been in europe trying to clear out an infestation.

he still checked in when he could. sending short texts to probe about your day and shooting tourist pictures to showcase the better parts of his trips. he made sure to send different sets to suguru, giving you both the opportunity to snuggle close and share the crumbs your mutual boyfriend left behind.

its twenty minutes later, after said text, that gojo boasts about the free premium wifi upgrade that had come with his hotel reservation. and less than two minutes go by before he decides what he planned to do with that commodity.

above your head, gojo takes in the scene eagerly from the face of your phone.

“so what are you wearing?”

you make a choked sound somewhere stuck between a laugh and a moan as geto laps firmly at the dampening fabric of your panties. his fingers run along the elastic, cheekily plucking and letting it snap back against your skin with a smack.

undeterred, your other boyfriend mumbles something incomprehensible before latching onto your clit and toys with you through the fabric.

gojo’s bangs fall into his face as he huffs, electric blue eyes darkening with lust. “this isn’t just show and tell, you two. don’t ignore me.”

his whine is cute, you think as your back arches off the bed when geto adds suction to his play through. your gaze darts down when you feel a nibble to the inside of your thigh- a nudge to get those lips moving.

“i-uh… the purple one’s,” you manage. thankfully you’re still wearing them otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to properly reply.

“aw, why couldn’t you have worn the blue ones?”

because you sudden thrust this upon us, you wanted to remind him. nor were you exactly keen on dirting up a new pair just for some quick fun.

“drop your knee to the side, honey. i want to see suguru work.”

you comply, letting the limb framing geto’s head come to rest by his shoulders. it improves your view too, just catching his dark gaze before his head drops back down again. his fingers finally hook on the edge and drag the fabric down your legs and gojo whistles at the sight.

“i don’t know what’s wetter. your pussy or his lips. but i guess its a packaged deal given the circumstances.”

he’s the only one who chuckles at that, as usual.

geto adds fingers, slender limbs sliding through your slick and circle your entrance.

“if you’re going to eat her out properly, let me see too.” he directs his attention to you. “hold the phone up for me, sweetheart. at least do some of the work.”

its snarky enough that you almost don’t want to comply but then geto is pausing and you know its a command to follow. reaching behind, you grasp the device and settle the camera facing just below your navel. as the new sole source of focus, geto raises his head and gives a cheeky little grin.

gojo coos immediately at the sight,” hey, baby. fuck you look beautiful today.”

the frame of the phone obscures your vision a little but you swear you see geto blush at the compliment. how could he not. even in another country, gojo was a smooth man.

“wish i was behind you right now, making you feel as good as you’re making her.”

gojo was always good at this- the phone sex. but he exceeded the expectations whenever he was granted a visual.

“eat her out for me, yeah? fuck, i bet i could taste it.”

the audio picks up on the shifting of clothing as gojo shimminging his pants down his hips to free his cock. he keeps the camera at the perfect angle fit the slow fisting of his cock in the frame

“you’re not in charge here, satoru,” geto murmurs all while lowering his head anyway. his mouth latches back onto your throbbing heat and fits his tongue between your labia. the hands finding purchase at your hips urge you to grind down as the talented muscle flicks up. sparks of pleasure prickles your nerves and you reach around the phone to tug the band free from his bun. before the dark tresses could trickle down against you, you’re there to comb it back.

“fuck- toru .. he feels so good.”

there is a hitch to gojo’s voice, something of a light pant as he responds. “i can see him, honey. he spoils you so good.”

geto’s nose brushes your clit when you rock forward and you cry out at the unexpected friction. he pulls back enough to return his fingers to the slick of your sex, two fingers easily dipping into your core. your hand slides to the back of his skulls as his fingers adopt a rhythm.

gojo seems keen on torturing himself by edging his fingers along the sensitive head without providing the needed friction. the distorted pleasure in his voice sounds like something is caught but you know he’s just staving it off as long as he can. you wonder how flushed his face is right now, but you can’t bring yourself to interrupt geto enough to ask for an update.

“he’s going to fuck you so good, honey. bet you’re loose enough for it.” gojo swallows audibly and you can tell he’s pushed back yet another orgasm. “tell him you’re ready. … please.”

with a simpering plea like that how could you not comply.

the free hand not currently working you towards nirvana, slides up your stomach to cup the weight of your breast. unable to resist, your legs come up to squeeze around the protruding limb, shamelessly rocking against the muscle of his bicep.

“fucking hell, you’re such a dirty girl.”

you can only whine when geto flexes in response, or maybe its because of the fingers finally leaving you. the same wet fingers take the phone from you, leaving a tacky residue behind. the bed shifts as geto rises to his knees, shaking away your hold.

he’s looking at you properly now, mouth free. “i’m waiting on that begging.”

cheeks warm and lips bitten raw, you give his leg one last desperate hump, hoping eager desperation can smooth the way. “please fuck me. make gojo cum,” you add and to your satisfaction the man’s groan rumbles against your stomach.

geto leans over you to drag a free pillow closer. the phone mostly sinks into the plush fabric but he’s able to angle it in just right. from the corner of your eye you can finally see gojo, skin flushed and cock fat and leaking. his hand works in short jerks, thumb darting across the head the way he likes.

geto’s hands pry your legs apart again, but his attention is directed to the phone.” you going to hold out on us all night? this is a mutual exchange,” he teases.

your other boyfriend huffs, but his eyes greedily take in the sight of geto stripping bare. “i think i liked you better when your mouth is full.”

geto doesn’t miss a beat. “you normally do.”

he takes one of your thighs up and hooks it at his hip. geto takes you slowly, making you feel every inch and drag as he parts your folds with his cock. the burn is absent but the stretch persists as you babble. where gojo favored length, geto was graced with width. frankly they were right to call you spoiled, blessed with the best of both worlds.

“is he all the way in, princess?” gojo’s voice is strained as he asks as if he can’t see half of the cock still working its way in.

your tongue is thick and heavy but you manage, whimpers with eager hope the sounds might coax him to go faster. you could only ask, after all, geto rarely took kindly to unsolicited demands. “not yet, but i already feel so full, toru.”

“fuck yeah you do. always such a snug fit. can’t get enough of either of you.”

geto continues to ease himself deeper, confident and calculated, until the base nudges your clit. large hands caress the curve and down to your hip to squeeze the flesh. it marks the steady increase of his pace, hips drawing back nearly all the way before smacking back against you pelvis.

he wasn’t a quiet lover, but he knew when to take advantage of gojo’s presence. his shadow encompasses you as the edge of his teeth drag against your jaw. ”make it pretty for him, bunny,” he coos against the shell of your ear. “make him come home.” is emphasized by a firm thrust that rocks your entire body.

then he’s pulling back to haunches before gojo can complain about the obscured view.

your fingers grasp at the sheets when he thrusts into you at a sharper angle. the hand at your hip goes tighter as he fucks the tremble right out of you. you can still see gojo, teeth worrying his bottom lip as he matches the pace driving into you. able to catch the silent prayer in his gaze, you answer is with a broken whine.

“he’s really giving it to you ... and you’re taking it so well,�� his breathing is short, heavy with his impending climax.

“he’s so deep, toru. i feel like there isn’t even room to squeeze him. geto groans when you try, hissing through his teeth as he picks up the pace. you try to maintain eye contact with the distant shaman but he’s not doing a good job either. blue eyes greedily take in everything there is to offer, darting from the jiggle of your breast to the bead of sweat forming on geto’s temple.

everyone’s tipping the edge. you can feel the palpable tension in the air on the brink of snapping.

your vision whites out the moment he starts to spurt, thick strands bringing the arc of his hips to a sloppy grind. the harsh pant against your lips is a brief warning before he swallows your tongue eagerly, groaning the remnants of his release into your mouth.

in your ear, gojo follows the sentiment, breathing heavily. you can imagine the mess he makes of himself, chest white with sticky streaks of cum. he is very much out of breath but chuckles anyway as geto pulls himself free.

“messaged received. i’ll try to get home soon.”

[anayaahwrites]

KOT ficlet #6 (Kudou Chika/Houzuki Satowa)

(Events based after the most recent update that had me screaming into oblivion.)

Needle in a thread

His first thought is, not them.

He recalls his horror when they took away the one person who had loved him, the one that lit fireworks in his darkness.

But before he had time to mourn, the torch had been passed—like some sort of metaphorical relay race—into fresh, affectionate, and welcoming hands. They cared, nurtured, and gave purpose to his existence.

The child hated by a parent, the child of calamity.

Of disaster.

And now that he’s built a home, a hideaway to rush back to whenever things seemed too rough, like hell he’d let the demons of his past have it their way.

He drops down carefully, one knee after another, placing folded hands in front of the head tucked in between his legs.

Because Chika is desperate and he has no pride to protect to begin with, so pleading before them to let him just live outweighed any sense of shame he’d feel.

But he’s naive to think Uzuki cares.

There was something bizzare about the boy since he’d met him, how he changed based on what the situation called for—like a snake shedding layers of its skin.

The light at the end of the tunnel vanishes, but Chika pushes on, pouring the deepest parts of his soul in front of the people that ruined him once before.

Because Chika refused to let his torch dim, the flame protected by so many, he couldn’t be any more grateful.

Uzuki snickers, instructing Abiko and taking a blow to the face.

“I’ll tell everyone you did this to me.” He smiles.

Chika’s light is bright.

But his darkness is all-consuming. It wraps him like a blanket of thorns, clawing to tear chunks of his soul away. In the end, who could he save?

Who could save him?

“I’m tired of all of this!”

He snaps his head, facing the voice, breathing life into his own.

Houzuki stands with her back to him, confronting the men with such ferocity, they stutter for a second.

“To hell with your ‘ruin his life’ nonsense,” she huffs, swinging her hair like a whip. “I’m taking him home!”

He had so many questions.

Houzuki grumbles under her breath all the way out, twisting and turning from one street to the other, tugging him behind her like a four-year-old.

Why was she here to begin with?

Usually, he’d shrug her away. He’d tease the ever loving crap out of her and watch Houzuki turn a brighter shade of crimson every time while subtly keeping his distance from the intense urge to hold her close.

But today, when he looks at her, Chika sees more than just Satowa.

He sees a woman with the will of a stallion, dulling her blade in front of no one, however intimidating they might be.

He sees the hand of a woman he could not help but admire.

Couldn’t help but love.

He stops walking, looking at the fingers wrapped delicately around his wrist as if Chika realised for the first time that he was holding the hand of the woman he fell in love with a long time ago.

“Are you tired?” comes her tender voice filled with concern, as she looks around, “Do you want to sit for a while?”

He looks into her worried eyes and quickly drops his gaze, to the hand she wouldn’t leave. On any normal day, by now Satowa would let go, a shade of bright pink spreading down her arm to her toes.

Today she holds his hand, firm and gentle, both at once, neither shaking nor blushing at the contact that was progressively setting his nerves on fire.

And admitting his feelings was easy. It was easy for him to look at every minute he’d spent with her—in sorrow, in joy—that Chika was irrevocably in love with her.

He’d give the Sun if she demanded it, the moon adorned as an elegant crescent ring around her finger. He’s so in love that he forgets his past, that he could endanger Houzuki and her entire family.

But it looms around him like a constant-present shadow. So he sharpens his facade to protect her.

“You shouldn’t follow me to places like this,” he swallows, maintaining his composure as best as he can. “It’s dangerous. Are you stupid? Don't pull a stunt like this again.”

He steals a glimpse at her, pushing strands of loose hair behind her ear with not an ounce of regret or fear of her actions.

“If anything, you’re the stupid one,” she replies, ebony eyes staring straight into his as he raises an eyebrow in question.

“For thinking you’d need to face this alone.”

He stills, feeling her thumb stroke his bruised knuckles, eyes steadily turning a shade lighter.

“I understand,” she says, “I understand you’ve been fighting your battles by yourself all these years. You feel responsible for everything—like you deserve divine punishment for sins you didn’t commit to begin with,”

“But for once, point the blame to those that deserve it.” her grip tightens. “Tell them to,” she sucks in a sharp breath.

“Eat shit for all I care.”

Her gaze softens as he peers into her eyes; for solace, for the comfort he’s never had. That he’s never asked for.

“You’re only human, Kudou, and humans make mistakes. We all do. Does that mean we need to be crucified for it?”

He shakes his head from one side to another in an unspoken response.

“The past won’t change, no matter how hard we try. But the future.....” she grimaces, “Our circumstances are different now. No one helped you then—no one stood for you,”

Satowa’s smile is melancholy, like rain and snow at once, as she cups his cheek with her free hand.

“But you have me now,” she whispers, lacing her fingers into the groove between his. He peers into those abysmal eyes and sees a promise.

“The only day I’ll let go of this hand will be the day I die.”

In a flash, Chika breaks.

He shatters like smashed glass, scattering across the ground in shards of built up agony. He feels the tears forming in his eyes as he looks into hers, chin wobbling uncontrollably. His heart squeezes in his chest as everything sinks in—Dad, Mom, Grandpa, everyone he’s loved and lost.

And she stays there throughout, rubbing warm circles into his much bigger palm, a distant sorrow in her eyes.

This woman, this beautiful, wonderful woman, had saved him on more occasions than he could count.

She was the white to his black, yin to his yang painting his life with every colour in the spectrum between them.

The Sun sets not far behind, fiery orange encircling her like a golden halo. And that’s all it takes—the gleaming sky behind her, the tears in her eyes, the ones in his.

He pulls her forward gently, letting Satowa fall against him as every type of warmth rushes through his veins.

She stills for a moment, leaning against him, not a hair on her head moving. Chika gives her time, space enough to let go if this isn’t what she wants. God knows he doesn’t want to force her.

When she leaves his hand, Chika thinks it’s all over. And that’s okay.

He’s okay with that.

Instead, Satowa throws her arms around his neck, face sinking into the groove of his chest, nuzzling the space where his heart beats erratically.

He takes a moment to register, but when realisation sets in, Chika pulls her tighter to himself, fingers working through the strands of her hair, chin resting comfortably above her head.

In those small arms, Chika feels the affection she holds radiating with every fibre of her being. She stands on her toes, reaching higher to lay her head on his shoulder. He draws her up by the waist, anchoring her safely to his chest.

“You’re not alone,” she whispers into his collarbone, the touch of her lips, a second of pure bliss for him. He shivers at the contact, holding his breath to stop his thoughts from escalating.

“You’re not alone,” Satowa repeats, chin resting against his chest as she stares into his eyes, lowering one hand to trace his jaw in short, quiet strokes.

“You have me forever.”

When Chika kisses Satowa, he feels everything all at once. The rustling of the leaves dull, his heartbeat overpowering every sound in existence.

When she kisses him back, realisation sinks in that this woman, this beautiful wonderful woman, would give him the world too.

Chika stands in the centre of their universe, two supernovae colliding against the speed of the world, her breath against his skin like warm sunlight streaming in through a window.

When Chika looks into her eyes, he sees himself in them, trapped in a circle of warm ebony. He watches her smile brighten when she raises herself just enough to wipe the tears he doesn’t remember crying.

Today, when he looks at Satowa, Chika sees salvation. He sees his world.

“Forever,” he sighs as they walk back side by side, fingers intertwined, like needle and thread. She gazes at him, instinctively moving closer.

For once, Chika would let himself be protected. Because Satowa was a force to reckon with. She’s fierce and brave and he’s safe in her arms.

Chika really smiles then, one so wide his eyes crinkle and vision narrows to the one person who matters more than any other.

The world has to allow him this one moment of greed.

“Forever isn’t long enough.”

Yay! I wanted to write something for so long! This idea came to me after randomly listening to "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift.

Thank you for reading, and being patient with me. I love y'all so much <<3

[nameless-ken]

Bucky Barnes Imagine - PT.2

Summary: Bucky gets enlisted in the war. (loosely used the song Hold Me While You Wait as inspiration)

Warnings: fluff, angst, (spoilers for Endgame ??)

Words: 1.3K

Parts 3 ?? Comment if I should continue!

Part 1

Masterlist

Requests are open!

Hold Me While You Wait

- -

I know this is kind of short. I wanted to do more with it but wanted to finally write and update it! Comment if you’d like to see more from this story!

Thanks for reading <3

- -

Bucky’s POV

80 years of suffering and pain. Of constantly fighting in wars. But I wouldn’t call that the worst part. The most earth shattering, heart clenching, tear provoking part of my whole existence is never getting to see Y/N again. 

Now that I’m free, in this crazy, lost world, I’ve never felt more trapped. All alone in my Brooklyn apartment, close to the same place that Y/N and I shared all those years ago. 

It’s the one nightmare that always keeps me up at night. Never getting to hold her or kiss her or just be with her. 

Most days, I’ll walk down to the old school building where Y/N used to teach. I’ll look up the steps and picture her standing there, the most stunning woman I’d ever seen with the most caring heart. I walked the usual path we would take on the way home. A lot has changed since then, everything is modern and crowded now. 

- -

I just want to go home. 

“I have to put the stones back,” Steve places one of his hands on my shoulder. “I want you to come with me because you deserve to live the life you’ve always dreamed of. You’re my best friend Buck.” 

“You mean, we can do that?” I place my hand over my heart when Steve tells me about his plan. 

“I-I get to see h-her.” I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. 

“Let’s go home.” 

- -

I stand across the street with Steve, looking over at the school building. I’ve never felt more anxious in my entire existence. 

“It'll be alright now Buck.” Steve pats my back. 

“What if she doesn’t remember me? What if she hates me for never coming back?” I feel my chest grow tighter. 

“Are you kidding? You two were the most disgusting love birds. She won’t hate you Buck. This is your chance now.”

“How long do we have?” I mumble and shove my hands in my pockets.

“As long as we want. Time works differently now for us. I’m going to go find my girl now.” Steve pulls me into a hug. 

“Thanks for this Steve. This means more to me than you’ll ever know.” We pull back from the hug. 

“I’m with you til the end of the line pal. Now, go get your girl.” He waves and walks away. 

I take a deep breath and look across the street again. I hear the bell ring and the school doors open, tiny legs running down the steps. I squint my eyes slightly and look around to find Y/N. I wonder how much she’s changed since the last time I saw her. 

The crowded sidewalk soon quiets down as the kids and parents disappear to their homes. I look both ways before crossing the street and slowly step up to the spot I used to always wait for her. I wipe my hands against my pants and clear my throat. The doors swing open again and I clench my fists in anticipation. 

I relax my hands after seeing a little boy slowly walk down the stairs. I smile softly at him as he stops on the last step. He sits down on the step and pulls out a book. I look around to see if there are any parents but the sidewalk is empty. 

“Are you waiting for your parents, kid?” I ask him out of curiosity. 

“My mom is coming to pick me up.” He looks up at me and blinks his bright blue eyes. 

“Mind if I sit with you?” I point to the spot next to him. He shakes his head. 

“Could you read this?” He holds the book in his hand. “I can’t read that well yet.” 

“Sure.” I sit down beside him and grab the book. He scoots closer to me as I start to read it. I tense slightly but release the tension once the boy starts laughing at one of the pictures in the book. I close the book once I finish reading it and the boy puts it back in his backpack. 

“What’s your name-”

“James!” The boy raises his head and I snap mine up as the voice calls out, walking toward us. 

My eyes widen and feel like I stop breathing. 

Y/N. She’s actually here. And just as beautiful. 

I see her stop in her tracks and look at me like I’m a ghost. Her eyes not leaving mine. The little boy gets up and walks over to her. 

“Mama, I got the best book today!” He exclaims and pulls her out of the trace we’re in. She looks down at him before back to me. 

I stand up and watch as she almost stumbles back. I guess she did think I was just a ghost. 

“Y/N,” I start to say but I’m at a loss for words. The little boy looks over his shoulder at me. 

“He read it to me, mama.” 

She has a kid now. Which means she must have found someone else. Damn it. I shouldn’t have come back. 

“I’m sorry.” I say and turn around, walking away. 

It hurts all over again. Being this close to her again and I can’t even speak. I hang my head as I walk away from my home, my soulmate. The tears escape my eyes and I let them fall. 

I hear the sound of footsteps running behind me. I open my eyes and through my blurry vision, I see tiny sneakers. I lift my head and see the boy standing in front of me. 

“Are you coming home papa?” 

I fall to my knees once I hear those words. I choke out a sob as the boy steps closer to me. He raises his hand and wipes the tears on my cheek. 

“Mama always used to cry but I told her everything would be okay. I told her you’d come home.”

I feel my body tremble as he wraps his arms around my neck. I carefully wrap mine around his tiny body. I squeeze my eyes closed as more tears fall down my cheeks. I open them again and see Y/N standing there, her eyes just as red and teary as mine. I stand up with my son in my arms. 

My son. I actually have a kid. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d ever have that. 

I walk closer to Y/N. I see her body shaking and instantly take her in one of my arms. Keeping her close to me. She breaks down. Her soft whimpers against my neck make my heart burst. I kiss the side of her head and hold them both to me. 

It all doesn’t feel real. This feels like a dream that I could wake from at any moment. I look up at the sky above us and silently pray to whatever higher power is out there to please let me stay here. Don’t take me from them again. Let this be our time. 

Y/N lifts her head and stares into my eyes. Her hands grab my face, lips trembling. 

“I missed you.” She whispers and leans her forehead against mine.

“We were never apart darling.” I tell her as I gently run one hand down her back while holding my son still against me. 

I held her and my son on the sidewalk for as long as we needed. Her hands grabbed onto whatever she could find and pulled us all so close together. 

“My love,” I whisper, lifting my head up and looking down at her. “Everything’s okay now. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Good because I need you and your son needs his father.” 

I’ve waited too long for this. I can’t last one more second. I capture her lips with mine, sealing this moment with the most earth shattering, heart clenching, tear provoking kiss that ever existed. 

Our son raises his head from my shoulder and wraps one of his arms around Y/N’s neck. 

- -

“Can we go home now?” 

taglist: @vicmc624​ @chouettedubois​ @cstan @celine-xox​ @mischief-siriusly-managed​ @ultrunning​ @bahama-mama-llama​ @multiplums @jackiehollanderr​ @knowyourworth-sellyoursoul​

[wooyunhwa]

kingdom of welcome addiction | seven

view pinned post for masterlist / links to the rest of the parts!  note: this is part 7! I recommend reading all the parts before this one (on my masterlist!)

Genre: smut (with plot), angst, some fluff in this part

Pairing: demon!san x fem!reader / angel!yunho x fem!reader

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: oral (female receiving), edging, very light dumbification if you squint

Synopsis: Torn between two opposing forces competing for your attention, who will you choose?

A/N: Thank you for reading and comments are super appreciated as always! Sorry this took so long to get out and it’s a bit shorter than usual parts, but I’ve been having trouble writing recently! (lots of stuff in my personal life) Anyway I hope I can update more frequently from now on! I hope you enjoy anyway~

You made your way out of the lecture hall through the same door Yunho had left out of. A part of you had expected him to be there, waiting. He was nowhere in sight. 

But San was. 

