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zepskies · 8 months

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Being Human - Part 3

Pairing: Alec McDowell x F. Reader

Summary: Your life made sense before Alec slipped his way in. He unravels your threads without even trying. He frustrates you as easily as he weasels back into your good graces. But you soon realize that this man is worth the challenge.

AN: Remember that in this point in the season, we're in the year 2020 (DA season 2 was released in 2001). And we're about to dive into some rocky waters...

Chapter Summary: The weight of Alec’s secret is starting to create fractures. Because now, you have a secret of your own.

Song Inspo: “Attention” by Avant (ft. Snoop Dog)

Word Count: 4,400

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! For smut, elements of mate claiming, fluff, angst, perilous situations, and a cliffhanger...

💜 Series Masterlist

Part 3: Complications

These are the nights you live for.

The gang’s all here at Crash. You’re accompanied by Max, Logan, Original Cindy, and a fruity cocktail Alec got for you. Though you roll your eyes at the way your boyfriend is trying to hook people into playing a game of pool with him, clearly so he can hustle them. The man has freakish skills.

He’s already won two or three paychecks’ worth off Sketchy, who bows out by necessity.

“Come on. Anyone, anyone! Step right up and test your skills!” Alec calls throughout the back of the bar.

“Babe, would you give it up?” you say, even though you’re smiling. “No one wants to get swindled.”

He turns to you, zeroing in with a flirtatious grin.

“Want to try your hand, sweetheart?” he asks.

You snort. “I think not.”

“Aw, come on. We don’t even have to play for cash. How about sexual favors?” he offers. The more he thinks about it, the more he likes that idea, with a growing smile. His gaze locks on yours.

“I wouldn’t even mind losing,” he says, giving you a cocky wink.

You smile, fighting a blush. Max and Cindy roll their eyes. Logan ducks his head in amusement.

“That white boy nonsense actually works on you?” Cindy asks.

You take a decided sip of your cocktail in lieu of answering.

In the end, Logan steps up to the plate, to much cajoling. When he actually wins, Alec is forced to accept a bruised ago as he forks over $50.

You beckon him over and he joins your half-booth table. You lean against him after he slides in behind you, his arm wrapping around your waist. He presses a kiss to the side of your head, and you know he doesn’t care all that much about the game.

You all cut up as usual for a while, laughing and telling stories from the day of package slinging. Logan patiently listens to all of you Jam Pony alumni commiserating over how each of you would choose to prank Normal (if there were no repercussions). Sketchy ends up with the best idea: putting super glue in the glue stick the man uses on his hair.

When the laughter dies down, Alec offers to buy the next round of beer. He often does, you’ve noticed; he’s a generous person, whether he thinks of himself that way or not. Logan gets up to join him at the bar, wanting to chip in for the pitcher with his “new winnings.”

You shake your head at that. Alec’s pride probably won’t allow competition from Logan for a second time tonight.

“We’re about to be short-staffed again,” says Cindy, earning your attention. “Jenny got knocked up.”

Max’s brows raise, while you give a happy clap and a sound of excitement.

“Oh, good for her! She and Carlos have been trying for months.”

“Hmph. That is one thing I’m not envious of,” Cindy says.

“No kids on your wishlist?” you ask.

“Not a chance, boo,” she replies.

You turn to Max next. “Are you in Miss Anti-Family’s camp too?”

“Hey, ain’t nobody said I’m anti-family,” Cindy cut in. “I believe it comes in all shapes and sizes, and they don’t gotta be your blood.”

You take a moment to think about what she’s saying, and you conceded with a nod and a smile.

“Fair enough, OC. You’ve got it right,” you gestured at her with the hand that held your drink. She clinks her half-empty beer with your glass. Both of you then turn to Max with expectant gazes, still waiting on her answer.

“I’m not into all that domestic stuff, really,” she says. Though her gaze drifts toward Logan, who’s still arguing with Alec at the bar. “My life’s complicated enough.”

Cindy snorts into her glass. You don’t quite get it; maybe because you don’t really know Max all that well, for how often you guys hang out. It’s like she keeps you at an arm’s length. It hurts you sometimes, when you see how close she is with Cindy, but you suppose it’s her right to keep her circle small.

The world’s become a lot tougher after the Pulse. The more people know about you, the more they can use it against you. That’s why finding people you can trust, and even love, is all the more precious.

You glance over at the bar again, where Logan and Alec have seemed to come to a consensus. (Logan’s bowed out of paying for beer.) Alec has a victorious little smile on his face. He looks over, as if sensing your gaze, and he shoots you a wink. Your smile grows.

Meanwhile, Max and Cindy watch you with twin looks of wry amusement.

“So you want the family package, huh?” Cindy asks.

You twirl your straw around your glass.

“I haven’t thought all that hard about it, but…I wouldn’t mind, with the right person.”

Max chortles, pointing a finger towards the bar. “You think that’s Alec?”

Cindy’s brows furrow slightly as she shoots her friend a warning look. You bite your lip and look down at your drink.

“Now’s not the right time but, maybe someday,” you reply.

Later that night, you treat yourself to a bath in Alec’s apartment. The heater here is amazing. His place is so spacious, with a huge TV in the living room worthy of his obsession with cartoons and soap operas.

He has another one in the bedroom, where he’s made himself comfortable watching some old sitcom.

When you eventually get out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around you, Alec is predictably glued to the TV. You don’t even think he’s noticed you when you walk by him to grab the change of clothes from your overnight bag, but he pulls you into his lap before you can get dressed.

“Why the hell do you need clothes?” he says, stealing a kiss. “Those cumbersome things.”

You giggle, and he smiles against your lips. He rolls you underneath him on the bed and you help divest him of his clothes, down to his boxer briefs. He’s in a good mood tonight, you can tell.

He takes one corner of your towel and peels it off you slowly, until your body is bare for his gaze. His eyes take in every inch of you before they make it back to your lightly blushing face.

He smiles, and he takes down the messy bun from your head to have your hair fanning wildly across his pillows. Your hands move across his chest and further down, but he puts a stop to your exploration. He grasps your wrists and pins them down to the bed with a strength you can’t escape.

You raise your brows. “Alec?”

“Trust me,” he says, dipping down to kiss your neck. “Let me take care of you tonight.”

You suck in a breath. Far be it from you to argue with that.

“Is this one of those sexual favors?” you tease.

He laughs against your skin. “You’re about to find out.”

Then his mouth drifts away from your neck, burning a hot, wet trail across your dewy skin. He finds his way between your breasts, before he lavishes attention to each one. While his tongue swirls around one pert bud, he rolls the other under his thumb and pinches just hard enough to elicit a gasp from you.

Your back arches off the bed a bit; your fingers rake through his sandy hair, clenching whenever he finds a sensitive spot. Both your grip and your voice spur him on, letting him know he’s in the right direction.

You don’t know this, of course, but before a few months ago, he wasn’t so well-versed in this arena. He’s learned his way down a woman’s body with much practice. And he’s come to find that every one of them is different, each with their own set of tells, as he likes to call them.

For example, he knows that even you don’t mind it fast and rough, you prefer it slow, like this. You like a full work up, with his lips dragging down below your navel and his thumbs guiding your knees open, so he can slot himself between your legs.

Already you’re breathing deeper as he makes his way down, pressing open-mouthed kisses down the inside of your left thigh. His tongue licks a languid stripe up the seam of your pussy.

“Alec,” you whine, like you want him to speed up the pace. Maybe you do, but all he gives you is a smirk from between your legs.

“Patience is a virtue,” he teases.

You huff and will yourself to be virtuous, closing your eyes with deep breaths. “Please…”

He chuckles. “I gotcha, baby. Don’t worry.”

His hand slides up your lower belly, both to comfort you and to hold you down. You cover his hand with yours, but your nails soon dig into his skin as his fingers deftly slip past your folds and find your entrance.

“Already drenched for me, I see,” he remarks approvingly. He gathers some wetness and finds your clit, circling with the pads of his fingers. He searches for the right angle, using the sound of your voice to guide him.

When you suck in a gasp and shudder, he knows he’s found the right spot. He replaces his hand with his tongue, while he slips two fingers deep inside you. As he works you over, unrelenting when your hips threaten to raise off the bed, he holds you down with a firm hand. Your hands fist in his hair as your eyes close and your mouth drops open with your moans.

Finally, you buck against his chin and let out a wordless cry. He feels your wetness coat his tongue and knows he’s making you come. Your inner walls are still quivering around his fingers when he slips them out of you. He actually licks them clean, making you shiver again at the sight.

Alec crawls back up the length of your body while you catch your breath. He smiles down on you and brushes your cheek with the back of his hand.

“Not about to pass out on me, are you?” he asks. A teasing gleam is in his eyes. “I think I can resuscitate you.”

You laugh breathily in response and pull him down to you, crashing his lips to yours. You taste yourself on his tongue, which isn’t unpleasant. Your nails drag down the back of his neck. Alec groans into your mouth and sinks his fingers into your hair.

Now he’s more on your wavelength as you reach for the waistband of his boxer brief and quickly roll them down. He helps you by kicking them the rest of the way off, allowing you to wrap your thighs around his hips tightly.

“Hey, wait a second,” he says, laughing with his forehead pressed to yours. He grabs your hips and angles you a bit higher, then he reaches between your bodies and holds the painfully hard, weeping head of his cock at your entrance.

He meets your eyes, and you smile and squeeze the back of his neck in encouragement.

As slowly as he can manage, he pushes inside you. He stretches open your inner walls inch by inch. Both of you take in deep breaths and utter mingled moans as he continues to push inside, until the head of his cock reaches the very depths of you.

You toss your head back against the pillow with a heavy breath.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” you nod, licking your lips. “Just move, baby, please.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. He likes when you call his name, but he thinks he likes even more when you call him baby. He knows that you mean it, unlike women he’s had to pay for.

But he doesn’t want to think about any of those exploits when he’s with you—there’s no comparison. He slides out almost the full length of his cock, before he pushes back in. He builds a slow, sensuous, steady rhythm that serves both of you well.

He actually works up a sweat, and you help him by meeting his thrusts, encouraging him whenever you give him your voice, your instructions and praises, your hands attempting to squeeze the circulation out of his arms.

He's so focused on rocking your world (and his own) that he doesn’t realize what you’re about to do.

He’s deep inside you when you brush your hand along his jaw and utter the truth.

“I love you,” you whisper.

Alec pauses.

Both of you are breathing hard, but the fact that he doesn’t say anything makes you freeze. Neither of you have said that before. You hold in your breath.

Alec’s pupils are blown wide as he dips down, nosing along your throat before he begins to move inside you again. You moan in response as your legs squeeze his hips. He sinks his teeth just above where your neck meets your shoulder, making you gasp and arch against him, gripping his hair tight.

The way you’re squeezing him so tightly, from the inside out, means he reaches his shuddering end before you do, but he still makes sure you get there for a second time. His fingers reach between you to press and circle around your clit before his last few hard thrusts. It has you coiled tight, before you gasp and moan your release.

He licks a long stripe along your neck. You hiss in pain when he laps over tender flesh.

“Sorry,” he pants.

“You got me good, Count Dracula,” you quip.

Alec breathes warmly against your ear. He pulls back and examines the bite mark on your neck. He barely remembers doing it.

It’s like…some kind of claim.

Like an animal, he thinks wryly. For the first time, he wonders just what the hell they put into his cocktail at Manticore.

He clears his throat.

“Uh, I’m sorry,” he says, contritely. “Didn’t mean to…”

You slide your hands up his arms and catch his gaze. You smile in amusement, even though you’re blushing.

“Didn’t say I didn’t like it.”

The two of you don’t talk about what you said.

Or what he didn’t say.

You don’t know what’s happening, but you think it stems from that night.

Alec begins to pull away from you.

Dinner plans get “rain checked.” Trips to the farmer’s market, to the park, to Pike Place get cancelled.

For the next few weeks, the only time you see him is at work or at Crash, or occasionally in the line for boxed and canned goods in Sector 2.

Max can’t give you a straight answer on what’s going on with him (and really, you should be able to figure out your own boyfriend without her help). So you finally have to put your foot down.

You try to pull him aside at work, in front of the Jam Pony building. He’s on his way in, while you’d been on your way out.

“Alec, can I talk to you?” you ask. He gives you a strained, apologetic look.

“I’ve gotta pick up my next deliveries.”

“Alec, please,” you implore. You squeeze his arm enough to hold his attention. “I feel like…like you’re avoiding me. Is there something going on?”

His expression dims further. “I’ve just been really busy.”

“We’re always busy. That’s not it.” You frown, and your body tenses. “Is there…someone else?”

Alec briefly closes his eyes, emitting a short sigh. “No. Nothing like that.”

You let out a subtle breath of relief, because you do believe him this time. But that just makes your next question even more difficult. Your arms cross, to disguise the way you’re bracing for a figurative blow.

“Then…have I done something wrong?” you ask.

That hurts Alec even more. Though his training, so deeply ingrained, allows him not to show it.

“No. No, it’s not you,” he says, wiping a hand over his mouth. “It’s… Listen, I just think we needa slow down a bit, you know?”

“Slow down?” you ask. A trill of panic laces down your spine. “Is it about…what I said?”

Alec doesn’t want to answer, but you both know then that you’ve hit the nail on the head.

“I just need some space,” he says. “I think it’ll be better for both of us.”

“Really?” you ask. Your voice flattens, and hot tears well up in your eyes.

It threatens to undo him. Somehow, he’s able to hold firm in what he believes he has to do, in order to protect you. Even from himself.

Alec reaches for your cheek. He hesitates just slightly, but he drops a kiss on your forehead.

You don’t want to let him. You can’t help it though; you savor his touch. You feel his warm lips on your skin, and then he’s gone by the time you open your eyes.

A few days later, you still feel like hell. You manage to reach your locker and you lean against it. Your stomach churns with nausea—the constant sign of your stress as you try to get through your morning.

On the TV, some government agent is exposing a genetics company called Manticore. That it created “transgenic” subjects as genetically engineered soldiers, often using animal DNA. They escaped almost a year ago now.

They’re not human. They’re living among you. They’re dangerous, and you have a right to be scared.

You’re only half-listening, because the truth is, this sounds like a bunch of fearmongering bullshit, and you’re too tired to be all that alarmed. Humans are dangerous enough, as far as you’re concerned.

The government is probably trying to cover up something even more heinous by concocting this ridiculous story.

You rest your cheek against the cool metal of your locker and just stand there for a while in time in space. You don’t care much about the world around you, until Max comes into your line of vision. She touches your arm.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asks.

“I’m fine.” A vast overstatement, though you know that you aren’t convincing anyone.

You look up just in time to see Alec standing at his own locker. He’d been glancing at you and Max, but being caught by your gaze makes him turn away, closing his locker as he leaves.

Max’s lips press together. She returns her attention to you in thinly veiled concern.

“What happened exactly?” she asks.

“Max, I don’t know,” you confess. “Things were fine. They were good.”

You let out a deep, exhausted breath.

Oh yeah, you haven’t been sleeping much lately either.

“Deep in my gut, I have this feeling. Like he’s going through something,” you say. “Or he’s hiding something from me. He just won’t talk to me. Every time it feels like we’re headed somewhere good, solid, he pulls away. I can’t fucking do it anymore, Max. I just can’t take it.”

You slam your locker closed and try to get on with your day before your tears fall. Max sighs and watches you go.

She doesn’t know that you head to the bathroom and heave your breakfast into the toilet bowl, spilling what little you could keep down this morning.

You haven’t been sighted at Crash in weeks, but Alec comes here every night, Max notices. He drinks alone tonight, once again looking more woe is me than ever.

It boils her blood.

She takes a seat next to him and punches his arm with a heavy dose of her transgenic strength. Alec flinches with a cry of protest, but she just glares at him.

“Why are you doing this to her? To yourself?” she demands.

Alec wants to glare at her, but he doesn’t have it in him. He just quirks his head and sips his drink. He doesn’t even know what kind of liquor this is, but the bartender promised it’s the strongest thing he has back there.

“Leave it alone, Maxie,” Alec says, as he takes a sip. Though strongest be damned, he’s slammed down four of these and he’s still not drunk. Ain’t that a bitch.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says.

“I don’t?” Max raises her brows. “You’re fucking with her head and her heart. And for what? So you can have a little pity party?”

Alec does glare at her this time. “You know what, why don’t you just leave me the fuck alone?”

“Not until you tell me,” she demands. “Why’re you pushing away someone who clearly cares about you? Not that I get why. If this selfish, pigheaded, asshole behavior is supposed to be charming, then maybe she’s better off without you.”

He slams down his glass hard enough for liquor to slosh out over his hand.

“Don’t you get it?! That’s exactly it,” he hisses, low enough that only the two of them can hear. “When are you going to understand that we’re a threat to them? We’re being hunted every damn day. You think Ames White and his cult cronies’ll think twice about a little collateral damage?”

“Alec—”

“You think you and Logan are any different?” he adds. “Let me remind you, you were a danger to him even before a genetically engineered virus came into the picture.”

She’s angry, but he knows she can’t argue with logic. They both know that Alec is speaking from a place of experience.

“So you’re just gonna break her heart?” she asks. “Again?”

Alec shakes his head and casts his gaze down into brown liquor. Max leans toward him with a steely glower.

“You’re a coward,” she says, before she slips away.

Alec wipes his wet hand on his jeans.

…Maybe she’s right, he thinks. You’ll probably end up regretting the day you ever met him, but at least you’ll be alive to hate him.

“Oh God,” you utter, a hand covering your mouth.

You haven’t been to the doctor in several years, but you managed to scrape enough money together to afford this little test. It gave you a more definitive answer on why you’ve spent the last few weeks fighting sickness and fatigue in equal measure.

How could this have happened? You were on birth control. What could possibly have…

You don’t know what possesses you to go hunting for the little round packet in the medicine cabinet. You examine its contents and confirm that you haven’t missed even one pill of your pharmacy-issued birth control.

On the bottom of the packet, however, you spy something small in the fine print: EXP – 02/2017.

Expired…THREE YEARS AGO?!

Apparently, you can’t put it past pharmacies to sell outdated meds now.

You sit alone on your couch in silence for nearly an hour. You run down every scenario, every path you could possibly take and try to consider its most likely outcome.

Medical care is a joke nowadays, unless you're still part of the wealthy 1%. That also includes...termination.

Even you did try to find a way to do it, somehow scrounging up the money to end this, the thought alone makes your heart ache.

Alec is young, and so are you. You two had barely been together for six months before he basically broke up with you, and you're not even sure how he'll react when you tell him. (At this point, you don't have high hopes.)

And yet, it hurts. What you'd told Original Cindy was the truth; you want a family. You're tired of being alone, even though the two options laid out before you scare you in equal measure.

