#lee was a child that grew up way too fast & no one can change my mind

[thestarstoasun]

This entire fluff of Will being an adorable child was written as emotional compensation (mainly) for @actual-gremlin. Anyone else can take it as emotional compensation for my normal posts though!

Quick Note: Because timelines are actual torture this is at least a year before The Lightning Thief, mainly bc for the sake of plot I needed Luke to not be entirely evil & he really turns after his own quest/when Percy arrives/is claimed.

When Will was younger, he found a tabby cat in the woods near camp while following Connor to find flowers for their older sisters. The cat was missing half of her tail, but was surprisingly affectionate towards them. Will fell in love immediately, and while he wasn't a vet, his vitalkinesis told him that more than just her tail was injured. She was malnourished and dehydrated with a sprain in her front paw.

"Do you think your siblings will let you keep her? Do you even plan on keeping her?" Connor asked with his arms full of flowers.

"It really depends on what she wants. Poor angel. I would like her, but I wanna make sure she's okay first." Will's small arms held the cat and he pet the underside of her jaw, grinning when she started to purr.

"I didn't even know you liked cats. How could you hide this from me?"

"Ma used to take me to the pet shelters before she would play her concerts at night when touring. And I didn't hide anything. You're just a bad friend for never asking. Hmph."

"Wha? Hey!" The two boys laughed as they approached the Big House. Will's face grew determined seeing as his biggest challenge would be inside.

"Good luck, soldier. If they don't let you keep her, I'll sneak her into Hermes for you. Luke wants us family to be happy, so I can figure something out." Connor did his best to move the flowers around so he could give a salute.

"I lied earlier. You're a great friend...when you aren't playing the pranks of the century." Will nodded his head, took a deep breath, and walked inside the chamber.

---

Will was happy to note that the infirmary was mostly empty save for, surprisingly, Luke and Lee. What was even stranger though was Luke wasn't in a cot. He was sitting on top of Lee's desk, something that Will had be reprimanded for several times.

"Why doesn't Luke get scolded for sitting on your desk?" Will pouted walking towards his big brother and the Hermes counselor.

Both of the older boys jumped, but Lee just looked over at Will and smiled kindly. "He already was. You know how Hermes kids are."

Luke turned his body around to face Will as well with a mischievous grin. "Lee has tried to kick me off of the desk several times, but I outsmarted him."

Lee's face flushed, but Will completely missed the interaction between them, looking at Luke with amazement. "You managed to outsmart Lee!? But he's smart, but also a little dumb-"

"Hey!"

"-so I can also understand."

"William. Why is there a cat in your arms?" Lee asked, out of curiosity and to redirect the conversation away from his dating life. Will was, perhaps, his only sibling who remained mostly spared from growing up too fast, and Lee was determined to keep it that was for just a little longer. Romance just went over his head, which was the innocence a child should have.

"Oh yeah! I found her when Connor and I were...-" Will pursed his lips and thought about how to say they snuck into the woods without getting into trouble. He had never met their dad, Apollo, so Lee was really the closest to one he felt like he had. And Lee had perfected the disappointed parent look- Will blamed Michael for that. "...taking a stroll through some trees to look for flowers and I found her! She's injured and I wanna help her."

Will was determined to at least be able to nurse the cat back to health, even if Lee wouldn't let him keep her. His arms were wrapped protectively around the cat and she relaxed onto Will's shoulder.

"A stroll through some trees?" Lee raised his eyebrow as if he was questioning whether or not to let the deceit go. Apparently, Will was very lucky, because his big brother just sighed. "You know we aren't vets. How can you be sure you can help her? How do you know its a her?"

"I'm a healer." Will said it with so much pride that Lee couldn't help but smile just a little bit. "And vitalkinesis, dummy."

"Michael is such a bad influence on you. He's got you insulting me in my own infirmary."

"Isn't he also the only one of your siblings, other than this one - but he's gotta only be a fourth of a person -("Hey!") who can get your stubborn ass to take a break?" Luke spoke up with an amused smirk.

"Language. There is a small and impressionable child here."

"Mikey says bad words all the time," Will spoke up, looking between the two counselors extremely confused.

"I'll have a talk with him about it. If you want to try to help the cat.." Lee noticed Will's puppy dog eyes and let out a swear of his own in Ancient Greek. "You can try to help her, but we don't have any cat food so you'll have to see if she'll eat tuna. And we aren't keeping her." Will nodded along with a small pout.

Instead of giving confirmation, Will walked to a cot and set the cat down before humming a soft healing hymn.

"We're gonna end up with a cat, aren't we?"

"You guys most definitely are. That kid has you wrapped around his fingers."

"It's the eyes! You'd think he was an Aphrodite kid, but he just pulls the puppy dog eyes and I give in."

"Lee, that's just you being a sucker."

"I'm just a better brother than you. All of the poor, sweet children that have their ears tainted by the horrors spoken of in the Hermes cabin tell me so."

"I'm going to go tell Castor and Pollux to start awful rumors about you. Overdramatic, absolute pushover, workaho-ouch!"

"Don't be mean. I'm going to go help Will. If you would be so kind, could you possibly sneak Cabin 7 some stuff for our new cat? I really don't think I'm getting out of this one."

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with being 'Cabin Mom'. I have my own rats to gather up soon; Connor and Travis should probably be first."

Will had healed the sprain and gotten the cat water and a can of tuna which she was currently happily drinking and eating away at. He sat in a chair by the bed watching her with a wide grin. Seeing her eating made him really happy and when she would look up, he reassured her with a "It's fine. There is plenty." before she went back to eating.

Lee ruffled Will's hair when he made it over. "Things going good, Sunshine?"

"Mmmmhm! She likes tuna, I think. Or maybe just really hungry."

"We can try a few things coming up to see what she likes. Overeating can also make her sick. Sometimes cats, and people, do it when they're malnourished for so long and have, for instance, they're favorite food for the first time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's why when you say you're not hungry, I always say eat two bites and you don't have to eat anymore if you still don't want any."

"That makes sense! Its much nicer than back in Texas when I would stay with my Granma and Gramps. They had dumb rules." His nose scrunched up as he recalled the nights he just really didn't feel good, the very few times he got sick, and was forced to sit at the table for hours.

"Those rules are the worst." Lee agreed and pulled his little brother in for a hug. "There are some rules that are good though."

"Like what?"

"Rules you have to follow for us to take in your new friend."

Will's eyes sparkled with excitement as he listened to the rules carefully, curls bouncing as he nodded along. The small lecture ended in a sacred oath, even more sacred than a promise on the Styx, a pinkie promise.

Bear, as Will had named her - though no one knew why since she didn't look much like one, grew healthier each week. She gained more weight, especially when she realized she could get extra treats by going to multiple Cabin 7 kids. Her fur grew fluffier (giving her a bath had been Michael's job - the punishment for swearing around children.) which Will absolutely loved, because she cuddled with him at night.

She had almost gotten herself caught multiple times because she tried to follow Will out of the Cabin. (Lee was going to get gray hairs by the time he turned 20, though he'd be ancient then. He was sure of it.)

By the time Chiron did find out about Bear, Lee had gotten the other head counselors on his side if this came to a debate. Luckily, many of them liked Will and seeing him being a kid with a cat probably helped sway the tides, or maybe some God was looking out for them. Either way, Chiron agreed to let her stay since they had clearly taken care of her this long.

Will went to sleep that night holding Bear a little closer, while she simply curled up to the boy. In a few years, he would lose so much, and she would stay through some of the hardest moments in his life, but right now he was just a boy with his big siblings and their cat.

[sundaysundaes]

Unravel

Lee Donghyuck/Haechan X Reader | Smut, Romance | 4k | Mr. & Mrs. Smith AU, Secret Agents/Assassins AU

A continuation of Delirium.

Summary: Your relationship with the mysterious stranger you met during your mission continues and it intensifies into something deeper, forcing you to break your own rules.

Warnings: car sex, rough sex, oral sex (male receiving), swearing

“Spend the day with me.”

Your hands stopped mid-air during their attempt in drying your hair with a towel. Donghyuck was sitting on the edge of the bed, tapping his fingers against each other, his eyes gazing at you from behind his bangs. Unlike you, he has dressed handsomely in a pair of black ripped jeans and a light blue denim shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The bedsheets were all crumpled and stained underneath him from the activity you shared with him the night before—and this morning as well, when he suddenly decided to take the whipped cream and strawberries off his plate and smeared them all over your stomach, tasting them directly from your skin. 

“Let’s get some breakfast together or something,” he offered.

You coyly smile. “I thought we’ve had our breakfast.”

“Well, I’m still hungry.” But by the way his eyes ran down your body, lingering a little too long at the hem of your lingerie, you knew he was craving for something else. “I want to take you out on a date.” 

Still dressed solely in your underwear after your morning shower, you sent him a sly grin. “Do you do this with all your one night stands?”

“Only the pretty ones.”

You shook your head in amusement. “I’m supposed to fly back to Seoul tonight.”

“Change it. We can fly back together tomorrow.”

“I have work tomorrow.”

“Then take a day off.”

You scrunched up your nose. “Are you always this demanding?”

“Part of my charm.” He stood up from his seat, walking closer to you and you carelessly let your towel slide down to the floor, hands winding naturally around his neck. The way he sighed whenever your mouth made contact with his always left you a bit weak, stomach somersaulting in delight. “I’m a pretty determined man.” He kissed the skin below your ear, his hand trailing around the dip of your waist. “I have to get what I want and I won’t back down until I have it.”

You tilted your head, exposing more of your neck for his teeth to mark on. “And what is it that you want?”

He unclasped your bra, calloused fingertips raking down your spine before they went back to your chest. “What do you think I want?”

You didn’t want to think about anything else, not even the fact that you just washed yourself clean from his previous touches. You just wanted to feel him again, to hear his soft moans against your ear, to make him flinch when you slide your hand under his shirt, nails scraping against his delicate v-lines.

“I love your cherry mint lip balm,” he commented after he glided his tongue across your lower lip. “But you taste even better without it.”

Ripping his buttons open with hasty fingers, you murmured against his mouth, “I think we should just go straight for lunch. What do you think?”

Donghyuck smirked and let you crawl on top of his lap.

Being attached to someone could risk your life, or worse, put your loved ones in danger. You knew this. That was the most important rule in your handbook and you had been following that for years in order to survive, even distancing yourself from your parents and family. Which was the whole reason why you wanted to keep it casual with him. As much fun as he was, Donghyuck was only a lover for one night. That was how he was supposed to be.

But the last two days you spent with him was magical. Donghyuck was alluring, reeked of masculinity and sensuality, but the more time you spent with him, the more you realized that he was still a child at heart. The little pout he made when he lost an argument, the way his tongue was protruding against the inside of his cheek whenever your joke struck too close to home, and the little whines that escaped his lips when things didn’t go his way—he was young, refreshing, in a way. And you could feel yourself letting go, allowing yourself to bury the guilt and the sins you’d committed somewhere deep inside your mind and finally be yourself for once.

But all magical things must end at some point. And yet, when you were about to part ways with him at the airport, already walking toward the opposite direction of where he was heading, you realized how your heart stayed with him; how your body still longed for him, no matter how many times they had made contact during your two days together. When you pivoted on your heels, about to ask him to stay longer, you saw him doing the same thing.

With a sheepish smile—a stark contrast to how he usually displayed his expression—he suggested, “Maybe we can get some coffee first before we head home?”

You didn’t get to come home that night, but your heart had already settled down someplace better.

Neither of you ever talked about your relationship status. It wasn’t important, anyway. But what started as a strictly physical bond, became so much more the second he opened up about his childhood days followed by you disclosing your recurring dreams and nightmares. Personal things were shared, intimate memories were told and the wall that separated you from him began to crumble.

Despite how talkative he was, Donghyuck could really listen when you needed him to. He wouldn’t give you any advice because he knew you were already smart enough to figure them out by yourself, but he would embrace you tightly to his chest with his lips grazing against your fringe, his fingers playing with your strands. And if you really wanted him to say something, he would kiss you on your forehead and whisper, “You’re strong. You’ll get through this. But if you feel like you’re tired of their shits, you could just ring me. I’ll finish them for you.”

You laughed. You thought he was joking.

The hardest part of being an undercover assassin was you had to travel most of the time for your work. Your target could be walking in another city, living in a different country, speaking a different language and you just couldn’t afford to be distracted. So whenever you got the chance to meet him, you’ll try to satisfy your needs—mostly, physical—as best as you could. Lucky for you, he was only eager to comply.

Hovering above you, nude except for the silver necklace hanging around his neck, body glistening with sweat, Donghyuck took a detailed look at your wrist. The lighting in your room wasn’t bright enough for him to examine the bruises blooming on your skin, but the way his eyes narrowed, accompanied by a frown, told you that he knew it wasn’t just a simple injury. 

“Who did this to you?” His choice of words startled you. He didn’t ask what or how—he straightforwardly asked who, confident that it was done by someone and not merely a result of an accident. It sent a shiver down your spine because the truth was you were wounded during your last mission when you tried to infiltrate the enemy’s base by getting caught in purpose. At one point, you were restrained to a pole with ropes tied firmly along your wrists, hence the bruises. But there was no way you could be honest.

So, you lied.

“I tripped and accidentally twisted my wrist,” you said, moving your hips to distract him. He was still sheathed deep inside you, his cock slightly twitching in response, but held you by the waist to keep your body still.

“Did someone hurt you?” His voice was deep as it reverberated through the air, and you grew rigid after noticing how his previously laid-back demeanor suddenly became serious, almost dangerous even. “Who is it? Tell me his name.”

You swallowed. He was smarter than you’d expected. Way smarter. “I was tied up.”

“By who?”

The way he strictly sought revenge at the thought of someone hurting you was both arousing and frightening at the same time. You knew how protective he was over the things he owned, you just didn’t realize you were one of them.

“By a cute guy I met at a club,” you said, smiling seductively at him. “Per my request.” 

His grip around your wrist loosened a little bit, his lips parted in surprise. “What?”

“It’s not like we’re officially dating or anything,” you taunted him, clenching your walls around him in purpose. “Are we?”

Donghyuck’s eyes were almost gleaming at that point, staring down at you coldly at first before he broke into a smirk. 

“Not official, huh?” The way he suddenly flipped you over to your stomach almost made you yelp. “Get on your knees.”

He was angry, you knew it, and you were grateful that you were facing the headboard because you could feel your smirk creeping up your face, excitement bubbling up in your chest.

“He tied you up with a rope, did he?” He held your ass in the air, his nails sinking into the skin of your hips as he forcefully thrust inside, slamming his entire length in one motion. “I wasn’t aware you were into that.”

Donghyuck had always been passionate and although he loved marking you with his lips and teeth, he was never rough. Tonight, though, that was all he was. Rough and merciless, and you enjoyed every second of it.

You didn’t even hold back your moans, knowing he wouldn’t want you to anyway. Your voice would most likely be hoarse tomorrow and that would be awful since you had a meeting scheduled on the next morning, but you couldn’t care. It was easier to let go than to hold back, because Donghyuck was hitting you at the right spot, at the right pace, at the perfect angle.

“Tying you up with a rope is a bit too much, don’t you think?” He breathed out, pounding into you hard and fast, his hand sliding down your stomach to rub his fingertips against your clit. “If it was me, I would’ve used my tie.”

Fuck. “Then—” Your breathing began to stutter, matching the snap of his hips. “What’s stopping you?”

“I wanted to hear you ask about it first.” You were astonished by how thoughtful he was. “And force you to beg for it afterward.” You took your words back. He was a fucking tease, after all.

You fisted the sheet beneath you, desperate to keep a hold on something as you gasped his name. “Was he any good?” He slammed his hips once, pausing for your answer and when he saw you nodding, he thrust again, harder this time. “Better than me?”

You were having the toughest time concentrating, couldn’t even breathe properly, let alone forming a word. You were pushed against the headboard, now placing your hands on the wall for support. You shakily nodded, wanting to rile him up even more, driving him to the brink and practically forcing him to give the best fuck of your life.

And he did, exceeding your expectation.

When he asked again, his lips were grazing against your ear. “You sure about that, Sweetheart?”

You couldn’t tell if more words were falling from his mouth because the rest of the world had faded into a blur. He was giving you the same amount of pain and pleasure from how he was frantically thrusting inside you, and it felt so new, so raw, that you started feeling lightheaded, drowning in ecstasy. You closed your eyes, stars sparkling behind your eyelids as your orgasm hit you like a wave, leaving you shaking and whimpering against the sheets.

Donghyuck turned you around so he could ravish your lips with his, teeth gnawing against soft skin, tongue sliding against yours in a messy kiss. His left hand was squeezing your thigh, bringing you closer so he could release inside you; his other one was on the side of your face, fingers tangling around your strands, nearly tugging against the roots of your hair as he slid his hand down to your neck, applying pressure until you choked out his name. He came with a loud, breathy moan, which you swallowed directly with your mouth.

When both of your bodies had stopped trembling from your post-orgasm, Donghyuck kissed you again, slower and idly this time, as he was still in a haze. You responded with a sigh, your heartbeat gradually reducing to its normal pace.

“Let’s make it official,” he said, still breathing quite heavily as he placed his temple against yours. His eyes were closed. “You belong to me, as much as I belong to you. How does that sound?”

And as he felt you smiling against his lips, you said, “Sounds perfect.”

Donghyuck was protective but not possessive, which played a huge part in why your relationship with him worked so well. He knew how to keep you safe, how to give you comfort, and wouldn’t let anything harm you even when he knew you could protect yourself just fine. Being with Donghyuck was easy because he respected you without making inquiries. He was a man with a lot of demands, but he always gave you the space you needed and knew when to put your priorities before his. He always picked-up little details but never making unnecessary comments or questions, unless you wanted him to. Sometimes it made you nervous, perturbed by the possibility of him finding out about your secret. But with a pocket knife hidden inside your vanity bag, you knew what to do if something went wrong. It would be near impossible for you to hurt him as you probably wouldn’t have the heart to do it, but your identity and your profession remained the top priority.

You just wished, really wished, he wouldn’t notice.

“You look nice,” you commented when he showed up at your flat, dressed sharply in a black suit and tie. His hair was shorter, slightly pushed back and parted to the side, making him look younger but also much more mature at the same time. It was the night of your second anniversary—well, counting from the day you met him anyway. The top of his white shirt was unbuttoned, two more than necessary, as always.

He smiled, taking you by the wrist and yanked you forward until you fell on his chest, lips locked with his. When he broke the kiss, he licked his bottom lip once. “You taste nice.”

You slapped him lightly on his shoulder, smiling bashfully to yourself as you grabbed your purse. “What time is our reservation?”

“In half an hour.”

“Then, we better go.” You linked your arm around his. “I’ll just ravish you after dinner later.”

The way he chuckled made you feel warm inside. “Can’t wait.”

His Audi smelled more of citrus and less bergamot—the perfume he often wore—and you wondered whether it was a rental or he just rarely used it. You didn’t have the strength to care, too busy stealing glances at him during the drive to the restaurant. He had lent you his suit to cover your bare shoulders from the night cold, and he had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showcasing his veiny arms with his silver Tag Heuer watch glinting along his wrist whenever a passing car shone headlights. He only had one hand on the steering wheel, with another one propped up against the window, unconsciously pressing the side of his index finger to his lips and a thumb on his chin. 

“Thinking about something?” You questioned since he seemed to be deep in thoughts. 

He took a glimpse of your face, the corner of his lips curving upwards. “Just trying to figure out why you keep on looking at me every two seconds.” 

You were a bit flustered but kept your face in check. “Honestly? You just look so good in that black shirt.”

“Yeah?” He changed gears, chuckling softly. “Then, what should we do about it?”

“Well, it’s been a while since we’ve had the time for ourselves, what with us being busy with our jobs.” You placed a hand on his thigh, rubbing up and down the silky fabric of his black trousers. “I’m sorry I left you alone for so long. I’ve always hated going overseas, even more now since I met you.”

Donghyuck glanced at the way your fingers are reaching dangerously close to the part he had been longing to be touched for the last three weeks you had been separated. “That’s… fine… ” He forced his eyes to go back to the road when a car passed by from his side, honking angrily at him. “I had to go out of town too, so we wouldn’t have been able to meet anyway.”

You bit the corner of your lip, trying to contain a smirk from breaking on your face. He was obviously distracted, but the way he tried to act so composed was adorable too. “Then…” You tucked some loose strands behind your ear, wetting your lips. “Let me make it up to you.”

You leaned over to his seat, close enough to be able to unfasten his belt and unzip his pants. Donghyuck took a sharp breath when he felt your fingers curling around his length, stroking him gently until he came alive in your hand.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” you said, smiling at him as you glided your thumb across his tip. 

Donghyuck mirrored your mischievous smile. “Yes, Ma’am.” 

When you dipped your head, slanting your lips around his tip, he let out this small sigh of content which only urged you to please him more. You slid your tongue across his slit, going down to the side to trace his vein, and murmuring sinful things against his sensitive skin.

“You’re being rather expressive today,” he comments. His voice sounded stable but the way he bit the tip of his thumb to contain his groan betrayed him. “Did something good happen?”

“I’m just happy,” you pause to engulf his length completely, bobbing your head twice before letting him go with a pop. “That I get to see you again.”

The way he hit on the brakes were not as gentle as before. Waiting for the red light to go green, Donghyuck leaned back to his seat, his fingers immediately slipped between your strands, tugging softly at your locks as he slightly thrust into your mouth.

“Fuck, baby,” he hissed, reeling in the sensation of your heated mouth enveloping him. “That feels good—you’re so good at this.”

But when a car stopped by just three meters away from you, Donghyuck straightened up on his seat. The driver—a middle-aged man with a goatee—was nodding his head to the music, both windows of his car opened for him to enjoy the night wind. He noticed Donghyuck’s car, perhaps amazed with how expensive it was, and your boyfriend slid his window down to show his face. You wanted to protest but he held you down by pressing his palm against the back of your head. “It’s too dark, he won’t be able to see.” He reassured you and you grunted in response, which made him chuckle under his breath.

“Nice car, man,” shouted the man.

Donghyuck waved a hand, an innocent smile strapped to his face. “Thanks. I like your tires. Custom made?”

And they began to have a casual conversation as if he didn’t have your mouth wrapped around his cock. He was always like this, a fucking tease, but two could play at this game. You sucked harder around his tip before you went down completely until he hit the back of your throat. Donghyuck’s grip around your locks grew tighter but his voice was airy when he replied to the man. You swallowed around him to pull more reaction out of him.

It was his luck that the light turned green. 

As he drove away, taking the opposite direction from the other man, you pulled away from him. “Where are we going?” You noticed he was no longer heading to the restaurant. 

“Someplace quiet where I can fuck you properly,” he said, smiling dangerously at you. “You don’t think I’m gonna let you go just like that, do you?”

You grinned. “You never fail to impress me.”

The second he pulled over an empty parking lot behind an abandoned building, Donghyuck immediately moved your seat all the way back and latched his lips on yours, making you giggle against his mouth on your way down. 