“I take it your angel boy didn’t take kindly to my marks?” 

You narrowed your eyes. “What we did back there, it was a mistake,” you said in a hushed voice as you approached him, poised against the wall in the bustling hallway. 

“Oh, darling. We both know that’s not how you feel,” he quipped with a wink. How could he still be so charming to you even when you were angry at him?

He reached out a hand to touch you, but you shied away from it. “Not here,” you hissed. “Let’s talk at my apartment today.”

He rolled his deep coffee-colored eyes. “Does that mean I have to walk? This human body isn’t good for much, I’m learning.”

“Take the bus, actually,” you responded dryly. 

“How do you humans do this every day? This whole walking everywhere thing. It’s exhausting,” he grumbled through his teeth as he gathered his things up to follow you out of the building.

It felt particularly strange, being in public with him. Something about it felt wrong, illegal even, like you were transporting some sort of wanted criminal through the streets. He looked like one, too, even now. Even in his human form, he looked like pure trouble. He was, after all.

Despite your extensive history with him, small talk felt awkward. You stared awkwardly forward during your bus trip, resisting the urge to push your hips against his and feel his warmth. You hadn’t realized how much you missed his touch until he was all over you in the chemical closet, and you couldn’t help but want more now. 

The tension only grew thicker as you let him into your apartment. You realized this was the first time he’d ever gone through the front door—usually he just popped up like magic. Demon magic, you supposed. 

“We should talk—”

Sans lips curled into a cheeky grin, cutting you off before you could finish. “I thought that was what we were doing here, darling.” He took a step close to you, cutting off any space left between you. His eyes glazed with unmistakable lust. “Unless you’d rather do something else.”

“I—I would…” You broke your gaze away, heat pooling in your cheeks. “But… we need to talk about this. You can’t keep messing around outside my classroom.”

“And why’s that, lamb? Jealous?”

You gritted your teeth. It was useless playing his game. Honesty was the only way you would get anywhere. “Yes, San. Yes, I was jealous. I am jealous. Your lips on another girl makes me feel sick.” 

You drew your gaze back up to his to take in the smug look on his face, but you were met with a serious gaze. He bit his lip slowly before clicking his tongue against the back of his teeth. “To be honest, it makes me a bit nauseous too. None of them have the same...  delicious taste. Kissing lowly humans is more of a chore than anything.”

“Are you admitting you only did that to make me jealous, then?”

“I have my reasons. Nothing you need to worry about, darling.” He stepped forward, pinning you against the wall of the hallway like he’d done earlier in the chemical closet. 

Despite the looming guilt for what you’d done to Yunho, his sad eyes and disappointed gaze haunting in the back of your mind, you craved more of San. It crept up on you slowly, washing over you until it was unmistakable. You needed more. 

You didn’t give him a chance for him to play around with you any more. You knew what you wanted now, and you were going to take it. Your lips came crashing into his, nibbling lightly at the soft skin of his lower lip as you kissed. He growled low in his throat, reciprocating against you with hungry bites, tugging and nipping at your lips with his distinctly fang-less teeth. His lip ring felt comfortingly familiar to taste, cold against you as you slipped your tongue in his mouth. 

His hands found their way under your shirt, pushing up under them to feel every inch of your skin. You squirmed under his touch, cold from walking in the outside air, moaning against his mouth as his fingers cupped around your breasts and yanked your bra up, letting your breasts loose beneath it. His index finger circled your sensitive nipples, and you whimpered into him, pulling away to bury your head in his neck. 

He had you worked up so easily again—it was barely an hour ago that he’d fucked you until your legs shook in the chemical closet, and yet you craved it all again somehow. 

San’s deep, honeyed voice purred in your ear. “I just realized something, lamb. I was so busy fucking you senseless earlier I forgot to make you feel good, too.” 

Your knees buckled under you at his works, sending pleasured waves and vibrations down your spine, contracting the muscles in your thighs until you felt hopelessly weak. His hands found their way down to the skirt he’d fucked you in earlier, this time tugging it down until it pooled at your ankles.

He slowly sank down, peppering kisses along your sensitive skin as he travelled lower down your body, dropping your shirt back into place as his knees found their home against the cold hardwood floor. 

He kissed the soft skin of your thighs gently, carefully and teasingly avoiding your neediest areas. "San, please," you begged, squirming from his merciless teasing. You craved his tongue against you—if you didn’t know any better, your body would have had you thinking you needed it as badly as you needed oxygen now. 

"Beg for it, baby," he growled against your thighs, swiping his tongue slowly and deliberately just shy of your folds. 

"San please—please I need it..."

"Need what?" 

"Your tongue—I need—please," you pleaded. You knew you were playing his game, but you couldn’t help yourself. You were desperate. 

"You're so cute when you're begging. Pathetic little thing, can't even get words out," he cooed mockingly. You laced your fingers in his hair, hopelessly grinding your hips to his face, hopefully to find his tongue. He wouldn’t budge. “Uh-uh, lamb. I’ll get there. Patience.”

You groaned impatiently, wiggling your body again to find some—any—relief from the teasing, but he refused. He gently ran his finger tips over your legs, tickling the soft skin of your thighs with his torturously light touch. He licked a long stripe up the sweat-slick skin of your inner thigh, grasping your thighs harshly to keep you still as you squirmed under him. 

“San—San I can’t take it,” you whined.

He looked up at you with hungry, playful eyes. You could tell he was basking in every second of you conceding to his control. “Okay, darling. But only because you’re too delicious to resist.”

You could swear you ascended to heaven for a moment when his tongue met between your legs. You melted against the wall, gripping your fingers tighter in his hair. He licked skillfully, deliberately, as if he had been planning and perfecting every move beforehand. Maybe he was that good, or maybe you were just that horny. 

He brought his fingers up, pushing them inside slowly as he worked carefully at your clit. It was like he slowed down every time you were close to your edge, as you started to grip tighter and grind against his face harder, he pulled back, slowing the thrusts of his fingers inside and swiping his tongue painfully slowly. It was easy to tell when you were almost there—a string of fucks fell from your lips like it was the only word you knew. You were beginning to think it actually was. 

“Has my lamb had enough?” he asked smugly, smirking against your thighs as he kissed at the soft inner flesh, giving you a break from the torturous edging.

“Yes, yesyesyes, please San—”

“Be good and cum for me now, okay?”

You nodded vigorously, but he was buried back between your legs again before he even had a chance to glance at your affirmation. It barely took anything for your orgasm to wash over you, his tongue dancing over your clit and two fingers buried deep inside you, thrusting steadily as you shook. It rocked through your whole body, waves of pleasure riding from your toes all the way up through every limb, a rush overwhelming your brain. Complete bliss. It was more intense than you could ever remember experiencing—San’s merciless teasing had paid off, as much as you hated to admit it. 

He smirked as he stood up, sliding his fingers out of your slick entrance, looking particularly satisfied at his accomplishment.

He opened his mouth to speak—probably to praise himself—but his efforts were interrupted by a series of loud knocks at the door right next to you. You jolted back at the sudden noise, knocking the back of your head against the wall. 

"Ah—ow—fuck." You cursed, panicking slightly as you stood there, embarrassingly exposed but suddenly wide alert after your moment of bliss. 

San swiped the back of his hand over his mouth, moving backwards out of view of the door. You scrambled to pull up your skirt and panties, smoothing out your hair, which was tousled messily from writhing against the drywall. 

You didn't have to move very far to get to the door—you and San had barely made it out of the entryway. You fumbled with the lock and the doorknob. The door swung open, and you were greeted with Yunho, his uncharacteristically serious gaze meeting yours coldly.

“Yunho—” 

“Smells like a demon in here,” Yunho sneered, glancing through the doorway at San peeking his head into view. “Of course he's here."

“Yunho, I’m so sorry, I—”

“We should talk.” He was frighteningly serious now, and you felt uncomfortable in his dark presence, his gaze making you feel particularly small. His aura still shone brightly, but there was nothing sunshiney about the way he spoke. “Without the demon.”

“I can’t exactly pop out of the room now, Yunyun,” San jeered, tapping his feet against the ground. “I’m cursed with these earthbound legs.”

“Then walk out,” Yunho said dryly, pushing his way into the apartment. You stumbled out of the way, not daring to be in his path right now. 

“Yunho—” you started, your voice suddenly small and meek. “What- what if I just… put him in the bedroom? We can talk on the couch.”

“Put me in the bedroom?” San chuckled behind you. “What am I, your unruly dog?”

Yunho narrowed his eyes in San’s direction. “That’s exactly what you are.” Then, back to you. “That’s fine. We can talk out here. I don’t need much of your time.”

You swallowed hard, before motioning to San to wait for you in the bedroom. He rolled his eyes, sulking as he shuffled his feet to the room and closed the door behind him. You hesitantly pulled your gaze back to Yunho, who only seemed to be growing taller and more intimidating by the second. You hardly recognized him like this, hardly any angel left in him. 

You made your way to the couch, sinking down into it nervously. It was hard to even look at him—the guilt was already eating away at you, only compounded by the fact that you just let San tongue fuck you in the hallway minutes before.

He sat down next to you, maintaining a significant distance. 

“Yunho, I—” you started, but he wouldn’t let you finish. 

“It was a mistake. Letting my emotions get clouded like that, it was a mistake. It was unprofessional of me to walk away from you like that. My job is, was, and always will be to protect you. It can’t be any more,” he said with a sigh, dropping his eyes to the upholstery. His mouth was slightly agape, as if it was itching to say more, so you didn’t dare speak. “We can’t do this anymore. You and I. Kissing. Cuddling. Or... anything else. Our relationship needs to be strictly business from now on.”

You gulped, taking in his words. They stung harshly in your chest, like a knife digging in. But you knew he wouldn’t budge. It was no use fighting it. He was deadly serious. “I—I understand. It won’t happen again.” The room fell silent for a moment. “But… but what about school? Can we still—”

“I’ll play that role at school. Acting. That’s all it can be. I don’t want any rumors circulating if we were to ‘break up’.” He lifted his gaze back to meet yours, softer now. He glowed once more, and it felt like a weight was lifted off your chest as he softened his demeanor. “Y/N, I care about you. But I can’t care any more than I’m assigned to care. It’s unprofessional, and I won’t let it happen again.”

You nodded silently, tears welling in your eyes, but you shoved them down. You weren’t dating him, not in real life at least, but it still felt like he was breaking up with you. Your body ached as you pushed the tears as far down as you could, willing them not to spill over with everything you had. You refused to break down in front of him.  

“That was all I needed to say. I’ll let you get back to… whatever you were doing with San,” he signed, pushing himself off the couch with his large palms. “I guess he’s harmless in this form, anyway. A bit pathetic, really. Still, call if you need me. I’m your guardian after all.” He gave an empathetic smile, more closely resembling the Yunho you knew. 

You nodded in agreement, unable to choke out words for fear of your voice cracking and letting go of the tears that threatened to spill over at any moment.

He left just as quickly as you came, and the minute you clicked the lock behind him, you couldn't stop the tears from rolling down your cheeks. 

You didn't want San to see you like this—crying pathetically over Yunho. You knew he wouldn't understand, he hated the guy, and his jealousy over him was palpable every time they were in the same room. You choked the tears in as you opened the door to the bedroom. San was splayed out on the bed, leaning charmingly against the pillows. 

"How's the angel boy?" he sneered.

His words alone were enough to immediately bring the sting to your swollen eyes again, unable to keep the tears back. You let out a single choked sob before collecting yourself. A lump collected in your throat as you spoke. "I-I don't want to talk about it."

You watched with slightly blurred vision as San's expression seemed to soften. "Come here, lamb."

You stumbled over to him, collapsing next to him. He opened his arms up invitingly. Was he asking you to… cuddle? That was certainly new. 

"I—I didn't want to cry in front of you. Especially over… Yunho. I thought you'd just be an asshole about it."

"You're only pretty when you're crying over me, darling. Not when you're actually sad." He wiggled his fingers, arms still outstretched, offering his warm embrace. "I'm soulless, not heartless. Remember?"

You couldn’t believe he was actually offering you his comfort like this, but you weren’t going to reject him. After everything, you just craved human touch. Well… mostly human.

You let out a few gasped sobs as you learned in and nuzzled against his chest, his warm arms pulling around you to keep you still as your body shook from crying. He stroked your back comfortingly, staying surprisingly quiet as he did so, with none of his usual quips or snarky offhanded comments.

You weren't sure how much time had passed, but at a certain point you couldn't even be sure why you were crying anymore. All you knew was his warmth, his arms, his scent, and the way he ran his hands from your hair all the way down your back so softly. 

Your vision drifted away into black, the last thing you remember was his fingers laced in your hair and the gentle rise and fall of his chest under you. 

You woke up to a soft filtering of moonlight through the windows of your bedroom. Your phone alerted you to the fact that it was 3am. You weren't exactly sure when you went to bed, only that you fell asleep in San’s arms after quite a while.

Your train of thoughts was interrupted by a light snore and San twitching gently under you in his sleep. 

His sleep. 

You'd never seen him sleep before. His demon form didn't do this.

He was shockingly adorable in this state, mouth slightly agape, a small amount drool pooling at the corners of his lips. His hand twitched by his side, like a sleeping cat dreaming about chasing mice. 

He looked vulnerable in a way you never imagined he could be. Despite your heavy eyelids threatening to lull you back to sleep, you wanted to watch him like this for as long as you could. You climbed carefully out of the bed, draping an extra blanket you had over him carefully. He was still fully clothed, but you couldn't risk waking him like this. He looked so peaceful. 

You imagined it must have felt amazing for him to experience sleep in his human form—you were actually still exhausted yourself, immediately collapsing back into bed after stripping your street clothes from the day and changing into a more comfortable set of panties and a tee. 

You slept for the rest of the night next to him. You woke up at one point with his heavy arm draped over you, unconsciously cuddling you in your sleep. 

It was everything you wanted, everything you needed, and yet something about it was painful—the part of you that remembered it couldn’t always be like this. He wasn’t going to stay in his human form forever, he’d soon go back to being a sleepless demon, bound by his work. He couldn’t stay and sleep with you every night. He couldn’t hold you while you cried, not without a contract. He wasn’t yours. 

And yet you slept peacefully, temporarily comforted by his warmth, his presence, his adorable sleepiness. 

But you knew, deep down you knew—everything comes to an end.

[hotrod2007]

focal point

i wrote a buddie fic abt buck being reckless and eddie being stressed <3 i owe all my thanks and love to robin for encouraging me to write it she owns my heart mwah! (here is the link if u would like to read it on ao3 maybe n drop a kudos or a comment even 😳)

Bobby’s hand slaps against Eddie’s back as he hurries them towards the exit. He’s sure Bobby is yelling at him to move faster, hurry, but over the building collapsing behind them, Eddie can’t hear much else besides his own labored breathing. Hen and Chim are ducking their heads, barreling forward in front of him, and he trusts that Buck is following closely behind Bobby. They’re so close to the exit, he can see the flashing lights of trucks and engines from the other stations, and the closer they get, the more the smoke thins, and breathing gets a bit easier.

Bobby practically pushes him out of the small exit when they reach it, and he slams into Hen’s back, and they both fall through the opening with a shout and then take several deep breaths as they inhale fresh air as much and as quickly as they can. Eddie’s staring up at the sky, mask off, letting himself breathe before remembering he has to get up and move farther away from the building, but as he gets up he sees Bobby arguing with Buck at the threshold of the building. Before he can think he’s on his feet and walking towards them as fast as he can – he knows what Buck’s doing.

“I heard someone, Bobby!” Buck shouts, his voice is raspy from the bad air and it cracks. “I have to go back!”

“Buck, no! It’s too dangerous! The building is becoming less and less stable the longer we stand here. Come on!” Bobby points towards the line the police have marked off, Chim and Hen stand by it, watching them, trying to decipher what’s going on.

“Exactly! So I should go now!” Buck counters and Eddie wants to pick him up, throw him over his shoulder, and march back to the safety barrier.

“Buck do not–” Eddie steps towards him and reaches out, but Buck cuts him off.

“You know I have to do this, I’m sorry.” Buck gives them both a pained look before turning and running back into the haze of smoke and fire.

“Buck!” Eddie hears two other voices yell in unison with him, but he’s the only one Bobby is dragging away.

Hen and Chim are trying to push past the officers at the barrier, stressing that they need to get to Eddie and Bobby. Eddie distantly hears them arguing, but he’s too busy trying to break free from Bobby’s grip to pay attention to what exactly is being said. He’s yelling and twisting, but Bobby won’t let go of him, and he watches the rectangle Buck ran through getting smaller and smaller. In a last-ditch effort to get out, he stills and feels Bobby’s hands relax for a second, and in that second Eddie throws his full body weight forward and just barely slips through Bobby’s fingers.

He takes maybe three steps before he stops in his tracks, staring forward in horror.

The building gives a giant moan. Eddie freezes. The front collapses. Time stops. The sound of the flames gets louder. Time begins again.

In his peripheral, he sees Bobby grind to a halt next to him, he imagines a similar look of horror sits on his face. The only exit now sits in front of them, burning, and smoke billows out of the windows surrounding it.

Before he can process what’s happening, police officers are pushing him back, shoving at his shoulders causing him to gracelessly stumble backward. His eyes don’t leave the building. Buck is in there. Buck is in there. With no way out. The last thought makes him want to be sick.

He’s guided to the 118 engine where he meets Chim, Hen, and Bobby gathered around a radio, exchanging worried glances.

“Buck?” Hen says into the radio. “Buck?” She tries again.

“Anything?” Eddie bounds up to them, breathless, pushing down the sick feeling in his gut and trying to focus on what he can do at this moment.

Hen opens her mouth, presumably to say no, but the radio crackle interrupts her.

“-en? Hen?” Comes Buck’s voice through the tiny speaker. “Hen, I can hear you.” Buck’s voice sounds tired and worse than it did the less than two minutes ago Eddie had seen him.

Hen briefly rests her forehead against the radio and lets out a small sigh of relief. Bobby and Chim both look up and give short relieved breaths. Eddie stays focused on the radio, watching the red light blink. As long as that light is blinking, Buck is okay. That’s what he keeps telling himself. Red light means he’s alright. It becomes his new mantra that he chants in his head over and over again.

“Are you okay?” Hen asks, biting her lip with worry after letting the talk button go.

It takes a second, but Buck replies, “I’m okay. I was right, though. Tell Bobby I was right.” And Eddie can practically hear his shit-eating grin, which makes him relax a bit.

“You can tell me yourself when you get your ass out of the building,” Bobby replies, leaning forward a bit so he can be closer to the radio while Hen holds it.

“Yeah, yeah,” Buck replies. “Hey Eddie, I found a new best friend,” Buck jokes, but his voice is tighter than it is when he’s usually joking around. Eddie knows this tone, they all do, he’s trying to play it cool for whoever he’s with.

Eddie plays along. “Oh yeah?” He tries to sound light and happy when he says it, but his voice gives out at the end and he knows he’s doing a shit job of covering up his stress.

“Yeah. Her name’s Audrey, and she’s the coolest third grader I’ve ever met.” Eddie imagines Buck gently kneeling with her, letting her use his mask and air.

Bobby leans back in, so Hen presses down on the talk button again for him. “Hey, Buck,” he begins, “The exit collapsed.” There’s silence for a moment, and they all hold their breath. Then comes the crackle from the other end.

“Yeah.” Buck sighs, his voice closer to the radio and quieter than before. “I heard it.”

“What’s your exit plan?” Bobby responds.

“Uh, right now, I’m trying to get to the other side of the first floor and find a window, and get,” Buck pauses to take a few slow breaths, “Audrey out, and then I’ll follow her.”

Okay. He has a plan. He knows where he needs to go, and a general sense of direction. That’s comforting to know.

“Be safe, Buck,” Chim tells him and his voice is hard, and they all know it’s more of a command than a well-wish. Briefly, Eddie wonders if he’s told Maddie about what Buck did.

“You know me, caution is my middle name.” And that time Buck sounded like himself again. “I’m gonna start moving Audrey and me towards the other side of the building. Radio me if something changes.”

Eddie’s stomach sinks at the thought of not talking to Buck on his radio for several minutes, but instead pushes it down and takes Hen’s radio into his own hands and says, “That goes the same for you.”

“We’ll be extra careful for you, Eddie.” Buck radios back. He hears Audrey muffled in the background, and then Buck says, “Audrey made me promise her that we won’t get hurt, so now I’m going to be extra safe.”

Eddie hands the radio back to Hen and they all turn to face the building, the fire spreading despite having hoses from three different stations trained on it. All he has to do is get from one side to the other.

The captain from one of the other stations jogs up to Bobby and asks for his help on something, and Bobby gives him a clap on the shoulder and a head nod before he heads off with the captain. Chim peels away from him and Hen to go call Maddie and update her about what’s going on, and Eddie’s selfishly glad he won’t have to listen to Chim talk Maddie out of coming down here and storming in herself – he can’t handle the added stress.

“He’ll be okay, Eddie,” Hen says, giving him a soft look. “He’s done shit like this before, he’ll be okay.”

“I’m gonna kick his ass when I see him again,” Eddie says and he bites the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from crying. His eyes are stinging and his vision is blurring, and the last thing he needs right now is a meltdown.

Hen laughs a bit, and she looks down at the ground and kicks at some loose gravel. “You two are gonna be the death of me.”

They fall into an easy silence for a few moments, and Eddie opens his mouth to say something in response to that – to shrug it off, to point out her poor choice of words – when they hear shouting, and they both run out to stand in front of the trucks and engines to try and get an idea of what’s going on. He hears the creaking again, but before he can register what’s happening, Hen’s radio crackles to life.

Buck’s voice comes through, “Eddie–!” and just as soon as Eddie was flooded with relief, dread replaces it as Buck is cut off and the line goes silent.

They both hear a crash and their heads fly up from the radio, and they watch, panicked, as another section of the building collapses right in the direction Buck was heading. A truck turns its water on the newly collapsed part, and people are shouting directions around them. He and Hen both look down at the radio at the same time.

There’s no red blinking light.

Eddie feels the color drain from his face. Hen looks up at him, her eyes wide with fear and brows furrowed. Chim runs up to them and before he can say anything, Hen just lifts the radio towards him.

“Maddie’s driving down.” He sounds as if he’s realizing she might be driving to the scene of her brother’s death. “I couldn’t stop her.”

Bobby rounds the corner of a truck and his eyes catching on the radio Hen is limply holding in her hand. “I know you guys are worried about Buck, I’m worried about him too, but we’re still on the job and there’s still people to look after and care for.” He’s using his Captain Voice and Eddie knows his heart is as close to breaking as theirs if just one more thing goes wrong. The three of them look at Bobby, exhausted, but ready to listen. “Hen, Chim, go to the ambulances and help them attend to the people there.” He nods at them and they split off, hustling towards the few ambulances remaining to take care of those with minor scrapes and bruises. “Eddie,” he turns his head to Bobby at the mention of his name, “You need to be here, present, mentally. We aren’t any good to him just standing here, staring at the building, okay?” Eddie mutley nods at him. “Good. I need you with me. We’re going to talk to the other captains about what to do next.” Bobby turns and walks away from Eddie without looking back, and Eddie hurries after him.

