#laughing to myself about the person who said: perfect amount of pain!!!!!

[writing-until-i-drop]

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 3

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

A/N: Daisy has a disturbing realization regarding her newest character, one that dredges up painful memories. Jake has a realization of his own when driving Daisy home from the Hard Deck.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

“I want pages as soon as you have them, Daisy. It’s not what I was hoping for but I am very excited.” My publisher Grace said in her thick, Jersey accent. “Send them to Jason first, I know how he gets when he’s left out of the loop.” I rolled my eyes, my agent Jason would get the text about pages when I was ready to share them and not a moment before, otherwise, he’d be calling me three times a day for a status update. Jason had been with me since the beginning, helping me polish my submissions and get picked up by Grace’s publishing house, but he was a taskmaster. A loveable taskmaster, but a taskmaster nonetheless. 

“Sounds good, Grace. I just wanted to keep you in the loop with what’s coming down the pipeline.” 

“You never disappoint me, Daisy.” With that, Grace hung up. Natasha and Rooster had helped me build a desk and chair, giving me the perfect place to work from. Special Agent Cassandra Klein had a lot to say and the pages kept filling with words as fast as I could type them. Sure, a lot of it would probably be cut in the editing process, but it was thrilling that the story was coming so easily. Writing my last book had been like trying to get blood from a stone using a cotton swab as a weapon. My parents were murdered, Cassandra whispered and my fingers froze on the round keys of my pink keyboard. Right in front of me. 

“No, no, no, no,” I scrambled away from my desk, toppling backward in the chair. My head hit the edge of my bed on the way down, pain shooting through my body, “Shit!” I laid there, sprawled out on the floor for a long time, staring up at the ceiling. I had their blood on my tennis shoes. Cassandra was coming to me so easily because she was me. “I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this.” I chanted to myself, head spinning. 

But I had already told Grace about the story and she was expecting pages. I couldn’t back out of this now. Cassandra wouldn’t stop whispering twisted details of my past, her past, our past, to me. She demanded that I tell the story. It was the driving force for her joining the Navy and then NCIS, it was the reason she was determined to catch the bad guys. It was the most important part of her just like it was with me. 

Some time later I managed to pull myself off of the floor. I looked in the bathroom mirror, cringing when I saw the blood and the bruise beginning to form at my temple. My cheeks were puffy and tear-stained, and my eyes were bloodshot. I looked utterly pathetic and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re in deep shit now, DeeDee,” I knew what I should have done. I should have called my old therapist and scheduled a new session, I should have called my brother and asked for an update on his wife and kids. I should have done anything besides what I was going to do. I wiped up the blood, cringing at the burn of the alcohol wipe, and put a bandaid over the cut. Then I went back to work. 

Cassandra was a tough cookie but unlike me, saw her therapist well into adulthood. But unlike me, she drank and smoked an unhealthy amount to cope with what she saw on the job. I stayed away from her past, only alluding to it briefly in therapy, and got on with the investigation she was pursuing with her team. By the time I heard Natasha come home, I had written enough to make me happy.

“You home, Daisy?” Natasha shouted up the stairs, her heavy footfall disrupting my concentration. I shut my laptop, rubbing at my tired eyes, responding that I was home. “Do you want to go for dinner and then a drink with the guys?” A drink did sound good, actually, twelve drinks sounded better. 

“Yeah, can I wear my pajamas this time?” Natasha shot me down, I heard her shower turn on. I begrudgingly changed out of my Cookie Monster pajama pants and into leggings, layering extra deodorant, and perfuming my Embry-Riddle University sweatshirt. 

“So, are you going to tell me what happened to your forehead?” Natasha pointed with her fork. I ignored her, taking another bite of my burger. “That’s a no then. Am I going to have to beat up a person or baby-proof our furniture?” 

“Furniture,” I mumbled, stuffing a handful of fries into my mouth in the most unladylike way. “Don’t wanna talk about it.” 

“Clumsy,” Natasha chided, stealing one of my fries even though she had a plate of her own. “If you don’t want to talk about that, do you want to talk about Hangman?” I glared at her. Ever since the first night at the Hard Deck, Natasha had been trying to get me to talk about Jake and how I felt about him but I wouldn’t say a word. He was nice, especially when he stopped flirting with me constantly, he listened to me talk about everything that came to my mind, listening with rapt attention. “You’re smiling!” 

“Shut up, Tasha. Want to tell me about you and Coyote?” Natasha’s smile faded fast, her cheeks turning pink.

“Nothing to tell.” Natasha lied, slurping her root beer. “Alright, so no talking about the forehead or boys. Have you talked to Harvey lately?” 

“Nah, he’s busy with baby number three. Little Jill Prentiss is a 7lb 14oz bundle of joy who will not let them sleep more than a few hours a night.” My younger brother Harvey had been too young to be saddled with all of the lingering trauma, getting married to his high school sweetheart Emma after graduating from college, bought a house in Iowa, and started having babies. My nieces were the highlight of my life, for every book I wrote, I would get an advance and spend a good portion of it on presents for them. 

“Good for him, doing all that domestic crap. If I got pregnant, I’d have to give up flying and I don’t know if I’ll ever be willing to do that.” 

“Would you do it for Javy?” 

“I thought we said no boys!” 

The Hard Deck wasn’t as packed on a Wednesday night, making it much more my speed. Penny greeted us with a wave, grabbing the bottle of Patron.

“Evening, ladies! Your usual?” 

“Pretty please, Penny,” I passed her my card to start a tab. “Did you and Mav enjoy the cookies I sent?” 

“Amelia and I ate them all before he came home from work,” Penny laughed, “They were delicious, you’ll have to give me the recipe.” 

“No can do, my recipe book is under lock and key.” Penny pinched her lips at me but slid me two shots and a tequila sunrise. “But all you have to do is ask for more and I’ll drop off a batch.” That got a smile out of her. I slammed back my two shots, getting primed and ready for human interaction, and then ordered a third just to be sure.

“You’re in rare form tonight,” Natasha remarked, side-eyeing me, “Still don’t want to talk about it?” I shook my head, letting her lead me to where the other daggers were sitting with their beers. Payback and Fanboy were deep in conversation, Bob was texting, and Bradley was off to the side, chatting with some pretty brunette. Jake noticed us first, motioning for me to sit next to him.

“Hey, Wildflower.” I rolled my eyes, fighting a smile. He frowned, brushing my bangs back to reveal the bandaid, “What happened?” 

“I was attacked by a piece of furniture,” I mumbled, pushing my bangs back into place. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He grabbed my hand under the table, thumb smoothing over my knuckles.

“Then we won’t talk about it but-” He was cut off by Rooster rejoining the group, announcing that he did in fact get the woman’s number.

“Ten bucks says it’s fake,” Natasha challenged with a shit-eating grin. Payback took her up on the deal, “Because why would she give you her number instead of trying to take you home on this fine, Wednesday evening?”

“Yee of little faith,” Rooster rolled his eyes. “She’s right there, I’ll call her.” He pointed to the bar where the woman in question was settling her tab and dialed. We all watched as Rooster’s phone rang but the phone in the woman’s hand didn’t light up. “Oh, um, wrong number.” 

“I bet it was the mustache, I keep telling you to shave that thing, man.” Jake teased, smacking Rooster on the back.

“It’s not the mustache, ladies love the mustache. Right, Daisy?” I held up my hands, forcing Jake to drop it.

“I am not getting involved in this, ask Tasha.” He turned to ask Natasha who was glaring daggers at him and he thought better of it. Jake’s hand rested on my thigh, sparking a deep blush in my chest.

“I thought we talked about the flirting thing, Hangman,” I whispered. Everyone was too busy roasting Rooster to notice our little conversation. He shot me a glare, squeezing my thigh.

“I’m not flirting, Wildflower. I’m being comforting,” He rolled his eyes.

“Who says I need comforting?”

“The extra shot of tequila and you, little lady, call me Jake.” I narrowed my eyes at him, annoyed that he noticed so much about me. I was used to being noticed by people like Natasha, Harvey, and the occasional fan, but not by men like Jake. Sure, Rooster had called me gorgeous, but the man who would flirt with a brick wall if given the chance. I wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, with my soft stomach and thighs, but I considered myself cute in the right outfits. Certainly not what I was wearing 90% of the time though, including right then.

“I’ll call you whatever I like, pretty boy.” I bluffed, rolling my eyes at him. He shot me another glare,

���Now who’s flirting?” 

“Whatever,” I huffed, sliding my hand over his. He let me get the last word and I was thankful for it, my social battery absolutely shot from the unwelcome trip down memory lane earlier in the day. 

X

As the night went on, Daisy sank deeper into my side, her fingers laced with my own beneath the table. Something was wrong, that much was obvious, but it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it and I wasn’t about to run her off by asking too many questions. Daisy had a way of keeping me on my toes, always calling me out when I tried to flirt or tease her. It made me want to do those things all the time, just to watch her pretty brown eyes roll with an exasperated sigh of my name. 

“Do you want a water?” I whispered, enjoying the way her grip on me tightened as she shivered. She looked up at me with droopy eyes, blinking slowly like a cat. I made a mental note to add kitten to the lineup of nicknames for her, just to see how she’d react to it. 

“I want to go to bed but she’s enjoying herself,” I followed her eyes to Phoenix, who was in deep conversation with Coyote over pre-flight rituals. 

“I can take you home, Wildflower.” I had the urge to take her home and tuck her in bed with me at her side, tracing patterns on her thigh even after she fell asleep. The thought made me both happy and queasy. I had never dreamt of domesticity, at least not after my pops got sick. The day he had been diagnosed with cancer and I saw how distraught my mama was, I knew I didn’t want to be the source of that much grief to anyone I loved. But with Daisy, those sweet thoughts wouldn’t leave my mind. I wanted to dance with her in the kitchen while she cooked and hold her hand at the grocery store, I wanted to do everything I had avoided with a ten-foot pole with every other girl I had been with for a night. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Come on,” I pulled her to her feet. “Phoenix, I’m going to take Daisy home, she’s a little tired.” Phoenix narrowed her eyes at me, the protective vibe rolling off of her in waves until Daisy leaned into my side.

“Goodnight, everyone,” Her eyes were half-closed as she waved to the squad and I quickly guided her to the bar, paid for both of our tabs, and guided her to my truck. There was a bit of a lift to it and I had never been more happy for it when Daisy giggled, taking my helping hand in.

“You’re such a gentleman, Jake.” 

“I’m your gentleman, Wildflower.” Instead of glaring, she just smiled, that pretty blush turning her cheeks the same color as her hair. I wanted to snap a picture of the moment, Daisy sitting in my passenger seat with that soft smile on her lips. 

I closed the door, jogging to the other side. Daisy had her arm on the center console and she didn’t protest when I laced our fingers together as I drove. Whether I was finally breaking her down or she was too tired to mind, I didn’t care, smiling the whole drive. 

“Stay put, sweetheart.” I squeezed her hand before getting out and helping her out of the truck. 

“You don’t have to walk me to the door, Jake.” 

“The door? I was planning on tucking you in, I’ve got to protect you from more wild furniture attacks.” That got me an eye roll but she didn’t protest, leading me into the apartment she shared with Phoenix. I had been there once before with Javy but the place looked completely different, instead of a crash pad, it felt like a home. My pops always said it took a woman’s touch to turn a house into a home and looking at Daisy’s string lights and wax melter, I couldn’t have agreed more. “So, which of these Ikea pieces attacked you?”

“My bed, it’s a long story.” Daisy let me follow her up the stairs and I was going to take as long of a leash as she was going to give me here.

“I’ve got time,” I pried gently, averting my eyes from her round ass like the gentleman I was trying to be.

“I fell out of my chair and hit my head, not a big deal, just a little embarrassing.” My mind immediately went into a panic, wanting to check her for a concussion and to see how bad the cut was beneath the bandaid but I restrained myself, knowing that would get me kicked out faster than I could say urgent care. 

“Beds can be dangerous,” I teased instead, grinning when I got a laugh out of her. Daisy stopped just inside of her room, looking up at me with sleepy eyes and I found myself practicing self-restraint again, wanting to cover her face in kisses until she pulled me to bed with her.

“Thanks for bringing me home, Jake, but I think I’ve got it from here.” 

“Okay,” I said but I didn’t want to leave yet. Instead, I wrapped her in my arms, breathing in her vanilla perfume, relishing the fact she was hugging me back. “Goodnight, Wildflower.” 

“Goodnight, Jake.” 

I locked the bottom lock on my way out, texted Phoenix that Daisy was in bed, and took the long route home, needing to clear my head. Except Daisy wouldn’t leave my mind, taking up residence in every corner. Her laugh, her smile, her glare. I was so fucked. 

Next Chapter

[hamatosami]

“Eternal Flame” TMNT FANFICTION

1| discovery

Notes: I'm so happy and proud to present my first finalized and edited chapter of this book! It feels good to finally put out something I'm proud of. Anastasia is a character I've worked years to develop. I'm so excited to share the rest of the story with you guys. The chapters may be longer due to the rewriting. I'm sure you guys won't mind.

Links:

👈🏼 previous chapter 

     Never in my life did I believe that I would be fighting side by side against the one and only Eric Sacks. Although, I found myself helplessly agreeing to it and everything in my soul told me not to. I sloppily swirled my rocks glass around, suddenly not entertained by the idea of intoxication anymore. I let the ice water down my liquor until it was no longer desirable. No matter how many sips I took, it couldn't drown the bitter taste in my mouth. My heart rested in my throat, waiting to explode. Head leaning heavy against my other hand. I bit the inside of my cheek due to feeling on edge.

Eric is most definitely hiding something.

It couldn't be true. The idea of mutant ninja turtles. Although, I couldn't deny the pictures he showed me. I found my glass to be empty again.

"I'll have another." My voice sounded more rugged than usual. Eric's hand pushed mine back down unto the bar top.

"Actually, we'll just get the tab. All on one." I ruggedly gave him the death stare for shutting me off. "You've had enough." He concluded.

I dramatically flinched my hand away from his

"You're right. I have had enough." I began to walk away, heading towards the door and my bike after a pretty defeating night. Eric ran in front of me.

"You shouldn't drive Anna. At least let me take you home."

I laughed at his audacity. Surly he couldn't be joking.

"There's a mugging on 5th. I have to check it out." My ear bud rang in all sorts of information at just the right time, giving me the perfect excuse to leave the vicinity.

"I can't let anything happen to you." Eric took ahold of my arm one more time. At this point I was way past annoyed. Only because I could hear in his voice that he wasn't genuine at all. He took a frustrated sigh. "They call you the Hachiman." He said low into my ear.

"Who does?"

"The Foot. They're not very happy with what you've been doing."

"They need a better name." I pushed. Not taking this seriously.

"I'm just trying to help you." He positioned. Although, I could hear it in his voice that he wasn't being very truthful.

"You don't have to be nice to me Eric. No amount of kindness will ever atone for the years of abandonment and hate you projected onto Zayne, your very own brother. It was your job to look after him, but I ended up picking up every piece and holding him together while you bathed in your undeserving wealth." I walked closer to him now feeling suddenly sober. "I won't allow you to fix your guilt through me. That pain. That ache that just won't go away. You deserve to live with that." I huffed finding my fists tight. "Now get out of my way." I warned once.

Without saying a single word he stepped aside as I walked away to my bike. Leaving into my beloved city.

———————————————————

Ultimately, I woke up relatively early despite

going to bed so late. Mascara smudged from the night before and a pounding headache that greeted me the moment I opened my eyes. My heart sank deeper into my chest, heaving heavy with slow and steady beats.

God what the hell did I agree to?

The idea that I was about to singly handedly take down a robbery by The Foot tonight was strikingly scary. I couldn't understand why, it's not the first time I've tried to stop them. Shockingly, I've never been afraid of The Foot until now.

I guess the difference was that I was entrusting a person I've never trusted in my entire life. And the possibility of live, mutant ninja turtles... yeah that one I'm going to have to see to believe.

I was agnostic on most believes in anything mystical. I didn't believe in most things I couldn't see or touch. Religion? A made up fairytale. Even when I was a child I never once believed in Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy. If it didn't make sense, I didn't believe in it. If there wasn't any concrete proof, I would deem it a made up story.

So why would I believe in mutant ninja turtles?

I got up and ready for my day, oddly feeling that I wouldn't return. Everything in my gut is telling me to stay home tonight, but I had to remember my purpose.

My fingers brushed against the framed picture on my nightstand of Zayne. I held it close to my chest letting a single tear fall to my ear.

I have to do this for him. His death has to mean something.

Taking a deep sigh as I threw my leather jacket over my shoulders, paying close attention to the silver buttons of the collar; I couldn't shake my nerves.

This was very unusual for me to feel. I very rarely felt fear and at times that I did feel fear, I would enjoy the adrenaline. But this time is different.

"Why do I feel like I won't come home today?" I whispered to myself in the mirror. As I loaded my pistol, I took special notice to the magazine. "Only 15 rounds."

Would that be enough?

I was going into this so blindly, I desperately needed something with larger capacity. And I knew exactly who could help me.

———————————————————

Knock knock knock

The door opened slowly and cautiously.

"Anna?"

"Casey." I said plainly. He scowled me up and down barley able to recognize me. A lot has changed since he last saw me. "I need to talk to you."

"Come in." Still looking astound he guided me into his apartment. "Anna you look so... well I haven't seen you since,"

"The funeral." I finished for him. I'm not shocked that he's surprised to see me. I went MIA after Zayne died. "I know I haven't returned any of your calls."

"I know." He was searching for his words. "I've been worried about you, I've seen you along the police scanners at work. I had to cover for you a few times."

"Thank you." I bit my lip. "I've umm, had a few life changes after he passed. I'm sure you can relate."

"Yeah by joining the police force, not dressing up and playing visualante every night." I laughed at his comment.

"Lighten up Casey." I patted him on the arm. "It's not like I haven't seen you with your hockey mask busting skulls."

"This is different Anna, you're going to get killed. The Foot isn't something you should be playing around with."

A smile grew to my face.

"You know about The Foot." I concluded looking deep into his eyes.

"More than I'd like to." He shook his head. "I started looking into them after Zayne passed away and I... it's a bottomless pit." He turned away from me.

"I believe they killed him." I took a deep sigh. "Which is why I'm here to talk to you." I pulled out the picture of the mutants Eric gave me. "Now tell me, what do you know about mutants." He hesitated to answer me at first, but I was delighted to hear his response.

"I thought it was all a myth."

"Eric Sacks believes these are the things that killed him. I'm... going out tonight to hunt them down." Caseys eyes reverted to mine wider than I've ever seen them.

"No you're not"

"I am... along with Eric."

"What and you trust the guy?! He has been nothing but untrustworthy his whole life. Remember all the times he would get aggressive with you?!"

"I'm well aware." I put my hands up defending myself. "I don't trust him which is why I need him right where I can see him. Look I'm going into this empty handed completely alone."

"Well don't. Because the last thing I need is another funeral to attend!"

"Then help me not die. And if not for me, do it for Zayne. He was your best friend, and this could give us real answers here." His hands ran through his hair daring to say anything.

"What would you need from me?"

"An assault rifle would be a start. And maybe someone to stall the cops around 8pm tonight so I have time to get close enough to the Foot."

"If I do this for you, just promise me you'll make it out alive."

"I'll try." I said with tears forming in my eyes.

He pulled me into a hug as I cried into his chest. Casey was my only friend left. I peaked over his shoulder of the three of us in a picture. I was more than ready to find some real answers. No matter what it took.

———————————————————

I arrived to Sacks Industries with a sudden chill down my back. It had been months since I've been here. And this would be the first time I've ever been here without Zayne.

Eric greeted me at the door.

"Anastasia. Welcome."

"No need to be formal." I raised an eyebrow looking around at his overpriced architecture. People in New York are starving and he's here swimming around in an unhealthy amount of wealth. The money he spends on something as little as his watch, could change a lot of lives. "I'm here strictly for business."

"Right." He cleared his throat. "Right this way. There's someone I want you to meet." We went up his elevator to a room I surprisingly didn't recognize, but apparently you needed some sort of facial recognition to unlock the doors.

"Anastasia Hall." I was greeted by a US soldier. Dressed precisely in uniform. I was immediately thrown off. He greeted me with a warm smile and a firm handshake. "My God! 16 robberies, 35 assaults, and 7 murderers all single handedly stopped because of you. I must say Miss. Hall, it is an honor to meet you." His voice was warm and welcoming.

"Wait, what?" He laughed.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Steele, and I will be assisting you on our operations to fight against The Foot Clan."

I turned around to Eric quickly.

"Wait... this was your team you were talking about? The United States Army?!"

"Hey I figured if in told you, you wouldn't agree."

"You're damn right I wouldn't! Visualante work is illegal. I could go to prison for the rest of my life for this."

"Anna." He swirled his glass of scotch around with a sarcastic edge to his voice. "You might want to listen to what he has to say."

I whipped my head back around to the Lieutenant. Awaiting to hear his foreclosure.

Mr. Steele grew a smile only I could sniff out as fake. I knew in my heart I couldn't trust him.

"Please, Miss Hall. Sit." He motioned his hand towards a mahogany chair. I followed keeping my eyes stiff, careful of every movement and every word.

"Tell me precisely why the military is involved with this. And why you need my help."

He chuckled.

"A bit eager aren't we?" He began to pour a glass of wine. "Me and my men behind me are working in secret from the military my dear, so your fear of getting caught won't come true." He cleared his throat. "The Foot had managed to infiltrate into our military, our government and just about everything in between. They disguise themselves as normal civilians, making it harder to identify them. So me and a few of my trusted troops reached out to people who would be willing to help fund us, help us expose the foot for who they really are before things get out of hand."

"Things are already out of hand. Besides you're the military, why would you need someone like me to help you?" I questioned now at the edge of my seat.

"Because surprisingly Anastasia, you've been the one who's ever gotten the closest to exposing the Foot."

I snickered at his comment. My hands slapped against the table now leaning into him.

"I don't believe you for one second. You guys get all the funding in the world, you wouldn't need Sacks money. So what are you really up to?" My voice seethed lower.

His eyebrows raised. "Maybe, you'd believe me had Zayne ever introduced me to you." He reached into his pocket and pulled a picture out of him and Zayne together. "I'm his Uncle."

A lump formed in my throat as I leaned back into my chair. I took a large sigh.

"Okay..." I looked around suddenly feeling dizzy from this information. "If I do this I have some conditions" I said now shaking my leg.

"Anything." He sat back in his chair.

"25 thousand up front." I said to at too casually.

"No way!" Eric interrupted. "Now you're getting greedy."

"From the sounds of it, you guys are the ones that need me. I can continue my own investigation on my own." My eyebrows raised at him.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Any other conditions?"

"I want every tool, any weapon and piece of information you have. I also want the upper hand in every decision. I run the show here. Everything has to go by me."

Eric and the Lieutenant both shared a cohesive nod. And a smile grew to my face.

"Perfect." I pursed my lips now crossing my legs. "Now tell me everything you know about the Mutants."

Mr. Steele pulled out a file of pictures.

"Michelangelo." He stated plainly as he pulled out a picture. "The youngest of the four." I observed closely at the picture trying to remain calm. I still couldn't fathom the reality of what I was seeing. A real live mutant. "Not the strongest one, but the least predictable. Donatello is the one with the brains, his strategy will be his strong suit. Raphael is the largest and strongest, but sometimes this can slow him down."

I couldn't fathom that they all had names. Unique ones too. When I saw their pictures it was difficult to see them as scary, or enemies in any sort of ways. Their faces seemed so personable. My whole body froze when I saw the last picture.

"Who's that?"

"This one is Leonardo, he's the leader of the four Mutants and the most deadly. He has the other threes unique qualities. I would try to stay clear away from him as much as possible."

"What about weaknesses?" I asked as I studied the picture.

"There aren't many." He concluded very quickly. "I should also included that they're relatively bullet proof as well."

"Great. A suicide mission." I scoffed.

"That's why we're going to help you Anastasia. We've developed shock guns that should trap them enough to where we can catch them. Use them as proof that the foot exists and is evil, and then we'll be another step further for find justice for Zayne."

"Okay." I stood up. "When do we start?"

"Tonight at 8."

———————————————————

I met up in the abandoned warehouse where I was assigned to go. Geared up and ready as hell to go. In my pocket I slipped a picture of Zayne, just for good conscience.

"Anastasia." Eric greeted me along with the lieutenant. I kept my face straight as I strutted in. I was focused like a laser.

"Eric... Mr.Steele." I said not so pleasantly.

"Here's the map you requested." I opened the iPad they provided me which scooped all the rubbles of the cargo ships we were certain were getting robbed tonight by the Foot.

"They're either going to come from the sky or the water. They can't be seen at night." I analyzed. "We should steak them out from the roof to get a good view and then I'll follow them in."

"Perfect!" Eric exclaimed. "When you get to a good spot I'll have his troops follow after you." I laughed at his audacity. He slowly caught on. "What?"

"This is my operation Eric, you're coming with me."

"Are you serious?" He stuttered. "I'm not going with you."

"Well since I've been suspicious you of, I figured you wouldn't mind coming with me. I can keep a close eye on you. Besides you have to do what I say or else I'm out." I said with almost a complete smile in my face.

Mr. Steele nudged Eric.

"We promised to do what she said."

"Correct." I appointed. "I'll have the police force stalled at exactly 8:12pm tonight. We'll have about a 20 minute window. We'll also have to shoot the shockers from a distance. They'll kill us if they get too close."

"What's your plan once we get in there?" Eric asked.

"I don't have one." I said simply yet with such utter confidence.

"What do you mean you don't have a plan?" Eric now said with annoyance. Seeing him oh so flustered made me happy on the inside.

"I never have a plan Eric." I giggled. "Look, there's way too many unpredictable properties that could happen tonight. We'll start off with just you and me, we'll try to locate them and follow them and if we need help we'll call for help or retreat, but that's the best we can do given the circumstances. Also the map of the shipping container unit will help me a lot."

"Don't be afraid to send my men in." Mr. Steele affirmed.

"These are the nations most dangerous criminals. I won't use your men unless it's absolutely necessary."

I took another pathetic look at Eric.

"Gear up." I commanded.

"Heres your check for 25k. But no amount of money can subside for the amount of lives you saved and can save tonight." Mr. Steele gave me a firm handshake to which I noticed a pin on his right cuff.

"What a lovely pin. It doesn't look military." I observed. It was red, with a Japanese symbol I couldn't recognize.