“Let me be on top this time,” you breathed out heavily when he pushed your lingerie to the side with one hand and stroked himself with his other one. Donghyuck glanced at you from behind his bangs, his lips bruised from your kisses. He confirmed your plead with a nod and let you switch positions. It wasn’t easy to move around in such a small space that you ended up bumping your head against his chin but the hilarity of it all only added more emotional feelings to be involved. Suddenly, the need for physical contact didn’t matter as much as before. You were enjoying his laughter, blushing when he swatted the bangs out of your eyes, pouting when he told you how ridiculous you looked trying to work this out and you just really loved having him around.

Maybe it worked the same way with him too because Donghyuck’s eyes were not solely filled with lust anymore. They were soft, tender as they peered into yours, and the way he caressed your face was soothing, as if you were the most fragile being he had ever touched in his life.

“Kiss me,” you said, not sure if you could handle his gaze any longer than that. He made you feel vulnerable, made you feel transparent and you were scared of having him look into your soul and finding out the secrets you’d been hiding.

He pressed his lips gently to yours, almost in a chaste kiss. He broke away to kiss the corner of your mouth when you were about to deepen the kiss, then he peppered more to your cheek, your temple before he landed a peck on the tip of your nose. “I’ve missed you,” he confessed, making you grow stiff in his arms. “I missed you so much when you were gone.”

It was very unusual for him to say such romantic words in such a serious manner and you were left speechless, dazed even, at the way he tenderly embraced you. “Happy anniversary, Sweetheart.”

You buried your face in the crook of his neck, hiding your smile. “Happy anniversary, baby.”

It felt different that night, the way he held you, the way he moved inside you, the way he made you feel. It was the first time he ever made love to you, truly, and it was both weird and funny to know that it was happening in an abandoned parking lot, with both of you fully clothed except for the part where you were connected to him.

And as he tried to be quiet, you could hear him sigh and curse almost inaudibly under his breath—which felt somehow more erotic to your ears. Leaning forward to get closer to him, Donghyuck intertwined his fingers with yours, his free hand tugging at the zipper of your dress so the strap would fall off your shoulder, revealing enough skin for him to mark on.

Usually, he would be rough and dominating, sucking bruises until you hissed in pain but this time, he only applied soft kisses, sometimes peeking out his tongue just to make you shiver. Sex with Donghyuck had never been boring since he knew how to keep his women entertained, but tonight, your senses were taking so much more details because your heart was involved. And so was his.

“I’m—” You quivered, the sway of your hips moving out of rhythm. Being on top of him let you take control and you used it fully to maximize your pleasure. “I think I’m gonna come—” 

He added the sensation by rubbing his thumb over your clit, almost making you jump off his lap. “Wait—” You could feel the knot in your stomach tightened. Knowing you were so close to the edge, Donghyuck’s hand found home in your hair once again and brought your lips to his. “I love you,” he whispered between kisses and you lost it. You lost every sense, every control, every thought that you could only whimper against his lips when you came undone, him following soon after. 

Donghyuck muffled his moan by mouthing against the bare skin of your shoulder. His whole body shook under your touch and you let him finish without a word, just pressing your lips lazily against his collarbone. 

Your heart was beating loudly, and you wondered whether it was simply because of the sex or his last three words. You had known that he was committed to you, just like you were to him, but you didn’t know that he loved you that way. 

Donghyuck had his head thrown back, eyes tightly closed as he enjoyed the rest of his orgasm, breathing heavily through parted lips. You kissed him softly on his chin, making him look back at you. “Hey,” he smiled, a bit drowsy.

“Hey, stranger,” you cooed, fingers stroking his jaw. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what?”

“When you said you loved me.” You analyze his expression, every contort of his face. “Or was it just because of a spur of the moment?”

The sudden vulnerable look on his face made you freeze. Donghyuck had always been a little guarded and you’d noticed that, no matter how hard he tried to hide it behind his teasing smirks and mischievous smiles. You just never questioned about it because like him, you also had your secrets to bury inside your chest. You thought it wasn’t fair to pester him about it when he never forced you to spill. It wasn’t like he was hiding the fact that he murdered people on a monthly basis like you did. Unbeknownst to you, anyway.

“I don’t think I know what love is,” he answered with eyes just as soft as his voice. “What I do know is that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I thought about you a lot, so much that it freaks me out.”

You quietly laughed. “You’re just obsessing over me.”

“Whether it’s an obsession or love, I’m willing to have it.” He cupped your face, eyes boring into yours. “I want to feel everything, I want you to make me feel everything.”

“That’s quite a demand.” You gazed down to his lips, tentatively touching his plump lower one with your fingertips. “But as a start, I think I want to love you too, Hyuck.”

The way he reflected your smile was both beautiful and heartbreaking—as if it was the first time he ever heard someone said those words back to him. He pulled you for another embrace, his lips grazing against your earlobe when he sighed, “That’s good enough for me.”

You giggled, nuzzling closer to him. “I think we’re late for our reservation.”

He chuckled. “We have got to stop skipping our meals for sex.”

***

[agustdakasuga]

A Place Called Home Drabble | ‘wedding day’

Genre: Hybrid!AU, Poly!AU?, Soulmate AU, romance, fluff, humour

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: vet!reader, Arcticfox!Seokjin, Panther!Yoongi, Goldenretriever!Hoseok, Wolf!Namjoon, Calicocat!Jimin, Tiger!Taehyung, Rabbit!Jungkook

Summary: Having saved your own injured hybrid, you were determined to try and help any other hybrid that crossed your path who needed saving. But being a vet in a small hospital wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to do more, you wanted to make a difference. You wanted to give them a home.

It’s time to make it official.

*DING DONG*

You ran to open the room door. 

“Head nurse Park!” You cried out loud, throwing your arms around her. She took a step back in shock as she hugged you, rubbing your back. You have been a mess the entire morning.  

“Where’s the angel?” She asked as you invited her into the hotel suite. 

“Taking his morning nap. He probably shouldn’t be seeing his mother turn into such a mess.” You rubbed your temples. Head nurse Park laughed and rubbed your back as you led her to the baby room, where Yoonjae was sleeping soundly. After checking him, the two of you stepped out. 

“Alright, I’m here on baby duty. Go back to getting ready.” She shooed you away. You went back to the main bedroom where your make up artist and hair stylist was waiting for you. 

“Calm down, mama.” Dr Yu patted your shoulders. 

“I can’t!” You were so jittery. The hair stylist continued curling and styling your hair while the make up artist finished your eyeshadow. 

“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry, you’re psyching yourself out.” Dr Lee chuckled, sipping her champagne with Dr Yu. 

“We bought a non alcoholic one for you.” She handed you a glass of alcohol free sparkling juice. You couldn’t drink since you were still breastfeeding Yoonjae and you weren’t going to risk something happening to a child because you were careless, no matter what the occasion was. You sipped the cold liquid, the bubbles helping you calm down. 

“I’m so glad I have you two.” You sighed happily. 

“We’ve got your back.” The two laughed. 

“Look who is awake, mama?” Head nurse Park came in with a half asleep Yoonjae. Yoonjae was never a baby that really cried much, which you were very thankful for. 

“Hello, angel.” You took Yoonjae into your arms. He rested his cheek on your shoulder, yawning sleepily. 

“He really is Yoongi’s son.” Dr Yu shook her head with a smile. Yoonjae loved napping, especially with his father. The two were really carbon copies. 

“Let’s get you changed.” You handed Yoonjae over to head nurse Park and went into the big bathroom with Dr Yu and Dr Lee. They unzipped the dress and helped you stepped in. 

“Absolutely stunning.” The two smiled softly at you. You turned around to see your reflection in the mirror and felt tears well up in your eyes. 

“No crying! You’ll ruin your make up and we’ll have to redo it!” Dr Lee laughed as she grabbed a tissue to dab under your eyes gently. You laughed through your tears. Not once did you ever imagine that you would be here, standing at where you currently were.. 

“Is she ready?” You heard a new voice and held your dress up, going out. 

“Mom.” You greeted her and she turned to face you. Seeing you all dolled up with your hair and make up in your stunning dress made her feel emotional too. And your mother was never one to really show emotions. 

“Beautiful.” She held your shoulders to take a good look at you. You hugged her, wrapping your arms around her. 

“You’ve really grown so much. I am proud of you and what you’ve become.” Your mother said. 

“Really?” You felt another round of tears come. 

“I don’t show it but I am so proud of you. Look at what a beautiful family you have.” She lightly kissed your cheek. From head nurse Park’s arms, Yoonjae reached out, wanting to be held by his grandmother. Your mother chuckled and held the child in her arms, cradling him gently, just like how she used to do it with you when you were Yoonjae’s age. 

“No more tears.” She smiled at you. 

“I’m only here because of you.” You knew what hardships your mother had to go through when your dad left without a trace. Even if you two never really expressed emotions, you were still very grateful for her. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Who is it?” Dr Yu went to the door. 

“No! I told you 7 that you’re not allowed to be here!” You heard her scolding and you already knew that it must have been the boys at the door. 

“I just want to know if my son is okay.” You distinctively heard Yoongi’s voice. 

“He is fine, in good hands. His mother and grandmother are here to look after him. You can see him after the ceremony. Now shoo! Go back to your wing!” She came back in, slamming the door in their faces. You threw your head back in laughter at her actions. 

“We have to go soon too.” Dr Lee checked her watch. 

“Stay with halmeoni, baby.” You kissed Yoonjae’s cheeks, laughing when you saw the sparkle from your lip gloss on his skin. Quickly, you grabbed a wet wipe to get it off. 

“Let’s go!” Dr Yu and Dr Lee slung arms with you. You nodded your head and wore your shoes. 

You stepped out but stopped outside the double doors. Your mother stood by your side with Yoonjae in her arms. He blinked in confusion, eyes shifting from side to side and you just melted at how adorable he was. 

“They’re in position.” Dr Lee peeked into the doors. You were jumpy and just couldn’t breathe properly with your heart pounding against your chest. You couldn’t believe it was actually happening. Of course, you had planned this with the boys a year ago and did a count down but you still felt that you didn’t have time to mentally prepare yourself. 

“You’ll be fine, dear. Calm down.” Your mother chuckled. 

“I just can’t believe it’s happening. What if we moved too fast? Are we being too rash?” You panicked. 

“Rash? You do know your mother is holding your son right? Those men there love you to death and they’ll never regret anything so you don’t have to worry. Stop scaring yourself.” Dr Yu told you. 

“You’re right.” You side eyed Yoonjae, who was blinking at you.

“I’m ready.” You took a deep breath. The doors opened and Dr Yu walked in front of you with Dr Lee, each holding their own bouquets. You walked behind them, holding your mother’s arm as she held Yoonjae. Yoonjae just looked bored at this point. 

“Absolutely gorgeous.” The 7 boys thought as they stood at the end of the aisle in their suits, waiting for you. 

The wait was definitely worth it, seeing your ethereal beauty. They were not allowed to see your dress, to see what you looked like. This was the first time this whole day that they were seeing you in your dress. 

“Hi.” You said shyly as you faced them. 

“Hey.” They greeted back, speechless from your beauty. Your cheeks heated up and you had to fan yourself slightly. 

“You may not exchange your vows with one another.” The officiant stepped aside to give all of you space. You all faced each other.

“Snowflake.”

“Kitten.”

“Petal.”

“My love.”

“Angel.”

“Jagi.”

“Beautiful.”

They all started their vows with your pet names, just like how they started when they first proposed to you at your new house. 

“I guess I’m first. You know I’m not one to openly talk about love like that but the first thing I have to say is, thank you, kitten. Not only did you save my life, but you also opened my heart. You healed me and my wounds. When you first brought me home, never did I think we would all be standing here. Now, we have our beautiful first born, Yoonjae. It’s an honour being your first hybrid.” Yoongi said.

The two of you turned to Yoonjae, who was now smiling at you. 

“Snowflake, there’s just so much to say. You say that I’m someone you know you can count on. Well, I feel that way with you. I know that you’ll always be there for me, for us. When things grew dark in my life, you were the light that constantly guided me.” Jin smiled. 

“Jagi, if you didn’t help me that night at the diner, I may not even be here. You took me, a stray, into your home just like that. You granted me shelter, you gave me a home.” Taehyung kept his short and sweet, worried he may cry. 

“I wasn’t there when you first met me. But I know, for sure, that I would have died that night if you didn’t save me. Even when I was angry with the world, you were always patient with me. You protected me and showed me what real love was.” Namjoon grinned, his dimple popping out. 

“(y/n), you were the angel in my life. I was scared of the outside world. No matter what happened, you have never judged me. You were always there to encourage me and love me. Even when you were in pain, you put me before yourself.” Jimin said. 

“My petal. I think if Yoongi hyung never found me that night, I never would have met you. I’m grateful for that. You love me for who I am. You give me the courage to be myself. You never made us feel unloved or abandoned.” Hoseok spoke.

“I was so horrible to you when we first met. I was just so angry but you never gave up on me, not once did you show any frustration. You were so loving, patient and kind, and you still are. When I came to you, you didn’t push me away like I did to you. Instead, you hugged me and let me cry on your shoulder.” Jungkook teared up. 

You were sure that you were a crying mess at this point. Jin cooed and leaned in to wipe your tears. 

“Breathe, my love.” Namjoon had a patient smile on his face. 

“Never did I once imagine that I would be standing here, getting married to all of you. From the night I met Yoongi, to right now, I have never felt even an ounce of regret from meeting all of you. 

You have all come so far and I am so proud of you. I’m grateful you let me stay by your side through each of your own journeys. You’re here today because of your own efforts and strong wills to get better and get to this point, you guys should give yourself more credit. It’s not all me.

We’ve been through a lot but I think that’s what makes us closer. I can’t wait for what life has installed for us but we’ll do it all together.” You said. 

The officiant carried on with the ceremony. 

“Do you take (y/n) (y/l/n) to be your lawfully wedded wife?” He turned to the 7 hybrid boys.

“I do.” They said in unison. 

“Do you take these 7 men to be your lawfully wedded husbands?” He turned to you. You gulped and nodded your head.

“I do.” You said. 

“You may now exchange rings.” They had their silver bands on while you had your diamond ring on your finger. You share a small kiss with each of them to end the ceremony. The crowd cheered and clapped for you as the 8 of you stepped out of the wedding hall. 

“You’re officially ours.” The boys shared looks and pulled you into their group hug. You laughed, letting your tears fall. Taehyung was quick to wipe them up.

“Come here, Yoonjae.” You carried him into your arms and Yoonjae rubbed his face into your neck. Yoongi rubbed his son’s back. 

“We love you.” The boys said. 

“I love you all too.” You smiled softly. 

“If we didn’t already mention, you look beautiful, snowflake. The dress is definitely made for you.” Jin held your hands in his and you blushed slightly, not used to the compliments.

“You all look rather dashing yourselves.” You giggled. Yoonjae began to whine, probably sleepy and wanting to take his nap. 

“I’ll take over.” Yoongi carried Yoonjae and stepped aside to a more quiet area to soothe his son and put him to sleep. Jungkook wrapped his arms around your waist, kissing your cheek. 

“I was so nervous.” You told them honestly. 

“Afraid we would run away?” Jungkook teased and you blushed. 

“Well, if it was any consolation, we were afraid that you would run away. That when those doors opened, there would be no one standing there.” Hoseok gently patted your head and you laughed. It was some comfort that the boys were fearing the same thing that you were fearing. I guess, you could call it a match made in heaven them. 

“We would never run away from you.” Jimin gently cupped your cheeks. 

“Yeah, you’re kinda stuck with us for life.” Taehyung held your hand with your wedding band, running his thumb over it. 

“There’s nothing I would want more.” You confessed, playing along with their cheesy, flirty attitude. Turning your head, you saw that Yoonjae had quickly fallen asleep in Yoongi’s arms. 

“But seriously, my love. There was nothing for you to worry about. You are absolutely perfect. It would be crazy of us not to wed you.” Namjoon consoled.

“I know, it’s was just my nerves getting the best of me.” You smiled. 

“Well, it’s your wedding day so enjoy yourself. We’ve got baby duty taken care of.” Jin gestured to Yoonjae.

“But it’s all of your wedding day too. We should all be enjoying it together. We can share baby duty. And Yoonjae is the easiest baby to care for. We’re married now, we have to share everything, including baby duties. Or did you forget that?” You giggled as you nudged him. 

“Oh right, I nearly forgot. Thanks for the reminder.” Jin winked. You burst out laughing and hugged him. 

“I haven’t scolded you guys for making me sob up there! What was with those vows, are you all trying to kill me? And you guys were the ones that made me promise no emotional vows.” You crossed your arms. 

“Yeah, we made you promise no emotional vows. We never promised anything.” Jungkook raised his eyebrows. 

“Well played, Jeon.” You playfully glared at him. 

“Time for pictures!” Dr Yu and Dr Lee, your bridesmaids, called all of you. Your mother helped hold a sleeping Yoonjae. 

“Say cheese!” You stood in the middle of all your boys as the photographer snapped the picture. 

Everything just felt right. It had been right since the beginning but this just made it all that real, it made it official. You’re all tied together by the strings of fate and nothing was ever going to separate you from your boys. From this point on, you knew your family was just going to grow with your love for one another. 

~~ 

Tag list

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[maddogofshimano]

Lee Wen Hai Character Story

Minor Y0 Spoilers

Alright it’s been a little bit but I was doing other nonsense like ripping all the substory text out of Y0. Anyways!

Sotenbori’s God Hand, Lee Wen Hai. I really love this dude. 

Summary: Lee is attempting to leave his life as a hitman behind for good, but a local organized crime group’s executive is asking him to do one more job. Things get messy, which is exactly what Lee was worried about.

<A few months after Makoto began working with Lee Wen Hai> Lee: Ya don't gotta push with much force. Just let your body weight handle it.

Makoto: Don't use force, use my body weight... umm, like this?

Lee: Nah, you're bein' too timid about it. Don't worry about hurtin' your old man none. (Tl note: I had to re-read this line a LOT but I’m like 90% sure Lee is just straight up calling himself her dad) Makoto: Y... Yes sir! Lee: ....Oh, that's gettin' a bit better. Now, your palm is one half of a conversation with the muscles. Makoto: There's a lot to massages, isn't there...! I'll study hard! Lee: Though, why do ya wanna do massages anyways? You're my guest, ya know it's fine if ya don't work, right? Makoto: You've done so much or me, I can't help but feel a little guilty... So I'd like to be helpful to you Lee-san, even if only a little. Lee: (After all the awful shit she's gone through, she's still a good kid...) Makoto: I've got a an older brother. He's really smart, and a hard worker so... I hope I can become more like him. Makoto: ....Lee-san, you remind me a little of my brother. Lee: Heh... So this brother, ya came over to Japan together? Makoto: No... when I was just a child, my brother disappeared... I haven't seen him since. Makoto: However, for some reason he showed up in Japan... Eventually, somewhere in Japan, I'm sure I'll meet him again. Lee: ...Alright. I'll help ya look for him too. It may not seem it, but I got some connections I can pull scattered all over. Makoto: Th-That's... I could never ask you to go that far... Lee: I'm your stand-in dad... nah, I'm standing in for your older brother. It may be corny, but you can rely on me for anythin'. (Tl note: the term Lee uses here is actually foster father, but it was hard to word well with the bit about her brother) Lee: So let's get lookin' for your real brother then.

Makoto: Lee-san... Lee: ...Huh? Y-You're cryin'!? I wasn't tryin' to make ya cry! Makoto: It's just... Since I came to Japan, I've never been treated this kindly... Lee: Geez, uh, I'm really no good when girls cry! I'm beggin ya, don't cry any more! Makoto: Okay... sorry... Lee: I was seriously... Organization Executive: Yo, am I interrupting? (Tl note: They’re pretty vague on things for a long time, but he’s part of the yakuza, so I’ll use appropriate terms so I don’t have to say “organization” over and over to stay generic) Makoto: Ah... welcome! Lee: ....Makoto, today's lesson is finished. How bout you head on home first. Makoto: Ah, yes sir. Thank you for today... Exec: That girl, seems like she can't see. Where'd you find her?

Lee: It's got nothin' to do with you. Why'd ya come here today anyways. If it's about a "job", you're barkin' up the wrong tree. I ain't in that business anymore. Exec: Haw? What do you mean? Lee: I mean exactly what I said. I ain't takin' "jobs" anymore. Exec: And would that possibly be... because of that girl? Lee: That ain't related. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that I've already decided that I ain't gonna do it! Exec: ...Well, you do have the freedom to go from a hitman to a civilian. In the end, however, you'll agree to take this contract. Exec: In the same way that blood and law are tied together, so too is our organization and its members. ...Still, your case is pretty straight forward. Lee: What do ya mean? Exec: You know too much of the underbelly of the organization. You know what that entails. Lee: .......... Exec: As a talented hitman, you could leisurely stroll around Sotenbori. Now that you're a civilian however..... Lee: The well informed acupuncturist will get erased, is what you're sayin'. Exec: That's it exactly. Lee: Heh, I already knew I was riskin' getting snuffed. Ain't the first threat of it, and it don't change how I feel. Exec: You're a stubborn bastard huh... Well, ultimately you'll help me with my job. Lee: What makes ya say that? Exec: Despite how I look, I'm an executive in the organization. I can talk to any of the higher ups directly. Exec: All I have to say is that this civilian's been meddling. Of course, I'd rather you just clean up this job. Lee: I've already decided I ain't killin' anymore. How many times do I gotta tell ya, I ain't takin' that job! Exec: It's fine if you don't kill. Really, I just want you to get a little violent. Lee: Huh....? <They head out> Exec: Inside this bar is a gang that I want you to knock around. Of course, it's fine if you don't kill them.

Lee: ...Is that really gonna be okay? Exec: Mhm, this job will be a cinch for you. ...Of course, I tried to tell you that. You just didn't want to listen. Lee: When it's a job from guys like you, it's never been simple... <he goes inside the bar> Lee: Pardon the intrusion.

Goon: Eh? Geezers ain't allowed in this bar. You can go drink cheap booze with your own family.

  Goon 2: We're renting the place out right now. Before you get scared shitless, don't you think it'd be a good idea to head on home? Lee: Heh... you brats sure have a mouth on ya. Too bad I went and grew a conscious before I could bury ya. Goon: What the hell did you say! You want us to throw you out on your ass!? <fight, Lee crushes them> Goon: G-Guh.....

Lee: What, it's already over? That gang was all bark and no bite. Exec: Finished? Lee: Yeah, they won't be standin' up any time soon. I stopped before it got to anythin' dangerous. Exec: As expected, you did everything exactly to the letter. It'll be quick to get them to cough up what I'm after. Exec: Oi! You two, do you know a man called Iwai? That asshole has something he was supposed to be watching. Goon 2: I-Iwai, it's been a long time since we've seen him..... Exec: Covering for him isn't going to be good for you! If you don't want to die, hurry up and spit it out! Goon 2: Honest! I'm serious, I don't know any more than that! Exec: Tch...... Hey, what do you think!? Is Iwai going to come here!? Goon: He won't...! He ran off to join some family and totally cut ties with us! Exec: ....Lee, these bastards, do you think they're lying? Lee: Hmm. Well, this group ain't exactly fearless. The whole crew is already pissin' their pants. Exec: Looks like they really are separate... <they head back outside> Lee: This job's done. Well, I'm headin' home.