A thousand thoughts are still running through your mind, contradicting each other with brutal logic, versus what your heart tells you. But one decision is certain...

You need to talk to Alec first.

You wait until the morning at Jam Pony HQ, when you’ve settled your nerves enough to see Alec.

He never shows up for work, even an hour into shift. Damn it.

Okay, you suppose you’ll have to do this another way. You grab your phone, and you call him.

Thankfully, he picks up on the fourth ring. “Hey.”

“Hey,” you reply, a bit awkwardly. The two of you haven’t spoken in nearly a month.

“What’s up?” He doesn’t sound like himself. He sounds guarded, almost hesitant.

“We need to talk, Alec.”

He blows out a sigh. “Look, I haven’t changed my mind.”

You swallow past the pain.

“I know," you dully reply. "It’s not about that, but this isn’t a conversation I want to have digitally.”

“...Okay,” he relents, with another sigh. He sounds a bit distracted. “Uh, I’m taking care of something right now, but I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you stop by my place after work?”

You nod. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”

Of course, it’s hard to focus on your work after that. You wonder how many months you have until you can’t work anymore. Until you’ll have to fend for yourself…and for your child.

With or without Alec, you plan to do whatever it takes.

So you do your best, as you always do, to get through your day. You fight exhaustion and nausea and anxiety with every delivery, but at the end of the day, you have a clipboard full of signatures and a clean docket.

You leave right at 7:00 p.m. to head over to Alec’s apartment. You use your spare key to unlock the door and find the apartment shrouded in darkness. You flip on the closest light switch before you turn to shut and lock the door behind you.

The door pushes open abruptly.

It knocks straight into you and throws you off your feet. You crash with a pained cry into a wooden table, knocking off a half-empty glass of whiskey that cuts into your arm when it breaks.

A pair of strong hands take hold of you and haul you up, spinning you around. You stare up with wide eyes into the face of a man you think you’ve actually seen before. He’s tall, white, dark hair, piercing eyes.

On the news, you realize. You saw him on the news.

“Where is 494?” he demands to know.

You blink in confusion and fear. “What?”

The man rolls his eyes.

“Alec McDowell,” he says.

Your breath stills in your lungs.

“Why’re you looking for him?” you ask. “You…you work for the government.”

“That’s right.” His smile is thin. “It’s a federal matter. And I suggest you tell me what I want to know.”

His grip on your arm tightens enough to make you whimper.

“I don’t know where he is,” you blurt out. Mostly because it’s the truth.

He raises a brow. “He lives here, doesn’t he?”

You refuse to answer, but the man lowers his gun and seats you forcefully on the couch.

“Then we’ll wait.”

Minutes turn to an hour. Alec’s late—a fact you’re half relieved about, and half cursing him for. You turn to the man who holds you at gunpoint without even looking at you. Though you instinctively know that any attempts to run will be short-lived.

His men wait by the door with guns at the ready.

“Who are you?” you ask.

The man turns his head and gives you a cold smile. “Agent White, at your service.”

“Okay, Agent White. Why are you after Alec?”

“Oh, I’ve been looking for him for a long time,” he says.

You frown, with pursed lips. “Why? What do you think he’s done?”

“It’s not what he’s done. It’s what he is,” White says. “Him, and everyone like him.”

“What the fuck are you on about?” you snap.

White rolls his eyes. He lets out a sharp sigh before he stands. He grabs you up along with him. Fear churns inside you, tightening in your throat.

“I have a better idea,” White says. “Instead of using you as leverage to make him come quietly, I think I’ll just let him walk in, nice and easy. He’ll find you gutted. On the floor. And then I’ll do the same to him.”

Frightened tears well up in your eyes when his grip moves and tightens on your jaw, like he’s thinking about breaking your neck.

“Wait, please!” you plead. “I’m pregnant!”

White actually pauses, tilting his head. He smiles.

“Interesting.”

AN: Ames White has entered the chat...

EDIT (2-05-24): I made some edits here on the reader's thoughts of what she should do after her discovery. In hindsight, I realized I'd left out some aspects of the world. Specifically how access to medical care would influence her decision vs. what this particular character wants for herself.

Next Time:

“Hello, 494.” A man’s voice—one that Alec would know anywhere. It prickles his skin with unease and makes his blood boil all at once.

“Ames White.” Alec’s teeth grind. “What game are you playing now?”

“This isn’t a game. It’s business,” White claims. “I have something you want. How much are you willing to pay to make sure she stays alive?”

Alec forces himself to calm down, even though his pulse is racing.

“What do you want?”

“You. And 452. With no bullshit on your end,” the agent replies. “Or this girl is going to pay that price for you.”

Keep Reading: Part 4 (Finale!)

Series Masterlist

Alec McDowell Masterlist

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Ko-Fi Me ☕

Alec M. Tag List:

@kazsrm67 @letheatheodore @agothwithheavysetmakeup @jacklesbrainworms @foxyjwls007 @wincastifer @ades106 @iamsapphine @simpforbuckyb @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @roseblue373 @brianochka @branj19 @hazel-eye-coffee-shop-girl-blog

@globetrotter28 @charmed-asylum @waywardxwords @deanwinchestersgirl87 @this-is-me19 @rachiem4-blog @sweettimelady @leigh70 @clinicallydepresso @emily-winchester @xiphoidbones @skoveu @nyotamalfoy @kmc1989

@waters-2567 @iwishiwas-sleeping @jessjad @pieandmonsters @akshi8278 @honeybabycherry @deans-spinster-witch @angelbabyyy99 @jackles010378 @nancymcl @idiotdyslexic @heartlessdelusions

#Complications #Being Human #Part 3 #alec mcdowell #alec mcdowell x reader #alec mcdowell x you #alec mcdowell x female reader #smut #logan x max #alec mcdowell smut #max guevara #original cindy #logan cale #ames white #Dark Angel #Jensen Ackles characters #Jensen Ackles #zepskies writes

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throughparisallthroughrome · 6 days

Text

"In Darkness, We Transcend"

Chapter 5: Cult of Personality

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x Reader

Word Count: 7.9k

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of suicide,

A/N: SOOOOOO sorry this took so long! I ended up having to split this chapter into 2 part (got a little carried away with dialogue oops) so I promise the next one is coming soon. I really really can’t wait for it (it ends on an awful cliffhanger…) Please enjoy!! Let me know if you want to be tagged <3

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4.

No matter how you stacked the crystals on your nightstand, they never looked right to you.

Your time as a Jedi allowed you to develop a liking for the diverse minerals available in the galaxy. There were millions, and you spent a reasonable amount of time collecting as many as possible when you got the chance. All different colors, shapes, and sizes. They reminded you that there were so many opportunities in the galaxy and the beauty that came with that. Especially now, you were grateful for that reminder.

You stacked one called “pietersite” you found in a cave on Alderaan on top of a piece of ocean jasper from Kamino. You felt the colors looked nice together, and you had always wanted a cairn next to your bed. The tranquility was necessary, as you did everything you could to bring it to your space. Just as you got them to balance, your hands knocked them over as a knock on the door across the apartment startled you.

You sighed and set them down, realizing that you should probably focus your energy on the surrounding boxes instead of some rocks next to your bed. A week had passed since you were knighted and granted more spacious living quarters. Quarters that fit your status much more. While you didn't receive the role of master, they provided you with quarters befitting one. It must be some sick way for the council to apologize for what they put you through with the Children of Nox. Funny.

As you strolled through the small apartment and to your door, you wished you had this space when writing. It would have made that process much more comfortable- well- as comfortable as it could have been. Writing for months on end about a cult you were unwillingly indoctrinated into in the name of research wasn’t exactly “easy.” After tripping over a few boxes and loose items, you finally reached the door and pressed a few buttons, buzzing in your mystery visitor.

“Master Kenobi!” You exclaimed, a hint of confusion lacing your voice, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“The pleasure is all mine, Y/N.” He smiled at you, though a hint of sadness was present in his eyes. Besides the look in his eyes, you felt it in the force that something wasn’t right. Your own smile dropped.

“Is everything okay, Master Kenobi?” You gulped slightly, watching as the man in front of you searched for something to say, opening his mouth in response before closing it harshly.

“Why don’t we take a walk?”

He led you through the temple and into the gardens, passing several younglings and other Jedi along the way. You felt yourself growing more nervous as the seconds passed, the silence between the two of you excruciating. You knew deep down that whatever he was about to tell you couldn’t be good. Your hands grew sweaty, and you discreetly attempted to wipe them on the sides of your robes.

Obi-wan knew you were nervous. Hell, he was feeling worse and worse about this as he led you to the garden. There was no going back from this. And although you both attempted to hide your nerves from one another, they were painfully obvious. You noticed his discretion, and it piqued your interest (As well as kinda made you want to die).

“Master Kenobi,” You followed him as he stood on the ledge, looking at the city surrounding you both, “Why did you bring me here?”

He sighed deeply, bringing his hand up to scratch his beard in thought, “I’m afraid there’s no easy way to discuss this.”

“Discuss what?” You felt your breathing hitch. Fuck. This was not good.

“The council likes to believe that what they do is in the best interest of everyone.” He looks off in the distance, avoiding your lingering gaze. “As a member of said council, I’d like to say that’s true. But there are cases where I feel as if maybe we could have handled things a bit better.”

“Obi-Wan, is this about the Children of Nox?” Your hands shook as the words left your mouth, and you carefully put them behind your back, avoiding his concerned eyes.

“No, I’m afraid we’ve moved past that.” He motions for you to follow him, sitting down on a bench surrounded by beautiful trees, vines, and various flowers. “Congratulations, by the way. I’m glad Anakin and I could make it to the ceremony. It’s a great honor to be knighted, and after everything you’ve been through, you deserve it.”

“Thank you,” you mumble while fidgeting with the rings on your fingers, feeling an unpleasant taste on your tongue at the mention of his padawan’s name. “But if it’s not about them…” You trailed off as you turned to face him, watching his lips form a frown.

“I’m afraid the council has been lying to you, Y/N. And I’d like to preface that even though this was before my time as a member, I was involved. And for that, I am so sorry. I hope you know that at the time, I thought I was doing what was in your best interest as a youngling. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

“Master…” You trailed off, your eyes wide and body shaking at his words. What could Obi-Wan Kenobi could have possibly done to you?

“Y/N, Anakin isn’t the only chosen one. Actually, he is one half of the chosen one prophecy.” He smiles gently at you, putting his hand on top of your shaking one. “You are the missing half.”

“W-What?” You manage to croak out, your mind not believing the words coming out of his mouth.

“I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this- I could face expulsion from the order. I feel as if I owe it to you after everything that has happened in the past year. It’s not your fault, and it’s not Anakin’s. The council made a decision that seemed to be the most beneficial at the time.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

“They picked Anakin as their chosen one and made sure that you stayed separated from him as long as they could. I know that you and Anakin don’t know each other, but that isn’t an accident, either. Anakin doesn’t know any of this, and I’m afraid I can’t tell him quite yet. They were worried about what could happen if you met too young and how this would look to the younger Jedi. The Jedi code prevents attachments even though the prophecy states an attachment between the two of you would bring balance to the force. The Council was selfish in its decision, believing that maybe Anakin could bring balance to the force on his own. But he can’t. He’s reckless a-and, selfish, and angry. I’m afraid that you would be his only hope.”

Your blood suddenly boiled as you realized the implications of his words.

“Does that mean they sent me on a ‘research’ mission to the Children of Nox in an effort to keep me away from him? All for the selfishness of their code?” You spoke plainly, attempting to hide the anger within you. Obi-Wan adverted your gaze, giving you the answer you needed.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry. I had no idea when I agreed that it would go this far. That it would cause so much pain to you and Anakin both. I’d give anything to change my decision.” He attempted to console you with his touch once again, his eyes widening as you flinched away from him.

“What else, Obi-Wan?” You stated flatly, the anger and sorrow in your voice leaving you. In this moment, you only felt empty.

“Well, there is something else. This decision wasn’t made by the current Council, as the prophecy is thousands of years old.”

“But you just said it was?” You interrupt, furrowing your brows in confusion.

“The current Council decided to uphold the plans made by those during the High Republic. The decision to separate the chosen ones goes beyond just our Jedi Council. It was made decades ago, deciding that the best option was to keep things as normal as possible. I’m afraid these things were decided before you or Anakin were born.”

“Obi-Wan, what is considered normal? I feel like you aren’t telling me something.” He sighs once again, leaning back against the bench.

“Admittedly, yes. The Council fears the power the two of you may possess together. It’s new and scary and something that has been foretold as long as the Jedi has existed. The fact that it’s come true within our time is just- I don’t even know how to explain it. But it seems that the Council and the Jedi have long been afraid of the power the chosen one prophecy could bring- and I know that isn’t fair to you or Anakin. But that is just the way things were and always have been, unfortunately.”

Obi-Wan was met with your silence as you stared off into the distance, letting the news wash over you.

“So I’ve lived my entire life like this because the Council was too fucking afraid of the prophecy they are supposed to uphold?” You don’t falter from your gaze out onto the horizon, speaking as calmly as possible in this situation.

“I’m afraid so, Y/N.”

“And you’re not telling Anakin for what reason?”

“I know the boy- and he won’t take this nearly as well as you are. I fear what he may do if he finds out.” Obi-Wan mumbles the last part of his sentence, the guilt washing over him as you come to terms with the situation.

“There’s that fucking word again,” You mumble, balling your fists at your side as you take another deep breath, “I-I can’t fucking believe this.” You choke out a sob, feeling Obi-Wan trying to soothe you once again.

“Don’t!” You shoot up, shouting at him, “Don’t fucking touch me right now. Please.”

“Y/N, I’m so sorr-“

“Please stop, Obi-Wan! I just-“ You take another shaky breath, gripping your knees to ground yourself, “This is unbelievable. My entire fucking life as a Jedi is a lie. I’ve done everything in the name of the Order and in the name of what I thought was the greater good. What I’ve been taught as a CHILD is in the name of the greater good. I’ve been indoctrinated here as well, the Order isn’t much better than the Children of Nox- just preaching different things.” You trail off as your realization hits you, Obi-Wan staying silent next to you.

“I’m afraid I must leave, Master Kenobi.” You stand up, your voice shaking as you brush off your robes. “I hope you can understand my decision.”

“Y/N, wait-“ He grabs your arm as you turn to leave the gardens, forcing you to face him one last time, “I know there’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay. I can’t say I blame you for wanting to leave. But please- don’t do anything irrational. And just know that I am so sorry.”

You take a deep breath, pull your hand back from his, and nod, a reassuring smile spreading across your lips. The second you turn away from him and make your way back to your quarters, tears start falling freely as your heart pounds.

You’re not sure at what point you broke out into a run, but as you sprinted through the temple halls, ignoring the looks of those around you, you knew that you needed to get out of there as fast as possible. Your legs and hands were shaking, your mind racing as your body felt like it was going numb. Breathing was nearly impossible, and by the time you opened your door, you collapsed on the floor, the panic attack washing over you as fresh tears streamed down your face.

You let out a quiet wail, the sobs taking over your body as you struggled to catch your breath. You attempted to cover your hand over your mouth, wanting to conceal the sounds of your cries from the others in the temple. It was over. Obi-Wan had told you everything you needed to know in order to solidify the end of your days as a Jedi.

Everything you knew was a lie. Everything Anakin knew was a lie. And no matter what Obi-Wan had told you- you’d never stop hating Anakin. He got the best missions, the chosen one treatment. The only thing you ever did to surpass him was being knighted first. And you knew he hated it. You saw it in his eyes at the ceremony.

You managed to pick yourself up off the floor, making your way to your bedroom as you shakily put the few belongings you wanted to keep in a couple of bags. Some clothes you needed, toiletries, pictures from your time as a youngling, any awards or sentiments as a Jedi, some books you enjoyed as well as the copy of your books, and finally, your lightsaber. You knew Eric’s door was always open to you, so that’s where you eventually ended up.

You’d never go back to the temple.

“Hey,” You heard a soft voice mumble next to you as you stirred in your sleep, your eyes fluttering open in confusion.

Anakin smiled as he nudged you, watching your brows furrow through exhaustion. You groaned softly at the disturbance, lifting your hand that had somehow ended up on his knee to your eyes and rubbing it. He unknowingly gave a slight frown at the lack of contact from your knee and the way you suddenly lifted your head off of his shoulder. You let out a small yawn, covering your hand over your mouth in the process. Anakin giggled at your tiredness, finding it difficult not to.

“Fuck,” You grumbled, the sleep giving a slight scratch to your voice, “How long was I out, Ani?”

He blushed a little at the old nickname your sister had given to him while cracking a smile, “Like 10 minutes.”

“That’s it? Maker…” You put your head in your hands and shook briefly, attempting to wake yourself up.

You suddenly cleared your throat, moving away from Anakin as you realized how close you had been sitting next to him. You were so tired before that nothing other than the rest mattered at the moment. Now you were uncomfortable again. Anakin, of course, noticed this, and it took everything within him to not reach out and comfort you. He knew this had to be fixed on your own terms, as much as he hated it.

“Thank you,” You mumbled to the cab driver, throwing him some credits and crawling out of the vehicle.

The air was brisk, and you felt the hair stand on the back of your neck. You wrapped your shawl closer around your arms and over your head, glancing up at the stairs to the landing pad. Anakin stood next to you, wincing gently at the breeze in his face.

“Ready?” You sighed at his words, choosing silence as a better option before beginning to walk up the stairs.

He quickly followed behind you, making sure to glance behind him. When you reached the top of the stairs, you paused, taking in the sight of the cruiser before you. It was big, and it was exactly what you needed. It wasn’t a warship, either; it fell more into the “luxury” category. But as your eyes trailed down the ship, you noticed a hooded figure standing beneath it.

You instantly tensed up, and Anakin immediately felt you through the force. You both exchanged nervous glances as the two of you reached for your lightsabers instinctively. Before he could say anything, you began to slowly walk towards the figure, feeling something familiar about it. He mentally cursed himself and then followed closely behind, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt and holding it close.

You stood tall and took the shawl off of your head, feeling braver as the force signature of the person in front of you became more familiar. “I’m afraid you have the wrong platform. This is Jedi business.” You stated coldly, gripping your lightsaber tighter, your knuckles turning white from your nerves. Anakin nearly choked hearing you call yourself a Jedi and how boldly you spoke.

“Do I?” The voice was melodic and one you had craved for so long. You instantly grinned.

The figure turned around and met your eyes, smiling wide on their face. You clipped your lightsaber back and ran to them, pulling them into a tight embrace and taking in as much of them as possible.

“Fuck, I missed you so much Padmé.”