"It was my father's." He said way too quickly for my liking. I made a mental note of that tiny detail.

"Hmm. Okay."

We geared up with a bunch of military grade equipment, along with the shockers that would supposedly trap the mutants. It was 7:50pm. Sacks and I climbed to the nearest rooftop so we could stake out the mutants.

We got to the top and I reached for my binoculars as I checked my watch.

"We have a clear view. We just have to wait."

Eric was out of breath already trying to keep up.

"You really don't trust me that much that you had to drag me along with you." He grunted as he sat down next to me.

"Correct. There's always that 1% chance." I said as I observed closely and quietly. "Just stay close and you'll be fine."

And right at that moment I saw a slew of Foot soldiers march their way into the shipping containers on the docks.

"Is that?" He gasped.

"Yup." I finished for him. "It's The Foot clan, but where are the mutants?"

"Shouldn't we be down there?"

"Shhh-" I cut him off as I checked my watch.

8:05

"Anna we need to get down there."

"Shut up." I whispered. My breaths were slow trying not to make a sound.

"What?" He whispered.

"Oh my god." When I finally saw it for my own eyes. I swallowed an uncomfortable lump in my throat. "There they are."

"Let me see... I wanna see for myself." He motioned for my binoculars. As he observed the same reality in which I just observed, a sadistic smile creeped along his face. "They're exquisite."

"They're murderers Eric. The murderers of Zayne." I looked at him in disbelief. Something was seriously off about him. I also couldn't shake my suspicion based on the fact that the mutants rolled in way after the Foot Clan did.

"Okay. We need to get past those two yellow parcels without being seen, we could climb to the top of one and get a clear shot there. We should probably aim for the leader first. Hell be the hardest to take down. Maybe use some tranquilizers as well."

"We should probably split up. In case the mutants do too."

"Good idea." I said as I stood up. "Lieutenant can you hear me?.... We have an eye on the mutants. Wait for my signal to send your troops." Eric and I slid down the fire escape and went our separate ways. I knew I had to save my guns for last because they could give away my position. I had to get passed as many Foot soldiers as possible without being seen or heard.

Lucky for me, I'm pretty small and quiet. I snuck to the top of a single shipping container and balanced myself on the end and peaked around to scope the area. I had completely lost sight of the turtles.

I have to get closer.

Feeling my heart beat into my ears I jumped as quietly as possible to another container, daring to put myself in more visibility. My equipment on my back weighting me down.

And then.

I saw one close with my own fucking eyes.

The tall one I caught scoping out the area as I was. I knew he was the brains out of all of them,  so the other three must have been on the ground.

I duck my head the moment I saw his head turn in my direction. If I give away my position, I'm toast. My left foot was barley balancing onto the shipping container. I could very easily fall.

As I ducked my head and body into one direction, I immediately heard clan members coming up right behind me, and I was in perfect eyes view.

I heard only two, and I had to decide in that moment who I was going to face. Either a giant mutant turtle or two clan members.

"The two people win." I said to myself as I hopped down to the other side of the container, completely exposing myself. The two clan members immediately attacked me. The one ran directly to me with a knife to which I grabbed his wrist and kicked him right in the stomach to knock him down and used one of my tranquilizers to immediately knock him out.

I had to be quiet.

The other one put me in a chokehold from behind to which I quickly snapped my head back to break his nose. I turn around quickly to inject him with tranquilizers in the neck knocking the second one out.

However as I pulled the body away I noticed a small red pin on the collar of the foot soldiers uniform. One that looked identical to the pin Mr. Steele had on the cuff of his sleeve.

"Oh my god."

Could it be? Could it really fucking be right now?!

I ran to the other foot soldier and had the same pin on his collar as well.

"That son of a bitch."

Anger rose to my ears, making me sweat from how livid I was.

I pressed into my ear piece.

"Eric we need to retreat." And I awaited a response and... nothing.

I tried again. "Eric do you hear me, we need to retreat."

My breaths became heavy as I realized my reality. Now I was trapped in the center of a foot clan operation. Outnumbered by ninjas and mutant turtles.

But worst of all, the biggest thing I realized was that it was all a trap. I had been fooled into walking into my own death.

But why would they do this?

That was an answer I didn't have time to think about.

No help is coming. I'm completely and utterly alone in this.

I took a long, shaken breath. Blinking hard as my fists squeezed so hard that I could probably make myself bleed. As I exhaled, I did everything I could to not shed a tear.

I rarely felt fear, but knowing I was set into a suicide trap terrified me even more.

I can't think about it, I just have to get out of here.

As much as I tried to shake everything that I just realized, I couldn't.

"Because surprisingly Anastasia, you've been the one who's ever gotten the closest to exposing the Foot." I replayed in my head.

Eric was apart of the Foot. And I got too close.

"This is my execution." I whispered to myself. Very well played of Eric's part. I knew I couldn't trust that bastard.

I don't understand. Why would he work for the same organization that killed his younger brother?

Or better yet, maybe I've been looking in all the wrong places.

Could it be that Zaynes death was actually a suicide?

No.

I don't want to believe that.

Breathing heavy and feeling my heart beat so hard that I felt it pulsate through my feet into the ground. I quickly shoved every emotion inside of me.

I have to get out of this mess and survive.

I peer my surroundings hearing every commotion of the robbery and remaining glued to my hiding spot. With utter frustration I bang the back of my head against the shipping container. My hand grips onto my dagger a little tighter.

As footsteps tread behind me, I inch holding my breath, daring to look. I saw the same woman that I saw at the bank robbery the other night. One of their "leaders" I suppose. I couldn't make out any feature of who she was because her face was hidden by a hanya mask. Hanyas were female Japanese demons from what I remembered. Very fitting for the job.

As I observed... for a slight moment, my fear subsided.

I knew in both my heart and my gut, that the Foot had something to do with Zaynes death.

I could either run away, or I could get answers.

On the count of three.

One.

I pivoted my feet and bent my legs ready to brace my run.

Two.

I pulled out my gun, already loaded and secured it in between both of my hands. I carefully and strategically picked my first victim.

I can do this.

Breath in, breath out.

Three.

As I made my first step forward someone beat me to it.

One of the mutants, banded in red, began to soar towards The Foot Clan.

"What the hell?" I whispered to myself, softening my grip around my gun.

Why in the living fuck was one of the mutants fighting by against their own people?

I observed the brute in pure awe. His technique was flawless and when I say he was way larger in person, I meant it.

Raphael. The brute.

I recognized him from the pictures I was shown.

The second turtle summersaulted in the air towards the clan. He was so fast that my eyes couldn't keep up. I gave my eyes a quick rub to freshen my vision up.

Bullets flew at the speed of light toward him. And he fought each one off perfectly with his nunchucks without an ounce of fear in his eyes.

"Is that all you got bruh?" He even cracked a joke like it was nothing to him.

And he spoke... English?!

I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't trapped in a dream or a nightmare.

I can assure myself that I'm not dreaming...

The third turtle came to the left, the same turtle I spotted earlier with some sort of staff. He was loaded up with equipment and like the others, his technique in fighting was phenomenal.

In this very exact moment as I sit back and observe these fascinating mutants annihilating the foot ninjas, I also realize a few things.

One, that I was utterly and completely set up. For some reason Sacks wanted me to die tonight and also lied to me about the turtles.

Two, these mutant turtles were not my enemy. At least, they weren't apart of the Foot Clan and that was good enough for me at the moment.

Maybe the hope was that if I fight against the turtles, that they would kill me.

No, that plan is too complexed for even Sacks to come up with. However, my gut was telling me that it was true.

So what do I do now?

If I wanted to, I could retreat. Go back home and get my revenge on Eric Sacks. Or I could risk my life and join the fight.

I was located in the center of the docks. And there was no guarantee that if the turtles saw me that they would spare my life. For all I know they could just be bat shit crazy.

But I must have sat and thought too long... hand wrapped around my neck making me drop my gun. I was drug back and swung head first into a container. The corner of my head bashed into the wall and the thud was so loud that you could hear it a mile away.

My adrenaline kicked in fast.

Forget the pain... focus and get up!

A foot soldier charged at me as my legs wobbled up. I grabbed a led pipe beside me and knocked him in the head with it. Two more surrounded me. I put myself on defense with the pipe, not being strategic in any manner attempting to throw them off. I hit the one on my right in the stomach temporarily knocking him down. I pivoted my feet and wrapped the pipe around the second one's neck. I kicked him in the back and dislocated his spine.

I ran and hid to the nearest hiding spot. My hand flew to my head which was dripping in blood as my adrenaline wore off. I definitely had a concussion. I was seeing double. As I cornered into my hiding spot I peaked and saw all three of the turtles fighting.

"Where's the fourth turtle?" I said to myself.

The tall purple one was landed a perpetuates blow to the knee, which knocked him down. I admired how fast he recovered, but at this point he was surrounded by ninjas. He attempted to fight them, but they pinned the purple banded turtle down.

My heart sank immediately when I saw the fear in his eyes. His other two brothers being too busy to save him.

My dumb gut told me to help him even though I was injured. I could easily save him.

"Don't do it Anna..." I said to myself. I had to stay alive.

But just when I convinced myself not to, as the purple banded turtle was pinned down, another foot ninja came up with an ax, so I grabbed my pipe again.

"I'm so going to regret this." I rolled my eyes and ran to expose myself.

Yeah... instant regret. Now I was in the view of the turtles and the Foot clan. All for what?

I ran as fast as I could and with all the strength that I had I bashed the ninja holding the axe right in the back of the head. I knocked him out in one swipe.

I'm starting to like this stupid pipe.

In one swift motion I swung my pipe around knocking both of the ninjas out that were holding the turtle down and I set him free. I dropped the pipe and immediately reached for my hand sized pistol, shooting the ninja behind the turtle and knocking him down. As the turtle stood up well above me, I shook in my boots a little bit.

We both paused as we stared at each other, both seeing if the other one will make a move.

His free hand raised up in the classic "I'm not going to hurt you" stance.

"Thank you." He said. I choke on my breath again hearing him talk in perfect English. His eyes reverted above my head as he readied his bo staff. "Behind you."

I immediately ducked. As he beat up the ninja behind me. Another ninja came up behind me. I bashed him in the nose with my pipe and kicked his kneecap in dislocating his knee. He fell to the ground and I elbowed him in the temple knocking him out. A second ninja grabbed my arms making me drop my pipe trying to drag me. I managed to stamp my feet in the ground, whipped my head back as hard as I could right on his nose. Making his arms loose. I turned around and punched him in the throat making him fall to the ground.

I was completely worn out.

The orange clad turtle jumped in front of me and finished off the remaining ninjas.

Just when I thought it was over, I heard a familiar voice.

"Finish her!" I heard Eric say, but when I looked around there was no sign of him. I loaded my pistol and was greeted my three more ninjas.

"More of you?!" I annoyingly said.

I went to shoot, but my gun was knocked out of my hand. I went straight to street combat. I blocked every painful punch this guy threw at me. I pushed him back enough to blow him in the jaw, but that's all I was able to get. I was kicked beautifully in my stomach which made me fly back into something hard. I felt my back shatter in pain as I fell forward onto the ground. I landed on my shoulder harshly. The soldier then grabbed me by the neck and pinned me against the container pressing directly into my trachea. I couldn't resist his pure strength as I fought for my breath, right when I thought I was going to pass out, the purple clad turtle knocked him with his bo staff and finished off the rest of the rest of the ninjas.

I fell to the ground gasping for air. I felt my entire body fuzz in pins and needles.

I cant believe the turtle saved me.

He lifted me to my feet. I could tell he was immediately checking me for injuries.

"You're okay. I got you." He sounded so utterly normal.

I caught my breath extremely fast noticing it was finally over. I somehow managed to survive.

"Donatello!" I heard a voice I did not yet recognize. And he walked over towards me. Even though I was just strangled a minute ago, nothing took my breath away as much as seeing the blue clad turtle for the first time. He walked slowly towards me, probably unsure if I was an enemy or not. I heard him slowly take out a sword.

I recognized him. This was the leader, the deadliest of the four.

"She's not an enemy Leo! She saved me." Donnie said. There wasn't much I was afraid of. I knew their intentions were good. I put my hands up to show I meant no harm. Leo came out of the shadows and the moonlight hit his body. I finally was close enough to be face to face with him. Oddly the closer he got to me the safer I felt. My heart slowed down. I looked into his eyes and instantly fell into a trace.

My heart stopped when I saw his eyes. So striking that it made me shake to my core. So blue that I'm pretty sure they glowed. They were like sapphires of light which peered through his opaque facial expressions. Through his eyes alone, I could see every bit of his souls. And this terrified me.

He observed me looking up and down.

His face was perfectly proportionate. His eyes were a striking blue that beautifully clashed with his dark blue bandana. He had a scar leading down his right eye. His skin reflected off the light and it was nothing like I've ever seen. My eyes trailed to his shoulder.

He had a tribal tattoo along his right shoulder and another tattoo that wrapped around his left bicep.

However, as massive and as intimidating as he looked, I wasn't scared.

"We need to get her out of here." My body felt a chill when he spoke. I've never heard a voice so smooth and rich before. I panted hard now realizing the extent of my injuries. I couldn't move. "Miss?"

Is he talking to me?

"Y-you... t-turtle." I stuttered.

"It's okay." He hushed. "I'm not going to hurt you. We're the good guys." I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand. My skin felt flushed and clammy. My breaths were shallow. I felt like I was going into both physical and physiological shock. "Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm sorry. I saw you guys were in trouble." I muttered as my legs shook beneath me.

I didn't answer the right question. My brain was just so fuzzy and confused.

"She's going into shock." Donnie spoke up behind him. Apparently that wasn't important to the leader in blue. He seemed just as confused by me as I was by the turtles.

He's smart I'll give him that. He's probably wondering why I'm here and what my intentions are.

Much like me, he was searching for answers. And in that way I could relate to him.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" He questioned me like a parent questioning their child. As my breaths became more shallow. I was certain I would pass out soon, but in the case that these turtles would choose to go against me, I kept my guard up.

"I was searching for the foot clan." I was completely honest with him. I probably should have lied, but the more I looked in his eyes, the more I felt I could trust him. My voice was shaken and raspy from being choked.

"Why?" He said simply, somehow expecting me to comply.

"Because they poison everything. They infiltrated my city and I'm pretty sure they took someone I love. I've been tracking them down for months and my apologies, but at first I spotted you guys with the Foot Clan and I assumed you were associated, but after seeing you fight against them, I realized I was wrong." I had nothing to gain by being honest with them. I knew all the leader was looking for was honesty to see if he could trust me. Him and I were off the bat very similar beings.

"You risked your life for my brother. Thank you." His eyes scanned my injuries, observing the bruises along my neck.

"She looks familiar." The red banded turtle said. "I think she's that other vigilante I saw running around the city." Leo lifted his hand to silence him as he kept scanning my body.

"We need to get her out of range before the cops show up." He said to his brothers. Then he directed his eyes to me. "You're hurt. Do you know where the nearest hospital is? We can escort you."

"I-" And before I could finish I felt a searing pain in my stomach followed by something warm and wet dripping town my body. I looked down. I was shot by an arrow by a left over foot clan member. I numbly pulled it out slowly. My body instantly became cold and weak. My vision blurred. I fell so helplessly, but Leo caught me before I hit my head.

"Raph get him!" he ordered. His voiced changed. His yell made me shake.

"There's more of them!" Mikey exclaimed. Leo immediately picked up my dead weight and carrying me to a safer spot.

"Finish them off!" Leo yelled as he applied a fuck ton of pressure to my stomach. I yelled from the pain. "I'm sorry." He said to me.

"She's bleeding out! We need to get her out of here!" Said Donnie

"But where? We can't go to a hospital." Leo said as he let Donnie take over in applying pressure. I started to feel tingles and coughed as blood went to my throat. All I could feel were the leaders warm arms cradling me.

"Oh no." The purple banded turtle observed the arrow I was shot with. "It's a poison arrow Leo. The ones with the toxic purple ooze."

"What are her chances Donnie?" Leo's voice rumbled underneath me, but I didn't hear Donatello give him an answer.

"She's going to die Leo. We did everything we could." I heard the red one say.

"Its fine. Just leave me." I muffled. My life wasn't important anyways. I always wanted to die anyways. I was just always too weak to do it myself.

If anything I'd get to be with Zayne. And that's all I would need to be content. After all, I had nobody.

"Are you crazy?" Leo said to me. It wasn't long until the pain settled in. It was excruciating. The pain was so bad that I couldn't even scream. My insides felt like they were being lit on fire and blood filled my throat and mouth. Leo tilted my head so I didn't choke. His attention to detail was incredible.

"I'm not going to make it anyways. Save yourselves before more of them come." I tried to convince them before I wasn't coherent anymore. I probably would make it if I was sent to a hospital, but I really just wanted to die. More than anything in this world. My vision blurred. I could tell they were trying to talk to me, but everything was muffled. Like what you hear when you're underwater.

I could hear they were arguing. I took a few shallow breaths and my vision went black.

"Now I will tell you what I've done for you

50 thousand tears I've cried

Screaming, deceiving, and bleeding for you

And you still won't hear me

Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself

Maybe I'll wake up for once

Not tormented, daily defeated by you

Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom

I'm dying again

I'm going under

Drowning in you

I'm falling forever

I've got to break through

I'm going under" ~ Evanescence

Thank you so much for reading!

As always if you enjoy my work, like, follow and comment your thoughts! It lets me know to write more!

Much love~ HamatoSami💙

[hinmusmusse]

January 1st, 2023

It’s going to be an interesting day tomorrow. Monday. The first of several that we’ll all have to suffer through in this vicious cycle of a year. I don’t want to think about it, but it’s rather that or the face of Martin. It was a really stupid idea to look up his Facebook profile, but I have always been too curious for my own good and I like to cause myself unnecessary pain. It was 20 minutes before midnight and I kind of just started to think about all the people that I have ever met in my entire life. Were they all still alive? If so, how did they celebrate new year’s? And, of course, Martin came up. Martin is the prime reason why I have trust issues, why I fawn and why it is so hard for me to say no to people. So, while stalking the rest of my former friends and school colleagues on Facebook, my brain thought it would be a good idea to look up the one person responsible for most of my mental health problems.

Martin is, of course, not his real name. I would never type it on paper, it’s like a curse bound to come true.

He has tattoos now. He always said he wanted to get those, but it still feels surreal to really see them on both his forearms. I wonder if he still works as a cook or if covid put him out of a job. Has he worked on himself? Has he acknowledged his problems and worked on them? A feeling tells me he hasn’t.

I close my laptop and try to catch my breath. My heart is racing; a response from my nervous system being triggered into survival mode. I start to shake and stand up to distract myself. Simon is watching TV on the couch. I go over and join him, hoping he won’t notice my anxiousness. His gaze lands on my face, searching. He knows me well and narrows his eyes at my smile.

“What’s going on? Are you ok?”

“Sure!”, I laugh; hating that my first instinct tells me to lie to him. But he is too rational. He had a perfect childhood and wouldn’t understand how a person can still haunt me after almost a decade. He knows about Martin of course. He knows the gist of it; the story spine, but he doesn’t know how many times I wanted to kill myself while being with Martin. Three long years. Looking back at it, I can’t even seem to fandom why I stayed so long. Why I fell in love with him in the first place.

I sink into Simon’s arms and try to relax, but Martin’s face is rising back to the surface every time I close my eyes. Still 10 more minutes until midnight.

I wake up restless and without energy. It’s a common occurrence for me. No amount of sleep seems to help my body feel rested and energized. I feel Simon’s warm presence beside me and decide to snuggle up to help my body relax and forget what I dreamt. I’m often jealous of people who can’t remember their dreams. I wonder if they feel better in the morning, motivated to start the day. My body always remembers, and I know I will spend the rest of the day trying to calm him down. I stay in bed of a while longer and then get up to make Simon his tea. It will ease his cold.

Several hours pass and I still haven’t eaten anything. My cup of tea has gone cold, and I still haven’t changed out of my pyjamas or even brushed my teeth. I should take better care of myself, but it feels draining to even think of walking up the stairs into the bathroom and take a shower or wash my hair. I know it need to. I can’t show up at work like this tomorrow morning. Simon and I have reversed back to the same position. He is on the couch watching TV while I’m sitting at the living room table, typing away and hoping it will help me feel better.

There is so much that I actually want to do. Working on my novel, reading my astronomy magazine, doing Yoga or reading a book. I look at the clock and panic strikes me as I see that another hour has passed and I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything today. Well, at least the dishwasher is running, and I actually made an effort and wrote several people on WhatsApp to wish them a happy new year.

I know I must be patient with myself and practice more self-compassion. However, on days like this it just all feels hopeless. I have the irrational urge to ripe my heart out and bury it in the garden. It’s racing again and I don’t know whether it’s because of my thoughts or because of the Earl-Grey tea that I had this morning. I wish I could stop time.

How is your first day of 2023 going?

[mintsilhouette]

I am back from my vacation, which was wonderful but also WOW, literally no downtime of any kind, and I’m onto the next phase of my time off, which is watching my two nieces (three and five years old) solo for a couple of days! Me of a few days ago thought this would be easy!!!

Flashforward to today, at 12:32am - I only just got them to bed, one had a complete meltdown while in the shower, and there was 3 (!!!) SERIOUS bathroom accidents along the way home (including one ON THE PLANE) that led to several pieces of clothing being THROWN AWAY, only because I couldn’t burn them!!!!!

I would die to protect these tiny children but also oh my GOD, I would not survive having my own. Please think good thoughts if you can about me making it through this and not turning into a pile of dust. I WILL BE MORE ACTIVE AGAIN AS SOON AS I CAN

[devilyn]

first priority | kageyama tobio

— alexa, play: less of you by keshi

When you come home

I just got over being less of you

When you leave me, I’m in pieces

Maybe it’s better if we cut it loose

— synopsis: how many nights will you spend in the apartment by yourself before you finally learn that your boyfriend will always value volleyball more than he values you?

— genre: angst & happy endings

— word count: 2.3k

You were used to an empty apartment. It was the cost of dating a member of Japan’s national volleyball team, someone who had to travel constantly and was usually never home. You rarely even saw his face nowadays, and when you did, it was usually when you were cramming for exams and he had to turn in early to wake up in time for practice early the next morning.

Your relationship with Kageyama was difficult after graduating high school, to say the least. Especially since the two of you were taking different paths in life.

You’d thought about it before. He was an accomplished setter on a national team, while you were just trying to pass your university’s exams. Everything you did felt insignificant in comparison to your volleyball genius boyfriend.

The emptiness of the apartment was why the two of you always tried to schedule small dates when it was possible. When Kageyama had days where he knew he’d be let out early from practice, and when you knew you could push back doing homework for a few more hours, you’d cuddle up on the couch after cooking dinner together. Or, you’d force him to take you out to an empty park and guide your stiff boyfriend into swaying to the soft music that you’d play on your phone. No matter what, the night always ended up with your giddy laughter and his rare smiles that proved just how much he loved you.

They were small moments that the two of you would share, where no one else in the world could interrupt.

But it’d been months since the last time you’d spent more than an hour with your boyfriend. You never thought of yourself as needy, but was it too much to ask to wish that he’d keep his promises?

“I’ll be home for dinner, since practice should end at six today.”

He lied. Dinner was sitting cold at the table, and all you could do was stay frozen in your chair with your gaze on the excessive amount of side dishes you’d prepared in anticipation of finally sharing a meal with your favorite person.

You must’ve been sitting in this chair for over an hour. With a quick glance of the clock, a weak smile tugged at your lips.

7:28PM.

You hadn’t checked your phone since you last texted your boyfriend at 7:13PM--

“Let’s talk when you get back.”

Empty promises. You were used to them. Last week, he swore he’d be back in time for your three year anniversary, then forgot about it when it arrived the next day. This dinner was supposed to make up for that, but you must’ve set your expectations too high again.

What would you say when he came back? It was unrealistic for you to wish to be a priority when he had his whole professional career in front of him--he had to focus 100% of his time into that. Yet, was it really unrealistic for you to ask for just 1% of that time?

According to your friends, it wasn’t. But the more you sat alone in this empty apartment, the more you wondered if you really were asking for too much of him.

“Y/N.”

You looked up in surprise, having not heard Kageyama come through the front door. Your eyes softened when you saw the guilt plaguing his typically stoic expression.

“Welcome home, Tobio,” you stood and he instinctively leaned down so you could press a kiss to his cheek. “The food is cold, but we can warm--”

“I’m sorry,” his arms circled around your waist, and you were suddenly pulled into his chest. He buried his face into your hair, his hold on you tightening as if he was afraid you’d run away.

You might’ve.

“You said that last week,” you murmured softly, arms rising to circle around his form and gently rub his back. He was scared--you could feel it in the way he trembled as he held you.

“I’m really sorry,” he repeated, voice quivering.

“You said that last week too,” you laughed quietly.

He wished you’d just yell at him, or scold him with an accusatory tone like you did in the past when he first started making mistakes like these. He never had valid excuses--usually he’d just stay after in the gym to perfect his serves or practice more with other teammates. It was always volleyball that made him forget he had a significant other diligently waiting for him back at home--putting off their own responsibilities because his very rare free time was precious.

But was yours not? You had asked him that once, calmly, when he came home late again. And he had tilted his head and pointed out you had more free time than him, to which you took seconds to process before smiling bitterly.

“You’re not hungry?” you asked quietly, palms still gently running over his broad back to soothe him.

“No,” he murmured into your hair, breathing in your scent and imprinting it into his memory. If he let you go now, would you leave him?

“Liar,” you whispered nonchalantly, and he flinched. “You haven’t eaten since lunch, right? It’s late, let’s eat.”

“Don’t want to.”

“You’re acting like a child, Tobio,” you sighed, pulling your head back slightly so you could meet his sharp blue eyes, filled with regret. “If you’re not hungry, I am, so let’s eat.”

You paused, before reaching up to gently hold his face. Your thumbs brushed over his cheeks, and he leaned into your touch.

“...you can’t avoid this forever, you know,” you told him softly, and his brows furrowed as he closed his eyes.

“...alright,” his voice sounded pained as he pulled away to sit across from the chair you’d sat in for over an hour. 

You popped the dishes into the microwave quickly, setting them in front of him one by one before sliding a bowl of rice in his direction. He usually loved your cooking, but now he wasn’t sure if he’d even be able to swallow a bite of it with the knowledge that this may be the last meal the two of you share together.

