#just putting that tag there just in caseee

[yuthoe]

Time (MONSTA X: Chae Hyungwon)

a few things:

1. yes i'm a monbebe now too and i fully blame fatal love era hyungwon for it. he has my multistan ass whipped

2. THIS IS THE LONGEST FIC I'VE EVER WRITTEN FOR THIS BLOG HOLY GAWD

3. i'm back to going to the office everyday for work, so we're back to infrequent posting lmao

ok so. i've wanted to write a vampire fic for so long now (the previous/first one i wrote was back in 1st year high school and despite my massive vampire kink i didn't attempt to make any other vamp related stories haha), and when i saw hyungwon in that red suit with the long hair and the eyebags and the turtleneck i just kinda went feral. this thing took me like, almost a month to write; it's been hard to cook up writing brain juice between work and trying to be healthy and keeping up with the pan de manila.

i fully intended for this to be like, sexy suggestive and leading to something more for the ending, but like. it turned out soft. somehow. the premise was perfect, but somehow my brain was like, "no make it soft" and we have whatever this is.

this is unedited bc i wrote it half-asleep and wanted to get it out there

PAIRING: Chae Hyungwon x reader. GENRE: vampire!AU, some fluff, modern fantasy. WARNINGS: vampire-typical injuries—biting, blood—some very mild sexual themes. WORD COUNT: 3,589 (holy shit).

---

The entryway is lit by the two dim overhead lights, casting an orange tint to the concrete floor. You take care to slip your shoes on quietly, not wanting to accidentally wake the slumbering man in the other room; he just got home a few hours ago and you didn’t want to cut his sleep short, remembering how he slowly slipped under the covers with you, winding an arm around your midsection and releasing a heavy breath before passing out.

So with a glance at your watch—the one he got you for your birthday a few years back, the one you’ve worn almost everywhere since—you grab your work bag and try to slip off the chain lock with as little sound as possible.

“Are you leaving for work?”

You flinch at his voice, huskier now with remnants of sleep. Hyungwon has a thing about soundlessly walking into places and surprising you by suddenly speaking. Your face scrunches at your failed attempt to slip out unnoticed, and a loud sigh escapes your lips as you turn to face him.

“How long have you been awake?” you ask, stepping right to the elevated wooden floor that separates the entryway to the living area. Hyungwon is wearing a white shirt that completely swallows his slender frame and loose pajama pants. You cup his soft cheek, drag your hand to his neck, his shoulder, down his arm, until you’re intertwining your fingers.

“Pretty much since you left the bed,” he mumbles, taking his other hand and wrapping it around you, pulling you to his chest. You feel him rest his face on the top of your head and breathe in your scent.

“Aw,” you reply quietly, smoothing a hand down his back. “And I thought I was being super quiet this time.”

There’s comfortable silence as Hyungwon basks in your warmth and you can swear he’s close to falling asleep where he stands. You think there’s no other place you’d want to be right now, but unfortunately, you need to work and he needs to sleep.

You let go of the strap on your bag and tap his side gently. “I have to go,” you murmur.

Hyungwon groans, lowers his head and tilts it to the side to whisper directly into your ear. “Do you really have to? Because there’s something more important you need to do here.” He noses at your temple, his cold breath fanning against your ear.

“Oh? And what is that?” It’s too early in the day for goosebumps, and the faster you force him back to bed, the better your chances of resisting the sweet pull of his voice.

“Mmm…,” he groans again, and you feel his smile as he kisses your ear. “Sleep.”

You snort, pulling away with a soft smile, free hand coming to cup his face. You pass your thumb over his cheekbone and watch as he melts at your touch, dark bangs falling over his closed eyes. “I’ll be home early today, love,” you say, pressing a soft kiss to his plump lips.

Hyungwon’s eyes open unhurried, and he leans down to return the peck, lips moving slow against yours like honey. “Hurry back,” he mumbles against your lips.

***

A quiet sigh leaves his lips as Hyungwon toes off his shoes, leaving them at their designated space at the entrance. He hangs his bag and coat on the hooks before silently walking through the apartment to the bathroom, eager to scrub himself clean of the aggravating scents and grime of the club.

Hyungwon loves his job, he does. The people he interacts with there, though? Still up for debate.

The hot, almost scalding water seeps into his skin, warming him up from the outside. He’s used to the cold, he himself being below the normal human temperature for nearly a century now. The droplets sting a little, but it’s the pain that grounds Hyungwon to reality, a sort of proof of life in his years of floating along the endless river of time, never knowing when and where his journey would end.

There’s another pain, a burning in his throat, that reminds him well of his immortality. It assaults him every few days, and over the years has dulled from hurting so bad he nearly claws out his neck, to just being a pain in the ass that makes him cough if he doesn’t slake the thirst.

Hyungwon’s body cools rapidly when he shuts off the water, the soft April chill helping it along so that he’s mostly dry when he grabs his towel.

The bedroom is silent when he slips in, quickly dressing in the huge shirt and loose pants from yesterday, before he ducks out again to make a beeline to the kitchen, folding his tall frame into a crouch as he opens the refrigerator. There’s a space just for his blood bags in the far corner of the fridge, that he immediately scans and finds empty. Hyungwon groans and slaps a hand over his face.

Of course he forgets to stop by the blood bank tonight. He vaguely remembers taking the last bag four days ago and making a mental note to call Kihyun for his refills, but there must have been something that distracted him at the time because at present, he can’t recall contacting Kihyun about it at all, despite exchanging messages regularly.

He stands to his full height as he closes the door, leans his head against it as he mulls over his forgetfulness that never went away in all his years of living. And before he slips back into your bedroom and into the sweet realm of sleep, he rummages in his bag for his phone, texts his friend, gets a short scolding about his poor memory, and then sets a date to pick up his food.

Hyungwon quietly pads back to the bedroom and closes the door soundlessly, careful not to wake you. He slides in next to you, pulling the comforter snug against him as he rests on his elbows. He takes a few seconds to gaze at your sleeping figure, something he does every night. The random thought of coming off as creepy on the off chance you wake up runs through his head, but at the same time he thinks he wouldn’t mind if you catch him watching you sleep.