You swang each other around, giggling and laughing as you held tightly. You buried your head into her shoulder, breathing in the scent of your older sister.

“It’s been too long, Y/N. I’ve heard so much about you lately. I’m so sorry I haven’t visited sooner, and I-I’m sorry for our circumstances now.” She pulls away from the hug, still holding onto your body tightly as she searches your eyes for any response. You brush off her apology, pulling her in for another tight hug.

“No need to apologize. You’re here now, and that’s what matters. Wait, Padme- Where’s your security? I don’t like you here alone.” You search the perimeter, Anakin walking up next to you and nodding to Padme.

“Y/N, they’re here. I promise. I asked them to give us a moment together- they don’t need to know what’s happening. You’re starting to sound like Anakin.” She giggles at you, raising an eyebrow slightly at her underlying claim.

“I-” You cut yourself off with a laugh, giving her another quick hug before pulling away and taking another look at the ship.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Padme asks, stepping beside you and glancing up at the ship, “Made sure you got the best one we could offer.”

“Y-You did this?” You turn to her with a smile, noticing how she looks back away from you and at Anakin. You turn to face his grin.

“It was my idea, but Padme shouldn’t give me the credit. Figured it was better than some old, suspicious republic warship they gave to the Jedi. Although, I didn’t know she was coming to say goodbye.”

She beams at Anakin’s words, grinning back at you.

“Guilty as charged.” You look between Anakin and Padme, the words stuck on your tongue. As much as you wanted to stay with Padme and catch up, Obi-Wan’s life depended on you.

“Padme…” You turned to face her, the sorrow in your eyes telling her everything it needed to.

“Go,” she pulls you in, holding her hand against the back of your head and squeezing her eyes shut. “Do what you have to do. Just... please be safe. Come back, preferably in one piece.”

You nod against her, letting a sob take over you as you embrace her warmth for what feels like the last time. She cries too, mouthing to Anakin behind you to keep you safe, and he gives her a solemn nod, feeling tense about the situation. You shudder beneath her touch, taking a deep breath and pulling away. She smiles gently at you before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Come to Naboo when it’s all over.” Padme squeezes your shoulders.

“I-I’d love to, but I have the restaurant and-”

“Y/N, it can wait. Our family needs you right now- especially after all of this. Please. Do it for us. You need to rest, honey.” She reaches out to you again, and you bite your lip, thinking over your response as your leg bounces.

“Okay. Fine- yeah. I could stay in Naboo for a few days.” You laugh slightly, smiling back at the girl in front of you.

“Okay, now go! Before we start crying again!” She shoos you off, breaking eye contact and walking away back towards her guards, who suddenly made an appearance at the edge of the platform. You felt yourself let out a breath you were unaware you were holding. She’s safe.

You follow Anakin onto the ship's loading dock, turning around and making eye contact with Padme one last time before the ship closes, and she’s gone.

You let Anakin walk to the cockpit without you, taking a moment to sit on the floor and breathe for a second. Your mind is reeling, your heart pounding. It was all happening. In a few short hours, you would be on Mustafar, facing the past you thought you had escaped. As lovely as it was to see Padme, it didn’t help you at all. In fact, it only made you feel worse. You needed to get Obi-Wan back no matter what, but deep down, if something happened to you along the mission- it never concerned you. Padme made your willingness to sacrifice yourself much harder. You didn’t promise her verbally that you would return, but with the last look she gave you, you knew that’s what she wanted. She knew you far too well for your own good, and she knew you would try to do something morally righteous. She knew you’d try to be the hero.

Maybe Anakin did, too. Deep down, a part of you felt like he could see right through you. Like he knew you better than you knew yourself. And maybe he was lying about not asking Padme to come, knowing it would be the only thing that made you take yourself into consideration. The only thing that would prevent you from doing the ‘heroic’ thing. And as much as you hated yourself for it, you were thankful, even if he didn’t do it. You knew there was so much more to the relationship between you and Anakin, more than he even knew. But you suspected he knew that much, too. He knows there’s still more to the story.

“Hey,” Speak of the Devil.

“Oh- uh- Hey.” You awkwardly stand up to meet his gaze, wiping your wet eyes on your jacket sleeve. “I- uh- I should probably change.”

“Yeah,” he whispers, his intense eyes staring holes into you. You quickly turn to grab your bag and change in the nearest bathroom before a hand on your wrist stops you, his calloused fingers making your heart skip a beat. “Y/N, everything’s going to be okay.” You flash him a pathetic smile and a nod before running off.

He frowns as you break away from him and bolt into the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he wipes his hands on the front of his robes and shakes his head in annoyance. He just wanted to help. Why were you still being so difficult? How long was this going to take? He finally walked to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair, throwing his feet on the dash and closing his eyes. As much as he didn’t want them to, his thoughts wandered to you. He thought about the dress you wore, the muscles in your back it exposed, how you talked to your employees, and the gentleness you possessed when you fed him that soup. This was going to be a long trip.

“What are you doing?” You cross your arms at the man before you, annoyed by his comfort.

“Oh, fuck! You fucking scared me!” He jumps at your words, taking his feet off the dash and taking in your different look. His eyes scan your body thoroughly, and you feel yourself shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Although you knew you liked it.

“Get out of my seat.” You sneer, and he raises a brow, leaning back into the seat further and letting out a loud, sarcastic laugh. You clench your fists at your side. He was clearly enjoying this.

“Your seat? That’s fucking rich. I’m piloting. End of story.”

“No, not end of story. It’s my fucking mission, so get the fuck out of my seat!” You snap at the man before you, pointing to the co-pilot's seat as you yell.

“Your fucking mission? We’re saving my master. I’m leading the mission-” He stands up, getting in your face as he yells back. Your face turns red with anger. You were not putting up with his self-righteous chosen one shit right now. Not when so much was on the line.

“Anakin, you don’t know shit about what we’re doing here! How dangerous this is! Obi-Wan’s life is on the line, and I come back to you with your feet propped up on the controls fucking daydreaming! It’s my fucking mission. Drop it. Now.” You move closer, sticking a finger at his chest accusingly. He let out a laugh, rolling his eyes at you and smiling.

“Y/N, you think you’re so fucking high and mighty because the Jedi sent you on a suicide mission to be a part of that fucking cult, and now Obi-Wan is gone, and now you feel guilty. Stop acting like you’re so much fucking better than me. I’m so sick of your fucking attitude. And why is this your fucking mission suddenly when you haven’t been a Jedi in years? I know about the Children of Nox- I’ve done the research, I’ve read the books-”

“And who do you think wrote the fucking books!” You yell in his face, feeling his hot breath on your nose. His smile had dropped, his eyes washed with guilt. You knew he wouldn’t admit that you were right, but his eyes told you everything they needed to. “Now sit the fuck down and get out of my fucking chair.”

“Okay, Y/N, you may be leading this mission, but I need to pilot. Please. It’s nothing against you, but I don’t feel comfortable with other people piloting. I have a thing- just- please.” His voice was soft, and desperate, his eyes searching yours for any sort of sympathy you could offer through your cold gaze. You sigh and shake your head, plopping into the co-pilot seat next to him, knowing he was undeserving of a verbal answer.

“Anyways,” You kick your feet on the dash as Anakin messes with some of the controls and lifts the ship into the atmosphere, punching on the hyperdrive. He throws a glare at you. “You may want to take a look at this, Anakin.” You pull up the most recent HoloNews feed about you, shoving it in his direction.

“Woah-Woah-Woah-Woah, What the fuck is this?” He rips it out of your hands, staring at the headline. ‘A forbidden love? Jedi Knight and General of the 501st Legion, Anakin Skywalker, makes first public appearance with ‘Like a Bantha!’ CDC, Y/N L/N. Could this be love?’ The picture showed you smiling and waving at the fans while his hand rested on your lower back, leading you into the restaurant. He only had eyes for you. Fuck.

“Just fucking read it; I’ll explain in a second.” You search his eyes, unable to read the expression on his face. You attempt to reach out through the force and see him glance at you. Nothing.

His eyes scanned the article, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Even though the Jedi Order is known for forbidding their believers from any sort of attachment- romantic ones included- our dreamiest Jedi is seen behind CDC of ‘Like a Bantha!’ Y/N L/N into her own restaurant. Now, you may be thinking, how do we know they’re together? Maybe he’s just a bodyguard? Well, readers of Galatic Gossip Magazine, the GGM has yet to let you down!

As you can see from our clearly dissected photo, his hand on her lower back, the smile on her face, and the crease in his brow as he looks at her says it all. Our Jedi is clearly smitten. And our Chef is clearly in love. And everyone knows L/N wouldn’t do anything like this publicly without a reason. It has to be a relationship. There’s no question about it! Listen, in a few weeks, when we see them kissing in a public place, and I come back to write a follow-up, don’t say I didn’t tell you so! But now the main question is… how is Skywalker getting away with this? If we know, then the rest of the order has to know. Are they okay with their chosen one being romantically involved with another? And what does this mean for the rest of the Jedi? This controversy raises many questions about the Jedi and what they stand for. If you have any thoughts or questions you’d like to add, click the link below! And don’t forget to subscribe and tune in next week!

“I-I don’t understand. This feels bad.” He hands back the device as he gulps, feeling suddenly uneasy about his reputation as a Jedi.

“No, Anakin.” You lean forward with a smile, resting your hand on his knee to comfort him. “This is good. This sends a message to the Children of Nox. We know each other—we know the truth. And clearly, the rest of the galaxy knows something is up, too. They should fear us—they need to fear us, especially when all eyes are on us.” You gently squeeze his knee before leaning back in your chair and closing your eyes.

“I think I get it. Even though they know we know each other, fear is our most powerful ally.” He mumbles to himself, biting his lip in thought.

“Exactly. Now, what do you know about Mustafar?” You giggle, enjoying his nervousness about the news. For some odd reason, the idea of the galaxy thinking you were a couple didn’t necessarily bother you.

“Well, I know it’s located in the outer rim and is pretty much uninhabitable, as it’s a lava planet. It’s a mining planet overrun with all sorts of crime- pretty sure it serves as the headquarters of Black Sun as well as the Children of Nox. However, I do remember one of your books saying that Crimson Dawn often fought over territory on the planet.” You quirk a brow at his knowledge, a satisfied grin painting your face with the credit he gave you.

“Wow, I’m impressed, Skywalker.” You leaned forward, adjusting some of the controls on the ship, “You’re very knowledgeable. I appreciate that. Would be a shame if only one of us had a brain.” You shot him a wink and a smile, to which he reciprocated.

“It’s all thanks to you, Naberrie.” He mused, and you smiled softly to yourself at the use of your real last name. How you miss being called that.

“Now, like you said- it’s an outer rim planet. And it’s all fucking lava. Not only do we need to be careful about not burning to death, but there are pirates everywhere. And who knows what crime syndicates have been there since the last time I was there?” You turned your chair to face him, and he automatically mimicked your actions, his brow creased in concentration, “We need to land around 17 klicks away, so it’ll take around half a day to get to the fortress.”

You open a projector and map out the new waypoint for you both. Anakin follows your painted fingers carefully as you show him where you need to land and what direction you need to hike in.

“There’s a cave in this area; it would be best if we landed there. In the case of pirates, syndicates, and the cult- this conceals us the most. When we arrive at the fortress, there’s a series of ventilation that we can take in. They used to be under construction for a long time, but hopefully, they’re functional. That should block out most of the noise. I scouted the ventilation system for a long time when I was there in case something happened, and I needed to make a quick exit. Regardless, if we follow a certain path, it’ll take us across to one of many control rooms. We exit the vents- knock out some guards- and there’s our disguises. They should have a keycard to the control room where we can slice the computers and access the data on where Master Kenobi is being held. We could also disable the cameras and alarms, and we might as well- Wait- Are you getting all of this?” You break your stare at the projection to see Anakin wholly spaced out, looking at you.

“Oh- uh- yeah, of course. Keep talking, I’m listening.” Anakin stutters out awkwardly, feeling the energy shift between the two of you. He makes a bold move and places his hand on yours, giving it a light squeeze. You freeze. He smiles.

“O-oh- Uh- okay, well, then you and I make our way to their cell block with the information about where Kenobi is being held. We break him out- but keep our disguises up. It’s crucial we act like this is standard- even to Kenobi. The Children of Nox are smart- too smart- and we can’t risk any slip-ups- especially when we have Kenobi. I’m not sure at what point it will be best to reveal our identities to him, but I’m sure he’ll catch on. We leave the same way we came in, making sure to avoid detection the entire time.”

“Sounds easy enough.” Anakin grins, gripping your hand tighter with his gloved one and leaning back into his seat, letting his eyes rest for a moment before you land.

“Yes- it does. But there is one thing that will make this extremely difficult-”

“And that is?” He opens one eye at you, his eyebrows raised.

“They’re all force users. We have to conceal our force signatures as best as we can in order to remain undetected. We can use the force minimally- but nothing crazy. The higher-ups will suspect something just with us in proximity to the Temple- but that’s just general unease. We have to be careful about this, Anakin. There’s so much at stake and-”

“Hey,” He gives your hand another gentle squeeze, his brows furrowed in concern as he feels your heart rate rising. He doesn’t know how he can detect it- but his force sensitivity is significantly acute when he is near you. “We’re gonna make it. He’s gonna be okay.”

“A-Anakin, shouldn’t I be comforting you? He was your Master, after all. I-It’s okay, you don’t need to do this, Ani.” You trail off into a whisper, breaking eye contact. His hand doesn’t falter it’s grip on yours.

“This isn’t your fault, Y/N. I know you feel like it is. And I’m sorry I used that against you- you don’t deserve that. Y-You don’t deserve any of this.” He grabs and holds your hand with both of his, those blue eyes searing into your soul. But with those words leaving Anakin’s lips- you do the unspeakable. You hug him.

You throw yourself into his lap and wrap your arms around his neck- not saying a word. He can feel your body shake slightly above him, and you can both feel each other’s increased heart rates. He wraps his cloak around your body while his gloved hand snakes itself around your waist, pulling you closer into him while his other one finds its way to your scalp, massaging your head against his chest. You lay there momentarily, closing your eyes and taking in his warmth. He smelled good- too good. And shockingly- you were so comfortable there with him. A small part of you didn’t want to leave. You didn’t want it to end. And with the beep of the dashboard, it did.

The second the ship notified you both that you entered the Mustafar system, you jumped off of his lap and into your own chair so fast. You both cleared your throats and avoided eye contact- clearly not wanting to discuss the intimate moment you just had. Were you weak? Just giving in to your unfairly attractive enemy like that? Probably. But did you like it? Yes.

“Do- Uh- Do you mind punching in those landing coordinates for me, Chef?” He attempted to mask his nervousness with a nickname. Even though you smiled, you saw right through him.

“Of course,” You mumble, quickly typing in where you need to go onto the ship's navigation system. He watched as your fingers moved, another smile teasing its way onto his lips.

You were both silent during the landing sequence into the cave- the air thick with tension for what was to come. To say you were nervous was an understatement- you were fucking terrified. There was so much that could go wrong and so quickly. He opens the door, and you’re instantly hit by the smell of smoke. You carefully step out of the ship, blaster out and ready to fire as you survey your surroundings. Anakin quickly discarded his cloak, leaving it behind on the ship as the door closed.

“Fuck, This sucks already.” You squeeze your eyes shut, the smoke instantly making them water as Anakin giggles at you.

“Okay, Princess, didn’t realize you couldn’t handle a little smoke.” He muses, and you glare at him, ignoring the heat rising to your cheeks with the nickname.

“Shut up. Let’s start walking.” You walk away from him as you pull up the map on your navigator, giving you the best directions to the coordinates of the Temple. You hear a slight ‘aye aye, captain’ from behind you and roll your eyes as your lips curve into a smile.

“So you’re just a chef at some restaurant? Didn’t realize just a chef would end up on the front page of the galaxy’s hottest gossip magazine…” He teases, and you roll your eyes, gently kicking rocks along the path.

“It’s only cause of you, Skywalker.” You toy, and suddenly, it’s his turn to roll his eyes.

“Now you can’t possibly think-”

“Of course, I don’t think that.” You turn to look at him, placing your hands on your hips, and he smirks. “I know my status. I earned it.”

“Oh?” He raises a brow, “How so? I’m beginning to realize I don’t know much about you, Chef.”

“Well, what exactly do you want to know?” You start walking again, avoiding his lingering gaze on your figure. The heat rose to your cheeks, and you became slightly apprehensive. What the fuck.

“Tell me everything. We have a long walk ahead of us, y’know. And I find it fascinating that you are more famous than I realize.”

“Well, okay. I’ve loved cooking and eating for as long as I can remember. When I was a youngling, I was always excited to be sent out on missions with the hopes that I could try some of the local foods and customs, as well as being just exposed to their cultures. I just loved seeing different things that we weren’t used to as a Jedi, yknow? My master would even let me bring some ingredients home if we could, and I would figure out something to cook. I honestly don’t know where the creativity or my ideas came from- they just sorta happened. The Order was kind enough to let me visit with my family for a long time- I often took holidays in Naboo, and I learned to cook from my mother and sisters, as well as enjoyed their- our native foods and cultures. I also took a bunch of missions there, so I really got to know the planet.”

“Oh yeah, the food was terrific on Naboo. I noticed how much of your restaurant was inspired by it. It’s really cool. But how did you even become a famous Chef? You’re so young…” Anakin trails off in thought, trying not to offend you, and you laugh.

“I’m getting to that, Skywalker. And actually- the entirety of my restaurant is inspired by Naboo. It was the little piece of home I had away from home. Anyway, after I left the order, I lived with Eric for a long time, doing a bunch of random freelance work. But all of my time and money went to cooking, traveling, and eating. I somehow managed to befriend a lot of Chefs, and over time, they took me under their wing. I became really popular in the community, and they were all impressed with my knowledge and skillset despite never going to culinary school. I have this thing about flavors, and somehow, the skills have always come to me so easily. I don’t know why or how- but it’s helped me thrive ever since. Eventually, I made enough money to open “Like a Bantha!” which did insanely well and put me on the map. The only reason I’m so fucking famous is because I’m an ex-Jedi who’s never been to culinary school and has the insane culinary talent of someone who’s been cooking for 50 years. And it’s beyond just me- the Force has something to do with it. Cooking is my passion- I thought I was the chosen one of that, not this. And Anakin, I feel like I’ve accomplished far more and have done far more good for the galaxy with “Like a Bantha!” than I ever could as a Jedi. I’ve given so many people new opportunities and experiences… It’s what I’ve always dreamed of. I thought being a Jedi would fulfill that purpose- that longing. But it never did.”