The apartment was silent, save for the beeping of the microwave. Kageyama stared longingly at your back, watching the way you leaned against the counter and brushed your hair behind your ear while waiting for the microwave timer to go off.

When was the last time he actually looked at you? His many trips abroad, his lack of acknowledgement of your own accomplishments and struggles, his stupid passion for volleyball, it had all ruined your relationship.

He could only hope that you would forgive him, one more time.

You slid back into the seat across from his and settled in. He was anxious. You could tell by the way he couldn’t look you in the eye, chopsticks picking at his rice as he waited for you to speak first. His tall figure stiffened at the sound of your sigh.

“Might not taste good now since it’s not as fresh, but,” you pushed a few dishes his way with a sad smile. “I worked hard to prepare dinner, could you try it?”

His heart clenched painfully in his chest. What was he doing while you were excitedly making dinner for him? He never thought of you during practice--not once, even though he knew how much he loved you. He hated that about himself.

He lifted the food to his lips and let his vision cloud over with guilt as he chewed and swallowed.

“...It’s delicious,” he murmured weakly as your smile grew slightly.

“...I’m glad,” is all you managed to muster before digging into the meal you prepared for the two of you.

“I don’t have the right to ask for forgiveness again,” he said quickly, slim fingers gripping his chopsticks tight enough to turn them white. “But I still don’t want you to leave.”

You were quiet, stiffly bringing pieces of rice to your lips and forcing yourself to chew. Every action was methodical, as if you were merely acting out actions that you knew you would normally perform if your heart wasn’t breaking into tiny bits and pieces.

“...I love you, Tobio,” you whispered quietly. “So much. I still do. More than anything. But it hurts me more because I love you so much.”

He dropped his utensils and reached across the table to grab your hands. You flinched away and he cursed, bringing his hands back to his sides before running them through his hair in frustration.

“What can I do,” he asked weakly, voice shaking, “to keep you with me?”

“I don’t know anymore,” you tried to force another smile, but your lower lip quivered and the tears you held back on lonely nights started to drip down your cheeks. 

“Please,” he stood, the sound of his chair skidding back against the floors barely registered in your ears as he hurried to kneel by your side. “Please, I’m sorry.”

“That’s all you ever say,” you cried loudly, tone finally accusatory as he’d initially wished. He took your hands into his shaking ones, watching as your tears stained the pale skin of his knuckles. “You never know what you’re apologizing for, but you always, always just say sorry as if that will make any of this any better.”

“You need to tell me--” he tried to reason.

“I’ve told you!” you ripped your hands away from his almost violently, ignoring the way the hurt in his blue eyes caused your already broken heart to sting in pain. “I’ve told you how much you coming home late hurts, how I hate when you promise that you’ll be home and then break those promises the same day, how you thinking your time is more important than mine makes me feel insignificant--”

You cut yourself off with a weak sob, bringing your hands up to hide your face in your palms.

“But you never listen! You never learn. Volleyball will always be more important than me, and I can’t find it in myself to blame you for that,” you wailed as you rubbed the back of your knuckles against your eyes to try and stop the tears from flowing, “What am I supposed to do now, Tobio? How do I leave you when I love you so much?”

You felt warm arms wrap you into a familiar embrace, and your tears soaked into your boyfriend’s athletic jacket.

“You deserve better,” he told you minutes later, after your sobs had calmed down. His palm continued to gently draw circles against your lower back--an action that he knew would soothe you. “You deserve so much better than me. You know I’m bad with words, I’m inconsiderate, I suck at putting others before me, and I’m stupid.”

You laughed tearfully.

“You do so much for me,” he murmured, and your eyes fluttered closed. “You explain to me how you feel so I can try and be better, you deal with my bluntness and verbalize how much it hurts you, you tell me when I’m acting better than everyone else and humble me, and you even used to come with me when I had to attend supplemental classes in high school.”

“You really were stupid,” you commented, and he laughed weakly.

“And you loved me, through all of that,” he lamented.

“Mm,” you sighed quietly. “Yeah. I loved you.”

“And I love you,” he responded, a bit shy to be confessing it despite your long relationship. “So give me one more chance to prove that I’ve changed for the better because of you.”

He pulled back to cup your cheeks, bringing your teary gaze up to his and brushing his thumbs over the redness under your eyes. His heart hurt. He hated making you cry, and he hated himself for making you cry this much over him.

“...one more chance,” you mumbled, turning your head to kiss his palm. His brows furrowed, and tears pricked at his eyes.

Quickly, he brought his forearm to cover his wet irises from your sight. You laughed quietly, hands reaching up to try and pull his arm away.

“Are you crying because of me, Tobio? Did I manage to make the king of the court cry?” you teased with a weak smile.

“Shut up,” he grumbled, cheeks reddening as he turned to look away from you. “You know I hate it when you call me that dumb nickname.”

“And I made the king kneel in front of me too? I should repent,” you giggled, taking his free hands into your own. 

You nearly choked on your laughter when your boyfriend suddenly dipped down to pick you up into his arms. Your arms wrapped hurriedly around his neck as you turned to look at him with wide eyes.

“Tobio--!”

“I’m making use of my last chance, and I’m going to start making it up to you now,” he told you firmly, carrying you into your room and placing you onto your shared bed.

“Our dinner,” you grumbled with a pout. “I worked hard to make that…”

“And I’ll eat it tomorrow,” he caged you in his arms, hovering above you with a soft look in his sharp azure eyes. Your gaze fluttered up to his handsome face, and you grinned as a hand rose up to gently cup his cheek. He tilted his head to press a kiss to your wrist. “Can I prove to you how sorry I am?”

You laughed softly as he trailed kisses up your arm to your neck, then finally pressing his lips to yours lovingly.

“Don’t take advantage of your last chance,” you murmured, your breath mingling with his as he pressed feather-like pecks to your lips.

“I’d be even more of an idiot if I did.”

[untiltheendoftime]

Summary: Staring at a stranger leaves you with an empty plate of fries and a heart filled with the slightest bit of love.

gif by @stevenrogered

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: A normal amount of swearing, other than that it's pure fluff.

Writers note: This is for @celestialbarnes "4k writing challenge"

Reblogs, likes and your thoughts are so much appreciated. Feel free to point out any errors.

    ─── ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ───

Can I steal your fries?

You had found yourself in a small diner, after another terrible date, with a large portion of fries in front you. Perhaps alcohol would've been more helpful to forget the whole day, but sadly your work schedule didn't allow you to get drunk and risk a hangover.

As soon as you sat down, you deleted the dating app off your phone, earning an amused look from the stranger in the booth in front of you when you had muttered something along the lines of "Fuck this shit." and "Might as well start referring to myself as a trash can if trash is all I attract."

You could feel the warmth of a blush rising on your cheeks when you heard the stranger chuckle and you were sure that you looked exactly like the ketchup on your fries. Why did you have to blush so easily? Fuck.

Unfortunately he was quite handsome, which didn't help your ketchup-face problem at all. His hair was rather short, though it looked like he was growing it out, and he gave off cozy vibes with the navy blue hoodie he was wearing and the steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He was far more than quite handsome. It was then that you noticed that his eyes, unfairly blue like the sky on a perfect summer day, were focused on you.

He fully caught you staring at him. Damn it.

In order to hide your embarrassment, you quickly adverted your eyes to the plate in front of you. Suddenly the fries were very interesting.

The sound of footsteps appeared and just when you had thought that you creepingly staring made the stranger leave, a muscular body came in sight and you were starting to feel anxious.

Thinking that apologizing was the best way to get over with this as soon as possible, you tried to come up with an excuse "Look, I'm sorry for staring. I jus-" you started bubbling, but he quickly interrupted you.

"Wouldn't have caught you staring at me if I wasn't staring as well, would I?" he said, his voice surprisingly sweet and when you had gathered up enough courage to look up at him, you were welcomed with a breathtaking smile.

Without any hesitation, he sat down in front of you and the anxious feeling quickly washed away, being replaced with irritation instead. Sure, he didn't look bad, but he was a stranger after all.

You eyed him suspiciously and he did the same, obviously mocking you. "I don't want to sound rude but I believe your coffee wants your attention more than me" you said, actually not really bothering to sound polite.

"Does sound rude to me, doll."

He probably used the nickname a lot, however it didn't stop you from feeling flattered. Not wanting to acknowledge it, and turning red again, you decided to keep your mouth shut.

The silence was starting to feel uncomfortable and from the way his brows slightly furrowed with thought, you could tell that he didn't want the conversation to end so soon.

"You're not here for the first time and I actually wanted to talk to you for a while." he admitted, "Even tried to get your attention, but all you did was stare into your phone and yeah" a faint blush crept up on his cheeks.

It took you a solid minute to process his words. Yes, you were a frequent customer, most of the times visiting after another date went downhill and sometimes you would google dating advice and gag at all the bullshit everyone wrote. You didn't exactly hate being single, though having someone to come home to wasn't the worst thought you could think of. The more dates went wrong, the more you and your family, especially them, began to wonder what was wrong with you.

"Always love a stranger watching me" you joked and instantly grimace at how badly you had worded it. That's not what you meant.

His laughter filled your ears and it was full of warmth and so contagious, you had to laugh as well.

After the laughter had died down, he cleared his throat and extendended his right hand to you "I'm Bucky" he softly said and while shaking it, the contact sending slight shivers down your spine, you tell him your name.

"Now that we know each others names, can I steal some of your fries?" Bucky asked, not waiting for an answer as he reached for your plate.

"No" you chuckled out, playfully swatting his hand away, and he glared at you for a second before dramatically putting the hand on his chest, claiming that you've really hurt his feelings and it might take decades to mend the pain in his heart.

The conversation between the two of you flowed nicely. He told you about his visits to different countries and you would ask questions about how the people were and if the food tasted good, the latter truthfully answered with a "I usually went for cheeseburgers due to the lack of time."

You had told Bucky how much you despise going on dates now because your family would pressure you, saying that the problem has to be you since your ex shortly found a significant other after the break up.

Bucky's jaw tightened at that and he voiced out how fucking rude your family was, wondering if they don't have anything else to do than rubbing their noses in your love life. Seeing that he has was way more understanding than your own family, empathy had always been something all of them undoubtedly lacked off, made you even more fond of the handsome stranger and you felt comfortable sharing personal pieces of your life with him as hours passed by.

Midway through your story you paused to look at your plate, realizing that it was almost empty now and the only reason why he didn't stop your rambling was because it allowed him to eat your fries.

"Stop taking my fries." you muttered out, causing him to grin.

"What are you gonna do about it?" he questioned, voice heavenly charming as he suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at you.

Perhaps this was the most cliché thing to do, but the look he gave you when you threw a few fries at his face was something you wish you would've gotten a picture of. His eyes were still slightly widened in shock when he, not so attractively, shoved all of the fries in his mouth, making you laugh at his childish behavior.

"I got to eat the fries. Seems like I won, sweetheart." he proudly declared.

Banters and stories later, your eyes caught a glimpse of the clock on your phone and you frown when it reads two a.m

You jolted up from your seat, calling out an apology to the old waitress who seemed to be startled by the sudden change of energy. "I do enjoy talking to you, but my shift starts in six hours." you said, your voice laced with a hint of sadness.

Bucky stood up as well and reached for your phone that was still lying on the table. He handed it you, signaling for you to unlock it, and when he had access to it, he quickly typed in his number and pressed the saving button. A cheekish smile on his lips when he puts it in your grasp again and you can't help but beam at him, too.

He held his hands up in defense, "Figured you need my number after you have deleted all the datings apps."

You rolled your eyes in response and, who knows where the confidence boost came from, step closer to him. "Goodnight" you murmured, pressing a light kiss to his cheek and they instantly heat up, which made him look adorable. Maybe you had found someone who blushes just as easily as you.

Once you had entered the front door of your apartment, your phone gave off a noise, signaling that you had received a message. A quick glance at the screen told you that it was Bucky asking if you came home alright. He definitely is a gentleman. Just when you were about to answer him, another text popped up. You had to bite the inside of your cheek to stop you from grinning like a lovestruck teenager while reading it.

Bucky:

When will you take me out?

Sincerely, your trash

    ─── ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ･ ☪ ───

First story on here. Hopefully it's not that bad? I would absolutely love to hear some feedback. Thank you for reading everything ♡

[annie-sae]

Wouldn’t mind

Pairing: Kazutora x fem!reader, past Baji x fem!reader

Hurt/comfort

Author note: This is my way of dealing with Baji’s death finally being animated, this is me comforting myself so I don’t keep crying.

Also, I posted this on AO3 as well:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33561445

Part of the reason you decided to get close to him was kind of the same reason why you decided to help out Chifuyu and the remaining founding Toman members in any way you could; even if that meant putting yourself in various fights. It was a way to honor his memory.

You met Baji Keisuke; your Kei; as nothing more than a child because you were neighbors and your mom happened to be friends with his mother which ended in them arranging lots of playdates for you both ever since you could remember.

Your mothers always said you were meant to be and they were right, so yeah, they were delighted once you two finally stopped denying yourselves and started to date.

You two got together after one time in which Baji got into a particularly bad fight and you found him on your way home; his hands all bruised but despite how much they must have been hurting he was smiling in that unique way of his that always told you that no matter the pain he won and enjoyed himself.

To be honest you didn’t like that he always got into fights nor how reckless he could be but you had to admit that there was always something about the way his eyes glinted that drew you in.

You dragged him inside your home, knowing that his mother would flip out if she saw him and taking advantage of the fact that your mother was to get home late, you pushed him to the couch, went to the kitchen for a bag of frozen vegetables, grabbed his hand after cleaning the blood off and held the bag to his knuckles hoping that it would bring down the swelling.

There was no way of knowing who made the first move but next thing you knew after that was that you two were kissing; the frozen bag laying on the floor long forgotten. After that you finally acknowledged your feelings and started dating. There was no grand gesture, it was just one of many moments that you shared daily yet it was perfect.

Baji liked to keep you away from Toman businesses so for the most part you didn’t actually know the rest of the members except for Chifuyu; whom you met on various occasions while going to visit your boyfriend; and Mikey that you met as a child since you were always following around Baji and in a way became your friend too; but that was it. He kept that apart from the side of his life that involved you because he was well aware of how messy it could get and he didn’t want to drag you into any trouble.

Yet his gang life caught up to him, crashing into your world and pushing you into a lonely abyss that still to this day left a hole in your chest.

You’d always remember that dreaded day when your mother came home later than usual without letting you know anything, eyes teary and red rimmed. The moment she looked at you, she pulled you into a strong hug and sobbed as she caressed your hair murmuring a string of words you couldn’t really make out.

She was the one to deliver the news of his passing, how she was late because she was at the Baji household and had to accompany his mother to claim her son’s body after the woman received a call from the police station telling her that the boy had been stabbed and bled to death.

The day would never come when you’d forget the pain that shot through your body as you learned that he was gone. It hurt unlike anything else you have ever experienced, as if someone was crushing your chest like it was made out of paper, air knocked out of your lungs and the only thing you could do was scream helplessly his name as you held for dear life onto your mother’s frame. You felt bile rise up your throat so fast that it was a miracle that you didn’t throw up.

His funeral wasn’t any easier. Not when you arrived and his mom pulled you to his casket saying just how handsome he looked, inviting you to see him in a way that you couldn’t refuse.

Around an hour after yourself, arrived Chifuyu who went to you after giving his condolences to his best friend’s mother that held him the way she used to hold her boy but now she’d never get the chance to do anymore.

If you were being completely honest, you couldn’t remember much more of that day, your mind was hazy, too many gaps in the memory of all that transpired.

Only two things were clear as day in your mind. First was the way that Kei had looked inside that coffin smiling peacefully and for a moment you almost fooled yourself into thinking that he was just sleeping, but he was pale, his canines weren’t showing and his eyes were slightly sunken but you had to agree with his mom because he looked handsome indeed. The second was that Chifuyu stayed by your side throughout the whole thing, in fact he was the one who told you what actually happened and you were thankful for it all.

He told you what Baji did and why he did it and you believed it the second the words left his mouth because you knew him well and if there was anything that defined your beloved boyfriend was his heart, how willing he was to give anything for those that he cared about; his unwavering loyalty; you just wished he hadn’t put himself on the line for that.

Twelve years have passed and a lot of things changed since his parting, for starters you became a member of Toman.

One night; around a month after everything happened; you went to the Musashi temple fully aware that it was the place that the boys used as their base and in front of everyone gathered there; bracing yourself; you walked towards Mikey, bowed deeply and begged for him to accept you as a member.

At first most of the guys there laughed at you while others frowned and called you names shooing you away but you stayed still, that was until a big hand grabbed you by the arm and that was when you pulled away from it and punched the guy square in the nose remembering the time Baji taught you how to pack a punch. The guy tried to send a blow towards you but was stopped by Chifuyu yet the whole commotion came to a halt with Mikey’s commanding voice.

“Y/N, you know this is a guys-only gang”

“I’m aware, Mikey, but” you clenched your fists “but Keisuke cared about this gang so I feel like I must join, to protect everything he fought for” you raised your head “he also taught me how to fight so you don’t have to worry about me being a burden on you and I know a few things about first aid, I can carry my own weight” you were thankful for your mother being a nurse and having taught you a bit.

He stared at you, his eyes giving away nothing.

“The first division can take her in” Chifuyu supplied.

Mikey raised a brow and looked at another blonde guy.

“Takemitchy, you are the first division’s captain, do you agree to take her?” the guy straightened up and after sharing one look with Chifuyu he nodded.

An uproar started as a lot of guys started to complain about how bad of an idea it was to admit a girl in the gang but Draken stopped them with one word.

Mikey looked at you once more, then he sighed and nodded.

“Then welcome, Y/N L/N, from now on you are a member of the Tokyo Manji Gang under the first division”.

Later that day you gave your thanks to Chifuyu and Takemichi, for getting behind you and promised to help them in any way possible but Chifuyu made you promise to be safe and only join them as a last resource because he couldn’t allow Baji’s girlfriend to get hurt since he promised him he’d take care of you.

You knew that your parents wouldn’t be happy with you being a part of a gang but you had to do it, it was a way to stay close to Kei and you needed that or else you would have gone crazy, you were also thankful because life had it that you were assigned to the division that used to be his.

Shit happened but you always took things head on and you had to admit that Chifuyu and Takemichi played a crucial part in you surviving all the crappy things that happened until the gang disbanded. While still a member you were extremely grateful for makeup since it helped you hide from your parents a good amount of nasty bruises that came from the fights.

The second thing that changed was that you moved out of your parents’ house from the moment you started college and although at first it was hard and you were living in a tiny apartment that resembled more to a matchbox yet it was the only thing you could afford at the moment with the part time job you had but you were decided to not return home, not because you weren’t comfortable with them but because they were already doing too much for you by paying for your studies so you didn’t want them to be spending any more money on you.

You managed and after a while you got a better job that meant a higher pay grade and you moved out of your tiny place to your current one that was bigger and just a couple of minutes away from the cemetery where the Baji family grave was.

Even when you had exams due the next day, even when you were way too busy, you still made it a habit to go visit him daily, it didn’t matter if you had to walk for long or that you were so tired you could have fallen asleep while standing, you still went to see him.

Your mother told you once that maybe you should let go, that he wouldn’t like to have you clinging to him this much and to appease her you went to a couple of dates once every three months but you never made it past the first date but funnily enough that landed you a few long lasting friendships with some of the guys you tried to date.

One time his mom talked to you and told you just how grateful she was with you for loving her son the way you did but that you didn’t owe him anything, that you could move on because she was sure that was what he would have wanted and maybe she was right; to hell you knew that she was; but it wasn’t a matter of you feeling like you owed devotion to him but more like no one ever compared to him, not a single person awoke in you the same feelings he did, not with the same intensity it was kind of like a beautiful curse because you grieved daily his absence but you wouldn’t want it other way, even if you went back and told yourself that by loving him you’d end up in pain, you’d still go through it all because the time spent with him was worth it and you told her that so she smiled and even talked with your mother making her stop begging you to date and leave you to your own devices.

Another thing that changed was you because you cut your hair really short; yet without needing it you still wore a hair tie on your wrist daily as if it was some sort of amulet because it reminded you of him.

Also, with the bigger place you adopted three beautiful cats that you loved dearly, first there was Blue; whose black hair shone blue under certain light hence his name; then there was Leo; an orange tabby cat you found one day and adopted instantly; and Jin; a maine coon that was your appointed guardian and didn’t like anyone around you nor him.

The three always slept with you; which made you thankful for getting a big bed when you first moved; and in a way they made your life less lonely because in their presence you felt as if Keisuke was right there with you which made sense because you two had made plans about living together once highschool was over and then adopt a ton of cats, all the cats your parents never allowed in the house when you were younger.

Of course things don’t always end up the way we plan them, you knew that better than most although to be completely honest you never expected Kazutora to come into the picture.

You new who he was, on one occasion Kei told you that him speaking on his behalf and taking the full blame for what happened with Mikey’s older brother was a big factor on him staying out of juvie so in a way you were thankful to him but you also knew; through Chifuyu’s retelling; what happened on that horrible halloween when you lost your whole world.

Even when you knew that everything had been planned out by Kisaki, for the longest time you were resentful towards Kazutora, even going as far as to curse his sole existence because hadn’t it been for him then your Keisuke would surely still be with you. It took you years for you to come to terms with everything and accept that Baji chose to leave all because he cared about that boy way too much.

You came to realize that by hating Kazutora, by wishing him the worst and spending so much energy in resenting him you were betraying Kei’s wishes.

His final will was to keep Toman’s funding members; Kazutora included; safe, he chose death, going down as a villain to his friends, all just to protect them, to save him so the least you could do was carry on his wishes and look after them, not only after Chifuyu and the others but you also felt the moral obligation towards Keisuke, to welcome Kazutora and help him back into his life.

Now, you went to help around Chifuyu and Kazutora’s shop, fully aware that it was their way of honoring his memory, by living out the dream he never had the chance for.

You could understand them because everyday you did the same, hell, you even went to study veterinary because that had been the plan all those years back; he was supposed to open his pet shop and you were supposed to be the one to tend to the animals, he always said that you had the best shot because you usually did rather good at school.

You met Kazutora the day after Chifuyu picked him up from prison. You already knew that he would be joining you two for lunch the following day because he told you in advance in case you weren’t ready to meet the man that had played a big part in your old boyfriend’s death.

Chifuyu by that point had become your best friend in the world, your constant support. What started as a way to cope with Baji’s loss, as both of you searching in the other for any vestiges of his existence with the passing of the years turned into something more, a fraternal bond forged through shared grief.

Chifuyu was like a brother to you and you knew that he saw you as a sister, you cared about him deeply.

If you were being completely honest, you were a bit torn when a month prior to the release, he announced to you that he’d be picking up the guy and was planning on welcoming him as a roommate and as an extra hand at the shop; that is if the other accepted. I mean, you’d have to be crazy to just accept it as it was, no questions asked because whether manipulated and messed up in the head, it didn’t change the fact that he was the one to stab him.

Of course you knew it hadn’t been easy for him to reach that, it was obvious that he had thought it through, you could see in his eyes just how much went into making that decision but that he was sure that that was Baji would have liked and you knew that as well because that was the type of person Keisuke used to be, a bit rough on the edges but so caring and willing to give for those he loved, and he sure as hell had proven how much he cared about the guy.

You had never talked to him, what little you knew about him was what Baji had mentioned all those years back when he almost went to prison and what Chifuyu told you, how he was getting the help he needed and seemed to be making progress but that was it.

To say it was awkward at first was a big understatement. He was extremely quiet and even after you greeted him he refused to make eye contact while you kept fidgeting in place trying to come up with something to say. Thank god for Chifuyu since he was the one to introduce you although he could have been a bit more careful when he introduced you as Baji’s old girlfriend, although you couldn’t blame him because there was no way around it, that was what you were.

The moment he understood who you were he froze, eyes focusing on his hands under the table. You noticed how uneasy he became and with a look you asked Chifuyu to give you a minute, thankfully he understood and trusting you excused himself from the table.

You reached out, stilling your hand in the middle of the space between you when you saw him flinch, something that reminded you of the time when you encountered Leo for the first time; hurt and scared. Kazutora in a way resembled him, something lonely and broken about him that gave you the final push to get close.

Just like you did way back for Leo you extended your open hand towards him, facing upwards to show him that you had no ill intentions and you rested your hand on the table just a few centimeters away from his arm, not wanting to startle him but wanting to show him that you were trying to get close.

“I don’t hate you, Hanemiya-kun”

His gaze zeroed on your hand and then eyes of the color of the lightest brown you’ve ever seen; almost the same shade as amber; met yours wary and trembling but you simply nodded confirming that you were being completely honest.

“Why?” his voice came out broken.

“Because Keisuke cared about you” you smiled, feeling your eyes get watery and Kazutora’s face became blurry due to the tears.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I- I wish I could take it all back, I really do, I...” you heard the words come out cracked and you shook your head and reached for his arm.

“I know...it’s fine. Like I said, I don’t hate you, it’s been a while since that happened and I’ve made up my mind, I’ve already accepted it as part of life” that’s a lie and you know, you miss him every day so much that you still cling to the little things he left behind, that’s the reason why you haven’t been in a relationship after him.

You quickly wiped the tears out of your eyes and looked at him once more. “I’d like to be there for you, maybe be friends even, that is if you’d like that”

Kazutora’s mind was running laps. Was he hearing you correctly? Did you actually say that you wanted to be friends with him? Be friends with the guy that killed your boyfriend nonetheless. He couldn’t wrap his head around that thought, it was simply impossible, he was a villain, a rotten fruit that nobody had ever liked and that poisoned the only good things he had in his life, why would anyone want to be near him?

First there was Chifuyu; who for all he could gather used to consider Baji as his best friend; welcoming him into his apartment, offering him a place to stay and even a job no questions asked, that was already hard to understand, but now having you willing to welcome him? That was almost ridiculous because you surely knew, he saw the way you interacted with Chifuyu, there was no way in hell he didn’t tell you, so why?

Why were you being kind to him? So gentle? Why couldn’t you just scream and curse him? Heaven knows for how long he has been cursing himself, regretting everything he did, from Shinichiro to Baji. He deserved to be yelled at, to be shunned away from society, he was deserving of pain and should be tossed to the abyss of loneliness, forever in the dark, far away from the sun.