You know Hyungwon loves you, and he’s told you before that you’re one of his anchors to his hold on humanity. Never once in your two-year relationship did you take his vulnerability for granted, and he’s (quite literally) eternally grateful for your kindness and love.

He settles in on his side, and his shuffling has got you adjusting to his shape under the covers. Hyungwon feels you turn to face him and reach for his arm. You groan small, pull at his slender limb to wrap it around you, and he just lets you move him the way you want, an amused smile on his face. His other arm slides beneath your neck, and you nuzzle closer to him, breathing deep when you’re finally satisfied. He counts five seconds before your breaths even out in slumber.

Hyungwon presses a kiss to the crown of your head and inhales your scent, relaxed now and ready to follow you into sleep.

***

His alarm wakes him at noon, the shrill tone making him jerk and tighten his arm around the warm body in front of him, brows scrunching as he groans softly. Hyungwon stretches an arm towards the nightstand and turns off the alarm with an expert swipe of a finger. He buries his nose into your hair, not wanting to enter the land of the living yet. You respond with a hum, shifting and turning so your back is pressed against his chest.

You both try to doze off again before Hyungwon realizes two things:

One—It’s a Friday.

Two—You’re still in his arms.

“Love,” he mumbles against your hair.

You reply around five seconds later, with a simple grunt.

Hyungwon snorts a laugh, eyes still closed, but mind slowly waking with every passing second. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

Another grunt from you, this time louder and longer. You shuffle under the sheets to turn to him again, eyes persistently closed and brows knit slightly. “Took the day off,” you mumble and slither your arm under his, scooting closer to bury your face in his neck. “Wanted to spend some time with you.”

At this Hyungwon smiles, rests his cheek on your head. “So we have until tomorrow night to do whatever then.”

It’s quiet for a few moments before your head shoots up. The movement startles Hyungwon and makes his eyes pop open. Bleary eyes meet, yours equal parts confused and suspicious. “What do you mean? You took the night off, too? But it’s Friday—the club’s gonna be packed.”

He levels you with a casual shrug. “Yeah,” he says, sliding his hand up your arm that’s around him, and stopping at your neck. His large hand completely covers your neck, long fingers splaying onto your cheek and winding into your hair. “I wanted to spend time with you, too.” He clears his throat. “I’ve missed you.” Hyungwon can feel the steady pulse under your skin and he clears his throat again.

You smile, lean down to press a sweet kiss to his lips.

And another one.

And another.

And you would have rained more kisses on him had he not started coughing and turned his head away. The ache in Hyungwon’s throat wasn’t that bad when he was asleep, but now that he’s awake, it’s irritating to the point of annoyance. He knows the thirst is his fault, but damn, would it kill him if he could have a peaceful morning (noon) with you before his body complains about being hungry?

He feels a hand smoothing down his back as the coughing goes down. He takes shaky breaths as he sits up and leans on the headboard. After a big exhale from him, you say, “Are you okay?”

Hyungwon looks at you and smiles tightly. “I’m fine. Just a bit hungry.” He sits up, only to scoot closer to you and wind an arm around your back. He rests his forehead on your shoulder as he talks, voice low and scratchy. “Ran out of my supply and I forgot to call Kihyun about it, and it’s been a few days since I had a drink. And it’ll be a couple more days before I can stop by the blood bank for my refills.” A cough.

Your arms are around his wiry frame, fingers running up and down his spine and making him drowsy. He’s still tired and sleepy, but the thirst is keeping him awake.

“Do you want a drink?” you ask quietly. “From me?”

Hyungwon stills, a shiver running down his spine. It’s not all the time he gets to drink from you; in fact, he makes it a point to not do it because he doesn’t want to scare you off. You’ve been living together for six months, known each other for years before that, but he still worries, silently waiting for the day you decide that being with a vampire isn’t worth it after all.

“No, it’s fine,” he says. “I’m fine.” He pushes down the cough building in his throat.

You card your fingers through his long hair. “I know you try not to, but I’m okay with it. You sound like you’re really hurting.” You rest your head against his. “We’ve done it before, and it didn’t really hurt. And I trust you, Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon is tired. Is sleepy. The thirst isn’t all that bad, but the coughing is aggravating his already dry throat. He hasn’t gotten a sip of blood in five days and nothing else could quench this particular thirst quite as well.

A small cough. “Are you sure?”

Your head is still resting on his and he feels you nod. “Yeah. Besides, I…” You clear your throat before speaking. “I like it when you drink from me.”

The vampire freezes, not quite knowing what to do with this newly revealed information. He’s not sure if what he feels right now is mild lust or genuine surprise. In the (very) rare times he drinks from you he thought he saw a twinkle of anticipation in your eyes, like you’ve been craving it, too. He thinks maybe his view of himself is clouding whatever opinion you have of him, bad and good alike.

Hyungwon’s lips purse, trying to keep himself from laughing because he can tell you’re serious about this, just as worried about him as you are excited about the prospect of being bitten; it’s still a bit unbelievable. He finally raises his head and looks square at you.

“You’re really okay with this?” he asks again. “You really want me to drink from you?” He crosses his legs under the blankets and pulls you with the arm still around your back.

Sometimes you forget Hyungwon is so strong—he doesn’t make his strength known to you, unless you both need it a little rough in bed. Now, he practically lifts you onto his lap, emboldened by your declaration. You straddle him, sitting snugly with both his arms around you; your hands naturally find themselves on his broad shoulders.

“Mhm,” you simply say, nodding your head. Adrenaline is running through your veins, and you’re sure Hyungwon can clearly hear how loud and fast your heart is beating right now.

It also seems like he can read your mind because he takes one of his hands and rests it softly against your chest, right over your heart.

You see him swallow. “Your heart is beating so fast,” he says, dragging his hand up to your neck, fingers soft on your skin, and you shiver. “Your pulse is racing.” Hyungwon is looking at you like you’re a meal he can’t wait to devour. “You’re really excited about this, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” you say, even though you don’t really know if what you’re feeling is excitement or embarrassment or lust of fear. You can’t recall any of the previous times he fed from you being this tense—it was always out of desperation and pain that he reached out to you for this, and despite this moment being along the same lines, it’s… very different.

