#its hard to judge if they are just the ocs travelling through time

[sloppilyeatinggrapes]

oh my god wait. We are still not at medieval times with the amelia project. And arthur has been arthur all along... he isn't. King. arthur. right?

[servicpop]

kinktober week 2 — edging & public/voyeurism(?) subby cole ( cowboy oc ) x bttm ( "showgirl" ) m reader

ⓘ voyeurism because cole is naked & outside , hand job ( cole receiving ) , he gets a cold from it

It was a quiet evening in Cole's hometown with you and him sat thigh to thigh on his plush swing chair out on the porch of his house. The streets weren't busy beside the occasional herder dog chasing after a stray sheep — to which you and Cole got a good laugh at.

This was the grace period of your work, no shows scheduled for the week, no meetings, and you were contact free from your boss. So, you spent the first day of the week travelling from the city to the countryside where Cole lived, and he was ecstatic seeing you again. You remember so vividly what happened when you showed up in the town. All the townsfolk practically knew every bit about you from how much Cole would talk about you and show off the polaroids you'd send to him via letters.

Asking where Cole was wasn't difficult since people were quick to usher you to Cole, leading you to the stables where he was tending the horses. The moment he saw you his eyes widened as if seeing an angel and he stumbled over his own boots from how fast he was running to you. He swooped you up in his arms and lifted you up from the ground almost cartoonishly with the way he nuzzled his face into you. Cole also spun you around a few times which undoubtedly made you feel a bit dizzy.

"Whaddaya smilin' so hard for, sugar?" Cole giggled at you smiling like an idiot; the laughter just bubbled out his throat. He leans his face closer to yours, only an eyelash away as he interrogates your random smile.

"Just thinking," you hum, still grinning ear to ear with your arms tangled and coiled around his. Cole doesn't believe you for a second and you can see it in the way one of his eyebrows raise. He moves in to brush his cheek against yours, cuddling up to you as the porch swing rocked delicately.

Cole's skin is more bronzed than before, his cheeks were dusted with sunkissed freckles, and his eyelashes seemed to have grown a bit longer, but his dimples never changed. Those dents in the side of his cheek always seemed to appear when you were around him.

You can feel his hands wrap around your waist a little tighter and your ears start to pick up Cole's slightly laboured breathing. You were about to ask if he was alright before you see him move his felt cattleman hat over his lap. That quirks your eyebrow.

"What's this?" You ask him with a playful chuckle, brushing your fingertips along the fabric of the hat.

"Don't stare sweets, it's just my body actin' up," He murmurs behind your shoulder, shrinking into the darkness between your back and the chair, "I'm embarrassed."

You giggle at his reaction; Cole is too pure for his own good. Your fingers slide underneath his hat, resting your hand on his inner thigh. "You don't have to be all shy, you know I won't judge," you coo, rubbing the fabric of his denim jeans lightly, but Cole squirms at the ticklish sensation nonetheless. His hand darts out to grip your forearm with shaky fingers like he was debating if he should actually stop you or not.

"Honey, not here," his voice almost reaches that whiny tone when he gets desperate for something. Despite his words, Cole doesn't even seem to notice his own hand guiding yours closer to his crotch. Its like he acts subconsciously, like its programmed into his brain to let you touch him. He lets out a small sigh of defeat, his head dropping back to rest on your shoulder as his hands move to clutch the top of his hat.

"Just— Just a little," his voice cracks and he's stuttering but you know that's his way of giving you the greenlight. You find your way to his belt buckle, slowly undoing it incase he wanted to back out and stop. He doesn't, so you slip off the belt and pull the zipper down.

Cole is hard. You see it through his light gray boxers, he's twitching, begging for you to give it some attention.

The cool breeze of the afternoon air reminds you that you're outside on his porch, nothing blocking his body but his hat. You glance up at Cole's face and it seems his cheeks have gotten significantly more pink and his pearly whites are caught onto his chapped, equally pink lip. There's a glossy sheen over them from saliva and you know its because he's been licking his lips repeatedly — a habit you've realised he does when he's flustered or nervous.

"You okay?" You giggle softly, shooting him a genuine look before stretching the fabric of his waistband down to rest below his aching dick.

"Yup, mighty fine darlin'." He's lying, and you know because Cole has his fist to his mouth and he's biting down on his pale skin to try and control himself. In reality, he's leaking all over your palm already, and his pale pink tip is dyed an angry red now.

You first use the tips of your fingers to cage around the base of his cock, dragging it all the way up lightly until it reaches the head. Cole is already whining and whimpering into his fist from the ticklish feeling. You see the slight tremble in his thighs when you slide your thumb around and over the slit of his tip, smearing his pre-cum everywhere.

"Oh, hellfire," he barks out but its more of a puppy's bark. The phrase 'hellfire' is an unfamiliar term for a city boy like yourself, but you're smart enough to understand that it's an old-timey phrase for a swear word. It's cute with the way he's crumbling at your hands but still makes an effort not to use "big city curses," as he calls it.

You finally move your hand to wrap around Cole's girth, stroking at a slow pace at first before increasing the speed. Its a vulgar sound from the lack of lube but his copious amounts of pre makes up for it. You feel every single vein throb at the feeling of your palm rubbing against it, pulsing with need.

"Hah, you're too good at this," he praises through a clenched jaw and laboured breaths. It isn't long before Cole catches your rhythm, bucking his hips up to match your hands. The porch swing rocks slightly more as he's thrusting up into your hand, his hat long gone as he's now fully exposed to those who walk by.

His moans become a little more throaty and you can tell he's enjoying it with the way his legs squirm as if he's being restrained from moving. Cole's eyes are screwed shut and his eyebrows are knitted together but his mouth slightly gapes into an 'o' shape, shamlessly letting out groans and whimpers.

Your fast paced stroking starts to slow down, and Cole's eyes fling open. "Wh–what are you doing?" He fluttered his thick eyelashes, looking down at your hand slowly pumping his cock. You don't respond to him, slowly increasing the pace but never speeding it up enough to tip him over the edge.

"Sweetheart, please." You swear you see tears brimming his eyes as he tries to move his hips to your hand and it does succeed for a bit. He's seeing stars as your hand just glides along his dick, feeling up every place that he's sensitive at. Its not enough though, your hand is barely squeezing him and it feels like a half-assed attempt to jerk him off.

"Baby, please just— clench your hand harder, please," he pleads, cupping your hand with his but he's so gentle with you it doesn't do anything. He's so close, he's teetering off the edge of an orgasm but he's not there yet. It almost hurts with how bad he wants to cum but he can't. Your hand ghost's over his tip and his body jerks forward from the touch but you pull away again and that heat in his stomach dies again.

He lets out a shaky breath of relief when he feels your hand clamp around him once more. Cole shoots you a glare, squeezing your hand tighter as if he's ensuring that you don't pull away again and mumbles, "I don't trust you no more."

You giggle and shake your head apologetically, "Sorry, sorry, I won't do it again," you promise, and you even bring your free hand to palm the tip of Cole's dick. He's whimpering again the second one of your hands is rubbing his head and the other is pumping his length.

His head is strewn back, adams apple bobbing at each harsh swallow. Cole feels your breath fan his tip and his eyes fling open, his whole body tensing as he watches you press a kiss to his red cockhead.

He orgasms right then and there, accidentally splashing your face with his seed.

"Ah— sorry 'bout that... you okay?"

You lift your head and Cole's hand wipes the cum off your face, "Maybe I deserved that," you chuckle. The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon and the streetlamps were starting to flicker on. Cole's shoulders jerk as he sneezes.

"Might've caught a cold from bein' out here, naked, all because of you," he huffs dramatically, pulling up his boxers and his jeans. "You gon' nurse me to heal if I do?" He flashes his teeth in a toothy smile and he has that post-orgasmic glow to his face.

"Yeah, yeah I will."

[lang-rangler-enjoyer]

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR STONE OCEAN OCS I'M WORKING ON MY OWN OCS AND NEED ✨INSPO✨

(esp Canada Goose he looks so FUNKY)

OK HERE WE GO :0 I don’t have too many

Canada Goose (yeah, that’s his name. legally)

•Somewhere in his late twenties. Six foot two. Chunky boi with fat tiddies. Has a large black back tattoo of the letters “BNL” in block font

•He’s a mid-to-high level ranking gangster in Sports Maxx’s gang who’s serving a reduced sentence (like Maxx, due to mafia destruction of evidence and legal tampering) for trafficking and selling hard drugs.

•He’s a natural stand user wielding Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated to BNL). BNL is a soft, squishy parasitic stand that enters the body through open wounds and travels up the bloodstream to your brain. Once it’s in your head, BNL attaches itself to your brain and can read and transmit weak electric signals. Basically, this allows Goose to hear all your thoughts and allows him to send you telepathic messages. BNL can’t do any physical damage to its host, but it’s a psychological weapon that also gives Goose a huge boost in combat, kind of like Dragon’s Dream.

•Not too smart, but then again he doesn’t need to be. He’s good at what he does, he’ll leave the thinking up to people like Maxx. He’s a good listener, he loves just hanging out and shootin’ the shit with people, maybe with a drink and a smoke too.

Viktor Rolf (like the fashion house Viktor & Rolf)

•I COULDNT NOT STEAL HIM HES SO PRETTY LOOK 👁️👁️ AT HIMM

•Mid twenties. No significant tattoos, marks, or piercings.

•Dropped out of university (majoring in English) in his second year due to burn out and personal issues. Got a “temporary” job at the prison and promised his family and friends he’d be back at university as soon as he was feeling better. It’s been at least four years and yeah, he’s starting to feel like that’s never gonna happen. Not that he likes his job at GD st., he fucking HATES it here, but he just can’t bring himself to change everything again.

•He’s cold and standoffish with most people. He doesn’t want to get close with any of his coworkers because it feels like settling in, admitting defeat, admitting he’s never going to leave. Not rude per say, just curt and withdrawn.

•Oh yeah, and he’s secretly dating Goose. He appreciates that Goose doesn’t judge or ask questions.

Dege Goose-Rolf and Skinner Goose-Rolf (like the fashion company Dege & Skinner)

Don’t ask how it happened. Goose would probably tell you, just don’t ask.

•I’m away right now and haven’t had the time to draw them more :( so these are just preliminary sketches

•The twins are weird. like those kids who show up at family gatherings and you’re not quite sure who they’re related to but your mom says you have to sit next to them even if they chew crayons and smell funny.

•They’re very close. Goose is trying his best but he is a first time single dad with no idea what he’s doing, so they sometimes have to rely on each other.

•They share the stand Beastie Boys. I haven’t figured out what it does yet 🤔

[taestefully-in-luv]

The Island | KTH (Four)

Summary: You’re just two strangers waking up in a room on a lonely island where a company in the business of love has placed you. They believe that thanks to their in depth research you two are destined soulmates. What happens when your ‘soulmate’ and you want nothing to do with each other but falling in love is the only way to leave?

Pairing: Taehyung x Female reader

Genre: strangers to lovers, very slight enemies to lovers, soulmates au, roommate au, slow burn, fluff, smut, angst, slight crack, and drama.

Word Count: 11k

Warnings: swearing, sexual tension (?) implied sex

Notes: this is not a reflection of Taehyung’s art! Just saying lol But anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. Tae and oc sure have a lot of moments huh. let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, or send an ask if just want to chat about the stories!:)

Taglist: @ggukkieland @707sblog @peacedreamer14 @dopedreamfireparty @everythingnamjoon @taebae19 @typicalgenzworld @mooniyooni @getmemyfries @helenazbmrskai @justinetingball @jpeachytaev

© taestefully-in-luv

Previous --- Next

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

Month 4

“What the fuck is that?” You point accusingly towards the paper Taehyung is excitedly holding up.

“What do you mean,” he grins. “It’s you!”

“…throw it away.”

“What?! No! I worked hard on this!”

“I look like a god damn frog.”

“In the painting or in real life becau—"

“THE PAINTING!” You leap towards Taehyung and reach for his atrocious artwork. Can he even call this disaster art? No offense, no actually, full offense but its ugly as hell. Taehyung lifts it high above his head.

“Listen, listen…don’t you think this hurts my feelings a little y/n? I worked hard on th—”

“I swear to God Taehyung…if you don’t burn this—"

“OKAY OKAY! No need to put out threats!” he pouts almost theatrically. You eye him up and down, waiting for him to make a move towards a trashcan but he just stands here.

“Well? Go throw it away.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Yeah, no.”

You close your eyes, pinching the bridge of your nose, “What do you mean no?”

Taehyung narrows his eyes at you and laughs under his breath as he steps closer to you.

“First of all, you don’t tell me what to do. I prefer if it’s the other way around.” He smirks, “And second, I am still going to keep it. For the memories.”

You chew on your lips for a few moments, letting his words sink in. But for the memories?

“For the memories? Why would you want to remember any of this?”

Taehyung frowns at your words, he looks genuinely offended.

“I might not like our situation but…”

“But what?”

“Fuck, don’t make me say it.” He says while turning red. “You know, I still want to make good memories with like, you.” He admits softly.

You finally give in, gently reaching for the awful artwork. Don’t get it wrong, Taehyung’s art is usually so beautiful. He does landscapes and abstract pieces and they absolutely blow you away. But his portraits of people? Disgusting.

“Fine…” You smile down at the painting in your hands then look back at him, “But if I see this hung up anywhere I am burning it myself.” You smirk. “And I will take great pleasure in that.”

“Oooooh please tell me more about your pleasures.” Taehyung wiggles his brows at you.

“You’re the worst.” you smile, “Anyway, do we have a deal?” you stick out your hand for him to shake.

“Deal!” Taehyung cheeses, slapping your hand down and going in for a quick hug instead. You’re surprised to say the least, you kind of guessed Taehyung was the affectionate type but you didn’t expect to be on the receiving end of it. “I’ll be in my art room most the day. Movie night though?”

“Yes, movie night.” you oblige.

“Yay.” He chirps happily, skipping off to his art room down the hall. You can’t help but smile as he disappears from your sight.

But then your heart pinches in your chest. You want to feel happy. Are you just ungrateful? You should be happy. Taehyung is finally being himself around you and you finally feel like you aren’t as alone. But it’s all a façade technically…he’s got no one else, just like you have no one else. In the real world…if you two met would you become friends like this? Or is this all forced? Is your entire friendship fake? You feel your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach, you hate these thoughts.

He’s so different than you thought he would be…he’s lighthearted, he’s funny, he’s silly, he’s talented, he’s human. And don’t even get started on flirty Taehyung…You really thought he was some closed off asshole but as time goes on and he becomes more and more comfortable you see the real him, and you really enjoy it. And you hate that you enjoy it. What are you like? Are you still a brat? Does he still think that? You chuckle to yourself, he probably does. Has he grown so comfortable with you that he’s not as angry about being stuck here with you? No, you imagine he’s still really upset about this whole thing. He just doesn’t voice it to you as much anymore. Maybe he’s avoiding the subject. You can understand why. It’s awkward. This place wants to get you two together but neither of you are interested in the other romantically. You just don’t see it happening.

~~~~~

Taehyung is just relaxing in his room on the verge of a glorious nap, he is finally dozing off, eyes slowly closing when his head snaps up in reaction to a loud crash coming from downstairs. Now what the hell could that be? Panicked, he rushes to his feet. He flies down the stairs in record time trying to find the source of the loud bang. He stands in the living room, glancing around the area for any sign of you. Are you okay? Where are you? Shit. Frustrated, he runs his fingers through his hair and as calmly as possible calls out for you. But nothing. Fuck. Your name slips past his lips in growing panic.

He decides he is going to charge each room in search for you, when he reaches the door to his art studio. He can hear muffled words on the other side of the door.

“Shit. Damn. Fuck.”

He instantly roll his eyes to the back of his head, literally so far back all that’s seen is the white of his eyes.

“Such foul language for such a pretty mouth.” He whispers to himself, slowly creeping the door open, exposing a distracted and distraught you.

“Motherfucker!” you huff, your hands on your hips, eyeing the mess you made. God damn did you make a fucking mess. On the floor is a canvas, brushes scattered and a rainbow of colors splattered all around.

“What. Are. You. Doing.”

Your head whips in his direction, your face turning many shades of reds. He stands at the doorway making his presence known, looking at you expectantly, judgement in his eyes. At least he hopes you can see the judgement in his eyes. Because he is definitely judging like hella hard.

You continue to stand here, your blush deepening. He is too frustrated to find it anything but annoying. You begin to stutter out words he can’t make out. You are trying your best, that much is obvious. You’re trying to explain yourself but he can tell you’re only becoming more and more flustered at the situation. He is sure his annoyed expression doesn’t help your ability to speak. Whoops.

“I-I was…well, you said, well remember you said…” You try. You really try. He almost wants to laugh, but not quite.

“I-I said? I said what?” He keeps his stoic demeanor intact, just stressing you further. He’s almost having fun with this. Almost.

“Well, Taehyung…listen,” you try again. “You said,”

“I said?”

Your eyes scan the room as if there’s something here that will help you.

“Words y/n. I need you to use your words.” He demands, maybe having a little fun stressing you out. He sees your blush become such a deep shade of red that even he feels embarrassed.

Finally, you releases a long breath and words begin spilling out of your mouth.

“You said you wanted to keep that frog picture—“

“Your portrait, you mean.”

“Yes, yes whatever. Anyway, you wanted to keep it for the memories, right? You…you…you’re sentimental like that or whatever.” You pause to take a breath. “And and…”

He raises a brow at you, taking a few steps forward, mindful of the mess you made.

“And?”

You raise your head to look into his eyes. You’re staring so intensely that he wonders where you got this wave of confidence from. He stares back just as seriously. Your eyes are the same as usual, dark, plain, boring. For the most part.

“And…I decided that maybe, that maybe I want to…paint you…too?” you step forward. “You know, for the memories.” You tear your eyes away from him. But he sort of wishes you didn’t.

His brows pinch together at your little idea. You want to paint him ? He studies your face seeing if maybe there’s anything else. You look tense under his gaze, he admits that makes him feel kind of good. Is that mean? You look so incredibly shy, and it is so fucking...something, he doesn’t know what but it’s something. He continues to observe you and your shy expressions.

He looks down at you and breaks into his best shit eating grin, his hand reaches down to ruffle your hair.

“Yes!” he lightly chuckles, “Let’s make lots of memories!”

It looks like you’re in a daze, his reaction catching you off guard, he guesses. Taking a moment to collect yourself, you look up into his eyes again.

“Yeah, lots of ‘em.” your smile slowly begins to fade, “We won’t be here forever, so we have to leave with lots of memories.” you mutter.

Taehyung feels himself go soft at your words.

“y/n…” he slides his fingers down to cup the back of your head, fingers gently massaging your scalp. “When this is all over…we can still be in contact, you know?” Your eyes travel to the floor, eyeing the mess you made. He’s still getting over that.

“I know…but Taehyung, I still feel like I don’t even know basic things about you! Like what even is your favorite, uh, I don’t know, animal? I can’t tell you how long I have been wondering that and—”

“Then let’s have a whole night dedicated to that. Let’s drink some wine, paint some pictures and learn everything there is to know!” he moves his hand forward, his fingers playing at the ends of your hair, “Like, what shampoo did they give you because your hair is soft as fuck.”

You give him an unimpressed look,

“I know you steal my shampoo sometimes, I’m not dumb.”

“Don’t know what you are talking about.” He cheeses.

“But okay,” you grin at him, “Let’s do that.”

“I love Koalas and sloths!” You’re laid out on your stomach, swinging your legs above you while sipping on your red wine.

“You can’t choose two!”

“I just did.”

“Fine. Mine is…drum roll…its…” he pats the floor repeatedly.

“Oh come on! Tell me! I’ve been dying to know!”

“Its…lion!” he lays next to you, resting on his side. He eyes the painting you are working on. It’s supposed to be him…supposed to be.

“I like lions too.” You add more color to the background of the canvas. He can hear the smile in your voice.

“Sheesh…and you think I am bad at drawing people…”

“Stop being a hater!”

“ME?” he stares at you incredulously.

You and Taehyung are a few glasses of wine in already. He can tell its hitting you harder than its hitting him, you’re extra talkative and all giggly. He’s painted a picture of the beach while you’ve worked on a portrait of him, it’s amusing to say the least—the portrait. Pretty quickly glasses turned into bottles. Bottle number 3 has been opened and now he is also talkative and all giggly. He’s a giggly lil thang when he’s drunk, and he is drunk.

“Okay,” he sits up, sitting on his legs. “First impression of me, go!” he laughs, for literally no reason.

“I thought you kidnapped me.” You state plainly, “So like, a creepy person.”

His jaw drops.

“I’m offended!” He lays his hand over his heart. “You thought I was creepy?! And there I was thinking you were just some hot chick I hooked up!” Yes, he called you hot to your face. He is drunk, he is allowed to do that. Yeehaw.

“Okay to be fair, that thought crossed my mind too.”

“That I was some hot chick you hooked up with?”

“I never said hot.”

“But you were thinking it, right right?” he wiggles his eyebrows in the most exaggerated way.

You smirk before chugging back the rest of your wine, reaching for a new bottle.

“Okay, maybe I thought it.” You admit, your sly smile growing.

“Want me to open it?” he gestures towards the wine bottle.

“Please.”

He reaches for the bottle of wine, his hands brushing against yours. He hates that he feels a quiet fire in his insides when he touches you. He hates how when his skin makes contact with your skin there is an automatic heat that lights up and warms him, burns him almost.

“Do you have someone? That you like?” You slur out, curious about Taehyung’s love life.

“…Yes.” Taehyung admits softly.

“I am what they call a ‘Dilf’” Jin states confidently. The rest of the boys share a look of confusion.

“You literally aren’t a dad?” Jimin looks at Jin with a puzzled smile.

“But you can’t tell me I am not a ‘dilf’ though.”

“Okay Jin, you’re a dilf.” Namjoon rolls his eyes, going back to his book.

“I wanna be a dilf too.” Jungkook whines and Taehyung nods his head in agreement. Jin shakes his fingers at the boys and speaks up.

“You have to earn the title.”

“Yeah, by being a dad.” Jimin deadpans.

“Let the man have his dreams.” Yoongi says before putting his ear bud back in his ear and nodding along to whatever song is playing.

“My dream is to finish this assignment.” Hobi groans into his pile of papers on the table.

“This is your fault for going back to school for your masters!” Taehyung teases. He has just recently dropped out of school and he is loving it. He watches as his friend works night after night on paper after paper and Taehyung no longer has to worry about things like that. He can just focus on the music.

“Are you guys using this chair?” Taehyung hears a sweet voice cut off all their chatter. He looks up to see this gorgeous girl with light brown hair that reaches her waist and eyes as bright as the sun.

“Uh, no.” Taehyung clears his throat, “You can take it.”

“Thanks.” She smiles at Taehyung and then at the rest of the boys before she’s dragging the chair to the table next to them.

“Holy shit.” Taehyung whispers to Jungkook, “She’s so pretty.”

“That’s Hana.” Jungkook looks over his shoulder at Hana and her friends. “I have a class with her.”

“Bro, introduce me!” Taehyung begs. “You literally owe me.”

“From what?!”

“I let you fuck that one chick like 2 years ago even though I saw her first.”

“Oh? You let me? Really?” Jungkook rolls his eyes. “But anyway, sure. I’ll introduce you.” He says nonchalantly, picking up his drinking and taking a sip.

“Taehyung?” you wave your hand in front of his blank face. “Taehyung?” “Huh? Yeah?” he starts snapping out of his memories, “what’s up? What did you say?”

“I asked her name.” you smile awkwardly, “The girl you like.”

“Hana.” He quietly clears his throat, “What about you? Do you have someone?”

“After my ex? I am staying away from men for a while.” You laugh, “Like, can you blame me?”

Taehyung can’t help by frown at your words.

“Don’t close yourself off…” Taehyung whispers to you. “You’re too pretty for that.” He slurs out and you blink at him repeatedly.

“I’m pretty?”

Taehyung scoffs and rolls his eyes playfully.

“Like you didn’t know.”

Hours pass you two by, more wine has been drank and you two are giggling like school children. Taehyung is folded over, laughing a storm as you do your best impression of a dolphin. You can’t help but fall over and laugh your head off as well, the alcohol obviously has made you two crazy.

Taehyung finally calms down and looks at you with soft eyes, “So, what’s your biggest fear?” he asks, leaning forward.

“No!” you laugh. Fucking laugh. “Listen, we can go back to our serious convos another day…right now I wanna…” you slur your last words, “wanna talk about fun stuff.” you give him the most sleazy wink he’s ever seen. It kind of works for him though.

“Okay.” He agrees easily, “Tell me the story about how you lost your virginity? Don’t leave anything out”

Your eyebrows shoot up, “Wanna know the dirty details huh?” you part your lips and smile.

“Dirty? I bet it was as vanilla as vanilla gets.”

You frown at his words, “I’m not vanilla. I’m fun, I swear.” you pout.

“I didn’t mean it as boring babe. I just mean you probably lost it to like your high school sweetheart, your first love, blah blah blah. The romantic shit.” You exhale a short breath…babe? You like the new friendly nickname, you admit.

“Actually it’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“First year of college. Random guy from a bar. Total one night stand type of situation. I didn’t even tell him it was my first time. I think he probably just thought I was really inexperienced. “ You laugh to yourself. Sounds like a situation you might regret but there is no bitterness in your tone.

“Oh wow. y/n the cry baby can do one night stands?” he teases.

“I’m full of surprises you know.” The glint in your eye tells him he’s going to find out eventually.

“Well then what are the dirty details?” he pries further, leaning into your space again.

“Hmm, don’t think I am drunk enough for that.”

“Oh, I can grab another bottle of wine.” He teases, “But fine.”

“About your comment about me being vanilla…” you begin but Taehyung is cutting you off with the shake of his head.

“I didn’t mean it bad—”

“Are you into vanilla sex?”

Taehyung’s eyebrows crawl to the top of his forehead and his mouth falls open.

“Why are you asking that?” he breathes out, his eyes darkening.

“They paired us together, you know? We probably have more in common than you think…my guess that means sex too.”

“I know we have that in common.” He smirks, “I’m guessing you never looked in the other room?” he quirks a brow at you. “You might find it interesting.”

“The other room?” you tilt your head to the side, “Oh? The one upstairs next to your bathroom? Yeah, I stuck my head in there once…I saw it’s just another bedroom.”

“Is it really just another bedroom though? You didn’t have a look around?” his sly smile grows on his stupidly handsome face. “Like I said…you might find it interesting.”

“What are you talking about?” you slur, “Why would I…?”

Taehyung rises to his feet, walks towards you and leans down until he’s softly gripping your arm and pulling you up.

“Let’s go explore.” He chuckles, “I want you to see the room.” He’s guiding you out the art room, you two stumbling through the door.

You both begin to make your way upstairs, his hand never leaving your arm as you two walk. You keep bumping into him and he only laughs, squeezing your arm every few moments. You guys walk through the hall until you’re standing outside the bedrooms door.

“Go on.” He looks at you with a smirk, “I want you to explore this bedroom.”

“You’re being weird.” You giggle, opening the door.

And just like you thought, it’s just a bedroom. There’s a large bed in the middle of the room against the wall, and a couple of dressers, a closet, a huge ass mirror and other normal bedroom things.

“And?” You glance at Taehyung.

He looks at you with an amused smile. “Explore.” He commands.

You give him a weird look before walking through the room, your hand slides against the dresser that holds the extra large mirror. You catch your reflection and smile at how drunk you look. Taehyung walks behind you and eyes both of your reflections, he steps close to you and chuckles.

“I like this mirror.” He whispers. “Great view of the bed.”

“Uh yeah?” you look at him through the mirror, “I guess so.”

“Explore the drawers.” His evil grin makes you nervous…you look down at the drawers and open the first one on the left, there’s multiple things inside but you can’t tell what they are. You stick your hand inside and grab the first thing it can find. You pull this object out and bring it closer to your face, your drunken vision making it hard to identify what it is. Then your eyes are expanding and you drop the object in the drawer, the loud thud making you jump.

“What was that?” Taehyung whispers, “Something you know right?”

A dildo. Your eyes scan the rest of the drawer only to see more, along with other toys. You quickly slam the drawer shut and turn around to face Taehyung, who is standing so close behind you.

“What the hell?” you stutter out, turning red.

“That’s not all. Check the closet.” He says quietly, pointing towards the closet. And you listen, you walk forward until you’re standing beside the sliding door. You open it and see various articles of clothing.

Lingerie and outfits. Maid, nurse, etc. You stare at the clothes in disbelief.

“What is all this?” you turn to face Taehyung.

“You tell me.” He says chuckling, “Seems like we like the same stuff.” He shrugs. “Maybe you can,” he walks closer and is touching the maid lingerie, “wear this next you’re cleaning the house.”

He’s teasing you. Your stomach twists and turns, your heart is jumping out of your chest and you feel so fucking warm.

“S-Shut up.” You lean back on the door.

“Oh baby, I think you and I both know who tells who what to do here.” He breathes out, not looking at you as he still plays with the material of more lingerie.

“Taehyung,” you sigh, “The cameras can’t hear you in here.”

“Ah,” he turns to face you, “Right. Should we head back downstairs?”

“Yes.” You slur out, feeling quite dizzy.

Month 5

It’s the bright white screen you know all too well…it has you releasing a shaky breath as you wait for the black letters to eventually appear.

“Hey Taehyung…” you call out for you roommate who is making something to eat in the kitchen. “I think we have an incoming message from our,” You pause, huffing out. “Our little friends.”

“Oh. Oh shit.” You hear Taehyung whine from behind you. “I thought they were finally starting to back off…” he sighs out. “Let’s see what these fuckers want.”

Request:

Skinny dip for 1 hour. Must be within a foot of one another.

Ex-excuse you? Ex-fucking-cuse you? Skinny who what for when what? Your eyes bulge out of your head. This has got to be some sort of joke.

“Hell no!” you yell out, not even sparing Taehyung a glance.

Voice full of panic, Taehyung is quick to bring up the alternative.

“The penalty!” he rushes. “What’s the penalty? We will just do the penalty!”

Penalty:

No power or running water for 3 days.

“No pow—what the fuck?” Taehyung shakes his head, disbelief written all over his face.

“Wait! And no running water? Like, we can’t flush the toilet for 3 days? That’s bullshit!” you drag your hands down your face, “And wont the stuff in our fridge go bad?”

Several long moments pass between you two and not in a cool way. There’s nothing cool about this shit. There’s tension filling the air around you both. Awkward tension.

“Isn’t this too much?” Taehyung finally says, obviously not able to tolerate the silence any longer.

You both exchange worried glances with one another before Taehyung says some shit you don’t like.

“Let’s just do the request.”

Your eyes basically pop out of your head.

“Are you out of your mind—do the requests? How could you say that so easily!” you mumble, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“I feel like it’s the best choice.” He gives his honest answer. “Plus, you’ve never seen a naked man before? We will get over it y/n. Knowing me and you, we will be laughing about it in a couple days.” He finally turns to face you, throwing a wink your way, “You know it’s true.”

You mull over your options and hate that he’s right. You very timidly respond with a quiet ‘okay’ and avoid his eyes. His dark, intimidating eyes.

Your heart is racing, No, that is an understatement; your heart is on the verge of explosion. Your nerves are scattered and pounding from the inside out. You are freaking out. Naked with Taehyung? And he seems cool as a fucking cucumber.

“Let’s meet outside once it’s completely dark out.” You suggest.

“Read my mind.”

“…Of course I did, we’re” you roll your eyes. “Soulmates.” you laugh bitterly to yourself, “anyway, I’ll just see you tonight.”

“So you’re just going to avoid me until tonight?” Taehyung asks, “It’s not like they’re asking us to fuck.” He sways on his feet, “Just keep your eyes on my eyes and we will be fine.”

“Right.” You choke out, “Because it’s that easy.”

“Are you saying it’s impossible not to check me out?” he teases and you feel your cheeks heat up.

“Shut up.”

“Brat.”

Night fall approaches sooner rather than later. You wish it would have taken a million years to appear but nope, here you are. You stand outside with Taehyung in front of you. You’re in an oversized t shirt and loose shorts, keeping it simple since they’re coming off anyway. Taehyung wears his usual sweats and a white tee. You two are standing next to the pool, knowing the time has finally come. After leaving Taehyung earlier this afternoon, you took a much needed nap to clear your head.

“Don’t let your eyes linger.” You mumble, nodding your head in his direction.

“Ha, I was going to say the same thing to you.” He pokes his tongue out. Taehyung looks fucking comfortable as fucking always. Like, this doesn’t bother him in the least.

Luckily, the tension is tolerable. So you decide to make the first move. You begin unbuttoning your shorts—

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Wait!” he yells. His arms flailing, trying to stop you.

You scrunch your nose in annoyance, “What?” you ask, not too pleased since you are just trying to get this over with. If you got told 5 months ago that you would be in a hurry to get naked in front of this guy you would ugly laugh. Yet here you are.

“It’s just-it’s just…we should go at the same time.” Taehyung rushes to say.

“Oh, okay. Pants first, let’s go—”

“No! that’s awkward.” He shakes his head, “shirt first.”

“Okay, okay.” You oblige, “weirdo” You whisper loud enough that he can hear you.

The two of you begin with your tops, you try to focus your eyes elsewhere but they naturally skim the skin of his chest and abdomen as his shirt comes off quickly. Taehyung doesn’t even try to look away as you undress, his dark, intimidating stare causing you to feel chills. You slip off your pink t shirt, exposing your bare torso that is laced with a pretty black bralette. His gaze doesn’t waver.

“Okay, next is our bottoms right?” You gulp. He only nods.

You continue the job on unbuttoning your shorts, letting them fall to your feet exposing your matching black panties. Yes, you wore a sexy matching set on purpose. If he’s going to see you like this why wouldn’t you want to look good? You would do that for anybody. You can feel him eyeing you as he slips off his sweats, leaving him in nothing but a pair of blue briefs.

Finally, you are left in nothing but your underwear. You eye him over, his body is so fucking nice it makes you feel bad for even standing next to him. His briefs are a light blue, leaving little to the imagination. You can literally see the outline of his—you know what. Is he sporting a semi, right now? You do an up and down of your own body when you realize you have more clothes than him!

“Hey this is unfair!” You whisper, covering your chest with your arm. “I have to strip my bra off and you what, just get to watch?”

“Oh? So I am allowed to watch?” he responds playfully. It’s that same teasing tone you’re still trying to get used to.

“Well, you’re obviously going to see…” You grumble, lowering your arm. “Welp, here goes.”

Taehyung swallows rather hard, his eyes trailing your body pretty shamelessly. You reach in front of you, unhooking the bralette and letting the straps fall off your shoulders before letting the whole thing fall to the ground.

“Uh, okay.” Taehyung clears his throat. “Now our underwear.”

“Right.” You say while reaching for the band of your panties, pulling it back a bit and letting it go, the material slapping against your hips. You swear you see his dick move at that.

“Okay.” Taehyung’s breathing is heavier than before, “On 3? 1…2..”

“3!” you shout in unison.

You both begin stripping away your last piece of clothing. You’re the first to be fully undressed. You let your panties drag down leg by leg until they join the pile of clothes at your feet. It’s not that you’re trying to do this in a sexy manner, but if it comes across sexy—then so be it. Taehyung pauses mid action, his eyes scanning your body again. God, you are starting to get really nervous again. His gaze absolutely thrills you, you can admit that. You’d live a life of torture to have him stare at you like this all the time. You see him lick his lips then shake his head. You didn’t just imagine that right?

“Hurry up.” You plead.

Taehyung finally drags off his briefs. By the looks of it he looks mostly hard, as his cock springs free. Holy Fuck. Your last ex—Ben—was not this…blessed. Taehyung has every right to be as cocky as he wants, he’s earned it. His dick is long in length but he also seems to have girth. How is one man blessed this much? You would have to have your hand wrapped around it—or your lips—to really know how thick he is. Jesus fucking Christ, what are you saying? You think your best excuse is that you are dick deprived. Also…how long have you been staring? You will say long enough by the look Taehyung is giving you. It’s that shit eating grin that just screams he is one cocky bastard.

“Okay,” you clear your throat, forcing yourself to look into Taehyung’s eyes. “Let’s get in the pool.”

“You got the timer?” Taehyung chuckles.

“It’s laying on the ledge.” you point at it, walking closer to the pool. “Ready?” you look up at him, waiting for his response.

“You look beautiful by the way.” He says out of nowhere. “I mean, as always.” He winks.

You blush pretty fucking hard at that, you can feel all the heat rush to your cheeks, lighting you on fire.

“Are you-are you ready or what?” you grumble.

“Always.” He grins, reaching for you hand. “Let’s go.”

You two tip toe into the water, pausing every few seconds to get use to the temperature of the water. You stop once the water reaches your collarbones, you walk towards the wall, lean against it and face forward. You turn the timer on and you both exchange a few words but you remain mostly quiet, You don’t think either of you know what to say. Every minute that passes (about 15 to be exact) has your nerves spiking.

You hear Taehyung sigh deeply as he inches closer towards you. Now why would he do that? He inches so close that your shoulders are touching, he sinks a little further into the water and then surprising you, he rests his head on your shoulder. What the fuck is he doing?

“We can have a foot of space between us.” You remind him awkwardly.

Taehyung remains quiet, you only hear his soft breaths.

“Taehyung?”

“You know how hard it is going to be to get the image of you naked out of my head?” He whispers with a chuckle.

“Don’t start using me as masturbation material.” You joke, your eyes looking out at the water. It’s calm and bright from the lights inside the pool.

“Start? You think you haven’t entered my mind before?” he jokes back. At least you think he’s joking.

“Stop playing.” You laugh awkwardly.

Taehyung is quiet again and you can feel the tension that always visits you two starting to build.

“Do you…have you…have you thought about me before?” you manage to slip out, surprising yourself.

“You’re asking if I’ve—”

“If you’ve thought about me when you have ‘alone’ time’ ya know?”

“Do you think I haven’t?” he lifts his head and stares at you. “y/n…I’m a guy. And you’re kind of the only person I see.”

Oh. It’s not like I see anyone else. His last words repeat in your mind. Of course, that makes sense. He’s stuck with you, of course you’ve entered his mind, probably against his will or whatever.

“I see.” You say softly. You step to the side, getting further from him and he frowns.

You two stand here, barely speaking. Maybe another 20-30 minutes pass when Taehyung dramatically huffs out.

“Listen y/n…about earlier.” Right earlier. When you made a fucking fool of yourself. Asking your friend is he has ever jacked off to you before! Before he can continue you slap a finger over his pouting lips, shushing him.

“Do you really think now is the time?”

“We have time to kill—”

“—okay! So let’s talk about something else!” you happily offer.

But you guess Taehyung isn’t having it, he steps closer and rests his head on your shoulder again, his breathing picking up. Why is he breathing so hard?

“Just hear me out, okay?”

You only stare ahead, exhaling deeply. What to do…maybe there’s no harm in hearing him out, right? Oh wait there is harm! The feeling of fucking rejection. Why does it feel like rejection? You don’t know. Why the fuck you care? You don’t know that either. But he’s fucking sulking, like a baby. You thought you were the baby here? You guess he needs to have a turn every now and then…

“fine.”

“You probably,” he sinks in the water just a little deeper, “hate me, right?” you don’t hate him…”Me, your friend, has had dirty thoughts about you, yada yada,” he closes his eyes.

“ wait what—” This is because he has had dirty thoughts about you?

“So about what I said…I’m sorry…”

“Taehyung it’s fine,” you rush to say in embarrassment, “I don’t know why I asked! Seriously, it was stupid. I crossed a li—”

“Wait why did you ask?” That’s when you freeze. Yeah why did you ask?

“Uh…”

“Why?” he stands up straighter, his head tilted towards you.

“I was just curious Taehyung.” you defend. “It’s not that deep.”

“Curious? About me?” he raises he brow, he pauses while thinking over his words. “Like, sexually?” he finishes, caution in his voice.

Fuck. What did you get yourself into?

“Taehyung…I already said it was stupid. Plus,” you decide to be bold again, “Hearing it was only because I’m the only one here or whatever didn’t do great things for my ego.”

“Wait—” you hear him stifle a chuckle. “That’s what you’re mad about?”

“Well…” you drag out the word with a pout. You don’t mean to be such a baby yet here you are.

“Wow! I thought you were mad because I’ve thought about you impurely, not because it wasn’t a good enough reason why…wow.” He laughs! He’s basically laughing at you!

“Well?”

“Oh my God, y/n. You’re joking right? I can’t just say I have the hots for my friend now can I? That’ll just—”

“Do you?” your voice is much smaller and quieter than you anticipated, like it barely escaped. Taehyung stays quiet for a second too long that it makes you ten times as nervous.

“Are you…” Taehyung looks at you with a look on his face you can’t quite place, “I’m naked in a pool with you right now and I am going crazy. Absolutely crazy.” Taehyung sighs out heavily, a frown taking over his face. “You’re ability to be so naïve just…baffles me.” He admits, defeated.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a beautiful girl y/n. Of course my mind has wandered. It doesn’t mean I—fuck. It doesn’t mean anything deep or anything like that. But yes, being with you and your fanfuckingtastic tits is giving me some trouble.” He says darkly. “And don’t think I haven’t noticed you checking me out either.” He smirks. “We are human.” He finishes.

A long, deafening silence accompanies you both. Its sitting in the water between your bodies. Just lingering, waiting for one of you to break it in half and drown it in this very pool. But no, it remains. And that person won’t be you. But several minutes have passed by and he is still fucking quiet. Maybe you should be the one to say something? You’re about to you swear , but you hear Taehyung grumble something under his breath.

“What’s that?” you say.

“I said, it’s only fair if I ask too.” Ask what? Oh. Wait. That?

“Ask what?” you ask, pretending you don’t know.

“You know what.”

“Nope.” you say, popping the ‘p’.

“y/n.” “I’m not answering that.”

“Come on.” He leans his face towards your neck, his breaths hitting your wet skin. “It’s only fair.”

“Okay.”

“Okay what?” he pushes on. “Come on y/n, have you thought about me when you get yourself off or not?” he asks, his voice really low. How does he get his voice so deep? Fuck, it sends a shiver down your spine.

“Maybe once or twice I have thought about you too.” You admit, feeling a rush of adrenaline as the words leave your mouth.

“Once or twice?” he repeats lowly, “What did you think about?” his words crawl on the side of your neck as they leave his mouth.

“I’m not answering that.”

“I want you to tell me.” He sounds so breathless while being so demanding.

“Nope.”

“You’re no fun.” He chuckles. “Aren’t you curious about what I think about?”

“Not really.” You lie. “Don’t worry about my imagination. It’s the only action I’m getting anyway.” You laugh.

“When’s the last time you had sex y/n? Please tell me it wasn’t with your ex…”

“Yeah it was.” You admit and Taehyung pushes his head back, not liking you admission.

“Why haven’t you?” he asks.

“I felt so betrayed Taehyung…it’s sort of hard to trust anyone after that.” You sigh, “He hurt me bad. I’m…”

“You’re what?”

“I just don’t feel comfortable.” You say softly, “I don’t think I will for a while.”

“I see…I’m so sorry. I wish that didn’t happen to you.”

“It’s in the past now.”

Ben holds you close as he comes, his hands leaving behind their marks on your body from how tightly he holds you.

“Fuck yes.” He groans, “Did you come?” he asks quickly, breathing hard into your neck.

“It’s okay.” You sigh out, “As long as you feel good.”

“I felt amazing honey.” He kisses the side of your neck over and over. “Shit, we gotta get going. We’ll be late for work.”

“Do we really have to take separate cars?” you whine.

“Just for now babe.” He promises, lifting himself off your body, leaving your pussy aching for more.

“Okay…”

~

“He look so handsome today as usual…” you hear Layla talking to some of the other girls. “I’m telling you…he’s going to ask me out. He’s been eyeing me lately and complimenting me.” She gushes, catching your interest.

“Who?” you ask, setting your belongings down on your desk.

Layla turns to face you, waves her hand and smiles.

“Ben.”

Ben? Like your Ben? Her boss Ben?

“Ben who?” you blink at her and the other girls laugh.

“Obviously the only Ben we know!” Layla giggles and you feel your chest tighten.

“You think he’s going to ask you out?”

“Yes girl! He comes to my desk a few times day, calls me gorgeous, so on and so forth.” Layla says quietly so only you girls can hear. You feel your heart drop.

“I don’t think so.” You speak up. “Ben wouldn’t. He’s already seeing someone.”

“Oh really? Who?” Layla scrunches her brows together, “Because—”

“Me.” You blurt. “He and I are…”

The other girls stop their giggling and look at you with shocked eyes.

“There’s no way.” One of them says.

“y/n, are you serious?” Layla blushes, feeling a little embarrassed now.

“Yes, for months now.” you admit. “But we weren’t telling anyone…yet.”

“Wow! I can’t believe this!” another girl says, her hand coming to her mouth.

You then in a hush hush voice tell the group of girls yours and Bens story. You tell them how he pursued you, you finally agreed and how you two have been dating for over 6 months. They gush and gasp and giggle. It feels good to finally tell people, you think.

But unfortunately for you, it wasn’t good at all.

“y/n?” Taehyung knocks you out of your daze. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” You sigh, feeling weak. “I’m okay.”

Taehyung looks at you with pity, his eyes full of it. He stands tall and floats until he’s standing in front of you.

“I’m going to hug you.” He states calmly, “I really need to hug you.”

“Taehyung…” you step back until your back hits the ledge. “Now isn’t really appropriate.”

“I don’t care. I’ve already seen you naked.” He says nonchalantly. “C’mere.” He opens his arms wide for you and you shake your head.

“I said, c’mere.” He inches closer and closer. “Or I’m coming to you.”

“Taehyung.” You whine, but you let him get closer to you.

His wet arms reach out for you, he’s gripping your shoulders first before his hands easily slide down your arms until they’re under water holding on to your waist.

“C’mere.” He repeats. And you slowly inch closer towards him, your arms hesitantly circling around his middle. And then he’s pulling you in to his chest…he sighs when he feels your budding nipples graze his skin, he sighs when he feels the fullness of your breasts being pushed into him, he sighs when he feels you.

You release a long breath as you hug him, maybe you needed this. This type of human contact. You pull back and look up into Taehyung’s dark eyes, he’s already gazing at you.

“Thanks.” You mumble.

“I think of you because you’re cool. And really pretty.”

“Huh?” Why is Taehyung suddenly complimenting you?

“When I’m—you know. I think of you because you’re cool and really pretty. I could think of anyone ya know? That’s how an imagination works. But I still think about you.”

You’re sure your face is a dark crimson, with how hard you are blushing. How are you supposed to take this new information?

“W-Well,” You find it hard to look into his eyes. “I guess, same.”

“Because I’m pretty?” his tone is lighter all the sudden, you roll your eyes.

“What do you think? Timer should be going on any minute now.” Taehyung throws a glance over his shoulder towards the timer.

“Hmm…” You turn, reaching for the timer, your wet hands getting ahold of it. “Less than 5 minutes.” You read it.

“Oh.” He sings, “If you have a secret, share it now!” Taehyung chuckles into the water, his lips creating bubbles on the surface.

“You want to know even more about me?” You stand a little taller, the water reaching the tops of your breasts. You see Taehyung’s eyes linger for a second before meeting your eyes again. “If you wanna know anything, just ask.” You reach your arms over your head, releasing a yawn.

“Okay…” He places his fingers on his chin, “It’s about me though.” He stops, his fingers dragging down his neck. “Ah, never mind.”

“What?”

“No, it’s weird.”

“Aren’t we passed weird?” you giggle.

“No, it’s really weird.” He sighs out, sinking down into the water until his head is fully under.

You watch as he rises back up, the water cascading down his golden skin, the water from his hair dripping onto his shoulders.

A few moments pass, Taehyung stands here thinking to himself while you just shamelessly watch. You watch as he chews on the inside of his cheek, his eyes upward, scanning the stars. He hums some tune to himself, deep in thought. Honestly, you love when he does this. He looks so…good. Not in a sexual way, you swear. He just looks so him. So Taehyung. He goes from chewing on his cheek to his bottom lip, his teeth digging into the plump flesh. You gulp, God he has no idea how good he looks like this.

“Well?” You ask impatiently. Trying to wave away any more of those thoughts you were just having.

Taehyung releases his bottom lip from his teeth as his lips form into a pout, his eyes closing.

“I’m thinking…”

“Less thinking, more asking.” You feel way too curious about whatever it is he wants to say. And the minutes are passing you by.

Taehyung opens one eye to look at you, he exhales, and faces you.

“Does it sound like I’m in love with Hana?” he says quietly.

“W-What? You’ve only really brought her up once…”

“But when I talked about her did it seem like I have deep feelings for her?”

“She thinks I only like the idea of her” Taehyung mumbles to Jimin and Namjoon. “She doesn’t think I like her as much as I say? Which is so stupid!”

“Isn’t she right though?” Jimin asks with a frown, “You only ever talk about how pretty she is…”

“Jimin means you don’t really have that much in common with her, do you?” Namjoon questions softly. “You don’t…you don’t seem as into as you have been in the past. Are you sure you actually like her?”

Taehyung stares at his friends in disbelief, not believing his ears for one second.

“What are you guys talking about? I fucking like her.” He grits out.

“Are you sure you aren’t just lonely—”

“I don’t want to hear this.” Taehyung stands up from the couch, “I’m going to go see her.”

~

Taehyung makes it to Hana’s apartment but her roommate answers the door and frowns when she sees Taehyung,

“Yes?”

“Uh, I’m here to see Hana.” He gestures inside the apartment.

“Right…” the roommate stands off to the side and lets Taehyung in. “She’s in her room.”

Taehyung walks through the apartment and down the hall until he’s knocking on Hana’s door. She opens it quickly, hugging him and pulling him inside.

“Hey you.” She smiles at Taehyung and he smiles back with his teeth.

“Hi.”

“What brings you here?”

“Just came to hang out, maybe watch a movie?” Taehyung sways from side to side, trying to not make this awkward.

“Sure, you can choose the movie.” She goes to her desk, grabs her lap top and gestures towards her bed. “We can watch in my bed.” She says shyly.

“G-Good idea.”

~

“So how did you like it?” Taehyung asks excitedly. ‘Castaway on the Moon’ just finished and he is so happy he got to show her his favorite movie.

“Honestly?” she chuckles awkwardly, “I didn’t really like it.” She admits. “it was weird.”

“It’s not weird! It’s amazing,” he pouts and she giggles.

He does feel really disappointed that she doesn’t like his favorite movie…is that a red flag? No, he’s just being dramatic, he thinks.

“Next time I’ll choose the movie.” Hana cuddles closer to Taehyung. “Okay?”

“Sure.”

“Taehyung…” you begin, “Where is this coming from?”

“She doesn’t think—my friends too—don’t think we have a lot of chemistry. That I’m forcing myself to like her, but that’s not true! But sometimes I feel confused. And I thought I could get an outside opinion.” He admits, “But this was stupid you don’t have to answer.”

You can tell him you believe in his feelings or you can tell him you don’t think he’s even talked about her enough that you take his feelings seriously. But will that hurt him?

“I—”

Beep beep beep beep beep beep.

The fire place is turned on, creating a safe and cozy atmosphere. The gas lit flames burn a hole in the tension that fills the room. What sort of tension? Not sure.

Taehyung and you are sat comfortably on the sofa, sitting with crossed legs facing one another, your knees just barely touching. A bowl of popcorn rests between you and blankets wrapped around your bodies. Separate blankets, of course.

Taehyung and you have decided to move the party inside (with clothes: on) and continue talking.

The ringing of the timer didn’t completely ruin your conversation only delaying it.

“And I don’t know,” he takes a handful of popcorn and stuffs it in his mouth. “I think we would make a cute couple.”

“Yeah but like I asked, what sorts of things do you two talk about? Not if you guys are a cute couple.”

“We talk.” He states.

“Okay…about?”

“Stuff.”

“You aren’t helping your case.” You sigh out, biting your lip. “I want to believe in your feelings Taehyung but…”

“I know.” He cuts you off, “I know.”

“So why are you forcing it?” you reach for some popcorn yourself, “Why do you want to like her so bad?”

“I don’t know….” He admits softly, “I really don’t know.”

“You’re unsure of your feelings.” You say bluntly. “That’s what it seems like.”

“Maybe I am.” He wraps the blanket around his shoulders tighter. “I’m like you…I don’t know what love is.”

“And just like me, you’ll find it someday.” You promise him with a sweet smile. “Right?”

“You will for sure.” He breathes out, “I think I’m a ….”

“A?”

“God, I don’t even want to say it.” He throws his head in his hands. “But I think I am a hopeless romantic.”

“I just want some cute love story with a cute girl. And Hana is perfect.”

“But does she thrill you? Challenge you? Make you laugh?”

“She’s…” fuck, he doesn’t even know. Does he even know Hana that well?

“Hey y/n…” Taehyung looks up at you, his eyes finding yours and you shrink in your spot.

“Yes?”

“Can we watch my favorite movie? I’m curious what you might think about it.” He gazes at you and you nod your head slowly.

“Sure Taehyung.”

“Also, you can call me Tae.”

~

“Holy fuck.” You sob into your hands. “The fucking noodles.”

Taehyung looks over at you with a soft smile as he has his own tears falling down his face.

“I know right?”

“He finally felt like he had purpose Tae,” you look at him with a pathetic scrunched up face, tears still leaving your eyes.

“EXACTLY!” Taehyung wails, “EXACTLY!”

“This movie was amazing, and how everything turned out...wow…and how she…and he…my goodness. I’m still crying.”

“I told you!! I am so glad you enjoyed it.” He moves closer to you on the sofa without thinking.

“Only lame people wouldn’t like this movie!” you basically yell out and Taehyung scoots even closer, his shoulder bumping yours. But you barely notice, still too invested in the movie.

“Yeah.” He agrees with a smile. “You really must be my soulmate.” He jokes with an awkward smile. “No one else really likes this movie.”

“Ha-Ha.” You roll your eyes, “But anyway, that’s crazy since it was so good.”

“Stop praising it or I’ll have to marry you.” He jokes again and you start turning a rosy pink.

“Stop.” You whine, swatting his shoulder.

“Let’s call it a night, yeah?”

You and Taehyung clean up the kitchen and living room and head upstairs for the night, he walks you to your bedroom door and lingers.

“Tonight was crazy. I saw you naked.” He brings up the request and you go redder than red.

“We can literally never talk about it again…”

“Am I allowed to think about it at least?” he winks, his voice low and making you feel tense.

“Goodnight Taehyung.”