There’s so much noise going on all around him – news choppers, reporters, police yelling at people to stay back, people shouting, the fire, the hoses – but all Eddie can focus on is the clear and heavy absence of Buck. He pulls his radio out of his jacket pocket and clips it to his shoulder, watching for that blinking red light.

The other captains are gathered around the back of one of the engines, slightly hidden from view of the building, but Eddie adjusts himself so he can still see it. He doesn’t know how long he stands in the circle with Bobby and the others, just staring at the fire, trying to will Buck to stumble out of it, but he rejoins the conversation when Bobby slightly shoves his shoulder with his own.

“We need more water. More engines, more trucks, just more.” The woman who’s saying this has a patch on her jacket that reads PARKER. “The whole building could come down soon and then we’re really at risk of it spreading.”

“So what do you suggest we do?” Asks a man with the name HARRISON patched onto him.

“Radio other districts for help. We need to douse this thing.” Parker explains and Harrison and Bobby nod in agreement. “Then, we move everyone back and prepare for building collapse.”

Eddie frowns when he sees Harrison agreeing again, and shoots a look at Bobby. “But wait, we still have a man in there, Captain Parker.”

“Diaz is right. There’s a firefighter and a little girl still inside.” Bobby calmly explains and Eddie thanks whatever God there is that Bobby’s there to back him up.

“Any word from him?” Harrison asks after a brief silence.

“Not since the second collapse, but–”

“Where was he when it collapsed?” Harrison interrupts him.

Eddie falls silent, so Bobby speaks up, “He was in the general area of it.” Eddie catches the other captains shooting each other knowing looks.

“He’s not dead!” Eddie exclaims and they all turn to him.

“Look at the facts, Diaz. He was near the collapse, you haven’t heard from him in minutes, he was in the area, and he’s probably out of air by now.” Parker tells him matter-of-factly, though her eyes are sad. Her tone softens as she says, “I know this isn’t easy. But we can’t put two lives above everyone else’s.”

Eddie knows she has a point. He knows she’s right. But it’s not just any person, it’s Buck. “We can’t just… we can’t leave him – them – to burn!” And Eddie feels his eyes stinging again. “He’s alive! He has to be.”

Parker turns to Bobby, softness almost gone and commands, “You need to get him in check. This isn’t an easy decision, but it’s what we have to do, and you know it.” She puts her helmet back on, and Harrison follows her lead. “I’m going to make a call to another district. Harrison, I want you to help the police back everyone up.” She gives Bobby one more serious look, and then she’s gone.

“Eddie, what did I tell you earlier.” Bobby turns to him once they’re alone.

“Bobby, I know, but it’s Buck,” Eddie says again like if he keeps saying the words, it’ll explain everything.

“Eddie, we all want –”

“No! No, because it’s different for me!” And Eddie grits his teeth as he feels tears run down his face. “It’s different for me.” He repeats, but softer, and his voice cracks. He’s staring hard at the ground as he leans against the engine.

Bobby pauses before responding. “Eddie, we have to start moving back.” He’s using his Dad Voice on him now and Eddie might laugh if the situation was anything but this. “We don’t have to move fast, we can lag behind. We can stay here as long as we can, but if Buck isn’t… but when the building comes down, we’re at risk.”

“He has to be alive, Bobby.” Eddie knows how he sounds – defeated, worn down, desperate. “Because if he isn’t… if this is the time that…” And he trails off, knowing Bobby understands where he was going with it.

Bobby doesn’t say anything else, but he leans against the engine with Eddie, watching police move the barricades and moving people back. They’ll have to drag Eddie kicking and screaming from where he’s standing.

Eventually, Parker makes her way back to them and fixes Eddie with an unimpressed look, and only addresses Bobby while she talks, “You have to move. We’re backing everything up now, and last to move is apparently this engine, a truck, and you two.”

Eddie opens his mouth to argue with her, ready to lament about how he won’t move unless she can pick him up herself when he sees a shape moving in the smoke and haze. He doesn’t let himself get his hopes up, not yet, it could be someone that was doing a last-minute look at the building to assess it. But then he sees a smaller figure slide off the first figure, and then they’re both running towards the lights as fast as they can, and Eddie’s so relieved he wants to scream. So he does.

“Buck!” He shouts and Buck takes Audrey’s hand and leads her towards Eddie and Bobby.

Parker’s head twists around fast and before Eddie can be smug about being right, she’s yelling for someone from the ambulances to come get the girl. Hen and Chim are heard before Eddie can see them, he’s zeroed in on Buck.

His face is covered in ash and there’s a sizable gash across his left cheek and his chin, but he’s smiling and telling Audrey something as he runs over. It finally clicks into place that Buck’s coming towards him, the little girl in tow, and he starts walking towards Buck without a second thought. Bobby’s telling Parker that they’ll move back in a second and agrees to help her move the engine and truck to appease her, and she takes him around the engine.

Hen and Chim are getting closer and yelling out Buck’s name and some phrases a child probably shouldn’t hear, but Eddie gets it. He’d be yelling too if he wasn’t on the verge of sobbing.

When Hen and Chim get to him, they call him a dumbass before dropping to their knees and asking Audrey if they could pick her up to take her to the ambulances. She nods at them and when they pick her up, Eddie notices that her feet are cut up and she’s wearing a nightgown and feels a pang of sadness. He doesn’t realize he’s stopped walking until he looks at Buck who has also stopped walking and is just staring back at him. He flashes Eddie a smile, scratches the back of his head awkwardly, and that sets Eddie back in motion.

When he’s within arm’s reach of him, Buck throws his hands up and opens his mouth, “Look, Eddie–” But Eddie will never know the end of that sentence.

Because he walks right up to Buck, ignores him trying to talk, and kisses him. He’s gripping the front of Buck’s jacket in his hands and holding on tightly as if he’s worried the fire will pull back in. Buck makes a surprised sound in the back of his throat but quickly wraps his arms around Eddie, pulling him in closer. Buck tastes like the mint gum he was chewing earlier and ash, but Eddie doesn’t care.

Eddie screws his eyes shut as he presses in closer to Buck, and he can feel his face getting wet again from his tears, but it doesn’t matter because he has Buck. He has Buck in his arms and he’s kissing him. He feels Buck’s hand move up to his face and he smiles into their kiss, Buck’s hands cupping his face, and Eddie never thought he’d enjoy feeling small, but right now it’s the best feeling in the world.

Unfortunately, there’s still a burning building at risk of collapsing, so they break apart, Eddie wipes at his eyes and pretends he doesn’t see the fond look Buck is giving him. For a moment, it’s just them standing in silence before Bobby comes over and drags them both back to the new barricade.

“Nothing is ever easy with you two.” He grumbles, but there’s a hint of a smile on his face. He unceremoniously dumps them at the edge of the barricade before he walks off to talk to Athena.

Eddie keeps his eyes staring straight ahead because he can feel Buck smiling at him with his megawatt grin, and he’s trying to play it cool. He glances over at Buck and finds himself grinning back. Playing it cool is overrated anyway.

“So,” Buck says as Eddie turns to face him. Buck’s jacket lays haphazardly at his feet now, and he’s got his arms crossed in front of his chest, eyes bright and smile wide. “Is that gonna happen every time I do something reckless now?”

Eddie rolls his eyes, dropping his jacket to the ground too. Feeling bold, he says, “It doesn’t just have to happen then, you know.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up as if he hadn’t considered that. “I’d like that.” Is all he says.

“Good. Me too.” Eddie feels his cheeks flush a bit.

“Are you blushing?” Buck exclaims. “I made Eddie Diaz blush?”

Eddie tries not to smile, trying to look upset. He fails. “Shut up.”

Buck’s expression schools itself one of confidence, and he drops his arms, taking a step towards Eddie. “Make me.”

If Eddie wasn’t red before, he sure as hell is now. Still, he leans in and whispers, “Okay, Buckley.” Before connecting their lips again.

[whereisten]

Creature Feature - Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Preview | Taeil blurb

Summary: You work at your family’s 9-5 nighttime theater for the supernatural. Your fling with vampire!Taeyong is just that: a fling.

Pairing: Vampire!Taeyong x female reader

Word Count: 4.9k words

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Smut

Warnings: cursing, attempted suicide mention, death mention, oral sex (male receiving), fingering, penetration, cock warming

Part 3

[8:30 PM]

It was Saturday night. Your parents rewarded you with the weekend off and you caught up on some sleep and did some online shopping. You sat in your apartment in one of the many high rises in Downtown Mystic. You laid on the couch and scrolled through a webtoon on your tablet, kicking your legs like a lovesick schoolgirl. The latest chapter of the webcomic had you gushing. 

Your phone sounded off a text. You didn’t even have to check who it was.

Your parents were back for two weeks now and Yuta’s gifts did not cease. He was sneaky, you had to hand it to him. He somehow always knew when your parents weren’t around to drop things off at your office. It was a good thing he never figured out where you lived.

Day 1 (when your parents came back): The Tiffany necklace

Day 2: a $250 gift card to the Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa

Day 3: a Versace safety pin evening dress (he knew your measurements a little too well as it fit you like a glove)

Day 4: Godiva chocolate covered strawberries delivered to you every night before you left for work

…..It made your head spin to even go to Day 14. 

You didn’t use any of Yuta’s gift’s (except for the strawberries because those couldn’t go to waste and you planned to start up a payment plan with him when you kindly rejected him...AGAIN). 

Every time you tried to approach Yuta, though, you were always pulled in another direction by an employee at work. You were everyone’s go-to woman. Their emotional support only daughter. You couldn’t catch a break.

To hell with it, when you got back to work on Monday night, you would ignore everyone for 10 minutes and they would just have to accept it. You would find Yuta when he “stopped by to meet a friend” like he has for the past two weeks. 

Taeyong wasn’t around much either. You met up only a couple of times to French kiss like it was a contact sport but conveniently neither of you had time to be disappointed when you had to part. You both had lives to live. Separately. 

So, there you were, on Saturday night, feeling antsy with nothing to do now that you had to wait for the next chapter of True Beauty to update next week. You weren’t used to being free on a Saturday. It was a weird feeling. To no avail, you called up a couple of friends to see if they were down to go clubbing. You were always the designated driver so you thought they would jump at the chance to avoid paying for a Lyft. 

Alcohol only had a temporary effect on your body: hence, the dream designated driver. 99% human. You wished there was a name for the type of creature you were. Your parents were adamant that you were a human but you knew you stood out from the rest of that population. Your parents were never particularly fond of talking about your family history either so that did wonders for your anxiety.

Age 16

“But mom, how is that I can sense things? The other day at CVS I got change back from the cashier and I knew he wasn’t human. How does that make sense?” I asked.

“You were kissed by an angel, sweetheart. You were blessed with all sorts of quirky gifts. But you are a human: the purest of all of the creatures. Well, below angels. But we’re pretty close.” She replied, winking. I inherited humility from her, apparently.

Now that you were getting older...you were starting to have doubts about this whole “kissed by an angel” business. Why didn’t your mom have any of your abilities? It just didn’t add up. 

You could only hold on to the things you knew: you could understand any creature, you could identify any creature in disguise, your cuts from falls healed very quickly, you could manipulate your dreams, your alcohol tolerance was most impressive, and you had a powerful urge to be with a vampire. 

You missed the feel of Taeyong’s elegant fingers tracing against your thighs and moving dangerously close to your heat. His teasing was torturous but you enjoyed every second of it. You found yourself mimicking his movements to yourself and imagining he was there with you. 

You got off on fantasizing Taeyong on top of you on the couch but the euphoria didn’t last long.

You sighed. You felt really stupid for not sharing your phone number with him. 

 🎥

You thought about going to Target for the hell of it since you never had a chance to go. Your unusual schedule would usually lead you to groggily shop for groceries at 8 in the morning once in a while. You were elated to go at nighttime and kill a couple of hours browsing.

You chose to go makeup free and in an old university tee and yoga pants. It felt good not give a fuck about how you looked for a night. 

You headed over to Target and made a beeline for the Starbucks to get a frappuccino. You haven’t had one of them in months and you were close to the point of tears when you tasted the whipped cream again .

You moaned in happiness. “Yes.”

“I’ve heard that before,” a voice came from behind you. 

You jumped at hearing Taeyong’s voice. “AH!’

Taeyong chuckled when you turned around. “Stop! I could’ve dropped my frap.”

He was in a loose-fitting white tee and black jeans. They looked affordable but you knew that was not the case. He took the straw and drank some of your drink. “I would’ve bought you another one.”

You rolled your eyes. “Very charming. What are you doing here?” 

“It’s nice to see you, too, y/n,” he said, pecking your cheek and caressing it. 

You sighed. “Do you live around here?” This Target was down the street from your place. 

He shook his head. “I’ve been on the lookout for a video game for Doyoung. I’ve been to two Targets already.” Doyoung was one of Taeyong’s vampire pals. 

You frowned. “You should’ve called ahead and asked if they had it in stock.”

Taeyong’s eyes grew. “I did not realize that was an option.”

You laughed. “It’s cool. If you want, we can go to all of the Targets across town until we find Doyoung’s game.”

He smiled. “I’d like that.”

The third time was the charm as Taeyong found Doyoung’s game: Princess Peach & Pals 2. You high fived each other when you checked it out.

Taeyong asked, “I didn’t see you at Sinema yesterday. Are you okay?” 

You took his hand and squeezed it. “Got the weekend off.”

Taeyong looked happier than you did when your parents told you. “I’m glad. You really needed it.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s kind of weird not having any plans or someone knocking at my door asking for help with the claw machine.”

He chuckled because he helped you fix the claw machine a couple of times. “So you’re free, then?”

“Yup. Why? What were you thinking?”

He stepped back and wrapped his arms around you from behind. “Spend the night with me.”

You restrained yourself from yelling yes a hundred times. “Okay.”

Taeyong led you to the parking lot. He approached his motorcycle, a 2018 Suzuki. You stopped. How could you forget that he rode a motorcycle.

“y/n?” Taeyong asked as he pulled out two helmets. 

“You know what, how about I just take a Lyft over to your place? Gives you time to hide your snacks and your blood bags.” You avoided his stare.

He frowned. “Why?”

“I’m...I don’t do motorcycles.” You hugged yourself. 

You were scared, Taeyong realized. He never wanted you to be afraid. He tried his best to see to it that you would feel safe without him. He never wanted to cross a line that you drew. He thought the only way he could scare you was if he bit you. 

He thought wrong. 

“I’ll go slow, I promise,” he said as he hugged you again. 

You mumbled against his chest. “I don’t know…”

“You can trust me. I don’t live that far from here. It’ll be ten minutes, tops.”

You knew your fear was over-the-top but you couldn’t help it. So many maniacs were on the road. You could barely keep it together in your Corolla. But you were curious. You wanted to push the fear aside and be a little reckless. Taeyong wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Regardless of what your parents told you, vampires were strong and they protected their own. Taeyong regarded you as an equal. He’s said it multiple times. You were his friend and he would take care of you.

So what the hell?

“Okay,” you said, steadying your voice. 

He helped you secure your helmet. He did the same for himself. He got onto the bike. He nodded for you to get on. You wrapped your arms tightly around his abdomen. It was rock solid and you could feel his heartbeat accelerate. 

“Hey. Don’t let me distract you,” you teased.

He chuckled. “Even when you’re not around, love.”

You smacked his arm. “You’re so annoying.”

He laughed. “You ready?”

“Let’s go,” you said as you squeezed him tighter.

Taeyong enjoyed this more than you will ever know. He started up the bike and you moved at a decent speed out of the parking lot. Your heart rate was deceiving you and you knew Taeyong could feel it, too. 

You just let yourself feel what you felt and hoped that excitement would take over. And it did. 

When you got onto the main road, you cheered and laughed. You let yourself be free. For all of your life, you liked to think you had some freedom. At the root of it all, you were stuck in a lot of ways: family obligations, your career, and who you could marry, to name a few. But in this moment with Taeyong, you’ve never felt freer. 

🎥

Taeyong purchased one of the properties at a luxurious oceanfront hotel, Hotel La Mar. He lived on the top floor. 

“Make yourself at home,” he said. “I’m going to wash up.”

You marveled at the spacious apartment. The furniture was leather and the floor was a plush carpet. You could envision yourself curling on the floor. That’s how cozy the space felt.

The living room had a plasma screen TV with shelves and shelves of movies: everything you could think of.

Huh, a movie theater employee human hybrid (?) with a cinephile vampire lord. An interesting concept, you thought. You kept exploring and noticed that there weren’t many photographs around the space. There was one of Taeyong posing in front of the Eiffel Tower at night. Bold of him to break the rules overseas, you giggled to yourself. Another frame contained a visibly older photo. It was a picture of Taeyong and who you assumed were his family: his parents and his sister. You wondered when this was taken.

“1985,” Taeyong answered into your ear, causing the hairs on the back of your neck to rise.

You yelped.

He took the photo frame into his hands so you both could admire it. “This is my family. My mom, my dad, and my older sister Chaewon.”

1985? Taeyong looked exactly the same as he did in that picture. That must have been around the time he became a vampire, you thought.

“I turned a year after that,” he said. You noted the hesitance in his voice.

“Oh,” you said.

“When I was a human, I fell in love with a vampire.”

“Oh, so we’re going there...”

Taeyong took you out to the balcony so you could watch the night sky over the ocean.

“We don’t have to talk about it-“ He started.

“Are you kidding me?” You’ve been dying for more intel on this man.

He smiled amusingly at you. You were so curious and open with him. You were precious to him.

“I met Cleo when I was 22...She was older than me. I didn’t realize at the time just how much older. I worked at my father’s dojo over the summer after I graduated from college. I was going to get my master’s in architecture. I had everything going for me. I dated a few girls in college but I didn’t find someone I wanted to settle down with. I was...a bit of a hopeless romantic.”

Still are, you thought to yourself.

“I was closing the dojo one night when a couple of thugs broke in to rob the place. They were in the process of beating me to a pulp when Cleo and her friends came in and...took care of them.”

You understood that to mean they were sucked dry.

“She told me she’d been watching me for a while and didn’t know how to introduce herself. So that night was as good a time as any. I was shocked to see vampires for the first time. Once upon a time, the world you see every day at Sinema was a fairy tale for me.”

You figured as much. Not all vampires were born as vampires.

“But I couldn’t get Cleo out of my mind so soon I fell into that world. Never looking back.”

And that’s when you heard the regret in his voice.

“Cleo paraded me all over the supernatural parts of the country. She would take me to clubs. Introduce me to her friends. I moved in with her not even a month after we met. The first time she drank my blood...I didn’t expect the emotions to be so strong.”

The alarm bells rang off in your head.

“I was all hers after that, y/n. She bewitched me. I was at her beck and call. Nothing else mattered but how I could please her.”

You could see the pain in his eyes and how he avoided looking at you.

“That’s why...” You started.

Taeyong continued, “I can’t do that to you. It’s not worth the risk. My escorts? Those human women visited witches to give them the resistance from falling under a vampire’s spell. An attraction can grow, sure, but the intense devotion a human feels to a vampire is taboo now. Vampires don’t want to deal with what they would call collateral damage after having one night of unadulterated pleasure.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Your heart hurt for the man before you. It wasn’t his fault that he was under Cleo’s spell. She manipulated him.

“But every now and then, a vampire just won’t care,” he said.

Which means this kind of abuse still went on to this day, you realized.

“After the first bite, I begged Cleo for more. She offered to do me one better and asked for me to join her on her travels around the world: as her vampire prince. Her words. Not mine.”

Taeyong sighed and rolled his eyes. “Looking back on it, it was bullshit. But the human me was...singing from the rooftops. I idolized that woman. She was the key to my happiness. I would follow her to the ends of the earth. And that I did.”

You thought about his family and his life.

“I was a vampire. I couldn’t live my human life anymore. I was devoted to Cleo and that was all that mattered. I gave up on my master’s. I told my parents I was getting married, traveling the world, and didn’t plan on coming back. I was mad at them, y/n. They told me I was a fool for throwing away my future for a woman who sucked me in and would spit me back out. I hated that they doubted me but even more that they doubted Cleo.”

“So you left...”

“I did and it didn’t take long for me to realize that my parents were right. I loved her unconditionally, knowing full well that she was preying on other humans like me, building an empire...well, a harem would be a more accurate term. Soon, I realized I was no longer her favorite and it was eating me up from the inside. I...couldn’t take it so I-“

You felt a sense of dread at what he was about to say next.

”I never even considered the possibility that I could end my addiction to her. I just thought of the quickest way to put me out of my misery. I planned to stab myself in the chest.”

You put your hand to your mouth. “Taeyong...I-“

He squeezed your hand. “It’s okay.”

“It’s a lot...Remembering your darkest days...I don’t want you to feel pressured to tell me everything,” you added as you traced your fingers against his knuckles.

He shook his head. “I want to share this with you.” His brown eyes shifted into bright a shade of blue, suddenly.

“Taeyong, your eyes...”

“They’re blue, aren’t they?”

“Yes but why?”

“I’ll explain. Someone saved me the day I wanted to end it all. Jaejoong. Jaejoong...is like a father to me. He talked me down and helped extract Cleo’s latches off of me. And with that, my memories of her were gone. The witch who helped us with this process was able to conserve pieces of my memories and I only had the nerve to access them recently...After I met you.”

“Taeyong...”

“I wanted to know why I couldn’t let myself bite you. Something inside me was holding me back. I wanted to drink from you so badly but you weren’t an escort. I knew the rules. About the damage that could be caused. But I wanted to understand the nagging feeling at the back of my mind. And accessing those memories again...my eyes turn blue as I reflect on the darkest time in my life.”

“Oh, Taeyong...” You sat curled up against him and held him tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

Taeyong tucked some of your hair back so he can cup your face. “Thank you for listening to me. I thought you would be running for the hills by now.”

“Everyone has their dark past. Granted, mine consists of a crappy ex-boyfriend but my point is that I really appreciate you telling me about yourself. I didn’t expect that.”

Taeyong sighed. “You know, the arrangement we have...”

“Yeah?”

“I like it. But...” He stared out at the sea.

“Go on,” you said as you kissed his neck.

“I don’t want to be just friends with you,” he almost whispered. You were close enough to his lips to hear every syllable clearly.

“I know...”

“You do?” He looked down at you as you played around with the fabric of his tee.

“You told me everything...Basically. I don’t think you did it without an agenda,” you said as you removed yourself off of him and looked into his eyes.

He rubbed his hands against your legs, wishing you’d worn shorts so he can feel your soft skin heat up at his touch. “What do you think?”

You were about to respond when his hands ran up to your butt and he squeezed it. “I...I think we’re ready to move up another level.”

He smiled. “Really?”

Before he went for your butt again, you got yourself up and straddled him. “Really.”