Exec: No, the job isn't over yet. I know it's a bother, but I'll need you to stick with me a little while longer. Lee: Oi... you're changin' our deal. I just did your damn job! Exec: I told you this job was to tidy things up. That was supposed to clean things up, but the plan went off the rails. Lee: Piece of shit... Exec: Let's get going to our next destination then. Or would you rather I speak with my higher ups? Lee: That's different than what ya said earlier. You're a real weaselly guy. Exec: Let's say that you don't continue with this job, this world wouldn't speak kindly of that, right? Lee: You're gettin' ahead of yourself. Whackin' some chinpira is one thing, sniffin' after the Osaka yakuza will land ya in a world of hurt. Lee: Even if ya take me along as a body guard, there's nothin' stoppin' your business partner from pumpin' ya fulla lead. Lee: The jobs ya bring me are always this way. Without exception they're a pain in the ass that I get tangled up in. Exec: And yet you always get them done in the end, don't you? I'm going to buy that arm of yours once more. Exec: I'm begging you, Lee. Lend me your power one more time. Lee: ......I had just stopped stickin' my neck out like this and ya had to go and say stuff like that... Lee: I just gotta know somethin'. What is it that you're chasin' down? Exec: Our group's stolen cash... 200,000,000 yen. Lee: Hmm... that is a hefty sum. Exec: The amount doesn't matter to our organization, it's our pride that's been wounded. We absolutely must get that money back. Exec: If the money is returned via your cooperation, then my organization will no longer be able to touch you. Doesn't that sound like a good job? Lee: Keh, so that's your game. Awful patronizin' to say it that way. Lee: ....Eh, whatever. This is the last time I'll be workin' with ya. <END PART 1>

Exec: Ora! <punch>

Exec: Cough it up already, Iwai! <punch> Iwai: ......... Exec: There you have it. No matter how many times he's beaten he's not talking. Hmm... I guess these fists just aren't going to cut it. Exec: These guys that don't squeal, they really know how to take a hit. Well, no use beating on him for no reason. Lee: And this guy, he's the mastermind that ran off with your cash? Exec: Mhm, by the time I caught wind of it, he'd already hidden the money. Lee: What a lousy job. Exec: My kyoudai was preparing our payment to the government. To get him out of that jam, I have to keep looking. (Tl note: I’m assuming it’s a bribe, but I’m not actually sure! It might be a tributary payment up to the main branch but I can’t find much one way or the other on that) Lee: So you're coverin' for your kyoudai, huh. Exec: I agree that this job isn't worth it. But, for my kyoudai's sake, I'm going to keep searching for that cash. Exec: This guy's in a totally different league from that gang. No matter how much you torture him, he's not going to cough up the location. Lee: Hey, lemme have a go at squeezin’ it outta him. Exec: Sure, be my guest. I'm going to go ice my knuckles.

Lee: Well then... Iwai-san, let's get started. Nice to meet ya. Iwai: .............. <fade to black> Lee: Ya don't wanna know what kinda torture I got. Ya should talk fast. Iwai: ................. Lee: Do ya intend to stay quiet till ya croak? If that's your decision, ya gotta know you'll be tortured the whole time. Iwai: ............... Lee: If ya really ain't gonna talk, you've got some guts. Unfortunately no amount of guts or backbone is gonna get ya outta this. Iwai: .............. Lee: Eh, I get the picture. Well, let's get started. First off the nerves in your shoulder. Give ya a taste of the painful death you've settled on. Iwai: .............. Lee: (.....Hm?) Iwai: ...........? Lee: I couldn't recognize ya with how bad your face is swollen. You've been to Hogushi Kaikan before. I recognize the feel of this. Iwai: ............ Lee: Yeah, your shoulder was always real stiff. I'm rememberin' it now. ...Say, didn't ya always come by with a skinny lady? Iwai: ............. Lee: Ya both came in durin' the middle of the day smellin' like cheap soap. In the middle of the dry skin on her back, there's a bodhisattva inked in. Iwai: ............. Lee: Yeah, a soapland worker. Think I outta make her aware of this? Iwai: She's got nothing to do with this! Lee: Finally ya gave me somethin'. Though it wasn't very clear. Seems like that cash, well it must be hidin' in the same place as that soapland worker. Iwai: She really has nothing to do with this! Believe me! Lee: Seems I'll have to go hear that from her myself. Once I get there, I'll do some lookin' around. Iwai: I-I'm begging...! She... That woman, please forget about her! Lee: Man, you're a real fool. Not only did ya fall for a soapland worker, ya went and gave her all the family's cash too. Lee: And what, ya planned on stayin' silent till ya got beaten to death? Iwai: With all that money... she wouldn't have to work that job anymore... At least, that's what I thought... Lee: You really are a dang idiot... But, I'm the same kind of guy.

Iwai: Eh...? Lee: Hang tight. <Lee leaves> Exec: Oh? Did you get him to spill?

Lee: He said he left it at a soapland. Exec: Haw!? Of all the stupid shit. That bastard, does he think this is a game! Lee: Yeah, he probably does. Still, only one way to be sure. <Lee leaves> Barker: Sir, sir, would you like to spend some time playing today?

Lee: Yeah, I think I will. I think I'll pick a lady who's inked up with a bodhisattva.  Barker: Huh...? Lee: It's a pretty flashy tat. I'm sure ya know which shop she's in. Barker: Wh-What are you saying! Do you think I know every single soapland worker around here!? Lee: If that's the case I'll just have to search through 'em all myself. I might as well start with your shop and give it an examination. Barker: A-A weird customer is on his way over! Please, get the conflict resolution people! Yakuza: Hello, we're this area's "conflict resolution" people. Sir, I'm afraid you're making a bit of a scene.

Yakuza 2: If you're determined to play anyways, how about you play with us instead? Though, our play time might get a little rough for an old timer like you.   Lee: You got some soft 'n' green asses. I'll have to work 'em over a lil. (Tl note: Lee says their asses are green and mochi-like, and that he's going to 揉む them a little which is. uh. usually rub/massage. fellas the homoeroticism of this posturing is pretty intense) <they fight> Yakuza: Wh, some other family's messing with us! Someone, phone HQ for reinforcements....!

Lee: Aww, don't go kickin' up a fuss. We were just playin' around. Lee: I ain't gonna cause another racket on your turf. I'm just looking for a soapland lady who's got a bodhisattva tattoo. Yakuza: Bodhisattva tattoo... Lee: Seems like ya know her. Which shop? Yakuza: The discount shop on the first corner.... Her name is... Niru, I'm pretty sure.... Lee: Niru, huh. Thanks, that helps. <he goes> Lee: Pardon me.

Niru: Eh....?

Lee: So you're Niru-san, huh. This shop seems to be pretty empty. Niru: Who are you... you’re that massage shop's... You're... not a customer, are you. Lee: Hey, Iwai told me to come here for somethin'. Niru: ............. Lee: He gave ya somethin' to hold onto. He needs ya to hand it over to me. Niru: I-I don't know what you’re talking about... I'm not holding onto anything... Lee: Well that's a lie. Right now there's gonna be a mess of problems if ya don't hand it over. Niru: Problems... Lee: Do ya wanna end up fish food in the Sotenbori River? Niru: .....! Lee: That's the kinda thing you're dealin' with here. If ya understand that, just cooperate and hand it over. Niru: ......... <suitcase hits the ground> Niru: That person, he brought that suitcase and promised he'd be back to see me later... but, it's been more than two days since I've seen him... Lee: Did ya look inside it? Niru: No... Lee: That's good. See ya. <Lee leaves> Niru: Th-That man, what happened to him!? Is he okay!? Please! Don't kill that man! Exec: Ohh, you got it all back! What kind of torture did it take to get it!?

Lee: It took something much more painful than torture. Exec: Hehe, well, as long as the money's returned, it's all good! Though, was it really being held onto by a soapland worker.... Iwai: ......... Lee: I've got somethin' I need ya to do. Help this man out. Exec: Huh? After this guy took my family's cash? There's no way I can keep the blame off of him. Lee: I ain't askin’. Exec: Oy oy, what's all this about. Whether this jackass lives or dies, that doesn't really affect you does it? Lee: He made a promise to his girl. Exec: A promise....? Hahaha! Man, are you a weirdo or what!? Iwai: Ugh.... Lee: Huh...! Exec: Of course I'm going to kill him! And I'm going to kill that soapland worker too! And then... <pistol noise> Lee: Guh...! Exec: I'll kill you too. Lee Wen Hai. <END PART 2>

Lee: Guh... Exec: Hehehe... The professional killer Lee, putting another person's life above his own. Are you getting senile? Lee: Mother fucker! Exec: Uh oh, looks like you can't move. Must be from that hole through your stomach. Lee: You planned on killin' me from the start...! Exec: I'd heard you'd stopped taking jobs after you picked up that girl. It was pretty clear that you wanted to wash your hands of this business. Exec: That made this the perfect time to ask you to do this "job". Lee: ....... Exec: This cash really was stolen from my organization. But, it's not my kyoudai's cash. It was being prepared by an asshole I despise. Exec: That arrogant bastard came preaching to me about preparing his 100 million. I got so mad that I wanted to kill him. Exec: So that got me thinking. Who was stupid enough that I could tempt into stealing the payment? Lee: That idiot, he was... Exec: Mhm, and that man, he's the driver for that arrogant bastard. He's stupid and always having money trouble, so he was the ideal piece. Exec: I went to talk to him at his hideout with his crew. Exec: The suitcase I had with me had around 100 million yen in it, but I was being pretty careless. Lee: ................. Exec: And then of course that moron really went and took the money and fled. After that, I had to figure out what bait to use. Exec: He'd be captured wherever he was hiding. After he was disposed of, I'd use that money to gain favor in the family. Exec: That insufferable bastard would be disgraced... and everything would be perfect for me to advance. Exec: I didn't expect him to hand two hundred million yen over to that soapland worker... That guy, he's really a bigger idiot than I could have imagined. Lee: That's a shitty picture you've just painted. I did learn one thing from it... Exec: Ah, thank you. ...Well, that's enough of my bragging. Exec: I'll be sure to pass along the information about you. "He became a civilian and has run off somewhere" is what I'll say.

Lee: Ya really don't get it. It turns out, you're the one with no end game here. Exec: Oh...? Are you going to be a sore loser right at the end? Lee: Earlier, why didn't ya follow me when I went out? Exec: Nobody would believe that all that money had been entrusted to a soapland worker. But, with that in mind, how is my endgame a problem? Lee: When I was out I called your organization. Exec: Haw...!? Lee: When an organization is tryin' to retrieve cash, they don't make moves by themselves. Normally, they use foot soldiers. Lee: Plus, I was angry that I had already gone back on my promise to stop doin' this sort of thing. I figured I should know what kind of shape the family was in. Lee: And ya wanna know what one of your boys over there told me that really surprised me? <stabbing sound> Exec: Y-You piece of shit...! How did you...! Exec: Guh! Shit, the gun...! Lee: C'mon ya amateur, yer gettin' shaken and flustered. If it's me throwin' needles, it's more accurate than any gun.

Exec: Flustered...? That stuff about calling my family was a lie!? Lee: I really did call 'em. In fact, they're gonna be here soon. Exec: Wh-... Lee: I didn't expect ya to put a hole in my gut though... Ah well, I can handle a handicap. Exec: Handicap....? Lee: I'm gonna kick your ass before your organization shows up! If I'm workin' with this sorta handicap, it should make for a good fight! <they fight, Lee does in fact kick his ass> Exec: Gah....

Lee: Guess a single hole wasn't enough of a handicap. The guys from your organization haven't even shown yet. Lee: ...Hey, Iwai, you still alive? Iwai: G-Guh... Lee: Seems like bein' that stupid has made ya real tough. The members of your organization will be here soon. Ya better scram before it's too late. Iwai: I-... Is that okay..? Lee: Ya made that lady a promise. If ya break it you'll never sleep easy again. I'll smooth talk the boys. Get outta here. Iwai: I-I'm in your debt! <Iwai leaves> Lee: That guy also had a hole through his guts... He really is powerfully stupid. (Tl note: the line kind of implies he’s powerful because he’s stupid) Exec: Heh..... People sure do change when they get involved with a woman... Lee: Ah? You're already awake. Ya lookin' for round two? Exec: Don't even joke about it... Though, it is a relief... Lee: What is? Exec: That softness... it's going to kill you one of these days... I think before too long, we'll meet each other again in hell...

Lee: Say what ya like. I ain't dyin'. <door opens and the family boys come in> Goon: ...Oh, ouch. Our backstabber looks like shit.

Goon: You're an executive too. When someone betrays our organization... I'm sure you know what happens...? Exec: Shut up... Just do whatever you like to me, I don't care... Goon: Fine by me! Boys, end him! <beating noises> Another Exec: You're the hitman, Lee? Where's the money?

Lee: Here it is. Seems like it's all accounted for. Exec 2: ...Sure enough. Where is the man who took the money? The kid who drove for me. Lee: Ah, that matter has already been cleaned up Mr. Executive. If ya'd like to find him, maybe try lookin' around the mountains next year? Exec 2: ...That's good. You've done me a favor. If you ever need one in return, you need only ask. Lee: I think I got one thing ya can do for me in return. Exec 2: What's that? Lee: I'm becomin' a civilian. I'd like for ya to square that away. Exec 2: Is that all? Lee: Yep, just that. Exec 2: ...Understood. I’ll handle it. I'll stake my honor on it. Lee: Well, if that's all, I'm gonna head on home. <Lee starts to leave> Lee: ...Ah, if ya ever have any aches and pains come see me. I'll fix ya up at Sotenbori's Hogushi Kaikan.

Exec 2: Haha... Yeah, I'll stop by next time I'm in the area.

<A few weeks later>

Makoto: Press with my own body weight...

Lee: Oh, that's feelin' just right. Ya got some surprising talent for this. Makoto: Do you really think so!? I've been practicing on our regulars during lunch hours, so maybe that's why I've improved this much. Lee: Heh, and now we got even more regulars. Makoto: Yeah, like that one lady. She always smells like really nice soap. Lee: ...That customer, has she been comin' in alone? Makoto: Yes, by herself... Why do you ask? Lee: Nah, it's nothin'. I'm always happy to get more regulars. Makoto: This time she did say she wanted a massage from you, Lee-san. It sounded like she might be someone you've met before. Lee: (The soapland worker? I wonder if she'll ask me about that idiot man next time we meet...) Lee: ...Next time that customer comes in askin' for me, tell her I ain't gonna do it. Lee: I'd rather my apprentice get in some more practice. Makoto: Hehe, sure. Lee: Outside of that, anythin' odd happen? Makoto: Anything odd? Hmmmm, nothing recently. Lee: Alright. That's good. Though, if anythin' does happen tell me right... OW!? Makoto: Eh...!? Lee: That's where the gun... I mean, that's where I had a surgery! The wound opened! Makoto: I-I'm so sorry! Lee: I got a serious request... Let's start this from the beginning! Today's trainin' will be tough! Makoto: Yes sir! I'm ready to go!

<END>

Bonus time: man, Lee just can’t catch a break! it’s really interesting seeing this and the sugoroku event, Lee keeps sticking his neck out for people because he’s a good dude and it always goes to shit but he just keeps doing it anyways! I love him. After years and years and years of Kiryu dancing around ever saying he’s Haruka’s dad I was so taken aback by Lee just saying it outright. It hasn’t even been that long! 

also ouch! what a called shot by that exec! I hate that he’s completely right

I’m not really sure what happened to the other 100 mil, since 200 mil did get mentioned twice, or if I just misread something? It’d make sense if it were 100 mil from each executive but it was not super clear to me. I’m also not sure if Makoto saying that Niru smelled like really nice soap implies that Iwai did get her 100 mil still, or if it’s just a difference in world view where Lee thinks it smells cheap and Makoto thinks it’s nice. Iwai wasn’t with her, and she still smells like soap at noon, so I’m leaning towards her not getting the money

during the Y0 event they had The Grand as a location you could send teams to so they’d gather items for you. I sent Lee and..........

Lee. Lee I think they need those. Lee c’mon. 

actually... were... were those just lying around in the Grand...? 😳😳😳

[thrillridesz]

black magic ▫ sangyeon

➳ pairing: best friend!sangyeon x fem!reader ➳ genre: fluff, magic!au ➳ warnings/rating: PG ➳ word count: 2.7k ➳ requested?: no

a/n: this is written as a birthday special for tbz’s best leader sangyeon! happy sangyeon day everyone ^^ this story is also inspired by little mix’s ‘black magic’. This is unedited as of now and I finished this real quick so I’m sorry if it isn’t up to standard!

“Thanks for the surprise, I really appreciated it.”

The night was young as the luminous moon hung high in the dark sky, casting a soft, white glow on the earth below. A cool, night breeze whipped gently against your cheeks while you strolled the quiet streets with Sangyeon, a tranquil silence in the air safe for the soft scraping sounds of the fallen autumn leaves against the gravel ground as it got caught in the wind. Wrapped up tightly in your coat, you felt a sense of warmth spread across your chest, a warmth more cosy than anything else.

“It’s no problem! It’s your birthday, it had to be perfect.” You replied, shooting him a bright smile as you stuffed your hands into your coat pockets.

Sangyeon grinned, his eyes crinkling into crescents.

“It was, don’t worry. Not gonna lie though, I didn’t think it was Eric in that bear costume even for a second. You guys really scared me right there.”

Your laugh rang through the night as his smile grew wider.

“Well, it was a pretty impromptu idea! It was literally on sale for like 10 bucks, we just had to get it,” you threw your hands up in defense as Sangyeon chuckled softly, his breath coming out in white puffs from the cold.

“Always on the hunt for good deals, y/n. Always.”

“Of course! Though since you’re my best friend, I’m usually willing to pay just a little bit more.” You replied thoughtfully, tapping your chin as if deep in thought.

The two of you have been friends ever since you could walk. For the longest time, it was just the two of you against the rest of the world. When you got bullied by the other kids in the courtyard in second grade, it had been Sangyeon who stuck by you and defended you from them even if it meant he was to take some of the punches in your place. Likewise when Sangyeon had been dangerously close to repeating a year in eleventh grade, you had persisted in staying by his side to make sure he studied and understood everything the teachers’ had to teach. All through middle school and high school, the both of you have been thick as thieves. Whatever you did, he did as well and whatever he did, you did too. Things like spending Halloween and coordinating outfits, going to school and studying for exams… The two of you were each others’ constants and if anyone was to ever look up the term ‘best friends’ in the dictionary, they would no doubt find both your names in there.

What sort of ‘best friend’ would you be not to at least fork out a few extra dollars for the sake of an amazing birthday for the one and only Lee Sangyeon?

You didn’t notice the slight frown that crossed Sangyeon’s face which he quickly replaced with a soft smile but the look in his eyes were hardened and detached.

“Right.”

“Wait, what’s that?”

You stopped dead in your track, squinting as you pointed into a distance. Before Sangyeon could reply, you grabbed onto his hand, pulling him behind you while you made your way over. The colour in his cheeks darkened as he scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly, peering at you shyly. You were too engrossed in staring at the display in front of you to notice him, your nose practically touching the glass panel.

“Black Occult?” You mumbled under your breath, your eyebrows furrowing together.

“What’s going on?”

You turned to Sangyeon, a look of confusion etched in your face.

“You don’t find this weird?”

“What about it?”

“This was never here.”

At that, Sangyeon narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the store’s exterior. Wrinkling his nose, you saw the belated realisation dawn upon him.

“Oh, right. Didn’t this used to be an arcade?”

You rolled your eyes.

“You’re so dense sometimes, it’s unbelievable.”

“Can I help you guys?”

The two of you whipped around to see a certain pink haired boy standing with his arms akimbo at the entrance, staring at the both of you. His eyes were blue, almost unnaturally so, and he was clad in just about the most colourful suit you’ve ever seen anyone don on.  It felt like an assault to your sights, with all the neon colours yet somehow there was such a mysterious aura to him. In a way, it felt like there was an almost mystical vibe that you got from him that made you inclined to think that he wasn’t in any way human.

“W-We… Oh, we’re sorry. We didn’t know you were open.” Sangyeon replied and you could hear a slight tremble in his voice. He definitely felt the same.

“Are you guys looking to purchase anything?” The scowl on the boy’s face disappeared as his eyes widened.

“Um…”

“Excellent! Please, come on in. I was wondering why you guys were standing outside acting all weird but I didn’t realise you guys wanted to come in. It’s this goddamn black glass, isn’t it? I’ve told Haknyeon so many times we should change it. Makes it so hard to look in, I swear.” He rambled on, holding the door open with a wide grin on his face.

“Come on in! Feel free to look around. If you need anything, I’ll be here. Just call my name, Chanhee.”

You and Sangyeon exchanged a look as if hesitating to enter but one look at Chanhee’s enthusiastic expression prompted you to see foot into the store. Seeing that you were going in, Sangyeon shrugged as he followed suit.

The moment you entered the store, the overwhelming scent of lilies and peaches hit you with a pang while the dim lighting made it difficult to navigate even within the store. Yet once your eyes adjusted to the dimness in the room, you couldn’t help but marvel at the oddities that surrounded you.

On the wooden shelves attached to the wall, were rows and rows of oddly coloured liquid, too bright or too unnaturally coloured to have come from a source of nature. Several sprigs of unknown herbs hung on the walls, tied into bundles by string while on another side, candles of all shapes, sizes and scents lined the table. Well-polished crystals were arranged meticulously on an old mahogany coffee table near the counter and a particularly interesting looking bird flitted around in a wrought Victorian-style iron birdcage. It was small with a white beak and purple and yellow feathers with its wings flapping so fast, you could barely see it moving. You have never seen a bird like that before and although you started towards it, something else caught your eye entirely.

Picking up a small bottle, you inspected the glowing golden liquid in it, Tilting it in your hand, the viscosity of the mixture and the velvety look it had was almost mesmerising to stare at. As you turned it over, you leaned in to read the faded label on it.

“Love potion.” You said aloud, causing Sangyeon who had been looking at a bunch of tarot cards to look up at you.

“Ah, yes! One of our bestsellers that is!” Chanhee exclaimed, his eyes shining with joy and excitement. “Guaranteed to work! It’s only 15 dollars.”

“Why would you need anything like that?” Sangyeon scoffed, folding his arms across his chest as his biceps bulged ever so slightly.

“You never know… I just thought it looked pretty.”

Somehow, you couldn’t stop staring at it. It was as if it was whispering your name to ‘just buy it’. Then again, it could really just be the impulsive shopper in you but there was something so alluring and magnetic about it that you just felt like you had to have it in your possession. It was like letting a child go lose in a candy shop and finally seeing that one lollipop with the most beautiful swirls and crazy colours that just screamed flavour. You didn’t exactly care even if it wasn’t an actual potion, it just looked so aesthetic that you had to buy it.

“I’ll have it!”

Sangyeon looked at you as if you had just sprouted horns on your head as you handed over a dollar bill over to Chanhee who accepted it readily.