~~~~~~~~

Month 6

Today is one of those days…Taehyung is in a bad mood and you’re being a brat. He hates how much you’ve been teasing him today…he is sorting through his feelings for Hana but you insist on walking around with small shorts and low cut tank tops, claiming it’s ‘hot’. He finally has you cornered though, he’s finally had enough. He’s got you pushed up against a wall, his face so close that your breaths mingle with one another.

“You’re really pushing me today…” Taehyung leans closer, his warm breath fanning over your face. “Today’s not the day y/n.” he warns.

“How am I pushing you? I’m literally not doing anything.” You jut your bottom lip out and look to the side.

“You’re being…such a fucking tease.” He decides to say, “Which is giving me a real headache.” He leans down, his arms on either side of your body.

“So I give you a headache?” Your eyes look up into his and you smirk. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You are real annoying, you know that?” he can’t help but chuckle, but then he’s exhaling a deep breath and rolling his eyes. “Ask for forgiveness.”

“Ask for forgiveness?” you scoff. “Seriously? And what am I asking forgiveness for?”

“You’re lucky I’m not telling you to beg.”

“Beg?” you scoff again. “Who do you think you—”

“y/n.” his dark eyes gaze into yours. His hand slides down the wall and then it’s at your waist. He pulls you in and leans his head down closer to your face, you feel the lump in your throat grow as you ty to swallow it down.

“Y-Yes?”

“Ask for forgiveness.” He tells you again, this time much more softly.

“And if I don’t?” You stare up at him and he chuckles.

“Do you really want to find out?” his gaze doesn’t waver as he looks at you…the way he stares at you makes you feel bare in front of him, like he’s stripping you of your clothes, of your skin, everything.

“And if I do?” you whisper. “What happens if I do?”

Taehyung narrows his eyes at you as he licks his lips repeatedly…you’re really testing him aren’t you? He can’t tell if you’re toying with him because of the cameras or if it’s because you’re a brat.

“y/n.” he says your name like the sound of a slow breath. It feels intimate, the way he calls out for you. You can’t help but gulp as you blink up at him.

“Y-Yes?”

“You want to beg, don’t you?” he smirks, he pokes his tongue out as he eyes you. You can see the amusement in his eyes. “You want to…” the words are dying on his tongue because what can he say? Everything he wants to say would probably be deemed as inappropriate.

“I want to what?” you tilt your head up, your eyes scanning the entirety of his face and he leans further into your space.

“Just do as I say, tell me you’re sorry and we can move on.”

“Do as you say?” you lean back until your head is lightly hitting the wall, “You think I would really listen to you?”

“Such a brat.” His hand doesn’t let go of your waist as he leans back as well. “Why do I deal with this? And yes,” he rolls his head back. “I think you would very much enjoy listening to me.” He pauses and bites his lip. “If this company really thinks we’re a match made in heaven then I am sure you can assume what I mean.”

You silently gasp, a blush painting itself brightly on your cheeks.

“Ah,” he leans in again, “So you do know what I mean.”

“Taehyung,” you mumble, “Sometimes your flirting for the camera is too much.” You whisper quiet enough the cameras can’t hear.

Taehyung leans down until his mouth is at the shell of your ear and you can hear the smirk.

“Who says it’s for the cameras?” he leans away from you again, he finally drops his hand from your waist and is about to turn to leave when your hand flies to his shirt.

“Wait.” You blurt out, “I’ll…” you look off to the side. “I’ll say sorry”

“Oh?” Taehyung looks amused to say the least, “Go ahead, then.”

“Only if you tell me what’s wrong today.”

“It’s nothing.”

Your hand goes from the middle of his shirt to his shoulder and you look up at him with big, doe eyes as he blinks down at you over and over.

“What?” he whispers.

“Please.” You whisper back, “I’ll be good,” you promise in a low voice.

Taehyung feels his chest get warm, the heat traveling from there to his toes. He looks at you with his serious expression and softens.

“You are good.” He breathes out. His gaze intense as he stares into your eyes.

“Then…” you pause. Taehyung keeps his eyes on your eyes until he’s not. His eyes slowly travel down your face until he’s staring at your lips. He notices how plump they look, how your tongue darts out to wet them. He feels himself being drawn closer to you, leaning in further and further.

“…Taehyung.” You say breathlessly and Taehyung blinks repeatedly, clearing his throat as he leans back again.

“Fine, don’t apologize. Brat.” And he’s stepping away from you and you watch his back as he walks away.

Taehyung. Is. Such. A. tease. And it drives you absolutely insane. You’re sure the company that watches you is having the times of their lives as you suffer. Why does he have to go this far? It only makes you want to challenge him and go even further yourself. There was a moment, right? Where he acted like he was going to kiss you? Of course he wouldn’t actually do that. This is just for show but god, it still drives you nuts.

Taehyung rushes to his bedroom, slamming the door shut as he rests against it. What the hell is wrong with him? He’s just frustrated. He misses Hana. But why do you have to be so infuriating and you know, hot. And it makes him angry. He wasn’t actually going to kiss you, of course. But there was a moment of strange tension that he…he can’t describe. Taehyung slides down the door, falling to the ground. He remembers his first kiss with Hana, it was sweet and nice but like, he doesn’t remember it being intense not like how it feels when he gets close to you.

“Taehyung!” Hana giggles as she pats his back as she’s thrown over his shoulder. “Put me down!”

“Never!” Taehyung laughs just as much as he runs around in circles. “Ugh, so heavy though.” He jokes.

“Hey!” Hana hits his back, “Come on, put me down.” Her giggles softly relax and he’s setting her down back on the ground, her feet finally planted on the ground as she keeps her arms loosely thrown around his neck.

“You really love carrying me.”

“Holding you is fun.” He smiles, “And you’re not actually heavy. Actually you weigh nothing.”

“Yeah, right.” She playfully rolls her eyes.

“So.” Taehyung chuckles awkwardly, looking into Hana’s eyes.

“So…” she steps closer to him, tightening her hold around her neck. “We’ve been hanging out a lot …” she flutters her lashes, “And..”

“And?”

“I kind of want you to kiss me.”

“Oh.” Taehyung’s eyes widen. He was not expecting that. He smiles at her and nods his head. “Yeah, I can do that.” He teases, leaning in until his lips are against hers. He pulls back but she pushes herself forward to kiss him more and he sighs in her mouth, loving the feel of her lips.

“We should do that more often.” Taehyung breathes out and Hana giggles.

Taehyung groans into his hands, recalling his memories. He does miss Hana but he feels like every time he thinks of her…he somehow is also thinking about you too. But it’s not like he’s thinking of you like that but yeah, you’re on his mind. And he’s got to chill out. He stands up from the floor and walks to his bed, throwing himself on it with a bounce. He’s still so frustrated. He recalls dinner yesterday, how he…

“I’m staring at you because you have sauce on your lips.” Taehyung says from across the dining room table.

“Should I get it for you?” he teases, standing up from his chair, the sound of it screeching against the floor makes you flinch.

“No, no.” you shake your head, “I can do it myself.”

“What if I want to help you though?” Taehyung tilts his head with innocent eyes. “I’ll clean you up.”

“Tae—”

Taehyung walks to your side of the table and bends down until his face is level with your face, he smiles at you and raises his thumb up to your lips. His thumb brushes across your bottom lip slowly, the heat of his finger making you sigh out. He leans in closer as he finishes wiping the sauce off your mouth. When he finishes he takes a moment to look into your eyes like he’s searching them for something. He’s not sure what though. You feel yourself being hypnotized by his gaze, you, yourself stare back at him just as deeply…you think he’s going to lean away any second but instead he brings his hand between your faces and brings his thumb to his mouth. His thumb pushes past his lips and he’s licking it clean, the action purposely agonizingly slow.

“There. Got it.” He breathes out, “All clean.”

Your eyes widen just the slightest…he’s a tease. A fucking tease.

Taehyung’s eyes light up in amusement when he watches how you flush under his hard stare and he starts laughing.

“W-What?” you spit out, your embarrassment has you stabbing your food with your fork. “What’s funny?”

“You.” He says with a grin, the air is starting to thin out as he laughs. “You make me laugh.”

“Glad I can entertain.” You roll your eyes.

You’re so…fuck, you’re so sexy. Taehyung has been wanting to admit that for a while, but god, he has to really fucking control himself. But he’s trying to keep these thoughts at bay because he needs to figure out what he’s doing about Hana.

He lays here thinking of all the moments he has flirted with you for the camera, he groans into his pillow when he has the hardest realization. Is it really for the camera? The tension between you two is so fucking thick, the air is suffocating, making it hard to breathe. The intensity…the thrill. You are the only one who makes him feel like his world is burning with a passionate fire. Hana is nice but you? You’re you and he’s realizing how much he likes that.

He’s realizing a lot. It’s been 6 months and he thinks he is ready to admit that this is beyond what he signed up for. He signed on to get along, but this? This is a whole other journey he’s going on.

Taehyung sits up in bed, his face gone pale as he makes his realizations. His mouth hangs open as his mind races. Does Taehyung just want to fuck you? Or….does Taehyung like you?

Suddenly, there’s soft knocking on his bedroom door, his head snaps in that direction and he knows it’s you—well duh, who else would it be? He scrambles off the bed and he’s opening the door. You’re wearing yoga pants and a long sleeve shirt now with an innocent smile on your face.

“I turned the AC down.” You say. “Now I won’t make your life hard by wearing hardly any clothes.” You’re teasing him and he’s going wild for it.

“Oh really?” he breathes out, “Are you going to say sorry?” he teases back, his breathing picking up.

“Should I ask for forgiveness?” you mock him and he raises a brow at you.

“I’m going to make you beg y/n.” he says lowly, “Keep this up and I’ll be carrying you to the other bedroom.”

Your smile drops at his words. What does he mean by that? He’s taking the acting too far…

“You ever begged before baby?” He walks closer to you, making you uneasy. You step backward further into the hall and sigh out.

“Maybe.”

“From now on, you’ll only ever do it for me.” He says so low, that you barely hear him. But you do hear him and you shudder.

“Taehyung.” You warn softly, you push him by the shoulders, backing him into his bedroom. Once inside you close the door and look at him expectantly.

“What?” he rolls his eyes at you.

“You’re being too much…” you whisper. “But fuck, I gotta admit you’re good.” You breathe out roughly, “It almost feels real.”

“I wasn’t kidding earlier.” Taehyung walks towards you, his hand reaching out to touch the ends of you hair, “Who says this is for the cameras?”

You glance up at him, clearly confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh y/n.” Taehyung feels his heart start to race. “This just got a lot more interesting.”

[bratkook]

eleven months. (m) myg. two.

masterlist.

pairing: min yoongi x reader genre: fluff, slow burn!!!, eventual smut, warnings: brief non-descriptive mention of death, otherwise none word count: 7k author’s note: here’s some more backstory on both of them as well as more interaction beyond yoongi hunting down an album by the cure lmao. like i said before, i’m really soft for yoongi in this story so lmk what you think! (also..because i hate myself and love piling up wips, theres mention of oc having a previous love interest that’s actually part of another story that takes place in this universe that’s a prequel soooo...coming soon lol) taglist (open): @min-yus​ summary: it’s been years of yoongi living his routine life, accustomed to his pace of living, going with the flow and simply existing. until you come along. yoongi absolutely can not see the logic in the way you live, but he weirdly craves it. craves the feeling of not being afraid of not knowing what’s coming, being able to just let the cards fall wherever they land. and maybe you can help with that.

In the next coming weeks it becomes obvious that Yoongi is in fact a regular. His routine visits allow you to remember the usual days and times he’d pop in, so you knew if you’d be working on his chosen days. 

Somewhere in between his casual drop ins, the two of you had formed somewhat of a friendship— or the beginning stages of one at least. Yoongi liked your sense of humor, how open and friendly you were to anyone you encountered, always having something to say about anything. Conversation came easy to you, never running out of stories. It left Yoongi thinking you’ve definitely lived about ten lifetimes compared to him.

In turn, you liked how he let you steer the conversation any way you chose. Most people would probably watch on in horror at the way you’d go from talking about a specific song or band, and then switching to a story about how you chased a pickpocketer during your travels before moving on to talking about your roommate’s cat. None of it gave him whiplash though, seamlessly flowing into the next topic with a grin on his face, never feeling like he had to think too hard to keep it going. It worked best this way. Yoongi was observant by nature, a great listener above it all, so if you were the one doing most of the talking it was fine by him. 

Everyone at Rkive360 had taken notice that Yoongi’s usual five minute visits had turned into ten, and then twenty, until it became very clear he was lingering inside the store. No one told him anything, besides the fact that he was bestfriends with the owner and had immunity, all of you were fond of him. Taehyung enjoyed the sly remarks Yoongi would make, Sana just enjoyed ogling at him, Namjoon would never mind seeing him, and you would take any chance you could to attempt to wow him with your small knowledge of music. 

It was a nice distraction whenever he stopped by, always heading straight to the back where the vinyl was kept. Sometimes he had a specific album in mind, other times he was simply browsing, but he only ever bought one at a time. It was routine, maybe even a weird ritual of sorts if he really thought about it. 

On the days you knew he’d be coming you would spend a little extra time in the beginning of your shift picking out a few records to suggest to him if he didn’t have one in mind. Because of this, he had stopped his usual path to the bins and now came directly to you, the first stray off his usual routine. 

Today you’re standing behind the counter, ringing up a customer when he walks in, a smile on your face as you chat away. He patiently waits at the far corner, leaning back against it as his eyes roamed the interior of the store, taking note of the way Sana and Taehyung were trying and failing to build a giant display. It looks like a mess of parts, scattered around with no instruction manual in sight— definitely Taehyung’s idea to toss it judging by Sana’s look of frustration. 

He tears his gaze away from them beginning to argue when he hears you wish the customer a good day as they leave, pushing away from the counter and shuffling your way with a grin on his face. You smile back at the way his doughy cheeks push out, high points of them reflecting the light from above. 

“Any shirt facts of the day?”

That had also become another common occurrence. Whenever you decided to wear a band shirt, he somehow always had random facts about whoever it was. It didn’t matter if it was some obscure french band or a 90’s rapper, Yoongi knew something about everyone, like some walking encyclopedia of musical artists. So when you take a step away and spread your arms out, he sees your shirt of choice today is The Doors, and he scoffs. Too easy.

“The Doors were the first band to ever advertise a new album on a billboard.” He nods his head slowly, almost as if he’s telling you yes I know, amazing right?

A hum leaves your lips at his fun fact, slightly impressed by it. “Interesting. Like always, I did not know that.” You peek under the counter top at the selection of records you kept stowed away for him, safe from any undeserving customers. “Now, do you want to see my daily, hand picked selection just for you.”

This was his new favorite pastime, getting to see the random albums you’d group together for him, wanting to know what you thought was worthy for him to listen to. When he nods, rubbing his hands together in excitement, you haul up the stack and carefully spread them out across the top.

The genre of the day was R&B, he can tell that much as he sorts through the albums. You’re familiar with the way he clumps together certain records, marking them down as albums he already owns, until he gets to an orange colored cover. The words The Internet fill the top right corner along with Ego Death on the bottom left. This he had never heard before. He picks it up and flips it over, scanning the song names with interest.

His eyes raise up to yours with curiosity, the same sharp gaze that somehow still makes you nervous holds the obvious question being passed between you with no need for words: are they any good? And the way you nod your head immediately convinces him enough. “Alright, I’ll give them a shot.”

A small sense of pride fills your chest, a tiny victory whenever he decides to pick something from your stack, trusting whatever music knowledge you had somehow convinced him you have. “I promise you’ll love them.”

When you hand him his change and the brown paper bag, you immediately check the time and clock out, dipping back under the counter and grabbing your bag from its hidden spot.

“Are you off?” Yoongi finds himself asking, no longer used to leaving immediately after he purchased something. The usual fifteen minute conversation you two had was missing today, and he’s not too sure how he feels about that. 

“Yes I am, you were my last customer. The store will now be run by those two heathens. Here’s to hoping they don’t bite each others heads off while they finish building whatever the fuck that is.” Taehyung is now standing up, lazily holding up a part of the display as Sana tries to screw something together, angrily giving Taehyung commands but he only mimics her with a ridiculous face. And when she socks his thigh, her fist aiming a little too close to home, you let out a laugh.

Yoongi highly doubts that’s going to be possible, Namjoon would probably have to be the one left to finish building the display while also putting them on opposite sides of the store whenever he came in for the day. It was truly a shock that they had gone this long working together without an actual fist fight breaking out. If it came down to it, Yoongi had his money on Sana being able to whoop Tae’s ass. 

“Do you know any good take out spots nearby? I’m starving and I’m still new to the area so I’ll take any recommendations.” Your voice snaps him back, his eyes looking at you briefly as the question registers within him.

“Oh, yeah. There’s a place not too far from here that has pretty good jajangmyeon.”

“Hell yeah.” Your hands pat your belly softly, coming up to readjust your bag as you walk around the counter and head for the door, shouting out a goodbye to Taehyung and Sana as you leave the store. When you exit the shop, your hand holding the door open behind you, you glance back inside in confusion when you spot Yoongi still standing by the counter with wide eyes. “Well, aren’t you coming?”

Truth be told, he had been wanting to talk to you outside of work for a while but he was scared to ask, not wanting to make you feel obligated to say yes just because he was a regular at your place of employment. Something about you seemed familiar to him, and to be quite honest he just craved social intimacy. His job consumed him and coming into this record shop was the small escape he needed, you being there was just a newly added plus.

You’re on the same page he is, wanting to hang out with him just as much as he had, something about the way he seemed like a half open book interested you. Throughout all of your adventures you had forced yourself to come out of your shell, no longer afraid or bashful when it came to initiating friendships. If you wanted to get to know someone better, then you’d bite first. And you definitely wanted to get to know Yoongi better.

It takes him a moment to react, his gaze switching from you to look back over at your coworkers, seeing Sana sending you a curious glance. Yoongi was about to attempt to muster up the courage to ask you to hang out and you beat him to the punch, but after a second he grins at you with a nod. Of course he was coming.