He couldn’t fathom why on God's name was Baji’s girlfriend in front of him extending her delicate hand towards him. But even when he couldn’t understand he wanted to accept it. He knew he deserved nothing given how he had taken two lives but he wanted the embrace so badly.

He wanted company, friends, he didn’t want to be forever an outcast due to his bad decisions but instead he wanted to belong, to feel some sort of comfort, he wanted to bask in the sun’s warmth and for once in a very long time feel a bit of peace, he wanted saving, someone to tell him he was worthy even when he knew he wasn’t.

He looked at you once more, and something felt warm inside his chest; even his throat tightening; when he saw that you were still smiling gently at him despite the rebel tears that had escaped from your eyes.

“I’d like that” he smiled wobbly. “Also, Kazutora is fine”

“Then let’s be friends, Kazutora-kun” your smile grew broader and that was the start.

Surprisingly after that, it didn’t take long for you to grow comfortable with each other. He was quiet and would often be found spacing off but he was considerate towards you, actually he returned the same kindness you gave him, although it was evident that he was still wary and a bit rough on the edges he tried hard and you could see, so whenever he was having a bad mood you tried not to take it personally.

Through gentle words and patience, you won him over, even those around you were surprised at how quickly he warmed up to you but there was just something in him that pulled you, maybe that same thing that pushed you to adopt Leo when you found him malnourished and hurt on your way home from the cemetery or maybe it was something else.

Just as he warmed up to you, you warmed up to him. It was easy to talk to him, he was always willing to lend you an attentive ear, listening to your ramblings about the monotonous things that happened at the clinic, it didn’t matter that he knew nothing about the people you mentioned, he always listened like it was the most important thing in the world.

At first your interactions were always in company of Chifuyu, mostly at the shop while you went to visit which actually ended in you helping around to organize the merchandise or on the usual checkups on the animals to ensure that they were in the utmost condition for the moment someone decided to welcome them into their home.

Then, Kazutora started to walk you to the station but slowly that turned into him accompanying you all the way home and since he was taking the time to go with you you started offering him a cup of tea at your house before he’d leave again to get back to his and Chifuyu’s place.

That wasn’t the end of it because one cup of tea turned into two, then three and finally what started as a thanks for the inconvenience turned into hours-long talks about the most menial things just because.

Your cats loved him; Blue was always rubbing himself against his legs while Leo wasted no time to go lay on his legs and with a meow demand to be petted at the moment; but the most amazing thing of all was that Jin didn’t hate him, in fact he got way too comfortable with him which was a thing that you’d never seen, the only other person besides yourself that he liked was Hina, hell, not even Chifuyu had been able to charm the bigger cat and now apparently he didn’t mind Kazutora trailing behind you when even up to that day whenever he was visiting Chifuyu would get a growl from Jin but not Kazutora.

He was nice to your babies, he liked them and you could see that he didn’t change his demeanour towards them even when he thought you weren’t looking, in fact his voice got softer when directed at them and you were also the kind of person that trusted animal’s perception so the fact that your beloved cats liked him really told you that he had changed from what little you knew about his ways before being sent to prison after Baji’s death.

Kazutora started noticing the little things about you, for starters the way you’d always be singing a random thing off tune but with such energy that it was amusing but when asked he’d swear on his life that he wasn’t bothered that he actually liked it even though you knew very well that you weren’t a good singer but the opposite yet there was something powerful about having him joining in the middle of your singing, even when he didn’t know the lyrics he’d be humming along.

You were a sight to behold for him because in all the mess of his life he had never encountered someone as lively as yourself. Even after losing Baji you tried your best, you were determined and hardworking and so kind, not only to him but to every living thing no matter if they were animals, people or even plants, you amazed him because you were always so willing to be gentle to anyone.

You were a soothing presence.

That was not to say you didn’t have your bad days, after all you were only human and it was simply impossible to be at one hundred percent everyday the whole day, but you pushed through and you were always quick to ask for forgiveness if you had an outburst towards someone, you were the kind to not withhold apologies even when you weren’t at fault. He could remember a handful of times in which you apologized when he was the one to step on your toes.

You, of all people apologized to him, a social reject, a vermin, you apologized to him as if he was worthy, as if that was the logical thing to do but he knew that no matter what you did he knew that he was the one that still owed you a lifetime of apologies.

He wasn’t an idiot, he knew how much Baji meant to you even to that day, he noticed the little pieces of him lingering in your everyday, like how you always wore a hair tie around your wrist even when your hair was way too short for you to ever need it and whenever you had to get your bangs out of your face you used hair clips, never the tie on your wrist, the way you always cracked your knuckles as if getting ready for a fight even if you were only checking the animals and the way you carried yourself in a way resembled the way Baji used to.

He never told you but a few times he found you at the cemetery by coincidence while visiting Baji and there was something heartbreaking about seeing you kneeling on the ground with trembling shoulders despite it being a hot day. He regretted what he did, not only because he felt guilty or ‘cause he missed his friend but also for your sake because he wanted to see your happy smile, he never wanted to hear your cries ever again.

Just like him, you started seeking his company more and more, not only were you inviting him to stay and talk after walking you home but you made plans with him and just him, to go window shopping, for a cup of coffee, lunch dates, movie premieres; because you liked going to the movies so much and discovered that he was an enthusiast as much as you; movies on the couch, even just lazy sundays at your house playing the entire day with your cats.

Of course reaching this state was quick yet slow, it was hard to explain, like you were close to him and enjoyed his company, but it was different than it was with Hina or even Chifuyu yet you wouldn’t call it romantic, not at first.

Sure, there was something to Kazutora, you weren’t blind so you could see clear as day that he was rather handsome, probably one of the prettiest guys you’d ever met but there was something more, something that pulled you, something broken and lonely that tugged at your heart and told you to care for him.

At such a young age he had been to prison on two occasions and you could actually see that that was simply the tip of the iceberg. He had to mature too soon, he mentioned vaguely that his relation with his parents wasn’t the best and his eyes at times looked older than he actually was, plus it took a long time for him to get used to your affectionate ways because your love-language was physical touch. You had a special fascination with hair and all of your friends were used to that but Kazutora was like a kicked puppy that was only learning to trust in people once more.

You were a new breeze of air into his life, with your caring ways and funny nature he fell. For the first time in his life he had someone like you, at first it was difficult for him to realize that the fuzzy feeling inside his gut whenever he looked at you or even heard your voice meant what people called love but it was a given because he had never felt that way before.

For the longest time he felt like love was a lie, he remembered how bad his home life was, how strained and full of pain the things between his parents were, even now from time to time he had nightmares of his mother crying as his father hit her and then her begging him; only a child; to pick sides.

He wanted to hold you close, to keep you away from harm and to listen to your laugh for days on end, for once his heartbeat quickened for someone, he found a safe place in your presence, you were an oasis after years roaming the desert. You were such an unusual kind of certainty in his life that he never had but that he had searched for so long.

While Kazutora realized rather quickly; in comparison to you; that you had wormed your way into his heart making a home for you it took you around three years and others pointing it out for you to actually realize that he meant to you more than a friend.

The first one was your mother although not as subtly but rather by saying that she was happy that you were now with Kazutora which took you by surprise because you weren’t.

That wasn’t the end of it, but only the beginning.

The next one was Hina one day you were sleeping over at her house, but the cherry on top was Chifuyu.

“Hey, I know it’s not really my business, but when are you going to get together?” he asked one time when you went out for coffee.

“What?” you asked mindlessly, stirring some sugar into your beverage.

“Yeah, you’re kind of driving me crazy, it’s kind of annoying feeling like a third-wheel without actually being one, just get it over with” he spoke before taking a sip from his own cup.

“What?” you snapped your head back to him.

“Is that the only thing you’re gonna say?” he looked at you through half-lidded eyes.

“Yes, because I honestly don’t understand a single thing of what you’re saying” you shook your head and took a sip from your coffee.

“What I’m saying is that it’s obvious that you like Kazutora” he said matter-of-factly.

“Of course I like him, he’s my friend, I like you too”.

“No, you don’t, you like me as your friend but you like Kazutora in a different way, a lovey-dovey way” he deadpanned.

“No, Kei-” you began just like you did whenever your mother used to bring up your love life or thereof lack of it.

“Baji-san has been gone for years already” he cut you, wincing as he said that and to you his words felt like a slap across your face.

“Look, I know, trust me, I do, but it’s been long enough and if there is someone that makes you feel good you should go for it, he wouldn’t want you being unhappy for him” he sighed and with a hand pushed his hair back.

“He asked me to take care of you because he wanted you to be alright, he wanted you to be happy and he’d probably punch me if I simply stood by and watched you being miserable” he pushed his cup to the side, leaned over the table to grab you by the shoulders and looked into your eyes seriously.

“I know you like him, don’t be an idiot, it’s painfully obvious with how you look at him and spend almost all of your free time with him, Baji-san won’t be mad at you for finding someone new and I believe that he’d be happy that it is Kazutora of all people”.

Before you could respond to that, the sound of a new message cut you off and when you looked sideways to your phone on the table, a soft smile graced your lips when Kazutora’s name appeared on the screen. Without thinking you opened it and it was some random video of a kitten; somewhere along the way it became a thing between you and it reminded you of how Keisuke used to send you daily pictures of the cats that went to his house.

“It’s Kazutora, right?” Your face grew hot once you came back to reality, remembering suddenly with whom you were and what you were talking about.

“I’ll let you be, but don’t be an idiot and let yourself be happy” and just like that Chifuyu ended that conversation and quickly changed topics.

You knew you liked him, you felt warm whenever he was around you, his voice soothed you even on the worst of days and you looked forward to his messages. You had learned to find comfort in his eyes but they were a wrong shade; not brown enough.

He wasn’t Keisuke. He’d never be.

A few days later you found yourself in the shop, helping around but constantly sending glances in his direction, his back facing towards you, looking painfully similar to Kei’s even down to the hair length, although the color wasn’t the right match with it’s blonde streaks you could still fool yourself into thinking it was him.

But then he’d turn to look at you and send a smile your way and there would be a beauty mark under golden eyes and a tiger tattoo where it shouldn’t have been and that smile was lacking a pair of prominent incisives peeking through.

You knew it was wrong to look at him searching for Keisuke, searching for your lost love in another, clinging to the remnants of his passing through the world but you missed him so much.

At times you felt like you couldn’t even breathe, you had even fallen asleep in front of his family grave after a long day if you went to visit at dawn after not being able to make it at morning but you had to visit him daily in order to feel in his company because if you ever thought of skipping a lump appeared in your chest crushing your heart.

Yet, even then, even when you realized it wasn’t Baji your heart would skip a bit and your stomach would twist.

Later that night you found yourself walking home with Kazutora by your side in complete but comfortable silence, feeling the warmth oozing from his arm that was left hanging at his side lightly brushing against yours, rising even the tiniest hair of your arm.

Kazutora had been going at it over and over for months. At first, when he realized what he felt for you he decided to bury it deep and forever carry it in silence but as time went on he craved your presence.

He started wishing for more, more smiles, those smiles to be only for him, he even found himself looking forward to getting hurt while playing with your cats because it meant that you would be cleaning up his hands and putting on a band-aid with the utmost care and attention even if they were the most insignificant scratches ever.

He liked having your attention, he liked that you replied to any message from him almost immediately; unless you were attending to a patient then you’d reply as soon as possible; he also liked how your eyes would get bigger whenever something amazed you or if you found something even remotely cute.

Your constant ramblings plagued his mind at every hour no matter if he was asleep. Hell, he even went to Baji’s grave to ask for permission to love you, even if he did so in silence he felt like he owed that much to his old friend because you were his girl after all.

Why did it have to be you? Why Baji’s? Why did you have to come into his life and be like the sun? You were too much for him, too perfect, too good while he was nothing but a mess, too fucked up, too far away from repair. For fuck’s sake, he was the one that took your boyfriend away, he would have been better off handling your hate but instead you were there giving him so much it almost pained him, only adding up to his guilt.

This had to be some sick game of the universe. God must have been having the time of his life laughing at how the killer fell in love with the victim’s old love.

Before any of you knew, you had already gotten home and like it became custom you invited him inside for a cup of tea.

As soon as you opened the door, your three babies rushed to the entryway to greet you, Jin being the very first, you hadn’t taken two steps inside when he was already brushing himself against your legs. The other two weren’t too far but to your disappointment Leo approached Kazutora before even looking at you.

“I’ll stop bringing you here, you’re stealing them away from me” you pouted while kneeling down to hug Jin who looked at Kazutora with no distaste, then you picked up Blue and let him nuzzle your neck, after that still holding him you went to rub Leo with your free hand once he finally took notice of you and remembered who bought him food and toys.

Kazutora’s hearty laugh filled your ears pulling your mouth from the pout into a smile.

“Leo knows who’s the cool one” he winked your way. “I’m kidding, he likes you more” he looked down at said cat “right pal? Isn’t your mom the absolute best?”

“Oh, shut up, flattery won’t take you anywhere” You felt blood rushing to your face so you stood up hiding your reddening face into Blue’s fur.

You hurried to the kitchen and then, out of his sight was when you put Blue down and started to boil some water, hearing over it as the door closed and seconds later Kazutora appeared with the other two trailing behind.

You ended up splayed on the bigger couch in your living room, your back leaning against his side while Jin laid on top of your legs while in Kazutora’s rested the other two cats. At that moment you were with your eyes closed, mindlessly caressing Jin while you listened to Kazutora talk to your cats in a baby voice that you wouldn’t have expected from him the first time you met.

For him it wasn’t easy to keep his cool, he had to school his face even if you weren’t looking at him and oh, his heart was so loud it was about to jump out of his chest and he wouldn’t mind but he didn’t want you to listen.

I’m sorry Baji.

A  meow of protest fell on deaf ears since he had stopped caressing Leo and Blue, instead turning his full attention towards you.

You turned your head and suddenly you found yourself way too close to his face; so much you could’ve counted every single of his lashes; staring up at a pair of golden eyes that were looking at you and only you as if you had been the one to hang up the stars in the sky.

His features were delicate, so beautiful it was heartstopping, he looked almost otherworldly; and not only because the ghost of Baji’s face lingered in his in a particular way; but there was a certain glimmer in his eyes that you had been noticing from a few days leading to that one, only that then it shined brighter than ever.

Unbeknownst to you, your eyes were reflecting Kazutora’s shine and your heart was beating to the same tempo as his starting up a melody of their own with your breathing getting caught up in your lungs making up the rhythm accompanying your song.

You were being drawn into each other like opposite poles of a magnet, barely any resistance was there and soon enough you met in the middle. At first it was the softest brush; like when you first dip your toe before jumping into the water; but it started a whole revolution inside both.

The brush became a second and then your lips were pressing against each other, basking in the warmth that radiated off that single contact that sparked a bunch of reactions at the same time. Your heart went off, your lungs closed; forgetting for that moment that they needed air and not that man to keep kissing you; and for the briefest moment your mind stopped thinking about Baji.

Kazutora was ready to die, if he was sent to hell at that very moment he’d be glad because at least he got a taste of heaven and it was more than enough. He decided then and there that he was bound to be cursed because how did a monster like him manage to get a kiss from an angel such as yourself? It must have been a sin for something so tainted to even look your way.

He didn’t know when your hand placed itself on the side of his neck but he knew that he was yours, if there was any doubt of that up until that point, it vanished with the way you were gently caressing his tattoo as if you were tracing it by memory, as if you had paid close attention to him, as if he mattered, as if he was something more than a broken thing.

Something inside you moved when a whimper escaped his lips the first time you pulled away for a mere second in order to get air before going in once more, this time ready to open your mouth and let him take while you explored. It felt nice, new; which was to be expected since the last time you had kissed someone this way had been with Baji.

Keisuke.

You opened your eyes and suddenly pulled away, almost as if his touch burned you; and in a way it could be said to be true; and your violent movement startled the three cats that you had ignored moments before, making them leave for your room.

The image of your beloved; death; boyfriend took Kazutora’s place, brown replaced gold and the beauty mark vanished, the yellow strands that framed his face turned jet black and the smile you’d been missing like crazy; that particularly his that showed his teeth was there.

You blinked a few times and his image left, allowing you to see Kazutora for who he was and not the ghost of him.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came to me” he looked at you with tears gathering in his eyes almost pleading and you realized how it must have looked to him.

“No, Tora, I-”

I’m an idiot, I blew this up. Again I’ve just gone and ruined what good I had.

“I’m going now” he stood up and left for the door, leaving you alone and cold on the couch.

I’m sorry Keisuke.

You stood up and went after, finding him in the doorway hastily putting on his shoes but you grasped his arm to stop him.

“I will leave right now, it’ll be like nothing happened” you caught a glimpse of a tear trailing down his cheek and that sight prompted you to speak.

“No” your other hand reached for the fabric of his shirt, securing him.

“Y/N”

“I don’t want you to leave, I-” the words choked you, there was too much you had to say and your mouth wasn’t responding as fast as you would’ve liked.

“Don’t ask me to stay because if you do it’ll only hurt more when you tell me it was a mistake”

“But it wasn’t a mistake, I want you, okay? Kazutora, I like you” you at least managed to say the one thing that was clear in your mind, that had been clear for a long time but only got accepted after that one conversation with Chifuyu.

That certainly stopped him, for he turned around to fully face you and you saw his eyes filled to the brim in tears that he refused to let run freely.

You reached for his face as slowly as the first time you two met, giving him enough space to retreat, but how could he when the thing he wanted most was to be with you and bask in the calm that your presence brought into his messy life? When he didn’t give any signs of pulling away you smiled and cupped his cheeks as if you were holding a piece of glass; and in a way Kazutora was just as fragile as that material when it came to you.

He leaned into your touch, and you were bold enough to pull him in and rest your foreheads together, looking with all seriousness into his eyes, having deja vu of the first day.

“Why? Why? I- what I did to Baji, you know what I’ve done, I don’t”

“I really can’t say, I just do, it’s, it’s hard, okay?” you closed your eyes for a brief second before continuing.

“I swore that there wouldn’t be anyone else and now, now you are here and I like being with you but I know that is way different from how it is with anyone else, it’s something more, something I never thought I’d be able to feel again”

He smiled through his tears because after all he’s done, every mistake in his life said that he didn’t deserve you and yet there you were.

“But I also have to be honest with you” he braced himself for what would be your next words.

“I still love Keisuke, I will probably still be loving him even fifty years from now and that is something that will never change, he was my first friend, first time holding hands, my first love, first kiss, many firsts, he took most of them” you gave out a wobbly smile.

“He’s forever imprinted in my skin and I’ll always be his” he lowered his gaze at that. “But if you can accept that I’m willing to try this, I never dated; not really, not an actual relationship; after him but I wouldn’t mind it being you, I think we deserve a chance”.

His heart was thumping inside his chest making it harder to process everything so you waited while his mind raced. Kazutora looked into your eyes and knew he had to take the chance because you were what he needed and even if he was undeserving you thought him worthy.

A selfish part of him, the bad side said that he should be glad because if Baji was there he knew you would have chosen him, a thousand times you’d have chosen Baji over Kazutora and that pained him but what pained him the most was the fact that a tiny part of him was happy because now he had the chance to be with you.

He was taking the life Baji should’ve had, but he’d take good care of you.

He could live being second best if that meant he got to have you.

[jiminrings]

yoongi grills stem koo’s ass <3

cold senior!y/n x stem major!koo masterlist :D

stem koo wants to explain himself and yoongi may not want to listen

"hyeji's never packed you a sandwich before?"

jungkook pales at the mention, mouth drying when he sees yoongi bring up the soft smile that doesn't comfort him at all

“the one that’s all knuckle?”

oh my god

IS THIS A RIDDLE????

yoongi tilts his head in amusement when this pathetic excuse for your past crush is calculating what he just said in his mind

what is a sandwich that’s all knuckle?? but it doesn’t even rhyme!!

aren’t riddles sUPPOSED to rhyme????

jungkook’s more than well-versed in stem-related problems that are just rephrased 237 times over and over so that it wouldn’t be as easy to solve

he can solve that!!!

but this!!! :O his mind is short-circuiting pls do not approach him

“hm?” yoongi’s smile patronizes him further and puts him on the spot, straightening his figure and jungkook’s quick to stop him from coming back inside your dorm

“i want to-“

“i asked you — have you ever had a knuckle sandwich?”

yoongi enunciates with so much clarity that kook finds his mind blanking, tripping over his words he hasn’t even formed yet

“i-is it-...” he stalls, trying to rack his mind for the bread he’s not sure he’s ever even heard of in his life, “i-is it like, a pork thing? uhm, t-the pig’s knuckle? and then you put it between, uhm, bread?”

,,,, laughable

jungkook’s supposed to be smart, isn’t he? or atleast that’s what yoongi thinks he’s supposed to be

lmao he would’ve laughed at the boy’s poor attempts if only he wasn’t furious at him

he’s dumb but not the endearing kind ://

“no,” yoongi drawls out, pretending to fish something out from his pocket

jungkook watches in intrigue, thinking that yoongi’s reaching for his phone to show him a picture of what it looks like

the hypothetical situation in jungkook’s mind is clearly not the one that happens

jungkook SHRIEKS as he stumbles on his heels backward — crystal clear to him that yoongi was not looking for his phone, but instead balling his fist and him being the receiving end

almost the receiving end

yoongi almost sucker-punches jungkook in a blink, fist literally a millimeter away from his nose and the only thing he could see at the moment is red

... red and jungkook’s wide eyes that have never carried this much fear up until now

“that’s a knuckle sandwich, kid. would’ve fed it to you if only y/n isn’t in the room right behind me.”

holy fuck

his heart is beating right against his ribcage and that shouldn’t be possible, fists closing upon themselves nervously as he tries to soothe his thumb so his mind relaxes

spoiler alert: it doesn’t work

jungkook’s mind is all over the place, even more rattled than it was when he takes a text without studying (he was so low he got a 98), but the only thing that’s clear is that you’re behind this door

“yoongi — mister yoongi, please. i-i need to explain myself, and if only you let me try, i can!! i swear. i’m not forcing you but-...”

there he is again

jungkook’s only been in his sight for like two minutes but his eyes are already sore

“why are you even here?” he scowls and even if the younger boy’s taller than him, every bit of his posture and demeanor at the bite of his words scream small, “why go all this length for someone you stomped on today, then have the gall to be a crybaby about it?”

he's speechless and it only serves him right, looking at his mudded-up converse and trying to focus on anything besides the guilt within

"m-my explanation," jungkook mutters, hands behind his back as if he's being scolded, “will you tell y/n?”

yoongi releases an agitated breath at him muttering your name

he dOESN'T get to say your name!! no!!! not after what he did to you

“i’m not concerned about you. what i decide to do or not, has nothing to do with whatever you say right now.”

kook solemnly nods, and even if yoongi's much harsher in your words compared to yours, the gravity of yours with him not being related to you cuts deeper

there's nothing else he could care about, actually

jungkook follows campus curfews to a T and would come home two hours earlier in the rare event that he goes somewhere

but now, he couldn't care less when the dorm master could just be there any second and he'd pass a hall monitor like usual

for the whole day, you were the only one that occupied his mind

"i know hyeji isn’t the one."

god, it was clear as day

he'll be the first one to admit that he can't read people very well, but he knew from the start that it's probably not hyeji who's been packing his lunchboxes

jungkook sometimes takes attendance in behalf of the professor because as much as he's shy, he's also a teacher's pet

the classes she shared with hyeji? she wasn't present everyday for the whole duration of two weeks, and how could it be that she still managed to make him a lunchbox if she wasn't present in the campus at all?

there was a probability that it could've been her, but it was so low that it sat right next to improbable

"i-i entertained the possibility briefly that she was, but then nothing was making sense the more i thought about it."

jungkook sometimes also checks papers because his professors trust him enough and he has perfect scores anyway, so he uses his own as his answer key

"i needed to interview y/n for an assignment, a-and a signature above a name was needed and it was just so familiar."

the moment he racks his head for hyeji's writing, it seemed fAR from the writing on the sticky notes on the lunchboxes

"then she seemed mad at me, but when i went to her on the field to try and confront her-" jungkook pauses and almost whispers the next part, the shame on his skin starting to seep into his bones, "she told me that we weren't related for me to feel hurt about it."

yoongi clenches his jaw, a pressure forming on the center of his eyebrows because he knows where this is leading

"a-and i thought it was hyeji again."

jungkook can't bring himself to be elated that it's been you the whole time because he might be a little too late; a little too late when he's already subjected you to the heartbreak you didn't deserve

"i-i didn’t know what clicked in my mind but i was just so hurt that-"

that's the fiNAL straw for yoongi

this has been him trying to keep his anger at bay the whole time, but this one!! this one he can't just accept

"you are a fucking asshole. honestly."

jungkook slightly winces with the sudden cussing, but it barely scratches the surface

"you think you’re the only one hurt? tell that to me who’s never seen y/n cry so hard before — or even cry at all."

his explanation wasn't an excuse and he knows it, but nonetheless, it tears him apart

"i’m sorry."

his lips quiver and he's trying sO hard not to cry in front of his senior, but yoongi doesn't feel even the slightest remorse for the kid

"i don’t care. you don’t apologize to me; you apologize to y/n. whether she forgives you or not, which for the record i don’t think she should, you cannot take back what you said."

if what jungkook said was eVER said to yoongi, given that he had the same circumstances as you did, he wouldn't know how to bounce back at all

it's a pain he doesn't wish to feel and he could only helplessly look at you who's trying to navigate it

perhaps you don't even plan to navigate it — knowing you, you're just gonna sail through it all to the point you're not giving yourself enough time to even realize that you already are

it was the same cycle of trying to move on without grieving through it properly that it hurts yoongi and seokjin and the tiny amount of people around you

"grovel at her feet. cry her an ocean. commit penitence. whatever you wanna come up with, no matter what, you do not make my y/n feel like she isn’t deserving of love."

you're family and yoongi goes above and beyond for family.

"i don’t care if you make up. i don’t care if you don’t. all i know is that in any other place besides outside the room she sleeps in, i’d hurt you like you hurt her."

jungkook almost wishes that yoongi punches him now and he won't even try to dodge it

"i deserve it."