You stop rambling and gaze at Anakin, noticing he has a particular unrecognizable gaze towards you. Admiration, maybe? You weren’t sure.

“Wow- uh- That’s-um, That’s really impressive, Y/N.” He stutters out, and you feel almost shameful.

“I-I I’m sorry, Anakin, I shouldn’t have-”

“NO, please. I loved hearing about it. I’m almost jealous. No need to apologize. I just wasn’t sure how to respond. Now I am. It’s incredible that despite everything, you built yourself back up and made a name for yourself in such an iconic way. I’m really impressed.” He flashes you a smile, and you find yourself becoming a little more fond of the Jedi next to you. “Tell me about your staff. You all seem pretty close.”

“Ha, yeah, that we are. I feel like I raised all of them despite a lot of us being the same age or most of them being older, actually. I probably shouldn’t say this, but Cora’s my favorite. She came in freshly out of culinary school and was so intimidated but so excited to learn. Something about her... I just felt so inclined to help her. To make her grow. I’ve taught her everything I know and some more. I’m still teaching her. She’s teaching me, too, actually. She’s probably a year younger than me, but she’s so fucking smart and talented. I’m so proud of her every day. I feel like her big sister. And I’ve spent so much time with her. I know her friends and family; I’ve cared for them and helped them when I could. I mean, just recently, I paid around 7,000 credits for her Lothcat to have surgery after a bad accident. I left the restaurant with her, knowing she’d take care of it. She loves the place as much as I do. If I ever left it, I’d leave it with her. She deserves it.”

“And what about Luca?” He avoids eye contact, but you raise a brow at his question and laugh.

“Luca is Luca. He’s almost as good as Cora but still young and so reckless. He’s also way too fucking horny for his own good. He’s hit on me so many times it’s hilarious. I never entertain it, but I do find it amusing. I just let him talk himself into a hole, and he always stops. It’s become more of an inside joke than anything. He’s also in charge, despite his attitude and lack of maturity, he has an amazing talent and is immensely passionate about the place. He’s gonna do great things one day, especially when he stops thinking with his dick.” You both laugh, and you notice his shoulders drop, the tension easing on him. Was Anakin Skywalker becoming comfortable around you?

“Ah, I see. Thought maybe something was going on there. You’ve seen the way he looks at you?” He jokes.

“No, no,” You giggle, “There’s nothing going on there, as much as he hates it. And yes, I’ve seen the way he looks at me- it’s purely lustful. Besides, I haven’t had anything romantic happen ever, and fucking Eric was the last person I slept with, and that was a fucking mess. I’d rather not rehash that. Besides, virgin Jedi boy, what’s it matter to you?”

“It doesn’t- was just curious. And believe me- I’ve had my fair share of fun. It’s not very ‘Jedi-like,’ but again, I never really have been.” You raise a brow.

‘Makes sense. You always were trouble-”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, come on, Anakin,” You nudge him slightly, “Don’t act like the entire order didn’t hear about it when their beloved ‘Chosen one’ would act up! Gossip spreads faster in the Jedi Temple than it does on GGM.”

“I- Touche.”

You both fell into a comfortable silence, and the walk was amicable despite the circumstances. You took your time taking in your surroundings, most of which you only saw during a window when you were a part of the Children of Nox. Although the mission was critical, you were grateful you got an opportunity to see Mustafar for yourself, not locked inside. There were so many mountains and valleys where you walked, you couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Anyone could pop out. And they did.

The second you felt a trigger being pulled- before the shot was even fired- you pulled Anakin behind some rocks, cutting your thigh open in the process.

“Ah, Fuck!” You shouted, grasping your thigh and putting pressure on it as Anakin fired your blaster back.

“Y/N, are you hurt? What’s wrong?” He ducked beneath the rock, allowing the blaster to cool off while he attempted to inspect your knee, only to be pushed away by you.

“Just focus on shooting! Fucking bandits.” You trail off to yourself as Anakin fires at them, the noise growing unbearable to you. You had to make it out of this. This was not part of the plan. You ripped off the bottom of your shirt, wrapping it around your clothed thigh, hoping to stop the bleeding. You ignite your lightsaber, the yellow hue contrasting beautifully with your surroundings while you stand up and reflect the shots back to the bandits.

“Y/N!! What the fuck are you doing!” Anakin throws the blaster to the side, igniting his own lightsaber and jumping over the rock, hitting a few bandits with their own blasts.

“Ending this. We don’t have fucking time for this!” You yell back as you slice through the last of the bandits with your yellow saber, ending the fight. You exhale and wipe the sweat off your forehead as you shut off your lightsaber and clip it back to your belt.

“Hey,” Anakin yells towards you, gaining your attention from the slaughter you both just committed, “Check these out.”

You turn around to meet Anakin’s eyes as he leans against 2 perfectly good speeders the bandits had graciously left you. Well, they didn’t have much of a choice.

“Holy shit!” You yell back, running over to meet him as you inspect the speeders. He instantly smiled at your reaction. “These will get us there in no time!”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Let me know if you want to be tagged for this series or all fics <3

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onenettvchannel · 3 months

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THIS JUST IN: Wakfu Season 5 is reportedly in development, greenlighted and confirmed -- says Ankama Animations and France Televisions [#K5NewsFMExclusive]

(Written by Rhayniel Saldasal Calimpong / Freelanced News Writer, Online Media Reporter and News Presenter of OneNETnews)

ROUBAIX, FRANCE -- French entertainment company & public broadcaster 'Ankama Animations' and 'France Televisions' revealed on Wednesday night (June 12th, 2024 -- France local time) on social media that the most highly anticipated and popular animated series 'Wakfu' officially greenlighted, and is in development for Season 5, which supposedly the 4th and final season pushed back to one more season within the next several years to come.

In an exclusive visual poster photo on Instagram (part of Meta Platforms Inc. [MPi]), per first obtained by K5 News FM: Dumaguete… Mr. Yugo Sharm, who was the adult Eliatrope individual, and recently married with Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm, where portals open to seek what was happening in his next story-driven adventure, sometimes his life after a steamy married couple (YuMalia) in Sadida Kingdom.

Show creators themselves at 'Ankama Animations', citing from the American news magazine 'Variety' and 'Deadline Hollywood' that the aforementioned French entertainment company acquires a minority stake with 'INTHEBOX'. While the anime-inspired independent animation company 'Studio Unagi' eyes with larger development slate of projects ramp up its production volume.

Yet, a 'Wakfu' franchise spin-off, revealing a brand new free-to-play roleplay gaming 'Waven' of 'Ankama Games' may soon have a potential adaptation under the same name as a French animated series or a movie, if all goes into the plan. The old and familiar faces are a different account, aside from a televised French animated production of the main protagonist charter of the franchise for Mr. Yugo Sharm.

As you may remember in context, some months ago this year in 2024, at the end of Season 4 finale episode… A momentous occasion between 'Yugo' the Eliatrope and Princess Amalia Sheran Sharm, the beloved main protagonist character couples of the series are now finally united in marriage at the majestic Sadida Kingdom. The union of Mr. Yugo Sharm and Prncs. Amalia Sheran Sharm marked a significant milestone in their journey together for all these years. A beautiful sunset over the kingdom as its warm orange-like glow fell upon the newlyweds via portals. The kissing ended in cliffhanger to wrap last new episodes.

Things are in dark turn for lovemaking after marriage as a French cartoon show for mature audiences as a follow-up, per the latest manga webtoon comic sequel of 'Wakfu: The Great Wave' - Chapter 1, which is way too dark to sell for public broadcasters on a French kids and teens programming block 'Okoo' for France 4, since this webtoon manga chapter is no longer animated, and in part for the renewal development of Season 5 in production at 'Ankama Animations'.

Case in point, edited versions in most of its episodes for targeted demographic of kids and teens may be possible on national TV aside the sex scenes from the start in manga webtoon comic sequel, while the potential uncensored bits was subject for the approval to the public French broadcaster, if later fitted for the mature-rated content to 'France TV Slash'. Along the way, the Season 4 finale of Wakfu not only left fans in awe of the beautiful union between Mr. Yugo and Prncs. Amalia, but also set the stage for new adventures and challenges in the upcoming 5th Season.

Meanwhile, the news of the 5th Season of Wakfu comes as a joyful surprise to its fans worldwide, especially in the Philippines, United States of America (U.S.A.), Canada and across the globe. The show lovers among us are up for another fantastic new season from creators at 'Ankama Animations' and 'INTHEBOX'.

With the previous seasons having left traditional and online streaming viewers at suspense, this upcoming season is bound to create even more excitement, fantasy and thrillers that will be made on large screens on television and online.

You can relive the excitement of 'Wakfu', streaming now on the 'Okoo' app and on 'France TV' website, while you wait for potentially extra final 5th Season. Netflix is also available globally for you to stream at your own time.

POSTER PHOTO COURTESY: Ankama Animations via IG PHOTO BACKGROUND PROVIDED BY: Tegna

SOURCE: *https://www.instagram.com/p/C8H4_7sC1XZ/ [Referenced IG Captioned Photo via Okoo] *https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/wakfu-creator-ankama-inthebox-1236033393/ [Referenced News Article via Variety] and *https://deadline.com/2024/05/ankama-studio-unagi-launch-montreal-1235943352/ [Referenced News Article via Deadline Hollywood]

-- OneNETnews Online Publication Team

#this just in #roubaix #france #wakfu #season 5 #saison 5 #wakfu spoilers #entertainment news #french #cartoon #development #production #ankama #K5 News FM #exclusive #first and exclusive #OneNETnews

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katrinegrey · 11 months

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A Fire in the Flesh final thoughts

Major Spoilers (and rambling) ahead y'all. You've been warned.

[This was typed on mobile. I apologize in advance for the terrible formatting and spelling in addition to my post-book excited nonsensical ramblings.]

Excuse me while I scream and cry and bemoan the next 6 months we'll have to wait to see Sera and Nyktos and everyone again even though we literally just got the new book yesterday.

I'm so happy with where this book cutoff too. Like, there's still plenty that has to happen but there's no awful cliffhanger. The first like two thirds were a little bit of a struggle, not gonna lie, but in true JLA fashion that last third was *chef's kiss*.

I thought Nyktos was going to be my favorite character to come out of this book, as he had with the previous two, but he wasn't. It's fully Sera and by an absolute fucking mile. She's perfect.

The parallels in this book between Flesh and Fire and the Blood and Ash series were exactly what I've been hoping for. All the little pieces are starting to come together in a big way with the plot (pretty poppy, sotoria's whole storyline, why Kolis was never killed outright, etc.) but also all of the tiny little tidbits thrown in. Sera slamming her hands over her face, the cavern, how she keeps talking about how she would want to treat her kids...it was all so beautiful.

Getting to know some of the other characters better was great too. That was one of my biggest complaints, how so many of the side characters weren't fleshed out as far as they feel like they could have been. That changed quite a bit with Attes and Rhain, but even the villainous characters like Callum, Kyn, Veses, and Calliphe. The depth they're given without giving a pass to the awful things they've committed was masterfully executed.

I will say, on a very personal and petty side note, there was a severe lack of young draken in this one, and I will pout until May about the lack of Jadis and Reaver. However, that part where Sera is mostly unaware in her dreamlike state, while but she feels Jadis on her legs was just too cute for words.

Speaking of words, my GODS did Nyktos have some. I was a little worried with as little page time that boy had in the first two thirds that they weren't going to be able to flesh him out enough to satisfy, but ho mama was so wrong. Chapter 39 to finish was perfection of every kind. Heartbreaking and hot and sweet.

And if anyone has a petition going for an ASOAAB type book of Sera in stasis from Nyktos' perspective, I will totally sign it.

Seeing Sera go full Primal in the next book will be so worth the wait. I desperately need to see her talk to Ezra again too.

Rating: 5 stars

#seraphena mierel #nyktos #flesh and fire series #afitf spoilers #a fire in the flesh spoilers

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sequinsmile-x · 2 years

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Stained Glass Windows - Chapter Seven

Life was complicated, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

-x-

Thank you so much for the love on the last chapter...I'd apologise for the cliffhanger but we all know I wouldn't mean it haha

Just a quick note, any flashbacks going forward will be marked by the use of italics and the date. The regular timeline will now be anything post-Foyet and will be in order.

-x-

Words: 3.6k

Warnings: Description of canon-typical violence/injury.

A full list of warnings for the fic can be found on the Series Master List and will be updated as we go along

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

June 2008

She’d been nervous about their date. Anxiety she hadn’t felt since she was much younger thrumming under her skin, making her leg bounce up and down as she sat at her desk, waiting for the clock to tick down to home time so they could go to dinner. Aaron was insistent on taking her out before they went any further, their interactions since the night in the motel limited to stolen kisses in the brief moments they were alone. He always put a stop to it before it could go any further, softly kissing her cheek, or the tip of her nose, when he said he wanted to do it properly.

Emily rolled her eyes every time, but it went some way to calm some of her fears that, despite his promise, this was nothing more than a rebound for him. That she was just there, a convenience. She felt awful every time she thought it, knowing that she knew him better than that. Underneath everything, all the seriousness, the sternness he wore like a mask, he was a kind man. One of the best she’d ever known. And she trusted him.

She’s relieved when the date goes well. That the romantic undertones don’t change something they’ve done countless times before beyond his hand over hers on the table, and their chairs being slightly closer together than usual. He kisses her next to his car and asks if she wants to go back to his, and her response is to nod before pulling him into another kiss, tasting the dessert they’d shared on his tongue.

He lets her into his apartment, his hand gentle on her lower back as he leads her in and closes the door behind them. He leans down and presses a kiss to her bare shoulder, his fingers softly grazing the straps of her dress.

“You want a drink?” He asks, and she turns her head so she can look at him as he’s standing behind her. She kisses him briefly before pulling back and nodding, “Scotch?”

“Sounds good,” she replies, stepping away from him as he walks past her, his hands ghosting over her hips as he moves to the small bar cart she’d bought him as a moving-in gift. She walks over to the couch and sits down, alone only for a minute or so before he joins her, a glass of scotch in her eye line as she takes it from him. “Thank you.”

He sits next to her and she finds herself drawn to him, leaning into his side as his arm wraps around her shoulder like they are two puzzle pieces slotting together. It feels absurd, that it seems this simple. Both of them at ease in a way that usually came months into a relationship, not on the same night as their first official date.

They talk about everything. Aaron tells her about Jack’s most visit, how he’s so fast now that he struggles to catch him sometimes as he runs havoc around the place. She tells him about a prank that Spencer had played on Derek, little tidbits about the team that he usually didn’t get to know about. She finishes her drink, enjoying the pleasant burn of the last bit of the scotch as she swallows it down.

“You want another one?” He asks, and she looks up at him, shaking her head as she takes his empty glass from him, setting it and hers on the coffee table in front of them. “What do you want, Emily?”

She smiles, biting her lip as she leans in to kiss him, her hand on his cheek as he deepens the kiss, holding him in place as his hand drifts to her waist, his fingers grasping at the material of her dress. She ends up in his lap, her dress shifting up her thighs as she straddles him, her arms looped around his neck.

He holds her close, his hands firm at her lower back as he breathes her in, remembering every little thing he can. She rolls her hips against him and he groans, part of his brain that he’d successfully ignored all evening coming back online as he pulls back from her, unable to stop himself from smiling as she tries to chase his lips.

“Em-”

“If you’re about to tell me you’re a second date kind of guy I might kill you,” she jokes, her words breathless as she smiles at him, her chest heaving slightly as she stares at him.

“No,” he replies, smiling at her as he smoothes some of her hair back, “It’s not that it’s just,” he pauses, unsure how to phrase it, how to put into words the concerns that had kept him from going any further with her despite his entire body screaming at him, “You’re my best friend, Em.”

She beams at him, impossibly more beautiful as she moves one of her hands from behind his neck to cup his cheek, her thumb delicate against his skin.

“You’re my best friend too, against all odds,” she replies, smiling when he chuckles at her attempt at a joke, “That’s why I think this works.”

“I know,” he says, his hands on her hips as he holds her tightly, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” she says simply like it was the easiest thing in the world. She knows it was her turn to take the jump, that he’d been the one to assure her in the motel room where they began and now he needed it in return. It’s how they’d worked since they’d become friends, the give-and-take that they both needed but had never found elsewhere, “I really want this, Aaron. I want you. We can figure out the rest as we go.”

If it was anyone else saying it to him it wouldn’t be enough. He needed to know everything, to have control, but he trusts her. He loves her, he knows that already but won’t say it yet, afraid it was far too much too soon. So he accepts it, simply nodding in response. She smiles as she leans forward to stamp a kiss against his lips and he hesitates.

“For fuck sake, Aaron,” she says, rolling her eyes at him.

“I just want to know you’re sure, sweetheart.”

The term of endearment makes any misplaced anger disappear as quickly as it had appeared, and she shakes her head at him before she leans back enough to pull her dress off, leaving her in the underwear she’d later admit to him that she’d bought specifically for tonight. For him.

“I’m very sure,” she replies, leaning back in to kiss him before he can look at her properly, pleased when he immediately responds this time. His hands are scorching against her skin, his fingerprints branding her ribs as his hands drift over her, mapping out her hills and valleys.

Her skin was so soft he thought it might drive him insane, and he knows that later on he’ll take his time to memorise her, but right now his need for her overrides that. Desperate and overwhelming as he stops fighting the need to know how she felt everywhere. He runs his hand down her stomach, stopping as the texture of her changes, his thumb catching on some thicker skin.

She pulls away from him as the need for oxygen takes over, her forehead pressed against his, and she feels his thumb tracing the scar on her abdomen, and she looks down at the same time he does. She swallows thickly as she watches him trace the whole scar, from just below her ribcage, moving outwards onto her belly in a backwards l-shape. It was faded now, the best it would ever be, and sometimes she managed to forget it was there. This was the first time she’d ever told someone the story behind it, coming up with lies on the spot for past partners as they asked curiously, and it felt oddly liberating as well as making her nervous in equal measure that someone knew all of her like this.

“I know it’s not-”

“You’re beautiful,” he says, his hands drifting to her back as he shifts her closer, cutting off her self-deprecating comment she had ready, “So fucking beautiful.”

He kisses her, and she gets lost in him, everything else but the two of them disappearing.

___

Everything slows down, the only thing she’s aware of is her own breathing, impossibly loud in an otherwise quiet apartment. Time stretches out around her and she watches as Foyet lurches backwards, already partway to standing when the bullet hit his chest. He stumbles, the gun in his hand and the knife in the other falling to the ground just before he does, narrowly missing landing on Aaron.