The weather in Seoul is forgiving today, the usual cold of autumn being prevalent in the air without the need to bundle up, the slight wind not stinging your skin as it blows around you. This was probably your favorite season, comfortable enough for you to do whatever you want without feeling restricted by heavy layers or sticky from the heat. 

A soft smile is on your lips, hands shoved into the pockets of your baggy cardigan, and a small pep in your step as your eyes take in the world around you. That feeling you get when you visit a new town on vacation, how you’re just passing through for a brief moment in a place so many call home, it makes you realize how small you actually are. 

It’s a feeling you always longed for, to experience a new place and make it home, it's the main reason you always bounced around so much. Staring at all the shops around you, taking in all the people just going about their daily life, you’re content with your new choice of scenery. 

Too lost in your own head as you take in the shops and people around you, you snap out of it when Yoongi reaches out and clasps a hand on your shoulder, steering you to turn right when you keep walking straight. “Get your head out of the clouds.” 

He hears the snort you let out, allowing him to guide you the correct way. Slowly trailing away from the main road, the amount of people lessens, only a handful of stores line up around the alley you had turned into. When you spare a glance at Yoongi you can see the excitement on his face, speeding up his pace until he’s standing in front of the restaurant. It’s a small hole in the wall shop that didn’t even look like it served food from the outside, all black exterior with a red sign hung up on top showcasing their name, Ipum.

It’s charming, and the way Yoongi spreads his arm out puts a similar smile on your face. Only then does he pull open the door, allowing you to step in first before he follows. 

Once Yoongi steps inside he’s immediately greeted by the workers calling out his name in glee, bowing in response with a bashful smile as he approaches the small counter set up for take out orders, not needing to read the menu. You don’t realize he’s waiting for you as you take in the interior of the restaurant, the red dining tables surprisingly packed despite their lack of advertising outside. This place really must be as good as Yoongi promised.

“Anything specific you want?” he asks, finger pointing to the small menu in his hand in case you needed it. When you shake your head, letting him know he can order anything he wants, he does exactly that, placing two orders of jajangmyeon, along with fried dumplings and sweet and sour pork to complete it. It was his go to choices whenever he came, so he hopes you’ll enjoy it as much as he does. 

As you step to the side, backs pressed against the wall closest to the counter in order to keep the space open for the workers and patrons to walk comfortably in the small shop, you turn your head to glance at Yoongi again. “You come here often?”

The way the workers had spoken to him had made that glaringly obvious, but you wanted to hear it from him, wanted to know if he came here for comfort food or some other weird tradition like his ‘one-vinyl-a-day’ way of life. 

It was sort of a habit he had fallen into years ago. Having grown up in this city his whole life, he had stumbled upon this place his last year of high school. It had become a staple soon after, a place he would come to directly after classes were done to come stuff his face before heading home. Then it became a place his girlfriend and him frequented when the apartment they moved into turned out to be a mere block away. 

In a way, the owners of this shop had become like a second family. The amount of times they’ve seen Yoongi at his best and worst throughout the years, never once throwing judgment his way even if he came in beyond plastered back in the years he used to drink, never turning him away even if he cried into his noodles. 

He decides that’s a little too much to unpack right now, so he just nods in confirmation. “Yeah, I’ve been coming here for years. One taste of their noodles and you’ll be hooked too, trust me.”

Oh you trusted him, the amount of plates you’ve seen so far just made your mouth water once they passed by you and the smell of the food reached your nose. “We should’ve just sat down, I’m not gonna be able to wait until I get home to eat this.”

As you say this one of the workers approaches you two with a tied up plastic bag in his hand, the inside stuffed with takeout boxes and utensils for you to take. Yoongi grasps the bag with a smile and thanks him as he walks away. “Don’t worry, I live like a block away.”

He realizes how his words could be taken immediately, how he had assumed you two would innocently go back to his place to share a meal. You had invited him to eat but the location of where you would be doing so had not been discussed and the last thing he wanted was to come across as a sleaze.

His mouth was ready to back track completely, until he sees the way you dramatically place your hand over your chest, and he knows it's too late, “Oh damn, your place? Saucy, but I’m starving so I’ll do almost anything.”

You can see the way he relaxes when he notices you aren’t being serious, taking his words lightly the way he intended them. His eyes roll behind his lids, a lazy smile gracing his lips as he shoves your shoulder lightly to get you to start walking. 

“Is jajangmyeon all it takes?”

“Slow your roll, good jajangmyeon is all it takes. I’ve yet to have a taste.”

Yoongi smiles at your words, taking the lead when you step out of the shop and turn back down towards the main street. His apartment was on the next block over, a short walk that you didn’t mind, especially since he took it upon himself to point at random stores you passed to let you know the best places to get what.

He has a lot of love for this city, the memories it possesses spread out through his entire childhood and early adult years, lingering in each crack on the sidewalk. He often sits and wonders how different his life would be if his parents had decided to move to Busan instead of Seoul, or stayed in Daegu altogether. The thought of the timeline of his life being altered so drastically to the point of possibly not being able to be living this moment sends his mind into a flurry, so he's grateful you’ve reached his front door now as his mind settles.

“Oh my god who’s this?” You coo as you step into his apartment, crouching down towards the white stone floors to pet the fluffy gray cat that greeted you, enjoying the way it purred and rubbed against your knee.

“That's Yuri, the queen of the house.” He steps away from you, setting the plastic bag on top of the kitchen counter a few feet away, his hands pulling out the containers and setting them down. “Don’t give her too much attention or she’ll never let you leave.”

Yuri glances up at you, her bright green eyes peering up innocently at Yoongi’s words, almost as if she was pleading for you to keep petting her. It doesn’t take much convincing for you to scoop your hands under her and press her against your chest as you stand up, your fingers gently scratching the top of her head. Yoongi lets out a sigh when he sees his cat has succeeded in wrapping you around her finger.

“Sorry, she’s too cute to not cuddle with.”

She nuzzles into your chest, purring in appreciation when your fingers trail down onto her spine. Yoongi watches you as he pops open the lid of the container that holds the noodles. Yuri is his baby, yet every time a new person comes into his place she acts like he doesn’t exist— well not until he pops open the container holding the sweet and sour pork. That's when her head pops up, her green eyes sharpening when she spots the food, and Yoongi glares back at the fluffy traitor.

When Yuri's fluffy body shakes slightly as you laugh Yoongi glances back at you, breaking up the staring contest he had going with his cat. “She’s gonna betray your love right now for some pork.” 

You don’t doubt him, not with the way her paws start to push at your arms, attempting to stand up in your embrace until she’s hopping off from your arms and slowly walking towards Yoongi. She’s absolutely shameless as she rubs her body against his legs, and Yoongi can only look down at her before staring back up at you, gesturing out with his hands. “You see?”

The act of betrayal doesn’t sting, not when she’s as cute as she is. Instead you just chuckle, walking towards the stools Yoongi has by the oversized kitchen island, a breakfast bar set up at the end, the food spread out on top of it. He ignores Yuri for the time being, pulling out the stool beside yours and sliding into it. The both of you pull your chopsticks apart and get to eating instantly, swirling the noodles until they’re evenly coated in the sauce.

You try to ignore the way Yoongi blatantly stares at you as you bring up the first clump of noodles, waiting to see what your initial reaction would be to the food he held so near and dear to his heart. Yoongi knows this could go south so quickly, there is nothing worse than trying something new when you’re starving and having it absolutely suck. Sensing his nerves, you slurp the noodles up, and when the salty taste hits your tongue you hum, chewing them thoughtfully to make a show for Yoongi.

“Verdict?”

He waits patiently for you to swallow, sharp eyes analyzing your expression, seeing you lick your lips and grin at him. “You weren’t lying, definitely some of the best jajangmyeon I’ve had.”

In pure dramatics, he practically sags in his seat and raises a fist into the air in success, being able to properly enjoy his food now that he knew you approved of it. The two of you begin to eat in relative silence, the sound of munching and slurping filling up his kitchen space. 

As the minutes go by, the back and forth of your chopsticks plucking out a dumpling after he did, lands with you snatching the last one. An evil cackle leaving you as you pop it into your mouth and grin at him, cheeks puffed out slightly and he can’t find it in himself to be irked at you snatching the last dumpling when you looked like that.

The compromise of that is you leaving the remaining pieces of pork for him to enjoy, and when Yuri gracefully hops onto the counter you see why he had suggested that. He grasps a tiny piece of pork on his chopsticks and feeds her like a parent would a toddler, airplane noise and all until Yuri opens wide and gently clamps down on the meat.

“She’s spoiled because of you.”

He merely shrugs, a giant smile spreading across his face as he watches her with adoration as she chews the food. “I refuse to confirm or deny that.”

As you finish up the last of your food you just watch on as Yoongi alternates between feeding himself and Yuri until no more pork remains. Seeing the soft way he acts with his cat just warms you up, Yoongi had always seemed like a blunt person from the times you’ve seen him at the store, his sense of humor is one that could easily be taken as harsh or cold if you didn’t match it, but you’d never expect to see him this way. The tops of his cheeks push out as he smiles at his cat, cupping her face between his hands and rocking it back and forth before planting a kiss on her forehead.

She seems to understand that that's her cue to hop off the counter, knowing that snack time is now over as Yoongi starts to clean up the empty containers. When you reach to clean your own mess up he’s quick to slap your hands away, smirking when you retract them with a small wince, your fingers rubbing the back of your palm that he had swatted with a pair of chopsticks.

“Shoo.” He waves his arm in the direction of his couch, not giving you another glance and missing the way you pout at how he had dismissed you like he would his cat.

With a huff you turn on your heel, properly taking in his living room. From the small tidbits of half truthful information that Taehyung had provided you with, you knew Yoongi was somebody in the music industry. You had always assumed that when people said that it meant struggling soundcloud rapper or something of the sort, but from the look of his apartment alone it was very evident that Yoongi was not a struggling soundcloud rapper. 

The wall of his living room was lined with floor to ceiling windows, letting you catch a glimpse of the cityscape down below, the darkening horizon and slowly flickering street lights blending together. A dark grey couch was on the wall adjacent to that, directly facing the entertainment center he had set up, complete with a massive mounted television and soundbar, a collection of DVDs organized in the storage unit below it.

You walk closer to it, catching sight of the picture frames he had displayed along the top of it. They were all simple black frames, all differing in size, all of them having photos of Yoongi and his friends on them. The one in particular that had you smiling was a photo booth picture with Yoongi and Namjoon, they were accompanied by three other people, a boy with slightly red tinged hair and a bright smile, another boy with dark brown hair and a slight pout on his face from Namjoon squishing his cheeks, and a girl with light brown hair smiling widely as Yoongi gave her bunny ears.

Namjoon was a very smiley person, never needing a reason to be, but seeing Yoongi sporting a massive gummy smile had you realizing how nicely a smile suited him. It was clear that he held this group of people near to his heart considering they all occupied the remaining photos as well.

A couple of steps right beside that was where he had his prized possession, his record player that he had fully customized to get him the desired sound he was looking for. It was a sleek black, accents of silver shining off of it, resting pretty on a dark stained wooden stand. A few of his records were stored beneath it, but what really caught your eye was the eight by eight makeshift gallery wall that showcased his current favorite LP’s, each individually shelved to show the album art in all its glory.

“Should I give this a listen with you here?”

His question has you turning your head towards him, cutting your admiration of the album covers short. He stood a few feet away, his hands holding up the orange cover of the album he had bought today with your suggestion, and a small sense of nerves bubbles up in your stomach for some reason. You had always suggested music, confident in your choices when you were in the safety of the record store, but having to witness his first impression made you a little uneasy. What if he hated the band entirely, or worse, what if he pretended he didn’t hate them just to soothe your ego.

Is this what he felt like watching you take your first bite of food earlier?

“Sure,” you choke out, taking a giant step back from his record player, hearing him chuckle at your odd behavior.

As he lifts the cover up and slides the giant record out of its sleeve you decide to go sit on the couch, sinking into the plush material and welcoming Yuri into your lap when she jumps on as well.

With a few clicks, the low whirring is heard of the turntable beginning to spin. And when he eases the needle onto the record a small crackle sounds before Get Away starts to play. He fiddles with the volume slightly until satisfied, only then does he turn back around and join you on the couch.

His face is settled in thought, bobbing his head gently to the beat as he rests back against the couch, sinking into it with a groan until he’s fully comfortable, legs spread out with one arm resting casually on his lap and the other on the arm rest, fingers tapping along.

You watch on in silence, your fingers raking through Yuri’s fur until her purring calms your nerves and you’re sagging back. Before you know it your eyes shut as you listen along to the music, your belly is full and your limbs are sore from the unpacking and rearranging that had to be done at work so being able to sit here and shut your brain off while mellow music filled the room was what you needed.

Before long the A side is finished playing, Yoongi having to get up to flip it over until the B side plays all the way through, the ending voicemail of Palace/Curse playing until it fizzles out entirely, the room falling into silence once more.

Yuri had gotten comfortable herself, sprawled out across your lap with her head by your hip, but when Yoongi gets up with a stretch her head pops up, eyes narrowing at her owner until she senses no threat and lays back down.

“Verdict?” You repeat his earlier question, seeing him hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees, his lips pursed in thought.

“Honest opinion?”

“Brutally honest.”

He hums with a sly grin as he turns his head to face you. “They’re good. Kinda makes me feel nostalgic too for some reason. But as a whole, it's great music that calms you down.”

With the way you’re laying practically boneless on his couch you can attest to that, they were definitely a band you listened to to unwind. He catches the wide smile spreading across your face as he stands back up to properly store the record, your smile only getting bigger when you see him replace one of the displayed albums on the wall with the new one. 

“It's going on the wall of favorites,” he announces, sliding the previous record back into the storage underneath.

“I’m honored.”

He steps back from the wall with his hands on his hips, admiring how the orange of the album pops out against the others. Yoongi very rarely switched these albums out, but he had a feeling this wall would eventually become full of the random albums you’d recommend to him.

“Quick question,” he starts as he turns back to face you, taking in the sight of you and his cat cuddling together. “It’s been sitting at the back of my mind, and Taehyung has given me like three different answers.”

A small laugh leaves you as you raise your eyebrow at him in question. “Sure, what is it?”

“Where did you move from?”

You stretch your legs out in front of you, your toes just barely reaching the coffee table he has set up a bit away from the couch, Yuri mimicking your actions and stretching out as well. You were definitely gonna grow as attached to her as you were to your roommate’s cat.

“Like where was I last before this, or where am I actually from?”

He walks towards his fridge, still being able to see and hear you due to the open layout of his place. “Both I guess.” The door pops open and he reaches for a bottle of water.“You thirsty?”

“You have some wine, or some beer?”

Yoongi grunts at that, shaking his head slightly, “Sorry, I don’t drink anymore but I’ve got water and juice.”

You’re sitting up straighter now, voicing out that the water was fine. “Where I’m from is classified information, you’ll have to level up on our friendship for me to tell you that.” You accept the water he hands you, smiling at him as he sits back on the couch. He was fine with your secrecy, taking whatever you feel comfortable telling him. “But I was in Madrid before I came here.”

“Oh? Did you leave where you’re from to go live there?”

Your fingers capture Yuri’s paw, squishing her toe beans as she gently swats at your hair. “No, I was in Amsterdam before that, and Berlin before that as well to name a few. I’ve been bouncing around since I was 20, so about 6 years now.”

He has a look of interest on his face as he sips the water, leaning onto the couch sideways to face you. “Do you ever want to go back to those places?”

“Like visiting the place more than once?”

He nods, his eyes focusing on Yuri’s fluffy body, seeing her sitting back up to hop onto the ledge of the couch, rubbing her body against the back of your head before settling on the backrest of it and getting comfy.

“Hm, not sure. I can’t see myself wanting to flip back the pages of my life to reread a story I already know the outcome to.” With a sigh you shrug at him, your fingers now tracing the material of the couch. “Maybe in the future, years from now, I’ll crave a specific memory and want to go back, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

The amount of new cities and countries you’ve been lucky enough to call home for any amount of time held a special place inside of you, the memories and stories you had because of those experiences helped shape you into the person you are. Sure not all of them were movie-like experiences, some close calls happening at a few places that made you question whether you made the right choice living your life the way you did. But then you’d have moments that just felt right, and right now, sitting on this couch with Yoongi, this was one of those moments.

“So you don’t plan on staying here forever?”

“Well what do you mean by forever?”

He smiles, not thinking he would have to explain what forever meant to him. “For the rest of your life. Is there another version of forever Y/N?”

“Shut up,” you laugh. “It’s not likely, but who's to say. I never move somewhere with a time frame of how long I plan on staying.”

“How do you decide? Sorry if I’m prying but I just can’t imagine that moving somewhere new would be easy. Picturing having to leave friends behind would probably wound me.” 

That was true, that was definitely the hardest part of doing this— emotionally at least. The people you met and befriended were a factor in deciding how long you’d stay somewhere. After the initial week of exploring a new place, it gets lonely. You’ve been to places where even the roommates you’d stay with weren’t friendly, and you’d have to take it a step further and search for friendships elsewhere. It was the main reason you had learned to not be timid when it came to making the first move.

“It’s kind of a gut feeling. The longest place I’ve lived in was Paris for two years.” A smile spreads across your face as you recall the two years you spent in that city, how you probably would’ve left after a few weeks if you hadn’t ran into that cute boy right before the club you were in shut down for the night. That experience alone was one of the main reasons you made it a conscious decision to not fall in love, not wanting to experience the inevitable heartbreak that came with it. 

Paris was the first place you moved to, jumping head first into adventure and taking everything that came with it, including romance. Leaving friends behind had been hard, but leaving Park Jimin behind had been a different version of painful.

“Before this I was in Madrid for a month. I found myself getting comfortable too fast and when I get comfortable I get bored. When it's no longer new and exciting I don’t see the point of staying anymore.”

Yoongi absolutely can not see the logic in the way you live, the carefree aura radiating off of you, but he weirdly craves it. He craves the feeling of not being afraid of not knowing what's coming, being able to just let the cards fall wherever they land. His entire life had changed in the last few years and was now built off routine, bullet point to-do lists and deadlines he had to meet. The only adventure he experiences anymore is thanks to his friends, luring him out of his apartment to fulfil any of their spur of the moment ideas, but nothing comes close to this. 

He’s not able to understand how you can be suspended in freefall for the majority of your life, and instead of panicking about your lack of parachute, you’re admiring the view.

“Do you plan on staying here forever?”

That question makes him freeze a little, he had been prying into your life no problem but now that a question was directed at him, he felt himself growing uneasy. “I guess I did.”

“Did...why past tense?”

You see the way he hesitates, his mind is already playing through all the scenarios that can come because of this but he decides to just bite the bullet. “Love makes you think of forever. I pictured forever with my fiance.”

At the mention of a fiance your mind thinks of the girl in the photos with Yoongi, the girl with the bright smile and wide eyes.

Was Yoongi a married man?

He can spot the way you process his vague information, knowing he should elaborate before you think anything else, before your eyes move to his ring finger only to find it bare. “When you’re with someone for almost 8 years its normal to think of forever you know.”

The flashes of his relationship play in his mind, meeting his fiance in his last year of high school. How they had pulled each other out of their shells, becoming rather chaotic in their adventures over the years, turning into adults and supporting each other in every aspect of life.

The memory of Yoongi proposing to her still feels fresh in his mind, taking her to Jeju island since it was a place she had always wanted to visit, not being able to due to caring for her family.

“We were actually planning our wedding, having invitations sent out with everything nearly ready but she uh–“ he stops to breathe slightly, his eyes moving to stare at the picture frames, proving your assumption of the girl being his fiance right. “She got into an accident.”

He hadn’t specified if she died or not, but that faraway look in his eyes spelled it out for you. Forever didn’t have any sympathy for his situation, but he just shrugs it off, forcing himself to not speak further on it. There was more that tied in to the tragic passing of his fiance but he felt he had overshared enough already, not wanting to make you uncomfortable by unloading this information on you. The last thing he needed was to turn this nice day into a pity party with him being the center of attention. 

He’s just waiting for the routine apologetic words that would fall from your mouth—maybe you’d reach over and rub his arm like some people did, tell him how sad it was as if he didn’t already know. Some half assed attempt to make him feel better even though you were clearly blind sided by the topic. 

Yoongi didn’t want that, always hating the way people would stare at him like he was some charity case. This was why he rarely chose to stray from his circle of comfort, from the people that knew the baggage that came with him and accepted him, keeping his group as tight knit as possible in order to not pick at scabbed over wounds. 

When you sigh, he braces for it, mentally accepting that this might be what ends your new formed friendship before you could really creep through the cracks in the wall he built. But instead you reach forward and grasp Yuri once more, scooping her up and bringing her to your chest like a baby. “So Yuri wasn’t the only queen of the house, is that it?”

Yuri purrs in confirmation and Yoongi turns to stare at you again, blinking the wetness away from his eyes before he could even call them tears. You had a smile on your face as you stared at him, not that typical sympathetic smile people always sent his way, it was a genuine one, letting him know he was free to talk more on the subject if he needed to.

And for the first time Yoongi acknowledges that maybe he did need to. He was so used to bottling his emotions in, shutting himself off after her passing, pushing all of his friends and family away and locking himself at home as he mourned, submerging himself in his work to numb himself from feeling anything. Even now, his friends never pried, let him handle his feelings any way he wanted to. But Yoongi can’t act like his chest aches from keeping it all in, the pressure slowly releasing even with the minimal information he had given you. 

“Yeah,” he sighs out in relief, reaching out to pet Yuri. “Hani was the queen before Yuri got promoted.”

As you coo at his cat he feels himself sagging back onto the couch. The small dam of emotions he had inside finally released, and before you know it he’s spilling everything out, telling you tidbit stories of him and Hani, and somehow easing you into sharing similar stories of you and Jimin. 

The sun fully sets through the windows, neither of you noticing as you talk well into the night, and Yoongi found himself laughing and smiling at the mention of Hani for the first time in two years. You urge him on, watching on with interest while he talks about the day they had picked up Yuri from the shelter. 

His eyes are crinkled up in that endearing way you had seen more of today than in the past weeks of knowing him, and it fills you with warmth to know he’s allowing you to know about this part of his life. It felt like sacred information, uncharted territory from the way he had hesitated in the beginning, almost like he wasn’t sure if he could trust you with the precious memories he held tightly. All he needed was a gentle nudge and a genuine smile to slowly let you flip the pages of his brain, knowing you wouldn’t judge the bleeding ink and scratched out words that came with each story. 

As he stares at the way you smile at him, he comes to the realization that your sneaky ass must have already managed to slip past the cracks of the walls he built, infiltrating the tight knit circle he had for himself. He has to hold in a laugh when he recalls the way Taehyung had seriously suggested that you might be a spy sent here from another country. Maybe he was onto something, because he was refusing to accept that his willingness to overshare and stray from his norm was due to anything but your highly trained interrogation skills. 

You clearly had his cat fooled as well. When Yuri leans up and nuzzles her face against yours he sighs, knowing she had claimed you as her favorite solely based on the attention you gave her. You were good. Yoongi guesses he would have to keep you around now, just for the sake of his cat, nothing more. 

[mingoyeob-archive]

1 and 50 with oc😊

under the oak tree drabble game ⚔️🌳 to make up for my delayed release of part 3 of under the oak tree i’ve decided to do a drabble game! send me a number + any of the characters from under the oak tree and i’ll write you a drabble :)

jsfejfkhw these keep ending up longer than intended but I'm doing this for you anon <3 thank you so much for requesting!

I'm still taking requests guys if you want to send some in! check out my tag 'drabble game' to see which ones I've already done :)

1. “I can’t believe I’m doing this” + 50. “You’re lucky I love you” - jjk x reader - word count: 1.6k

Being new to Uwhen meant knowing practically no one. You would think living in a castle full of knights and servants and maids meant you would always have someone to keep you company, but no. Your naturally soft spoken ways and tendency to distance yourself from crowds only pushed you to hole yourself up in your room or hide outside amongst the courtyard and stables. Namjoon must've noticed how lost and lonely you always looked (it was his job to look after the castle and its tenants after all) because after your umpteenth walk around the garden that day, he took it upon himself to assign you a task that would, hopefully, put you in better spirits.

“Here, take this.” A small travel and a pair of petite leather gloves was shoved in your direction, dwarfed by Namjoon's hands as he held them out to you. You reared your head back in surprise, eyes fleeting back and forth between the items and his expectant face, “What are these for?”

“For you!” he exclaimed, eyes brightening and face breaking out into a dimpled smile.

You let out a noise of confusion and quirked an eyebrow, finger pointing to your chest in question, “For...me? What do I need these for?” You had no idea what had got into the man, he barely ever talked to you, always busy dealing with some issue in the kitchen or trying to order supplies. It made you feel kind of guilty, that was all stuff you should’ve been doing as the Lady of the Castle, but your lack of education and inability to manage money correctly made the tasks nearly impossible.

Namjoon just cleared his throat, dropping his outstretched hands when you showed no signs of taking them from him. “Well I figured, since you look so dreadfully bored, perhaps picking up a hobby would make you feel better. I believe gardening is a great way to pass the time.”

So cautiously you had taken them. Not even your father expected you to do manual labor back at home, so this was unheard of, “I can't believe I’m doing this.” you said. Namjoon let out a snort at your words before proceeding to show you the areas around the castle that needed the most help, not that you needed him too as you had already walked them probably a hundred times over.  But still, from that day forward, you woke up early to garden and after three years you had rehabilitated the garden, the areas around the stables, pruned the shrubs and even pulled up a nasty infestation of weeds that surrounded the cobblestone pathways. But with your husband Jungkook finally coming home you had begun to put off your to-do list in a last ditch attempt to try and get to know him better, which was easier said than done.

You often compared Jungkook to the stone wall that surrounded the castle, hard to get through and constantly surrounded in a grey monotonous mood. Your efforts to hold a conversation with him were typically met with one word answers or a measly grunt which you learned, depending on the tone, was either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  Sometimes you couldn’t even tell if he was listening, which you could understand was hard since most of the times you caught him he was either in the middle of overseeing training or stuffing food in his mouth. Still, sometimes you wished he would take a second to hear you out; to want to get to know you as much as you wanted to know him.

So today you had decided to put a pause in your plan to discover your husband and instead went back to tackling your goal of finally fixing up the courtyard. There wasn’t really much to do in terms of the small area, the circular shape didn’t allow much except for a few benches and flower patches here and there. The most challenging part was the large oak tree that stood right in the middle surrounded by crinkled leaves and dying twigs. It was almost sad. Yoongi had told you the tree had been here as long as he can remember, probably a few hundred years.

“It didn’t always look like this, ya know. The old maids in the kitchen say it used to be the pride and joy of Uwhen. Hard to believe that now though.” His words had basically been a challenge, even if that hadn’t been his intention. By the end of this year, you were going to revive the tree no matter what it took.

And that was how Jungkook found you, covered in dirt and cutting at thick grass that surrounded the trunk of the tree. He was used to waking up in bed with your side empty, sheets neatly tucked and spot cold. But usually you would find your way to him by the middle of the day, telling him all about what you had spent doing around the castle, and even if he didn’t show it those times were the favorite part of his evening. Listening to your relaxing voice after a hard day of training with pestering young knights and sitting in war meetings was like being soothed by the softest melody. Oftentimes it left him speechless. How was he expected to compare your lovely stories to his boring responsibilities? He preferred listening to you rather than himself. You were probably only doing this out of pity anyway; why would you want to spend time with him when he so obviously made you uncomfortable judging by how tense and shaky you always were when in his presence.

The sound of his heavy boots crunching must’ve alerted you to his presence, your head whipping around and working fingers halting. Jungkook stood there awkwardly, embarrassed to have been caught staring at you so openly, “Sorry. I’ll leave.” he said, turning on his heel.

But the small giggle you let out in response had him stopping in his tracks, his heart skipping a beat, “Why would you leave? This is your castle and you’re free to roam wherever you please. Just pretend I’m not here, I’m just fixing up the tree a bit.”

“Why would you want to do that?” Way to sound like an asshole, Jungkook thought. The wide expression you had at his question had him internally scrambling to correct himself, “I mean...it’s obviously dead. Why waste your time?” You shook your head and pulled the dirty gloves off your fingers to place them on the ground, “Well it's not a waste of time to me. It’s actually pretty fun! Here,” you extended a hand out to him from your spot on the ground, beckoning him forward. “Would you like to try?”

“Me?” he quirked an eyebrow and pointed a finger to his chest. Talk about deja vu you thought amused and let out a giggle,“Yes you! Come on, I'll show you how.”

Jungkook just stared at you with his signature steely gaze and for a second you assumed he was going to walk away, uninterested in having to spend more time with you than necessary. But you watched in surprise when instead he proceeded over to you, taking your hand as he sat cautiously down next to you on the ground. He wondered if you could hear his heart beating hard in his chest at feeling how dainty and perfect your hand fit into his.

For the rest of the day the two of you spent time sitting in the dirt, you showing him the correct way to cut out the invasive roots to prevent them from growing back or how to properly plant the seeds to make sure the rain didn’t wash them away. And for once, Jungkook actually looked like he was listening, taking the time to ask questions when he didn’t completely understand why you had to do something a particular way. One question actually had you throwing your head back in laughter, ugly snorts and squeaky noises escaping your throat at how amused you were.

You always did hate your laugh, but for some reason Jungkook was mesmerized at how beautiful you looked, too caught up in how the sunlight framed your face just perfectly and how the rays hit the expanse of perfect skin down the column of your neck. He must’ve not been paying attention and got distracted while trying to cut something from the ground, because the next thing you know he was letting out a hiss and you heard the thump as he recoiled his hand effectively dropping the small shears. You jumped towards him in concern, reaching out to take his hand in yours to inspect the wound on his finger.

“Oh! Are you alright, Jungkook?!” You say and pull the digit up to your face, turning it to fully grasp how serious the cut was.

Jungkook hadn’t responded at first, heart warmed by how worried you seemed. Your face was so close to his he became distracted again, only realizing you had asked a question when you peeked up at him waiting for a response. He nodded, “Yes. I’m fine. Just a cut.”

You tsked, “I think we might need to wrap it. We can come back later to clean up but right now let's take you to wash this off, hmm?” You gave him a small smile of confirmation.

Jungkook didn’t say much else as you two got up off the ground, following you back towards the castle. When he finally did utter something from behind you, his words made you gasp, “You’re lucky I love you.”

[titilationexpress]

StarscreamxReader-Sweet Dreams are made of Screams Ch.1

First ever lemon. Please give your input. Reposting from my Ao3.

You haven’t been able to sleep properly for weeks now. And frankly, you’re wondering if you ever will again in your lifetime.

Yet what caused you to have such a problem with something that once came to you so easily? Ok, maybe not easily. No, scratch that. It was never easy. You had to take some sleeping pills every night to even get a few hours in. Still, how did it happen?

Well, the trouble had started back not long ago. In fact, from what you could recall, it hadn’t even been a full month before your ‘problem’ started. See, you were a fairly average individual. You had your quirks, your habits, the little things that make each person an individual. One particular interest you had though was quite specific, and even more, came from a decade long before you were born.

Transformers.

Oh yes, your beginnings were humble when you first started with the franchise, and you looked with wide, awe-filled eyes. Your starting place was where you first discovered it, the one show that will remain in your heart forever. From that, you got into the characters, the story, the lore of what started as a toyline for young boys (though it was clear now that both sexes had a love for it), all of it. And from there, you went on to past and future generations from your starting point, and now, you were a certified Transformers fan! Hell, one of your favorite sites ever is TFWiki.

With this entrance into the fandom, you took to devouring everything that you could: the cartoons and animes, the books, the movies, fanfiction, fanart, fan comics, doujinshi, anything and everything that you could get your hands on, you did. And not long after, you began contributing yourself, drawing, writing, whatever you could to make your stand and have your place in the community. At first, it worked well enough, you weren’t exactly prolific, yet you were doing well enough. You managed to get a few requests for certain things to be drawn/written, believe it or not, but still, you weren’t overly big.

And then came your discovery of the Reader genre.

What is the Reader genre? Why, as far as you were concerned, only one of the greatest genres ever to be conceived! Well, to be more accurate, the form of writing wasn’t anything new, remembering the ‘Choose Your Adventure’ books. It seemed said genre now spread everywhere, you being very aware of the numerous games and dating sims that ranged from well done and engaging to outright ridiculous and stupid (but those were fun in their unique way). And since you didn’t have any knowledge or time to do that, you settled for writing them yourself. Your first piece was a simple Optimus x Reader with the standard plot and standard outcome, which was a declaration of love and a resulting kiss with the Autobot Leader. You were NOT expecting the overflow of response that it had gotten. You were quite shocked, but at the same time, overjoyed. Soon, you decided to try your luck with another one, this one being of Bumblebee, the scenario being mostly the same, albeit with a bit more cutesy fluff, as in your mind, Bumblebee was always the little guy. This one was just as successful, and you beamed, having finally found your calling.

Since then, you were getting requests left and right for more and more choices, all spanning different universes. From the animated cartoons to the comics, different universes, everything that spanned from the most well-known incarnations to the more obscure. It was through these that you managed to get even more into the Transformers multiverse as a whole and even discovered some truly overlooked gems. You opened yourself up to the people and declared that you would write whatever they requested, but you had some taboos that you wouldn’t touch. But any scenario, character, and universe, all of that was fair game.

You had originally begun working on more mundane, typical stories with expected outcomes (but sweet ones nonetheless), yet over time, the requests and your imagination began getting more creative and crazy. Soon, you were delving into several different areas that you had never touched. Elves, goblins, mermaids, vampires, forbidden love, love triangles, all of these were laid at your feet. And while it took a bit to find your rhythm, all of this having come on you so fast, you eventually got it and soon, you had a wide collection of X Reader stories, ranging from G1 to Prime and IDW’s run.

You mainly did Autobots, for you had to admit that writing for them, while they were still complex characters, came somewhat easier for you. True, each of them had their faults and quirks (both from canon and headcanons people had come up with), yet they were still the good guys, and even those with more questionable morality still came out as heroes in the end. But then one day came where you were asked to write about a Decepticon. This threw you for a loop, as, while the thought had intrigued you, you had been writing for good guys for some time, so a total shift in direction was somewhat off-putting and scary. Possibilities of it being too saccharine or sweet, or getting the characters wrong or out of character scared you a bit, yet still, you wanted to test the waters and see if you could do it. And if you could, this would open up so much more for you.

And judging from the input, you had just struck gold yet again.

Soon, not only were you flooded with requests for Autobots, but now their foes were also available, and, as you found out, people had just as much an attraction for the darkness as they did for the light. Again, the same scenarios were implemented, yet now, they had something of a darker edge to them, which allowed you to explore some subjects you couldn’t touch with the Autobots without toning it back somewhat. In a way, the Decepticons provided you with more freedom. Ironic, seeing as Megatron’s motto was “Peace through Tyranny.”

That said, you went through the list of available characters throughout the generations, and so far, those had been garnering quite a following as well, your Autobot and Decepticon stories neck and neck in popularity. Everything seemed to be going well for you.

Then that one question came.

‘Hey, where’s Starscream?’

Then another.

‘Could you write one about Starscream?’’

Then another.

‘Hey, hate to bother you, yet I think that Starscream could use some love here.’

More and more questions and requests for the particular Decepticon filled your messages, and frankly, you were at a loss on what to do. Truth be told, you and Starscream had something of a complicated history. When you had gotten into Transformers, you had heard of the character, yet at first, you never saw why he had gained such a large fanbase. True, he wasn’t a bad character, yet he wasn’t your favorite. But over time, as you wrote more and more for the Decepticons, as well as read X Reader stories from other people, you slowly began to, as one would say, gain an interest in the winged robot. And soon, you found yourself enamored by the smug jerk as well.

But this only made you reluctant to write for him.

True, when you started writing for the Decepticons, you were allowed to experiment with some more intimate and extreme situations, yet with Starscream...it was different. It was hard to explain, yet whenever you got a request to write for him, your brain seemed to seize up. Thoughts came to your head that you had tried to banish, thoughts that came every time you saw the Seeker’s name. You had no idea what was going on or why this was so difficult, yet it seemed the Silver Snake had taken to making your fingers not touch the keyboard.

You had no idea at all. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself.

And since you had gotten the slew of requests, your sleep problems began. The moment you shut your eyes, the scenario began all over again.