You kissed him deeply, begging his tongue to meet yours. Taeyong quickly reciprocated.

He cupped your face again. “You are so beautiful.”

“I know you mean that,” you said, realizing you looked like a struggling college student in your getup. He really liked you. He wouldn’t avoid your stare. He was happy.

The blue in his eyes vanished and it was back to his warm dreamy brown.

“You okay?” You asked.

“Never better,” he said as you pulled you closer to him. He always embraced you like it was his last time.

He was indeed a hopeless romantic.

“So...” You couldn’t get Cleo out of your mind, though. You wondered what she looked like and how she seduced Taeyong. At one point, Taeyong was in love with her without the enchantment of a vampire. You couldn’t help but wonder if he ever compared you to her. And just how much he remembered after the memory wipe. “Where is Cleo now?”

He cleared his throat. “She’s dead.”

There was a sense of dread again at the pit of your stomach. “How did she die?” You sat beside him again.

“Jaejoong...finished her,” he continued.

“...How?”

“When Cleo found out I had defected to another clan, she was furious,” he said.

“She came after you?” You asked, shocked she would care so much.

“It’s not that she cared,” he answered your thoughts again without realizing it. “It was a matter of pride for her. I was her property. And Jaejoong took it away from her.” That infuriated you.

Taeyong continued, “Jaejoong hid me away from her for a year. So I wouldn’t be tempted to go back to her. Even if her influence escaped me, she could easily lure me in again. I was weak, starved for love. For anything I could get from her after I left everything behind.”

“Taeyong...”

“In 1987, Jaejoong and Cleo faced off. She perished from a wooden bullet shot to the heart.”

You still had so much you wanted to ask. “How do you know she’s gone?” You blurted. You didn’t have a lot of remorse for the death of this woman, you understood.

He met your gaze. “Jaejoong brought me to her body.”

You waited for him to continue.

He said, “And we burned it, making sure no trace of her remained.”

He worried that you would see him differently upon hearing this.

But you understood. She was a monster that preyed upon innocent people and played with them like dispensable toys. You hated that someone could be so vile and tinker with the heart of the man you...

Liked.

“Wow,” you said, meekly.

“I know,” he said, “Jaejoong took in the lost boys of her clan and helped them become independent. Like he did with me. Now we pledge our loyalty to him.”

You wondered if Jaejoong was really as heroic of a man as Taeyong made him out to be.

🎥

You sat with Taeyong in the kitchen. You took some cake mix out from your shopping tote and asked him if you could bake it. “Mind if I use your kitchen?”

“Depends. What flavor is the cake?”

“Red velvet,” you answered.

“Only if I can lick the spoon,” he said as he helped pull out all of the supplies and ingredients.

As you mixed the cake mix with the other ingredients, Taeyong watched you.

You were something else. After telling you some of his darkest memories, you didn’t run off. You didn’t doubt him. You stayed. And for that, he would be eternally thankful.

“You can lick the spoon now,” you sang.

Taeyong creeped up from behind you, dipped his finger into the bowl, scooped some of the batter and ran it across your neck. You stood still.

He moved his finger dangerously slow across your neck and his tongue followed even more slowly behind. You moaned at his delicate touch.

“It tastes pretty good,” he whispered. You could feel his cock grow against your leg.

Taeyong held you from behind as you finished putting the mix into a pan. You laughed at how he clung to you like a koala.

The cake would take about half an hour to bake, which meant...

“Lead the way, Taeyong,” you said.

He scooped you up and he bolted to his bedroom. You laughed.

He tossed you on the plush California king bed and nearly pounced on top of you. You yelled and giggled like you were playing tag.

He kissed you hard as he laid against the bed frame. You pulled his shirt off. He did the same. You surprised him then.

“Where’s your bra?” He asked.

“I took it off when I went to the bathroom. I thought you noticed and that’s why we’re here now.”

“I mean, your nipples looked...”

You pulled him closer. “How do they look?” You lowered your voice.

“Pretty,” he said as he kissed you again. You pulled down his pants and cock greeted you.

Taeyong stood up on the bed as you kneeled down to greet his gorgeous length.

You grasped it hard and Taeyong grunted. “Does it feel good, baby?” You asked.

“Yes, love,” he said as he ran his fingers against your hair.

You took his length into your mouth and moved slowly back and forth, enjoying the taste of precum in your mouth and the sound of Taeyong’s moans. His length tickled the back of your throat. The discomfort was mild but you liked giving him blow jobs. So with practice, the pain became pleasure. You were getting wet at the thought of pleasuring him now.

“Feel me,” you said as you moved your eyes down to your panties. Taeyong put his hands down there and gently placed two fingers inside of you. He moaned again as you sucked faster.

You wanted Taeyong to know that you weren’t there to play with his heart. That was never what you wanted. You wanted to get to know him. And you didn’t want to keep lying to yourself. You were all in. And somehow, you would find a way to make it work.

Taeyong tugged tightly at your hair as he was on the verge of his climax. The thought of his climax aroused you ever further and felt the vibrations deep down in your belly. When he came, you found yourself soaked from him and yourself. You lathered up his cum. You fingered yourself and gave him a taste of your essence. You took all of his cum in and dragged your tongue up to his abdomen and met his lips. You kissed him.

He hugged you and wiped the sweat off of your forehead. “I love you.”

You exhaled like you held your breath for a long time. “I love you, too.”

He laid you down so he could pleasure you. He kissed you again and ran his hands up your thighs and forced them open. You gasped.

He greedily lathered up your cum. “You are exquisite.” He began running his index finger in and out of your clit. You started rocking back and forth.

He tsked. “Stay still, angel. Or I’m going to stop.”

You whined. “Meanie.”

He laughed his deep laugh and just the sound of that made you moan.

His unoccupied hand gripped your thigh tightly, squeezed your ass, and caressed you face. He liked watching you come undone under him. It kept awake sometimes when he was home alone.

He continued to finger you and you mewled when he inserted two fingers. You felt yourself building up again. You couldn’t help but rock back and forth. You wanted to climax.

“Taeyong, please,” you begged.

He smiled as he removed his fingers.

You whined even more. “Evil overlord, please.”

He pecked your lips. “Your wish is my command.”

He quickly inserted his cock and it hit you hard that you cried out. The pain quickly became pleasure as you both moved back and forth.

“Fuck,” he exclaimed. “I fucking love you.”

“I...love...you...” You managed to get out until you both released.

You both went for two more rounds before passing out on the bed. He held you as he covered you under the sheets. The timer went off for the cake.

You were about to get up but Taeyong pulled you back.

“It’ll cool. It’s okay. Just stay with me,” he said as he snuggled up against you.

“You’re so clingy,” you said as you laid your back against his front. He spooned you. His cock was in your ass. You’d wanted to do this with him for a while.

Taeyong was beaming. You were beside him now and neither of you was in a rush to leave. You could take your time and enjoy each other.

He moaned against your neck. “Are you hungry, though?”

You laughed. “I’m good.”

So you laid beside each other as the sun rose and slept for hours.

🎥

You stayed asleep but Taeyong’s phone rang. He slowly got up from bed and covered you with the sheets. You frowned in your sleep like you unconsciously knew he left your side. He laughed quietly as he took his phone off the nightstand.

He walked out of the room so as not to disturb you.

“Hey Jaejoong, how was South Africa?” He asked.

His leader chuckled over the phone. “Beautiful. The great white sharks were incredible. You have to come with me next time.”

“Are you back in the country?” Taeyong asked excitedly. Jaejoong was gone for a while on his travels.

“Yes. I landed today in Mystic.”

Taeyong replied, “That’s great. You have to come over for dinner. I’ll make your favorite chicken parm and you can drop off all of the souvenirs you bought for me.”

Jaejoong laughed. “I hope a keychain won’t disappoint you. How about I come over tonight? There’s something I wanted to talk about with you.” You noticed the shift in his tone.

“Is everything okay?” Taeyong asked.

“Yeah...They’ll be even better soon enough,” Jaejoong said.

To Be Continued in Part 4

[igirisuhito]

Title: Afflicted Relationship(s): Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito Rating: Mature Chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / ? Chapter Summary: Monokuma has a fresh new motive! Monomi has been a bit too comfortable lately, so why not let the chains go and let the biggest secret they're trying to suppress manifest within the simulation under the guise of illness? Trigger Warnings: Vomiting, Illness, Personality issues Author’s Note: This fic is an AU of sdr2 chapter 3. Rather slow to update. Can’t tell you how long it will run for but if you like to keep track, I recommend subscribing on Ao3.

[Ao3 Link]

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

"Hghh-GAH!"

My body shot up involuntarily, kicking me from my sleep. My breathing was laboured and sweat dripped down my forehead, was that a nightmare? As quickly as it had come, the nightmare had completely dissolved, feeling out of reach in the depths of my mind yet leaving a bad taste in my mouth

My body was hot, unusually so. It's so hot here on tropical Jabberwock Island but I was finally starting to get used to it. This heat was more...feverish. Have I come down with something? Can I even get sick here? Surely not.

…Can viruses travel across water?

Pocketing the thought in my mind to ask Tsumiki later, I buttoned my shirt and lifted myself from the bed. My body was heavy, exhausted, like I hadn’t rested in years. Vertigo made the floor deceptively uneven beneath my feet.

Oh god. Something is wrong.

I picked up my jeans from the floor and pulled them on, stumbling slightly as I tried to balance and get my legs in the right holes. I wrapped my tie around my collar and knotted it loosely before quickly slipping my sneakers on, not even bothering to redo the laces. I really should have had a shower with how sticky with sweat my skin was, but I really had to get to breakfast.

A weird thought floated through the back of my mind, it was almost as if I was…underdressed? This is what I wear every day…?

I stepped towards the door slowly. My heart was pounding in my ears, like I'd been running a marathon. Ohhh something was definitely off.

I turned the knob and stepped outside into the daylight. Crap the sun was bright. With slow steps, I made my way from the cabins to the restaurant where everybody usually met up.

My fingers glided along the banister as I stepped up the wooden stairs. This mundane task felt so much more difficult today. Upon making it upstairs and entering through the diner’s side entrance, I was confronted by the sound of loud sobs.

I assumed it was Saionji or Tsumiki, but the sobs didn't quite match those two. They were louder, less whiny. The sight that appeared before me was Owari leaning into Tsumiki's chest, bawling her eyes out and staining the nurse's white apron. It was such an unusual scene, I found myself glancing multiple times to see if it was actually happening.

"Ah! H-hinata! I-i-is there any ch-chance you could please give- give me a hand here?" The Ultimate Nurse stuttered out, clearly distressed and overwhelmed.

I attempted to step forward to help her with Owari, but my body was frozen, stuck in place.

Huh?

"My assistance won't make any difference to her condition."

A deep, unfamiliar voice spoke. I snapped my head around the room attempting to find its owner, but there was only there was only the three of us here.

Was that…? No, surely not. I don't talk in such a pretentious way.

"H-hinata…"

I stared at her with what I assumed was panic. Tsumiki flinched and was now clinging to Owari tighter than Owari had been clinging to her.

"Hey, what the fuck is going on here?" A familiar gruff voice broke the tension.

Kuzuryuu emerged from the stairs and looked towards the two girls clinging to each other desperately. He then glanced to me, expectant of an answer.

"At first glance it would seem the stress of Nidai's loss has finally tipped Owari over the edge and into despair, but it's rather something much more sinister."

There that voice was again! I could feel my lips moving and the words coming out, but there was absolutely no thought of these words going through my mind! The Ultimate Gangster appeared shocked as well.

"Wait what the fuck is wrong with you? You sound like fucking Komaeda."

"Huh? Who sounds like me?"

As if on queue, Komaeda arrived to the scene with Nanami in tow. The girl barely looked up from her device before sitting down at a table.

"Oi, say to Komaeda what you said to me!" Kuzuryuu barked at me.

Oh god this is going downhill so fast.

"I see no reason to repeat myself." Desperately seeking her help, advice, anything, I approached the dining table and sat myself next to the gamer girl.

Nanami paused her game to look at me with a wide eyed expression. "Hinata…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Amazing! You've finally developed a personality fit for an Ultimate such as yourself!" Komaeda clasped his hands together excitedly. "What brought this on?"

It seemed whatever had possessed me and myself both agreed to ignore the Luckster.

Soon Saionji and Mioda were entering the room, Saionji giggling nefariously behind her small little hand.

"Hey guys look! Ibuki will do whatever I tell her to today!" Saionji yelled across the dining hall enthusiastically. "Ibuki! Go jump on Tsumiki!"

The colourful girl made a salute "Right away, Hiyoko-chan!" and threw herself at the Ultimate Nurse, who was still cradling Owari. Tsumiki screamed as she hit the floor with both Owari and Mioda on top of her.

"My my what's going on?" Sonia and Tanaka emerged from the stairs with a dejected looking Souda trailing behind.

"A new motive!"

A shrill voice shrieked excitedly. Suddenly, a familiar monochromatic bear popped up at the end of the dining table. Man, way too much is happening too fast, especially when I'm feeling like this.

"Motive?" Komaeda was the first to speak up, sounding almost excited.

"That's riiiight! The motive for the next murder! I've decided to inflict some of you with a bad boy I like to call 'Despair Disease!" Monokuma grinned a toothy smile as he addressed everyone in the room.

"I'm sure you've all gotten a good idea of what's happening by now, but I'll give you a nice little rundown regardless, just so you brainless bastards can understand." Monokuma pointed a furry paw at Owari.

"Akane Owari has Coward Disease."

Then to Mioda. "Ibuki Mioda has Gullible Disease."

Then to me. "Hajime Hinata has Apathy Disease."

Huh…me?

I was one of the motives…?

The words left my mouth too quickly once again. "There's no cure then, unless a murder occurs?"

The bear nodded. "That's right my hollow friend! Unless you take advantage of your 'no strings attached' state and kill somebody, you could be stuck like this forever!"

The room got suddenly hotter, forcing me to loosen my tie a bit so I could breathe. My eyes were becoming unfocused and everything was drifting away. The only sounds I could hear were Monokuma's rambles, Owari screaming about her fear of death, and the blood rushing in my ears.

Monokuma had made us the perfect candidates for a killing.

With this thought the world began to spin, even though I was still seated.

"Hinata-san…are you okay?" Chiaki's soft voice was distant as my head became unbearably heavy and the world slipped through my fingers. The last thing I felt was my forehead hitting the wooden dining table.

-

I awoke to the sensation of my muscles being stretched. Specifically, the ones in my arms.

"...ant…d...t...an…….'s t-...eavy…."

"urel….n…..t-m-t….ike…..you -an…ft another person, Souda!"

"I can't! It's not my fault he's so-"

"Ah! Hinata-kun!"

My eyes slowly fluttered open and I groaned. My head ached and there was sweat coating my body from head to toe. I could feel the hard floor on my back, pressing my shirt to stick damply to my skin.

A mess of fluffy white hair and sunken grey eyes was leaning into my gaze. The very sight of Komaeda made me want to close my eyes again.

The two boys were stood at either end of me, Souda still holding my arms up. His face was twisted into an uncomfortable look.

"You pick up heavy machinery almost daily, Souda. You're only feigning this weakness so that you don't have to carry me, right?" I mumbled, letting out an exasperated sigh and glancing back at the pink haired male.

Souda let go of my arms with a shocked expression, allowing them to fall to my side with a thud. "W-what?! I wouldn't do something like that to my soul-friend!"

I examined his expression closely, Souda wore a nervous smile. "How boring. It's not of any issue, I can walk by myself."

I set my palms down on the floor beside me and sat up. Komaeda reached out and uttered a "Wait" when suddenly I was overcome with an aching pain in my head. A small hiss escaped my lips and I faltered.

"It's so incredibly brave of you to try to move yourself, Hinata-kun! However, Tsumiki-san said you shouldn't try to in your state.” Komaeda spoke, concern apparent in his voice. “Souda and I planned to take you to the hospital, unless you don’t want talentless scum like me carrying you!”

“I don’t. I can take care of myself.” I had another go at lifting myself off the floor. My knees stuttered for a moment, but I managed to stand. My head was still pounding, but it was so much more tolerable than allowing myself to be carried.

Komaeda’s expression morphed into one of hurt, but his eyes gleamed with a whole different emotion; intrigue. “Hinata-kun…”

“Seriously Hinata! You could hurt yourself!” Souda objected, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I swatted his hand away and began to walk towards the stairs of the hotel. “Why are you two looking at me like that? You should have expected this.”

Komaeda and Souda stayed silent as I made my slow descent down the stairs. If my hearing was a little bit worse, I probably wouldn’t have heard the “stubborn bastard” Souda eventually muttered out.

I gripped the handrail tightly once I stepped off the last step, now finding myself in the games room. Son of a bitch- my head hurts so badly. It was almost as if somebody was shoving an ice pick through my brain. My body was still glazed with sweat and my eyes bleary. Whatever Monokuma had inflicted us with, it was pretty unbearable.

I know I’ve always been a prideful person, but even in this situation I should be completely fine with leaving my health in the hands of Tsumiki. Being the Ultimate Nurse, she would definitely be able to relieve my symptoms somewhat. But the very thought of seeking help seemed anything but of interest.

What is wrong with me? I thought Monokuma said I had apathy disease, not ‘huge prick’ disease. I felt like a completely different person. The very thought made my throat dry up.

On another note, what does apathy mean again? It means like...not caring, right? So I surely couldn’t be concerned about what Tsumiki thinks of me...I don’t get it. Something just feels incredibly wrong about putting myself in her, or anyone's, hands.

Shoving those thoughts down, I decided to make my way to the third island. The sun made my fever all the more excruciating and I found myself feeling faint, but I powered on anyway.

I crossed the bridge to the centre island, then took the bridge to the third island. I've never been so incredibly grateful for that red and white building to not be on the other side of the island.

I pushed open the door of the hospital building, finding myself in a small reception room. It was painted a dull blue-green colour, and bore a large white reception desk. There was also a small assembly of chairs, forming what I presumed is a waiting area. Kuzuryuu was lounged in one of these chairs in a seemingly uncomfortable position.

The Gangster jumped up the second he saw me, as it he had been awaiting my arrival. “Dude, did you fucking walk here? Did Komaeda and Souda ditch you?!” “Yes, and no. I left them at the hotel.” I explained, making eye contact with the shorter boy.

“Why the fuck would you do that? You’re sick as a dog! You passed out at breakfast, remember?!”

“I recall.”

“Then why’d you-”

“I don’t need to explain my actions to you.”

Kuzuryuu’s face twisted in a scowl, before he sighed and dropped all emotion from his face. “Man I don’t get this shit. Just go talk to Tsumiki okay? She’s in the first room treating Owari’s fever.”

I nodded and made my way into the hallway past the desk. There were doors on the left, labelled with numbers, patient rooms. On the right were windowed rooms with various…Monokuma displays?

Something about this place made my headache even worse.

I swallowed down the feeling and opened the door to the firsr room, stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind me. The room was filled with the loud sound of Owari sobbing her heart out. At this point, her voice was beginning to break, sounding hoarse and desperate. Tsumiki whirled around to face me, a wet rag in hand.

“H-Hinata! I-I-I’m glad you’re- you’re here. If y-you’d like, um, y-you can go rest in the second room. I’ll be- um, w-with you in a sec!” She stammered out, flashing a forced smile.

“I’ll stay there, as I assume the others will see me as a contagion risk, but I don’t wish for you to treat me.” I spoke sternly.

Tsumiki looked shocked, and then tears began to drip from her eyes. “I-I-I’m s-sorry! I-I didn’t know that- that I-I was in-in-inadequate in my n-nursing!”

I left the room before I had to listen to her cry any further, it was boring to listen to somebody act to so pathetically. As I stepped back out into the hallway, a rush of dizziness and nausea overcame me. I staggered slightly and leant an arm on the nearest wall, squeezing my eyes shut tight and trying to still the room around me.

Jesus Christ I feel like crap.

Light footsteps approached in my direction. I couldn't see who it was, but the sound of metal chain clinking against itself hinted as to who the footsteps' owner might be.

Komaeda's voice sounded cheerful. “Hinata-kun! Kuzuryuu-san told me you made it here okay! Ah, you look awfully-”

“I’m going to throw up.”

“Oh, I understand. It’s only natural for you to have that reaction upon running into somebody like me.” Komaeda laughed at his own self-deprecation.

“No, Komae-” I gagged on my words and quickly pressed a hand over my mouth.

Komaeda’s eyes went wide, followed by a soft “oh”. The boy then grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the second patient’s room. The room had a small ensuite bathroom, much alike most hospitals. I didn’t bother looking around too much, instead opting to make my way into the bathroom as quickly as possible. I spied the toilet and removed the hand from my mouth, opting to lean it against the cistern and sinking to my knees.

I heaved into the toilet, tears pricking at the corner of my eyes as my throat burned and my head screamed. This feeling was utterly...despairing.

After what felt like hours, my stomach had finally begun to calm down. I wiped my mouth with a groan and laid my face on the cool tiles of the floor.

“That’s kind of unhygienic, you know.” A breathy voice spoke from the doorway.

“It doesn’t matter.” I mumbled.

I heard Komaeda’s footsteps come closer, followed by a cool hand being pressed to my forehead. A quiet sigh escaped my mouth in relief.

“You’re incredibly hot, Hinata-kun.” Komaeda paused for longer than necessary, “Hang on, I’ll go get Tsumiki.”

He removed his hand from my forehead and I groaned out in annoyance. “Nooo.”

“Huh? Why don’t you want me to go get Tsumiki.”

“I don’t want to be treated.”

“Wh- why?”

“I want to see what happens.”

Komaeda laughed a wheezy little laugh. "Hinata-kun, normally I'd agree to anything you say, but an Ultimate like yourself shouldn't force yourself to go through something like this."

“Your opinion on the matter isn’t important, Komaeda. I’m just telling you not to get Tsumiki.” I stated firmly. “Besides, knowing the people here, it won’t be long before a murder occurs and I'm free from this.”

Komaeda tilted his head, looking somewhat intrigued by my statement. He had hardly reacted to my harsh words. “Not that I disagree, but why do you think that will be the case?”

I shrugged slightly and pushed myself up from the floor, now sitting up. The room was still spinning dangerously around me. “You’re all psychotic. That’s all.”

This statement seemed to tickle Komaeda, as he laughed and drew a big grin on his face. “It’s surprising how much more honest you are at the moment. Has your new apathetic outlook made you unbothered with hurting people’s feelings?”

I sighed. “You can sit here and philosophise all you like about the despair disease and its impacts. I’m going to go get a drink to calm this migraine."

I pulled myself up, slowly rising to my feet when a shocking pain pulsed through my head again.

"Ghuh-!"

My legs went weak and Komaeda reached out, grabbing hold of my torso to keep me from crashing to the floor below.

"You probably shouldn't try to do that." He muttered, gripping my waist tightly.

"No shit. Let go." I hissed, reaching out and latching on to Komaeda's shoulders.