Emily keeps her gun trained on him, waiting for him to move again, to get up despite the gunshot wound to his chest. But he doesn’t. The myth of his monster, making him larger than life, terrifying enough to have a hardened cop make a decade long deal with him, snuffed out. Her hands shake every so slightly as she lowers her gun.

Everything snaps back into place, into full speed, almost all at once. The ringing in her ears from the gunshot being in such a close range sharp, enough to make her shake her head slightly.

“Em.”

She looks down at Aaron, laying prone on the floor, blood seeping through his white shirt from multiple spots, a grim pattern she knows she’d never stop seeing. Her knees hit the floor hard, cracking even with the cushioning of the carpet as she reaches Aaron’s side. She’s grateful that Foyet has fallen clear of him, that she can try her best to ignore the body on the floor next to them as she focuses everything on the man she loved.

“Aaron,” she breathes out, lowering her hand to his chest but stopping short, not sure where to start, “Fuck I’m sorry,” she mumbles, shrugging off her jacket so she can ball it up with one hand and places it on his chest, pressing down where the bleeding seemed to be at it’s worst, “I’m so sorry I was talking to Pen. I…”

She drifts off, unsure what to say as bitter guilt makes her chest tight, the taste awful and lasting on her tongue. She’d been talking, joking with her friend, a brief flash of light after days on the worst case they’d been on in a long time, when Aaron had been attacked. Defenceless as a man who had sworn revenge finally made his move.

Aaron shakes his head at her, his hand shaking as he places it over hers on his chest as she grabs her phone from her pocket, doing his best to squeeze her hand in comfort despite the pain it causes him. She dials 911, desperately waiting for it to connect.

“Is he dead?” Aaron chokes out and she nods, apologising under her breath as she presses firmer into his chest, his blood sickenly warm through her jacket.

“Yes,” she says, casting a glance at the deadly still Foyet next to her, the blood stain coming from under him merging with Aaron’s, “He’s dead.”

“Are you sure?” He asks, and she feels misplaced anger rise up, her nerves fried by the last few minutes and she tucks her phone between her ear and shoulder as she reaches over, screwing her eyes closed as she presses her fingers to Foyet’s neck.

She’s not sure what it says about her, what it means when she feels relieved to feel nothing there. Deathly stillness where his pulse should be. She was supposed to protect life, not take it, but she was glad he was dead. That whatever campaign he was about to start against Aaron, and by extension, all of them, was over before it would start.

“I’m sure,” she chokes out, settling back down next to Aaron’s side, placing her spare hand on his cheek, “He’s dead,” she repeats, smiling shakily at him as she sees him relax slightly, his eyes fluttering. As if he’d been forcing himself to stay awake until he knew the danger was gone, until he knew she was safe. She presses harder into his chest, oddly grateful when she gets a groan in response. A sign he was still awake. “Now please just stay awake ok?”

He grunts, his eyes still flickering, “I love you.”

She grits her teeth, cursing that it was taking 911 so long to connect, “I love you too,” she replies, holding his chin firmly in her hand, forcing him to look at her, “But we aren’t doing that. You’re going to be fine.”

“911, what's your emergency?”

She breathes out a sigh of relief at the answer on the otherside of the phone, her voice catching ever so slightly in her throat as she says the awful truth out loud for the first time.

“This is SSA Emily Prentiss from the FBI, I need an ambulance and the police,” she swallows thickly, pushing down the emotions she couldn’t, and wouldn’t, let herself feel until she knew Aaron was going to be ok, “My boyfriend has been attacked by the Boston Reaper”

___

She rhythmically picks at the cuticle of her thumbnail, her eyes fixed on the ground ahead of her as her leg bounces up and down. Her adrenaline still flowing through her, leaving her on high alert with a seemingly endless amount of energy making her body practically vibrate with it.

“Emily? What happened? Are you ok?”

She looks up at the sound of JJ’s voice, fast and slightly breathless as she reaches her side, clearly having rushed to her. Emily called JJ as soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital, leaving her alone in the waiting room as Aaron was wheeled away to surgery. A partial explanation as to what had happened. That Aaron had been attacked by Foyet. That she’d walked in on it.

“I’m fine,” she says, swallowing thickly, looking back down at the ground, “Aaron is in surgery.”

“Em,” JJ says, sitting down next to her and putting her hand over Emily’s who immediately flinches, pulling away. She can’t bear the thought of someone touching her, every nerve ending in her body feeling razor sharp. JJ smiles softly, not looking offended in the slightest, well aware of how Emily functioned, “You’ve got blood on you.”

Emily looks down at her clothes, darker patches on her pants and the sleeves of her shirt where she’d knelt in Aaron’s blood as she stayed close to him, eventually forced to move by the paramedics when they arrived. Her hands still looked tinged with it even though she knew it wasn’t there, that her hands were bright red from how hard she’d scrubbed them in the small hospital bathroom.

“It’s not mine,” she says, “I didn’t…” she blows out a breath shaking her head at herself, “I was on the phone to Pen, I was outside,” she laughs slightly bitterly, “I was joking about sex as Aaron was being stabbed just a couple of feet away from where we fucked for the first time.”

JJ frowns at her, her hand twitching as she stops herself from reaching out for her again.

“Em-”

“Emily, JJ,” Derek’s voice cuts JJ’s admonishment off, and Emily is grateful for it, not sure she could bear to hear it. She looks up to find the rest of the team all arriving at once, all looking concerned in their own way. She sees Penelope’s gaze linger on her shirt, the stained sleeves, and Emily crosses her arms to cover them. “What the hell happened?”

“We got home, I left my phone in the car and I went back for it,” she explains, her eyes briefly meeting Penelope's before she looks at the rest of them, “I heard Foyet taunting him through the door.”

“You should have called for backup,” Derek says, his hands on her hips, and she feels anger lick at her insides and she clenches her teeth. She forces it back down, not sure she has much space left for everything she’s stopping herself from feeling. Sure she could burst with it at any second, but knowing she can’t until she’s alone. Until she knows Aaron is ok. “Going in there alone was so dangerous-”

“So I should have done what? Left Aaron in there alone?” She asks bitterly, her voice tight, “Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

Derek goes to argue with her, his mouth already open, but JJ stops him with a simple shake of her head.

“Foyet?” Dave asks, a kind look on his face that Emily isn’t entirely sure she deserves.

“He’s dead. I shot him,” she explains, not missing the relief on all of their faces. “Aaron is in surgery. The paramedics counted seven stab wounds. He was stabbed…seven times whilst I was on the phone.”

It’s a thought that keeps sticking in her mind, the thing she can’t get past yet. That if she’d simply remembered her goddamn phone she would have been with him, that if they’d both been there maybe they would have been able to stop Foyet before Aaron got hurt.

“If you hadn’t got there when you did it would have been more,” Spencer says, his voice almost too quiet to hear before he clears his throat as they all look at him, “He gave himself nine stab wounds, it’s not outside of his profile that he’d give Hotch the same injuries.”

Derek elbows him sharply as Emily visibly reacts for the first time since they’d arrived, the thought of what Foyet potentially had planned for them weighing heavily on her shoulders.

A doctor walks into the room, cutting off any further conversation, and Emily is on her feet before she can talk.

“Family of Aaron Hotchner?”

“I’m his girlfriend, Emily Prentiss,” Emily says, her hands tightly clasped together in front of her, “I came in with him and I’m his medical proxy.”

She’s over explained it, and she knows it, the soft smile on the doctor’s face is the only evidence she needs, but she doesn’t want anything to stop her from seeing him. Happy to flash her gun and badge if she needed to. Or donate as much of her trust fund as it would take to fund a new wing of the hospital, anything to sit by his side.

“He’s out of surgery now, I can take you to him if you want. Only one visitor at a time at the moment I’m afraid.”

Emily breathes out a sigh of relief, and she feels JJ’s hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly as she turns around to look at them briefly.

“Yes, please. I’d love that,” she says before looking at the team again, not even having to ask when JJ nods at her.

“We’ll get everything practical done,” she promises, and the rest of the team nods in agreement, “And I’ll hold off Strauss as long as I can.”

Emily flashes her a quick and grateful smile. There would be so much to sort out, Aaron’s apartment was now a crime scene. A man had died in there, and she knew there would be questions, things that had to be worked through. But for now, she didn’t care, wanting nothing more than to see him. She turns back to the doctor who directs her out of the waiting room.

“Mr Hotchner had seven stab wounds,” the doctor explains, her voice almost too kind for the information she was relaying, “We were able to stop his internal bleeding, but due to the location of some of the wounds his recovery will take a little longer,” she says, coming to a stop outside of a room. Emily can see him through the glass, laying in his hospital bed, and it takes everything in her to not walk away, to leave the doctor where she was standing, “We did have to resect part of his liver due to the damage, but that will grow back.”

Emily chuckles bitterly, the sound catching in her chest, and it’s inappropriate, “Sorry,” she mumbles, pressing her hand into her abdomen over her own scar, another grim thing they’d now have in common, “Yes I know it grows back, but he’ll be ok?” she asks, and she looks back over to his room after the doctor nods, “Can I go in now?”

“Of course,” the doctor replies, “He’ll be asleep for a little while, but you can sit with him until he wakes up.”

“Thank you,” Emily says, sharing one more smile with the doctor before she walks away, her steps determined until she reaches the door, brief hesitation that she pushes past as she opens the door.

The beeping of the machines indicating he was alive, his heart beating steadily, are loud. A melody she finds comforting, as she stands in the doorway before moving closer. She grabs the chair and pulls it as near to the bed as she can before she sits down, her eyes fixed on him. She can see the bandages sticking out from the hospital gown he had on. He almost looked like he was sleeping normally, the same peaceful look on his face that she loved to wake up to on the rare occasion he slept longer than her, his hair flopped over his forehead.

She reaches out, ignoring the shake of her hand as she links her fingers through his. The warmth of his skin against hers fractures something inside of her chest. Everything she had kept in there over the last few hours breaking free, breaching the dam she had forced them behind. She sobs, her body aching with it, her ribs pulling around the sound. And she covers her eyes with her spare hand.

She could have lost him, and she wasn’t sure how she would have ever forgiven herself if she had.

-x-

Now the Foyet stuff is done, and we're moving into this fic's own version of events post Aaron's attack, as promised this fic will focus on different challenges than usual for our favourite idiots!!

-x-

Tag list:

@ssa-sparks, @lukeclvez, @lyds102, @glockleveledatyourcrotch, @hotchnissenthusiast, @danadeservesadrink, @ssamorganhotchner, @emilyprentissisgod, @notagentprentiss, @freesiasandfics, @emilyshotchniss, @thecharmingart, @paulitalblond, @hancydrewfan, @camille093, @whitecrossgirl, @moonlight-2-6, @rawr-jess, @florenceremingtonthethird, @jareauswife, @ms-black-a, @beebeelank, @aubreyprc, @zipzapboingg, @psychopath-at-heart, @criminalmindsgonewrong, @fionaloover, @kinqslcys, @prentissinred, @ccmattis22, @denvivale317, @thrindis, @hotchsguccitie, @cmfouatslota77, @alexblakegf, @aliensaurusrex, @prentissxhotch, @emobabeyy, @victoiregranger, @stormyweatherth

Join my tag list here!

#hotchniss #hotchniss fanfiction #hotchniss fanfic #aaron hotchner x emily prentiss #aaron x emily #hotch x prentiss #aaron hotchner fanfiction #emily prentiss fanfiction

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nottheweirdest · 1 year

Note

hellooo i just wanted to tell you that i love your writing a lot and it lives rent free in my mind on a daily basis. i’ve been reading your fics since i first got into liking sonadow and you were one of the first writers i found :P i’m patiently waiting for the next update to coming home while also losing my mind at that cliffhanger because AHHH but also it’s so good. thank you for writing sonadow the way you do <3

ps i’m very inclined to revisit a lot of your works and leave comments on all of them even though i’m not the greatest at commenting on fics :-)

Omg 😭😭😭😭 hi!!! You just made my whole damn week, month, idk, summer? Lol I'm absolutely honored that my writing stays on your mind and you revisit my fics 🥲💖. That's such an amazing compliment and it means the world!

I've been trying to get back to Coming Home but work has been awful between staffing, travel, and a conference we're hosting. I keep hoping it'll get better but no luck so far. Fingers crossed for some chill time soon because I am EAGER to get the next chapter to you guys because I think you're gonna be biting your nails the whole time. 😅

This sweet note has brought a very needed boost of joy to my day so regardless if you comment on my fics just know that this has meant a lot to me. 🥰🙏💕

#i legit worked 20 hours thursday alone #im so tired 😅#and i have to present at this conference and im freaking out #so seriously thank you for making me feel good for a minute 💖💖💖

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specialagentlokitty · 1 year

Text

Mr Evershed x student!reader - ghost

I am in AWE of your talent, truly! You get each fic or chapter done so fast and they’re always so good, I honestly didn’t think I’d be this invested in a story for a fandom I haven’t even watched much of yet, but here I am 😂 I’m guessing you already have some ideas for a part 6 of 👻? You couldn’t possibly leave us on that cliffhanger without some ideas! Please continue! 😁 - @the-imitation-blog 💜

Part six:

You sat down on the chair, and you listened as she read you your rights, and read you the list of things they had against you.

“You understand you could be arrested for this correct?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And you’re aware you are entitled to a lawyer so if you ask for one we can put this on hold.”

“I don’t want a lawyer. I know what I’ve done and I will accept every responsibility for it.”

She nodded her head.

“Why not explain to me the reasoning behind this, and we’ll take it from there. Mr Evershed has already explained to me that you’re a good kid, smart. So, why?”

You sighed and told her the same thing you had told your headteacher an hour or so ago.

“I feel there’s more to this story. What aren’t you telling us.” She said.

You frowned, staring at your heads and they just waited for you to talk.

But when you didn’t talk for a few minutes Mr Evershed spoke up.

“Whatever you say in this room will be between us and anyone else who needs to hear this. No one else.”

You let out a deep sigh.

“Why did you do all of this to return home? It’s more than going back to what you know.”

“My older brother…”

“What’s his name?”

“Thomas.”

“Does Thomas know you’re doing this?” Jones asked.

You shook your head.

“Where is Thomas? Can we call him for you?”

You shook your head again.

“I.. I thought maybe if I went home he’d be able to find me.. he doesn’t know I’m here.. and my parents changed my number so he couldn’t contact me..”

“Why?” Mr Evershed asked.

“Because to them, he’s the only child they had. The good one, the one with potential.. but they had a huge argument and fell out. He left home and a few months later we moved here and I’ve been here for a few years since..”

“So, if your brother left, how do you know he was going to go back?” Jones asked.

“He promised me he would.. he promised me he’d come get me when he’d finished his training.. then he got called away..”

“Training?”

You looked at Mr Evershed.

“He’s in the Army?” Jones said.

“Yeah. He wanted a job he could get quickly and be stable with. It was the easiest choice.. he promised he’d come back next month.. but he doesn’t know where I am..”

The detective and headteacher both shared a look.

“Do you know what day?” Jones asked.

“20th.”

“Do you know where he was going to meet you?”

“Train station. He said he’d get the last train there so no matter what time his flight was he’d be there at that time.”

She nodded her head and wrote a few things down.

“Well, technically this is your first offence.”

You looked up at her.

“But, you’re going to clean that wall you spray painted, and you’re going to be under strict supervision. You’re to go to school and home. That’s it. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Great. I will have someone pick you up to take you to and from school. Where do you live?”

“Uhm.. right now nowhere. I left the hostel.. I don’t know if they still have a room.”

She frowned, and held up a finger telling you to wait as she left the room.

You hung your head back to look at the ceiling.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your brother?”

“Because I just want to go. To live with him, and not have to worry about anything.”

“Well, next month we’ll go and we’ll see your brother, yeah?”

You smiled and nodded your head, happy at the thought of seeing your older brother again.

Jones came back in and sat down again.

“They said they’ve already filled the room. There’s no room anywhere else, so the closest place will be out of time, and due to the nature of your situation we can’t do that right now. We can have an emergency foster out in place but it could take a few days.”

“Where will I go then?”

“I’ll take you.”

You and Jones turned to Mr Evershed.

“I can make sure they get to and from school with no issue, and make sure they clean up the spray paint. And you won’t have to worry about finding a foster for them.”

“If you’re sure then that’s fine, you’d have to fill some paperwork in stating that (Y/N) is your responsibility and any slip ups will fall back on you.”

Mr Evershed looked at you and he smiled.

“I trust them.”

Jones nodded and took him out to do the paper work and when he was finished he came back in to collect you and take you back to the car.

“Why’d you do that? You could loose your job if I do something stupid.”

He started to drive.

“Because I trust you’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”

“No sir.”

“Good, now, let’s take you to buy some new clothes, and you’re going to replace the shirt you ripped up, and since you’ve apparently claimed my hoodie as well you owe me a new one.”

You smiled a little.

“Yes sir.”

You got some new things, replaced his stuff, and the next day you were taken to scrub the wall you had spray painted over.

It took nearly all day, but when you were done it looked as good as new and you nodded your head.

“Good job. I’m proud of you.” Mr Evershed smiled.

“Thank you.”

You handed everything back to the officers who had brought them here for you, and you were taken back to his house.

It was strange, and you mostly kept to the room he had given you, or the kitchen.

You were catching up on school work after school had finished, sitting in the office while Mr Evershed kept his eyes glued to his computer.

He glanced at you making a paper airplane and he reached out, taking it from you.

“No.”

“It’s finished.”

“No airplanes.”

You shrugged a little and turned to the next bit of work you hand to do.

Mr Evershed looked at the email chain he had going on.

It had been a few days, and he was reaching out to anyone who could possibly know anything about your brother and where he could get in contact with him.

He hadn’t told you yet, because he need to make sure he had the contact details for your brother before he did a single thing past that.

“I’m hungry, can we go?” You asked.

“Yeah. Take the work with you.”