The loose collar of your sweater—one of his you pilfered long ago—is pulled to the side, and you shiver again as his fingertip brushes against your skin. Goosebumps raise on your arms as Hyungwon trails that single finger over your collarbone, up your neck again, to cup your chin and pull you in for a kiss.

His lips are gentle, but you can feel he’s holding back, trying to take it slow in case you change your mind. When you respond and bite his lip, he growls and pulls you by the back of the head to kiss you deeper. The arm around your back tightens, and you feel his fingers tangle in your hair as he angles your head the way he wants.

Tiny moans spill from your lips as Hyungwon’s tongue explores your mouth. When he pulls away, your sight is flooded with his red irises, gold specks swimming in the pool of his eyes that almost glow in the dark room. So chillingly beautiful.

You’re breathing hard, unable to look away from Hyungwon’s captivating gaze. A thought passes through: No wonder humans just fall at their feet—who could look away from such a mesmerizing sight?

“Last chance,” he mutters, wetting his plump bottom lip, his scarlet eyes fixed on your neck. “You really want this?”

You card your fingers through his head and tilt his face up, dropping a kiss to his closed eyes, his nose, his pretty lips. You cup his cheek and give him a small smile. “Do it.”

Hyungwon takes a deep breath and kisses your cheek, trails his lips to nip your earlobe, and then lower… He goes slow, building up your anticipation, getting your heart rate up with every kiss and nip and suck.

He laves his tongue over a spot on your neck, and you let out a sigh, relaxing in Hyungwon’s firm hold. The hand still tangled in your hair guides you, tilting your head to the side. He noses at your neck and gives you a final soft kiss, before he draws his fangs and punctures your jugular.

You squeak in pain; the bite stings, but it goes away as fast as it came. You feel Hyungwon draw back his fangs and begin to suck, dragging his tongue over the wounds, and groaning low in his throat at the sweet taste of you.

It occurs to him how much he misses feeding from you. Because of the rarity of these occasions, your blood becomes a treat to him, a sort of delicacy that he deliberately denies himself of. It didn’t take him too long after that first taste of you long ago, to realize that your blood is dangerously addicting.

Hyungwon focuses on drinking your blood, drinking in the small moans you make as he marks your soft skin. He feels your restless hands clawing at his back, the other winding through his long hair—pulling him close or pushing him away, you don’t know.

Your senses are heightened and dulled; you’re acutely aware of every miniscule movement of Hyungwon’s lips on your neck, but the rest of your body feels like it’s floating. He groans against your skin and the vibrations send a jolt of lightning up your spine and you whimper.

Hyungwon immediately pulls back, worried he hurt you. His mouth is stained red. “Are you okay?”

You’re nodding before he finishes, cupping his cheek with a hand. “I’m fine, Hyungwon.” You give him a small smile as he melts into your hand, one of his coming up to keep it there. “Did you want more?”

He shakes his head. “I’m feeling better now. Thank you, love.” He exhales, and you think he does look better than earlier—his skin is brighter, the bags under his eyes are gone, and he’s even breathing more easily. “Let me go clean you up,” he says, and lifts you gently off him, setting you down on the soft comforter just in front of him. He pats your knee before getting up and padding to the bathroom.

You gaze at him as he leaves, the sight of his model-like figure waddling like a penguin amusing. Hyungwon stops at the door and turns to you, smiling at you softly.

He returns a minute later, warm damp washcloth in hand, mouth clean and eyes a lovely brown. He sits at the edge of the bed and cleans your neck with gentle swipes. The bleeding has stopped and the wound is closed, but the surrounding skin is blooming with black and purple bruises. Hyungwon clicks his tongue. “I’m sorry, love. The bite’s gonna leave a mark.”

You carefully tap the wounds, smoothing fingertips over the raised marks. They sting a bit, but it feels more like the soreness after getting a vaccine shot than anything. “It’s okay, love. They’ll heal over the weekend.” You catch his lips in a soft kiss. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

He sets the bloody rag on the nightstand and moves closer to you, kissing you back, cradling your neck for support as he coaxes you to lie on the bed. You smile through the kiss, giggle as you wind your arms around his neck.

“Thank you,” he mumbles against your lips. “You looked so beautiful earlier… Thank you for letting me do that.”

You hum. “Anytime, you need, babe. I enjoyed it.”

Hyungwon is propped above you, a thigh slotted between yours. Lazy, slow kisses against the soft sheets seems like the perfect activity for the rest of the day. But you have other plans.

“I gotta admit, though,” you said, brushing his long bangs from his eyes. “That was… kinda hot.” You try to fight a smile, embarrassed at the admission, despite the compromising position you were in just minutes before.

Hyungwon chuckles, ducks his head to press a soft kiss to the puncture marks, the underside of your jaw, your earlobe. “I didn’t expect you to be so into it,” he whispers, his baritone voice seeping into your bones and making you shudder.

You laugh loud at that. “Well, my boyfriend is a hot vampire, what did you think was gonna happen?”

Hyungwon laughs with you, rests his forehead on yours and kisses you again. He buries his face into your neck, the unmarked side, and snakes his arms around your back and rolls you to your sides.

Fingers trace mindless shapes on his back, play with his long hair that’s tangled from your restless hands earlier, relax in the quiet of the afternoon. Your heads are at the foot of the bed, legs tangled together. From the top of Hyungwon’s head, you can just barely see the sun peeking through a slit between the dark curtains, but all you want to do is sleep.

You’re close to dozing off when Hyungwon suddenly speaks. Three words. Your favorite.

“I love you.” He squeezes you slightly and breathes in your scent.

You smile and reply, “I love you, too.”

The world outside your window keeps turning; the weather looks nice today. But you’re not stepping out, not when your whole world is right here, snuggled in your arms.

[imaginedilestrade]

One of the boys.

Summary: You live in the middle of London with four boys; Greg, Sherlock, John and Mycroft. It was never going to be easy, especially after falling for the silver haired DI...

Warnings: Maybe a few swears? That's about it.