The boy laughed heartily, making no attempt to remove his hands. "You tell me to let go whilst using my body to prop yourself up? You're awfully strange Hinata-kun."

Komaeda moved to my side and, removing one of his arms from my waist and now placing his hand over mine. "Please put your arm around my shoulder, we should just get you to your bed."

I sighed loudly in defeat and placed my arm around Komaeda's shoulder. The boy nodded and slowly started to move forward.

"I really don't need your help for this Komaeda."

"I know. Thankyou for allowing me to assist you, even if garbage like myself isn't worthy to."

I didn't bother to entertain Komaeda with a response. Instead I leaned more of my body weight onto the boy and groaned.

"It's alright, Hinata-kun, you're doing an amazing job." Komaeda breathed in a hushed tone.

The sound of his voice so close to me made me shiver, but it provided a momentary distraction from the pain.

My knees bumped into something hard and I looked up, realising we had made it across the room. Komaeda slipped his hand out from my waist and helped me lower myself to sit on the mattress.

"God I'm so hot." I murmured.

Komaeda pressed a cool hand to my cheek, making me sigh in relief. Using his right hand, he pressed his fingers into the knot of my tie, pulling it further undone from my neck.

"You should probably change into a hospital gown, it would at least be much cooler than wearing jeans." Komaeda spoke in a low voice.

He must be trying to help my migraine by being quiet. How…considerate of him?

"I...you're right." I sighed, bringing my fingers to undo the top button of my shirt.

Komaeda backed off, removing his hand from my face quickly. "Oh, Hinata-kun! Should I leave?"

I undid the rest of my buttons and shrugged off my shirt and tie. "Do what you want."

The boy nodded quickly, his cheeks were slightly flushed. "I-I'm going to get you a gown." And with that, he dashed out of the room, shutting the door gently behind him.

Weirdo.

I undid my belt and lifted my hips from the bed, carefully wiggling myself out of my jeans. They were awfully tight on my body, probably from the sweat of the fever.

I discarded my jeans and laid back on the bed with a groan. I probably shouldn't lie down yet, but I'm so goddamn sore and tired. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, but it was so nice to be off my feet for even a moment.

The door opened again and in stepped Komaeda, holding a folded up gown in his hands. "Ah, Hinata-kun, are you okay?"

"No." I mumbled, rolling over so I was now face-down in the pillow.

"I'm sorry, can I get you anything?" Komaeda spoke softly as a weight sat on the edge of the bed, most likely him.

"Water."

"Can do." The weight disappeared once again. "I left your gown on the bed if you want to change."

"Mhm." I mustered the strength to push myself up before scanning my eyes around the room. Komaeda was gone once again, I never heard the door click when he left, how strange.

I picked up the gown from the edge of the mattress. It was incredibly lightweight, but the linen was soft. I slipped my arms into the sleeves and pulled it up onto my shoulders. I then tied it around the waist loosely and sat back down on the bed.

Komaeda returned a few moments later with a tray holding a jug of water and a cup. He set the tray down on the bedside table and began to pour a cup of water.

"Are you feeling any better, Hinata-kun?" He quizzed, not taking his eyes away from what he was doing.

"I'm less hot." I mumbled.

"That's good." The boy turned to me, holding a plastic cup of water in his outstretched hand. I took it carefully with two hands, raising it to my lips and sipping.

The cool water felt like heaven on my burning throat. I squeezed my eyes closed tight and drank the whole cup, finishing with a pleased sigh.

"Ah, you probably shouldn't drink too fast, you don't want to make yourself sick again." Komaeda smiled and took the cup from my hands.

"That would be exciting though, wouldn't it? To be desperately seeking a release from pain only for it to make things worse? Actually, no, that's so incredibly predictable…" I babbled out, somewhat dazed and sleepy now that the ache in my throat was relieved.

"Haha, you're starting to sound a bit like me. How scary." Komaeda chuckled to himself, pouring another cup of water.

I slowly lowered my body back onto the bed, resting my head against the pillow. "Mmnn...it would be most unfortunate to have a mindset as boring as yours."

Komaeda gave a sad smile and placed the plastic cup onto the tray. "I think I'll go. I need to talk to Kuzuryuu-san about what everybody else is doing. Please call for Tsumiki-san if you need anything."

"Mmm."

The last thing I heard was the sound of Komaeda muttering to himself and the click of the door behind him. Fatigue took hold and I found myself falling into a deep sleep.

[cupcakes-and-pain]

Okay, so I totally meant for this to be done and posted earlier today, but whatever. At least I’m still getting it in on November 1st (for my timezone, anyway.) So, without further ado, my first thing for @comfortember . Hope you all enjoy! Also, I tried to put in a keep reading, so sorry if it doesn’t work. Story is my Spy Whump story that has yet to be named. For more information on the characters, here’s a link on the barest of basics. I’ll update soon with more info.

Comfortember #1: Rescue. Story is my Spy Whump story that has yet to be named.

CW: Past torture, implied Caretaker forced to hurt Whumpee, abandonment by parent mention, gaslighting by parent mention, victim blaming by parent mention, in general bad parent. Let me know if I missed anything.

Master list

Kad has been in this cell for a few weeks now. Dyri has visited him a few times and helped patch him up, apologizing over and over for the torture. Kad just assures him that it’s fine, Dyri can’t blow vis cover. Kad can handle this. Still, he wishes to go home. He needs to go home, curl up with Eden, get warm.

Honestly, Kad’s afraid he might break. Afraid he might give in and spill everything. What they’re trying to do, who’s in the organization, everything about their little spy group will be for nothing. What are they going to do? Why did they ever think they’d make a difference? A bunch of societal misfits trying to take down a huge capitalist company? Kad couldn’t believe he always listened to Eden and Dyri. He couldn’t believe that he let them convince him that he was actually someone special. If only Kad had woken up, listened to his dad, did what he was supposed to do, maybe then he wouldn’t be in this horrible cell, rotting away while his team fails every mission.

Kad is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear the sirens right away, but when he does, all of his attention is immediately on those sirens. He knows those sirens. Those are the sirens that warn of a break in. No one has any reason to break into this “tech” company, Allen inc. No one except his team.

Kad tries to not get his hopes up, tries so hard to not believe that they’ll actually make it to him and then back out again without getting caught, but he can’t help it. He can’t help thinking that today he’ll see the sun again, be with his family and friends again.

And then he hears them: pounding footsteps that only his team’s hunting boots make, Janelle’s charm bracelet clinking and Eden barking orders to the rest. And then the unlocking door and the light spilling in and the warmth chasing away the cold. Kad can barely think, just experience everything as they remove the chains and help him up. He’s so lost in the joy and relief and shock at being rescued that he’s barely aware that Dyri is with them, guiding them through the halls and keeping look out. It’s hours after that it hits him how much Dyri was risking for them.

Kad finally comes out of shock as they are jumping in and the getaway van and speeding off. As usually, Silva, the designated driver, has no regard for road safety and all Kad can do his grip onto Eden and hope they don’t all crash.

“Hey, love, how are you feeling?” Eden asks, their voice soft and comforting.

“Honestly, I think I’m going to need some time. There’s too many things happening at once and it’s all so sudden and I think I’m going to-“

“Shh, just breathe, just breathe,” Eden cuts off his frantic rambling, gently running a hand through his hair. He holds onto them even tighter, but not because of the speeding van this time. He holds on so tightly because he’s afraid that if he ever lets go Eden might disappear again. He can’t loose another parental figure, although he knows Eden would never purposely abandon him. He can’t believe that just 10 minutes ago he was considering that he should of listened to his father, the man that abandoned his kids and never looked back.

He remembers how afraid he and Dyri were, not knowing where they were, just that Dad had dropped them off in the pouring rain on someone’s doorstep, and left, but not before uttering the words that have haunted Kad for years.

“This isn’t my fault. It’s yours.”

Kad is eternally grateful when he is able to fall asleep, escape all these thoughts from the past. Fall fast asleep in the arms of the person who raised him, who cared for him when no one else did. The person who would never leave him, never mistreat him, never be upset if Kad doesn’t want to live the way they expect him to. He is eternally grateful to fall asleep in the arms of Eden, his amazing auncle and, for a long time, the only adult that Kad knew that actually gave a damn about anyone but themselves.

Eden was his role model, and Kad was going to make them proud. But for now, Kad was fast asleep, his family around him, speeding down the road to home.

[overheardatthecontinental]

Talk Chapter 5 now posted

AO3

Helen was waiting.

It was a matter of time now, for John to come.

She pulled the sweatshirt that Nick had given to her tighter around her shoulders. It must be getting late, she notes, because it’s getting colder again.

The guards had changed just two hours after she managed to send John the text. The new ones weren’t as talkative but she really didn’t need them to be. Not anymore.

She had gotten a message out.

Now she just had to wait.

She wonders if he’s narrowing her location or if he’s already on his way.

She wonders what the fuck she’ll do if she wakes up again in the morning and find she’s still here. That John hadn’t come for her.

Maybe he wasn’t able to?

No. She pushes that thought quickly from her mind.

This was John. Nothing would stop him.

She just needs to keep waiting.

The phone rings from one of the guards and she watches, with vague interest, as he picks up the call.

“’lo?”

She can’t hear what is happening on the other side of the line, but the guard looks to Helen, his eyes wide with fear.

She can’t help the smile that grows on her face with the unbidden knowledge: He’s coming.

“What? Why?” There’s a pause and his eyes widen, “Yes, sir.” He hangs up and jumps to his feet, turning to his partner, “Go get the car. We’re moving her.”

“Now?” The other guy rolls his eyes.

“Marco, John Wick is coming.”

Helen breathed a sigh of relief just at hearing his name. He was on his way. He was coming.

Marco’s eyes widen and he, too, scrambles to his feet.

“Baba Yaga? Why?”

“Oh, you poor bastards.” Marco and the other guard look at her fearfully, “You agreed to guarding me without ever asking who I was.”

Stall, she thinks. They’re trying to move her to a second location, one that John might not be able to find as easily… She can’t let them move her.

Not if he’s coming.

“Who are you?” Marco asks.

She borrows the language that Nick used. Therapist or not, in this world, it was probably the most accurate assessment of their relationship, “I’m John Wick’s girl.”

“Oh fuck.”

Helen makes a show of examining her nails, “Honestly, it took him long enough.”

“Get the car, now!” The taller guard states.

“I mean, you could get the car.” Helen says, “But trust me when I tell you, that’s just going to piss him off.”

They exchange a look.

“My suggestion is that both of you leave before he gets here. He won’t come after you right away that way. Or you could stay here and surrender. Maybe he’ll take pity on you.” She offers a smile, “Claim your ignorance. You didn’t know who I was.”

They’re both distraught and tense. Finally, one of them breaks.

“Marco, get the car.”

“Dude, I don’t know…”

“Do you want to be here when John Wick gets here? GO!”

Helen makes a face, doing her best to look both understanding of his decision but skeptical of his choice. “Not your best move, but I get it. It’s noble that you’re willing to die for your cause.”

Marco makes a noise of fear but he hurries to the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The other guard grabs the keys that had been hanging from a nearby hook. He shoves it into the lock of her cell and Helen feels her heart start to race.

They can’t move her. Not yet.

Not after she finally got through to him.

He reaches for her and she quickly jumps across the floor to the edge of her cell. The sweatshirt falls from her shoulders as she does, and she wraps her arms around the bars as tightly as she can.

Fingers dig into her arm, but she holds tight. Every second counts.

“Fuck! Let go!” There’s panic in his voice and there should be. Every single thing these men have heard about John Wick, every rumor and urban legend, was about John at his baseline.

But right now, he was pissed.

She gave the guards the option to walk away. That they hadn’t is now beyond her control.

One arm is pried loose but the other stands firm. She manages to kick backward and he grunts, falling to one knee as his leg is knocked down.

She manages to free the arm and entangles herself back amongst the bars.

His arms wrap under hers this time and he tries to pull her off that way. The technique is a little better and she feels herself slipping.

She kicks out again, thrashing as hard as she can. She just needs to waste time, to stall. Just a little longer.

He’s coming.

There are footsteps on the stairs and Marco hurries back down.

Fuck.

She was barely holding out against one of DeLuca’s goons.

“Get the sedative!” The guard growls out and Helen resists the urge to swear.

She slams her foot back again, managing a kick to the balls and watches, in relief, as the guard doubles over in pain. She lets go of the bars and bolts to her feet. She feels her head rush after being on the ground for so long but she runs as fast as she can towards the stairs.

She makes it up the first few and then her ankle is grabbed and she falls forward. Her head bounces off a step and the world goes fuzzy.

Helen tries to blink, to keep herself conscious but it’s pointless. The needle is jabbed into her flesh and she feels herself being picked up.

She had been so close…

But it wasn’t enough.

…

They had a name. And an organization.

But nothing else. The sender had immediately blocked their number, but it was a start.

“Dante DeLuca is dead.” Winston had said when John read the text aloud. “He passed on three months ago. I had flowers sent to his widow, in Rome.”

“Does he have children?”

“Several. Only one legitimate, I believe. Mateo.”

“Karl, run a search on Mateo DeLuca. Current position, known allies, and any properties listed under his or his father’s name.”

“Running now.”

Mateo DeLuca was largely unknown. He wasn’t particularly well-respected by anyone and was really known only as Dante DeLuca’s son and heir. Dante, himself, hadn’t seemed too fond of the boy but that was often the case.

You raise spoiled children; you get rotten adults.

Mateo had a degree from Columbia University in business. A few arrests during that time but no convictions.

As far as the Underworld went, Mateo had virtually no presence.

And while Mateo was Dante’s heir, there was some evidence that he had been grooming a few others to take over the business upon his passing. But then he had died, seemingly of natural causes.

John was doubting that.

Winston stated that, indeed, the Syndicate was an enemy of the Camorra. Still, they were far too small to overtake the larger empire of the D’Antonio’s.

John didn’t care about that. The politics were over now that he had a name. Winston could deal with the fallout. Report Mateo’s treason to the High Table. Or not.

There really wasn’t much of a point considering that John was more than willing to just kill the bastard and be done with it.

Karl ran every property associated with the Syndicate in New York while John began strapping weapons.

“I have a location on Mateo.” Karl says, “He’s at a party in Manhattan. He just posted on his Instagram.”

John wasn’t entirely sure what that sentence meant.

“She must be being kept somewhere else.”

“A small property.” John agrees, “Someplace private, out of the way.”

“He’s got a handful of houses. A brownstone in Brooklyn.”

John shakes his head, “Too many potential witnesses.”

“There’s a few places down in Staten Island and oh… He owns a condemned block in Long Beach. Series of houses bought out after Hurricane Irene.”

“Closest neighbor?”

“At least a block.”

John grabs his phone back and types the address into his GPS.

She’s there. She has to be.

Still, he gruffly adds, “Keep searching. Just in case.”

“Jonathan, perhaps you should come up with a plan—”

John shoots the Manager a look.

He isn’t waiting anymore.

“Call for my car. I’ll update you when I can.” John tells him as he leaves the room.

The drive from the Continental to Long Beach should have been an hour. Luckily, traffic was on his side. The gas pedal pressed to the floor didn’t hurt, either. He blows through every stop sign and red light he meets.

The ocean is visible and he breathes a sigh of relief. He’s close, now.

His phone begins to ring and John spares the ID a glance. The Continental.

He answers it, “This is Wick?”

“Hi, Mister Wick, it’s, uh, Karl.” The Technician awkwardly greets, “You said to keep an eye out and I did and, um, DeLuca knows.”

“What?”

“He knows you’re coming, sir. He has sentries over in Long Beach and they reported seeing your car. He knows you’re coming and he made a call to someone at the house.”

“How many sentries?”

“I don’t know, sir. But DeLuca’s made two more calls since the house that have pinged in your general vicinity.”

Sure enough, John checks his rearview and a black car is following him. They’d have to be going at least fifty to keep on his tail.

“Thank you.” John turns off the phone. He’s less than five miles away.

Five miles away from Helen.

He’s sure they’re keeping her there now.

And they’ll be ready for him.

That’s fine. It won’t make a difference. He’ll kill them all.

As long as he got there in time.

They’d be moving her. DeLuca’s only leverage against John, and the only thing keeping John from outright murdering him was Helen.

He hears the sounds of loud motors and checks his rearview.

Sure enough, another car slides off of a side street and joins the pursuit.

In any other situation, he might have laughed. Now, it was just a nuisance. Another obstacle trying to prevent him from reaching what he needed most.

But he can’t worry about them now. He can’t stop to take care of the problem because he can’t fucking risk them moving her.

There’s an idling car out front of one of the houses.

He can see her. She’s clearly unconscious, being carried from the house to the car. Two men in front of him, he’s not even sure of how many are behind.

He had hoped for a bit of stealth, the element of surprise. But then, his car barreling down a side street at eighty miles an hour is hard to miss, especially when he slams the breaks and the tires loudly squeal along the pavement.

He’s usually better than this. A lot better than this. In fact, he’s not sure he can really remember a time since his teens when he went in guns’ blazing.

He was too calm, to focused, to tactical for that.

Yet here he is.

And the clock is ticking.

He can’t let them get away.

John opens the door and lunges from the car, ducking from the shots being fired from the cars behind them as they squeal to a stop. He aims low, not willing to waste ammo until he knew what he was dealing with and fired a shot. The back left tire starts to compress and he does the same for the right.

They’re not getting away.

The man, not carrying Helen, reaches to his belt and John fires again.

The bullet breaks into his hand and he can hear the cry of pain. Before the man can reach again, John aims higher and shoots him in the neck.

He can hear firing coming from behind him.

He has to take them out before she can be hit by a stray bullet.

All it takes is one.

Luckily, the man who has Helen has ducked down low.

He needs more eyes, more hands.

He turns, because he needs to and starts counting.

Three cars, two men each. Clearly, DeLuca had not paid enough attention when researching potential assassins to manipulate.

John ducks back behind the car, reloading his weapon. He wants to move towards them, to finish this quickly, but he needs to keep his head. He needs to deal with this like he’s not emotionally involved because, to do otherwise, would be suicide.

He stops and listens. The gunfire dies down and the men on the other side of the car are hollering directions to one another.

Amateur hour.

He can hear footsteps coming on either side of car, heavily pounding on the concrete.

John stays crouched but moves to the left side. He tucks his gun into its holster and, instead, grabs a knife from his boot.

Just as the first two men reach the front of the car, John grabs the one on the left but the shirt and stabs him in the gut. He stands, disarming the shocked man and drags the blade up. His hand snatches the gun with ease and he fires once over his shoulder to the man just behind him, then again at the man who was coming around the right side of the car.

He manages to dodge, jumping back behind the tallest part of the car.

John fires through the passenger side window. The bullet flies through the car and comes out on the other side, staggering the man back. He fires again and the man drops to the ground.

Four down, he thinks. Four to go.

A shot is fired at him from back where the other cars were. Two of the men still are hiding back at the cars they came in.

John spins back around to the front of the car.

The man from the opposite side of the car takes off running as John sneaks down low to the other side. He uses the new gun to fire low. The first shot goes through the calf, likely shredding the muscle.

Hurts like a bitch, John knows from experience. He hobbles and falls to the ground, screaming.

DeLuca’s men, it would seem, are well armed but not trained for shit. He’s momentarily baffled that these were the forces, the army that DeLuca thought he could use to overthrow the Camorra?

But arrogance was his pitfall.

John couldn’t fault him for that; it was his own, as well.

But everything else? The stalking, the kidnapping, the threats? John could fault him for that. That was the reason that DeLuca was going to die.

The last two standing from his pursuers seem unwilling to leave the safety of their cars. Which means, unfortunately, that John can either wait them out or be the one to move.

Waiting it out is smarter. He knows it’s what he should do but a look across to where Helen is and he can’t.

Anger flares within him as he realizes that the man holding her is using her as a kind of shield.

It won’t save him, John thinks, turning his attention back towards the cars. They’re waiting for movement, waiting to fire.

Outnumbered, outgunned, back against the wall.

Thank fuck for Kevlar.

He stands and immediately hears the shots being fired at him. He swerves, immediately, expecting to draw their fire. The bullets miss him and John sprints forward, firing as he does. A bullet hits the front side of the Kevlar and it nearly winds him, but he keeps moving.

John hits the opposite side of the first car and drops to his stomach. In the confusion, he fires and a bullet breaks the ankle of the closer man.

He drops to the ground and John flips around, jumping on top of the hood of the car to shoot the last man standing in the head before delivering a kill shot to wounded man on the ground.

There’s silence, except for the spluttering breaths of the man John had shot in the calf.

He hops off the hood of the car, heading towards Helen and the last of DeLuca’s men. He idly shoots the fallen soldier in the head and moves on.

DeLuca’s man scrambles backward, his arm wrapped around Helen’s torso, holding her up literally as a shield.

John shakes his head in disbelief, his gun lowered at his side but cocked just the same.

The man almost trips over the sidewalk in his state of panic.

John glances to Helen and tries not to tense or flinch at the blood spilling from her temple or the scratch marring her cheek. There are bruises on her arms that resemble fingers and he wishes he could kill them all again.

“Don’t, please…”

“Set her on the ground. Gently.”

“You’ll shoot me.”

“I’ll shoot you either way.” He snarls, “Set her down, and I’ll make it quick.”

“Please, I’ll do anything. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Just don’t kill me.”

“I’m not going to tell you again.” John says, stepping closer.

“Okay, okay!” The man kneels and carefully sets Helen so that she’s on the grassy front lawn. Her body is laid out, her head lolling to the side. “Just, please don’t—”

John shoots him in the head.

The closest thing to mercy he was capable of while watching her bleed.

John reloads his weapon as he kneels, keeping it out of his holster. Just in case.

He checks her headwound first. It’s shallow but there’s a large bump that’s already forming. A fall, he thinks, rather than a hit.

The mark on her cheek similarly resembles an abrasion.

It’s simultaneously not bad and the worst thing he’s ever seen. He wraps an arm under her legs and another around her back and lifts her up. He pulls her close to his chest and breathes easy for the first time in two days.

He keeps his eyes peeled for enemies as he hurries back to his car.

He can’t stay here long. As much as he would love a confrontation with every single person under DeLuca’s employ, he has to get her out of here. To safety.

John hadn’t been thinking long-term beyond getting Helen to safety but now there were other things to consider.

He couldn’t take her back to her home. DeLuca would find it and attack, whether John was there or not. He couldn’t risk putting Helen back into the line of fire.

The Continental was off the table, too.

DeLuca already knew she existed, as did a select few of the Continental staff, but the last thing John wanted was for others to find out about her. She might never have another moment’s rest if the Underworld found out that John Wick had a weakness.

That left his house.

His heart stuttered at the thought.

He’d imagined it a thousand times.

Every morning when he had breakfast, he wondered what Helen would look like standing in his kitchen.

Every time he watched television or read on the couch, he would imagine her presence beside him.

Every night he went to sleep in his own bed, he would roll on his side and think about what it would be like to reach over and touch her.

His love. His life.