…

You needed no introduction to where you were or what you were seeing, it all quite familiar to you now. Around you were towering walls of a silvery mauve color, the only available light from above sparse and leaving several areas coated in darkness. This place was all too familiar, for you had seen it many times in your watching and reading of Transformers.

You were in Decepticon headquarters.

Your dreams had been filled with the base of the enemy faction of the Autobots, and at first, it had shocked you as to why you were here at all. But over time, night after night, you came here, and soon, you grew accustomed to the sight of it. You took on the form of your Transformers persona/OC or remained in your regular, human form, whatever pleased you as if you had some control over this environment. Yet as you grew more familiar (you were never sure if you’d be comfortable), you began to explore the place, finding that, to your surprise, there was no one here. No signs of any sort of life aboard the ship, and while it took a good while, you traveled everywhere you could think of, and still, nothing. No Megatron, no other Decepticons, no one but you had been aboard.

At least, that was what you believed when you first had this dream. Then, you heard it. The voice. His voice.

“Oooh, I’m the Boogie Man,”

Singing, serenading, just loud enough for you to hear, yet low enough for you to know it was far away. It always started this way.

“The terrible, horrible Boogie Man,”

Your ears/audio receptors registered the voice as it echoed throughout the ship. When the dreams had begun, you knew immediately who was singing, and then you were more surprised at how it sounded. Sure, it had its infamous high pitch, yet it wasn’t bad to listen to. Daresay, it was rather enjoyable in its own way.

“I come in the middle of the night and frighten bad little girls like you.”

The first few times you had this dream, it would almost always startle you, yet it led you to look down the other balls and corridors of the ship. The results were always the same though: no one was aboard. No one but you...and him.

“Beware, better have a care,”

The song changed each and every time you entered the dream, tonight being a track you heard on a video game you played not too long ago (Bioshock 2 you believed). Yet the songs always had the same effect on you.

“I’m going to follow you everywhere.”

Despite your trepidation, you wanted...needed to follow it.

“I crawl through the ceiling and the wall and call on bad little girls like you.”

Walking, then running, you traversed the winding path before you, taking several left and right turns, having no sense of direction but that voice. A voice that, despite its infamous sound, held power to it, a siren’s song in a way. Ironic, you thought. Still, you followed, for you had reached your limit. You knew what would happen if you didn’t find him.

“I’ll torture you and hunt you,”

And never leave.

I’ve got you where I want you,”

And never let you escape this dream.

“A victim of my dark and dirty plot.”

And he knew it too. He knew he had power over you. And you hated it.

“And at the slightest whim, I’ll tear you limb from limb,”

Or…

“In other words, I’ll put you on the spot.”

Did you?

“Oooh, I’m the Boogie Man,”

You were close. So dangerously close.

“The terrible, horrible Boogie Man.”

Just a turn around the corner.

“I come in the middle of the night and frighten…”

He paused, you stopping in your tracks at what you saw. There he was. Situated behind violet bars of energy in a cell, the Decepticon stood there with his arms folded and looking upon you with satisfied, hungry red eyes.

“...bad little girls like you.”

It was him.

Starscream.

Your favorite incarnation of Starscream, those ruby orbs boring into your own eyes/optics. You stepped back from the cell, eyes/optics wide at what was before you. Sure, if you were to go by dream logic, some part of you always knew that it was ‘him’ that awaited you at the end of this journey, but still, to actually see him, standing there so casually when it looked like he was locked up, it chilled you. As if he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

“My, my, so you finally found me,” he said, his voice perfectly matching the incarnation that stood before you. “Or rather, I found you. Whichever way it goes, it doesn’t matter,” he smirked. “For I already know the outcome.”

You blinked a few times, still trying to see if who was before you had truly been there. “St…” you began nervously. “Starscream?”

The Decepticon chuckled and stepped out of the shadows, allowing you to fully see him. “In the mesh,” he said. “And I see that introductions won’t need to be made either, will they, Y/N?” your eyes/optics went wide. “That’s right, pet, I know everything. This IS your mind after all.”

“Wh-What?” you stammered. “I don’t understand.”

Starscream’s grin only grew wider. “You will soon. You will understand EVERYTHING.”

Just what was he talking about? From the looks of it, he seemed to be enjoying your tension and trepidation, very amused. Your mind went into fan mode, recalling every fact you had known of Starscream and his various incarnations, which then led to you going on the defensive. “You…” albeit, it took you a try or two. “You’re the one that’s been doing this to me. Giving me these...these weird dreams.” the Decepticon didn’t answer, yet it was clear that he already knew that the secret was out (even if it wasn’t much of one). “You’re also the one that’s not letting me have one decent night’s sleep without being trapped here!”

“Or me serenading you?” he added in. “How do you like it? I don’t do it often, yet if I wish, I can stretch out my vocal components if I want.”

Your cheeks grew hot. Damn, this bastard was already making you too wound up, and you had only gotten a few words in! “Well...I’m here now,” you said, trying to sound confident, and, ironically enough, trying to channel Megatron’s dominating aura. “So, what do you want?”

This didn’t phase him in the slightest. Despite him being the one locked up, you were the one who felt like his prisoner. “I think you already know that dear Y/N,” he said. “But to put it simply, I’m feeling left out.”

You were confused. “Left out?” You asked. “Left out of…” you paused. Indeed, you knew well what he was talking about. “My...my reader inserts.”

Starscream nodded. “Quite an extensive library you’ve built up over time.” He told you. “Though your choices could be much better.” he scoffed. “Of course goody-good Prime would be on the list, along with the rest of the Auto-dolts.” Then he grimaced. “Yet there are those that actually want to FRAG Megatron? Ugh! No taste at all!” He then looked back at you. “You’ve written for everyone, from either faction, of every series,” he then pouted. “But none for me. Truly, Y/N, I’m hurt.”

You felt quite awkward. True, while you were known online for your stories, it was your username and persona they were seeing. They weren’t someone that was right around the corner that could walk in and see you writing these things. While you loved doing it, the thought of your family or friends discovering you wrote in this genre was a thought you dared not entertain, as you swore that you’d die from embarrassment. Thus, you were very careful whenever you did it, your room completely locked tight so you could focus without fear of someone barging in. The only times you left during your writing periods were for bathroom breaks and/or to eat/drink something. It was a big secret...and thinking about it now, it was a secret no more to the most infamous backstabber in all of Transformers. You had been found out.

“Well...so what? Are you going to keep haunting me until I do?” you asked. “You can’t do that!”

Starscream didn’t seem phased by this at all. That damned smirk of his both frustrated and made you excited, a combination that left you very unsure. “Can’t I?” he asked.

You didn’t like his tone. “What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s consider for a moment, Y/N,” he said. “You believe that I’m merely a figment of your imagination, yes? A stubborn thought that is lodged in your subconscious. Am I right?” you shifted a bit, knowing well what he was saying would lead to something else. Something that probably would flip everything on its head. “Well...who’s to say that I am?”

“I...I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t. But what I say might just jog your memory.” he then went on. “In your last X Reader, you spoke of multiple versions of the characters, such as Prime and...yes, even Megatron,” Starscream scoffed. “And how it would’ve been peculiar if they met. Then, one of your readers linked you to a page on the TFWiki.” Starscream then chuckled. “Quite an array of knowledge, I must say. Especially for a primitive species such as yourselves. Anyway, said page spoke of what is labeled as the Transformers Multiverse, which, if I may say, is an excuse for you all to toy with and shape us into what YOU want. But back on track, you did a small amount of research on that, then went on about your business.”

“...and what does this have to do with why you’re here?”

Starscream smirked. “Then, after some time, you went and read the entries of me from various series and incarnations. To get a better feel for what you were thinking of writing. What you wanted to write. Only, you never did.” You were about to speak again, but the seeker spoke again before you could. “There was one detail from my earliest incarnation that spoke of a ‘ghost’, an immortal spark that couldn’t be snuffed out. One that could travel through space and time.” He drew closer to the bars. “And then discovered a way to travel through dimensions. Wherein, I found out all about how so many humans have seen my reality behind a television screen.”

What was he talking about? What did any of what he said mean? It was then that it all clicked for you. Sparks were essentially the ‘soul’ of a Transformer, which Starscream’s was indestructible. You read that he made an appearance in Beast Wars, and had made cameos elsewhere. What was before you right now...mere feet away…” Are you.. “ you stammered. “Are you really…”

The Decepticon nodded. “Yes. Yes, I am, Y/N.”

You were left speechless. No. No, this...this was impossible. It...it couldn’t be him! It couldn’t be the REAL Starscream! He was a cartoon, no, a toy! A damn toy! A toy from the eighties that were made to be marketable to young boys (and the girls that were secretly into it) among several other toys that were made be marketable to young boys (and again, the girls that were secretly into it)! There was NO way he was in your mind right now! He wasn’t real! He wasn’t real! He wasn’t-

“You step out into the chilled air, wrapping your arms around yourself as you do.” the Decepticon suddenly began. “He’s there to pick you up. He’s there to pick you up. You’re both terrified and exhilarated, eager to start the night, but also to make it fly by just enough so nothing embarrassing would happen between the two of you.” your jaw dropped when you heard him say that. How did he- “Know that you recently read over your very first entry? The one that started it all?” he then ‘rolled’ his eyes. “The one that clearly displayed that you had little taste at first?”

Of course, you did! That was from your very first X Reader story! It told of Optimus Prime and you, a human, in a relationship. Odd start, you knew, especially given that Transformer x Human relations was sort of controversial, yet overall, it wasn’t a bad one. Still, the fact he knew that…” No.” you said aloud. “It can’t be.”

He smiled. “I am.”

You stepped back until you hit a wall. “S-Starscream.” you stuttered. “You’re him. You’re the...the real one.” he was quite satisfied with your reaction, you clearly flustered yet cautious at the same time. The sensation drove you mad. But then you remember, this was just a dream! You were just making up all this stuff! You were relieved by this revelation...yet at the same time, you were...curious. Just where would this go if you continued? “Well...well, what are you doing here? What do you want?”

“Exactly as I said before, I feel left out,” Starscream told you. “And considering my popularity in this universe, I’d think me being here should tell you something.”

You knew what he wanted. “You want me to write about you.” it was obvious. “I-I know. I mean, I’ve been wanting to. Really, I have. But...but I...I just…” you sighed. If you knew Starscream (and you had at least a decent enough faith you did), you knew that this could potentially earn you his anger. Yet, to your surprise, he didn’t try to order you around. Instead, he seemed like he already knew you were going to say that.

“You can’t,” he said for you. “Understand, I’m the one in YOUR mind. Thus, you could say, I know everything about you. A perk of being something that, in this universe, started out as a drawing on a piece of paper.” you were confused, this seemed to humor Starscream even more. “Oh, come now. Surely you know that concept art exists, right?”

All of this was so insane for you, yet it was then that you felt the urge to speak up and say something for yourself for once. “Well, if you’re here from the...well, YOUR universe, what are you doing here in the first place?”

“Why, this is one of the few places I win!” Starscream exclaimed. “Of course, when I first came here, I was quite perplexed about how I and many others were known as products from a company called ‘Hasbro’. But overtime, I discovered your version of the internet, and, well, as you flesh bags say, the rest is history.” he then continued, not giving you a chance to speak. “And bring that I am an idea in this universe, I can go freely as I wish, peering into minds,” his red eyes looked upon you. “Become one’s permanent muse or vice versa.”

God, you felt weird. You felt so confused and conflicted. You wanted to sink into the wall to get away, but you also wanted to know more about this. You had to know more. You needed to know more. “So…?”

“So, I’ve come to you, as you’re truly in need of some inspiration,” Starscream said. “As well as some changes in your thinking.”

“Like what? Worshiping the ground you walk on?” you ask, feeling a little bolder.

“Oh, you already do.” he said. “If you didn’t desire me, I wouldn’t be here.” he grinned at your shocked expression. “That’s right, Y/N, I know what truly holds you back from writing about me. Your fears, your anxieties, your loves and lusts.” you had no words. “You fear that you may get me wrong if you will. That I won’t be in character. Or you fear that you won’t be able to satisfy the wants of your readers, as I AM so highly anticipated. Or…” he leaned closer to the bars, the only barrier separating you two. “You fear exploring those more intimate pleasures with me. You’re intimidated and unsure. After all, writing for Autobots is easy, yet us Decepticons are more difficult. But it HAS awakened things in you that you wish to explore on either side. Things that you are dying to let out.”

You had no words, he was completely right. Damn him! The smug bastard knew he had you in the palm of his hand...and yet also probably knew that’s what made you so hot and bothered right now! “So...what? Are you here to force me to write those things with you in them?”

“Dear Y/N, I can’t technically make you do anything,” Starscream told you. “Oh yes, I can stay and torment you night after night until either I pass onto another universe or I grow bored of you, but my reason being here is for both our benefits.”

“How?”

“It’s quite simple,” he said. “We shall go through those scenarios in your head.” his ruby red optics bore into yours/your eyes. “Together.” he then reached out from in between the bars and traced a digit around your jawline. “Believe it or not, I want to help you, Y/N.” his voice was smooth and sultry, something you never expected from a voice like his. “But only you can allow me to do so.” he then stepped back from the bars. “This prison of mine is something you’ve constructed from your fears and insecurities. Allow yourself to embrace what you fear…” he then extended his hand again, yet stepped back as well, sinking into the darkness. “Only then, will you truly be free.”

You were at a standstill. You knew what he wanted, and, to your horror, you were wanting to give it to him. Deny it all you want, this was something that had been in your mind ever since you got the first request for the Seeker. You approached the bars, trying to get some sign that he was still there. Surely he hadn’t left you, had he? No, he hadn’t. He was still there, you could feel him. Watching, waiting, and perhaps, knowing what you would do before you did.

Yet would you do it? Would you bite into that forbidden fruit?

Some while after pondering this question, you looked at the cell, the energy bars vanishing. Why fight it when you could already taste the sweet tartness of said fruit in the back of your throat?

[lapinmiel]

Mirror, Mirror

Felix and OC (Female), 2,4K. (Part 2)

Phoebe’s life was never one of an adventure, even as a vampire — after being discovered by the Volturi for her talent, she finds herself running away from the world’s most powerful organization, and soon she finds herself in a complete lie and truth situation, with the anchor of her lover leading her to his side.

Part 1, Part 2

Saladin's jaw was clenched like a vise. Horror was evident in his eyes as if they were water droplets in a river as clear as glass, and the water droplets colliding with each other soon found Phoebe in all the confusion and fear. If her heart was alive, it would already have kept pace with the footsteps of approaching death, pounding madly — for she knew, the death was close now, like a shadow lurking around her neck.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Phoebe.

Both of their minds seemed to have stopped. Ideas did not flow with inherent ease. His thoughts, like an elephant trying to get through a door, and the instincts that were supposed to get them out of this trap, were silenced now.

“Should we take another plane and go?”

Phoebe frowned. “We are not close enough.” He looked back to where they had come from. She was right, they had proceeded on a straight street, quite far from the airport. It wouldn't have taken them a minute to come back, of course, but Phoebe wanted to fully understand the situation before she gave herself up to fear.

“I wonder where we are,” she said quietly. "Maybe we're not close to Volterra. Sicily?"

“This is not the time to think about it.” said Saladin, with clear determination in his voice. “Wherever we are, it takes minutes to get caught.”

Phoebe tried not to get caught up in the blinding energy of her afraid friend, but if a centuries-old vampire was so afraid of the Volturi, the intensity of emotion she had to feel must have been more than she could handle.

“Let’s go then.” she said.

Within seconds, they disappeared into the shadows and returned to the airport, waiting for the planes to take off. Unlike the first place they went, it was more secluded and the planes didn't take off as often. They waited for about ten minutes. Then, as an airplane started to move, they run, got into the wheels section as before, and waited for the take off. But nothing went the way they wanted, and it wouldn't for a long time.

Contrary to expectations, the plane made its way to the hangar, not the runway. Since Phoebe and Saladin could not see where the plane was going from where they were, they thought that the vehicle was proceeding normally, and during the minutes they spent on the ground, they thought that they were on the runway. Even the growing voices of humans didn't make them think something was wrong, as it was only the second time they had boarded a plane. They didn’t know what was normal and what was not. But within fifteen minutes of being there, they realized they weren’t going anywhere. This understanding brought a storm and a flood of fear that would be hard to stop.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Saladin.

Phoebe's brows were furrowed and her eyes were squinted like a fox's. She was trying to think. In addition to protecting himself, she also felt in her heart not to let down a vampire who had traveled the world for centuries but now needed her protection, and that responsibility felt like it would crush her if she didn't shed it quickly.

“Let's go on another plane,” she said. "If it doesn't take off, to another one."

Saladin's eyes were so innocent that Phoebe felt the emotion to protect him mix with compassion.

Then, all of a sudden, he was torn from where he was and crashed into the ground.

There was a loud thump, and a smashing sound — then Phoebe was pulled by someone by the shoulders with a speed that her eyes couldn't catch, and she found herself outside the plane, in the middle of the hangar.

She could see Saladin struggling with something unseen. He got punched with a left hook first, then a blow to the jaw; Then whatever was beating him somehow dropped him on his back, and then grabbed him by the neck and swung him in mid-air, hitting the ground. They couldn't see anything. Neither Saladin nor Phoebe knew who they were up against.

Phoebe was aware that someone big was holding her, for her neck had been pinched by one's arm, and both of her arms were held steady by another, as if with a chain. She couldn't see who it was, maybe she didn't want to see it, because the fear running through her told her to just close her eyes. It was as if all her senses were blinded.

She heard Saladin getting punched several more times. Then the voices stopped, and the steps made it clear that two people were approaching Phoebe.

"Use your shield," said a strange, weary voice, "Surround us all."

His body full of fissures trying to heal. Saladin did what he thought was the only way to avoid being killed, and focused, using his shield to envelop all four.

Then, at the other end of the hangar, two rushing footsteps were heard. The two owners of the steps approached the quartet and stopped.

"It was a tragic mistake to think you could escape from us."

A familiar voice. Phoebe opened her eyes, a wave of shock and fear hit her.

It was right in front of her. Jane. Next to her stood a woman with light brown hair, whom she had never seen before. She was considerably taller than Jane, and she had slightly smiling lips, in contrast to Jane's bloodless killer expression. These two women, clad in jet-black robes, gave Phoebe fears she had never felt before, and she felt her nonexistent blood burning in her veins.

Jane sighed lightly.

“Can you get past the shield?”

The woman beside her squinted slightly after Jane's question. She was trying to do something. But it didn’t work, because,"No." was her only reply.

“Then it should be something else, not a shield. A neutralizer, perhaps.”

Phoebe felt the sound waves emanating from her chest throughout her body as the giant holding her spoke. The voice was deep, rough, and judging by his accent, he was at least five hundred years old, and worst of all, he was close enough to kill Phoebe in one hit.

“Have we encountered such power before?” he asked.

“No.” the woman next to Jane said. Jane curled her lips slightly at this answer and smiled. “Aro once talked about a vampire that had a similar talent, he could stop anyone’s talent from working. But he died before Aro could invite him.” Her smile disappeared.

“Aro will like it. We're leaving." she said, giving Phoebe a cold look. Jane and the woman next to her disappeared in an instant. Then, Saladin and the little man holding him, who Phoebe could see now, left, leaving Phoebe and the person who had strangled her alone.

She was looking for something to hold onto and use. Maybe this person had a power, augmented strength, or something — she searched, tried to feel it in her mind, but found nothing. “I don't have any power for you to take me down,” the man said, when he finally realized that the girl's inactivity was due to her focusing on something else. “You can only defeat me with your body.”

Phoebe grit her teeth. Then she found herself being carried in his chest as he ran.

Soon after, she found herself in a hilly city. The man slowed when he got to the big doors, and when the doors opened he entered with the same pace. His grip on Phoebe must have looked funny to those who opened the door for him, as Phoebe heard a slight chuckle, but the giant man instantly turned around and gave the giggled man a stern look. So, Phoebe thought she did look weird, because even though she had been held by him for so long, she still couldn't see his face. It was possible that he was one of those who had come to catch her the day before, but she did not know how many giant vampires the Volturi had, and she certainly did not want to put him at a psychological advantage just because she had seen and feared him before. In the blink of an eye, she found himself walking through another set of doors and into a large, domed hall.

In front of her, on a platform, were three men sitting on thrones. She knew them from Saladin's stories: Caius, the blond and ruthless o e, the sickly-looking Marcus, and Aro in the middle, whose eyes were shining bright even from there.

Aro. The nakedness of the name left a strange taste in her mind. Sour, and also bitter.

The giant holding her slowly loosened his arms and dropped Phoebe to the ground, grabbing her softly by one shoulder and pushing her forward.

Aro slowly descended from the platform he was on, and joined his hands in front of him.

"Welcome." he said, raising his hands slightly to the sides. He had an innocent smile on his face, as if he wasn't the biggest mafia in the world.

She couldn't help her expression, Phoebe frowned while her lips tightened as if she were staring at something hideous. Saladin, on the other hand, was trying to collect himself.

“I heard that your talent is a rare one that no one has seen before.” said Aro, in his same calm voice. He quickly turned his eyes to someone else and looked back at Phoebe.

Then, Phoebe felt the same thing again: something was trying to seep into her skin. This time it wasn't harsh, it wasn't like fire either, it was more like a sneaking mist pouring through the windows. Cool and almost numb.

Phoebe invited him in. She then gathered the feeling up, turned it into a light, and reflected it like a mirror.

Startled, she saw the mind reader's eyes widen as he pulled back, and he audibly gasped. Then she saw the memories flooding into her mind. The brightest was the way she looked at herself through his eyes, then she saw simultaneously his devotion to Aro, and the man behind her. That was him, she thought, the man from that day.

He quickly turned to Aro, the mind reader, whose name she had learned was Gerard. When Phoebe looked at him the same way, she saw admiration in his blazing eyes. Fascination.

Aro folded his hands in front of him again. The smile on his face turned into a completely happy expression.

"Matchless." he said as he approached the girl. “Nobody like you has ever existed.”

He stopped one step ahead of her. He lifted his hand and brought it close to her face, but did not touch it. His hands were close enough to feel her warmth, but he didn't come any closer, realizing the damage a single touch could do to him. He wasn't going to touch her, ever.

He couldn't hide her admiration for her, but then pulled back, remembering his role. He made his way to the middle of the hall, and turned back to Phoebe. All the while, Felix, who was the name of the man behind her as she learned from the mind reader, was holding her softly on her shoulder. The heaviness was uncomfortable, but she knew it: releasing it would give her the upper hand.

“Join us,” said Aro. “Find yourself a place at the top of the world.”

Phoebe didn't answer.

Aro must have taken it upon himself to persuade her, so he continued speaking.

“Rise with us to the top of our clan. You are too important to be left alone, you were born to serve a higher purpose.”

“What I was born for is none of your business.” said Phoebe suddenly. He was surprised, too, but the words were out of his mouth once. She believed that she was made to live with Saladin after all, to spend his life with him while they looked for Zareen. Saladin had told her before that being erased from the minds of all vampires could be the only way to true freedom, and Phoebe was convinced that living as a ghost would serve her better.

Aro's smile faded slightly, but he wasn't going to give up.

"I'm offering you a week's trial," he said calmly. He was showing Phoebe the privilege he didn't show to others, he had to. He could not allow such a precious diamond to be lost in the hands of uncivilized savages. "Join us. If you want to go after a week, you will be free.”

Phoebe was thinking. Coming here and standing under the dome of this hall, seeing that the Volturi were not monsters with colorless skin, overgrown teeth, and elongated nails, had turned the cogs in her mind.

“We'll help you hone your skill,” Aro continued after a short pause. “We can help you understand exactly what you do, how you do it, and teach you to use it. Over the years, you will become one of our strongest.”

Phoebe saw a faint glint in the expressionless eyes of Marcus, who sat behind Aro. Then she had that feeling again. Her skin was tingling. It must be Marcus, she thought to herself. Saladin hadn't told her what Marcus' talent was, but Phoebe couldn't pass up the opportunity to get to know a new talent.

She let the feeling come into his and then used it. Suddenly she saw how everyone in the room felt about each other as clearly as day.

Caius had hidden his anger towards Aro in a black box and covered it with devotion. Jane could suffocate anyone in the room but her brother and without feeling any remorse, the light brown-haired woman next to Jane loved everyone, and everyone loved her, in a shaky way.

Phoebe saw everyone in the room. She couldn't understand what had happened when she saw a few gray bruises in the love bond between him and Saladin, but then she saw weak flower buds just beginning to sprout between herself and the man standing behind her.

She suddenly threw the skill she had used out of her mind. Marcus was beginning to suspect that she was using his talent, it was evident in his eyes. Aro was still in front of him with his smiling but frightening face.

Phoebe didn't know what to decide, what to say. The wheels in her mind began to turn again. They can't hurt me, she thought. Their powers are useless on me. I can fight. If they try to imprison me, I can escape.

It bothered Phoebe that the Volturi no longer looked like terrifying creatures, and that Saladin's feelings for her were not as innocent as she had expected. She felt a vague disappointment in her dead heart, and that disappointment was changing the course of her decisions.

I can escape.

It was the last straw. She mustered up her courage. She could at least stay here for a week. She could see what the Volturi were doing. Not only that, but she could find out if they were truly monstrous or simply maintaining order and secrecy. Most importantly, he could learn what he could do with her talent. And if things didn’t go her way, she would escape, and find Zareen herself.

She took a deep breath, even though the oxygen didn't do anything to her.

“Okay,” she said with a certain shakiness in her voice, “I'm staying.”

[kim-miri]

HALF(have a little fun) pt. vii

→ one | two | three | four | five | six

→ Sayomi Zoldyck is the eldest child and twin sister to Illumi, of the renowned Zoldyck family of assassins. At the age of ten she’s taken away to Meteor City by her mother, Kikyo Zoldyck, unbeknownst to the rest of the family, as well as newborn Killua, and left to fend for herself. This is the story of the long-lost Zoldyck and those she becomes acquainted with, all while she just wants to have a little fun.

» part seven / ?

» pairing: eventually - chrollo x oc x feat. hisoka

» warnings: swearing, blood/violence

» a/n: helloo~ this is my first write ever, and it’ll probably be a pretty long series. I’m also balancing school and a part-time job so forgive me for slow updates! If you’re reading this, thank you so much for showing interest and please leave comments below with your inputs!

» word count: 4,732

☾vii. part vii: start of something new

Waking up in a warm, quiet room 199 floors from the ground at Heaven’s Arena, Sayomi sat up in her bed, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

She had slept more soundly than she had in a while, between Meteor City and the watching eyes of the Mafia. 

But maybe it was the faint, earthy scent that Kite had left behind, or perhaps it was the fact that Sayomi was now free to live on her own in one of the most populated cities in the world. She decided it was the latter this time around.

A good night’s sleep had proved to resolve the conflicting thoughts in her head, as Sayomi settled that Kite was a good friend, and would never be anything more.

In this way, she was able to accept the reality that there had never been anything more than friendly interactions between them, and it would stay that way.

In all honesty, she needed a teacher if she was going to make a life out of fighting at Heaven’s Arena. And judging by the immense aura Kite had surrounding him even while he was resting, she knew he outclassed her in nen abilities.

As of now her nen acted as her last line of defense, still being rather inconsistent and hard to control. Though she had improved a great deal with her independent training in Meteor City, she still had a lot to learn about the potentials of her abilities. 

Stretching out her limbs and rising from bed, Sayomi got ready for the day ahead of her.

☾vii.

Kite and his student were waiting for Sayomi on the 60th floor, as Stick Dinner had his 60s match later today.

The three would train in the gym on this floor as they waited for Stick’s match to come around. It was rather empty because the 60th floor was merely a transitioning floor where contestants would come and go.

Kite started his two students off with a basic nen introduction, explaining the four major principles: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. 

Sayomi had already learned all about nen and its history back when she was around 4 years old alongside Illumi. Kite was aware of this as well but needed to explain the basics to Stick.

A long lecture and one Water Divination Test later, and Stick was now educated of his nen abilities and excited to learn more.

They had now moved onto attempting to recognize Stick’s hatsu, which would become his own personal nen ability. 

Sayomi’s own hatsu was already established, being her hypnotic spell and corpse control. And because she had only truly used it while fighting for her life in Meteor City, she still had significant difficulties with using her power.

Kite was also aware of Sayomi’s hatsu from the days he’d used to visit Kukuroo Mountain. He remembered Sayomi demonstrating her power on weak intruders and aggressive animals, their deceased corpses moving like puppets at her command.

Though he’d never say it out loud, it was quite terrifying.

For this exact reason, Kite had apologetically said Sayomi should wait until she was free to use nen in the 200s battles to train her hatsu. It was just too dangerous to practice for the purpose of training.

Therefore, instead of practicing her hatsu like Stick, Sayomi was put to work training her ren. She would have to maintain it for an hour today, and Kite mentioned she would eventually progress to longer durations of time.

Sayomi’s ren was intense, she had to stay 10 feet away from anyone else to make sure she didn’t affect them. Her body was surrounded in a malicious, deep purple shroud of energy, contrasting with Kite’s pure white aura.

☾vii.

Half an hour had passed with Kite’s training, said man working with Stick to strengthen his hatsu while Sayomi stood concentrated on maintaining her ren.

As of now, she was still fine, just rather bored with the method of training.

She opted to watch the on-going fights on the monitor above her instead of staring at the wall in front of her. However, this proved to be even worse, as the contestants she watched were all terribly amateur. 

Sighing when she saw a contestant trip over his own feet on the monitor, she had caught Kite’s attention. “Not tired yet?”

Sayomi looked to Kite with a guilt-ridden expression. “Ah, not yet, but that’s not why I… nevermind. Sorry!”

Kite let out a rather short laugh at her frantic apology, walking just outside her ren aura to stand in front of her.

“No need to apologize. This exercise is meant to be a drag, it trains not only strengthening your nen, but also patience and putting mind over body. Looks like…  you have about 20 minutes left, keep it up!”

Sayomi smiled weakly at Kite’s attempt at encouragement. He was a blunt person by nature so to anyone else his words probably came across as sarcastic, but Sayomi recognized his sincerity. 

She thanked him with a short smile.

Around the 50 minute mark, Sayomi was finally breaking out a sweat, her arms and legs had actually been burning for a while now, but she’d been holding in any signs of weakness.

She was getting a little dizzy now, putting more force into her legs in order to stay upright and not swaying along with the room in front of her.

“Annnd time. Sayomi your hour’s up.”

Sayomi’s ren faded as she fell back to lean against the wall for support. 

Damn, I must be out of shape or something. 

Kite stepped over to where Sayomi stood trying to catch her breath. “Not as easy as you thought?”

She looked up with a sneer. “I’m just getting started, gimme a week and I’ll pass you up.”

Kite’s eyes were now filled with amusement. Having sent Stick off to standby for his match, he took a seat in front of Sayomi, motioning for her to do the same.

Sayomi sat cross-legged with her head resting against the wall, her eyes closed as she attempted to regenerate her aura.

“What’s your record anyway?”

Kite looked across at the exhausted girl. “About a day.”

“A DAY?!” Sayomi’s eyes flew open at Kite’s response, clearly having underestimated her instructor.

He only nodded in return, wishing to change the subject off of himself. “If I may ask... what exactly is the eldest daughter of the Zoldyck family doing at a place like Heaven’s Arena?”

There was the question. She was surprised he hadn’t asked her earlier.

To lie or not to lie… 

“My parents sent me here as a test of strength. I’m not allowed back until I reach the very top.” Sayomi lied through her teeth, not wanting to tell Kite about her banishment.

That should convince him.

“The very top? Ah, so they wish for you to become a floor master. I see... well with the right training, you can surely get to that point perhaps within a few years?” Kite looked at Sayomi expectantly.

A few years? What the hell even is a ‘floor master’? 

With a measly lie, Sayomi had screwed herself over. She had originally intended in making a few million jenny by cruising through the 100s and getting her own room. But with this whole floor master thing, she could already sense that her future at Heaven’s Arena would become much more complex.

The title does sound pretty cool though… maybe I’ll just go along with the flow for now.

“Right! Haha… they want me to become a floor master. So you think you’ll be able to help me get there?”

Kite looked deep in thought. Did I say something wrong? 

Meeting Sayomi’s eyes once again, he spoke. “On second thought Sayomi… I’ve made a promise to train Stick Dinner, and with the danger of your nen abilities, I don’t think I can do you any good as an instructor.”

She was about to take back her words and say becoming a floor master was unnecessary, but he cut her off.

“However, I just realized something that I should’ve thought of before. I’m not sure how you’d get along, but there is someone with more experience than me at Heaven’s Arena.”

Sayomi looked up, interested in his proposal.

Noticing her apparent interest, Kite continued, “I happen to owe him a favor as well, because I’ve been staying in his room on the 200th floor with Stick. He’s… a rather interesting person, and he finds enjoyment in fighting powerful individuals. But nevermind his personality, I think you would benefit greatly from his experience both with nen and Heaven’s Arena, more than I could ever do for you.”

Kite examined Sayomi’s expression, it seemed to be a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity.

“I’m not proposing you make a decision right away, as he’ll actually be absent for some time… but I recommend you consider it as a possibility.”

In her mind, Sayomi was unsure of what to think about this mysterious acquaintance of Kite, but in her heart and soul, there was an undeniable hunger for more power and more recognition. If she were to become a floor master, her name would surely spread throughout Yorknew City and perhaps even reach her parents. 

“When will he return?”

Kite smiled at her sign of interest in his offer. He knew she would be able to handle his colleague’s eccentric personality, and from there she would only have room to grow even stronger.

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. He’s a very spontaneous man, and the last time I saw him he mentioned traveling around the world to find his next rival.”

Sayomi thought about her current options. 

“I understand… training my nen would most likely require the death of victims, which you would never allow, but without improving my nen I would seemingly get destroyed in the 200s matches. Right?”

Kite took a moment to consider her words. “Yes, more or less.”

Sayomi nodded in return. “So then supposedly… this acquaintance of yours would be willing to train my nen even if it would mean others will die?”

“Precisely.” Kite grimaced at her blunt deduction of his words.

Sayomi threw her arms back, resting her hands behind her head. “Well alright then! Until this friend of yours gets back I guess I’ll just see how far I can get without using my nen.”

“Acquaintance. But yes, I suppose fighting without your nen until he gets back would be a good use of time.” 

☾vii.

Sayomi and Kite headed to the stands of the arena after wrapping up their conversation. Kite’s student was up for the next match, leaving the two childhood friends to watch amongst the crowd.

Stick’s match went smoothly, he had outsmarted his opponent by anticipating each of his attacks, and in the end all he had left was to tire him out enough to land the finishing blow.

He was now qualified to continue on to the 70s, while Sayomi’s fight would be the next day.

☾vii.

Kite stood leaning against the back wall of the 60th floor arena, his eyes focused on the light-footed girl currently playing around with her opponent in the ring. 

He felt almost a sense of pride, watching the little Zoldyck girl who had used to be too shy as to even raise her voice, now dancing around in the illuminated arena full of confidence.

She was taking her time with the unworthy opponent who stood across from her. Under normal circumstances, Kite would have been infuriated with Sayomi’s disrespectful actions, but this time it was much different.

Her opponent had spent the final minutes before their match catcalling and spilling other obscene words towards Sayomi. Kite had moved to step in between the two contestants, ready to punch the man’s teeth in, but Sayomi had given him a look so full of malice he knew to hold back.

She was waiting to absolutely ruin her opponent in the ring.

So when he saw Sayomi taking her sweet time and making a fool out of the man who’d previously disrespected her, Kite only smirked in satisfaction from a distance.

Sayomi you’ve been through a lot, haven’t you… all this anger and hatred coursing through your aura. 

In the arena, Sayomi brought a swift heel down on her opponent's hand. An attack that was worth no points but only for the purpose of causing pain.

Pain… who hurt you Sayomi? What ever happened to the girl who’d cried when she accidentally swatted a butterfly?

Kite experienced a flurry of conflicting emotions as he watched Sayomi torture and eventually knock down her opponent. 

He was worried about her emotional health, knowing for sure now that she had experienced something so tragic and crucial it’d turned her pure aura a 180 degree turn into bloodlust and malice.

However, he was glad to know one thing was for sure. 

She would definitely survive and benefit from his unstable colleague’s training, for now he realized they were so similar it was almost as if they were the same person. 

Or perhaps two halves of a whole.

☾vii.

1 year later

It was the weekend and Sayomi was currently on an off day in between fights.