A/N: PRAISE THE LORD! NO DOLORES IN THIS CHAPTER 🙌🏼😭😅 (Although she is mentioned, there's no getting away from her 😖) I hope you all have a fantastic week! ❤️

Missed the last part? Catch up here

——————————

Chapter 5

——————

When you finally emerged from the bathroom the house was quiet, a stillness had engulfed every room. Except in the living room, where Sherlock was pacing about.

You headed towards your room and dried yourself off, placing on a fresh set of clothes and putting your other ones into the washing machine that was downstairs in the complex you lived in. You shared the block with another neighbour, Mrs Hudson, who loved your company. You'd pop in a few times a week and have tea with her, she was a great respite from the boys.

When you arrived back in the flat you finally approached Sherlock-who was still pacing. "Hey..." you drawled out "Whatcha doing?" Your eyebrow raised slightly and Sherlock stopped walking, pressing his hands together and bringing his fingers to his lips.

"John is at work today so I was waiting for you."

Your eyes narrowed "Why?"

"Case." Sherlock simply replied and fetched his coat that was on a hook by the door. He grabbed yours and tossed it at you resulting in a growl escaping your throat as your coat hit your face.

You locked the door and followed Sherlock down the stairs, you found it a little difficult to keep up with his long legs. He hailed a cab and you both jumped in. The consulting detective then got a text and smirked to himself, you peered over and noticed it was a text from Greg wondering where he was.

"They must be really stumped..." you mused.

Sherlock let out an amused snort under his breath "What's new?"

You rolled your eyes and looked out of the window with a smile starting to develop on your face. The ride was fairly short and you had pretty much stepped out the taxi as stood as you stepped in. Sherlock rushed out the cab and you let out a huff "Yeah! Sure! I'll just pay!" You spoke to yourself and handed the cabbie a handful of money before chasing after Sherlock.

You wrapped your coat around you as a breezy and chilly gust of air whooshed passed you both.

Sherlock held up the police tape for you "Oh chivalry isn't dead," you forced a grin "And please tell me again why I'm out with you when I could be at home in my pyjamas watching 'A Cinderella Story'?"

"You can watch it when we get back," he uttered "And I know you secretly enjoy all this..." he smirked and you playfully rolled your eyes before you both found Greg. "What have we got, Lestrade?"

"Well-" Greg cut himself off and smiled when he saw you "Y/N! Hi! What are you going here?"

"Day off today," you grinned before Sherlock barged in between the both of you.

"Focus Lestrade, we all engage in enough chit chat at home..." he uttered and you and Greg sent each other an unimpressed glance "What have we got?"

"Take a look for yourself and see..." he led you both through and you saw Sherlock's eyes lit up and flicker from side to side as he started to make his deductions. He crouched by the body and pulled on a pair of white gloves and Greg did the same.

"Ohh Lestrade's slapping on the latex! This is getting serious!" You joked with a smile and Sherlock stifled a laugh, Greg sent you a deadpanned expression and your smile fell "Sorry..." you muttered.

Greg stood up and excused himself to take a phone call while you joined Sherlock, crouching over the dead man and seeing straight lines cut all the way down his back. "So, what does the great Sherlock Holmes make of this?"

"You think I'm great?" The corner of his lip twitched upwards.

"Answer my question..." you glared.

"Answer mine..."

You rolled your eyes "Sherlock, we aren't five years old." A moment of silence passed "Plus I asked you first."

He pondered for a moment, scanning his eyes over the body "Attacked by a bear perhaps?" You could hear the joking undertone in his quiet voice.

"Attacked by a bear? Really?" You played along "How many bears do you know?"

"Paddington."

"He wouldn't kill someone..." you uttered.

"He would if they were eating his marmalade sandwich."

You burst out laughing and quickly covered your mouth, earning a few strange looks from the officers around you "Stop it!" You playfully scolded Sherlock. "There's a dead man in front of us and you're making me laugh!"

"Have you got it yet?" Greg walked in and you and Sherlock both stood up.

"I'd send that pill he has in his mouth away for a toxicology report," Sherlock uttered and you went wide eyed having no idea he knew there was something in the dead mans mouth. "It's almost fully dissolved so hurry up...I'll tell you when I've solved it!"

Sherlock walked out and you turned to Greg who seemed a little flabbergasted "I'll see you later, it's chicken for dinner tonight."

"Uh yeah, that's good!" He snapped out of his surprised state.

Your phone dinged and you took it out, Greg nosily tried to see who it was "Mycroft," you muttered and Greg let out a throat full of air that he didn't know he was holding "He's just landed." You text him back before putting your phone away "Anyway, I shall see you tonight!" You sent a single wave in Greg's direction before joining Sherlock.

"We need to stop off at the shops before going home," you practically skipped to keep up with him.

"We?" He turned his head in your direction with a raised brow.

"Yes 'we'! There's no milk in the fridge despite me writing and underlining it on the whiteboard. We seem to be consuming milk like it's going out of fashion. Come on, we can grab the tube from here and just pop to the shops near the flat." Sherlock looked annoyed many the whole thing. You playfully nudged his side with your elbow "Cheer up, I know you want to smile because you've solved that murder caseee!" You sang and Sherlock's lips twitched upwards.

"How did you know it was a murder?" He asked as you made your way to catch the tube.

"I've been learning from the greatest," you winked and skilfully walked down the escalators to the platform. You stood arm to arm with Sherlock who almost towered over you.

"So you do think I'm great?" You glanced up and noticed the cocky smirk on his face.

"I think you're a great pain in my ass..." you playfully jibed "I also think it's great how insufferable you are. It's great how rude you are and how-"

"I get your point..." Sherlock muttered.

You looked up at him before resting your chin on his shoulder, having to stand on your tiptoes to do so "You know I'm kidding!" He cracked a smile and you knew it was a genuine one. The tube arrived and you extended his arm out for Sherlock to get into the carriage "Ladies first..." you sarcastically smirked.

He performed the same action with an equally sarcastic grin "Age before beauty..."

You gasped "You little shi-"

Sherlock cut you off and walked passed you "So I'll go first," you couldn't help but playfully roll your eyes before following him in.

---

You grabbed a basket and wandered through the shop, it sat in the crook of your arm only encouraging you to swing it about. You grabbed a pint of milk and placed it in the basket, raising your brows at the jar of honey being placed in the basket at the same time as you were placing the milk into it.