He maneuvers Helen to one arm as he opens the passenger-side door and slips her inside. He fastens the seatbelt and leans the seat back the best he can. Finally, he slips off his suit jacket and covers her with it. It’s huge over her small frame and he tries not to delight in the sight.

John cannot resist placing a kiss to her head.

She’s here.

She’s safe.

He closes the door and goes around to the passenger side. He turns the car around and hurries out of the neighborhood and back towards the city and the bridge that will take him back home.

John sets a hand on her leg, squeezing gently to make sure that she really was there.

The nightmare was over.

The rest could be handled with ease now that she was safe. He could track down DeLuca and make him fucking pay for taking Helen. Burn what was left of Syndicate to the ground.

The moment they had cleared Long Beach, he reaches for his phone, dialing the Manager.

Winston picks up after the first ring.

“Jonathan.”

“I have her.”

Winston hums in response.

“I’m going to need Doc.”

“At the Continental?”

“At my house.”

He can practically feel Winston rolls his eyes, “The Doctor doesn’t do house calls.”

“I’ll pay whatever he wants.”

“You are aware that I’m not your secretary, aren’t you, Jonathan?”

John resists the urge to roll his eyes, “Winston. Please.”

“I’ll make it happen.”

“Thank you.”

Winston huffs, then asks, “Is she alright?”

John glances over at the passenger seat. She still was unconscious, but she had stopped bleeding.

“She’s safe. A few injuries. I want to make sure that none are worse than they look.”

He’s met with silence at first. Winston clears his throat, “You do know this won’t be the end of it?”

John focuses his attention on the road ahead. “I’ll track down DeLuca.”

“Your secret is already out. Others will find out about your little therapist. You say she’s safe, but for how long?”

He swallows hard. He can’t begin to process those thoughts until Helen is safe, in bed, and being looked at by a doctor. Then, he’ll have the breakdown he’s been putting off for two days.

“I’ll speak with you soon. Can you make sure Karl gets paid and tipped well for his services?”

He can practically feel the Manager roll his eyes, “Yes, yes. I’ll send the Doctor out shortly. If you’re leaving Long Beach now, he may even make it there before you.”

John offers his thanks and drives the rest of the route in silence, safe the soft sounds of her breathing.

It puts him at ease, hearing her breathe.

He revels in every slight intake and gentle exhale.

It takes longer to get home than it did to find her. While he still speeds, he is no longer doubling the speed limit as he travels home.

As Winston had suggested, the Doctor was already there when John pulls up. He parks out front rather than pulling up to the garage.

“Mister Wick.” The Doctor greets as John climbs out of the car.

“Doc. Thank you for coming.”

John goes to the other side of the car. He undoes the seatbelt and slips her, carefully, back into his arms.

“Do you know what happened to her?” The Doctor asks, eyeing his new patient the best he can while she remains in John’s grasp.

John shakes his head, “She was unconscious when I found her. I don’t know if she was sedated or if she’s still out from the headwound she sustained.”

He opens the door to his home and leads Doc through the house, upstairs to John’s own bedroom.

With a sense of longing, he lays Helen in his bed.

He takes his jacket back and tosses it to the side, allowing Doc access to the rest of her body. The bruises on her arms look worse in the light of his room.

The man was lucky John was feeling merciful.

Doc opens his bag and starts by cleaning the wounds marring her face. He wipes away the blood and bandages the cut on her temple.

“It wasn’t the headwound that knocked her out.” Doc says after examining her. “It’s superficial, although I’m sure she’ll have headaches for the next few weeks. It looks like she’s been drugged a few times. I’d guess this is the work of a sedative.”

That was John’s guess as well.

“Give her twelve hours and try to wake her up. If she’s unresponsive, call me.”

The Doctor grabs a bottle of pills and hands them to John. “Aspirin will do just fine for the pain. Give her this for the headaches.”

John nods, tucking Helen into his bed as the Doctor packs up.

“I can’t thank you enough for coming out here.” John tells him. On his bureau, there’s several stacks of coins. He takes one and hands it off to the Doctor.

“Of course. I hope you’ll forgive my boldness, but I don’t recognize her. Is she based in another city?”

John fights back the urge to wince. While he doesn’t think Doc would say anything to anybody, he doesn’t want to let anyone else know about her identity. But then, Doc had come all this way to ease John’s fears.

He swallows, “She’s not of the Underworld. She’s… a friend of mine. Who got pulled in over her head.”

The Doc hums, “Be careful with otherworlders, John Wick. Persephone was only a guest of the Underworld and she never escaped it.” Before John can think of a response, Doc has his bag in hand, “I wish her a speedy recovery. Good night, Mister Wick.”

The Doctor leaves them in peace and John brings a chair around to her side of the bed. He sits down, nearly collapsing. She is safe.

His vigil begins anew.

[bcbdrums]

My Heartbeat

Have a smol Drakgo fanfic.  This is related to another fic I have written.  It’s kind of a spoiler so I won’t mention until the end.

FFn Link

AO3 Link

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My Heartbeat

Soft. Warm. The barely perceptible, but rhythmic and steady pulsing beneath his hand. Her heartbeat.

It was his anchor as he lay beside her, his eyes frequently closed during the long hours as he stayed with her in an attempt to comfort her—physically, mentally, emotionally... He didn't dare leave her side unless he had to.

His hand flat on her chest, feeling the slow, gentle beat of her heart, let him know that for the moment at least she wasn't panicking. But he knew what was in her mind, for it was the same thing that had been in his constantly for the past six weeks.

A hiss from her lips caused his eyes to open the second before her entire body winced in pain, her knees drawing up farther, her arms hugging her middle tighter, and her face twisting into a grimace. He kissed her bare shoulder repeatedly as she rode the wave of pain mixed with nausea, a symptom that had become a constant presence in her body. It kept her mostly bedridden for the past several weeks, and so he had resigned himself to the same. The pain was bad enough to endure; he couldn't bear the thought of her being alone in her fear.

Suddenly the warmth of her chest beneath his hand vanished as she rolled to the side and vomited into the bucket set next to the bed for just that purpose. He was on his knees in a flash, holding her hair back and rubbing her arm as she expelled only bile, for there was nothing in her stomach to actually throw up. She hadn't been able to keep food down for weeks.

When she was finished, he held the glass of water for her to swish her mouth clean and she spat that into the bucket as well. He considered encouraging her to drink, but the pained look on her face told him it would have to wait.

As soon as she was re-settled, he wordlessly left the bed to take the bucket to the industrial-sized sink in the lab to clean, as had become their routine. But not before setting up the backup bucket for her.

His steps were brisk as he hurried to complete the task, his head down and his brow furrowed in worry as he thought about the way her clothes hung loose on her body and how her hip bones seemed to be jutting upward more prominently when he watched her laying on her back.

As he cleaned the bucket he decided to bring up going to the hospital again. He thought he could convince her this time, but...he dreaded the emotional stress it would bring her, if he took the tactic that he thought would work. And he knew that being in the hospital would only add to her fear and stress, thus potentially making things worse.

It was a problem that seemed to be without a solution.

After returning and setting the bucket back next to the bed, and noting the backup bucket was still clean, he returned to her side where she had resumed the familiar position of trying to moderate her pain. Knees drawn up, forearms wrapped around her middle, head on the pillow with her tangled hair splayed in every direction, and her eyes closed with her face frozen in a permanent grimace of pain.

She looked so...helpless.

He carefully crawled back onto the bed next to her so as not to jostle her and make her pain worse, and when he lay down he kissed her shoulder repeatedly as he replaced his hand over her heart. After a few minutes of the slow, lazy kisses he shifted up onto his side and leaned partially over her. Her eyes slid open, and he hesitated just enough for her to see the sympathy in his eyes before he kissed her lips.

Time slipped away as they kissed, the soft and slow caresses a shared comfort that they both sorely needed. He longed to take her in his arms and bring her small form close to his and perhaps strengthen her through his soul... But such poetic things were only possible in imagination.

A hiss of pain escaping her lips parted them, and he stared down at her in worry as she blinked through the wave of nausea and discomfort. Her eyes pleaded with him as he remained hovering over her, their faces mere inches apart. It broke his heart and gave him the final push to make the suggestion, as there was nothing he could do to help her.

"I think you should go to the hospital," he blurted out.

Her gaze slowly focused as she writhed. She shook her head. "No. If I go in...they won't let me out."

He lifted a hand to slowly stroke her cheek, her skin hot and clammy to the touch. "Why not?"

"They'll just want to keep running tests... They'll try to analyze my powers, to see how they affect me and how they'll...how..." She trailed off as her throat constricted and her eyes started filling with tears.

Drakken sat up and slowly gathered her into his arms. She shook slightly from the pain of the movement, but soon her arms were around him and clinging to him as she cried into his shoulder.

The fear they both felt was tangible at almost every moment. Even when she felt up to getting out of bed and he could coax her into a walk for exercise, he knew...it was always on her mind. And he feared that the level of stress she was under would be just as harmful as her powers could be. But her inability to eat was the first and most important priority.

"But Shego... You've barely eaten in weeks. You're losing weight. The hospital can give you nutrients through an IV. It's not as good as real food, but since you can't eat—"

"I don't want to go!" she said desperately. "You know they'll run tests. And...if they find something..."

Her tightening throat cut off her words again, and he rubbed her back as she clung to him. He understood her fear. On the one hand, a hospital could give them constant status updates...and then if something was really wrong they could potentially know about it while there was still time to do something. But on the other hand... They could discover that everything they were hoping for was just a dream, and nothing more.

He dreaded the day they would be met with the cold, Earth-shattering truth that what they so desired was impossible—they couldn't have children. And he knew that Shego blamed herself, as much as it was an equal possibility that the loss of their first child may have been due to his mutated genetics; he couldn't dissuade her from the idea that it was just her. And her constant illness through both pregnancies only served as 'evidence' in her eyes.

He began kissing her head and rubbed her back as she continued crying into his shoulder. She had been more stressed that week than usual, and he didn't want to bring up what he was sure was the reason why. It was the seventeenth week—the same week that they had lost their first child. And now they were at the same threshold for the one currently growing within her. There was no way of knowing of course if there was anything special about that week. They didn't even know why they had lost the first one. But he understood there was a psychological fear that she was dealing with, however unscientifically based it may be.

He hoped that when the week was past she may be able to calm down, but he feared she would only get worse. In the rare moments he wasn't at her side, he had been researching and he knew that stress was the last thing a pregnancy needed. Not to mention malnutrition.

He gently drew her head back and her wide, frightened eyes met his, searching for something. After a moment she looked down, her face twisting in embarrassment and anger, no doubt with her own weakness. His heart broke.

He kissed the tears from her cheeks as she tried to control her labored breaths. And then she kissed him hard, just for a moment as she suddenly winced in pain, and then doubling over she turned to throw up nothing over the side of the bed again. Drakken pulled her hair back and covered her body with his protectively, hovering close to her heaving back. When her breathing began to calm she pushed against his back and then rolled to the center of the bed, he moving ahead of her. She leaned shakily on her side, staring at nothing, her eyes wide with dread.

He watched the trembling of her shirt over her chest with every heartbeat, slowing gradually as her vision began to refocus. He rubbed her arm ever so lightly as she swallowed and mentally shook herself of the emotions she was fighting. She looked up at him slowly.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"No," he said quickly, gathering her up into his arms. "It's okay to be scared."

He felt her shuddering breaths against his chest as she held on tight. And for a moment he let himself feel it too. The dread of losing another child... Something they hadn't even been sure they wanted until they'd found themselves pregnant the first time. And now they wanted it so desperately it was almost painful. But...he needed to be strong for her. So he swallowed down his own fear and set his mind to solving the problems that he had some control over.

"Shego..." He leaned back and held her shoulders as she looked up into his eyes. She must have read what he was about to say because defiance suddenly sprang up in hers. But he was putting his foot down. "You have to get nutrition somehow. If you can't eat, then...the baby won't get any nutrients either. And then none of the rest of this will matter."

He saw in her eyes, reluctant as she was, that she knew he was right. And regardless, he was resolved. Even if it meant taking her to the hospital against her will. He wasn't going to lose their second baby just because she was too sick to eat. Not to mention...he was starting to fear losing her too.

"Okay. I'll try to eat something again," she said uncertainly.

"Good." Drakken stood up and stepped around the bed, scooping her up into his arms since walking while sick always meant a pause to throw up at least once. He also leaned down for her to grab a bucket in the event of such a problem on the way to the kitchen.

"Drakken..." she murmured as she set her face against his neck, her fingers lazily clinging to the bucket handle as it swung and bounced off his leg.

"Yes?"

He stopped walking as she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes searched his, but for what he wasn't sure. He continued on more slowly as he watched her and waited. She glanced down a moment, appearing sad before she looked back up. They reached the kitchen and he took the bucket from her and set it on a chair.

"If...if we can't do this...are you going to be okay?"

Drakken's lips parted in silent surprise as he stared into her worried eyes. Had part of her fear throughout the weeks been for him?

"I know...you're trying to be strong for me, but I know that...this means everything to you. And if we can't...I still love you."

She slid out of his arms to stand in front of him as he continued staring at her in shock. Was she worried that if they couldn't have a baby that he wouldn't...want her anymore?

He watched her cheeks color as she looped her arms around his neck and spoke softly and shyly, but a bit desperately. "I love you...with all I am."

"Oh...Shego," he said in the split second before he kissed her. His arms locked tightly around her as he attempted to kiss away every fear and worry about their relationship that she had. The thought that he might leave her...for anything... But worst of all, the realization that she was insecure about their relationship.

If she weren't sick, he would carry her back to bed and prove his love in as many ways as she needed. He settled for proving kisses instead, his lips moving against hers powerfully until the salt of her falling tears joined the sweetness of her lips. And it wasn't until he felt her melting in his arms that he scooped her up again and brought his lips higher to kiss her closed eyes.

"Oh Shego," he murmured. "Darling..."

She slowly leaned away, a small smirk having found its way to her face.

"'Darling'?"

He blushed. He did often call her that and more, but just in his head...

"Dumpling?" he tried.

Her smirk grew. "Nostalgic..." she said with a nod.

Her arms tightened around his neck and he felt a grin coming to his own lips as he finally saw a hint of peace in her eyes. He took a breath and let spill many of the things that often ran through his head when he looked at her.

"My queen. My angel. Goddess. The most perfect woman to have ever existed."

Her smirk bloomed into a full smile, and he continued rambling on as he set her down on one of the bar stools before turning to the fridge.

"Sweetheart... My pearl... My jewel..." he said with a grin as he began gathering ingredients and piling them around the blender. "Babe... Hot tamale..."

Shego almost giggled at that one, but then her smile vanished as she held her stomach and doubled over, one hand gripping the counter as the other held her stomach. Drakken watched her for a moment until he was sure she wasn't going to need the bucket, and then he started up the blender.

Shego watched him with interest as she slowly recovered her good humor, her hand not leaving her stomach as she blinked at him. He finished blending the ingredients and then poured the mixture into a pot on the stove, after which he immediately began washing the blender.

"Keep going," Shego said quietly, her voice belying the pain she constantly felt.

Drakken thought of the other things he called her in his mind as he washed the appliance. "My star... My sunshine."

He nearly wiped his soapy hands on his pajamas, forgetting he wasn't wearing an apron. He wiped them on a dish towel and then stirred the broth he had made, smiling in satisfaction before opening the freezer and taking out a Tupperware of homemade ice cream. He set it on the counter in front of Shego with a spoon, and then followed it up by pouring a glass of coconut milk he took from the fridge.

"Ginger?" Shego asked, cautiously picking up the spoon.

"Yes. Eat a little of that first. If you can...keep it down, then we'll try the broth."

"Okay..." she said uncertainly, putting a tiny sliver of the ice cream on the edge of the spoon.

Drakken watched her slowly eat the sliver, tensing as she did so as if the minuscule amount of food would instantly cause her nausea to worsen. But after several seconds, it didn't. She took another small sliver onto her spoon.

Drakken turned the broth on the stove down to a simmer and then moved to sit beside her, setting a supportive arm around her. As he watched her nervously dissolve the second sliver of ice cream on her tongue, a thought occurred to him.

"Maybe...I could work some of my connections. And instead of going to the hospital, we could bring the hospital to you."

She looked at him in a mixture of curiosity and fear. But she put another sliver of ice cream on her spoon.

"Just...an IV, so you can get some more nutrition. And...maybe an ultrasound machine?"

Shego looked up and away at nothing. He watched the emotions play across her face as all the possibilities ran through her mind.

"We wouldn't...have to have anyone here. I can set it all up myself. And I know how to insert an IV—"

"Drakken... Okay."

He studied her expression as she looked at him. She still looked afraid, her tangled hair falling across her face as she gazed at him and struggled to make trust the dominant emotion in her eyes.

"My dream..." he said as he brushed her hair back. Her smile slowly returned as he offered more pet names. "My heartbeat... My world."

"I like those..." she said with a small smirk. "But how about...just 'dumpling' for when you feel like you need a pet name, and...'darling' in public, to rub our happiness in people's faces?"

Drakken grinned. But the moment of peace was broken as Shego grimaced and whirled around to hold her face over the bucket to throw up nothing again, the spoon gripped tightly in her shaking fingers as she retched. Drakken grabbed her hair and held it, wrapping an arm around her to support her as her legs began to shake.

As soon as she was done, he picked her up again so she didn't have to worry about standing. She hissed in pain as she tightened in on herself and leaned into his chest, her head falling on his shoulder. Drakken sighed and picked up the bucket, prepared to head back to their bedroom.

"Shego—"

"Put me down," she said shakily. "You're right. The baby needs to eat. I want to keep trying the ice cream."

He carefully set her back on the bar stool and after replacing the bucket on the chair he sat next to her. She put another sliver of ice cream on the spoon that she'd managed not to drop and then let it dissolve on her tongue. Drakken gently rubbed her back as he watched her struggle, helpless for what to do next.

As her shaking began to still she looked up at him, the familiar fear and worry evident through the pain in her eyes.

"We'll be okay, Shego," he said with authority, though he was sure his voice was shaking. But then through the fear, love began to shine in the green depths of her gaze.

"Drakken... Call me something sweet again," she said softly, a tiny smirk turning up the corners of her mouth..

He leaned closer to her and held her tighter as she put a slightly larger bit of ice cream on her spoon.

"My world... My heartbeat."

She licked the ice cream off the spoon and then rested her face against his.

"My love."

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This fic was a distant sequel to my fic, “Rekindling.”  Thanks for reading!

[basketofverbiage]

A New Beginning

Hi everyone! I’m sorry for not really posting in a long time. I had some serious depression/creativity issues. But here is a second part that I had never planned to write for Angels Calling. 

Angels Calling

Dasom was dressed in a tiny school uniform and was tugging Hoseok along by the hand in her excitement to get through the doors of her school.

“Come on, Appa! I don’t want to be late!” she said, tugging harder at his hand in an effort to try to make him move faster.

“Okay, okay, Somie! Calm down. We have plenty of time,” he chuckled.

She was clearly ready for her first day of school. When they reached the door of her classroom, he knelt down in front of her and handed her a bright pink lunchbox before pulling her close for a hug.

“Have a great first day of school, Somie. I’ll come pick you up later today,” he said into her hair, giving her one tighter squeeze before letting her go.

“I love you, Appa. Don’t forget me!”

Hoseok’s eyes popped open as the dream faded, and he smiled sadly at the ceiling. Dasom had not lived long enough to have her first day of school. She would have started school in a few weeks at the elementary school a few blocks from his apartment building. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment until the ache in his chest was less debilitating.

“I could never forget you, baby,” he whispered to the darkness in his room before getting out of bed to walk into the bathroom.

He turned the water on in the shower to heat up while he brushed his teeth and tried to focus on beginning his day. Hoseok had woken up 45 minutes before his alarm, but the small chance that he might fall back into the dream kept him awake. He didn’t dream of his dead daughter often, but when he did, after waking up from that sort of dreams, he felt her absence so strongly for several days. He showered as quickly as possible then dried off mostly. He slipped on a pair of underwear and walked into the kitchen to make coffee. Hoseok was just pouring the fresh brew into his mug when the front door clicked open.

“Hey, baby! You’re up early,” Y/n greeted while slipping off her shoes. “I had a death visit, and I’ve been there for the last several hours.”

Y/n was a hospice nurse who had taken care of Dasom. During the time she’d helped with caring for his daughter, they’d grown close and then had fallen in love slowly in the year after her death. After Dasom had been gone for a year and a half, Hoseok asked her to move in with him since she was spending most of her spare time and at least 4 nights a week with him anyway. They had been happily living together for just under a year now. Their lives had seamlessly melded together in a way that no one expected. Hoseok had thought they would at least fight or argue occasionally, but it had not really been an issue for them. They just clicked in a nearly supernatural way.

He turned and hugged her when she walked into the kitchen and stole a sip of his coffee. “Did it go well?”

She hummed happily, taking another sip of his coffee before returning the cup and kissing his cheek. “Yeah. The patient was comfortable and died peacefully in their sleep. The family was sad, but they were exhausted since they’d been waiting by their bedside for almost two weeks.”

“I can’t imagine doing that. Dasom declining quickly was bad enough.”

“I know, baby.” Y/n pulled him into her arms after he set the coffee mug on the counter. “It just happens that way sometimes. They will be okay. I think for the moment that they are relieved it’s all over.”

Hoseok snuggled into the hug, letting the grounding presence of her arms around him, pressed against his bare back and chest, soothe away some of the ache still lingering from his dream. “Are you off today?” he asked into her hair.

“Yes,” she yawned, forehead pressed above where his heart thumped away.

“Go shower and climb into bed, darling. I’m going to get ready and head to work. I’ll be back later today.”

 Y/n slept for a while and woke up feeling slightly less exhausted after sleeping for around 4 hours. She had been feeling super tired lately, but she just figured that it was because she had been working more on call shifts. While she was allowed to sleep when on call, it was hard to get deep restful sleep as she kept one ear open for calls from patients or families in distress. It was very normal to her that she would be tired after a night on call, but she had noticed that she was a lot more tired than usual. She’d called to schedule an appointment with her doctor, but there had been no openings until later in the week. Her phone lit up just as she was debating whether she should try to sleep some more or if she should get up.

“Hello?”

“Miss Y/n, this is Jae-in at Dr. Hong’s office. We had a cancellation at 4 pm this afternoon. Would you be available to come in then as opposed to later in the week?”

Y/n quickly agreed then got up to get ready so she could take her time in the shower and still have time to eat a late lunch. She had planned to eat some leftover fried rice from the evening before, but the smell of the eggs scrambled into it turned her stomach as soon as the scent wafted up. She quickly snapped the lid back down and put the container back in the refrigerator. After taking a few deep breaths while gripping onto the cool marble of the countertop, the strong urge to heave into their kitchen sink subsided enough for her to finish getting ready. By the time she was dressed and ready to go, she had still had an hour and a half before she needed to be at her appointment, so Y/n decided to drop by the bookstore. She could get some ginger tea from the café there to help keep the nausea at bay and seeing Hoseok would help with her nerves. Sometimes being a nurse was helpful, but at times like this, it just made her jump to the worst conclusions based on her own medical knowledge.