In the year that had passed with her progressing through Heaven’s Arena, Sayomi was now a single fight away from the 200s.

Admiring the view from Kite’s old room on the 199th floor, she smiled to herself. 200s at last.

The truth was that Sayomi had a room of her own now, being well into the 100s. However she’d already been so accustomed to using Kite’s room that she’d convinced him into switching rooms with her.

Now that all three of them had rooms of their own, the borrowed room on the 200th floor was empty once again, waiting for the return of its owner.

Sayomi had just finished combat training with Kite and Stick, still unable to use her nen because of the possible consequences. 

As she gazed longer out the window in front of her, she started to see her reflection cast in the clear glass, and soon it was all she saw.

Who am I?

Staring back at her, the reflection she saw in the window was much different than she’d expected. Her violet eyes were dull, emotionless, and the passion that had once lit up her soul was now gone, replaced with a worn out ghost of who she used to be.

This was all it took to make Sayomi forget about all she had done to make it to where she was now. This, being her reminiscent thoughts about the family that had ditched her.

She may have declared to herself millions of times that she was indeed her own person now, but the lingering desire to be loved once again forced her start over every single time.

She needed someone to rely on, though she’d never admit it. It was her constant overthinking that she would only become a burden to those who cared about her that stopped her from seeking support in others. Her family had left her insecure and broken, desperate for someone else’s attention.

Let’s see… If Illumi and I are turning 19 this year, that means… Killua will be 9. 

9 years old, huh… 

I wonder if he still looks like me? God, if I were with him I think I’d spend every last jenny just to see that smile one more time.

...I hope you’re hanging in there Killua. 

Just wait a little bit longer, and I promise I’ll come save you.

Forgive me I just need more time to be able to face everyone again.

☾vii.

Watching the sunset over Yorknew City from his new room on the 199th floor, Kite was currently typing back a response to a rather unclear message he’d received from his traveling colleague.

No matter how many times he’d read it, he just couldn’t decipher the exact reason or message behind the text he had received. 

Staring at it with a skeptical expression, he read it once more:

Isn’t it quite amusing how fate plays out sometimes? 

I’ve arrived in the city and can’t wait to meet this student of yours, as it seems I’ve already partially met her without even realizing it. 

I can’t wait to start training with her. ♥️

Kite let out an exasperated sigh.

What does he mean by ‘I’ve already partially met her’? I swear he’s always so ambiguous with his words. 

Damn, what an exhausting guy.

☾vii.

Today was the day of Sayomi’s fight that would determine whether she’d advance into the 200s. That meant it was also the last day Sayomi would fight without her nen and weapons.

However, her day was about to get much more eventful than a promotion into the 200s. 

Kite’s acquaintance had arrived in the city the other day, and after a short visit to a friend, he would make it back to Heaven’s Arena later today to meet his new student.

Kite had no knowledge about this part, as all he was told was that he had arrived in the city.

Back in the 199th floor arena, Sayomi had arrived early, taking her time to stretch and enjoy the time left before her final fistfight.

Kite stood alongside Sayomi in the mostly empty waiting room, it would be his last day with his childhood friend, at least without an excuse to spend time with her.

Once she was in the 200s, Kite wouldn’t be able to do much for her, as he had his own student to manage.

He stared sympathetically at the little Zoldyck girl from his childhood. She had grown into a relentless fighter, leaving no time to enjoy living her life during her prime years.

All he could now was hope that his assumptions about his colleague were right, in that he would not only provide Sayomi with the right training, but also fun and other things kids of her age should be doing.

Sayomi finished her preparations well before the scheduled time of the fight, leaving the two with time to talk and reminisce about the old days.  

They’d also talked briefly about Sayomi’s new instructor. Kite explained how he’d finally arrived in the city the other day, coming back from seeking out the most powerful assassins and hunters to challenge in fights to the death.

Sayomi was delighted at this, getting a feeling that this mysterious instructor would put up a solid fight against her while they trained. “You said he was on the 200th floor, right? Has he not been able to defeat a floormaster yet?”

Kite raised his eyebrows at her question. “Ah… no, not yet. But I believe that’s because he’s constantly sidetracked with trying to find his ‘perfect rival’.” 

Sayomi bit the inside of her cheek, confused. “Hmm but if he’s back now… does that mean he found someone worthy on his trip?”

Kite nodded at this. “Yes, I believe so. It’s either he’s satisfied with the amount of people he’s massacred, or he’s found a formidable opponent he knows he can come back and fight at a later time.”

“I see… he sounds… rather interesting.” Sayomi was actually a bit excited, it’d been a while since she was to face someone of such a high reputation.

Beside her, Kite had taken notice of the slight change in Sayomi’s aura. It seems I predicted correctly, she’ll get along just fine.

☾vii.

“Our next fight decides who moves on to the 200th floor. We have Ichihiro versus Sayomi! At this time, choose your side and place your bets!”

Under the spotlights, Sayomi stood with her hands resting behind her head. Her eyes remained closed, she seemed to be taking the last minutes to relax.

“The bets are in! Looks like today’s match is in favor of Sayomi Zoldyck!”

Ichihiro let out a scoff, mocking his opponent who, in his eyes, seemed overconfident to the point where she didn’t even need to look at him. “Are you nice and relaxed over there, girl? I’ll tell you now you’re gonna regret facing me.”

Sayomi disregarded her opponent's words. In reality, she was worried, and anyone who could see her aura could notice this as well. 

Kite turned his head at Sayomi’s restlessness. What is she so tense for?

Sayomi tightened her grip around her other hand. Inside her head, she tried to calm the exhilaration that stemmed as a result of her final match without weapons. She couldn’t wait to finally stand on the 200th floor.

In other words, Sayomi wasn’t afraid, or intimidated by her opponent. She was worried for him.

God damn… if I don’t calm down I might accidentally kill the guy. 

The adrenaline rushing through her was threatening to spike over, which would cause her to lose control and flip her assassin switch on.

Relax, Sayomi.

“Fighters ready? Following the 100s rules there will be no time limit and fighters will fight until a TKO by 10 points or a KO.”

Sayomi opened her eyes, moving to stand upright as she stared at her opponent.

“The winner will move onto the 200th floor. Fight!”

Ichihiro held back from making the first move. He had reviewed Sayomi’s last fight and seen her strategy of using her opponent’s force against them. 

Sayomi raised an eyebrow at his lack of movement.

Not gonna move, huh? So you think you’re smart.

She took off with steps faster than the average eye could see.

I guess I’ll just have to come to you then.

With a flexible left leg, Sayomi lifted her heel above her opponent's head, slamming it straight into the side of the unexpecting man’s face with a roundhouse kick.

Ichihiro stumbled to the side gasping, spitting out blood from his now split gums.

He raised his head ready to curse out the teen, but all he saw was white.

Sayomi had met the man’s face with a solid left foot, sending him backwards onto the ground with a cry of pain.

Ichihiro was clutching his bloody face now, unable to recover in time for yet another left swing kick, this time to the side.

From far back against the wall, Kite watched with a surprised expression on his face.

She’s holding back quite a bit. Only using her left leg…

A few more solid kicks to the ribs and Sayomi halted her movements as if on command. Turning to the baffled referee, she asked, “TKO by 10 points right?”

“Ah, r-right.” 

Shaking out of his apparent shock at the one-sidedness of the match, the referee raised a flag. “Winner by TKO. Sayomi Zoldyck!”

The crowd cheered as they could now collect their money from the bets they’d made.

With a small wave to Kite at the back of the stands, Sayomi exited the arena with light steps.

She was proud of herself for restraining her bloodlust.

☾vii.

That night Sayomi treated Stick and Kite to dinner on Heaven’s Arena’s 200th floor diner. 

It was a congratulatory dinner, as Sayomi would now be moving on to training her nen, but it was also one of sentimental feelings. The group of three had become close friends within the year they’d spent together training at Heaven’s Arena.

So although no one addressed the fact that the group of three was to become a group of two after today, everyone shared a bit of the sorrow in their hearts as the evening soon came to an end.

The three parted ways around 9, Kite wishing the best to Sayomi on the 200th floor. It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again, they were only a floor apart after all.

However, without the excuse of training or a coincidental passing by, the childhood friends knew that they most likely wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while. 

☾vii.

Sayomi let out a heavy sigh as she walked alone down the hallway of doors to her room.

Releasing her hair from its taught ponytail, Sayomi ran a lazy hand down her face. 

Can a day get any longer? All I wanna do now is take a nice, warm shower… and then sleep in till noon.

Arriving in front of her door at last, Sayomi reached into her pockets for her room key. Sliding the key into the lock, she frowned when she found the door to be unlocked.

Strange… I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten to lock the door before. Maybe because I was too excited?

Sayomi shrugged, speculating she’d probably forgotten to lock the door out of the rush to get ready in the morning.

Swinging the door open without another thought, Sayomi moved to take a step further into her room when a cold chill ran down her spine.

What… is… this devilish aura?

She was on full alert now, awakening her own aura to try and ward off her intruder.

In the darkness of her room, she could make out a faint silhouette surrounded by the deep purple, murderous aura she’d felt earlier.

“Who… are you? What are you doing in my room?” Though she’d sworn her voice was steady, there was a hint of uncertainty as the intruder’s aura became more intense.

The intruder turned to face Sayomi in the darkness. “Hm? Ah, you’ve finally returned… I’ve been most awaiting your presence, Sayomi Zoldyck.”

The man took exaggeratingly slow steps towards her, and Sayomi noticed he walked almost completely on his toes. Almost like he was walking across a tightrope.

She squinted through the darkness, perplexed at the stranger knowing her name. Her mind screamed at her to fight, run, do something, but her feet remained frozen in place as the man’s figure slowly illuminated with the dim lights of the hallway.

The man was considerably tall, though he was also wearing heels, an interesting feat. His brilliant red hair was styled as if he’d been caught in a windstorm, framing an all too pale face with distinct face paint decorating either cheek: a star on the left and a teardrop on the right.

In a way, he was handsome.

This crossed Sayomi’s mind as well, however she’d mentally slapped herself as she was brought back into the reality of the situation. 

“How do you know my name?” Sayomi was on guard, ready to either attack or run on a moment’s notice.

The man only laughed, his pale lips turning upwards in a wide smile as he looked Sayomi over from head to toe.

“Oh darling, you mean you haven’t caught on to the situation yet?”

A step closer and the man’s full frame was now in front of Sayomi to see in all his glory. Broad shoulders, chiseled, toned biceps, a tiny waist, and proportions to die for.

Get a grip, he just broke into your room.

In her flustered state, both from confusion and the rather attractive man towering over her, Sayomi suddenly felt as though she’d forgotten how to speak.

Her mouth opened and closed without sound, concentrated entirely on the man in front of her.

Sayomi’s frazzled state seemed to add on to man’s already overflowing confidence as he let out another brief laugh before crossing his arms. 

“It seems as though Kite has yet to tell you anything about my arrival.” He frowned before continuing, “Well, I suppose you’ll find out all about me in no time, I’m your new trainer after all.”

Sayomi eyes widened at his words. Of course, Kite said he was arriving soon, I totally forgot!

“Ah… well in that case… nice to meet you?”

Her new trainer smirked at her hesitation. “I have to say, I didn’t expect you to be so visually appealing, darling. It seems Kite decided to keep your beauty from me for as long as he could, that sly bastard.”

Sayomi felt her face heat up in a mad blush. No one had ever called her such things, as she was accustomed to words like vicious or murderous. 

Sayomi failed to get the words out of her mouth once again, effectively fazed by the man’s comments.

Said man ran a slender hand through his hair, laughing once again at his undeniable effect on the young assassin.

Reaching out ever so slowly, he grazed his knuckles over the left side of Sayomi’s face, who in turn became even further flustered at the sudden skinship. 

“You, my dear, are going to be quite the pleasure to work with.”

☾vii.

a/n: guess who? 

taglist open:))

[cognitivefunk]

So I wanted to try my hand at writing something a little darker than usual, exploring some more themes since I’m a fan of yandere and guro. PLEASE pay close attention to the warnings. I probably kept things relatively tame all things considered, but it is not a soft fluffy fic. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! 

Title: Eyes in the Dark

Rating: Explicit, R18+, 18+ not safe for kids

POV: second person AMAB reader, yandere refers to reader as ‘boy’ several times but it’s more of a demeaning thing as reader is 18+

Pairing: Reader/OC Yandere named Adrian

Warnings: NONCON, needles, drugs, kidnapping, torture, stitches, description of wounds, pins and trauma, ball gag, abusive, BL, mild choking, yandere, obsessiveness, unhealthy dynamic, smut, anal penetration, blood, crying, sense of helplessness

Word Count: 9,210

Living in a small village near the forest, you lived a quiet life living off the land. You had your garden, a well for water, and you trapped animals for both fur and sustenance. You could have lived in the city, but in all honesty, it felt right to be so close to nature. After all, you were a solitary creature, preferring the sound of nature over the bustling chaos of city life. 

You were quick on your feet, used to running the floor of the forest, collecting wood and food on your excursions. Some of the beasts of the land were violent predators, but you had managed to evade any real harm to date. That is, until tonight.

You had left a little earlier in the morning than your usual schedule. It was a little before 3 a.m. but you wanted to travel down to the ravine later in the day to go fishing and you needed to divide your time carefully if you wanted to get everything done. You slung your knapsack over your shoulder and set out to the forest, yawning to yourself.

Unbeknownst to you, a strange man had been watching you. You sometimes felt eyes on you, but over time you learned to brush off the feeling. As long as it didn’t approach you, you couldn’t be bothered to investigate further. There were a lot of creatures that lived in this forest so you figured it was just another one of the beasts of the land.

Setting your bag down on a tree stump, you walk forward to check on one of your traps, only to step on a piece of rope. Your reaction time was off as the rope tightened around you ankle, hoisting you up in the air. You felt the blood rush to your head, and you flailed your arms around, trying to grab onto a nearby branch. If you could get the dagger out of your waistband, you would be able to cut yourself loose.

As you reached for your tool, you didn’t hear the man approach you. He moved with unnerving silence. You felt a sudden throbbing in your head and shouted out in pain, the world swirling around in your vision before going dark. The last thing you remember seeing was the smile of an unknown man, teeth unusually sharp.  

"Ah, good morning my little flower, it's about time you got up," said the man. He knelt down in front of you, tilting your chin up to meet his gaze by lifting your face with his fingers on your chin. "We're going to have a lot of fun together~"

He had a wild look in his eyes; you couldn’t see his pupils, masked by the darkness of his eyes. It was as though his entire iris was a dark hole, pulling you in. Your eyes dart around the room, trying to get a bearing of where you were. Your arms were tied behind you, holding you firmly to a metal support beam. You assumed you were in a basement of some sort. The concrete floor felt damp and cold.

You open your mouth to speak, but the sadist cuts you off. "Stop it! Stop it please!" he cries out again, gripping your cheeks in his hands as he laughs. The sound was chilling, filled with a type of excitement you couldn’t quite place, but you knew it wasn’t good news for your situation.

You shudder, your entire body shaking. There was a tension in the air that made you feel uneasy. "Who are you? Where am I?" you ask, shaking your head from side to side, the man’s hand falling away from your chin.

“Where am I? What do you want from me!?” he mocked you, using a falsetto voice, pretending to cry. It was a twisted display and you found yourself frowning at him. A dark chuckle filled the room as the man shakes his head again, rearing his arm back. You felt his palm make contact with your cheek with a great force, pulling you instantly into reality. You jerk away from the slap, your face radiating with pain as warmth spreads across your cheek.

You tremble, wringing your wrists back and forth, the rope tying them together chaffing the skin. You wonder how long you had been out for. Judging by the soreness of your shoulders, it was at least an hour.

The man brought his face closer to yours, and you could feel your noses brush against one another. His gaze was intense, searching for something in your eyes. He paused, grinning once again. You felt unnerved by his erratic behavior.

"What do you want from me? Money? I'm not much of a ransom," you quip, your voice taking on a defensive edge as the man eyes you. You examined your captor's face. He was undoubtedly handsome, but with an edge of madness to him. He had brown slicked back hair, messy but kept. His eyes held a cruelty to them, and you sank back against the metal pole behind you.

You furrowed your brows in confusion at his confession; the hair on the back of your neck was standing on end. Suddenly, you felt very foolish for ignoring all those times out in the forest you didn’t listen to your gut.

Adrian snarled, slamming his fist into your chest hard. You gasp, wheezing as the breath is knocked out of you. You wheeze, the air pushed from your lungs, replaced by a bruising sting that blossomed across your chest. Your head hung forward as he pulled his fist back, averting your eyes to the ground as you struggled to regain your breath.

He seemed to be thinking, and you felt his nose brush up against yours again. “Money? Oh no my little flower, I don’t want your things. I want you.” He let out a shuddering breath; reaching the hand he was going to hit you with to stroke the side of your face gently. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this…”

The man pulled back just enough to poke his finger against your chest, as if to mock the fact that you were able to defend yourself. You squirmed against his touch, but you had nowhere to retreat to. You pushed your legs against the floor, arching as far back into the metal post as you could. “Who are you!? What do you want?” you pried, trying to get a grasp of your current situation. You felt like a record on repeat, but honestly the panic setting into your mind was scrambling your thoughts.

"I want you to scream," he says simply, as if this was all there was to life.

"What?" you ask. Your heart was racing and you felt another tremor work its way through you.

Adrian pauses, "I want you to scream for me... like a little bitch." He paused, taking the time to pet the hair on the side of your head soothingly. “I want to hear all the sounds you can make. All the pretty little expressions you can give me…”

The words you were thinking of saying next died in your throat before they could even be uttered. This man was crazy. He was going to hurt you, and you had no escape. You shivered, nervously chewing on your lower lip.

"After all this time…now that you’re finally here in my grasp, I want to hurt you, and humiliate you.” He continued petting your hair, tucking a lock of it behind your ear, revealing more of your face to him. “And you’ll be so good for me, won’t you? If not... well, I won't mince words. I will kill you."

You swallow thickly at his threat, taking him at his word. He went through all the trouble to capture you and tie you up in his basement, you were sure he would kill you without a second thought if you did something he didn't like. You would just have to get through this, you told yourself, trying to mentally prepare yourself for what happened next.

He nestled his nose into your hair, breathing deeply and letting out a low groan. “Aaah, my little flower, I want to bury myself in you so bad. Do you think you can take it?” Your mouth felt dry and you tried to swallow again, shakily replying, “I don’t….”

“Shh,” he placed a finger over your lips, stroking his finger along your mouth and tracing the line of your upper lip, smiling as you halted your protest. “That’s a good boy…”

A high pitched whimper emitted in the back of your throat as his threat became...sexual. You were scared; your heart was racing like it was going to jump out of your chest. He couldn’t be serious. Your eyes flickered back to his, and you could see desire pooling in his dark gaze. He was serious.

“Surely you want it too? You’re not a virgin are you?” he spoke low, clearly hoping for the latter to be true. You looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet his eye as you spoke. "No, I’m not," you admitted. Time had passed since then, but you had lain with a man before in your life. You weren't sure you liked the idea of it being with a complete stranger, however, let alone one who was holding you captive in his basement.

He clicked his tongue against his teeth, displeased at this revelation but he seemed to accept the fact. “No matter, once I take you for myself you won’t be able to think about anyone else,” as he spoke, a grin split open on his face and he leaned back in to nuzzle against your soft hair. “That’s right…I’ll take you over, and over again. You’ll be begging me before long…”

He seemed to be talking more to himself than to you. You could feel your face turn red at his sickly perverted ramble, "I don't want this…” you managed to murmur out. You could feel the blush blooming across your face and down your neck as he said those filthy words. It felt wrong. This was wrong. But your body betrayed the rational side of you, and you knew that it was only a matter of time before you would be fully erect.

A bemused chuckle reached your ears as the man pulled away from your hair, towering over you. "You don't have a choice," he spoke low, his voice husky with lust. “I’ve waited too long.”

This was it. He was going to hurt you. Or you were going to be fucked against your will. You screeched internally, realizing it was probably going to be a mixture of the two and you desperately wished you could wring your wrists out of the ropes.

As he stroked the side of your cheek, his hand felt colder than before. You shivered, your mind screaming at you to pull away from his touch, but if you played along he might not hurt you as bad. He could feel you trembling beneath his touch.

“Shhh, it’s ok, don’t be scared. I promise, you’ll enjoy this too. I’ll make sure of that,” he croons gently at you. It was a cruel mockery of kindness. His voice was rehearsed, but the gentleness didn’t reach his eyes.

"I don't...know you," you say quietly, tears starting to prick at the corners of your eyes as you look anywhere but his eyes. You couldn’t trust his saccharine voice, sweet as poison, and just as deadly. His eyes narrowed dangerously at your objection. He flicked his wrist, snapping your head back as his grip on your face tightened.

Your head was still sore from where he knocked you out earlier and you cried as your head smacked against the post. His lips twisted into a smirk and he let out a short bark of laughter, “Well then, how about we get to know each other a little.”

Your breath catches in your throat at the tone in his voice. You needed to soothe over the situation, quickly. "No! Ah, wait. That's not what I mean!" you smile nervously at the man, hoping to appease him. You flounder for your words and you swear you could see enjoyment in that infuriating smirk of his.

You try to scream but all that comes out is a pathetic snivel as your voice cracks under the emotion coursing through you. You were fighting against yourself not to cry. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. The feeling of fear crawled across your body, wrapping you in its embrace.

“Please…I want to go home,” your voice sounds defeated as it leaves you.

He stares at you coldly before speaking once more, “Don’t you want to please me?”

“Tell me then, what do you mean, my flower…” his pet name for you left you uncomfortable, but you weren’t exactly in a place where you could tell him off about it.

"I'll...play along...with you," you say, choosing your words carefully. You searched his face, watching for any change in his reaction. There was definitely enjoyment on his face as he heard you give into the situation.

What you were about to do was not going to be easy on you. It was paramount that you played into his little game. He seemed the type to peel off your skin slowly with his bare hands, and it made your stomach churn. You would need to give a good performance.

"So…what do you want me to do?" you ask, trying to sound coy. You were shifting your shoulders, the ropes around your wrists was cutting in, but you continued slowly twisting your hands back and forth, hoping to loosen the binds.

Adrian smiles, amusement clear in his eyes. "Oh? What’s this now, finally admitting your attraction to me? I’ll admit, I was anticipating it would take you longer to realize your feelings," he rambles on, a laugh escaping his lips.

"What do you mean?" you ask, your heart rate picking up pace again. You shifted awkwardly against the metal post, still unable to move from your spot. He stood up, walking over to the counter on the back wall of the basement to pick something up. You strained to see what he was holding, only to shrink back against the post as you noticed he was walking back toward you with a knife.

You close your eyes, taking a deep breath.

You were terrified of this man.

“Hmmm, I’ll tell you what,” he says, trailing off as his foot touches yours, nudging it a little with the tip of his shoe.

"You’ll be a good little pet for me, hm? I'll make sure you feel nice and special," as he speaks, his voice takes on a darker edge. He kicks your foot to the side, opening your legs as he kneels between your knees. He grins as he takes the knife and cuts away at your pants, leaving your bottom half bare to the cold air of the basement. You were frozen in place, just trying to focus on your breathing as he continued to rip your clothing away from you.

You keep telling yourself to stay calm. He'll realize he's gone too far, stop everything. But he just keeps going, grinning as he rips your underwear away from you as well.

You try to hide yourself from him by pulling your knees closer together, but he grabbed at your legs, pushing them apart. You were completely at his mercy, half aroused from the fear of the situation. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he says, voice filled with glee as he licks his lips. “See? I knew you were special…”

You see red. You want nothing more than to reach up, grab that disgusting man by the throat and squeeze until his eyes bulge from his head. You feel pathetic in how utterly helpless you were. If he hadn’t gotten the upper hand on you out in the woods, you would have had a chance to fight back. You wanted more than anything to be able to fight back.

You didn't dare do anything reckless when he had the knife so close to your most sensitive area. He trailed the cold tip of the knife up your thigh, pressing in just enough to leave a light trail of blood. It didn't hurt at first, as the knife kissed your skin, but as the blood came bubbling slowly to the surface you felt the sting of the cut.

He took his time working his way up your legs, taking his time with each cut. By the time he reached your groin, you held your breath in your throat, nervously flicking your eyes back and forth from the knife to his face and back again.

As he pressed the knife shallowly above your groin you moan out involuntarily, catching his attention. His eyes lock onto yours and a flush seems to creep over his cheeks, and he licks his lips slowly, clearly pleased.

“My my, so sensitive,” he breathed, fanning his face dramatically. He seemed to be a rather theatrical man. His voice dipped low again, taking on a sultry tone. “Look at you, getting hard from me cutting you. Tell me, were you always such a filthy pervert or are you just like this for me?”

Changing pace, he pulls back to hit you across the face with the flat of the knife, relishing your delicious reaction.

You cry out pitifully as the knife grazes your cheek from the impact of the blow. A fine line of blood drips down your chin, pooling along your jawline. You frown, your lower lip quivering as curse out, “Fuck…”

His eyes light up, “Aah, you’re so dirty. I knew you’d be perfect~” He was overcome with a giddy, twisted glee as he stood up, excitedly shuffling off to the other side of the basement.

You relax against the post, slumping your head against it to rest as you watched him retreat. You groaned quietly, still working at the ropes around your wrists, trying to get them to loosen. The rope was burning against your skin, and you knew without needing to see them that they were raw and red.

He turned around, pausing his ministrations for a while, just staring at you. He quietly turned away, shuffling bottles and a large toolbox around. The silence was all the encouragement you needed, and you started working feverishly at the knots, exhaustion taking over as your fingers finally work through the knots.

He seemed to be in thought; he paced around the basement, and you were worried he could see what you were up to. You take your chances regardless, freeing your hands from the rope and finally bringing them to your chest, your arms stiff from being held in the same position for hours.

You risk another glance at your captor, who is still pacing. You notice he has something in his hands that you hadn’t seen a moment ago. He was holding a long metal baton with spikes adorning the sides all the way to its pointed tip. You barely had time to register it before you were suddenly greeted with a sharp pain in both of your feet.

He had swung it against the bottom of your bare feet, making you cry out in agony, toes curling inward which only served to aggravate your weeping injury further. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Did that hurt?" he cooed, his voice mockingly sweet as he reeled back, slamming the baton against the heels of your feet this time. You saw white flashes in your vision as the pain exploded in your feet, leaving you incapable of running.

You screamed out, reaching instinctively to hold your legs, choking on a sob as the pain seared up your calves. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you untying your ropes?" he breathed, dropping the bloodied weapon on the floor behind him with a metallic clink. He knelt between your knees once again, cupping your face in his hands. "You better not be trying to escape, my little flower,” he breathed against your cheek.

“What a naughty little thing, you just can’t help it can you?” he nods to himself, talking more at you than to you. "It’s alright, shh, it’s ok. It’s my fault, I haven’t broken you in yet, it’s ok…" He slipped his arms under yours and laid your arms around his shoulders, holding you tightly against his chest as he rocked you back and forth.

Tears welled in your eyes, and you were unable to stop them from streaming down your cheeks as he rocked you back and forth as though consoling a small child. He continued shushing you, petting your hair soothingly. "Naughty pets get punishment, but that's ok. You're learning...you're still learning," he mused, his voice taking on a sinister tone as he pulled back to wipe at your tears with his thumbs.

"I'll make sure you have so much fun here, you'll forget all your...trivial thoughts of wanting to run away,” he wiped away your tears, smearing some of the blood that was left behind from the earlier cut on your face.

‘Stop touching me with those horrible hands,' you thought to yourself, clenching your teeth together and breathing shakily. You could feel the blood tickling the bottoms of your soles, but the skin and muscle felt so raw you didn't find enjoyment in the sensation. You didn't have time to dwell on it long before he was pulling you to your feet, forcing you to stand.

You cried out loudly, desperately trying to shift the weight off of your feet as he led you over to a cart filled with instruments of torture. He half drug your body to a table, and when you weren’t able to take a further step forward, he fastened his hands under your arms to lift you onto the table. It made you feel like you weighed nothing to him.

You were forced into an awkward sitting position, your arms stretched out in front of you as he chained them to the metal handles at the end.

"Now, you won't be getting out of these as easily," he said cheerfully, patting the metal rings he fastened around your wrists, admiring his handiwork. The clasps were fastened to the ceiling, held together with long chains. You could swing your arms a little, but the range of motion was restricted. Your wrists were still raw with the rope burn from before, the cool metal biting against your flesh.

While you were adjusting to your new position, he turned around to grab a few more of his toys. In one hand was a shorter chain, and in the other was a ball gag. He gave you another cheery smile, holding them up proudly.

Your eyes widen as you notice the ball gag in his hands and he gives you a friendly smile, "Shhh, don’t be scared." He pressed the gag against your lips, holding the back of your head, the chain still wrapped in his other hand. "Open up for me, hm?" He tugged on a fistful of your hair, causing you to gasp. He used the opportunity to press the gag into your mouth, carefully fastening it around your head. "That's better," he mused, wrapping the shorter chain around your throat like a makeshift collar and leash.

You could barely move as he wrapped the chain around your neck, his hand on the other side of your head holding the chain tight against his body. He smiled fondly at you, giving it an experimental tug just to listen to your panicked whine. “Aah, beautiful…” he murmured.

You choked on a sob, blinking away several tears that had begun to form again. You didn't want to be congested with your mouth in such an awkward position, forced open to accommodate the ball. You were thankful for the holes in the sides, likely to assist in breathing, but you knew that before long you would end up drooling and it was demeaning.

He let the chain go for now, letting it dangle around your chest. You had been completely stripped by the blade of his knife earlier, and you felt extremely vulnerable in your current position. You could only watch as he mulled over which of his 'toys' to use first.

Adrian rubbed your shoulder, "Good, very good. You’re doing so well," he turned to pick up two needles, one long and one much shorter. “I know you’re scared little one.” You couldn’t help but whine in the back of your throat again. What was he going to inject you with?

"But that's ok~ I'll make sure you feel really good," he chuckled to himself approaching the table once again. He set the shorter needle down momentarily, inspecting the red tinted liquid in the longer syringe, giving the tip of the needle a little flick as he pushed some of the liquid through, checking for air. "Perfect," he pulls out a small alcohol wipe, ripping the package open with his teeth and running the cool pad over your shoulder. "Take a deep breath for me, ok?" he coos, pressing the needle into your arm, slowly injecting the foreign liquid into you.

You slowly nod, taking in a shaky breath. Once finished, he dabs the little puncture would left behind again with the wipe, moving to the other side of the table with the smaller needle in hand. He repeats the process of wiping down a small patch on your neck before pressing carefully into the crook of your neck. It pinched going in but soon your head felt muddy as the pain in your feet and limbs subsided.

You let out a soft moan, somewhat out of surprise, as the pain was wicked away. He had injected you with a pain reliever, which you were immediately grateful for. But the other injection was also starting to take effect… You felt your skin felt flushed from head to toe. Your breath was increasing in frequency and it felt like the medicine was seeping into every pore.

"Isn’t that better?" he spoke, smiling at you. That damned, incessant smile. He began slowly kissing his way up your stomach, pausing at your chest to swirl his tongue around your now aching nipples.

A lascivious moan escapes your throat, muffled by the gag in your mouth. It startles you, and you feel a pool of heat gathering in your lower half. Your vision is hazy, and your thoughts are jumbled. It feels like your head is underwater. Another moan bubbles in your throat as Adrian bites harshly on a pert nipple, causing you to arch into him.

"Does that feel good?" he asks sweetly, twisting the sensitive nub.

You shiver, nodding your head weakly, earning another chuckle from the man. He plays with the chain dangling from your neck, giving it a little tug just to jolt you.

"Isn't it better when you just play along?" He smiles, giving another gentle tug on the chain. You can’t seem to answer him, your body was aching sweetly, and you swayed a little on the table, the chains rattling at your movement.

He shifts his weight off the table momentarily to put the emptied syringes back into his toolbox. He would worry about cleaning them later. For now, he was going to have fun with his new pet.

"Tell me, have you ever tasted your own blood?"

Your eyes widen in terror as your mind scrambles to come up with an answer. You go to respond, momentarily forgetting the gag in your mouth. You make a muffled sound before shaking your from side to side, eyeing him suspiciously. He hums to himself, picking a small, decorative knife from the toolbox, inspecting it for sharpness before turning to face you completely. "Oh that's a shame," his voice has a mocking sense of pity in it as he approaches you with a glint in his eye. "Let's change that shall we?"

A distressed whimper hangs in the back of your throat and you tug at the chains around your wrist. You still your movements when you notice the frown curving on his lips. His eyes were narrow as he pressed the knife up against your collarbone, letting the blade kiss your skin lightly, a thin trail of blood dripping down in a single line down your chest. He admired it for a moment before flipping it in his hand and driving the blade down into your thigh.  

A startled yelp escapes your lips as you tears rapidly fall down your cheeks. You press your tongue hard against the gag to prevent yourself from screaming, trying to bite against the slippery surface. The pain was dulled from the earlier injection, but you were still able to feel the subdued ache that it left behind. He twisted the knife harshly to the side, opening a gash in your soft thigh and you wince, crying out as you avert your eyes away from the damage.

Unfortunately for you, the aphrodisiac in your system was tricking your mind into reacting to the pain by sending jolts of pleasure through your system. It made you want to feel sick, sending a violent shudder up your spine.

He begins to trace a finger along your oozing wound, painting his finger a deep shade of crimson. He hums to himself again, grin widening as a ghastly idea inspires him into action. He grabs a straight pin from the table, leaning in to press it into your throbbing flesh.

He stood back for a moment, eyes trailing over the pin in your wound and he smiled thoughtfully, standing back to grab several more pins, effectively adorning them across your wound to hold it open. "Beautiful," he breathed, admiring the weeping, mutilated flesh. You breathed harshly, the sensations nearly overwhelming your senses. You didn't want to look at it; it made your stomach drop.

He leans over the table in front of you, lifting your chin up with a rough hand.

Adrian then presses his index finger directly into the gaping wound, coating his finger in your warm, sticky blood. Your face twists in agony as he penetrates your thigh. You could see him shiver, and a twisted smile graced his handsome features. You wished the circumstances were different, then you might truly be able to appreciate the man's face. But right now your emotions felt mixed, and your pulse pounded in your temples. You just wanted him to stop.

He twirls his finger in the air, drawing out the moment before he brings it down to one of the holes in the ball gag, letting it drip inside. You were frozen, fixated on his hand as your own blood dripped down, onto your tongue. You had no choice but to taste the metallic, copper tang that coated your tongue. It made you dizzy, but you moaned out reflexively.

"Savor," he whispers quietly, watching your reaction carefully. You can tell he's enjoying this.

You let your eyes flutter shut, focusing on the strange taste in your mouth. There was a vague sweetness to it that you assumed was the result of whatever he injected you with. You swayed a little, your body feeling slow as another wave of warmth spread across you.

You were about to lose consciousness. He knew it.

"Aah, I can hardly take it. You’re so beautiful,” he gushed, admiring your body as you struggled against your consciousness.  “I'm going to enjoy this."

He traced a hand under your chin almost lovingly, reaching back to his toolbox. "As much as I love seeing you so...helpless...I can't have you falling asleep before the main event."

You kept your eyes closed, embracing the warmth of his hand as he caressed you. You leaned into him, and made a small noise of disappointment when he withdrew his touch. It wasn't until you felt another needle injecting into your skin that you blearily opened your eyes. A jolt of electricity coursed through your body, rousing your senses and you were suddenly wracked with shivers.

Your veins felt cold, but your skin burned hotter. He stood over you, studying you, watching as your body started to react to the pain that was surely throbbing from your torn up thigh. He took in a sharp breath, palming himself through his pants at the sight of you. A disheveled mess.

“Aaahn, I made a miscalculation in the sedative but I made it all better,” he shuddered, working himself up. You could see his impressive erection straining against his pants as he palmed himself.

"Let's start again," he finally said. You heard the buckle of his pants come undone, and for the life of you, you wished the sound of it hadn't turned you on. You felt disgusting. You whined, twisting your hips as you continued to arch and writhe in place.

You cried out, arching with nowhere to go. Your arms pulled against the chains that held you in place and you writhed in your seat on the table. The pain started to mix into a complicated sensation, causing you to pant out harshly, the ball gag impeding your ability to really do much else.