You looked up and saw Sherlock grinning at you "Can I get this?" He borderline pleaded.

You felt like his mother for a spilt second. "Put it in..." you sighed and he dropped it in with a bigger smile "You're obsessed with that stuff."

"Bees are incredible creatures and I love what they produce," Sherlock walked beside you as you placed various other things in the basket. "I'm assuming you're planning some sort of 'gathering' while Mycroft is away...?"

You dramatically gasped with a sinful smile "Me?! Never! I have never held a house party that Mycroft has never found out about. Ever."

Sherlock smirked "What time are Molly and Mary coming over at?"

"Half eight tomorrow..." you placed the items on the conveyer belt "Thank god Dolores isn't coming...or at least I hope she isn't!" You nervously laughed. Sherlock studied you intently as you bagged everything up, payed the cashier and then told him to get a move on.

It was getting dark due to the rainclouds that had taken over the sky above, thankfully the pair of you would probably make it back just in time before it poured.

"It's okay not to like someone..." Sherlock spoke up and you turned to him with a raising brow.

"Are you trying to say that after living with each other for almost five years that you hate me?" Sherlock smirked at your playful tone "Because I was so sure we were going to get married someday...." you sarcastically added.

Sherlock stopped outside the flat and you faced him "All I'm trying to say is that you don't have to worry about a certain woman who was sick on your jeans this morning."

"I don't worry," you tried to reassure him just as the rain started "It's not up to me who Greg dates, Sherlock. Please just drop this," you sighed and Sherlock noticed a wet stream on your cheek "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

The consulting detective didn't know if it was a raindrop or a tear.

---

"We should have a game night!" John announced "Monopoly?"

"It always gets messy when we play that," you warned from the top of the table "Plus Greg isn't back from work yet, unless we just play it between the three of us?"

"If it's the three of us there's less chance of an argument," Sherlock stood up and cleared away the plates. "Are you leaving this piece of chicken in the oven for Lestrade?" He hollered from the kitchen.

"Yeah!" You shouted back before looking at John "Monopoly it is then."

The doctor clapped his hands together "Great! I'll set it up. What could possibly go wrong with a nice game of Monopoly?"

——————————

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[zora-moyashi]

First

<---Prev   Next--->

ZM

"time to break some stuff~" she smiles and turns on one of the computer consoles connected to a vat.

the vat is all foggy but it's clear there's something in there. "hmmm" she pulls through files and finds ones on a bunch of his creations and modifications

Core

There were some files on 'I-3' "m-5' and s-7

ZM

she clicks on m-5 and starts reading

Core

M-5 alternation of G-4, they are fast on their feet and very loyal, though her cold behavior seems to make it difficult for them to work with s-7, they always ask me for their next assignment, and even when I give them supposedly impossible tasks, they finish it.

ZM

it was taking a second to load so she flipped to another window that was connected to the vat. it read "Tonic: IQ - null Base Stat - 750 Notes - fix the primal functions Intuition - low Obedience - high. " she glances at the vat "so tonic?" and then goes back to reading. she clicks on G-4 to know what kind of alternation they're talking about.

Core

G-4 is very illusive, hard to catch, her injuries are severe, leading me to believe her hp is very low, hence her illusive behavior, high attack, high speed, low hp/ defense. More research is needed

ZM

"seems like m-5 wouldn't be the bestttt to free after knowing those stats and a 'cold behavior'" "s-7 seems weird," she looks for more info on s-7

Core

The file was on shatter. S-7 is difficult to work with, her personality switches rapidly, her memory before our meeting is unknown, mainly because her 'soul stone' is cracked, which I assume causes this loss of memory, her abilities range greatly, giving her great potential, but she holds back greatly, further tests are required for more data

ZM

"hm, that sucks. i find shatter's file and there's practically nothing in it." :/ "i'm thinking I-3 is ink? oh yeah hey shatter has 7 letters so s-7. weird file naming gaster. weird file naming" she nods to herself and clicks on I-3

Core

(oh no u found my way of coding my characters names lol)

ZM

(haha >:D )

Core

I-3 an artificial intelligence made of pure carbon atoms, she learns quickly, hopefully to be used against the humans if necessary. her ability to pick up on tiny details makes it hard for me to stay a step ahead of her, if something, anything is out of the ordinary, she finds it. I-3 refuses to sleep, she explains that when she does that everything becomes blank, though I see this as just her being unable to create a 'dream' stage.' the file had more than one page.

ZM

chara clicked to the next page

Core

I-3 has learned how to change her form, she has been trying different ones to see my reaction, since she seems unable to comprehend emotions. She has so far used M-5's form as well as my own, though did not seem content with that, I will test to see how far she can change her form. The tests went well, and she seems content with her current form, a middle aged humanoid with wings, though her misunderstanding of anatomy has led to her form's spinal cord and rib cage. exposed, the blankness of the bones seems to bother her, since she has made her digits sharp to carve designs into the bone, the sound of her doing this is... unnerving

there was still more pages

ZM

"yuck." chara grimaced quickly going to the next one just to check

Core

I-3 has escaped, though I am unsure how, nothing is out of place, though she would make sure of that... it is irritating

ZM

"ink's such a rebel omg" she giggles and flips to the last page to see if there's any recent info on her whereabouts.

Core

M-5 has been in a fight with I-3, and returned with a shattered femur

ZM

"hmm, that mean she's here healing? I'm not sure how vanta works if they have ink's body or not. if that's the caseee... " she trails off and looks back at shatter presumably still sleeping.

Core

Shatter was still asleep.

ZM

the vat starts to steam bubbling violently until it nearly instantly starts to leave water droplets on the glass as if it's suddenly cold. chara turns to it and sees this and decides to mess with the panel by the vat. she finds a combination that opens the hatch at the top

she climbs up and looks down into the green tinted water. a pair of 'eyes' look back and chara smiles holding out a hand to help it out. a pair of clear teeth shoot out of the water to her hand. she moves fast enough to not be hurt. "that's not nice. do you want out or not mr./miss?"

they pop their head out chara getting a better look, it's a skeleton like monster, but the bones are clear as glass and have a plastic like covering over the eye holes, and torso. other than that it has no notable features

chara pokes at it's eye holes, the membrane covering it bouncing her finger away. the skeleton didn't seem to appreciate being poked in the eye as it leaped out of the vat and tackled chara to the floor. she couldn't keep in a yelp as she hit the floor and rocked a cabinet that was by her.