Y/n had told Hoseok that she had scheduled an appointment about how tired she was but was reluctant to admit the extent of her exhaustion. She didn’t want to make him worry that it was something worse when it’s likely that she just had a basic nutrient deficiency or maybe a hormone imbalance. Hoseok had been slightly traumatized by Dasom’s illness and death and he tended to jump to the worst possible conclusion; he had fully overreacted when Jungkook had caught the flu earlier in the winter and had a panic attack in the middle of the bookstore when Namjoon had mentioned he was home sick. She shook those thoughts out of her mind as she arrived at the bookstore and pushed the door open.

“Welcome to Tittle and Jot! Is there something I can help you find today?” Namjoon called with a smile from the counter at tinkling of the bell at the door. “Oh, hey, Y/n. You must be looking for Hobi.”

“Hi Joonie. Is he busy?”

“Nope, he’s back in the office. I’ll go get him. Want some coffee too?”

Y/n smiled back. “Not today. Could you make some ginger tea instead?”

“You’ve got it. I’ll be right back.”

Y/n browsed the rack of new releases positioned near the café counter while she waited on Hoseok to come up front. She was reading the back of a thriller book by a popular local author when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Hoseok giggled into her ear as he kissed her on the cheek.

Y/n returned the book to the shelf before turning to kiss his lips gently. “Hi, baby. How’s your day been so far?”

As Hoseok was telling her about the children’s storytime they had hosted earlier that morning, Namjoon brought her a to-go cup full of freshly steeped ginger tea.

“I used a special loose-leaf blend we got in last week from my cousin’s tea company. I put a little honey in it to cut the tang. Let me know how you like it,” he said before wandering off to restock and reorganize the storybooks in the front corner of the shops.

Y/n took a cautious sip of the tea before speaking up. “Hobi, the doctor’s office had a cancellation so they called to see if I could come today instead.”

“Do you need me to go with you?” he asked.

She could already see the worry in his eyes. Even though she would be more at ease if he were there, she decided to reject his offer.

“No, it’s just a check-up, baby. I’m sure its just that I need to get more vitamin D or something like that.” Y/n kissed him gently. “You might beat me home since the shop closes at 5 today, but I’ll update you as soon as I’m home.”

A few minutes later, Y/n needed to leave to be to her appointment on time. They said their goodbyes, then Hoseok watched her leave.

“She’s going to be okay, Hobi,” Namjoon said quietly as he wrapped his arm around Hoseok’s shoulders. “You know how bad you felt when your Vitamin B levels were wacky back in college. This is probably the same thing.”

Hoseok sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I know you’re right, Joon. I just can’t help but worry a little bit. It’s like a gut reaction since Dasom.”

“I know. But just remember, you weren’t alone then, and you aren’t alone now. No matter what happens, Kook and I will be by your side.”

 “I’m what?” Y/n sat in shock for a moment, mouth open and staring at her doctor.

“Y/n, you’re pregnant. Congratulations!” Dr. Hong smiled.

“I’m…wow.” She looked down at her stomach and then looked back at her doctor. “I’ve been on birth control and still taking it. Will that hurt the baby?”

“Well, now that you know, stop taking it. I’ll make you a referral to an OB/GYN and you will need to start taking some prenatal vitamins. The pregnancy does explain most of your symptoms and the rest of your bloodwork came back normally.”

Y/n was still a bit in shock as her doctor gave her some additional information on changes for her diet and things to do for the sporadic nausea she had been experiencing, along with written notes and an appointment card for an ultrasound and another appointment set for the end of the week with an OB/GYN. She sat in her car for nearly 15 minutes just staring at the information and her cell phone, debating on whether she should call Hoseok. They hadn’t even discussed children together because he was still grieving the loss of his child to a certain extent. While Y/n was more than a little surprised, she also found herself happy. She loved Hoseok and having a beautiful son or daughter with him made her heart leap with joy. Y/n eventually decided to just tell him when she got home.

Since she needed to stop to get prenatal vitamins, she could not resist browsing through the baby things. Y/n had no plans to buy anything for the baby yet, but when she saw a tiny pair of slippers with bunnies on them, she had to have them. She bought them and had them gift wrapped in simple yellow paper, intending to present them to Hoseok to tell him about the baby.

 After closing the shop, Hoseok went home to pace around their living room while waiting on Y/n to get home. He had finally worn himself out after stalking around their sofa for 45 minutes and had just sat down in the armchair that faced the door when he heard a key in the lock. Y/n came breezing in the door with one hand behind her back, sliding off her shoes with the other hand, then smiling at him.

“Hi, baby! I’m back,” she said softly.

“Hey! What did the doctor say?”

“Before I tell you more details, I just want you to know that I’m okay. I am going to be just fine. Also, I brought you something.”

She sat down on the corner of the sofa nearest his chair and handed him a small yellow package. He was so confused but thanked her for the box before slowly tearing off the paper. He lifted the lid off of a small white box housed within the yellow paper and was greeted by tiny white slippers with bunnies on them. He slowly lifted the slippers out of the box with one hand, stroking one finger down the side of one small shoe.

“Baby, I’m pregnant,” Y/n whispered.

In that moment, Hoseok was struck with relief that she was going to be okay and then joy that they had created a new life, but then all he could think of was Dasom’s voice from his dream that morning.

I love you, Appa! Don’t forget me.

Don’t forget me.

Don’t forget…

Her voice bounced so loudly around his mind, and Hoseok panicked. He dropped the shoes and got up and rushed toward the door.

“I need to go,” he said, sliding his boots on and grabbing his keys. “I just need some time to process this.”

Before Y/n even had a chance to say anything, he was out the door and gone.

 Jungkook was just sliding the lasagna he’d made for dinner into the oven when someone started pounding on the door. Namjoon was in the shower after just arriving home from work, so he walked to see who was there. He looked through the peephole to see Hoseok fidgeting outside the door as he knocked loudly again.

“Hey, Hobi-hyung! What are you doing here?” he asked, confused.

“Where is Namjoon? I need you both,” he said, frantically looking around the room for Namjoon.

“Joonie is in the shower. Sit down here, and I’ll go tell him to hurry. Is Y/n okay?”

“Yeah, she’s…um…just get Joon please.”

Jungkook could see the agitation swelling in Hoseok. Something weird was going on. Jungkook quickly walked through their bedroom to the master bathroom. The bathroom door was cracked open, so he just poked his head in the door to find Namjoon combing through his semi-dry hair with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Joonie, can you hurry? Something’s wrong with Hobi-hyung. He nearly beat our door down and wouldn’t tell me what’s going on without you.”

Namjoon startled a bit at Jungkook’s voice. “Yeah, let me just pull on some pants.”

Jungkook walked back out into the living room to find Hoseok tucked into the middle seat of their couch, his knees brought up to his chest and tears streaming down his cheeks. Jungkook immediately sat down beside him and gave him a hug. Hoseok curled into Jungkook’s embrace and Jungkook could feel him trembling with the effort not to sob.

“Hobi, what’s going on? Is Y/n okay?” Namjoon asked as he plopped down on Hoseok’s other side.

Hoseok nodded at first, then finally pulled away from Jungkook. “She’s pregnant.”

Jungkook and Namjoon looked at each other in confusion for a moment before Namjoon spoke up again. “That’s wonderful, Hobi. Why do you look like it’s the end of the world?”

“I’m so scared,” he whimpered. “I don’t want to feel like I’m using this baby to replace Dasom. And what if this baby gets sick too? I can’t love another child just for them to die.”

He started sobbing in earnest then, so Jungkook pulled him back into his arms. “Hobi-hyung, you will never be able to replace Dasom. She will always be your baby too. You’ll be able to tell this baby all about their older sister. Do you honestly think that Dasom would be upset about the new baby?”

Hoseok thought about it for a moment. Dasom would have been thrilled. She had always wanted a younger sibling to play with. Hoseok knew deep down that she would have been so pleased that she was going to have the chance to be an older sister.

“No. She’d have been so happy,” he whispered back.

“Okay, then this is a good thing,” Namjoon softly replied. “This child has a different mother, Hobi. That’s a 50% DNA difference. Even if Dasom’s leukemia was caused by something genetic, the 50% difference in DNA could make a huge difference. Besides, there are a lot of things that can be tested in utero. Since you’ve already had one child that had that type of leukemia, talk to the doctor. There may be a test they can do for it.”

After a bit, the oven timer that Jungkook had set went off.

“Dinner is ready, Hobi-hyung. Let me go pull it out of the oven. You want to eat with us?”

Hoseok sighed. “No, I’d better go. Y/n is probably upset. I literally just ran out after she gave me baby slippers to tell me.”

Namjoon and Jungkook said their goodbyes and walked him to the door. “Please text us when you get home, so we know you are safe,” Jungkook said. “And if you need us, we’ll come over.”

 Hoseok drove home then took the elevator up to their floor. He hesitated at the door to text Namjoon before walking in the door. He was half terrified of what he was going to find when he opened the door, but he knew that he had to face it. He walked in and toed off his shoes, looking to see if he could see Y/n anywhere. He found her asleep on the couch with tear tracks streaking her face, tiny baby slippers cuddled to her chest. It made his heart ache to see the evidence of how much he’d hurt her in his panicked escape. Hoseok took a deep breath, feeling the love for Y/n squeeze out the last remnants of fear he carried. He sat down in the floor in front of the sofa. He gently brushed the last tears off of her cheek before kissing her forehead. When his lips pressed to her skin, her eyes fluttered open.

“Hobi?” she mumbled sleepily, blinking up at him.

“I’m here, darling. I’m so sorry that I ran out like that,” he whispered. “I just let fear that this baby would get sick like Somie did overwhelm how happy I was when you told me. I should have talked to you about it instead of running away from you like a coward.”

A few new tears slipped down her cheeks at his apology. “Please don’t cry,” he murmured.

“I can’t help it,” she whimpered. “My hormones are going crazy. Are you really happy?”

“Yes, I am. I am so lucky to be having a baby with you.” He kissed her softly, both hands cupping her tear-dampened cheeks. “I’m still a little scared that this baby will get sick, but Namjoon helped calm my fears some and gave me some questions to ask when we go to see the doctor again. But for now, I just want to celebrate that I get to be a dad again. Dasom would be so happy.”

They spent the rest of the evening curled up together, kissing and celebrating their good news together. When they went to bed that night, Hoseok snuggled Y/n into his chest and fell asleep with one hand curled onto her still-flat stomach.

 “Appa, wake up!”

His eyes fluttered open to see Dasom standing beside his bed.

“Hi Somie,” he said softly.

“Hi, Appa! I am so happy that you are giving me a baby brother. Y/n is going to be the best eomma! I kind of wish she had been able to be my eomma too, but that’s okay.”

“Somie, the baby is too little. We don’t know for sure if it’s going to be a brother.”

“Trust me, Appa. I’m getting a brother. But don’t worry, Appa. I’m going to be looking out for him forever, even though I can’t be there in my old body. And I know you love me and you will never forget me, so don’t worry about that either. I have to go now, but don’t worry anymore. My baby brother won’t get sick like me.”

Dasom leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then disappeared.

Hoseok shot up into a sitting position, gasping for air. It had only been a dream, but his cheek where Dasom’s lips had touched was tingling like she had really been there. It was just enough to let him know that everything was going to be okay.

 They had decided not to learn the gender of the baby. But, 28 weeks later when Y/n gave birth, she delivered a healthy baby boy just like Dasom had told him in her dream. When he held his son for the first time, he laughed even as tears of joy slipped from his eyes. In that moment, he could feel Dasom there with him and the baby, just like she’d promised him.

[spooky-raccoon]

Road Trip (Part 13)

Part 13 of Road Trip

Rufo X Female Reader

Bold is Rufo’s perspective

Tag List: @chii2blog​ @the-clown-crypt​ @booklover2929​

        I don’t even know when I fell asleep that night, but I woke up to a knock on the door before Albert let himself in with two cups of coffee.  One for himself and I assumed one for me.  He was already dressed for the day and looked put together as usual.  I suppose I was too, but I could deal with a shower and a change though that could be later. I got up carefully from the bed, giving a slight nod to Albert as I took the extra cup of coffee from him.  He nodded his head to the side, and I followed with him into the hallway.

       “Sleep well?”  Albert sipped at his coffee, one hand slipping into his pocket.

        “Could be better.”  All I could do was shrug as I shut the door behind us.  A little harder than I meant to.  I knew the sound wouldn’t bother her, but it was still rude.

        “I want you to get out and get some fresh air.  Being cooped up and stressed the way you are isn’t going to do you or her any good.  I have a list of supplies you can get for me in town that should be helpful.”

        “Yeah, yeah, sure.”  Truth be told, he was probably right.  Getting out and some fresh air would be good.  I just didn’t want to leave her there in bed all alone.  I knew Albert would be there, but it didn’t feel the same. “Let me get her showered and something in her and I’ll go for you, Albert.”

       “Good, good.  I already made breakfast for the two of you.  You know where to find it when you’re done cleaning up.”  He had a soft smile, a sympathetic one.  It’s one I never saw often.  Only one other time when my great nieces body had to be brought to him.  But that’s a different story.

       “Thanks, Albert.  I appreciate it and I’m sure she does too.”  I gave him a smile back.  A weak one, but a smile, nonetheless.

        When my cup of coffee was done I slipped (Y/N) out of bed and carried her into the bathroom.  Albert already had a set of clothes out for the both of us on the counter.  I couldn’t help but chuckle as I got her undressed while the shower warmed up.  He was always a pretty good host when he wanted to be.  It was pretty easy getting her in and washing her up never took long.  The only thing I took my time for was holding her close.  My arms were around her waist and I leaned her head down on my shoulder. The last shower we had together she held me back and right now, that’s all I wanted.  I help her tighter as I let myself let loose a few tears.  I’m not usually a man who cries.  I tend to get more angry than anything and wreck things in my way as I try to calm down.  Or take my anger out on something a bit more fleshy.  But sometimes you just need to cry now and then.

       When she was dried and dressed I carried her to the kitchen so I could get some food in her belly.  Albert had made a large breakfast of pancakes, bacon, biscuits and of course some more coffee.  She took the food like a champ like always.  When we were both done I got her settled back into bed.  Truth be told, I didn’t want to leave her side.  I didn’t want anything to happen while I was gone and not be there for her.  She was in good hands with Albert around though.  That didn’t stop me from taking my time though.  Yet when I could feel his stare as I was tucking her back in I knew I had to wrap it up.  With a soft peck to her cheek, I left the room and Albert handed me a list of what to get him.  With that I was off.

       The town was small, but I still insisted on taking the car.  I gave the excuse of being able to listen to some tunes in my time that I drove around to the various shops, fetching and checking off each item on the list.  I had everything on the list within twenty minutes.  With some spare time I popped into one of the few antique stores, looking for something for (Y/N).  Among some jewelry, I found a locket.  The little label said silver and it had filigree detail surrounding a pale aquamarine stone.  Almost reminded me of my eyes.  I decided to get it for her as a little ‘Welcome Back' gift.  As I was leaving that’s when I ran into Crowley.

       “Ah, there you are.  I was about to stop at Albert’s to check in on the patient.”  Crowley didn’t have much of a smile going but I could see hints of it at the corners of his mouth.

      “She’s resting.  About in the same boat when you last saw her.  Albert has an idea though.”  

       “Good, good.  At least she seems to be steady.  I’ll leave you to it than, Rufo.  Next time, tell me any updates you have.”  Crowley gave me a slight nod and went to turn to walk away.  Something had been irking me though ever since I last saw him.

       “Crowley.”  He stopped and turned his head to look at me.  “Why did you help me as much as you did?  You could have taken me right out there, but you didn’t.”

       “You know my rules Rufo.  I help those who ask for it.”

       “I didn’t ask for it though.”

       “No, but she did.”  

       With that, Crowley continued on his stroll, leaving me standing in confusion. Had she said please when she was screaming? I could barely remember anything, just the string of emotions that fogged me at the time.  I was yelling out my own pleas and woes at the time so I may have missed it.  Either way, now she was in good hands and things would be taken care of then I could get her back on her way to her life.

        There were some light gray clouds up in the sky and it was starting to drizzle outside once I made it back to Albert’s.  He greeted me at the door and took the bags from me except the small paper bag with the small box from the antique shop.  Albert went his own way into his office, and I slipped into the guest room.  She was still laying there and when I got closer I saw that her eyes were closed. I assumed she was resting or the equivalent of it as I set the box containing the necklace on the nightstand. Sitting on the edge of the bed I gently ran my fingers on the side of her face, just to brush some hair to the side and get it tucked behind her ear.  Her skin was still cold and clammy despite the blankets that I placed over her.  A solemn smile lifted at the corner of my lips as I watched her for just a moment.  For a moment it seemed like she was just taking a nap and not like a lifeless doll.  Just a moment though.

       Her eyes suddenly opened up, but they weren’t their usual color. No, they were pure white.  The blanket flung off her without even her touching it and she was starting to flail on the bed.  For a brief moment there was probably a look of panic on my face as I dove to get her pinned down to the bed. My next thought was to yell out to Albert to get his happy ass in the damn room.  I had to wrap my limbs around hers to trap her from hurting herself and getting tangled up in anything.  

       “Doll!  If you can hear me you gotta calm down!”  She was thrashing harder than I expected and I didn’t want to grab her too tight; worried I may end up breaking a bone or two.  But maybe that’d be better at this point.  Her mouth started to open, and I could see something faintly glow. “Albert get your damn ass in here right now!  She wants to put on a fucking light show for us!”  

       I grabbed the bottom of her jaw with one hand and with the top of my head with the other, I forced her mouth closed.  As I did, Albert burst into the room with a bottle of whatever the fuck strange concoctions he has on hand.  Albert got to work, popping open the bottle and dipping his finger into the liquid then wiped it across her forehead.  All the while, mumbling weird words that I couldn’t understand and probably didn’t want to.  Her thrashing got more wild for just a moment before she suddenly stopped; her body going limp in my hold.  After making sure she fully stopped I carefully took my hands away.  I tilted her head back ever so slightly so her mouth would open to get a peek inside.  No strange light.  I checked her pulse and her breathing which was all back to what it had been before.

       “That was a close call, Cecil.  She’s been more affected than I realized.”  Albert said with a sigh as he sat down on the edge of the bed after the bottle he had was plugged up.  “Good news is at least I have almost everything ready.  Give me ‘til tomorrow and we can get her back to normal.”

      “Good, because I don’t think she can do that again.”  I gingerly ran my fingers through her hair, tucking some behind her ears once more as she laid there.  She looked more tired than usual somehow and I couldn’t blame her.

       “No, she can’t.  Spirits are fighting for her body it seems.  She’s strong though which is impressive.  Most don’t last this long.”  Albert was staring down at her and then looked at me.  “I know I don’t have to tell you this but keep an eye on her. I’ll be bringing dinner in a few hours.” With that I watched Albert get up and leave the room.

      When he left I just stayed in the same place, cradling, and holding (Y/N) close as I could.  I laid my head down on her chest and just focused on the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.  Dinner came and went in a blur.  Even watching the Cops reruns I enjoyed just couldn’t help the numb feeling in my gut. Sure, she was strong, but I didn’t like the position she was in.  There was a battle going on inside her and there was nothing I could do about it.  I hated it.  I spent hours hating it and that numb feeling only getting worse with each passing minute.  I had a chance to help someone close to me unlike every other time and yet I felt like I wasn’t much help.  The other times I at least got some scores settled.  Here, I couldn’t do anything.  Any time when she would move in her sleep it made me tense.  How could I sleep like this?  I decided I couldn’t and the only time I left her was to make myself a thermos of coffee.  I would stay awake to make sure she would be alright.  All I had to do was wait for Albert to wake up.

[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

Road Trip : Punk!AU

Fandom: The Witcher Pairing: Punk!Jaskier x Reader, Punk!Geralt x Punk!Yennefer Word Count: 5,238 Rating: T Taglist: @heroics-and-heartbreak​ @whatevermonkey​ @mynamesoundslikesherlock​ @magic-multicolored-miracle​ a/n: Here is the long-awaited update to our series! It’s a big one but I hope you all enjoy it! Part V will be coming from @heroics-and-heartbreak​ sometime in the future so keep an eye out and let us know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Part IV –  But Where’s Your Heart?

{Part I}{Part II}{Part III}

Something was very, very wrong.

Jaskier was sitting shotgun while Yennefer rode behind him next to Y/N. Aevryn and Win still sat in the far back but no one spoke much. Geralt had music playing from his phone but no one sang along. It seemed like a white noise intent on covering up the awkward silence but everyone knew better. No one was talking, though. Jaskier had tried to ask Geralt about it when they pulled over at a rest station but his trademark stoicism was back with a vengeance and he shrugged him off. He’d tried to talk with Aevryn who just plastered a smile on her face and when he broke through that she just told him to let it be. Yennefer approached him first, having watched him try and get answers from the others, and told him plainly to stay the fuck out of it.

“Shutting out your friends isn’t very punk rock of you, Yennefer!” he’d called at her retreating back. She flipped him off without so much as a glance back and Jaskier made up his mind.

“There,” he said, pointing to a spot on the map.

“What’s that?” Geralt asked.

“Chicago. We’re going to Chicago. We’ve been driving without so much as a World’s Biggest Yarn stop. I know it’s called a road trip but you are actually supposed to get out and see things once and a while,” Jaskier explained. Geralt rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Aevryn, what do you think?” Jaskier asked, calling back to his friend who looked up from her phone with a startled expression. Yennefer didn’t turn to look at her, but Aevryn felt her gaze all the same.

“Sure, sounds good,” she said. Jaskier brightened a bit and turned to you.

“That’s one vote in favor, Y/N, I know you’re with me?” he asked.

“Of course!” you said quickly. You’d picked up on the odd vibe in the van and it had begun to pick at you, making you think about and face your own insecurities and doubts when you’d really wanted the trip be a fun, breezy distraction.

“That’s three, Win?” Jaskier asked, shooting her a charming smile.

“You know I’m up for a good time,” Win replied. Jaskier turned to Geralt holding up four fingers triumphantly.

“And when did this become a democracy exactly?” Geralt grumbled.

“Since I said so,” Jaskier retorted.

“Oh very democratic of you, don’t recall voting on that,” Geralt muttered.

“Think of it like this, Geralt. You all are Parliament but I am the Queen,” Jaskier replied giving the drummer a magnanimous grin.

“Infirm and needing to be overthrown as soon as possible?” Geralt retorted.

“Oh for fuck’s sake Geralt are you going to Chicago or not?” Yennefer snapped. You and Jaskier shared a wide-eyed look and then quickly looked away. Geralt stiffened in his seat and you thought the steering wheel may break in his grip. Another silence settled over the car but when the sign for the exit came, Geralt turned onto it without a word.