He stood over you, watching.

"Do you have any idea how arousing it is to watch you fight against it?" his voice was thick with desire, and it made your stomach clench. You locked eyes with his, unable to stop your body from trembling at the sight of him. You could only watch as he disrobed, exposing his muscular body to you.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he exhaled slowly, swooning. You shook your head, unable to speak through the gag. He crawled forward, hands running along the top of your thighs.

"Give in," he spoke low, his left hand ghosting over the trauma he inflicted on your thigh. You couldn’t help but react to his touch. He let his hands trail higher, touching everywhere but your now fully erect cock. A bead of precum dripped from the tip of your penis, which strained against your abdomen painfully.

He leaned forward and lapped it up with his tongue, his eye contact intense as he pressed his tongue flat against the tip, and you saw stars. You moaned loudly, every fiber of your being lighting up. He didn't give you much relief, however, moving instead to lick across your stomach, all the way up to your chest where he teased your nipples. A sharp pain shot through you, and you whined into your gag, moving your hips in tiny little circles.

You shook, rutting your hips frantically as he bit into your nipple once again, causing your hips to jerk forward. You desperately wanted more, the danger of the situation currently being outweighed by your near violent arousal.

He traced his fingers along your thigh once more, but stopped. You whined into the gag, desperate for him to continue.

"You poor thing, do you want to touch yourself?" he asked, his eyes flickering over you.

Your eyes trailed to the chains that held your wrists in place and you looked back to him cautiously at first but soon you found yourself nodding enthusiastically, offering eager, yet muffled begs behind your ball gag for him to release your arms.

He didn't move to release you, instead moving one of his hands to your chest, pushing on your shoulders as he moved you up the table, angling your body to an almost perfect position.

"Mmph!" you cried out.

Your arms were placed in a rather precarious position, straining against your shoulders as the binds forced your hands forward. He had pulled your lower half down so you were no longer sitting upright, but rather, leaned against the top half of the table. Your legs were pushed to the sides, causing your mangled feet to dangle off either edge of the table.

“Perhaps another time… I’d love to watch you pleasure yourself to the thought of me,” he chuckled, positioning your body to suit his needs. You were stretched out, open, ready for him to do whatever he wanted with you.

He trailed his hand up your chest to press into your neck, holding down for a few pauses before letting go, watching you struggle for breath. Laughing quietly to himself, he yanked the chain around your neck, tightening the hold he had on you.

Groaning, you gasp for breath as he releases his hold on your neck only to let out a startled, yet muffled shout when he yanked the chain, pulling you off the table by roughly an inch before dropping you back onto it. Due to your constant attempts at communication, you can feel the saliva collecting in your mouth, noticing it had already started to drool down your chin.

Adrian released the chain and you coughed and sputtered, trying to catch your breath.

"Mphmm," you try to reason with him, steadying your quickened breaths. The man reaches over to the cart next to his toolbox, and picks up a bottle off the cart. You watch as he squirts the thick, gooey substance out onto his fingers. "I like it to feel good for me too," he states matter-of-factly. "Blood doesn't make the best lubricant." His words were cryptic, as though he had a lot of experience in that field.

Pulling your legs away, he nestles in front of you, spreading them slightly as he kneels down. You keen loudly, rutting your hips against the air, digging your back against the table. He pressed a hand against your hip, pressing you back down. "Don’t worry; I'm going to give you something that's going to make you feel really good."

And with that, he presses the first lubed finger against your puckered hole. The lubricant is cold, but it feels nice against your feverish skin. You moan out, long and drawn out as he dips the finger in to the knuckle, slowly fingering it inside of you.

He's stretching you, and in this moment you had never felt anything so intense. The aphrodisiac and adrenaline coursing through your body left you a whimpering jittery mess.

He adds a second finger, scissoring them to allow for easier access as he stretches you open.

You can't help but rut against his fingers, and it seems to please him greatly. "You're being such a good little pet right now, that's right. Fuck yourself on my fingers," he encourages you, watching as you hopelessly try to get off on his fingers, twisting and stretching inside you. He lifted his hand off of your hip, allowing you to have more movement.

You raise your hips as he continues to scissor his fingers, having just added a third to the mix, trying to get as much pleasure out of the feeling as you can.

You mewl a high pitched whine as he curves his fingers, striking that spot inside of you that makes you see stars. You practically thrash against his hand, trying to replicate the sensation erratically.

"Yes, that's it," he whispers, "I'm going to make you feel so good. You want that don't you? You want me to make you come hard and fast, don't you?" his words picked up with excitement, and he laughed manically, watching you chase your pleasure on his fingers.

"MMPH!" you cry out with fervor, rocking back and forth against his digits, your legs still dangling over the edge of the table. Your arms strained aggressively against the chains but you didn't care. You couldn't care. You couldn't think about anything else other than the pleasure that was building in your core. That is, until he withdrew his hand.

The sudden absence of it makes you moan in opposition, broken into sudden sobs at the sudden feeling of abrupt emptiness.

"Shh, shh, it's ok. I'll fill you up, don't you worry," he consoles you with his deep, low voice. You lull your head to the side, another shiver trailing its way to the base of your spine as he licks his lips slowly, lining himself up against your opening.

He pushes himself forward, sliding into you in one hard thrust. He's so... big. So much bigger than any other person you've fit inside yourself.

The loudest moan yet erupted from your throat, and you drooled down the sides and holes of your gag. You were thankful he took the time to stretch you out, knowing that he would have split you open if he tried to thrust in like that unprepared. You found yourself weeping, overwhelmed with emotion as he pulled back and began thrusting in earnest.

"Ah... fuck, yes..." he pants, and with one hand he roughly grabs your hair, holding you in place as he thrusts into you.

The dull pain from the rough grip he had on your hair only fueled the fire in your gut. The pain medicine had dissipated almost entirely, but you were in such a high state of arousal that you didn't mind. The only thing you cared about was chasing your release, your body felt like you were treading through fire and water at the same time. Your cock ached against your belly; pushed up against you at the angle Adrian was fucking you into the table.

His thrusts became faster. More erratic. You could make out the grunts of effort as he needed to put all his strength into each thrust. He growls, long and low.

Your eyes crossed at the sound of his growl. It was so primal, and awakened a very submissive urge in you. You mewled and arched your back, slightly, still being held in place by the hand on your hair. You just wanted to increase the friction on your weeping, neglected cock.

You made a pitiful noise in the back of your throat as you breathed heavily. He growled again, “Come for me, you can do it. Come on nothing but my cock, I can see it written all over your face.” He picked up his pace, ramming into you with ruthless abandon.

“You’re my filthy little cumslut aren’t you? Aah, that’s right, come on my cock for me,” he continued to encourage you with dirty talk. You arched off the table, straining firmly against the chains around your wrists. He gripped at your hips, digging his nails firmly into your skin as he angled his thrusts against your prostate, earning a loud howl from you. With each thrust he hit that sweet spot and you felt the build of your orgasm pool deep within you. It wasn't long before you were sobbing again, your orgasm sweeping over you with white hot emotion.

Your body shook as he continued to grip you tightly. You felt the warm splash of your cum hit your stomach, painting you in your own seed. He growled, his eyes completely clouding over at the sight, and with one last, powerful thrust he came into you.

Tears stained your face, your hair was tousled from his rough grip, you were an absolute trainwreck but you were beyond feeling self-conscious about it. You felt his seed empty inside of you, filling you with a warm sensation. You moaned quietly, rolling your hips against his cock as he held the base of his shaft, milking every last drop of his cum inside your hole.

The pair of you panted, both of you staring at each other as you came down from your high.

You had nearly lost your voice; it came out as a hoarse, broken sound as you tried to say something against the ball gag in your mouth. You were covered in your own saliva, cum, tears, and blood. Adrian looked at you reverently, clearly admiring the state he had put you in.

He slowly pulled out of you, a soft groan escaping your lips. You panted, feeling a sense of exhilaration as his cum gushed out. It was still warm as it tickled down your skin, an altogether pleasant sensation.

"You like that? Hm?”

You shivered weakly, slumping against the table the best you could with the binds still holding your arms forward. It had taken a lot out of you.

"You’re so perfect…" he whispered quietly to himself, reaching toward you to release the ball gag, and a flood of air rushed into your mouth. You coughed, hacking up a wad of saliva and blood, but felt so much better for it.

You flushed, embarrassed that you had made a mess. Worried it might set him off again. You watched for any sign of contempt but didn't notice any outright.

He wiped his hand down your face and neck, gently cleaning you off, before releasing you from the chains holding you in place. You fell to the ground with a thud, a weak cry murmuring in your throat as your face pressed against the cool concrete.

You groan on the floor, attempting to use your raspy voice, "Please..help..." you manage to whisper out, reaching for the man.

He smiles, a bright, toothy grin that makes you shiver, "I'm sorry about that. Wasn't watching where I was pulling, won't you forgive me?" he asks in an almost playful tone, leaning down to pick you up. He glanced at the mess on the table and seemed to mull something over, but he decided to set you back down on the dirtied table at least temporarily.

You struggle to stay upright, your body suddenly very exhausted, either from the intensity of your previous session or from the adrenaline that had been injected into your body previously. Your limbs felt like lead and your body was crying out in pain. The pins in your thigh had pressed in further when you fell and your leg was oozing blood.

He stepped back, a cruel grin spreading across his face, "Please forgive me," he said again.

You give him a pathetic look, all the fight having been sapped out of your maimed body. "Ok..." you say quietly, rubbing at your thigh to try to ease some of the pain.

You chew on your lower lip, an anxious habit, as you worked up the courage to ask him to do something for you. "Could...could you please take out these pins, sir?" your voice was raw, but audible.

He tilted his head, "The ones in your leg?" he asked in mock surprise.

"Yes...my leg...I..."

He grasped your thigh in his hand, tightening his grip as he played with one of the pins, wiggling it back and forth with his eyes fixated on your reaction. You let out a small moan, your body still sending mixed signals from your previous arousal. His eyes flicked up to meet with yours and he raised an eyebrow, "This one?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"Please..." you whimpered.

"Well, I suppose I could get that closed up for you. Wouldn't want you to bleed out on me now would I?" he flashed another grin, and walked over to the counter, fetching what appeared to be a first aid kit before returning to his previous position.

He opened it and bent down to you, "We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way then. Hold still."

You opened your mouth to question him but were immediately cut off with a yelp as he began to pry the needles out of your leg. He counted them, and then counted them again just to be sure before taking out a small bottle of antiseptic and pouring it directly onto the wound. You let out a piercing scream, nearly losing the rest of your voice in the process.

His hands were warm as they pressed on your leg, trying to clean the wound as effectively as he could. "It'll be fine, I promise," he whispered in your ear as he cleaned the wounds, "Just relax."

He hummed to himself as he pulled out a suture kit. Pouring some of the antiseptic out onto his hands, he rubs them together before gathering his tools. He threaded the hook carefully, pulling an edge of the wound and angling the hooked needle at a 90 degree angle before piercing the skin deeply, careful not to pull up as he threaded it through to the other side, tying the edges together to hold the middle of your wound closed. You whimpered quietly as he worked, not able to look down as the needle and medical thread were threaded through your flesh.

There was a slight pain as the stitches were tied off, and you snuck a quick peak, only to look down to see blood dripping down your shin, staining your knee down to your ankle red. Another whimper escaped your lips and you buried your face in your hands, rubbing your face gently as you tried to distract yourself from the stitches the man was giving you.

"Thank you," you said quietly, not moving the hands from in front of your eyes. You could not watch it any longer.

"You're most welcome," though you couldn't see it, his smile deepened into a something more genuine as he continued his work.

When it seemed he was finished with the sutures on your leg, you cracked a finger open to look down, amazed that the stitches looked so...professional.

You looked up at him again, and found him staring intently down at his work. He looked back up at you, a little surprise on his face as he saw your hands had finally moved from covering up your pretty face.

He trailed his hands down your calves, lifting your legs up to examine the trauma he had inflicted to the bottoms of your feet earlier. "Hmmm, looks like you won't be running off any time soon. How about I run us a nice hot bath and we can wrap these up, hm?" He released your leg, letting it dangle back off the side of the table before standing up. You nodded nervously, watching him as he moved through the dimly lit room to the corner of the room.

You could hear clanking noises as he seemed to be putting things into a sink. Your suspicions were confirmed when you heard the tap water running, the sound was almost soothing in how normal it was. Once satisfied, he returned to scoop you up in his arms, leading you toward the stairs that led to the main part of his house. You held on tightly, afraid he might drop you at any minute.

He sat you on a metal rack in the bathroom, as hot water trickled down from a faucet into a bathtub.

You watched intently as he added soap and some sort of scented pebbles into the water, intrigued when they dissolved into the hot water. While the water ran, he made sure to get some towels and gauze ready, laying out a fresh bathmat next to the tub before finally shutting the water back off.

"Let's get you into that bath now, my little flower," he crooned.

He eased you into the bathwater, climbing in right behind you, letting you lay against his chest as he bathed every inch of you. He tickled the backs of your ears, relishing when you tried to move away from his touch.

He obviously wasn't annoyed at you for this outburst though, and instead decided to startle you by biting your shoulder.

"OW!" you yelled, jumping in the water.

It sloshed around you, the water having turned a light pink shade from the blood. You heard a chuckle behind you before you felt his flattened tongue pressed against his little bite, soothing over the wound. You found yourself leaning into him once again.

"Do you like being scared? That's how you get my attention, little one. You need to work harder next time." His words held a cryptic tone once again. You couldn’t figure him out. His personality seemed all over the place and it left you on edge.

"Why me?" you ask, shifting a little as he reaches down, 'cleaning' you out by pressing his fingers back into your hole to coax out the rest of his cum. You let out a sling of delightful noises as he wriggled his finger in and out of your sensitive entrance.

He bit your shoulder once again, harder this time, and you yelped. He slowed his ministrations down to little nibbles, and by the time he was finished you had calmed down again.

"Mmm, as much as I would love to go a second round, I think we need to get you cleaned up," he sighed, opening the drain to the tub, startling you with the loud noise as the water flowed down the drain, he stood up, turning the water to the shower head on, detaching it so that he could finish washing the two of you.

Once you were both clean, he dried you off first, rubbing baby oil into your skin and scalp until your hair was slicked back.

It was strange, that he was almost...pampering you after what he did to you down in his basement. It made your stomach do a little flip as he treated you so gently. He took the time to wrap your feet in gauze, only occasionally squeezing a little too tight just to see your face twist in pain.

Once your preparations were done, he picked you up from the table and set you on your feet again.

You winced, immediately leaning forward to fall into his arms. You couldn't bear the weight on your feet, even with them wrapped in bandages. The pain was simply too intense. There was no way you were going to able to run like this. He smirked, leaving you to flounder for a few more moments before scooping you up into his arms.

You settled into his rhythm, as he walked from the kitchen and down the stairs, holding you tightly as you buried your head into his shoulder.

You were led to a bedroom, where he laid you out onto a lavish bed, all the while never averting his gaze from you. He watched as your eyes fluttered, feeling the comfortable bed behind you as you sank against the cushion. "Comfortable?" he asked.

"Mm," you answered, the exhaustion weighing down on you.  He leans forward, placing a kiss against your temple, playing with your slicked back hair.

"Get some rest. I have a few...tasks for you in the morning, once you've had time to rest. But right now, it's time to sleep."

You would worry about what the future held in the morning, for now, sleep was encompassing you in a welcoming darkness. You could hardly hear the next few sentences out of his mouth, his voice fading in and out, "...and if you try to crawl away I'll just break your kneecaps." He stroked the side of your face tenderly, watching as you finally fell asleep. "Sweet dreams."

[lil-meow-meow-goes-rawr]

Stormy Waters

⚓︎ Previous Parts: Betrayal, Doubts, The Race, A Challenge of Fate, Strange Happenings, Blurred Reality, Negotiations, Attack at Sea

⚓︎ Pairing: Jungkook x OC

⚓︎ Genre: Fantasy, Pirate AU, magic, time travel, romance

⚓︎ Warnings: blood, death, fighting, explosions

⚓︎ Rating: General

⚓︎ Word Count: 4.2K

⚓︎ Synopsis: Jisung finds himself aboard an unfamiliar ship with a captain who would rather see him swimming with the fishes than remaining aboard his ship.

Masterlist

Jisung surveyed the new ship through careful glances, keeping his head down to avoid catching anyone’s eye. He’d woken a few minutes ago - his head pounded angrily, and his lungs burned from coughing up half the ocean onto the deck. Any attempt to stand or escape was proven useless. His leg throbbed beneath him even now as he held it carefully still. He was completely at the mercy of the crew surrounding him.

Akira’s crew was smaller than Jungkook’s. That alone should have meant more work for the sailors, but no one seemed to be doing much of anything. Two men sat cross-legged playing a game of cards only a few feet from Jisung. Another flounced across the deck, strumming lazily on what Jisung assumed was a guitar. Or what remained of one. The sound it produced grated against his rising nerves with every strum of the three strings.

Akira himself was locked away inside his cabin. The lack of interest in the crew confused Jisung. Shouldn’t a captain concern himself with everything happening aboard the ship?

More confusing still was why Jisung had been taken at all. With a broken leg and an elbow that showed off more bone than skin, he’d been unable to keep himself above the water’s surface. They should have simply allowed him to drown. Any other opponent would have. So why hadn’t they? He was of no use to them in this condition.

“Hey,” A large leather boot kicked Jisung’s side.

Wincing hard, Jisung grabbed his ribs which, judging by how badly they ached, weren’t in much better shape than his leg. Looking up, he was met with the rough face of one of the sailors. The man was nearly bald and the little hair he did have looked as though it’d been chopped off with a rusty blade. A large scar ran through his bottom lip, baring a disturbing resemblance to one of the hooks Seokjin used to catch dinner on occasion.

“Cap’n wants to see ya in ‘is cabin.”

Jisung lowered his head, fighting simply to take each breath, “I decline.”

“Wer’nt an offer. Unless you want that pr’ty head of yours strung up on the bowstrip and your body swimmin’ with the fishes, I wouldn’t defy a direct order from the cap’n.”

Jisung didn’t like the idea of speaking with Akira on his own, but he disliked the idea of his own beheading even less. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he struggled to his feet.

The sailor rolled his eyes impatiently. “Come on. Hav’nt got all day.”

When Jisung didn’t move any faster, the sailor took him by his collar and dragged him across the deck.

Jisung made a few involuntary strangled noises, doing his best not to cry out against the pain of his leg being dragged across the rough wood.

When they reached the door, the sailor threw Jisung to the ground and raised his fist to knock, but Akira’s voice cut him off.

“Bring him in.”

Jisung’s entire body trembled as he was shoved inside the room. Fighting back an onslaught of tears, he scrambled to his feet, only just managing to catch his balance. The cabin appeared much nicer than Jungkook’s cabin aboard The Bangtan. White walls enlarged the small space. Lush, comfortable furniture pulled at Jisung’s weary body, inviting his aching muscles to rest, but despite the luxury and everything lined with golden accents, the room felt cold. There were no maps scattered across every available surface. Any book Jisung could see was placed neatly in its place and not left open on the desk or marked with any random object lying nearby. Nothing about the room spoke of Akira’s position as captain of the ship.

The biggest difference was the lack of view. Jisung couldn’t see the sea from any of the three windows. Instead, they each displayed views of the ships deck. Akira sat at his desk, watching as his crew slacked and said nothing. It didn’t sit right with him. A captain should be vigilant, attentive and commanding. Everything Akira wasn’t. In fact, he didn’t seem to fit in on the seas at all. Jisung had only met Akira a handful of times and each occurrence had been on land. Seeing him now, out on the open sea where a captain should be, Akira appeared far less intimidating. His skin was pale and glistened with sweat. The confidence he expressed aboard The Bangtan earlier was gone and in its place was a man resembling a fish out of water.

“Jisung, wasn’t it?” Akira motioned to a chair with the softest cushions Jisung had ever seen. “Make yourself comfortable. I have a few questions I would like to present you with.”

Jisung licked his lips nervously. “No thanks, I’d rather stand.”

“It looks as though you can hardly manage that. Are you certain you won’t sit?”

“I’m fine.”

“Have it your way then.” With a wave of his hand, Akira sent the other two men from the room, leaving Jisung alone with the worst captain to ever sail.

Jisung’s mouth went dry. He couldn’t say anything that might compromise anyone aboard The Bangtan. He wasn’t good at keeping secrets. Even when he didn’t mean to, he spilt out information he shouldn’t. It was better simply to remain quiet and hope Akira didn’t demand an answer from him by any physical means.

What Akira said next was not what Jisung had prepared for.

“I suppose it’s less of a question and more of an offer. You see, I have no real use for you. My target had been another, you simply happened to be in the way, and she refused her cooperation if you were to be thrown overboard.”

“She?”

Akira nodded to the far corner of the room.

Jisung turned, shocked to find Aoi seated in one of the soft chairs, legs crossed and a contemplative expression coloring her features as she leaned her chin on the palm of her hand, her elbow braced against her knee. She’d changed into a dry outfit and the men’s clothing gave her a strong sense of authority. Sitting there now, she looked nothing short of powerful.

“She has agreed to cooperate so long as you remain safe while in my care.”

Jisung tried his best to make sense of the strange situation. His head spun with questions. Wasn’t Aoi part of Jungkook’s crew? He’d assumed they were on the same side. So why was she cooperating with Akira? What angle was she playing? Had she given away any secrets? Could he really trust her?

“As such,’ Akira continued, “I’m proposing an offer. Make the decision now to join my crew or leave the ship at the nearest port. Of course, if you should choose to leave, you will no longer be under my protection, and I would have you hunted down and killed. The choice is yours.”

“Are you certain there isn’t a third option hidden in there somewhere? You know, something where I walk away and you don’t kill me?”

Akira laughed.

Jisung’s leg shook beneath him, desperately working to keep him upright. He didn’t like either option. Staying on board meant betraying Jungkook, but leaving would mean abandoning Aoi. He decided he feared Jungkook’s wrath more than anything Akira could throw at him.

Holding his head high, Jisung spoke in the strongest voice he could manage, “As long as Aoi remains on this ship, I will as well.”

Akira sighed as if disappointed in his decision. “Very well then. Welcome aboard. For now, you will sleep on the deck as there is not enough space for you down below. Until further notice, you are under Kujo’s command.” Stopping, he looked down to the gaping wound on Jisung’s leg. “No injury will exempt you from doing your part and you either work as a team or you become fish food.” Akira finished with a tone of finality, ending Jisung’s audience with his new captain.

Looking to Aoi, Jisung attempted to read her expression. He’d always been able to read Jungkook like an open book, but Aoi was different. Apart from a small crease on her forehead, there was nothing to give away her thoughts. He could only hope he’d made the right decision and that Aoi really was on Jungkook’s side. If he’d gotten it wrong . . . he didn’t want to think about it.

Sleep eluded him that night. Aoi had yet to emerge from Akira’s cabin, though the candle had long since been blown out. Jisung’s heart sank as they sailed right past the main harbor. They’d been heading due east ever since.

From his place propped up against the bow, he surveyed the skies. Dark clouds blanketed the stars, restricting his only way of tracking where they were headed. A hazy outline of the full moon was all that could be seen and even that was slowly disappearing. Jisung shivered. The night air was disturbingly still as was the sea beneath them. The crashing waves from earlier had quieted and he hadn’t seen a single sign of life outside the ship for hours. He’d never shied away from a storm, but he couldn’t fight the feeling in his gut that told him to seek shelter. Something was coming and it wasn’t friendly.

Struggling to his feet, Jisung hobbled across the deck to the Akira’s cabin. Pressing his ear up against the door, he closed his eyes and listened hard. Silence was the only reward for his efforts, just as it had been every other time he’d tried to find out what was happening inside the small room. Heavy drapes covered the windows, blocking his view. Akira had pulled them closed as soon as the sun set and the candle was lit inside. A sense of dread settled down around him. Was Aoi even still inside? There was a chance he simply had not seen her leave.

Blowing out a breath of frustration, Jisung hobbled back toward his place at the bow. His leg had gone numb a while ago. He wasn’t sure whether to take that as a good sign or not. For now, it meant he wasn’t in quite as much pain. He would deal with the consequences later.

The first roll of thunder stopped him in his tracks. A single strand of lightning lit up the dark sky directly overhead. Every other concern left his mind. Survival instinct took over and he hurried as fast as he could on a numb leg to Akira’s cabin. His fist pounded against the door as another round of thunder rumbled, much closer this time.

The door swung open, revealing an angry and half-asleep Akira. “What is it?”

“I suggest calling the rest of the crew to the deck. A storm is coming.”

Akira rubbed the back of his head, suppressing a yawn. “We’ll ride it out, just like any other storm.”

Jisung put his hand against the door, keeping Akira from shutting it. “No. This ship won’t survive if we sit back and do nothing. You need to call the crew.”

Akira angrily threw Jisung’s hand away. “If you’re so concerned, than do something about it yourself. Don’t throw your concerns onto me.”

Jisung stood, mouth agape as Akira slammed the door in his face. He wasn’t able to manage an entire ship on his own. Not when the storm was already so close. Especially not in his condition.

Helplessly, he turned back to the deck. Lightning flashed every few seconds and there wasn’t much of a pause between each blast of thunder.

Jisung had been sailing long enough to know they wouldn’t be coming out of this storm unscathed. A part of him wanted to jump ship before the storm hit, find land and take shelter, leaving Akira and his crew to fend for themselves. But that would also mean leaving Aoi behind. Jisung couldn’t do that. Jungkook would kill him. So instead, he set to work. Using every ounce of strength he had left, he managed to tie down the riggings, secure the sails and ensure everything aboard deck was safe from flying overboard.

The winds shifted as he climbed the rigging, his bad leg dangling beneath him. His arms shook from the strain. Rain began pelting him as he secured the largest of the three sails. His movements were sloppy, and his fingers fumbled with the ropes but he managed to tie them down well enough they should survive the storm.

Sliding back down the ropes, his feet hit the deck just as lightning struck the crows nest, setting the wood aflame. Jisung cursed, hoping the rain would put it out quick enough but the fire had other plans. Despite the rain, it managed to light the sail below it and before Jisung knew what was happening the entire mast was engulfed in hot flames.

Akira appeared outside his cabin then. Jisung could hardly hear over the pounding rain, but he was certain the captain was cursing him out. It wasn’t long after the remainder of the crew stumbled onto the deck, most likely having been awoken by the ever-growing waves.

Despite the imminent danger however, Jisung struggled to keep his focus. Without warning, his vision blurred and all he was able to hear was a sharp ringing in his ears. Disoriented, he attempted to grasp ahold of the situation but the harder he tried, the further from reality he slipped. At some point, Aoi appeared next to him. She kept repeating something, but he couldn’t understand what it was. In a desperate attempt to communicate, she gestured down to his leg.

Frowning, he looked down to find that he was standing in a growing puddle of his own blood. Since his leg had grown numb, he hadn’t realized the wound had opened again.

A giant wave crashed into the side of the ship, lifting it several feet in the air before crashing it back down to the sea. The entire crew was thrown from their feet. Unable to fight against it, Jisung was thrown helplessly over the side, sinking down below the waves. The ship swept over him at an alarming speed, crashing up over another wave.

Jisung pushed his muscles, forcing them to carry him to the surface where I gulped in a deep breath only to be thrown back under. A current, too strong to battle against, swept him up, throwing him in every direction until he became so disoriented, he couldn’t tell which way was up or down.

There was no time to think. The second he was able to, Jisung picked a direction he assumed was up and swam as hard as he could. Arms wrapped around his middle, yanking him back in the opposite direction. His first thought was that the stories Yoongi told of the Kraken were true. He was being dragged to his water death by an eight-legged monster. Fighting with everything he had, he attempted to break free but the force was too strong. He was helpless against his attacker.

He was growing tired. His muscles ached and it wouldn’t be long before his lungs gave out and he would drown. Perhaps it was time to give up. Was it even worth fighting to survive? Would he live past the injuries he’d retained?

His body went limp, allowing the force to drag him freely through the waves. His chances of survival were minimal. It was time to accept that he would not be rejoining his crew.

That’s when his head broke the surface. Gasping in as much air as he could, he shook the water from his eyes and turned to see who his rescuer was. To his surprise, he found Aoi struggling to hold him afloat. Her face was red with exertion as she towed them both toward the bit of land in the distance.

Ignoring the fire burning in his muscles, Jisung shifted in her hold to allow himself to help. He couldn’t contribute much, but he could ease her burden. His heart swelled at the thought of Aoi rescuing him. He’d assumed she wouldn’t care. She had no memory after all. She had no reason to trust him or risk her life to save him like that.

It took every ounce of willpower to remain conscious until they reached land but just as his feet touched the sand, relief settled in at the realization he was alive and his body finally gave into fatigue. Darkness closed in around him and there was no fighting it.

Aoi collapsed onto the sand. Her muscles screaming at her from dragging Jisung up out of the water. The waves still crashed angrily against the shoreline but the worst of the storm seemed to have passed. A bit of morning sun began poking through the clouds as they thinned out. Akira’s ship somehow managed to survive the storm and she watched with regret as it sailed further away. There were still so many questions she needed answers for. Akira was not someone she trusted completely, but she knew he would tell her anything she wanted so long as she agreed to her submission.

Beside her, Jisung groaned in pain. Resting the back of her hand against his forehead, she grimaced at the heat radiating off his skin. He was running a fever. That much was certain and if she didn’t find him help quickly, he would be in serious trouble. Aoi had healed fevers before, but that was back in her own world. Did things work differently here? Healing had never been her gift. She’d only picked up a few skills in order to get a job. Would those skills work here on him?

Cautiously, she attempted to cure his fever with one of the many spells she’d been taught but his condition remained the same. The wound on his leg no longer bled but it oozed a greenish liquid Aoi was certain wasn’t meant to be there. Most likely it was infected and if not treated properly, he could lose his entire leg.

Hovering her hand over his leg, she concentrated until her head hurt but nothing happened. Why wasn’t it working now? Had she lost all her abilities since coming here?

“This is so frustrating!” Digging her fingers into the sand, she clenched her fists as hard as she could.

“Your friend looks a bit ill there,”

The softly spoken words enticed the same reaction from her as if they’d been screamed in her ear. Aoi leapt to her feet, spraying sand in every direction as she did.

The man standing behind her held his hands up innocently. “I won’t hurt you. I’m only here to help. That is, if you need my help. I happen to be a healer myself.”

“You can help him?” Aoi looked the man up and down a few times. He was tall and his skin seemed to radiate a golden glow in the morning sunlight. His friendly smile was the deciding factor in choosing to trust him.

“If you’ll let me.”

“Please, don’t let him die.”

“Don’t worry. Shua is the best healer around. You won’t find another like him. Jungkook really thinks he’s unbeatable with that non-magic-healer of his, but there’s a reason he’s never bested our cap’n. You just can’t beat natural talent like this.”

Aoi jumped, not having noticed the other man with him. He was shorter than the first guy and his hair shone bright pink. The strangest part about his appearance though, was the fact that his eyes matched his hair.

“Chan,” Shua rolled his eyes, “stop bragging and get down here. I’m going to need your help.”

Shooting a wink at Aoi, Chan dropped down next to his friend. “What’s the diagnosis?”

“It’s not good.”

“Wait,” Aoi said, her mind finally catching up with everything that was said, “you know Jungkook?”

“Sure,” Chan shrugged, “doesn’t everyone? He’s only the most feared and well-respected pirate on the seas. Everyone knows his name.”

“But you spoke as if you knew him personally.”

“Chan used to be a part of Jungkook’s crew before he joined ours.” Shua explained. “Our captains have always had a bit of a rival between them. During one of our last skirmishes, Chan was captured by our captain and Jungkook captured one of our men, Jeongin. Instead of fighting over it further, we decided just to accept the trade off.”

“That doesn’t really make much sense. Weren’t you worried about secrets being spilled?”

“Nah,” Chan grinned, his hair and eyes fading to a dark green, “they already know all of our secrets and we know theirs.”

“I’m so confused.”

Shua sighed, “You wouldn’t be the only one.”

“So if you know Jungkook, than maybe you’ll know Akira.”

Both men froze. Shua’s hands hovered over Jisung’s leg as he turned to stare at her. Chan’s hair turned a deep shade of orange. As he stared up at her, his eyes did the same.

“Why would you be looking for Akira?” Shua asked slowly.

“Wasn’t he the one who originally took you away from here?” Chan looked between Shua and Aoi, confusion written plainly across his face.

Aoi hesitated. They reacted to Akira’s name the same way most of Jungkook’s crew had – with fear and trepidation. She’d known Akira for years; worked under him and seen the way he fought to save lives in the hospital. How could someone like that be so feared by these people? No matter which way she looked at it, she couldn’t make it make sense. Was Akira not the person she thought he was?

Rocking back onto his heels, Shua stood. He’d become weary of her, that much was certain. The kind, gentle look he’d given her just moments before had been replaced by one that was cautious and uninviting. “Answer the question. What is it you seek from Akira?”

“Answers,” Aoi answered honestly.

Chan’s hair slowly faded to a deep blue. Aoi had to keep from staring. The frequent changes in color were distracting. She’d heard of gifts like his before – ones which fed off the person’s emotions. If she had to guess, he was able to read the emotions of the people around him, but at the price of his own emotions being openly displayed for everyone to see.

“What sort of answers are you seeking that you must find them with likes of Akira?”

Aoi fought the urge to take several steps back. There had been nothing intimidating about Shua just a moment ago, but fear was slowly taking over her as his suspicion towards her grew. “He is the only person I know after having been dragged through the spaces of time. I’m more than a bit confused and if I’m honest, lost and scared. I need to understand what’s going on. So many different people are telling me who I am and where I should belong. I don’t know who to trust or which way to turn.” She gestured to Jisung, her voice growing louder and more desperate with every word that left her lips. “I saved him from drowning just now because he was the only person I’ve met here who not only was nice to me but has yet to act as if he owns my life. I don’t know who he is, but I couldn’t bear to watch him die.”

Shua took a slow, deep breath, regaining control of his emotions. “I believe you.”

“You do?”

“You would have to be absolutely crazy to come up with a story like that. Besides, you’ve given us no reason not to believe you. I knew Jungkook had been sailing with woman he’d picked up along his voyages, but I’d yet to meet her before she disappeared. If I had to guess, that woman is you.”

Chan’s dark blue hair was proof he still didn’t quite believe her. “Time and space can be a tricky thing to navigate. There is a very good possibility she lost her memory somewhere along the way.”

“My memory is fine, thank you.” Aoi crossed her arms stubbornly.

“Really?” Chan challenged, rising to his feet. At full height he stood eye level with her but that did nothing to make him appear less intimidating. “Why is it then that everyone else seems to know who you are and yet you know no one? If you think about it, it’s far more logical that you’ve lost your memory rather than entire group of people have had their memories altered.”

Aoi wanted desperately to dispute what he was throwing at her, but she couldn’t. Everything he’d said was true and if she were to be honest with herself, she felt as if she knew these people just as well as they claimed to know her.

“Alright, before either of you become too upset over this, let’s get your friend here to the ship. Jihoon will have a better idea of what to do. A fair bit of warning though, Miss. Until we are able to speak with the captain alone, I would advise refraining from speaking about Akira. Avoid his name entirely unless you wish for the entire crew to be at your throat. Akira is a not a name taken to kindly around here.”

Shaking slightly, Aoi nodded.

“Good. Now let’s go meet your boyfriend’s rival, shall we?”

[rurifangirl]

oc asks💅💅

kayn🌸

If you had to choose a single object to act as a symbol for your oc, what would it be? Why?

kida🌸

How much has your oc traveled? Why is this? Would they like to travel more? Or are they perfectly fine with staying home?

rui🌸

How competitive is your oc? Is every little task something that they can win, or are they just in competitions for the fun of it? Is there anyone they’re most competitive with?

lyva🌸

What is your oc’s immune system like? Are they invincible to illness, or are they compromised completely from the slightest of dirt?

shou🌸

Does your oc do anything “just for the aesthetic”? Or are they completely practical in everything?

qiran🌸

How would you describe your oc’s voice? Do they have an accent? Do you have any voice claims for them?

naexi🌸

What topics does your oc know the most about? Are these obvious or would these be surprising to others?

evelyn🌸

How easy to annoy is your oc? Do they have common pet-peeves or are they stoic in response to everything? What is their reaction if the source doesn’t stop?

myst🌸

How would you describe your oc’s voice? Do they have an accent? Do you have any voice claims for them?

kerei🌸

What topics does your oc know the most about? Are these obvious or would these be surprising to others?

eris🌸

What is your oc’s vocabulary like? Does it match the way they talk? How would you describe their speech?

syndra🌸

What time of day is your oc most awake? What about most tired? Do they get up at the same time every morning without need of an alarm, or is their sleep schedule all over the place?