“Surely, you don’t actually believe that it’s a love potion.” He blurted out much to the disgruntlement of Chanhee who shot a deathly glare at him.

“It is! It’s been tried and tested. It works, okay?” He said with an air of haughtiness which Sangyeon grumbled at and instantly, Chanhee knew. He should have known earlier in all honesty, from the way he had seen the man stare at you. A slow smile began to spread across his face.

Interesting.

As Chanhee watched the two of you leave the store with Sangyeon still rambling on about how you ‘just wasted 15 bucks for nothing’, he leaned into his chair contentedly. With a snap of his fingers, a cosy glass of grape wine materialised in his hands and with a sip, he sighed.

“Darling didn’t even need a love potion.”

“I can’t believe you actually bought it.” Sangyeon said, his voice still carrying a tone of disbelief.

“Look at it though, isn’t it pretty? I mean even if it isn’t actually a love potion, it’s nice to look at.” You said, still looking at the glowing liquid in the tiny bottle. Slotting in the key and entering the shared apartment the two of you shared with Younghoon, a childhood friend to the both of you and Hyunjae, a mutual friend from university. Since Younghoon was away in Spain with his girlfriend, Bea, it was really only Hyunjae in the house who you found clad in a dinosaur onesie as he lounged in front of the television with a big bowl of buttered popcorn in his lap.

“Oh, you guys are back. I was wondering where you guys went after the party.”

“We were… A little caught up.” Sangyeon said slowly, casting you a knowing glance which you avoided.

“Figures. You guys left earlier than I did.”

“Because you were busy fraternising with anyone you can possibly bring home, which I can see you’ve failed.” You joked and Hyunjae tossed a pillow at you, with a scowl on his face.

“Ugh, get out of my way.”

You laughed out loud as you set the bottle on the kitchen tabletop, causing him to turn to look. When he did, his eyes widened almost comically large as he leapt to his feet.

“What’s that?” He shuffled over quickly with a look of awe.

“Some stupid love potion thing,” Sangyeon replied curtly before you could even open your mouth to say anything. You turned to him with a frown at which he merely shrugged off carelessly as he preoccupied himself in rummaging through the refrigerator for a late night snack.

Taking the bottle from you, Hyunjae held it up against the light, his dark eyes shining with overflowing curiosity and doubt. The light reflected off the smooth,clear glass, making the gold liquid inside it look even more luminous and even wispy with the liquid swirling almost in slow motion no matter how you look at it. You have never seen anything like it and judging from Hyunjae’s expression, neither has he.

“Looks interesting.” He declared after a moment of inspection as Sangyeon turned to him in disbelief.

“Not you too. That guy definitely ripped y/n off. Seriously, y/n.” He tsked, sauntering over and snatching the bottle from Hyunjae.

“Doesn’t seem like anything special. A love potion? In this day and age? I don’t buy it for a second.” There was disdain in his eyes as he pursed his lips in disgust. Popping open the bottle, a sweet scent of tangerines and pineapples rapidly permeated the small apartment and maybe it was just you but you thought you felt your heart flutter just a little. A smile made its way onto your lips quite unconsciously and a tiny jolt of electricity shook you in the most delightful way possible.

Could it be…?

You lifted your gaze to see Sangyeon stare at the bottle in his hand with a startled look on his face, his mouth slightly ajar and you knew that he had felt the exact same thing. Though that look of surprise disappeared just as quickly as it came and his expression hardened.

“That’s a lot of artificial flavouring for one bottle.” He clenched his jaw as his grip on the glass bottle tightened and you could see the veins protruding ever so slightly from his forearm.

You narrowed your eyes.

“If you’re just going to whine, then give it back to me. Just don’t look at it.”

As you leaned forward, Sangyeon took a step back.

“Why? Are you going to try giving that to someone?”

Raising an eyebrow, you regarded him with suspicion.

“Sure, why not? There’s a really cute guy in my statistics class, even if it doesn’t work - which I’m pretty sure it doesn’t so don’t worry - it’s still worth a shot.”

You barely noticed the flash of disappointment in Sangyeon’s eyes and how his shoulders sagged ever so slightly as you ripped it from his hands. Yet before you could cap it back, he grabbed it back so hastily that you didn’t even have time to react. Throwing his head back, you and Hyunjae could only watch in shocked silence as you gulped down almost half the bottle.

Wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, he shot Hyunjae a piercing glare as the latter let out a wolf whistle, his eyes filled with mirth and genuine adoration.

“Damn. That was... Ironic.”

You didn't say anything except stare at Sangyeon and a moment passed without anything out of the ordinary happening. There was no burst of sparkles or anything growing out from anyone’s body, nothing crazy at all. 

Huh. So maybe it was actually a hoax.

“That should be enough proof,” he said in an ‘I told you so’ tone which you rolled your eyes at. “That's some nice potion though or whatever you wanna call it.”

“Really? Let me have a taste.” 

Reaching over, Hyunjae took a sip and hummed merrily. 

“Oh dang, this is amazing. It’s like an orange smoothie except a million times better.”

Lifting his head, he turned to look at you and what you saw made you almost stumble back in shock. The colour of his eyes held a faint flash of pink before they returned to normal but when they did, they no longer held the playfulness and casual air that Hyunjae always wore but rather, they were filled with such intense passion and affection. It was like looking into the eyes of someone who was extremely, completely, slap me silly and deeply...

In love.

“Have I ever told you how pretty you look? I know I’ve never said this but... I think I love you,” Hyunjae said in a low, soft voice as he reached out to hold your hands in his.

“I...I...” You spluttered at a complete loss of words, wringing your hands frantically. 

At that, Sangyeon swivelled around to stare at the two of you. 

He could only watch as Hyunjae lifted his hand to gently brush your hair away from your face as his other hand reached up to cup your face. 

“How could I not have notice- Hey!”

Grabbing him by the collar from behind, Hyunjae practically flew back as Sangyeon pulled him away with a disapproving frown on his face. There was a deep frown etched onto his face, his eyes crinkling as he looked at the latter with an almost irritated expression. Though somehow, you could detect a faint hint of fear in his demeanour. In a way, the uneven and volatile energy radiated so strongly off him that it was hard not to see it in any other way.

Was Sangyeon perhaps jealous?

No. It couldn’t be, he was your best friend. Furthermore, how did the potion work on Hyunjae but not Sangyeon? Unless...

You let out a soft gasp as the realisation dawns upon you. It seemed as if Sangyeon may have come to the same realisation almost as soon as you did because he turned to you with such an expression of sheer panic, the sound of his heart pounding so loudly you could hear it. 

The potion didn’t work because he was already in love with you.

[athys-obelia]

summary: the non dysfunctional!imperial family au hcs no one asked for 😳👉👈

character/s: anastacius de alger obelia, claude de alger obelia, athanasia de alger obelia, jennette de alger obelia

here's part 2 :)

let’s set our stage, shall we?

first of all claude n anastacius’ dad is dead coz we don’t like him at all ew

so ana is the emperor, and claude is his heir presumptive (aka he’s got the strongest claim to the throne rn, but this can be changed by the birth of someone who has a stronger one - ie, anastacius’ child who would be the heir apparent) also bc “i know my mom and i gave u lots of childhood trauma that you prlly won’t be recovering from because therapists aren’t a thing here but here’s a crown you might get to make it better”

claude’s in a position where after the birth of ana’s kid/direct descendant, he’s gonna be given a duchy that athy should inherit after him while still retaining the title of prince

but after hearing of diana’s pregnancy, ana tells her and claude he doesn’t really plan on having children and wants to make their future kid his successor

he basically reserves a spot for their child in the directory and rather than announcing anything publically, anastacius names her athanasia after the sex is confirmed

then this mf obviously pulls a clown move and gets penelope pregnant and complicates things, ultimately naming her jennette, finding the name fitting - ‘god is gracious’

and really, what could be more evidence of god’s grace than the child he’s now fathering, when he thought his legacy would be ending with him?

anyways!!!

so since athy and jennette are born near the beginning of ana’s reign, both claude and anastacius are wayyy too busy trying to bring back the empire from the literal brink of bankruptcy and a possible war to really spend time w their kids

it’s alright, though!! lily is hired as athy’s nanny, while jennette gets kiel’s mom as hers

they all still live together, though obviously the main palace is for ana + jennette while claude + athy are in a separate one

this 'separate one’ is ruby palace after ana dismisses the concubines and he definitely 100% did this on purpose, and whenever he’s summoning claude he’s such a shit about it and goes about it the way you’d summon a deadass concubine

on a separate note, it’s surprisingly claude who visits athy first - he’s seen her here and there with lily but hasn’t ever had the chance to spend time w her. but now it’s almost been a year since athy’s birth (or diana’s death), her first birthday is fast approaching, and he is drunk

lily is a reallyyyy light sleeper and enters the nursery upon hearing someone inside

she doesn’t expect to see the prince standing above his daughter’s crib, a strand of her golden hair between his fingers as he just…stares at her

she approaches quietly, curtsying in greeting - he’s too absorbed to notice, and after a few minutes of silence lilian tells him, “babies can get lonely too, your highness.”

he glances at her then, confused. “how?” he really can’t understand how this girl, who can’t even speak yet comprehend something like loneliness

“princess athanasia is very responsive to her surroundings, much more than children her age usually are,” lily says, “and i like to believe children are able to tell when their parents are with them.”

he scoffs - what a foolish thought. still, claude sits by her bedside, and before he can register it, he’s taken over by sleep

the next night, claude makes his way towards the nursery and stiffly asks if athy could sleep beside him for the night - it’s fairly late, but lilian allows it

he’s gone to the main palace too early the next morning for athy to be awake, but she spent about two minutes tops worrying about the strange surroundings, saw the shiny chandelier and fancy bed and decided yes, she doesn’t mind this kidnapping

this becomes somewhat of a regular occurrence soon enough, and sometime that week she wakes up in the middle of the night with her nose pressed into something soft and literally falls off the huge ass bed at the realisation that this something soft is actually her papa’s hair (you just know that hair smells great i mean uh-)

this mans wakes up and peeks at her on the ground, reaches out to grab her from the front of her nightdress (he swears it’s exactly how he’s seen lilian do it) and plops her back onto the bed

she backs up OBVIOUSLY, you don’t just wake up with a random ass man in your bed and just vibe together?? lee jihye is dying but he glares at her for disturbing his sleep and athy pulls her act together in 0.000001 secs as claude pulls her closer and goes back to sleep

as athy grows, claude starts allowing her to visit his office during the day until it becomes a sort of ritual - he’d have tea and milk prepared and she’d come, sitting somewhere completing a puzzle or sum while he works

mans nearly tears down the entire imperial palace the day she doesn’t show up until he finds her in the garden, teaching jettie the 'proper’ way to hold a teacup during tea parties while lilian and roger’s wife, vivian, watch

athy emotionally blackmails asks him to join the tea party, so half an hour later, anastacius finds his brother sitting on the grass with a plastic teacup that athy’s filling with hot water as she lectures him to learn to fix his posture from lily so he can sit like a “proper dignified lady”

so in the beginning, jennette actually ends up spending more time with claude than her dad. though one day, the brothers are in the audience hall when athy runs in with felix running after her telling her not to run (there’s a shit ton of guards surrounding anastacius so felix has orders to be with princess athanasia when claude is with ana)

anastacius is used to this sight, and watches, smirking at his brother’s subtle smile as athy offers him this wonky looking flower crown - claude accepts it wordlessly, and ana wants to slap his ass to sanity, who wouldn’t thank their kid when they do adorable things like this??

but then they hear another voice, and in comes jennette with vivian not too far behind her. now jettie has a much cleaner looking crown in her hand, but she glances at her father’s elaborate and beautiful crown all embedded with gems and glittering and then at the one she’s fashioned out of daisies

she's always thought she was much like her uncle - jennette was so fascinated by the plain daises, they weren’t flashy but caught her eye all the same - while athy was shiny and bold like her dad

but now she’s second guessing her choice, how could she make such a simple crown for her dad, the emperor??

claude sighs from beside anastacius and literally picks off his brother’s crown before tossing it towards a very tired felix

athy urges jennette forward, and with a bright red covering her entire face she offers the crown. jennette glances at her uncle for comfort before muttering, “for papa”

anastacius.exe has crashed

this blushly, embarrassed, and apparently talented at flower crowns kid was his?

long story short he forgets to breathe or react and jettie thinks he hates the crown and hates her and won’t ever like to see her again so she starts getting teary

claude pushes his brother’s head down before athy can be convicted for murder

ana 100% almost faints when her tiny chubby fingers delicately place the crown in place, he’ll never admit it but he closed his eyes and almost hugged her instinctively as she shyly adjusted some of his bangs around the new headpiece, muttering, “papa pretty”

jennette rushes back to her sister, who’s glaring daggers at the emperor

anastacius tries to smile to calm jennette a bit and maybe look nice enough for his niece to not kill him in his sleep

right well kiel becomes the royal playmate for both the princesses - athy has her classes with him since she’s advanced and honestly they’ll be going back forth with infodumps one minute and he’s teaching her to make paper airplanes the next

(she writes notes on the paper airplanes the next time she’s in claude’s office and flies them towards him, stuff like, 'does uncle cius also snore loudly like papa?’ and he gets seriously offended like a pissbaby)

jennette first met kiel when he was visiting his mom - vivian had to leave for a bit and she taught him a bunch of flower names and their meanings in the meantime - he makes sure to research a new flower every time he visits her, and brings her a bouquet of said flowers she always knows them but never says anything coz she doesn’t wanna hurt his feelings and he gets so excited as he tells her about their meanings it’s so cute

speaking of jennette - claude and ana may seem worlds apart but they’re at the same level of emotionally constipated

ana watches his brother and niece interact and he craves that, an unconditional, timeless love that can’t possibly be tainted by ulterior motives or the like, but he just doesn’t know how to approach little jettie

it seems easy enough - she’s a smiley, sweet girl and theoretically would be friendly if he is to approach her

but gods he’s just so ashamed - such a sweet babe grew without either of her parents and he doesn’t have an excuse because holy hell, even claude is close to athy

he’s being served food in his chambers when he asks the maid about jennette, and she tells him how among her first words was 'love’ and the brunette would just stroll the palace pointing at people and declare “love you” and watch their face light up

thats so CUTE OMFG

his jaw is touching the floor when he’s told that his daughter knows the names of every worker within the palaces

at this point he’s honestly questioning whether this child is his at all

he’s absolutely horrified at the realisation that this maid, who doesn’t even work in jennette’s part of the palace, knows more about her than he does - hell, he hadn’t even asked vivian to keep him updated on her growth, what right does he have to stick himself into her life now?

now, the maid quietly suggests starting with something small like inviting jennette to tea and

of course he goes about it the wrong way??

poor jettie thinks she’s being tested by the ruthless emperor on her etiquette and spends the entire day practicing with claude after athy guilted him into it

she’s so nervous in front of her dad that he honestly feels even guiltier, and anastacius hurries to grab her hands in his to calm their tremble as she reaches to serve him tea

she apologises lmao and he’s just so flustered himself that he orders for her to sit down and instructs her through a few deep breaths

as she calms down, ana serves her the tea before asking whether girls her age even drink tea

she says no and you can literally hear the crickets

he slides the cup he’s poured for her over to his side before gesturing towards the deserts (it was claude’s daughter-luring pro tip) on her side

“you look like you read a lot,” ana says, before asking whether she’s been reading anything interesting lately

“i don’t, actually,” she tells him shyly

anastacius laughs at how of all things his hate for books is what she got from him - and only when jennette chuckles does he realise that he said that out loud

he lets her go around her bedtime, feeling rather… energized? he doesn’t know how to explain it, but it’s a good feeling

he’s busy again the next day, but has an aide send her flowers - the same ones she had put in her flower crown for him

yes lucas is still sleeping in the palace, yes athy still finds him

so athy sees the flowers from uncle cius and is enraged, literally walks up to her uncle and demands he leave jennette alone if he’s only gonna break her heart by neglecting her

and so we have fifteen minutes of the emperor of obelia stuttering as he explains himself to this seven year old

smfh his cluelessness reminds her of her own dad and she takes pity on ana’s suffering soul

the next morning, to give him a chance to redeem himself, athy asks all four of them to have breakfast together - they accept the invitation, and despite an awkward start, the meal seems to be going well

peace is not written in this family’s fate however, and this is where the first coughing up blood thing happens

ohhhh the palace staff almost gets massacred that day

athy’s limp body is moved to jennette’s room since it’s the closest - lily bursts into tears at the very sight of her princess, jennette refuses to eat or drink until her sister can, felix hears his heart break, claude is barely holding himself together

ana is livid - who dares poison a member of his family? what has he even done to earn the privilege of calling these girls his family, when he can’t protect them, at the very least?

claude absolutely refuses to leave her room and finishes all his work right outside her door, lest she wake up in pain again

anastacius can’t keep his own anxiety about jennette at bay, insisting she sleep with him as long as claude stays with athanasia - he can tell she’s drained, and she ends up sharing some of her worries late at night. he soothes both her worries and her cries, letting her curl up into him despite it being a rather uncomfortable position

the family is thrown into chaos again once they realise it was never poison, but athy’s own magic that caused this

aka when chibi lucas drops by and voodoos her back to 100%, everyone legit starts worshipping the ground he walks on - he saved their precious princess!!

ana insists on making him athy’s royal playmate after hearing she isn’t fully healed yet

what does this give us? well, a very very early lucas vs kiel

since they’ve both got the title of royal playmate, they constantly argue on whether being the future duke alpheus is a better title than the future royal magician

the girls are always dragged into this - athy always takes kiel’s side to avenge blackie, and jennette likes kiel too, but the young magician sir saved her sister!!

so.

when vivian passes away due to an illness, it’s like roger is an entirely different person

jennette + kiel + athy all help with the funeral preparations since she was a mother/aunt to them all

felix seems to be paying extra attention to kiel

it isn’t long after this that roger decides to send him to arlanta for his studies, leaving behind two disillusioned princesses

athy spends her time viciously studying to stay ahead of arlanta’s curriculum, while jennette takes an interest in cooking

(athy tries and fails spectacularly; lucas laughs at her and jettie accidentally serves him his favourite food too salty to be edible)

a/n: this would be the first of the two parts, so stay on the lookout, hope y'all enjoyed n have a great day <3

edit: part 2

[minerstatus]

Teyvat’s School for the Gifted

Summary: He's cruel, mean, and sadistic. Lumine cannot fathom why he has the followers he does, but she won't fall into his hands like the rest of them.  It was unknown to her at that time how such a stance would cause the biggest uproar the schools ever seen.

This is the silly drama filled high school/college parody AU nobody asked for filled with Lumine not giving a shit and Childe trying to buy his way out of problems.

Ship: Lumine/Childe

Tags: Highschool AU, Enemies to lovers, Slow burn, Jealousy, lots of side ships.

Status: 5/? on Ao3

Chapter 1

The school located on an island inside the neutral zones between nations is a blessing for anyone without a swimming pool filled with mora. Without money you have to be gifted a vision to attend. That is why Lumine thought she would never be accepted to such a place. Instead cursed to live her life on a small farm on the outskirts of Mondstadt, killing small monsters for money to aid her ailing mother.

She had become quite the prodigy around the area. Her sword work was nothing to be trifled with. Some would even gush about what it would be like if she did have a vision. Then it happened, a strange string of life changing events.

-

 She enjoyed spending her free time sitting under the statue of the seven in windrise. It gave her a reprieve from her day-to-day life of school, killing, then sleep. She polished her blade most days she sat there, enjoying the sounds of the wilderness around her.

 As she sheathed her blade, wistfully thinking about what it would be like to magically summon and desummon it as a vision user, a light began to shine behind her. There was a flash, she thought maybe a vision might appear in front of her. But this was no test or life changing event. It didn’t make sense.

 Wind surrounded her body, lifting her skit in the breeze. She turned, it followed with her. She lifted her hand as a power surged through her. A burst of wind jetted from her palm and sliced across the water. It trimmed the tops off the over grown grasses lining the ponds edge. The wind died down and left her for elsewhere as the light slowly faded out of existence.

 Befuddled, she stared at the palms of her hands. She felt a power emanating from her core. With a trembling arm she raised her palm again, calling forth on the energy. It darted from her as before. Shocked, she tried it again and again, smiling gleefully with each blast of wind. She twirled around, searching for her vision, but came up empty.

-

That is how the first visionless anemo user was born. At first people didn’t believe her. Delusions were not unknown to the common folk of Teyvat. They were a staple favorite of the mafia families across the regions. But she quickly smashed those theories to pieces. Not only was she a poor farm girl fighting to survive, but where on earth would she have the money to afford such a thing. She allowed an inspection of her things and a pat down to prove it.

After the authorities decided that she did not have a vision she was free to do as she wished. That was until the head master of Teyvat’s school for the gifted showed up on her doorstep. The scholarship she was offered would give more money to her mother per month than she could in six months of hunting. She took it without question.

That’s how she ended up here, gawking at the building in front of her. The school defied the rumors. Statues carved from marble, fountains that defied gravity, even the wood it was built from looked impossibly expensive. Heck, the wildlife looked like they ate from golden platters.

The only thing that held her from running right back to the boat was a woman pinning her down with a chemically assisted cheerful gaze. A shiver ran up her spine as she waved her over. She obliged only because her eyes looked a hair away from snapping into crazy land.

“Welcome to Teyvat’s finest Lumine!” She cheered and began to clap.

“Thanks,” She mumbled, intimidated by her nature. She looked like a robot. Sleek black hair, not a strand out of place. Perfectly pressed blazer and pencil skirt in matching shades. Her glasses glistening in the sunlight, even if they were just plain black frames. She hoped not everyone in this school looked or felt this way.

“Follow me and I'll take you to your dorm. Then it’s a trip around campus!” She quipped then turned on her heel. Even her footsteps were a perfect tempo.

They walked through the faculty building, which thankfully looked normal inside. The site quelled her turning stomach. It was into the garden next that, as expected, looked immaculate. They even had a massive sand garden. Back in Mondstadt something like that would be destroyed in seconds.

Eventually they came upon another wooden building with a large ‘girls’ over it. The woman stopped and spun so fast on her heel Lumine almost let out small scream.

“This is the girl's dorm; your roommates are waiting for you inside with your things. I'll be back in thirty minutes for the rest of the tour,” she said, smile never once faltering as she left Lumine to her own devices.

Her roommates were nice, they greeted her in the common room just as her guide stated. Amber was a bit too enthusiastic for just about anything. Barbara was a very cheerful girl but was more reserved. It was a breath of fresh air to see two friendly faces. They led her to their dorm to get settled.

“So, what do you think?” Amber asked as Lumine began to unpack her luggage. Placing her uniforms carefully into her small closet along with her own casual clothing. Her own things almost felt dirty comparted to the schools uniform she was provided. And the room was much bigger than what she expected from a dormitory.

“It's overwhelming,” She admitted.

“You'll get used to it,” Amber laughed.

“Are you?” Lumine began to ask.

“Scholarship,” Amber answered, holding up her vision, “They keep the poor kids together so we don’t infect the rich kids.” She laughed.

“Hey!” Barbara yelled at her. Lips pointing into a pout.