He started packing his things away, and turned his computer off, missing the new email that he had just received

#Ackley bridge #Ackley bridge x reader #Ackley bridge x you #Ackley bridge imagine #mr Evershed #mr evershed x reader #mr evershed x you #mr Evershed imagine

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kabillieu · 2 years

Text

I have tried to watch a lot of scary and scary-adjacent movies this month. I always want to do this every October but have never had time. And now? Well, right now I have time. I mostly stuck to a mixture of new and old movies that are already on the streaming services I subscribe to. Here's what I've watched so far:

It (2017 version): Unlike every other person alive in the 80s, I have never seen the original It miniseries, so I fundamentally am not scared of clowns. Maybe this movie was always going to disappoint me. The ensemble parts where the kids are just riding around on their bikes is good, but the scary parts are not scary. Too many CGI effects in horror movies is corny ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Bill Skarsgard was good though. C+

It, Chapter 2: A real dud imo. I can't BELIEVE how much the excellent cast was wasted. D

The Mist: I've wanted to watch this movie for 15 years! I just never did, and then when I did I sort of wish I hadn't. The CGI is AWFUL, even for a 15yo movie, and the editing was weird. I almost stopped watching it halfway through, but I had heard that the ending was unexpected. AND IT WAS. I still didn't like this movie, but the last half was genuinely surprising, so I guess that's something. C

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy Krueger can never be scary to me because the pop culture of my 80s and early 90s childhood was just saturated with him, BUT I did genuinely enjoy this movie, and I'm glad I watched it. It had some genuinely scary scenes, and the premise of someone trying to murder you every time you sleep is terrifying. Unfortunately, a young J*hnny D*pp is in this movie, which YUCK, but oh well. A

Half of Children of the Corn: I could NOT make it through this one. A ridiculous premise, and too many wooden child actors. I do not find CrEePy cHiLdReN to be inherently scary. NEXT. F

The Midnight Club: I love a Mike Flanagan limited series. The Haunting of Hill House is wonderful, and Midnight Mass is genuinely one of my favorite TV experiences ever. I love the way Flanagan interrogates grief, how richly he draws characters, and how immersive his set pieces are. I also LOVE a long tracking shot, which he does sometimes. Anyway, unlike his previous stuff, Midnight Club is YA (it's based on a Christopher Pike novel), and it's not actually a limited series. It's the first season of a regular TV show, so the ending was a cliffhanger (yawn). I didn't love it because I wasn't invested in the premise or the lives of the teenage characters. It felt like he was retreading old work. None of Flanagan's work is that scary, but I didn't find this one to be scary at all. That said, it was still good TV, just not as good as his other work. B-

Before I Wake: Another Mike Flanagan joint. I wanted it to be a little scarier, but it was fine. At least it was only an hour and a half long. I was distracted by Kate Bosworth's lip filler. B

Barbarian: Oh man I loved this one. I'm really stupid when it comes to movies, and I don't usually see twists coming, but this one is genuinely unpredictable and surprising. It's very well acted and a great combination of unsettling, scary, and sometimes funny. Bill Skarsgard was good in this one too. Is he a scream king now? A+

Raw: A vegetarian develops a taste for human FLESH. The scariest part about this movie was the misogynistic hazing. A-

Hellraiser (1987 version): This is another movie that my subconscious psyche was just saturated with even though I'd never seen it. I found it kind of ridiculous and sometimes scary. The practical effects were pretty good, I guess. It left me with a vague feeling of disgust afterward, like I had done something seedy and gross. I felt oily. I think that's how this movie wants people to feel. B-

The Fly (David Cronenburg version): I really appreciate how naked Jeff Goldblum is before he turns into a bug. B+

#basic-ass movie reviews with Kate

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stardust948 · 6 months

Note

For the ask game for fanfic writers

3, 20, 29, 45, 52, and 78 (if this is too much you can just pick the ones you want to answer)

ask game for fanfic writers

20. what is your favorite trope to write?

I absolutely love Found Family.

29. give us a spoiler for one of your stories.

Ozai commits suicide at the end of one my ongoing fics. (Sorry if that got too dark.)

45. name three of your favorite fanfic writers.

VanillaCottonCandy

roslynwrites

ASimpleArchivist

52. how many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time?

Aw man, so there's Rivers in the Desert, Brave is the heart that loves, Head Above Water, Inside we are beautiful creatures, Dead Hearts, Scars can heal and reveal just where you are (Fire), Kintsugi part 3, Zero Eclipse, possible one-shot for ZK month...

So 9?

Yeah this is why my update schedule is all over the place.

78. how do you choose where to end a chapter?

Whenever there's a good cliffhanger or if the next scene is too much of a tone shift. I like to give scenes room to breathe especially the intense ones.

(Already answered #3 😊)

Thanks for the asks!

#answered asks #writing #fanfics #mutuals

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floralseokjin · 4 years

Text

⤑ made-up love song ix.

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher, never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago, and you’re unable to remember the last time you dated. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire.

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, angst, soojung and oc’s mother being the best, minor food mention (not feeling hungry when stressed), hope, the tiniest bit of fluff, a cliffhanger of sorts! words; 6,161

Read Seokjin’s chapter ix here

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

Soojung found you curled up on the sofa a few hours later when she came home from work. You’d tried watching television, hoping the distraction would be successful but your mind just wouldn’t switch off, replaying the day’s earlier events. You didn’t want to think just yet but that’s all your mind could do. Going around and around in circles. Hearing Soojung’s keys in the door you felt a wave of nausea knowing you’d have to talk about it. Not that you didn’t want to confide in your best friend, it was just explaining everything meant that it was all real…

She stuck her head around the door, sounding momentarily confused. “What are you doing back already? I wasn’t expecting you until la– Y/N?” She caught the look on your face immediately and just like she knew something was up. She rushed over. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Instantly you felt your face crumble, tears blurring your vision. “It’s stupid really,” you insisted, wiping your eyes as she came to join you, a protective arm wrapping around your shoulders. The small action at least made you feel a little better. “I don’t understand why I’m crying.” You hadn’t felt the need to cry until now. Maybe it was because you could always be vulnerable with your best friend. You didn’t need to be strong. She’d seen you at your worst.

“Did…Did you guys argue?” She sounded unsure, confused as to what could be the issue.

You sniffed, composing yourself. “No. Not really,” you let out a groan, “oh, god, Soo. It was awful. Seokjin’s ex-wife turned up…”

You spent the next fifteen minutes telling her what happened, although a lot of it was a blur of raised voices and insults. One thing you knew for certain though, was that you’d never felt so awkward in your entire life. You’d watched your boyfriend arguing with his ex-wife feeling so incredibly out of the loop it was embarrassing.

You’d never demanded to know every single detail about his marriage – you hadn’t even wanted to know. It wasn’t your business after all, nor did you want Seokjin to relive things he didn’t want to, or dwell on the past. You understood that more than anyone, what with your relationship with Donghae, but he’d openly revealed a lot to you. He’d confided in you, shared some hurtful details of his divorce and in turn you had entrusted him with your own past, your own bad memories…

There had been many surprises this afternoon, but one certain revelation kept replaying in your head. It was all you could think about. To learn he’d left out something as major as getting cheated on… Having to find out like that… You were still reeling from the bombshell. Why hadn’t he told you? You’d both been through the same thing… Didn’t he trust you enough? You didn’t understand and you couldn’t stop yourself from feeling hurt.

“You don’t think he’s still in love with her, do you?” Soojung asked hesitantly.

“No,” you shook your head. Regardless of the mess that were your thoughts right now, you didn’t think that at all. Yes, it was easy to let your doubts take over in the first few moments you’d set eyes on Nana, she was beautiful, although you hadn’t expected anything less, but you knew not to feel paranoid when it came to that. Regardless of today’s shock, you didn’t doubt Seokjin’s feelings for you, and you knew very well he no longer loved his ex-wife.

“I think he’s just very bitter about everything,” you continued. “Mostly about how infrequently she sees Arin.”

“Do you think it’s a problem?”

Shrugging slightly, you didn’t really know what to say. “She’s been seeing her quite often lately. There was last weekend, but it shouldn’t have been that much of an issue.” Seokjin hadn’t been angry over that, or at least he hadn’t let on he was… Maybe he had and had just hid it well. With that thought, you remembered something. “It was just her face… while Seokjin was saying all those things to her. She looked so upset… I’ve never seen him like that.”

It had been jarring seeing him so angry. He was usually soft-spoken and well-mannered. Even when he was irritated he stayed silent. You understood that he was only human, everyone had emotions, and his had bubbled over today, but it was still surprising. You hadn’t been expecting to be in the middle of a shouting match between him and his ex-wife.

“But you knew they didn’t get on?” Soojung gently prodded, rubbing your upper back.

“Yeah.” You swallowed. “Just seeing it in person… I can’t believe he didn’t tell her about us.”

Your mind was all over the place, unable to concentrate on one issue for long enough. You really had been living in your own little world this entire time. So incredibly happy and blissfully content. It had been so easy to forget that Nana existed when it came to your relationship with Seokjin. To you, she was just Arin’s mom, who she spoke about sometimes, but not very often, in your presence. It was easy to put her to the back of your mind, it was easy not to think of her at all. Why would you? You didn’t even know what she looked like until today. All the photos you’d seen of a younger Seokjin, of Arin as a baby, had never once included her. You knew who she was, knew her name, but that was all.

So you’d just assumed she knew about you too. You’d assumed Seokjin had told her without needing any confirmation. You’d assumed she’d known that you would be looking after Arin last weekend. You’d assumed she was perfectly fine with it. In reality she had no clue you existed. You were almost certain Seokjin hadn’t done it maliciously, he wasn’t that type of man, but seeing him today, how casually he had brushed off her concerns… As much as it had hurt to be thought of as a stranger, you understood why that was the case. Seokjin hadn’t. As stubborn as always, he refused to see where he had done wrong.

“That is a bit odd,” Soojung agreed. “And even though she was a bitch to you, I guess I’d be pissed too if I found out the way she had.”

You snorted softly. Soojung had been ready to fight when she’d first heard the things Nana had said to you, but she knew you were fine, you could handle yourself. “Ugh, it’s all such a mess,” you groaned. “I would’ve never looked after Arin last weekend if I’d known Nana had no clue.” You should have made sure. Why hadn’t you?

“I guess Seokjin had his reasons,” Soo reasoned. “Maybe he knew how his ex would react.”

“Maybe,” you agreed before sighing. “I don’t know. There’s things he never told me either.” Maybe you were finding out that Seokjin was a very secretive person, who knew… “She cheated on him, Soo.” You were back there again. Soojung hummed in understanding. “Is it silly of me to be upset?”

“No, it’s valid.”

“I told him about Donghae,” you whispered. “I really opened up to him and he was so sweet and understanding. Why didn’t he tell me he’d been through the same thing?” No matter how many times you went through it in your head you couldn’t think of an answer. It didn’t make sense. Especially because he’d opened up to you so easily in regard to everything else. What made this so different?

“Maybe he just didn’t want to make it about him,” Soojung offered.

“I don’t know… Maybe.” You groaned, thinking you were being selfish. He probably had a good reason when he didn’t tell you. There were more pressing issues right now anyway… You knew that, and immediately your head begin to spin again.

“The whole stepmom thing,” you muttered, “it’s left me a little frazzled.”

Soojung kept up with your disorderly thoughts expertly. “In what way?”

You gave a little shrug, voice barely there because you didn’t want to admit it out loud. “It made me question things…”

“I thought you liked where things were heading?” Your best friend couldn’t hide the shock from her voice.

“I do,” you replied, “or at least, I did.” Where were things actually heading? You didn’t know anymore. “I just wasn’t really thinking.”

“Of what it all meant?”

You nodded slowly. “I lost myself for a while.”

In a way, you had been in your own little bubble for these past few months – you, Seokjin and Arin. You’d had the most amazing summer, falling harder and harder for Seokjin and in the process Arin had captured your whole heart. She was such a sweet little girl, humorous and thoughtful, Seokjin and Nana had brought her up well. Your time together had been incomparable, your happiness unmatched, but in the process you’d ignored a few things.

“So what are you saying?” Soojung asked gently.

Your throat felt dry. “I’m afraid it’s all moving too fast.”

It was a lot to take in. You had been together barely four months but here you were thinking about the word stepmom. How scary the word sounded, how scary it felt…

“You want to slow it down?”

“It’s probably too late for that,” you chuckled quietly. You felt your heart squeeze. “Soojung, I think I’m in love with him.”

It felt almost relieving to confess such a thing, despite your heavy heart over today. Your feelings had been harder and harder to ignore these past couple of weeks, but you’d tried your best, not wanting to rush anything. Right now you were confused and hurt, but one thing was blatantly clear. You loved him.

“It’s scary,” you whispered, feeling Soo rub your back again, listening silently. “Falling so fast.” Especially after everything you’d been through with Donghae. You were scared. Despite opening up your heart to Seokjin easily, this was different. Things seemed so complicated now, when not six hours ago they had been nothing more than simple.

“Today was a massive reality check,” you scoffed. “I’ve been spending these past few months playing house with Seokjin and Arin, it was bound to catch up with us sometime.”

“You liked it though,” your best friend encouraged, voice gentle. “I’ve never seen you so happy… Not since… Well, not even then.”

“Everything just felt so… perfect,” you agreed. Everything had slotted into place easily. “And natural, and just, nice.” For lack of a better word. Your brain was pulp.

“Arin obviously felt comfortable enough to call you her stepmom in front of her own mom?” You didn’t even notice Soojung’s change of direction.

“I don’t know, I think she was just confused. You know what kids are like together. She heard her friend talking about it and they probably got excited.”

“Would you like to be her stepmom?”

You paused then, realising what had just happened. She knew you well, knew what was bothering you, conflicting your mind. You gave her a small smile. “She’s a sweet child, but it’s not that simple right now. It’s not only my decision either.”

Truthfully you hadn’t thought about it before today, but now it was one of the things at the forefront of your mind. If everything worked out okay then you and Seokjin would only grow more serious. From strength to strength and what did that mean? However, now you knew that Nana wasn’t exactly your biggest fan… You felt fresh frustration, deflated yet again. Today had gone terrible.

“You’re right,” Soojung agreed, “but it’s something you need to be comfortable with too.”

That was true. These were things you needed to talk about with Seokjin. Then again, maybe you should’ve talked about them before. You had no clue how he felt regarding the topic, well… not explicitly anyway.

“Seokjin comparing the both of us made me feel horrendous.” You found yourself admitting. “I’m not trying to be Arin’s mother. I wasn’t even trying to be her stepmother. Not yet. I haven’t thought about it until now. I just… I loved being a part of her life in my own little way.”

You never wanted to replace Nana. You hated thinking like this, but what if Seokjin had been looking for that the whole time? A new mother for his daughter… You were almost positive that wasn’t the case, but you were so drained right now, your mind was all over the place. You kept replaying in your head what he had shouted at Nana over and over again.

“He can’t expect you to take on that role, not when she already has a mother,” Soojung said carefully. “But you can be there for Arin in other ways – in similar ways. You’ve been teaching and caring for kids for years, so I hope you’re not undermining your capabilities.”

You smiled then, grateful, leaning on her shoulder. “Thank you.” You definitely weren’t doing that but being a teacher and a mother were two totally different things. Especially when it wasn’t your biological child.

“Ugh, I’m just exhausted,” you groaned, laying back against the sofa and shutting your eyes. “My head’s a mess.” You didn’t want to talk about it any longer, switching off sounded really good right now and Soojung understood that perfectly.

She tapped your arm. “I’m going to cancel my plans with Tae.” You opened your eyes, mouth open ready to fight. “He’ll be fine.” She insisted. “Me and you are gonna get takeout and ice cream and just stop thinking. We’re going to pull the One Tree Hill boxset out and pretend we’re still in high school.”

You weren’t going to lie, that did sound like fun. It was also foolproof. You’d been doing it since you were seventeen, when Soojung had got dumped for the first time. “Great idea.”

She leaned in for a hug. “You told him you need space to think, so that’s what you’re going to do. But not tonight. No rush.”

As she pulled back you took her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” she grinned. “Now, let me grab my phone.”

You woke up early the next morning, like really early, 5am, which wasn’t ideal seeing as you’d struggled to get to sleep the night before. Your mind and heart felt heavy, but you forced yourself to get up and shower because there was no point trying to fall back to sleep for an hour. You had school, and that meant you had to try your best to look presentable for the kids – and happy. A bunch of 6-7 year olds were scarily talented at reading an adult’s mood you’d come to find out.

You didn’t eat much of your breakfast, which wasn’t a surprise because when you were stressed or sad you never felt practically hungry anyway, and left for work long before Soojung even had a chance to wake up, thinking your classroom so early in the morning might give you some sense of clarity. Either that or stop the buzzing of your thoughts that couldn’t seem to keep away. The change of scenery would hopefully do you some good.

You were at your desk trying to organise your planner for the week ahead, 7:04am, when your cell phone began buzzing. You looked across at the device, face up a few inches away from you and felt your stomach squeeze. Filling the screen was a picture of Seokjin and you at an amusement park he’d dragged you to over the summer, like the big kid he was at heart. Seeing his smiley face made your heart hurt. You thought about leaving it ring, you could pretend you were busy and let him leave a message, but no matter how much you wanted to do it, you couldn’t.

The phone felt heavy in your hand as you picked up. Your voice didn’t sound like yours. “Hello.”

“Y/N,” he breathed, sounding somewhat relieved. You had taken a while to make your decision. “Are you free to talk?”

He sounded tired and unlike his usual self, and a part of you wanted to rush over and talk to him in person, to check in on him and see how he was doing, because as much as yesterday hadn’t been nice for you, it hadn’t been too great for him either… However, you knew that was a bad idea, you’d said you had needed time. A few hours wasn’t that.

“Um, yeah,” you replied, opening your mouth again to remind him about what you’d said yesterday, but already he was rushing forward, eager to say his piece.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call last night, I guess… I guess I needed time too.” He sounded hesitant, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him you had never been expected (nor wanting) a phone call. “Do you want to meet up for lunch?”

Your voice was gentle. “I don’t think that’s a good idea today.” Maybe he’d misunderstood you, you needed longer, besides, things weren’t going to get sorted out in under an hour during your lunch break from work. It wasn’t as simple as that – you wished it was.

There was a pause his side, then – “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

“Seokjin, I’m not mad,” you sighed softly. “I’m just…” What were you? Frustrated more than anything. It was hard to explain. In a way you felt sorry for him, but you also felt sorry for Nana. “I have a lot of questions that I don’t think I’m ready to ask just yet.”

His voice was careful as he asked you, “When do you think you will be ready?”

“I don’t know,” you told him truthfully. “I need time to think and it’s pretty hard when I have work all week.” Neglecting your job was foolish – impossible to think of, actually.

“I understand.” Of course he did. He was nothing but understanding when it came to you and your relationship together. That’s the Seokjin you knew and adored… the one you loved…

“Is Arin okay?” You found yourself asking. You knew you should probably say your goodbyes, but you’d woken up feeling terribly guilty that you’d just upped and left her like that yesterday. “I’m sorry I ran off without saying goodbye to her.”

“She’s doing okay, I tried telling…” He trailed off suddenly, and you guessed he thought he was overstepping the mark. The mark you’d put in place. “She asked where you went, I said something came up.”

“Oh.” You’d thought about popping your head around the door and saying goodbye yesterday but just couldn’t do it. You hated to think she’d thought you had left her too. “I really am sorry about that.”

“Y/N, it’s fine. Please never be sorry,” he murmured softly.