Core

Shatter woke up to the sound of a fight, she went to see what was happening.

ZM

chara kicked and squirmed under the skeleton who was impressively heavy compared to chara. on closer inspection the skeleton isn't hollow it has a clear liquid filling it's whole body. chara growls and 'tonic' rips at her arm. tonic grabbed? the blood chara had on her arm. chara gets a good kick to it's stomach and gets it off her. she wide eyed looks at shatter kinda confused as to what just happened. tonic plays with the blood which rolls in their hands like pearls .

Core

Shatter still seemed tired, but she healed Chara first, before going to 'tonic

ZM

chara just is like "?????" tonic's in the corner minding it's own business playing with the blood. it moves it's head towards shatter. "what?" it says

Core

"So you can speak." Shatter said.

ZM

it just nods looking back at its toy

Core

Shatter sighed. "Name, what is your name."

ZM

"gaster called me tonic" she looks over at the pile of dust. "is that him?"

Core

"Yeah. But how come I haven't seen you before now?"

ZM

it absorbs the blood and makes her hand a bright red like a soul. it seems to please it as the rest of their body becomes the red as well. "i'm .. new? maybe?"

Core

Shatter sighed, "don't hurt others, okay?"

ZM

"why not? and who're you then? killing dad and telling me not to 'hurt others? i'm confused"

ZM

they talk with precision but doesn't seem very smart in general. as if she was taught language but never really interacted with anything

(i keep calling it she i don't know what this thing is ummm whatever i'll just roll with she)

Core

"I didn't kill him," Shatter said,

ZM

"yeah?"

Core

"Vantablack did." Shatter sat down,

ZM

"I do not know who that is." she looks like she doesn't care to know either. chara messing with the computer seeing that tonic is looking at her she glares in response and stands next to shatter.

Core

Shatter sighed. "Look, I'm not your babysitter, so you can leave for all i care."

ZM

"this is my room, doesn't that mean you should leave?..." she states. "i mean you can stay but...?" she stands up all the way she's quite tall and has a tail with a spear tip. she goes up close to shatter looking at her face then trying to inspect her soul.

Core

Tonic was unable to 'summon' shatter's soul, and her eyes would change colors rapidly but faintly, making them seem grey.

ZM

"huh. strange." she goes back into the frog position she was in before. tonic looks at shatter and cocks her head. "why are you unhappy?"

Core

"I'm tired, and have a lot on my mind."

ZM

chara scoffs that turns into a laugh. she had enough of this skel so she goes to the potion shelves. tonic smile seems to grow a little "oh sleepy! i know what that feels like! I've fixed it before. should i fix you?" she says happily.

Core

Shatter seemed confused by Tonic's statement, "What do you mean....fix?"

ZM

"Make you... not sleepy?" she wonders if she put that correctly and revises "so you can have more energy"

Core

"I mean, I guess you can try."

ZM

"excellent." she hops over to chara who irritatedly moves out of her way. tonic gets a couple drops of a green potion and it goes into her body the green and red don't mix but they swirl around each other making her glow more than she was before.

she goes back to shatter, takes off her head and hands it to her upside down expecting her to drink the liquid. she smiles

Core

"O-oh, well, ok then." Shatter said, her eyes and hair turning a dull purple before she drank.

ZM

as promised it invigorated shatter but it didn't help her mental state.

Core

"Thanks." she said, giving Tonic back her head, Shatter's hair and eyes were still purple

ZM

she cups the hole to not let it all spill out and puts her head back on. "? your appearance changed?"

Core

"Well, yeah, it does when I use one element more than the others." Shatter sighed.

ZM

displeased with the sigh at the end tonic stands up again and hugs her "I want to help people. I want you to feel better." noticing shatter didn't like that she lets go and looks up at her from the floor again. "Hey you? why's your friend sad?" she asks chara. "pffft why shouldn't she be sad hm? know what shatter i'm sick of this. ink may be in this place. i say we look for her."

Core

Shatter seemed somewhat shocked by the hug. "Hold on a sec, Chara." She said, before looking at Tonic, her hair went back to grew, but her eyes switching blues and purples.

ZM

tonic blinks under her gaze seemingly getting embarrassed. "what is it?" she asks as chara says "also there are no fricken files on you. so i can't black mail you and that's absolutely disappointing." she shakes her head

Core

"we're bringing Tonic with us." Shatter said. "And I burned the main files."

ZM

"excuse me. NO. i don't like that thing." she shivers "gives me the creeps." she as well doesn't seem pleased the files are gone forever.

Core

"well, how about this, I'll show you where the main computer is if Tonic can tag along." Shatter said

ZM

she squints for a moment, "okay hell yes" she trots over to shatter so excited to snoop around. "but you better ditch it when we leave this au." tonic happily waves her tail gently side to side.

Core

Shatter chuckled softly, getting up, "Come on then." She smiled, going down the hall

ZM

they both follow shatter chara on her left and tonic on her right. tonic hops along even though she's clearly make to walk but whatever she has her reason. chara scans the random monitors littering the walls for anything interesting before asking "where are we checking first?"

Core

"the main computer, as promised." Shatter said, unlocking a door with a code.

ZM

"great~" she claps then rubs her hands together mischievously.

(there they is~ i don't know if they should have eye lights or not)

Core

The room had lots of filing cabinets and a computer. (omg! cute!!!)

ZM

chara goes strait for the computer. turns out it's locked. turning to shatter "you know the password?”  

Core

"give me a sec." Shatter said, before typing in the password.

ZM

she puts her elbows on the desk waiting and then cheers when shatter gets in "thankss!" she shoves shatter away from the keyboard a little. "this desktop is a mess" she whistles.

she opens a bunch of things on the desktop that look interesting.