“Except for Barbara, she requested to room with me. She's the exception.” Amber smiled at her friend.

“So, it's exactly how I thought it would be,” Lumine grumbled. This school was probably dripping with rich kids causing trouble for the normal folk, like she expected.

“Some of the students are alright, indifferent you might say. But there are,” Amber held up her hands as air quotes, “those types.”

“Will you guys be in my classes?” She asked.

“Nope, third years!”

Lumine felt her insides twist. Great, now she would be alone on her first day. At least her dorm would be nice. Amber was warm and friendly and Barbara seemed sweet even if she wasn’t talking as much. The pair would only be a year below her so they were still close in age. Hopefully she wouldn’t be moved to another dorm with the ‘adults’ if she attends the next four years after this one.

“You don’t want to be in our year anyways,” Barbara laughed.

“Whys that?” Lumine felt a small smile form for the first time since she set foot on the island. Barbara wiggled her eyebrows and gleamed over at Amber. She turned red in response and threw a pillow at her.

“Stop! Its not my fault!” She shouted.

“It’s gross the way he drools over his desk for you,” Barbara added.

“Mind filling me in?” Lumine asked.

“No!” Amber shouted.

“She has this wolf boy that follows her around and causes trouble. Its adorable,” Barbara said anyways.

“I didn’t ask for it he just did it!” Amber defended herself.

“It's like a comedy slash horror show every day,” Barbara giggled.

“Stop teasing me,” Amber whined.

“Wolf boy?” Lumine asked. Mondstadt had a steady population of people descendant of shape shifters or animals, but she had never seen a wolf before. Most of them were cats. Granted, she did keep to herself and didn’t really mix with the town folk, even at school.

“Half werewolf, half human, grew up in the wild before coming here earlier in the year,” Amber explained.

“He can smell everything, it's awful,” Barbara moaned, “one time I tried to bring some leftovers from lunch and he almost ripped apart my bag looking for it.”

“Sounds like a nice boyfriend,” Lumine said, hiding her smile as she sorted items into her desk drawers. Amber gasped from behind her. She swallowed a laugh.

“H-he's not my boyfriend!” She yelled. Lumine busted and began to giggled along with Barbara. She was interested in seeing the exchanges between the two now.

“Very funny guys, I'll make sure to make fun of your pain in suffering next time I get the chance.” Amber crossed her arms.

“Alright I'll stop,” Barbara waved her hand at her. A sharp knock on the door quickly soured the cheerful mood. The door swung open and Lumine’s guide walked in.

“Fantastic, I'm so glad you are getting along with your new housemates. We must complete the tour now.” The woman said, still as cheerful as ever. Lumine noticed Barbara and Ambers shoulders fell on her entrance. “I'll be waiting out front,” she chirped and left.

“God, Mrs.Lee always gives me the creeps,” Amber said.

“Glad it's not just me,” Lumine laughed as she stood.

“Good luck! See you at dinner,” Amber waved as Lumine exited the room. She heard faint whispers of gossip as she left but knew it was nothing bad, those girls didn’t have a mean bone in them.

-

They walked around campus and Lumine slowly became accustomed to the wildly expensive taste. She was shown the inside of the year one through four buildings, for the fourteen-to-eighteen-year old's. Then the outside of the adult facilities. Mrs. Lee assured the only real difference between the two was the uniform requirement and some extra freedoms.

After taking the tour she felt less overwhelmed, but it was the final stop that really cemented the reality most of the students lived in. It was the cafeteria of the school, but should have been classified as a food court. There was the line for the scholarship students where they could use one of three free meal tickets per day, or a snack coupon, all loaded onto her school ID. Wich was normal, same thing that she had in Mondstadt, minus the dinner.

What was different was the restaurants lining the walls. Everything you could imagine from each region on tap. And the prices were nothing to scoff at. A Fishermans toast was going for ten thousand mora, she could make that for less than three hundred back home. Lines scaled out to the isles as students waited, eager to be robbed for food.

“Lumine!” A familiar voice shouted. She sighed in relief. A distraction to this insanity was required right about now. She carried her tray adorned with less appetizing food from the school over to the table Amber sat at.

“This place is crazy,” Lumine sighed in exhaustion.

“My first day I ran away,” Amber laughed. She placed a spoon full of mac and cheese into her mouth.

“Those prices are more than I make in three weeks back home,” She said as she began to eat. Pleasantly surprised that even the free food was delectable. The pasta was perfectly cooked, cheese sauce an ideal creamy texture. She moved on to nibble at her cookie, baked expertly with a crispy outside and a gooey center. “God,” she murmured, savoring the taste.

“I told you, you get used to it,” Amber smiled sweetly. A book bag slamming down on the table instantly cleared her face. She looked up to see what she assumed was the wolf boy from earlier discussions. Lumine wondered why Amber felt it was bad to have his attention. He was attractive, silver hair and red eyes, giving him an exotic look. His arms were coated in scars and a massive one gashed his face, not a bad look if your into that type. Some of the girls back home would swoon over the attention.

“Why,” She groaned as he pulled out a seat, pushing it right up against hers as he sat a plate of meat and potatoes down. It must have been one of the free creature meals from the school line. He sat, making sure he was as close as physically possible to her.

Okay, maybe that’s why. Lumine began to understand.

He tilted his head like a new puppy, “Why?” He asked, voice thick with an unknown accent.

“We talked about this,” She shoved his chair away. “This is Razor,” She sighed as he sunk into his chair to pout. Lumine nodded and greeted him with a smile.

“I bought brownies!” Barbara sang as she skipped over to the table, “For our new friend,” She handed out the sweets, “And beef jerky for you,” She said as she handed Razor a slim piece of dried meat. He perked up and took it, chewing on it greedily. After the experience with the cookie Lumine thought the food couldn’t get better. But the brownie was smooth decadent layers of velvet chocolate that melted in her mouth. She had to suppress a groan.

There was a pickup of chatter in the room that pulled her from her chocolate induced fantasy. She looked towards the entrance of the café where a group of boys walked in. They were followed by a gaggle of other students, mostly female, all adorned with an expensive accessory or more.

Lumine was an honest person and she did not deny to herself that these boys looked like royalty. They walked with an air of confidence even through the crowd, knowing that the sea of students would part for them. She counted each of their visions, anemo, geo, cryo and hydro. There was a distinct leader to the group out of the four. A redhead who wore his vision on his belt, showing it off by messily tucking in half of his unkept shirt. Like he wanted people to see it, unlike the rest of them that wore them on chains by their side, as did everyone else in the school.

“Don't stare,” Amber hissed. Lumine snapped her eyes to her friends.

“Who are they?” She asked. Amber eyed her wearily before divulging the information.

“Sons of the school's elite,” She glanced back at the group to ensure they were distracted with food or girls before continuing, “The shorter one with green hair is Xiao, the son of the wangshu inn owner. The geo looking guy is Zhongli from the Wangsheng funeral parlor. Blue hair is Kaeya, one of the sons from the dawn winery.” Amber stopped speaking as she got to the last subject. Lumine quirked a brow as both Barbara and Amber swiveled their heads to check on the group again.

“It's not really them you should be weary of though; besides Xiao they are nice. Xiao has always had a stick up his butt,” Barbara added to the conversation.

“Then what is it, why are we acting like we are defusing a bomb?” Lumine asked.

“It's Childe, the redhead,” Amber whispered.

“Childe? That’s a dumb name,” Lumine thought out loud. The girls hissed at her to keep her voice down.

“He smells mean,” Razor added. Amber pulled on his ear.

“I told you not to talk about him,” She growled at him. He grasped her hand in his, forcing her to release.

“But you are!” he argued.

“Thats because we are warning her!” Amber explained. Razors eyes darted from Ambers to Lumines and he resigned himself back to his half-eaten steak.

Amber rolled her eyes and turned back to Lumine, “It’s not his real name, no one even knows his real name.”

“Childe is an awful nickname,” She whispered back to her friend.

“He’s mean, and evil, once he has you in his sights there's no stopping it.” Amber warned her.

“What about his friends? Don’t they say something?” She asked.

“They are rich, us poor folk don’t matter to them even if they act cordial towards us,” Amber told her as she leaned back, “Besides you don’t have a vision, he will probably just ignore you.”

Lumine widened her eyes, “well...” She felt a tint come to her cheeks, “Actually...”

Amber slammed her fists on the table, “NO WAY! YOUR THAT GIRL!” she screamed. Drawing the attention of half the students.

“Show us!” Barbara insisted.

“Ah, I don’t think now is the best time.” Lumine tried to quell her friend's voices but both girls were oblivious to the attention they were attracting. She glanced over at the red head she was warned about to make sure he was still entranced at whatever activity he had chosen.

“Awh comon I wanna see!” Amber whined.

“First anemo user in history without a vision! Don’t hold out on us!” Barbara added.

“Fine! Just stop yelling at me,” Lumine finally conceded. She put her palm face up on the table and gathered a small amount of wind to it. It tinted green with her power as it swirled into a miniature tornado in her palm.

“This is so cool!” Amber gasped.

“It's the same as anyone else,” Lumine said, closing her hand to cease the wind. She was more than a bit tired of people going ballistic over her powers.

“Let's get back to the dorms,” Amber suggested, “We have much to talk about,” She smiled gleefully. Razor whimpered next to her, “fine you can come too,” She sighed. Razor looked up with a beaming smile.

“Boys are allowed in the girls dorms?” Lumine asked as they gathered their trays and bags.

“Only until eight with a strict open-door policy,” Barbara told her.

She hummed in response as the group made their way over to the trash bins. Eyes were on her now, some searching for a vision trinket she didn’t possess. She was the last one out the door when a chill tingled down her spin. She grabbed the back of her neck and turned, expecting a cryo user to be standing there with a smirk on their face.

Instead, she was greeted with sea blue eyes cutting through the crowd. He smirked when they made eye contact. The chill went down her entire body. She glared as the door to the building swung shut, cutting them off.

Shit.

[fluorescencefuture]

Hwayugi / A Korean Odyssey Episode 5 Review

No one really reads these but I just want to put my hot takes out there

And also I changed the way I’m categorizing it again! Gonna list negatives and positives:

Negatives

The child acting is not the best in this show. Not a lot of special effects in this one, thank god

Apparently, this minor character Alice is supposed to be the White Dragon-Horse. What I'm saying is they shafted the horse again

Wukong’s favorite color would not be green it would be peach get your shit right

I just...do not care for the main leads’ romance. I know the whole thing is that they actually do love each other but pretend it’s just a product of the golden bracelet, but their “real love” scenes legitimately feel forced. His attempts to ask about her interests seemed more like an interrogation than genuine affection.

I swear it's not just me refusing to see it, I’m trying my best, but the chemistry is just not that good, to the point that I keep skimming through their nighttime bench scenes because I know it's just the same old platitudes that mean nothing to me because they really do not work together

Hwayugi reinforces my belief that if you're gonna do a romance involving Wukong he's better off as the subject and not the object. Like, he should be the protagonist focus character instead of the love interest himself.

Or have him being the one being pursued instead of the one pursuing. I feel like he'd be the type to either be completely aware of someone's affection but refuse to address it, or the type to be extremely dense when someone feels deep romantic love for him and realizes it a mite too late

I know romance isn’t Just Like That in K-dramas, because I’ve partially seen What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim and Crash Landing On You and I can still tell they did the “hate-love” dynamic in those shows better. I’m honestly slogging through the romance because:

Positives

The side cast is great and I love them too much. The best scenes are really when everyone’s hanging out with each other. I love that ever since Wukong gained co-ownership everyone started crashing at the mansion more

Mr. Lee noticing the weird ongoings but still sticking around Samjang, what a king

White Bone Demon is adorable. There were two filler dance sequences she had in this episode but she was cute so it doesn’t matter too much. I really hope nothing bad happens to her, she’s so wholesome

Summer Fairy still a queen and General Winter still a king, best advice friends

Wholesome homemaker Wujing I love him and I hope nothing happens to him too. Hot!Bajie grew on me, his attitude is hilarious

Even the OC dog demon secretary got a moment with her shitty sketch of the ghost

Now Demon Bull King was the stand-out this episode. Him waiting for people to praise him for the award he got but nobody knows/cares about it was hilarious.

So Princess Iron Fan here was cursed to live miserably and die painfully every reincarnation, and Demon Bull King can only save her by becoming a deity as fast as possible. Their star-crossed love is infinitely more interesting than the main couple. I wouldn’t want the show to have it as the main focus, but I sure want to see much more of it

That scene of him saving and patching up her reincarnation in the 30s, and she doesn’t know who he is, and he doesn’t try to tell her because he knows she’s going to die...like dude, he loves his wife so much =,(

Maybe I’m face blind but the lead actress is unrecognizable when they put her in less dowdy outfits. Even if she's still too pretty since it's TV, there's a noticeable difference. A lot more believable and less lazy than the American style of “just put her in a ponytail and glasses”

Honestly, I would redraw parts of this or draw the outfits but like, with my designs of the trio. South Korean fashion is really great

Some top dialogue exchanges this episode:

Demon Bull King: Why are you here cooking side dishes? Aren't you supposed to have two meetings later?

Sha Wujing: Yeah, I just wanna feed my boy before I leave

-

Demon Bull King: We share the house, we don't share the stuff in the house. Stop letting the zombie watch the home shopping network, please let your friends apply for a parking sticker before you invite them over, and stop using my lotion

Sun Wukong: Hey congrats on the award you got, pretty cool

Demon Bull King: Here, let me show you how to apply the lotion properly

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Sun Wukong: I'm kinda depressed today

Demon Bull King: It's low blood sugar, here eat some candy and put on this facial mask before you go to sleep

[prettywordsyouleft]

MonX Hospital | Jooheon

Pairing: Lee Jooheon x reader

Genre: paeditrician – hospital au / romance / friends with benefits to lovers au

Warnings: medical and challenging behaviour terms, and whilst they’re fwb it’s only talked about, there are no sex scenes.

Word count: 3994

Index: Shownu | Wonho | Minhyuk | Kihyun | Hyungwon | Jooheon | Changkyun

Tuning out the conversation at the front desk he had been listening to, Jooheon shifted his attention to the busy waiting room. A mother, looking rather frustrated, was standing beside a small child and holding out her hand. She visibly swallowed back her urgency and smiled. “Come on Maddox, the nurse is waiting for us.”

The young boy ignored her request, continuing to push a car on a table, hurtling it around with a bit more force.

“Maddox! Let’s go,” she tried again, reaching out for his hand, in which the boy immediately recoiled away from and screamed. His mother, trying not to catch the sympathetic looks from the other waiting parents, readjusted her bag upon her shoulder. “Come on now, the nurse just needs to see how big you’re getting! It’s not scary, I swear.”

Pushing away from the counter he had been resting upon, Jooheon entered the space, giving the mother a comforting smile before sitting down on the floor next to the child. Maddox glanced in his direction cautiously, now pushing the car around with less force. Jooheon grinned. “Woah, that’s some good driving you’re doing there! Can I join?”

The child didn’t verbally answer, but he did hand Jooheon a car. Starting up some revving noises, he then propelled it around the track the child had made out of various wooden blocks and toys from the container in the corner. Jooheon purposely knocked down a bridge and then gasped noisily.

The small boy giggled. “You caused an accident!”

“I really did, didn’t I. Was I going too fast?” Maddox nodded. “What do you recommend I do?”

“You’ll need to go see a doctor! Your driver is injured!”

“Oh no!” Jooheon exclaimed and several of the other kids in the waiting room edged closer. “Isn’t it a good thing I’m in a hospital right now?”

“Are you a doctor?” another child asked and Jooheon nodded guiltily.

“I am. I should have known better and gone slower, right?”

All the kids agreed with this.

“Maybe since we’re in a hospital, Maddox here could take me and my broken driver to see the nurse right now. He needs to get checked out.”

The little boy hesitated before nodding and holding out his hand. Jooheon hid his smile as best as he could, and the rest was wiped off his face when Maddox dragged him across the foyer and into the room he had been avoiding all this time. For a little guy, he sure was strong. His mother darted along with them, smiling appreciatively at Jooheon who Maddox insisted had to sit down with him.

“Nurse Tina, I drove too fast and now Maddox and I need to get checked out.”

“Well,” she said solemnly, looking at Maddox and nodding her head. “We best check you both out for any injuries, huh?! First, let’s take your temperature, shall we?”

“Thank you,” the mother said once Maddox’s basic stats were charted. “He gets a little overwhelmed in places like these.”

“It’s common so don’t feel it’s something you’re doing wrong. Kids don’t naturally like coming to the hospital,” Jooheon replied before crouching down to ruffle Maddox’s hair. “Thanks for looking out for me! Now you go down that hallway and let Doctor Y/N look out for your driver, okay?”

“You better heal well, Doctor…” Maddox leaned in to attempt to read his badge. Before he could tell him his name, Maddox looked at the honey pot clay pin attached to his lanyard and grinned. “Doctor Honey!”

“That’s me,” he chuckled. “I’m Doctor Honey.”

“Doctor Honey, huh?” you mentioned when Jooheon walked into the shared office space for junior consultants, shooting him a smirk. “I heard all about how reckless you drove from a little boy and three others today. I think I’m going to take the bus home tonight instead of catching a ride with you.”

“I guess I have my first nickname here,” Jooheon breathed dramatically before sitting down. “Here I was hoping for “Doctor McHottie. Guess being a paediatrician makes that one a bit of a stretch.”

“That and this isn’t Grey’s Anatomy,” you replied with another smile before throwing down your pen with a heavy sigh.

Jooheon peered over at your case notes and then scrunched up his nose. “Hard day?”

“I have one patient who I saw today in Doctor Clifford’s clinic hours and I’m at a loss of what to present to him in our meeting tomorrow morning.”

“Can I read your case notes more closely?” he asked and you slid the file over. Reaching for your tablet to look up the history of previous visits for the young girl, Jooheon sighed as well. “Poor thing has enough going on in her life, huh?”

“She’s retracting away from society at a rapid pace. When she did answer my questions, she was very angry in doing so. There’s a lot of tension pent up in her body and mind right now.”

“And the caregivers state the change came from puberty? Nothing else?”

“Her biological parents have recently left the scene for good, which initially eased some of her aggressive behaviour. However, the return of the new school year has put a lot of strain on the situation. Some of these symptoms do support her diagnosis on the ASD spectrum, but I’m also concerned we’re not doing enough. I’ve increased the dosages for two medications she’s taking and given the caregiver some advice on how to address the lack of school attendance from a professional’s perspective but she didn’t seem all that relieved it would do much to help things at home and I can’t stop thinking about their situation. She’s such a sweet kid but she’s not getting the right assistance to help her overcome this.”

“And her diagnosis of Autism is much newer than most of these other labels that some of the services out there to support kiddos like her would have given them a stand-down period of six weeks before even adding them to the waiting list so who knows when they will get seen by them to continue support at home,” Jooheon added on, tapping a finger on his chin trying to find a solution.

The past year that he had worked as a junior consultant in the Paediatrics department had definitely come with some highs. Working with children and helping them overcome obstacles both physically and mentally to reach closer to their potential was always rewarding. But more often than not, he felt restricted by the amount of help he could give to kids like this one. A meeting during one of these clinics was only a moment in time for that family. The parents and caregivers of children exhibiting these challenging behaviours truly deserved all the respect in the world for what they must face day in and out.

Jooheon knew that your frustrations matched his own, wishing there was more you could do to support that family. He smiled determinedly at you over the table. “Let’s brainstorm what else you could suggest for her ongoing support and reach out to the agencies we know that might provide assistance to the family with her needs as well.”

“You know, you really suit that nickname of yours, Doctor Honey,” you replied with a watery smile, nodding as you reached to take the file back. “You sure are a sweetheart.”

“Sweet enough to have dinner with?” Jooheon shot back playfully and he grinned when you rolled your eyes right as he expected you to.

“I like things to be more sour than just sweet.”

“Chinese it is,” he announced and you laughed whilst shaking your head.

“Sometimes, I wonder how to get through to you that only being your friend and colleague is where it belongs for us.”

“Friends can have dinner together.”

“I remember our last dinner,” you stated with a hushed tone as Jooheon’s smile grew again. “Don’t smile!”

“I remember it too. It was really delicious.”

“I don’t recall signing up for dessert afterwards,” you continued, trying to sound unaffected as you scrolled through your tablet.

“I don’t recall you saying no to it either,” he pointed out, trying not to smile too much at your reproachful look. “We can enjoy the perks of being consenting adults when we want to, Y/N.”

“I swear you’ve watched way too many doctors TV shows.”

Jooheon smirked. “Never seen one, actually. You’re just trying to pass it off for whatever happens in those dramas so you don’t have to admit that being friends with me is fun.”

“It’s trouble. Honey gets sticky and is hard to remove.”

“You don’t have to remove it,” he offered. Glancing over at you earnestly, he hoped you would notice that whilst having bouts of pleasure with you over the past year had been well reciprocated, Jooheon hoped it could become more between you.

You deflated his approach quickly. “Sorry, I have plans for dinner. Maybe next time, Doctor Honey.”

“Did you ever follow up with that family with the puberty issue?” Jooheon asked a couple of weeks later when he crossed paths with you in the hallway leading to a seminar you were both attending.

You nodded, shooting him a smile. “Clifford was thrilled with the added suggestions I had for the case. Thanks for your help.”

“Hey, whatever gives these kids the best chance to thrive, huh?”

“I hope this seminar is worth it.”

Jooheon smirked. “Don’t snore too loudly this time round.”

“I did not!” Yanking on his arm as you looked around at the fellow health professionals entering the space, you then huffed indignantly. “I had worked two shifts back to back and ended up helping on an urgent case before the last one!”

“Sure,” he replied simply, his dimples deepening as he threw you another playful smile. “If that’s what helps you cover up-”

“Are you fishing for a thank you since you made sure no one found me sleeping through the last one?!” you enquired as you both stepped into the large boardroom, aiming for the seats concealed in the back row. Once seated, you gave Jooheon a pointed look. “I won’t fall asleep.”

“What will you do this time if you do?”

“I’m not going to!”

“I’m going to hold it over your head if you do. I know! Dinner tonight if you fall asleep.”

“I hope you enjoy eating alone, Lee Jooheon.”

Hours later, you grumbled as you took a seat adjacent from Jooheon in a sushi bar, pointing your index finger at him warningly. “Don’t!”

“Sure looks like I have the best company for eating alone tonight, Y/N.”

“We’re only eating,” you announced firmly, before reaching out for a plate from the conveyor belt that ran along the inner edge of the table. You then let out another groan. “If only her voice hadn’t been so dreary!”

“Face it, unless you’re being stimulated, you fall asleep too easily. I don’t know how you even got through med school.”

“Lots of coffee and determination.”

“Guess now that you have the job it’s easy to slacken off huh?”

“Jooheon!”

He grinned. “Don’t worry. I took enough notes for the pair of us.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” you told him and gestured to the food. “It’s on me tonight.”

The conversation flowed easily over a range of topics during dinner, as it usually did. Jooheon hadn’t met someone who he could tease in one moment and then discuss serious topics in the next until you, and it always made him yearn for more of your attention. However, when you reached for your second shot glass of sake, Jooheon took it from you and downed it instead.