"you do."

they whole-heartedly agree and it's the only time that yoongi can get behind jungkook's words

"i’m always gonna be on y/n’s side, kid."

there's no other way around it and as much as you know it or not, you've cemented your position in yoongi's heart unknowingly

"the only way that i’m gonna be on yours is when you’ve earned my utmost respect," he can't even see when that happens, crossing his arms across his chest, "and you don’t."

jungkook's tears are falling to the floor but they don't get on his cheeks, the sudden set of footsteps coming from his side making his head straighten and wipe his eyes immediately

he's the only one alarmed and he spares yoongi a glance, then to said person

yeah right that couldn't have been you :((

the guy who's approaching doesn't stop walking and he looks like.... he's uh,,, coming to where he's exactly standing????

he seems oddly familiar though

“oh, taehyung!"

where did he hear that name before??

taehyung stands at the same height as jungkook, maybe a centimeter or two taller, but he just couldn't stop looking at him from the corner of his eyes

yoongi's oblivious to jungkook's ongoing deduction, immediately engulfing taehyung in conversation

"y/n’s already asleep. i could do her part of the project-“

he offers because he recalls that right, you told him that taehyung's coming over to finish your shared project of a business plan late tonight

uhhhhh you're kinda zooted and going through it rOUGH so yoongi doesn't mind doing your contribution for you

“yoongi!! oh no man, it’s not what i came here for," he leans for a side hug, eyes landing on jungkook to drop a polite smile to acknowledge him

jungkook only slightly bows, confused but even more intrigued because he heard your name in the conversation

"i just uh, i just saw y/n crying while i was on my way home awhile ago, and i didn’t get to ask why, but i felt bad, so i came by to drop some cookies.”

oh

taehyung continues talking and it leaves yoongi and jungkook stunned, but he only focuses his attention on the former

“you looked like a hazelnut cookie kind of guy, so i baked some too!! is y/n allergic to peanuts? i put some too in a separate container in case she is.”

yoongi laughs and they go from there

IT'S LIKE JUNGKOOK ISN'T EVEN HERE!!!!

baby he's here he's nOT a hallucination!!!!

despite the fact that he's sticking out like and (unacknowledged) sore thumb, no one makes a move to take the conversation elsewhere

“thanks, tae. damn, you did all this yourself?”

yoongi whistles when he takes the tupperware opening it and almost watering at the sight

he doesn't mind baking cookies for you in case you wake up hungry, but taehyung really just did himself a nice favor without knowing it

he smiles softly, eyes narrowing in intrigue now that he realizes

"taehyung. no offense, but you’ve only interacted with y/n like once and it’s only for a project. why would you bake her uhhh 28 cookies?”

hehe

“35, actually :D”

tae interjects, waving him off when yoongi's jaw drops even further

“yeah, i know. i just felt so sorry for her — i’m not related to y/n but i just felt like i wanted to make her feel better.”

jungkook's jaw locks at this, his breathing becoming shaky all over again, fists balled this time

“it’s like,, economics!! i don’t actually know, maybe??? i’m in visual arts. y/n took over my part for me when i was sick-“

".... so you made her 30 cookies."

taehyung's the personification of a golden retriever and now that he thinks about it, jungkook reckons seeing him more than a handful of times

he laughs deeply at yoongi's rebutt and it may be in unfortunate timing that jungkook realizes he kNOWS him

he's in the same year!! he's the one that takes the portraits for the school paper and it's always his name in the credits

"good night, yoongs. hug y/n for me. tell her i'll take over her part, no questions asked."

taehyung walks away and he's perfectly content even if he didn't get to give you the cookies like jungkook thought he would

"night, taehyung."

yoongi looks at the retreating figure briefly, then looks at jungkook pointedly

he doesn't realize that he's still budging and listened on an entire conversation, dropping his head when yoongi points to the elevator

"bye, jungkook."

"good night, yoongi."

he feels hesitant to leave but it's probably for the better, putting his hands in his pockets still not enough to make his hands stop trembling

kook stops at the middle of his walking, turning his head to look back at yoongi whose mouth already has crumbs

"c-can i see y/n tomorrow?"

"i'm not her dad."

jungkook nods somberly, leaving it at that while his bulk of emotions consume him

he thinks all about the ways he could attempt to make it up to you, a million ideas in his head but his head doesn't hurt

his nose twitches at the lingering scent the cookies left, annoyed at the persistent smell and perhaps the boy that brought them

jungkook's never really liked cookies.

[lilysdaydreams]

The Artist and The Musician

→  I do not claim to know corpse- therefore please don’t think that this is what he would actually act like, or that any details about his life are actually true. this is fiction.

→ Pairing: Corpse Husband X Fem!Reader

→ Genre: Fluff.

→ Words: 5.6k

→ Request:  Hey! It’s me again lmao I was curious maybe like sykunno or raes little sister (like 2 or 3 years younger) meets the group and her and corpse just click. How would either of them react to them hearing the news that their little sis is dating corpse and like they’ve moved in together and everything idk I thought it’d be cute💛

→ Warnings: Swearing.

→ Authors Note: Its been a hard couple of weeks and im really sorry that this took so long to be done but depression rlly hit me and I could barely move myself. I hope you enjoy this, and if you do, please comment some words of encouragement or feedback 💛

→  if you have some spare change , consider buying me a coffee.

You sighed as you finally dropped the last box in your new room, stretching to get rid of the pains in your back. Grabbing your phone, you moved over to Sykkunos room, knocking before sticking your head in.

"You want subway?" you asked when he looked up from the computer. He nodded with a quick smile, and as you closed the door behind you, you could hear him talking to the stream, letting them know that it was just his sister. Quickly ordering on Ubereats, you slumped on the sofa, closing your eyes and resting for a bit.

You had decided to move in with Sykkuno a month ago, the same week you'd decided to drop out of college. It wasn't something your parents were happy with, but after seeing how big your art and business had gotten, they had let you drop out. You'd dropped out and moved to LA, moving into an apartment with Sykkuno since he had to leave the OTV house. Sykkuno had moved in a week earlier which was why his room and computer was all set up. You'd only moved in today, spending a few weeks at home with your parents before leaving for LA. Stretching, you grabbed your phone, checking how long it would be until the food came, and then clicking on Instagram. Your most recent post was of this morning, a photo of you sitting on top of half the boxes in your room, throwing a peace sign at the camera. Sykkuno had taken it for you, the whole process taking 10 minutes cuz you made him take it at 45 different angles. Scrolling through the comments, you liked a few, replying to the ones by your best friends.

@selinaissss: "HOW DARE YOU LOOK THIS PERFECT AT 8 IN THE MORNING????"

→ @junefarie: i look like a racoon dont u dare

@onlyalyssa: "we need a house tour"

→ @junefarie: bitch I dont even have a bed yet

You grabbed the subway order when the bell rang, saying a quick thank you to the delivery man. You left yours on the table, and went to Sykkunos room, yelling "Sykkuno catch!" before throwing it at him, giggling as he leapt forward from his chair to catch it. Closing the door softly behind you, you jumped onto the couch, sitting cross-legged, grabbing your sketchbook and pencils from your backpack and setting them on your lap. It was time to wind down a bit.

~

It was a week later and you had unpacked fully, now focusing more on creating new pieces of art for a shop update. You were also working on some designs specifically for shirts and hoodies. Sykkuno found you in front of your computer, blanket wrapped around you and glasses perched on your nose as you emailed the manufacturer you were working with for the hoodies.

"Un, y/n?" he said hesitantly knocking on the door. You spun around in your chair, raising your eyebrows at him. "What's up?"

He walked in, sitting down gingerly on the edge of the bed and you got your water from the table, taking a sip as you wait for him to talk.

"I um- You know how I- I play Among Us right?" he asked, scratching his neck.

You hummed in response, urging him on with a nod. Sykkuno was almost never this nervous around you. Most of the time, you guys talked normally, joking and teasing each other. For him to be stuttering around you, he must have been extremely nervous.

"Well, you know Rae right? She um, she asked me to make a lobby," he said, standing up and pacing now. You furrowed your brows, confused as to where this was going.

He was explaining what a lobby was (which what the fuck, you watched his streams, of course you knew what a lobby was, why was he explaining that) when you cut him off, getting up and grabbing his shoulders to stop him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" you asked, holding his shoulders with both your hands.

He sighed and slumped into you, his head coming to a rest on your shoulder.

"Rae asked me to make a lobby and it's the first time I've ever made one and I'm really nervous about it. I've already invited people, but um I was wondering if you wanted to join as well? I- It would help me to have you there." he muttered, the words muffled as he spoke into your shoulder.

"Me?" you asked, a little shocked because you had never played among us before.

He nodded against your shoulder.

"Um sure!" you said, wrapping your arms around his middle, "It'll be fun!"

"And hey," you added on when he didn't say anything after that, "I can meet all your friends as well!"

He finally lifted his head a little, smiling as he muttered out a quick "Thanks y/n."

"However," you added, jumping back onto your seat and wiggling your eyebrows at him. "You have to buy me pizza for tonight's dinner."

He chuckled, grabbing his phone and already mutterng the order to himself as he opened up the ubereats app and walked out of the room.

You turned back to the laptop humming a tune under your breath. From interactions like this, most people would probably assume that you were older but the truth was that Sykkuno was 5 years older than you. Your roles were reversed and you were probably more protective over him than anyone else. Once in high school a girl had called him cute and asked him for his number only to write it on the bathroom walls. After the first three prank calls, you'd taken the phone from him yelling at anyone who called that if they called again, that you'd personally track them down and shove a dildo up their ass.

Both of you had always been close, but with the amount of bullying and teasing he got in high school, you'd got even closer, eventually becoming his best friend in a way. Seeing Sykkuno grow as a person, get new friends who were genuinely nice and kind made you the happiest person alive. When Sykkuno had first started streaming you'd been worried, scared that people online would say something mean. When he had first started streaming with other streamers and then met Lily and all his other friends, you had been anxious, worrying that they might only be putting up a friendly facade. You were also the happiest though when he grew even closer to them, when he smiled more, laughed more, talked more.

You had yet to meet or talk to any of his friends, mostly because you'd been in college, and the pandemic had made it harder. Maybe it was finally time.

~

The day came and you sat in your room, once again a blanket wrapped around you, glasses perched on your nose as you accepted the discord invite Sykkuno sent you.

"DO I GO IN THE CHAT THINGY?" you yelled to Sykkuno, hearing a "YES" before clicking on the voice chat.

You mumbled a "hello", wondering if your mic was on.

"Hey, yeah I can hear you y/n."

Breathing a sigh of relief, you logged into the game, smiling as you heard sykkuno introduce you to his chat. "Hi everyone," you said, feeling a bit weird only talking to a screen. You rubbed your hands, a little nervous to be doing this.

Just then someone else joined and before you could even speak another three people joined as well, all of them yelling hello as they joined.

"He- Hey guys, how's everyone doing?" started sykkuno.

"Im doing great oh my god, guess what guys, I'm-" started Rae, cutting herself off. "wait, whos um "ms snores a lot"?

You were a bit confused for a second, furrowing you eyebrows for a second before realising what had happened.

"SYKKUNO YOU ASSHOLE WHAT THE FUCK?" you yelled, staring at the name underneath the voice channel that you now realised belonged to you. You could hear Sykkunos laughter from the other room but you just spluttered indignantly. He was the one who had set up everything on your computer yesterday because technology was something that you rarely messed around with.

"Sykkunooo" you whined, when he kept laughing, "How the fuck do I change it now?"

"Um wait, sykkuno who is this?" asked Rae, the other three echoing her. You glanced at the names and from the voices figured out that it was Rae, Toast, Sean and Corpse in the lobby.

"Hey okay, so guys this is my sister, her names y/n and we recently moved in together, so I asked her to be in the lobby because... um.." he said stuttering at the end to find a reason.

"Because he wanted to embarrass me apparently!" you exclaimed, giving him a way out.

"Oh god, um - you can change it in settings, at the bottom near where your name is."

"Ahhh," you said finding it and then simply typing in your art business name.

"Its nice to meet everyone by the way," you started. "I've been watching your videos for ages so it almost fels like I already know you"

Raes voice started in your ears and you winced at the volume befoe turning it down a bit.

"I would love to say that Sykkuno has told us a lot about you, but the truth is that he keeps a lot of secrets and I didnt even know he had a sister, I AM SO SHOCKED RIGHT NOW"

You gasped. "Sykkuno what the fuck, you didn't even tell Rae?"

"You told me not to tell a lot of people!" he protested.

You heard someone saying "they're so different!' but you ignored it and kept talking.

"Yeah at the start! and on stream! I can't believe you never even said you had a sister." you spluttered out, followed by another gasp.

"Are you embarrassed of me?" you whispered dramatically.

"N-What no of course not!" he exclaimed, and you could also imagine how wide his eyes would have gotten.

You giggled before telling him that you were only joking.

"Um since sykkuno is embarrassed of me," you said jokingly, "I'll just tell you myself."

"I'm like five years younger than sykkuno, I'm a June baby, I do art, my star sign is cancer, I'm 5'4, I recently moved in with sykkuno, and my favourite colour is purple!"

"Oh is that why your username is junefarie? Because you were born in June?" asked Sean.

Before you could say yes, someone else cut in.

"Wait, junefarie?" asked corpse, "like the artist?"

Your eyes widened as you realised that he knew you. Sure you had quite a few followers, but you never expected any of Sykkunos friends to know you from there.

"Um yeah," you said letting out a shocked laugh, "I didnt expect anyone here to know about me."

"Dude, your art is fire!" he exclaimed, voice louder now. "I was honestly thinking of buying a piece soon, I've followed you for ages!"

"Wait, I wanna see as well." whined Rae, "Ima look you up, are you on Instagram?"

"Um," you said still shocked by the fact that somone this big knew you. "yeah I'm on instagram, its just junefarie." you said first replying to Rae, "Um corpse, thankyou so much! thats so nice of yo!"

"Um my art isn't that great yet," you chuckled, embarrassed by all the attention now. "I'm hoping to improve a lot more and I have a bunch of ideas for it as well. I'm hoping to work more now that I moved in with Sy."

"Oh my god, this is amazing," whispered Rae, Toast and Sean echoing her. You ducked your head even though no one could see you. Your cheeks were blazing hot and you pressed your hands to them to cool yourself down.

"Thankyou," you mumbled, not sure what to say.

Someone else entered the lobby, and said "hi" and you welcomed the source of distraction.

"Hi! I'm Sykkunos sister, y/n!" you said , wanting to move away from the topic of your art.

The reply of "sykkuno has a SISTER?" made everyone laugh, successfully moving the attention to Sykkuno and off your art. Finally Sykkuno started the game and you breathed as you lost yourself in the art of gaming.

"OH MY GOD!" yelled Rae as the game ended and everyone appeared in the lobby. "That was like amazing, Y/N I cant belive you pulled that off!"

She was talking about the last game where there was 50/50 between corpse and Sykkuno (because you refused to kill sykkuno when you were imposter) and you somehow managed to convince Sykkuno that it was Corpse.

"Honestly, neither can I!" you exclaimed back staring at your screen, eyes blurring the screen because of how tired you were.

"I can't believe Sykkuno," mumbled corpse. "I literally said I saw her vent and kill toast and Sykkuno was still like "hmmm, I don't think so."

Giggling at Sykkunos yell of "SHES MY SISTER" you yelled out a bye as everyone started leaving and then struggled to find a way to end the call.

"Wait, how do I end it," you muttered to yourself.

You jumped as Corpse talked, not expecting anyone to be there.

"You can see yoru name at the bottom left right? Its above that but a little to the right." he said chucling a little.

"Oh." you said, you cheeks heating up. You didnt know if it was because of him or because you were utterly useless with technology.

"Um thankyou," you said awkwardly.

"No problem."

You exited out of the call, a small smile at your lips.

Sykkunos friends were nice.

~

After the stream, your fanbase grew, and with it, the number of orders as well. For the next week, you were buried under orders, only leaving the house to go to the post office.

An Instagram post on @junefarie account: 

[ID: A photo of y/n and sykkuno standing in the middle of the living room, packages scattered everywhere. Y/n is hugging Sykkuno tight and Sykkuno is staring at the camera, a distressed look on his face.]

Caption: Thankyou so much for all my supporters and all the love shown to me. Sending out loads of orders and I cant wait for you gusy to get yours! Special thanks to @sykkuno for helping me send out orders. luv yu.

Comments: 

@Sykisacutie: best sibling duo!

@valkyrae: hope my order is in their as well.

→ I SCREAMED WHEN SY TOLD ME THAT WAS YOUR NAME.

@corpse_husband: sykkuno looks like he's accepted death.

→ @sykkuno: I would have welcomed death at that point

→ @corpse_husband @sykkuno: okay ill be honest, I would have welcomed death as well.

@ariesin: go best friend, go! we need to get together to paint soon !!

→ SOONNNNNN

~

You flopped onto your bed, every part of your body hurting. Carrying boxes filled with orders down the stairs had tired your whole body, which wasn't used to any exercise at all. That had taken practically the whole day and then you had to clean your room because the mess from the orders had barely left any room to move. You flung your hand to the side, grabbing your phone from the table and bringing it up to your face. The "1:02" was clearly visible on your screen and you unlocked the phone, heading to Twitter. Scrolling through your feed, you liked a few tweets from friends before gearing yourself up and moving to the messages. Ever since you'd played with Corpse, Sykkuno and everyone, you'd been getting a lot of messages. Most of them were just the streamers fans, asking you if you know them or telling you to take care of sykkuno. There were a few though that targeted you, telling you that your art sucked, that they didn't know why Corpse could like my art. You'd taken to deleting them before sleeping so that your inbox wouldn't get cluttered and you could still find any serious requests or messages from your followers. Therefore, you didn't really think anything of it when there was another message from someone with a Corpse icon and you clicked on it only to see the message and gasp, immediately sitting up in bed.

Corpse_Husband → Hey, I was wondering if I could work with you on something? I really love your art and was wanting to commission or collaborate for an album cover or some merch designs. Message me on this number cuz I barely see my dms.

Underneath was a number.

"Oh my god," you whispered, unsure as to what to do.

When you had decided to drop out of college, you had expected hard days. You had expected your normal orders and mostly just improving your art and marketing it more. You had expected long days and not much money in the bank account. You certainly had not expected the immense amount of orders you'd gotten. Along with that, the amount of love and support had taken you by surprise and you had spent the last night crying because of how much love you and your art were getting.

You had also not expected such a big opportunity just landing at your feet.

Quickly you clicked on the number, putting it in your contacts with the name Corpse and then writing a quick message.

"Hey I got your twitter dm! I've personally never done art for merch or album covers but I would love the opportunity!"

You bit your lip, confused as to whether that was enough before deciding it was fine and just sent it.

Your heart beat a little faster as you slumped back onto the bed.

~

@junefarie Instagram story:

[ID: A zoomed-in picture of a drawing, the only part that was visible was curly hair. The text read: "Working on something SO COOL"]

~

Your phone was ringing. Stuffing the rest of the pizza in your mouth, you swept your hand over the covers of your bed, trying to find it. With a muttered "aha", you grabbed it and swiped on the call before it ended. Pressing the phone to your ear, you mumbled a "hello", still chewing the pizza bite.

A low rapsy voice came out of the speaker, one that you definitely didn't expect. You choked on the pizza, coughing out pieces onto the bed.  Sure you guys had messaged each other a bit (you kinda had to because of the commission), but you hadn't expected him to call out of nowhere.

"Um I hope this isn't a bad time," he said when you didn't respond for a second. Of course, he didn't exactly know that hearing his voice so close to your ear had you frozen for a second.

"Um no," you replied, coughing slightly to clear your throat. "It's fine! What did you wanna talk about?"

"Oh, um I know you're already working on the commission and its looking great! I can't wait to work with the merch team to create something really cool with it, but um-" he broke off for a second sounding hesitant. "I really wanna get another commission done as well."

"Oh?" you said after a second when he didn't reply. "I'd be happy to do another one for you!"

"Uh yeah, but I'm afraid that I might be a bit late, You see I was wondering if it could be done before Christmas?"

You sucked in a breath as you counted the days in your mind.

"Hmm, it depends on how big it is tbh. There's still 2 weeks to go till Christmas so I could fit it in," you mumbled, biting your lip as you remembered the onslaught of orders you still had to send out.

"Well," he started and you smiled a little as the excitement crept into his voice. "You know that Sykkuno, Rae, Toast and me are called the 4 Amigops right? I kinda wanted a portrait of all 4 of us, in our um among us colors, and I basically wanted to print it out and send to each of them for Christmas."

"Aww, that sounds like such a good idea, I'm sure they'll all love it!" you smiled, thinking about how much Sykkuno would appreciate that.

"Uh thanks," he mumbled, "do you think you can get it done?"

"Sure!" you replied immediately. You did have a lot of orders, yes, but like, you could fit Corpse in. If you pulled a few all-nighters. "I'll send you the sketches soon okay?"

"Oh thank god, thankyu so much for this y/n, I really appreciate it. Youre one of my favourite artists and I'm really happy that I could finally commisison you after so long."

"So long?" you questioned. "Since when have you known about my art?"

There was a moment of silence and then "Um, around the time you still posted your sketches and stuff I guess?"

You furrowed your eyebrows thinking for a second before letting out a gasp.

"Corpse that was 4 years ago!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, oh my god, I cant believe you've seen those, I was so bad then!"

"No no, they were really good at that time as well! I was so shocked when Sykkuno told us you were his sister because like, I'd been following you for ages and I had absolutely no idea. You guys are like really different."

"Hah yah, Sykkunos so soft, and then there's me. An actual devil."

"Your usernames so different as well! I remember when I first saw a picture of you on your account and I was kind of shocked because based on the name junefarie, I was expecting someone very soft I guess but then you were literally the opposite and wearing actual devil horns."

"Oh god, that was one of the first few photos I posted of myself. that was on Halloween I think,", you took a deep breath still shocked that Corpse had known about you for that long,

"Yeah, I chose junefarie because...”

It was 2 hours later when Corpse said that he should probably be working on his music.

"Oh I'm so sorry," you apologized, "I didn't mean to keep you,"

"Oh no, I um, I liked talking to you."

Your breath caught for a moment and you smiled like a lunatic at your Pokémon covered bedsheets.

"I liked talking to you as well," you whispered out, heart sinking a little as you realized the call would be ending soon.

"Um, do you, maybe want to stay on call? like I'll just be writing and we can just chill?" he asked and you felt like your prayers had been answered.

"yes" you said quickly, not giving him a chance to back out.

He chuckled, and you fell in love a little.

Just a little.

~

You continued like that, calling each other every few days, talking so much and then at times, not talking at all, simply content with each others company.

He had even started facetiming you, the first time with a mask and then the second without it. You hadn't made a big deal about it, but the first time you saw him, you could barely breathe.

There were five days left until Christmas when you got the idea.

You were entirely not subtle about it, because, well to be honest, there wasn't a subtle bone in your body.

"Hey Corpse, do you like surprises?" you had asked, in the middle of colouring Raes hair (her hair was the last thing left before you could finally print the goddamn thing)

"It depends," he had murmured after a second, voice sending shivers down your spine like every time. Now whether that was because of his voice or because of him, you weren't entirely sure.

"on what?" you prodded when he refused to answer.

"On whether its a good one or a bad one" he had huffed out.

You had hummed, waited for a second and then blurted out that next question because you did not have a cent of patience.

"So what are you doing at Christmas?"

"Sleeping, if I can manage it," he replied, his voice taking on a sardonic tone, eyes flicking to you on the screen. The only thing he could see though was the top of your head because you had your iPad on the bed and were laying over it as you drew.

"Not with that attitude you aren't," you replied right back, making a small smile appear across his face.

"Hmmm, okay!" you said when he didn't reply.

He looked back over, eyebrows furrowed and mouth opening as he started to question you.

"Hey did you see the video I sent you?" you quickly asked distracting him from his question.

He would probably guess the surprise but that was okay. You only wanted to make a smile appear on his face. And honestly, for someone with anxiety, a small warning of a surprise was definitely needed.

~

It was Christmas day and you woke Sykkuno up at 6 in the morning with the promise that you'd buy him McDonald's. 30 minutes later, you were both in the car, yelling the lyrics to "All I want for Christmas" at the top of your lungs.

You had told sykkuno of your plan a few days ago and he had smiled at you with that stupid smile, agreeing with a small "alright."

You'd immediately realised that he knew. Even though you pretended otherwise, Sykkuno was the older one and the thing about older siblings was that they always knew.

They always knew.

So there you were, snacks loaded into your car, McDonald's fries practically everywhere, and a cake you had made in the backseat, on your way to Corpses house.

There was a lull in the music, and you were only 30 minutes away from his place, butterflies fluttering in your stomach when Sykkuno asked you a question.

"You like him right?" he murmured, head leaning against the window, eyes closed.

There was a moment of silence as you thought about what to say. Did you like Corpse? Of course, you liked Corpse! He was funny, he was nice, he made you feel like you were the only person that mattered and your heart beat faster than ever whenever he looked at you. Hell, that was through a screen, in real life, it would probably be even worse. So of course you liked him! The question was, did he like you back?

"Yeah," you answered Sykkuno, eyes straight on the road.

A second passed and then he smiled. "Good," he replied. and well. That was that. You sighed.

At least you had your brothers blessing.

~

Pulling into the apartment building, you breathed in, your heart beating a million times a second and the butterflies in your stomach had turned into snakes. Maybe, maybe this wasn't a good idea at all. I mean, you expected Corpse to get the hint but what if he didn't? and what if he didn't want you to come? Maybe you were being too quick. After all, It'd only been a month since you'd met.

These thoughts plagued your mind as you trudged up the stairs, turning to Sykkuno as you reached the door.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come," you whispered to him.

He looked at you, eyebrows high, "We just travelled two hours to get here. There's no way im going back without at least giving him the print."

"What if he doesn't want us to be here?" you hissed.

"Then we'll go away." he stated, "after we give him the print."

"But what if-"

Before you could even finish your sentence, the door opened and you both jumped, turning to face the person standing in the doorway.

You forced yourself to breathe as you finally saw him. It was him. Wearing a black beanie, half his hair spilling out the sides, stubble clear on his chin... it was him. At that moment, there was only one thought in your mind.

You were gonna marry this man.

"You suck at whispering," he said, and you huffed out a laugh, jumping onto him without even responding. You wrapped your arms around him, not letting go until Sykkuno cleared his throat from behind you.

You turned back immediately, grabbing the stuff in Sykkunos hands so he could greet Corpse too. As they awkwardly did their handshake/fistbump thing, you walked over to the couch behind them, putting down the print and the takeaway bags, and putting the cakebox down on the table.