Core

Shatter chuckled softly. There was a folder labeled Anodites/stars

ZM

"ooo~ tell me about the oh so mysterious stars gaster do tell!" she clicks on it quickly.

tonic waits patiently in the corner of the room.

Core

Shatter sat by Tonic, letting them do what they want

Core

'Stars are a peculiar species, their souls are actually hard stone formations, which allows them to survive different kinds of attacks. I have classified them into 3 categories for easier reference, Pacifist, Neutral and Genocide. It appears that some abilities are common among most or even all stars, these include teleportation, the ability to make their eyes glow, transportation between timelines, and the capability to make high pitched chirps. Each star seems to be unique, no similar bullet patterns or style, truly fascinating. I will continue research.

ZM

"I didn't know you were a song bird shatter~ you gotta sing sometime" she teases. chara tries to find a file giving a valid reason for gaster to 'enhance' the stars. a reason that's not 'oh i gotta save the multiverse! cause i gotta'. chara was expecting something much more in depth

Core

'Stars do show potential to be an unlimited power source, though they are hard to contain, which would explain as to why there is so little information on them, perhaps one can be modified so it can be contained, thus this could power the core then the entire underground.'

Shatter rolled her eyes to Chara's teasing before making chirps and clicks, much like a bird

ZM

"aww that's cute~" after reading the next part "hey shatterrrr" she calls without looking away from the screen. "did gaster like.. just keep you in a room sometimes? he seems to have thought you guys can make enough energy to power the underground with just one of you and that's another reason why he wanted you guys."

Core

"well, yeah, but i soon figured out the codes." Shatter said.

The file continued; ‘Stars are so very diverse as I am quick to learn, some live in the cities with humans, others stay in dense forested areas. I was lucky enough to come across a damaged soulstone in waterfall, though it is cracked, I believe there is a way to repair it. It has turned to my attention that Stars can possibly be used for more than just a power source, some are fused or infused with human souls, meaning it can be a possibility to use them to break the barrier. I have gone through reports from the royal guard and have learned that sentries have reported some strange ‘monster’ in the snowdin forest, however their report may be describing a human or star, it is hard to tell the difference between these two species, though I have noticed that Stars tend to have some kind of markings on their skin, the purpose of these markings are unknown. I will make a log on the stone’s progress.

ZM

"mhm... you scare me sometimes you know? haha you're way strong and smart like geez." she wonders who the soulstone in waterfall was. it'd make sense if it was shatter...? maybe but it's only a crack. blood acted like shatter had a really messed up soulstone. she keeps reading

Core

Log 1; I have been keeping the soulstone stable, and while I was attempting to use healing magic, the stone flashed a light grey color in response, it is peculiar, but I assume that the star to who this soul belongs is still very much alive. I have tried to check the stats on this star to learn that their attack is very high, as is their hp. Log 2; the stone seems to be recovering well, though the crack seems irreversible. The stone tends to shine and flash more often, perhaps it is an attempt at communication, the patterns that can be seen tend to point towards this being the case. Log 5: As I went to check the stone this morning, I was shocked to see a star instead. And… I can confirm that the star is female…. I gave her some extra clothing and she seemed just as eager to cover herself as I was to get her covered. I did notice however that her chest had large amounts of scaring, perhaps this is an effect of the crack in her soul stone. She does seem on edge, since she won’t let me get too close, nor will she allow any contact, perhaps she needs time.

It seemed like some of the logs had been deleted

ZM

chara clicks the next file

Core

Log 8: She has been adapting well, though she still doesn’t trust me. Her behavior is somewhat similar to that of felines, since she has a habit of hissing, and arching her back. I have noticed that her eyes and hair can change coloration, perhaps by controlling the density of pigmentation. Though this theory has to be tested. Her teeth, which I have seen while she hisses at me, are rather sharp, showing more of a predatory diet.

ZM

'definitely sounds like shatter to me' she thinks and clicks next

Core

Log 29; S-7 has finally warmed up to the idea of my presence, though she still refuses to let me touch her, so samples will have to wait. I have heard rather high pitched chirp-like sounds while in the halls, the source is currently unknown, but I suspect S-7 to be the culprit. She will make her eyes glow, similar to how skeletons use their eyelights. Though I have learned that this behavior serves as a warning, for as I approached she did this before attacking me with some kind of blue flame. It did do a sizeable amount of damage, but I am fine. Though I will think twice if I see this behavior again.

ZM

chara continues and tonic starts to tap their fingers on the tile. she doesn't like how quiet it is now.

Core

Shatter noticed this and made different chirps.

Log 36: As I was walking past the room where I have been keeping S-7 contained, she actually spoke, her words were, ‘It’s too cold here’, though it is a complaint, it is progress nonetheless. I have increased the temperature and tried to get her to talk some more, mainly by asking questions, but to no avail, she is extremely difficult, but I will be patient.

ZM

chara is amused by gaster's struggles, she also so hopes that shatter and any other stars stay this uncooperative. tonic glances at shatter with a shy smile on their face happy with the sounds. she curls up on the floor kinda like a cat and rests her eyes.

Core

Shatter smiles at Tonic, the skeleton reminded her of something, something... happy.

Log 40: S-7 is finally talking with me, according to her, she is having difficulty recovering her memory, though she is aware of her name; Shatter. I had told her about how I found her, and she seemed shocked by this, it is plausible that she believes that she shouldn’t have survived. She had many questions for me, maybe more than I did for her. She wanted to know why I had helped her, where she was, what was the date, and other similar questions. She still will not let me touch her.

ZM

chara continues

Core

Log 47: I was finally able to convince ‘Shatter’ to let me have a blood sample, and my patience has been rewarded ten fold. After some tests, it seems that a Star’s blood can change the genetic coding in reaction to certain environments, which would allow them to survive in areas with little to no oxygen. Her white blood cells seemed also more aggressive, I assume this is because sickness or any form of weakness could result in death. My research was interrupted by S-7, who somehow had learned how to bypass the electronic locks. She seems to learn quickly. Log 48: Today, while discussing with S-7, she offered to try and introduce me to other Stars, since ‘I seemed so interested.’ of course I accepted, she then created some type of wormhole, and instructed me to follow *Error: rest of file not found*

ZM

clicks her tongue irritatedly and sighs finding another file

Core

There was some of M-5 and I-3

ZM

she goes for m-5

Core

The file started with information about alternating dna

ZM

she continues

Core

Supposedly he had gotten genetic information from g-4, and then combined with a human

ZM

"shatter, who's M-5?" she asks

Core

"Music."