“Hey! That was mine.”

“You’re a lightweight. Don’t drink anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll end up wanting dessert if you do,” he told you bluntly, and you stared at him, cheeks flushed.

“Who says I don’t already?”

“Are you feeling the effects of the alcohol so soon?”

Leaning over and kissing him impulsively, Jooheon was stunned when you pulled away. You cocked your head to the side and took the shot glass back before pouring more of the rice wine. You knocked it back. “I can’t have you having dessert alone as well, huh?”

“Let’s pay the check then. It’s a work night and we don’t need to drink any more with early morning clinics tomorrow.”

“You’re right,” you agreed with a seductive trail of your finger down his chest. “I’m sure you’ll make me feel more than drunk on what you have in store for me tonight.”

“Doctor Honey!” the children exclaimed as he entered the hospital schoolroom, waving to all the attendees of the class. A couple of the physically-abled children hopped up from their seats and dashed over to hug him.

“How’s school today?”

“We’re colouring!” Ingrid told him and he gasped noisily, allowing the girl to take him over to her place at the table. She was colouring in a fairy with a pretty flower crown.

“Colouring!” he repeated, crouching down to look at Minseok’s alligator he was carefully remaining within the lines of. “You’re all future artists!”

“Will you colour with us?!”

“Me? Oh, I don’t know, I’m just a doctor.”

“You could draw a picture of Doctor Y/N!” Jake suggested and Jooheon lost his balance, falling to the floor with an embarrassing thud.

The children all giggled.

Recovering, Jooheon narrowed his gaze on Jake. “Why would I draw her?”

“Because last time she came to visit our class, she drew you!” Melissa told him as she pointed to the wall where a picture of a honey pot and spoon had been hung up.

Jooheon laughed. “That’s a honey pot.”

“It’s you! She told us so.”

“Really?” he asked, looking at the picture again. He grinned. “Did she tell you why she chose to draw that?”

“We asked her to draw her favourite thing.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” he breathed out quietly, thinking back to your indifferent behaviour this morning when you woke up at his place.

Coming back to the present, Jooheon smiled weakly. “I wish I could colour with you all but I’m actually here for Luna.”

Luna lowered her head and shook it adamantly. “I don’t want to go!”

“Doctor Honey will be with you, don’t be scared, Luna,” the teacher, Mrs Potts, gently encouraged and the other children moved to hug her and tell her it would be okay.

Once Luna was free from her friends, Jooheon held out his hand for her. “I’ve even got the coolest orderly on his way to help you travel to your therapy session in style.”

“You’ll still come too, right?”

“Of course!” he assured, her sweaty palm gripping onto his more tightly.

As he walked Luna back to her wardroom, she kept looking up at Jooheon inconspicuously, and he smiled after catching her once more in the reflection of the window they passed by. “What is it, Luna?”

“Is Doctor Y/N your girlfriend?”

Jooheon shook his head sadly in answer. “She just wants to be my special friend.”

“I had a boyfriend once,” she whispered when back in her room and Jooheon leaned down to help her up onto her bed. He then gasped and Luna giggled behind her hand.

“You’re too young for a boyfriend!”

“And you’re too old! Shouldn’t you be married by now?!”

“I’m not old at all!”

“Then I’m not young!” she refuted and Jooheon gave her a fist pump in a truce. Her humour eased. “I wish I had kept him as my special friend though.”

“Why?”

“When he left the hospital after getting better, he never contacted me again. If I hadn’t of given him my heart, it wouldn’t have hurt so much.” Blinking at the vulnerable truth the twelve year old had spoken of, Jooheon sighed. She was too young for such a painful experience on top of her health condition.

Luna took Jooheon’s hand and squeezed it again. “Maybe Doctor Y/N doesn’t want you to ever leave her so she chooses to keep you as her special friend instead.”

Before he could respond, Minhyuk, the cheerful orderly, arrived and took away his chance. Jooheon smiled at Luna thoughtfully.

It was amazing how insightful kids could be.

“It feels like it’s been forever since I worked in the same place as you,” you mentioned when you entered the office space the following week and Jooheon grinned.

“It’s only been two days. Are you not getting enough done in your shifts to feel like time is dragging or something?”

“You’re not funny.” Sitting down heavily, you placed your hands up under your chin to rest your head upon them. “It’s just weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Even when we’re busy, you always seem to appear during my day.”

Jooheon swallowed slowly. “I guess friends are not always visible when busy.”

“You are though,” you persisted, narrowing your gaze on his face. “Are you okay?”

“Sure.”

“Really?” Peering at Jooheon more closely, he diverted his gaze from your scrutiny. “Are you hiding something from me?”

“What’s there to hide? We’re just friends, Y/N.”

“Hm,” you hummed, shaking your head. “You’re being weird.”

“I’m just being your friend.”

“Say the word friend one more time, I beg of you,” you said darkly, opening your file with a huff.

He chose to look at you then, chewing on his bottom lip.

Luna’s words had played around in his mind. Jooheon didn’t realise that his advances could have been felt as pressure to you, and whilst he knew being friends who slept together worked to some extent, he hadn’t realised it could mean something to you to not go any further.

And so he had decided to just be the friend you needed. Although, Jooheon wondered if he had taken the step back a little too far if you were aware of how little he was trying to bombard you each day. To be fair, he wasn’t very good at reeling back his own feelings or level of friendship to make you feel more comfortable.

After a few minutes of working in silence, you cleared your throat. “Are you busy tonight?”

“No.”

“Good, want to Netflix and Chill?” you suggested, not lifting your gaze from your tablet. Jooheon didn’t answer immediately and you flicked your eyes upwards. You then frowned, waving a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Doctor Honey, did you hear me?”

“Uh, maybe not tonight. I’m not feeling well.”

“Really? But that one time when you were ill and told me nothing could stop you from-”

“Guess I had more energy back then,” he lied, collecting up his things hastily. He was growing confused and it was bothering him.

You seemed bothered as well. “Where are you off to? We have two hours to write up our findings from our clinical hours today.”

“I need to go look up something in the library. I’ll catch you later.”

Jooheon slapped the side of his head a couple of times once he was out of the office, groaning with how awkward he was acting towards you.

He realised he couldn’t just be friends with you anymore.

Your working environment continued to grow tense until you found Jooheon in an empty wardroom, patting the bed in which Luna had once resided in.

For a moment, you comforted him. “It’s a good thing she’s going home. Why are you sitting here looking so lost?”

“I’ve grown attached to her.”

“She was a spunky little thing. Gave me lots of advice.”

Jooheon nodded softly. “Me too.”

“Did she give you the advice to avoid me?” you wondered and Jooheon glanced up at you in confusion. You shrugged, taking a seat on the bed beside him. “Or did she say something to make you back off from me?”

“No, well-”

“I knew it!” you exclaimed, standing back up and waving your hands around. “See, she told me that there was someone really special in my world and that I should see him as more than a friend and then you kept saying the words just friends over and over and I cannot believe you took the advice of a twelve year old so literally!”

“Hang on a moment,” he simply replied, narrowing his eyes on your face. “Regardless of age, some people say insightful things. I was just giving you the space you need since I have made it clear that I want to be more than just friends who sleep together. I want the whole deal with you but you always give excuses. So yeah, I listened to Luna and thought maybe you had a reason that you didn’t want to be more than friends with me over. I was being respectful of your needs.”

“Disappearing from my world is respectful?” you asked, shaking your head. “You made me lonely. I half wondered if I had offended you or you’d grown bored of me. I kept making advances at you that you’ve deflected. How is that being a friend?”

“Do you like me?”

“Of course I do.”

“I mean more than a friend,” he reiterated and you opened your mouth, only to close it again. Jooheon sighed. “See, this is where we differ. I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you and want to-”

“My last partner manipulated me,” you blurted out. Cringing, you started to pace the floor. “I gave him so much of myself that when I realised what he was doing to me, I vowed I wouldn’t date again. I wanted to hold full control over my feelings. I figured if all you and I did was eat and sleep together that I wouldn’t get too attached. I could have a good friend and have some fun with you too.”

You stopped pacing and looked at him. “But you’ve become more than a friend; even I have to admit it. I want to do more than what we have. I just don’t want to lose what we have either.”

“I’m not going to hurt you like that,” Jooheon answered, standing up and stepping closer to you. Reaching for your shoulders, he smiled gently. “I’m not like him.”

“I know, you’re so much better in all areas,” you breathed and Jooheon grinned. “That’s why I get scared. You’re too good of a human to mess things up with.”

“What if things only get better, not messed up?” he offered and you slipped your arms around his waist, placing your head against him. “What if we’re better at being more than just friends?”

“Is it worth risking what we have?” you murmured, lifting your head to look at him. After staring at one another for an intense moment, you nodded. “Of course it is.”

Jooheon kissed you then, softly. It felt like it had been so long since he had last caressed your lips properly. You pressed into him firmly, deepening the embrace.

And then jumped apart when you both heard fevered giggling. “It’s just like what my Mummy watches on TV! Doctors do kiss each other in secret!”

“Ew, are you both worried about catching cooties?!”

“Why would they be worried? They’re doctors! They can cure anything!”

“How about you guys head off and pretend you saw nothing and I’ll be down to the schoolroom with candy in twenty minutes,” Jooheon stated and with another set of giggles, they darted out, leaving you both laughing at being caught.

“They’re right though,” you mentioned, stretching up to peck his lips again. “We can cure anything.”

Jooheon grinned, resting his forehead on yours. “So how about dinner tonight?”

“With Doctor Honey?” you asked, pretending to think about it. “I don’t know, what’s on the menu?”

“Anything you fancy.”

“Even you?”

“I thought I was too sticky,” he teased, reminding you of a past conversation.

Trailing your index finger up until you flicked his chin gently; you gave him a smirk. “Maybe I don’t mind if I can’t get you off of me now.”

_________________

Next: Changkyun

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[talicat713]

It’s Always Been Molly

John Shelby x OC

Part Eleven 

*GIF CREDIT TO ORIGINAL POSTER*

A/N: hello everyone! We are one past closer to having our #Jolly baby! I’m super excited for this part and the next. Hope you all enjoy! Happy Reading! 💜

Warnings: language, angst, cursing, pregnancy, labor, childbirth, *sorry if I missed any*

READ PARTS 1-10 HERE

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Taglist: @haphazardhufflepuff​   @pijoendios @theshelbyclan  @wnygirl2012 @bekkimahonxx95   @lotsoflovefromlea  @theunderlier   @envysorrows   @healthygirlsdoitbetter  @account71453   @blindedbypeaky   @xshinytrashcanx   @wednesdayqueen-18   @chaotichurricaneoffandoms   @jrdpdlcki @lettersshapes   @rosesandrap  @jenni-jones00  *if you would like to be added please let me know*

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A few weeks had passed since Molly had spent the day with John and the kids. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy. She was still experiencing the usual aches and pains, but she wasn’t having as many headaches or dizzy spells. Molly cursed herself often about this. She almost predicted they would finally get her iron levels sorted once she was nearing the birth of her child. Her belly seemed to have grown even more. It looked very massive against her petite figure.

She and Jacob had cleared out the room next to Molly’s and placed all the baby furniture and supplies Polly and Ada had brought over. Jacob had purchased Molly a small bassinet and pram. They were both a total surprise to Molly. She never knew Jacob was planning to buy those for her. She greatly appreciated how much her brother stepped up to help her throughout these months.

Molly hadn’t seen or spoken to John as much since their day in London. She did however see him spending more time with Esme and the children. Molly was happy he was finally making an effort to love her. It did scare Molly a little about what would happen in the future, but she tried really hard not to think about it and focus on her baby.

Today, Finn had been sent to tell Molly that Polly was requesting her presence at her home for brunch. Molly agreed and told Finn to tell Polly that she would be making a sweet to bring with her. She also told him to tell her she wasn’t going to change her mind either. After a few minutes, Finn came back yelling to Molly that she would send Tommy or Arthur to come walk her down. Finn then ran down the lane to go play with his mates, leaving Molly laughing.

Once Molly finished making her cakes, she started looking for her mother’s old cake tin she used to use. After looking through the cabinets for a while, she then noticed it was on the high shelf above the stove. Not thinking, Molly pulled a chair over to the stove and heaved herself up on the chair to grab the tin. She was still a little too short to reach it. She huffed in annoyance, but then was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Arthur heard Molly yell to come in, and as he walked through the door, he saw the heavily pregnant woman trying to reach for something. “Oi, what on earth do you think you're doing? ,” he said running over to grab her off of the chair,” John would have my head if he knew I let you do something like that. What do you need from up there anyways?”

Once he settled her on the ground, she huffed in annoyance again,” My mums bloody cake tin. Jacob put it up there because he’s a jolly green giant and can reach up there. Doesn’t he know better?.”

Arthur grabbed the tin for her and handed it over,” Love, he probably didn’t expect you to be so active when you are, you know,” as he gestured to her belly.

Molly’s lips began to wobble, and she started to cry as she put the cakes in the tin,” Are you calling me fat Arthur?”

“What… I, uh… No, I’m not… I just meant…,” he continued to stammer.

Molly then slammed the lid on the tin and grabbed her coat,” Just walk me to Polly's and carry that. I can’t believe you just called me fat. Use your words Arthur. I’m pregnant, carrying your niece or nephew,” she continued as tears fell from her eyes, and she walked out the door.

Polly was concerned when she opened the door to see Molly’s face wet from crying,” Molly love, what’s wrong?”, she asked.

“Ask your nephew,” she stated as she pushed into the home.

Polly then turned to Arthur,” Well? What did you do?” Arthur continued to explain what happened which one, made Polly angry that she was on a bloody chair at eight and a half months pregnant and two, made her chuckle because neither Molly nor Arthur were familiar with pregnancy hormones.

“Oh, you stupid man,” she said, grabbing the tin from him,” Everything is fine. I will calm her down, now go back to work.” Arthur nodded and practically ran away.

Polly walked into her kitchen to see Ada trying to comfort a sobbing Molly. She could tell Ada was trying very hard not to bust out with laughter. Polly set the cake tin on the table and knelt in front of Molly.

“Darling, these hormones are only going to get worse after the baby is born, so dry your eyes. This isn’t going to be the last time you break down because of something someone said,” Polly explained.

Molly sniffed and wiped her face as she nodded. She was now embarrassed about the way she reacted. She should have known what he meant. She had been through midwifery training.

Polly then patted her knee and stood up, “Now let’s talk about you climbing up onto a chair while you were by yourself, especially since you haven’t been very steady on your feet all these months,” she said sternly.

After being scolded, the three ladies sat down to have their brunch. They spoke about when they thought the baby would come. Ada wanted to make sure she was in town. She wanted to be there for Molly like she was for her during her delivery. Molly reassured both women that she had been feeling no practice contractions what so ever, so she was still weeks away from labor.

The three also spoke about what was going to happen after the child was born. There would still be about two months left on the arrangement Thomas had made with the Lees.

“I hope you know whatever happens, we will always be around to help and take care of you,” Polly reassures Molly.

Molly smiles, running a hand over her belly,” I know that and I appreciate it. John and I haven’t spoken in weeks, but I’ve seen the way they look at each other. He’s falling in love and I pushed him to do it. I wouldn’t be shocked if he picked her.”

Molly hadn’t realized tears started to fall again until Polly reaches for her chin and wiped them away,” He will never pick her over you. I believe she is stepping out with another man. Tommy and Arthur are trying to figure out whom she’s been seeing. That love look you claim to see is fake. John has only ever had love in his heart for you.”

“I believe it to Molly,” Ada piped up,” Her love is for another man, not John. If we can prove it by the time the arrangement is up, then John will be yours and yours only.”

It brought Molly great comfort knowing she may still have a chance with John in the end. Knowing this will make the months go by fast and will release the weight on her heart for pushing John away.

As the afternoon turned into evening, Molly realized she needed to get home to start supper for Jacob. Polly and Ada hugged her goodbye and gave her belly a rub.

“I guess I should probably go find Arthur and apologize for my outburst this morning,” Molly laughed as she stepped into the lane.

“Let him grovel,” Ada laughed,” You can always use it as blackmail later for when you need something.”

“That’s very true, and thank you for the idea,” Molly laughed again.”

As the three approached Molly’s door, she noticed Jacob wasn’t home.

“That’s odd, Jacob isn’t home yet? ,” Polly asked.

Molly pushed the door open and the light were still off,” I guess not. This isn’t the first time. He’s been coming home later for a few months now. Think he might have a new girlfriend, he doesn’t want to tell me about yet. Guess he doesn’t want me to beat the chick up whilst I’m pregnant.” Polly and Ada looked at each other with wide eyes, thinking the exact same thing.

“Why are you two looking at each other like that,” Molly asked when she noticed them not speaking.

“Oh, it’s nothing darling. I’m sure he will be home soon. Let me know if you need anything and call if you start to feel any pain,” Polly rushed.

“Yeah... Okay,” Molly replies not convinced, but brushes it off as she watched the two women walk fast back to Polly's.

=================================

As her due date grew closer, Molly had a Shelby with her almost twenty-four seven. It was, again, almost always Finn. He would report every wince and every groan to Polly, Ada or John. One or all of them would run over with Finn behind them asking if it was time. She and John were for somewhat speaking again. She could tell he was getting nervous about the impending birth.

With things heating up in the Shelby business, Polly was begging Molly to let one of them stay with her or move into her home until the baby came. As much as Molly protested, she settled on moving into Johns old bedroom, but made sure everyone was aware that as soon as the baby was born she was going back to her home.

They all watched her like a hawk when she was up walking around. Of course, they wouldn’t let her do anything to physical. She would secretly sweep the floors once she was alone.

Over the past week, the Shelby’s were planning some big takeover which involved every member of the family. They were having countless meetings, but never shared any of the details with Molly.

On the day the business was going down, Thomas had closed the betting shop for the entire day. Molly had been woken up that morning by an ache in her back. Throughout the day the ache would come and go. She had thought that maybe they were contractions, but they were too irregular.

With the betting shop being closed, she thought she would be able to sneak some cleaning and mopping in without the family knowing. Grabbing her supplies from the cabinet, she made her way to start scrubbing in her hands and knees. She was almost finished when she heard the door open and the family started filing in. Cursing under her breath, she tried her hardest to stand up on her own, but the ache in her back started again causing her to stop.

“Why does it smell like cleaner in here,” she heard Arthur say. She then heard loud footsteps and John cursing coming toward the shop.

“Why the bloody hell are you on the floor, Molly,” he said, stomping over to her,” I thought we told you no more cleaning, you are too pregnant to be doing that right now.”

“I’m fine John. It was bothering me how dirty it was in here,” she breathed as the ache subsided, and she tried to pull herself up.

John rolled his eyes at her and helped her up,” Come on then, let’s get you onto the sofa.”

From the sofa, Molly was listening to the family go over their plan for the evening. The aches had now turned to pains, and were becoming more regular. They were coming about thirty minutes apart from each other. Molly knew she still had a while to go if she actually was in labor.

John watched her closely from across the room. She would look up at the clock every ten minutes and every once in a while she would take deep breaths and rub her belly. John was silently hoping their child wasn’t going to make an appearance tonight while they were all away.

After the meeting, everyone went back to their homes and waited for the time to leave. Molly took it upon herself to clean up the table and wash the dishes. Every time she would have a pain, she would stop and breathe through it, running her hand over her belly. They were unfortunately getting closer together.

John came back to the betting shop right before it was time to leave. He needed to check and make sure Molly would be okay on her own. He found her at the sink. He watched her for a moment before he made his presence known. He knew Molly better than anyone, and he could tell she was in pain.

“Molly, are you alright, my love? ,” he asked, walking over to her.

Molly turned around with a smile, “Yes of course I’m alright,” she lied,” why do you ask?”

John took Molly into his arms,” I just have feeling love. The baby is going to come any day and I feel like it might be tonight,” he says worried,” I don’t want to leave you alone, but Esme went to her brothers, and Polly and Ada are going to be with us.”

“John, I haven’t had any contractions,” she lied again,” If I was having any I would tell you. Now go finish business and I promise when you come back, I’ll be on the sofa waiting.”

John still wasn’t convinced. He grabbed her face in his hands and opened his mouth to protest. But he was interrupted by a bang on the door, signaling it was time to go. “Alright, I’m coming,” he yelled, “I love you and if you are lying to me, I’ll be so angry,” he sighed. He then pulled her to his lips and kissed her passionately, then bent down to kiss her belly.

“I’ll be back later, lock the door after I leave and then I want you on the sofa. We hopefully won’t be long,” he said as he walked over to the door.

Molly followed him and pulled him into a kiss one more time,” I love you too.” John smiled and ran toward the car. Molly watched as the car turned off the lane. As she shut the door, she was hit with the worst pain she had all day, which caused her to double over. She was definitely in labor.

After the pain had gone away, Molly trudged up the steps to grab the birth supplies she and Polly gathered earlier that week. She also changed into a thin night dress and took her undergarments off. She then carefully got herself back down the stairs and set up her birthing place, by the sofa and fireplace.

As Molly labored, she managed to boil a couple of kettles of water and gather more towels. As the contractions got closer together, the worse she felt for lying to John. She really didn’t want to have this baby all on her own.

After she finished having a contraction, she made her way back over to the front door. She had forgotten to lock it. As she turned to walk back into the kitchen, she was hit by a very strong contraction and overwhelming pressure down below.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned as she lent one hand against the doorway and the other on her belly. As the contraction and pressure peaked, Molly bent her knees and gave a small push down toward her bottom. With that push, her waters broke, leaving a puddle on the hardwood.

With her waters now broken, Molly began to feel the baby move into her pelvis. And with her next contraction she had the overwhelming urge to bear down and push.

Molly couldn’t believe how fast this was happening, but she knew now she was definitely doing this all on her own.

(posted 08/29/2020)

[nctwd127]

Chemistry, lust and pure filthy desire.

For Painting Anon, thank you forever 

I got carried away and my kinks came out, also I envisioned SuperM Mark lol.

Mark Lee has been your best friend since you were kids, practically in diapers, so whenever you hear his hookups describe how the sex was, you cringe.

You saw him not as a brother, but he’s a baby, like a whole fucking baby. He complained about the smallest things and threw tantrums when you wouldn’t pay attention to him.

How can a baby like him, make someone get on their knees in one word?

It bothered Mark how much you actually doubted his ability to have any girl at his will, it bothered him so much he swore to himself he was going to make you crumble under him. He was going to do everything and anything to prove you wrong.

Friday afternoon came by and you guys were having your monthly sleep over. With school and work, it was hard to see each other as much as you’re used too so sleepovers were needed. This month it was at his place.

“So Mr. Mark Lee, I heard about another adventure you had this week.” You paused to giggle remembering the conversation the girls were having, “If only they knew you were such a baby.” You attempted to squish his cheeks but he caught your hands before they did.

“Stop doing that.” He warned you.

You were caught off guard for a moment because he never reacts like that nor does he ever hold you with force, it’s always soft lingering touches. And you hated to admit that it made you feel some type of way.

He let you go and you weren’t sure what do to so you just smiled and walked back to the couch to pick a movie. While your back was to him, he smirked knowing he was just getting started.