Ty for asking em my fave Scp 🤍/j

----------------------------------------------------------

Kayn💜-

Many things would work for his symbol tbh, Id say either a dog or a schyte?

There's many things he had great connections w, and for someone like him that cares bout litteraly anything and everything that is around him, It would be hard to settle down onto a specifical one.

Writing this, I feel like he'd choose a schyte, cus even though that's probably the least pratical thing he's good in, it's still a part of his character that Is sorta overlooked and probably gotta work on so-

----------------------------------------------------------

Kida💮-

She went into far more missions than Kayn ever did, and she did visit many places, other than sometimes resting in South Italy that Is.

She's mainly been used for abroad missions too, until the whole Japan thing started and she had to return back, and even if she stayed lil time there, she has a pin collection of every place, and occasionally shows it to close friends, and did It w Kayn after they got time to get along.

She also got the first pin, which her husband bought for her since she spent almost everything, and that does bring her some nostalgia bout It, in the good and in the bad.

Sometimes when she gets drunk, she'll start ramble bout every single embarassing moment she had there like it's nothin. And even when she'll wake up, Kida wouldn't do anythin to deny It.

Just, proudly stating that she did It.

----------------------------------------------------------

Rui💎-

They're mostly chill, kinda in everything, until it gets onto their interests.

They don't really care about being the best in a random task, like if that would change the world of something, but if that meant the safety/getting more gems, then oh boy, ya got the perfect contestant for ya.

But if they could be competitive w anyone, It would be with Naexi.

They just can't even pin point way, it just, is.

And also if you'd tell them that they had to kill someone for gettin a diamond, they'll do It. That's how far and competitive they'd get for It. So in that case, absolutely.

----------------------------------------------------------

Lyva📙-

She suffers normally of a morning sickness, and has to take some medication to treat some sounds she had even before getting into the gang, but other than that, she's pretty healthy.

I mean, both compared to the rest of the cast and ignoring some eating problems she had to get through of, but currently, she's doing just fine.

But she does have an allergy for some flowers, so during spring she has kinda an hard time alone.

----------------------------------------------------------

Shou🍵-

Like, yeah he does have many traditional outfits, but that's mainly because he's more tied up to his family traditions that, even if they hurt him in the past, he can't let go of.

But, those do look good and he likes wearing these kinds of outfits, so it's fifty fifty.

Though it's safe to say that, the outfit he wears normally isn't really practical, considering in which events he gets into, but for him It doesn't really matter.

Basically just the "be depressed but well dressed".

----------------------------------------------------------

Qiran🗡️-

They do have an accent, and probably the most prominent one out of the cast.

Considering they've also been travelling through many different places, learning their coltures and sometimes having to learn their language, Qiran doesn't have a specifical accent, just, a mixture of almost anythin.

Though, if ya could hear them, you'd also get they're Southern, in a way or another.

They also tend to shorten words whenever they can, just to go straight up to the answer.

----------------------------------------------------------

Naexi⚛️-

Absolutely almost any folk tail in human's history. They just have been so interested in that for even hundreds of years, she's just deeply sucked into them.

One thing they also really like to do Is revisiting them to their gang, and even clearing up some details in the meanwhile. Or even giving more fun facts, or how she personally interpretetated it.

She doesn't do It often to people, even to those they're close to, and mainly ramble about It to their dolls.

----------------------------------------------------------

Evelyn⚙️-

He's mainly the one to bully rather than the bullied, but it's safe to say that if ya could really annoy them, It would be poking their making, or weapons per say.

In the sense that, she's really proud of them, and having those being unrighfully judged onto their eyes is really, REALLY frustrating to see.

Plus, since they're thecnically the least powerful member of the gang, it's normal that they Hide that feeling pretty well, under some teasings to subdoly vent bout It.

So even teasing him about that makes them really annoyed, since you'd 'invade" the space they created for herself.

----------------------------------------------------------

Myst🎸-

Honestly, I can't blame myself enough for this, but, just Imagine Rainbow Dash's voice on him.

Yes I'm serious.

Just that energy that voice has onto her, the cracks and just, everything. Naturally It would be toned down by a LOT, considering she hasnt got a voice as childish.

Im not good w describing voices and should work on that tbh, but i hope this voice claim counts 😭😭

----------------------------------------------------------

Kerei🔮-

Magic/Spell related topic, since that's what he's most interested. He's got many interests, that can go to many different topics, but he doesn't have as much interest as that.

He knows especially many counter attacks and even some potions to defend himself during a real fight.

In his time w Myst, she helped him learning even more facts and through that, setting free Eris, so that would be It.

----------------------------------------------------------

Eris🌑-

It's a normal vocabulary? Like, a polite One for sure, since it's not used to the human world and didn't get enough habits to speak like a normal person would.

They just have that solemn touch to it, y'know?

It does match with how they speak though, even if sometimes they have an hard time understanding Myst's words, since he also likes to throw popular wordings n a little of dialect here and there.

Moon's trying its best.😭

----------------------------------------------------------

Syndra⛩️-

She's most awake during the evening, or night that Is, since it doesn't have that much of a good concept of time and will go with anything that goes for her.

Though surprisingly, she's hardly tired, because she doesn't want to seem that weak even to itself, so even if she's gonna be a lil dizzy, she's almost always gonna be there.

Especially to kick some asses >:D

----------------------------------------------------------

Tags undercut:

@a-chaotic-dumbass @spoopy-fish-writes @dopesaladlady @nadi-117 @damnfoxx @audre-falrose

[modern-fae-female]

Words of Enchantment

Hello! So this is a Lucien x OC story, since I am practically in love with him. Any other stories I have written are discontinued as I do not like them and didn’t have time to finish them. Now that I am on summer I hope to finish this one! Eleanor dearly loved her grandfather, so when she opened up her shop, she made sure it had all of the little things he loved. The little bits of his soul. Books for his love of reading, a small bakery that had his favorite treats, maps hung up to show his yearn for travel, pins from his collection, and crystals from the stories he told Eleanor growing up about their healing powers. Eleanor was much like her grandfather, in the sense that she loved these things as well, but none as much as her grandfather himself.

 When he was killed due to a rade from Amarantha’s soldiers, Eleanor was heartbroken. They lived more on the outskirts of the city, where they believed would be safer during her reign. Sadly her army still traveled and raided their town, causing many deaths including her grandfather. Eleanor was heartbroken, moved through life as a ghost for months, and didn't know how to live without him. Finally when Amarantha’s reign was over, and the Day Court was being restored back to its glory, Eleanor decided to open her  shop in honor of him. People who went there often didn’t know it was based on her grandfather, but she didn’t need them to. She knew and that was enough.

  Eleanor often prided herself on knowing exactly what her customers needed. Whether it was a type of book, a pastry to lift up their mood, a map to help them travel, a pin as a present to someone, or a crystal to help them heal. Eleanor seemed to know exactly what they needed, that was until a man with fiery red hair walked into her store.  Eleanor’s shop, Words of Enchantment, was never very busy, much to her content. She preferred to have her peace and calm and not deal with chaos. That was why she loved to live out here with her grandfather. 

The town was fairly small, most people knew one another and would keep to themselves, that was except her best friend Winnie. Winnie had a talent for getting into other people's business and reporting it all back to Eleanor. That’s why she wasn’t surprised when Winnie was the first to tell her about High Lord Helion naming Lucien Vanserra his heir to the throne. Eleanor was surprised to hear that the son of Autumn was actually Helion’s son and would be training there at the Day Court to one day take over the throne. To Eleanor, Helion seemed like a great leader to them, and she could only believe that Lucien would too. Nothing changed in their town after the announcement. Fae continued to live their lives, coming in and shopping at Worlds of Enchantment.

 “Eleanor, Eleanor, you will never believe what I just found out!” Winnie came yelling into Eleanor’s apartment above the shop. This was a common occurrence for her to break in to tell her news. 

“Yes Winnie, what is happening in the world now.”

 “Lord Lucien and some members of the Day Court are traveling around the outskirts of the court and are going to stop by our town!” This perked up Eleanor’s attention. Since they never had trouble and were far away from the main cities, people from the court never came here. Why were they now?

“Really, what for?”

“Apparently Lord Lucien wanted to ensure towns like ours on the outskirts were doing ok after Amarantha’s reign and is making a point to stop into towns like ours and check in.” 

“He is probably trying to get good with us so we will like him when he is named High Lord.”

 “Do you always have to think so logically? Yes he probably is, but still. We never get Lords here. Can you imagine how handsome he is. I mean coming from the Autumn and Day court, wow.” Eleanor chuckled at this, Winnie often liked to be the romance in everything. Eleanor preferred to read it in her books. 

“Well, when will they be arriving?”

“I don’t know the exact day, but I believe it will be sometime next week. Oh, we have so much to prepare to make the town look good. We need to look good as well. We need to spiffy up the shops, buy new outfits, maybe try a new hairstyle, and-”

“Winnie, why do we need to look good. Yes I will touch up the shop and talk to my neighbors about doing the same, but why do we need a touch up?”

“I honestly don’t know how I can be friends with you sometimes. Eleanor, these are some of the highest ranking fae in the court, we need to look good for them. Who knows, maybe you will turn the eye of one.”

“Ha, you honestly think I could do that. Have you seen me? I’m barely 5’3”, my crazy frizzy hair, I am nowhere near as skinny as you are thanks to my many stomach rolls and big thighs. So you can go spiffy up, but I will stick in here with my pants and sweaters. Thank you very much.”Winnie signed at her best friend, judging herself as she so often did.

 “You are still beautiful Eleanor. Come on, if you at least come with me pick out one dress for yourself, help me with some outfits, I will buy you a new sweater and you can pick the place for dinner on Friday.” Eleanor did want a new sweater and wanted to go anywhere but a bar on Friday

. “Ugh, fine. One dress.”

“Yay,” Winnie ran over to hug her best friend, “I love you!” 

“Love you to Winn, but I have to finish getting ready so I can open the shop.”

“Ok, bye!” Winnie ran out, probably to tell anyone and everyone about the visitors.

 Growing up Eleanor would wear pants and sweaters, much like her grandfather. She especially did now, since he wasn’t here to joke about how they matched. The rest of the week went mostly as usual. Eleanor did get some paint and touched up the shop, as did most store owners. There was a slight buzz in the air in anticipation for the Lords. Winnie did pick out a dress for Eleanor that wasn’t horrible and bought 3 more for herself. Eleanor was just happy to have a new sweater and have soup for dinner that night. 

As the days blurred into the next week, the Fae in their town grew more and more anxious for their arrival. Finally on Tuesday afternoon, Winnie came running into the store to tell her of their arrival. 

“Eleanor!!!! They're here! Come on, come on, let's go see them!” Before Eleanor had time to argue Winnie grabbed her hand and was dragging her out of the store and through the streets. 

 Soon they reached a crowd of people around a carriage and some horses which Eleanor could only assume it was the Lords. 

 “There is the third in command of the court, and there is the head cartographer, and there is..” Winnie went on to point out several more high ranking Fae, but they didn’t see Lord Lucien anywhere.  “Hmm, I wonder where Lord Lucien is. Maybe they put him in a more secure location in town,” Winnie said as practically reading her mind. 

“Hello everyone. As you know we are traveling to see what towns need help as we are now free from Amarantha’s reign. We will be here for 3 days, going around and seeing if anyone needs help. Please do not let us disturb your routine. Thank you for your hospitality,” said a man who Eleanor remembered Winnie saying was third in command. People cheered at the end of his words. 

Since their town was not hit hard Eleanor hardly expected people to really need anything from them, she certainly didn’t. As Winnie and a few others went up to them to ask God knows what, Eleanor made her way back to her shop, getting away from the crowd. Soon she reached her store, and made her way back in and over to the register, though the doubted anyone would come in today.

 “Hello.” Eleanor jumped at the sound of a male voice coming from one of the aisles. She quickly turned to find a tall male there. He had fiery red hair, likely from the autumn court. That could only mean one thing. Heir to the throne, Lord Lucien Vanserra was here, in her store. Oh fuck.

 “Oh, Lord Lucien, hello.” Eleanor started to make her way down to bow but was quickly stopped. 

“Oh please you do not need to bow, and it’s just Lucien.” Eleanor nodded, not quite knowing what to say or do. She was rather shy in general, and had one of the most important people in the court in her store who, much to her demise, was well gorgeous. Damn Winnie for being right. 

“Is this your store?” Eleanor was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of his voice, which was just as beautiful as him. Damn Winnie.

 “Uh, yes. I own it and run it,” said Eleanor, trying to muster up a bit of confidence in her. 

“Well it's a beautiful store, has a little bit of everything. Can I look around some more?” He is asking her to look around some more? He was the lord!

“Of course, look around as long as you want,” He nodded and went back down the aisle to the back of the store. Eleanor made her way to the register and tried to calm herself down. She made her way over the pins and crystals and started to reorganize them, hoping it would take her mind off of the male in the store. 

“I think I would like to purchase these books and a pastry if I may.” He just has to be such a nice gentleman?!

“Of course,” Eleanor grabbed the books as he handed them to her,”Which pastry would you like?” 

“Which one is your favorite?” 

“Oh uh, I really like the raspberry and chocolate tart, but you can get whatever you want.”

 “Well then I will take one raspberry and chocolate tart.” Eleanor nodded and got it out for him along with wrapping up his books. 

“Here,” Lucien said while handing her money. Way too much money.

 “Oh, this is too much. Here,” she said, giving him back his change.

 “No please, keep it. Thank you for your pastry advice,” and he started to make his way out of the store, but not before taking a bite of it. “Wow, this is delicious. Thank you again,” and he left the store. 

As he was leaving Eleanor could see Winnie making her way back to the store and Lucien leaving. He gave her a smile and made his way back into town. 

“Was that Lord Lucien leaving the store!!?” Winnie practically yelled as they got inside. 

“Yes it was, and he liked my pastry,” Eleanor replied, not believing she just said that. 

[coffeebleeds]

For Day One of OC Ship Week 2021 | First Meeting

The long journey across the ocean finally ended with solid ground under his feet. It felt odd, like his legs weren’t quite working right. It felt like land, but it wasn’t his. And he didn’t like it.

“Calm down.” His guardian chided him, leading the young boy along by the hand. “You’ll get used to it. Travel makes you grateful for home.” The Englishman’s long strides toward a waiting carriage were uncharacteristic, and Alfred wondered if this is just what Arthur is like when on his own land.

Alfred squirmed and fussed the entire ride, leaning out the window, asking a million questions about anything and everything he could think of. What was that building? Who were those people? Why is it raining? When will the sun come out? Is it lunchtime yet? By the time the pair rolled up to the manor, Arthur was about at his wit’s end.

“Alfred, please. Take a breath between questions, at least.” He again took Alfred’s hand in his to walk the boy inside. And while Alfred was sure that he received an introduction to the servants, he scarcely remembered it. All he heard was ‘you’re free to play outside’ and everything beyond that was meaningless.

The boy rocketed out of that stuffy manor as fast as his little legs could carry him. Finally! Freedom! He ran through the gardens, his palms brushing against all the shrubs and bushes he could find, happy to finally have some living matter around him. Weeks of sea travel exhausted him! He didn’t even care about the cuts and splinters in his skin. They’d pop out or close up eventually.

The only thing that stopped his wild escape was the body of another person. Specifically, a girl that he hit full force while rounding a corner. His head bonked against something hard in the front, then even harder in the back when he fell, slamming his skull against the stone pathway. He laid on the ground, dazed, his vision doubled. Twice as many raindrops.

“Would you please watch where you’re going?!” That voice didn’t sound like a Londoner. He’d heard the voices of the people on the ship and the servants in the house. She didn’t sound English at all!

Alfred sat up, his head still spinning and throbbing, all three of this girl coming into focus in front of him. “Huh?”

Judging by the way she was also sitting on the ground, he could only guess that he’s knocked her down too. And she looked mad. And... sick. The longer he stared at her, the more he felt like he was staring at a corpse. Her skin was almost gray in paleness, and her hair was dark as night. Like a doll left out in a storm to rot. “You ran right into me, estupido!” She definitely didn’t sound English when she spoke like that, but he could guess pretty well what she meant.

“I’m not stupid! I’m not the one standing around waiting to get run into!” 

A fistful of mud was her reply, right to his face, before she ran off toward the house. “Mr. Kirkland! Mr. Kirkland!” She yelled his guardian’s name as she ran. Her voice pierced his ears with its shrillness. “Mr. Kirkland, there’s a savage boy in the garden!”

@hwsocshipweek

[jovialyouthmusic]

A Lythikan Liaison

After the death of Jackson Walker, the young King’s Guardsman Bastien Lykel accompanies the Royal family to Lythikos in mid December. 

Word Count 3517

Absolutely NS*W and NO UNDER 18s 

Pairing; Bastein Lykel and OC

1 At a Loose End

Bastien Lykel stamped his feet to dislodge the packed snow from his boots as he entered the staff quarters at Lythikos Lodge. The Royal family was spending some time before Christmas in the duchy and taking young Olivia back to the Palace for the festivities. It meant half of the King’s guard, recently deprived of its popular captain, Jackson Walker, travelled with the King and his two sons. Bastien had been Jackson’s protege, and the new Captain had his own favourite, so his duties had diminished somewhat. Bianca, Drake and Savannah had remained at the Palace, as Bianca didn’t seem to have the will or desire to uproot the bereaved children from their home, despite the attractions of skating and building snowmen. To be truthful, it was dubious as to whether the family would stay in Cordonia, and Bastien thought it likely that they would return to Texas.

So he had leisure time that he barely knew how to spend, as his shift was over and Captain Parker had told him he wouldn’t be needed until the return journey. He wondered why he’d been brought along at all, knowing that his time would have been better spent supporting the Walker family. He suspected that Constantine wanted him to cut his ties with them in order to concentrate on his job. But if that was the case, Parker should be keeping him busy, not laying him off.

He sighed as he took his coat off and hung it where the snowflakes would evaporate in the warm air of the entrance hall. He went to the canteen and took a bowl of stew and a crust of warm bread to a table looking out over the frozen lake. A few of the Lodge staff were also eating their evening meal but left him alone, which suited him fine.  The Lythikans knew how to make good hearty food, he’d give them that. He disliked their spiced drinks and the nog turned his stomach, but the red wine was robust and strong and the beer was tolerable in moderation.

He refused the hard spiced cookies that were handed out from table to table by a dour serving woman who leered at him and winked broadly, asking if he wanted someone to warm his bed for him or if he preferred a hot water bottle. Her tone made it plain that such a device was only for weaklings and children. He glared at her and replied he was perfectly capable of making his own arrangements and made his way to the bar, where a few of his fellow guards sat drinking.  Lewis sat alone at a table at the edge of the room, able to see all that went on, as a good guard should. Bastien went over to join him, seeing his glass was almost empty.

‘Hey Bas, how are you holding up?’ Lewis asked. The two men had joined the Guard in the same intake, and had helped each other through some of the more arduous training exercises. Bastien had finished top of his year with Lewis a close second, and the two men had formed a strong bond.

‘I’d be just fine if Parker gave me more to do’ he grumbled ‘I’d far rather be working than told to go and relax.’ He eyed his companion’s glass of Skullcracker ale, making a resolution to have no more than two pints himself before he went back to his tiny room. He may not be working the next morning, but he could do without the crashing hangover Lythican alcohol gave him nonetheless.

‘Sleeping okay?’ Lewis knew that Bastien suffered flashbacks from the assassination attempt that had taken his mentor’s life. Bastien shrugged.

‘A little better’ he admitted ‘It’s too cold to get up and wander around so at least I stay in my bed until breakfast’

‘I wouldn’t admit the cold to the natives’ Lewis said in an undertone ‘They make them hardy out here. It’s only been a decade or so since they stopped putting newborns out in the snow to test how strong they are.’ Bastien snorted

‘It’s rumours like that which keep relations between Lythikos and the rest of Cordonia at an ‘us and them’ level.’ Lewis shook his head and drained his glass of ale.

‘Don’t look now, but those two over by the bar have been eyeing us up since you came in’ Lewis said with an almost imperceptible nod. As he had said, two women were looking in their direction, no subterfuge in their appraisal of the King’s men. They were both well built, one of them taller, close to Bastien’s six foot four inches and had pale skin and rich auburn hair.

‘I’ve already been offered a bed warmer, maybe I should take one of them up on it and get it over with’ Bastien mused.

‘You know what Lythicans are like, you’ll be in for a hard ride’ Lewis warned him. He handed his glass to Bastien, who stood up to go and order ale.

‘I’ve not much better to do’ he said ‘I should make the most of my down time’ He strode to the bar and put the glass down. The bartender raised his eyebrows at him.

‘Another pint of Skullcracker and whatever these two are having’ he nodded at the two women. The taller one held eye contact as she replied.

‘Are you sure you can handle that ale, King’s man?’ she asked ‘Most foreigners find just the one enough to send them to their knees’

‘Foreign? I’m Cordonian just like I presume you are’ he replied ‘Or are you claiming Lythikos is independent of the Crown?’ She frowned

‘Last I heard, Constantine insisted he’s King, and Duchess Lucretia hasn’t made a counter claim. Yet. And we call any non Lythican foreign, even if they come from the next village outside the duchy boundary.’ she replied acidly, but indicated to the barman that she’d accept Bastien’s offer. The other woman took two glasses of ale and went to join Lewis at his table.

‘So what part of Cordonia do you hail from, King’s man?’ she asked, as she took a healthy gulp of the ale that made Bastien hope he could match her without invoking the hangover.

‘My family comes from the capitol’ he said.

‘Oh yes, and what name do you go by?’

‘Lykel. Bastien Lykel’ She pursed her lips and nodded

‘A distinguished name. You might have a claim to the throne yourself if you can prove your lineage.’

‘Power doesn’t interest me’ he said, shaking his head ‘Attending banquets and balls and talking to trade delegates isn’t my idea of a fulfilling lifestyle’ He took a gulp of the thick ale. ‘I take it you’re Lythican?’

‘Naturally. The name’s Marcia. Marcia Wolfsbane’

‘That’s a fine surname too. Have you got links to the Nevrakis?’

‘Only in service, but then doesn’t most of the duchy?’

‘What do you do for a living?’ he asked curiously, and she laughed out loud, slapping her palm on the bar.

‘Can’t you tell? I’m in the same line of business as yourself. I’m part of the Lythican Guard. I saw you and your friend arrive with the Royal family’ She grinned at having bested him. Taking another swig from her glass, she nodded at him appraisingly, her gaze raking him from head to toe ‘You want to come back to my place and fuck?’ she asked. Bastien swiftly got over his chagrin at missing her occupation and gave her a slow smile. He liked directness, it left no room for misinterpretation and he was relieved that she wasn’t interested in drinking herself into a stupor. It had been a while since he’d had anything but brief encounters and wondered if this would be more than a one night stand. It wasn’t important, his job didn’t allow for romantic commitment although Lewis had a steady partner.

‘Sure, why not. Let me finish this first’ he replied.

------

Ten minutes later he found himself walking beside the tall woman along the narrow streets of the town that served the lodge and ski slopes. The Lythicans had found there was money to be made from winter sports in peace time and had spared no expense setting up resorts in the hills. Between the low log cabins the snow turned to slush underfoot and he was thankful for his good leather boots and thick socks that kept out the cold and wet.

‘You do realise that a couple of decades ago you wouldn’t have dared to be alone with the likes of me?’ she pointed out ‘Thank goodness for peacetime’

‘I like to think I’m a good judge of character’ he replied. ‘It’s my job to assess dangerous situations’ They trudged on for a while, passing other Lythicans walking to and fro in the darkening early evening.

‘Is it true you use those new tracking devices to keep tabs on each other?’ she asked curiously.

‘I wouldn’t tell you if we did.’ He said shortly. She turned down a dim side street which struck him as the sort of place that unwary travellers might be lured before being relieved of their valuables. Warily he scanned the shadows for lurkers as she strode on.

‘My home’s just down here, King’s man. I share the cabin with my friend back at the bar when we’re off the duty rotation. She’ll leave us alone for the night so you won’t have to worry about disturbing anyone.’

‘Does that depend on the willingness of my partner?’ he asked ‘He’s in a relationship, I’m not sure that he’ll bite’ Marcia shrugged as she stopped at one of the almost identical cabins and put her hand to the door. Bastien noted that it wasn’t locked, a sign either that there was no crime in the town, or that nobody would dare take anything from the occupants.

‘She’ll find someone or somewhere else’ The door swung open and she beckoned him in. ‘Boots off’ she ordered. Bastien bent to unfasten them and left them by the door next to hers and shrugged off his thick coat. The cabin was cool and smelled of spice and pine. She had already hung up her own coat and disappeared through a door off the lobby. He followed to find her kneeling by a wood burner setting a match to it. It took easily and the room was soon warming up.

‘You’ll take a hot drink?’ she asked

‘Only if it’s not spiced’ he replied ‘I prefer my drinks plain.’ She laughed

‘You’re missing out, King’s man’ she exclaimed ‘They warm the blood and heighten the senses’

‘No good if my stomach’s turned’ he said sourly ‘A nip of whiskey does the job very nicely’

‘In that case, hot chocolate with a dash of brandy. No spice’

‘That would be very welcome’ She disappeared, and he took stock of the room. He knew that the town was relatively new, extended to service the ski slopes, and the few traditional buildings were at the centre of the town, and here on the outskirts the buildings were less than five years old. The cabin walls were of dark logs that gave a sense of warmth, and the check curtains were thick and heavy. The furniture was mostly dark stained pine, modern but utilitarian. The couch and chairs were draped in woollen throws, the wooden floor augmented by thick rugs. Red was the predominant colour with accents of green and splashes of golden yellow. Shelves held books and trophies, and he went closer to examine the gleaming silver. Marcia re entered the room with two mugs. He turned to take his, nodding toward the trophies.

‘You have a lot of awards for markmanship’ he observed. She shrugged as he blew on his mug to cool the hot chocolate, plain as she had promised with no scent of spice and no cream, but an aroma of good brandy rose to his nostrils. He took a sip and felt it beginning to warm him from the inside.

‘I have plenty of time to practice, and the hunting in the woods is good’ She put her drink down and took the hem of her woollen jumper, pulling it up off and throwing it onto the couch, with a sigh that indicated that she was hot. She still wore a simple blouse and under vest and was well built, solid and muscular but with enough womanly curves to stir his desire. He knew Lythicans were hot blooded and very active in the bedroom with a casual attitude toward the number of partners they had at any one time, so he had come prepared with protection. Nonetheless, he had a question for her.

‘Are you currently in a relationship?’ he asked. She looked at him over her cup, her piercing blue eyes locking with his grey.

‘Only with my housemate. Are you?’

‘No, but I don’t want to cause any conflict’

‘You won’t’ she said ‘There’s nothing complicated about this unless you want it to be’

‘No, simple suits me just fine’ She put her cup down and moved closer.

‘You have milk on your moustache’ she said huskily, and leaned in to suck at his top lip. He groped to put his mug down on the table next to him, returning the kiss and putting his hand to the back of her neck.

‘Your hair is too long’ she said, reaching up to his forehead, but he gripped her wrist before she could touch it. She bit her lip ‘Someone could twist their fingers into it and control you’ Bastien realised with a flash why all the Lythican guard, male and female, had short cropped hair. He took a pride in his appearance, and his raven black hair was his weakness, always glossy and impeccably styled.

‘They’d have to get close enough to start with, and a good wrist lock would solve the problem even then’ He twisted her wrist to demonstrate, just until he saw her grimace, and let go. She knew her stuff, and it was refreshing to connect with someone so tuned in to his own profession. Truth be told, it was more of a lifestyle than a job. He hoped they could trade work experiences without compromising any confidential information.

But at that moment there was something more primal at hand, something basic and physical that stirred and aroused him. He was always holding himself back, keeping something in reserve, and he guessed that he could let go with her, be himself in a way he couldn’t with anyone else he’d encountered so far. She pushed him back and they stumbled to the couch. A split second decision allowed her to push him down and follow so that she was straddling him, triggering his arousal as her thighs clamped to his. Again she reached for his hair and he countered, pinning her wrists behind her back. Still she surged forward, her breasts pressing to his chest, her lips crashing to his. She lost her balance, allowing him to pivot so that she was the one sitting on the couch. He braced his knee between her thighs, letting go of her wrists. She put her palms to his chest, keeping him from leaning in to claim her lips.

‘One of us has to yield’ he panted.

‘The stronger the fight, the sweeter the surrender’ she growled, and bucked forward pushing him onto the floor. He landed on his back, the thick woollen rug cushioning his fall as she followed him down. He fought back, and they rolled around on the floor, neither giving in until they paused, both panting with exertion, Bastien on top but bracing his weight off her, elbows locked.

He straddled her, pinning her hips down and straightened up to take his sweater and shirt off, warmed through at last from their battle for supremacy. Her eyes blackened as she gazed at his broad muscled chest and flat abdomen scattered with dark hair. Again she bucked and threw him off, mirroring his effort by pinning him to the floor and stripping to the waist before falling on him and delivering scorching kisses and little nips along his neck to his shoulder. Her breasts were small and firm despite her stature, her belly soft but flat, and he was hard between her thighs. They rolled around the floor managing somehow to assist each other to strip naked and end up side by side, her thigh thrown over his hip, breathing hard. She reached down to judge his size with fingers and palm, and a slow smile spread across her face.

‘You are big in every way, Bastien Lykel.’ she murmured appreciatively. ‘I knew there was something about you worth pursuing’ Despite the woollen rugs and the heat of the wood burner the floor was hard and cold and he was grateful as she rose and pulled him to his feet, guiding him with purposeful stride to her bedroom. It was cool but she threw back the bedclothes to drag him on top of her, sinking into the firm mattress and spreading her thighs for him. She rose to sink her teeth into his shoulder and clawed at his back. With an inhuman effort he drew back from her, not quite lost yet.

‘I have – we need protection’ he panted.

‘In the bedside drawer’ she groaned ‘Hurry, I’ve not bedded a man for months’ He fumbled in the drawer and found a foil packet, tearing it open and hoping it was large enough for his girth. He was in luck, and rolled the rubber sheath over his length without discomfort. She pushed him over onto his back and mounted him like an animal, pressing her sex to him before guiding him where she needed him and he placed his hands on her hips, trusting that she knew what she was letting herself in for. She groaned as she started to lower herself onto him, alarmingly tight, but she was wet and the noises she made assured him that pain and pleasure were inseparable for her.

Soon she sat flush to him and rolled her hips, rising up above him and throwing her head back with a guttural cry before leaning forward to bury her face in his between his neck and shoulder, sucking and biting. What they did in that bed bordered on fighting as they wrestled for dominance, rolling over, tangling in the bedclothes, settling into a fierce steady rhythm that challenged the strength of the bedframe. Bastien realised that she could take anything he gave her, and savagely thrust into her willing flesh, pinning her hands above her head until she arched her back and gave out a loud ululating cry. He felt her pulse around him, and with a roar he followed her over the edge until they lay spent and panting, and he rolled off her to the side.

‘Are you sure you’re not from Lythikos?’ she panted as he cleaned himself up.

‘I may have some ancestors somewhere along the line’ he remarked. He went to the bedroom door.

‘You can stay the night if you like’ she said from the tangle of bedclothes. He paused in thought. He could remember his way back to his billet but was reluctant to dress and go out into the cold.

‘That’s generous of you. I need to get my clothes and fold them’ When he returned, she had straightened the blankets and thrown them back for him, a naked leg uncovered. He got in and lay on his back. He wasn’t a cuddler and the bed was wide. She seemed to understand, and curled into herself on her side of the bed.

‘When are you on duty?’ she asked

‘Not until we leave’ he replied ‘My superior seems to think I need down time, but I’d rather be busy’

‘I heard about Walker’ she replied, and he gritted his teeth.

‘I was there’ he said shortly, feeling himself tense at the memory.

‘He sounded like a good man. I never met him’

‘And you never will’ he turned his back to her.

‘I’m sorry for your loss’ she said quietly. ‘That was insensitive of me.’ He snorted, biting back resentful words. He felt her hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m off duty tomorrow as well. If you like, you could come hunting with me’ Her hand fell away. ‘If you look outside the back you’ll see the green and the communal cookfire. All the cabins that back onto it contribute – either with meat or vegetables, or by cooking. I need to make my donation’

‘I’ll think about it’ He was tired – tired of the flashbacks, tired of grieving, tired of worrying about the Walker family, and now from the physical exertion he had just undergone. He felt the comfortable glow of his release, and that and the brandy lured him closer to the edge of sleep. He felt his eyelids grow heavy. His companion was silent, and he surrendered to the dark comfort of slumber.

@sirbeepsalot @stopforamoment @drakesensworld @katedrakeohd​ @texaskitten30​ @be-still-my-aching-heart @hopefulmoonobject @dcbbw @classylady1234 @rainbowsinthestorm @kimmiedoo5 @bascmve01  @ibldw-main @addictedtodrakefanfic @trappedinfandoms @fluffyfirewhiskey​ @kingliam2019 @bobasheebaby​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​

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Metamorphosis

Ch. 5: A Companion’s Guide

Current Masterlist // Previous Story // Renata’s Masterlist

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Taglist: @ocfairygodmother​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @perfectlystiles​ @natalie-the-whovian​

[If you would like to be added to this specific OC’s taglist, let me know!]

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Chapter summary: The time travelers have to figure out who's behind the creature snatching people up while working with Liz 10 and in the end, Gabby has to urge Amy to look past the Time Lords’ anger to see what they’re truly all about.

The entire group had fallen into the chute and were thrown out only to land in a splash somewhere full of oddly colored liquid. The Doctor jumped back on his feet soon as he got his bearings, though he noted the flooring underneath was a bit odd. He flashed the sonic around to see where exactly the chute had brought them to.

"High-speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel!"

Renata thrashed the water before getting up. "You have got to stop throwing us down things when you've no idea where they lead!" She made a show by splashing some water to the side.

Despite knowing she was properly upset, the Doctor found it much too funny to be serious. She was covered in whatever liquid they'd landed in - he suspected a food refuse judging by the smell - and so all of her hair was sticking to her face. Her dress was pressed against her body again, something he'd begun to accept would be his downfall one day. She was trying to be angry but she kept scrunching her face and yelling about the horrible stench around them. Her kicking the food refuse was just a plus!

Yup. Completely, adorably, funny.

"Doctor, where are we?" Gabby was close to gagging with the odor around them.

"600 feet down, 20 miles laterally - puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say... Lancashire. What's this, then - a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave!"

"WHO CARES WHAT IT IS! GET US OUT!" Renata shivered excessively. She might just throw up there and then.

Amy was still on her knees beside them. She kept touching the ground. "It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!"

"Yes, but only food refuse!" the Doctor Doctor confirmed, not that it would make it better. "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

"You are so dead," Renata threw him a murderous glare he chose to ignore.

"The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed," Amy pointed out. She'd been trying to figure out how best to describe what she felt and that was as close as it would get.

"But feeding what, though?" the Doctor asked while he took another read off the sonic.

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy!"

"Uh, Amy, let's not keep touching that," Gabby helped the woman stand up. "You never know what it could actually be."

And a moment later, the Doctor heard a distant moaning. He froze, letting his eyes dart to the dark 'walls' of the so-called cave. "Er...it's not a floor, it's a…" he put his screwdriver away and prepared the best way to explain his discovery. "So…"

Renata narrowed her eyes on him. With all her thrashing, she missed the moaning. The Doctor was grateful for it because now he had a few minutes to come up with a way that wouldn't get him killed.

"What is it?" she demanded a dangerously low tone.

"The next word is kind of a scary word." And it was a pretty scary moment for him right now. He moved closer to her, taking her sticky hands into his. "Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place. Go 'omm'. Everybody! Omm!"

Gabby and Amy had no idea what he was doing but they would go along with it and see where it led. "Omm!" they collectively said.

"...it's a tongue," the Doctor had swallowed very hard, almost making it so that Renata couldn't understand him. Almost.