ZM

(i totally forgot about her omg my sickness is making my brain shut down) "oh duh, thank you" she hits her head. "so she was part human, strange." she goes to ink's files assuming there's not going to be much more then what was on the other computer

Core

There was a lot of statistical data, like her different attacks and her patterns, as well as information on timelines she had predicted.

ZM

she looks into the timeliness info

Core

there were timelines in which Gaster had fell into the void, others where the core exploded after attempts to use Music as a power source.

ZM

chara lets out another sigh leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. "hm." seems what she wants she's not going to find here. she shoves the chair aside and thumbs through the files looking for anything that would tell her how to extract star energy, or how long they live, maybe the most dangerous one he's seen. doesn't seem like gaster has much files on anyone except music ink and shatter.

ZM

she rubs her temples while scanning a page that was some daily accounts of events.

Core

she had found a file discussing an experiment that was made by a different Gaster, where he had forcefully combined a star's soulstone to a human's soul, The result was a star that could alter timelines to help in battle, but at the cost of stamina and hp. As for the most dangerous, the name 'Fatal Error' kept popping up

ZM

chara's eyes light up a bit after seeing you can force a star to merge with a human soul. chara gave no mind to the most dangerous as she assumed 'fatal error' meant the file was corrupted anyway. she chucks the files she's not into on the floor and pages scatter around one falling on tonic's head which she pulled off and examined for herself.

chara was looking for energy extraction or how to kill a star, she thinks she'll be satisfied with that info.

Core

It was about 'outcodes' or Stars who's worlds were erased, making them somewhat broken, lost.

Core

As for Chara's search, it lead to some data on a star could be damaged to only their soulstone, and then the stone used as an energy source, there was also two cases of Star's who absorbed human souls.

ZM

chara goes up to shatter. "hey, can you show your soulstone at will? or do you have to have your physical body destroyed or something for that to happen?"

Core

"Why do you want me to show you?" Shatter asked

ZM

Tonic didn't like what she was reading, it made her upset as she sat up and ran a finger down the page

"no no no" she shakes her head. "you don't have to show me, i just want to know if it's possible. ya know?"

Core

It mentioned several 'known outcodes' Fatal Error, Papercrane, Fresh, Chronicle, Core, Harvest and some others

"I could, but it would hurt like hell."

ZM

"huh, weird. no need to then. I was just curious." she kicks the papers out of her way and accepts that she and gaster had very different ideas of what's important when it comes to research. she wants power, gaster wants it in a different way. she's going to have to risk her own skin if she wants to satisfy her curiosity

Core

"You know, there is one star, that actually is extremely strong, but not dangerous, maybe you'd like to meet her?" Shatter asked, patting Tonic's back

ZM

tonic is going to remember those names. tonic pushes the paper aside and snuggles against shatter's shoulder and looks towards chara. "yeah? do tell." chara says. "but i do what to search for ink before we leave this place just fyi"

Core

"Ink? Well, she is extremely hard to find, mainly because she can 'hear' the creators, so she knows that we will be after her..." Shatter said. Tonic could hear a soft purr from Shatter's chest, a sign she was happy

ZM

"we ain't gonna hurt her! why does she think she needs ta run?!" she pouts. "and what'd you do when you told gaster you'd lead him to some stars? i'm sure it was you who deleted that info. but if i know it won't change a thing for you, and i wanna know. like really bad."

Core

"Well, Ink has always been illusive by nature, so I don't think she cares." Shatter explained. "And with what happened, let's just say things didn't go as planed."

ZM

"that's not a good answer. i assume, and i assume because SOMEONE won't tell me, that you got some stars killed after leading gaster to them. then gaster used some of their shards and put them in you." she shrugs. "so yeah, if i don't get the truth i guess i'll just go with that." getting sick of tonic staring at her she glares back making tonic surprised but looks away nonetheless

Core

Shatter looked away, "Your assumption, is correct." She said, before getting up. "Happy?" She asked before walking into the hall

ZM

"OMG WHAT YES~!!!!" she runs after her "WAIT WAIT! I'm sorry shatter, i'm sure it was traumatic. but not gonna lie i'm supper proud i was correct." ... she closes her mouth. "i'm sorry i didn't want to make you upset." tonic was surprised by all the sudden movement in the room that it took her a second to join them in the hall.

Core

Shatter sighed, turning to Chara, "let's not talk about, okay?" She said. "Stars fight, for different reasons, but we do, and yes we do work together, and sometimes those groups will fight, and in the chaos....it's easy to loose someone." Shatter said.

ZM

chara gives a slow nod wondering if there was a specific someone that she lost but deciding not to ask. "okay." she stuffs her hands in her pockets.

Core

"Did you read about the human and star fusions?" Shatter asked

ZM

she inhales wondering if she should tell her. "..yeees?"

she really didn't want shatter getting in the way of her plans

Core

"well, I know where one of those fusions are, though she has absorbed six human souls, so she is more of an extreme example, want me to take you?"

ZM

"mmmmm sounds intimidating haha" her shoulders tense "i think that your first offer of a strong star that's not dangerous would be... better." it dawns on her that those might be the same star anyway. tonic doesn't seem to know what to do. she thinks about leaving them and exploring but she's grown a liking to shatter so she just sits a ways away.

Core

Shatter looked at Tonic, before going to a room and getting an empty backpack, she put it on her back. "Tonic, can you fit in this?"

ZM

tonic smiles and goes to see if she could. it was a decently big backpack and she's rather skinny so indeed she could fit. chara looks at both of them "what happened to 'we're leaving this thing here?'" tonic's empty eye sockets look at her giving chara another shiver.

Core

"I changed my mind." Shatter said, opening a portal, "You coming?"

ZM

tonic waves her head side to side making the liquid slosh around, she likes the sound. "uhg." chara stares at them. "i don't have many options here so yeah." she goes through the portal before the other two.

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