You turned around to see them both standing there staring at you.

"Surprise?" you said when no one else spoke. That broke the ice a little and you grabbed the print from the couch thrusting it at Corpse.

"Open it. Open it. Open it." you mumbled, your heart beating fast as he carefully ripped the paper off. The smile that overtook his face made your heart immediately calm.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, eyes roaming everywhere, trying to take it all in. Clearing his throat, he nodded his head further into the apartment, mumbling that he was going to put it in the room, eyes still on the print as he walked there.

"You smile is gonna blind me," muttered Sykkuno.

"Oh shut up."

~

A few hours later, you stood in the kitchen, putting the leftover cake into Corpses fridge. You had all chilled, eating cake and the takeout that you and sykkuno had bought, laughing every few minutes. It felt like you were all on an adrenaline rush. You had facetimed Rae and Toast, Rae shrieking when she realised where you guys were. Sykkuno had just fallen into a nap, still tired from being wakened up so early, you assumed.

You leaned against the kitchen bench, smiling as Corpse walked in.

"Thankyou." he said as he came to a stop next to you, matching your position.

"For what?" you mused, even though you had a good enough idea.

"For the print. For coming here. For making my Christmas, a much happier affair than it has been my whole life." he stated, chuckling at the last point.

You turned your head sideways, and you didn't know what it was, but something about his face made you spurn into action. You grabbed his collar, pulled him down, and kissed him before he could even say anything. It would be too cliche to say that fireworks erupted. And if you were being honest they didn't. Instead, it felt like everything was finally right. You fit perfectly in his arms as they wrapped themselves around you, and you smiled into the kiss as he lifted you up, making you sit at the counter. You twirled the hair at the nape of his neck with your left hand, taking a deep breath in as you both slowed down and pulled away.

"Well," he whispered, "that was unexpected."

You raised a single eyebrow. Honesty you'd done a lot for this relationship. You just drove for nearly 3 hours! If he wanted it to progress, he was gonna have to say it himself.

"But not unwelcome," he continued when you didn't speak. A moment passed, where you could see that he was psyching himself up to say something. Finally, with a heaving sigh, he whispered  "Darling, would you do me the honour of being called yours?"

You melted right there.

A nod was all he needed before he grabbed your lips with his again, both of you giggling when he accidentally hit the side of your mouth instead of the lips.

The sound of a picture being taken filled the air, making you spring apart and swing your heads over to the doorway, which had sykkuno leaning against it, his phone in his hand.

"Thank god. Rae and Toast bet that you wouldn't confess until after Christmas, so now they both owe me 20 bucks." he said, now fiddling on the phone. "Dont worry Corpse, I'll add a circle over your face or something."

Your mouth dropped open as you stared at your brother.

"You bet on my love life?" you scoffed, still shocked.

At his nod though, you swung off the bench, marching until you were eye to eye to him.

"I want half the winnings."

Rolling his eyes, he turned back to the living room, jumping onto the sofa.

"C'mon, let's watch one more episode before heading back," he said and you jumped in next to him, patting the space next to you as Corpse came in behind you.

You grabbed Sykkunos hand and squeezed it, letting him know that you were grateful that he didn't make it such a big deal. Leaning your head on corpses shoulder, you smiled to yourself.

You'd have to leave in 30 minutes, to drive back to your parents and spend the rest of Christmas with them, leaving Corpse behind. And that made you a bit sad sure, but it couldn't overpower the feeling of pure happiness at being here. At giving him a happier Christmas. You smiled as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head.

Nothing could overpower this feeling of absolute happiness.

fin.

Corpse husband taglist:  @mythicalamphitrite @ramble-writes @atsumubabe @anxiouskat5646 @itssierramcquade @xaestheticalien @jotaroslightning @starstruckllamapuppy @gxldenskiez @shinyshimaagain @cavanana @fee-btheweeb (send an ask to be added!)

[tomtenadia]

Blind mistake

Rowaelin month - day 8

So, this fic was fighting me at the beginning. as I started, deleted and restarted a million times.

Then slowly the idea came and here it is. What I was not expecting was to write a A Little Braver AU.

Aelin and Rowan meet under different circumstances and are two different people from thee actual story. Aelin is still the captain at east station and Rowan still the airforce captain.

Yes, this is a happier fic but as Aelin said in KoA... she loved Rowan because it was him, the man who had known pain as deep as hers.

IN order to enjoy this fic you do not need to have read ALB. A part from Pete popping up for a brief second at the end, this is a complete stand alone story and no knowledge of ALB is needed.

Rowan sighed. His love life sucked so much that he ended up using a dating app. Since Lyria dumped him a year before he had been struggling to go back in the game. He had been on a few dates but so far none of the women he met had sparked his curiosity. Far too bland and with almost no personality or far too bothered by looks. Some of them had been downright stupid and he had been a gentleman and played along when all he wanted to do was run away screaming. The last nightmare had been a woman called Remelle who Lorcan had recommended to him. He had to feign food poisoning and pay the chef to let him escape from the back of the restaurant to flee the monster. He had paid the bill sneakily, and once home he had insulted Lorcan and his poor taste in women.

Now he was again in a restaurant, ready for probably another fiasco. He and the woman had chatted a bit and she had seemed interesting so he had dared to ask her out and she had accepted. On the paper it was all good. In reality he was getting ready for another crazy escape. Maybe he should just give up and live alone and become a grumpy old man.

He had a kingsflame on the table near him, their code to recognise each other at the restaurant. The fact that they knew very little about each other made him nervous. It was a recipe for disaster. He knew she was a personal shopper and that she liked movies and music. He was really dreading the encounter now, and started to realise that perhaps it had been a mistake. She could have lied.

Until he raised his head and he noticed the woman who had just entered the restaurant. He then spotted the flower pinned on her green dress as they had agreed. Gods, the woman was way too hot for him. There was a catch somewhere. His heart raced when realisation dawned on her face and she waved and started to walk to him. The smile. Damn, the smile could stop a man’s heart. The woman walking toward him was a goddess. He was expecting her to turn away for another table until she sat down in front of him at his table. Rowan was speechless.

“Sorry, I am late. Accident on the ring road. I stopped to give a hand to west station.” She used her hand to brush off the smudge of grease he had only just noticed she had.

“You stopped?”

“Yes,” she looked at him with a strange light in her eyes “I am a firefighter. I am the captain at east station.”

Rowan blinked twice. Shit. She was the wrong woman. She was not here for him. Of course. It was too good to be true. She had sat at the wrong table and a part of him was sad.

“I am Aelin.” she said and he knew that it had dawned on her as well that he was not her date “You are not Chaol.”

Rowan shook his head “I am Rowan.”

“Holy shit. I saw the kingsflame. The restaurant. And you smiled at me when I came in. I just assumed...” He did not want her to go. 

“Ach, I was having second thoughts anyway.” He shrugged.

In that moment the waiter came and they were hesitant for a moment then Aelin grabbed the menu and started ordering, surprising him. Rowan got some wine for both and they placed as well their order.

“Our dates are late anyway. Maybe stuck in the horrendous traffic out there.”

“You will not hear me complain.” Said Rowan with a smile “so, you stopped and helped?”

Aelin nodded, sipping a bit of her wine “I couldn’t resist it. West station was there but there were so many cars involved that I had to something. The traffic wasn’t moving anyway.”

Rowan could not believe the woman in front of him. Not only she was a goddess. She had even stopped to help her colleagues save people from a car crash on her way to a date. Where had she been all his life?

The waiter came with their order and smiled at the expression of joy when Aelin looked at the amount of food in front of her. Another point for her. She had an appetite. He had no need of another date ordering a boring salad. He was a healthy eater but loved a woman with an appetite, especially because he loved cooking.

“So Rowan, what do you do?” She asked him while tackling the gigantic prawn on her seafood tagliatelle.

“I am an airforce pilot. I am a captain.”

Her face lit up “as in the uniform and all? And the awesome planes?”

Rowan nodded.

Aelin was about to take another sip of her wine when two figures stopped at their table. A brown-haired man and a blonde woman. Both had a kingsflames pinned on their dresses.

“Excuse me but you are with my date.” Said the stranger.

Rowan looked up from his risotto “finders keepers.”

“And he is my date.” Said the woman in a shrill voice.

“What he said.” Added Aelin while eating another prawn.

“We got stuck in traffic. There is a massive road accident on the ring road.” Chaol complained, not letting it go.

“Yeah I know. I stopped to help and I still made it here before you.”

“So what does this mean?” Asked Chaol.

Aelin stared at Rowan. It was a no brainer. Chaol was cute but Rowan was sex on two legs. Between the silver hair and the green eyes he ticked all of the boxes. And he was a pilot. Chaol was an accountant.

“You two can go on a date together.” She suggested and hoped they took the hint.

“That is rude.”

“Oh shoot,” said Aelin covering her mouth in fake surprise “I must have left the fucks I have to give in my bunker gear.”

Chaol looked at her aghast. The blonde woman turned on her heels and left.

“You missed an opportunity.” He added before he left as well.

As soon as he left Rowan burst into laughter and she joined him “no fucks to give…” he said trying to catch his breath “I have to steal this when my CO drives me nuts.”

“Ansel, one of my firefighters, she taught me that.”

“It’s fucking perfect.” 

And both resumed their dinner without the awkwardness of a blind date. No stupid questions like how many siblings do you have or what is your favourite colour. No, with Rowan there had been a connection from the start and the joke had been the final proof.

“Most guys would have left running at my joke. I have a big and foul mouth. Not very lady-like.” She apologised. “I work in a male dominated place. Apart from Ansel and my two paramedics, I am surrounded by guys and well, they are not easily scared.”

Rowan chuckled “I am in the military. My CO uses fuck you as a term of endearment and one of my lieutenants has the record for the most innuendos in a sentence.”

“How many?” Asked Aelin curios.

“Ten.”

“No friggin’ way.”

Rowan nodded solemnly. Then looked at her and he was glad she sat at his table mistaking him for another man. They had known each other only for twenty minutes but he was dumbstruck by the woman.

She was fierce, intelligent and with a wicked sense of humour.

The meal had been perfect. Aelin had polished every single plate in front of her and also ordered dessert. And when she offered to pay for half the bill he had smiled. He had plenty of dates where the woman didn’t even offer. She took it for granted that he, being the man, was the one paying. He had no issues with that, he was happy to pay, but the fact that Aelin offered made him realise that she was different.

They left the restaurant and he gasped when he saw a red pickup reading Terrasen fire department on its livery, parked just outside the restaurant.

“Way to scare the patrons away.” He joked.

“Sorry. Yesterday I took a lift to work from a colleague and I forgot for a moment that I had a set the date for tonight after my shift. So I grabbed my work pickup to get here. I need to go back to the firehouse and return it.”

“I’ll follow, you drop off the pickup and then I drive you home.”

“I can take a cab, you don’t have to come all the way to the station and back.”

“Humour me,” he said giving her a beautiful smile and she accepted.

Ten minutes later they were at east station and she parked the pickup in its corner at the side and out of the way.

She saw Rowan getting off the car.

“Welcome to east station.” She said extending her arms. She pushed a button and the rolling doors slid up and two big trucks appeared in front of him. He had always wanted to see one up close.

“Cap,” said a man at her back “what are you doing here? I thought you were on a date?” He smiled “that bad? I told you accountants were a bad idea.”

Aelin laughed “looks like I got myself an airforce pilot instead.” She winked at him and Rowan’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’ll tell you next shift, Pete. I just brought back the pickup before Dorian kills me.”

She waved at her relief captain and followed Rowan in his car and told him her address.

While he drove she studied him. He was wearing a nice pair of jeans, a shirt and a black leather jacket. She should have guessed he was military. Aedion had the same posture and he was ex-army.

“Which house?” Asked Rowan, waking her up from her thoughts.

“The one with the blue door.”

He parked and walked with her up to the door “I had so much fun tonight,” she said to him, not wanting him to leave her.

“I am so glad that you sat at the wrong table. This was the best blind date ever.” He looked at her and wanted to kiss her so badly but they had just met and he did not want to pass a a pig.

She moved a step toward him “I am glad too.” And her lips brushed his cheek in a kiss “perhaps we could go on a proper date. One where we are actually meant to meet each other.”

Rowan sighed relieved “It would make me very happy.”

Aelin rummaged in her bag until she found a pen then grabbed his wrist and pulled up his cuff a bit and wrote down two numbers.

“The first one is my personal mobile number. The second one is the direct number to my office. I am known to leave my mobile in my bunker gear.”

“Thank you.”

“Let me know a date and if I am not free we can find a better one. Us firefighters have crazy long shifts so I need to be off.”

He took her pen and her wrist and wrote his number “then you text me. A day that you are off shift. I work regular hours. This makes more sense.”

He took a step down from the few step and she hated the idea of him leaving.

“Goodnight, Rowan.” She opened the door and looked at him one last time.

Rowan waited for her to disappear behind the door and then went back to his car and was grateful for the best blind mistake of his life.

[starshipsofstarlord]

First things First | Jack Kline & Peter Parker

Summary; Peter sees his ex back in town. Last time she was with her brothers, but this time, she has another companion. His name is Jack Kline, and he is her current boyfriend.

Warnings; some angst, jealousy, a bit of trash talk, smidge of violence, one swear word

“You’re back then.” Peter noticed, following you as you walked through the school halls, your head down as you attempted to ignore him. But however, you knew that you couldn’t pretend he wasn’t there forever, and so you softly sighed.

Last time, you hadn’t been in town too long, only a few weeks, cases were sprouting up left right and centre in Queens, and that was enough time for a relationship to briefly brew between the pair of you.

However, when the entourage of hunts came to an end, it had only been fair to cut sweet Peter loose, you hadn’t planned to return in any soon time. And here you were, a year in a half later, back in his hometown.

“You’re eyes are quite inquisitive, Parker, or do you need to ask me to put rock salt on my skin to prove that I’m not a ghost?” You barked back, which earnt yourself a confused frown.

“What?” He asked in reply, confused by your wording.

“Never mind, you wouldn’t get it.” You dismissed, having already had the intel and advice from your brothers that two different worlds didn’t mix.

Peter was but a boy, a smart one, but for all that you were aware, he lived a mundane life. He was bullied at school, but he had a couple of friends, Ned and MJ.

MJ. She had liked Peter before you had disappeared in the impala, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the pair were together now. He had wanted to forget you, for causing him so much pain, he deserved to move on, as you had.

“What I got was that you told me you loved me, and then you went with the wind, and didn’t look back, not once.” He bit back, his statement making your body feel heavy.

It was guilt, a familiar feeling for a hunter. It often came when a life was lost by the life of a monster, and this time, it had been the same. You had taken away the happiness from your own life, you were the beast that ripped out someone’s heart.

“I did, but that doesn’t matter anymore Pete, I’m in love with somebody else. There’s nothing that I am entailed from hiding from him, no secrets, I can be myself with him.” You pursed your lips, relieved that you had got that off your chest.

“You never had to have secrets! Your family business is what dragged us down in the first place, you feel the need to follow your brothers around the world, and for what? To end up alone and unloved?”

“I love her.” Jack entered the hallway, he had been at the front office, asking about the plumbing, he said he heard a noise. It was what the victim had said before he died, and so the spawn of Lucifer was now questioning it.

Sam and Dean were downtown, at some bar, it had been where the victim had been, with a fake id, before his body had been found in the school bathroom. This left the group of you spread out, and operating around the city, wanting to find the creature that had ended the boy’s life.

Jack’s voice had been friendly, as though he were informing Peter of your relationship status. Neither of them knew each other, so he found no harm in letting the public know of your intimate bond.

The nephilim was most often than not a free speaker, he found no foul in letting his mouth run. He was so innocent, so pure, and perfect, you were pleased that you hadn’t tainted him nor gained his spite like you had with Peter.

“Jack, this is Peter. I met him last time I was around here. Peter, this is Jack, my boyfriend.” It was an awkward introduction, you held your hands together, watching as Jack held out his hand for your ex to shake.

Peter hesitantly shook Jack’s hand, lightly glaring at the boy. “It’s nice to meet a friend of y/n’s, not many that she has are her age.”

“Thanks for that Jack.” You laughed lightly, holding sweetly onto his arm, as to ensure him that he had done nothing wrong.

“We’re not friends.” Peter corrected him, squinting at you. “She doesn’t like the idea of any relationship with me, so she can pass on friendship.” He gave you one last look, before he walked away.

“Hi.” Jack saw your ‘friend’ in the hall, whilst you were questioning some other students. Peter reluctantly turned, going face to face with your boyfriend and partner in justifying crime.

“Hey.” His head briefly leant back, curious as to why the new boy was speaking to him. “Jack, right?”

“Yes, that is my name.” Jack nodded with a smile, the adorable gap in his teeth presenting itself clearly. “Have you felt any cold spots here recently, or smelt sulphur by any change?”

His question made Peter frown, he gulped and thought before he decided to answer. “I don’t know why your going around asking questions, but I also do not know why you’re dating y/n. She’ll break your heart, it’s what she does.”

“The two of you don’t sound like very good friends.” He speculated, tilting his head like a puppy dog, his bright eyes filled with curiosity.

“We weren’t just friends Jack, I’m surprised she didn’t tell you about me. Maybe there was a reason for that, you should ask her.” Peter crossed his arms, taking note of how he seemed to have angered the other boy.

The son of Lucifer was inhaling and exhaling through his nostrils, he was attempting to remain calm. But he couldn’t, his eyes seared with their golden pigment, and upon witnessing, Peter’s eyes widened and he was fast to sling webbing towards the mutant.

But it had no affect, not as Jack’s mouth opened, and a scream on another wavelength , which happened to throw the spider man backwards into the row of lockers. This was not normal, and Peter worried for the reason that you had the company of such a creature.

“What the hell are you?” Peter asked, wanting an answer so he could figure out a way to defeat him.

“I’m someone that loves y/n very much. Don’t worry, we won’t be in town much longer.” And with that, the strange and peculiar being walked away, leaving Peter stunned. For once, he wasn’t sure how he would improvise.

“You know the boy’s toilets are for guys, right?” Peter asked later in the day, as he watched you, whom was drenched in water, leave said restroom.

“I am more than aware, thankyou for that reminder Peter.” Each footstep dripped water upon the floor. That ghost had been a bitch to send off, but to your relief, you had done so.

“What are you doing here, really?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m going to be leaving tonight, I’ll be all out of your hair.” You spoke, trying to remain calm with your previous partner. “Have you seen Jack?”

“About that...” he noticed how you furrowed your brow with his words, and realised it would be better to get straight to the point. “He’s not normal, there’s something different about him. He’s dangerous.”

“I guess you witnessed something... supernatural?” He slowly nodded his head, thinking about how it could be considered as such. “Jack, he’s a nephilim, half angel, half human. That’s why I can’t stick around, my life is messy, and I have a duty to save people, you understand that, right?”

“Why would I understand that?” He hesitated, his voice stepping over his words in a worried stutter. “Angels?!” He repeated.

“Yeah, not every takes lightly to the news, and a bit of information; the majority are dicks.” You laughed, shoving your hands in your soggy pockets. “You really think I didn’t have a clue that I was dating a spiderman? I investigate abnormal occurrences for a living, it was quite easy to notice something was different about you.”

“So you look into things like cold spots and sulphur smells?” He remembered that was what Jack had mentioned earlier. Perhaps the possibility of angels wasn’t half crazy, the universe was expanding. It was certainly out there, but so was a talking, moving tree that enjoyed digital games and was experiencing puberty.

“Exactly.” You smiled, looking into his deep brown eyes, and finding some kind of peace between the pair of you.

“I think I saw Jack in the library.” He scratched the back of his neck, deciding to be a bigger person and give into the planet’s order.

“Thanks, see ya around Parker.” That expression you gave him shouldn’t have made him feel so giddy, he knew that this was another goodbye you were sending him. But the relief on your faces was beautiful.

You walked momentarily backwards, and he raised his hand in a signalled send off. He hoped that one day, he would see you again, maybe even with Blade as he killed vampires. Who knew?

One thing he was aware of was that you were happy with Jack, and that the two of you shared a life. You had an even amount of knowledge between you, and as much as Peter hated to admit it, you weren’t bound to leave the nephilim any time soon.

[avengerscompound]

Small Gods: Lazy Mornings - 8

Lazy Mornings:  A Captain America Fanfic

Lazy Mornings Masterlist | More Small Gods PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count:  1226

Warnings: Injuries, food

Synopsis: Steve Rogers has trouble taking time for himself.  When his friends set him up with a person with a very unusual skill, perhaps he can learn that the quiet moments are just as important as everything else.

Chapter 8

It was raining and Steve’s body ached.  Not in that pleasant, after a workout or marathon sex session way either.  He just hurt.  The last mission he’d been on had been rough.  It had worked out, but not after having his ass kicked by two different supers and jumping off the top of a 10 story building and using his shield and a plate glass conservatory ceiling to break his fall.  He was cut up, bruised, and he was pretty sure he had broken more than one rib.  Definitely one was broken, he could feel how it moved when he poked it, grinding against itself and jabbing his lung uncomfortably.  He thought maybe it was three.  Whatever the case, he was in pain and exhausted, and yet he was completely relaxed.

When the team had gotten back, he’d let the medical staff check everyone over, including himself.  They’d had a quick debrief with orders to get some food and sleep and reconvene in the morning, and then he’d dismissed everyone.  Normally he forced them all the stay for a full debriefing, but he knew tonight was useless.  Everyone had been pushed to their limit, and they’d just end up falling asleep at the table.

Besides, all he wanted from the moment he got on the Quin, was to see you.

It had been an interesting experience showing up to your place all battered like he was.  Rather than you relaxing him, he had made your adrenaline spike and you’d gone into overdrive trying to take care of him.  You’d dragged him inside, touching all over his body and kissing his cheeks and neck as you tried to decide if he should, in fact, be here with you or in the medbay with morphine.  When you seemed to settle on him being well enough to be with you, you’d drawn him a bath using Epsom salts and left him to soak while you’d gone to order dinner and make him cocoa.

He was wrapped up in one of your handmade quilts on the couch now, a mug of cocoa in his hand.  It had both whipped cream and marshmallows in it and was far too sweet for his taste.  You seemed to realize that as you approached him with a bottle of Scotch.

“Here,” you said, pouring a very generous amount into the little room he had in the cup.  “I know you can’t get drunk, but maybe it will take the edge off.”

“I’m fine,” Steve chuckled, taking your hand and pulling you a little closer to him.  “You don’t have to take care of me.”

“I know I don’t have to,” you said as you began playing with his hair.  “But I want to  It makes me feel better.  Besides, look at you.  You look like someone put you in the washing machine on max.”

Steve chuckled and winced at the pain in his chest when he did.  “Feels a little like that too, if I’m honest.”

“See,” you said and kissed the top of his head.  “You just heal.”

There was a knock at the door and you pulled away from Steve.  “That’ll be the food.”

He watched you go and collect dinner, tipping the delivery driver generously before heading into your kitchen with the bags.  When you returned it was with a tray laden with different things.

“I had very specific ideas of what you needed to eat right now,” you said as you brought the tray over.  “But not too many places nearby that make it are still open right now.  Thankfully I found one place that had close enough.”

You placed the tray in front of him.  You had laid it out with a lace placemat and a flower in a small glass vase.  There was a bowl of steaming Matzah Ball Soup and a plate of roast chicken and vegetables.  There was even a side of corned beef hash and a warm dinner roll.  All the kind of food he considered comfort food as a kid, but never really got to see on his plate very often.  Or if it was, it was an anemic, watered-down version.

“This looks perfect,” he said.  “Didn’t you get yourself anything?”

“I did.  I just can’t carry that much at once,” you joked and went back into the kitchen.

Steve started eating and soon you had returned and sat down beside him with your own tray.

“This is really nice,” Steve said.

“That’s good. I’ve never ordered from them before,” you answered.  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“No… I mean… well, yes -the food,” Steve said.  “But I mean this.  Coming here to you.  It’s really… I love you.”

Your spoon stopped midway to your mouth and a smile slowly crossed your features.  You put your tray on the coffee table and then carefully took his off his lap and did the same.  Steve couldn’t help smiling at how careful and methodical you were being.  Your hands went to his cheeks and you looked deep into his eyes.  “I love you too,” you said, and brought your lips to his.

Steve hummed and tilted his head, kissing you deeply.  The ache in his ribs throbbed lightly but he ignored it as he wrapped his arm around you and drew you closer to him.  You pulled back and ran your hand gently down his chest.  “Did I hurt you then?”

He shook his head.  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

You laughed and kissed his cheek.  “You should finish your dinner.”

Steve playfully stuck out his bottom lip.  “But I don’t want to.”

You laughed and smacked him gently on the shoulder.  “Go on.  No shenanigans for you until you’re at least fed.”

He settled back and you passed him his tray again.  “I don’t know if you’ve thought much about us,” Steve said.  “I think about it a lot.  I keep overthinking how I feel about you and how this will work when we’re so different.  But I love this and I love you.  I hope we can have some kind of future together.”

You turned so you were sitting cross-legged and rubbed his thigh.  “I can see one too, Steve.  I know our lives are very different, and we are very different people.  But I think that’s a good thing.  For so long, I felt like I was just going along existing and never connecting to anyone in any real way.  But I feel like I have with you.  I feel alive with you.”

“What about that thing you said… where I’d stop appreciating you if I spent too much time here?” Steve asked.

You shrugged.  “I guess it’s a risk.  But maybe it’s a good thing.  Maybe instead of feelings and ideas, we can be real people together.”

Steve smiled and leaned into you a little.  “I like that,” he said.  “I think that’s what I’ve been missing.  Taking time for myself to be Steve and not just Captain America.”

You nodded.  “And I have been the same.  Always just a feeling, never a person who had them.”

Steve leaned over and kissed you tenderly.  Despite the broken ribs and the cuts and bruises, he felt good.  Alive.  And worthy of having a real life.  He could see a full one with you, and he looked forward to seeing how it would play out.

~ END ~

[onlydreamofmysoul]

Magic

A little coops with a baby fic! More specifically, it’s mostly about Sirius with a daughter, originally inspired by this post by @fruitcoops that got me thinking about the whole coops with a daughter thing!

(It’s super rough but here we are!)

Characters and their world by @lumosinlove except for Cassie, she’s all mine!

“Are you sure?”