During movies, Mark usually pestered you until you cuddled him but this time he didn’t and that felt weird. Halfway through the movie, you shimmied over to him and laid your head on his shoulder, to kind of give him the hint to cuddle himself into you like he always does.

Instead, he wrapped his arm around you and cuddled you into him. The action once again caught you off guard and your body tensed for a few seconds. You eventually moved past the new feeling of being in his arms and found that you actually enjoyed it more.

The movie ended and it was time for bed, so there you laid in Mark’s bed like you have a million times and somehow this one time felt different. The air was thick with a new feeling and you couldn’t quite pin point it.

Mark was laying on his back, facing the ceiling with closed eyes and you laid on your side facing him. You took the moment to just stare at him and take in his features. You never really noticed how much he changed and how he no longer had his baby face.

You spent days in and out with this kid, when the fuck did he change so much?

The idea of you thinking of him in another way that you shouldn’t had you shook, so you scooted over and started tickling him, anything to make that terrible feeling go away.

“Stop, what are you doing?” He laughed trying to push you away but to no avail. Your fingers kept at his side so he had no other choice but to put his plan into action.

You just made it a whole lot easier for him to pin you down and make you see what everyone else sees.

Everything happened so fast, one second you were tickling him and the next, he was on top of you with your hands pinned above your head and his face millimeters away from your own.

“Are you done treating me like a child?”

His breath hit your face and a chill went down your spine, you laughed it off and went to move your hands but he kept them in place.

“I asked you a question (Y/N).”

Mark’s face was resting on the side of yours and you could feel how hot his skin was in comparison to yours, his grip on your wrist was strong and heavy, his hip bone was digging into you at an uncomfortable angle.

You moved your legs so he could fall in between yours and that was a mistake. As soon as he fell into place, something poked your heat head on and caused you to moan.

He pulled away from your face and saw the shock covering your features and wide eyes, he smirked. Instead of pulling away, he rolled his hips into you over and over again.

“Moan for me again.” He ordered, when you bite your lip to stop yourself from doing so, he rolled against you harder. “I said, moan for me again.”

His name fell past your lips in a whiny moan and that inflated his ego like it never has before. There was no turning back from this, he was going to fulfill his promise.

Mark Lee wanted to have you and that’s exactly what was going to happen here tonight.

He looked at you for a moment before his lips came down to meet yours, this was the very first time you were kissing someone you considered your best friend. You thought it would have been uncomfortable or weird, anything but what you actually felt.

Chemistry, lust and pure filthy desire.

In the middle of the heavy make out session you were in, he let go of your hands and one of them came down to the waist band of your bottoms. His cold fingertips against your skin, made you shudder under him and pull away.

“Tell me to stop and I’ll pull away right now.”

You gave into what you felt, even if it was a new feeling. Now you wanted to know what all those other girls felt when they were with Mark Lee. But you’re mistaken if you think you’re going to be another girl on his list of fucks.

“Don’t stop.”

He smirked and slide his hand inside your bottoms and undies, his fingers instantly connecting to your nub. He drew painfully slow eight’s, with the intention of wanting to hear you plead him for more.

Mark wanted to break you.

“Please Mark.” You mumbled against his cheek, feeling how his smirk grew more. You moved your face down to his neck and licked his hot skin. Right where you licked, you blew onto the wet patch before attaching your lips to it.

He groaned at the feeling, teasing your hole with one finger for a bit, spreading your wetness around. Finally he pushed in, instantly setting a fast pace. You never thought of his hands bigger than yours but right now, it felt like he was reaching places you never have.

“Right there, oh god Mark.” You moaned, your hands tangling into his hair and pulling at the roots. It felt so good, so fucking good having his fingers in the depths of your walls.

Mark curled his fingers right into your g-spot, making you moan louder than you liked and your body shake, “Hmm I wonder would happened if I did that again.” He teased, giving your cheek a small bite.

There were no words that you could think of before he did it again and your body reacted the same without you wanting it too, “Fuck you Lee.” You breathed out.

“Gladly.”

He pulled away from your body and got off the bed, you watched as he stripped himself. First came his shirt, he pulled it over his head and out came his toned tan torso. The lines of his almost there six pack were so mesmerizing.

You had the urge to run your tongue down his body, actually all over his body. The urge grew even more when his pants came down and he sprung free, hitting his stomach.

But you wanted to fuck with him because this whole thing caught you off guard. And you also wanted to make him angry, according to what the girls said, that’s when he was at his best.

“Even like this you’re still such a baby Markie.”

The nickname made his blood boil and his vision turn red, normally he wouldn’t get mad but you hit a nerve with a hammer. He was going to prove you wrong.

Mark walked to the edge of the bed and pulled your ankles down to him, “I’ll show you how much of a fucking baby I am.” He pulled down your shorts and threw them on the floor. Then he proceed to yank your panties off, they were made out of lace and he was angry.

When he pulled at the hem, they tore right off you like they were breakaway. Now that left you speechless and him satisfied. Your shirt was next and he had you exactly like he wanted you.

“Turn around and get on all fours. Now.” He commanded.

You did as he asked without hesitation, the lust was tearing away at your being. It was almost hard to breathe. Your gripped the bed sheets out of excitement when the bed dipped under his weight behind you.

The tip of his cock teased your entrance, feeling the way your juices were spread around all over, “Beg me to fuck you like the slut that you are.” Each word came out coaxed with desire, it drove you wild and made you clench around nothing.

And that was the problem, it was around nothing. You wanted Mark desperately and that’s exactly what the both of you wanted. He wanted to see you crumble under him and you wanted to see what the others girls did.

Now you wanted to feel it.

“Please Mark, fuck me. Make me yours, treat me like your slut.” You begged into the sheets where your face was pressed down into.

Just like that, he snapped his hips into you. The grip he had on your waist was deadly, the sound of skin hitting skin bounced off the walls. The headboard was knocking into the wall with the force he plowed into you.

Moans and groans mixed together, making heavenly sounds neither of you have ever heard before. Curse words was all you knew and your fingers hurt with how hard you were clutching onto the bed sheets.

“Call me a baby again, I fucking dare you.” Mark made your hair into a makeshift ponytail and pulled your head back, making your back arch more.

The new angle had him hitting deeper than before, “Fuck Mark.” You cried feeling your release near. “I take it back, I take it all back.”

He pulled you up so your back was pressed against him, he let go of your waist and wrapped it around, to reach your clit. He pressed his index and middle against but did nothing, “Tell me what you take back baby.” He groaned into your ear.

“You’re not a baby Mark.” You moaned, holding onto his thighs for support. “Please let me cum.”

Mark granted you your wish and added the pressure you needed on your clit, “Cum for me slut.” And you did, harder than you ever have on your own or on anyone else.

Your vision went white and your nails dug into his thighs, your mouth was agape but no sounds came out. Not even if you tried did they come out.

The way your body shook and your walls wrapped tighter around his cock, pushed him to his own sweet thoughtless, wordless release.

Never has anyone made Mark cum as hard as he did into you, the way you just did.

It was all about the chemistry, lust and pure filthy desire between the two of you.

[dreamiesdotcom]

[2:03] Long drives with Mark from a tiring day always feels like a reward, but not at this moment with the threat of rain and the lingering memory of his ex on your mind

"You didn't tell me she's that lovely…", you smile at the window, watching the dark looking clouds clump together to swallow up the remaining sunlight, "Had I known she would be that gorgeous, I would have at least put effort on my looks even just for today."

The cold breeze from the open window meets your face and you can't help but close your eyes. Mark keeps his eyes straight ahead, but his hands intertwines with yours tightly to at least try to assure you that 'it's okay, you're okay, I love you'. You nibble on your lips.

Today, you met someone who plays an important role in Mark's life. You made it through the day without feeling a bit of jealousy, even made sure to leave some space for her on tables and not stick to Mark throughout the whole thing so they could catch up without you sticking to him like an octopus. You spent most of the day with mostly your best friend Haechan, Johnny and Yukhei, but you're glad that Mark is catching up with a friend. Even if she wasn't just a friend before, it's clear to you that she is now.

She looked nice. Very pretty, with her long legs that complemented the short, flowy dress and the pumps she's wearing, compared to your short ones that you prefer to cover with jeans and a much more comfortable button-up. She wears her make-up nicely, her eye makeup a perfect symmetry and her long hair. She smells of flowers, her lips look perfectly hydrated unlike your chapped ones — how many times did Mark kiss her? — and her eyes shines like stars. Her aura screamed confident and sexy and fierce, contrary to your shy and gentle one. When they stand together, they look like a real matured couple — unlike you, who always looked like you're Mark's little sister when you two go out. You chuckle at your own ridiculous thoughts, the cold breeze freezing your lips a little. You sound jealous right now, but really, you're not. Maybe you're just insecure of yourself, but can anyone blame you? She looked just like his sweetest dream, she is totally Mark's ideal girl and the worst is that she is completely, utterly different from you — only one question is on your mind, "Why did you settle for me when you already had the best?"

The car comes to halt, and you snap back to reality and see the empty road. You feel his gaze burning on you, and you can't help but close your eyes and think of it all as just a dream. Maybe you can play it off as sleep talking, yes, maybe you could. At this moment, you don't want a confrontation, not when you're feeling this vulnerable, hell, you don't even want to look at him right now. Maybe you should've told your boyfriend that you're gonna hang out with Hyuck, catch up with your best friend, maybe cuddle and just sleep. You feel drained — maybe you did feel a little jealousy. And maybe it's what's draining you right now.

Contrary to what you expect to see when you open your eyes, you are met with his gentle gaze, and his once tight clasp on your hand is now firm but soft, as if you're a fragile little glass figure that needs to be handled with care — and really, that's how you feel right now — vulnerable, and nearing destruction.

Mark pushes the seat so it leans further back, and he leads you to the driver's seat to a straddling position. He fixes your hair, delicate finger tips scraping against your cheeks and he wipes a stray tear that you never even knew fell, "What do you mean? You're the best for me."

"But I am not," you shake your head, "Before we met… when I was just Hyuck's best friend and nothing else… he always rambles about you and your ideal girls. Long hair, tall, beautiful — just overall perfect… that's her," you take a deep breath, "and that's not me."

The sound of raindrops fill the place, and Mark presses a button to close the windows. He just stares at you intently, his eyes gloomy and full of regret, "Today must have overwhelmed you, Y/N. I'm sorry, I should've took things slower."

You swallow as he leads your head to nuzzle on his neck, and despite the unsettling feeling of the two things you hate — jealousy and rain — a sigh of satisfaction leaves your lips before they turn to a sad smile, he's walking around the topic, why? Whether it was the haze at this sad moment or the sad nostalgia this weather brings, you feel gloomier than the skies.

It was rainy when your parents separated, it was rainy when the dog you grew up with passed away, it was rainy when your Grandma looked at you in disdain at the glaring 89 of your Math test that should have been 100, and it was also rainy when you fell on your knees, tears on your face, screaming at how the world is so unfair — it was rainy when you decided to give it all up, only to stumble onto a pure ray of sunshine drenched in cold rain water. The only good thing the rain brought you was Lee Donghyuck, and he isn't even here to comfort you. Instead, you're looking at your boyfriend, in a confrontation between you and him and your jealousy that you don't even want to be in, and all your mind does is ask you, 'Is your first heart break going to be under the rain too?'

You hate rain. Maybe it was the memories, maybe it was the heavy atmosphere, maybe because everyone seemed to love it and you can't understand why — but at the moment, it was the silence. It hurts more than anything, you believe. Silence hurts so much, especially if in that silence you wished that person held you close and whispered all the things you want to hear in your ear.

"Do you ever miss her, Mark?", you feel sorry that you're doing this to him but you really can't stand it, the thought of trapping Mark in a relationship that he no longer wants, "D-do you wish you never left her?"

"No," is the sharp reply that escapes his mouth, "Yes, I missed her, but no, leaving her was the best thing I ever did besides joining NCT because it's one of the reasons that lead me to you," You push yourself up to meet his gaze, his expression screaming of confusion, or heart break — maybe both, "There's a reason I am dating you, Y/N. I wish I never had to hear these words from you, because you mean the world to me and hearing you compare yourself to someone else hurts me more than you could imagine — but I am sure it hurts you more. Have I done such a poor job at loving you that even through three years, you still feel like you're not good enough?"

Your head is already shaking even before he completed his sentence, a panicked no comes out of your mouth and you just don't know what to do so you place a finger on top of his lips to stop him from speaking, "No," you say in a broken voice, "You were good to me. You are good to me. But she… she's everything you would want — it's as if God customized her for you — and she's completely the opposite of me."

"Would it make you feel better if I tell you that I am with you for that exact reason, Y/N? Because that's the truth, and I hope it does", he says, cupping your face, "She knew my favorite food the first date. She guessed my favorite number the first try. She perfectly fit in all my ideals. She got everything correct, and at that moment, I believed we were soulmates."

Mark has always been the one more experienced between the two of you as he had more relationships before you — he is your first love, and it doesn't even matter if you aren't his. It's just a number, but when it comes to relationships and all the other things, he's more experienced than you and that makes you feel a little worried. Even if you don't want to admit it, you lost several nights of sleep thinking about this — how Mark might've been feeling like he's babysitting a child throughout this relationship, and how much of a newbie you act despite you dating for three years.

He laughs, still cupping your cheeks and your heart breaks again at the reminiscing look in his eyes. What have you put yourself into? How many times will you break your heart tonight? The moment over powers your hate for the rain, you closed your eyes and listened to the sound of the sad, loud and terrifying heavy raindrops because at this moment, you feel as though nothing is scarier than Mark choosing her over you. It is too possible. Whether it was the truth or just your insecurities whispering at you, you didn't care — it feels too right, it feels too possible.

"But you… I forgot my own favorite food when you looked so happy seeing yours and from then on I called it my favorite too. I was so full of you that my favorite number is the date of the day I first saw you," he chuckles in disbelief, "You barged into my life like you owned me, crushed all the ideals I set and changed everything I want to you. You made me rethink my reasons of declaring her my soulmate but you didn't have to replace her because you made me realize I never, never really gave her my heart to anyone like I gave mine to you, Y/N. You had me even before I met you, as if I knew that you'll come along, and saved every part of me for you," he strokes the side of your face gently, drying you of your tears, "You made my parents cry the night I brought you home, while you were fast asleep up my room, and they told me, 'Mark, you have such a lovely girl', made me promise to keep you forever and treat you right. Have I failed to do that, Y/N? Was I that lacking of love?"

You shut your eyes, no, you want to say, but you can't. It's like your paralyzed by his gaze and touch, his words making your heart flutter and shatter at the same time, "Because I can try again, be better, Y/N. I can be better. Until you don't even think about other people's names, until you remember how I love you the same way you can't forget your name."

"No, you're perfect, Mark," and millions worth or praises as well, but you don't want to say that. Not now, you'll save them for the next million years you'll spend loving him, "You're perfect and I love you. I won't trade this for anything else. I'm sorry for letting my insecurities get the best of me and I'm sorry for making you feel like your lacking, Mark, I'm—"

Your words get cut as your lips meet in a bittersweet kiss, the first kiss of today, one after a fight that could've torn you apart — this one tasted like honey, this felt like coming home, back at his arms. It's soft and insistent, warm and giddy and child-like in a way that is free. It felt like high school, it felt carefree, it felt so right that it's almost wrong. You smile at how similar it is to that one day in Vancouver, that one morning in Santorini, that night in Paris and this.

"I love you." He says with a peaceful smile as he pecks your lips on more time before he buries his face on your neck, "I love you so fucking much, Y/N, like my heart is so full of you and it's about to explode. I love you."

"Even if I'm a little bit insecure and a whole lot sensitive?", you ask him, basking in his warmth and you feel his lips curl against your neck as he says, "Yes, even if you're a little bit insecure, and a whole lot sensitive, love…"

You stay like that for a while, and the rain calms down as if it's finally sated. Several minutes were spent, lying like that, listening to each other's heartbeats before he decides that it's time to go home, the bright 2:36 am glares at the two of you alongside the 8 a.m schedules the two of you have. So, he starts up the car once he made sure you're wearing your seatbelt, and you have a sudden epiphany that his face is a better sight — even better than the city lights passing like a blur outside the car window. You smile to yourself, it's still an hour drive waiting for the two of you.

Even until then, he doesn't let go of your hand, and that's enough to keep your heart content. Mark Lee is always enough to keep your heart full, and you wouldn't have it any other way.

[anxiousdepressedintrovert]

Horizons

The ride to Alexandrine’s estate was a long one. The close-knit suburban state of Andridge gave way to pastures of sheep and fields of raspberries. “Andridge is known for excellent wool and the best raspberries in the world.” Alex said, pride in her voice.

“I thought you were all about oranges here?” Madeleine quipped

“Of course not!” Alex exclaimed “Cordonia has much more to offer besides delicious apples, yes? The duchy I will inherit, Kayad, as well as the county I preside over, Dankamp, currently produce much of Auvernal’s citrus, as well as plums.” She leaned forward “They make for an excellent plum wine.”

Hana giggled “Lex, you can talk about plums later.”

“Sorry, anyway…Dame Klara, she’ll be Baroness Dominese, her family breeds and tends to the Auvernese Thoroughbred. One of the fastest horses in the world.”

“Impressive list but is there anything actually interesting here?” Olivia asked turning from the window.

“Lex! You forgot about the falcons!” Hana grinned, clapping her hands together.

Maxwell perked up “Falcons?”

“Yes, the royal family keeps mews with falcons and other raptors.” Alex explained “Other nobles and commoners who can afford them do as well. I’m sure Flor-I mean, Her Majesty would be thrilled to show you.” Alex matched Maxwell’s grin

“Oh, just call her by her name,” Riley said bouncing Ellie on her lap making the child squeal with glee “It’s so obvious you, Dame Gerard and the Queen are super close.”

Alex smiled sheepishly “Yes, Klara, Flori and I grew up together. It was…an experience.”

“What do you mean?” Drake asked

“Well, Floriana is the daughter of the second queen. She and Isabella are only half-sisters. Isabella was…temperamental.”

Olivia snorted “What a kind way to put it.”

“Flori grew up at Andridge Manor as a result of that. I-I shouldn’t be talking about this.” Alex cleared her throat, “Look, we’ve arrived.” Alex pointed out of the window to a sprawling estate.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Riley said looking at the grounds.

Alex beamed at the compliment “Thank you. Shall we head inside?”

Shortly after departing the limo, the group entered Dankamp Manor. Staff scurried around the halls, all of them carrying some form of decoration.

“Are you having a party?” Liam asked, taking Eleanor from Riley

Alex smiled as a few servants waved to her “Oh, we’re hosting the reception for the Coronation here.”

“Not at the palace?” Madeleine raised an eyebrow

“No, the palace is currently under construction. Flori didn’t want to begin her reign in a place that held so much pain. Now, let’s get you squared away in your rooms.” Alex clapped her hands “JOSIF!”

A tall wiry man appeared at Alex’s side “Yes, Lady Alexandrine?” his long pale face and slow speech reminded Riley of Lurch from The Addams Family.

“Josif, please escort my guests to the rooms I informed you about.”

“Lady Lee in her usual room, I presume?” Josif raised a thin white eyebrow

“Yes. Thank you.”

Josif bowed, and turned to the Cordonians “Please follow me.”

Josif guided the group up the main stairs and down the hall before stopping. “Lady Hana, The Purser Room.”

“Thank you Josif.”

“Of course. Dinner will be served at 6.” Josif escorted the rest of them to their rooms.

Drake was next to Hana in the Griffin room, Maxwell next to him in the Miyamoto room, Olivia next to him in the Vermillion room and Madeleine was further down the hall in the Viridescent Room.

“What about Riley and Liam? Surely you have some place for your most honored guests?!” Madeleine glared at Josif but the man didn’t even flinch.

“Of course. Their Majesties will be staying in the cottage connected to the manor. Lady Alexandrine ordered this. If you have a problem, Countess Amaranth, please take it up with her.” Josif’s words were precise and final. He did not tower over Madeleine but there was no doubt he was an intimidating man, despite his thin stature.

Josif turned to Liam and Riley, “If you please, I will escort you to the Wilbraham Cottage.” Leaving Madeleine stunned and Drake holding in his laughter.

They followed Josif down a series of hallways to an ornate door. Josif faced them, “Wilbraham is equipped with a master suite, full kitchen, a secondary bedroom, living quarters, outdoor seating, and a study. If you wish to dine in your quarters at any period during your stay, simply call the number listed by the phone and a servant will attend to you. The secondary room has been set up as a nursery for Princess Eleanor.”

Ellie cooed at her name, reaching out to grab Josif’s finger. The man smiled slightly. “Should the room be unsatisfactory to you, please call the number I mentioned before and request any changes.”

“What if we wanted, like…the same bed she has in Cordonia?” Riley asked mostly joking

“We would have a replica flown in immediately.” Josif said as he turned to open the doors to the cottage.

“I was joking” Riley whispered while Liam laughed, “You should know better than that by now. Royals take hosting very seriously.”

“Clearly.”

Wilbraham Cottage was a beautifully preserved old building with modern finishes on the inside. The study was more of a library with a desk in it. Wall to wall shelving of books. The wooden desk against the window seemed more out of place than the overstuffed arm chair. The roof of the study was entirely stained glass. It caught the sun and made patterns on the floor. Ellie giggled as she crawled on the wood floor attempting to grab the lights.

The bedrooms were equally impressive. Ellie’s room was a soft blue with stars decorating the walls and ceiling. Her crib was much more opulent than the one she had in Cordonia. Gold inlay in the frame, but the mattress was just as soft. And her mobile was of a horse, a crane, a sparrow, and a hawk.

“How-se!” Eleanor clapped her hands in delight

“Oh, do you like your room here Ellie?” Liam asked, nuzzling her face

“Ayeeee!”  Eleanor grabbed his cheek, digging her small nails into his skin

“That bathroom is amazing.” Riley said, emerging from the en-suite of Ellie’s room. “Oh shit, is it time to trim her nails again?”

Liam grinned ruefully at his wife “Yeah, I do believe it is.”

“No!” Eleanor shouted, a gleeful smile on her face

“Oh, our little princess has been saying that a lot.” Riley tapped a finger on her chin “Does Ellie want…a bath?”

“No!” the toddler giggled

“Does Ellie want…kisses?” Riley kissed Liam on the cheek

“No!” a shriek of laughter

“Oh, well then I guess Daddy gets all of Mommy’s kisses.” Riley cupped Liam’s face and leaned in to kiss him

Ellie was not having it “No!” She pushed Liam away with all her tiny strength and grabbed at Riley “Mama!” Her words turned into a near sob. …of crocodile tears

“Oh, it’s ok Ellie.” Riley took Eleanor from Liam and held her, rubbing the child’s back. “Mommy loves both of you. But we’ve gotta trim your nails.” Riley sat down on a chair with Ellie in her lap and Liam crouched in front of them.