You smiled sadly at his sentiment. “Are you okay?” You shouldn’t really ask, not when you needed to hang up and take that space you both needed, but you couldn’t help yourself. It felt wrong not to check in.

“Could be better,” he chuckled slightly. You appreciated his honesty. “You?”

“The same.” There was no point pretending. “I think some space will do us good. Let’s just think about everything and then we can talk.”

“Okay,” he agreed simply. There wasn’t much else he could say. If he disagreed in any way you knew he would never tell you. He wanted to respect your wishes.

“I’ll call you towards the end of the week?” You could get through the work week, have some time to yourself in the evenings and then meet up on Saturday.

“Yeah, that sounds good. I agree.” Yet, he sounded a little dejected.

“Okay.” You had to leave it at that. “I gotta go,” you told him, even though you were in no rush to leave for work, already in your classroom.

“Of course, bye, Y/N.” You heard some background noise and then a familiar voice in the background – Misook. As it was for you, life went on. Arin had to get ready for school, he had to get ready for work… You couldn’t both wallow in self-pity all day. “Take care,” he told you. It sounded awkward, as if he didn’t know what to say.

“Bye, Seokjin.” You felt just the same. Even right at the beginning your phone conversations had never been this wooden.

You hung up first, and then there was silence, except for the ticking of the clock on the wall opposite. You watched the red second hand move, feeling as if it was mocking you.

The week was slow. It was an average one, but it dragged by. On Monday you had to sit through the usual chitchat inside the teacher’s lounge during lunch, catching up on everyone’s weekends. When Eunbi asked how yours had gone you’d breezed past it, expertly changing the subject to her weekend visiting Jungkook’s parents. Other than that, there was really no need for Seokjin to come up in conversation, which you were thankful for. You spent the rest of the week busy with the children, staying behind a lot later than usual just because it was easier inside your classroom.

At home you found yourself missing Seokjin like crazy. Ever since your first date you’d been in regular contact throughout the week, and then when things had gotten serious, you’d spoken to him every day – even if it was just on the phone in the evenings once school started back. For all contact to be gone was strange. You hated it, felt as if a part of you was missing. But you knew it needed to be done. As the days went (dragged) by you no longer felt overwhelmed by Sunday’s events. The shock had worn off and you had time to dissect it all, whether it be over dinner on your own when Soo was working late, or when you were in bed for the night, waiting to drop off. The more you broke it down the easier it was to place things in different categories. All the things that had shocked you, the things that had hurt you, and then finally, the things that had made you feel guilty.

On Thursday night you promised your mom you’d have dinner with her. Jonathon was abroad visiting his children and she hadn’t been able to get time off work to join him. She was bored at home all alone, so you really couldn’t say no despite a part of you wanting to. Before you arrived you’d made the decision not to tell her about your…what could you call it? It was hardly an argument with Seokjin. A disagreement..? Whatever it was, you didn’t want to worry her. After all this time she was over the moon you’d finally met someone you really cared about and you knew it was stupid, but you didn’t want to make her worry.

However, that all went out the window as soon as she opened the door to you. She was your mom for crying out loud, who could you confide in if it wasn’t her? She listened to you attentively. All your thoughts, all your worries – even if the potatoes were at risk of cremating, and it felt good to have your mother by your side.

“Seokjin is a lovely man, anyone can see that, but he’s allowed his flaws. He’s only human,” she reasoned, your conversation coming back to the way he’d acted around Nana. You knew your mother was right, and you were in no way judging him for it, but it had been very jarring seeing him change so suddenly. “Obviously he and his ex-wife bring out the worst in each other. Sounds to me as if they’re so used to hurting one another it’s become the norm.”

You nodded in silent agreement, thinking back to them hurling abuse at one another as if it was the most natural thing. In a way it had turned into a competition. Who could hurt one other the most. In the end, Seokjin had dealt the final blow. You. You could still see the hurt on Nana’s face now, even though it was days ago. It made your chest heavy all over again. You told your mom just as much.

“There’s no need to feel so guilty, love,” she told you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “None of this is your fault. Seokjin, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally, used you as a way to hurt Nana, and you need to tell him that you’re not okay with that.”

That was the part that had hurt the most now that you’d had enough time to think. Above all else, not telling Nana about you, the catalyst that led to his divorce, it was being used as some kind of weapon that stuck out. You had never wanted that. You had never asked for it.

“You are his girlfriend first and foremost.” Your mom continued. “Yes, you care for Arin but these things need to be spoken about first. You have never wanted to be, nor felt like you were the child’s mother. You know your boundaries and so should he.”

She was correct. You’d been so hesitant not to overstep the mark these past few months. You’d even been in two minds whether or not to offer to babysit Arin that weekend. You’d thought Seokjin understood that, your cautiousness when it came to the role you played in her life. After all, your relationship was still new, and Nana was very much a part of Arin’s life. However he had disregarded that all to throw a few cheap shots.

Your conversation shifted to Arin then. It was easy to sympathise with her, after all you’d been in her shoes once. Parents who seemed to fight more than they did talk. It had gotten better for you though, their relationship turning amiable once the divorce had settled. For Arin, it seemed to be only getting worse. You wished you could talk some sense into Seokjin. He might’ve thought that Arin was okay with her parents barely having any contact but you knew that wasn’t the case. It had been very telling to hear that Arin never brought Seokjin up in conversation with her own mother. That’s why it had taken Nana so long to find out about you. Deep down that little girl knew that her mom didn’t want to hear her dad’s name, and that was heart breaking.

Somewhere along the way, your mom asked you what you thought about Arin calling you her stepmother. Despite it being done innocently, the weight of the word meant so much more to the adults in the situation and you agreed. It had been strange to hear, and not just because it had come from Nana’s mouth. You were serious about Seokjin and could see a future with him, and that meant being in Arin’s life permanently. That word wasn’t so farfetched and you’d had plenty of time to think about it this week. What it meant for you, Arin, and of course Nana.

“How did you feel when dad first met Dahae?” You asked your mom. These things had never really come up in conversation before, which was surprising, but right now you needed any advice and insight you could get. Your mom had been in Nana’s shoes once after all. All those years ago.

“I was…happy for him,” she replied hesitantly. “It took time. It’s a confusing thing. I no longer loved your father but it felt strange to see him with someone else. Of course, everyone is different. Not one relationship is the same,” she added.

You nodded in understanding. Your father had met Dahae, his wife, when you were twelve. You had grown up with her and it didn’t feel odd to think of her as a second mom. You still called her by her name but when in conversation with others you often referred to her as your stepmom. Always had, for as long as you could remember. Maybe it was after the wedding, but you couldn’t be too sure. Definitely before she gave birth to your siblings though.

It was different with Jonathon. He’d always been “your mother’s husband” and not because you didn’t care for him or think he was a lovely man. He was, and you liked him very much, it was just… You were an adult when you met him, twenty to be exact, living across the country for college. The bond wasn’t quite there like it was with Dahae, but your mom understood that – so did Jonathon. But it made you pause and think. You’d never asked your mom how she felt hearing you call Dahae your stepmother. It had never crossed your mind until now.

“I didn’t like the idea at first, I have to admit, but who would?” She confessed. “It’s hard not to feel hurt or threatened, a whole load of different emotions,” she gave a small shrug, “but meeting Dahae, and seeing how kind a woman she was, and how much you meant to her made me see things differently.”

You smiled, silently hoping that one Nana would think and feel the same way when it came to you. You could only cross your fingers and try your best in the meantime.

Your mom nudged you, a playful lilt to her voice. “I think you’re very lucky to have two wonderful women in your life that love you and want the best for you – and yes, that’s a brag on my part.”

You laughed with her, but your worries were getting the best of you again, turning you sombre. “What if Nana never accepts me though?”

“I think you should only think about that if it happens,” she replied. “There’s no point expecting the worst right now.”

You still didn’t feel very hopeful though, it was probably written all over your face. Sweeping some hair out of your eyes, your mother’s voice was soft. “Love, she had no idea you existed, I think her anger was warranted.” A pause, tone changing. “Although, not at you. I’m not very happy about that.”

You chuckled at that. “It’s fine. You know I can look after myself.” You were feisty when you wanted to be, or scrappy as Seokjin had so comically put it once.

Wrapping an arm around you once more, she squeezed you gently. “Talk to him.” She urged. “You miss him. This time apart is getting pointless, you already know how you feel.”

You did. Your feelings were as strong as ever.

You had been itching to pick up the phone last night and just call him already, but you’d said Saturday. You only had one day left at work, you could hold out until then. It would be better that way, you didn’t want to interrupt a potentially busy day. Friday’s were often crazy for him, you didn’t want to be a distraction.

However, come morning break you bumped into Hoseok coming out of your classroom, eager to rush to your car and grab the apple that must have rolled out of your bag and onto the seat. (Hopefully – if it was on the floor it was going in the trash ASAP).

“Hi, Y/N. How are you today?” He politely asked.

“Fine, thank you.” Talking with Hoseok always came easily, regardless of his position as the principal. “Glad it’s the weekend tomorrow. How about you?”

“My thoughts exactly,” he laughed, before adding, “Although, I hear Arin’s started hers early.”

“Oh?” You were immediately lost. Had you missed something? You hadn’t seen Arin at school all week, which wasn’t strange. Your paths rarely crossed these days unless you were on yard duty, and if you were being honest, you were glad it hadn’t been this week. She must have had an inkling something was wrong right now, she hadn’t seen you at all since Sunday, so you were relieved to know you didn’t have to answer any awkward questions. It was selfish, you knew that, but you couldn’t help it.

Hoseok looked confused by your reaction, but carried on regardless, shaking it off. “Seokjin called up yesterday, said she’d be visiting her mom earlier this weekend if it was possible. I figured maybe you and he had plans for tonight.”

You froze, forcing yourself to reply because your boss was waiting for one. “Oh, no.” You swallowed, coming up blank. “No plans.”

If Hoseok noticed your woodenness he didn’t let on. “One day couldn’t possibly hurt her education, right? But don’t tell the board I said that,” he added with a laugh.

You made yourself join in, although your mind was racing. “Secret’s safe with me.”

He smiled at you, giving you a nod. “Enjoy your weekend, alright? See you Monday.”

Thank God he had somewhere to be. You nodded back, watching him already begin to walk away. “And you, Hoseok.”

You proceeded to sit in your car for twenty minutes, half eaten apple already turning brown as you racked your brain. It wasn’t Nana’s weekend to have Arin. Was something wrong? You were probably being silly, conjuring up the worst case scenarios for no reason. If something had happened, Seokjin would have contacted you. He knew he could always count on you, but… You had told him you needed space and he’d agreed. He was a man of his word, so if something had happened, what if he thought he couldn’t call you?

You pulled your phone out of your bag at the thought, clicking on his contact but stopped yourself when you saw the time. You had just under five minutes to be back at class… I’m being irrational, you told yourself. If something was wrong he would have informed Hoseok, and the principal sounded absolutely fine. You were worrying for no reason. If something had happened, something bad, he wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to you. You knew that, and so did he. Only a few more hours and you’d get to talk to him. Most of those involved sleep. You could wait until tomorrow morning. You could.

You couldn’t.

It was half 9 and you were home alone. It was Soojung and Taehyung’s date night and she was spending the night at his place, so all you had for company were your own thoughts – and RJ, the alpaca plush Seokjin had won for all those months previous. You couldn’t possibly wait until tomorrow, your mom was right, what was the point in waiting when you knew how you felt. You wanted to see Seokjin, to talk to him and feel him. You missed him like crazy.

Turning the television down low you grabbed for your phone which had slipped in between the sofa cushions. This time you didn’t hesitate, no work commitments calling your name, and dialled Seokjin’s number straight away. He picked up after only two rings.

“Y/N,” he breathed, sounding more than surprised.

“Hey, you,” you smiled into the receiver. It felt good to hear his voice again.

“I wasn’t expecting you to call tonight.”

“Sorry, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Of course not. Well,” he paused to laugh, “I was just about to head to bed.”

He sounded a lot like his usual self tonight, it eased your mind. You laughed along softly, a confession slipping past your lips. “I was going to wait until tomorrow but Soojung is with Taehyung tonight and being alone means I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You heard a sigh of relief his end. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all week.” The longing in his voice didn’t go unnoticed. “Are you ready to talk? I’m willing to answer any questions you have.”

“I’m ready,” you nodded. “Should I come over? I don’t want to do this over the phone.”

“I can come to you?” He suggested instead. “Arin’s with Nana until Sunday.”

“Oh.” You thought to ask him how come, but stopped yourself, you could get to that in person. He didn’t sound upset, which you took as a good sign. “Okay. Now?”

“It’s not too late?” He checked.

“No, it’s fine.” You were eager, shaking you head as you replied, and you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. “I really want to see you.”

You could hear his smile too. “I’ll be there soon, okay? Really soon.” You heard his footsteps along the floor, the sound of a drawer opening as if he was finding something to wear.

“Don’t speed,” you added, as a joke more than anything.

“Of course I won’t,” he laughed. “I’m going to hang up now but I won’t be long.”

“Okay, see you soon, Seokjin.” It was silly, but you didn’t want the phone call to end even though in under half an hour he’d be here.

But you could be patient.

You could.

#seokjin fanfic #bts fanfic #jin fanfic #fic:mls #floralseokjin:writings

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tennessoui · 2 years

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I don't read wips but I just adore your writing so I read wips if you write them 😊

ahh!! thank you!! i do 100% understand where this sentiment is coming from (what's more agonizing than a story leaving off on its climax or right after the characters get together or just as you fall in love with their characterizations??? and then having to wait days-week-months for more is awful, especially because the longer time goes on, the more liable you are--i am at least--to forget the nuance of each chapter and why i loved the fic in the first place)

but i will also say i never would have finished my first couple of stories in this fandom if it weren't for the encouragement i got while i was writing!! i remember my favorite part of writing uses my body to break your fall was posting a chapter, ending it on a cliffhanger, and then going grocery shopping and refreshing my email every few minutes to hear readers yell about how they wanted more and how they loved what i wrote and (respectfully) wanted to know what happened next, so i would go home from the grocery store and start typing out what happened next because it felt less like posting into a void!!

and im not really a new writer anymore, it's been a year and after 1,000,000 words i'm gonna count myself as established, but i do think people reading the stories as i posted really made me continue, and there are a bunch of new writers in the fandom right now, and supporting their wips is just imo absolutely critical to keeping the talent and passion we have in this fandom alive!!!!

#asks #i am so sorry to jump on this ask with a 'wips are aweesome'#because it is so sweet of you to read mine especially when my updating schedule reads like #a drunken sailor's star chart someone else thinks is a connect-the-dots #so thank you so much for the enjoyment and the faith and the patience holy shit youre amazing #but ive just been thinking about the wip thing a lot #fandom #obikin

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fabelyn · 2 years

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Hey! I was just wondering how you are doing and if you are still interested in writing IC. Please do not feel pressured or anything I was simply curious. Also your writing is amazing! Thank you for sharing your story :)

Sorry, this message had escaped me.

Ive got the next chapter all done (12k) but, due to a cliffhanger that would be too cruel to leave readers at for too long, im trying to write and finish another chapter. This way when I post the chapter with the awful cliffhanger, I will be able to promise to post the continuation in a timely manner (a month at most).

Thank you for still being interested in my fic!

#anonymous

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melanielocke · 3 years

Text

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter one

Lucie, Cordelia, Thomas and Alastair are spending the summer in a small town at the edge of a forest. Lucie hopes she can finally tell Cordelia how she really feels, while Thomas hopes to get to know Alastair a bit better. Alastair and Cordelia are glad to get some time away from their family and their parents separating. But something is not right in the forest. People are disappearing, and a creature warns Thomas that he is in danger, that a debt to a powerful being has not yet been repaid and they will need to combine all their abilities to stop what’s coming, and save Thomas.

CW: past toxic relationship, past abuse, mentions of alcoholism, PTSD It won't be super gory, but can be creepy

Tag list: @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @nott-the-best

Tagging @julywood because Thomas is one of the main characters

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32505550/chapters/80620474

‘Are you finished packing, Lulu?’

Lucie heard her father’s voice from behind the door of her bedroom, but she didn’t respond immediately. She was working on her story, and needed to finish this chapter so she could email it to Cordelia. She needed to concentrate, and that required blocking out all sounds coming from the outside world. The chapter had taken a bit longer than anticipated and the ghost of one of Cordelia’s dead boyfriends had somehow made its way into the chapter. Fictional Cordelia had had many boyfriends and all had died tragic deaths to make way for the next. She currently didn’t have a boyfriend and Lucie wasn’t planning another one yet. The real Cordelia had only dated her brother James for a while a year ago. Lucie didn’t think she wanted real Cordelia to have a boyfriend either.

The door opened and her father peeked inside. ‘You haven’t started packing at all, have you?’

‘I need to finish my chapter for Cordelia,’ Lucie insisted. ‘She will be stuck in a very long car ride with only Alastair for company and she needs something to occupy herself with.’

Lucie would be staying the summer with her parents in her grandmother’s manor, whereas her grandmother would be traveling to southern Italy with a couple of friends. While Lucie was usually excited about spending her summer there, she had feared it would be lonely considering her brother James wouldn’t be coming this year. He’d graduated school and he and his best friend Matthew were going to travel across the continent by themselves. She’d feared she’d be alone all summer, but then Thomas, her closest friend besides Cordelia, had convinced his parents to travel to the same town this summer, renting a cottage nearby her grandmother’s house.

‘Alright, I’ll pack for you,’ her father said. ‘But if you find your swimsuit or your sparrow plush toy is missing, then I will not be held responsible.’

‘Jack is coming,’ Lucie insisted, referring to her sparrow plush toy she’d once named after Jack Sparrow, and she put her laptop away to put her plush toy in her bag.

After a short moment of contemplation she put her new pink bikini and an older black and red striped one piece in there too. There was a lake close to grandmother’s manor and Lucie expected she’d go swimming regularly. She returned to her laptop, and tried to think of a good ending for the chapter. She didn’t like to end everything in a cliffhanger, but the story needed to remain intriguing.

‘No clothes? Underwear?’ her father asked.

Lucie considered just bringing everything suitable for the summer but realized they didn’t have that much space in the car. So instead she opened her closet, picked out some tops, skirts, dresses and jumpsuits and put them into her bag. She would probably regret leaving something behind later on but there was no time. Just to be sure, she went over the closet again and added a couple more dresses. She couldn’t leave her new yellow wrap dress behind, she’d sent Cordelia a picture of her wearing it a couple of weeks ago after she’d bought it and Cordelia had commented that she looked gorgeous. Lucie suspected it was just Cordelia being nice but the comment had still made her heart run wild.