Sirius looked at Remus, big purple stains under his eyes, shoulders slumped in exhaustion and nodded. “Yeah Re, I’m sure. You have that meeting in the morning, go get some sleep, I’ve got her.”

Remus smiled gratefully and kissed both Sirius and the ‘her’ in question in the cheek before retreating upstairs. 

“Now then,” Sirius cooed to the squirming bundle in his arms, red faced from wailing her tearless cries, no amount of soothing or feeding or checking for dirty diapers would soothe her. “What are we going to do with you?”

The little bundle just blinked up at him, pausing her cries for a moment making Sirius think, very briefly, that she might be tired too, but she just hiccupped and started crying again. It broke his heart to see her cry, beautiful brown eyes all scrunched up. Only six weeks old and already Sirius couldn’t imagine how he had once lived without her, sleepless nights and all. 

“Allez, my little Cassiopeia, let’s go on a little walk, doesn’t that sound good?”

Cassie didn’t give any indication that she had either heard or understood him, so Sirius took that as a yes, holding her securely in her arms as he wandered through the downstairs of their house, being careful to keep away from the rooms beneath their bedroom so they wouldn’t wake Remus. 

“Shhh mon chou, Daddy’s sleeping,” Sirius murmured, stroking her back in slow, soothing motions. “What’s the matter baby? Why don’t you want to go to sleep?”

Cassie paused to hiccup again, but before long her bottom lip was trembling. Sirius tucked her fuzzy yellow blanket around her and rocked her gently as he took them both down to the basement. 

“Look where we are,” He whispered, narrating their descent. “Someday I’m gonna teach you how to skate right here.”

Cassie quietened a little and Sirius hummed, pleased. “I think you like it here, don’t you?” Cassie hiccupped and once again, Sirius took this as a yes, continuing their little nightly explorations. Sirius usually took this first shift of getting the baby to bed as Remus had an earlier start in the morning. He was doing extra work with a trainer before practice to rebuild the muscle mass he had naturally lost while not following the exercise regimen of a full time hockey player. They traded off turns feeding Cassie during the night, but it was Sirius who initially put her to bed. He climbed the stairs carefully, so conscious of the tiny person in his arms. Sirius hadn’t fallen on a set of stairs in at least ten years, but now he took each step more carefully than a ninety year old with a bad hip. 

Sirius fed her again and sat down himself, lying down on the couch, Cassie resting on his chest, still awake and watching the world around her. 

Sirius found himself unable to look away from her, and wondered with her head resting on his chest like that, if maybe she could hear his heart about to burst. 

“How can a person so, so little,” He mused aloud, “Make me feel so, so much love?” He stroked her head gently, dark hair soft on her delicate head and she clenched Sirius’ shirt in her tiny fist. 

“Go to sleep my little star,” Sirius whispered. “You’re safe here.”

------

“Papa!”

Sirius’ head jerked up instinctively at the distraught cry as a five year old Cassie ran across the playground over to him, her face stained with tears.

He lifted her onto his lap as she caught her breath, resting her head over his heart. “What happened baby?”

“I, I fell.” She stuttered, dark curls sticking to her damp face. “And I hit my head and it hurts.”

Remus was across the park, chatting to Lily as Harry swung overhead, showing off his skills on the monkey-bars. Remus gave a concerned look but Sirius waved him off, gesturing that she was fine. 

“You fell?” Sirius gasped, as if he hadn’t seen the whole thing happen. “Where did you hit your head?”

“Here.” Cassie sniffed, pointing to the right side and Sirius kissed it. 

“Ta da! Is it better?”

Cassie giggled, but shook her head. “No.” She admitted woefully. “It still hurts.”

“Hm,” Sirius said, pursing his lips in consideration as Cassie watched him carefully, dark eyes shining with tears now wide and alert, distracted from the pain. Sirius kissed her again before pulling away decisively. 

“Is it better now?”

Cassie smiled but shook her head. “No Papa, you can’t make it better.”

On a bench, in the middle of the playground, surrounded by little children and their parents, Sirius gasped dramatically, his hand over his heart. “That’s not true!” He leaned in close, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Do you want to know a secret?”

Cassie nodded quickly. “Ouais.”

“I have magic kisses, they can make anything better.”

Cassie looked sceptical, and Sirius was sure she would raise an eyebrow at him if she knew how. “Really?”

“Really.” He said seriously, “Will I show you?”

When she nodded, he peppered her with kisses until they were both laughing, her tears long since forgotten. 

“Did it work?” Sirius asked, “Does your head hurt?”

Cassie’s mouth made a perfect ‘o’ as she shook her head. “You have magic kisses.” She whispered. “I’ve gotta tell Daddy.”

Sirius chuckled to himself as she ran away, racing over to Remus’ side. 

That night after putting her to bed, Remus sat down next to Sirius on the couch, pulling a blanket over them both.

“Magic kisses, huh?” Remus teased. “Wouldn’t mind some of those myself.”

Sirius grinned, pulling Remus in by the waist. “Well, with her secret keeping, she’ll never be a spy.” He admitted, nuzzling their noses together. “But I think that’s okay.”

--------------------

“Dad?”

Sirius poked his head out of the kitchen at Cassie’s call. “He just went to get milk, can I help you with anything?”

Cassie sighed, but came into the kitchen with a textbook and a defeated look. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t even know where to start, so I need Dad to help.”

Sirius set down his coffee and raised an eyebrow at his sixteen year old daughter. “I know I’m not as good at this stuff as Re, but I did go to school too you know. I can at least try to help.”

Twenty minutes and as many new grey hairs later, Remus found the two of them lying on the couch, Cassie lying on Sirius resting her head on his chest as they watched some mindless sitcom after the Algebra Incident that would go down in history. 

“Papa sucks at maths.” Cassie said in explanation before Remus could even say anything. “But he gives really good hugs.”

Sirius laughed, but pressed his lips to the crown of her head before extending a hand out to Remus. “You’re gonna have to help with the algebra homework, cause it defeated me.”

Remus smiled and kissed them both - Cassie on the cheek, Sirius on the lips and nodded. “I’m okay with that. But how about some hot chocolate first?”

The pair on the couch enthusiastically agreed as Remus walked away, grinning to himself. Sirius on the other hand, just made sure the blanket was covering Cassie properly as she absentmindedly tapped her finger to the rhythm of his heart. 

“Your kisses might not actually be magical,” Cassie mused, “But Dad’s hot chocolate definitely is.”

And, well, Sirius couldn’t argue with that. 

[freddie-weaselbee]

Kiss Her You Fool//F.W.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Very brief mentions of nudity (skinny dipping), one argument, mentions of food

Summary: The countdown is on until Fred and George plan on making their grand exit from Hogwarts. But that means Fred only has a short amount of time to finally confess his feelings to his best friend.

Prompt: Kiss Her You Fool by Kids That Fly

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: For @amourtentiaa's writing challenge, with the song Kiss Her You Fool being the prompt. Second fic in Abby's Week of Weasley !

~Abby's Week of Weasley Masterlist~ ~Masterlist~

Five Days Left

Stop making up your excuses

Call her up, tell her you forgot something

“You’re staring again.”

Fred ignored his brother and continued to watch you and your friends spread out on the courtyard grass. He watched as you sat up and brushed the leaves out of your hair, laughing at something that your friend said. He admired your glowing smile, which always lit up the room. Your perfect, beautiful smile.

“Fred,” George said, this time a little more forcefully. Fred shook his head and finally took his eyes off of you, much to his disappointment. He blushed profusely and turned back to his brother, who was holding a list of all the things they would need to do before their departure in 5 days. “You’re whipped.”

“Am not!” Fred argued. “She’s just nice to look at, that’s all. Plenty of girls here are nice to look at.”

“Mhmm,” George replied. “So is that why you’ve turned down any advances from the other girls who are nice to look at? Just admit it, little Freddie’s in love!” George sighed dreamily, only to be met with a punch to his shoulder from his annoyed twin.

“She’s just my friend! My best friend. Even if I did see her that way, which I don’t--” George gave Fred an unbelieving look but Fred continued, “--it’s not like she would feel the same way. And we’re leaving in 5 bloody days! There’s no point.” He huffed and put his head in his hands, wishing there was some way that everything could work out perfectly for him and you.

“Stop making up your excuses, mate!” George said, completely done with his brother’s antics. “Just go tell her how you feel. Worst case scenario she rejects you, we leave in a few days, and you both have a few months to get over it. You’re making this too complicated.”

Fred looked back over to where you were, seeing that Roger Davies and his friends had made their way over to you and your friends. He noticed the small blush that appeared on your face as Roger brushed your hair behind your ears, and Fred had to pry his eyes away before he got even more upset.

“I can’t lose her, Georgie,” he said softly. “She’s my best friend. I need to have her in my life, even if that means just as a friend.”

George rolled his eyes but patted his brother on the back comfortingly. “You have to tell her some time, or you’ll go the rest of your life regretting it. You only have 5 days left before we’re gone for good.”

Fred nodded, courage surging in his chest. 5 days. That’s 5 chances to tell you and hope that against all odds you felt the same way. Feeling at peace with the time he had, Fred finally put his focus into helping his brother plan, but not before taking one last look over to where you laid so serene in the afternoon sun. He still had time.

Four Days Left

It's worth more than you are thinking

Don't be a fool, tell her you think she's cool

Fred stood alone outside of Snape’s classroom, leaning up against the cold corridor walls and waiting for the teacher to arrive. He was already in a fowl mood that day, and receiving detention from his second least favorite teacher didn’t help him at all.

He was considering just skipping detention altogether--what would Snape be able to do in a few days when Fred was no longer a student?--until he heard a familiar voice calling his name from down the hall.

“Freddie!” Fred’s mood did a complete 180 as he saw his favorite person come running down the darkly lit corridor toward him. Throwing yourself into his arms, Fred swung you around before placing you down and leaving a quick kiss on your forehead, a friendly gesture that he always did when greeting you. “I’m so glad you’re here, I thought I was going to have to handle the Greaseball all by myself!”

Fred laughed at your excitement, equally relieved that he wouldn’t be alone as well. He kept his arms around you, enraptured by your electrifying gaze. A harsh cough broke you two apart and you turned to see Professor Snape standing behind you.

“I should not have to be reminding you,” he drawled, “that in accordance with our Headmistress’ orders, boys and girls are not permitted within 8 inches of each other. As a punishment for that unnecessary display of affection, I’ll be adding an extra hour onto your detention for tonight.”

“Oh no!” you cried in mock horror. “Another whole hour spent with my best friend? Professor, how can you be so cruel?”

Fred beamed down at you proudly, your sarcasm and attitude always making him fall in love with you a little bit more.

Snape was not amused. “Two hours.”

You sent Fred a quick wink before following your teacher into the dark musty classroom.

Stalking dramatically around the room, Snape explained your task for the night, which consisted of cleaning every single one of the cauldrons, even the broken ones that no one used, with a brush smaller than your toothbrush. You leaned your head on Fred’s shoulder when Snape’s back was turned, sending a warm tingle down his spine.

You quickly shot away once Snape turned back, but luckily he didn’t seem to pick up on anything. “I hope that you two can make my room spotless?”

“Yes sir!” you said, saluting him. He grumbled something under his breath before exiting slowly, leaving you and Fred alone.

You hopped up on one of the desks and patted the space next to you, gesturing for Fred to join you. “So, what do you wanna do?” you asked him.

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, clean quickly so that we can get out of here?” Fred answered.

Suddenly you grabbed Fred’s cheeks in your hand, squeezing tight and looking at him suspiciously. “Who are you and what have you done with Fred Weasley? The Freddie I know and love would never actually want to work in detention.”

Fred smiled through his pinched cheeks, shaking out of your grip. “As much as it pains me to say this,” he said, “I don’t have time for mischief at the moment. I’ve just… got a lot going on. Big things are happening soon.”

You scooted closer and tried to read him. Fred would never pass up the chance to goof off during detention, especially when it was detention with you, and you knew that. “Hey, is something going on? Are you alright?”

Fred put on a fake smile and turned away from you. “I’m fine, love, just a little stressed out lately.” He should tell you that he was leaving. He’d been keeping it between him and George, and he knew the longer he waited the more it would break you to hear. But looking at your concerned expression laced with love and compassion, he knew he couldn’t bear to see you sad on his behalf. It could wait.

“What’d you even do to end up in here?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

You shrugged. “Snape blamed me for cheating on my Potions assignment, which I didn’t, and even if I did I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get caught. But he wouldn’t listen, so I snuck into his classroom last night and set off a bunch of fireworks, courtesy of you, Mr. Weasley! The products you gave me for my birthday worked perfectly, thanks!”

You kissed his cheek, and he stuttered out a “you’re welcome,” hand coming up to touch the place where your lips were moments before. “Wait, so he caught you then?”

“Of course not!” you said, rolling your eyes. “I’m far too smart for that. He gave me the detention because he thought I had cheated, and he doesn’t have enough evidence nor suspicion to pin the fireworks on me. I figured if I was going to get a detention for something I didn’t even do, I might as well do something to deserve it!” You hopped down off of the table and went to grab the tools you needed for cleaning, an awestruck Fred watching with his mouth hanging open.

In Fred’s eyes, you were amazing. You were feisty, headstrong, and so incredibly smart. Not to mention he thought you were absolutely breathtaking, especially when you got that cocky and mischievous glint in your eyes.

“You’re so cool,” he sighed, making you turn to him with a slightly confused smile.

“Not the usual compliments I get from you, Weasley, but I’ll take it. I think you’re cool too.” You handed him a small brush and got to work on the cauldron nearest to you, scooting over so Fred could join you.

The two of you worked in comfortable silence, something Fred desperately wanted to preserve. As much as he yearned to tell you his feelings, he still had 4 days. It could wait until tomorrow.

Three Days Left

Stop waiting for a fairytale to

Take you away, don't wait for someday

Fred relentlessly combed his fingers through his hair, one moment deciding it was too messy and the next deciding it wasn’t messy enough. He’d been standing in front of the mirror for the last 30 minutes trying to figure out what he should wear, how he should style his hair, whether or not he should wear rings (he finally settled on yes) and pretty much everything else he could worry about for a date.

Except this wasn’t a date.

As much as Fred wanted nothing more than for him to hold your hand and walk through the Hogwarts halls as the cutest couple at the school, which he was sure you would be, this outing was just as friends.

Ever since you were both 14, you decided that once a month you would spend the day together, just the two of you. As friends. Sometimes it was informal, like hanging out in his dorm room or pulling a prank on a teacher or Ron. Other times it was very much like a date, where the two of you would get all dressed up and go out to Hogsmeade or find a secret spot on the Hogwarts grounds to spend your day. Today, the day trip was the latter.

Already late as it was, Fred decided he was content with how he looked, or at least as much as he could be. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers he had picked earlier and rushed out the door, having to listen to teasing from George, who had been watching him nitpick over his outfit and hair the entire time.

He sprinted down to the Middle Courtyard, hoping that you wouldn’t be too mad at him for being as late as he was. He came to a jolting halt when he saw you.

There you were, standing in the middle of the courtyard, a beautiful red sundress hugging your figure perfectly. Your hair was laying loose, but it looked as if you had curled it slightly, making it cascade past your shoulders and sway slightly in the wind. In your hands you clutched a picnic basket and blanket, prepared for your date/not date with Fred.

He walked up to you slowly, wanting to admire how angelic you looked for a bit longer, but you noticed him too soon for his liking. “Hey Fred, oh what are these?”

You were gesturing to the flowers he was holding, stems breaking from his harsh nervous grip. You took them from him gleefully and smelled the delicious scent, sighing in content and hugging them to your chest.

“You didn’t have to do this! I promise I’ll still be your friend even if you don’t bring me flowers every time we hang out,” you said.

“I know, but I wanted to see the cute look on your face when I gave them to you,” Fred said cheekily. You giggled bashfully and handed Fred the picnic basket so you could link your arm with his. The two of you made your way down to the Black Lake, Fred taking the lead and bringing you to a place you’d never been before.

“Where are we going?” you asked, too impatient for Fred’s surprises.

“It’s a secret darling, you’ll have to wait and see.”

You groaned and hit your head against Fred’s shoulder, continuing to ask and complain until you finally arrived at your destination. It was a beautiful clearing deep in the Forbidden Forest, a place Fred had found a few months ago when he was out exploring with George. There was just enough sunlight to create a small patch on the ground where you could both lay out in the warm daylight as you ate and talked the day away.

“This is beautiful!” you exclaimed, running over to set up the blanket. “How come you’ve never taken me here before?”

“We just found it,” said Fred. “But when I saw it, the first thing I thought of was taking you here.”

“You’re so sweet,” you said, pulling him down onto the blanket with you.

You and Fred enjoyed your picnic, occasionally throwing small bits of food at each other and rolling around in the grass. At one point you saw a small bunny hopping by and you immediately shot up to get a closer look.

As you moved closer it hopped away but you stayed standing, letting the sunshine hit your face with a dazed smile on you. You spun around a few times, soaking in the moment and trying to remember everything you could about this perfect day.

As Fred watched you, he couldn’t help but think that he was in a fairy tale. You were the beautiful maiden--no, beautiful princess. Yes, his princess. And he was your prince, and the two would run away together and spend the rest of your lives having wonderful picnics in the warm seasons, and dancing in the rain when the storms came around. He would sweep you off of your feet and you wouldn’t help but fall madly in love with your best friend. With your prince.

Now could be a great opportunity to tell you. To confess his feelings and deep rooted love. But today was perfect. If things went wrong, it would ruin this perfect day for the both of you. So he decided to wait, if only to preserve this memory. This moment in time when everything was how it should be.

There was no rush. He still had 3 days left. It could wait until tomorrow.

Two Days Left

She's thinking the same thing as you

Don't be afraid, dreams aren't found they're made

Fred was pulled away from subtly packing his things by the loud laughs that came from outside of his dorm, down in the common room. One particular laugh, the one he could distinguish from a mile away, caught his ear, and he rushed down the steps to see you and your friends standing by the fireplace, completely soaked.

“Do I even want to know?” he asked, catching your attention. Your friends gave each other looks, seeming to know something that you didn’t. One of them whispered something to you before leaving you alone with Fred, who was still awaiting an answer.

“We may or may not have gone skinny dipping in the lake,” you said, hand covering your face with embarrassment of being caught by your friend. Fred laughed at your confession, trying to distract himself from the thoughts of your naked body swimming through the glistening waters that kept popping into his head.

“And you didn’t invite me?” he said, crossing his arms in disappointment.

You chuckled and moved to the couch, wrapping a blanket around you tightly. “Ah yes, we all know you would never pass up the chance to join a bunch of naked girls in the lake, would you?”

Fred’s face dropped at your lighthearted joke, wondering if that was all you saw him as. Some player who wouldn’t hesitate to shag a random girl he thought was hot. Before he could think too much about this, he saw you shiver rather fiercely and he quickly went to join you on the couch.

“You alright, darling?” he asked as he wrapped a warm arm around you.

You nodded unconvincingly, teeth chattering loudly. Fred pulled you into his lap, putting both arms around your waist and leaning his chin on your shoulder in order to keep you as warm as possible.

“Thanks, Freddie,” you said gratefully. You moved to lie down and pulled him with you, entangling your limbs so that you were soaking up every bit of warmth he could give you, and Fred would give you the entire sun of it meant you would be happy.

You softly closed your eyes, a small smile resting on your wet features. As you nodded off to sleep, Fred thought back to all of the times George had mentioned that you felt the same way. His twin was positive that you were in love with Fred as much as he was with you. In moments like these, he allowed himself to believe his brother. He allowed himself to hope that you liked him too, and that it was your dream to be with him. Because it was his dream to be with you. He just had to stop waiting to find it and instead make it come true. But you were sound asleep at this point, cozied up next to Fred. He didn’t want to wake you up from your slumber. It could wait until tomorrow. He still had 2 days.

One Day Left

Cause you've only got one chance

You've only got one chance

It was your stirring and quiet moans that woke Fred up that morning. You were still asleep but trying to shift to get into a more comfortable position. His arm was hugging you tightly, your back pressed against his chest. He didn’t want to move from his position, but he needed to get up to finish his last full day at Hogwarts. His last day.

You groaned again, reaching your arms out to stretch and let out a loud yawn. You turned over so that your face was right next to Fred’s and you jumped when you noticed he was already awake.

“Hey,” you whispered.

“Hey,” he said back.

You looked so pretty lying there, hair ruffled and clothes a mess. No matter what state you were in, he always thought you were magnificent.

Kiss her you fool

You reached up to rest your hand on Fred's cheek, giggling as he leaned into the touch and shut his eyes. This was it. He could move in, close the gap between you. This might be his only chance to do so, and he couldn’t waste it.

Just as he mustered the courage to proceed, you slowly sat up. Fred sat up with you, wondering what had distracted you from the moment you were both having. He saw you looking at his shirt pocket, the one holding a piece of parchment on it. In your close embrace and drenched state last night, the water had made its way to the paper, causing it to become transparent and some words were becoming visible from the outside. A few of them being ‘escape from Hogwarts.’

In one quick moment you snatched the paper from him and moved to the other side of the couch. Your eyes hurriedly scanned the paper, not believing a word of what you were reading. Fred’s heart was racing, knowing that you were now holding the detailed plan of what was going to go down tomorrow. If only Fred could go back to the way you were moments before, clinging together with your lips seconds away from touching.

Kiss her you fool

“F-freddie,” you stuttered, still not wanting to accept that what you were reading was true. “What is this? Please tell me this is a joke, yeah it’s a joke right? You’re not actually leaving tomorrow, are you?”

Fred hesitated, dismayed that you had to learn about his plans this way. “Y/N, it’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh?” you asked, starting to get angry. “It’s not what it looks like? What it looks like is that you and your brother are leaving the school tomorrow for good. And you didn’t even tell me?! Do you care so little about me that you decided you could just up and leave without even saying goodbye?!”

“No, Y/N, it’s not like that!” Fred said, tears welling in his eyes. “I was going to tell you weeks ago, but I didn’t want you to be upset--”

“Weeks ago?” you nearly shouted. “You’ve been planning this for that long and you didn’t bother to at least give me a hint about it? I can’t believe you.”

“It’s not like I’m trying to hurt you!” Fred said, tears finally rolling down his cheeks. “This is our dream! George and I are finally opening the joke shop we talked about. Surely you can understand that we need to follow our dream.”

You stood up, brushing off your clothes and glaring at your best friend. “Of course I can understand. I would never stop you from following your dreams. But I thought that maybe you cared for me enough to let me in on them. But apparently I’m just another thing for you to leave behind, is that it?”

Fred was frozen, hating that he was the cause of your pain, that he was the one making you angry. The only thing he ever wanted to do was make you laugh and smile, to make you feel loved and safe. He just wanted to hold you, kiss you. To tell you that you were the most important person in the world to him.

Kiss her you fool

“I could’ve helped you!” You were tugging on the ends of your hair, hoping that this was all a dream. That Fred wasn’t really leaving. “I could’ve even gone with you! I’ve always supported your shop. I could work there with you!”

“Yeah,” Fred scoffed. “I’m not letting you give up your entire life just for me.”

“You are my life!” You were crying at this point too, tears pouring down your red cheeks. “All I want is to spend everyday with you! Fred, I love you so much, and if you didn’t even bother to tell me about your plans, then it’s quite obvious that the feelings are unrequited.”

Fred surged forward as you backed away, hoping for you to calm down and hear him out.

“No, Fred, I…” your voice shook as you continued to move. “I need to be alone right now. I’m sorry.”

You fled out of the Common Room and back to your dorm, slight sobs echoing against the walls.

Fred sunk back onto the couch, not even bothering to muffle his cries anymore. He had missed his chance. All of those times he could’ve told you how he felt and asked you to come with him, or at least asked you to be his girlfriend and wait a few months until you graduated. But he had missed his chance. There was only 1 day left, and he blew it.

Kiss her you fool

No Days Left

This was it. This was the day Fred and George had been waiting for for months. The one they had planned out meticulously, not only to escape, but to also provide Harry Potter and his friends a needed distraction for whatever they had gotten themselves into this time. There was no turning back.

Fred had locked himself in his room and cried all day yesterday, an act that obviously didn’t go unnoticed by his brother. George walked up to his twin and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Ready Fred?”

Fred took a deep breath and sighed. “Ready George. Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The twins raced toward the entrance hall, hearing loud shouts and grunts behind them. A crowd started to form, many students with wide grins on their faces and, of course, Dolores Umbridge herself, looking more furious than Fred had ever seen her.

“So!” she shouted. “You think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?”

“Pretty amusing, yeah,” said Fred, confidence in his plan and abilities rising. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a figure pushing through the crowd to get a better look. It was you, eyes puffy and red, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and one of Fred’s sweaters you had stolen from him months ago. You must’ve been in bed and come running to see Fred’s final takeoff.

Fred’s attention snapped back to his inquisitors at the mention of him and his brother learning a lesson about the consequences of wrongdoing.

“You know what?” Fred asked. “I don’t think we are. George, I think we’ve outgrown full-time education.”

George beamed proudly and spoke much softer than his brother. “Yeah, I’ve been feeling that way myself.”

“Time to test our talents in the real world, d’you reckon?” He caught your eyes in the crowd, a small, pained smile gracing your lips.

“Definitely,” said George. Together they raised their wands and called for their brooms, which came rushing through the halls straight into their hands.

They jumped onto their escape vessels and did a few laps around the courtyard outside. Fred was about to yell back at Umbridge a snide remark, but he stopped when he saw you once again. He swooped down and hovered next to you, not getting off of his broom. His hand reached out to push a strand of hair behind your ear and you stepped closer to him. Fred was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t realize Umbridge was drawing nearer.

Cause you’ve only got one chance

You’ve only got one chance

“Kiss her you fool!”

George, growing impatient of the games you and Fred were playing, shouted from above. So, listening to his brother’s orders, Fred hastily pulled you toward him, sighing against your magnificent lips. It was everything he had expected and more, fireworks seeming to erupt in his stomach with every passing second your lips were on his.

Unfortunately, Fred was on borrowed time, and he darted away just in time to avoid being grabbed by Filch.

“Wait for me, will you?” he called down to you.

“I’ve only been waiting for the last 3 years,” you shouted back. “What’s a few more months?”

Fred was overflowing with happiness. The girl he was absolutely in love with was finally, after long last, his. “I love you, Y/N!”

“I know, you’re not very subtle. But I love you too.”