“It won’t hurt at all baby.” Liam smiled

Ellie sighed and leaned back into Riley “’K”

     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, Hana sat on her bed, staring up at Olivia, who looked down at her with an odd expression on her face. “I’m sorry Olivia I’m not sure what it is you’re asking.” Hana put down her composition book to focus on Olivia. The duchess sighed, unsure of herself. It was a feeling she’d very rarely felt. Olivia sat next to Hana and glared at the wall. Hana felt sorry for the El Greco that hung in her sightline.

“Your…friend. The Countess.” Olivia began, her voice terse

“Alex? What about her?”

“Tell me about her.”

Hana wrinkled her brow “I…What do you mean?”

“What information do you have on her?!” Olivia demanded, her cheeks flushing slightly “What kind of flowers she likes, things like that…”

Realization came to Hana suddenly “Olivia…are you interested in Alex?!”  

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Oh my god!” Hana squealed! “You have a crush on Alex?! I have to tell Riley!”

Olivia groaned “Please don’t.” but it was too late Hana already had her phone out and not even two minutes later Riley burst into the room.

“You have a crush on Alex?!” the queen screeched, her chest heaving from having run the distance from the cottage to Hana’s room.

“How on Earth did you get here so fast?” Olivia wondered; her eyes wide

Riley shut the door behind her and sat on the opposite side of Hana “Yeah, cause I’m totally gonna miss Olivia ‘I’ll kill you before admitting I have feelings Nevrakis asking for girl talk!”

Olivia narrowed her eyes “I asked for no such thing.”

Riley and Hana looked at each other and shook their heads “Oh, Olivia, I had a stunted upbringing too and I still know better.” Hana patted her friend’s hand.

“So, you know what that means! Sleepover!” Riley cheered throwing her hands in the air

Olivia frowned “Ancestors help me, what have I gotten myself into?”

Tagged List: @no-one-u-know @texaskitten30 @gardeningourmet

@daisydancer14 @gkittylove99 @harrington-sinclaire

If you want to me added or have changed your name place let me know! Thank you for reading!! 

Master List

[hyucksong]

to all the boys i’ve loved before; zhong chenle

Dear Chenle, 

   Why did you kiss my cheek today? It was kind of weird, honestly. You know I’m never one to stop someone’s affection towards me, but I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t do that anymore. It left a weird fluttering feeling in my stomach, and now I can’t get you out of my head.

   I know what this feeling is, though I really don’t want to admit it. I think I like you. I mean, you know I love you. You’re like an overgrown dog, but this time I feel different. I feel like I want you to kiss my cheek every time you see me. 

   I just hope you don’t do it again. 

   Please don’t. Or do...I mean, only if you want to, I guess.

Dear Chenle, 

   Wow, I just read my old letter to you. I didn’t write much, but I can assure you, over the next few words there would be countless hings I would want to say. My ‘like’ turned into ‘love’. An unrequited love, but a love. I wrote that when I was 13, and right now I’m deciding to write this extra little bit before leaving out for college. I’m going to drop the letter off in the mailbox after this. 

   You are different from the rest of these letters. Though through the years I’ve liked Lee Donghyuck, Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno, Park Jisung, Lee Minhyung, or Mark, and Huang Renjun, I liked 4/6 of those boys at the same time I liked you. No matter what, my heart always drifted off to you when I was daydreaming, not anyone else. You were the one in my dreams, the one in my thoughts. 

   Maybe it was because I grew up with you? Through all the years, no matter what, you always accepted me for who I am. You were there for me, and maybe it was the way your eyes sparkled when you were in control of a situation that made my heart flutter. Maybe it was your shameless love and affection for me that made my head spin. But one things for sure, I was really in love with you. Was.

   That all changed in the summer of Sophomore year, right before we went into Junior year. It changed when you met your first love. She was amazing, don’t get me wrong. But watching as you ogled over her and gave her so much of your time, it made me realize that your love for me really was only love for a close friend. The love you had for her was unconditional. So I let you be happy, I let go. And for the most part, it worked.

   I threw myself into my studies Junior year, maybe that’s why I didn’t like anyone. Even after you both broke up the beginning of Senior year, I didn’t regain my feelings for you. Because Mark wormed his way into my life. 

   But that’s another story for another time.

   You were the start of everything for me, Chenle. My first love, my first letter, my first unrequited tears -- and the first is never forgotten. I probably still love you, somewhere deep in the bottom of my heart, there’s a piece of me that still roots for you. A piece that hopes you’ll read this and come running to me.

   I wish I could travel back in time and tell myself to confess to you, because for all I know maybe you loved me too back then. But it’s too late now. 

   Don’t forget to text and call me. I still want to be friends.

Love, Y/n.

/// a scene from the heart ///

   Jisung went home early, he was complaining about his stomach hurting. You and Chenle decided that just because he wasn’t here, it didn’t mean that you couldn’t still have fun.

   So the movie was on, the lights off, and his parents were sound asleep in their master bedroom, far away from the ominous sounds of the scary movie. He was next to you in the fluffy blanket, though it wasn’t really needed in the warm summer air. It someone still found a way to make the house humid and hot even with the air conditioner on full blast. 

   “Is the main character stupid?” Chenle whispered in your ear, his shoulder pressing against yours making your heart jump a little. “Yeah, I can’t believe she went into the woods alone.” The brunette giggled from beside you, throwing his arm across your shoulder haphazardly. You snuggled into his warmth, losing your focus on the movie when his sweet musk reached your nose.

   He smelt like happiness, which apparently was a mix of patchouli and chocolate chip cookies. It was sweet, but with a hint of manliness. You realized he was growing up, just like you. You’d both be in high school after summer ended. Your head was clouded with thoughts of doubt; would he really stay next to you through out the painstaking four years? In theory he would, but life never follows a formula. 

   “Hey, Lele...” Your voice danced across the thin line of a whisper and silence. He hummed in response, his eyes never leaving the movie. You looked up at his profile. You saw things that were never there before, like his protruding jawline and hollowed out cheek bones. His baby fat was disappearing, even the happy go lucky shine that was in his eyes before changed into a darker look.

   His eyes met yours, and maybe it was the lack of light in the room, but you swore his eyes were a richer brown, less of the child-like wonder in them. Your reflection was visible, your wide eyes shining back at you. You looked prettier in his eyes, quite literally.

   “You’re not going to leave me, right?” 

   He furrowed his brows. A part of you wanted to laugh it off, tell him you were kidding and just go back to the movie. But his gaze was serious, his mouth was down turned slightly into a gentle frown. “Where’s this coming from?” You shrugged, looking back at the movie. You shuffled away from him; you felt that he would be able to tell exactly what you were feeling just by touching you and feeling the blood gather where his fingers lingered.

   His rich brown eyes searched your face, curious, before turning back to the movie, “I’ll never leave you, Y/n. There’s no one who gets me like you do. We just have this...connection, you know?” he mused. “Besides, there’s no one else that could deal with me the way you do.” His voice had a hint of playfulness to it, making you smile.

   He peered at your reaction from the corner of his eyes, mirroring your grin on his own jolly face. “Come here.” He pulled you into his embrace, wrapping his now toned arms around your waist with his chin resting on your shoulder. You swore that he could hear your insane heartbeat. It was probably beating fast enough for two people. 

   But for the rest of the night, you stayed like that; his arms around you, your hands over his, slightly interlaced. It was a memory you held close to your heart and clung onto in hard times. You’d never did remember the end of that movie, though. 

/// a scene from a broken heart ///

   You sat at the lunch table alone, waiting for Jisung and Chenle to show up. It was your first day of Junior year, and you were already slightly annoyed. As far as you knew, you had no classes with Chenle nor Jisung, and it was dampening your mood. And while having a class with Jisung after last years fiasco would be weird, it would still be a minor reassurance. There was no one you knew from the past years in your classes, you didn’t even pass anyone between classes that you knew. Well, besides the occasional glance of Lee Jeno’s familiar frosty blonde hair. 

   A high pitched giggle caught your attention, causing you to look up. At the entrance doors in the front of the cafeteria, stood Chenle and Jisung. But the third face you saw caused your smile to slide. 

   Chenle’s girlfriend.

   He told you about the quiet girl in the middle of summer. Apparently they had met in summer piano classes, and he fell for her at first sight. You were glad that you never met the girl, and maybe your feelings were only able to survive that hurtful and humid summer because you didn’t have to see their relationship blossom right in front of your own two eyes. 

   Her hair was pushed behind her ears, which showcased their pink flush of color. Chenle waved at you briefly before siting down in front of you, an awkward Jisung to his right and a giggly girlfriend to his left. You gave a tight-lipped smile to the girl, not looking her in the eyes. You picked at your food, making light conversation with Chenle, and only him, mainly because Jisung was avoiding you at all costs, and your heart couldn’t take looking at the beautiful girl diagonal from you.

   Lunch passed by slowly, and for once you wished that it was pass in seconds. After a while, the bell rung, interrupting the conversation between the trio opposite of you. You saw the girl taking your place as both the boys next to her laughed, forgetting the blaring high-pitched sound of the bell, and your shoulders slumped. A bitter taste coated your tongue as you looked at the happy friends in front of you, maybe it would be best if you focused on your studies this year. 

   You could tell it was going to be a lonely year. 

///

masterlist

[scatter44]

Sentinels of the Multiverse Inverted Universe Hero Ideas

My ideas for some Inverse Heroes

Division aka Inverted Proletariat: Aleksandr Tsarev's wealthy parents fled from Russia with the rise of communism and ended up in the United States. Left poor due to the haste in which they fled they learned the value of hard work by gaining tough jobs to support themselves and their infant son. Imparting these same values onto young Alexandr, causing him to grow up with both a strong work and a fierce sense of American patriotism. Changing his name to Alex Talbot in order to hide his Russian origins from those who would persecute him he decided to join the military in order to show his love for his new found home, and his deep hatred of the Soviet Union. He excelled in his training rapidly becoming a highly skilled solider and commander. He later volunteered for a military experiment to be injected with a special serum that was meant to turn him into the ultimate solider, it instead seemed to knock him into a coma.

Through initially written off as a failed experiment the government scientists discovered something remarkable upon more detailed inspection: through he was comatose the serum was keeping him in a strange state of suspended animation! He would not age while he was in this coma! With this revelation the US government decided to keep him "on ice" for both further study and to see what happens if he woke up. Well he did wake up, but it took decades. By the time the coma was over the Soviet Union had fallen and Alex Talbot was a man out of his time. However there was one upside: Alex could now duplicate himself a limited number of times, about fifteen to twenty times or so, through at the cost of some stamina each time.

Through this new ability was a silver lining Alex still felt like an extremely out of place piece of obsolescence in this new time and fell into a deep depression, bereft of any real purpose. However this void inside would not last long. With the growing menace of supervillains the US government felt they needed a special "team" of their own under their supervision to combat them. The first person they turned to was of course Alex, and even offered him leadership to boot! While open to the idea of joining a team he initially declined leadership, feeling he was too much of a "relic" to able to lead effectively anymore. It took some cajoling and debate but eventually Alex accpeted leadership. Dubbing himself "Division" he now leads this new team, called "The Light Brigade" to fight all enemies of America and the innocent.

Quick-Step aka Inverted Friction: Crystal Lee was always an eager, energetic, and focused woman. When she set her sights on some new task she approached it 100 percent and would not stop until she felt it was done correctly, even at personal cost. This was especially true of any engineering project, engineering being her greatest passion. Through this attitude gave her tunnel vision at times it also made her a hard worker and eventually got her a scholarship at a prestigious university and an internship at a prominent research lab. The lab in question was working on a "speed suit" in order to create a new breed of super fast peacekeepers. However the lab was eventually broken into by the villain Terminal Velocity, who had heard about the project and was none too pleased about being "ripped-off", who wrecked the lab and caused the suit to blow up, with young Crystal caught in the blast!

Miraculously she survived without any major injuries, and, as she eventually found out, the ability to naturally move at super fast speed like Terminal Velocity can! Now she possed physcial abilties to match her attitude. With her new powers she decided to become a crime fighter to both help people, and stick it to Terminal Velocity for her actions. Through before she could go out and do some serious crimefighting she was contacted by the US government, who had heard about the incident due to the fact that they were the ones funding the lab's projects, and was offered a place on the new Light Brigade. Estactic at even being asked Crystal jumped at the opportunity and signed on. Now going by Quick-Step she fights alongside her teammates for justice!

Metallurgist aka Inverted Chokepoint: Being handed over to the government by her parents when they were unable to handle her strange ability to "talk" to metal would be damaging to any child, and the same was ture of Evelyn Moore. Through the pain and resentment was immense she instead decied to channel both into a firm desire for greatness. Through an "I'll show everybody" attitude she pushed herslef to her limits and quicker then her trainers could believe mastered her metal powers. Through still seething with resentment, and not really having a strong loyalty to the US government she still approached her new missions with gusto! However after a time she grew sick of having to kill for "the sake of her country", and instead wanted to use her powers in less fatal ways.

So when the super team The Light Brigade was being together, and Evelyn seeming like a natural fit, she leapt at the chance to be part of something more defensive and less lethal. Through still not the best team payer, the resentment and anger were still there after all, and often chafing under the patriotic Division's leadership, she is slowly opening up more to her new teammates and becoming warmer, slowly. In the mean time she will do her level best to be a great hero and prove herself to a world she still feels does not accept her.

Flamehammer aka Inverted Citizen Hammer: While the US government does not have the best relationship with group of isolationist super-powered group known as the Citizens of the Sun cooler heads prevailed over more fearful ones. The Us government offered the group's leader Dawn Cohen a deal: officially being recognized as an independent nation and protection in exchange for one of their powerful members becoming part of their new hero team the Light Brigade for them. Through initially skeptical Dawn felt she could not turn down such an offer offer and agreed. Asking for a volunteer one man by the name of Hayden Turk agreed out of sheer loyalty to Dawn. Dubbing himself Flamehammer, due to not caring enough to pick something more creative, he joined up. Through his fire powers, levelheadedness, and natural combat prowess makes him a very valued asset to his team he still lacks trust in his teammates and is often stand-offish. However he seems to be learning to trust them more and his loyalty to Dawn and her goals focuses him to be the best hero he can be.

Any thoughts and feedback?

[chaossmagic]

fic: there’s a place that i know (it’s not pretty there if you should ever go)

Summary: Aaron finally gets a chance to talk to his husband about the reality of his declining mental health and helps him understand a few truths about what he’s going through in light of Victoria’s trauma and his struggle to cope.

TW: in-depth discussion of mental illness, specifically depression, and talk of suicide/suicidal thoughts. References also to Victoria’s rape and mentions of Lee.

read on AO3| buy me a coffee?

After their conversation on the bridge, Aaron couldn’t bear to watch Robert have another fitful, sleepless night. 

For the last few weeks he’d been constantly tossing and turning, waking up at all hours and pacing their bedroom when he thought Aaron was asleep, and making excuses like needing a drink or needing the loo when he got caught. At first, Aaron hadn’t wanted to push him, and let him ride it out in his own way. But it had been getting harder and harder to watch his husband get paler and paler, his face more pinched, the bags under his eyes deeper, his concentration shorter and his patience thinner the more he worried about Victoria and what she was going through. Seeing her so on edge, constantly worried about seeing Lee or Wendy anywhere she might go, the ever-present fear that she wouldn’t be allowed to just be an ordinary mum and raise her child in peace, was pushing Robert to the brink. 

He tried not to let on, but Aaron could see it in his eyes and he knew how much he was suffering, even if he didn’t want Aaron to see because Vic had it much harder than he did and he believed his problems weren’t important.

But they were to Aaron. 

It had gotten so bad that his mum had come up to him in the pub that afternoon, pressed a hand to his arm and asked him gently, “Is Robert alright, love? Really?”

He’d been in before, she’d said. Sat in the corner with a pint he barely drank, staring into space, like a statue, she’d said. Motionless. Looking at everything and seeing nothing. 

“It scared me a bit,” she’d said. “I’ve never seen him look like that before.”

No, he’d wanted to tell her. No, he’s not.

The thing was, Aaron knew exactly how it felt to feel like a ghost, drowning in your own shame and self-hatred, because he’d done the same thing himself. Looking at Robert lately was like looking at himself in the mirror, ten years ago. Back during a time in his life when he felt so awful all the time that he’d thought about, and had actually tried, disappearing from the world forever.

But now he was glad. He was glad that Adam had pulled him from the fume-filled garage that day, because it had all led him to Robert and to their family and he could not be more grateful.

He just needed to remind Robert of that, too. He needed that same change of perspective and recognition. To show him that what they had was worth it - and that if he felt like that, like Aaron had, that he wasn’t alone.

So that night, before climbing into bed next to his husband, Aaron went to the cupboard where they kept the spare sheets and pulled down a thick, heavy bundle of fabric - his weighted blanket. The one he’d been recommended by his counsellor, to help with his anxiety and panic attacks and insomnia, the one he’d bought after Gordon and everything he went through with the trial and then his father’s death.

He hadn’t used it in months. The last time had been when Billy had showed up, right over Christmas, and the weight on his chest had made him feel like he was choking with the fear of seeing him everywhere he went. When he’d been too afraid to leave the house, it was the only thing that had brought him relief. Now, though, he and Billy were on a stalemate of sorts, almost like they’d called a truce, and he’d put it back in the top of the cupboard where it had always been.

He carried it wordlessly into their bedroom now, bare feet padding across the carpet, and placed it on the bed with a soft, “Here.”

At the sound of Aaron’s voice, Robert rolled over onto his back, the harsh light of the bedside lamp throwing into sharp relief just how haggard he really looked. Aaron’s chest gave an awful, painful squeeze as he looked at him. 

Almost immediately, Robert shook his head, his eyes falling to the blanket and staring there. “Aaron, I couldn’t.”

“You can, and I want you too,” Aaron replied. “Look at ya, Rob, you look like death warmed up. When was the last time you actually slept?

“Gee, thanks,” was the murmured response, Robert throwing an arm over his eyes and sighing deeply. “I feel really appreciated.”

“Robert,” Aaron pleaded, kneeling on the bed and crawling up next to him, gently pulling his arm away from his face and cupping his cheek softly. He felt rather than heard Robert’s infinitesimal gasp, biting his lip as he leaned in to Aaron’s warm palm without thinking, his eyelids drifting closed. They were purple under taught, fatigue-grey skin, the shadows under his eyes like bruises. Aaron gently traced his thumb there. “Robert, please, I’m - “ he swallowed hard, a sudden lump in his throat. His voice was hoarse and quiet as he continued. “I’m worried about ya. The way you’ve been actin’....the not sleepin’, not eatin’, hardly concentrating at work....you remind me of meself. The way I used to be.”

At that, Robert’s eyes snapped open, huge and blue-green in the dim light, and the fear there was enough to make Aaron’s blood run cold. Fear that he was right. Fear that he really was going under. Fear that he was falling with no way of being able to catch himself.

“You think I’m losing my mind?” Robert whispered, reaching for Aaron’s hand and wrapping his own fingers tight around it. “Be honest with me, Aaron.”

“I think you’re going to make yourself ill if you carry on like this,” Aaron said simply. “So does Liv, and me mum. They won’t say as much, but they’re all really worried that you-” he cut himself off, not able to even think the words. “Well. You know how things....ended with me.”

“I haven’t felt like myself since....before we found out about Vic,” Robert admitted. “I think the last time I felt like myself was when we were outside that club, and you were scoffing chips after having one too many and trying to flirt with me.”

“Er, what do you mean tryin’? I succeeded, thank you, if what happened after we got home is anythin’ to go by,” Aaron protested. 

“After that...” he carried on, “after that is sort of a blur, really. Like white noise, inside my head. I can’t think beyond knowing what Vic went through. It’s all that’s in my head, all the time. How scared she must have been, how that - that bastard hurt her so much that she stayed locked up in her own house for weeks without telling another soul what happened.”

“This is good, Robert,” Aaron soothed, squeezing his hand. “This is really good. You need to talk to me about it.”

But Robert shook his head again. “I can’t. I can’t, because it’s not about me, is it? I feel like there’s this constant fire inside my head where I’m angry and scared and then angry again, and I can’t show any of that to anyone because they’ll just say I’m selfish when what Vic is going through is so much worse.”

Aaron cupped his face, stroking this thumbs over his cheeks. He pressed his lips to Robert’s in a gentle but firm kiss, trying to convey everything he felt in that one action. Love. Understanding. Patience. Acceptance. He felt tears against his own cheeks and realized Robert was crying silently, tiny whimpers coming from his chest that he tried to swallow down as his hands came up to bracket the back of Aaron’s head, fingers tightening in his dark curls and holding on as if for life itself. 

Aaron scooted down the bed so that he was level with Robert, still kissing him, a hand coming up to still his trembling shoulders. He pulled away and buried his nose in the hollow of Robert’s throat, his cheek pressed to his collarbone. “It’s not selfish,” he said. “It’s never selfish. That’s what mental illness does to ya. It warps your mind, corrodes it. It’s never your fault. It wasn’t for me and it’s not for you.”

“But it’s not the same, is it?” Robert said. “You were genuinely ill. You had your reasons.”

Aaron looked up, his face so close to Robert’s he could see every shade of green and every shade of blue in his eyes, bright with tears. Their noses were almost touching, and he leaned forward slightly to brush them against one another. He pressed a soft kiss to his cheekbone, right under one tired, red-rimmed eye. “But so do you,” he said. “It all matters, Robert. There is no hard and fast rule. You’re my husband, and I love ya. I want to look after ya. And if you get sick, then I want to be there for ya, whether it’s the flu or something else that’s going on up here,” he gently tapped the tip of his finger to Robert’s temple, indicating his mind. “It’s because I know what it’s like that I want to make sure you’re okay. I’m speakin’ from experience, and because I love you so much that the thought of you being in that dark place is somethin’ I never want for ya.”

“What did I ever do to find someone as amazing as you?” Robert asked. 

“Stole your car, didn’t I?” Aaron said, chuckling. “You were an arse, but you grew on me in the end, didn’t ya? Like a fungus or summat. Or an ingrown toenail.”

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Robert replied simply. “If I’m an ingrown toenail, I’m the luckiest ingrown toenail in the world.”

“Will ya let me get the blanket now?” Aaron asked. “If it makes you feel less self-conscious about it, we can both get under it, if ya want. I promise ya it’ll help.”

“Okay,” he agreed. “Yeah, okay. If I’m with you, I can do it.”

Aaron rolled away from Robert to drag the blanket over, draping the weight of it over both their bodies. He moved in closer, throwing one leg over Robert’s and tangling their legs together, keeping in a hiss as Robert’s cold toes made contact with his bare calf. He reached for his hand again, holding it tight against Robert’s chest, just over his heart, and adjusted the blanket so that they were both covered by it. The heavy weight of it molded immediately to the shape of their bodies, warm and secure, and he felt Robert’s shoulders relax down into the mattress with it. 

“How does that feel?” Aaron prompted. “Good?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it does,” Robert’s eyelids were already drifting closed again, his voice thick with sleep. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

Robert opened his eyes. “Always staying with me.”

Aaron shook his head. “S’not an option not to. I love you. It won’t fix everything, but....it helps, it really does. And it’s a start.”

“I can handle that, I think,” Robert replied. “As long as you’re with me.”

Aaron let himself smile at that, just a little bit. Just enough. 

“Always.”