Her dark eyebrows arched up as her eyes widened. "A...tongue?"

"Aha...a great big tongue!" He couldn't help the excitement that crossed his face for a moment. It was a tongue! They were standing on an actual tongue! When could that ever happen!?

It was that same excitement that drove Renata mad. "I'm gonna kill you!" she pushed him away. "I hope you've enjoyed your small time in that incarnation because it's about to end!" She actually lunged on him, knocking them both to the ground. Her hands may have curled around his neck but she got a taste of the food refuse from their splash and nearly gagged on the side.

The Doctor was stunned that Renata had actually lunged on him, but he was close to laughing too. This new incarnation of hers was truly going to be an adventure. Perhaps it was a sign that things were going to change for the better now.

"Renata!" Gabby burst into laughter. Amy perhaps would've laughed if she wasn't still stuck on the fact they were inside a mouth.

Renata still narrowed her eyes on the Doctor under her. "You are so lucky there's witnesses!"

"I'm going to love you even more after this," he said before laughing. A blush bloomed across Renata's face, even more so when she realized their position.

Make a fool out of yourself why don't you? She quickly got off him and tried pulling her hair off her face. "How do we get out of here?" She reached for her pocket and took out her own sonic.

"What, you have one too?" Amy blinked at the golden-white sonic in Renata's hand. It even made the same sound as the Doctor's.

Renata gave a dismissive nod while she took a look at the readings. "This place is huge! Doctor, of all the places…"

"It's gorgeous!" the man exclaimed. She rolled her eyes in response. "Blimey! if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." Of course soon as he heard the grunts in the back he regretted his words. "Though not right now."

"Doctor, how do we get out?" Gabby called to him. She would like if he didn't keep saying words that could get him killed by the mouth or Renata.

"OK, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is…" the Doctor made a turn towards the white set of teeth properly shut. "...closed for business."

"We can try, though!" Amy said determinedly. She left Gabby's side only to take two steps and hear another grunt. "Or...not…"

"Oh, great, it's started," Renata lowered her sonic to her side.

Amy swallowed hard. Whatever was starting was her fault. "What has?"

"Swallow reflex." The Doctor said just before they were thrown back into the refuse. Renata yelled as soon as her entire body was covered in the refuse again. In a quick second the Doctor used the sonic on the walls to get another process started, one that he was sure Renata would thoroughly scream at him for.

"What are you doing?" Amy sat upright, too afraid to stand until somebody else did too.

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors!"

"Chemo-what?"

"The eject button!"

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

As expected, Renata loudly screamed. "I really hate you! I hate this entire place and this entire ship!"

Gabby was about to ask for another explanation when they heard the creature growling and a wave of vile coming towards them. Oh, she might scream too.

The Doctor helped Renata stand up but she looked so close to murdering him he almost thought of letting her go. He winced at himself for that thought. "Sorry Renée. Only way out."

She would've indeed yelled at him had it not been for the terribly huge wave coming for them. "O-o-oh no…" Her hands suddenly clung to him.

"Right, then, this isn't going to be big on dignity," he tweaked his bowtie, not that it would matter in a couple minutes. "Geronimo!" He wrapped his arms around Renata's body to shield her from as much bile as he could.

Gabby and Amy tried cowarding behind one another, ushering the other one ahead before they would force each other to switch places. In the end, they all screamed as the bile collected them in its way.

~0~

When Gabby and Amy came to, everything was a bit distorted. They could see each other a few inches away but things were blurry. They could hear warbled voices in the background, going fast. It took a few minutes for them to realize they were lying on a hard, cold metal ground and that the voices they heard were actually Renata and the Doctor going back and forth in some conversation...or argument. Gabby wasn't sure.

"You really had to bring us there, huh? I always thought there was a wire in your head that's plugged into some box with the words 'act stupid' on the front!" Renata was watching the Doctor sonic the metal door that wouldn't open for them.

He looked over her shoulder at her, his expression a cross between wanting to laugh or be properly annoyed. "A box…?" The laughing was winning.

She huffed and folded her arms. "Being clean is something I love. I adore it. You know what I don't like? Being covered in sick! I was just thrown up like...like…" she groaned when no comparison came to mind. "It's just so terrible that I can't come up with the right word!"

"Ren?" Gabby called, alerting the pair she and Amy had woken up.

Renata turned around to help the girls stand up. "Don't worry. There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, unfortunately we're all covered in sick."

"And where are we?" Amy asked once she realized they were in a narrow room with, unsurprisingly, two Smilers.

"Overspill pipe, at a guess." Renata glanced back to see if the Doctor was anywhere closer to opening that door. He wasn't.

Amy crinkled her nose at the stench that seemed to be stuck on her. "Oh, God, it stinks!"

"Yeah, that's not the pipe," the Doctor paused scanning to shoot her an apologetic smile.

"Ugh! Doctor!" Gabby kept her arms away from her body. "This is by far the most disgusting thing that's happened to us!"

"Can we get out?" Amy wanted nothing more than to see a shower.

"One door, one door switch, one condition," Renata sourly said as she made her way up to the Smilers. She tilted her head at the smiling clown face. "It wants us to forget everything we saw. The audacity."

"Forget that we were inside the mouth of a creature? Honestly tempting," Gabby admitted after smelling a strand of her hair.

"Don't say that Gabbs," the Doctor gave up on the door for the moment. "There's a creature living in the heart of this ship and I'd like to know what it's doing there."

The Smilers knew the question was directed at it and, as a response, they turned around to show their angry faces.

"No, that's not going to work on us, so come on," the Doctor made a motion with his fingers for it to give the answer. "Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?"

Once again, the Smilers turned their faces, revealing an even angrier faces than the last.

Renata was exasperated with the Smilers by this point. "Would you just answer!?" She slammed her hands against the walls of their booths, at the same time expelling golden butterflies. With widened eyes, she backed away. "Oops…" she stared at her palms much like Gabby had earlier. "How does that work exactly?"

"At a first glance, seems like its connected to your current distressed state," the Doctor said, reaching for her closest hand. He examined it as much as he could with the naked eye, but there seemed to be no excess and it didn't seem to harm Renata like it had in her last incarnation.

"I got mad at the door that wouldn't open!" Gabby exclaimed, absolutely believing the Doctor's theory. "It must be when we're mad!"

"But not always, right?" asked Amy who had remembered the butterfly trick Renata showed her when the Doctor was examining the crack in her bedroom wall.

Renata seemed to read her thoughts and nodded with a smile. "Yes! But-" she dropped her smile as her eyes landed on the Smilers again, "-right now I'm beyond angry! I'm covered in sick because of a creature that's no doubt being tortured in the middle of this ship and some stupid clowns are holding back on us! So you better-" she threatened the booth with a pointed, glowing finger, "-start answering before you become Vortex dust!"

The booths opened up to let the two Smilers come out.

The Doctor quickly pulled Renata back, prompting Gabby and Amy to do the same. "May I just say, good response but terrible outcome?" he told Renata who agreed with a quick nod of her.

"Okay, what do we do now!?" Amy urgently asked them as the Smilers approached them. They were looking as terrified as she was and she took that as a bad sign.

Suddenly, the red cloaked woman had the door opened behind them and shot at the Smilers. They were momentarily stunned.

The Doctor whirled around, happy as ever. "Look who it is!? You look a lot better without your mask!"

The woman was showing her smiling face at them. Her eyes flickered past Renata to the humans. "You must be Gabby and Amy. Liz. Liz 10."

Neither girl could understand when this woman became their friend but would gladly take it!

"Bit late, aren't you?" Renata smirked at the woman.

"A thank you is in order!" the woman laughed. "Right. You know Mandy, yeah?" she moved slightly to let the others see the girl behind in the hallway. "She's very brave."

"How did you find us?" the Doctor asked her after realizing there was no the woman had been casually around the area.

"Stuck my gizmo on you!" the woman chucked a small device at him. "Been listening in."

"Let me see!" Renata took the device from the Doctor to study. "Oh this is great! It could come in handy to keep an eye on him!"

"HEY!" the Doctor was utterly offended. It didn't help that the others, including little Mandy, started laughing. "Seriously!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Renata apologized but she was still struggling to stop laughing. She held the device back to him, not even noticing when he swiped it from her hand with irritation.

"Anyways, you want to tell us what's a creature doing in the middle of the ship?" the Doctor looked directly at the cloaked-woman. "Oh, my bad, you also voted to forget."

The woman took the sarcastic jab calmly. She shrugged her shoulders and refuted the statement. "Never forgot, never voted. Not technically a British subject."

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know us?"

The woman tilted her head at him, giving him a smile asking him if he really needed to ask her that. "You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot…"

"Oh, another insult? Seriously!" the Doctor was reaching his limit with all these sarcastic jabs. Why was it always him!?

Renata felt guilty for taking her own jabs. She always did them and poor Doctor always had to take it. It was their dynamic, sure, but sometimes she needed to reel it back. She reached up to move some of his wet strands of hair off his forehead. She felt his body stiffen but soon relaxed under her touch.

"Sorry my dear. You do have the hair of an idiot but I love it," she said with a soft smile.

Well, that made everything better for the Doctor. He wouldn't mind if he stroked his hair all day. Actually, he might ask her if she could do that later. With any luck, she would say yes and they could have one calm day together.

When Renata was sure their little disagreement was resolved, she drew her hand away - an action the Doctor almost pouted at - and turned her attention back to the woman. "So, you were explaining how you know him?"

"Both of you, actually," the woman said. "Did I not make that clear?"

"Right, except that doesn't make sense. We haven't met you."

"No, I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was." The woman noticed the Smilers beginning to twitch behind them. "They're repairing." The group looked back to see the Smilers and quickly took a few steps away. "Doesn't take them long. Let's move." She took the lead down the hallway and continued explaining herself to the pair. "The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, wasn't she?"

"What did you do, Doctor?" Gabby threw the man a curious glance.

The Doctor preferred not to explain considering it really was his fault. "Torchwood," he left it at that and hoped she and Renata would get the jist.

"Knighted and exiled you on the same day!" the woman laughed. The Doctor scowled at her back. So much for keeping it a secret!

"That sounds like you alright," Renata mumbled to him as she rubbed his arm comfortingly.

"And how could I forget Marchioness Renata? Good friends with Anne of Cleves, bit rocky with dear old Henry VII - I'd be too, don't worry - but nobody more rocky than Liz I, huh? Goes for you too Doctor!"

"I haven't even met her! Doctor, what did you do!?" Renata glared at the man in question.

"How do you know I did something!?"

"Because it had to be! Notice how she didn't say drinking buddies of Henry VII, right?"

"Well, but…but you were the reason we couldn't go back to any Henry VII era!"

"Hey that was both of us!" Renata snapped loudly and jabbed her finger into his chest.

Gabby couldn't help snicker at the reminder of that precise trip. Amy heard the laugh and raised an eyebrow at Gabby, asking her what she knew.

"Long story short..." Gabby pulled Amy a bit closer to speak quietly without being heard. Of course with Renata and the Doctor arguing, she didn't have to try so hard. "We met Anne of Cleves and her then-husband, Henry VII, who wanted Renata as his wife. The Doctor got jealous, made a whole thing about it and we had to run for it in the end."

Amy hid her laugh behind her mouth and turned her head at the Time Lords. They were still going at it strongly.

"I didn't do anything!" the Doctor was shouting.

"Don't lie to me! Martha also told me this Queen was particularly upset with you! And now she hates me too!?"

"I didn't!" the Doctor insisted but Renata wouldn't listen. Gabby and Amy both shared equally confused but curious glances with each other.

"Good story to come, I hope," Gabby snickered with the ginger.

It wasn't until the woman introduced herself as Liz 10 - Elizabeth X - that the Time Lords stopped arguing.

"And down!" Liz shot at the pair of Smilers behind them. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule." She led them into another corridor that would bring them to the base of a vator shaft. "There's a high-speed Vator through there."

The Doctor noticed two tentacles sticking out of a caged area, much like the one Gabby and Amy saw earlier. "There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Oh, we saw one of those up top," Gabby said as soon as she saw the caged area. "Right, Amy?"

"Yeah!" the ginger nodded. "There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

"It's all one creature," Renata said and shuddered. "The same one we were inside minutes ago, but now it's reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

Liz eyed the cage with newfound horror. "What? Like an infestation?"

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it…" the Doctor tried getting nearer to it but Renata yanked him back.

"Feeding my subjects to it," Liz muttered and stormed off. "Come on. We've got to keep moving." Mandy followed in a hurry and just as Amy and Gabby were going to do the same, they noticed the Time Lords staring at the tentacles with odd expressions.

"Guys?" Gabby called to them while Amy gestured that they needed to be following Liz.

"We should have never come here," the Doctor resolved with a sigh. The creature banged against the bars keeping it inside. He should have just ran those exams on Renata and maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have caught sight of this ship.

Amy remembered the video she left for herself, warning her to get off the ship. Could it be related to the creature? And if so, why was it so urgent!?

~ 0 ~

Liz's bedroom was covered with a maze of glasses of water. It was a certain challenge getting around it but Liz was a master as she swiftly crossed the room to reach her bed. Sometime later would see the travelers cleaned up from showers, though Renata swore she would take a proper, long bath when they went home.

"What are these glasses for?" Gabby asked in a slight frustration after nearly knocking one over.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what," Liz said in what sounded like a recital.

"Lovely mask," Renata eyed the porcelain mask sitting at the foot of the woman's bed. She knew the Doctor had already taken a quick study of it while she was in the shower, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes. "Guess you would need it if you're a queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom."

Liz was dead serious as she watched Renata turn her mask over. "Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this - my entire reign - and you've achieved more in one afternoon."

"That's him alright," Renata said without even gazing up from the mask. The Doctor stopped pacing behind her, his amused expression asking her how she knew that line had been directed at him. She glanced at him with a wink.

"So Liz, how old were you when you came to the throne?" he asked afterwards.

"40. Why?"

Amy's mouth nearly dropped when she heard that. She turned away from the mirror after putting her hair up. "What, you're 50 now? No way!"

"Don't let physical appearances fool you," Gabby said before throwing a thumb at Renata and the Doctor. "Ask them how old they are."

"Ask and it's the last thing you'll do," Renata calmly said while she studied the mask, though under her calm words there was a clear warning.

Amy chuckled and went to sit on the chaise with Mandy.

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps," Liz added for humor.

"Do you always wear this in public?" Renata waved the mask at Liz. The woman nodded her head.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

Renata had on a strained smile before she glanced at the Doctor. He already knew.

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, cos it's perfectly sculpted to your face," he said quietly. Liz missed the knowing looks the pair were sharing.

"Yeah. So what?"

Renata met the woman's gaze a few seconds later with her strained smile stronger than ever. "Oh, Liz. So everything."

If they had been about to share what they knew worth Liz, they never got the chance. Four hooded men burst into the room, startling Liz out of her bed.

"What are you doing? How dare you come in here?" she rushed up to them in outrage.

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now," one of the men dutifully announced.

"Why would I do that?"

The man's head then spun to show the face of an angry Smiler.

"Mm, that's why!" Gabby exclaimed in horror.

Liz was appalled as she stumbled away from the men. "How can they be Smilers?"

"Half Smiler, half human," the Doctor said, rather disgusted.

Liz didn't seem to share the same sentiment. She was beyond furious and anyone who was responsible would feel it. "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am," the Smiler, to his credit, did obediently answer.

"I am the highest authority!"

And that should be your first clue, Renata almost rolled her eyes. The human was too angry to even notice it.

The Smiler agreed with Liz, yet another clue that the woman missed, and announced that he would led her and the rest to the Tower of London. They were brought to a large stone room full of machinery. Only a few feet inside, Amy and Gabby noticed more of the creature's body was sticking out of grates.

"Where the hell are we?" Gabby wearily looked at the Time Lords.

"The lowest point of Starship UK," the Doctor said, giving the room a little spin. "The dungeon."

"Hawthorne!" Liz barked a gray-haired man who'd approached the group. "So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do."

"Excuse me," Renata called with a similar authoritative tone. "Why are there children down here?" Her question made Amy and Gabby realize there was a line of children doing hard labor around the room. "It seems hardly safe for them. Where are their parents?"

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast," Hawthorne replied with the most casual tone, easily enraging Renata in a second. "For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"You tried feeding children to the creature!? How dare you!?" She looked ready to lunge on him and it didn't seem like the Doctor would try to stop her.

The only reason he wouldn't join her was because his eyes had gone to the type of equipment around the room. One Time Lord for each problem.

"And you agreed to this!" Renata turned on Liz, startling the woman with the sudden change of direction her rage took.

"I did not!"

Renata's loud scoff made everyone around her flinch. "Yes, you did!"

Gabby pulled Renata back a few steps. "How could she? She's investigating her own kingdom, remember?"

"I remember, but she doesn't! This isn't even a dungeon room, it's a bloody torture chamber!"

"Ren, what are you talking about?" Gabby happened to look in Amy's way and saw the finger's mild fear. If she was in Amy's place, Gabby would agree the sight of angry Time Lady was fear-worthy. "Doctor?" she called to the man for some help.

"She's right," the Doctor agreed, speaking in a low tone.

Gabby recognized that immediately even if was in a new incarnation's voice. Oh great, they're both angry.

"Torture chamber of the Tower of London, except it's not a torture chamber, for this lot," the Doctor sourly went on as he strolled by the equipment. "I suppose it just depends on your angle." He came for Liz and, despite the woman's reluctance, he led her to an open well which was reply just a view into the engine.

Liz peered over the railing to see something huge and it was moving. "What's that?"

"It's your engine," Renata muttered, ignoring Gabby's please beside her to explain why she was so upset.

"Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly…" the Doctor trailed off.

"Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator - Starship UK's go-faster button."

"I don't understand…"

The Doctor was getting frustrated with the lack of brains around him. The answer was right in front of Liz and she wasn't getting it! "The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature - this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading - it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving."

As if to help prove his point, an intermittent electrical beam shot down into the well, directly hitting the creature's exposed brain. Liz was stunned and she dared not look over the tails again.

"Tell you what," the Doctor hastily made his way up to another well to lift its grate. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He used the sonic on an extension that had come undone in the grate. A loud, piercing sound filled the air until the Doctor stopped it.

Gabby felt tears come to her face when she realized that the sound was like a cry, a cry of the creature. "It's being tortured nonstop?" Renata nodded at her and finally Gabby realized why the two were so angry.

Amy hadn't yet reached that level and she was suddenly wondering if she wanted to.

"Who did this?" Liz demanded to know from the workers. She was furious, just like Renata and the Doctor.

"We act on instructions from the highest authority," Hawthorne said, but Liz still didn't understand.

"I am the highest authority!" she snapped. "The creature will be released, now." But even with all her anger, nobody moved from their spot. "I said now! Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor slowly returned to her side and took out her mask from his pockets. "Liz. Your mask. Look at it. It's old. At least 200 years old, I'd say."

Liz could not understand what was so damn important about that mask. She recalled how long Renata had kept it under her eye. "Yeah, it's an antique, so?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign."

Liz almost laughed at the absurdity. "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"It's been the same ten years," Renata clarified as she started heading for a small table set not too far from where they entered.

The Doctor led Liz by the hand and since the woman was utterly confused, she let it happen. "The same ten years over and over again, always leading you... here."

Liz swallowed rough when she saw a screen with a two buttons in front of it, reading "forget" and "abdicate". She turned a hard glance on Hawthorne. "What have you done?"

"Well it wasn't him," Renata corrected. "He's only following your orders."

Hawthorne nodded in agreement. "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He reached over to the turn on the screen and as soon as it came to life, a recording of Liz herself appeared. It was what brought Liz to sit down and truly listen.

"If you are watching this...If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. 'And what we have done to it 'breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the star whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the "forget" button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

Amy felt sick to her stomach. "I voted for this?" She asked the Doctor and Renata despite already knowing the answer. Their grim faces just confirmed what she already knew. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you knew if we stayed here, we'd be faced with an impossible choice," the Doctor muttered with a growing sense of anger at the woman. "Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save us from that. And that was wrong." He turned completely to her and once Amy saw his face she backed a step. "You don't ever decide what we need to know."

Gabby sent Renata a look asking her to step in, but Renata did not move. She was just as upset but her method of expressing anger had always been to seal it away. Gabby really dreaded the idea of that trait following Renata into her new incarnation. Seeing that Renata wasn't going to help, Gabby moved to stand between the Doctor and Amy.

"Hey! She doesn't even remember doing it!"

Having Gabby in front of him didn't make his anger any less. "But she did it. That's what counts!"

"I'm... I'm sorry," Amy said, at a loss for other words.

"Oh, I don't care," he turned away, storming towards the equipment. "When I'm done here, you're going home."

Amy gasped. "Why!?"

"Doctor, that's being unfair!" Gabby called but he didn't stop for either of them.

"I made one mistake!" Amy argued as she moved to stand beside Gabby. She appreciated the girl's help but she didn't need anyone to fight her own battles. "One mistake that I don't even remember doing it!"

There was no telling if the Doctor was truly examining the equipment he would need for his new plan or if he was just distracting himself from looking at either girl. "Yeah. I know. You're only human."

Gabby's eyes widened. That one might have just hurt her heart. "Is that supposed to be an insult?" the Doctor said nothing more so Gabby turned expectantly at Renata.

The Time Lady had watched the entire argument unfold with no clear expression of which side she was leaning to. "We get it, we do, but Amy you shouldn't have chosen to forget on our behalf. You don't get to make that choice for us."

"I'm sorry," Amy insisted, hoping that at least Renata would be able to know she was being honest. All Renata did was nod though.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked the Doctor, taking a few steps towards the man but stopping when she got a better look at his darkened expression.

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

"But that'll be like killing it!" Amy exclaimed. She didn't remember pressing any buttons but she knew, she knew for sure, that she had pushed the 'forget' button to spare them pain. She only failed to think about the creature.

The Doctor's hands slammed down on the machinery and glared up at the group. "Look, three options. One: I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: I kill everyone on this ship. Three: I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, cos I won't be the Doctor any more!"

"But there must be something we can do, some other way," Liz said but that was the Doctor's patience had finally snapped from the thread it'd been hanging on.

"Nobody talk to me!" he roared, startling everyone into silence. "Nobody human has anything to say to me today!" After that, nobody tried to stop him anymore.

All except for one person.

'I think you may have hurt Gabriella's feelings back there…'

Nobody would notice the one second the Doctor momentarily stopped working. This was the first time Renata had spoken telepathically to him since he regenerated.

'You're that upset my dear that you've unintentionally lowered your mental shields,' Renata came up to stand on the other side of the equipment he worked on. 'Never really talked about connecting telepathically but since your door is open, I'm going to step in for a moment.'

'Are you not upset?' the Doctor raised his gaze to meet Renata's eyes.

'Oh no I am very upset. Amy did something terrible but...she did it with good intentions. I can relate to that. I'm sure you can too.'

The Doctor wouldn't give in so easily despite the kind face he had in front of him. 'They have been torturing this kind creature for centuries, Renata. How am I supposed to react!? Not everyone has your ability to bottle things in!' As soon as he thought - or said - those words, the Doctor closed his eyes with regret. His hands stopped working over the controls and drew back. 'I'm sorry. I didn't...I shouldn't have-'

Renata smiled lightly at his guilty self. 'No, no, that's completely fair. I did that a lot. But just to be clear, I'm not saying that you shouldn't be upset. I'm only saying, from personal experience, that you shouldn't push people away. When they do things like these, with good intentions, it's best to go back and see things from their perspective. I know it's hard, especially because of the circumstances but it does help.'

The Doctor smiled to himself, almost shaking his head. He always wondered how she could be so wise, even when they were younger. She always had the right words to ease something that could seem so impossible. 'I love you, you know. I'm glad I have you around...in this way.'

Renata reached over the equipment to grab his hand. 'Me too. And know that whatever you do, whatever you decide...I'm here.'

The Doctor swallowed hard as his eyes roamed over the equipment. The choice had already been made. He just needed to get through it.

~ 0 ~

Gabby and Amy sat on the ground together against the wall. They could do nothing to stop what was going to happen to the creature. All they could do was simply wait for it. Amy, however, felt like she was waiting for more than Gabby...because she was.

"I messed it up," she said quietly, bringing her hands up to her temples. "I messed it all up…"

Gabby could feel Amy's genuine guilt and put a comforting hand on the ginger's arm. "It was an honest mistake. Don't worry, you're not going home."

Amy scoffed quietly. "Oh please, you heard the man."

"You don't know him like I do. I mean...I don't know him like Renata does but I know him enough to know that he says a lot of things when he's angry. He's heartbroken."

Amy wasn't convinced. She had felt the Doctor's rage with one simple glare and she was not interested in being on the receiving end again. "If I make mistakes like that, maybe I shouldn't be around."

"We make mistakes, trust me. I did too," Gabby shrugged. Her eyes flickered to Renata who had drifted away from the Doctor to stop more children coming in from working.

Amy dropped her hands to her lap and questionably looked at Gabby. "You did?"

"Yeah, on my very first trip just like you. I pissed off Renata when I overstepped about something I heard about her. It was about her past and Renata is a very reclusive woman. I made the wrong choice by asking her, pestering her, until she snapped and threatened to drop me back on Earth."

Amy's eyes widened as she quickly glanced at Renata. The Time Lady was clearing off some soot of a child's face, trying her best to make the boy smile. She even bopped his nose with a glowing golden finger to enchant the boy. Amy couldn't see Renata acting the same as the Doctor when she was angry. Hell, she couldn't even picture Renata getting angry.

"She can get angry," Gabby said as if she read Amy's mind. Amy looked away from Renata with a light smile. "The Doctor's right, Amy, we're only human but that's not an insult. It does hurt a bit when he says it angrily," she sighed. "He's actually very fascinated with our kind. We're that good." She bumped shoulders with Amy, eliciting a smile from the ginger. "But you have to understand that even though they look young...the Doctor and Renata are actually very old. They've seen so many things that sometimes they snap. And our job as companions is to help them come back from it. We can't make them come back but we can try our best."

"So what can we do right now?" Amy helplessly asked as she cast another look at the Doctor. He was fervently working and had been for time now which meant the creature would be dying soon.

"I don't know. We better start thinking."

Amy blew a raspberry at their hopeless situation. "Great."

"Just look at the butterflies," Renata's voice carried over to the girls' spot.

Amy craned her head in time to see a few of the children 'awwwing' at a few golden butterflies fluttering in the air. A light smile spread across Amy's face as she recalled the same trick being used on her all those years ago. It had truly made her feel much less afraid of the crack. Renata gave the allusion of what a mother was.

Mandy had joined the group without neither Amy nor Gabby noticing when, but Amy did spot one of the creature's tentacles creeping out of a grate towards Mandy. Amy panicked and scrambled to get up but just as she straightened up, the tentacle only tapped Mandy's shoulder and then allowed the girl to pet it.

"Amy?" Gabby gently called to her but Amy was thinking suddenly.

"It won't eat the children…"

"The children screamed, then it came. It's the last of its kind."

Amy watched Mandy and a few other children pet the tentacle and it almost looked like the creature was trying to play with them.

"No, it's okay," Renata was soothing one of the younger children crying at the tentacle. "It won't hurt you. I'm here."

"There were, but there aren't...just us now."

Amy's eyes flickered to the Doctor after watching Renata conjure up a few more butterflies for the scared child. There was no doubt in her mind he would be trying to pull off some crazy stunt to make the scared child laugh too.

"Doctor says he never interferes in the affairs of other peoples or planets but then he does when there's children crying?"

"Oh, if there's a child crying he'd stop everything."

Amy then looked down at Gabby who was still trying to decide if Amy was alright. She'd stopped calling Amy's name but she was keeping a close eye on the ginger. Something was going on inside her head.

And indeed there was.

Amy felt like slapping herself for being so clueless! The Doctor was right, she had to have kept her eyes open! She should've noticed everything! "Doctor, stop!" she yelled and rushed towards Liz. Everyone, including the Doctor and Renata, stopped to see her taking Liz's hand and racing for the voting buttons.

The Doctor was quick to panic once he realized what Amy wanted to do. "Amy, no!" he went after them but he didn't make it in time. Amy had brought Liz's hand down on the 'abdicate' button. "AMY!"

The creature bellowed underneath them, rocking the entire ship.

The Doctor nearly fell back if he hadn't caught onto pillar. Renata's arms flailed trying to keep the children around her from falling back.

"AMY!" she yelled as upset as the Doctor.

Gabby had managed not to smack face-first to the ground, but she wasn't the same as the Time Lords. "No, let her! She's figured it out!" She had no doubt that Amy realized something none of them had. She would never put them all in danger like this. She didn't seem the type.

Amy laughed as if agreeing with Gabby. The ship slowly stopped shaking and actually returned to normal...with a few differences.

"We've increased speed," Hawthorne was stunned as he looked over their readings.

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot! Gotta help!" Amy dramatically flapped her hands around the room.

"It's still here? I don't understand," Liz moved over to Hawthorne's side to see the readings herself.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered!" Amy began to explain, growing more excited by the second. "You didn't have to trap it or torture it - that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race was dead, no future. What couldn't you do then?" Amy started making her way towards the Doctor, her smile softening as she took in his guilty face for not realizing it before. "If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind...you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry." And just to really make her point, she purposely nodded at Renata who was surrounded by the children.

"Oh, she's good," Gabby smiled proudly at Amy.

~ 0 ~

Once everything was settled on the ship, Renata and the Doctor found it easy to slip away from the crowd. They'd wandered to the observation deck where they found such a beautiful sight of a starry space.

"It's funny how times change," Renata's soft voice broke their mutual silent wacth. "Last time I saw stars...we were fighting the Master. And we were hiding in a Vinvocci ship. Oh, and the world was ending." She let silence pass between them again when it truly donned on her where they were a short while ago, and what they were doing. "That was two days ago."

The Doctor said nothing at first as he reached for Renata's hand. "Two days ago seems like a very long time ago."

Renata side-glanced him with a small smile across her lips. "Doesn't it? Now we're here," she squeezed her hand around his and faced the stars again. "Looking at some stars, on a ship with a creature driving it…"

"Flying it, technically," the Doctor couldn't help make the correction but instead of getting annoyed, Renata chuckled.

"Flying it," she amended.

The Doctor gripped her hand again, licking his lips nervously as he turned to her and gently using their interlocked hands to turn her as well. "Renée, I don't know why I forgot about it but...would you consider connecting telepathically?" Renata's eyebrows slowly raised, her expression giving him the impression she would refuse. "I-I know we did it temporarily twice but this time, if you'd like, we-we could...officially do it. I would understand if you think it's too early, but...if I may give my opinion?"

Renata chuckled. "When don't you?"

He agreed with a sideways tilt. "Right. We've only just started a relationship but the truth is we've known each other far longer. What happened between us...it's been a long story. I've known you for my entire life even if I've only seen you in three of my incarnations. Most of my thoughts you know anyways, but I'd like it if you could see every part of me. Who knows, maybe if you see what really goes through my head you might realize I'm no good. But at least you'll have known who I really am."

"I know you," Renata said matter-of-factly. She slipped her hand out of his to bring it up to his cheek. "I've always known who you are. Of course I know I don't know all of your thoughts, or every you, but I know you. I know who you are." She stepped closer to him, leaving barely any space between them. "I would love to finally connect our minds. Who knows, you might see the real me…"

"I know you," the Doctor clarified just like she had. "My Gala."

Renata let out a small gasp at his brief Gallifreyan use. The last time she heard him say her true name in their language was centuries ago, too many centuries ago. "My Theta." The Gallifreyan just tumbled out but before the Doctor could fully process it, she'd pulled him to her for a kiss.

Their minds slowly opened to one another, inciting a slow, passionate kiss that they hadn't really shared yet. Memories from each other flooded their minds, ones that they knew - that they were both a part of - and others that were new. No secrets would be left uncovered because that was a thing of the past, something they promised each other going forwards.

~0~

By the time Gabby and Amy realized they were missing their drivers, Renata and the Doctor were already waiting for them by the TARDIS.

Amy nervously carried Liz's porcelain mask in her hands and held it out for the pair to take. "From Her Majesty. She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK."

"My type of monarchy," Renata gingerly took the mask into her hands. "And leadership in general."

Amy smiled but anyone could tell she was bursting with questions about her stay.

"Amy, you could have killed everyone on this ship," the Doctor was the one to break the terse silence.

"You could have killed a Star Whale," she countered.

"And you saved it. I know, I know."

Renata curled her arm around the Doctor's arm and smiled at Any that kind, warm smile she'd gotten as a child. It was the one that told Amy things would be okay. "We're sorry. We may have rudely snapped. That happens sometimes."

At this familiar words, Amy glanced at Gabby and shared a knowing smile together.

"Why do I feel like we're missing something?" the Doctor asked Renata as he watched the two humans.

"Because you always do."

"Oi!"

"Don't worry, Doctor," Gabby put an arm around Amy's shoulders. "I've just been giving Amy some insight into the life in the TARDIS."

"You would," Renata gave her companion a proud smile.

"I wanted to be like Donna when I first came aboard," Gabby admitted and for a moment she, Renata and the Doctor dedicated a moment of silence to their missing friend, Donna Noble. She would forever leave a scar in their hearts.

"Thanks Gabby," Amy genuinely thanked her new friend because otherwise she may not have made it this first trip.

"Gabbs, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings," the Doctor said once he remembered the terrible look in Gabby's eyes after making his human remark.

Gabby shook her head with a chuckle as she came to give him a hug. "I like to think that I know you enough for these types of situations!"

"Still," he dropped a kiss to her head. "You're family. We don't fight."

Renata barely controlled the urge to scoff when she thought about her family. "We should go. I think we could all use nice baths."

"Mhm!" Gabby pulled away from the Doctor. "I've got some nice bath bombs, Amy! Bet you've never seen a bath bomb that shoots images into the air!"

"What?" Amy's eyes widened, making the others laugh.

"I bet you'll like the one with stars! My favorite is the butterfly one!" Gabby motioned to be followed in as she hurried into the TARDIS.

"Don't forget we need to run tests on you!" Renata called after the girl but it didn't seem like Gabby had heard.

Amy chuckled. "Do you always act like a Mum?"

Renata blinked at her and for a moment it looked like she would be saying something but instead she looked at the Doctor. "Why do they all say that?"

Now the Doctor laughed. "You really haven't figured it out?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh forget it." She turned around and disappeared into the TARDIS.

"Come along, Pond! Big day tomorrow!" the Doctor nodded at the TARDIS and missed Amy's wide eyed expression.

"Sorry, what?"

"It's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine. I skip the little ones."

Amy found her breath once she realized he wasn't talking about her wedding. Her wedding. She shook her head and followed the Doctor inside. Renata and Gabby had no doubt disappeared into the corridors which gave Amy a motivation to ask, "You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning...have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just...just because you could?"

"Once...a long time ago," the Doctor came straight to the console. He started the TARDIS up and brought them into the Vortex.

"What happened?"

He turned with a smile. "Hello!"

Amy laughed. "Is that how Renata left too? Because I really can't picture that, you know."

The Doctor's smile faltered but it returned just as quick when he remembered how it was that she came aboard the TARDIS. That might make a good story for Amy. "Actually, I kidnapped Renata, stole her right off 1969."

Amy's eyes bugged out but there was a clear doubt on her face, only further confirmed by her scoff. "No way!"

"Yeah, I did! Nicked her off the ground and threw her over my shoulder!"

"Please, don't sound so regretful," Renata appeared by the corridor threshold, arms crossed and with a mock glare on the culprit. "I should've had the Shadow Proclamation on you when I had the chance!"

The Doctor just smirked proudly as he gave a little spin.

It was then that Amy realized he had not been kidding. "Wait, this actually happened!?"

"Oh yeah!" the Doctor said, once again spinning as he made a round on the console.

"Seriously, at least try to look a little sorry!" Renata walked up the glass steps to the console.

"Why would I be?" the Doctor stopped to smirk at her.

Renata mock-glared again and shook her head. "Amy, go on. Gabriella found the bath bombs." Amy nodded and hurried towards the corridor. "Not even going to apologize then?" she continued with the Doctor, but judging by his proud smile the answer was a no.

"I used to want to but now I changed my mind!"

"You're evil!"

"Smart!"

Amy laughed. "Okay, that's seriously funny!" And kind of romantic. She wouldn't mind if the same thing happened to her.