She added enough underwear to last her several weeks and then went back to adding clothes at random until the bags were full.

‘Done,’ she announced, and she went back to her laptop, finishing her chapter.

Adding in a ghost was a difficult choice, but Lucie had decided fictional ghosts behaved similarly to real ghosts. Lucie had never seen a ghost of a dead boyfriend though. She hadn’t seen Jesse Blackthorn even once since he’d died four years ago.

When the chapter was finished, she emailed it to Cordelia, hoping she would receive it before she and her brother left home. Cordelia had almost not been allowed to come stay with her family this summer, her father tended to be strict and wanted to keep Cordelia at home. There had been some trouble lately at the Carstairs home though, and Cordelia’s mother had decided it would be good for her to go spend time with Lucie. Cordelia’s brother Alastair had decided to come with her, although Lucie wasn’t sure why. Either way, Lucie had decided she and Cordelia were going to have the greatest summer ever.

***

Thomas hadn’t been this excited about going on a vacation with his parents in a while. The small town where they’d be staying sounded boring, and certainly wasn’t the location most boys his age wanted to spend the summer, but then Thomas wasn’t interested in drinking and partying all night and would much rather explore forests and go swimming in lakes with Lucie Herondale. That wasn’t the main reason he was excited though. A week ago, Lucie had confirmed her close friend Cordelia Carstairs would be staying the summer with her, and a couple of days later Lucie had informed him Cordelia’s brother Alastair would be coming as well.

Thomas had gone to school with Alastair for a year, Alastair a year ahead of him, and at the time Alastair had been rather awful, especially to Thomas’ friends James and Matthew. To be fair, Alastair’s jokes about Matthew behaving like his mother were funny. Matthew did behave like his mother, always coming to collect him when he’d spent too much time around Alastair. Why he’d fallen in love with Alastair anyway, he wasn’t sure. He’d been intrigued by the mystery, he guessed, Alastair’s sad eyes and vicious tongue.

But after that year, Alastair had changed schools, and had gone to school with Lucie and Cordelia instead and he’d heard much from Lucie about him. Alastair had defended Lucie from bullies had kept to himself and created this image of someone who was untouchable, no longer a bully, but he would destroy you if you even considered hurting his sister or her friend Lucie. Thomas was once more intrigued. While James and Matthew were still angry, Thomas had decided he must have changed and he was thankful Alastair had protected Lucie, heaven knew that girl knew how to get herself into trouble.

Thomas checked his phone for the millionth time. He was done packing, but his parents were not. Lucie hadn’t send any new texts and Thomas suspected she needed to pack or finish the latest chapter of her novel before her parents left. She’d listed some ideas that might help him spend more time alone with Alastair, although Thomas was not yet sure if he wanted that. He wasn’t out to anyone but Lucie yet, and although he intended to tell his parents, he wasn’t yet sure how. He wasn’t yet sure he was ready for a relationship, and although he liked Alastair, he was also a bit intimidated by him.

Barbara had sent a message, and Thomas opened it. It was a picture of her and Oliver in front of the Eiffel Tower. Barbara and her boyfriend Oliver had gone to Paris to celebrate their two year anniversary and to celebrate Barbara graduating as a nurse.

Thomas texted a response and put his phone in his bag and walked outside, checking to see if his parents needed any help. A couple of gnomes were running around the garden. Thomas didn’t mind them, they took good care of the garden, and were far from dangerous, but they could get up to mischief. He’d learned that whenever cookies, forks or socks went missing, it was usually the garden gnomes. They lived in forests sometimes, but also liked to build their homes in human gardens. Of course, most humans had no idea they were there, but Thomas could see all sorts of strange creatures. Most were harmless, so Thomas never minded much. He didn’t seek out the supernatural, but he didn’t mind its presence.

Both his mother and Barbara had the same gift, and although Eugenia didn’t she had learnt to see the gnomes. Thomas had found out everyone could learn to see the supernatural if they knew what to look for and knew it was out there. Most people didn’t believe so they didn’t see, but Eugenia had grown up with a mother and siblings who saw everything whether they wanted to or not. She had always known what was out there.

Eugenia and her friend Kamala would be spending the summer in India this year, they’d saved up for months for their big trip. Thomas suspected they might be more than just friends but so far Eugenia had not confirmed this.

‘We’re almost done,’ his mother promised, handing him a plate of cookies. ‘Give some to the gnomes, will you? To show them our thanks for taking care of the garden.’

Thomas went into the backyard where even more gnomes had gathered. It was difficult to imagine most people could look at this scene and see nothing out of the ordinary, when several gnomes were running around, holding something shiny in their hands.

‘The car keys,’ Thomas groaned out loud and he put the plate of cookies on the ground.

‘You can have these, but please give me the keys back,’ he said.

The gnomes said something, but Thomas didn’t understand their language, and then attacked the plate of cookies, dropping the car keys in the process. Thomas picked them up before the gnomes realized anything, and picked up the plate as soon as it was empty. Gnomes could be monsters when it came to cookies and they didn’t have table manners, they just attacked any food they saw. Thomas couldn’t blame them.

Thomas quickly washed the plate and put it back with the others before joining his parents again, who were finally finished with everything.

‘Feeding the gnomes again, Sophie?’ his father asked. ‘Are you sure that many cookies are healthy for them?’

His mother shrugged. ‘They’re gnomes, Gideon. Who knows what’s healthy for them?’

His father couldn’t argue with that logic. Thomas wondered if there would be gnomes too at the cottage where they would be staying, or if other creatures would show themselves. Thomas had learned that if there was a myth or any kind of story depicting it, it probably existed somewhere, but most such beings were very rare and so far Thomas had mostly encountered gnomes.

Checking the car one last time to see if they had everything, Thomas got into the passenger seat next to his mother who would be driving, his father behind. Thomas had gotten too tall to fit in the backseat of this car and sitting there for a long drive would be unnecessarily painful. Besides, Thomas was better at reading maps than his father, and if they got lost they would depend on him to find the way.

As they drove, Thomas couldn’t help but think of Alastair Carstairs. Why had he decided to join the Herondales? Thomas didn’t think he was particularly close to Lucie, although he knew Will Herondale had a weak spot for anything that carried the name Carstairs. He wasn’t surprised the Herondales had invited him along. Could he be thinking of Thomas? And would Lucie’s plans to get them to spend time together help, or only make everything worse?

***

‘I cannot get this bag to close,’ Cordelia complained.

‘Perhaps that’s because there’s a limit to how much fits in there,’ Alastair said without looking up.

He was finished packing, of course. Cordelia, on the other hand, had decided she had not yet enough clothes packed and with some suggestions from her mother and aunt Risa had tried to add more.

‘Don’t you have another bag for me?’ Cordelia asked, annoyed.

She loved Alastair, but sharing a room with him was a bit too much and they’d gotten on each other’s nerves. They were currently staying with their aunt Risa, their mother too, but Risa’s apartment was a bit small for all of them. It was a temporary situation and Cordelia hoped that after the summer she and Alastair didn’t have to share a room anymore. At least in the Herondale manor, there were plenty of rooms and Cordelia intended to get one as far away from her brother as possible. Alastair tended to be neat, and his half of the room was always perfectly in order, whereas Cordelia was a bit messier, and both were irritated with the other.

‘You can check if any of my bags have some space left. Or you can leave the bag opened and put it in the car like this and hope it doesn’t end with clothes littered everywhere.’

Cordelia went to the building’s parking garage and to the car and put the bag there, half open, making sure nothing fell out. No one but the two of them would be fitting in there with how much Alastair had packed. Cordelia couldn’t imagine he’d need all that, but she knew better than to attempt to convince her brother he could leave something behind.

Back inside, she saw Alastair sitting on his bed, vaguely staring into the distance as if he was daydreaming.

‘Alastair, stop doing that,’ Cordelia said.

Calling his name usually brought him out even when his senses were closed off from the world around him. Alastair had an ability that Cordelia best described as him being Harry Potter’s pensieve. He could revisit his own memories, and if they allowed it, other people’s memories as well, as well as bring people with him into memories. Alastair tended to stay out of other people’s memories, but could get lost in his own. Outside their family, no one knew about it and Alastair preferred to keep it that way.

The Carstairs family had always been aware of the supernatural, of course. Once their father Elias had carried the magic sword cortana and fought evil creatures with it. That had been a long time ago though, and Cordelia owned cortana now, but she had never used it to fight anything beyond straw men in the backyard. She didn’t have any abilities though, not beyond her connection the sword, nothing like Alastair’s odd memory. Neither of them understood why he was that way.

‘Were you revisiting your break up again?’ Cordelia asked then.

She knew he’d been revisiting that memory over and over lately, although she didn’t understand why. It couldn’t possibly make him feel better, could it? Of course, Alastair wasn’t exactly known for making the healthiest choices when it came to coping.

‘Charles has been texting me,’ Alastair said, his face blank. ‘I made sure that when I broke up with him, I was very clear about not wanting him to contact me. I wanted to see if there was anything I said that might have made my meaning unclear, any invitation for him to keep texting me.’

‘I don’t think Charles has ever listened to a thing you said,’ Cordelia said. ‘That’s his problem, not yours. Have you blocked his number yet?’

Alastair didn’t say anything.

‘You can block him,’ Cordelia insisted. ‘And you should. It’s creepy how he keeps texting you.’

As far as Cordelia was concerned, Charles had been creepy long before that, ever since he began a relationship with her brother despite Alastair only being sixteen at the time when Charles was six years older than him. Charles must have known how wrong and creepy that was, even if Alastair hadn’t.

Alastair hadn’t told anyone about his relationship, not ready to come out yet, which must have been convenient to Charles. Cordelia had only found out four months ago when she’d started to worry about Alastair, how he’d seemed more nervous and prickly than usual, how he’d lost weight from not eating. Reluctantly, Alastair had told her about his relationship, and Cordelia had been horrified to learn just how much abuse he’d accepted, believing that was how relationships worked. After a month of Cordelia trying to convince him of how toxic Charles was, Alastair had broken up with him. She’d been very protective of him ever since finding out, and was glad he’d decided to come stay with the Herondales with her this summer. Some time away from everything would be good for him, right?

Then Cordelia had found out Alastair had been keeping even more secrets from her, this one surrounding their father. Cordelia had always loved her father and looked up to him, a former warrior who’d slain the supernatural horror that had taken his brother and sister in law, a former hero who’d fallen ill in later life. A while ago their cousin Jem, who was a psychiatrist, had visited, despite their father trying to keep him away from their family, and he’d noticed Alastair was not doing well after an anger outburst. Cordelia and her mother had always assumed Alastair’s moodiness and anger outbursts were just him being a difficult teenager, although at eighteen he was getting a bit old for that. Jem, familiar with mental disorders, had recognized symptoms of something more.

He had recommended Alastair see a therapist. After some pressure from both her and Jem, Alastair had gone and he’d been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Cordelia had found out father was not sick, but addicted to alcohol instead. Alastair had spent years protecting her from the effects, attempting to take care of father while he was drunk so she have the illusion of a normal childhood. Now that she knew, she guessed she understood a bit better why Alastair had thought what Charles had offered was love.

‘I guess I can block him,’ Alastair said.

‘I’m serious,’ Cordelia insisted. ‘You have to stop revisiting bad memories, you’ll only get hurt again. I don’t like seeing you hurt.’

Alastair took his phone out his pocket, presumably blocked Charles’ number, and put it back.

‘Are you ready to go, Layla?’ he asked.

When Cordelia was young, she’d loved the story of Layla and Majnun her mother used to tell her, and Alastair and her mother had taken to calling her Layla.

‘Ready when you are,’ Cordelia said. ‘Lucie just emailed me the latest chapter of the beautiful Cordelia. I’ll have plenty to do on the way.’

#Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #Cordelia Carstairs #Lucie Herondale #Lucelia #Thomastair #tlh #the last hours #fic #fanfiction #paranormal au

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writingtoforgetreality · 4 years

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Time To Trust - The Devil´s Daughter Chapter Five (Lucifer Morningstar x Daugther!Reader)

[Lucifer-Masterlist], [The Devil´s Daughter-Masterlist]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: Arriving at the precinct made you more nervous than you would have liked to admit. Dan only meant well & you trusted him, right? So why were you so damn anxious? Maybe because you knew you had to give him some answers sooner rather than later & you were not ready to do that just yet.

Words: 1,402

Warnings: (thank you for sticking around even after months of radio silence), pretty much a filler to get back into writing (I do have a lot of stuff planned though, things will start happening soon), fear of not being enough, awful cliffhanger, language (the usual), mentions of anxiety

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

The ride gave you the chance to actually take in the beauty of the city. Yes, when you wandered around the other day you managed to see a few parts but now, sitting in a car, made everything way realer to you. Neither of you talked during the ride, enjoying the comfortable silence between the both of you. It kind of scared you. How could you trust a stranger after such a short time? Dan might not be a stranger anymore but it was not like you knew him well either. The radio was quietly emanating some tunes you did not know but soon, you found yourself humming with the beat. Dan took a look at you & smiled at your actions. You seemed way more comfortable & fearless looking out of the window. He just hoped he could help you find an actual place to stay. Not that he minded having you with him but he just assumed that you would get bored rather quickly. Besides, he knew there had to be more behind your façade. Something you clearly had not shown just yet. For a second, he debated bringing up the conversation you had last night, but decided against it. Maybe you would feel better at the L.A.P.D., with professionals around. Yes, he was a professional himself but right now he was not working. Just a few more minutes & he would find out.

As the car came to a stop, you noticed that you had zoned out for a bit. The sound of Dan’s car door shutting made you look at him. Before you could move to open your door, Dan beat you to it & helped you out. Not that you needed help but it still felt good to have someone who looked out for you. Like Michael when you were in heaven…No! Stop that! No more thinking about heaven & the angels. THIS was your new life, you had other things to worry about. For example, handling the questions you were sure you were about to get as soon as you walked into the precinct.

“You ready to do this?” Dan asked.

“Do what, exactly?” you uncomfortably chuckled. Your eyes met his briefly but before he could actually comment on the look you gave him, you quickly made your way to the entrance & tried to hide your anxiety with a witty remark.

“Climbing stairs to get to the door or opening the door to enter?” a sarcastic smirk was plastered on your face and Dan looked like he bought it. All he did was shaking his head, chuckling & following after you. Before you could push the door open, Dan’s hand was placed beside you & he opened it for you.

“Actually, this door is rather heavy, I got it. No need for you to exhaust yourself first thing in the morning.” you knew he was joking but you could not help but let your thoughts wander to a dark place again. That was one of your biggest insecurities. Feeling like you cannot accomplish simple tasks on your own. God had told you that you were too fragile. So most of the times you ended up feeling like you were not good enough. That no matter what you tried, nobody appreciated it because in the end, there was always someone who could do it better than you. Trying to push down your feelings, you shot a polite smile Dan’s way & entered without saying anything else. Dan stopped briefly, looked after you & wondered if he had said anything wrong. He expected another sarcastic comment from you, just like you had acted the entire morning with him. It did not come, though. He figured you were just nervous about what expected you inside. Yeah, that had to be it.

You felt another presence on your left & without looking up, you knew it was Dan. Slowing down a little bit, you let him lead you through the precinct. Surprisingly, there were not a lot of people at work. You blamed the time, even though it was not that early. Not that you cared much anyway. A door came into view & Dan approached it. You assumed that it would be where his coworkers asked you the so dreaded questions. What were you supposed to say? Should you make up a story? Should you make up a fake last name? A fake family? That way your possibilities of being left alone would be higher. But wait a minute…Did you even want to be left alone? It did not work out well for you last time & you kind of liked Dan. He was nice. On the other hand, though, you knew you could not stay with him. It would end up in you bothering the shit out of him & obviously, that was not your intention.

You fell behind a few steps because your thoughts consumed you once again. Before Dan could open the door, you jogged up to him & beat him to it.

“See? That door is much heavier & I’m doing just fine.” you turned around so your back was against the door, holding it open. Your arms crossed over your chest & you popped your hip out, signaling that you were mocking him & his previous actions. He laughed at you once more & walked past you into the rather cold looking room. Pushing yourself off the door, you took a look at the desk in the middle of the room. There was one single chair & …handcuffs? Wait, Dan would never hold you hostage, right? He was a cop, that was probably just one of the interrogation rooms. Or so you hoped. Maybe you were too naïve & you would face your death more sooner than later. STOP! Just stop thinking…

“No need to be scared, these are for the bad guys, not you.” Dan spoke up after you eyed the handcuffs a little too long & your face turned into one of pure concern.

“Kinky.” was your only answer, you even managed to keep a straight face.

“You’re something else, do you know that?” he was amused by your behavior but he liked you that way. It was like another girl was standing in front of him if he had to compare you to last night.

“Oh, I’ve heard that line a billion times, trust me.” you faked a smile. It was not like there were any happy memories connected to those words but Dan did not need to know that just yet. Or ever, for that matter.

“Hey, how about you take a seat & I’ll be right back, okay?” his words made you look up to him & you gave a simple nod as answer. After Dan took off, you decided against sitting down. Your anxiety was on edge & you could not even explain why. You were an angel, for fuck’s sake, why could you not chill? Pacing the room seemed like a good enough distraction, at least until Dan showed up again. Would he be alone or with his coworkers? That thought made you even more anxious. Yes, you were comfortable around Dan but the idea of another person asking you weird questions left you uneasy. Well, you could request to talk to Dan alone, right? There was nothing wrong with that. Besides, you were in an interrogation room, you were probably being observed right now, pacing like a crazy person. Ugh, just stop already…

The fact that someone could be watching you right now made you take a deep breath. Calming yourself would be convenient in your situation. You were fine, Dan would not have brought you here if he were not sure it would help you. After another deep breath, you finally sat down on the chair & began playing with the handcuffs so your hands were not shaking as much. Having something to play with helped distracting you & a distraction was very much needed.

You looked up as soon as you heard the door opening. The first person you saw was Dan but you could tell that there was another one right behind him. He moved aside a little & you found yourself staring at someone you would have never thought to meet so soon.

“Hello there, (Y/N), right?” the voice simply stated but you were too shocked to answer right away.

~to be continued~

Next Chapter

Published (03/15/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @fandomqueen2003, @natashaashleymarvelromanoff, @severewobblerlightdragon, @tenderlyunlikelyexpert, @zoseph, @suffering-canucks-fan, @dad-ee-drea, @xbarrjallenx, @marvelofwitch, @aceofspace95, @julessbrown, @thevelvetseries, @kotkaniemi-caufield-mom, @crumpets-are-better-with-jam, @strangewhovian-blog, @officialfictionalwreck (let me know if you wanna be tagged <3)

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