-----

“Navy Pier!” cried, arms thrown open wide as your little group stood at the entrance.

“Where’s the bean?” Aevryn asked, looking up from her phone where she’d googled Chicago just to try and remember which of the states that was.

“No bean here,” Win explained, threading her fingers through Aevryn’s, “Lots of other cool stuff though. My parents took me here when I was a kid. We gotta go on the swings.”

“Swings?” Aevryn asked, giving her a bemused look, “We have swings in England too.”

“Not that kinda swing, babe,” Win said with a little wink and then, a little pointedly, “You’ll have to put the phone down while we’re on it though.”

Yennefer looked intently out towards the ocean and you felt another thread of tension wend through the group. Aevryn and Win set off and you heard Win asking, “real quick, how do you feel about heights?” as they disappeared into the roaming crowd of tourists.

“Hey,” you said, turning to Jaskier, “I have an idea. How about we pair up and take on the park. Divide and conquer, you know?”

“Um,” Jaskier glanced at the group and then back at you, “I mean… yeah…”

“I’ll go with Yennefer!” you declared, a look of relief immediately coming over Jaskier’s face.

“Alright Geralt that leaves us!” he said, walking over to his friend who grunted in response. You took Yennefer’s arm and walked off with her, trying to decide what would be the perfect activity to do with the coolest person you’d ever met.

-----

 Yennefer clutched the golden pole sticking out of the bright, teal dragon she sat on. You squeezed the center of the brown horse you sat on and held your arms up as you had when you were a little girl.

“Look!” you cried, pulling Yennefer’s attention to you, “No hands!”

She laughed, looking relaxed and happy for the first time in days. She shifted in her seat so she was sitting side-saddle, rising and falling as the carousal wound its way in a circle.

“Admit it, you thought it was gonna be lame but it’s really fun going back and doing the stuff from childhood,” you said with a smug grin.

“This is my first carousal ride actually,” she admitted.

“Oh… does England not have…?”

“Oh, they do,” she said with a laugh, “I just didn’t go out much. My foster parents weren’t big on trips.”

Your stomach flopped with the motion of the carousal horse and Yennefer saw you freeze in a way she was used to people doing when she let slip that she’d been a foster child.

“They weren’t abusive, they just had too many kids to wrangle to the fair and stuff. It wasn’t bad,” Yennefer insisted.

“That’s cool,” you said, nodding, uncertain what else to say.

“Also, I didn’t think this was going to be lame. You had me at ‘you can ride a dragon’,” she said with another smile that lit up the usually cool, impassive face.

“Hey,” you said, trying to sit side-saddle as well and nearly falling off the horse, “We don’t have to talk about it, but I just wanted to check in. Cuz things aren’t ok. And you should know that you can talk about it if you want. I won’t even tell Jask, swear on MCR’s entire discography.”

You said this with a solemn face, holding your hand up as though you were in court. Yennefer considered your words and you held your breath, wondering if she might actually confide in you.

“What would you do if Jaskier and you broke up?” she asked. You blinked, the words hitting you like a bucket of ice water and sinking deep down to the thoughts you’d been fighting against.

“Um. Well… cry?” you offered lamely.

“Would you still travel with him or would you go back home?” she probed.

“Well, I would probably go home. I mean, that’s gonna happen anyway, right? I still have school to finish and this isn’t… we haven’t really talked about what happens next,” your voice trailed away and your nails chipped at the golden paint of the pole you gripped a bit tighter.

“Oh shit, Y/N, I’m sorry that was a senseless question,” Yennefer apologized, jumping of off her dragon steed to walk over to you.

“You can’t do that!” a kid yelled behind her. Yennefer shot them a baleful glare then turned back to you.

“Hey,” she said, “You and Jask are great. Whatever you’re facing you’re going to do it together. It’s different for you. You… you really have something, you know? It’s not like… I mean… It’s not…”

Her voice trailed off as well and she held onto your horse, the swirling of the carousal suddenly hitting her as well. You took a deep breath and looked at Yennefer, a fierce determination in your eyes.

“Once this thing stops you wanna go eat just a fuckton of corn dogs?” you asked.

“What’s a corndog?” Yennefer asked. Your eyes widened and she grew nervous at the intensity in your eyes. Apparently she would be learning what a corndog was very, very soon.

-----

Geralt gripped the rock in his hands, muscles rippling beneath the loose, white tank top as he pulled himself higher. He was only halfway up but that still left him a good 12 feet above ground. He took a deep breath, a sense of relief flooding him as he rose above the pain and problems that awaited him back on earth.

“You’re doing great!” a voice called somewhere below him a good six feet, “Well done Geralt!”

Geralt peered over at Jaskier who gripped the piece of rock with white knuckles and frowned.

“Why did you do this, Jaskier? You hate heights,” Geralt called down.

“I do not! Well, I didn’t know that I did,” Jaskier amended, marveling at how relaxed Geralt seemed while hovering above the earth in a way humans were surely never intended to be. “Anyway it seemed like something you’d enjoy and I was right! Look at you! You almost look human!”

Geralt shook his head but Jaskier could see a hint of smirk in the corner of his lips. It spurred him to climb a bit higher, Geralt watching with concern that did not help Jaskier feel any better about things. When he was about eye-level with Geralt’s knee he paused and looked up into his friend’s amber eyes.

“Alright Geralt, talk to me,” he said between gasps.

“Was this your plan? Isolate me in the air and get me to talk?” Geralt asked, looking almost a bit proud.

“Well that’s one way of putting it. Another is that I would help my friend relax and hope he may open up to me a bit,” Jaskier replied. Geralt looked up to the top of the wall and back down at Jaskier, a dangerous smile on his face.

“If you can meet me up there, we’ll talk,” he said, and turned to start climbing, scaling the wall with a nearly inhuman nimbleness while Jaskier sputtered and then set his face, determined.

“Alright you bloody bastard I’ll show you that Julian Pankratz doesn’t back down from a challenge,” he mumbled. Geralt looked out across the pier, the cool breeze of the air blowing his hair back and cooling the sweat off his face a welcome balm. Somewhere out there, among the millions of people, Yennefer was walking around. He wondered if he looked right now he could find her, seemingly always drawn to her no matter how much they tried to pull away. His musings were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice calling his name. He looked down and paled as he saw Jaskier gripping a rock much closer than he’d expected. He’d thought Jaskier would give up and head back down and Geralt would get more of his quiet contemplation. Instead his friend had apparently taken the challenge in earnest. It hadn’t felt like a long way to climb when it was just him but now that he saw Jaskier hovering over the earth it was a dizzying expanse and he quickly climbed down where Jaskier stood. He knew that his friend wasn’t weak by any means but his arms trembled, from exertion or fear he couldn’t tell.

“Jaskier,” Geralt said, gripping one of Jaskier’s arms.

“Oh hello Geralt I was just, uh, well I looked down which was deeply stupid of me and now I seem to be paralyzed,” Jaskier replied, a slightly manic smile on his face. His breathing was a bit shallow and Geralt locked eyes, amber seeking sky blue.

“Jaskier, the only way at this point is up. I’m going to get you there,” Geralt said, speaking slowly.

“Cool cool cool brilliant but the part where I’m paralyzed, Geralt, what of that?” Jaskier asked.

“Just stay focused on me, alright? Take some deep breaths with me.”

Geralt helped Jaskier slowly deepen his breathing and once that was done he began to talk to him about random things, trying to distract him.

“So, is the road trip everything you’d hoped?” Geralt asked.

“Well it was before everyone got so weird,” Jaskier said, pinning Geralt with a meaningful look.

“Hmm,” Geralt replied.

“I’ll make a deal with you Geralt,” Jaskier suggested, the sly tone in his voice making Geralt very suspicious, “I will climb a bit more with each answer you give me.”

“That’s extortion,” Geralt argued.

“Are you in a position to barter?” Jaskier asked.

“Are you?” Geralt bit back.

“C’mon, Geralt, we both know you’re hating this more than I am. And that’s saying something because gods knows I’m hating this with every fiber of my being,” Jaskier argued. Geralt took a deep breath and nodded tersely.

“But I have the right to refuse the question,” he said. Jaskier nodded in agreement and thought about what to ask, not wanting to shut him down by asking the bigger questions too quickly.

“What do you think of Y/N?” he asked. Geralt blinked in surprise, relieved to have an easy question.

“I like her,” he replied, “She doesn’t suffer your bullshit but she’s also good to you. She fits in with the band well.”

“I like her too, a lot,” Jaskier said, a dreamy smile coming over his face. Geralt looked pointedly at Jaskier who remembered his side of the deal and took a few tentative steps, Geralt watching him carefully though he knew that he was strapped in a harness that would prevent any lasting damage if he fell.

“Who’s a better musician? Me or Valdo Marx?” Jaskier asked, his tone fierce and his blue eyes steely.

“You,” Geralt answered quickly, “Where the fuck did that come from?”

“Just checking,” Jaskier answered, seemingly distracted by his anger at Valdo as he progressed up the wall farther than Geralt had expected, stopping a few feet from the top.

“What is one thing we haven’t done on this road trip that you want to do?” he asked. Geralt furrowed his brow, thinking over the question. He only really wanted one thing anymore and he couldn’t have it. All other things felt small in comparison.

“I want to put my feet in the ocean,” Geralt said, trying to figure out a thing that may be nice. Jaskier’s face lit up and he crossed the last bit of wall, sitting next to Geralt at the top.

“I can do that, Geralt!” he said excitedly, “We can go right after this!”

“Jaskier you did it!” Geralt said. Jaskier looked around, suddenly realizing that he was no longer clutching the side of the wall. He took in the beautiful view and exhaled slowly.

“Well I guess I did,” he said offhandedly before turning back to Geralt, “Seems I have one last question.”

Geralt ran a hand through the silver hair he’d tied up in a bun, pulling some strands out as he did.

“Geralt, what is going on between you and Yennefer? I don’t need gross details, but I want to know what’s happening,” Jaskier implored. Geralt knew it was coming but it didn’t make hearing the question any easier. Jaskier waited patiently, hands in his lap as he left his friend the silence he needed to ponder his answer.

“I proposed,” Geralt said. Jaskier’s eyes widened.

“Oh that’s – Oh, ah,” he said, is excitement shifting to pained sympathy as he realized that it must not have gone well.

“Last year,” Geralt added.

“What?”

“Yeah,” Geralt nodded and sighed deeply.

“And she…”

“Said no.”

“Right.”

The two men stared out at the pier as Jaskier chewed over the words in his mind, trying to decide what to say next.

“Geralt, why didn’t you tell me?”

“What? Oh hey Jaskier, I asked Yen to marry me, she said no and also broke up with me,” Geralt said sarcastically.

“Yes, sure, why not? We’re friends, Geralt, friends share these things,” Jaskier argued.

“I guess I’m not really sure how this all works yet,” Geralt mumbled.

“What, friendship?”

Geralt didn’t answer but Jaskier understood his silence.

“Well… fuck her, right?” Jaskier asked, trying to sound confident in his declaration. Geralt glared at him.

“It’s not her fault,” Geralt said, “I’m not mad at her. Well, I am. But I’m also not. It would be easier if I was just angry.”

“How have you worked together so well? I mean there’s been fights and awkwardness, sure, but you both still show up,” Jaskier said.

“Of course we show up,” Geralt replied, “We’re not going to abandon you, Jaskier.”

Jaskier laughed and blinked back the tears that the words brought to his eyes. Geralt glanced at him and then quickly looked away.

“So, uh, where does that leave you now? I mean is there any chance that you’ll… I dunno. What do you want?” Jaskier asked once he’d composed himself. Geralt closed his eyes, remembering the feeling of her skin, still able to conjure her sweet scent and the sound of her voice in his ear. She was always with him and somehow never fully there.

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Geralt said, “Not if she doesn’t want the same things. And she doesn’t.”

“Well that’s… balls,” Jaskier finished lamely.

“Yeah, it is,” Geralt agreed. They shared a sad smile and looked out onto the pier where Jaskier’s eyes fell on something that made him sneer.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” he bit out.

“What?”

Jaskier pointed to a billboard in the distance. It was a black board with two initials in emerald green: VM. Below it was a date 07.31.21.

“Ugh, I almost forgot he was releasing an album. I don’t like it, Geralt. Its smug aura mocks me,” Jaskier complained. Geralt chuckled at his friend’s vehemence but shared his dislike for the advertisement.

“Well that’s ruined this air, how do we get off this damn thing,” Jaskier grumbled and Geralt moved quickly to help his friend over to where they could begin their descent, moving away from the all-seeing eyes of Valdo Marx.

-----

Aevryn screamed.

The world spun below her, legs dangling in the air as she was thrown around in a large, yawning arc and she screamed louder than she had in her entire life. She screamed out of sheer exhilaration at the weightlessness and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She screamed for the frustration she felt at Yennefer and herself and Valdo and nearly everyone in her life. Most of all she screamed because it felt like the only thing she could do right now that wouldn’t cause someone pain. When the ride slowed she tilted her head back and closer her eyes, bidding farewell to the reprieve she felt from her problems. Once reunited out of the ride gates Win pulled her into a hug.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“Yeah that was great! Why?” Aevryn asked.

“You just screamed a lot I was worried you’d been trying to look brave for me when you agreed to ride it,” Win replied. Aevryn planted a soft kiss on Win’s cheek and looked into her eyes.

“You’re so sweet,” she said. She knew it wasn’t fair to compare Valdo to anyone but she had to admit it was clear between him and Win who was kinder. Then again, it wasn’t about Win or Valdo, really. It wasn’t a competition. That’s not how love worked. Aevryn slid her hand in Win’s and walked her over to a bench that looked out onto the ocean, steeling herself to have a conversation she hadn’t been expecting to have until the end of the tour. As soon as they sat down Aevryn’s phone vibrated in her pocket but she forced herself to leave it alone. Win looked into Aevryn’s sea green eyes and pulled her in for a kiss, cupping her face as she pulled back to look her in the eyes again.

“I release you,” Win said dramatically.

“What?” Aevryn asked.

“Aev I know what’s about to happen,” Win replied with a little smile, “I’m not dumb. I know that the ex is in the picture.”

“It’s not that s-”

“Babe,” Win said, giving her a look that halted Aevryn’s attempt at an explanation, “It’s ok. We knew what this was when we entered it and while you’re an amazing woman, I’m gonna be ok.”

Aevryn worried her lip between her teeth as she considered what Win said, wondering if anything really could be this easy.

“Are you sure?” Aevryn asked. Win nodded and patted her knee.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Win asked, nodding to the phone in Aevryn’s pocket.

“Not really,” Aevryn answered, though a part of her desperately did. She didn’t have Yennefer to talk to anymore and while she trusted you, she was afraid Jaskier would somehow find out. The fewer people who knew the better.

“Ok,” Win said, “Then we won’t. But the offer stands.”

“You’re a really good friend,” Aevryn said sincerely, heart filling with gratitude. Everything felt out of control but Win remained the eye of the storm, a calm reprieve amidst the chaos.

“I really am,” Win emphasized with a playful smile that made Aevryn laugh. “Did we make plans to meet up with the others?”

“Uh I don’t think so, let me see if Jask texted about it,” Aevryn said, pulling out her phone.

@valdomarxofficial: My new album is coming out tomorrow. I hope you’ll listen to it, even if your music tastes have changed.

Aevryn sighed and Win pulled out her phone to text you about plans instead as her friend typed back.

@aeverona: just bc Im with vicious mockery doesn’t mean I hate your music, Valdo. Ive always loved it. That hasnt changed.

“We’re meeting up at the Ferris Wheel,” Win said.

“What?” Aevryn asked, looking up at her. Win smiled and shook her head.

“C’mon,” she said, standing up and holding out her hand for Aevryn’s. Aevryn let Win lead her through the crowd, trying to pretend the buzzing of her phone didn’t send a jolt through her heart as she made herself leave it alone as they made their way to the looming Ferris Wheel.

-----

You and Yennefer arrived at Wheel first, Yennefer holding an untouched corndog. Two hands covered your eyes and you could smell the telltale cedar that followed your boyfriend around.

“Guess who,” he sang into your ear.

“Geralt we have to stop meeting like this,” you joked. Jaskier swatted your ass and pulled you around to face him, pulling you in for a kiss. Geralt walked up, the flannel he’d tied around his waist to climb back on his shoulders as the evening air cooled. Sunset began to creep across the sky and it was lovely. It also escaped Geralt’s notice completely as Yennefer walked up to him and thrust out the corndog.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“It’s a corndog,” she said, holding it out like an olive branch.

“What do you… do with it?” he asked. She smirked at his confusion as though she hadn’t asked you the exact same question when you’d handed one to her.

“You eat it,” she said. He shrugged and took it from her hands, fingertips brushing against each other’s in the briefest caress, and took a large bite. He chewed for a bit, face ponderous for a moment.

“If nobbad,” he mumbled through a mouthful of cornbread and hotdog. Yennefer chuckled and Geralt softened, happy for a reprieve from the tension though he knew it was only a matter of time before it was back.

Jaskier pressed his forehead against yours, nose brushing against yours.

“I missed you,” he said, sky blue eyes gazing into yours.

“I missed you too,” you said, tilting your head up to plant another soft kiss on his lips.

“I have a plan for some alone time but we’re going to have to engage in a little celebrity pandering,” Jaskier said.

“I don’t care if you have to buy the whole park to do it, I want some time with you. But I mean. Don’t actually do that,” you said. He smiled and kissed you again, taking your hand in his and walking over to where Aevryn and Win now caught up with Yennefer and Geralt.

“Alright gang, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day, I nearly died no fewer than 27 times as Geralt will attest-”

“He was perfectly safe.”

“As I was saying, I am a hero among men and I have missed you all but not as much as I’ve missed Y/N so I am going to do the thing we always promised each other we wouldn’t do unless there was a dire need,” Jaskier announced dramatically. You and Win exchanged confused looks while Yennefer, Geralt, and Aevryn exchanged judgmental ones.

“I am going to name drop,” Jaskier said. “I am going to offer a selfie, I am going to offer a review, I am going to whore myself and in turn all of us out for a shot at getting one of those brilliant blue buckets for Y/N and I to share alone.”

“Just go fuck in the porta potty like a normal person,” Win said, rolling her eyes.

“Bro,” you said, sound betrayed. Win just shrugged but shot you an amused smile.

“You realize once we’ve done that it’s going to be a madhouse,” Yennefer argued.

“I do,” he agreed, “But we will sneak out and run away. After I sign a few autographs. Maybe take a few selfies. Agree to host a few karaoke parties…”

“Jaskier!” Aevryn cried.

“Kidding!” he argued, though you could tell he wasn’t. “Anyway, I felt it was only fair to warn you before I go do this. I will try and keep you out of it if possible but all’s fair in love and war and at a carnival, you’ve got a bit of both. Ooh that could be a lyric maybe…”

He walked off with you before anyone could protest further. It turned out to be much easier than he anticipated. The operator of the ride knew him on sight and was thrilled at his offer of a selfie as well as a generous tip. The next bucket came down and the two of you climbed on, trying not to feel bad about the people left waiting in line. Jaskier wrapped an arm around you and snuggled in close, holding your head against his chest as the bucket slowly rose in the air.

“Wait, you hate heights!” you said, sitting up so suddenly you nearly gave him a black eye.

“Oh I’ve conquered that fear today,” he said casually, wrapping an arm around you again, “Speaking of, what did you and Yen get up to today? Any new piercings I should be warned about?”

He peered at your waistband and you shoved him playfully.

“No! We rode the carousal,” you replied.

“Really? Oh man what I wouldn’t give for a photo of that,” he mused.

“It was actually really nice. We just talked,” you said and then your heart sank as you remembered what you’d talked about. Jaskier sensed your mood drop, pale blue eyes lined with kohl giving you a meaningful look. You took a deep breath and shifted to face him.

“Jaskier I…”

“I love you.”

Jaskier blurted out the words that sat between the two of you, lingering in the air like the sweet scent of cotton candy and salty tang of the ocean.

“Oh,” you said, uncertain what else to say. Well, you knew what you wanted to say, but it wasn’t that easy.

“It’s ok,” he said, “I mean, say what you need to say I just… needed you to know that.”

He looked down and his hands, still holding one of yours, and you lifted a hand to cup his face. He leaned into it, pressing a kiss into your palm, the soft, chestnut hair brushing against your fingertips.

“I love you too,” you said, because it was true, regardless of the unanswered questions. His eyes rose to yours and saw a mix of fear and relief.

“I feel like people are usually happy when they confess their love for each other but… you don’t look happy. What is it, love?” he asked, the endearment hitting you harder now that the full weight of the word stood behind it.

“I love you so much,” you said, fighting back tears, “But… Jaskier what happens next?”

Jaskier took a deep breath and looked down.

“We keep saying we’ll deal with it later but we’re running out of later, Jask. Summer’s almost over and I’m scared… I’m scared that this is just going to… I don’t know. I’m not sure,” you mumbled.

“Yes you do,” he said, looking back up at you, “You’re scared that you’ll go back to school and I’ll go back to LA and we’ll try and keep in touch and visit but it’ll peter out.”

“Yes,” you admitted, “That’s exactly what I’m scared about. And there’s really no way around it because you have your life and I have mine and I’m not going to give up school.”

“Y/N I would never let you do that. I’d never support the choice, anyway, not for me,” Jaskier insisted, “But I’ve been thinking about it and I have an idea. It wouldn’t mean no time apart and it wouldn’t mean that our lives wouldn’t still be busy but… I’m willing to do what it takes, Y/N.”

“What’s your idea?” you asked, wiping away the tears that had fallen despite your best efforts, smearing your eyeliner in a way that you were sure was ghastly but Jaskier’s eyes remained just as filled with love and adoration no matter how much of a raccoon you became.

“Seattle’s a pretty big city. A lot of great opportunities for musicians there,” he said. Your eyes widened as you realized what he was saying.

“Jaskier you can’t just up and move,” you cried.

“I can, though! That’s the thing about being rich, you can literally do whatever you want pretty much. It’s actually a bit terrifying. And I know what you’re going to say and yes, I’ve talked with the band. And I talked with Andrzej when I first had the thought and he said it’s possible. But I want to respect your space as well. So if this is something that would be too much or you don’t want me that cl-”

You cut off Jaskier’s words with a kiss, pressing yourself as close as possible. He deepened the kiss, tongue sliding between your lips as you nipped at his bottom lip. When you pulled back for a breath he kept his forehead resting against yours.

“I want you as close as I can get you,” you said, “I don’t care how creepy that sounds, it’s true.”

“Gods I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you too.”

“I love how that sounds,” he said with a little laugh, “I love love.”

“Ok we’re getting gross we have to pull it back,” you said. He nodded in agreement and settled on kissing you again and again. Outside the bucket the world rose and fell, the sun waned and the tides turned and a thousand questions and choices and uncertainties waited for all of you. But in that little bucket, Jaskier in your arms, you knew deep in your bones that you would find a way through.