Fred blew you a kiss and sped up to meet his brother, grinning like an idiot as they soared off into the sunset.

“Looks like you didn’t miss your chance after all,” said George, giving Fred a soft punch to the arm.

“Yeah,” said Fred, “looks like I didn’t.”

Tag List: @famdomhideout

[george-fabian-weasley]

the mad hatter — g. w. (chapter 2)

Summary: Chief Detective Y/N Weasley had questioned the bakery owner and earned some very important clues. George, in the meantime, had spent a recorder, talking about how he first met his wife.

Words: 2,770 words

Warnings ⚠ : mentions of food and drinks, mentions of murder, thriller, bickering, husband!george, dad!george, sadistic!george, mentions of masochism, fem!reader, mentions of feelings, angst (in a way)

Disclaimer: had to delay the second chapter for 15 minutes because my Word Document couldn't load on my desktop so I had to write the whole chapter down on my phone :') Anyway, Reblogs and Comments are highly appreciated! Enjoy!

the mad hatter masterlist!

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“Richard Kowalski?” Zabini’s voice caused the plump man to turn around and face them with a tray of freshly baked croissants in his hands. “Yes?” His American accent rung through the nearly empty bakery, it was after lunch hour and a lot of customers had gone back to work. You stepped up, “I’m Chief Detective Y/N Weasley and this is Detective Blaise Zabini, may we ask some questions?”

A few days after George had told you about the bakery, you had quickly informed the team to ask the owner of the bakery some questions. And because it was Zabini’s and Nott’s turns the last time, (and Lav actually coerced talked to Blaise), the tall lean man and you had to be the questioners of the day. 

“Am I being arrested?” The question had raised your eyebrow, “Have you done something against the law?” You questioned back, and your suspicions heightened at Mr. Kowalski’s body language; gulping excessively, eyes darting everywhere, licking suddenly dry lips.

“N-No, ma’am.”

“Say, Mr. Kowalski, are you selling these macarons?” Zabini asked as he moved to a basket on the top of the counter. There were neatly placed red velvet macarons; three in one transparent plastic with a dark red ribbon on top. “Oh yes, I do. The customers really loved them, we sold them out every time!” Kowalski happily said, his lips etched a proud smile.

“Then, do you have the records for March 15th? We have the suspicions that a serial killer used your red velvet macarons to poison his victims,” You voiced out after a while being silent, and again, Kowalski paled before you.

“A serial killer? Y-You mean,” he inched closer to you, looking almost scared to actually say the name standing in his mind, “The Mad Hatter?” He whispered in fear. 

You furrowed your eyebrows, no one outside of the Homicide department knew of this serial killer’s name yet, so how did he—

As if Kowalski read your thoughts, he froze. He looked around the bakery — empty — and sighed. He nodded to the kitchens, “This way,” he breathed dejectedly. You and Zabini shared a curious glance before following the baker into the kitchens.

After guiding the police officers to the back of his bakery, Kowalski ran his hand through his curly hair, sighing heavily. “What are you hiding, Kowalski?” Zabini asked seriously. Kowalski glanced at the both of you and looked away as if contemplating to tell you the truth. “Mr. Kowalski. If you have any direct contact with The Mad Hatter and you won’t tell us, you’ll be arrested for obstructing justice,” You said sternly.

The man before you genuinely looked conflicted, before he finally sighed harshly. “Fine, there was a guy.”

A clue!

“What guy, Mr. Kowalski?” You asked, encouraging him to go on. “On 15th March, I wasn’t here because I was visiting my gran, Queenie. But 2 months before that, a guy would always come after midnight to this very alley to buy some red velvet macarons,” He bit his lip, closing his eyes in despair. He opened them and turned to the right, an end of an alleyway connecting straight to the streets, noises of engines were faint. 

You looked at where he looked, and as if a projector was playing, you could see the mysterious man walking into the alleyway to meet Kowalski. 

“He would always buy 3 packets of the macarons. Not more, not less. And he would always give the exact amount of the price and asked for no receipt. After the first murder, Dave Busher,” He looked at you and you nodded in confirmation, while Zabini wrote all the important notes, “I didn’t want to sell him any more macarons at midnight.”

“What happened then?” Zabini asked. Kowalski gulped, “He started to come at daylight. Even without a black hat or a black jacket, I knew it was him. And he knew it too because he smiled every time he looks at me." He shivered at the sudden nerves running down his spine. 

“How did you know it’s The Mad Hatter? We never let that name out to the media, Kowalski,” Zabini stated, tilting his head accusingly. You raised a hand to stop him, sometimes Zabini can be too intimidating; brilliant in the interrogation room, but asking around then not so much.

“He told me, that he’s The Mad Hatter.”

You narrowed your eyes, “He told you? When did he tell you?” Kowalski looked down to his feet, trying to remember the exact date. And when he did, he looked up to you, “26th February, that was the last time I saw him and I was so scared to my bones. He told me that he’s The Mad Hatter just like that and I,” a sigh, “I wanted to close the bakery to be safe, but I have kids at home and I’m the breadwinner of the family.”

He turned to you desperately, hands clasping to each other, “Please don’t arrest me! I thought he’s going to kill me if he knew I snitched on him!”

You two were silent. 26th February… it was the day you had received the case, the day of the murder of Spencer Gillard.

After questioning Richard Kowalski (and granted him witness protection), you and Zabini walked back to the car, driving back to the HR. 

“Okay wait, how did The Mad Hatter know we call him The Mad Hatter?” Zabini questioned loudly, and you tilted your head in confusion. You were sitting on the passenger’s seat and Zabini was driving. “Is it possible we have The Mad Hatter around us?” You wondered lowly.

Zabini; Blaise glanced at you, “You mean one of us could be The Mad Hatter?” You sighed and closed your eyes tiredly, “Could be. I mean, we only told ourselves about that name and I only told George about it.”

“George? Your husband?” You nodded at his question. “Y/N,” Blaise licked his suddenly dry lips, “Did you ask Kowalski how does The Mad Hatter look like?”

You opened your eyes.

“What are you trying to say, Zabini? That George is The Mad Hatter?” You scoffed, “That’s ridiculous.” Blaise shook his head, “I’m not saying anything, Y/N. But… we all know that Nott doesn’t like telling his cases to people, and Lav and I have no other friends to tell it to. It’s not wrong to be cautious— ”

“This is my husband we’re talking about, Zabini!” You voiced out sternly, glaring at him. “He’s an amazing husband, and a brilliant father to Rafa. He’s the least on the list who could be that sick bastard!” You continued, huffing. “I get it, you and Lavender are dating, but you don’t see me accusing her of a first-degree murder, do you?”

Blaise sighed, used to your short fuse of temper by now, “How did you know about the bakery anyway?” He changed the topic, not wanting to sour your mood even further.

“George told me—” You halted on your words. Huh. George told you. How does he know about the bakery anyway? As far you know, he doesn't really go to this side of town.

And then you remembered Zabini’s first question.

“Did you ask Kowalski how did The Mad Hatter look like?"

Could it be?

“Turn around.” “What?” “I said turn around!”

Click. “Date. March 17th. Subject. None. I want to say something different this time.”

George looked down to his desk, a recorder slowly spinning its inner wheels, prepared to record anything he’ll be saying in the next few minutes. He pursed his lips, purposely pressing hard enough to feel the pain.

Is he a masochist? He’d like to be, in all honesty.

“I wonder what she would say when she found out that I’m The Mad Hatter. That I’m her case,” His lips curled into a growing smile, “That I, am that sick bastard she always talks about at home.”

“I didn’t know it was possible to be jealous of myself, but here we are,” George chuckled. And then he halted, “Jealous? I’m jealous?” He wondered out loud.

He huffed a cynical smile, in disbelief upon his own honest feelings he didn’t know he even has, “So I do have feelings for her after all.”

It was a silent moment of George gathering his thousands of thoughts before his lips moved to conjure a say again. 

“I met Y/N about seven years ago, she had just graduated from the police university and I was running the shop with my brother. She came by to look around and I found her interesting when she told me she’s a police officer,” George continued to talk, staring at the window; watching the cars on the streets continuously moving, reminding him that time is indeed walking away tick by tick. He picked up a small metallic ball from his desk, twirling it around his long fingers in an idle manner. 

“Y/N is… she’s innocent and naïve, yet still so strong and stern and confident. She’s fair and just and kind, the perfect idea of a noble police officer. The perfect idea of a perfect person,” the corner of his lips tweaked a bit, George didn’t realize he doesn’t see the window anymore, instead, he sees you, “My exact opposite. For I am flawed.”

“I wanted to play with her, probably just a bit before I kill her with my own hands, maybe strangle her or put something in her tea—” He didn’t realize his fingers stopped moving the small sphere around, “But then… I realized she’s more interesting than I thought.”

“The first time she said ‘I love you’ to me, which was 3 months after we met, I had the urge to dunk a pillow onto her face to not hear any more of the confession coming out of her mouth,” He said, and he laughed afterward, “But I didn’t, instead I told her I love her too.”

His laughter died down and his eyebrows furrowed in all seriousness, “Love… What is love?"

"... Everyone has an answer of their own and at the same time, nobody does. It’s so general, it's so vague that love is,” his fingers unconsciously moved to the metallic ring on his finger, twirling it slightly, feeling the surface shuffle against his skin softly, “Love is everything.”

George blinked slowly , “After that, we got married, she wanted children so I gave her what she wanted, and Rafael came by a while later.”

Rafael. Rafael, Rafa, Rafi. Their son. Their child. His child.

George was silent for a while. He’s… he’s clueless on how to put it appropriately and how it wouldn’t sound odd, especially coming from him, a serial killer.

“… I think the first person I have truly loved in my whole life is my son. I didn’t even know how I feel towards my own wife before Rafael comes along. He’s… he’s pure and innocent, just like his mother and he has the biggest heart there is and it’s,” George didn’t realize he was smiling wide talking about his son, and he paused at the realization he had come across, “It’s something that I don’t have.”

“I realized I had become comfortable with my current life, with my wife and my son. I-I needed to change that or else I-I would lose my mind,” George suddenly chuckled maniacally.

“I would lose my mind and I would be alone all over again. I would be alone all over again without my family because— ”

Despite the crazy cackles coming out his mouth, his eyes were watering profusely, wetting his cheeks and he whispered dreamily, “Because I would kill them.”

“He was a tall man, probably in his 30s, ginger, got a long face and a crooked nose. Why?”

The words of Richard Kowalski as soon as you asked him what does The Mad Hatter looked like had you speechless.

No way. No fucking way.

George couldn’t possibly be The Mad Hatter! Godric Gryffindor, that’s bloody ridiculous!

“Not a word to anyone, Zabini,” You voiced out sternly as soon as you got into the car. Blaise was about to open his mouth to protest, but a look from you was all it took for him to close it back dejectedly. 

“There’s like a hundred of guys fitting that criteria, Blaise,” You sighed out, massaging your temples at the sudden stress. The lean man sighed, “I’m not saying anything, Y/N.” “Yes, you are,” You glared at him, “But just because my husband fits the same criteria of The Mad Hatter, it does not mean he is The Mad Hatter.”

“How do you even know for sure? Do you even know him?” His rude comeback had you scoffing in offense, “Excuse me? Of course, I know my husband! I married him for almost 10 years!”

“Then what’s his hobby?” “Playing with Rafa.” “What about his favorite meal?” “He likes hot chocolates and my roasted chicken.” “Do you know his family?” “Just Fred— wait,”

You groaned, “Why am I even answering you, you have no right to ask about my personal life, Zabini.” You shook your head in disappointment, looking away to the window, “This conversation is done. We’re not talking about this anymore, do you understand?”

A sigh. “Yes, chief.”

You leaned your head to the window, watching the trees passing by as the car driven by Blaise continued to glide the streets effortlessly. You sighed quietly, obviously upset that a good friend like Blaise would think such a thing about your husband. The father of your child! Unacceptable!

But that stubborn little voice inside of your head kept singing. It kept singing what-ifs. What if Blaise was right? What if George is the Mad Hatter? What if your husband isn’t so innocent after all? What if you don’t even know George Weasley truly?

What if?

That tiny screaming voice seemed to be volumized into the maximum height, because now on the top of your head, was ‘What if everything is true?’

With that one tiny push, Chief Detective Y/N Weasley found herself standing in front of her husband’s office room. The dark greyish door at the end of the hallway had never looked so intimidating.

You had never questioned why George would have it locked at all times, you only thought his office is strictly his own free space, and you wanted to respect that.

Taking a deep breath, you reached for the doorknob. Quietly gulping as you gripped the metallic handle with your palm, pushing it down to open the door and by your luck— or by someone’s plan— the door was unlocked.

But now, all questions ran through your head.

You stepped inside, taking in the unfamiliar space in your house that you had ever seen only once or twice during the 7 years of your marriage. The black walls with white simple baseboards had given the room a minimalistic aura, but considering you are now suspicious of your husband for being a wanted serial killer, you couldn’t help to feel the air in the space eerie and chilly.

You came back home at 3 pm, knowing fully well that your husband and Rafa’s schedule that they were in the park by now, and will be back home no later than 5. It’s a perfect time to snoop around your own house. 

A monitor desk was right in front of the door, fully furnished with a computer and all the things needed for a workspace. You walked slowly to the desk, a simple set of metallic drawers had shown themselves to you. There was one particular large drawer, though, that was locked with a little lock. 

You wondered, what’s so important in that drawer for George to lock it?

Fortunately, the skill you had picked up from police university had deemed usefully functional. A few friends of yours had taught you how to pick a lock before, and due to legal reasons, they didn’t teach you anything. You quickly retrieved two bobby pins from your dressing room, trying so hard to be quick as you realized the clock was ticking. You started to pick the small lock.

“I believe,” You started talking to yourself, a habit you hadn’t realized, “Johnson had taught me like this,” Turning the bobby pin to the right, “then this,” and to the left, “And then this,” and pushing the upper bobby pin into the lock.

Click!

You huffed in disbelief, an impressed look on your face, “Thank you, Angie,” You spoke to yourself again as you removed the lock quickly and pulled the drawer in your direction to open it.

As it rumbled under your touch, as you felt the weight of the drawer with your arm, as your eyes laid upon the content of the drawer, the only thing you said, and in confusion; may I add, was:

“… Recorders?”

TAGLIST:

@multifandom-but @sirenswhispers @lilac-skies-xd @obsessedunicorn24 @foggyturtleknightangel @evewithluv @softlyqoos @fandoms-pizza-wifi-ym13 @lilypad-55449 @fiantomartell @hopemalfoyweasley @just-here-to-escape-from-reality​ @bucketandpotato @klausdatprettyboi @adoregin @littlechillies @phuvioqhile @sweetnspicysimp @wand3ringr0s3 @harrypotter289 @emptyporsche @tallyovie @the-unmanaged-mischief @missmulti @gcdricreads ​ @moonvicake @amourtentiaa @lunalovecroft @loveboyhalo @lupinsclassroom @breadqueen95 @iwritesiriusly @weasleyclaw @sevsbitxh @freds-slut @acosmis-t @colorfulprofessornickelangel @vote4weasleys @anchoeritic @alluringshawn @cute-sidney @anna-banana-13 @lostaurorax @emrysts @rosietoesy @lilgeorgie78 @prismarts @an2402lths

[courtofcravings]

Another you (2)

Warning: Some blood, needles, minor injuries.

Completed. 

“Also, Y/N, you should call me Jim… Jim or Kirk.” 

“But, Sir? Is that appropriate?” You asked him. You’ve never worked with a captain who was okay with being familiar around their inferior officers. “I think after today, it would be weird if you didn’t,” He said, looking down at you, smiling softly.

“Alright, Jim… Jim or Kirk,” You said, not as a question, but more to mock him like a dad joke. To which he laughed at, “Perfect,” He looked down at the phaser and back at the area you two were walking towards. “So what is this I hear about you not knowing how to use a phaser? Seems pretty standard for anyone going into the field,”

“That’s just it; I know the standard, and that phaser is anything but.” You two walked for a decent amount of time, as he explained to you what the different buttons do, even quizzing you on the important ones to ensure you can protect yourself.

“You know, Bones thinks that I should ask you out.” Your head whipped at him, of all things to come out of his mouth. “Does he?” You asked back, hiding a creeping blush. You refused to look at him, staring ahead. “He’s known I’ve had a crush on you for a while, although, after this morning when we tag-teamed him, he might have changed his opinion.”

“Might never want to see us together in the same room, let alone in a relationship.” You added. With a burst of courage, you asked, “How long have you had this crush, Jim?”

“Since the day Bones introduced us. You’ve had to see that I’ve been showing up at your lab way more often,”

“I thought you were just coming to bug Doctor McCoy in the lab while we worked on the research. Anytime you and I talked, it was always short conversations about the work.” You’ve always liked the captain, but you never believed he’d actually return those feelings.

“I was intimidated.” You stopped walking, “Why are you telling me this now?” You inquired. Does he think you won’t make it out? Off this planet?

“When you face a life or death situation, these confessions seem so pointless to hold back.” You stopped walking and turned to face him; you reached up and planted a small peck on his cheek. “Well, I’d have to agree with Bones; you should ask me out.”

Eventually, you two came across the nest, a large caved in whole in the ground, with small tents inside of it. “I thought this was a diplomatic mission; what did you guys do to piss off the natives?” You asked him, looking at all the different guards walking around.

“They aren’t the natives of this planet that we came to see; these new species killed or enslaved the natives of this planet.” You shivered, not from the icy air this planet had, but from the amount of death that must have occurred here. Jim gave you a reassuring squeeze.

He was freezing to touch, but you knew it wasn’t from the air; it was from the blood loss he’d suffered. He needed real medical attention and fast.

“Why did they take our crew?” You had a sinking feeling in your stomach, made even worse at the fact that you couldn’t see your missing crew. “Trophies of conquering, they will be slaves.”

Near the camp’s left side was a small metal rod hooked to a large box. “Jim,” You pointed at it, recognizing what it was immediately, “That is what is blocking our comms, our transporters. If I can get to it I c-” He scoffed, interrupting me. “Absolutely not, that area is surrounded by them, and you can’t even use a phaser,” He said, his blue eyes staring intensely into yours.

“Okay, and what is your grand plan? To run in guns blazing? You can’t even move without me supporting you, and don’t try to tell me you’re fine.” You returned using the same tone he had with you and the same look he was giving you. “I am well aware of the trauma your body is undergoing due to blood loss right now, so stop telling me you are fine because you aren’t.”

This morning you couldn’t imagine not addressing him by captain, and now you are snapping back at him. What a development. But you know you are still right, so you are not going to apologize.

“I have no idea what Bones was saying; you are much more like him than me.”

“What!? think first, do next?” You scoffed.

“Exactly, but with a bit more pessimism.”

“Your definition of realism and pessimism are confused. If I were pessimistic, there would have been no way I’d almost die trying to help you when you were tied up. With all that blood loss, there is no point in saving a dead man.”

“Come on, Y/N, we both know you only did that because you couldn’t handle this handsome face going to waste.” He said in your ear, making heat creep up to your cheeks.

“Maybe, I am more like Bones; I am starting to learn his bitterness for you,” You bit back. He smiled, looking pale. He needed medical help, and your arm wasn’t doing so well either. You had pushed back the pain while walking in the forest, but It was throbbing—pain radiating up your arm.

“Jim, let me. If I can take it down, you can use the comms. The ship can lock onto the crew and get them out,” You reasoned with him.

“Fine. But if it is too dicey Y/N, I want you to run; you haven’t trained in combat,” He was right; there wouldn’t be much you can do if they confronted you.

“Stay here,” You said, leaning him against a tree. “I really can’t go anywhere,” He replied. Right, at least it’s reassuring to know he can’t get into any trouble. “Be careful,” He said and placed a small kiss on your forehead. “I said it last time, and you didn’t listen, so I’ll repeat it as your captain, don’t do anything stupid.”

You snuck around the nest, hoping not to fall into any of the guard’s eye view. The grey antenna was sitting there waiting to be turned off by you.

Tiptoeing between the tents, you stopped dead in your tracks. You heard that woman’s voice from before talking, having a conversation with two other voices. In the tent to your right, they must have been in there. You took your phaser out and looked under the tight, lifting to see inside it. They were alone.

“You,” The woman said, “Y/N, the scientist.” You ran to her first, untying her, handing her a phaser, then moving to the next two, “The captain?” Sulu asked solemnly. “He is alive, barley. He lost a lot of blood. There is a device blocking the comms I need to take down so we can get out of here.” You informed them. It was mutually decided they should sit still since they were wounded and could possibly attract more attention by being in a larger group.

Making it to the box, you realized it was locked. As much as you wanted to do this quietly, it was out of your hands. This is extremely stupid. You lined up the phaser and shot it a few times until there was a thick hole in the box. You were, hopefully, powering it down so the comms will work.

You stepped back slightly, hitting a hard surface. No, not a surface; it was a body. In an instant, you were picked up and thrown into a wall, hitting your head and back. You couldn’t move but braced for a second impact.

It never came.

“Y/N!” You heard Jim say. Opening your eyes at the sound of his voice, you saw that you were on the ground, safe, in the transport bay. “I can’t believe we actually survived that,” There was blood dripping down your head, and your arm was throbbing, but you were alive.

“Always so pessimistic, Y/N; I knew the whole time we’d be fine.”

“Depends on your definition of fine; you have a hole in your leg, I personally would not call that fine,”

“There is no point in arguing with him, Y/N,” Bones said, walking in with a wheelchair for Jim. “Hey, what happened to don’t do anything stupid? I watched you get tossed.”

“Just thought to myself… hmm, what would Jim do? And as it turns out, it was stupid and dangerous.”

Jim went to make some snarky comeback but instead started to faint. You and bones both supported him and lowered him into the chair. “Sorry, guys, I guess I’m falling too hard for Y/N,”

“Only you would try to be a flirt went fainting from blood loss,” Bones responded. You couldn’t even look at him with your face so heated; you just stayed silent all the way down to Med bay.

Bones took Jim into a private room and began working on his leg. You didn’t know what to do, shower and rest or wait to make sure Jim is alright. “Excuse me, miss?” An older gentleman placed a hand on your shoulder, introducing himself as Dr. Jean. “Dr. McCoy told me to look at your head.”

“I’m really, okay,” Dr. Jean insisted, so you caved; you didn’t mind sitting down for a second. He cleaned up your head wound and did a concussion exam. It came back normal, so he cleared you. Honestly, you were tuckered out from today; you decided to sit and wait outside for Dr. McCoy and Jim. Being too tired to walk upstairs, you chose to close your eyes while waiting.

You felt someone gently shaking your shoulder, but you could barely move. You tried to open your eyes, but they felt too heavy. “What do you mean you cleared her!? Does she look okay to you?” You heard someone yell, no, not someone. “Doc..Doctor McCoy?” Someone beside you cupped your cheek. “Hey, Bones, she’s talking.” You knew that voice, but your felt brain so foggy. “Jim, tell me her heart rate,”

“Jim?” You felt a hand on your neck, “Ouch.” It was still bruised from today. “Bones, I can barely feel one,”

“Nurse Chapel, help me lift her,” You heard her ask more questions, but she was talking so fast, it was hard for your head to digest them. “Foggy” You felt out of breath from just those few words, making it harder to talk, “Doctor, my head,” The doctor and nurse laid you down.  

“I’m Telling You, McCoy! She did not have a concussion.” Someone growled, “Pulse is thready and weak, not fully alert,” You were able to open your eyes slowly; everything around you much too bright.

You felt a comforting warmth touch your hand. “Vitals are not holding,” You looked at your hand; it was Jim. “You were,” You kept running out of breath “Jim, I think she’s talking to you, try to ask her-,” He looked between you and the doctor, “You were so cold when we,” You took a couple of rapid breaths, “But now you’re very warm.”

“Start her on an IV and 92% oxygen.” You noticed you couldn’t feel anything on your one arm, where the scratch is. “Doctor,” You spoke so much already, you felt so out of breath, “My arm,” Dr. McCoy stepped to the side to look at it. “Dammit,” He finished lifting your sleeve, “Jim, you said she scratched it? That looks infected, and her symptoms would suggest venom… maybe the plant was venomous?” He turned to order Nurse Chapel to do something.

You felt an oxygen mask go over your face; Jim was holding it. Finally, feeling like you can breathe and fill your lungs again, “You stayed with me?” Jim looked down at you, “Of course, couldn’t let Bones have all the glory,” He replied while glancing at bones, who was cleaning the wound.

“And here, I thought it was because you couldn’t let my beautiful face go to waste.”

“That contributed to it.” He gave you a small chaste kill on your forehead, brushing your hair out of the way of your face. “Y/N, Your wound has been thoroughly cleaned. Nurse Chapel is going to administer a remedy; it may make you drowsy” You reached your other hand to grab the doctor’s arm and gave a squeeze. “Your welcome, Darlin,” He said, dismissing himself.

“So when am I getting this date?”

“This doesn’t count!?” He asked, feigning surprise. “As much as I think it’s romantic that you almost bled out, and I almost died in a chair, I feel like others may disagree,”

“When you wake up,”

The doctor was right. You slept for about 16 hours while the anti-venom worked through your body. Besides your achy muscles, you were feeling great, energetic even.

“Y/N, you’re finally awake,” Bones walked in to greet you. I know someone will be happy to hear that. He will not stop bugging me about you. “Jim?” The doctor took some quick vitals on you before he felt okay to discharge you. “He has some trouble walking right now, so I sent him to rest. That, of course, has not stopped him from calling to check-in.”

“Can you do me a favor and not tell him I’m awake yet?” Bones gave you a curious look but agreed.

After showering and stopping by the cafeteria, you made it to his door—Ready for a real date. You heard the familiar chime that let him know someone was at the door, and you waited for the swoosh of the door.

It opened, and he was standing there, leaning on his crutch.

“I thought we could have our date, I was promised,” Holding up a bottle of whiskey and some warm fresh food in containers. “You’re awake!?” He signaled with his arm for you to walk in. “Bones didn’t tell me you were awake. Did he check you up before you left?” You set down the food and drinks, turning to face him. “Yes, of course,” He took a few steps over to you, a smile on his face.

“I thought it would be nicer as a surprise.” You wrapped your arms around his neck. “I brought food and drinks because I know your leg is still recovering; I hope that’s okay.” He cupped your cheek with one hand while tilting his head slightly and kissing you softly. He was bracing himself with his other hand against the wall, “Very much okay with me.”  

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